The Saracen: Land of the Infidel

by Robert Shea

  XIV

  Ugolini spoke in a low voice to the blond man in a language Simonguessed was Greek, and David answered at some length.

  "You must suppose now that I am David speaking directly to you," saidUgolini in Latin to the assembly, patting the front of his red satinrobe. "I come from an old merchant family of Trebizond. Caravans fromacross Turkestan bring us silks from Cathay. We are Christians accordingto the Greek rite."

  This provoked a hostile murmur from the audience.

  Ugolini hesitated, then said, "I speak in my own person for a moment--I,too, am inclined to treat as suspect what a so-called Catholic of theschismatic Greek Church tells me. But I have talked long with David, andI am convinced he is a virtuous man. After all, the Greeks, like us, arebelievers in Christ. And Trebizond is at war with Constantinople, so wecan trust this man the more for that."

  Again David spoke in Greek to Ugolini. Unable to understand David'swords, Simon listened to his voice. It was rich and resonant. A virtuousman? A traveling mountebank, more likely. He felt a deep distrust ofboth David and Ugolini.

  "From time to time the Saracens tried to conquer us, but with the graceof God we fought them off," said David through Ugolini. "And when wewere not at war with them we traded with them, for Trebizond lives bytrade. And now that the Tartars have conquered all of Persia, we tradewith them."

  Fra Tomasso raised a broad hand and asked, "Do you find the Tartarshonest traders?"

  "They would rather take what they want by looting or tribute ortaxation. Eventually they think they will not have to trade. Theybelieve the blue sky, which they worship, will permit them to conquerthe whole world, and then all peoples will slave for them. Just as theyuse subject people, so, if you ally yourselves with them, they will useyou. You will help them destroy the Moslems, and then they will turn onyou."

  _He hates the Tartars. I can hear it in his voice, see it in the glow inhis eyes. He is sincere enough about that._

  A cardinal shouted out something in Latin too rapid for Simon tounderstand. An archbishop bellowed an answer. Two cardinals were arguingloudly in the pews on the other side of the room. Suddenly all theChurch leaders seemed to be talking at once. Fra Tomasso picked up alittle bell from his desk and rang it vigorously. Simon could barelyhear it, and everyone ignored it.

  _The princes of the Church quarrel among themselves like ordinary men._

  Pope Urban stood up and lifted his arms. "Silence!" he cried. His voicewas shrill and louder than Fra Tomasso's bell. The argument died down.

  "Have you seen the Tartar army in action, Messer David?" d'Aquino asked.

  David was silent a long time before answering. His face took on ahaunted look. His eyes seemed to gaze at something far away.

  "I was at Baghdad a week after they took it. I came to trade with theTartars. There were no other people left in that country to trade with.The Tartar camp was many leagues away from the ruins of Baghdad. Theyhad to move away from the city to escape the smell of the dead. I wentto Baghdad because I wanted to see. I saw nothing but ashes and corpsesfor miles and miles. The stink of rotting flesh nearly killed me.

  "I found people who had survived. Those who had not gone mad told mewhat had happened. The Tartars commanded the caliph to surrender. Hesaid he would pay tribute, but he could not surrender his authority tothem because he was the spiritual head of Islam."

  Simon heard murmurs of derision at this, but David ignored them and,speaking through Ugolini, went on.

  "Over a hundred thousand Tartars surrounded Baghdad, and their siegemachines began smashing its walls with great rocks brought down from themountains by slave caravans. Soon their standards, which are made of thehorns and hides and tails of beasts, were raised over the southeasternwall from the Racecourse Gate to the Persian Tower. The city was lost.The Tartars promised to spare the remaining troops if they wouldsurrender. The soldiers of Baghdad went out, unarmed, and the Tartarskilled them all with arrows. This is the Tartars' notion of honor."

  "They will do the same to us!" shouted a cardinal. The pope slapped hispalm loudly on the arm of his chair, and silence settled again.

  "Hulagu Khan, the commander of the Tartar army, now entered the city andmade the caliph serve him a splendid dinner. After dinner the khandemanded that the caliph show him all the jewels and gold and silver andother treasures that had been gathered by the caliphs of Baghdad overthe centuries. Hulagu promised to let the caliph live, together with ahundred of his women."

