Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century.

Rechberg perceived an immense crowd of strangers pressing towards the vast open space in the middle of the encampment. Jousts and military games were, in that age, so much the fashion, that, even under the walls of a beleaguered town, a place was set apart for the purpose. But on this occasion it seemed as though the crowd's attraction had another motive than mere amusement. Frederic's banner floated in the air, and the Imperial eagle fluttered bold and haughty above the multitude. On horseback, in the midst, stood a herald in a scarlet tabard and with a silver-mounted truncheon in his hand, and immediately behind him, a man, who, in a few weeks' time, had become the terror of the Italians. It was Hesso, the chief of the Imperial police, surrounded by his men fully armed. He glared fiercely upon the crowd.

"What does that blood-thirsty dog want here?" was muttered on all sides. "See how he is looking for some new victims! the poor devils whom he hung this morning are hardly cold, before he wants to begin again!"

Although Hesso could not understand their words, he could read their thoughts.

"You hate and fear me, do you! – Ah well! there's no love lost between us," he growled, with a still fiercer expression in his eyes.

The loud blast of the trumpets resounded, and the herald commanded silence. Thousands awaited with trembling anxiety. The man of the scarlet tabard made another sign; but still the dull murmur went on unceasingly; he raised his truncheon, and when, after many efforts, silence had been enforced, he proclaimed, in a clear and distinct voice, the wishes of the Emperor.

"In the name of our sovereign liege, listen to the punishments to be enforced against all evil-doers. All fighting in the camp is strictly forbidden. Should the offender be a knight, his arms will be taken from him, and he will be expelled from the army. If he is a varlet, he will be flogged, his head shaved, and his shoulder marked with a red-hot iron, unless his master redeems him by the payment of fifty pennies."

The herald paused to give his hearers time for reflection. The first article had produced a bad effect upon the Italians, who were accustomed to great license in respect to their personal quarrels, and on all sides black and angry glances were exchanged.

"Flogged, shaved, and marked with a hot iron, for that trifle!" said the crowd. "It is too severe!"

"Do you hear that, Migleo?" said a voice. "He values us at fifty pennies a piece-it's absurd!"

The herald again commanded silence.

"If any one wounds a soldier, he shall lose his hand; whoever kills one shall be decapitated!"

"I say, Migleo, what would you look like, with a shaved head?"

"Don't you think, Robbio, that in the course of a fortnight, the most of us will have neither heads nor hands? For my part, it is as impossible for me to keep my hands off a Pavian, as it is to meet a chicken without wringing its neck?"

"And I can't look at a Novara man, without wanting to spit in his face," said a Pavian, who stood by; and it was with difficulty the two were kept from fighting, even under the eyes of Hesso himself.

"Silence, fools!" said Robbio; "do you want to get into the executioner's clutches, already?"

"For the first theft, a varlet shall be flogged, shaved, and marked with the iron; for the second, he shall be hanged!" added the herald.

"There is one omission in the law about theft," said a voice. "It is forbidden to the varlets to rob, but there is nothing said about the masters. What would happen if the offender were a count, a duke, or a king?"

"Silence," cried another voice, whose piercing tone bore a great resemblance to that of the jester Lanzo. "Don't you know that the nobles never steal? they merely indulge their illustrious desires!"

"Whoever shall hold any communication with the Cardinal Roland, falsely styling himself Pope Alexander III., shall be put under the ban of the Emperor; it is permitted to kill him wherever found!"

"Do you hear that? to pillage is not to steal; the Emperor can permit anything."

"Alexander is the true Pope; Victor is the anti-Pope; is that not so, comrades?"

"Certainly. Long live Alexander!"

"Whoever shall obtain supplies for the Milanese, shall lose his hand; the informer shall be rewarded."

This last article, although the most barbarous, met with general approval among the Italians, who only found fault with the punishment as being too mild. They forgot the iron yoke under which Frederic kept them, to remember only their hatred for their detested rival Milan.

"Long live the Emperor! Down with Milan! Death and destruction to the Milanese!"

The trumpets again sounded, and while the soldiers gave free vent to the expression of their hatred, the herald and his escort left the ground.

