Chapter 39 chapter Five

The duke did not object to duels, because according to the customs of the time, he had no right to object.He merely persuaded Rotgier to write to the Grand Master and Siegfried de Lauf, saying that it was he himself who had first thrown the gauntlet on the knights of Majur, and therefore wanted to fight with Jurand's. Son-in-law, Jurand's son-in-law had challenged him before. The crusader knight also explained to the grand master that if he thought he was fighting with others without permission, then he did so for the honor of the knight order, so as not to arouse malicious suspicion and bring shame to the knight order; Ji Ai is ready to wash away this shame with her own blood at any time.Immediately after the letter was written, he sent a coachman to the frontier, and from there to the Marburg Society at a post station; .

By this time the snow in the courtyard was shoveled down firmly and dusted, so that the duelists would not trip or slip on the slippery ground.The entire castle was tense. The knights and ladies-in-waiting were so excited that no one had slept on the eve of the duel.They say that a duel on horseback, whether with a spear, or even with a sword, always ends in injury; but a duel on foot, especially with those dreadful axes, always ends in death.Everyone was concerned about Zbyszko, but those who had been particularly friendly to him or to Danusia were all the more worried about him when they thought of the reputation and martial arts of the Teutonic that people were talking about.Many ladies of court spent the night in church.There, too, Zbyszko made his confession to Father Wischenek.As soon as they saw his almost childlike face, they said to each other: "Oh, he is a boy! How can he put his head on the German axe?" And they begged God to help him all the more fervently. .But when he got up at daybreak, walked through the chapel, and went into the hall to put on his armor, they were confident again, for although Zbyszko's appearance was indeed like a child, his body was very large and strong, and he could be seen in the hall. Think that he is an outstanding person, even if the opponent is extremely powerful, he can also deal with it.

The duel was about to take place in the verandahed courtyard of the castle.When daylight came, the Duke and Duchess arrived with their children and sat in the central seat between the colonnades, which had a good view of the courtyard.Beside them sat some of the principal courtiers, dames and knights.Every corner of the verandah was crowded with people: servants gathered behind the snow-covered wall, some hugged the pillars, and some even climbed onto the roof.Those below were whispering to each other: "May God not let our warriors be defeated by the Germans!" Although it was cold and damp, it was sunny; looking up, the sky was full of crows, who used to live on roofs and towers, and now, at the unusual noise, flapped their wings desperately, Hovering over the castle.Although the weather was cold, people were still sweating with excitement.At the sound of the horn announcing the duelist's presence, everyone's hearts beat like a hammer.

The two pairs of duelists entered through the side doors on both sides of the arena and stopped beside the fence.Every audience held their breath, thinking in their hearts that soon two souls would fly to the gate of the Heavenly Court, and what would be left on the snow would be two corpses.The lips and cheeks of the women turned pale and blue at the thought; the eyes of the men gazed at the two rivals as if on a rainbow, for each tried to predict which side, by the pose and armament of each, will prevail. The crusader knight was wearing a sky-blue chest, and the armor on his thighs and the helmet with the faceplate on were also of a similar color.The helmet has a large ornate tuft of peacock feathers.Zbyszko's chest.From the waist and back he was clad in the splendid Milanese armor which he had wrested from the Frisians.On his head he wore a helmet with a hollow face, but without feathers; on his feet were high boots of buffalo leather.Both knights carried heraldic shields on their left shoulders; the crusader's shield had a chessboard on top and three lions on hind legs; Zbyszko's shield had A chunky horseshoe.In their right hands they each held a broad, large, formidable ax with a black oak handle, longer than a man's arm.Following them were Hlaval (Zbyszko called him Grovats) and Van Krist, both in dark iron armor, and also carrying axes and shields: Van Krist Lister's shield has a forsythia plant painted on it; the Czech's shield is the "Pomeran" type of shield, with only one difference: it does not depict an ax on the head of a bison, It was a short sword halfway through the eye of the bison.

