The Abbatial Crosier; or, Bonaik and Septimine. A Tale of a Medieval Abbess

by Eugène Sue

  CHAPTER I.

  NARBONNE.

  Cruel intestine wars between the descendants of the Frankish conquerorswere devastating Gaul when the Arab invasion took place in 719. Theinvaders poured down from the Pyrenees and drove back or subjugated theVisigoths. The exchange of masters was almost a gain to the inhabitantsof the region. The conquerors from the south were more civilized thanthose from the north. Many of the Gauls,--either freemen, or colonistsor slaves--took so strongly to the southern invader that they evenembraced his religion, the religion of Mahomet, allured thereto by thepromises of a paradise peopled with houris. "The virtuous believer,"declared the Koran, "will be taken to the delicious home of Eden,enchanted gardens, through which well-shaded rivers flow. There,ornamented with bracelets of gold, clad in green clothes of woven silkand resplendent with glory, the faithful will recline upon nuptial beds,the happy prize in the dwelling of delights." Preferring, accordingly,the white houris promised by the Koran to the winged seraphs of theChristian paradise, many Gauls embraced Mohamedanism with ardor. Mosquesrose in Languedoc beside Christian churches. More tolerant than thebishops, the Arabs allowed the Christians to follow their own religion.Moreover, Mohamedanism, founded by Mahomet during the previous century,608, acknowledged the divinity of the Scriptures and recognized Mosesand the Jewish prophets as beings chosen by God, only it did notrecognize the godship of Jesus. "Oh, ye, who have received theScriptures, keep within the bounds of the faith. Speak only the truthabout God. Jesus is the son of Mary, and he was sent by the All-High,but is not his son. Say not that God is a trinity. God is one. Jesuswill not blush at being the servant of God. The angels that surround thethrone of God obey God!"--thus spoke the Koran.

  The town of Narbonne, capital of Languedoc under the dominion of theArabs, had in 737 quite an Oriental aspect, due as much to the clearnessof the sky as to the dress and customs of a large number of itsinhabitants. The laurel shrubs, the green oaks and palm trees recalledthe vegetation of Africa. Saracen women were seen going to or comingfrom the fountains with earthen vessels nicely balanced on their heads,and draped in their white clothes like the women of the time of Abraham,or of the young master of Nazareth. Camels with their long necks andloaded with merchandise left the town for Nimes, Beziers, Toulouse orMarseilles. The caravans passed on these journeys, along the fields, agreat variety of settlements--mud hovels thatched with straw andinhabited by Gallic peasants, who were successively the slaves of theVisigoths and of the Musselmen; tents of a Barbary tribe, Arabianmountaineers who had descended to the plains from the peak of Mt. Atlas,and who preserved in Gaul the nomad habits of their old home, warriors,ever ready to mount their tireless and swift horses in answer to thefirst call of battle from the emir of the province; finally, and at longdistances apart, on the crests of the mountains, high towers where,during war, the Saracens lighted fires for the purpose of signaling theapproach of the enemy to one another.

  In the almost Musselman town of Narbonne, the same as in all the othertowns of Gaul under the sway of the Franks and the bishops, there were,sad to say, public market-places where slaves were set up for sale. Butthat which imparted a peculiar character to the market of Narbonne wasthe diversity of the races of the captives that were offered topurchasers. There were seen negroes and negresses in large numbers, aswell as Ethiopians of ebony blackness; copper-colored mestizos; handsomeyoung Greek girls and boys brought from Athens, Crete or Samos and takenprisoner on some of the frequent maritime raids made by the Arabs. Askilful politician, Mahomet, their prophet, had incited in hissectarians a passion for maritime expeditions. "The believer who dies onland feels a pain that is hardly comparable with the bite of an ant,"says the Koran, "but the believer who dies at sea, feels on the contrarythe delicious sensation of a man, who, a prey to burning thirst, isoffered iced water mixed with citron and honey." Around the slave marketstood numerous Arabian shops filled with merchandise mainly manufacturedat Cordova or Granada, centers, at the time, of Saracen art andcivilization: brilliant arms inlaid in arabesques with gold and silver,coffers of chiseled ivory, crystal cups, rich silk fabrics, embroideredhose, precious collars and bracelets. Around the shops pressed a crowdof as various races as costumes: aboriginal Gauls in their wide hose, anarticle that gave this section of Gaul the name of "Bracciata" with theRomans; descendants of the Visigoths who remained faithful to their oldGermanic dress, the furred coat, despite the warmth of the climate;Arabians with turbans of all colors. From time to time, the cry of theMusselman priests, calling the believers to prayer from the height ofthe minarets, mixed with the chimes of basilicas that summoned theChristians to their devotions.

  "Christian dogs!" said the Arabs or Musselman Gauls. "Accursed heathens,damned degenerates!" answered the Christians; whereupon both proceededto exercise their own cult in peace. More tolerant than the bishops ofRome, Mahomet said in the Koran: "Do not do violence upon men for reasonof their religion."