‘Because I would not be so presumptuous to make choice of a place without your assent, I offer the combat before that most excellent and sovereign prince my lord the king of Arragon, or before the kings of Spain[20], Portugal or Navarre; and should none of these princes be agreeable to you to select as our judge, to the end that I may not separate you far from your country, your lady and mine, to whose wishes I will conform to the utmost of my power, I am ready to go to Boulogne on your coming to Calais,—and then the governors of these two places, in behalf of each of us, shall appoint the proper time and place for the fulfilment of our engagement according to the terms of my letter, which I am prepared to accomplish, with the aid of GOD, of our Lady, of my lord St Michael and my lord St George. ‘Since I am so very far from my native country, I shall wait here for your answer until the end of the month of August next ensuing; and in the mean time, out of compliment to you, I shall no longer wear the stump of the greve fastened to my leg, although many have advised to the contrary. The month of August being passed without hearing satisfactorily from you, I shall replace the greve on my leg, and shall disperse my challenge throughout your kingdom, or wherever else I may please, until I shall have found a person to deliver me from my penance. That you may place greater confidence in what I have written, I have put to these letters the seal of my arms, and to the parts marked A, B, C, my sign manual, which parts were done and written at Paris the 4th day of September 1401.’ THE CHALLENGE OF THE ARRAGONIAN ESQUIRE. ‘In the name of the holy Trinity, the blessed virgin Mary, of my lord St Michael the archangel, and of my lord St George,—I, Michel d’Orris, esquire, a native of the kingdom of Arragon, make known to all the knights of England, that, to exalt my name and honour, I am seeking deeds of arms. ‘I know full well, that a noble chivalry exists in England,—and I am desirous of making acquaintance with the members of it, and learning from them feats of arms. I therefore require from you, in the name of knighthood, and by the thing you love most, that you will deliver me from my vow by such deeds of arms as I shall propose. ‘First, to enter the lists on foot, and perform the deeds specified in my first letter; and I offer, in order to shorten the matter, to show my willingness and diligence to present myself before your governor of Calais within two months after I shall have received your answer sealed with the seal of your arms, if GOD should grant me life and health. And I will likewise send, within these two months, the two helmets, two saddles, and the measure of the staves to the battle-axes and spears.