I acquainted myself with the knights and learnt through them of the great many events which had taken place in
Castile,
Navarre and
Portugal, and of which I will speak plainly and fully at a suitable time and place. I also saw a Gascon squire there called the
Bascot de Mauléon, who must have been about fifty-five years of age at that time and who looked an accomplished and courageous man-at-arms. He arrived in great state at the
Inn of the Moon where I was lodging with
Arnauton du Pin, leading a line of packhorses with him like some great baron, while he and his men were served on plates of silver. When I heard him named and saw the regard he was shown by the
count of Foix and all others, I asked
Sir Espan de Lyon,
'Is that not the
squire who relinquished the
castle of Tuzaguet when the
duke of Anjou was outside
Mauvezin?'
'Yes,' he replied, 'he is presently a fine man-at-arms and a great captain.'
On these words I sought to make his acquaintance, for he was lodged at my inn. I was aided in this by a Gascon cousin of his whom I knew very well named
Arnauton, who was the governor of Carlat in
Auvergne, and also by the
Bourc de Caupenne.
One night after suppertime we were speaking of arms, as one does. And as we sat by the fire, awaiting midnight when the
count of Foix was to dine, his
cousin set him talking about his life and the success in arms he had had in his time, both profit and loss, for he remembered them all full well. Then he asked me,
'Master
Jehan, have you anything in your history resembling what I am about to tell you?'
I replied, 'I do not know if I have or not. But tell me your tale, for I will gladly listen to you speak of arms.
For I cannot remember everything; nor can I possibly have been informed of everything.'
'True indeed,' replied the
squire.
Whereupon he began his tale as follows.
'The first time I bore arms was under the
Captal de Buch at the
battle of Poitiers. Good fortune landed me three prisoners that day, a knight and two squires, who brought me three thousand francs altogether. The following year I was in
Prussia with the
count of Foix and his cousin the
Captal, under whose command I was. On our return we found the then
duchess of Normandy, the
duchess of Orléans and a great many noble ladies and maidens at
Meaux in
Brie. The
Jacques had confined them in the market place at
Meaux and would have violated them had God not sent us there. They were completely at their mercy for there were more than ten thousand of them and the ladies were alone. We delivered them from this peril, for more than six thousand
Jacques were killed on the spot and they never rebelled again. At this time there was a truce between the
king of France and the
king of England, but the
king of Navarre was continuing the war on account of a personal quarrel he had with the
regent and kingdom of
France. The
count of Foix returned to his country, but my master the
Captal stayed on in the company of the
king of Navarre and in his pay. Then with help from others we waged a hard war on the kingdom of
France,
Picardy in particular. We captured many towns and castles in the diocese of
Beauvais and the diocese of
Amiens. We were lords of the fields and rivers in those days, and all of us made large sums of money.
pb 225 r