The Knights of the Cross | Page 5

those dirty spirits manifested their fear before
holy water."
"And who counted them, that you know there were three hundred
devils," asked the merchant Gamroth, intelligently.
"The Litwin counted them, when he saw them entering the bladder. It
was evident that they were there, because one would know it from the
stench, and nobody wished to take out the peg to count them."
"What wonders, what wonders!" exclaimed one of the nobles.
"I have seen many great wonders, because everything is peculiar
among them. They are shaggy and hardly any kniaz combs his hair;
they live on baked turnips, which they prefer to any other food, because
they say that bravery comes from eating them. They live in the forests
with their cattle and snakes; they are not abstinent in eating nor
drinking. They despise the married women, but greatly respect the girls
to whom they attribute great power. They say that if a girl rubs a man
with dried leaves, it will stop colic."
"It's worth while to have colic, if the women are beautiful!" exclaimed
Uncle Eyertreter.
"Ask Zbyszko about it," answered Macko of Bogdaniec.
Zbyszko laughed so heartily that the bench began to shake beneath him.
"There are some beautiful ones," he said. "Ryngalla was charming."
"Who is Ryngalla? Quick!"
"What? you haven't heard about Ryngalla?" asked Macko.
"We have not heard a word."
"She was Witold's sister, and the wife of Henryk, Prince Mazowiecki."
"You don't say! Which Prince Henryk? There was only one Prince
Mazowiecki, elect[8] of Plock, but he died."
"The same one. He expected a dispensation from Rome, but death gave
him his dispensation, because evidently he had not pleased God by his

action. Jasko of Olesnica sent me with a letter to Prince Witold, when
Prince Henryk, elect of Plock, was sent by the king to Ryterswerder. At
that time, Witold was tired of the war, because he could not capture
Wilno, and our king was tired of his own brothers and their dissipation.
The king having noticed that Witold was shrewder and more intelligent
than his own brothers, sent the bishop to him, to persuade him to leave
the Knights of the Cross, and return to his allegiance, for which he
promised to make him ruler over Litwa. Witold, always fond of
changing, listened with pleasure to the embassy. There were also a feast
and tournaments. The elect mounted a horse, although the other bishops
did not approve of it, and in the lists he showed his knightly strength.
All the princes of Mazowsze are very strong; it is well known, that
even the girls of that blood can easily break horseshoes. In the
beginning the prince threw three knights from their saddles; the second
time he threw five of them. He threw me from my saddle, and in the
beginning of the encounter, Zbyszko's horse reared and he was thrown.
The prince took all the prizes from the hands of the beautiful Ryngalla,
before whom he kneeled in full armor. They fell so much in love with
each other, that dining the feasts, the _clerici_[9] pulled him from her
by his sleeves and her brother, Witold, restrained her. The prince said:
'I will give myself a dispensation, and the pope, if not the one in Home,
then the one in Avignon, will confirm it, but I must marry her
immediately--otherwise I will burn up!' It was a great offence against
God, but Witold did not dare to oppose him, because he did not want to
displease the embassador--and so there was a wedding. Then they went
to Suraz, and afterward to Sluck, to the great sorrow of this youth,
Zbyszko, who, according to the German custom, had selected the
Princess Ryngalla to be the lady of his heart and had promised her
eternal fidelity."
"Bah!" suddenly interrupted Zbyszko, "it's true. But afterward the
people said that Ryngalla regretted being the wife of the elect (because
he, although married, did not want to renounce his spiritual dignity)
and feeling that God's blessing could not be over such a marriage,
poisoned her husband. When I heard that, I asked a pious hermit, living
not far from Lublin, to absolve me from that vow."
"He was a hermit," answered Macko, laughing, "but was he pious? I
don't know; we went to him on Friday, and he was splitting bear's

bones with an axe, and sucking the marrow so hard, that there was
music in his throat."
"But he said that the marrow was not meat, and besides he had received
permission to do it, because after sucking marrow, he used to have
marvelous visions during his sleep and the next day he could prophesy
until noontime."
"Well, well!" answered Macko. "And the beautiful Ryngalla is a widow
and she may call you to her service."