Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Volume 26 December, 1880., Various None [best books to read for beginners .txt] 📗

Delay To Challenge Quinones,  Since He

Had Remained Uninjured; And,  As They Had The Right To Demand Horses And

Arms,  They Chose Those Which Quinones Had Used In The Last Joust. The

Chronicler Adds: "It Seems To Me That They Did Not Ask It So Much For

Their Honor As For The Safety Of Their Skins." The Judges Decided That

Quinones Was Not Bound To Give His Own Armor,  As There Were Other Suits

As Good: Nevertheless,  He Complied,  And Sent In addition Four Horses To

Choose From. He Was Also Anxious To Joust With Them,  But Lope De

Estuniga Refused To Yield His Place,  And Cited The Chapter Of The

Regulations Which Provided That No One Should Single Out His Adversary.

Quinones Offered Him A Very Fine Horse And A Gold Chain Worth Three

Hundred Doubloons,  But Estuniga Answered That He Would Not Yield His

Turn Although He Were Offered A City.

 

At Vespers Estuniga And Juan Fabla Were Armed And The Judges Examined

Their Arms,  And Although Fabla Had The Better Horse,  They Let It Pass.

At The Sound Of The Trumpet Estuniga Entered The Lists Magnificently

Attired,  And Attended By Two Pages In armor Bearing A Drawn Sword And A

Lance. Juan Fabla Followed Immediately,  And At The Given Signal They

Attacked Each Other Lance In Rest. Fabla Encountered Estuniga In The

Left Arm,  Tearing Off His Armor,  But Neither Of Them Broke His Lance. In

The Four Following Courses They Failed To Encounter. In The Sixth Fabla

Encountered His Adversary In The Breastplate,  Breaking His Lance In The

Middle,  And The Head Remained Sticking In The Armor. They Encountered In

The Seventh Course,  And Estuniga'S Servant,  Who Was In The Lists,  Cried

Out,  "At Him! At Him!" The Judges Commanded His Tongue To Be Cut Out,

But At The Intercession Of Those Present The Sentence Was Commuted To

Thirty Blows And Imprisonment. They Failed To Encounter In The Eighth

Course,  But In The Ninth Estuniga Broke His Lance On Fabla'S Left Arm:

The Latter Failed To Encounter,  And Received A Great Reverse. After This

They Ran Nine Courses Without Encountering,  But In The Nineteenth

Estuniga Met Fabla In The Plastron,  And His Lance Slipped Off On To His

Helmet,  But Did Not Break,  Although It Pierced The Plastron And The Iron

Remained Sticking In It. By This Time It Had Grown So Dark That The

Judges Could Not Distinguish The Good From The Bad Encounters,  And For

This Reason They Decided That The Combat Was Finished The Same As Though

Three Lances Had Been Broken. Estuniga Invited Fabla To Sup With

Quinones,  "And At Table There Were Many Knights,  And After Supper They

Danced."

 

That Same Day There Arrived At The Pass Nine Knights From Aragon,  Who

Swore That They Were Gentlemen Without Reproach. Their Spurs Were Taken

From Them,  According To The Established Custom,  And Hung Up In The

Judges' Stand Until They Should Enter The Lists.

 

The Succeeding Combats Were But Repetitions,  With Trifling Variations,

Of Those Just Described. From Dawn,  When The Trumpet Sounded For Battle,

Until The Evening Grew So Dark That The Judges Could Not Distinguish The

Combatants,  The Defenders Maintained The Pass Against All Comers With

Bravery And Honor.

