The courtyard of Tonysburg is filled with various smells, including but not limited to the stench of the stables, the smell of servants who have not bathed for a long time, the faint fragrance of ale in the cellar, and the aroma of barbecue in the lord's kitchen. .
On this unusual day, everyone in the castle was smiling. They knew that they would receive a wedding gift from the lord. Although Lange would impose a marriage tax before this, this did not affect the fact that they would enjoy this rare and pleasant time with all the guests.
In the village outside the castle, the blacksmith hammered the horseshoes hard, and the lord's woodcutter hurried past driving a donkey carrying two large baskets of firewood. Several children screamed and fought for the bread distributed by the almsmen, and the women in the weavers giggled and embroidered the linen with dyed wool threads. A gust of wind blowing from the North Sea swept away the clouds in the blue sky, and cloud shadows competed in the fields.
Lange's wedding took place in his own castle, but in order to get the blessing of the church, he invited the local parish priest.
In earlier times, nobles did not have the habit of asking religious figures to witness their marriages. They made a vow and put on a ring in the presence of their relatives and friends, and they were considered husband and wife.
There are really too many guests coming to celebrate today. Except for the guests from the Earl Wolfe family, almost all the prominent people in the Earl of Kempen Valley are rushing to Tonysburg. The canonized knights and feudal lords came from all directions, and the tables and chairs in the hall could not accommodate so many people.
So the servants quickly moved more tables and chairs from other places and placed them in the open space of the inner castle, temporarily adding some seats.
Of course, sitting and dining in the smell of horse manure is another story for these little nobles.
"Let us welcome Lord Count Lange and his bride, Miss Josephine!"
The messenger's loud call interrupted the noisy discussions among the nobles. Everyone lowered their voices in unison and turned their attention to the door of the hall.
I saw Lange, wearing bright red woolen clothes and a white velvet cloak with a gold brooch, holding Josephine's hand and walking in slowly.
Today Josephine is as beautiful as an angel descended from earth. She wore a blue and green dress and tied her headscarf with a delicate headband. Her cuffs have floral patterns embroidered with gold thread, and there is a ribbon with a silver cross hanging in front of her neck. The color of the woolen cloak hanging on her shoulders is like the blue Lake Geneva, so gorgeous that you can't take your eyes away.
The waiting people cheered loudly.
Everyone was wearing their best clothes, and in a sea of colorful cheers, the yellow and red ribbons arranged around them looked festive and vibrant.
Miss Josephine's family and Mrs. Liv, Lange and Simon's mother, formed a semicircle and stood in front of the table next to the lord's throne.
On the table lay parchment, quills, and inkwells. Although this is a wedding, the dowry and property transfer will still be recorded in detail by the clerk with everyone witnessing it.
No matter how bad the relationship between Simon and Lange is, and no matter how irreconcilable the conflict is, it cannot change the same blood flowing in their bodies. As Lange's younger brother, Simon stood next to his mother, Lady Liv.
Lange and Josephine came to the table, stood face to face, and held each other's hands.
"I, Lange de Dorsten, lawful ruler of the Countdom of Valle Kempen and the Barony of Dorsten, do take you, Josephine of Vitral, to be my wife. I shall Witnessed by everyone, I swear to God that I will spend the rest of my life loving you, taking care of you, and being loyal to you forever." Lange's voice was loud, and Simon could hear the excitement in it.
"I, Josephine de Wolfe, daughter of Count Wolfe, make you, Lange of Dorsten, my husband. I swear to God that I will love and care for you for the rest of my life. I will be loyal to you forever!" Josephine's voice was calm and confident.
Lange and Josephine kissed, their tongues lingering. The crowd burst into loud cheers.
The priest of the Tonisburg church blessed both and read a prayer in Latin. Later, Lange took off a silver key from his belt and stuffed it into Josephine's hand: "This is the key to my castle. Now, you are the mistress of this territory. I will give it to you as a gift." To you. This castle belongs to me and to you. I hope you can create a sweet home for me!"
Fenagan, the son of Earl Wolfe, held a sword inlaid with gold patterns in both hands and handed it to his sister Josephine. After receiving it, Josephine raised it high and showed it to everyone. Said: "My husband, I give this sword to you, hoping that you can protect our home and our children!"
