King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
knights of Lombardy and Saracens left dead upon the field. Then Sir
Gawain and his company collected a great plenty of cattle, and of gold
and silver, and all kind of treasure, and returned to King Arthur, where
he still kept the siege.
"Now God be thanked," cried he; "but who is he that standeth yonder by
himself, and seemeth not a prisoner?"
"Sir," said Sir Gawain, "he is a good man with his weapons, and hath
matched me; but cometh hither to be made a Christian. Had it not been
for his warnings, we none of us should have been here this day. I pray
thee, therefore, let him be baptized, for there can be few nobler men,
or better knights."
So Prianius was christened, and made a duke and knight of the Round
Table.
Presently afterwards, they made a last attack upon the city, and entered
by the walls on every side; and as the men were rushing to the pillage,
came the Duchess forth, with many ladies and damsels, and kneeled before
King Arthur; and besought him to receive their submission. To whom the
king made answer, with a noble countenance, "Madam, be well assured that
none shall harm ye, or your ladies; neither shall any that belong to
thee be hurt; but the Duke must abide my judgment." Then he commanded to
stay the assault and took the keys from the Duke's eldest son, who
brought them kneeling. Anon the Duke was sent a prisoner to Dover for
his life, and rents and taxes were assigned for dowry of the Duchess and
her children.
Then went he on with all his hosts, winning all towns and castles, and
wasting them that refused obedience, till he came to Viterbo. From
thence he sent to Rome, to ask the senators whether they would receive
him for their lord and governor. In answer, came out to him all the
Senate who remained alive, and the Cardinals, with a majestic retinue
and procession; and laying great treasures at his feet, they prayed him
to come in at once to Rome, and there be peaceably crowned as Emperor.
"At this next Christmas," said King Arthur, "will I be crowned, and hold
my Round Table in your city."
Anon he entered Rome, in mighty pomp and state; and after him came all
his hosts, and his knights, and princes, and great lords, arrayed in
gold and jewels, such as never were beheld before. And then was he
crowned Emperor by the Pope's hands, with all the highest solemnity that
could be made.
Then after his coronation, he abode in Rome for a season, settling his
lands and giving kingdoms to his knights and servants, to each one after
his deserving, and in such wise fashion that no man among them all
complained. Also he made many dukes and earls, and loaded all his
men-at-arms with riches and great treasures.
When all this was done, the lords and knights, and all the men of great
estate, came together before him, and said, "Noble Emperor! by the
blessing of Eternal God, thy mortal warfare is all finished, and thy
conquests all achieved; for now in all the world is none so great and
mighty as to dare make war with thee. Wherefore we beseech and heartily
pray thee of thy noble grace, to turn thee homeward, and give us also
leave to see our wives and homes again, for now we have been from them a
long season, and all thy journey is completed with great honor and
worship."
"Ye say well," replied he, "and to tempt God is no wisdom; therefore
make ready in all haste, and turn we home to England."
So King Arthur returned with his knights and lords and armies, in great
triumph and joy, through all the countries he had conquered, and
commanded that no man, upon pain of death, should rob or do any violence
by the way. And crossing the sea, he came at length to Sandwich, where
Queen Guinevere received him, and made great joy at his arrival. And
through all the realm of Britain was there such rejoicing as no tongue
can tell.
IX
SIR GAWAIN AND THE MAID WITH THE NARROW SLEEVES
Now it happened that as Sir Gawain was riding one day through the
country he encountered a troop of knights, followed by a squire, who led
a Spanish charger, and about whose neck was hung a shield. Gawain rode
up to the squire and said, "Tell me, what is yonder troop that hath
ridden by?"
The squire answered, "Sir, Meliance of Lis, a brave and hardy knight."
"Is it to him you belong?" Sir Gawain asked.
"Nay, sir," said the squire, "my master is Teudaves, a knight as worthy
as this one."
"Teudaves I know," said Gawain. "Whither fareth he? Tell me the truth."
"He proceedeth to a tourney, sir, which this Meliance of Lis hath
undertaken against Thiébault of Tintagel. If you will take my advice you
will throw yourself into the castle, and take part against the
outsiders."
"Was it not," cried Gawain, "in the house of this Thiébault that
Meliance of Lis was nurtured?"
"Aye, sir, so God save me!" said the squire. "His father loved Thiébault
and trusted him so much that on his death-bed he committed to his care
his little son, whom Thiébault cherished and protected, until the time
came when the youth petitioned his daughter to give him her love; but
she replied that she would never do that until he should be made a
knight. The youth, being ardent, forthwith had himself knighted, and
then returned to the maiden. 'Nay,' answered the girl to his renewed
suit, 'it shall never be, until in my presence you shall have achieved
such feats of arms that I will know my love hath cost you somewhat; for
those things which come suddenly are not so sweet as those we earn. If
you wish my love, take a tournament of my father. I desire to be certain
that my love would be well placed in case I were to grant it.' What she
suggested he performed, for love hath such lordship over lovers that
those who are under his power would never dare refuse whatever it
pleased him to enjoin. And you, sir, sluggish will you be if you do not
enter the castle, for they will need you greatly, if you might help
them."
