Lancelot of the Laik Part 19

And fourty thou?and armyt me{n} haith he, That war not at the othir a??emble, Co{m}mandit to the batell for to gon; "And I my-?elf," q{uod} he, "?hal me di?pone 980 On to the feild a?aine the thrid day; Whar of this were we ?hal the end a??ay."

[Sidenote: Arthur also provides his men for the field.]

++ANd arthur{is} folk that come one eu{er}y ?yd, He for the feld can them for to p{ro}uide, 984 Wich ware to few a?aine the gret affere Of galiot ?it to ?u?ten the were.

[Sidenote: The knights of Melyhalt join him.]

The kny{ch}t{is} al out of the cete ro Of melyholt, and to the ?emble gois. 988 [Sidenote: The lady secretly provides Lancelot with a red courser, and a s.h.i.+eld and spear, both red also.]

And the lady haith, in to ?acret wy, Gart for hir kny{ch}t and pre?on{er} dewy In red al thing, that ganith for the were; His cur?eir red, ?o was boith ?cheld {and} ?pere. 992

[Headnote: LANCELOT ENCOURAGES HIMSELF.]

{And} he, to qwham the pre?one hath ben ?mart, With glaid de?ir apone his cur?our ?tart; [Sidenote: He rides towards the field, and halts in a plain by the river-side.]

Towart the feld anon he gan to ryd, And in o plan houit one reu{er} syde. 996 This kny{ch}t, the wich that long haith ben i{n} cag, [Sidenote: Lancelot is encouraged, seeing the blithe morn, the mead, the river, the green woods, and the knights and banners.]

He grew in to o fre?ch {and} new curage, Seing the morow bly{th}full and amen, The med, the Reuer, and the vodis gren, 1000 The kny{ch}t{is} in [ther] armys them arayinge, The baner{is} ayaine the feld di?playng, [Fol. 13b.]

His ?outh in ?trenth and in p{ro}?perytee, And ?yne of lu?t the gret aduer?ytee.[T24] 1004 Thus in his tho{ch}t reme{m}bryng at the la?t, [Sidenote: Casting his eyes aside, he sees the queen looking over a parapet.]

Eft{er}ward one ?yd he gan his Ey to ca?t, Whar our a bertes[T25] lying haith he sen Out to the feld luking was the qwen; 1008 Sudandly with that his go?t a?tart [Sidenote: Love catches him by the heart.]

Of loue anone haith caucht hyme by the hart; Than ?aith he, "How long ?hall It be so, Loue, at yow ?hall wirk me al this wo? 1012 Apone this wy to be Infortunat, Hir for to ?{er}ue the wich thei no thing wate What ?ufferance I in hir wo endure, Nor of my wo, nor of myne aduenture? 1016 And I wnworthy ame for to attane To hir p{rese}ns, nor dare I noght complane.

[Sidenote: He counsels his heart to help itself at need,]

Bot, hart, ?en at yow knawith ?he is here, That of thi lyue and of thi deith is ?tere, 1020 Now is thi tyme, now help thi-?elf at neid, And the dewod of eu{er}y point of dred, [Sidenote: to forego cowardice,]

That cowardy be none In to the sen, Fore and yow do, yow knowis thi peyne, I weyn; 1024 Yow art wnable eu{er} to attane To hir mercy, or c.u.m be ony mayne.

[Sidenote: and to deserve her thanks or die.]

Tharfor y red hir thonk at yow di??erue, Or in hir p{rese}ns lyk o kny{ch}t to ?terf." 1028

[Footnote T24: May we read "diuer?ytee"?]

[Footnote T25: MS. "abertes."]

[Headnote: THE RED KNIGHT'S TRANCE.]

[Sidenote: Confused with a heavy thought,]

With that confu?it w{i}t{h} an hewy tho{ch}t, Wich ner his deith ful oft tyme haith hyme ?o{ch}t, Deuoydit was his sprit{is} and his go?t, He wi?t not of hyme-?elf nor of his o?t; 1032 [Sidenote: he [sits] on his horse as still as stone.]

Bot one his hor, als ?till as ony ?ton.

When that the kny{ch}t{is} armyt war ilkon, [Sidenote: The bugles are blown, and the knights are ready on horseback, 20,000 in number.]

To warnnyng them vp goith the bludy ?own, And eu{er}y knyght vpone his hor is bown; 1036 Twenty thou?and armyt men of were.

The king that day he wold non armys bere; His batell{is} ware devy?it eu{er}ilkon, [Sidenote: They are forbidden to cross the fords, but cannot be restrained.]

And them forbad out our the furd{is} to gon. 1040 Bot frome that thei ther ennemys haith sen, In to ?uch wys thei cout{h} them noght ?u?ten; Bot ovr thei went vithouten more delay, [Fol. 14.]

And can them one that oy{er} sid a??ay. 1044 [Sidenote: The red knight still halting by the ford, a herald seizes his bridle, and bids him awake.]