This is a symbolic gift given to each other by both men and women during the wedding. Immediately afterwards, the exchange of more precious property assets began on the small table in front of the clerk.
"This is my dowry," Josephine said. Two soldiers from Count Wolfe's retinue carried a heavy wooden box to the table. "As promised before, there are two hundred gold coins in it. Good silver deniers."
The priest stood up, took out the key to the box, and announced in front of everyone: "I came to verify it yesterday. In the name of God, the quantity and quality of the silver coins in the box are exactly what Miss Josephine said. Unanimous." After saying that, he handed the key to Lange.
The clerk dipped his quill in ink and wrote carefully in beautiful handwriting on the parchment, for fear of making any mistakes.
Lange winked at his Lord Privy Seal, who walked out of the crowd, made public a parchment document with the seal of the Dorsten family, and announced loudly: "This document will officially take effect from today. Count Lange will give Miss Josephine five fief villages in the Heimten Forest area and a lumber camp located here, and their rent will belong to Miss Josephine and her heirs forever. "
When the scribe finished recording all this, the crowd began to get restless. Langer pressed his hands to everyone for silence, indicating that everything was not over yet.
"I will donate one hundred deniers, twenty cows, and a sheepfold to the church in Tonisburg as a pious gift for my marriage, in exchange for the monks of the diocese to provide for me, my wife, and Blessings and prayers for my future child.”
These types of gifts given to churches at weddings are common. The superstitious medieval aristocrat longed for religious blessings and hoped that God would bless the souls of him and his family members.
Usually, though, their gifts to the church came in the form of coins and livestock. The land and residents were like a golden rooster laying eggs. For the earl who was not too wealthy, giving away land was really too extravagant.
"Now, friends who have come from afar, please start your meal!"
After all the ceremonies were over, Lange spoke loudly to the guests.
Servants brought huge platters of roasted wild boar and beef from the lord's kitchen. The baker took loaves of freshly baked bread from the oven and put them in willow handbaskets covered with white linen and brought them to the table.
Barrels of delicious fruit wine and red wine were moved into the hall by strong soldiers. They used sharp axes on their waists to directly break open the lids of the barrels. Those who needed it could directly take cups to the barrels to drink.
Mademoiselle Josephine, no, now Lady Josephine, ate not much at the table in the lively atmosphere. She spent more time talking to various nobles, Lange's cabinet members, and prestigious people, letting them quickly become familiar with her and increase her reputation.
"Madam, please allow me to call you this," Simon said to Josephine. "As Lange's brother, I hope to use this glass of wine to bless your marriage and hope that you will always be happy."
"Thank you, Simon." Josephine covered her mouth and smiled. The sommelier refilled the red wine for her. She and Lange raised their glasses to Simon.
Although Simon is not happy to see the marriage between the two in his heart, he still has to do what he needs to do on the surface, otherwise he will appear too petty.
"Simon, I hope you can find your other half soon." Lange spoke. He didn't speak much and his tone was very calm. Simon was not sure whether he was mocking him for a moment.
When Simon returned to his seat, Baron Winter put down the leg of lamb in his hand, wiped the grease on his mouth, and leaned over: "Simon, your brother is right, it's time for you to consider your marriage partner and heir. Problem. A lord without an heir is extremely weak in the eyes of his vassals and claimants."
Not getting married means there are no heirs, which means that when Simon has an accident, everything he owns will go to Lange, the first heir. This is a very dangerous thing.
"You're right." Simon didn't deny or change the topic this time.
In this rare gathering, the nobles shared their recent experiences and gossip. They try to make as many new friends as possible, make some agreements, or belittle their enemies and sow discord.
Simon was no exception, and he focused his attention on the four barons he wanted to ally with - Baron Winter, Baron Karl, Baron Siegburg, and Baron Wurtz.
Simon prompted the nascent alliance to reach a preliminary verbal agreement, and everyone promised to send someone to Esbaiburg to sign a formal covenant document within a week after the wedding banquet.
If anyone is attacked, the other four barons should unconditionally and with all their strength send troops to help the attacker.
Simon is satisfied with this, at least now he is no longer alone against Langer.
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