Venetians

by Lodovico Pizzati

  Polo spotted his daughter running toward him and he lost interest in accounting and taxation, and just hugged Clelia.

  Polo, Aurelia and Clelia went inside. Just then, Father Leontio arrived.

  “Polo! You are back!”

  “Father Leontio! Has anything new happened while I was gone?”

  “Not in Heraclia…”

  “What about from the Empire? The Emperor has been stalled for quite some time in South Italy…”

  “Yes, now he essentially has permanent headquarters in Sicily. The gossip is that this war with the Longobards is an excuse to stay far away from his political problems in Constantinople…”

  “Before I left for Istria, news came that Emperor Constans II was about to siege Beneventum, the Longobard’s stronghold in South Italy… Any progress since then?”

  “We are still waiting for an update… We are not sure if Beneventum has fallen. This would be a major, major blow to the Longobards… It would be the turning point to expel them from Italy, once and for all! Since the death of King Rothari the Longobards have been weakened by infighting, and they are lacking a unifying force. With God’s help, Polo, this could be a crucial turning point!”

  South Italy had a different countryside, with plants and animals that were not quite the same as what surrounded the North Adriatic lagoon. Inland from the Neapolitan coast, the town of Beneventum was a very important Longobard stronghold, controlling the whole southern peninsula.

  Emperor Constans II was camped in this hillside, and surrounded by his generals he was discussing the battle plan. In front of them, not too far in the distance, the walls of Beneventum were visible.

  “This siege is wearing us out,” the Emperor confided to his generals. “Perhaps even more than the besieged Longobards inside those walls…”

  “Your Highness, at least we have provisions to rely on. The Longobards must have nothing left by now. They are weakened!” One general replied.

  “Yes, we shall continue pounding tomorrow as well. If it is not tomorrow, it will be the next day, and Beneventum will fall for good!” A second general added.

  “It’s been about five years that we have been fighting them…” the Emperor continued. “We mostly secured our port towns in Apulia, we have Neapolis and all of Sicily, but if we don’t expunge Beneventum, as soon as we leave they will take everything back!”

  “Tomorrow will be the day we break through, Your Highness!” The first general asserted, sure of his word.

  “Let’s hope so…” the Emperor replied. “We are an old empire banging with powerful but predictable blows… and it is wearing us down as well…”

  Within the walls of Beneventum, in the main hall, Aretchis, the Duke of Beneventum, was discussing with high ranking Longobards how to get out of the desperate situation the siege had created.

  “Duke Aretchis,” a Longobard commander informed the Duke, “…we finished everything to eat a week ago. My soldiers are asking to slaughter at least two horses…”

  “I can’t believe it,” Duke Aretchis replied, “…it’s five years that we are fighting the whole Byzantine army by ourselves, and all the dukes in the north have not come down to help!”

  Duke Aretchis son, Aiulf, also intervened in the conversation.

  “Since the time King Rothari left due to illness, nobody else has come down to help from the north…”

  “My dear son, Aiulf, you are right! If only those two idiot heirs of Rothari, what are their names… ah yes, Godepert and Perctarit, if those two sissies came to help instead of squabbling over the throne! This is where kings are made! On the battlefield! Not in the palace’s lobbies!”

  At that moment, a second commander rushed in with new information.

  “My lord, my lord! One of the sentinels has returned from Calabria and he has a message from your nephew Grimwald!”

  “He is not my father’s nephew!” Aiulf protested. “He is just a distant relative!”

  Aiulf was visibly irritated just by the mention of Grimwald’s name.

  “Aiulf, please!” Duke Aretchis interrupted. “Grimwald is the only one who has come down to help in the last five years! Who cares if he was only a boy, he has the same tempering as his father Gisulf, and that’s what counts!”

  “My lord,” the Longobard commander continued, “Grimwald is letting us know that tomorrow he and his men will launch a surprise attack on the Byzantines, and he is ordering… I mean, suggesting we come out of the walls and finish the Greeks off from both sides…”

  “He is crazy!” Aiulf scoffed. “He is not even twenty, he is inexperienced and he is a madman! That strategy… well, it’s not even a strategy… that approach will get us all killed!”

