“Oyez, oyez, oyez!—All ye princes, lords, barons, knights, esquires, ladies, and gentlemen, be it hereby known to you, that a superb achievement at arms, and a grand and noble tournament, will be held in these lists, within four days from this present time, the acknowledged victor to be rewarded with this helmet and sword, given by the noble and generous John Dunbar, Earl of Moray. All ye who intend to tilt at this tournament are hereby ordained forthwith to lodge your coat-armouries with the heralds, that they may be displayed within the holy chapel of St. John the Baptist, and this on pain of not being received at the tournament. And your arms shall be thus:—The crest shall be placed on a plate of copper, large enough to contain the whole summit of the helmet; and the said plate shall be covered with a mantle, whereon shall be blazoned the arms of him who bears it; and on the said mantle, [[301]]at the top thereof, shall the crest be placed, and around it shall be a wreath of colours, whatsoever it shall please him. Further be it remembered, that on the morning of the fourth day from hence, the arms, banners, and helmets of all the combatants shall be exposed at their stations; and the speakers shall be present at the place of combat by ten of the horologue, where and when the arms shall be examined, and approved or rejected, as may be fitting and right. The chevaliers shall then become tenants of the field, and tilt with blunt weapons in pairs, and then the victors shall tilt successively in pairs, until they be reduced and amenused to two; and he of the two who may the best acquit himself, shall receive from the hand of her whom he may proclaim to be the most peerless damsel, the prize of the helmet and sword.—God save King Robert!”
The herald’s proclamation was received with a flourish of trumpets, clarions, and kettle-drums, and the continued shouts of the people. Silence being at length restored,
“Pursuivant,” said he, “stand forth and deliver thee of the rules of the tourney.”
The pursuivant obeyed the orders of his superior, and proclaimed the laws of the tourney item by item; after which the trumpets and kettles again sounded, and the shouts of the populace were renewed. When they had died away, the heralds with their attendants again mounted, and then the procession moved round the lists in the order we have already described, and, issuing from the same gate at which it had entered, it proceeded slowly towards the adjacent chapel of St. John the Baptist, which it entirely surrounded, and then halting, under the direction of the heralds, it formed a wide circle about the beautiful little Gothic building that stood in an open grove of tall ash-trees.
“Oyez, oyez, oyez!” cried a pursuivant, “let the esquires of those chevaliers who mean to tilt at this tournament for the prizes given by the noble and generous John Dunbar, Earl of Moray, or who may, in any manner of way, desiderate to challenge others, or to leave open to others the power of challenging them to by-tilting for any other cause whatsoever—let their esquires now advance, and let the heralds have inspection of their crests and coat-armouries. He who shall fail to comply, and whose crest and coat-armour shall not be up before sunset, shall have no right to enter the lists as a tenant of the field in any manner of way whatsoever, except always as to pages or squires, to whom, for this day and to-morrow, the lists shall be open, to give all such an opportunity of proving their manhood. Advance, then, ye standard-men and esquires, that ye may [[302]]deposit the gages which prove your masters to be gentlemen of arms, blood, and descent; that ye may see their trophies erected, and stay and watch each by his master’s achievement, to mark whosoever may touch the same, that his knight’s honour may not suffer by his neglecting the darreigne.”
In obedience to this order, each knight sent his standard-man, and an esquire or page, towards the chapel; and Sir Patrick Hepborne was about to send Mortimer Sang, when that faithful esquire dropped on his knee before him.
“Nay, my good master, I do humbly crave a boon at thy hands,” said he; “I do beseech thee let some other of thy people be chosen for this duty, sith I should at least wish to be a free man for this day and to-morrow, that I may do some little matter for mine own honour. By St. Andrew, if I may but bestir myself decently, it will not be amiss for thy credit, Sir Knight, seeing that a chevalier, whose personal renommie hath been already established, may be even well enough excused for amusing himself by taking pleasure in the well-doing of his horse, his hound, or his hawk.”
“Friend Mortimer,” replied Sir Patrick, “I do much rejoice that thou hast the glorious desire of reaping laurels so strong within thee. Trust me, I shall be no hindrance in thy way to fame, but rather I shall hold fast the ladder, and aid thee to climb and reach it. Thy time shall be thine own, and thou shalt be at full liberty to use thy discretion. I shall be much interested in thy success, and shall have small fear in thy commanding it; so get thee to one of the armourers of the field, and fit thyself forthwith at my cost, in whatever thou mayest lack.”
The squire threw himself on one knee, and, kissing his master’s hand, warmly expressed his gratitude, and then hastened away towards the lists, to purchase from some of the armourers who had shops there, the pieces of which he deemed himself in want, and Hepborne, for his part, chose out another esquire to fulfil the duty of watching his achievement in the chapel.
The heralds having put everything in such order as might bear inspection, now came forth from the chapel, and marshalling the nobles, knights, and ladies into a foot procession, they led them through the enclosure to the western door, where they entered to behold the spectacle. The sight was most imposing. Along both sides of the nave, and all the way up to the screen of the choir, were placed stands, each covered by a plate of copper, on which stood the tilting helmet, surmounted by the [[303]]wreath and crest of the knight. The helmet rested on the upper part of the mantle, so as to support it by the pressure of its weight, whence it was expanded with the lower part of it spread on the ground, in such a manner that the achievement emblazoned on it in dazzling colours was fully stretched before the eye. Behind it, on the right side, stood the squire or page who was appointed to watch it, and on the left stood the standard-bearer, supporting the banner or pennon of his master.