error).
=Q.= Mon oncle le roi Pelles / mon aioul le riche pescheoure.
=D. L.= Min here den Coninc Pelles--enten Coninc Vischere min ouder
vader.
=1533.= Mon oncle le roy pescheur--et mon aieul le roi Pelles.
The greeting is omitted in =W.=
It is difficult to know what to make of such confusion, but of the four
variants I prefer the last as possessing a certain _raison d'être_. The
Fisher King was certainly the uncle of the original Grail Winner, and
King Pelles is as certainly the grandfather of Galahad. It looks to me
as if the compiler of this version had made an effort to combine the
Perceval and Galahad stories, though his version as it stands is in
contradiction to his text.[175]
=D. L.= text should be noted as compared with the statement of the
earlier section, that the Maimed King and Fisher King are one, and
that the personage thus named is _not_ King Pelles but his father. The
manifest uncertainty of the Galahad _Queste_ as to the identity of this
personage, and his relationship to the Grail Winner, as compared with
the much clearer statements of the early Perceval story appear to me a
proof of the lateness of the former. As to which of the four versions
given represents the real view of the author of the _Queste_, I should
not like to hazard an opinion--probably copyists altered according to
their own particular view of the matter!
After the appearance of the Grail there is an interesting passage,
omitted in =M.=, where Gawain remarks that each has been served with
whatever food or drink he desired, which had never happened before save
in the court of the _roi mehaignet_ (=Q.=); _roi Perles_ (=1533=, which
generally adopts this spelling), _coninc Vischer_ (=D. L.=). Here =Q.=
stops, but =D. L.= and =1533= continue Gawain's speech, _nom-pourtant
ils ne peuvent onques veoir le sainct vaisseau ainsi comme nous
l'avons veu, ainsi leur a este la semblance couverte_ (vol. iii. fo.
69). _Maer si waren bedrogen in dien, Dat sijt niet oppenbare mochten
sien_ (687-8). Nevertheless, since he has not seen it as clearly as he
might, he will go in quest till it be wholly revealed to him. I think
the above passage is the source of =M.= '/ one thynge begyled vs we
myght not (s)ee the holy Grayle / it was (s)oo precyou(s)ly couered
/.' The compiler omits, as I said above, Gawain's reference to the
previous appearance, but adapts the latter part of his speech to the
circumstances he is narrating. =W.= gives the passage practically in
its entirety, but so freely rendered that we cannot use it for textual
comparison. The king is called King Peleur.
Here again I think we may postulate an agreement between =M.=, =D. L.=,
=1533= and =W.= in a feature omitted by =Q.=[176]
=D. L.= is alone against the other three in not giving the owner of the
castle 'Vagan' the same name as his castle, but simply says: 'Nu was
een goet man te Vagan' (l. 1146), which I suspect is the right version.
=W.=, on the contrary, does not name the castle, but says it belonged
to _Bagan_, 'a good and religious man.'
In the account of the adventure with the shield, both =D. L.= and
=1533= give Galahad's remarks to his companions more fully than do =Q.=
or =M.=, though the general bearing of the passage is well represented
in this latter. In both the first Galahad tells his companions that
if they fail in the adventure then he will attempt it; =1533=, 'et se
vous ne le pouez emporter ie l'emporteray, aussi n'ay ie point d'escu';
they then offer to leave him the adventure, but he tells them they must
essay it first. =D. L.=:
'_Elst nu dat gi falgiert daer an,
Ic sal daventure proven dan--
In' brachte genen scilt met mi._'--ll. 1244-54.
With this =W.= agrees.
Here, again, =D. L.=, =1533=, and =W.= give a much clearer text than
=Q.=; and =M.=, though condensing, agrees closely in substance with the
two first.[177]
In the adventure with Melians de Lile, =D. L.= and =1533= again all
agree against =Q.= in stating that he is son to the King of Denmark
(=W.= King of Mars), thus motiving Galahad's lecture on the duties of
his high station. It was certainly in =Q.='s original, as he says:
'_Puis ke vous estes--de si haute lignie comme de roy_,' though Melians
has not told him his parentage.
=M.=, =D. L.=, =1533=, and =W.= are here superior to =Q.=
In avenging Melians on the knight who has overthrown him, =M.= and =D.
L.= agree in saying that Galahad smites off the whole left _arm_, as
against the '_poing_ senestre' of =Q.= and =1533=. =W.= says he cuts
off his _nose_!
In the symbolic interpretation of Melians' adventure, =1533= gives the
fullest and clearest version. The right-hand road represents the Way
of Our Lord, wherein His knights 'cheminent de iour et de nuyt la nuyt
selon l'arme et le iour selon le corps,' =1533= (vol. iii. fo. 74),
which is intelligible. =Q.= exactly reverses this: 'entrent de jours
selon l'arme, et de nuis selon le corps.' =M.= gives, 'For the way on
the ry[gh]t hand betokeneth the hyghe way of our lord Jhe(s)u Cry(s)te
/ and the way of a true good lyver /'; =W.=, 'On that road go the souls
of the innocent,' thus evading the difficulty. =D. L.= is here very
confused, and does not seem to have understood the passage.
In the adventure of the Castle of Maidens, =M.=, =D. L.=, and =1533=
again agree in saying that Galahad meets seven maidens, against one
in =Q.= =M.='s '/ Soo moche peple in the stretes that he myghte not
nombre them /' is evidently a rendering of =1533=: 'tant de gens que il
estoit impossible de les scavoir nombrer.' =D. L.= has exactly the same
phrase, but gives '_joncfrouwen_' instead of '_gens_,' thus for once
agreeing with =Q.=, which gives _puceles_, against the other two. =W.=
here gives 'maidens,' but in the first instance has 'a youth.'
A little later, =1533= and =D. L.= throw light upon an apparent
contradiction between =M.= and =Q.=, noted by Dr. Sommer.[178] The old
man of whom Galahad inquires the meaning of the adventure is, as Dr.
Sommer remarks, the same who has given him the keys; but =M.= says he
asks a '_preest_.' Both =1533= and =D. L.= agree in saying that Galahad
asks the old man who brought him the keys, when he comes to him the
second time, if he be a priest, and is answered in the affirmative.
Again, the three agree in giving seven years as the time the customs
have been established, against the two in =Q.= =W.= here agrees in both
points with =1533= and =D. L.=
It is plain that we must reckon this entire adventure among the
agreements of =M.=, =D. L.=, =1533=, and =W.=, though in one particular
=D. L.= and =W.= agree with =Q.=
In the account of the fight of Gawayne, Gareth, and Uwayne, with the
seven brethren, both =D. L.= and =1533= give Gariët (Gaheriet) as the
equivalent of Gareth.[179]
When Lancelot is sleeping before the Grail chapel, =1533= clearly
states that the servant of the knight who has been healed takes
Lancelot's sword and helmet, as well as his horse, whereas =Q.= only
mentions the horse; but says later that Lancelot finds himself 'tot
desgarnis de ses armes et de son cheval.' =D. L.= also only mentions
the horse at the moment, but a little later on states that Lancelot
is 'sonder scilt ende helm ende part,' thus practically agreeing with
=1533=. =M.= differs from both in saying that it is _sword_, helm, and
horse of which the squire deprives him. =W.= here agrees with =M.=
=M.= and =D. L.= agree in omitting the parallel between Lancelot and
the bad servant, in the Parable of the Talents, which is given by
=1533= and =W.= But it is a noticeable feature of both =D. L.= and
=1533= that though they give as a rule a fuller account than =M.=,
both of them shorten very considerably the improving and 'sermonising'
sections which are such a feature of =Q.= On the other hand, both give
the adventurous sections in a more accurate and detailed manner.