Rechberg had listened to the proclamation, and would have pursued his journey, but the dense crowd forced him to remain and hear the imprecations lavished upon the Emperor, as soon as Hesso was out of sight.

"Laugh on!" thought the young man. "You may laugh as much as you please, but you will not be able to violate those orders with impunity."

At this moment, two asses' ears ornamented with bells, approached the Count. Lanzo, with a good deal of difficulty, had elbowed his way through the crowd, and had gained a neighboring spur-post, where he climbed up, and then sprang, with the agility of a monkey, upon the Count's stirrup; a moment after, he was behind his saddle. The crowd laughed and applauded the jester's activity, and Rechberg allowed him to retain his seat, for he saw nothing impertinent in the proceeding of the fool, whose loyalty he esteemed, and whose jests would serve to amuse him.

"Whence come you, Lanzo?"

"From the fulfilment of my duty, noble Count."

"Yes; but how?"

"How? I have only just discovered it; I had no positive end in view, until now. But I perceive, my lord, that your mission is of vast importance. The Emperor, the Pope, and the kings, are very insignificant personages compared with you."

"And why so, Lanzo?"

"Because you have the court-fool behind you!"

"But I cannot see in that an omen of greatness."

"Oh, I will explain, if you will only try to understand me!" said the jester. "I will begin with the Pope, that is, providing Victor be really the Pope, – a matter, about which some quite sensible people begin to doubt. For the last two years, Barbarossa has been holding council upon council, and yet all of them together have not succeeded in proving that Victor is the Pope. This establishes clearly, either that Victor is a fool, or else that he is a puppet of the Emperor, since he is so ready to accept what Alexander refuses. If he had any brains, he would know that an honest monk is better that what he is."

"You have a bad tongue, Lanzo."

"Possibly! But you will see that it tells the truth. Then we have the king of England and the king of France. They are fools too. I made the reflection when I saw their ambassadors kneel before the Emperor. If they had brains, they would guess that Frederic means to catch them all, one after the other, in his nets."

"You are a statesman of wonderful foresight, Lanzo!"

"Of course I am; my ears show that; – and then, the Emperor is as mad as the others. – But, I forgot. – Ah! after all I cannot see that there is much harm in having a madman for one's godfather! If Frederic were wise, he would not try to conquer the world. He is getting ready to swallow Milan, the head of Italy. After the head, the rest will come easily enough; but it is a food not easily digested. The earth belongs to God, and not to the Emperor, and one of these days Frederic's madness will draw upon himself the wrath of an avenging God."

"Well spoken, Lanzo! you ought to be a member of the Emperor's Council."

"God preserve me from it! my honesty would be exposed to too sore temptations. – But I see in the steel of your helmet a little sprite which mocks at me. My argument has a weak point, then? – Tell me, where did you get that splendid gold chain?"

"Why do you ask me?"

"Answer me first."

"From the knight Bonello, – him whose cause you espoused so warmly."

"Tell me, my lord, how did it happen that you became so deeply interested in this traitor's misfortunes? All the camp was astonished at the boldness with which you braved the Emperor's displeasure. No one but you would have risked his sovereign's anger to save a traitor's life. Was it craft on your part, or wisdom?"

"How dare you ask such questions? Is it not our duty to aid all who are unfortunate?"

"Well answered! But the sprite in your helmet is mocking at me again, I fear you have not told me all the truth. When you pleaded Bonello's cause, had you no other motive than pity?"

"You are right."

"Ah! I have a little intelligence sometimes! – Bonello has a daughter! – Some men of sense saw her without being dazzled-that is, another species of madness! I would ask some more questions, if I were not afraid that your steel scabbard might make an intimate acquaintance with my back."

"Still, you are not going to stop there?"

"Certainly not, if I may go on!"

"Go on, then!"

"Well," said the little man, "your heightened color confirms what I had already more than half guessed! But have you reflected on what you are, and what this girl is? I am afraid, in this, you have acted inconsiderately. Go to your godfather, and ask him permission to marry the daughter of – , a traitor!"

Erwin's countenance changed.

"Ah, how pale you become!" said Lanzo. "You see, dear Count, wise men should always look to the issue of their projects. But don't be down-hearted; this Lombard angel is still only a child, and, in a few years' time, things may change a good deal." And he sprang to the ground.