  This brought a loud cackle from under one of the red hats in the frontrow.

  "Only a hundred women!" a voice followed the laughter. "Poor caliph! Howmany was he wont to have?"

  "Seeing how ugly those Saracens' women are, I would think one wife toomany," another prelate called out.

  Irritated, Simon wished he could silence them all. This was too seriousa matter for such unseemly jokes.

  The ribald jests continued, to Simon's annoyance, until Fra Tomassorang his bell. Then David, looking grimmer than ever, spoke to Ugolini,and Ugolini began to address the assembly.

  "Next the Tartars commanded all the people of Baghdad to herd out ontothe plain outside the city, telling them that they would be made toleave the city only while the Tartars searched it for valuables.

  "When they had the people at their mercy they separated them into threegroups, men, women, and children. When families are broken up, themembers do not fight as hard to survive. The Tartars slaughtered themwith swords and arrows. Two hundred thousand men, women, and childrenthey killed that day, after promising them they would not be harmed."

  Simon tried to imagine the butchering of those hundreds of thousands ofpeople. He had never seen any Saracens, and so the victims in his mind'seye tended to resemble the people of Paris. He shuddered inwardly as hepictured those countless murders.

  "The Tartars now entered the city whose people were all dead, and sackedand burned it. It had been such a great city that it took them sevendays to reduce it to ruins."

  Simon's heart turned to ice.

  _What if it were Paris? Could we fight any harder for Paris than theSaracens did for Baghdad?_

  _Ex Tartari furiosi._

  "They have a superstition that it is bad luck to shed the blood of royalpersonages. So they took the caliph and his three royal sons, who hadseen their city destroyed and all their people killed, tied them insacks, and rode their horses over them, trampling them to death."

  "These deeds of the Tartars smell sweet in the nostrils of the Lord!"shouted Cardinal de Verceuil. There were cries of approval.

  Without waiting for David to say more, Ugolini replied to de Verceuil."Yes, Baghdad was the seat of a false religion. But it was also a cityof philosophers, mathematicians, historians, poets, of colleges,hospitals, of wealth, of science, of art. And of two hundred thousandsouls, as David has told us. Muslim souls, but souls nevertheless. Now_it does not exist_. And whoever thinks that the Tartars will do suchthings only to Saracen cities is a fool."

  Simon hated to admit it, but Ugolini's words made perfect sense to him.

  "They will do it everywhere!" cried someone in the audience.

  Now David said through Ugolini, "What is more, the Tartars who rule inRussia have converted to Islam. They still dream of the conquest ofEurope and may return to the attack at any time. Perhaps while yourarmies are occupied in Egypt or Syria."

  Fra Tomasso raised his quill for attention. "How would you describe thecharacter of the Tartars, Master David? What sort of men are they?"

  David answered and then looked about with his bright, compelling gazewhile Ugolini translated. "I have lived among the Tartars and traveledwith them. The Tartar is unmoved by his own pain or by that of hisfellows. The suffering of other people merely amuses him. His word givento a foreigner means nothing to him. He thinks his own race superior toall other peoples on earth."

  Fra Tomasso said, "What you have told us has been most enlightening,Master David, because you have seen with your own eyes. But if yourempire of Trebizon
d now trades with the Tartars, how is it that you comehere to denounce them?"

  "I came to Orvieto as a merchant bearing samples of silk from Cathay,"said David. "It is only, as Cardinal Ugolini has said, God's providencethat I am here when you are deciding this great question."

  Fra Tomasso turned to Pope Urban. "Holy Father, is there anything elseyou wish me to ask?"

  Pope Urban shook his head. "I believe I have heard enough for now. We donot want to sit here all day." Smiling, he turned to David. "MasterDavid, we thank you for coming all this way to bring us this warning."

  "Your Holiness." David bowed, a fluid movement that made Simon gruntwith distaste.

  _Curse the luck! Why is there no one here who knows the Tartars toanswer this David? How do we know he is not a liar? A Greek silkmerchant is not the sort of person I would trust. He would say anythingif he thought it would help him sell his wares._

  But doubt cooled Simon's anger. He did not want to admit it, butCosmas's and David's tales had frightened him. He thought of the hard,cold faces of John and Philip. He _could_ see them beheading women,shooting children with arrows.