Perceval's interview with the recluse, in Book XIV., is clearer in
=D. L.= than in either of the French versions, and has some special
features of interest.[180] Thus in =Q.= Perceval asks, who was the
knight who overthrew him. He does not know 'ne se ch'est chil qui vint
en armes vermeilles a court' (_when_ he does not say); the recluse
answers, 'Yes,' and she will tell him the 'senefianche.' In =D. L.= the
passage runs thus: Perceval asks,
'"_Oft gi wet wie die riddere es
Dien ic soeke berecht mi des,"
Si gaf hem antwerde daer of;
"Hets die gene die quam int hof
In sinxen dage, ende die dan
Die rode wapine hadde an."
"Nu seldi mi wel berichten des,
Wat betokenessen dat was?_"'--ll. 3229-36.
This seems to me a preferable rendering.
=W.= here hovers between the two versions. The aunt tells Perceval who
Galahad is in answer to his question, as in =D. L.=, but volunteers the
explanation as in =1533=.
Later on Perceval tells her:
'_Hoe hi gevonnen hadde sijn lant,
Ende sijn broder daer in es bleven
Met sinen liden, mit sinen neven.
"Dat wet ic wel," seit si saen,
"Die heilegeest deet mi verstaen,
Dies ic harde blide was."_'--ll. 3442-47.
There is no parallel to this in the other versions, but it agrees
with what we find in _Morien_; and I think it probable that the Dutch
compiler, who seems to have been very familiar with the _Perceval_
story, may have introduced it.[181]
The castle at which Perceval is to seek a kinsman is not named in =D.
L.=, but =M.= Goothe, =W.= Goth, and =1533= Got, agree against =Q.=
there.
In Perceval's adventure with the Fiend Horse, the text of =1533= is
again preferable, being clear and detailed throughout, _e.g._ whereas
when the lady asks Perceval what he does under the tree, =Q.= makes
him answer, 'Qu'il ne _sent_ ni bien ne mal mais s'il eust cheval il
se leva d'illuec.' =1533= gives 'qu'il ne _faisoit_ ne bien ne mal'
mais si j'avoye ung cheval ie m'en iroye d'icy.' =W.= here agrees with
=1533=.
After the fight with the dragon, =M.= tells us that Perceval 'ca(s)te
donne his (s)held / _whiche was broken_ /.' =Q.=, agreeing in the first
part, omits this feature; but both =D. L.= and =1533= say the shield
was not broken, but _burnt_: 'Der verbernt was wech ende wede' (3886);
'Qui estoit tout brulé' (III. fo. 83). As we have previously been told
that the dragon was breathing forth flame, this is manifestly correct.
=W.=, describing the fight, says, 'his shield and breastplate were
burnt all in front of him,' and that he 'threw the shield from him
burning.' =M.=, who is condensing here, omits the fiery breath, hence,
I suspect, the _broken_ instead of _burnt_ shield.
I think we may take this again as agreement of =M.=, =D. L.=, =W.=, and
=1533= against =Q.=
The 'drois enchanteres vns multeplieres de paroles' of the French
versions, with which =M.= closely agrees, is in =D. L.=:
'_Hets een toverare sijt seker des
Die can dinen van vele spraken
Ende van enen worde hondert maken._'--ll. 4294-6.
An amplification probably due to the exigencies of rhyme;[182] though
as =W.= gives, 'He was a necromancer, who of one word would make twelve
without ever saying a word of truth,' the original source may have had
something similar.
=M.=, =D. L.=, and =W.= again agree against =Q.= and =1533= in giving
a shorter version of Perceval's prayer, and omitting all New Testament
references.
The adventure of the dead hermit, in Book XV., is, again, better told
in =D. L.= and =1533= than in =M.= or =Q.= Thus =Q.= omits to state
the nature of the supposed transgression, which is clearly set forth in
the other three:
'_Maer hine es niet, donket mi,
Na sire ordinen gebode,
Noch na onsen herre Gode;
Want hi niet heden den dach
In sulken abite sterven ne mach,
Hine hebbe bi enegen onmaten
Sine ordine nu gelaten._'--ll. 4780-87.
This is evidently the source of =M.='s 'this man that is dede oughte
not to be in suche clothynge as ye see hym in / for in that he brake
the othe of his ordre /.' =W.= gives the same reason at greater length.
Later on =M.= seems to have had before him a reading nearer to =Q.=:
in the morning, 'il trouverent sans faille le preudhomme _de vie_,'
which =M.= understood as _alive_, since he says, 'he laye all that nygt
tyl hit was daye in that fyre and was not dede /,' though immediately
afterwards he says that the Hermit came and found him dead. =D. L.=
and =1533= say, 'Ende alse dat vier utginc si vonden Den goeden man
doet tien stonden,' ll. 4915-16; 'ilz trouverent sans nulle faulte le
preudhomme mort.' The miracle consisting in the fact that his garments
(_e.g._ the linen shirt) were untouched by fire, so that he evidently
had died from the previous ill-usage, not from the burning--a result
which he had predicted. =W.=, on the contrary, says that 'when the
fire was extinguished the man was as lively as he was before. And then
he prayed Jesus Christ to take his soul to Him, and He received him,
without injury to the shirt or himself.' The whole adventure should be
carefully compared, and the superiority of these three versions will
be clearly seen. The two first are, I think, the correct version of
the incident, but =W.=, though rendering freely, gives a fuller account
than is often the case.
The list of Celidoine's descendants agrees in =D. L.= and =1533=, while
=M.=, though varying from the other three, leans rather to these two
than to =Q.=:
=D. L.= =1533.= =M.= =Q.=
Marpus. Narpus. Nappus. Warpus.
Nasciens. Nasciens. Nacyen. Chrestiens.
Cham. Ch'm le gros. Hellyas le gro(s)e. Alain li gros.
Helyas. Helyas. Ly(s)ays. Elias.
Jonas. Jonas. Jonas. Jonaaus.
Lancelot. Lancelot. Lancelot. Lancelot.
Bans. Ban. Ban. Ban.
I think here the second name is certainly Nasciens, and that the
mysterious _Cham_ of =D. L.= and =1533= (a personage whom we do not
know) ought probably to be _Alain_. Such a mistake might easily be
made by a copyist, if the MS. before him were not clear and he was
unfamiliar with Grail traditions. I think it very likely that =M.='s
source was much the same as that of =D. L.= and =1533=, and that
he dropped out _Cham_, but the comparison of the four versions is
interesting. The list is omitted in =W.=
The black and white knights are treated by =D. L.= as purely visionary
and symbolic, and no names are given.
