Wonders Will Never Cease by Robert Irwin

Author:Robert Irwin [Irwin, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781910213520
Publisher: Dedalus
Published: 2016-10-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten: Joust

On the Sunday before his first encounter with the Bastard, Anthony accompanies his family to matins at their customary church of St Mary at Axe.

Though he hopes to find comfort and encouragement before the ordeal that is to come, in this he is disappointed. The officiating priest, the Reverend William Crosier, anticipating that the Woodvilles would attend the Sunday service as usual, has prepared a special sermon just for Anthony.

‘My text today comes from Psalm 11: “Jehovah trieth the righteous one; but the wicked, and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.” And my subject today is an old sin, but recently revived. Wealthy young lords and their friends in our city have taken up with tourneying, since it is once again the fashion. But tournaments are lawless extravagances which waste the land and their expense is all for vainglory. Men enter the lists only so that they may boast about what they did there and the fine armour that they wore then – that they had a helmet of gold, and pauldrons and other external insignia of the same style and even greater price; and that he has carried into the lists a huge lance, so heavy that no one else could carry it and that he arrived at the tournament with so many horses and attendants. All this is vainglory.’

‘And what is all the glory and praise worth when it comes from the mouths of the impious, of wretches and of the timid? What is fine armour worth if it makes an enemy only more eager to steal it? What is the merit in unhorsing a man, an old friend perhaps, in time of peace? How should we praise a man who is brave enough in sports in the time of peace, but when a just war comes proves to be a coward?’

Anthony tries not to listen to the unwelcome message, and in a strategy to do so, he plays the alphabet game, first awarding himself a point when he hears Crosier pronounce a word that begins with a, and then another point when he hears a word beginning with b, and so on. But he cannot shut off the priest’s concluding noisy peroration:

‘Those who joust here on earth will joust also in Hell and there they are forced to wear armour which is nailed to them and cannot be taken off. They are forced also to take evil smelling sulphurous baths and then afterwards, instead of the embraces of wanton young women, they are obliged to endure the amorous attentions of lascivious toads. So shall the jousting knight’s prowess be rewarded in Hell!’

The Woodvilles storm out of the church and Rivers promises to see to William Crosier’s future. But then he says that he must walk privately with Anthony for they have something to discuss.

‘That priest was a fool, even if I do admire his courage,’ Rivers begins. ‘He will find no preferment now. Yet I too have to warn you not to look forward to future glory in your combats with the Bastard on Thursday and Friday.

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