Stories of Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers of France by Alfred John Church

At Pentecost King Charles held a court at Paris to which with others / came Duke Aymon and his sons. Said the King to Aymon, "You and your / sons are very dear to me. Therefore I am minded to make Reynaud my / steward. " "I thank you," answered the Duke; "yet this I will say / that you did a grievous wrong in that you suffered my brother Benes / to be slain, when he had a safe-conduct under your hand. / Nevertheless I forgive you. " "Remember," said the King, "that Benes / slew my son Lothair. Let us set one deed against the other, and / speak of them no more. " "So be it," answered the Duke. But his sons / were not so minded, for they came forth out of the company, and / Reynaud spake for them, "Sire," he said, "we are not of our father's / mind, for we hate you with a great hatred. " The King, being very / angry, cried, "Away out of my sight, foolish boy; were it not for / this company I would set you so fast in prison that you should not / move hand or foot."

After these things the whole company went to the Church to hear mass; / and after mass they sat down to dinner, but Reynaud would not sit / down, so angry was he. After dinner, Berthelot, that was nephew to / the King, said to Reynaud, "Come here, play me at chess. " So these / two sat down to play. When they had played awhile, there arose a / dispute between them. So hot was the dispute that Berthelot called / Reynaud by an ill name, and smote him on the face, whereupon Reynaud, / lifting the chess board, that was of massy gold, smote Berthelot upon / the head so strongly that he fell down dead. When the King knew this / he cried in great wrath, "Lay hold on this Reynaud. By St. Denis he / shall not go out of this place alive. " Then the King's knights would / have laid hold on him, but his brothers and kinsfolk defended him, / and there was such a strife in the palace as had never before been / seen. In the end Reynaud and his brothers, with Mawgis their cousin, / escaped out of the palace, and mounting their horses fled to / Dordogne, the King's knights following hard upon them. As for / Reynaud he was in no peril, for his horse Bayard was as swift as the / wind, but with the others it went hard. Then Reynaud turned upon the / knights that pursued and slaying four of them, gave their horses to / the others. So they came safe all of them to Dordogne, where dwelt / their mother the Duchess. She, fearing greatly for their lives, / would have them take all her treasure, and depart. So they departed, / with many tears, and coming into the forest of Ardennes built for / themselves a castle which they called Montanford. A great fortress / was it and a strong, for it was built upon a rock and defended on all / sides with great walls, and furnished with a great store of / provisions.