his land.  The ancient King, for surety, had set his daughter within a castle, fair and very strong.  He had charged the sergeants not to issue forth from the gates, and for the rest there was none so bold as to seek to storm the keep, or even to joust about the barriers.  When Eliduc was told of this quarrel, he needed to go no farther, and sojourned for awhile in the land.  He turned over in his mind which of these princes dealt unjustly with his neighbour.  Since he deemed that the aged king was the more vexed and sorely pressed in the matter, he resolved to aid him to the best of his might, and to take arms in his service.  Eliduc, therefore, wrote letters to the King, telling him that he had quitted his own country, and sought refuge in the King’s realm.  For his part he was willing to fight as a mercenary in the King’s quarrel, and if a safe conduct were given him, he and the knights of his company would ride, forthwith, to their master’s aid.  This letter, Eliduc sent by the hands of his squires to the King.  When the ancient lord had read the letter, he rejoiced greatly, and made much of the messengers.  He summoned his constable, and commanded him swiftly to write out the safe conduct, that would bring the baron to his side.  For the rest he bade that the messengers meetly should be lodged and apparelled, and that such money should be given them as would be sufficient to their needs.  Then he sealed the safe conduct with his royal seal, and sent it to Eliduc, straightway, by a sure hand.

When Eliduc came in answer to the summons, he was received with great honour by the King.  His lodging was appointed in the house of a grave and courteous burgess of the city, who bestowed the fairest chamber on his guest.  Eliduc fared softly, both at bed and board.  He called to his table such good knights as were in misease, by reason of prison or of war.  He charged his men that none should be so bold as to take pelf or penny from the citizens of the town, during the first forty days of their sojourn.  But on the third day, it was bruited about the streets, that the enemy were near at hand.  The country folk deemed that they approached to invest the city, and to take the gates by storm.  When the noise and clamour of the fearful burgesses came to the ears of Eliduc, he and his company donned their harness, and got to horse, as quickly as they might.  Forty horsemen mounted with him; as to the rest, many lay sick or hurt within the city, and others were captives in the hands of the foe.  These forty stout sergeants waited for no sounding of trumpets; they hastened to seek their captain at his lodging, and rode at his back through the city gate.

“Sir,” said they, “where you go, there we will follow, and what you bid us, that shall we do.”

“Friends,” made answer the knight, “I thank you for your fellowship.  There is no man amongst us but who wishes to molest the foe, and do them all the mischief that he is able.  If we await them in the town, we defend ourselves with the shield, and not with the sword.  To my mind it is better to fall in the field than to hide behind walls; but if any of you have a wiser counsel to offer, now let him speak.”