THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE - outriders poetry project

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© 2009 Max Wickert
great miracle for this Bevis whom we are guarding in this tower! For it has been three years since he
came to this prison, and he has eaten nothing but bread and water. Certainly our gods would not
have done this for us.” And, consulting with one another, they decided to free him from prison and
to go away with him, saying: “He will make us all rich.” They decided that two of them should
lower themselves into the prison by a hempen rope, and they all swore to this plan.
One night, having found a hempen rope, two of them, clinging to it with their hands and feet,
supporting their feet in a loop and with a torch in hand, were lowered by their other companions
through the trap door at the top of the tower. When Bevis saw the torchlight and saw them, he
thought they had been sent to bind him and to bring him from the tower to be slain. At once he
snatched up the sword that he had found in the prison when he was first shut in it, and remained
quiet. When they were a hand’s breadth from the ground, Bevis gave a blow and killed them both,
and the light went out. Bevis said: “You two will not be binding me!” After a short wait, their
companions began to suspect that the two men had agreed with each other and played them false.
Therefore two others descended by the same means, and Bevis did with them as he had done with
the first pair. In this manner, he slew eight of them.
This is how things stood for about half an hour, when he heard those who remained above
beginning to say: “You traitors, who wish to trick us, since you wish to conspire with each other
rather than with us. But we shall raise the alarm.” Then Bevis understood what they had come to
do, and cleverly cried: “We’ll come up from here; pull us up.” And he took his sword in one hand
and grasped the rope with the other, and these two with great effort pulled him up, and he with
great effort arrived at the top of the tower. Having reached the summit, he slew the remaining two.
Then he tied the rope by which they had drawn him up to the side that faced the courtyard and
lowered himself down into it.