CHAPTER II.
The rumor of the occurrence in Szczytno arrived in Warsaw however beforeBrother Rotgier, and there excited amazement and concern. Neither theking himself, nor anybody else at the court, could understand what hadhappened. Shortly before, just when Mikolaj of Dlugolas was starting forMalborg with the prince's letter, in which he bitterly complained of thecapture of Danusia by turbulent border counts and almost threateninglydemanded her instant restoration, a letter had arrived from the owner ofSpychow stating that his daughter was not captured by the Teutons, but byordinary border bandits, and that she would be soon released for aransom. On that account the messenger did not leave; nobody ever dreamedof the Teutons extorting such a letter from Jurand by the threat of hisdaughter's death. It was difficult to understand what had happened,because the border chiefs, who were subjects of the prince as well as ofthe Order, attacked one another in the summer, but not in the winter whenthe snows betrayed their trail. They also usually attacked merchants, orperpetrated robberies in the villages, capturing people and seizing theirherds, but to dare to attack the prince himself and to capture hisprotegee, who was at the same time the daughter of a powerful anduniversally feared knight, this seemed entirely to exceed human belief.This, as well as other doubts, was answered by Jurand's letter under hisown seal, brought this time by a man who was known to come from Spychow;under such circumstances all suspicions became impossible; the princeonly became more enraged than he had ever been seen before, and heordered a pursuit of the ravishers throughout the border of hisprincipality, at the same time ordering the prince of Plock to do thesame and not fail to punish the insolent fellows.
Just then arrived the news of what had happened at Szczytno.
And as it passed from mouth to mouth, it was multiplied tenfold. It wassaid that Jurand, having arrived all alone in the castle, ran in throughthe open gate and there committed such slaughter that the garrison was soterrified that it had to send for help to the neighboring castles, tosummon the superior knighthood and armed foot-soldiers, who only after atwo days' siege succeeded in reentering the castle and there slayingJurand as well as his associates. It was also said that those forceswould probably cross the border, and that a great war would undoubtedlybegin. The prince, who knew of how great consequence it was to the grandmaster in case of war with the Polish king for the powers of bothprincipalities of Mazowsze to remain neutral, did not believe thesestories, because it was no secret to him, that should the Teutons declarewar on him or the principality of Plock, no human power could keep thePoles back; the master therefore dreaded that war. He knew that it mustcome, but he wished to postpone it, firstly, because he was of a peacefuldisposition, and secondly, because, in order to meet Jagiello's power, itwas necessary to gather a strength which the Order until now had neveryet possessed, and at the same time to secure the assistance of theprinces and knighthood, not only in Germany, but also in the entire West.
The prince, therefore, did not fear the war, but he wished to know whathad happened, what he really was to think of the occurrence in Szczytno,of the disappearance of Danusia, and all those stories which arrived fromthe border; he was also glad, although he hated the Teutons, when on acertain evening the captain of the archers informed him that a knight ofthe Order had arrived and begged for an audience.
He received him proudly, nevertheless, and although he recognized himinstantly as one of the brethren who were in the Forest Court, hepretended not to recollect him and inquired who he was, whence he came,and what caused his arrival in Warsaw.
"I am Brother Rotgier," replied the Teuton, "and a short time ago I hadthe honor to bow before your Highness."
"Why then, being a brother, do you not wear the insignia of the Order?"
The knight commenced to explain that he did not wear a white cloak,because by so doing he would be undoubtedly captured or killed by theknighthood of Mazowsze: throughout the whole world, in all kingdoms andprincipalities, the sign of the cross on the cloak is a protection andgains human good-will and hospitality, and only in the principality ofMazowsze does the cross expose the man who wears it to certain death.
But the prince interrupted him angrily:
"Not the cross," he said, "because we also kiss it, but your vices and ifthey receive you better elsewhere it is, because they do not know you sowell."
Then, seeing that the knight was greatly troubled at these words, heinquired: "Were you in Szczytno, do you know what happened there?"
