The Story of William I by Eva Tappan

Author:Eva Tappan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pronoun

A VOICE FROM THE CLIFF

THIS MARRIAGE IS THOUGHT to have taken place in 1053, when William was probably twenty-five years of age. His whole life had been a warfare, and one of his three decisive battles had been fought before he was twenty years old. This battle was Val-ès-dunes, and his victory settled the question of his supremacy in Normandy. He had conquered his own duchy, and he had shown that in all Europe there was no better commander than he. Two other great victories lay in the years before him. Nothing came to him by gift; everything must be won. Even for the hand of Matilda he had laid siege, and he had waited as he would have done to capture a city. His love for his wife was as earnest as was his vehemence on the field of battle. At last a gleam of happiness had come to him; but clouds were gathering, and in all his joy there were mutterings of a rising storm, of a battle that could not be fought with sword and lance.

“What do you think of our duke’s marriage?” questioned a Norman knight of a priest.

“The lady Matilda is a gracious and beautiful woman,” replied the priest.

“You priests are so cautious,” laughed the knight. “Think you that the Pope will bless the marriage?”

“The gift of prophecy was not bestowed upon me,” said the priest, smiling at the knight’s apparent discomfiture.

“What would you do if you were Pope?” questioned the knight shrewdly.

“I am but a simple priest. Never could I even think of myself in so exalted a position as that of Father of the Church.”

“I see there is no getting anything out of you,” said the knight good-humoredly. “We’ll drop it; but priest or no priest, I fancy that you know something about a good horse when you see one. Come with me on a hunt, and I’ll lend you the best horse that you ever mounted. I presume you can think of some one who would be the better for a little wild meat. “

The hunt was successful, and on the return the knight said:—

“To make a man a priest does not seem to make him a coward. That was a close thing when the boar attacked you. Ought a bishop to be braver than a priest, and the Pope braver than a bishop?”

“I don’t know about that,” said the priest; “but at any rate, the Pope is no coward. They say that he picked up a leper who was at his door, took him on his shoulder, and laid him in his own bed. A man who will do that is a brave man. He cares not a straw who opposes him. He means to work reforms in the church, and when he has once said what he believes is right, there is no power that will make him change.” The priest made his farewell, and the knight looked after him with a grim smile.

“They all tell the same story,” said he.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.