The two boys still found time to go down to Santa Maria to watch the building work, talk to Father Albert, or sit and watch how Angel wolfed down his food. Anyone observing them could see how their eyes shone in a different way whenever they looked at the church. They were doing their bit to help build it! That was what the bastaixos and even Father Albert had told them.
The keystone hung high in the sky, and the boys saw how the ribs from each of the ten columns were gradually rising to meet it. The masons built trusses and then placed one block after another on them, curving upward. Behind the columns, surrounding the first eight of them, the walls of the ambulatory had already been built, with the interior buttresses in place. “Between these two,” Father Albert told them as he pointed out two of the stone columns, “we will put the Jesus chapel, the one belonging to the bastaixos, where the Virgin will stand.”
He said this because as the walls of the ambulatory were being built, and the new vaults were constructed on the struts from the columns, the old church was gradually being demolished.
“Then above the apse,” Father Albert went on, with Angel nodding at his side, “we’ll build the roof. Do you know what we will use?” The two boys shook their heads. “All the faulty pottery jars in the city. First will come the ashlar filling, and then on top of that all the jars, lined up next to one another. Finally there will be the roof covering.”
Arnau had seen all the broken jars piled next to the blocks of stone outside Santa Maria. He had asked his father why they were there, but Bernat did not know the answer.
“All I know,” he had said, “is that we have to pile up all the faulty pieces until someone comes and collects them.”
In this way, the new church began to take shape behind the apse of the old one, which they carefully dismantled in order to be able to use its stones. The La Ribera district did not want to be left without a church, even while the new, magnificent shrine to the Virgin was rising around them. Masses were said as usual, and yet there was a strange atmosphere in the church. Like everyone else, Arnau went in through the lopsided doorway of the tiny Romanesque construction, but once inside, instead of the welcoming gloom that had protected him while he talked to the Virgin, there was now a flood of light from the windows in the new apse. The old church was like a small box contained within another much larger and more beautiful one, a box destined to disappear as the other one grew, a box whose fourth side was taken up by the new, soaring apse that already boasted a roof.
10
HOWEVER, THERE WAS more to Arnau’s life than Santa Maria and giving water to the bastaixos. In exchange for bed and board, he had, among other duties, to help the Grau family cook whenever she went into the city to buy food.
So every two or three days Arnau left the workshop at dawn and went with Estranya, the mulatto slave, into the city streets. She walked with splayed legs, her huge body swaying dangerously as she waddled along. As soon as Arnau appeared in the kitchen doorway, she would give him the first things to carry: two baskets of dough they were to take to the ovens in the Calle Ollers Blancs for baking. One basket contained the loaves for Grau and his family: these were made of wheat flour, and became the finest white bread. The other held the loaves for the rest of the household, made from rye, millet, or even beans and chickpeas. When baked, this bread was dark, heavy, and hard.
Once they had handed over the loaves, Estranya and Arnau would leave the potters’ neighborhood and cross the wall into the center of Barcelona. In this first part of their journey, Arnau had no problem following the slave, and even found time to laugh at her swaying body and rippling dark flesh.
“What are you laughing at?” the mulatto had asked him more than once.
At that, Arnau would look into her round, flat face and stifle his smile.
“You want to laugh? Laugh at this then,” she said in Plaza del Blat as she gave him a sack of wheat to carry. “Where’s your smile now?” she would say on the way down La Llet as she loaded him with the milk his cousins were to drink. She would repeat the taunt in the narrow Plaza del Cols, where she bought cabbages, pulses, or other vegetables, and in Plaza de l’Oli, weighing him down with oil, game, or fowl.
After that, struggling under her purchases, Arnau followed the slave all over Barcelona. On the 160 days of abstinence, the mulatto plodded and swayed down to the shore, near Santa Maria. There she fought with the other customers at one of the city’s two official fishmongers (the old and the new) to buy the best dolphin, tuna, sturgeon, or palomides, neros, reigs, and corballs.