 

Volume 26 Title 1 (Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science) Pg 120

The Third Day There Passed Near Orbigo Two Ladies,  And The Judges Sent

The King-At-Arms And The Herald To Ascertain Whether They Were Of Noble

Birth And Provided With Knights To Represent Them In The Lists And Win

Them A Passage Through Orbigo,  And Also To Request Them To Give Up Their

Right-Hand Gloves. The Ladies Answered That They Were Noble And Were On

A Pilgrimage To Santiago; Their Names Were Leonora And Guiomar De La

Vega; The Former Was Married And Accompanied By Her Husband; The Latter

Was A Widow. The King-At-Arms Then Requested Their Gloves To Be Kept As

A Pledge Until Some Knight Should Ransom Them. Frances Davio,  An

Aragonese Knight,  Immediately Offered To Do Combat For The Ladies. The

Husband Of Dona Leonora Said That He Had Not Heard Of This Adventure,

And Was Unprepared To Attempt It Then,  But If The Ladies Were Allowed To

Retain Their Gloves,  As Soon As He Had Accomplished His Pilgrimage He

Would Return And Enter The Lists For Them. The Gloves,  However,  Were

Retained And Hung In The Judges' Stand. The Matter Caused Some

Discussion,  And Finally The Judges Decided That The Gloves Should Not Be

Kept,  For Fear It Should Seem That The Defenders Of The Pass Were

Interfering With Pilgrims,  And Also On Account Of Juan De La Vega'S

Chivalrous Response. So The Gloves Were Sent On To Astorga To Be

Delivered To Their Owners,  And Juan De La Vega Was Absolved From All

Obligation To Ransom Them,  "And There Was Strife Among Many Knights As

To Who Should Do Battle For The Sisters."

 

On The 16Th Of July,  Frances Davio Jousted With Lope De Estuniga,  And

When The Trial Of Arms Was Ended With Great Honor To Both,  Davio Swore

Aloud,  So That Many Knights Heard Him,  "That Never In The Future Would

He Have A Love-Affair With A Nun,  For Up To That Time He Had Loved One,

And It Was For Her Sake That He Had Come To The Pass; And Any One Who

Had Known It Could Have Challenged Him As An Evil-Doer,  And He Could Not

Have Defended Himself." Whereat Delena,  The Notary And Compiler Of The

Original Record Of The Pass,  Exclaims,  "To Which I Say That If He Had

Had Any Christian Nobleness,  Or Even The Natural Shame Which Leads Every

One To Conceal His Faults,  He Would Not Have Made Public Such A

Sacrilegious Scandal,  So Dishonorable To The Religious Order And So

Injurious To Christ."

 

The Same Day The King-At-Arms And Herald Announced To Quinones That A

Gentleman Named Vasco De Barrionuevo,  Servant Of Ruy Diaz De Mendoza,

Mayor-Domo Of The King,  Had Come To Make Trial Of His Arms,  But As He

Was Not A Knight He Prayed Quinones To Confer That Honor On Him.

Quinones Consented,  And Commanded Him To Wait At The Entrance Of The

Lists,  Whither He And The Nine Defenders Went On Foot Accompanied By A

Great Crowd. Quinones Asked Vasco If He Desired To Become A Knight,  And

On His Answering In The Affirmative He Drew His Gilt Sword And Said,

"Sir,  Do You Promise To Keep And Guard All The Things Appertaining To

The Noble Order Of Chivalry,  And To Die Rather Than Fail In any One Of

Them?" He Swore That He Would Do So,  And Quinones,  Striking Him On The

Helmet With His Naked Sword,  Said,  "God Make Thee A Good Knight And Aid

Thee To Live And Act As Every Good Knight Should Do!" After This

Ceremony The New Knight Entered The Lists With Pedro De Los Rios,  And

They Ran Seven Courses And Broke Three Lances.

