Barlaam and Josaphat: A Christian Tale of the Buddha (16 page)

The angry King Avenir rode with his great host toward Josaphat's land and did not stop until he reached the city. Inside, they told King Josaphat that his father had laid siege to his city, and Josaphat wept with pity. Avenir's men pitched their tents outside the city walls. They camped beside a lake they intended to use to defend their position. Before Avenir arrived and put up his tents, Josaphat had burned the fields and all the houses outside the city walls. (The poor people always pay for the actions of the rich!) Secure inside their city, Josaphat's men climbed to the top of the walls to look upon the enemy camped beside the water. Avenir's men were sorry they had camped so close when Josaphat's men began to shoot arrows, and forced them to retreat.

Josaphat was in his castle with his people and was not afraid. His father, the king, was lodged with a great army outside the city, at the base of an ancient wall. I tell you truly that the apostle Saint Thomas was in this place for at least two years. He built the first church in India there, and it was later dedicated to the saint because he baptized many people inside. The king's tent was on that site, and he put the gods he brought with him on its ancient altar. This was a foolish thing to do and later it cost him dearly.

Polidonus of Athens (he was the king and duke of that land) was camped at a spring where the water was sweet and clear. This was the source of the Méandre, whose waters are good for navigation and go by André, a city in Africa. Dëinfans of Byzantium, the most powerful of all the noblemen, was lodged beside a wood where there were many wild bears. Protesilaus, from Britain, of Menelaus's lineage, camped by an estuary above the water of the Tabari. Why should I tell you all the names? The list would be too long if I recounted the name of every one of King Avenir's men. They were all lodged together, as they should be, for they did not stop in any other place. They played musical instruments, the horses whinnied, and the standards they had set up waved in the wind. Gold glistened in the sun, and the indigo and vermillion colors of the tents glimmered. When evening came, the most valiant men of the company took the watch, and the night was long for those who stayed awake to watch the city.

The night passed, day returned. From all sides, they rose and armed themselves. Their armor shone, their shields showed many colors, and the gleam from their helms and hauberks rivaled the sun's rays. When the companions were all armed, they were divided into ranks. King Avenir joined them eagerly, for he wanted to be in the first attack. But the king of Britain took the honor from him when he asked permission to lead the advance.

Both sides prepared carefully. The archbishop and Josaphat considered the assault seriously. They met to take counsel with each other, but first the archbishop sang the mass and Josaphat received God's absolution. Then they debated what they should do. King Josaphat was confident and trusted God, and he vowed that nothing would prevent them from confronting their attackers. The archbishop agreed, and by the king's commandment, they all armed themselves. The king was first to put on his armor. He had never before taken up arms, but he intended to demonstrate his power and strength to his enemies. A valet brought him a prized Greek horse (no count or king had a better one). He mounted skillfully, for he knew how to ride. With a loyal heart, he asked God his Creator to have mercy on him that day, and on his people who prepared for battle. He marveled to see them so joyful and happy to go to war. Everyone in the city was armed; they had all mounted their horses and taken ranks. They were ready for battle.

King Avenir's men rode toward the city and began the assault. King Josaphat's men let sharp arrows fly from the parapets and defended themselves bravely. There was a fierce battle, and the knights from Britain attacked as hard as they could. They were very good archers, but Josaphat's men came against them in strength and many were wounded. Any man who could pull a bow attacked or defended.

King Josaphat cried to his people: “Open the gate so we can go outside. Let us see which of us will fall first in the battle.” They opened the gates, and the well-armed battalions went out in tight ranks. They immediately began to fight without pity or fear, and the battle was engaged from all sides. They broke hauberks and chain mail, and they cut horses' reins. When their lances were broken, they immediately drew strong, sharp swords and trenchant axes. Vermillion blood bathed the steel, and the weapons looked as though they were bleeding. They fought hard and paid for their blows with their flesh—the field was strewn with bodies whose souls had departed, and with hands, feet, entrails, and heads without brains. Riderless horses roamed the field—many were wounded, many had escaped their reins, and many were killed. Wounded men cried out in dolorous laments. Some drowned in blood and many were trampled to death by horses.

