The TOSCGA -- Torrechiavenna of Snow-Capped Grisons AAR (Old Gods)

[fabiolundiense]

PIETRO TORRECHIAVENNA the ABLE

KING OF ITALY, KING OF CROATIA (continued)



Although I had not considered Niccolò strong enough to administer or lead anything as complex as the kingdom of Italy-Croatia as my successor, he was still my beloved son. After his passing, I consoled myself with the company of my grandson Ugo, the very portrait of kindness, eager to saddle a horse and to wield a sword like a true knight, but also sharp enough to recognise the value of diplomacy and courtly etiquette.

On the advice of one of my courtiers, I also dallied with the art of verse. It seemed on occasion that I could pour out my heart on the subjects of loss, the passage of time, the vanity of grandeur. At other times, the words to which I resorted to express my thoughts seemed pathetically inadequate to the task I set them.

In the Year of Grace 1094, my Chancellor’s clandestine mission brought forth the hoped-for fruit. I resolved to act as swiftly as possible. The first order of business was to secure approval from my vassals for concentrating more administrative functions for running the realm’s business at my Court. Once they had approved that measure, it was time to prepare for war.

With the assurance of assistance from my allies Scotland and York, I left the brunt of the war to my Commanders. Other matters were milling around in my mind. Not least of which was the Pope John VIII’s call to arms for yet one more attempt to liberate Jerusalem. If I had known before this what the Pope had been planning, I would have delayed the conquest of Schwyz. Infinitely more glorious would have been the conquest of the Holy Land... for the second time ! But if Burgundy capitulated quickly, methought it might still be possible to sail across the Mare Nostrum....

Aside from that, another idea refused to abandon me. I had agreed to a ten-year truce with the Duke of Friuli. In consequence, there was a risk of religious decadence in his three provinces. It appalled me to imagine any part of Italy at the mercy of an anti-Christ. On top of that, there was evidence that he was plotting against my own son, and that another heretic was plotting against my vassal Spoleto.

I summoned the Spymaster. “The truce with Friuli is an insult to common sense,” I said. “I wish it to end.”

“Sire, thy wish is my command.”

Heaven inspired my Commanders and their troops. One encounter in particular, the Battle of Auriate, hastened the war against Burgundy towards a satisfactory conclusion. When three enemy fortresses fell to our men, Burgundy sued for peace. The province of Schwyz changed hands. I received it into the Crown Demesne.

“Allow your men one more day and night of rest,” I wrote to my Commanders. “Then proceed at once to Genoa. Ye shall embark for Jerusalem !”

The conquest of Schwyz had required little more than a year. Over the same period of time, a host of Crusader princes had made spectacular progress, defeating the weary fighters of the Sultan of Egypt time after time. Two French contingents, that of the Duchesse de Bretagne and that of the Duc de Bourgogne, closely followed by the forces fighting for the Duke of Connaught, seemed poised on the cusp of victory. I decided to rescind the order to fight. Our men disembarked in Dalmatia. A year later, the Sultan capitulated. Jerusalem was liberated ! By decree of Pope John, it was handed over to Euphrosine, Duchesse de Bretagne.

“My Lord, the Duchess of Brittany has a daughter ripe for betrothal,” my Chancellor murmured in my ear. “The Lady Aliénor. Her father is of the German House of Nibelunging. She is roughly the same age as Prince Ermenulfo.”

“Wouldst thou now play matchmaker for my son ?” I laughed, amused by my Chancellor’s train of thought.

“A mere suggestion,” he replied. “Thy Royal Demesne once extended over Jerusalem. A union with Brittany could prelude a recovery of that title. For if Prince Ermenulfo were wedded to Brittany, he could claim the title for his wife’s — that is, their own — children in due course. And if Prince Ermenulfo should succeed my Lord....”

“Thou temptest me, Satan !” I laughed. But not to ridicule my loyal servant. In fact, his reasoning was sound. A marriage with Brittany could very well result some day in recovering sovereignty over Jerusalem. But Ermenulfo was still a boy. My son Jacopo seemed the safer choice of heir. His wife and children would bring Neuchâtel, and eventually the duchy of Upper Burgundy, into Italy. Grisons would be ours forever.

Whether or not my vassals considered Jerusalem a worthy ambition, they were of a mind to comply with my desire. Jacopo was declared Heir Apparent. I rejoiced. His wife, the Countess Adelaide, had produced a son, a child of sharp intelligence and fair of aspect. They had christened him Gian. I delighted in imagining him one day King of Italy and Duke of Upper Burgundy. Now she was again with child.

But all these considerations could abide happily with a Breton scheme. I despatched an embassy to Madame la Duchesse. My proposal was accepted : Ermenulfo was betrothed to Aliénor of Brittany.

Meanwhile, my Spymaster had returned discreetly to Bellinzona. Within days, news of the tragic demise of the Duke of Friuli during a banquet spread through every Court. He was succeeded by his son Amédée. An enemy of the Church, like his father. But I was free of the truce that had bound my will.

Proceed as planned, I wrote to the Lord Marshal. It was time to liberate the duchy of Friuli.

I ordered the Court to move to Cremona. Being closer to Verona, Duke Amédée’s capital, gave me reassurance. Simultaneously, work on fortifying Cremona commenced under the supervision of my Steward. The reinforced battlements were completed eight months later.

“How goes the training of our new recruits ?”

“They are an incompetent lot,” the Marshal grumbled. “But fear not, Sire. In six months they shall bring the fear of God to the heart of Friuli !”

I granted him nine months. At last, at the end of October 1098, I published my intention to rescue Friuli from the hand of the anti-Christ.

~~~​

 

[fabiolundiense]

FEUDAL FAMILY FEALTY

KING JACOPO OF ITALY - CROATIA
1100 — 1124​

The best of the early medieval chroniclers only wrote of what they considered to be the deeds and events of their time worth handing on to prosperity. These consisted mostly in what mirrored their highest ideals of human (i.e. male) achievement : honour amongst the noble-born, bravery on the battlefield, piety towards the Creator. Which is why moderns so often accept as a given the notion that the medieval period was one of constant warfare.

A typical example of such a notion concerns the mostly forgotten king of Italy-Croatia at the turn of the twelfth century : Jacopo Torrechiavenna, dubbed ”the Fat.” His reign (1100 - 1124) has often been dismissed as one of continuous war, lamentable impiety and negligible honour. It is a matter of record however that his contemporaries saw him otherwise : pious, magnificent and brave are only a few of the epithets describing Jacopo of Italy found in the archives of royal courts across Europe. It is also true that during his twenty-four-year reign, he engaged his armies in no less than twelve conflicts.

Such a record might justify the exaggerated expression ”continuous war.” Unfortunately, the idea conveyed is one of Jacopo as a predator amongst men, one who delighted in living in war camps rather than lounging before a blazing fire in the foyer of his family castello. This paper aims to show that closer observation of the life and wars of Jacopo Torrechiavenna shows him to be above all a man of family fealty, imbued with a deep reverence for honour and prompt to defend it, his allies’ honour more often than his own, those allies consisting of course of members of his family, either by birth or by marriage.




I. A Faithful and Faith-Defending Ally


The first half of Jacopo’s reign records conflicts with heretics (Friuli), Muslims (Sultan of Baghdad), French rebels and Englishmen.

In June 1100, at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, Jacopo of Italy-Croatia came to the throne upon the death of his father King Pietro the Able. That throne threw Jacopo straight into his first conflict. In October 1098, his father had begun a Holy War against the heretical Duke of Friuli. The succession did not distract the new king from combat. With the help of his Royal Commanders and through sheer determination, he completed the conquest of Friuli three weeks after ascending the throne.

In the eyes of all his contemporaries, Jacopo’s achievement was the just outcome of a just war. Just on two counts : the Duke of Friuli was a heretic, and the duchy of Friuli was de jure a part of the kingdom of Italy. A wrong had finally been righted, Italy had regained her territorial integrity, and no one found fault with the new king’s first conflict.

A respite of six months followed before the second war began, this time against the armies of the Sultan of Baghdad. The genesis of that conflict illustrates how strongly Jacopo adhered to the moral obligations attendant on a knight’s word, and how he valued the honour of his kin as much, if not more than, as his own.

Pietro the Able had arranged the betrothal of Ermenulfo, his son through his second marriage to Cristina of York, to Aliénor, heiress to the duchy of Brittany. The politics of that arrangement centred around the eventuality of Ermenulfo’s children inheriting Jerusalem, which had recently become part of the kingdom of West Francia. In the six months preceding the war with Baghdad, Jacopo decided to break off that engagement.

To do so, however, constituted a breach of honour. Compensation was in order. The Duchess of Brittany, together with her liege lord King Richard of West Francia, were at the time at war with the Sultan of Baghdad. West Francia was seeking to extend her dominion in the Holy Land from Jerusalem to Damascus. Jacopo proposed to participate in the war for the honour of the Duchess of Brittany, but at great advantage to his half-brother Ermenulfo. A new betrothal was negotiated. The new promised bride would be Princess Raymonde, a daughter of the Karling king of West Francia.

Jacopo engaged roughly eight thousand knights and other men-at-arms for as long as that conflict required — in the event, until May 1103, a commitment of nearly two and a half years.

This last statistic illustrates another aspect of Jacopo’s politics of war. On becoming king of Italy-Croatia, he was entitled to raise levies from his vassals and levy a personal army amounting to up to twenty thousand men-at-arms. Only twice in his twenty-four years on the throne did he summon that many to war. If he obliged himself to do what was noble and worthy for his half-brother and for a French Duchess, he was also mindful of his subjects, taking pains to avoid the strain and poverty that inevitably followed when all capable men in the realm were called away to war.

The third and fourth conflicts, 1104-1105 and 1107-1109, were both initiated by Scotland. Jacopo’s older sister had married a Scottish prince, the third son of King Alan II. The marriage made Italy an ally of Scotland. So when Alan II asked for arms, Jacopo supplied them. He — or rather, his father before him — had given his word. It was as good as a sacred oath.

The first of these Scottish engagements contributed in no small way to Jacopo’s undeserved reputation as a heartless, impious warlord. Alan II of Scotland was attacking the Duke of York — the family of King Pietro’s second wife Cristina, Ermenulfo’s uncles and cousins. What those critics fail to grasp is that for medieval princes, almost like in fairy tales, second wives were at best a necessary evil. In Jacopo’s case, he had no family obligations to York except by extension — through his half-brothers Ermenulfo and Luchino — whereas he had compelling obligations to Scotland through his full-blooded sister.

There would have been some dishonour had Jacopo chosen to distance himself from that conflict, but not much, according to those expert at calculating degrees of offence. For Jacopo, however, even not much was too much. It may be said that the decision was made easier for him by the fact that the kingdom of Lotharingia, Italy’s immediate neighbour to the north, was fighting on the side of York. Records show that the men called up for that war never went further afield than a few counties in the demesne of Lotharingia.

A lull of just over fifteen months separates the first and second wars in which Italy participated as an ally of the Scots. In this time of peace and, as we shall see later, domestic joys, Alan II of Scotland died. The new king was now a brother-in-law of Jacopo. The new king initiated another war of conquest. The prey was to be another English lord : the Duke of Northumbria. Jacopo again fought the English party’s ally, this time the king of Aquitaine. Italy remained committed to that war until its end with a Scots victory, from April 1107 until September 1109.

The fifth conflict began at virtually the same time that news of the Scots victory over the Duke of Northumbria became known. A Pavian veteran of war, according to Court records, declared himself leader of a rebel movement against the Casa Torrechiavenna. The province of Pavia, this landless man insisted, should be granted full independence from Italy-Croatia.

Such uprisings were not infrequent in the Middle Ages. This one occupied Jacopo’s levies for a mere four months. Though Jacopo had not called up everyone at his disposal for the Scottish War, those returning thence were still sufficiently armed and provisioned to take on a few thousand men and boys barely able to lift a sword let alone fight with one. In any case, Jacopo’s role in this instance too was defender, not attacker.

Defender against rebellious rabble describes Jacopo’s role in his sixth conflict. Here he again fought for West Francia, though in circumstances radically changed since the time of the war against the Sultan of Baghdad.

Factional disputes had torn West Francia into several strips of opposing territories. In December 1109, King Richard had been toppled from his throne. The victorious faction had installed a new king, not a son or daughter of King Richard but a sister’s husband. This was none other than Prince Ugo of Italy, Jacopo’s nephew, the son of his older brother Ugo who was married to King Richard’s sister Hodierne.

Thus it was to defend his own flesh and blood’s honour that Jacopo rode to war against French rebels. As before, and as he would continue to do his entire life, Jacopo committed himself to his ally’s cause until the end of the war. However, this particular alliance came with a threat.

His nephew Ugo was the eldest son and heir of his brother Ugo, who held the titles Duke of Genoa and Count of Pavia. On his brother’s death, those titles would go to his nephew, and thus to the kingdom of West Francia, together with the vassal Count of Genoa.

There is always some dishonour, and no small resentment, when a portion of territory crosses borders through legitimate inheritance. In this case, the loss was deemed unbearable. For the head of the Torrechiavenna dynasty, Genoa possessed a sort of untouchable awe. It was an integral part of the family’s history and rise to glory. It was where the dynasty’s founder, Count Ermenulfo of Grisons, had been murdered by a traitor (father of the Count’s third wife). It was the dynasty’s first ducal title, bestowed on Count Ermenulfo’s heir, the famous Gabriella the Noble, Duchess of Genoa, by the then king of Italy, a descendant of Charlemagne. Jacopo could not permit the damage to his personal honour that would result if he lost Genoa. He took steps to prevent it.

Those steps did not involve war. Rather, Jacopo resorted to negotiation with his brother the Duke. Both titles were revoked without bloodshed. One can appreciate the internal conflict that Duke Ugo had to cope with. In the end, family fealty to the honour of the head of the dynasty mattered more than fealty to his own son.

The French rebels gave up the fight in September 1112. Ugo Torrechiavenna was now secure on the throne of West Francia. The rest of Europe could only bow down in admiration before a new dynasty, Italian not Frankish, which had won dominion over two strong kingdoms that for so many generations had belonged to descendants of Charlemagne.

After this sixth conflict, Italy-Croatia enjoyed a sabbath of sorts. Italy’s men capable of bearing arms rested from the travails of defending their masters’ honour. A peace lasting almost three years, from September 1112 to the spring of 1115, allowed Jacopo to strengthen his authority as well as that of the Church where it was needed. Far to the north, barbarian tribes began incursions into newly Christianised territories, spreading alarm as far south as Rome. Jacopo declined to involve himself.

As it happened, that disturbance petered out and collapsed within eighteen months of its inception. Italy was thus more than prepared, when the time came, to take on a much more formidable foe : the Emperor of Carpathia.

