Temple Sword

Chapter 11 The Abbey Meeting

1301, 1st day of the month of Mother of God (January)

Monastery of the Knights Templar, Dubica, Slavonia
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"Don't tell me, my lord abbey, this meeting cannot wait until tomorrow." William's voice echoed in the spacious frosted room. "Not to mention I'm sure we're not going to draw any conclusions here today because of our utter lack of consensus."

The abbots in the church gather several times a year to discuss all kinds of things, some important and some not important.However, some abbots like to discuss matters related to them with knights who have no right to attend the meeting, thus emphasizing the equal rights of all noble knights.

"We didn't invite the so-called William Barto tonight to listen to his sarcastic remarks." A knight said solemnly, "We trust his wisdom and discernment, after all, he has served the Knights more than any of us." All long."

"Thank you for your kind words, Hugh." William nodded. "I didn't mean to be sarcastic, I just expressed my doubts."

"Then maybe we can start." The abbot raised his right hand and stood up, signaling the start of the meeting. "As everyone present knows, King Andrei died on the 14th of the month of Our Lady, and as per tradition, we have to discuss who we want to see on the throne and whose side we will take next."

"Please," William interjected, his tongue stiffer from the night's drink than he'd allowed. "After all, we did not support Andre, he did not support us, and even the Holy See opposed his rule. We can talk about it tonight, we can talk about it tomorrow, and we can talk about it the day after tomorrow. Finally nothing to say.

No matter what, I want to remind all respected knights that no matter what step we take, His Majesty the Pope will ultimately speak for us, so..."

"Enough!" Hugh patted the table, "I can't stand this tone, William!"

"Sorry," William raised his hands in front of him pretending to be innocent, "just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Okay," the abbot cleared his throat, visibly disturbed by the confrontation between the two knights. "The situation is far from as simple as we thought. There are currently several people vying for the throne of Hungary..."

"Are there any Hungarians among them?" William laughed, feeling dizzy.

"That's enough, Master Barto!" said the dean, "If this continues, we won't be able to discuss anything!"

Around the long table in the hall sat 23 knights, none of whom Antal knew, except one named Hugh, who was probably the greatest opponent of his uncle's methods of education.William didn't notice that his nephew followed him and the squire who had come looking for them, and hid in the storage room off the hall.

The monastery was an ancient building with many cracks in the walls, and Antal watched every move in the hall through a barely perceptible gap, and behind him was a tense Laszlo.His friend had been a servant at the monastery for less than a year, and he had arrived after his father had died of a fever in the middle of the winter.

Unbeknownst to them, of course, William used an unusually rich purse to convince the abbot of Dubica that the poor boy had great abilities.

"We shouldn't be here," Laszlo said in a low voice. "If they find out, I'll have to pick up horse manure for a month with my bare hands! Of course, you will only be punished slightly by your uncle..."

"Don't be so timid," Antal retorted, "don't you wonder who will be the new king?"

"Even if we don't, we'll find out soon!"

"Be quiet, I can't hear what they're saying!"

"I'm leaving," Laszlo decided. "You can stay here, but I won't get in trouble because of you."

"Come on, Laszlo," Antal reached for his cloak, "do you really want to stay out of this fun?"

"Yes," he nodded, "don't hold me, let go!"

"Coward." Antal turned back to the crack, thinking he must have missed a lot in arguing with Laszlo.

"The pope has made it clear that he wants to see a ruler of Anjou on the throne," said William, who tried in vain to rein in himself. "The Archbishop of Esztergom also believes that Charles Robert is the right man for king."

"As far as I know, he is only 13," said the Pope's visitor, "too young."

"Laszlo IV began to rule the nobility at the age of 12, and was only 5000 when he led an army of 16 against the Czechs and drove them across the border," William argued.

"But Laszlo IV is a heretic," interjected Hugh.

"That doesn't change the facts, does it?" William gave him a forced smile. "Pagan or not, he fought like a lion, even though he was very young. And Charles Robert was 13 years old, and soon he was managing the affairs of the country and knowing his responsibilities.

