'Come then, ride beside me and I will tell you.'
SHF 3-11 syncI rode forward and positioned myself by his side in order to hear his words. He began to speak, saying,
'When
Pierre d'Antin held the
castle and garrison of Artigat, as I have previously told you, the
Lourdes men often travelled far afield of their fortress. I can tell you that they did not always have the advantage, for you see there the two castles of
Barbazan and
Mascaras which have always had strong garrisons of men-at-arms, not to mention the towns and garrisons full of
French troops at
Bagnères,
Tournay,
Montgaillard,
Salles,
Bénac,
Gourgue and
Tarbes. When these garrisons caught wind of
Lourdes men advancing towards
Toulouse or
Carcassonne, they united and laid in ambush for them, to annihilate them and carry off the plunder they were bringing back with them. Sometimes men were slain on both sides, and at others the
Lourdes men passed unscathed without meeting anyone.'
'It so happened once that
Arnauton de Saint-Coulombe, the
Mongat de Saint-Cornille and the
Bourc de Cardeilhac, with the command of a good one hundred and twenty lance departed from
Lourdes and advanced around the mountains, between the two rivers of the
Adour and the
Arros, until they reached
Toulouse. On their return they seized a large number of cattle, cows and oxen, pigs and sheep from the fields, and captured many good men of the plains, driving them all before them. It was brought to the attention of the captain of Tarbes, a Gascon squire and accomplished man-at-arms named
Arnaut de Bissette, how the
Lourdes men were marauding through the country.
He sent a summons to the
lord of Bénac, to
Anguerot de Lanne, Raymond's son, and to the
lord of Barbazan, saying that he wished to attack them. The knights and squires of
Bigorre backed his proposition and gathered together to form their army at
Tournay through which they generally passed. The
Bourc d'Espagne had also come from his garrison of
Saint-Béat. They were two hundred lance in all and sent their spies around the country to discover the state of the returning force of
Lourdes. Elsewhere, the
Lourdes garrison also had spies out to detect if any men-at-arms might be put in their path to detain them. Through their spies they each knew the size, strength and disposition of the other's force. When the
Lourdes men heard that the
French garrisons were riding out and lying in wait for them at
Tournay, they became anxious and held council in the fields as to how they might protect themselves and safely convey their pillage. They said,
"We will split up. One party consisting of varlets and pillagers will drive the plunder and take byroads through
Lande de Bourg, crossing the bridge at
Tournay and the
river Arros between
Tournay and
Mauvezin. The other party will ride in battle formation over the high peaks and make it seem as if they are returning by the
Pas de l'Arrêt below
Mascaras, but instead they will fall back between
Barbazan and
Montgaillard. If we can safely cross the river with all of our booty, and reach
Montgaillard together, we will no longer be at risk for we will soon be back at
Lourdes."
pb 213 v