~~~​

 

[fabiolundiense]

FEUDAL FAMILY FEALTY

KING JACOPO OF ITALY - CROATIA
1100 — 1124
(continued)​

Emperor Dan of Carpathia held two provinces of de jure Croatia : Krizevci and Rama. The latter had been incorporated into the Carpathian Empire nearly a hundred years earlier. In the spring of 1115, the Emperor of Constantinople declared war on Carpathia in a bid to take over the Province of Hum. Jacopo took advantage of the crisis to declare his own war for the reconquest of Rama.

This was the seventh war to which Jacopo committed himself. For the first time in his life, he would be assuming the role of attacker. It was also the first time during his reign that levies were raised from every vassal as well as from his personal demesne. A body of twenty thousand horse, archers and foot soldiers began to converge in Treviso and in Ravenna, whence they would sail across the Adriatic to Croatia.

Before that army had boarded the hundreds of vessels amassing in Italian harbours, seeds of the eighth conflict sprouted in far-off Palestine. A kinsman, Count Fabrizio of Jerusalem, recently re-installed by his liege lord and kinsman King Ugo of West Francia, declared his intention to wrest the kingdom of Croatia from Italy.

Twelfth-century archives have not preserved the grounds on which this claim was made. Almost certainly, this Torrechiavenna nobleman descended from the first Count of Jerusalem, Niccolò, eldest son of King Giordano the Great of Croatia. However, Jerusalem had since been retaken by Muslims, then taken again by the Duchess of Brittany. All claims to King Giordano the Great’s titles were by this time normally defunct.

Fortunately for Jacopo, it would take months for the would-be-usurper’s army to reach Croatia. There was ample time to deal first with Carpathia.

Emperor Dan had divided his fighting force between two foes. His major concern was Constantinople. A contingent of just four thousand soldiers wandered into the vicinity of Rama. Jacopo’s Commanders met them in the vale of Csák, where the Carpathians were destroyed. It was the first and only battle that Emperor Dan dared wage against Italy. Jacopo’s soldiers were allowed free reign to besiege and plunder nearby Bulgarian provinces. The reconquest of Rama ended in victory less than three years later.

The process of reintegration began immediately for the newly recovered province. Jacopo created the de jure duchy of Bosnia, and awarded the title to a kinsman, Count Gianleone of Usora.

Months later, the invading army of Count Fabrizio of Jerusalem, some nine thousand soldiers and horse, landed in Italy. Jacopo’s men engaged them in the province of Spoleto. Two bloody battles sufficed to annihilate them. Count Fabrizio lay down his sword and gave himself up.

At this point, Jacopo displayed again that deep respect for the honour and courage of his kin that we have observed throughout his reign. On the same day that Count Fabrizio handed himself over to be a prisoner of Italy, Jacopo ordered him released. Surviving correspondence between Jacopo and Fabrizio indicate that the former insisted that Fabrizio return to his home and family, there to assure the perpetuity of the Torrechiavenna line in the City of David. There is even a copy in Jacopo’s archives of the register of baptism of Fabrizio’s son Giovanni who had apparently been conceived just prior to the start of the war.

The ninth, tenth and eleventh conflicts all took place after a lull of twelve months, and were concentrated between March 1120 and August 1122.

Ugo of France (the change of nomenclature from West Francia to France occurred at this time) was again at war against Abbasid princes. This time the target was two provinces in the duchy of Arabia. Italy was called upon to lend a hand. Jacopo decided to aim for two birds with one stone. He raised sufficient levies to wage war not on one but on two fronts, Arabia and Baden, the territory north of the province of Schwyz. For the second and last time during his reign, he assumed the role of attacker. The object was not, however, one of direct personal gain. This time his casus belli was on behalf of his cousin Bartolomeo Torrechiavenna, who had a legitimate claim on the duchy of Baden, held by his maternal uncle Duke Manfred. Indirectly, of course, it was also Jacopo’s gain, since Baden, if conquered, would become a vassal duchy of Italy.

It is clear that Jacopo conceived this second aggressive war long before 1120. His eldest son Prince Gian, apple of his eye, had been betrothed to Theuderada Udonen, a daughter of Duke Walram of Swabia, Baden’s immediate neighbour to the east. The two young people had recently married. Thus was Jacopo able to recruit help from Swabia for his war, while he shipped several thousand of his own men off to fight in the Arabian desert.

Court was removed from Cremona to Grisons, the better to oversee his Commanders’ manoeuvres. A few Italian levies were ambushed and destroyed before the first serious battle took place. Baden also summoned the kingdom of Bavaria to its aid. The Battle of Milan, which more or less decided the outcome of the war, took place long before any Bavarian troops appeared on the scene. Duke Manfred surrendered precipitously in May 1121.

Meanwhile, French troops, with some help from the Knights Hospitalier, were making headway against the Sultan of Baghdad and his ally Egypt. Jacopo had committed himself to that war. A first contingent of Italian ships had just arrived off the coast of Beirut when Jacopo’s ally the Duke of Swabia requested Italian help in his own war : to defend against a plot to form the kingdom of East Francia, a relic from the days of Charlemagne. Knights from the war against Duke Manfred who had been ordered to Genoa to board ships ready to sail to Beirut received a counter-order : return north to join up with Duke Walram of Swabia.

Jacopo concentrated his fighting men in the East on targets belonging to the Tulunids of Egypt. These were only lukewarmly involved in helping their Arabian ally. Italian forces crushed Muslim fighters in the Battle of Saint Symeon. They also managed to invest the fortress of Jabala, a significant gain in the war.

The Sultan of Baghdad surrendered to France in August 1122. One month earlier, the rebels of Swabia were soundly defeated, and their leader imprisoned.

As it can now be expected, the twelfth and last war to which Jacopo committed himself was in answer to defend the honour of another family ally. In January 1123, his daughter Adelaida was married to the Crown Prince of Great Moravia. A month later, rebellion broke out in that kingdom. At the same time, a neighbouring German Count was attacking Great Moravia in a bid to annex the province of Brno. Jacopo’s assistance was enlisted. As with his father before him however, he did not live to see the end of that double conflict, which dragged on much longer than any of the previous eleven, despite Jacopo’s fighting men inflicting a significant defeat on the rebels. Jacopo died a year later, in January 1124, of the then prevalent Great Pox (known today as syphilis).

A lifetime spent raising levies and defending against rebels and invaders does not a warmonger make. Likewise, it does not preclude a deep religious piety, which some of our contemporaries find difficult to grasp. Jacopo lived in the era of the warrior monks, the epitome of that combination of devotion to a God of mercy and a lifetime commitment to arms. The key of course lies in the theology of government : only God has any right to power, spiritual or temporal. Any power or authority held legitimately by mere mortals must be delegated from on high. In the end, all men, from peasant to emperor, had the same liege lord, the one true God. It was his honour they defended when they defended the honour of a legitimate liege lord.

That taken into account, we can review Jacopo’s archives again to see how much his life reflects his devotion to his spiritual liege lord, which devotion therefore required of him a lifetime in arms.

~~~​

 

[fabiolundiense]

FEUDAL FAMILY FEALTY

KING JACOPO OF ITALY - CROATIA
1100 — 1124
continued​

II. Celibate Knights and Lusting Allies


That Jacopo was famed and recognised by his contemporaries as a deeply devoted Christian soldier there is no doubt. Many, including himself, believed that he was the beneficiary of a particular, mystical gift : to experience the earthly sufferings of Jesus Christ in his own flesh.

One of his first concerns upon becoming king was stamping out every vestige of heresy in his kingdom. Not surprisingly, he began with the lands taken from the heretical Duke of Friuli.

In his youth he had earned the reputation of being not merely modest but even chaste. This may or may not be attributed to the fact that he begat only four children — Gian, Tiziano, Giordano and Adelaida — a low natal count for the Middle Ages.

However, his rise to power occasioned a battle with his own conscience. As he grew more accustomed to having people bend over backwards to please him, he developed a taste for pleasure. By the seventh year of his reign, Jacopo the Chaste had become Jacopo the Hedonist. A devout hedonist.

Which reputation did not dissuade the Pope from choosing Cardinals from amongst Jacopo’s vassals.

Religion mattered highly not only to him but to many of the Torrechiavenna men, and not a few of their courtiers. As observed above, this was the age of the military religious orders. Attraction to the Teutonic Order and to the Knights of Saint John ran so high in Jacopo’s family as to interfere with his political ambitions. When he reneged on his brother Ermenulfo’s betrothal to the daughter of the Duchess of Brittany, it was not for purely altruistic reasons but for the sake of the realm ; the king of France was infinitely more desirable as an ally than the Duchess of Brittany. At least Jacopo thought so. Prince Ermenulfo, whose future hung in the balance, thought otherwise. In late spring of 1105, he petitioned his brother to renege a second time on his word. He was more interested in joining the ranks of the Knights of Saint John.

Jacopo was more than disinclined to lend a friendly ear to such a request. Unfortunately for Ermenulfo, their uncle Prince Catone made the same petition at around the same time. Jacopo could approve sacrificing one valiant Torrechiavenna to Holy Orders, but not two. Ermenulfo’s petition was rejected.

Desires for Holy Orders might give way to the Royal Will, but they would not be held at bay forever. Ermenulfo obediently wed Princess Raymonde of France in 1102.

After twelve years of marriage however, he could no longer deny his higher calling. Ermenulfo again requested leave to join the Knights of Saint John. This time, Jacopo granted it. The alliance with France was fulfilled by their nephew Ugo who had in the meantime been crowned King of France. But a similar request five years later, coming this time from Jacopo’s second-born son Tiziano, was rejected. On the other hand, a courtier named Hesso Udonen was permitted to leave Court for the Teutonic Order.

Ermenulfo at last realised his true destiny. Four years after he took his vows, he was elected Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier. A few months earlier, in January 1118, the Pope had approved the creation of yet another military order, the famous Poor Soldiers of Christ, better known as the Knights Templar. The appeal of a life in direct service, as it were, of the ultimate liege lord, Christ the king of kings, would inspire more vocations in the Torrechiavenna family for generations to come.

A few historians have countered this image of an honourable God-fearing monarch with accusations of cold-blooded murder, compounded by shameless adultery. The evidence for these crimes goes back to Jacopo’s contemporaries. Though no physical evidence remains, there is no reason to suspend belief that he did indeed commit these crimes simply because one prefers to do so. Too many reliable witnesses — Bishop Galasso of Montagnana (Jacopo’s own Court Chaplain), Duke Pandolfo of Sardinia, Count Ebbon of Spoleto — lay bare these accusations for us to dismiss them as liars. It appears therefore that Jacopo is guilty as charged. Or is he ?

The accusation of murder stems from the confessions of men recruited for the deed. Duke Dragomir of Spoleto, a Frankish vassal of Jacopo’s, was himself a renowned conspirator, involved in countless plots to overthrow the Casa Torrechiavenna, and inviting his vassals to do the same. His scheming reached a point where Jacopo considered him too great a threat to the stability of the realm to be ignored. He resolved to have the duke murdered, as our witnesses attest.

There is, however, one equally reliable witness — Duke Dragomir’s son and heir — who tears the murder accusation to shreds. According to the archives of the duchy of Spoleto, Duke Dragomir died of a prolonged illness. He was not murdered by the king of Italy.

Which version then is the truthful one ? Both, in fact. For these testimonies can be reconciled. Jacopo attempted to have Duke Dragomir murdered, and hired or coerced others into turning his plot into reality. They did not succeed, as the witnesses themselves are ashamed to admit. In the light of these ancient records, the only believable verdict is not guilty of murder, but guilty of attempt on Duke Dragomir’s life.

The charge of adultery, on the other hand, must stand as is, for it is none other than Jacopo himself who confesses to that sin.

Do these crimes make Jacopo any less pious ? It is not for us to pass judgment. In the eyes of his subjects, certainly, they do not. In the first case, Duke Dragomir was an offence against Heaven itself insofar as he insulted the honour of God when he plotted treason. So medieval reasoning goes. In the second case, who is to say that Jacopo did not repent of his sin ? Especially since it is certain that he contracted the disease that would kill him as a result of his bedding his wife’s maidservant. As Saint Paul puts it, divine grace abounds more greatly where sinners repent of their boundless sins.

Perhaps the most telling measure of Jacopo’s piety lies in the testimony regarding the sons he raised. There, all witnesses are unanimous. Jacopo, who saw to his sons’ education himself, produced men who would in turn become renowned for their virtue. Certainly none more so than his first-born son and heir, Prince Gian, whose cause for beatification was recently introduced at Rome. Charitable, sociable, a defender of justice yet patient with the faults of his fellow man, he became an icon of the soldier of Christ like no other monarch of his day.

The same is true, albeit to a lesser degree, of his sons Tiziano and Giordano. We have seen above that Tiziano requested, but was denied, permission to become a Knight Hospitalier. However disappointed he might have felt, he did not love his father any less, as we shall see later. As for Giordano, he could do no less than follow in his brothers’ footsteps.

III. A Light Before the Dawn


The foregoing might seem to imply that Jacopo’s preoccupation with honour left him ill equipt to deal with the more material aspects of kingship. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the start of his reign to the very end, Jacopo exerted himself, and chose capable men to sit in his Council, to keep the realm militarily strong, solvent and productive. It is no exaggeration to say that Jacopo was a monarch ahead of his time, a twelfth-century precursor of that oft-represented figure of the Renaissance Prince.

For Jacopo had the foresight — and courage — to experiment. Italy’s Royal Archives detail trial and error with regard to stewardship, falconry and other quintessentially noble occupations.

Further, his knowledge of the Muslim world did not stop at the doorstep of religious creed. Enlightened enough to give credit where credit was due, he saw that in some fields, the Courts of the Sultans of Egypt and Baghdad were more civilised than any in Europe. Consequently, agents were sent incognito to Alexandria in order to bring back to Italy advanced knowledge in the arts and sciences.

There is one side to Jacopo’s personal life about which we know too little : relations with his siblings and children. There are almost no records to open a window on the Casa Torrechiavenna as a domestic unit, apart from the witness that he defended his family’s honour without fail, and with regard to the education of his sons. Of his daughter Adelaida we hear nothing before her betrothal to the Crown Prince of Great Moravia. Likewise his half-brother Prince Luchino, who predeceased him by six years. A page from the register of the Royal Chapel tells that Luchino left an infant daughter christened Alessandra. After that, she virtually vanishes from history. Another incident — a vague reference to a failed attempt at kidnapping Jacopo — allows us to conjecture that there was strong attachment between Jacopo and his son Tiziano.

The modern world no longer lives by the values of chivalry, honour, fealty and creed. It would however constitute a great loss if our world also lost the capacity to appreciate great men and memorable achievements simply because norms of behaviour have changed. King Jacopo of Italy was a great ruler for his time. He had strengths and weaknesses of men of his time. He also possessed insights of men after his time. Would that the modern world could produce for our time men of the calibre of King Jacopo Torrechiavenna.

