The White Company · Chapter
XXVII: How Roger Clubfoot Was Passed Into Paradise explained
Sir Nigel, Alleyne, Ford, and Aylward travel toward Villefranche, encountering the Norwich merchant David Micheldene, who seeks protection from the robber-knight Roger Clubfoot.
What happens
Sir Nigel, Alleyne, Ford, and Aylward travel toward Villefranche, encountering the Norwich merchant David Micheldene, who seeks protection from the robber-knight Roger Clubfoot. They later find Clubfoot hanged, with a richly dressed man counting coins beside him.
Themes in this chapter
Chivalry and Honor
Sir Nigel seeks honorable combat with the robber-knight Roger Clubfoot, viewing him as a chance to advance himself through knightly deeds.
War and Violence
The frontier land is rife with danger, as seen in the hanged body of Clubfoot and the constant threat of armed bands.
Characters to notice
- Alleyne Edricson
Travels with Sir Nigel and identifies the merchant Micheldene.
- Sir Nigel Loring
Leads the party, converses with Sir Gaston d'Estelle, and offers protection to Micheldene.
- Samkin Aylward
Rides with the party and advises on the route to Montaubon.
- David Micheldene
A Norwich alderman seeking safe passage to Cahors, wary of Roger Clubfoot.
- Walter Ford of Botley
Lodged with Sir Nigel at Aiguillon and travels with the party.
Key passages
“It is such men as he who give the true knight honorable deeds to do, whereby he may advance himself.”
Sir Nigel believes that dangerous knights like Clubfoot provide opportunities for honorable combat and personal glory.
Reflects Sir Nigel's chivalric worldview.
“It is such men as he who are like rats in a wheat-rick or moths in a woolfels, a harm and a hindrance to all peaceful and honest men.”
Micheldene compares robber-knights to pests that destroy the livelihoods of honest traders.
Contrasts the merchant's practical view with Sir Nigel's romanticism.