"You are not leaving me thus, Lanzo? Methinks, a light collation, with me, in the Imperial tent, should not be refused."

"Many thanks, Count! Believe me, there are other things to be done in Barbarossa's tent, besides giving lodgings to a poor devil."

And Lanzo turned boldly to the pavilion of Henry, the Lion.

CHAPTER XV.

THE ANTI-POPE

Although Lanzo was merely the Duke of Saxony's buffoon, the Count could not but feel very uneasy, as he thought of their late conversation. The allusions to his intimacy with Bonello annoyed him, and he felt surprised to think that hitherto he had been blind to all the difficulties in which his position as godson to the Emperor had involved him. For it was highly probable that Barbarossa would refuse his consent to any alliance between him and the family of Bonello.

Under the influence of these reflections, Rechberg proceeded through the camp, without at first remarking the extraordinary calm which pervaded everything. The deserted streets and empty tents seemed to indicate that the troops were on some expedition, but when he approached the tent, or rather the palace of the Emperor, he saw on each side of the road both knights and men-at-arms drawn up in order of battle. Frederic's tent and all those in its vicinity were decked with flowers and ornamented with rich carpets, and Erwin soon learned that it was for the solemn reception of the pretended Pope Victor, whose entrance into the camp was already heralded by a full flourish of trumpets.

In the eyes of the young Count, Victor was merely an illustrious and important personage, for he could not admit his claims to the Papal throne, which, of right, belonged to Alexander III. He knew Victor's irresolute character, and as his very appearance was disagreeable to him, he decided not to present himself to the Emperor until after the ceremonies of the reception were concluded.

The Emperor had taken infinite pains to receive his Pope with becoming pomp; not because he wished to honor the head of the Church, but because he thought it expedient to give as much importance to the man whom he considered necessary to the accomplishment of his own projects, and with this view all the actions of the Emperor manifested a profound respect for the Head of the Church. He rode on his left hand, a little to the rear, as though he did not presume to put himself on an equality with the chief of Christendom. Barbarossa wore a scarlet doublet, over which was thrown the Imperial mantle, clasped with gold links and silver crescents. On his head was the crown, and in his hand the sceptre. His face was dignified and composed, and as they neared the camp and the crowd could judge better of his movements, he was more demonstrative in his attentions to the Anti-Pope; whose hand never ceased from blessing the bystanders.

Victor's tall stature, his bearing, and even his costume, were rather those of a temporal prince than those of a spiritual shepherd. Over his shoulders hung a scarlet robe, richly embroidered in gold, and on his long curling looks was placed the triple crown of Rome; his features reflected the pride and arrogance of his disposition.

Immediately after the Emperor rode Henry the Lion, the Dukes of Austria, of Bohemia, and of Rottemburg, and the Landgrave of Thuringen, followed by a brilliant array of princes and nobles. The escort was preceded by the military band, which marched, with a flourish of trumpets, about a hundred yards in advance of the Pope. But, although on all sides there were soldiers and martial standards, there was no religious display, no religious banners or chants; not even a cross was to be seen; for Victor's entry to the camp showed plainly that he was but a creature of the Emperor, from whom he derived all his pomp and greatness.

Frederic dismounted before his tent, and following an ancient custom, came forward respectfully, to hold the Pope's stirrup. But here the Cardinal Octavian, for such was his real title, showed an utter want of tact. Affecting to be deeply engaged in conversation with his immediate attendants, he permitted the Emperor to remain too long in his humiliating posture.

Frederic colored up with anger and mortification, while his Chancellor smiled with inward satisfaction. Rinaldo had long advised the discontinuance of this idle and useless ceremony, but the Emperor, with more foresight than his minister, judged that the moment was not yet ripe for the abolition of a custom which seemed to establish the supremacy of the chief of Christendom.

At last Octavian dismounted; he took the monarch in his arms and gave him the kiss of peace, and then, turning towards the assembled multitude, he gave them his benediction, and entered the Imperial tent.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE EMPEROR'S SLAVE

The first service which Barbarossa exacted of Victor, was the solemn excommunication of Alexander III., and his partisans, in presence of the army, and in front of the walls of Milan. A few days after his arrival at the Camp, an immense tribune, draped with black cloth, and provided with numerous seats, was erected at a safe distance from the city. In the centre was an elevated platform, and behind this a throne for the Emperor, whence he could communicate his desires to the various speakers. Thousands of soldiers from all parts of the Camp surrounded the tribune, and a crowd of curious spectators lined the towers and walls of the city.