  Aiulf could not stand the insolence of this youngster who had his father’s admiration.

  “My lord,” the first Longobard commander interjected, “your son Aiulf is right. The Byzantines are vastly outnumbering us. The Emperor has brought all its might and we are only a Duchy. Our only chance is within these walls. Out there, we might as well get on our knees and offer our heads for a clean cut…”

  “Do we have any way to impart to Grimwald different orders?” Duke Aretchis asked the second commander, ignoring his son and the first commander.

  “No, my lord, it’s already a miracle the sentinel managed to enter the walls, it’s too risky sending him out… and even if we do, we won’t know if the sentinel will be able to reach Grimwald…”

  Duke Aretchis interrupted with a heavy laugh.

  “That fury of a kid! He found a way to give orders to his own duke!”

  “We simply let him commit suicide in the battle field and stay here and watch!” Aiulf suggested.

  The following morning Emperor Constans II gave orders to begin the umpteenth day of siege. The Byzantines continued with their heavy artillery of catapults, arrows and battering rams against the stone wall and the iron gates. At their campground, the Emperor and his generals were observing from the supposedly safe distance.

  On the hill behind them, about one hundred Longobard horsemen were watching and waiting for orders from their commander Grimwald. Bertwalt, the second in command, decided to break the silence.

  “Grimwald, we are outnumbered, maybe one hundred to one…”

  Grimwald was now an eighteen-year-old man, surrounded by bearded and seasoned warriors, who looked up to him as their undisputed leader. He did not need titles, as he gained his status on the battlefield. He was all action and no discussion. Either you followed him or, once he came back victorious, you would be derided as a coward.

  “Are you including Duke Aretchis’ forces in that count?” Grimwald asked Bertwalt.

  “If Duke Aretchis comes out,” Bertwalt answered, “then we are outnumbered ten to one… but only if he comes out.”

  Bertwalt, the seasoned Longobard warrior sitting on his horse next to Grimwald, did not want to question Grimwald, but as many others, he was very skeptical that the Duke would opt for the suicidal move of exiting the walls.

  “Ten to one, eh?” Grimwald said after a brief pause. “So, it will be an even battle. I always heard everyone boast that one Longobard warrior is as strong as ten Byzantine soldiers are. Now it’s time to prove it! If it is not true, we die in battle. But whoever does not come to battle is then just a gas bag, and I will personally slay him!”

  Grimwald purposely shouted the last sentence, so that everyone would hear him.

  “So, which side of the Byzantine regiment are we going to attack?” Asked Bertwalt, completely persuaded by his commander’s willpower.

  “The regiment? No…” Grimwald answered. “We will leave that to Duke Aretchis…. Look at them. They are banging and pounding with their brawn, over and over… They have become complacent and they have left the head exposed… We are going straight for the Emperor! Now let’s go!”

 
Grimwald called his men to battle. They all plunged downhill toward the Byzantine’s encampment, hidden by the woods in order to succeed in a surprise attack.

  The battle scene proceeded as follows. The Emperor’s guardsmen on the campground were caught by surprise and began a defensive battle. Even the Emperor had to take up arms. Grimwald’s men were on horseback, while the Byzantine guards were still on foot, totally unprepared. Screams of ‘Protect the Emperor!’ could be heard echoing all the way to the regiment, just outside Beneventum’s walls. Part of the regiment then turned around to fight Grimwald’s Longobards.

  In a protected tower on a corner of Beneventum’s walls, Duke Aretchis and his son Aiulf were watching:

  “He is actually doing it! Aiulf, look! Grimwald is attacking the Emperor head-on!” Duke Aretchis exclaimed.

  “And look! The Byzantine regiment has turned around! In a moment they will have Grimwald engulfed!” Aiulf replied, pleased about the imminent danger Grimwald faced.

