Complete Works of Sir Thomas Malory Page 16

  And so she graunted hym to fulfylle all his desyre.

  So it was in the monthe of May that she and sir Gawayne wente oute of the castell and sowped in a pavylyon, and there was made a bedde, and there sir Gawayne and Ettarde wente to bedde togedyrs. And in another pavylyon she leyde hir damesels, and in the thirde pavylyon she leyde parte of hir knyghtes, for than she had no drede of sir Pelleas. And there sir Gawayne lay with hir in the pavylyon two dayes and two nyghtes.

  And on the thirde day on the morne erly sir Pelleas armed hym, for he hadde never slepte syn sir Gawayne departed from hym, for sir Gawayne promysed hym by the feythe of his body to com to hym unto his pavylyon by the pryory within the space of a day and a nyght. Than sir Pelleas mounted uppon horsebak and com to the pavylyons that stood withoute the castell, and founde in the fyrste pavylyon three knyghtes in three beddis, and three squyres lyggynge at their feete. Than wente he to the secunde pavylyon and founde four jantyllwomen lyggyng in four beddis. And than he yode to the thirde pavylyon and founde sir Gawayne lyggyng in the bed with his lady Ettarde and aythir clyppynge other in armys. And whan he sawe that, his hert well-nyghe braste for sorow, and sayde, ‘Alas, that ever a knyght sholde be founde so false!’

  And than he toke his horse and myght nat abyde no lenger for pure sorow, and whan he had ryden nyghe half a myle he turned agayne and thought for to sle hem bothe. And whan he saw hem lye so bothe slepynge faste that unnethe he myght holde hym on horsebak for sorow, and seyde thus to hymself: ‘Though this knyght be never so false, I woll never sle hym slepynge, for I woll never dystroy the hyghe Ordir of Knyghthode,’ and therewith he departed agayne.

  And or he had rydden half a myle he returned agayne and thought than to sle hem bothe, makynge the grettyst sorow that ever man made. And whan he come to the pavylyons he tyed his horse to a tre and pulled oute his swerde naked in his honde and wente to them thereas they lay. And yet he thought shame to sle hem, and leyde the naked swerde overthawrte bothe their throtis, and so toke his horse and rode his way.

  And whan sir Pelleas com to his pavylyons he tolde his knyghtes and his squyers how he had spedde, and seyde thus unto them: ‘For youre good and true servyse ye have done me I shall gyff you all my goodes, for I woll go unto my bedde and never aryse tyll I be dede. And whan that I am dede, I charge you that ye take the herte oute of my body and bere hit her betwyxte two sylver dysshes and telle her how I sawe hir lye wyth that false knyght sir Gawayne.’ Ryght so sir Pelleas unarmed hymself and wente unto his bedde makyng merveylous dole and sorow.

  Than sir Gawayne and Ettarde awoke of her slepe and founde the naked swerd overthawrte their throtis. Than she knew hit was the swerde of sir Pelleas. ‘Alas!’ she seyde, ‘Sir Gawayne, ye have betrayde sir Pelleas and me, rfor you told me you had slayne hym, and now I know wel it is not soo: he is on lyvel But had he bene so uncurteyse unto you as ye have bene to hym, ye had bene a dede knyght. But ye have dissayved me, that all ladyes and damesels may beware be you and me.’ And therewith sir Gawayne made hym redy and wente into the foreste.

  So hit happed the Damesell of the Lake, Nynyve, mette with a knyght of sir Pelleas that wente on his foote in this foreste makynge grete doole, and she asked hym the cause; and so the wofull knyght tolde her all how his mayster and lorde was betrayed thorow a knyght and a lady, and how he woll never aryse oute of his bedde tyll he be dede.

  ‘Brynge me to hym,’ seyde she anone, and y woll waraunte his lyfe. He shall nat dye for love, and she that hath caused hym so to love she shall be in as evylle plyte as he is or hit be longe to, for hit is no joy of suche a proude lady that woll nat have no mercy of suche a valyaunte knyght.’