At the appointed hour, the Emperor, the nobles, the false Pope, and the prelates, ascended the platform and took seats according to their respective rank. Alberic, the Pope's chaplain, first, in a noisy harangue, explained the object of the assembly. He denounced Alexander and his adherents as heretics, and extolled Victor as the legitimate Pope.

Lighted tapers were then handed to the nobles and the clergy; and Octavian, mounting the pulpit, began to recite, in a voice trembling with passion, the usual lengthy formula of excommunication, at the close of which, as the sentence of malediction was thundered out, the Emperor, nobles, and clergy extinguished their candles.

This solemn farce, enacted by Frederic's orders, in the immediate vicinity of a city whose inhabitants were enthusiastic partisans of the cause of Alexander, was received by the Milanese with shouts of derision; and scarcely had the anathema been uttered when a speaking-trumpet was heard upon the walls.

"Octavian," it cried, "wrongfully surnamed Victor, slave of the Emperor, we scorn your maledictions. – Heaven blesses whom you curse, and curses whom you bless!"

Few of the soldiers present had ever before heard a speaking-trumpet, and these words seemed supernatural, while the distant echo gave credence to the speedy realization of the prophecy. But Frederic, more enlightened, skilfully parried the blow, and aware of a report which had been circulated latterly, that an angel had descended from heaven to curse Victor and his partisans, he looked on in scornful silence, while the crowd broke out in clamorous surprise.

Suddenly a straw effigy of the Pope, crowned with rags, with a paper mitre on its head, and a scroll with the inscription, in large letters, of "Pope Victor" in its hand, was hurled from the walls by a catapult, and fell close to Octavian's feet, while, amid a burst of contemptuous laughter, the voice again shouted through the trumpet, "Straw Pope! Straw Pope!"

Octavian was thunderstruck, and stood gazing with a wild stare upon the effigy, and his face assumed an expression so ridiculously stupid, that Rinaldo and the bystanders, remarking the absurd resemblance between it and the figure, could with difficulty restrain their mirth.

Frederic reflected grimly for a moment, but soon found means to turn this incident to profit.

"Resume your seat!" he said to Victor, and then rising with the fierce and decided manner which so well became him, he commanded silence. Even Rinaldo's face wore a serious expression, and all awaited, breathlessly, the monarch's harangue.

"What means all this? What seeks Milan with these sinful mockeries? Will that accursed city never respect anything? She turns into ridicule even the holy symbols of spiritual power; she mocks at the legitimate Head of the Church; and that her insults may be the better heard, a miserable speaking-trumpet cries them from the walls! Remember the tyranny which reigns in Milan, think of the destruction of Lodi and the misfortunes of Como; think of all those things, and then tell me if that city does not merit destruction!"

Frederic ceased, but his words had produced the desired effect.

"She deserves her fate!" cried, eagerly, the soldiers of Lodi and Como who were present; "she deserves her fate; down with Milan!"

"Yes, she deserves it," resumed the Emperor, "and this time we ourselves will execute the decrees of justice!" He paused, and raising his hand to his brow, took off the crown. Then, his eyes raised to heaven, and his right hand extended, he cried, with a loud voice, -

"I, Frederic of Hohenstauffen, king of the Germans and Emperor of Rome, do swear before Almighty God and the ever blessed Virgin Mary, by the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints of Paradise, that this crown will no more grace my brow until the city of Milan shall have been destroyed in chastisement for her crimes!"

The Emperor made the sign of the cross, and delivered the diadem into the keeping of the Imperial Chancellor.

This solemn oath electrified the Italians.

"Long live the Emperor!" shouted a thousand voices. "Long live the Emperor! Down with Milan!"

In the midst of the applause, Barbarossa, well satisfied with the result of his harangue, left the tribune, followed by his nobles. Meanwhile Victor, who had returned to his tent, gave free vent to his anger, and while Alberic was divesting him of his mantle, shook his head with most unequivocal marks of resentment.