  _Do we want to ally ourselves with such creatures?_

  King Louis did. Count Charles d'Anjou, Uncle Charles, wanted thealliance. Simon had agreed to come here. How could he face UncleCharles, what could he say, if he changed his mind?

  A lifetime of scorn, that was what lay ahead of him if he were to turnback now.

  David sat stiffly upright, his hands resting on his knees, as CardinalUgolini approached the pope, reaching out in appeal.

  "Holy Father, your predecessor, Clement III of happy memory, declared acrusade against the Tartars after the battle of Mohi. I beg you to soundthe alarm again, like that brave trumpeter of Krakow. A Christian princeshould no more make a pact with the Tartars than with the devil. Let thenations of Christendom be warned in the sternest terms. Let us declareexcommunicate any Christian ruler who allies himself with the Tartars."

  Shocked outcries burst from all parts of the hall. Simon went cold. Thethought of King Louis being excommunicated horrified him. But surely itwould not come to that. King Louis was too loyal a Catholic to defy thepope. But that, then, meant that Simon's mission would fail.

  De Verceuil jumped to his feet. "You, Ugolini! You should beexcommunicated for even suggesting such a thing!"

  "Cardinal Paulus, you yourself have had much to say out of turn," PopeUrban said testily. "I give you leave now to speak in favor of thisproposed alliance."

  De Verceuil took his stand in front of the papal throne, and Ugolinireturned to his place in the pews.

  _If only the pope favored us more. He is a Frenchman, after all. Whatabout this Manfred von Hohenstaufen? The pope needs French help there.But what a disaster for us that he asks de Verceuil to speak. If any mancan turn friends into enemies, it is de Verceuil. We need Friar Mathieu.In God's name, where is he? He could answer this David of Trebizond._

  De Verceuil quickly dismissed the Hungarian's testimony. All that, hesaid, happened a generation ago. Today the Tartars would not win sucheasy victories in Europe because we know more about them, and they wouldnot invade Europe again because they know more about us. The Tartarshave new leaders since those days, and that is why they have chosen tomake war on the Mohammedans. Christian friars have gone among them, andmany Tartars have been baptized. The wife of Hulagu Khan is a Christian.Wherever the khan and his wife travel, they take a Christian chapelmounted on a cart, and mass is said for them daily.

  "Yes!" Ugolini cried from his seat. "A Nestorian chapel. The khan'swife and the other Tartars you call Christians are Nestorian heretics."

  "From what I have heard of your dabblings in alchemy and astrology, itill behooves you to speak of heresy, Cardinal Ugolini," said de Verceuildarkly.

  Ugolini stood up and advanced on de Verceuil, who was twice his height."As for Christian friars going among the Tartars"--he held up a smallbook--"let me read--"

  De Verceuil turned to Pope Urban. "Holy Father, you have given me leaveto speak."

  "True, but more than once you interrupted him," said Urban with a smile."Let us hear this."

  "The Franciscan Friar William of Rubruk, at the command of King Louis ofFrance, visited the court of the Tartar emperor in Karakorum," saidUgolini. "This is his account of his travels in that pagan capital. Hesays the Tartars were so stubborn in their ways that he made not asingle convert." He opened to a page marked with a ribbon. "Here is hisconclusion, after years among the Tartars--'Were it allowed me, I wouldto the utmost of my power preach war against them throughout the wholeworld.'" Ugolini slapped the book shut and sat down, looking triumphant.

  De Verceuil failed to respond immediately. What a poor advocate he was,Simon thought. If only Friar Mathieu were here. He, too, was aFranciscan like this William of Rubruk, and he might well have theanswer to Rubruk's words.

  "Friar William," de Verceuil said at last, "wrote years before theTartars conquered Baghdad. As for me, I count myself happy to have heardthe words of this merchant from Trebizond." He pointed a long finger atDavid, who stood in the crowd about twenty feet away from Simon. Davidlooked back at de Verceuil with a rigid face full of raw hatred thatreminded Simon of what he had read about basilisks.

  "Happy, I say," de Verceuil went on, "to hear every detail of the utterdestruction of that center of the Satanic worship of Mohammed. I wasreminded of the rain of fire and brimstone that wiped out Sodom andGomorrah. My heart sang with joy when I heard of the caliph, successorof that false prophet, trampled by Tartar horses. I hold that theTartars are God's instrument for the final downfall of His enemies. Whatwonderful allies they will make as we liberate the Holy Land from theSaracens once and for all!"