The horn sounded for the second time, and when the horn sounded for the third time, according to the agreement, the two sides would fight each other.Now there was only a small patch of ashes separating them, and over there Death hovered like an ominous bird.Before the third horn sounded, Rotgier went up to the prince's family in the middle of the colonnade, raised his helmeted head, and shouted loudly, which could be heard from all corners of the cloister. : "I ask God, you, Your Highness, and the entire knight world here to bear witness that I am innocent of the blood that is about to be shed."

After hearing his words, the people became nervous again, because the crusader knight was so confident that he would win.But the simple-hearted Zbyszko turned to his Czech squire and said: "That Teuton's boasting is disgusting; it's better to wait until I'm dead, and I'm still alive. It just so happens that the braggart still has a tuft of peacock feathers in his helmet, when I woke up I swore to take their three tufts of peacock feathers, and then I swore to count them with two hands. May God allow me to keep it!" "My lord..." said the Czech, stooping to pick up a handful of ashes from the snow in both hands so that the handle of the ax would not slip in his hands: "maybe Christ will allow me to get rid of that dirty Prussian at once, And if I can't come and beat the Teuton then, at least I can put the handle of this ax between his knees and knock him head-on."

"Don't do that!" cried Zbyszko hastily. "It will only embarrass you and me." At this moment, the horn was blown for the third time.As soon as the two squires heard the sound of the horn, they rushed to complement each other quickly and vigorously, but the two knights came slowly, leisurely, decently and solemnly to fight the first round. Little attention was paid to these two attendants, but those experienced men and servants could see at a glance how much advantage Hlavar had on his side.The German had a heavy axe, and the shield was heavy.The two legs exposed under the shield were very long, but not as strong and flexible as the strong and tightly bound legs of the Czech.

And Halaffa was approaching so menacingly that Van Krist had to back away almost from the start.Everyone immediately saw the situation: one side was about to attack the other side like a storm and attack the other side like lightning, and the other side knew that death was imminent, so it seemed that they had to fight everywhere to delay the terrible moment as much as possible. arrival. And indeed it is.The cowhide king who had always fought against others only when he had to, now realized that this terrifying giant-like opponent should have been avoided by him long ago, and he really shouldn't have said those outrageous words casually Come to fight; he now feels that every blow of his opponent can kill a cow, and he has completely lost his courage.He almost forgot that it was not enough to block these blows with his back, he had to fight back.He saw the ax flash like lightning over his head, each flash he regarded as a final fatal blow.Holding the shield up, he couldn't help closing his eyes in fright, worrying whether the pair of eyes would be able to open after they were closed.He himself had never taken the initiative to strike, and he didn't dare to expect to be able to strike the opponent. He just raised the shield high and high, covering the top of his head and protecting his head.

At last he felt tired, but the Czech's blows became stronger and stronger.Just as a tall pine tree fell in great chunks at the blow of the farmer, so the armor of the German squire fell off at the blow of the Czech.The upper edge of the shield was bent and smashed, and the armor on the right shoulder fell to the ground together with the bloody belt that had been chopped off.Van Krist's hair stood on end—he was terrified.He used all his strength to analyze the Czech shield once or twice; at last, knowing that he could not resist the terrible physical strength of his opponent, and felt that he could only save himself by surprise, he suddenly exhausted all his strength, including the weight of his armor. He threw himself at Halava's legs.Both sides fell to the ground, trying to overpower each other, rolling and struggling in the snow.But in a short while the Czech had his adversary under him; it took him little effort to subdue Van Krist's dying struggle; A short, three-bladed "Mitrilicodia".

"Forgive me!" gasped Van Krist, looking up into the Czech's eyes. But the Czech made no answer, but leaning on him with his whole body so as to reach his neck, he thrust his sword through the strap of the helmet which was fastened under the chin, and stabbed the unfortunate man twice in the throat. , the blade went straight into the center of the chest. Van Krist's eyeballs were sunken in their sockets, and he flapped his hands and feet on the snow as if trying to shake off the ashes in the snow, and after a while he lay there stiff and motionless, only the The scarlet, foamy lips were still panting, and the whole body was soaked in pools of blood.