"I was in Szczytno and know what happened there," replied Rotgier, "and Icame here not as any one's messenger, but only because the experiencedand pious count of Insburk told me: 'Our master loves the pious princeand trusts in his justice, therefore while I hasten to Malborg, you go toMazowsze and state our grievance, our disgrace, our misery. The just lordwill surely not praise a violator of peace and a cruel aggressor, who hasshed so much Christian blood, as though he were not Christ's servant butSatan's.'" And then he commenced to narrate everything that had occurredin Szczytno: How Jurand, who had been summoned by them to see whether thegirl whom they had taken away from the robbers was not his daughter,instead of repaying that with thankfulness, had fallen into a fit; how hehad killed Danveld, Brother Godfried, the Englishmen Hugues, von Brachtand two noble warriors, not counting the servants; how they, rememberingGod's commandment and not wishing to kill, had finally been compelled tocoil the terrible man in a net, who had then turned his sword againsthimself and wounded himself terribly; how lastly, not only in the castlebut also in the tower, there were people, who, in the midst of a wintrygale during the night after the fight, had heard terrible laughter andvoices in the air calling: "Our Jurand! Wrongdoer of the cross! Shedderof innocent blood! Our Jurand!"
And the whole story, especially the last words of the Teuton, made agreat impression upon all present. Terror fell upon them all. They weresimply overwhelmed with fear lest Jurand had actually summoned uncleanpowers to his assistance, and deep silence followed. But the princess,who was present at the audience, and who, loving Danusia, had a heartfull of inconsolable sorrow for her, turned with an unexpected questionto Rotgier: "You say, knight," she remarked, "that, after capturing thegirl, you thought her to be Jurand's daughter, and therefore summoned himto Szczytno?"
"Yes, beloved lady," replied Rotgier.
"How could you have thought so, since you saw the real daughter of Jurandwith me in the Forest Court?"
At that Brother Rotgier became embarrassed, because he was not preparedfor such a question. The prince arose and fixed a severe look on theTeuton, while Mikolaj of Dlugolas, Mrokota of Mocarzew, Jasko ofJagielnica and other knights of Mazowsze instantly sprang toward thebrother, inquiring alternately with threatening voices:
"How could you have thought so? Speak, German I How could that be?"
And Brother Rotgier recovered himself and said: "We brethren do not raiseour eyes to women. In the Forest Court with the beloved princess therewere many court ladies, but which among them was Jurand's daughter, noneof us knew."
"Danveld knew," said Mikolaj of Dlugolas. "He even talked to her duringthe hunt."
"Danveld stands before God," replied Rotgier, "and of him I shall onlysay that the following morning blooming roses were found on his coffin,which, in this wintry weather, could not come there by human hands."
Then again followed silence.
"How did you know of the capture of Jurand's daughter?" inquired theprince.
"Only the wickedness and audacity of the deed made it known to us.Therefore on hearing about it, we ordered thanksgiving masses becauseonly a plain court lady, and not one of the children born of yourHighness, was captured from the Forest Court."
"But I still wonder, how you could mistake a wench for Jurand'sdaughter."
"Danveld said: 'Often Satan betrayed his servants, so perhaps he changedJurand's daughter.'"
"The robbers though, as vulgar men, could not counterfeit Kaleb's writingand Jurand's seal. Who could have done it?"
"The Evil Spirit."
And again nobody could find an answer.
Rotgier glanced searchingly into the prince's eyes and said: "Indeed,these questions are like weapons in my breast, because they contain doubtand suspicion. But I trust in God's justice and the power of truth. I askof your majesty: even Jurand himself suspected us of that action, andwhen suspecting, before we summoned him to Szczytno, why did he searchfor robbers through the whole border in order to buy his daughter backfrom them?"
"It is true!" said the prince. "Even if you were hiding something frommen, you cannot hide it from God. He suspected you in the first momentbut then ... then he thought differently."
"Behold how the brightness of truth conquers the darkness," said Rotgier,and he glanced triumphantly around the hall; he thought that Teutonicheads had more adroitness and sense than the Polish, and that the latterrace would always be the prey and food of the Order, as a fly is the preyand food of the spider.
Therefore, throwing off his previous disguise, he approached the princeand commenced to speak in loud and impetuous tones:
"Requite us, lord, our losses, our grievances, our tears, and our blood!That hell-hound was your subject; therefore, in the name of God from whomthe power of kings and princes is derived, in the name of justice and thecross, requite us for our grievances and blood!"
But the prince looked at him in astonishment.
"For God's sake!" he said, "what do you want? if Jurand shed your bloodin madness, am I to answer for his frenzy?"