  Anone that knyght broute hir unto hym, and whan she sye hym lye on his bedde she thought she sawe never so lykly a knyght. And therewith she threw an enchauntement uppon hym, and he fell on slepe. And than she rode unto the lady Ettarde and charged that no man scholde awake hym tyll she come agayne. So within two owres she brought the lady Ettarde thidir, and bothe the ladyes founde hym on slepe.

  ‘Loo,’ seyde the Damesell of the Lake, ‘ye oughte to be ashamed for to murther suche a knyght,’ and therewith she threw such an inchauntemente uppon hir that she loved hym so sore that well-nyghe she was nere oute of hir mynde.

  ‘A, Lorde Jesu,’ seyde this lady Ettarde, ‘how is hit befallyn unto me that I love now that I have hatyd moste of ony man on lyve?”That is the ryghteuouse jugemente of God,’ seyde the damesell. And than anone sir Pelleas awaked and loked uppon Ettarde, and whan he saw hir he knew her, and than he hated hir more than ony woman on lyve, and seyde, ‘Away, traytoures, and com never in my syght!’ And whan she herde hym sey so she wepte and made grete sorow oute of mynde.

  ‘Sir knyght Pelleas,’ seyde the Damesel of the Lake, ‘take your horse and com forth withoute of this contrey, and ye shall love a lady that woll love you.’

  ‘I woll well,’ seyde sir Pelleas, ‘for this lady Ettarde hath done me grete dispy te and shame;’ and there he tolde hir the begynnyng and endyng, and how he had never purposed to have rysen agayne tyll he had bene dede. ‘And now suche grace God hath sente me that I hate hir as much as I have loved hir.’

  ‘Thanke me therefore,’ seyde the Lady of the Lake.

  Anone sir Pelleas armed hym and toke his horse and commaunded his men to brynge aftir his pavylyons and his stuffe where the Lady of the Lake wolde assyngne them. So this lady Ettarde dyed for sorow, and the Damesel of the Lake rejoysed sir Pelleas, and loved togedyrs duryng their lyfe.

  Now turne we unto sir Marhaute that rode with the damesel of thirty wynter of ayge southwarde. And so they come into a depe foreste, and by fortune they were nyghted and rode longe in a depe way, and at the laste they com unto a courtlage and there they asked herborow. But the man of the courtlage wolde nat logge them for no tretyse that they coulde trete, but this much the good man seyde: ‘And ye woll take the adventure of youre herbourage, I shall bryng you there ye may be herbourde.’

  ‘What aventure is that I shall have for my herborow?’ seyde sir Marhaute.

  ‘Ye shall wete whan ye com there,’ seyde the good man.

  ‘Sir, what aventure so hit be, I pray the to brynge me thidir, for I am wery, my damesel and my horse both.’

  So the good man wente uppon his gate before hym in a lane, and within an houre he brought hym untyll a fayre castell. And than the pore man called the porter, and anone he was lette into the castell. And so he tolde the lorde how he had brought hym a knyght arraunte and a damesell wolde be lodged with hym.

  ‘Lette hym in,’ seyde the lorde, ‘for hit may happen he shall repente that they toke theire herborow here.’

  So sir Marhaute was let in with a torchelyght, and there was a grete syght of goodly men that welcomed hym; and than his horse was lad into a stable, and he and the damesel were brought into the halle, and there stoode a myghty duke and many goodly men aboute hym. Than this duke asked hym what he hyght, and fro whens he com, and with whom he dwelte.

  ‘Sir,’ he seyde, ‘I am a knyght of kynge Arthurs and knyght of the Table Rounde, and my name is sir Marhaute, and borne I was in Irelonde.’

  ‘That me repentes,’ seyde the duke, ‘for I love nat thy lorde nother none of thy felowys of the Table Rounde. And therefore ease thyself this nyght as well as thou mayste, for as to-morne I and my six sonnes shall macch with you.’