“Now we’ll get your fish,” she said. It was her turn to smile as she went round the back of the stalls to buy the leftovers. There were as many people here as at the front, but Estranya did not fight to get the best.
Even so, Arnau preferred these days of abstinence to those when Estranya had to go and buy meat, because whereas to purchase the leftovers of fish she simply had to walk round the stall, when she bought meat Arnau had to carry all his packages across half the city.
She bought the meat for Grau and his family from one of the butchers situated outside the slaughterhouses. Like everything else sold in the city, this was fresh, first-class meat: no dead animals were allowed inside Barcelona. Everything that was sold was slaughtered on the spot.
That was why, to get the cheap cuts to feed to the servants and slaves in the household, they had to leave the city by Portaferrisa until they reached the market where carcasses were piled alongside meat of unknown origin. Again it was Estranya’s turn to smile as she bought, and loaded the boy with her new purchases. Then it was back to the baker’s to pick up the bread from the oven, and then to Grau’s house, Estranya still swaying and waddling her way along, Arnau dragging his feet.
ONE MORNING, WHEN Estranya and Arnau were buying meat at the main slaughterhouse by Plaza del Blat, they heard the bells of San Jaume church begin to peal. It was not Sunday or a feast day. Estranya came to a halt, legs spread wide. Someone in the square let out a shout. Arnau could not understand what he was saying, but lots of others soon joined in, and people started running about in all directions. He turned toward Estranya, a question on his lips. He dropped the load. The wheat merchants were all scrambling to dismantle their stalls. People were still rushing to and fro, and the bells of San Jaume were still ringing out over the square. Arnau thought of running there, but... weren’t those the bells of Santa Clara he could hear too? He strained to capture the sound, but at that very moment the bells of San Pere, Framenors, and San Just all started up. All the churches in the city were ringing their bells! Arnau stood stock-still, openmouthed and deafened, watching everyone running all round him.
All of a sudden, he saw Joanet’s face in front of him. His friend was hopping about nervously.
“Via fora! Via fora!” he was shouting.
“What’s that?” Arnau asked.
“Via fora!” Joaner bawled in his ear.
“What does that mean?”
Joanet motioned to him to be quiet, and pointed toward the ancient Mayor gate, beneath the magistrate’s palace.
As Arnau watched, one of the magistrate’s stewards came out. He was dressed for battle, in a silver breastplate and with a broadsword at his side. In his right hand he was carrying the banner of Sant Jordi on a gilded pole: a red cross on a white background. Behind him, another steward who was also in battle dress held aloft the city banner. The two men ran to the center of the square and the stone dividing Barcelona into four quarters. When they reached it, waving their banners, the two men cried out as one:
“Via fora! Via fora!”
All the bells were still ringing, and the cry of Via fora was taken up along all the streets around the square. Joanet, who until then had witnessed the spectacle without a word, suddenly began to shout like a madman.
Finally, Estranya reacted. She swatted a hand at Arnau to make him move, but he was still entranced by the sight of the two stewards standing in the center of the square, with their shining armor and swo
rds, waving their colorful banners, and ducked under her fist.
“Come with me, Arnau,” Estranya ordered him.
“No,” he said, egged on by Joanet.
Estranya grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. “Come on. This is no business of ours.”
“What are you saying, slave?” The words came from a woman who, like them, was caught up in the excitement of what was going on in front of them and had heard the argument between Arnau and the mulatto. “Is the boy a slave?” Estranya shook her head. “Is he a free citizen?” Arnau nodded. “How dare you say then that the ‘Via fora’ is none of the boy’s business?” Estranya hesitated, her feet slipping under her like a duck’s on ice.
“Who are you, slave,” another woman said, “to deny the boy the honor of defending Barcelona’s rights?”
