The hooded knight

At dawn, on 1 June 1283, three men rode toward the lists prepared for the combat between Peter of Aragon and Charles of Anjou. On the way they sent a message to En Gilbert de Cruilles, a Catalan knight, who was lodged at an inn outside the city. En Gilbert came to meet them, and ‘changed colour’ when he saw that one of the men was King Peter himself, disguised as a squire.

The skeleton of Peter of Aragon

Peter told En Gilbert not to be afraid, and to go and find the seneschal of Gascony, Jean de Grailly. Jean was to be informed that a knight of the king of Aragon wished to speak with him. En Gilbert did as he was told. Shortly afterwards Jean was brought to the lists, where he found a hooded knight waiting for him. This was King Peter, though he kept his face hidden.

Peter formally asked the seneschal:

“Seneschal, I have appeared here before you for the lord king of Aragon, because today is the day on which he and the Lord King Charles have sworn and promised to be in the lists - this very day. And so I ask if you can assure the safety of the lists to the Lord King of Aragon.”

To which Jean answered:

 “Lord, I answer you briefly, in the name of my lord the king of England and in mine, that I cannot assure his safety; rather, in the name of God and the king of England, we hold him excused; and we declare him fair and loyal and absolved of his oath. We know for certain that if he came here, nothing could save him.”

Bordeaux

Then King Peter threw back his hood and said: “Lord seneschal, do you know me?” Jean, astonished, replied “What is this?” “

I,” said Peter, “have come here to fulfil my oath.”

He then rode around the lists, a formal way of ‘searching’ for his opponent. Since Charles and all his knights were still asleep, they weren’t likely to appear. Peter declared he had come to the lists, as he had sworn, and thus kept his oath. If Charles chose not to appear, that was his problem. The king of Aragon then high-tailed it out of Bordeaux and back across the Pyrenees, guided across the shortest route by En Domingo de la Figuera. By the time the Angevin knights were roused and thundered onto the field, their prey was long gone.

The Pyrenees

Attached (above, at the top) is a pic of the skeleton of King Peter, partially covered with white linen fabric and layers of dried organic material.