One of the difficulties in telling “Jaufre” to audiences is its overall length. After the absorbing opening there are now a series of shorter sub-adventures, all of which can be omitted without detriment to the main quest story. I wanted to tell, and record, the full story, so here they are. You will notice that Jaufre’s fighting methods are not always exactly chivalric, and in fact there’s quite a lot in these encounters which seem more like street fighting than knightly behaviour.
The illustrations, by the way, come from one of the two surviving manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
Chapter 2 – Estout de Verfeuil
This is an important opening adventure for Jaufre, as it establishes his need to establish whether someone is right or wrong before he fights for them (even when they’re dying), and we find out how he comes to be in possession of invincible armour. Especially a very shiny, damage-proof helmet. Although we never find out why Estout de Verfeuil likes to play a deadly version of “Knock Down Ginger”, when he doesn’t seem to gain much from it apart from another knight to join his cooking staff, or where he obtained this wonderful hauberk, shield, sword, lance and helmet. I’m not aware of any further (or indeed earlier) adventures for Estout, but he is named quite precisely and sent to join Arthur so it’s possible there were other stories in circulation. The armour seems worth a story in its own right.
Quite why it takes the defeated Estout five days to get everything together to ride to Carduel is not clear, as Jaufre has covered the distance in less than 24 hours. The author is very clear about the timeline of the story, leading one scholar to attempt to date “Jaufre” by finding when Pentecost fell on a suitable date to fit. Unsurprisingly, this theory has not found many followers.
I have now been advised that I should have pronounced “Estout” as “Estowt”, by the way.
Chapter 3 – The White Lance
The scene is set for a mystical, magical encounter, but that’s not what happens. I have always loved the dwarf in this adventure, who has a miserable time of it with his requirement to clean the lance twice a day and shout out every time anyone touches it, but it is an odd set-up. Clearly the very thought of a knight compelled to make his own clothes and unable to cut his nails or hair was a major disincentive to anyone thinking of surrendering. Jaufre dispenses summary, brutal justice. It may be worth noting that James I had a tough time in the early years of his reign dealing with a number of recalcitrant barons, and introduced some legal measures which should have prevented them from enacting their own punishments.
The last note on the dwarf – again, how could you not love a character who begs the king to listen to him “even though I am ugly”? You will notice that it takes him five days to reach Carduel, but then of course he has shorter legs than Jaufre.