The incident of the black knight, who issues from the lake and kills
Lancelot's horse, differs in =1533= from the other four versions.
Instead of striking the horse at once he rides past Lancelot without
touching him, then returns, striking the horse _en route_ and
disappearing in the lake. I suspect that this is the right version; the
knight is evidently a water-demon, and having his dwelling in the lake
should return there.
At the commencement of Book XVI., when Gawain and Hector meet, they
ask if any tidings have been heard of the principal questers. Here
there are some interesting variants: =Q.= mentions Lancelot, Galahad,
and Bohort, but says these _four_ are the best of the questers; =D.
L.= only mentions these, but says rightly these _three_; =1533= first
mentions Lancelot alone, then Galahad, Perceval, and Bohort, and
reckoning all together, says these _four_, and with this =M.= and =W.=
agree.
There are but few interesting variants in the account of Bohort's
adventures; the symbolic interpretations are, as usual, much less
insisted upon, indeed =1533= gives no such explanation either of the
disinherited lady, or of the 'lily and dry wood' vision, though Bohort
is assured of Lionel's safety. The fight between the two brothers is
also more briefly told: we do not hear that they lie long unconscious
after the flame descends, but Bohort is told at once to join Perceval.
Here =W.= agrees with =D. L.= and =1533=.
=D. L.= differs from all the other versions in naming the damsel who
warns Bohort of her mistress' suicidal intention. She is called Pallada.
In Book XVII., in all concerning the mysterious ship, the text of =D.
L.= and =1533= is far superior to that of =Q.= The inscription in =D.
L.= runs thus:
'_Hort man, die wils gaen hier in,
Besie di wel, ende oec merc
Dattu sijs geloves vol ende sterc.
Want ic els niet dan gelove ben
Hier bi hoede elkerlijc hem:
Falgiert hem eneger maniren
Van gelove, ic sal hem falgiren._'--ll. 7910-16.
=1533= says the inscription is in 'langaige dit _Caldeu_,' and says
'si tost q tu guerpiras ta creance ie te guerpiray en telle maniere
que tu ne auras de moi ne conseil ne ayde,' and proceeds to explain
(which no other text I have consulted does) that if he who enters fail
in faith he will fall into the water. This should be compared with
the passage in Hucher,[183] where the inscription on the ship agrees
closely and is also said to be in Caldiu. The warning as to the nature
of the penalty is omitted here, but the penalty is incurred exactly as
=1533= foretells.
=M.= evidently had the warning of =D. L.= and =1533= before him when
he wrote 'for and thou faile I shal not helpe the /.' =W.= gives the
warning in more general terms, due perhaps to the translator.
Perceval's speech on entering the ship is again best given by =1533=.
Here, he says, he will enter 'pour ce que se ie suis desloyal que ie
y perisse comme desloyal, et se ie suis plain de foy et tel comme bon
chevalier doit estre que ie soye sauvé,' _i.e._ he submits to the test
in all humility. =Q.= says: 'Car iou sui plain de foi et teus comme
chivalers doit estre,' thus omitting the qualifying phrases, and giving
the speech quite a different meaning. =W.= closely agrees with =Q.=
=D. L.= also, though less abrupt, practically agrees with =Q.=; while
=M.= must have had the version of =1533= before him: 'for yf I be a nys
creature or an untrue knyghte there shalle I perysshe'--a reading he
could not possibly have derived from either of the other two.
In the account of the scabbard of the sword we have a most interesting
variety of readings, but, comparing one with the other, it appears
certain that here again =1533= is in the right.
One side of the scabbard is said by =D. L.=, =1533= and =M.= to be red
as blood, with an inscription in letters black as a coal; while =Q.=
says the scabbard is 'black as pitch'--an evident confusion with the
inscription. =W.= says the sheath is 'rose-red,' with letters of gold
and silver.
The name is given differently in each instance: =Q.=, memoire de
_sens_; =D. L.=, Gedinkenesse van _sinne_; =M.=, meuer of _blood_;
1533, memoire de _sang_. =D. L.= and =1533= go on to say that 'none
shall look upon that part of the scabbard which is made of the Tree of
Life but they shall be reminded of the blood of Abel.' =M.= omits the
latter part of this sentence, thus making great confusion.
Now, comparing these versions together, the right reading becomes
perfectly clear. The scabbard is red, for it was made (at least one
half of it was) of the wood of the Tree of Life, which, as we are
distinctly told, turned red at the death of Abel; and the inscription
'_memoire de sang_' was intended to keep this event in mind. The
confusion, in the case of =Q.= and =D. L.=, clearly arose from the
MS. at the root of the first having had the reading san_s_ for san_c_
or san_g_ (a reading often met with); a careless copyist, heedless of
the sense of his transcription, wrote _se_ns and this was correctly
translated by the compiler of =D. L.= as _sinne_; a reading which,
however unintelligible in itself, would probably not strike the
compiler (who was certainly an intelligent writer with a very good
knowledge of French) as absolute nonsense, inasmuch as it was connected
with the 'calling to mind' of the death of Abel. =Q.=, who omits this
qualifying passage, does make nonsense of it. In =M.='s case the
mistake was in the first word, and probably arose from a confusion
between _m_ and _uv_, which may very well be due to Caxton; otherwise
=M.= appears to have had the same version as =1533=, which, alone, has
preserved it free from error. =W.= omits the inscription altogether.
The 'erle Hernox' in =M.=, Ernous in =Q.=, is in =D. L.= and =1533=
Arnou_t_ and Arnou_l_. Ernoulf in =W.=
Both =D. L.= and =1533= state that the maiden who shall cure the
lady by her blood must be not only a virgin and a king's daughter
but _Perceval's sister_. This is neither in =Q.= nor in =M.=, and
may perhaps indicate that, as I have suggested, these two versions
belonged to an original _Perceval-Lancelot_ redaction, from which they
introduced occasional additions to Perceval's share of the _Queste_,
as in the previous allusion to his having recovered his kingdom in =D.
L.=[184]
In the account of Lancelot's visit to Corbenic, after being struck down
at the sight of the Grail, =Q.= says he is discovered seated (seant)
before the door, while the other three all represent him as lying
(lyinge--licgende--gisant), which is certainly more in harmony with the
general situation. =D. L.= says that when Lancelot recovers and knows
he has lain unconscious fourteen days he bethinks him:
'_Hoe hi hadde gedient den viant
.xiiij. jaer, ende pensede te hant,
Dat hem onse here daerti dede
Die macht verlisen in sine lede
.xiiij. dage._'--ll. 9919-23.
Whereas =Q.= only says 'qu'il avoit servi l'anemi.' A meaningless
phrase, as it stands. =M.= agrees with =D. L.= with the exception that
he says _twenty-four_ instead of _fourteen_, in which he is certainly
correct, as Lancelot's _liaison_ with Guinevere had begun long before
the birth of Galahad. The number may have been altered by the compiler
of =D. L.= for the exigencies of the rhyme, which would not admit
the original form. =1533= omits the passage altogether, condensing
considerably at this point.[185] =W.= does not specify whether he were
lying or seated, but agrees with =D. L.= in giving fourteen years,
which rather looks as if that number may have been in the source of
this latter.