The battle was heavy and hard, and the engagement was long. The king of Britain fought well. He was a good knight and a pagan. He rode hard against the Christians, and he and his men attacked with force. This king thought hard about how to take the Christians, but they defended themselves well. They had many men, and they had God and his strength to help them. The two sides came against each other again and again, with great charges and blows. The battle was equal on both sides, it seems to me, and each side harmed the other.

A castellan from Josaphat's city had armed himself well. He was nobly attired with lance and shield, and he charged forward to do great damage. He encountered a well-armed duke who was weakened from the loss of blood and went to joust against him. The knights broke their lances, then drew their swords and struck each other relentlessly. The duke was brave and attacked with great strength, and the strong blows they exchanged damaged their shields.

The battle was hard, and it was almost over when another echelon came at the defenders and revived the battle. The pagans ambushed the Christians, who would never have lasted if God had not helped them, for the battalion came upon them all at once. The battle was almost lost, I believe, when the archbishop and King Josaphat arrived to help the Christians. They returned to the battle with renewed courage and earned great honor. Each fought as well as he could, and the archbishop struck many strong blows. He knew if the battle were not won, Christianity would be lost. He fought well and broke many mail shirts; he split many helms and killed many pagans in the battle. His blood-drenched sword was twisted and dented, and his damaged shield had taken at least a hundred blows. He fought with courage, as did the entire army.

The Christians defeated the king of Britain and Miradeus of Babylon, who was the son of Semiramis. (History records that she was the founder of Babylon, but she was not the first to build in that place, for in earlier times giants had foolishly built a great tower there to rival God. He punished them by giving them a language that troubled their thoughts so that they could not understand each other. This tower was called Babel, and the name Babylon came from Babel.) Miradeus and the king of Britain left the battle, but they had paid their dues. They left many of their men dead on the field, and there were many dead from our side too.

Miradeus sat fully armed on his warhorse. He had done well that day and was reluctant to leave the field. He turned back repeatedly to charge against his enemy and rejoined the battle many times. He guided his men out of the battle with difficulty, trying to prevent the Christians from striking them down. He was very sorry that they had been pushed back so far. Then Arcelaus, a Christian knight, rode out of the ranks to confront him. Arcelaus was well armed and his horse was eager. When Miradeus saw him, he turned his horse toward him. Both men spurred forward and each tried to harm the other. They struck strong blows and pierced each other's shields. Despite their armor, their bodies were also pierced. Miradeus was gravely wounded, and Arcelaus died. He was greatly to be lamented (he was a good Christian and a good lord), but he received martyrdom for our Lord. When the archbishop saw it, he was exceedingly sorrowful. He spurred his horse quickly toward Miradeus, who waited for him, immobile, on his horse. The wound on his thigh pained him greatly. Miradeus bandaged his wound with a sleeve his lady had given him as a love token.
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The archbishop struck him on the side of his shield. The lance was strong, and he struck heavily and almost knocked Miradeus from his horse. The knight held firm despite the pain. He did not complain but was almost dead from his wound. Miradeus said, “You are wrong to attack me in this way when you see me so near death. It is not good chivalry if you take what little life I have in my body. Your valor will not increase if you kill me, for I am fatally wounded.”

“You are wounded, friend? Where?”

“In my body.”

“Then lay down your arms, for your soul is more seriously wounded than your body, and your thoughts prevent its healing. You do not believe that you feel any pain there, but you will. Your soul will feel pain when your body dies.”

“Master, tell me—why? I have kept my religion and remained faithful to my gods.”

“Then you will die disloyally because you refuse to recognize your Creator. Friend, leave this day behind you and abandon those who attack us from outside the city! I will heal your body and your soul.”

“How will you heal my body, Master? I am wounded so seriously that I can expect only death. I do not see any other outcome.”

“Friend, I promise that if you become a Christian, I will heal your wound.”