  Aiulf tried to hide the excitement and relief he felt for having that impertinent Grimwald face the end he deserved. But then he heard his father say:

  “We are going out of the walls and do our part, as agreed!”

  “What!? Father, that’s crazy! And what do you mean ‘as agreed’? You just received an order from an eighteen-year-old madman! There is no agreement!”

  But it was too late to change the Duke’s mind. He was running down the stairs imparting orders. No horses were to be slaughtered as every single one would be needed in the final battle. And the ultimate showdown was right at that moment.

  Beneventum’s gates opened. Duke Aretchis was the first one out, holding his long spear in one hand and, in the other hand, the shield protecting his torso and face from the incoming arrows. He was screaming a battle cry as he led a band of raging warriors riding on armored horses.

  Back at the campground, the Emperor saw a young warrior fighting with no fear of dying. Grimwald was in fact in the front line, and as usual, he fought as if he had nothing to lose, making him an even more dangerous foe. On the other side of the battlefield, the regiment was now fighting the decisive battle with the Beneventum Longobards. They were more numerous, but they were also taking more casualties. Even if they should manage to prevail, their numbers would be decimated. It was late morning when Duke Aretchis was killed, as multiple Byzantine soldiers overwhelmed him and thrusted their spears into his torso. Regardless of Duke Aretchis death, Emperor Constans II was on the defensive and in a precarious position. In the midst of the battleground confusion, the Emperor gave the order to retreat. The screaming of ‘retreat’ reverberated, and the battle concluded with a disoriented Byzantine army withdrawing in a disorderly fashion. Grimwald was chasing them with no mercy all the way to Neapolis, followed by his furious warriors.

  Chapter 10

  EGGS IN TWO BASKETS

  Saverio and Sabino arrived at Polo’s house in Heraclia.

  “Hello Polo…” Saverio began. “You are planning to travel to the lagoon soon, right?”

  “In less than a week… yes…”

  “In less than a week!?” Aurelia’s eyes widened.

  “Aurelia!” Polo responded. “It’s fall and I have to unload all my cargo. Primo is probably already there, and Cimbrians and other merchants are probably ready to leave… and then it’s winter and nothing happens!”

  Saverio interrupted the quarreling couple:

  “So you are going to anchor in the basin behind Olivolo…”

  “Yes, that’s where our workshops are.”

  “Because, if it does not trouble you, since you will be near Metamauco, I was wondering…”

  “You want me to collect your taxes from the fishing village of Metamauco?” Polo predicted what Saverio was about to ask.

  “You must be joking, right?” Aurelia confronted Saverio.

  “Well, I have always had problems with Metamauco…” Saverio explained. “They simply don’t pay, and my approach has always been to ask for voluntary offers…”

  “Saverio, I am a merchant, I cannot go to Metamauco and persuade them to do something they don’t want to do.”

  “I know, but you are an important figure. You can at least explain to those fishermen why it is necessary, for the common good… You might be able to convince them, or at least sway them not to see me as such a threat…”

  “Polo, don’t even think about it!” Aurelia asserted. “And, Saverio, how much are you willing to pay Polo to go over there and collect some fish and shrimp?”

  “Saverio… Aurelia has a point!” Polo replied. “My time is precious, especially during the shorter autumn days, before winter sets in. But I will ask you another question: what do you expect the fishermen in Metamauco to pay you?”

  “It’s more out of principle… whatever quantity of fish they can spare…” Saverio answered.

  “Would you say it’s less than a barrel of olives?” Polo asked.

  “A lot less than a barrel of olives!”

  “Fine, I will have my men bring you a third barrel then.”

  “Polo, don’t do this, it’s not right!” Aurelia protested.

  “Polo… Aurelia is right,” Saverio intervened. “It’s not just a matter of quantity. It’s also a matter of principle. We cannot have other villages know that Metamauco is a free rider, and it’s not right for someone else to pay for other people’s duties… I don’t want to resort to force by involving Tribune Gregorios… that’s why I asked you first…”

  “Good point,” Polo admitted. “Consider the third barrel as if I am purchasing Metamauco’s liability. I will go there and have them reason, but on one condition…”

  “Tell me.”