In the account of the questers at Castle Corbenic =D. L.= and =1533=
alike clear up a passage which, as it stands, is obscure in =M.= and
utterly unintelligible in =Q.= Nine stranger knights arrive at the
castle,[186] three being of Gaul, three of Ireland, and three of
Denmark. When they separate the next day, =Q.= has this unintelligible
passage--Galahad has asked the strangers' names--'et tant qu'il
trouuerent estrois de gariles, que claudins li fieus le roi claudas,
en ert li uns et li autre de quel terre qu'il fuissent, erent asses
gentile homme et de haut lignage.'[187] =M.= renders, without any
mention of names being asked, 'But the thre knyghtes of Gaule, one of
them hyghte Claudyne, kynge Claudas sone / and the other two were grete
gentylmen' (which should surely have given Dr. Sommer a clue to the
right rendering of the passage).
=D. L.= runs thus:
'_Ende alsi buten den castele quamen
Vragede elc oms sanders namen,
Soedat si worden geware das,
Dat van den drien van Gaule was
Claudijn Claudas sone die een,
Ende si vonden van den anderen tween
Dat si waren van groter machte
Ridders, ende van groten geslachte_'--ll. 10601-8.
=1533= has, 'Si trouverent que des trois de Gaulle Claudius le filz
au roy Claudas en estoit ung et les autres estoiet assez vaillans.'
It seems clear that =M.='s text is that of =D. L.= carelessly
abridged.[188]
Both =D. L.= and =1533= conclude the _Queste_ section with the
passage relating the death of the twenty-two (twenty-four) questers,
eighteen of whom fell by the hand of Gawain; the writing out of the
knights' adventures, and the preservation of the record in the abbey
of Salisbury where Map found them, this latter item being omitted by
=1533=. This passage is, as a rule, now found at the beginning of the
_Mort Artur_ section, but, I think, it is clear that its proper place
is at the end of the _Queste_; as I have pointed out already, the light
in which it represents Gawain is entirely in keeping with that romance,
while it does not agree with either the _Mort Artur_ or the _Lancelot_,
both of which regard Arthur's gallant nephew with genuine respect.
Further, the drawing up of a record of adventures is better placed at
the end of the section dealing with the adventures to be recorded than
at the beginning of another. =M.='s words, 'alle this was made in grete
bookes / and put up in almeryes at Salysbury /' coupled with his total
omission of any corresponding passage at the commencement of the next
book, seem to prove that in his source, too, it stood at the end of the
_Queste_.[189]
What now are the results we may deduce from this examination of four
versions of the Galahad _Queste_? First, I think it is clear that the
verse translation in =D. L.= and the prose =1533= both offer a text
very decidedly superior to that edited by Dr. Furnivall, and, if Dr.
Sommer's extracts are to be relied on, that represented by the majority
of the printed editions of the _Lancelot_. Second, it is equally
clear that the text used by Malory stood in close relation to these
two versions. Many variants attributed by Dr. Sommer to the English
compiler, are, it is now certain, due to his source, in the treatment
of which he shows little sign of intelligence or invention, but rather
a tendency to compression at all hazards, sometimes omitting the very
part of a phrase which was required to make the whole intelligible. The
general tendency of our examination, therefore, goes to establish the
practical agreement of =D. L.=, =1533= and =M.=, as against =Q.= and
=S.= The version given by =W.= is so free a rendering, and omits so
many details, that it is scarcely possible to place it. It seems clear
that the _original_ source must have belonged to the same MS. family as
the former three, but whether the agreement was with =1533=, rather
than with =D. L.= and =M.=, or _vice versa_, it is impossible to say.
But how do these three stand as regards each other? On the whole
=1533= appears to represent the better text, and it also appears to
have preserved signs of an earlier redaction, yet I do not think it
is the direct source of the other two. We often find =D. L.= and =M.=
agreeing in details of numbers and names, as against the other version;
certainly in the case of such a name as Brimol van Pleîche, Bromel la
Pleche, the agreement must be due to a French source common to both. I
should be inclined to postulate some such scheme as this.
=A.= (Original French Version).
|
+-----------+---------------+
| |
=1533.= =B.= French.
|
/ \
/ \
=D. L.= =M.=
As will be seen from the summary of =D. L.= appended to these studies,
both this version and =M.= show, in the _Lancelot_ section, a certain
_plus_ of incident as against =1533=, though these incidents vary in
each case. The relation cannot, therefore, be exactly determined, but I
think there can be no reasonable doubt that for the _Lancelot-Queste_
section of his compilation Malory used an _Agravain-Queste_ MS.
That he had _two_ MSS., one for the _Lancelot_, another for the
_Queste_, as Dr. Sommer[190] suggests, is highly unlikely. It would be
too curious a chance that he should in each case hit on a version so
closely corresponding to that of the two with which we have compared
his reading.
This appears to me practically to dispose of the argument, that Malory
had before him a number of episodic romances, an argument often brought
forward;[191] the 'Turquine' episode in Book VI., the whole of Book
VII., and the adventure with the damsel of Escalot being instances in
point. Turquine certainly came out of the _Lancelot_, as did the lady
of Escalot; Book VII. may have been an episodic romance, as also the
handling of Urre of Hungary; though this latter, as we shall see, may
equally well be an amplification of an adventure found in the prose
_Lancelot_.[192]
Again, it very greatly limits the probability of Malory's having
elsewhere worked with a free hand, inventing and rearranging, when we
find, as we have done, that numerous small details, hitherto ascribed
to him, are faithful reproductions of his source. We are justified in
cherishing very serious doubts as to the originality of any marked
deviation from the traditional version of an adventure which we may
find in his compilation.
These arguments, of course, apply most strongly to his version of
the _Charrette_ adventure, the problem of source of which, so far as
Malory is concerned, is absolutely unaffected by the evidence we have
collected. This alone is certain, there is _no proof whatever_ that
he knew anything of the first part of the _Lancelot_ romance, his
treatment of the Lady of the Lake seems to show that he was absolutely
ignorant of it. He was _not_ in the habit of departing unnecessarily
from his source, his variations as a rule are slight, and their motive
can generally be detected; when, therefore, we find him giving an
entirely different account of the abduction of Guinevere from that
given elsewhere, the probabilities are all in favour of his reproducing
a separate source, and all against his original invention. So far as
the matter stands in the light of the latest evidence, the question
remains unsolved, with a decided balance in favour of the theory
advanced by M. Gaston Paris, and against that advocated by Professor
Foerster.[193]
Leaving the question of Malory, what may we hold to be the result of
this examination on the problem of the _Queste_ itself? Is the form
in which we possess it practically the original form, or are we to
postulate a series of successive redactions? I think that every one who
has carefully studied the variants given above must have been struck
by the fact that in no case is the question one involving a variety of
incident or even an alteration in sequence. It is the same story in
every case, told in the same order, in the same words, only certain
copies give a fuller and more coherent version than others. In fact,
as I said above, the variations are the variations of the copyist,
not of the compiler. The one point in which we may postulate either
omission or addition, _i.e._ the greater or less fulness, the presence
or absence, of the 'improving' sections, is precisely a point in which
we might expect a copyist of a more or less didactic turn of mind to
assert himself; it was so easy to expand or to contract such passages.
