Longsword

“ Moreover we have heard of a new champion whom he hath gotten, and who counted for much in that battle with the Barons, and well-nigh as wise in war is he as the Knight himself, say men. But now, my daughters, what would ye with the Lord of Longshaw? With that the Maiden took up the word, blushing red like a rose, and she said: With the Lord of Longshaw it is perhaps little that we have to do, although we wish him all good, but it is rather with that one of whom ye have heard tell that he is a new-come champion of the lord's. ”

“ The King was silent with wonder at the strange sight, but at last he said, ‘Damsel, why do you wear this sword? for swords are not the ornaments of women.’ ‘Oh, my lord,’ answered she, ‘I would I could find some Knight to rid me of this sword, which weighs me down and causes me much sorrow. But the man who will deliver me of it must be one who is mighty of his hands, and pure in his deeds, without villainy, or treason. If I find a Knight such as this, he will draw this sword out of its sheath, and he only. ”

“ Never despair, youth, for I tell thee, north and south, and east and west my name is known, nor shall you find in any duchy, kingdom or county, a sworder such as I. For, mark me now! your knight and man-at-arms, trusting to his armour, doth use his sword but to thrust and smite. But—and mark me again, boy! a man cannot go ever in his armour, nor yet be sure when foes are nigh, and, at all times, 'tis well to make thy weapon both sword and shield; 'tis a goodly art, indeed I think a pretty one. Come now, take up thy sword and I will teach thee all my strokes and show thee how 'tis done. ”

“ Tells How I Fleshed My Sword
A moment later and the clash of steel rose merrily above the thunder of the waves; and with each movement of my sword the eager blood rushed faster through my veins and gave new zest to life. In short, I revelled in the business, and thought no more of lurking death than you do when you breathe. I had learned swordsmanship beneath my father's trained and watchful eye; the blade I wielded was his gift to me; my foes were Ferguson's own hirelings. What more could any man require to give him skill and courage? ”

“ Father, she said, thou and thy house, are ye foes or friends to the Knight of Longshaw? The Sub-prior smiled: Friends forsooth, said he, so far as we may do him any good; but ye wot that we give him no carnal help with sword and spear, yea and little indeed might we give were we temporal lords, so far off as we be from Longshaw, and the river and the Wood Masterless lying all between us. And now indeed we begin to deem that the good Knight may yet come to his above, though ere he had given the Barons' League that great overthrow things seemed going much awry with him. ”

“ Longbow from Ireland, Strongbow from the Tweed,
Both lawyers and both men of education;
But Strongbow's wit was of more polish'd breed:
Longbow was rich in an imagination
As beautiful and bounding as a steed,
But sometimes stumbling over a potato, --
While Strongbow's best things might have come from Cato.
XCIII
Strongbow was like a new-tuned harpsichord;
But Longbow wild as an Æolian harp,
With which the winds of heaven can claim accord,
And make a music, whether flat or sharp. ”

“ At the same instant a sword flashed and the leather was cut through within two inches of my neck.
"By Heaven, Korner, this is rank mutiny," cried the captain. "You may hang yourself before you are through with it."
"I have drawn my sword as a soldier and not as a brigand," said the young poet. "Blood may dim its blade, but never dishonour. Comrades, will you stand by and see this gentleman mishandled?" ”

“ Then Ondott looked at those two large parties that came riding, one from the east and one from the north, and thought them very numerous.
"Meseems," said he, "that Snorri and Kolbein bring more men than they need."
"Fearest thou, Ondott?" asked Grani. "This only do I fear, that we have not enough food ready. Only on going to church do men lay aside weapons; not strange were it if Snorri and Kolbein, coming from so far, bade their men bring longswords, spears, and shields. Yet they wear no mail, and bear only the one weapon—clear token of peace. Come, bid the women prepare more food ”