  ‘Is there no remedy,’ seyde sir Marhaute, ‘but that I must have ado with you and your six sunnes at onys?’

  ‘No,’ seyde the duke, ‘for this cause. I made myne avowe, for sir Gawayne slew my sevynth sonne in a recountre, therefore I made myne avow that there sholde never knyght of kynge Arthurs courte lodge with me or com thereas I myght have ado with hym but I wolde revenge me of my sonnes deth.’

  ‘What is your name?’ sayde sir Marhaute, ‘I requyre you telle me, and hit please you.’

  ‘Wete thou well I am the duke of Southe Marchis.’

  ‘A!’ seyde sir Marhaute, ‘I have herde seyde that ye have bene longe
tyme a grete foo unto my lorde Arthure and unto his knyghtes.’

  ‘That shall ye fele to-morne,’ seyde the duke, ‘and ye leve so longe.”Shall I have ado with you?’ seyde sir Marhaute.

  ‘Ye,’ seyde the duke, ‘thereof shalt thou not chose. And therefore let take hym to his chambir and lette hym have all that tyll hym longis.’

  So sir Marhaute departed and was led unto his chambir, and his damesel was led in tyll hir chambir. And on the morne the duke sente unto sir Marhaute and bade hym make hym redy. And so sir Marhaute arose and armed hym. And than there was a masse songe afore hym, and brake his faste, and so mounted on horsebak in the courte of the castell there they sholde do batayle. So there was the deuke all redy on horsebak and clene armed, and his six sonnys by hym, and everyche had a spere in his honde. And so they encountirde whereas the deuke and his sonnys brake her sperys uppon hym, but sir Marhaute hylde up his spere and touched none of hem.

  [26] Than come the four sonnes by couple, and two of them brake their sperys, and so dud the other two. And all this whyle sir Marhaute towched hem nat. Than sir Marhaute ran to the deuke and smote hym downe with his speare, that horse and man felle to the erthe, and so he served his sonnes. Than sir Marhaute alyght downe and bade the deuke yelde hym, other he wolde sle hym. Than som of his sonnes recovirde and wolde have sette uppon sir Marhaute. Than sir Marhaute seyde, ‘Sir deuke, cese thy sonnys, and ellys I woll do the uttirmust to you all.’

  Than the deuke sye he myght nat ascape the deth, he cryed to his sonnes and charged them to yelde them to sir Marhaute, and than they kneled alle adowne and putt the pomels of their swerdis to the knyght, and so he receyvid them; and than they hove up their fadir on his feete. And so by their comunal assent promysed to sir Marhaute never to be fooys unto kynge Arthure, and thereuppon at Whytsonday next aftir to com, he and his sonnes, and there to putt them in the kynges grace. Then sir Marhaute departed.

  And within two dayes sir Marhautes damesel brought hym whereas was a grete turnemente that the lady Vawse had cryed, and who that dud beste sholde have a ryche cerclet of golde worth a thousand besauntis. And there sir Marhaute dud so nobely that he was renomed, and had smeten doune forty knyghtes, and so the cerclet of golde was rewarded hym. Than he departed thens with grete honoure.

  And so within sevennyght his damesel brought hym to an erlys place. His name was the erle Fergus that aftir was sir Trystrams knyght, and this erle was but a yonge man and late com to his londis, and there was a gyaunte faste by hym that hyght Taulurd, and he had another brother in Cornuayle that hyght Taulas that sir Trystram slewe whan he was oute of his mynde. So this erle made his complaynte unto sir Marhaute that there was a gyaunte by hym that destroyed all his londis and how he durste nowhere ryde nother go for hym.

  ‘Sir,’ seyde he, ‘whether usyth he to fyght on horsebak othir on foote?’

  ‘Nay,’ seyde the erle, ‘there may no horse bere hym.’