Miradeus said, “I put myself in your care, for I see that you are a wise man.” The archbishop led away into the city with great honor. Everyone who heard about it rejoiced.

The Christians fought well and struck many good blows. The king of Britain was defeated—four counts captured him and sent him into the city, where the Christians disarmed him. Polidonus from Athens then joined the battle eagerly. He had more than ten thousand Greeks in his company. They forced the Christians back to the city, but they lost many men. When Josaphat saw the retreat, he armed himself and mounted a great warhorse. There were many knights with him, and they went out from the city in a great force, carrying one thousand shields. “God's help!” was their battle cry.

Josaphat went straight to the heart of the battle and struck down all he encountered. When his lance broke, he unsheathed his sword and struck more blows as he moved forward, using both sides of the blade. His companions fought well too. Their banners and standards were deployed, and their warhorses whinnied from the middle of the field. The pagans would have been foolish to wait for the battle, for two thousand men spurred toward them in a resounding charge.

The Saracens saw Josaphat's men coming, but they did not fear them. The good knights greeted them with steel blades. A hard and heavy battle began again, and neither hauberk nor chain mail was worth a penny. Josaphat's strength and anger took him into the center of the fighting. No one could endure the battle without courage. The knights did not stop to discuss land or inheritance; they used all their strength to destroy their opponents. This was no rhetorical disputation, nor was any judge present to hear arguments. They defended themselves with steel blades. Banners and standards were torn, and every knight struck blows as strongly as he could. Josaphat himself struck great blows to encourage the people he had called out to fight.

Polidonus fought well. He rode toward the Christians with ardor and strength. What a shame that he was a pagan, for he was a handsome knight and sat his horse well. He went through the ranks, encouraging his men, then he went quickly to seek King Josaphat. If he could find him, he would joust with him to demonstrate his prowess. His heart was happy to see so many noblemen striking blows with strength and vigor, and he thought that he could prove his prowess and thereby bring honor to his lady.
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He fought well and defeated many Christians, killing most and wounding others. He shouted out his battle cry.

Josaphat's shield was pierced in many places, his casque was damaged, his mail shirt broken, and his blade covered in blood. He met Polidonus and they began to fight. The shields would pay dearly for the battle, for both fought hard. Josaphat landed a blow between Polidonus's shield and casque, wounding him gravely, and the Greek was dismayed to find himself so badly harmed. Blood spurted from his wound and drenched him down to his heels. He wanted badly to avenge the blow, and if he could use his blade, he would exact a severe vengeance. He raised his arm, aimed well, and brought it down on Josaphat's helm, knocking off the circle of gold. The blow glanced off the helmet and the sword broke. Josaphat would have been deeply wounded if the sword had not broken, and his blow would have been well avenged. The archbishop saw the king fighting with fervor, and he went into the middle of the field to watch the battle and see how the king fared as he pursued and tormented Polidonus, who continued to defend himself with what strength he had left. Josaphat showed his rival that he had been foolish to attack him.

The Christians were defeating the Turks, who would not last through the battle.
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At noon the Turks' army had turned back. The Christians had put them to flight, but Josaphat kept the defeated Polidonus in his prison. Then he turned back to his enemies. The destruction was great. The Christians chased the pagans back to the Byzantine tents; they killed a hundred and fifty men and took more than twenty prisoners. The young ruler of Byzantium entered the battle against the Christians and their king. The archbishop encouraged his men: “My lords, do not lose your strength, for Argeus is coming against you with his men. They have rested here all day while you exhausted yourselves in battle for God. For his sake, forget your fatigue! Your pursuers are close, and they descend on you with fury. Defend yourselves, for God's sake, if you love your Lord and your life!” The archbishop blessed them, and the king exhorted them and offered them his help in the battle, his wealth, and anything they could want. When the Christians heard the exhortation, they were happy for the blessing that the archbishop gave them. Their courage returned, and they rushed toward the Saracens. Their hearts were noble, and loyalty was on their side and against their enemies. They advanced in well-ordered ranks and attacked all at once.