Holy Ennui

Illustration of a Bronze Age warrior inspired by artefacts found in the Saône river in eastern France ; early Urnfield Culture (c. 1200-1100 BC).

“Admire, Conan, the beauty of the country you tried to conquer. Away to the south there is a delightful hunting region, wooded and well stocked with beasts of the chase. See how the River Seine, full of fishes, laps the wall of Rouen and daily brings in ships laden with merchandise of many kinds. On the other side see the fair and populous city, with its ramparts and churches and town buildings, which has rightly been the capital of all Normandy from the earliest days.”

Pale with dread, Conan begged for mercy:

“My lord, I deserve condemnation for my own guilt, but now I ask mercy for the sake of God who created all things. For my ransom I will give my lord all the gold and silver that I can find in my own and my kinsmen's treasure-stores, and in compensation for my treachery I will give you faithful service until I die.”

Henry answered with an oath that meant much to him: "By my mother's soul, there shall be no ransom for a traitor, only swifter infliction of the death he deserves." Then Conan cried out, "For the love of God, allow me to confess my sins." But Henry, trembling with anger, thrust him out the tower window to his death.