Estranya lowered her head. What would her master say if he heard? After all, he was the first to defend the city’s honor. The bells were still ringing. Joanet had joined the group of women and was signaling to Arnau to come with him.
“Women don’t go with the city host,” the first woman reminded Estranya.
“And slaves still less,” another woman added.
“Who do you think will look after our husbands if not boys like them?”
Estranya did not dare raise her eyes from the ground.
“Who do you think will cook for them or run their errands? Who will take off their boots and clean their crossbows?”
“Go where you need to go,” the women told her. “This is no place for a slave.”
Estranya picked up all the sacks that Arnau had been carrying, and started to waddle off. Smiling contentedly, Joanet looked admiringly at the group of women. Arnau had not moved.
“Come on, boys,” the women encouraged them. “Come and look after our menfolk.”
“Make sure you tell my father!” Arnau shouted to Estranya, who had managed to walk only three or four yards.
Joanet saw that Arnau could not take his eyes off the slave, and understood his doubts.
“Didn’t you hear the women?” he said. “It’s up to us to look after Barcelona’s soldiers. Your father will understand.”
Arnau agreed, hesitantly at first, but then with more conviction. Of course Bernat would understand! Hadn’t he himself fought so that they could become free citizens of the city?
When they looked back at the center of the square, they saw that a third man had joined the two stewards: the standard bearer from the merchants’ guild. He did not wear armor, but had a crossbow strapped across his back and wore a sword at his belt. A short while later, the standard of the silversmiths was fluttering alongside the others; slowly the square filled up with banners displaying all kinds of symbols and figures: the furriers’ banner, the surgeons and barbers’, the ones for the guilds of carpenters, coppersmiths, potters ...
The freemen of Barcelona began gathering beneath the banner of their trade. As required by law, they each came armed with a crossbow, a quiver with a hundred bolts, and a sword or spear. Within two hours, the sagramental of the city of Barcelona was ready to move off in defense of the city’s privileges.
By then, Arnau had understood from Joanet what this was all about.
“Barcelona not only defends itself when necessary,” Joanet told him. “It also goes on the attack if anyone threatens it.” He spoke excitedly, pointing to the soldiers and their banners, proud of the way the city had responded. “It’s fantastic! You’ll see. With any luck, we’ll be out of Barcelona for a few days. If anybody mistreats an inhabitant of the city or attacks its rights, they are denounced ... well, I’m not sure who they are denounced to, whether it’s the magistrate or the Council of a Hundred, but if the authorities decide the charge is justified, they call the host together beneath the banner of Sant Jordi—can you see it over there in the center of the square, flying higher than all the others? The bells are rung, and people pour out into the streets shouting, ‘Via fora!’ so that all the inhabitants know what is going on. The leaders of each guild bring out their banners, and their members gather under them to set off for battle.”
Wide-eyed, Arnau tried to take in everything that was going on around him. He followed Joanet through the different groups congregated in the square.
“What do we have to do? Is it dangerous?” Arnau asked, impressed by the vast array of arms on display.
“No, usually it’s not dangerous,” Joanet replied, smiling. “Remember that if the magistrate has called the citizens to arms, he has done it not only in the name of the city but of the king as well. That means we never have to fight the royal troops. Of course, it depends on who the aggressor is, but generally when a feudal lord sees the Barcelona host approaching, he usually gives in to their demands.”
“So there is no battle?”
“That depends on what the authorities decide, and the feudal lord’s attitude. The last time, a castle was destroyed, and then there was a battle, with deaths, attacks, and ... Look! Your uncle must be over there,” said Joanet, pointing to the potters’ banner. “Let’s go and see!”
Beneath the banner, Grau Puig stood in his armor with the three other guild aldermen: he was wearing boots, a leather jacket that protected him down to midcalf, and a sword. The city’s potters crowded around their four leaders. As soon as Grau saw the young boys, he signaled to Jaume, who stepped in front of them, blocking their way.