The Czech stood up, wiped "Mitrikadia" on the German's clothes, then raised his axe, leaned on the handle, and watched intently the scene between his master and Master Rotgier. A harder, more tenacious fight. Western knights have long been accustomed to living a life of comfort and luxury, while the nobles of Lesser Poland, Greater Poland and even Masovia still live a harsh and hard-working life, so even foreigners and enemies cannot but admire Their physical strength and that spirit to stand all hardships, long or short.And now it has been proved again: Zbyszko was as physically superior to the Teutons as his squire was to Van Krist, although it was also seen that the young man was somewhat inferior in chivalry to his adversary. . Speaking of which, Zbyszko's luck was not bad, for he chose to fight with an axe, a weapon different from fencing.If you were to fight with swords, you would have to know how to cut, stab, and block, and that would give the German a great advantage.Having said that, both Zbyszko and the audience could see from Rotgier's movements and ability to use the shield that this was an experienced opponent who should not be taken lightly, and it was obviously not the first time such a decisive battle had been fought. of.Every time Zbyszko struck with his ax, Rotgiers blocked it with his shield, and when Zbyszko's ax struck hard on the shield, he slightly drew back the shield, In this way, even the most powerful blow is useless; it can neither split nor shatter the smooth surface of the shield.Sometimes Rotgier retreats and sometimes attacks, his movements are serene but so fast that it is impossible to see clearly. The prince was very worried for Zbyszko, and the faces of the audience were gloomy; they felt that the German was deliberately fooling his opponent.Once, when Zbyszko struck with an axe, he didn't even use his shield to stop him, but stepped aside to let him strike through the air.This was the most terrifying thing, because Zbyszko might lose his balance and fall, and he would not be able to escape his doom.The Czech who stood by Van Krist's body, seeing this, also felt worried for his master, and said to himself: "My God! If my master falls, I must Hit this German in the shoulder-blade with the hook of my axe, and kill him." However, Zbyszko did not fall down, because his legs were strong and wide apart, so that even when he turned his whole body, he could support the weight of his whole body. Rotgier saw this right away, but the audience mistakenly thought he had underestimated his opponent.On the contrary, in the first few strokes, although he was able to retract the shield very deftly, his hands pinched the shield almost stiffly. From then on, he knew that this young man was not easy to deal with. This duel is bound to drag on for a long time, which is very dangerous.He was expecting Zbyszko to break free and fall on the snow, but he didn't expect it, and he immediately became uneasy.Behind his steel visor he saw the tightly held nostrils and mouth of his adversary, and sometimes his glistening eyes, and he said to himself that the lad, with all his rage, would be so desperate, but so rational, Just chop madly, regardless of self-defense.Unfortunately, he was wrong again.Zbyszko did not know how to turn sideways to avoid blows, but he did not forget his shield, so when he raised the ax he never exposed himself needlessly.He obviously doubled his concentration; seeing that his opponent is experienced and skilled, instead of acting recklessly, he concentrates his thoughts and is more careful; his blows are all considered, and you can only hold them in anger. Only by being calm can you win, and being irritable is not enough. Rotgier, who was battle-hardened and experienced many great battles and duels, knew by experience that some men, like birds of prey, are blessed with the gift of fighting, with all the feats that others need years of training to acquire.At the same time he saw that it was just such a man he was dealing with.As soon as he fought this young man, he knew that this young man was full of the momentum of a hawk, and he only regarded his opponent as his prey, and he was bent on grabbing him in his sharp claws.In spite of his own physical strength, he also found that Zbyszko's physical strength was still inferior; if he was exhausted before he had time to make a decisive attack, he had less experience with this one.A duel by a young man who is not to be underestimated will surely end him.After thinking about it, he decided to use as little strength as possible, to protect his body tightly with the shield, not to advance or retreat too quickly, but to concentrate all his strength in preparation for a decisive attack, and he waited for this opportunity. This terrible battle lasted longer than usual.A deathly silence reigned in the corridor.The only sound could be the clink of the ax tip or the blade on the shield, or the slash of the blade.For the duke and duchess, knights and courtiers, the scene was nothing new, yet something