 

On The Festival Of St. James (July 25Th) Quinones Entered The Lists

Without Three Of The Principal Pieces Of His Armor--Namely,  The Visor Of

His Helmet,  The Left Vantbrace And Breastplate--And Said,  "Knights And

Judges Of This Passo Honroso,  Inasmuch As I Announced Through Monreal,

The King'S Herald,  That On St. James'S Day There Would Be In This Place

Three Knights,  Each Without A Piece Of His Armor,  And Each Ready To Run

Volume 26 Title 1 (Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science) Pg 121

Two Courses With Every Knight Who Should Present Himself That Day,  Know,

Therefore,  That I,  Suero De Quinones,  Alone Am Those Three Knights,  And

Am Prepared To Accomplish What I Proclaimed." The Judges After A Short

Deliberation Answered That They Had No Authority To Permit Him To Risk

His Life In Manifest Opposition To The Regulations Which He Had Sworn To

Obey,  And Declared Him Under Arrest,  And Forbade All Jousting That Day,

As It Was Sunday And The Festival Of St. James. Quinones Felt Greatly

Grieved At Their Decision,  And Told Them That "In The Service Of His

Lady He Had Gone Into Battle Against The Moors In The Kingdom Of Granada

With His Right Arm Bared,  And God Had Preserved Him,  And Would Do So

Now." The Judges,  However,  Were Inflexible And Refused To Hear Him.

 

The Last Day Of July,  Late In The Afternoon,  There Arrived At The Pass

A Gentleman Named Pedro De Torrecilla,  A Retainer Or Squire Of Alfonso

De Deza,  But No One Was Willing To Joust With Him,  On The Ground That He

Was Not An Hidalgo. The Generous Lope De Estuniga,  Hearing This,  Offered

To Dub Him A Knight,  But Torrecilla Thanked Him And Said He Could Not

Afford To Sustain In becoming Manner The Honor Of Chivalry,  But He Would

Make Good The Fact That He Was An Hidalgo. Lope De Estuniga Was So Much

Pleased By This Discreet Answer That He Believed Him Truly Of Gentle

Blood,  And To Do Him Honor Entered The Lists With Him. It Was,  However,

So Late That They Had Only Time To Run Three Courses,  And Then The

Judges Pronounced Their Joust Finished. Torrecilla Esteemed So Highly

The Fact That So Renowned A Knight As Lope De Estuniga Should Have

Condescended To Enter The Lists With Him That He Swore It Was The

Greatest Honor He Had Ever Received In His Life,  And He Offered Him His

Services. Estuniga Thanked Him,  And Affirmed That He Felt As Much

Honored By Having Jousted With Him As Though He Had Been An Emperor.[7]

 

A Few Days After The Above Events An Incident Occurred Which Shows How

Contagious The Example Of Quinones And His Followers Was,  And To What

Amusing Imitations It Led. A Lombard Trumpeter Made His Appearance At

The Pass,  And Said That He Had Been To Santiago On A Pilgrimage,  And

While There Had Heard That There Was At The Passo Honroso A Trumpeter Of

The King Of Castile Named Dalmao,  Very Celebrated In His Line,  And He

Had Gone Thirty Leagues Out Of His Way In Order To Have A Trial Of Skill

With Him; And He Offered To Stake A Good Trumpet Against One Of

Dalmao'S. The Latter Took The Lombard'S Trumpet And Blew So Loud And

Skilfully That The Italian,  In Spite Of All His Efforts,  Was Obliged To

Confess Himself Conquered,  And Gave Up His Trumpet. |

 

So Far,  The Encounters,  If Not Entirely Bloodless,  Had Not Been

Attended By Any Fatal Accident. The Defenders Had All Been Wounded,  More

Or Less Severely: Once Quinones Concealed The Fact Until The End Of The

Joust In Which His Antagonist Had Been Badly Hurt,  And It Was Only When

The Knights Were Disarmed That It Was Discovered That Quinones Was

Bleeding Profusely. On Another Occasion His Helmet Was Pierced By His

Adversary'S Lance,  The Fragment Of Which He Strove In Vain To Withdraw.

All Believed Him Mortally Wounded,  But He Cried,  "It Is Nothing! It Is

Nothing! Quinones! Quinones!" And Continued As Though Nothing Had

Occurred. After Three Encounters The Judges Descended From Their Stands

And Made Him Remove His Helmet To See Whether He Was Wounded. When It

Was Found That He Was Not,  "Every One Thought That God Had Miraculously

Delivered Him." Quinones Was Also Wounded In His Encounter With Juan De