I don't think we should support Wenceslas' son, who is only 12 years old.What do we have to do with the Czechs?Why give in to them? "

"What have we to do with the Italians?" cried a fat knight. "They're as alien as the Czechs!"

"Our brother Ianus wishes to speak!" a gruff voice warned the others. "Let's hear what he has to say!"

All eyes turned to the same direction, looking at the old man who had been keeping quiet in the meeting, Ianus, he was the oldest person everyone had ever seen.Besides him, William is the oldest and most experienced of the group, he is 47 years old, but Ianus looks like he is 80 years old, and no one can miraculously live to this age.

He himself could not say when he was born, but it is certain that when he was a child, Archbishop Robert of Esztergom banned the church from the whole Kingdom of Hungary.His hair, beard, and eyebrows were long and white.

"King Ottokar III of Bohemia, slain by King Laszlo," he began in a weak, quivering voice, "married Lady Anna, daughter of King Bela IV, and had a son by her. , called Wenceslas."

"Did you hear that?" The fat knight stood up, "Wenceslas has Hungarian blood!"

"What about the lineage and origin of Charles Robert," continued Ianus, "Stephen V, son of Bela IV, King of Hungary, had a daughter named Marie, whom he married to Kalo I's son, the cripple. Carlo. The daughter of Carlo the lame had a son named Carlo Matro, and Carlo Matro had a son with Clemens, daughter of Emperor Rudolph, who was Charles Robert."

"So both kings are of the same blood." William summed up what he heard, "Whether it's Italian or Czech, it doesn't make a difference..."

"With all due respect, as far as I know the Italians have not invaded our homeland with an army to try to tear it to pieces," said another Templar, "I say we should support Charles Robert to the throne! "

"I'm embarrassed to mention this," muttered the fat knight who supported Wenceslas, "but I suspect that the Knights of the Hospitaller will side with Anjou, and if we also support Anjou, we will work with them, I don't know this Is it the result we want..."

"We're not in the Holy Land now, you fat pig, shut up!" said an older man, perhaps a relative or former master of the fat knight, who immediately silenced him.

"It was a great discussion," William said sarcastically, getting up to leave, "If you will allow me, I would like to repeat what I said today: His Holiness Pope Boniface wants Charles Robert to be So did the new king, the archbishop of Esztergom.

The Knights Templar need unconditional obedience to the Pope, and the Anjou family supports the Knights of the Church with a lot of money, and supports us.I feel like a fool at this meeting!I wonder, what the hell are we doing here?What do you think is the point of arguing over the new king?We are deluding ourselves that we have no say in who will be king. "

William's words completely tore everyone's faces apart. They all stood up and started yelling. Everyone was yelling different things, and nothing could be heard in the chaos. Tower of Babel.

"Silence!" cried the Abbot and the Pope's visitor at the same time, both banging their fists on the table. "Silence, silence!"

However, the quarrel did not subside, but became more and more chaotic. William was tired of the circus. He walked to the wall, picked up a mace as an ornament, and swung the spiked weapon directly on the table. Smash it up.

All of a sudden, everyone was startled, the shouting stopped abruptly, and the angry knights all sat back in their seats.

"Well," William shook his head, "It turns out that you are no different from apprentices, you are just older and more stubborn children, children who deceive themselves and play in lies, it is really sad..."

"Lord Barto, what do you mean by that?" The head of the monastery asked after a moment of shock.

"Meaning I am always at your service and helping you when you need my experience. You can count on my advice and vote in any important discussion. But I don't want to play this ridiculous game anymore, May God bless you all!"

After saying this, he turned around and hurried out the door without saying anything more, and no one in the hall stopped William. More than 20 pairs of astonished eyes followed his footsteps and left the rally.

【footnote】

① Archbishop Robert excommunicated Palatine Denis on February 1232, 2, and placed Hungary under a ban on religious affairs, because Jews and Muslims continued to work in the Kingdom of Hungary despite the Golden Bull of 25.

(End of this chapter)