  ‘Well,’ seyde sir Marhaute, ‘than woll I fyght with hym on foote.’

  So on the morne sir Marhaute prayde the erle that one of his men myght brynge hym where the gyaunte was, and so one brought hym where he syghe hym sytte undir a tre of hooly, and many clubbis of ironne and gysernes aboute hym. So this knyght dressed hym to the gyaunte and put his shylde before hym, and the gyaunte toke an ironne club in his honde, and at the fyrste stroke he clave syr Marhautis shelde. And there he was in grete perell, for the gyaunte was a sly fyghter. But at the laste sir Marhaute smote of his ryght arme aboven the elbow. Than the gyaunte fledde and the knyght affter hym, and so he drove hym into a watir; but the gyaunte was so hyghe that he myght nat wade aftir hym. And than sir Marhaute made the erle Fergus man to fecche hym stonys, and with tho stonys the knyght gave the gyaunte many sore strokis tylle at the laste he made hym falle downe in the watir, and so was he there dede.

  Than sir Marhalte wente into the gyauntes castell, and there he delyverde four-and-twenty knyghtes oute of the gyauntes preson and twelve ladyes; and there he had grete rychesse oute of numbir, that dayes of his lyff he was nevir poore man. Than he returned to the erle Fergus, the whyche thanked hym gretly and wolde have yevyn hym half his londys, but he wolde none take. So sir Marhaute dwellid with the erle nye half a yere, for he was sore brused with the gyaunte. So at the laste he toke his leve, and as he rode by the way with his damysel he mette with sir Gawayne and wyth sir Uwayne.

  So by adventure he mette with four knyghtes of Arthurs courte: the fyrst was sir Sagramour le Desyrus, sir Ozanna le Cure Hardy, sir Dodynas le Saveage, and sir Felotte of Lystynoyse; and there sir Marhaute with one spere smote downe these four knyghtes and hurte them sore. And so departed to mete at his day.

  Now turne we unto sir Uwayne that rode westwarde with his damesell of three score wyntir of ayge. And there was a turnemente nyghe the marche of Walys, and at that turnemente sir Uwayne smote doune thirty knyghtes. Therefore was gyffyn hym the pryce, and that was a jarfaucon and a whyght stede trapped with cloth of golde. So than sir Uwayne ded many strange adventures by the meanys of the olde damesel, and so she brought hym to a lady that was called the Lady of the Roch, the whyche was curtayse.

  So there was in that contrey two knyghtes that were brethirne, and they were called two perelous knyghtes: that one hyght sir Edwarde of the Rede Castell, and that other sir Hew of the Rede Castell, and these two brethirne had disheryted the Lady of the Roche of a barounery of londis by their extorsion. And as this knyghte was lodged with this lady, she made hir complaynte to hym of thes two knyghtes.

  ‘Madam,’ seyde sir Uwayne, ‘they ar to blame, for they do ayenste the hyghe Order of Knyghthode and the oth that they made. And if hit lyke you I woll speke with hem, because I am a knyght of kyng Arthurs, and to entrete them with fayrenesse; and if they woll nat, I — shall do batayle with them for Goddis sake and in the defence of your ryght.’

  ‘Gramercy,’ seyde the lady, ‘and thereas I may nat acquyte you, God shall.’

  So on the morne the two knyghtes were sente fore, that they sholde speke with the Lady of the Roche, and wete you well they fayled nat, for they com with an hondred horses. But whan this lady sawe them in suche maner so bygge she wolde nat suffir sir Uwayne to go oute to them uppon no sûreté ne of fayre langage, but she made hym to speke with them over a toure. But fynally thes two brethirne wolde nat be entreted, and answerde that they wolde kepe that they had.

  ‘Well,’ seyde syr Uwayne, ‘than woll I fyght with one of you and preve that ye do this lady wronge.’