"Straw pope!" he exclaimed; "straw pope! the wretches, to compare me, the legitimate Head of the Church, to a man of straw!"

"It is most infamous!" replied the chaplain; "it merits the vengeance of heaven."

"Patience, the Milanese will pay dearly for their insolence. It needed but this to fill the cup of Imperial anger. This city must be destroyed and levelled with the earth. Henceforth whoever dares to intercede for this new Nineveh, is the foe of the Church, of the Pope, and of the Emperor."

"And the speaking-trumpet," added Alberic; "that abominable speaking-trumpet!"

"True, I had almost forgotten that," replied Victor. "What was it they called me? Straw Pope! – the villains! I am the true Pope, both by the choice of the people and Imperial sanction. Yes, of course I am," he repeated, as though wishing to persuade himself that it really was so. "Alexander can never be more than the Cardinal Roland, for he was neither elected by the people nor confirmed by the Emperor."

"Most certainly, there is no doubt of the fact," added Alberic, quickly, for he knew Victor's anxiety in the matter.

"But what was it they really called me? – I think I heard the words 'Slave of the Emperor'!"

"That was what they said," my lord. "It was a ridiculous epithet, for you, who seek to defend the prerogatives of the Church, can be slave to no one."

These words were bitterly ironical, for Octavian remembered his base servility to the wishes of his master Barbarossa, and he moved uneasily upon his chair, as he resumed, -

"I give to the Emperor what is his by right, and in this I obey the commands of our Lord; but in all that concerns the Church, I am inflexible and yield obedience to no earthly power. Have I not often given proofs of this? Did I not do so only on the day before yesterday, when the Emperor urged me to pronounce the separation of Henry and Clemence? And did we not, in virtue of our sacred office, refuse the demand?"

"I admired your energy, my lord."

"There are no excuses, no threats which can decide us to annul this marriage!" continued Octavian. "If monarchs could, at their pleasure, divorce their wives, we should have little justice and order. No, by the eternal salvation of my soul, to which may God be merciful, I will never countenance a like enormity!"

As Victor finished, Rinaldo entered the room. Octavian's tirade had not escaped the watchful observation of the courtier. Indeed, although rarely bold enough to resist the Emperor's commands, there were times when Octavian, either through shame or anger, refused obedience. Like all men of contracted and timid ideas, he sometimes tried to show proof of energy. Deploring his position, but without greatness of soul enough to consent to break his chains and retire to a subordinate capacity, he gave full vent to his ill-temper against all whom he had no especial cause to fear. Humble and submissive towards the Emperor and his ministers, he was disdainful and supercilious to his inferiors.

For once, Victor seemed decided to give an evidence of character. He remained seated, and replied coldly to the salutations of the Chancellor. But the wily courtier paid no attention to his insolence; and seating himself quietly, he began, -

"Before submitting to your Holiness the message intrusted me by our sovereign lord the Emperor, I desire to offer my sincere regrets for the grave scandal caused by the Milanese."

"The devilful blindness of these Godforsaken people is the surest proof of our legitimacy," interrupted Victor; "we have therefore no need either of your commiseration or your sympathy. You will communicate this reply to the Emperor. We will now examine whether this message, in case it should be a petition, merits our consideration."

It needed all Rinaldo's self-command to remain serious at Octavian's speech, and particularly at the air with which it was uttered. If Victor really were what he tried to seem, the Count of Dassel would have had good reason to be provoked; but as he had known the Pope for many years, his arrogance only excited a smile, as he answered, -

"In this business, I am well aware that the well known wisdom of your Holiness has no need of my sympathy. I will therefore, as such is your desire, explain the purport of the Emperor's communication. It concerns the rupture of the marriage between the Duke of Saxony and his wife Clemence."

"We have already expressed our opinions decidedly on that point," replied Octavian.

"True, a few days ago," said Rinaldo; "but at present His Majesty desires to terminate the matter without delay, and requests you to appoint a time when the divorce shall be solemnly pronounced in public."

"Must I then repeat what I have already said?" replied Victor, with surprise. "The marriage is legal, and cannot be annulled. The question of consanguinity is, by no means, clearly established, and the degree is too remote."