“ I am strangely ill at ease without the tapping of the blade against my knee, and care not to go among yonder barbarians without a weapon."
He looked at me in some surprise. "Thy sword? Of [Pg 41] what use is a sword to a captive? Swords are for the free. As for yon Indians, thou couldst drive them before thee with a lash. But thou shalt have thy sword upon one condition. Give me thy word of honor as a gentleman that thou wilt not attempt to escape while upon this island, and thou shalt be free to come and go as thou dost please." ”

“ He carried a sword, a spear, a round shield of steel burnished like a mirror, and wore at his right side a mattacuslash, or long Scottish arm-pit dagger.
John of Harpidale, Thorolf Starkadder, and others, all similarly armed, leaped noisily ashore, with helmets and hauberks ringing, and brandished their swords in token of greeting to the people, and to express joy on treading their native soil again. ”

“ Those who died on the day of battle, or in any mortal rencontre, on the victorious side, were to be represented with a drawn sword in their right hand, and a shield in their left, their helmet on, which some think ought to be closed, and the visor let down, in token that they fell fighting against their enemies, having their coat of arms girded over their arms, and at their feet a lion. Those who died in prison, or before they had paid their ransom, were represented on their tombs without spurs or helmet, without coat of arms or swords, only the scabbard girded to, and hanging at their sides. ”

“ William Longespé was distinguished for his chivalry and feats of arms, the lady Ela for her mild and benignant virtues. They had married in early life, and her estates and honours, according to the customs of the feudal ages, had served to enoble a brave and deserving [Pg 95] youth, who had no other patrimony than his sword. ”

“ CHAPTER XLV. THE RED LAD SCATTERS THE HOST OF THE BARONS.
SO wore the seasons into winter, and all was tidingless at Longshaw. Long were it indeed to tell the whole tale of the warfare of the house of Longshaw, even for those years while Osberne abode with Sir Godrick. For the Knight was not only a fearless heart in the field and of all deftness in the handling of weapons, but he was also the wisest of host-leaders of his day and his land, so that with him to lead them an hundred was as good as five hundred, take one time with another. ”

“ And the big sword—what did they have a big sword for, stuck up there, over the red cushions, and what was the use of a sword six foot long? But perhaps it wasn't six foot after all—it looked longer than it was; and no doubt it was only for show, and probably a dummy with no blade. There was a well-dressed black man sitting down below among the lawyers. What did he want? Why did they let him in? A nice thing—to be made a show of for niggers! ”

“ I could be here and there and somewhere else with my sword, while he was making a parry or a lunge or a level stroke, for he tried everything.
Now his sword ran safely under my left arm where I guided it, and the point of mine caught the breast-high edge of his kilt, where the cloth is closely plaited and therefore very resisting. My blade bent so that if it had been other than the finest steel it might have snapped. Then the grip in the cloth broke, the sword was free again, and we were without hurt, only the battle was growing warm. ”

“ Oh, but it has a good blade, this old green sword; thou wouldst not like to see it miss its mark (if the dead see at all, as wise men teach) , thou wouldst not like to see it go thirsting into the air; so huge a sword should find its marrowy bone. {Extending his right hand upward} Come into my right arm, O ancient spirit, O unknown warrior's soul! And if thou hast the ear of any gods, speak there against Illuriel, god of King Darniak. ”

“ Longhead left his retreat and proceeded thoughtfully toward the fire-cave. His revenge was gratified and he felt happy on that account, but the wonderful character of his weapon was beginning to dawn upon his dull intelligence, and he no longer feared man or beast. He dimly recognized that with such a weapon a small man was the equal of a giant. ”

“ Sword or lance, or pike or halbert, culverine or musket or bow; every weapon is familiar to his hand. At the breach with a pistol, on the ramparts with falconet, on the bastion with the heavy cannon; he is here, there and everywhere where danger is most threatening, where Spanish arrows darken the sky like a storm-cloud that is wind-driven, and deal death when they find their goal. His jerkin is torn, the sleeve of his doublet hangs tattered from his shoulder, his arm is bare, his face black with powder and grime. ”