  "And who will liberate the Holy Land from the Tartars?" a cardinal,forgetting his Latin, shouted in Italian.

  "Be still, you fool!" cried another cardinal in French.

  The Italian advanced on the Frenchman. "Whoever says 'Thou _fool_!'"--hegave the French cardinal a vicious shove with both hands--"shall beliable to the _judgment_." Another shove.

  Fra Tomasso rang his small bell furiously, but the furious prelatesignored him.

  Now someone had seized the Italian from behind. Simon was shocked,having never dreamed the leaders of the Church could be so unruly. Itseemed that anything the French cardinals were for, the Italians wereagainst. And was the pope, though a Frenchman, likely to approve thealliance, with nearly half the cardinals against it? And even if he did,could it succeed in the face of that much opposition?

  "Pax!" the pope cried, climbing a few steps toward his throne andlifting his arms heavenward. "Peace!" The angry sound of his voice andthe sight of him slowly brought quiet to the hall.

  Urban took them to task. The whole future of Christendom might be atstake, and they were brawling like university students. Perhaps heshould treat them like students and have them whipped. Sheepishly thecardinals and bishops took their seats with much rustling of red andpurple robes.

  D'Aquino asked de Verceuil if he had finished. He said he had, andSimon's heart sank.

  _I promised Uncle Charles I would work to further the alliance. I wantto believe in it._

  But after listening to Ugolini's two witnesses and de Verceuil's feebleattempt to refute them, he was beset by frightening doubts.

  He prayed he would not have to reverse himself. If he changed his colorsnow and repudiated the alliance, Count Charles might well feel himselfbetrayed and say that Simon was no better than his father.

  "But did not a Franciscan named"--the stout Dominican consulted hisnotes on parchment--"Mathieu d'Alcon journey from Outremer with theseTartar ambassadors? Why is he not here to tell us what he knows aboutthem?"

  Hope leapt up in Simon's heart. Yes! If they would only hear FriarMathieu, that might yet win the day for the alliance.

  _And it might help me to feel I am doing the right thing._

  "I assumed, before this august body, my testimony would be sufficient,"said de Verceuil with a
slight stammer. "After all, what could a mereFranciscan friar add--"

  Fra Tomasso raised his eyebrows. "I remind you, Cardinal, that HisHoliness has entrusted the conduct of this inquiry to a 'merefriar'--myself. And William of Rubruk, whose book was quoted here today,was a 'mere friar.' Can this Friar Mathieu be found, and quickly?"

  De Verceuil spread his hands. "I have no idea where he is, Fra Tomasso.He parted company with us after we arrived in Orvieto and neglected totell us his whereabouts."

  _A lie!_

  Friar Mathieu had told everyone he would be at the Franciscan Hospitalof Santa Clara. Simon was honor bound to speak out.

  Still, it took all his courage to force words through his throat--loudwords at that, to make himself heard over the murmur of manyconversations.

  "Reverend Father!" he called out, and his heart hammered in terror ashundreds of eyes turned toward him, de Verceuil's first of all."Reverend Father!"

  Fra Tomasso turned toward Simon.

  "I know where Friar Mathieu d'Alcon is," Simon called.

  D'Aquino raised his eyebrows. "Who are you, young man?" When Simonannounced himself as the Count de Gobignon, Friar Tomasso's smile waswelcoming enough to reassure Simon a bit.

  "Friar Mathieu is at the hospital of the Franciscans," said Simon. "Hetold me he wanted to work there until his services were needed for theembassy."

  "His services are needed now," said d'Aquino. "Not summoning him herewas an oversight." He glanced coolly at de Verceuil. "The hospital isnot far away."

  "I know where it is, Reverend Father." Simon had gone to the hospital toinquire about the man shot in the street by the Venetians, he who haddied despite Friar Mathieu's urgent efforts.

  "Then have the friar fetched at once, Count, if you please," saidd'Aquino.

  Simon shot a quick look at de Verceuil before he turned to leave. Thecardinal was staring at him, his long face a deep crimson and his eyesnarrowed to black slits. Their eyes met, and Simon felt almost as ifswords had clashed.