~~~​

John L. Halewright
Quarterly Review of Medieval Studies
University of Cambridge, Great Britain​

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

Some deft use of game events to weave a story. Subscribed.

 

[fabiolundiense]

Some deft use of game events to weave a story. Subscribed.

Thank you kindly, Nuada Airgetlám !
The next instalment is on the draughting table. I thought a new format was in order, a third-person narrative format that I've never tried before. It requires an introduction, which I aim to be neither too long nor too boring. Should be ready by the week-end.

 

[fabiolundiense]

FOREWORD

Medieval romances never failed to remind their readers of the lofty ideals of chivalry, the dangers of the world at large and the sanctity of the marriage vows. Nor did they fail to observe that those ideals were oft difficult to attain, the dangers oft underestimated, and vows too oft broken. Love was as blind then as it is now. The most popular medieval tales — Tristan et Iseult, La Morte d’Arthur, Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion — portray the lives of sinners and saints, villains and knights, faithful spouses and impassioned adulterers. More often than not, these tales are true stories, allowance made for poetic license.

Since adultery, like any form of disloyalty in medieval times, incurred the risk of death if discovered, pains were taken by the authors of romances to disguise the true identities of their characters. Indeed, part of the charm of these tales lies in the game of trying to decipher the coded language, lifting the veil and identifying the characters’ name and place in history.

La Dame de la Roche Saulxant typifies this example of l’amour courtois and illicit, and therefore of necessity disguised. Its very title, however, is a giveaway. Saulx — the weeping willow tree — is a noun, not a verb. La roche saulxant, or weeping willow-ing rock, is obviously a coded name. Although lacking the finesse of the great medieval novels, La Dame de la Roche Saulxant has gained widespread popularity following the sensational discovery in 1814 of the true identities of the characters by Rodolfo delle Galle, curator of the Bibilotheca Bodleriana in Geneva, Switzerland.

Like many romances, this is a one-sided love story. The Lady Julietta — in reality Jutta von Tarifa, Countess of Algeciras, the province at the southernmost tip of Spain, and later Duchess of Swabia — falls in love with a man who is not her husband. Her love goes unrequited. Adding spice to the story, even without knowing the characters’ true identities, is the soupçon of incest, for Dame Julietta loves her father-in-law, in real life King Gian of Italy, of the Casa Torrechiavenna, a man reputed for his inviolate sainthood. She knows that he is unattainable. While she cannot bear to think she could ever succeed in seducing him, she still cannot imagine life without him. She is doomed to pine for her lover, as melancholy as a weeping willow, on her arid rock of Gibraltar.

The fictional characters, like their real-life counterparts, spend most of their lives apart. The strength of Julietta’s passion renders her hopeful for the slightest word from her Prince, attentive to persons in any way connected to him, starved for the slightest piece of news concerning him. The result is a reliable biography of an otherwise little-known medieval ruler, a chronicle of mid-twelfth-century courtly life, and the revelation of a remarkable woman who did live up to the chivalrous ideal of eternal fidelity, till death did them part, to a man whose bed she never shared.

______________​

There once lived a brave and noble cavalier named Robert*, beloved and celebrated by kin and subjects for his just and benevolent rule. He wed a maid fair and true from the land neighbouring his own. Dwelling in a castle by the sea, they governed together the rich and fertile province of Numia with equanimity, generosity, candour and fortitude. After a few years, the happy pair were blessed with a child, a daughter hardy of limb, sweet of temper, radiant and unblemished of visage. They named her Julietta.

A few years later, another child was born, another daughter of equal health and beauty. Sadly, the weakened mother lived only long enough to name the child before fading into eternal rest. The whole province turned out to bid a final farewell to their beloved Lady.

Father and daughters daily felt an emptiness and melancholy in heart and home. “It is not good that my beloved daughters should lack for maternal affection,” Sir Robert confided to his kinfolk.

“Nor that their father lack for wifely consolation or sons to carry his name,” they replied, “so marry again, lest strangers and rogues consider thy demesne ripe for usurpation.”

Shortly thereafter, the noble lord made suit for the hand of a maid of high rank, kinswoman of the proud and valiant ruler of a kingdom far to the north. The match was approved. It came to pass then that the Princess from the north arrived at the castle by the sea. A suite worthy of her pedigree followed in her train. Once more the populace came forth with unanimous heart, this time to cheer their new Mistress. But the throng and enthusiasm of the townsfolk irked Her Ladyship who condescended not to remove the veils that shaded her face from wind and sun.

As life at the castle grew livelier with hunts, balls and musical entertainments, it also became patent that the little girls’ stepmother desired nothing more than to be spared the tedium of their company. Where maternal affection had been lacking before, the girls now met impatience, disdain and incomprehension. Their father knew of the estrangement between his daughters and his new bride, but could find no remedy other than to spend even more time with the girls, which remedy further fuelled their stepmother’s animosity.

In due course, the new Mistress found herself with child. “I shall bear thee a son,” she vowed, “and at last thou shalt have a true heir !” When she was delivered of a baby girl, she wept with fury, and blamed Julietta for having disturbed nature’s preordained course.

Sir Robert acknowledged in his soul that he missed his first wife more than ever, and that the Princess he had wed, in place of love, harboured only ambition and envy. He fell ill with grief and repentance. Sensing that his end was nigh, he called his first two daughters to his bedside and recommended them to the Lord Chancellor.

“May the Lord provide ye with better carers than I ever was able to find,” he whispered. So saying, he surrendered his unhappy soul to his Maker.

Julietta had just reached the age of twelve. In accordance with her father’s testament, she became Countess of Numia. Poised to exact some sort of punishment from her stepmother for the years of misery endured at her hands, she was met instead with frustration. For the Princess, as the Court discovered, had not deemed it necessary to stay for her husband’s obsequies, but had departed the castle by the sea without a word of farewell, leaving her own infant daughter behind.

When the land and its people had fulfilled the time for bereavement, Julietta convened her Council.

“Gentle men of Numia, it was my father’s most ardent desire to preserve my hand from the predatory hounding of local barons and warlords,” she began. “To that end must I be married, I know it only too well. The gathering of ambassadors eager to plead their suit has already begun. I find the haste in which they act utterly abhorrent.” Julietta paused. “I have summoned you this day to inform you that I have reached a decision.”

Several audible gasps were heard.

“M-may it p-please My La-lady,” her Court Chaplain stuttered.

“Fear not, my dear Bishop, I did not mean to imply that I have chosen a spouse.”

The Councillors breathed more easily.

“I have decided that I shall wed none of the suitors whose ambassadors are already on their way here.”

There were more, even more audible, gasps. Julietta rose from her seat. “I trust that I have everyone’s approval.”

To a man, the Council vowed that nothing would ever induce them, now or in the future, to place any obstacle whatsoever on the path of their Lady’s well-being and felicity. Together they concocted a strategy, as at the Court of the Lady Penelope awaiting the return of her husband Ulysses, to keep the ambassadors waiting patiently, ignorant of her decision, and ready to return home at her bidding without threat of violence upon her person.

“After seven days and seven nights have passed, I shall make known my demand. I shall marry the suitor who brings me a present more exquisite than any that has ever been offered to any maiden in the kingdom !”

Seven days and seven nights did Julietta refrain from appearing in public. When the allotted time had passed, the edict was published. Some of the ambassadors complained bitterly about the delay. But when their colleagues rushed off to their masters, eager to deliver the challenge as quickly as possible, they revised their opinion and hastened back whence they had come.

Satisfied, Julietta returned to her studies. The castle, so vast and so empty, threatened to drown her in loneliness and woe. Thrice daily during her seclusion, she prayed for deliverance.

“Heavenly and merciful Father, and thou sweet Mother Mary, and all ye angels and saints, for the love of my beloved parents no more of this world, hear my prayer ! Let not the heritage which has come to me fall afoul of the lions and wolves that seek to devour me ! Grant me thy protection, o immortal saviour ! Fulfill the dying wish of a father so good, that he may have peace until the day of thy coming. And in all things, on earth as in Heaven, thy will be done.”

Three days later, her prayer was answered.

Julietta was sitting on an outcrop of stone, contemplating the sea from a corner of the castle grounds, when one of her pages rushed forward. “My Lady, thou must — the Lord Chancellor begs that thou — no one was expected, my Lady — ”

Julietta stared in bewilderment at the servant boy. Catching his breath, the page declared :

“The Lord Chancellor kindly begs my Lady come to the castle. An Ambassador has arrived !”

“An Ambassador. I see.”

“From the Court of Monte Fanum, my Lady !”

Julietta’s brow drew upward. Was it possible ? The famed Monte Fanum, one of the most wondrous realms in the world ? It lay some distance to the south. Pilgrims, merchants and travellers told stories of its impressive castles, lush orchards, bounteous fields, industrious people and chivalrous barons. The ruler of the realm, Prince John, was admired for generosity towards his vassals and charity towards the needy. She could not imagine what business such a mighty ruler might have with her tiny province of Numia.

“Tell the good lords that I am unable to leave this spot,” she replied, “and that I pray them come hither.”

Moments later, the Lord Chancellor was hurrying towards her, followed at a discreet distance by a tall elderly figure swathed in blue and white velvet, followed by six squires and their pages. The Chancellor bent low to murmur in Julietta’s ear, “I beseech thee, accept this offer of marriage !” He rose as the rest of the party joined them.

“Ma Dame,” said the Ambassador. The entire party then executed the most elegant of bows.