“Where are you two going?” he asked them.
Arnau looked at Joanet for support.
“We’re going to offer to help the master,” said Joanet. “We could carry his food ... or whatever else he wants.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Jaume replied.
As he turned away, Arnau asked his friend: “Now what do we do?”
“It doesn’t matter!” said Joanet. “Don’t worry. There are plenty of people here who would be pleased to have our help. Anyway, I’m sure he won’t notice if we join in.”
The two boys started to mingle with the crowd, studying the swords, crossbows, and lances, and admiring the men dressed in armor. They tried to follow their lively conversation.
“What’s happened to the water?” they heard someone shout behind them.
Arnau and Joanet looked round. Their faces lit up when they saw it was Ramon smiling at them. All around him, a group of twenty or more bastaixos, armed and powerful-looking, were staring in their direction.
Arnau felt for the waterskin on his back. He must have looked so crestfallen when he could not find it that several of the men laughed and came to offer theirs.
“You always have to be ready when the city calls,” they said jokingly.
The army of citizens left Barcelona behind the banner bearing the red cross of Sant Jordi. They were heading for the village of Creixell, close to Tarragona, where the villagers had seized a flock of sheep that was the property of the city butchers.
“Is that so bad?” Arnau asked Ramon, whom they had decided to accompany.
“Of course it is. Any animals that belong to Barcelona’s butchers have the right to travel and graze anywhere in Catalonia. Nobody, not even the king, can stop any flock or herd that is on its way to the city. Our children have to eat the best meat in the land,” said Ramon, ruffling their hair. “The lord of Creixell has seized a flock and is demanding that the shepherd pay him for grazing and for the right to pass through his lands. Can you imagine what would happen if all the lords and barons between Tarragona and Barcelona did the same? We would never eat.”
“If only you knew what sort of meat Estranya gives us ... ,” thought Arnau. Joanet guessed what was going through his mind and pulled a face. He was the only one whom Arnau had told. He had been tempted to warn his father where the scraps of meat floating in the pot had come from, but when he saw not only how eagerly his father devoured them but the way that all the slaves and workmen in Grau’s pottery threw themselves on the food, he thought better of it, said nothing, and ate along with the rest of them.
“Are t
here any other reasons for the sagramental to be called?” asked Arnau, still with the foul taste in his mouth.
“Of course. Any threat to Barcelona’s privileges or against a citizen can mean we are called on. For example, if a citizen is held against his will, then the sagramental will go and free him.”
As Arnau and Joanet talked, the army moved up the coast, from San Boi to Castelldefels and then Garraf. As the men passed by, everyone stared silently at them, making sure they kept well out of their way. Even the sea seemed to respect the Barcelona host, the sound of the waves dying away as the hundreds of armed men marched behind the banner of Sant Jordi. The sun shone on them all day, and as the sea was turning to silver in the evening light, they came to a halt in Sitges. The lord of Fonollar welcomed their leaders into his castle, while the rest of the men made camp outside the town gates.
“Is there going to be a war?” asked Arnau.
All the bastaixos stared at him. The only sound was the crackling of their bonfire. Joanet lay fast asleep, his head on Ramon’s lap. Some of the men looked at one another, asking themselves the same question: would there be a war?
“No,” said Ramon, “the lord of Creixell cannot stand against us.”
Arnau looked disappointed.
“He might, though,” one of the guild leaders on the far side of the fire said to encourage him. “Many years ago, when I was about as young as you are now”—Arnau almost burned himself as he leaned forward to catch his words—“the sagramental was called out to march on Castellbisbal, where the lord had seized a flock of cattle, just like the lord of Creixell has done now. But at Castellbisbal, he did not back down, and decided to face our army. He probably thought that the citizens of Barcelona—merchants, artisans, or bastaixos like us—could not fight. But the men of Barcelona stormed the castle, took the lord and his soldiers prisoner, and razed it to the ground.”