  Why was de Verceuil, who wanted the alliance, so angry?

  _I know. He wanted to be the authority on the Tartars. He wanted tocarry the day for the alliance all by himself._

  Hard to believe, Simon thought, but it seemed de Verceuil would rathersee his cause lost than have someone else win credit for its success.

  "I shall fetch him myself, Fra Tomasso," Simon said loudly.

  * * * * *

  To his relief, he found de Pirenne, expecting an outing in the country,with their two horses just outside the papal palace wall. Simonexplained his errand, and together they made the short ride through thestone-paved streets to the Franciscan hospital. There the FatherSuperior hastily summoned Friar Mathieu.

  De Pirenne relinquished his horse to the old Franciscan. Friar Mathieu'sbare skinny shanks, when he hiked up his robe to sit in the saddle,looked comical to Simon.

  "I knew the Holy Father had called a council today," said Friar Mathieu,"but I assumed Cardinal de Verceuil would send for me if I were needed."

  "Better to assume that he will do the opposite of what is needed," saidSimon. Friar Mathieu laughed and slapped Simon's shoulder.

  The pope's servants were passing flagons of wine and trays of meat tartswhen Simon and Friar Mathieu entered the hall. The arguments among theprelates had risen almost to a roar, but died down as men saw Simonescorting the small figure of Mathieu d'Alcon in his threadbare brownrobe toward the papal throne.

  Fra Tomasso spoke softly and respectfully to the elderly Franciscan.While de Verceuil glowered from the pews, Friar Mathieu stood before thepope, seeming as serene and self-possessed as if he were in a chapel byhimself.

  _And why should he not?_ thought Simon. After what Simon had heard aboutthe Tartars today, it seemed to him that anyone who could live for yearsamong them could face anything.

  D'Aquino quickly summarized what had been said so far. Hearing theclarity and simplicity with which the Dominican conveyed the arguments,Simon could see why he was thought of as a great teacher andphilosopher.

  "I must warn Your Excellencies," said Friar Mathieu, "that if you sent athousand men to journey among the Tartars, you would get a thousandreports, each very different. Also, you must keep in mind that theTartars are changing so rapidly that what was true of them a year agomay no longer be so today.

  "Italy, France, England, the Holy Roman Empire--all have existed forhundreds of years. The Church has carried on Christ's work for over athousand years. This city of Orvieto is even older. But a mere hundredyears ago the Tartars were tribes of herdsmen, even simpler than theHebrews of Moses' day. Now they rule the largest empire the world hasever seen."

  How could such a thing happen, Simon wondered. It seemed almostmiraculous. The Tartars must have had the help of God--or the devil.

  "Imagine a baby with the size and strength of a giant," Mathieu saidwith a smile. "That is what we are dealing with here. Such a giganticinfant might, in a moment of ungoverned anger, kill thousands of people,destroy all manner of precious objects, even sweep away whole cities.But an infant learns rapidly, and so it is with the Tartars. The newemperor, or khakhan as they call him, Kublai, reads and writes andconverses in many languages. And he does not destroy cities, he buildsthem. He is the brother of Hulagu, who sent the ambassadors here."

  Simon began to feel relieved. Friar Mathieu's calm words washed overhim, easing his fear that he was doing wrong by supporting the Tartaralliance.

  Fra Tomasso raised a pudgy finger. "If the Tartars are so powerful andare gaining in knowledge, does this not make them even more of a dangerto Christendom?"

  "It could," said the old Franciscan. "Let me say, Fra Tomasso--and HolyFather"--with a bow to the pope--"I can tell you only what I have seen,and then with God's help you must judge what is best for Christendom."

  Simon glanced over at the formidable David of Trebizond, who up to nowhad been the most expert witness on the Tartars. He stood stiffly,staring at d'Alcon.

  _There is a man sore vexed._

  And de Verceuil, who should have been pleased at having this help,looked just as vexed.

  _Friar Mathieu outshines the cardinal, and he is furious._

  "We have been told that the Tartars plan to conquer the whole world,"said d'Aquino.