The red kny{ch}t ?till in to his hewy thoght Was hufyng ?it apone the furd, {and} noght Wi?t of hime ?elf; with that a harrold com, And ?one the kny{ch}t he be the brydill nom, 1048 Saying, "awalk! It is no tyme to ?lep; Your wor?chip more expedient vare to kep."

No word he ?pak, ?o prikith hyme the ?mart Of hevynes, that ?tood vnto his hart. 1052 [Sidenote: Two shrews next approach; one takes his s.h.i.+eld off his neck,]

Two ?crewis cam with that, of quhich [that] on The kny{ch}t{is} ?held ry{ch}t frome his hals haith ton; [Sidenote: the other casts water at his ventayle, which causes him to wink, and arouse himself.]

That vthir watt{er} takith atte la?t, And in the kny{ch}t{is} wentail haith It ca?t; 1056 When that he felt the vatt{er} that vas cold, He wonk, and gan about hyme to behold, And thinkith how he ?um-quhat haith my?gon.

With that his ?pere In to his hand haith ton, 1060 [Sidenote: He goes to the field, and sees the first-conquest king.]

Goith to the feild w{i}t{h}outen vordis more; So was he vare whare that there cam before, O manly man he was in to al thing, And clepit was the fer?t-conquest king. 1064 The Red kny{ch}t w{i}t{h} [the] ?pur{is} ?mat the ?ted, The tother cam, that of hyme hath no drede; [Sidenote: They meet.]

With fer curag ben the kny{ch}t{is} met, The king his ?pere apone the kny{ch}t hath set, 1068 That al in peci flaw in to the felde;

[Headnote: THE RED KNIGHT FIGHTS LIKE A LION.]

[Sidenote: The red knight, though s.h.i.+eldless, overthrows his foe.]

His hawbrek helpit, ?uppos he had no ?cheld.

And he the king in to the ?cheld haith ton, That hor and man boith to the erd ar gon. 1072 [Sidenote: The shrew restores his s.h.i.+eld.]

Than to the kny{ch}t he cu{m}myth, that haith tan His ?held, to hyme deliu{er}ith It ayane, Be?iching hyme that of his Ignorance, That knew hyme nat, as takith no grewance. 1076 The kny{ch}t h{is} ?che[l]d but mor delay haith tak, And let hyme go, and no thing to hyme ?pak.

Than thei the[T26] wich that ?o at erth haith ?en [Sidenote: The men of the first-conquest king come to the rescue.]

Ther lord, the fer?t-conque?t king, y men, 1080 In hai?t thei cam, as that thei var agrevit, And manfully thei haith ther king Releuit.

[Footnote T26: MS. "thei," altered to "thee," which is still wrong.]

[A]nd Arthuris folk, that lykith not to byde, In goith the spur{is} in the ?ted{is} syde; 1084 To-giddir thar a??emblit al the o?t: [Fol. 14b.]

At whois meting many o kny{ch}t was lo?t.

[Sidenote: The battle was right cruel to behold.]

The batell was richt crewell to behold, Of kny{ch}t{is} wich that haith there lyvis ?olde. 1088 One to the hart the ?pere goith throw the ?cheld, The kny{ch}t{is} gaping lyith in the feld.

The red kny{ch}t, byrnyng in loues fyre, Goith to o kny{ch}t, als ?wift as ony vyre, 1092 The wich he per?it throuch {and} throuch the hart; [Sidenote: The red knight loses his spear, but draws his sword, and roams the field like a lion.]

The ?pere is went; w{i}t{h} that anon he ?tart, And out o ?uerd in to his hond he tais; Lyk to o lyone in to the feld he gais, 1096 In to his Rag ?myting to and fro Fro ?um the arm, fro ?um the nek in two, Sum in the feild lying is in ?wou{n}, [Sidenote: Some he cleaves to the belt.]

And sum his ?uerd goith to the belt al doune. 1100 For qwhen that he beholdith to the qwen, Who had ben th.o.r.e his manhed to haue sen, His doing in to armys and his myght, Shwld ?ay in world war not ?uch o wight. 1104 [Sidenote: His fellows take comfort from his deeds,]

His falou?chip siche comfort of his dede Haith ton, that thei ther ennemys ne dreid; But can them-self ay manfoly conten In to the ?tour, that hard was to ?u?ten; 1108 [Sidenote: though Galiot's host was a surpa.s.sing mult.i.tude.]

For galyot was O pa?ing mult.i.tude Of prewit men in armys that war gude, The wich can w{i}t{h} o fre?ch curag a??aill Ther ennemys that day In to batell; 1112 [Sidenote: Had it not been for the manhood of the red knight, Arthur's folk had been in peril.]

That ne ware not the vor?chip {and} manhede Of the red kny{ch}t, in p{er}ell and in dreid Arthur{is} folk had ben, vith-outen vere; Set thei var good, thei var of ?mal powere. 1116

[Headnote: GAWANE BEHOLDS THE RED KNIGHT.]