“Forgive me for asking you to the garden, my Lord,” said Julietta, her eyes taking in the magnificence of the messenger’s attire.

The visitor stretched out his left hand. A squire stepped forward and handed over a parchment. Without further ado, he read out in deep resounding voice the letter’s contents. It was, in fact, a proposal of marriage. Prince John of Monte Fanum humbly implored the hand of Julietta, Countess of Numia, for his first-born son Armand.

Julietta turned to her Chancellor as if seeking confirmation that she was not dreaming. She ? Marry the first-born son of the Prince of Monte Fanum ?

The Chancellor again bent low to whisper, “They are perfectly serious, my Lady. Armand is the same age as my Lady, and heir presumptive to the realm of Monte Fanum. His mother, the Princess, is also Duchess of Favignana in her own right. In time, my Lady, those titles would be yours, as wife of the heir. Thou wouldst nevermore have anything to fear from thy neighbouring barons and warlords.”

Julietta clasped her hands to her breast and turned to the Ambassador. “Words fail me, my Lord,” she began, “words cannot begin to describe the honour thy revered lord giveth me with this proposal. Know that I need reflect not a minute longer before declaring my intentions.”

“Alas, my Lady !” said the Ambassador. “There is a problem !”

Julietta’s heart fluttered a moment. Had she heard correctly ? Was this messenger playing some cruel game ?

The man went on to explain that before coming into the garden, the Chancellor had informed him of the requirement to hand over a present more exquisite than any a maid had ever received before. The Ambassador confessed to have no such thing amongst his effects.

“I prithee think no more on it ! Since my Lord was in ignorance of this requirement —”

“Ignorance is no excuse for our failure, my Lady.”

“Failure ? Charge not upon thyself a crime of which no one accuseth thee !”

“The fact remains that the presents we bring, jewels, silks and other fine objects, could never do justice to my Lady’s expectations.”

“Let Heaven and Earth be my witness when I say that to journey all this way with jewels, silks and other fine objects, on behalf of the Prince of Monte Fanum and his heir, and then claim that all was for nought, must be a thing too absurd to be taken seriously. How came the lord your Prince to conceive of this plan in the first place ?”

The messenger began to look uncomfortable. Julietta suspected that Prince John would not welcome the news that his proposal of marriage had been rejected not by the party concerned but by the messenger appointed as go-between.

“The Prince conceived... I mean... at least, begging my Lady’s pardon... it is said that the Prince had a vision one night... a vision of... of the Blessed Virgin. It was she that advised him to seek out an orphaned maid and mistress of a castle by the sea as a bride for his first-born son. So it is said, my Lady.”

Julietta rose from the stone upon which she sat, her face flushed with triumph.

“See now that it is thy own fears which come to nought. Rest assured, my Lord, that no maid in this land — nay, in this entire kingdom ! — has ever before heard it said that the Blessed Virgin Herself had been her Ambassadrix in a matter of holy matrimony. Every soul here present heard it from thine own lips. None, I am sure, could possibly doubt that my requirement has at this instant been fulfilled to perfection.”

The messenger’s face in turn lit up, all embarrassment forgotten.

“Pray inform my lord your Prince that I have the honour to accept his proposal,” said Julietta.

“Ma Dame,” replied the Ambassador, and bowed. **



News of the betrothal spread through every town like wildfire in a rainless land. At Court, gossip flowed mostly around the sudden change in fortune of the little province of Numia. Not only could they rely with ease on the support of the Prince of Monte Fanum, but also on the goodwill of the formidable king of Valvidor, who was cousin to Prince John. ***

But as the weeks turned to months, and to years, Julietta was assailed by doubt. Had she not accepted the proposal too hastily ? She knew so little about her future husband other than his rank and expected inheritance. Letters from Monte Fanum took weeks to reach her. More often than not, they contained well-worded phrases, mundane expressions of concord, excitement at the prospect of the union of two Houses, et cetera, et cetera.

As Julietta’s sixteenth birthday drew nigh, her doubts turned into resentment. A few curious courtiers had journeyed to Monte Fanum, pretexting important business affairs. They returned with a less flattering picture of Armand de Monte Fanum than the one implied in official Court letters. Julietta could not help but think she had been taken for a fool.

Then, in an unexpected coup, news spread through all Christendom that the king of Valvidor had defied the Apostolic See and was on the brink of declaring war on the Pope.

On the day following her sixteenth birthday, Julietta convened her Council. She chose her words carefully.

“Good men of Numia, the time has come to make good on a troth given shortly after Sir Robert, my father, departed this world. Whether each party still believe it is beholden to that troth remains to be seen.”

The Councillors stirred nervously on their bench.

“The rumours concerning the Prince of Monte Fanum and his son the Lord Armand are precisely that : rumours. It would be unwise to pay them more heed than they deserve. However, other events well known to every Christian soul give rise to more serious reserve. The king of Valvidor, to whom I would become related through marriage, has shewn himself unworthy of his rank and crown. To pursue relations with such an outlaw could bring nothing good to our land and home.”

“On the morrow do we depart together for Monte Fanum. We shall observe, question, examine, reflect. Only then shall I decide whether or not to wed the heir of Monte Fanum.”

None of the Councillors slept well that night. Julietta slept not at all. At dawn the next morning, they boarded their bedecked and be-ribboned vessels and set sail for the famed castles of Monte Fanum.

~~~​

* All names of people and places were disguised by the anonymous author.

** Prince Ausilio Torrechiavenna, first-born son of King Gian of Italy, was betrothed to Countess Jutta when both were twelve years old. King Gian’s wife, Queen Theuderada, mother of Ausilio, was Duchess of Swabia in her own right.

*** Hugues I of France, a first cousin of King Gian, succeeded by his son Hugues II.

 

[fabiolundiense]

An explosion of colour, pageantry and concert greeted the arrival of Julietta’s ships. In the midst of a jetty constructed especially for the occasion, a canopied dais had been erected, festooned with gauze and damascene cloth billowing in the breeze. A double row of twenty squires met Julietta and her suite as they disembarked. Julietta was invited to mount a white horse adorned with a jewelled harness. They escorted her to the dais amidst a fanfare of drums, trumpets and horns. Pausing at the foot of the dais, they helped Julietta dismount. The musicians silenced their instruments. From under the canopy a tall bearded man in a dark silk cape over ample patrician robes descended the steps and approached Julietta. Then Prince John de Monte Fanum, for it was he, uttered a single word before bowing almost to the ground.

“Contessa.”

The throng of well-wishers on the jetty all silently bowed or curtsied.

Julietta, stunned into paralysis, looked on as the Prince extended not one arm, but two hands, inviting her to join hers with his. She did so, scarcely conscious of what she was doing.

Just then, two other people descended the dais. The most beautiful woman Julietta had ever seen, despite a roundness proclaiming she was heavy with child, and extending her own lily-white hands, approached her. Behind her, a young man in handsome attire gazed at Julietta with shy, enchanting eyes.

“We thank thee for gracing our land with thy presence, Countess,” said the Princess as Prince John relinquished her hands into those of his wife. “Such a long journey... mayhap some refreshment might afford thee a little comfort ?”

Julietta’s throat constricted, a sob threatening to escape. Overwhelmed with such sympathy from perfect strangers towards whom she had been harbouring unavowable resentment, she began to feel faint with shame. Suddenly, jerking her hands away, she retreated a step and executed a curtsy as dignified as her emotional state allowed.

“Forgive me, Princess, my deplorable manners,” she said. “It is I who am graced by such warm speech and splendid reception.” She turned back to look at Prince John, and her tongue failed her as an invisible fire instantly swathed her from head to toe.

The party ascended the dais where refreshment was served. Carts were wheeled onto the jetty, and wine and sweet-cakes were lavishly distributed.

Julietta sat through the reception as if dazed. Later, she vaguely remembered being formally introduced to Armand, the shy young man who seemed as tongue-tied as she was. At some moment she thought she heard Prince John beg her pardon for tiring her with their attentions. A carriage advanced, her transport to the castle where apartments had been prepared for her stay. She rode with her ladies-in-waiting and two of her personal guard. The rest of her suite followed in other vehicles.

They arrived at the castle in late afternoon.

No sooner had she been shown into her apartments than she whirled upon her ladies. All during the journey through the famed lush valleys and country fields of Monte Fanum, around a splendid lake whose waters made every sapphire she wore pale in comparison, then up the hill to a castle more princely than anything she had ever seen before, she had been perfecting a plan. She was determined to delve under all the pomp and circumstance to discover what she called “the truth” about Prince John and his family. She could not, however, bring herself to interrogate the Prince himself.

“Both of ye descend to the hall for dinner as invited by His Highness the Prince,” she said. “I shall not dine this evening. I am quite indisposed after the long journey and Prince John’s reception. Convey as best ye can my regrets to Their Highnesses.”

To her relief, she was left undisturbed for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Though she closed her eyes as she lay abed that night, darkness evaded her. All she could see was the look on Prince John’s face as her carriage swept past him after leaving the reception. A look so haunted, so intense, and which struck her almost physically with an emotion she dared not name, so much did it both exalt and terrify her.

The next phase of her plan began in the morning. She again declined to leave her bed, pretexting excessive fatigue. As expected, this elicited a visit from the Princess in person, who insisted that Julietta ask for anything she might require for her recovery, and that it would be granted.

Julietta thanked the Princess for so much kindness and affection. She then begged her indulgence and wondered if she might be sent a musician, for soft melodies and song would certainly soothe her mind and body, and speed her recovery from the rigours of a long and trying journey.

The unsuspecting Princess was as good as her word. Minutes later, a discreet knock was heard on her door. She bade her chambermaid admit the visitor. A boy of the tender age of fourteen clasping a lyre in his hands presented himself.

From behind a screen appeared two enormous guards. They picked up the boy who was now shaking with fright, and set him on a stool by Julietta’s bed.

“Be not afraid, child,” said Julietta sternly. “Thou art safe here, so long as thou obey me. The Princess graciously commissioned thee for my service, did she not ?”

“I am my Lady’s servant !” the boy exclaimed.

“Hush then, none here present is deaf.” She motioned to the chambermaid, who set a small table laden with fruit and sweet apple wine next to the musician.

“Before I hear thee play, I require of thee an oath : nothing of what transpires in this room shalt thou breathe to another living soul.”

“I do so swear, my Lady !”

Julietta leaned back against her cushions. “I have heard nothing but good about thy lord and master Prince John. Courage, valour, nobility of spirit, and above all virtue uncommon amongst mortals. Since setting foot in this land, I have seen nought but the trappings of ceremony and felicity. But I would be blind to miss the note of falsehood behind it all. Something is amiss. And I speak not of the astounding announcement that the lord thy master is not beneath fabricating claims on lands that are rightfully another’s. The Prince, for all his graciousness, strikes me as weighted down with a sorrow to make the very stones of this castle weep uncontrollably. I command thee to tell me why.”

When the petrified lad had been calmed, and when Julietta’s Court Chaplain was admitted to the chambre and assured him that no treachery was underfoot, but that the Countess merely sought close-hand witness to the true character of the Prince (as well as of Lord Armand her betrothed) before committing herself irrevocably to the holy vow of matrimony, he set aside his lyre and consented to speak.

“Alas, my Lady, ’tis true the Prince has borne more than his full share of sadness. Who on this earth could be merry in the face of all that my Lord has endured ? Since the day he inherited his father’s crown, and with it a war — nay, two wars ! — for the honour of his sister and her husband the Duke of Xanadia, the forces of evil hardly cease to pursue my gracious master. For despite the realm’s best efforts, the wars in question ended in ignoble white peace, the Prince’s sister and her husband fleeing Xanadia to suffer exile, even as their younger brother, the noble Count of Mastrandre, died in the final battle, leaving his domain in the hands of his daughter Adelaida, and she a child not yet twelve years old !”

The Chaplain gasped audibly, and tears immediately inundated Julietta’s eyes, so closely did the story of the Prince’s niece, now Countess of Mastrandre, mirror her own.

“But scarce was the blood on the battlefields of Xanadia dry, my Lady, than His Highness’ own cousin, the King of Valvidor, made desperate plea for assistance against wicked factions undermining the royal authority ! Putting personal grief aside, the good Prince fought to defend the king’s honour. No white peace this time, and yet alas ! Sorrow like unto the first ! For the Prince’s cousin was slain in battle, leaving the kingdom of Valvidor in the hands of his son the Crown Prince.”

“But devilish fiends were not yet done with Valvidor. My Lord Prince John had remained in that kingdom for the coming of age of his cousin’s heir when another war broke out ! Pagan demons coveting His Majesty’s overseas possessions invaded Christian lands to begin an orgy of slaughter and debauchery. And to compound that evil, barons and bandits in the king’s own realm chose the same moment to rise in rebellion. The Prince did not flee from the challenge to defend righteous honour yet once more.”

“To be sure,“ said Julietta, ”news of the pagan invasion in the east and of the civil wars in Valvidor were reported also in Numia. Yet no one made any mention of the plea for help addressed to my lord thy Prince. How is this possible ?”

“At the Prince’s own behest, my Lady, did the Court abstain from issuing proclamations about these wars. He did not presume, in the first place, to importune the world with his personal griefs. In the second place, he wished it not become common gossip that before he himself took up arms again, he wished to make the sacred journey to the shrine of the Apostle Saint James.”

“Sayest thou that the Prince accomplished this pilgrimage ?”

“Assuredly, and such a pilgrimage as few men have ever endured ! Hunger, flooding and burning were but only a few of the trials that Heaven, in her infinite wisdom, chose to inflict upon my lord the Prince. All of which trials he bore with grace and fortitude, and humble forbearance.”

“A more valiant and noble knight than the Prince one could not hope to be !” exclaimed the Court Chaplain.

“Alas, my Lord, there were several in this blessed land of Monte Fanum whose opinion ran contrary to thine. Like the dread plague, the disease of rebellion knows no man-made barriers. A number of Prince John’s vassals dared throw down the gauntlet and defy my master’s government. He was obliged to let his fighting men depart overseas without him, forced to seeing to the defence of his own honour. But treachery does not rain, it pours. For even as the Prince’s men suffered hardship and deprivation for those overseas possessions, even as thousands sacrificed their very lives for another man’s honour, that same man, the hapless King of Valvidor, betrayed his cousin — indeed, all Christendom ! — when he betrayed His Holiness the Pope.”

“Treachery pours indeed,” murmured Julietta. ”But surely the Prince has friends. Surely they did not abandon him to the wickedness that harassed him so relentlessly. Had I but known myself what awful —”

“Forgive me, my Lady, for it seems I have failed to impress thee with one of the Prince’s tenets, one to which he adheres most adamantly : it is that my master deems it an honour to suffer at the hands of those he trusts, as Christ himself so suffered on the night he was betrayed.”

Once more the haunted look on Prince John’s face conjured itself from the depths of Julietta’s memory. Not a haunted look, in reality. One of fear. The fear of seeing a potential traitor....

“To answer my Lady’s question,” continued the musician, “the Prince did in fact turn not to a friend exactly but to family. In this case, the noble Duke of Favignana, the Princess’ father.”

“Of course, the Princess.”

“Together did the Prince and the Duke put down the miserable rebels, with much bravery and at tremendous risk to my master’s person. And yet, when the faithless rogues were captured and peace was restored to Monte Fanum, the Prince astonished the Court by unilaterally granting the rebel leader unconditional pardon. It was but another clear sign that the lord my Prince in truth places goodness and mercy above all other merits.”

“But what of the heretic king of Valvidor ?” the Chaplain demanded.

“The Prince announced in person that his noble kinsman the king was forcing him to choose between two evils : fight the pagan enemies of the Saviour, but in so doing lend support to one who was betraying the Saviour all over again, or remove himself from the war. He chose the latter. Those of our fighting men who had survived until then returned home. Many of the king’s own soldiers did the same. Hence the loss of the traitor king’s overseas possessions, followed by a general and public humiliation by his vassals.”

“Desist, I say,” Julietta commanded, beside herself with grief. “I can hear no more. Mine eyes have seen in the Prince’s own face the pain he has borne these few years since assuming his crown. Would that I —” She caught herself in the nick of time. Her tongue had nearly betrayed her. She could never give voice to what her blood screamed from her very veins : would that I could have lent him some small comfort....

Turning to her maid, she announced that she would dress. On cue, her guards lifted the stool, the young musician barely catching himself from falling to the floor. They carried him to a corner of the room. The Chaplain slipped out the door while the screen was advanced to hide the room and the ladies from the musician’s gaze, the two guards looming before him, their arms crossed across their mailed tunics.

“Play for me, boy,” Julietta called as her servant robed and coiffed her, “softly, prithee, but a song prompt and gay. I will yet know more of thy master and his House.”

As the musician took up his instrument and began to tease its chords into melody, he wondered whether that meant that the Countess would now enquire after Lord Armand, her betrothed.

