CONCLUSION
Years had passed away. The oaths of Louis, and promises of Lothaire, hadbeen broken; and Arnulf of Flanders, the murderer of Duke William, hadincited them to repeated and treacherous inroads on Normandy; so thatRichard's life, from fourteen to five or six-and-twenty, had been onelong war in defence of his country. But it had been a glorious war forhim, and his gallant deeds had well earned for him the title of "Richardthe Fearless"--a name well deserved; for there was but one thing hefeared, and that was, to do wrong.
By and by, success and peace came; and then Arnulf of Flanders, findingopen force would not destroy him, three times made attempts toassassinate him, like his father, by treachery. But all these hadfailed; and now Richard had enjoyed many years of peace and honour,whilst his enemies had vanished from his sight.
King Louis was killed by a fall from his horse; Lothaire died in earlyyouth, and in him ended the degenerate line of Charlemagne; Hugh Capet,the son of Richard's old friend, Hugh the White, was on the throne ofFrance, his sure ally and brother-in-law, looking to him for advice andaid in all his undertakings.
Fru Astrida and Sir Eric had long been in their quiet graves; Osmond andAlberic were among Richard's most trusty councillors and warriors; AbbotMartin, in extreme old age, still ruled the Abbey of Jumieges, whereRichard, like his father, loved to visit him, hold converse with him, andrefresh himself in the peaceful cloister, after the affairs of state andwar.
And Richard himself was a grey-headed man, of lofty stature and majesticbearing. His eldest son was older than he had been himself when hebecame the little Duke, and he had even begun to remember his father'sproject, of an old age to be spent in retirement and peace.
It was on a summer eve, that Duke Richard sat beside the white-beardedold Abbot, within the porch, looking at the sun shining with softdeclining beams on the arches and columns. They spoke together of thatburial at Rouen, and of the silver key; the Abbot delighting to tell,over and over again, all the good deeds and good sayings of WilliamLongsword.
As they sat, a man, also very old and shrivelled and bent, came up to thecloister gate, with the tottering, feeble step of one pursued beyond hisstrength, coming to take sanctuary.
"What can be the crime of one so aged and feeble?" said the Duke, insurprise.
At the sight of him, a look of terror shot from the old man's eye. Heclasped his hands together, and turned as if to flee; then, findinghimself incapable of escape, he threw himself on the ground before him.
"Mercy, mercy! noble, most noble Duke!" was all he said.
"Rise up--kneel not to me. I cannot brook this from one who might be myfather," said Richard, trying to raise him; but at those words the oldman groaned and crouched lower still.
"Who art thou?" said the Duke. "In this holy place thou art secure, bethy deed what it may. Speak!--who art thou?"
"Dost thou not know me?" said the suppliant. "Promise mercy, ere thoudost hear my name."
"I have seen that face under a helmet," said the Duke. "Thou art Arnulfof Flanders!"
There was a deep silence.
"And wherefore art thou here?"
"I delayed to own the French King Hugh. He has taken my towns andravaged my lands. Each Frenchman and each Norman vows to slay me, inrevenge for your wrongs, Lord Duke. I have been driven hither andthither, in fear of my life, till I thought of the renown of DukeRichard, not merely the most fearless, but the most merciful of Princes.I sought to come hither, trusting that, when the holy Father Abbot beheldmy bitter repentance, he would intercede for me with you, most noblePrince, for my safety and forgiveness. Oh, gallant Duke, forgive andspare!"
"Rise up, Arnulf," said Richard. "Where the hand of the Lord hathstricken, it is not for man to exact his own reckoning. My father'sdeath has been long forgiven, and what you may have planned againstmyself has, by the blessing of Heaven, been brought to nought. FromNormans at least you are safe; and it shall be my work to ensure yourpardon from my brother the King. Come into the refectory: you needrefreshment. The Lord Abbot makes you welcome." {17}
Tears of gratitude and true repentance choked Arnulf's speech, and heallowed himself to be raised from the ground, and was forced to acceptthe support of the Duke's arm.
The venerable Abbot slowly rose, and held up his hand in an attitude ofblessing: "The blessing of a merciful God be upon the sinner who turnethfrom his evil way; and ten thousand blessings of pardon and peace arealready on the head of him who hath stretched out his hand to forgive andaid him who was once his most grievous foe!"
Footnotes:
{1} Richard's place of education was Bayeaux; for, as Duke William saysin the rhymed Chronicle of Normandy,--
"Si a Roem le faz garder E norir, gaires longement Il ne saura parlier neiant Daneis, kar nul n l'i parole. Si voil qu'il seit a tele escole Qu l'en le sache endoctriner Que as Daneis sache parler. Ci ne sevent riens fors Romanz Mais a Baieux en a tanz Qui ne sevent si Daneis non."