[Sidenote: Gawane is led to the parapet,]

And gawan, wich gart bryng hyme-?elf befor To the bertes, set he was vondit sore, Whar the qwen vas, and whar that he my{ch}t see The manere of the o?t and a??emble; 1120 And when that he the gret manhed haith sen [Sidenote: and saith to the queen, that none ever did better than yon red knight.]

Of the red kny{ch}t, he ?aith one to the qwen, "Madem, ?one knyght in to the armys Rede, Nor neu{er} I hard nore ?aw in to no ?ted 1124 O kny{ch}t, the wich that in to ?chortar ?pace In armys haith mor forton nore mor grace; Nore bettir doith boith with ?per and ?cheild, He is the hed and comfort of our feild." 1128 [Fol. 15.]

[Sidenote: The queen prays for Lancelot.]

"Now, ?{ir}, I trai?t that neu{er} more vas ?en No man in feild more knyghtly hyme {con}ten; I pray to hyme that eu{er}y thing hath cure, Saif hyme fro deth or wykit aduenture." 1132 [Sidenote: The field was perilous on both sides,]

The feild It was ry{ch}t p{er}ellus and ?trong On boith the ?ydis, and continewit long, [Sidenote: from early morn till the sun had gone down.]

Ay from the ?one the varld{is} face gan licht Whill he was gone {and} cu{m}yne vas the nycht; 1136 And than o for thei my{ch}t It not a??tart, On eu{er}y ?yd behouit them depart.

[Sidenote: Every knight then returns home, and the red knight privily goes back to the city.]

The feild is don and ham goith eu{er}y kny{ch}t, And prevaly, unwi?t of any wicht, 1140 The way the red kny{ch}t to the cete taiis, As he had hecht, {and} in h{is} chambre gais.

When arthure hard how the kny{ch}t Is gon, He blamyt ?ore his lordis eu{er}ilk-one; 1144 And oft he haith remembrit in his thoght, [Sidenote: Arthur, seeing the mult.i.tude of Galiot's men, recalls his dream, saying,]

What mult.i.tud that galiot had broght; Seing his folk that ware so ewil arayt, In to his mynd he ?tondith al affrayt, 1148 And ?aith, "I trai?t ful ?uth It ?al be founde My drem Richt as the clerk{is} gan expounde; [Sidenote: "My men now fail me at need."]

For why my men fail?eis now at neid, My-?elf, my londe, in p{er}ell and in dreide." 1152

[Headnote: GALIOT PROPOSES A TRUCE.]

[Sidenote: Galiot tells his council]

And galiot vpone hie wor?chip set, And his con?ell anon he gart be fet, To them he ?aith, "with arthur weil ?e see How that It ?tant, and to qwhat degre, 1156 A?anis ws that he is no poware; [Sidenote: that there is no honour in conquering Arthur,]

Wharfor, me think, no wor?chip to ws ware In conqueryng of hyme, nor of his londe, He haith no ?trenth, he may ws not vith?tonde. 1160 Wharfor, me think It be?t is to delay, [Sidenote: and proposes a twelvemonth's truce.]

And re?put hyme for a tuelmoneth day, Whill that he may a??emble al his myght; Than is mor wor?chip a?anis hyme to ficht;" 1164 And thus concludit thoght hyme for the be?t.

The very kny{ch}t{is} pa??ing to there Re?t; Of melyholt the ladeis kny{ch}t{is} ilkone Went home, and to hir p{rese}ns ar thei gon; 1168 [Sidenote: The lady of Melyholt asks her knights who hath won most honour.]

At qwhome ful ?one than gan ?cho to Inquere, And al the maner of the o?t{is} till spere; How that It went, and in what man{er} wy, Who haith mo?t wor?chip, {and} who is mo?t to pry? 1172 "Madem," q{uod} thei, "O kny{ch}t was In the feild, [Fol. 15b.]

[Sidenote: They reply, that a red knight had exceeded all others.]

Of Red was al his armour and his ?held, Whois manhed can al otheris to exced, May nan report in armys half his deid; 1176 Ne wor his wor?chip, ?hortly to conclud, Our folk of help had ben al de?t.i.tud.

He haith the thonk, the vor?chip in hyme lyis, That we the feld defendit in ?ich wy." 1180 [Sidenote: The lady wonders if her prisoner is meant.]

The lady thane one to hir-?elf haith tho{ch}t, "Whether Is ?one my p{re}?onar, ore noght?

The ?uthfa?tne that ?hal y wit onon."

When euery wight vn to ther Re?t war gon, 1184

[Headnote: THE LADY VISITS LANCELOT.]

[Sidenote: She calls her cousin,]

She clepith one hir cw?ynes ful nere Wich was to hir mo?t ?peciall and dere, And ?aith to hir, "qwheyar if yone bee Our pre?oner, my consell Is we see." 1188 [Sidenote: who takes a torch, and they go to the stable,]

With that the maden In hir hand hath ton O torche, and to the ?tabille ar thei gon; [Sidenote: and find his steed wounded.]