But for the most part the northern men were
sober and in earnest, praying as they sang and looking upward as if the
Star of the East were presently to shed its soft light in the sky; and
they tended the torches and lights around the trees devoutly, not
guessing that their fathers had done the same long ago, in bleak
Denmark and snowy Norway, in worship of Odin and in honour of
Yggdrasil, the tree of life.
The Gascons and all the men of the South, on their side, had made
little altars between two trees, decked with white cloths and adorned
with tinsel ornaments and little crosses and small carved images
carefully brought, like household gods, from the far home, and
treasured only next to their arms. The thin, dark faces of the men were
fervent with southern faith, and their wild black eyes were deep and
still.
There were also Alsatians and Lorrainers in lines by themselves, quiet,
fair-haired men. They had little German dolls of wood, and toys
brightly painted, and by their trees they set out the scene of
Bethlehem, with the manger and the Christ-Child, and the oxen crouching
down, and the Blessed Mary and Saint Joseph, and also the shepherds and
the wise kings; and the men sat down before these things with happy
faces and sang their songs. So it was through the whole camp, the
soldiers doing everywhere according to their customs.
As for the nobles and knights, Gilbert saw some of them walking about
like himself, and some were sitting before their tents.
Pages:
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296