{2} Bernard was founder of the family of Harcourt of Nuneham.Ferrieres, the ancestor of that of Ferrars.
{3} In the same Chronicle, William Longsword directs that,--
"Tant seit apris qu'il lise un bref Kar ceo ne li ert pas trop gref."
{4} Hako of Norway was educated by Ethelstane of England. It wasFoulques le Bon, the contemporary Count of Anjou, who, when derided byLouis IV. for serving in the choir of Tours, wrote the following retort:"The Count of Anjou to the King of France. Apprenez, Monseigneur, qu'unroi sans lettres est une ane couronne."
{5} The Banner of Normandy was a cross till William the Conqueroradopted the lion.
{6}
"Sire, soies mon escus, soies mes defendemens."
_Histoire des Ducs de Normandie_ (MICHEL).
{7} The Cathedral was afterwards built by Richard himself.
{8} Sus le maistre autel del igliseLi unt sa feaute juree.
{9}
Une clef d'argent unt trovee A sun braiol estreit noee. Tout la gent se merveillont Que cete clef signifiont. * * * * Ni la cuoule e l'estamine En aveit il en un archete, Que disfermeront ceste clavete De sol itant ert tresorier Kar nul tresor n'vait plus cher.
The history of the adventures of Jumieges is literally true, as isMartin's refusal to admit the Duke to the cloister:--
Dun ne t'a Deus mis e pose Prince gardain de sainte iglise E cur tenir leial justise.
{10} An attack, in which Riouf, Vicomte du Cotentin, placed Normandy inthe utmost danger. He was defeated on the banks of the Seine, in a fieldstill called the "Pre de Battaille," on the very day of Richard's birth;so that the _Te Deum_ was sung at once for the victory and the birth ofthe heir of Normandy.
{11} "Biaus Segnors, vees chi vo segneur, je ne le vous voel tolir, maisje estoie venus en ceste ville, prendre consel a vous, comment je poroievengier la mort son pere, qui me rapiela d'Engletiere. Il me fist roi,il me fist avoir l'amour le roi d'Alemaigne, il leva mon fil de fons, ilme fist toz les biens, et jou en renderai au fill le guerredon se jepuis."--MICHEL.
{12} In a battle fought with Lothaire at Charmenil, Richard saved thelife of Walter the huntsman, who had been with him from his youth.
{13} At fourteen years of age, Richard was betrothed to Eumacette ofParis, then but eight years old. In such esteem did Hugues la Blanc holdhis son-in-law, that, on his death-bed, he committed his son Hugues Capetto his guardianship, though the Duke was then scarcely above twenty,proposing him as the model of wisdom and of chivalry.
{14} "Osmons, qui l'enfant enseognoit l'eu mena i jour en riviere, etquant il revint, la reine Gerberge dist que se il jamais l'enmenait forsdes murs, elle li ferait les jeix crever."--MICHEL.
{15} "Gules, two wings conjoined in lure, or," is the original coat ofSt. Maur, or Seymour, said to be derived from Osmond de Centeville, whoassumed them in honour of his flight with Duke Richard. His directdescendants in Normandy were the Marquises of Osmond, whose arms wer
egules, two wings ermine. In 1789 there were two survivors of the line ofCenteville, one a Canon of Notre Dame, the other a Chevalier de St.Louis, who died childless.
{16} Harald of Norway, who made a vow never to trim his hair till he hadmade himself sole king of the country. The war lasted ten years, and hethus might well come to deserve the title of Horrid-locks, which waschanged to that of Harfagre, or fair-haired, when he celebrated his finalvictory, by going into a bath at More, and committing his shaggy hair tobe cut and arranged by his friend Jarl Rognwald, father of Rollo.
{17} Richard obtained for Arnulf the restitution of Arras, and severalother Flemish towns. He died eight years afterwards, in 996, leavingseveral children, among whom his daughter Emma is connected with Englishhistory, by her marriage, first, with Ethelred the Unready, and secondly,with Knute, the grandson of his firm friend and ally, Harald Blue-tooth.His son was Richard, called the Good; his grandson, Robert theMagnificent; his great-grandson, William the Conqueror, who brought theNorman race to England. Few names in history shine with so consistent alustre as that of Richard; at first the little Duke, afterwards Richardaux longues jambes, but always Richard sans peur. This little sketch hasonly brought forward the perils of his childhood, but his early manhoodwas likewise full of adventures, in which he always proved himself brave,honourable, pious, and forbearing. But for these our readers must searchfor themselves into early French history, where all they will findconcerning our hero will only tend to exalt his character.
The Little Duke: Richard the Fearless Page 13