~~~​

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

I love the history book style.

 

[fabiolundiense]

I love the history book style.

Thanks, Nuada. I'm enjoying my attempt at a medieval love story, and finding it difficult not to go into (needless) detail
King Gian of Italy's reign was a long one, so there will be a few more pages like the foregoing.

 

[fabiolundiense]

When Julietta’s maids had finished dressing her and recalled the Court Chaplain to chaperone the rest of the interview, she said to the lyre player : “Tell us now, though thou hast been truthful all this time, we doubt it not, but surely there has been joy in this realm, reason for the lord thy Prince to rejoice rather than mourn.”

“Let my Lady rest assured,” the boy replied, “His Highness constantly bids his loyal subjects offer up prayers of thanksgiving for the happiness that Heaven rains down upon his House. The first occasion was one of the grandest, when a new bishopric was established in a remote region of the realm. On an equal scale, there were three days of feasting when His Holiness the Pope announced the successful conversion to the Lord Christ of remote pagan peoples far in the north.”

The Court Chaplain crossed himself piously and beamed at the musician.

“Then there was the occasion of the crisis of rebellion which the Prince masterfully averted,” the boy continued. “Deceit and corruption had perverted a lordling vassal. But His Highness shew him only virtue, honour and righteousness, thus winning back the lordling’s fealty without resorting to threat or violence. Even when others dared challenge His Highness in person, as in the affair of a villainous baron’s attempted rape of one of his serving girls, the Prince won the day with justice and fortitude.”

“O happy realm !” the Chaplain exclaimed, “o happy people to be so blessed with a man so noble of heart !”

“Indeed, my Lord,” the boy replied, “it is commonly acknowledged that the Prince is nothing less than the incarnation of goodness.”

“Amen to that,” said Julietta. “And yet it is plain that the more frivolous pleasures are also in vogue with His Grace.”

The Chaplain stared at her, but Julietta persisted.

“Feasts, hunts, processions — why, there are even musicians at Court.”

“Ah !” The boy understood at last what she was getting at. “Of course, my Lady. Prince John takes much delight in the arts, not least for the sake of his family. Heaven has already blessed Their Highnesses with three sons and a daughter, the Lady Diana. Wagers are high that the Princess shall be delivered this time of yet another boy, despite the Prince’s prayers to the contrary. Master Rodolfo, the middle son, is his especial pride and —”

The boy froze, mortified.

“His especial pride and joy,” Julietta completed.

“Only insomuch as he takes after my Lord Armand !”

“The loyalty thou bearest the House of Monte Fanum honours thee, boy,” said Julietta, rising from her chair. “I have learnt all I wish to know.”

“My Lady ? What of —”

But the boy was soon ushered out, a silver coin his reward, with a stern reminder of the oath he had taken.



Julietta sent a page to thank the Princess for the musician, and to report that she had recovered herself fully. The Princess declared herself delighted. Regrettably, she herself was feeling out of sorts, but promised to attend the afternoon feast later that day.

A sober luncheon of fishcakes and fruit was served on one of the castle’s balconies. Prince John presided. Julietta was introduced to his two younger sons, Master Rodolfo and Master John-John, and to little Diana.

“The musician’s playing was satisfactory ?” Prince John inquired.

“Most satisfactory, my Lord,” said Julietta.

“Nothing too melancholy, I hope.”

Julietta blushed. Could this man read her like an open book ? Had he divined the real reason behind her indisposition ? She decided she had to set his mind at rest. After the meal, Julietta suggested a private parley in the presence of their Chancellors. It was arranged. On this occasion, at least, the Prince understood her perfectly. Armand was brought forward, with Master Rodolfo and the Prince’s Chaplain as additional witnesses. Prince John made formal request for the hand of Lady Julietta, Countess of Numia, in the name of his first-born son, Armand de Monte Fanum. Julietta made her formal declaration of acceptance. Papers were draughted. Julietta was presented with an engagement ring : a rare black pearl set in rubies and gold.

They danced and feasted the afternoon away. Gondolas festooned with silver bells were carried to the lake below the castle. Julietta and Armand were rowed back and forth while children played along its pebbled shore and young squires swam after them, determined to fill their eyes with the sight of the future bride and groom. Julietta discreetly searched the lake for Prince John’s gondola. She caught only a glimpse of the man as he rowed back to the shore, where a pair of ladies-in-waiting helped the Princess onto dry land.

That evening, she thought she could hear weeping outside her window. Lighting a candle, she ventured out onto her balcony. The sound carried across the enclosed garden from another part of the castle. She stepped out of her room to wander the deserted corridor. Presently, she came to a door hanging ajar. The room beyond seemed bathed in a pearly, moon-like light. She pushed the door and went in.

The light emanated from fifty candles set along an iron low table. They revealed a life-size portrait of an elegant woman of noble carriage.

Juilietta gazed at the painting. Presently, she felt rather than heard a presence in the darkness.

“My late mother, the Countess of Andacennes,” whispered Prince John.*

Julietta turned, but could not make him out.

“She passed away six months ago.”

“Oh. My condolences,” she replied.

Prince John suddenly emerged from the shadows. Taking a candle from in front of the portrait, he raised his left arm. Taking it, Julietta followed him back towards a magnificent round table. On it, the Prince had placed a map.

“I am now Count of Andacennes,” said Prince John sadly. “See, it lies some leagues from Monte Fanum.”

Juilietta’s spies had reported unrest in that part of the world. They had also reported that Prince John was fabricating claims in that same region.

“And these lands between Andacennes and Monte Fanum, who controls them ?” she asked.

“Distant cousins of my mother’s,” came the reply. “For now.”

So there is more to this paragon of goodness than meets the eye, thought Julietta.

“Golden dreams and sweetest night, my Lady,” said Prince John. So saying, he raised her hand to his lips, then left without another word.

Back in her chambres, Julietta fell instantly asleep, her face nestled against the hand that had been kissed.

~~~​

The wedding the next day brought out Monte Fanum’s entire population. Horns, drums and tambourines led a procession first from the castle to the church. Lords and ladies followed a path strewn with rose petals. After the exchange of vows and rings, a new procession, led by a bishop, his assistants, and more children throwing more roses to the ground, returned to the castle for more music and the Wedding Feast. The celebration lasted long into the night, and continued the next day with renewed fervour.

By way of opening the new round of dances, Prince John made an announcement : Lord Armand and Lady Julietta were awarded the honorific title Serene Grace, in virtue of the former’s official recognition as Crown Prince of Monte Fanum.

In the course of the afternoon, there was a brief moment of anguish when the Princess, clutching her belly, was seized with uncontrollable laughter. “Too much... merriment !” she gasped. She was carried without further ado up to her chambres. As night fell, every bell in every spire in the realm announced to the world the birth of a new son to Monte Fanum. The bishop who the previous day had performed the rite of holy matrimony, that evening proceeded to anoint the new-born child. He was christened Antony.

The next day saw a new procession as the newlywed couple were escorted to a magnificent vessel anchored out in the bay. Husband and wife stepped into a gondola covered in flowers and were rowed out to their ship. As the shore and hills of Monte Fanum faded from view, Julietta leaned against her husband’s shoulder and burst into tears.

~~~





TEN YEARS LATER​

“The rebels have agreed to unconditional surrender, m’lady,” said Sir David in his sing-song lilt and peculiar accent. “Their faction has been disbanded. His Serene Grace the Lord Chancellor recommends the oubliette for their leader, the Marquess of Cimberley.”

“How many times must I chide thee,” Julietta laughed softly, “he is Lord Armand. Simply His Grace would also do nicely.”

“The oubliette then, m’lady ?”

Julietta thought back a few years to her father-in-law’s letter recounting a similar uprising in Monte Fanum. He had been content to send his traitorous vassal to a prison cell. “Nay, David. The dungeons are ghastly enough. The usual fare.”

“The Marquess shall adore thee.”

Julietta laughed again. She loved her secretary’s company, his repartee, his contagious contentedness. Most of all, David’s mere existence reminded her of blessed Monte Fanum, where his older brother served in the Prince’s High Council. It had been Prince John’s suggestion that the Jewish lad seek his fortune in the service of the Countess of Numia....

“Our borders are secure once more, m’lady, thanks to His Grace and his government.”

Indeed, thought Julietta. Armand had learnt his lesson well. Secure borders meant less risk of corruption and bribery. For the sake of secure borders had Prince John fabricated a claim, and then pressed that claim on and on to victory, with the support of the Princess’ duchy of Favignana, and his brother-in-law’s unruly kingdom of Jovribod.

It had been a long, nasty war. Now, however, the county of Andacennes, the Prince’s inheritance, and the lands connecting it to Monte Fanum, benefitted on equal footing from his enlightened rule. A new duchy had been created, called Great Andacennes.** When a faction in Numia had begun sowing the seeds of discontent, the Prince had urged Armand to do everything in his power to nip the rebellion in the bud, before it turned into civil war.

Heavy footsteps announced Armand’s imminent arrival. Moments later, the door swung open. Armand appeared on the threshold, holding their two daughters’ hands.

“Someone can’t wait to bother thee,” he quipped.

“Mama !”