  ‘That woll we nat,’ seyde they, ‘for and we do batayle we two woll fyght bothe at onys with one knyght. And therefore, yf ye lyste to fyght so, we woll be redy at what oure ye woll assygne, and yf ye wynne us in batayle, she to have hir londis agayne.’

  ‘Ye say well,’ seyde sir Uwayne, ‘therefore make you redy, and that ye be here to-morne in the defence of this ladyes ryght.’

  So was there sykernesse made on bothe partyes, that no treson [28] sholde be wrought. And so thes knyghtes departed and made them redy.

  And that nyght sir Uwayne had grete chere, and on the morne he arose erly and harde masse and brake his faste, and so rode into the playne withoute the gatis where hoved the two brethirne abydyng hym. So they ran togedyrs passynge sore, that sir Edwarde and sir Hew brake their sperys uppon sir Uwayne, and sir Uwayne smote sir Edwarde, that he felle over his horse and yette his spere braste nat. And than he spurred his horse and com uppon sir Hew and overthrew hym. But they sone recoverde and dressed their shyldes and drew oute their swerdes, and bade sir Uwayne alyght and do his batayle to the utteraunce.

  Than sir Uwayne devoyded his horse delyverly and put his shylde before hym and drew his swerde, and so they threste togedyrs and eythir gave other grate strokis. And there thes two brethirne wounded sir Uwayne passyng grevously, that the Lady of the Roche wente he sholde have deyed. And thus they fought togedyrs fyve oures as men outraged of reson, and at the laste sir Uwayne smote sir Edwarde uppon the helme suche a stroke that his swerde kerved unto his caneUbo
ne; and than sir Hew abated his corrage, but sir Uwayne presed faste to have slayne hym. That saw sir Hew and kneled adowne and yelded hym to sir Uwayne, and he of his jantylnesse resceyved his swerde and toke hym by the honde, and wente into the castell togedyrs.

  Than this Lady of the Roche was passyng glad, and sir Hew made grete sorow for his brothirs deth. But this lady was restored ayen of all hir londis, and sir Hew was commaunded to be at the courte of kynge Arthure at the next feste of Pentecoste. So sir Uwayne dwelled with this lady nyghe halfe a yere, for hit was longe or he myght be hole of his grete hurtis. And so, whan hit drew nyghe the termeday that sir Gawayne, sir Marhaute and sir Uwayne made to mete at the crosseway, than every knyght drew hym thydir to holde his promyse that they made. And sir Marhalte and sir Uwayne brought their damesels with hem, but sir Gawayne had loste his damesel.

  Ryght so at the twelve monthis ende they mette all three knyghtes at the fountayne and theire damesels, but the damesell that sir Gawayne had coude sey but lytyll worshyp of hym. So they departed frome the damesels and rode thorowe a grete foreste, and there they mette with a messyngere that com from kynge Arthurs courte that had sought hem well-nyghe a twelve-monthe thorowoute all Ingelonde, Walis, and Scotlonde, and charged yf ever he myght fynde sir Gawayne and sir Uwayne to haste hem unto the courte agayne. And than were they all glad, and so they prayde sir Marhaute to ryde with hem to the kynges courte.

  And so within twelve dayes they come to Camelot, and the kynge was passyng glad of their commyng, and so was all the courte. Than the kynge made hem to swere uppon a booke to telle hym all their adventures that had befalle them that twelve-monthe before, and so they ded. And there was sir Marhaute well knowyn, for there were knyghtes that he had macched aforetyme, and he was named one of the beste knyghtes lyvyng.

  So agayne the feste of Pentecoste cam the Damesell of the Laake and brought with hir sir Pelleas, and at the hyghe feste there was grete joustys. Of all knyghtes that were at that justis sir Pelleas had the pryce and syr Marhaute was named next. But sir Pelleas was so stronge that there myght but few knyghtes stonde hym a buffette with a spere. And at the next feste sir Pelleas and sir Marhalt were made knyghtes of the Rounde Table; for there were two segis voyde, for two knyghtes were slayne that twelve-monthe.