“ He told them why the Long-Knives were at war with the British, and that the British had become so weak they were forced to hire Indians to fight for them. He also told them the French king, father of all their French friends, had also joined the Long-Knives against the British.
Finally he said, “Now you can judge who is right, the Long-Knives or the British. Here is the bloody belt of war, here the white belt of peace. Take the one you please. Behave like men though, and choose the one you wish. ”

“ When the spear in conflict shakes,
And the strong lance shivering breaks.
"Take thy banner! and, beneath
The battle-cloud's encircling wreath,
Guard it, till our homes are free!
Guard it! God will prosper thee! ”

“ Later, he discovered that narrow strips of rawhide were better than roots for tying on a flake, and, after many years of progress, the long tendons of large animals were substituted as still better for the purpose.
Longhead and his new deadly weapon had numerous encounters with small animals, in each of which he found his new spear superior to anything he had yet tried, and this gave him still greater confidence in himself. He no longer sneaked through the forest half bent to the ground and fearing nearly every animal he might [55] meet, but went with head erect and a more fearless step. ”

“ Also, if a Shield charged with an escarbuncle and many lioncels, which has been assigned to Geoffrey Count of Anjou, was really borne by the Founder of the House of Plantagenet, Earl William Longespée may have derived his own Shield from his paternal grandfather. Upon his Counterseal the Earl displays his own “long sword” as his proper device. In like manner, certain other personages, also illegitimate, appear to have borne arms which were either expressly assigned to themselves by the Sovereign, or such as they assumed in right of their mothers or wives. ”

“ Such was the noble chevisance of the jousters that no mortal wound was inflicted. [336] The [Pg 311] lance was the only weapon used. To unhelm the adverse knight by striking his frontlet was the chiefest feat of arms, and in the fierce career of opposing steeds, the firmest strength and the nicest skill could alone achieve it. Helms struck fire, lances were splintered, and the lance-head was lodged in the shield: but sometimes the shield resisted the lance, and men and steeds reeled back to their several pavilions. ”

“ Each man now brought him suitable sticks for javelins and spears, and for each he made a long spear, two javelins and a knife.
When the first supply of flakes was exhausted, Longhead heated another nodule of flint and poured water on it from a piece of bark, but he was careful to do this when none of the others were about; and thus maintained both secrecy and a supply of materials.
The control of fire and the manufacture of these valuable and mysterious weapons, gave Longhead a standing in the group which none had ever before attained. Human society had not yet been organized in any form ”

“ The friends retire and leave the two in the middle space, ‘more after the manner of a theatrical show than according to the law of combat.’ The enormous Northerner, like a huge mass threatening to crush what was beneath it, stretched forth his shield with his left hand and planted an ineffectual cut of the Sword with loud noise upon the armour of the advancing foe. ”

“ Sword in hand we burst, with the weight and fury of a landslip, among the French cavalry, and drove them back, not so much by dint of edge or point, as by the sheer weight of our men and horses. So sudden was the shock, so irresistible our charge, that they scarcely made any resistance, but were thrust pell-mell into the town, in the narrow streets of which they were so intermingled with our men and the Inniskillings that in many instances neither of us could use our swords. ”

“ We have all read of the miraculous sword in the German fable whose blade was so keen that when, upon a certain occasion, its owner smote a warrior with it from crown to saddle, the warrior nevertheless rode home and was scarcely aware he had been wounded until, upon his wife opening the door, he attempted to embrace her and fell into two pieces. ”

“ And ever, with each company, went the Maid at their head, and D’Aulon, she crying that the place was theirs and now was the hour! But the day went by, till the sun turned in heaven towards evening, and no more was done. The English, in sooth, showed no fear nor faint heart; with axe, and sword, and mace, and with their very hands they smote and grappled with the climbers, and I saw a tall man, his sword being broken, strike down a French knight with his mailed fist, and drag another from a ladder and take him captive. ”

“ The helmet of war appeared to complete the perfection of defensive harness; for the lance broke hurtless on the plate of steel, the arrow and quarrel glanced away, and it is only in romance that we read of swords cutting through a solid front of iron, or piercing both plate and mail, as some bolder spirits say. ”