The two girls ran squealing into their mother’s arms. Serena, the elder, squeezed herself onto the seat next to her. The younger, Virginie, climbed up onto her lap. Sweet Virginie ! Julietta embraced her warmly. Only two years younger than her namesake. Julietta had been thrilled when Armand himself suggested naming her after her aunt, Armand’s newest sibling. Yet another reminder of dear, blessed, missed Monte Fanum.

The girls began chattering away, recalling this or that tidbit remembered from their afternoon lessons. Sir David bowed and retreated discreetly into the antechambre. They were joined presently by Mistress Rose, the girls’ governess.

“Time for a swim !” she announced. (It was her way of getting the girls ready for a bath.)

“Don’t be late again for dinner, Mama !” Serena admonished as she leapt off the seat to follow Mistress Rose.

“I shall be there before thee !” Julietta cried out.

When the girls had left, Armand settled into a seat opposite her. “There is news from home.”

Julietta smiled wanly. Was it wrong of her to be upset that for Armand, home meant Monte Fanum ? As if ten years in Numia, and almost that long as its de facto governor, could only rate second-best. On the other hand, who could blame him ? Did she not long with every breath to be in Monte Fanum too ? But Armand’s voice put her on alert. ”News from home” meant a letter from the Prince. And from the sound of his voice, that news concerned neither the construction of yet another monastery or some such other pious work.

“What has happened ? Is everyone all right ?”

“Not everyone.” Armand paused. “I had a letter from Mother. The Countess of Oudha has been imprisoned. They tortured her before they locked her away.”

“Heavens !” cried Julietta. “What about Rodolfo ?”

“Unharmed, thank God.” ***

Julietta rose to pour herself a glass of wine. She had always been fond of Armand’s brother Rodolfo. The Prince’s pride and joy, was he not ? His wife, on the other hand, Countess Yvette of Oudha, was another story. Julietta had ever found her to be far too envious and cynical. She recalled their wedding in Monte Fanum, at the same church where she and Armand had wed. For the Prince, it had been another dream come true. He had wanted his second son, like his first, to wed an orphaned Countess because, as he said, “Holy Mary guided me so well the first time.”

“Poor, poor Yvette.”

“There’s more. Father has been more than usually withdrawn. Mother is worried. She says she cannot...”

Julietta had stopped listening. Prince John, unwell ? Oh please, please, let it not be so....

“... and those insufferable preachers. She would like us to make an official visit.”

“Forgive me, my sweet, I — I didn’t hear —”

“Mother would like us to make an appearance in Favignana. She thinks I can frighten the heretics into coming back to the Faith. Ha ! I should have thought that was more John-John’s business.”

“Quite so.” John-John, Armand’s second brother, had recently become a novice of the Benedictine Order.

“Thou hast other means of persuasion. It might behoove well for the people to see their future Duke.” The duchy of Favignana was only a day away by carriage from the realm of Monte Fanum. Anything, anything to be that near again ! “Let us take the girls this time. Thy father has yet to bless his second grand-daughter !”

“Let us tell them at dinner, then.” Armand rose, embraced his wife, and went out.

I have news too, she mused silently. I shall tell thee later, after I have written to Monte Fanum.

A week later, the Countess of Numia, her husband Lord Armand de Monte Fanum, and their two children, set sail for the southernmost territories of the duchy of Favignana.

~~~​

* King Gian of Italy inherited the county of Neuchâtel from his mother, Countess Adelaide Udonen, a grand-daughter of the King of Lotharingia.

** King Gian of Italy conquered the county of Bern from Nicolas Karling, King of Burgundy, in 1140 and usurped the title of Duke of Upper Burgundy.

*** Prince Salinguerra of Italy married Countess Zoe of Malta in 1138. In 1139, Countess Zoe rebelled against her liege lord, the Duchess of Sicily. The rebellion was suppressed in 1141. The Duchess had her vassal blinded, and subsequently revoked her title of Malta.

 

[fabiolundiense]

They tarried less than a week in Armand’s future fief. The reception was lukewarm at best. Twice a day the duchy’s garrison was called out to disperse rowdy mobs hanging on the preaching of belligerent heretics. Concerned for her safety, Armand insisted that Julietta travel under armed escort to Monte Fanum. She departed on the fourth day of their visit. Armand stayed another two days.

At Prince John’s Court, Julietta received word that the Prince would be delighted to receive her in his apartments forthwith.

“Thy visit is an answer to a prayer, Contessa,” the Court Chaplain confided, “the Prince receives few visitors of late, apart from sweet Master Antony. Thy serene company can bring him only joy.”

Julietta bowed her head demurely, preferring not to reveal to the Chaplain that rumours of the Prince’s growing misanthropy had reached distant Numia.

A valet accompanied her to the west wing of the castle. Upon being admitted, she looked directly into the Prince’s face, her heart beating as if to be heard over earth and sea. The Prince’s aspect, once so soft and resigned, had aged into something akin to stony distrust. She curtsied deeply until the valet closed the door after himself.

“Must I then be deprived of thy friendship, that thou shouldst wait upon so much ceremony ?” the Prince rasped. He had risen from his chair.

“My friendship is thine for as long as the Lord quicken my soul,” Julietta replied, rising and going forward to the Prince. “In all fairness therefore must it be said that thine own posture gives me cause for pain.”

“Mine own posture ? When have I given thee cause for pain ?”

“Can a man who shieth away from his people — a people that love him — claim to know friendship ?”

The Prince gazed at her a moment, then looked away.

“Forgive me. And know that I judge not.”

“I know it. Come, sit with me.”

He turned to the balcony. A divan for two was set before the windowed double panel leading outside. Opening the panels, he seated himself on the right side. Julietta sat down beside him.

“Vanity of vanities, all is but vanity,” the Prince murmured after a few moments. “Whether one live through virtue or vice, love or hate, honour or villainy, all is but vanity. Whether I show the one or the other, I am rewarded with treachery. If I give succour to a just cause — for the sake of kin, for instance — that cause turns to nought.”

“I have lost count of the number of vows made to the merciful Almighty Father, to Mother Mary and so many saints, and fulfilled every one. Yet faithlessness triumphs. My kin — even close kin ! — choose instead to personify the devil himself !”

“My people love me ? Though it pain me to pain thee, my dear, thou art in error. My people despise me. County after county opens its arms to preachers worshipping false gods. The Princess herself is not immune to the antipathy of a thankless folk. Favignana is on the fringe of revolt. Thou canst not deny that thine own arrival here, ahead of Armand, confirms my assessment.”

“I deny it not,” Julietta replied softly. A tear fell from her inundated eyes to her palm resting in her lap. “Yet thou art loved. Yea, more than thou canst know. Does not the heavenly Father bless thee daily with a thousand blessings ? Do not the saints themselves, by the power of their mortal remains remanded into thy custody, protect and defend thee from evil ? Do not thy children, even thy courtiers, follow in thy footsteps, seeking and finding their own paths to felicity and virtue ?”

“False gods may be worshipped in Monte Fanum, but were they not worshipped the world over ? That prevented not the Lord from sending saintly prophets to save his people. The same is true in Monte Fanum, unless thine own heralds give false testimony. And His Grace thy brother Joseph has vowed his existence to the service of the Lord, as have others of thy kin.”

“Heaven’s own Court on earth is graced with the benign influence of several of thy vassal churchmen,” Julietta continued. “And since men for the most part live for ideals less lofty than thine, Heaven has seen fit also to bless thy demesne with every earthly blessing. No other realm in the world can rightly boast of wonders as magnificent as those the architects and artists of Monte Fanum have wrought for this beautiful land.”

“I am become familiar with thy magnanimity in the time since our Houses joined. Mine has gained much profit from our alliance. It is known that other, more illustrious Houses than mine, willingly ally themselves with thee to the point of adopting thy name, as in the case of thy daughter, the Lady Diana, that their children might with valour populate this world with noble men and women and carry on for ages to come the glory of Monte Fanum. Could any man hope for more blessings than these ?”

The Prince continued to gaze out towards the fields and lake beyond the castle balcony. His breathing came regularly, gently. Julietta, somewhat flushed, found herself matching his rhythm. Then, suddenly :

“Yes. Yes, a man — this man — might ask for yet one more blessing.”

With his left hand, he took Julietta’s right hand, then covered it with his right hand. Julietta thought she would burst into flames.

“Thou givest me cause for joy, though it may not show,” said the Prince. “Cause for pain also.”

Julietta made to withdraw her hand, but the Prince refused to let it go.

“Pain, indeed. For I know thy secret.”

“Nay,” gasped Julietta.

The Prince released her hand. “Be not fearful. Thy dilemma shall remain our secret. But believe me when I say : I know all about Armand.”

Julietta brought both hands to her mouth. Her eyes had slammed shut in an agony of shame. She felt nauseous. A muffled cry — the Prince’s right hand gently over her own which remained over her mouth until she regained composure. A silk chord was pulled. The Prince’s valet appeared.

As she turned to let herself be escorted to her chambres, the Prince declared : “Justice shall be done. I swear it.”



Armand arrived in Monte Fanum three days later. Six of the Prince’s personal retinue took charge of his baggage train. Another six escorted him through the castle’s great hall, then up the secondary stairwell to the Prince’s apartments.

“Is my father not resting at this hour ?” said Armand. The sun was on the point of falling below the horizon.

“His Highness is most anxious to receive His Serene Grace as soon as possible,” came the reply.

They reached the Prince’s rooms in the west wing. The door was opened to them. The escort aligned itself outside as Armand swept into his father’s reception room. He had taken five steps when he realised that the Prince was flanked by two guardsmen whose swords were unsheathed. He stopped. That same moment, ten of Numia’s guardsmen closed a semi-circle behind him and drew their swords.

“What in the devil’s name is going on ?” exclaimed Armand.

Only then did he note Julietta’s presence on his left. Behind her stood her Councilmen.

“Lord Armand de Monte Fanum,” she declaimed in a loud voice edged with sadness, “thou art charged with treason for plotting against the sovereign state of Numia. Thou art under arrest.”

“What ?” cried Armand. “Father ! I reject this ludicrous charade absolutely ! Who dares accuse —”

“Guards,” said Julietta, “take His Lordship away.”

Lord Armand’s trial began three days later. In the interests of neutrality, three magistrates sat in judgement : one from Numia, one from Monte Fanum, and one from the duchy of Favignana. Julietta had prepared everything in fine detail. During her husband’s incarceration, she paid him a private visit. She related how her Spymaster had discovered the conspiracy, and Armand’s connivance with the ringleader. She revealed that her own men had infiltrated the conspirators’ circle and kept her informed of every development. She told him how she had, the day of her arrival in Monte Fanum, discovered that his own father already knew of the conspiracy through his own informants, quite unbeknownst to her. She had come with the intention of asking the Prince’s help in arresting Armand. When Armand protested his innocence, Julietta summoned her Spymaster. In his tow was the leader of the conspiracy, chained and gagged. No other word was pronounced. Armand, recognising defeat, submitted himself to his wife’s authority.

The three magistrates heard his confession. All three declared him guilty of treason. Julietta sentenced him to imprisonment on the remote island of Betica, halfway between Numia and Monte Fanum.

“The prisoner has confessed his heinous crime and implored the court’s mercy,” said Julietta in her closing statement. “Mercy is granted in this form : imprisonment shall end should such be the desire of Her Highness the Princess of Monte Fanum, Duchess of Favignana.”

Few courtiers present at the sentencing understood the justice of that clause. The Princess, heartbroken upon learning of her son’s treachery, had declined to interfere. But internal strife and religious dissension threatened the stability of Favignana. Julietta knew that the Princess would only ask that her son be released from prison if he agreed to risk his life, and thus regain his honour, on the field of battle.*

Two days later, a small ship with an armed guard, and in their custody Armand de Monte Fanum, sailed for the island prison of Betica. Two days after that, Monte Fanum found itself in its own internal strife.

“Take thy daughters and return to Numia,” said the Prince, “for alas, my own country is unsafe, and I fear I must to war.”

“Wisdom and prudence decree that we comply. But before I go, I say it again, with insistence, that my gratefulness can never —”

“Thy gratefulness cannot surpass my own, my Lady. Thy friendship has rescued me from devilish indolence. My people needed me. In failing them, I would have failed thee.”

Gay fanfare accompanied the departure of Julietta and her children, belying the sorrow felt in everyone’s hearts. On reaching Numia however, Julietta contrived to erase as much of that sorrow as possible. A veritable army of masons and carpenters was commissioned to refurbish one of Numia’s many castles, one further inland and on higher ground. She moved her family there, the better to close every door on every memory of the plots and schemes that had formed in her previous residence. In spite of all her efforts, however, she never fully regained her former happiness.

Following its renovation, the family’s new residence received the name Chastel de Roche-Salvant. The populace of Numia, however, came to refer to their melancholy ruler — though never in her hearing — as ma Dame de la Roche-Saulxant.

~~~​

* This episode would appear to be based on the following : in 1142, Prince Ausilio of Italy was imprisoned by his wife Countess Jutta von Tarifa following his involvement in a conspiracy to take over the county of Algeciras. He was released from prison after thirteen months.

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

Some great examples of how to craft stories from events.

 

[fabiolundiense]

Some great examples of how to craft stories from events.