And it is a curious feature that precisely in those versions in which
the _story_, as a whole, is the best told (=D. L.=, =1533=, and in a
minor degree =M.=), we find the edifying passages in their shortest
forms; while =Q.=, the text of which as compared with the others is
decidedly poor, gives them at the greatest length.
Of any previous redaction of Galahad's adventures there is no trace;
there are no lengthy interpolations as in the _Conte del Graal_ MSS.;
there is no conflict, such as we find in other romances, between
an earlier and later form; in sundry passages we have allusions to
unrelated adventures: we are told that the heroes ride so many days,
weeks, or years, and meet with many and strange adventures, but in no
copy do we find any hint of what these adventures may have been; yet
had there existed an earlier and fuller form, some fragments of it must
surely have been preserved.
And this argument becomes more convincing the more closely we look into
it. Above we have compared _four_ versions of the _Queste_ (_five_ if
we include =W.=), but one of these, Dr. Furnivall's edition, does not
represent one MS. only, but is founded on a critical collation of two,
and contains a specimen of the opening columns of twelve MSS. of the
_Bibliothèque Nationale_; while Dr. Sommer states that he has examined
four other versions and found that, saving details of style, all agree
in incident and sequence. We may therefore take it as certain that one
of the four variants represents at least _five_ MSS., while scholars of
standing assure us of the practical identity of sixteen more!
Now, side by side with these _Queste_ versions, we have compared four
versions of the prose _Lancelot_, and of these four no two agree
perfectly throughout, and all differ from the summary given by M.
Paulin Paris.
=D. L.= and =1533=, which on the whole correspond well with each
other, yet have their distinctive differences, _i.e._ =D. L.= contains
adventures not related by =1533=; =M.=, while on one side condensing
arbitrarily, on the other gives two adventures known to neither of the
first; and =S.= omits an important section altogether. The summary in
_Romans de la Table Ronde_, while agreeing on the whole with the two
first, deviates from both in the later sections.[194]
The practical identity of _all_ the versions of a romance transmitted
in so large a number of MSS. as the _Queste_ is, I believe, unique in
the Arthurian cycle. Such a phenomenon, for it is nothing less, can,
I think, only be explained in one way: there was but one version of
the story, and that version took shape, _not_ at a period when _oral_
transmission was the rule, but at a later date, when the story could at
once find expression in literary form. I do not believe that any story,
the earlier stages of which were developed _orally_, is ever, when
committed to writing, found so entirely free from variants.[195]
Can we decide what special form of the Perceval _Queste_ the Galahad
variant was intended to supersede? I think not: it is noticeable that
the writer never gives any adventure which finds an exact parallel
in the older romances, yet he not only knew the Perceval story, but
knew it in various forms. The allusions in Book XIV., though slight,
are remarkably instructive: he knew that Perceval was the son of a
widow, and that his mother died of grief at his departure (Chrétien,
Wolfram, Didot _Perceval_); that in his wanderings in search of the
Grail he came to the dwelling of a female recluse, who proved to be a
near relative (only related by Wolfram); that he has a sister (Didot
_Perceval_, and _Perceval li Gallois_). Thus in these few allusions he
is in touch with the whole cycle of Perceval romance! When, therefore,
we find that he never elsewhere assigns to Perceval any of the
adventures traditionally connected with him, but gives him a new series
which are duplicated elsewhere, one can only conclude that it is done
of set purpose.
Of the parallels given above, the existence of the sister appears
to me to be the most important, judging from the prominence of the
rôle here assigned to her. She only appears in the two forms of the
Perceval _Queste_ which show traces of having formed part of a cycle;
and inasmuch as _Perceval li Gallois_ represents the mother as living
to see her son return, and regain his kingdom, the correspondence
is closer with the Didot _Perceval_, but the question can hardly be
settled.
As a _Grail_ romance the _Queste_ is extremely poor. The utter
confusion of the writer as to the identity of the Fisher King and
Maimed King; the inter-relation of Grail Winner, owner of Grail
Castle, Fisher King and Maimed King; the neglect of the most obvious
conditions of the quest, such as ignorance on the part of the
predestined Grail Winner; his giving proof of identity by fulfilment
of a test; the inaccessibility of the Grail castle to all but the
elect knight--all show a most extraordinary carelessness on his part,
were he intending to write a Grail romance pure and simple. Ignorance
we cannot postulate. He knows too much about Perceval not to know
more about the Grail! It is evident throughout that the main anxiety
of the author is to keep himself in touch with the _Lancelot_ rather
than with the _Grail_ tradition. He is extremely careful to introduce
references to that portion of the _Lancelot_ story with which he is
familiar; to explain that the adventures foreshadowed in _Grand S.
Graal_ and _Lancelot_ have been really fulfilled, and so long as he can
demonstrate his hero to be a worthy upholder of the glories of the race
of King Ban, he cares very little if he fails to fulfil the necessary
conditions of the original Grail Winner. This latter may know from the
first what the Grail is, where it is, his own predestined relation to
it, his final winning it may be reduced to an absurdity by the presence
of eleven or twelve others all equally worthy of beholding the sacred
talisman, but that matters nothing to the author; he has contrived to
bring the Grail into more or less harmony with the _Lancelot_ legend;
he has crowned the most popular of Arthur's knights with reflected
glory as father of the Grail Winner, he has put the last touch to the
evolution of the _Lancelot_ legend, and in so doing he has achieved the
task which he set himself to perform. The _Queste_ is in all essential
features not a _Grail_ but a _Lancelot_ romance, and as such primarily
it should be judged.
CHAPTER XI
THE MORT ARTUR
This, the final section of the _Lancelot_ cycle, offers less
opportunity for criticism. The versions of =D. L.= and =1533=, though
still closely in accord with each other, differ much less from the
summary given by Dr. Sommer, and show less affinity with Malory.[196]
So far as Malory is concerned I differ from Dr. Sommer, who says that
'he cannot have derived his account from the prose _Lancelot_.'[197]
On the contrary I think there is little doubt that Malory had the
latter portion of the _Lancelot_ before him, but dislocated it by the
introduction of the _Charrette_ and _Urre of Hungary_[198] episodes,
which he most probably knew in an independent form; though of course,
as I have suggested above, it is quite possible that some _Lancelot_
MSS. may have included the latter. But considering the clear proof that
the English compiler was following an _Agravain_ MS. for the earlier
part of his _Lancelot_ adventures, and that he includes the Astolat and
Patryse stories, which are a part of the ordinary _Mort Artur_[199]
section, I see no reason to doubt that his _Lancelot_ MS. represented
_all_ the latter part of the cycle (as we know he had, and followed, an
alternative version of the =M. A.= proper). I have carefully compared
both =D. L.= and =1533= with the abstract given in the _Studies_,
and give the following as the most important of the variants, but I
should like to make it clearly understood, both as regards this and the
previous sections, that the instances I quote by no means represent
_all_ the points of contact and departure to be noted between the
different versions. I have many others in my notes, and a critical
edition will certainly very much strengthen the case I have here stated
in outline.
