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Chapter 11 |  |
Speranda filia Laurentii keeps an Account of this episode, and it is mentioned in Jehan's Summer Journal.
This story begins when the Merchant Bertrand de Quintin discovered that the Knight, Sir Jean de Ploeuc had strayed from his place at Ploeuc and was in conference with the Baron Alain de Robien at the house of the Merchant Jourdain de Quintin; and that these men had sent letters to the Lord Bishop of St. Brieuc. Knowing of the hostility of these two lords for the Lady Marta de Plaintel, and having greater regard for that lady that the two Lords, he took his wares and his news to Plaintel. It is from the letters sent by the Lady Marta that I was drawn into this affair, as she would know from the Church of the moods of the Bishop.
In travelling to Plaintel to offer counsel to the Lady Marta, I found peasants by the road, who called for the assistance of Prayer, and declared that their cow and their daughter were plagued by Demons brought down by foul sorcery. So then I went with these men, to their house, and there I prayed over them. And I felt the spirit move within me, and I was certain that the only direct powers of Darkness here were those of the Darkness of Ignorance. I offered them the Blessing of St. Anthony who has influence over the sickness of man and beast, and walked on. There were several more of these accounts of Witchcraft, and many who could attest to it, far more than was normal even among these people, so that I became much concerned, save that I could detect no Presence myself.
To the Lady Marta's questioning, I could offer little definite advice, save that the Bishop has jurisdiction over the towns to the north of the Forest, such as Quintin, excepting those within the Forest proper, where the Hermitage Lorge claims jurisdiction. And, too, that the Hermitage does not report to any Bishop, but unto the Fathers of their House. For the peasants and their sicknesses, it seemed that our Community in the Forest could offer the Counsel of Knowledge, as the Spanish gentle-woman is wise in the ways of Herbs and Healing, and it did seem that the sickness of the villagers was more of Disease and Mis-handling than of the Infernal.
So, then, I returned again to Plaintel with Doña Jimena, and showed her where the peasants were that had the sickness of witches; and she told me that the cow was sick from the keeping in the dark, and poor feed provided, so that its ribs showed through its thin hide; and she told me that the daughter was sick of the running of the bowels and that she had Herbs that would counter that.
But the peasants now put names to their accusations and spoke, saying that there was a Widow, named Éclair, who had three daughters, known to be Harlots, and that they did consort with Devils in the woods, running Naked; or that they did run clothed but Unseemly; or that else they consorted with Men in Lustful ways. And since this is possible, for Demons are known to consort so with Men and Women, we must take our Prayers to them.
And so that we might have this out, we did travel to Lanvia, where is the cottage of the Widow Éclair. Here too, I prayed to the Lord for guidance, and He answered me, telling me that this was a Good place; and this puzzled me, for we had the word of many that it were Evil. So then, we spoke to the Widow, and she owned that her daughters were not yet married, and with her Husband, God Rest His Soul, dead these years, they would no longer listen to her but do their own will (though they were good girls, withal); and yet she had no means to pay dowry for them, and so that when any one of them so much as spoke to the lads of the village, that the goodwives of the village would have it her daughter was seducing the lad, and pull him away and speak harshly to him.
And she told us too that she grew Herbs in her garden, with which she would treat ailments of man and beast, such as came to her, and she offered unto us some of her Brew: this Brew was dark and bitter tasting, and not pleasant to the tongue, but Doña Jimena affirmed that it was good for the Humours, and so we drank it down. And I prayed here, to St. Anthony, to help this woman with her Herbs and Healing.
This would have been a small tale, not worth the telling, had these foolish peasants been all; but now it came to us that a Canon Philbert of St. Brieuc had descended, with his men, upon Plaintel, saying that he was come to cast out Demons and Devils from the land, and that he had the Word of the Bishop to put the Question, that he might find the Demons and the Witches that summoned them. In this, I was sure that he would find Foolishness to be Dark Power, and that the most ignorant would suffer; and that he would be certain to go no nearer any real Magics than he could avoid, lest he imperil his very Mortal body.
I turned and left Plaintel, and made my way to the Hermitage Lorge, and to the presence of Père Quietus who is Prior to the Hermitage. The Brothers of the Hermitage were not pleased that the Bishop should interfere in their sacred charges, and less pleased still that the Bishop should send Canon Philbert, whose reputation was known to the Brethren. Père Michael, the Under-Prior, spoke of reason and patience, and that we should show due consideration over the matter, but Frère Petrus, the Choir Master, spoke forcefully against the trespass of the Bishop. Petrus has as much zeal as Philbert, and would surely defend his flock against another of his kind; and so Petrus departed in haste, upon a horse of their stables, carrying letters from the Prior to the Bishop and to Canon Philbert.
It being against my vows to take assistance in transport, I followed the riding Brother on my plain feet, and would arrive at St. Brandan some hours after the Brother. When I did arrive, near nightfall, I found a sight I had not expected, for it seemed that the Army of Baron Alain de Robien had made trespass upon the Manors of Lady Marta, claiming a Warrant from the Duchesse de Bretagne. This Warrant stated that Good men should take up the Stewardship of the mismanaged lands of St. Brandan, since they were now known to be filled with Witches.
In this manner de Robien's men had invested the Manor of St. Brandan, with 5 Knights and 40 foot. The Knights of St. Brandan had taken to their Keep and sat tight, being more loyal to their proper Lady, than to the distant Duchesse. With their Keep secure, and their stocks laid in, they would remain until it were proved certain that Witchcraft ruled the land, as it seemed to them not yet proven, despite the Warrant being written out.
This Warrant from the Duchesse must indeed have been written in premature condition of the findings of Witchcraft, for it must have been several days hence to have come from la Duchesse, and to have arrived this day. It would seem, then, that the order of events had some planned sequence to it, that the tales of witchcraft so conveniently coincided with the (unannounced) visit by the Canon, and with the Warrant gained from the Duchesse, and the preparations by the Baron de Robien; and that all this should follow after the visit by Jean de Ploeuc to Quintin.
Of the Canon I could see ought, but the account was that Brother Petrus had arrived at speed and exchanged heated words with the Canon, and it seemed the Brother had the better of the Canon, for they departed together post-haste on the road to St. Brieuc, that they might take their dispute, and the Prior's letters, to the Bishop in person. This I found from the Knights of St. Brandan, for de Robien's men were happy to allow me in to Minister to the Souls of the defenders as God's Will took me, while they ministered to their Bodies from without.
When I left St. Brandan in the morning, de Robien's men were resolute in their Siege; but when I passed by again that evening, returning from Plaintel, they were packing their baggage and departing: Baron de Robien had been sent word of the Canon's encounter with the Hermitage's messenger, and something of the letters' contents, and had sent back that his men should retire. The Sergeant I spoke to, averred that the Baron was not pleased with this change, and had written straight to Sir Jean de Ploeuc, even before sending to his own men, and that the messenger, one of Sir Jean's own men, had a dark air to him in contemplation of the reaction to the message he bore.
As for Mme. Éclair and her daughters, it seems there are men in the "turb" at Caribet that might take young women without dowry if they joined the Community; and if the Widow herself has Virtue in her brewing of Herbs, then the Scholars may wish to study with her and might make her welcome.
As for Witchcraft or Wizardry, for sure, the Canon did not look deep enough into the Forest, but perhaps he knew so and stayed where he felt safe, and could put his Question to simple Peasants, and be put to no Question himself.
As for the Bishopric, I have no direct news of the Bishop himself, but had word, indirectly from a Brother passing through St. Brieuc, that a Canon Philbert has been seen doing much Penance of late.
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