To which Sir Gawain answered, "Brother, go thy way, it would be wise of
you, and let my affairs be." So the squire departed, and Gawain rode
towards Tintagel, for there was no other way by which he could pass.
Now Thiébault had summoned all his kith and kin, who had come, high and
low, old and young; but he could not get the permission of his council
to joust with his master, for the councillors feared lest he should
utterly ruin their castle. Therefore the gates had been walled up with
stones and mortar, leaving as the only approach one small postern,
which had a gate made of copper, as much as a cart could haul. Sir
Gawain rode to the gate, behind the troop that bore his harness, for
there was no other road within seven leagues. He found the postern shut
and so he turned into a close below the tower, that was fenced with a
palisade. He dismounted under an oak and hung up his shields. Thither
came the folk from the castle, most of them sorry that the tourney had
been abandoned; in the fortress was an aged nobleman, great in land and
lineage, whose word no one disputed. A long way off the troop had been
pointed out to him, and before they rode into the close he went to
Thiébault, and said, "Sir, so God save me, I have seen two companions of
King Arthur, worthy men, who ride this way; I advise you to tourney with
good hope, for we have brave knights, and servants, and archers, who
will slay their horses, and I am certain they will joust before this
gate; if their pride shall bring them the gain will be ours, and theirs
will be the loss and the shame."
As a result of this counsel Thiébault allowed those who wished to take
their arms and sally forth. The knights were right glad, and their
squires ran after their horses, while the dames and the damsels climbed
high places to see the tourney. Below, in the meadow, they saw the arms
of Sir Gawain, and at first thought that there were two knights, because
two shields hung from the tree. They cried out that they were fortunate
to see two such knights arm. So some thought; but others exclaimed,
"Fair Lord God, this knight hath arms and steeds sufficient for two; if
he hath no companion, what will he do with two shields? Never was seen a
knight who carried two shields at one and the same time. It is very
strange if one man means to bear two shields."
While the ladies talked and the knights went forth from the castle the
elder daughter of Thiébault mounted to the tower, she on account of whom
the tournament had been undertaken, and with her her younger sister,
whose sleeves were so quaint that she was called the Maid with the
Narrow Sleeves, for she wore them tight. Dames and damsels climbed the
tower with them, and the tourney was joined in front of the castle. None
bore himself so well as Meliance of Lis, by the testimony of his fair
friend, who said to those about her, "Ladies, never did I see a knight
who delighted me as doth Meliance of Lis. Is it not a pleasure to see
such a knight? That man must have a good seat and be skillful in the use
of lance and shield who beareth himself so excellently."
Thereupon her sister, who sat by her side, said that she saw a fairer
knight. The elder maiden was angry and rose to strike her sister. But
the ladies interfered, and held her back, so that she missed her blow,
which greatly incensed her.
In the tournament many lances were shivered, shields pierced, and
knights unhorsed; and it went hard with the knight who met Meliance of
Lis, for there was none he did not throw on the hard ground. If his
lance broke, he dealt great blows with his sword; and he bore himself
better than any other knight on either side, to the great joy of his
fair friend, who could not resist exclaiming, "Ladies, it is wonderful!
Behold the best bachelor knight of whom minstrel hath ever sung or whom
eyes have ever seen, the fairest and bravest of all those in the
tourney!"
Then the little girl cried, "I see a handsomer one, and 'tis like, a
better!"
The elder sister grew hot. "Ha, girl, you were malapert when you were so
unlucky as to blame one whom I praised! Take that, to teach you better
another time!" So saying, she slapped her sister, so hard that she left
on the little girl's cheek the print of her five fingers. But the ladies
who sat near scolded her and took her away.
After that they fell to talking of Sir Gawain. One of the damsels said,
"The knight beneath yonder tree, why doth he delay to take arms?" A
second damsel, who was ruder, exclaimed, "He hath sworn to keep the
peace." And a third added, "He is a merchant. Don't tell me that he
desireth to joust; he bringeth horses to market." "He is a
money-changer," said a fourth. "The goods he hath he meaneth to sell to
poor bachelors. Trust me, he hath money or raiment in those chests."
"You have wicked tongues!" cried the little girl. "And you lie! Do you
think a merchant would bear such huge lances? You tire me to death,
talking such nonsense! By the faith that I owe the Holy Spirit, he
seemeth to me a knight rather than a merchant or a money-changer. He is
a knight, and he looketh like one!"
The ladies all cried with one voice, "Fair sweet friend, if he looketh
so, it doth not follow that he is so. He putteth it on because he
wisheth to cheat the tariff. But in spite of all his cleverness he is a
fool, for he will be taken up and hung for a cheat."
Now Gawain heard all that the ladies said about him, and he was ashamed
and annoyed. But he thought, and thought rightly, that he lay under an
accusation of treason, and that it was his duty to keep his pledge or
forever disgrace himself and his line. It was for this reason that he
took no part in the tourney, lest, if he fought, he should be wounded or
taken prisoner.
Meliance of Lis called for great lances, to strike harder blows. Until
night fell the tourney continued before the gate; the man who took any