As we have before noted, =D. L.= and =1533= agree against =S.= in
incorporating with the _Queste_ the passage generally given as the
opening of =M. A.= Otherwise all three versions are in practical
agreement as regards the events leading up to the tournament at
Winchester. =D. L.= does not mention Hector when Lancelot inquires on
which side his kinsmen are fighting, but only Bohort and Lionel. =1533=
agrees here with =S.=
According to =D. L.= and =1533= Gawain and Gaheriet take no part in the
fighting at Arthur's desire: he fears they may fight with Lancelot, and
ill-will arise from it. =S.= does not mention this, so I cannot say if
it be in the =1513= edition or not.
=S.= says, 'The people think the two knights' (Lancelot and his
comrade) 'cannot be the sons of the lord of the castle of Escalot.'
This does not agree with the other versions: the people think they
_are_ the lord's sons at first; then _Gawain_ says, one of them cannot
be. =D. L.=:
'_Ende man waende daer wel dat Lanceloet
Ware een vanden broderen van Scaerloet._'--ll. 851-2.
and Gawain proceeds to say, 'This knight with the red sleeve is not he
whom I thought, no one ever saw such valour by one of the "Kinder van
Scaerloet."' Arthur asks what knight he may be. =D. L.= makes Gawain
say simply he does not know, 'but he is certainly a good knight'; while
=1533= goes on to add 'if Lancelot had not been left at Kamalot he
would have said that this was he.' This does not at all agree with =S.=
Both =1533= and =D. L.= agree against =S.= in saying Lancelot's wounds
will take six (not seven) weeks to heal.
When Gawain and Gaheriet follow Lancelot, =S.= says they meet a
_wounded_ knight; in =1533= the knight is dead. =D. L.= omits the
incident.
When Gawain returns to Arthur, =S.= represents the king as saying 'it
was not the first time he took trouble without results, nor will it be
the last.' =1533= and =D. L.= here add '_through that knight_,' which
is evidently correct.
=S.= simply says the second tourney is fixed at Tanebor, 'du lundi
dapres en ung moys'; whereas the other versions carefully specify the
wherabouts of this place, 'dat een casteel es, Staende in den inganc
van Nortgales.' =D. L.= spells it 'Caneborch.'
Again, according to =S.=, Lancelot, unable to go to the tourney,
sends greeting to the queen and Gawain, 'from the knight who wore the
red sleeve'; whereas =D. L.= and =1533= say 'the knight who won the
tournament at Winchester' and make no mention of the sleeve, which,
considering the relations between Lancelot and Guinevere, seems to me
the better version. Neither do these mention that Guinevere tries to
persuade Bohort to return to Camelot.
When Gawain comes to Escalot =S.= represents him as admiring the
maiden's beauty and envying the knight 'with the red sleeve.' =1533=
says, more correctly, 'the knight who wins her love'; he has not yet
learned to whom the sleeve belonged.
In the account of what happens after Gawain's return to court, and
Guinevere's learning the truth, all the versions agree on the whole,
and it is noticeable that =M.=, though making Bohort a more energetic
defender of his cousin's good faith, yet correctly reproduces all the
main features of incident and speech. I think any one comparing his
version closely with two or three others can hardly fail to come to the
conclusion that it is the prose _Lancelot_ and no other account he is
reproducing.
According to =S.= Lancelot's kinsmen only remain for a week at court;
according to =1533= and =D. L.= it is 'that week and the next.'
When they leave the court on the second occasion after the tournament
of Tanebor, neither =D. L.= nor =1533= say (as =S.= does) that the
queen tries to persuade Bohort to remain, though they agree in making
her regret his departure.
After Lancelot's return to court when Bohort lectures Guinevere on the
mischief done by women, with reference to David, Solomon, etc., =D. L.=
omits the reference to Tristan, while =1533= amplifies it by saying 'it
is not five years since Tristan died for love of Iseult.'
=D. L.= omits all reference to Lancelot's being wounded in the wood,
condensing considerably at this point, and gives no account of the
arrival of the dead body of the maiden of Escalot.
In the account of how Lancelot learns of the queen's danger from Madoc
de la porte, all three versions differ. According to =S.= he meets a
knight from Kamalot who tells him of the queen's plight, and at once
resolves to rescue her. _The next day_ he meets Hector and reveals his
intentions; and a few days after both meet Bohort, who asks if they
know the news. =1533= says that as the first knight rides off, Hector
appears from a cross-road; he is on his way to defend Guinevere.
In =D. L.= it is not said how Lancelot first learns the news, but he
meets Hector and Bohort together, and on their asking him if he has
heard, replies in the affirmative.
I suspect =M.= had a version akin to this last before him as he makes
_Bohort_ Lancelot's informant.
In the account of the final detection of Lancelot and Guinevere, =S.=,
as I have before pointed out, goes wrong, by substituting _Guerreshes_
for _Gariët_. All the texts I have consulted agree in stating that it
is this latter who sides with Gawain, and refuses to be a party to the
betrayal.[200]
=D. L.= omits the fact that Arthur hears of Lancelot's victory at the
tournament of Cahere; and also the remark of Bohort that only Morgain
or Agravain can have betrayed him.
In the details of the detection all three versions agree closely.
In the account of Guinevere's trial =S.= again diverges from the
others. We read[201] 'Arthur decides to punish Guinevere with death.
He will have her tried at once. =P. L.= introduces here, and a little
later, a certain "roy Yon" who counsels moderation. The trial takes
place; Arthur, with Gaheriet, Mordred, and Agravain, doom the queen
to the stake.' I do not know if this accurately represents the text
=1513=, it certainly differs widely from the reading of =D. L.= and
=1533=.
=D. L.= does not mention Yon; =1533= simply introduces him as telling
Arthur that the trial cannot take place that evening, while both agree
in saying that _Gawain_ (whom =S.= does not mention at all) warns the
king not to proceed to extremities, threatening to give up all his
lands if the queen be burnt. Mordred and Agravain doom the queen to
death, Arthur _alone_ specifies the nature of that death.[202]
In the account of the fatal fight at the stake, =D. L.= represents
Lancelot as slaying both Gawain's brothers, while =1533= agrees with
=S.= in saying that Bohort kills Guerresches and Lancelot Gaheriet.
=M.=, it will be remembered, agrees in this with =D. L.= It may be
noted that all three, =1533=, =D. L.=, and =M.=, while making no remark
about Guerresches, especially lament Gaheriet: the two first say that
Lancelot knows Gawain will never forgive him for this, and =M.= speaks
of him as 'the noble knyghte,' making the identity with Gareth quite
clear.
The castle at which the queen and Lancelot stay _en route_ for Joyous
Garde, called _Scalee_ by =S.=, _Scalle_ in =1533=, and _Calet_ in =D.
L.= does not, I think, belong to Keux the seneschal, as =S.= supposes;
=D. L.= does not mention him, and =1533= speaks of '_ung Keux_,' a
friend of Lancelot's, which cannot be _Kay_. Both here, and in the
'_Keux_ du Parc' of the Turquine adventure, I suspect that we have not
a proper name at all, but a misreading of 'Queus'=_count_. In the
latter instance =D. L.= renders _Keux_ by _Grave_.