Thank you, Nuada Airgetlám, I certainly can't complain about all the events that are being thrown at me, lol

 

[fabiolundiense]

For the next few weeks, Julietta maintained as best as possible a steady exchange of letters between Numia and Monte Fanum. The world seemed to have become possessed by a horde of demons as diverse as they were perverse. The duchy of Favignana, as well as other nearby duchies, was plunged into chaos. Heretics sprang up like mushrooms, corrupting farmsteads, villages and manors, burghers and sailors, priests and bishops. Fear took root in every heart.

One day, the inhabitants of La Roche-Salvant observed a small carriage marked with white crosses sweep past the fields and into the castle keep. Lord Armand had returned.

“Atonement did earn thee mercy,” said Julietta when Armand was admitted into the castle’s Great Hall. “Now, by the grace of God, may honour yet be restored.”

“I beseech thee, tell me news of my mother.”

“Thy mother is in safety,” Julietta replied. “But Favignana is broken. The southern territories have flushed out all resistants and declared itself an independent realm. It recognises neither king nor God.”

“Cursed heathens !” cried Armand.

“Thy father has launched a Crusade to rescue the land and its people. The heretics have formed an alliance. Thy kinsman of the warrior monks has joined his fighting men to those of Monte Fanum.” *

Armand looked expectantly at his wife.

“Wilt thou join the holy war at thy father’s side ?” she asked finally.

“I will ! Deus veult !” came the zealous reply.

“Thou shalt fight then. May the Lord go with thee.”

The white crosses on the small carriage were replaced with the coat of arms of Numia. Armand departed at once. An impromptu crowd cheered him on his way, at Julietta’s discreet command. Her court musicians blared their trumpets, and church bells pealed gravely. Armand’s sins were truly forgiven.

~~~​

Four months later :

“A letter, Madame.”

Julietta seized the parchment, broke the wax seal, began to peruse the letter, then thrust it back at her secretary. “Read it for me, David, my hands tremble so ! What does it say ?”

After a few moments, the secretary replied calmly, “There was a battle near Winnik Wood in Favignana. A great victory for Prince John and his allies, Madame. Captain Joachim of the warrior monks declares that the angels themselves fight for Monte Fanum, under the Prince’s inspired leadership. And Lord Armand acquitted himself with great valour.”

“Send word to the Archbishop, David. We must celebrate a Te Deum.”

More months went by, letters few and far between. There were two more battles, and many a heretic manor or war camp was razed to the ground. More than a year after his departure, Armand himself despatched a letter to Numia.

“My dear Julietta, Favignana is fallen. Or rather, it is saved. Those heretics
who have not fled have been imprisoned. Thanks be to thy constant prayer,
which thy sweet letters always promised and which I know did never fail.
Thanks be also to Father’s insightful command. Age weakens him not. We
depart on the morrow. Rebellion has spread to Monte Fanum.”

Another four months passed before fresh news arrived from the war front.

“The rebellion is crushed. A peasant uprising, peasant leadership, pitchforks
for swords. But the heretic leader began to froth at the mouth, and threw
hellish curses in every face. It was all Father could do to stop the soldiers
from shooting a thousand arrows into the man’s every orifice. They refused
him the right to sleep one more night. As he refused to recant, Father was
obliged to deliver him to the stake.

It is as if a dam has broken. Five new rebels rise for every one put down. We
march north. Father has declared war on the Viscount of Brennenbrook.” **

“David, what does he mean ?” exclaimed Julietta.

“By my Lady’s leave, I shall bring my Lady’s query to the attention of the Spymaster.”

The reply arrived within a fortnight.

“Monte Fanum was indeed attacked, my Lady,” the Spymaster reported. “The Viscount of Brennenbrook invaded and annexed a region in the north-east of Monte Fanum. Prince John is leading his army thither to reclaim his rightful demesne.”

~~~​

The days dragged into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years. By some tacit general consensus, a moratorium was laid upon writs and letters, in an attempt to isolate the heretics. News passed through word of mouth alone.

Late one evening in the midst of a cruel winter storm, a starving messenger appeared at La Roche-Salvant. He carried the signet of the Prince of Monte Fanum.

“My Lady, I bring tidings from His Highness Prince John,” the man rasped.

“I shall learn these tidings, whilst thou shalt dine like a king !”

To Julietta’s astonishment, the messenger, between mouthfuls of roast boar and throatfuls of wine, proceeded to recite a letter he had evidently committed to memory.

“Be thou not afraid for me, my Lady, for I am as fit and hale as any of
my years could dare hope to be. In the midst of war, mortal men shall
ever find oases of comfort, if not peace, before moving on again, for
true repose is had not in this life but in the next.

Be thou forgiving with me, for I bring thee little cheer, and much pain.
We have put the wicked Viscount to flight at last. His army had the ad-
vantage of experience in snow-capped mountain terrain, and thus speed.
We had the advantage of number, but were ever outrun. Armand saved
the day. He led a contingent to strike camp where the rock protected them
and hindered the enemy. It was a risky plan of ambush. He volunteered
to place himself in danger’s path, outnumbered by the enemy, whilst rein-
forcement crept forward at a snail’s pace to succour them.”

“The plan worked. The enemy was squeezed between two forces. There was no escape.”

“Many of our own valiant soldiers were lost. Armand was wounded.”
​

Julietta cried out. “Merciful Mary !”​

“Blessed Mary protected him well. He is at present in convalescence in a
secret location. He is a brave man of whom I can be proud. Others in
command of other of my men fared not as well.

My son and I spoke at length about the future. With exemplary virtue did
he acknowledge his weaknesses, and that another would, more ably than
he, rule over Monte Fanum after me. We have therefore decided that he
shall in due course inherit Favignana, and his brother Antony Monte Fanum.

Bear me no ill will, I pray thee. For no doubt would it have become thee to
bear the title Princess of Monte Fanum. I do most deeply regret the impos-
sibility of bestowing that title upon thee.”​

Julietta smiled inwardly. Did the Prince realise to what extent those last words spoke the truth ? Did he not suspect for just how long she had carried the knowledge in her heart that no, she could never become the Princess of Monte Fanum ?

The Prince’s communication closed with an anecdote about one of his vassals tempted by the delirious preaching of a particularly obscure sect, how they had debated all through the night in the vassal’s own manor, and how the Prince had convinced him of the error of the sect’s ways.

At the end of his recitation, the messenger enquired whether the Countess wished to send a reply. She decided that she would wait until the roads were safe to travel again. Then would she make the journey to speak to the Prince in person.

It would be two years before she could fulfill her wish.

~~~

In the interval, Julietta’s daughters had grown. The elder, Serena, had been given in marriage to a brave and handsome baron strong of sword and illustrious of lineage. Virginie, the younger, was being courted by a young artist of modest means but surpassing talent. Her namesake, Lady Virginie de Monte Fanum, had come of age and was to wed a sibling of a powerful Duke whose demesne stretched between Monte Fanum and Numia. Julietta and her daughters attended the wedding.

The Prince and Princess then journeyed with Julietta back to Numia for the wedding of Virginie and the artist Angelo Beltrano.

“Their delight in each other is a joy to behold,” the Princess declared, gazing down from Julietta’s balcony at the newlywed couple on the morrow of their union.

But the world had not yet grown weary of war. The festivities were marred by an outbreak of fresh conflict. A coalition of pious lords had at long last made up their minds to invade the kingdom of Valvidor and do away with the Anti-Pope. Courtiers and noble guests alike were therefore stunned when an embassy from Valvidor presented itself at La Roche-Salvant with a letter addressed to the Prince of Monte Fanum.

“Now does my shameless cousin of Valvidor implore succour in an hour of need ?” said the Prince when he and the Ambassador had been shown into Julietta’s private library.

“The hour is indeed desperate, Highness,” replied the Ambassador.

“My royal cousin may have been foolish, and mayhap persists in foolishness to this day. He would be wise to rethink his stance. Pray convey to thy master my honourable greetings.”

“What answer to his plea, my Lord ?”

“My assistance on one condition : let him be rid of his false pope, and do penance in Rome.”

Two months later, Monte Fanum’s fame and prestige soared the world over when it became known that the king of Valvidor had decided to heed his cousin’s advice. He deposed his own Anti-Pope and did public penance in Rome. The coalition against him disbanded. Heathens, however, continued to besiege the king’s overseas territories. A second embassy was despatched to the Prince. This time, assistance was granted. To no avail, alas ; two years later, Valvidor surrendered its beleaguered holdings to the heathens.

Peace was restored, and with it a reflection of ordinary life concerned mostly with the changing seasons, the planting, tilling and irrigating of crops, and the tending of livestock. The fever of heresy passed like an ominous black cloud swept away by headwinds. Populations went down on bended knee to do penance, and made their peace with their Maker.

“Father seems to have returned to his old habits,” declared Armand one autumn evening after a messenger from Monte Fanum had ridden into the courtyard. “Antony says he spends more time sipping herb teas in the company of monks than hearing the reports of his Councilmen. He fears that Father might decide to retire to a monastery.”

“Would that be wise ?” ventured Julietta.

“It would be disastrous ! Father would gladly spend the night on his knees at chapel praying for salvation, but I doubt he could find it within himself to sweep muck out of the stables every day.”

The Prince did indeed receive special apartments at a Benedictine monastery where he withdrew to meditate and pray. As it happened, it was not the raking out of muck that subsequently prompted a hasty return to his hilltop castle.

~~~​

* In 1149, a heretic faction in the county of Capua (Duchy of Swabia) rebelled and won independence. King Gian of Italy declared Holy War and conquered the county for Italy in 1150, with the help of the Knights Hospitaller, whose Master was uncle to King Gian.

** In 1151, King Gian of Italy declared war on the kingdom of Bavaria for the county of Krain, a de jure part of Croatia taken from King Pietro Torrechiavenna in 1075. Krain was reintegrated into Croatia in 1153.

 

[RyuDrago]

This kingdom of Italy is a beauty. One of the things I appreciate most is the itinerant court during the years, so historically fitting!

So, the court is in Spoleto now... That means Gian is willing to pursue the unification of the South?

 

[fabiolundiense]

This kingdom of Italy is a beauty. One of the things I appreciate most is the itinerant court during the years, so historically fitting!
So, the court is in Spoleto now... That means Gian is willing to pursue the unification of the South?

Thank you, RyuDrago, it is nice not having borders within my realm.
Yes, the court is now in Spoleto -- the move will be included in the next post. As for the unification of the South... you are a mind reader !

 

[fabiolundiense]

The mountains echoed the solemn peal of church bells the length and breadth of the countryside. Herds of sheep and cattle paused in their chewing, deer and other wildlife stood frozen in place, unsure whether to flee or try to remain invisible. Villages stood empty. All had flocked to the castle of their Prince to watch their knights, husbands, sons and lovers ride off in a blaze of magnificence and fervour.

No one noticed the solitary rider speeding away to the west, taking the opposite direction of the procession of knights and foot soldiers. Unrecognised men travelling alone were best avoided anyway, according to local wisdom that had held sway since time immemorial.

~~~​

“It is as thou foresaw it, Madame,” the Spymaster reported upon returning to Numia, “Monte Fanum has answered the Pope’s call to reconquer Jerusalem. The Prince himself is expected to lead his men.”

“It is none surprising,” said Julietta lamely. He has forgotten me.

“There was rumour of a ship lost at sea,” the Spymaster continued. “It would explain the absence of letters. There has also been much activity building new training grounds, armouries and ships for the Crusade.”

“When do they embark ?”

“They may have already done so.”

Julietta thanked her Spymaster. Dismissing her maidservants, she climbed up to her private oratory, a circular room crowning the east wing of her castle. She had foreseen the Prince’s departure. It was impossible for him to ignore so noble and pious a cause. Armand had gone to Favignana to take up the Christian banner for his mother. So be it. She would devote three hours of every day to praying and self-flagellation to implore Heaven for the Prince’s safe return.

Three days later a sleek ship showing the colours of Monte Fanum appeared in the harbour.

“Greetings from Monte Fanum, my Lady,” said the messenger who arrived at the castle.

“My Lord Antony !”

“Forgive the haste with which I arrive, and with which I am obliged to depart again,”Antony continued. “Circumstances will not permit the courtesy of prolonging this pleasure.”

“It is good to see thee, haste notwithstanding. Art thou to Jerusalem ?”

“How didst thou — ”

“The Cardinal Legate was here to recruit volunteers,” Julietta explained. “Numia is too poor to take part in this noble venture. Thy father would not refuse, I guessed.”

“He in turn guessed thy own situation would preclude a formal delegation. Hence this visit. With his blessing, I come to offer to carry my Lady’s colours on the field of holy battle !”

Julietta gave a small cry, then threw her arms around her brother-in-law.

“I take that to mean the offer is accepted.”

“Accepted,” Julietta laughed. “Helena will not —”

“My wife gives her blessing. She is distraught at present, not on thy behalf but on her brother’s. He lies abed with fever. The hour is — well, the illness leaves little room for hope.”

“My prayers are with him, and with this entire venture.”

“I thank thee. A great company, five-and-thirty thousand strong has mustered at Vinteseleigh Tower over the last few days.”

“Five and thirty thousand !”

“That is, every able man in Monte Fanum, and another five thousand warrior monks that Father pressed into his service. Uncle Joseph and his own Holy Order have already taken up positions around the Holy Land.”

“Before setting sail, Father moved the court to Vinteseleigh Tower, his castle on the east coast. Special apartments lie prepared for thy visit. Consider them thy second home.”

Moments later, Numia’s banner folded neatly into his satchel, Antony de Monte Fanum returned to his ship.

God speed thee to thy calling, Julietta murmured, and give thee wings for the voyage back.

