THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE - outriders poetry project

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© 2009 Max Wickert
on I only wish you as the greatest of my friends. I well know that all the nobles in the world ought
to kneel to you and render you homage as their emperor and universal lord, but my ancestors never
did homage to any man in the world, nor held their lands from anyone but God. I therefore have
no wish to disgrace my lineage, but desire to maintain and honor their custom.” Charles answered:
“We do not require this of you. You are the best duke in Christendom.” But in his heart, Charles
was saying: “If ever I return to France, this insult shall be dealt with in a different manner; but now
is not the time to give a different answer.”
Then Gerard showed great amity to Flor of Hungary, who was his nephew, the son of his sister, and
Charles’s cousin on his mother’s side. Flor then prayed Charles for leave to depart with his queen.
The queen also requested that Charles grant her the boon of letting Balant Veltachin accompany her
husband. King Charles was very pleased to do so and said to Balant: “I commend this young king
to you. See that you counsel him well.” He endowed Balant with the domain of a great duke who
had died in Aspramont, and he thanked Charles heartily and took his leave.
No sooner had the King of Hungary departed, when a messenger came to Gerard of the Thicket
with the tidings that Saracens had appeared in Provençe and throughout Burgundy in such great
multitudes that the covered all the mountains and plains. (This was the army of Troyan, King
Anglant’s son.) If he did come at once to its help, Vienne would shortly be lost. When Gerard
heard this news, he told the messenger to say nothing, for he did not wish Charles to know of this.
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At the arrival of the news from Burgundy, Gerard forbade the messenger to speak of it. He did so
because of a sudden thought: if Charles came to defend his lands, he would be able to say that,
because he had saved them, men would think that he should receive homage. But when Lord Clare