akin to dread gripped everyone like iron pincers.Everyone understood that in this duel, neither duelist was trying to show his strength, skill, or courage. There was a supernatural resentment, despair, and an insurmountable, stubborn and deep hatred.One side is for countless grievances, love and endless sorrow; the other side is for the honor and deep hatred of the entire knight order; both sides wait for the judgment of God on this battlefield. The dim winter morning light gradually brightened, the gray mist receded, and the sun shone on the sky-blue breastplate of the crusader knight, and also on Zbyszko's silver armor made in Milan.The morning bell was rang in the chapel, and at the sound of the bell a flock of crows flew up from the roof of the castle again, flapping their wings and screaming harshly, as if seeing the bloodstains on the snow and the stiffness. overjoyed with dead bodies.While fighting, Rotgier looked at the corpse once or twice, and suddenly felt very lonely.All the eyes of the enemy looked at him, and the prayers, wishes, and whispered supplications of the women were for Zbyszko.Although he firmly believed that the attendant would not attack him from behind, nor would he kill him unfaithfully, but this terrible body in front of him was so close to him that he couldn't help being terrified, just like people who see that they have not been imprisoned. Like a wolf, a bear, or a bison in a pen.He couldn't get rid of this feeling, especially when he saw the Czech, who wanted to watch the battle carefully, kept moving, going sideways, behind, and in front, always following the two of them. A belligerent--while looking down at him savagely through the visor of the iron helmet, and sometimes raising his bloody ax a little as if involuntarily; The crusader knight was finally exhausted.He struck Zbyszko's right arm twice, one after the other, short and terrible, but was parried back by the shield so violently that the ax in Rotgier's hand snapped. When he was shocked, he had to step back suddenly to avoid falling; since then, he has backed up step by step.In the end, not only was his strength exhausted, but his calmness and patience were also exhausted.Seeing him stepping back, the audience couldn't help letting out a triumphant cry from the bottom of their hearts, which made him angry and desperate.The ax chopped more and more densely.The tips of the eyebrows on both sides were dripping with juice, and they couldn't stop panting from clenched teeth.The audience could no longer be quiet, and at every moment men and women shouted: "Cut it! Kill him! . . . God decides! God punishes! God help you!" The Duke shook his hand several times to silence everyone, but he couldn't stop them!The uproar grew louder, children cried in the cloister, and at last, right next to the Duchess, a young woman cried out through tears: "Avenge Danusia, Zbyszko! Avenge Danusia!" Zbyszko knew that he was acting solely for Danusia's sake.He believed that the Teuton was an accomplice when they captured Danusia, and that he was now fighting him to avenge her.It's just that because of his youth and his love for fighting, all he thinks about in a duel is fighting.But this sudden cry reminded him suddenly of Danusia's disappearance and her suffering.Love, grief, and revenge made all his blood boil.There was a sudden pain in his heart, so he threw himself into the frantic battle with all his heart.The Teuton could no longer hold back, could no longer escape the dreadful chop that struck like lightning again and again.Zbyszko thrust his shield against his own with superhuman strength, so that the German's arms suddenly stiffened and fell limply... Rotgier flinched back in horror. , but at this moment, the light of the ax flashed in front of his eyes again, and the ax hit his right shoulder like a thunderbolt. The audience heard only a mournful wail: "Jesus!"—then Rotgier took another step back and fell on his back with a thud.Immediately there was a noise and humming in the corridor, as if the bees in the bee farm were heated by the sun, stirred up, and flew out of the nest in swarms.The knights ran down the steps in groups, and the servants jumped over the snow wall, scrambling to see the corpse.Everywhere shouted: "This is God's judge... Jurand has a successor! Glory be to him, thank God! This is the hero of the axe!" And the rest cried: "Look, what a marvel! Jurand himself could not have cut better than this." A crowd of curious people stood around the body of Rotgier, who was lying on his back, with a face as free as snow, with his mouth open, and a bloody arm that was terrible. The ground was split from the neck to the armpit, and the lotus root hung there like a broken thread. So people said again: "He was so high-spirited, defiant, and strutting just now, but now he can't even move a finger." As they talked, some people admired his figure, because he occupies an important position in the duel field. Some people are admiring his peacock feather hat decoration, which is colorful and