Page:Tirant lo Blanch; a study of its authorship, principal sources and historical setting (IA cu31924026512263).pdf/53

 CHAPTER III

TIRANT JOINS THE EXPEDITION OF THE KING OF FRANCE AGAINST THE INFIDELS

In the letter which was brought by the ambassadors, the King of France announced that he was going to make war against the infidels, and asked the King of Sicily to join him in the holy enterprise. The latter, accordingly, after the festivities connected with the marriage were over, fitted out two galleys and four other vessels and placed them under the command of Philip. (Chap. 112)

The fleets of the kings of France, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Portugal, and Sicily, and those of the Pope and of the Emperor, all met at the island of Corsica. Tirant joined the expedition in a galley of his own, for he wished to have a free hand. The united fleet set sail, and one morning at dawn it arrived before the large city of Tripoli in Syria. Tirant went before the French king and made the vow that he would be the first to step on land and the last one to return on board. Among the knights there were many who were envious of Tirant, and they were eager to make him break his vow. When the men from the different vessels were about to land, Tirant gave orders to his mariners to drive the galley at full speed until it struck ground. He stood in the bow of the vessel all armed, and the moment it touched land he jumped into the water. The Moors immediately rushed upon him, but Diaphebus and others quickly gathered about him and drove them back. The Christians were able to enter the city, but they found the enemy there in such large numbers that they were obliged to return to their ships. Tirant and another valiant knight, Ricart lo Venturos, were the last ones to embark. They had a lively dispute as to who should be the very last.