~~~​

Eighteen months passed. The Prince had not written. Only through the offices of the Apostolic See did Julietta learn that the fighting men of Monte Fanum had won a significant victory in the region of Tyre. But travel to the Holy Land was hindered on both land and sea. Not even merchants dared risk their lives to go there.

Closer to home, mourning came to Vinteseleigh Tower. Lord Antony’s brother-in-law, Ermenon of Cascia, succumbed to the fevers. Antony’s wife Helena became heiress to her father’s duchy. *

Julietta was in her private oratory when her devotions were interrupted by a heavy knocking on the door. Her servants had been given the order not to disturb her except in the event of crisis. Pulling her robe over her sack-cloth, she went to the door. “What is it ?”

“A ship, Madame,” replied her secretary Sir David, “bearing the colours of Numia.”

Half an hour later, Julietta was at the docks. The ship, she thought, was the same one that had brought Lord Antony to Numia just before his departure for the Crusade. It was anchored a short distance from the entrance to the harbour.

“Why does the ship not — ” Julietta began. And then she saw it. That lugubrious, atrocious black and yellow banner. Quarantine. Julietta screamed.

A small boat bearing five men detached itself from the rear and approached the dock. Giving sign that they were free of disease, they were allowed to disembark. They were a small party who had abandoned the ship for the smaller craft when crewmen had begun to show signs of infection. It was the dreaded variole.

Oh merciful Mary, please, please let it not be....

One of the sea men stepped forward. “I have the honour and duty to present the Countess Julietta of Numia with a letter from His Highness John, Prince of Monte Fanum !” He held up a small parchment.

Oh merciful Mary, no.... no....

“No,” said Julietta, before falling down in a heap.

~~~​

“Try not to be so damned useless, child,” growled Sir David through clenched teeth. “Madame’s hair would look well on a scarecrow ! And get rid of those spikes ! We want a halo of hair, not a porcupine !”

The maidservant attending Julietta whimpered.

“Cease thy fussing, David, the poor girl is terrorised.”

They were on Julietta’s ship, preparing to enter the harbour below the walls of Vinteseleigh Tower.

“Madame cannot arrive in Monte Fanum looking like a beggar !” exclaimed Sir David.

“No one will be there to greet us,” replied Julietta.

“When His Highness sets eye upon thee, everyone’s eyes shall follow his gaze !”

But the Prince would not arrive for several days yet. Julietta pictured his leather-brown eyes, his nonchalant and yet intense gaze. Rather like his letters.

“To Her Serene Grace Julietta, Countess of Numia.

The Lord has granted us a great victory. Meanwhile, the devil plays his
own tricks, thinking to outdo us. But we are dust, and to dust we shall
return. I am grateful to be minded of this.

My body is afflicted with the variole. Not only mine, but many of our
fighting men as well. Worst of all, Antony is afflicted. This scourge is
well known in these parts. Amongst our prisoners are a pair who claim
they can rid us of it. I have promised them their freedom and gold if
their actions match their words.

Science notwithstanding, it is not my place to tarry here. My kinsmen
will pursue the conquest to the end. May the Lord grant them swift,
decisive victory. Antony and I return to Monte Fanum, should we
elude death. I have a boon to ask of thee. If it please thee, I would
fain speak of it directly. Let us meet then one last time in Monte Fanum.”​

He had asked for her. She had come.

Upon disembarking, Julietta and her entourage were escorted to Vinteseleigh Tower. The mood was neither festive nor despondent. So the first piece of news that fell from the Chancellor’s lips came as a great surprise.

“His Highness is cured ! Cured ! It is a miracle !”

“This is most wondrous news, my Lord,” Julietta replied. “Heaven be praised !”

“He writes that Arab-speaking prisoners possess the art of conjuring this accursed disease. He brings this science back with him. It is nearly beyond belief !”

“But wherefore wilt thou not proclaim this news throughout the realm ?”

“His Highness forbids it. Not a word until the Lord Antony too is out of danger.”

The Prince’s wishes, however, proved irrelevant. The seamen on board the ship that had delivered the news spread the word in every brothel and tavern, so that all Monte Fanum knew the truth by morning. They also announced that the Prince and Lord Antony travelled on separate ships, and that they should expect the Prince within two days.

It came to pass as they said. The Prince’s ship was sighted after two days. A smaller, swifter vessel preceded it. To her horror, Julietta was treated to the spectacle of every window sill in the Tower being arraigned in black. No one would tell her the reason.

The reason became apparent soon enough.

Church bells tolled the awful tidings : the heir to the throne was dead. His mortal remains, transferred to the Prince’s vessel whilst at sea, were set on a catafalque on the prow of the ship. It was a solemn funeral procession that forlornly ploughed the sea into the harbour.

Julietta left the window from whence she had followed the ship’s progress and retired to her apartments. Preparations for a solemn requiem mass would occupy courtiers and family. The Prince had asked her to be here. She would keep to her rooms until he asked for her.

~~~​

“Come, sit with me.”

The Prince and Julietta were in his private chambres. It was two days since the funeral of Lord Antony. The hour was still for private and public mourning, but also for decisions of moment. The High Council of Monte Fanum was to convene on the morrow. The Prince had announced that he would take a small repast in his suite. He had invited Julietta to join him.

They sat on the same divan, facing the sea, on which they had sat some years ago, discussing friendship and treachery. Only the balcony and vista were different. Julietta asked about the Crusade.

“We had just won our second victory,” the Prince reminisced. “It was far to the south of Jerusalem. It mattered little, for the crux of the war was in the north. Then I discovered the sores on my body. I considered then leaving the war to those more able than I. When Antony fell ill, I gave the order to return home.”

“A wise decision,” said Julietta.

The Prince paused a long moment before continuing.

“The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. My turn comes soon now, the Lord willing.”

“It is written : thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

They laughed softly together.

“Monte Fanum needs an heir,” said the Prince after another long pause. “I have decided to name Antony’s first-born son Marc Antony heir to Monte Fanum. He is but ten years of age. You recall that I have a boon to ask of thee.”

“Name it.”

“I shall convince the High Council to appoint Armand Regent of the Realm. That title requires above all that Marc Antony receive guidance and education before he assumes his crown. Armand will be occupied in Favignana. For all practical purposes then, that means that Marc Antony’s education will fall to thee.”

A lump formed in Julietta’s throat.

“He has his uncle Rodolfo,” she managed at last. “His uncle John-John in the monastery, even better. This plan — ”

“I want him in the care of none of his other uncles. I want him in thine. He will be safe there.”

“My Lord !”

“Thou must leave for La Roche-Salvant quickly. Three days at most. Marc Antony shall travel with thee.”

“Three days !”

“Preferably two. I do not wish any on the High Council to take it into his head to persuade you to refuse.”

“Thou canst not order me away like this !” cried Julietta.

The Prince rose from the divan and approached the balcony. A heavy sigh escaped his breast. When next he spoke, it was but a murmur.

“Often do I think back on the vision of Our Lady speaking to me of an orphan Countess. When I do, I always wonder what would have come to pass had I myself travelled to Numia, rather than sending one of my less competent Ambassadors.”

Julietta gasped.

“Then I thank all Heaven for all that has come to pass. That thou and I may speak together, be seen together, dine together, openly, in public, deceiving no one, requiring no guard on speech. Nay, I do not order thee away. I ask of thee to save my heir.”

Julietta’s throat constricted, and she threw herself from the divan to clasp the Prince’s feet. “I have always....“ she sobbed, “I have always — “

“Contessa — “

“— loved thee !“

“Take Marc Antony to La Roche-Salvant. Please.“

The Prince moved forward, turned, and lifted Julietta back to the divan. He passed her a kerchief. Julietta wiped tears from her eyes and face. The Prince summoned his valet to clear away the meal. When he had finished, he escorted Julietta to her apartments.

It was the last time Julietta and the Prince saw each other.

~~~​

The High Council of Monte Fanum met and debated for three days. Various questions of state were addressed, including a petition to wage war against a former ally of a former enemy. The Prince rejected the petition. Various nominations were passed, especially for the recently annexed lands formerly of Favignana where the last embers of heresy were being stamped out.

Not until the last hour was the nomination of Lord Armand as Regent of the Realm agreed upon. By this time, Julietta and little Lord Marc Antony were already bound for Numia, a fact which caused some displeasure.

All cause for recrimination vanished when news of the surrender of the Infidel arrived at the beginning of winter. Monte Fanum’s Crusaders, together with the warrior knights of Grandmaster Joseph de Monte Fanum, captured a major fortress in the region of Tyre, thus precipitating the surrender. The Apostolic See hastened to proclaim the warrior monks the new rulers of the Saviour’s homeland. **

Far from the noise of war, Julietta devoted herself to the education of Monte Fanum’s heir. Not a small part of this consisted in narrating large segments of the reign of Prince John, with especial emphasis on his philosophy of government and adherence to the Lord’s commandments. Before long, those who enjoyed the young ward’s company remarked on the grace of his person and the justice of his reasoning.

Some weeks following his twelfth birthday, he was called to Julietta’s audience chambre. He found her with an Ambassador from Monte Fanum.

“We must to Vinteseleigh Tower, my Lord,” she informed him. “Prince John is unwell. Everything must be packed up this night. We shall away at dawn.”

“His Highness insists that my Lady accompany His Lordship,” said the Ambassador.

“Of course. Pray dine at my table this evening in the company of His Lordship, whilst I prepare.”

Julietta’s servants prepared her baggage. Julietta herself spent the night in her oratory.

~~~​

John de Monte Fanum passed away in his sleep at the Benedictine monastery whither he had retired after the conquest of the Holy Land. Julietta and Marc Antony, now Prince of Monte Fanum, arrived three days later. Prince John’s funeral took place three days after that. He was inhumed in the monastery, according to his written testament.

Julietta was installed in the apartments reserved for her at Vinteseleigh Tower. There she quietly but assiduously pursued the education of her ward. Following Lord Armand’s instructions, Marc Antony added the arts of combat and horsemanship to his daily fare, as befitted a noble Prince.

Prince John’s widow followed her husband to the grave on the eve of Marc Antony’s fourteenth birthday. Julietta travelled forthwith to her husband’s side. Together they were crowned Duke and Duchess of Favignana in a ceremony as magnificent for the populace as it was mind-numbing for Julietta.

Marc Antony’s coronation festivities following his sixteenth birthday lasted three days and three nights. Duchess Julietta, as courtiers would now address her, sailed from Monte Fanum as the last of the revellers dragged themselves off to bed, arriving in La Roche-Salvant ten days later, stopping only long enough to exchange her finery for more simple attire. She then departed on foot to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James, fulfilling a vow to embark on that holy pilgrimage which she had formed during Prince John’s battle with the variole. She completed the pilgrimage in nine months.

For the rest of her life, she governed her small demesne with meticulous attention to justice tempered by mercy. Her daughter Serena, heiress to both Numia and Favignana, was soon paired with her in the running of state affairs.

At her passing, twelve years after her last conversation with Prince John, she was deeply mourned in more than one Court owing to her unselfish devotion to the House of Monte Fanum. She was inhumed next to her father, Count Robert, and other paternal ancestors, in the family vault. On the gravestone bearing her coat of arms entwined with that of the duchy of Favignana, on the right side of her neck on her effigy, was discreetly carved a single word.

Contessa.

~~~​

* Lord Antony, in real life Prince Lorenzo Torrechiavenna, fourth son of King Gian and heir to the kingdom of Italy, received the Barony of Monte Cassino when Italy annexed Capua in 1150. He married Gudeliva di Capua, eldest daughter of Duke Lando III of Benevento. Gudeliva’s only brother died childless in 1159, making Gudeliva heiress to Benevento. Second in line was her and Prince Lorenzo’s first-born son, Leonardo Torrechiavenna.

** Historical curiosity : the success of the Fifth Crusade is a milestone in the annals of the House of Monte Fanum, i.e. the Casa Torrechiavenna. Giordano Torrechiavenna, Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitalier, victor in this Crusade, was awarded the Holy Land in fief for the Knights, earning for himself the title “the Great.” It was the second time a Torrechiavenna was given dominion over Jerusalem. The first time was in the year 988, and the conqueror then was also named Giordano.

 

[Asantahene]

My question is what you are going to do about the Byzantine southern tip of your empire my lord

 

[fabiolundiense]

My question is what you are going to do about the Byzantine southern tip of your empire my lord

The Byzantines ? Live and let live, your Grace ! For now