fantastic against the snow light; others are admiring his valuable armor.But at that moment Hlava the Czech and two of Zbyszko's servants came and were about to strip the body of the dead man, so the curious crowd gathered around Zbyszko, praising him and lifting him up to heaven, because They had reason to believe that his fame would honor the entire Majur and Polish knighthood.At this point someone took his shield and ax to lighten his load, and Mrokotei of Mokashif unhooked the young knight's helmet, and placed a crimson cloak on his wet head. Cloth cap. Zbyszko stood there like a clay sculpture, gasping for breath with difficulty, the anger in his eyes had not been completely extinguished, his face was exhausted and pale after he had finished his work, and his whole body was trembling slightly from excitement and fatigue.They took him by the arm and led him to the Duke and Duchess, who were waiting for him by the fire in a warm room.Zbyszko knelt down before them; and when the priest Vishoniak had blessed him and prayed for eternal repose for the souls of the two dead, the prince embraced the young knight and said: "Almighty God has judged between you both and directed your hand, for which God must be praised. Amen!" Then he turned to Chevalier de Rausch and the others and said: "I invite you, foreign knights, and all of you who are present, to be witnesses of what I myself have seen, that they dueled according to law and custom. As the 'Judgement of God' everywhere enforces As in the case, this duel was in the manner of a knight, and conducted in a pious manner." The warriors of Masovia were all in agreement; and when the duke's words were translated to de Rausch, de Rausch rose to declare that he not only wanted to prove that all this was done in chivalrous and pious fashion, but that If anyone in the court of Marlborough, or any other duke, dares to doubt it, he, de Rausch, must immediately challenge him to a duel in the tournament field, whether on foot or on horseback, whether he be a An ordinary knight, or a giant, or even a wizard with magical powers beyond Mao Ling. At that moment Grand Duchess Anna Danu, as Zbyszko embraced her knees, bent over him and said: "Why don't you feel happy? Thank God joyfully, because since your request has been fulfilled by His mercy, He will not abandon you in the future, and will definitely guide you to happiness." But Zbyszko replied: "How can I be happy, good lady? God has given me the victory over the Teuton and my vengeance on him, but Danusia has disappeared and is still not here, she is still far away from me." .” "The most obstinate enemies, Dunwiert, Godfried, and Rotgier, are all dead," replied the Duchess. "It is said that Siegfried, though cruel, was a little more just than them, You should at least praise the mercy of God for this. Mr. de Lauche said that if the crusader died, he would take his body back and immediately go to Marburg to report to the Grand Master himself. To return Danusia. Of course they dare not disobey the orders of the Grand Master." "God bless Herr de Rausch," said Zbyszko, "and I will go up to Marburg with him." But these words startled the princess, and it seemed to her that Zbyszko was about to enter the Masovia forest, where the winter wolves swarmed, with his bare hands. "Why go?" she cried. "Going to die? When you get there, neither de Rausch nor the letters written by Rotgier before the duel can help you. Instead of saving others, you destroy yourself." But Zbyszko stood up, crossed his hands on his chest, and said: "I will swear to God, I will go to Marburg, and I will not be afraid to cross the sea and the ocean. May Christ bless me, I will Find her, find me with my last breath, till I die. It's better for me to fight the Germans, fight with them, than that helpless orphan moaning in the dungeon. Oh, it's good Much better! Much better!" He spoke this, as he always spoke of Danusia, with such agitation and pain that he suddenly stopped, as if someone had strangled him. The Duchess knew that there was nothing to change his mind, and that if anyone tried to stop him, he could only be chained and thrown in the dungeon. But Zbyszko could not leave immediately.Although the knights at that time could act at will, he could not break the general knight customs: the victor must stay in the duel all day long, until midnight the next day, in order to show that he is always in the duel. and said that if the friends and relatives of the defeated man challenged him, he was ready to accept it. Even whole armies observe the custom, so that they often lose the advantage which might be gained by advancing quickly after a victory.Zbyszko had no desire to evade this iron law, so after eating something, he put on his armor again, and lingered in the castle square until late at night, waiting for the improbable presence under the cloudy winter sky. enemy. At midnight, when the herald finally trumpeted his absolute victory, Mikolai of Drugolas invited him to supper, and at the same time to confer with the prince.