  "For a time they thought they could," Friar Mathieu nodded. "But theworld surprised them by going on and on, and now their empire is so hugethey cannot hold it together. And they are such innocents, the nationsthey conquer are destroying them. They die in great numbers of thediseases of cities. In their prairie homeland they were not familiarwith the strong wine drunk by farmers and city folk, and now many oftheir leaders die untimely deaths of drink. Also, as they grow wealthierand more powerful, they fight over the spoils they have taken. When theyinvaded Europe they were still united, and they were able to throw alltheir strength into that war. But now they have broken into four almostindependent nations. So divided and extended, they are much less of adanger to Christendom."

  How could they hold their empire together, thought Simon, when they hadbeen nothing but ignorant herdsmen a generation ago? Mathieu's discoursemade sense.

  "So," said Fra Tomasso, "we are no longer dealing with a giant, but witha creature closer to our own size."

  "Yes," said Mathieu, "and the proof is that only a few years ago, forthe first time anywhere in the world, the Tartars lost a great battle.They were defeated by the Mamelukes of Egypt at a place called the Wellof Goliath in Syria. If Hulagu's army had won that battle, the Tartarswould be in Cairo, and they might be demanding our submission instead ofoffering us an alliance."

  "But you think it is safe for us to ally ourselves with them now?"

  Friar Mathieu looked sad and earnest. "If we and the Tartars make war onthe Mamelukes separately, we will be defeated separately. And then, assure as winter follows summer, the Mamelukes will take the few citiesand castles and bits of land our crusaders still hold in Outremer, andall those generations of blood sp
illed for God and the Holy Sepulchrewill have been in vain."

  Now Simon's relief was total. He felt like singing for joy. He was onthe right side after all.

  Friar Mathieu stopped speaking and there was silence in the hall.Gradually the prelates began talking. But there were no shrill outburstsfrom those who opposed the alliance. The voices of all were subdued,respectful.

  The pope beckoned Friar Mathieu to his chair and spoke a few words tohim, holding him by the arm. The old friar slowly lowered himself to hisknees, bent and kissed Urban's ring.

  Fra Tomasso called for silence, and Urban rose and blessed the assembly.Simon fell to his knees and crossed himself, thinking, _If I stay herevery long, I shall get enough of these papal blessings to absolve mefrom punishment for a lifetime of sin._

  Accompanied by d'Aquino and a phalanx of priests, the Holy Father leftthe hall by the side door. The arguments in the hall grew louder.

  As he rose to his feet, Simon saw de Verceuil hurrying toward the frontdoor, his small mouth tight with anger. A protective impulse made Simonlook about for Friar Mathieu.

  There he was, at the center of a small group of friars. Simon startedtoward him.

  A figure blocked his way.

  Even though he touched nothing palpable, he stopped as suddenly as if hehad run into a wall. And the face he was looking into was hard asgranite, eyes alight with the icy glow of diamonds. And yet it was not acold face. There was something burning deep inside there, a fire thisman kept hidden most of the time. That fire, Simon felt, could destroyanything in its path if allowed to blaze forth.

  David of Trebizond was silent, but as clearly as if he had spoken, Simonheard a voice say, _I know you, and you are my enemy. Beware._ Simonrealized that David had intended to meet him like this, intended Simonto seek the unspoken threat in his eyes.

  _He is trying to frighten me_, Simon thought, and was angered. He heldhis arm still, but he knew that if his sword had been buckled at hisside, nothing could have stopped him from reaching for it.

  Simon looked the broad-shouldered man up and down, taking his measure.David, half a head shorter than Simon, stood relaxed but imposing, hishands hanging at his sides. That a man could appear at once so composedand so challenging was unique.

  _This man is no trader. It is not just an accident that he has come hereto speak against the alliance._

  _Who and what is he--really?_

  Simon drew in a deep breath and said in gruff Italian, "Let me pass,Messere."

  Slowly, almost insolently, David drew aside. "Forgive me, Your Signory.I was studying your face." He spoke Italian with a strange accent. "Ithought I might have seen you a long time ago. But that is not possible,because a long time ago you would have been a child."

  _What does that mean? Is he trying to remind me that I am younger thanhe is?_

  "I am sure we have never met, Messere," Simon said coldly.

  "Quite right, Your Signory," said David. "But no doubt we will meetagain."

  Simon walked past the man from Trebizond. His back felt terriblyexposed, and he held his shoulders rigidly. He felt the enmity frombehind him as sharp as a dagger's point.