On p. 255, =S.= must surely have misread his source, as he says that
Lancelot sends messengers to _King Ban of Benoyc_, asking his aid. King
Ban was of course dead long before; =D. L.= and =1533= say to _the
barons_ of Benoyc, which must be the right reading.
Again, the summary of the battle, =S.=, p. 256, differs very materially
from =D. L.= and =1533=. =S.= says Gawain fights like a madman and
kills thirty of Lancelot's men with his own hand, wounding others,
Lionel among them. The next day there is another battle, in which
occurs the incident of Arthur being unhorsed by Bohort, and remounted
by Lancelot. Now in the other two versions Bohort and Gawain wound each
other so desperately at the first onslaught that they are carried off
the field half dead, and it is _Hector_ who overthrows Arthur.
Later on, after the return of Guinevere, when =S.= represents _Hector_
as challenging Gawain, the other two versions give _Bohort_.
After the kinsmen return to Benoyc we find =D. L.= in apparent
contradiction with the other versions. =S.= says that he makes Bohort
king of Benoic and Lionel of Gannes, while he himself keeps the crown
of Gaule, _because Arthur gave it to him_. =1533= seems to agree with
this latter phrase, as it says, 'et pour ce que le roy Artus me donna
le royaulme de Gaule ie le tiendray.[203] =D. L.= on the contrary says:
'_Ende vanden conincrike, dat secgic u,
Van Gaule sone doe ic niet nu,
Ende ne houder gene tale af,
Om dat mi die coninc Artur gaf;
Want al haddi mi gegeven vor nu
Al die werelt, dat secgic u,
Ic gavese hem al weder te hant,
Bedie ic ne soude en geen lant
Nu ter tijt van hem willen houden._'--ll. 7407-15.
Now in the earlier portion of =D. L.=, after the war with Claudas,
we are told that Lancelot has made Bohort king of Gannes, Hector of
Benoyc, and Lionel of Gaul, an arrangement which exactly agrees with
that which =M.= takes from the English =M. A.= In this earlier passage
Lancelot gives as reason for not taking the crown that he prefers to
remain a simple knight, and =1533= represents Bohort and Hector as
following his example and declining the offered kingdoms.
I think the lesson of this discrepancy is that the _Lancelot_ and
the =M. A.= were fundamentally independent of each other, and each
contained an account of the crowning of the race of Ban. When brought
into close contact this caused a contradiction of statement which =D.
L.= and =1533= evaded each in their own way. =S.= gives no clue to
what happened on the earlier occasion.
The number of knights Arthur takes with him on his last expedition
agrees in =D. L.= and =M.=, sixty thousand, against forty thousand in
the two French versions.[204]
In both =1533= and =D. L.=, Guinevere does not, as in =S.=, ask for
a _week's_ respite, but for a _day_, and Mordred himself suggests
she shall have the week. _Labor_, whom =S.= calls simply 'a faithful
knight,' is in both these versions a near kinsman--_neve_, _cousin_. =D.
L.= gives as a reason for Guinevere's rejection of Mordred's offer that
she suspects his true relation to Arthur. This is not in =1533=.
In the account of the fight between Lancelot and Gawain, all three
versions apparently differ at the outset. Gawain will send the
challenge by a squire. =S.=, squire refuses, fearing Lancelot's wrath;
=1533=, refuses, fearing to bring about Gawain's death; =D. L.=, goes
at once.
The issue of the fight too is different in =D. L.= and =1533=. In
=S.=, Gawain receives a mortal wound in the head and retreats. In
=1533=, Lancelot appeals to the king: it is vesper-tide, and a fight
for treason must be concluded by nightfall. Arthur, seeing Gawain is
getting the worst of the battle, stops it at once. =D. L.= apparently
condenses a similar version, but makes Arthur appeal to Lancelot, who
says that he will be dishonoured if he leave his foe in possession
of the field, but Arthur entreats him to do so for his sake, and
Lancelot retires. Both agree in saying that Gawain is over twenty years
Lancelot's senior, and is now eighty-two years old![205]
=D. L.= represents the war with Rome as lasting twenty years, which
would make both Arthur and Gawain well over a hundred at the time of
their death!
After the news of Mordred's treachery =D. L.= makes no mention of
Gawain being carried in a litter on the return journey, or of his
desire for Lancelot's forgiveness; nor does he warn Arthur against
fighting with Mordred. This is, I suspect, due to the compiler's desire
to condense, as =1533= agrees in the main with =S.= The warning against
Mordred appears, however, to be fuller in the former, _e.g._ _Studies_,
p. 265. Gawain is represented as saying briefly, 'Avoid, if possible,
fighting with Mordred, for it will cause your death,' which is in
=1533=, 'Car ie vous dy vrayement que se vous mourez par une homme [=q]
vive vous mourrez par lui et madame la royne,' p. 154, which certainly
seems to point to an earlier redaction of the =M. A.=, where Guinevere
was a partner in Mordred's treason.[206]
In the description of Arthur's death there are some interesting
variants. Both =1533= and =D. L.= account for Lucan's death by the
weight of Arthur's armour; it is that, and not the vehemence of the
king's embrace, which really kills the sorely wounded knight.
They again differ in the details of the final scene. =S.= says 'a boat
full of ladies arrives; they land, go ashore, put Arthur, his horse,
and armour into the boat, and row off.' =D. L.= says they call Arthur,
who rises, takes his horse and armour, and goes into the ship. =1533=
says the mistress of the party is Morgain; she calls Arthur, who
rises at sight of her, she takes him by the hand (which would seem to
imply her landing), and bids him bring horse and arms and enter the
boat, which he does. Dr. Sommer evidently regards the entire account
as absurd, but I not only accept it, but regard the versions of =D.
L.= and =1533=, which would merit his strictures more fully than
that in which he finds such difficulty, as representing the earlier
and more primitive form of the story. There is no doubt that Arthur
was conceived of as living and ruling in Avalon. This account of his
practically voluntary departure for the mysterious island is much more
in accord with that idea than the version which represents him in
the extremity of mortal weakness, and subsequently dead and buried.
Arthur's tomb is _not_ compatible with Arthur in Avalon, and I strongly
suspect that the earlier redaction of the =M. A.= made no mention of
it; it is certainly omitted in the corresponding section of the Didot
_Perceval_, which only says he departed to have his wounds healed in
Avalon, and has not since been seen; but Bretons claim to have heard
his horn, and seen his armour, and believe he will return.
There is a curious discrepancy in the accounts of Lancelot's death,
which seems to point to two distinct versions of that event. =S.= says
he died August 5th, but does not say how long he was ill. =D. L.= says
he fell ill on May 15th, and died after four days. =1533= says he
fell ill May 15th, was ill four days, and died August 5th! Evidently
a combination by some unintelligent compiler of the two previous
accounts, but it is unusual to find such an obvious _bévue_ in so
otherwise admirable a version as that of =1533=.
All three agree that Lancelot is buried in Galehault's tomb, and that
Bohort becomes a hermit in his stead.