  “Your son Sabino comes with me during this trip.”

  “It’s definitely fine with me!” Sabino exclaimed.

  A few days had passed, and early in the morning, Sabino came to Polo’s house:

  “Polo! I am ready to go! Shall I meet you at the ship?”

  “Yes, I am right behind you! I am coming outside now…”

  Aurelia came over and stopped Polo, as she was not done with the conversation they were having when Sabino interrupted them.

  “Polo, I really don’t get it… You have plenty of trade up the Piave River: it’s convenient from Heraclia, and you have plenty of business in Opterg. Why are you so obsessed with going to Olivolo? And why do you have to set up your workshops near that high canal bank you keep talking about? That ‘Rivo Alto’… It’s half a day away. Why don’t you do all that bustling business of yours over here?”

  “It’s the meeting point with Primo and all the river trade…”

  “Have him travel the extra day to Heraclia! This is the capital, and you can have the same timber come down from the Piave River… in fact it already does!”

  “Aurelia… Opterg is precarious. I cannot risk all my assets just on that trade route. What if things turn sour with the Duke of Ceneda, then what? Rivo Alto and Olivolo instead are central. From there I have access to four rivers: Athesis, Brint, Sile and Piave. Four rivers controlled by four different and quarreling dukes. If I settle in Heraclia I take only one river. This way instead, I create a bottle neck, and all trade goes through us!”

  “So you are being a smart merchant, I see…” Aurelia gave the impression to agree.

  “I am trying to…” Polo replied.

  “And if it is not for trade, you also have your carpentry set up there, so you have to continuously go there and check the progress on your ships even during winter when there isn’t much commerce…”

  “It is wise to diversify, Aurelia, I don’t want to put all my eggs only into one basket…”

  “Of course, it makes sense to keep eggs in different baskets… and tell me, Polo, do you also keep different hens for each egg basket?”

  Polo looked away and
scoffed:

  “Aurelia… is it because I spent a month in Istria?”

  “I don’t care who you see in Istria… You know what I am talking about!”

  “Aurelia, I am a merchant, if I travel to Opterg I can’t be back the same evening, if I travel to…”

  “Yes, and now you are traveling to Rivo Alto… You know who you can bring my regards to?”

  Polo was already out the door, and he made the mistake of turning around as if asking ‘who?’, and he found himself blasted by Aurelia’s outburst:

  “You can say hello to Marcia!!”

  And Aurelia violently slammed the door.

  Adalulf’s home in Patavium had a nice fireplace where a meal was cooking. It was a cozy but well-appointed kitchen, for the time. Adalulf was conversing with his wife, Hermetruda, in the intimacy of their dwelling.

  “I am a dead man… Hermetruda, I am a dead man!” Adalulf whined.

  The tough and feared warrior was panicked.

  “But he is so far away, my dear Lulfy, he might never come back!” Hermetruda replied, trying to be reassuring.

  “Ahh, those damned Byzantines!” Adalulf continued. “Why didn’t they kill him like they did with his brothers Kakko and Taso… Why!?”

  “So this Grimwald is now a Longobard hero because he defeated the Byzantine Emperor… so what?” Hermetruda tried to rationalize the situation. “He is still just a young warrior, and you are a veteran warlord!”

  Adalulf mocked Hermetruda by parroting her voice:

  “Oh, he just defeated the Byzantine Emperor and ended a five-year war, what’s the big deal… and he did it with only one hundred warriors…”

  Adalulf laughed at the last sentence, but it was a hysterical laugh. He then continued in his normal voice:

  “Trudy! I just received news that they made Grimwald Duke of Beneventum!”

  “But Lulfy dear, that’s not possible, what about Aiulf, he is the son of Duke Aretchis, wasn’t he the heir?”

  “He was, Trudy, he was!” Adalulf explained. “But then, all of a sudden Duke Aiulf was killed by - listen to this - by pirates off the coast of Sipontum!”