"He was your subject, lord," said the Teuton, "in your principality liehis possessions, his villages and his castle, in which he imprisoned theservants of the Order; at least let these possessions, this domain andthat wicked castle, become henceforth the property of the Order. Trulythis will not be an adequate payment for the noble blood shed! truly itwill not revive the dead, but perhaps it will partly appease God's angerand wipe away the disgrace, which will otherwise fall upon this entireprincipality. O, lord! The Order possesses grounds and castleseverywhere, which were given to it by the favor and piety of theChristian princes, and only here in your territory have we no particle ofland. Let our grievance, which calls to God for vengeance, be at least sorewarded that we may say that here also live people, who have the fear ofGod in their hearts!" Hearing this, the prince was still more amazed, andthen, after a long silence, replied:
"For God's sake! And through whose clemency, if not through that of myancestors, does your Order even exist here? The lands, estates andtowers, which once upon a time belonged to us and our nation, and whichnow are your property, do these not suffice for you yet? Jurand's girl isyet alive because nobody has informed you of her death, while you alreadywant to seize the orphan's dower, and requite your grievances with anorphan's bread?"
"Lord, you admit the wrong," said Rotgier, "consequently right itaccording to what your princely conscience and your honest souldictates." And he was again glad in his heart, because he thought: "Now,they not only will not sue but they will even consider how to wash theirhands and to evade the whole matter. Nobody will blame us for anything,and our fame will be as spotless as the white cloak of the Order."
Just then the voice of old Mikolaj of Dlugolas was heard: "They suspectyou of being avaricious and God knows whether justly or no, because evenin this matter, you care more for the profits than the honor of theOrder."
"True!" cried the Mazovian knights in chorus. Then the Teuton advanced afew steps, proudly raised his head, and measuring them with a haughtylook, said:
"I do not come here as a messenger, but merely as a witness of the affairand a knight of the Order who is ready to defend the honor of the Orderwith his own blood to the last gasp! Who, then, in contradiction toJurand's own words, dares to suspect the Order of having captured hisdaughter--let him raise this knightly pledge and submit to God'sjudgment!"
Having said this, he cast before them his knightly glove, which fell uponthe floor; they again stood in deep silence, because, although more thanone of them would have liked to break his weapon on the Teuton's back,they all feared God's judgment. Every one knew that Jurand had expresslystated that the knights of the Order had not captured his child; so theyall thought to themselves, "It is a just cause; consequently Rotgier willbe victorious."
He again became so much the more insolent, and leaning upon his loins,inquired:
"If it is so, who will raise that glove?"
Just then, a knight, whose entrance nobody had yet observed, and who forsome time had listened at the door to the conversation, advanced to thecentre, raised the gauntlet and said:
"I will!" and so saying, he stared directly into Rotgier's face, and thenbegan to speak with a voice which in that universal silence resoundedlike thunder through the hall:
"Before God, before the august prince and all the honorable knighthood ofthis land, I tell you, Teuton, that you bark like a dog against justiceand truth--and I challenge you to a combat on foot, or horseback, withlance or axe, short or long weapons, and not unto imprisonment but untothe last gasp, unto death!"
A fly could be heard in the hall. All eyes were turned upon Rotgier andthe challenging knight, whom nobody recognized, because he had a helmetcovering his head, although without a steel cap, but with a circularvisor descending below the ear entirely covering the upper part of theface, and casting a deep shadow over the lower part. The Teuton was noless astonished than the rest. Confusion, pallor and raging anger chasedeach other over his face, as lightning flashes across a mighty heaven.
He caught the gauntlet and attached it to the hook of his armlet, andsaid:
"Who are you that challenge God's justice?"
The other then unbuckled his gorget, removed the helmet, beneath whichappeared a fair, youthful head, and said:
"Zbyszko of Bogdaniec, the husband of Jurand's daughter."
They were all amazed, and Rotgier, with the others, because none of them,except the prince and his wife, Father Wyszoniek and de Lorche, knew ofDanusia's marriage; the Teutons moreover were confident that Jurand'sdaughter had no other natural defender besides her father; but at thatmoment de Lorche stood up and said:
"Upon my knightly honor I vouch for the truthfulness of his words; shouldanybody dare to doubt it, here is my guage."
Rotgier, who did not know what fear meant, and whose heart swelled withanger at this moment, would have perhaps accepted even this challenge,but remembering that the man who cast it was powerful, and moreover arelative of Duke Geldryi, he refrained, and the more readily, because theprince himself arose and, wrinkling his brows, said:
"It is forbidden to accept this challenge, because I also declare thatthis knight has told the truth."
The Teuton, on hearing this, bowed, and then said to Zbyszko:
"If you wish it, then on foot, in closed lists with axes."
"I have already challenged you in all ways," replied Zbyszko.
"May God give the victory to justice!" exclaimed the Mazovian knights.
The Knights of the Cross, or, Krzyzacy: Historical Romance Page 36