From the above comparison it seems clear that though offering less
striking and interesting variants, the Dutch version and that of =1533=
yet maintain, on the whole, their previous agreement as against =S.=;
while =M.=, which here possesses an alternative source the English
=M. A.=, yet occasionally betrays the same curious agreement with =D.
L.= which we have noted before. The result appears to confirm the
conclusion previously arrived at, that =D. L.= and =1533= represent a
common French original, and that =M.='s source, whether complete or
incomplete, was a MS. belonging to the same family.
CHAPTER XII
CONCLUSION
We have now reached the final stage of our _Lancelot_ studies, and
it only remains for us to gather up the threads of the previous
investigation, and to endeavour to formulate the results at which
we have arrived. We have seen that the _Lancelot_ legend was one of
remarkably speedy growth. We find no mention of the hero's name before
the latter half of the twelfth century, yet within ten years of that
first mention he is the most famous of Arthur's knights, and the lover
of the queen.[207]
We have examined the legend (_a_) in the form of a loosely constructed
biographical romance, composed of episodes originally foreign to each
other; (_b_) in detached episodic poems; (_c_) in its final form as
the most important member of a great prose cycle; and we have found
that in all this mass of literature the only really distinctive and
individual trait on which we could lay our finger was the story of the
hero being stolen as a child and brought up by the mistress of a water
kingdom.[208]
Into the question of the character of the Lady of the Lake we have
not entered deeply; we have seen that she touches on the one side the
mysterious queen of the Other World, on the other the scarcely less
enigmatic Morgain le Fay, King Arthur's sister. The subject was too
wide in extent to be adequately treated in this series; it demands
separate study, but the result, so far as the _Lancelot_ legend is
concerned, was to lead us to believe that the root of that legend was a
_lai_, presumably Breton, dealing with the theft of a king's son by a
water fairy; a theme which afterwards underwent considerable expansion,
in the course of which the characters of the hero and of his patroness
alike became greatly modified from the original conception.
The final and best known form of the story was mainly influenced by
the introduction of a _motif_ foreign to the earlier and tentative
development, _i.e._ that of Lancelot's love for the wife of his lord.
This _motif_, however, we saw reason to believe, did not really
represent the earlier tradition of Guinevere's infidelity, but was
a practically new development introduced under the dual influences
of a special social condition and the high popularity of the earlier
_Tristan_ story. As to the reasons which determined the choice of
Lancelot as the queen's lover, we found ourselves unable to express any
decided opinion.[209]
But from its very earliest stages the _Lancelot_ story came into
contact with another and highly popular tale, the legend of _Perceval_.
The earlier and later biographical forms (_Lanzelet_ and the prose
_Lancelot_) and the episodic romances (_Le cerf au pied blanc_ and
_Morien_) show traces of contact, direct or indirect, with this story;
while the precise statements of certain MSS.[210] make it quite clear
that even at an advanced stage of its evolution the _Lancelot_ legend
formed part of a cycle of which the most important member was the story
of _Perceval and the Grail_.
This continued contact with the _Perceval_ story, with the resulting
developments, appears to be the most important factor in the evolution
of the _Lancelot_ legend, and one which has hitherto been overlooked.
So far as the evidence at our disposal permits us to trace it, the
course of development seems to have been the following. Gradually
the legend of the _Grail_,[211] originally foreign to the _Perceval_
story, completely dominated that story and changed the character of
the hero, who became transformed into an ascetic celibate; while, on
the other hand, the growing popularity of the _Lancelot_ story had
reacted prejudicially on the position alike of Perceval and the still
earlier hero Gawain as knights of King Arthur's court. Eventually the
two competing centres of romantic interest were _Lancelot_ and the
_Grail_, and it became necessary to combine them in such a manner that
the latter, while still retaining its sacrosanct character, should yet
contribute to heighten the fame of the popular 'secular' hero.
Such a combination was possible, under certain conditions, and an
ingenious writer, perceiving this possibility, turned it to account by
inventing the Galahad _Queste_, which, poor and inadequate as a _Grail_
romance, yet as a contribution to the _Lancelot_ cycle had a very
certain and decided value. It put the final touch to the evolution of
the hero by enabling him to take part, under circumstances which should
vicariously increase his fame, in the great adventure of the Arthurian
cycle, the Grail Quest; it also restored superficially the unity of the
cycle, which had been injured by the cleavage between the _Grail_ and
the other sections, caused by the growing popularity of Lancelot as
compared with Perceval.
While Gawain and Perceval were the leading heroes of the Arthurian
cycle, a Perceval _Queste_ was natural; but as soon as these two were
supplanted in the popular favour by Lancelot, the Perceval _Queste_,
as an integral part of the cycle, became more and more inharmonious.
A change in the interest of the _later_ Lancelot development
was inevitable, and that the change took place precisely at the
psychological moment is, I think, proved by the practically universal
welcome accorded to the Galahad _Queste_. With unanimous consent the
Perceval _Queste_ appears to have been discarded _as a part of the
cycle_, although in its _independent_ form it still retained its
popularity.
Naturally all the branches of the cycle into which the new _Queste_
had been adopted were more or less affected by it; in some cases the
references to the coming Grail Winner were more or less vague, and
would apply as well to the later as to the earlier hero; in other
instances they were amplified but not altered, thus introducing
confusion into the text (this is, I suspect, the case with the
_Merlin Suite_). The romances that represented the _Early History_,
as introduction to the _Queste_, were naturally the most affected,
and at the present moment it is extremely difficult to decide whether
the _Grand S. Graal_ be a _direct_ amplification of the _Joseph of
Arimathea_, constructed with a view to the Galahad _Queste_, or
whether, in its existing form, it depends upon an intermediate version
the _données_ of which would agree with the cyclic _Perceval_.
In any case the 'net' result was, I believe, the substitution of the
name of the supposed author of the _Queste_, Walter Map, for that of
the traditional author of the earlier _Perceval-Grail_ story, Robert de
Borron; and to ascribe to Map that cyclic redaction of the Arthurian
romances which had previously been ascribed to de Borron.
I think that much of the difficulty hitherto experienced in determining
the order and date of the various Grail romances has arisen from our
very natural tendency to regard these romances as a group apart, and
to compare them exclusively with each other; whereas they should be
treated as members of the cycle, and compared with the other branches
of the cycle. More especially is this the case with the Galahad
_Queste_; treated as a _Grail_ romance proper, it is inexplicable, and
appears to represent no possible step that can be postulated in the
_natural_ evolution of the Grail legend. We could imagine the honour
transferred from father to son (as a matter of fact it is _Lohengrin_
and not Galahad who should be the successor to Perceval); but this
sudden break in the tradition by which the honour passes to the race
of King Ban, no relationship between Perceval and Lancelot being
previously hinted at, is, considered in itself, most perplexing. On the
other hand, treat the _Queste_ as an integral part of the _Lancelot_
cycle, and it not only explains itself, but gives us valuable
assistance in 'placing' the earlier versions.
At the same time it is obvious that the theory here advanced only
applies to the _later_ stages of the Grail tradition; it does not touch
the problem of the origin of the Grail itself, or its first connection
with Perceval.
In the course of our investigation we found it necessary to devote
especial attention to the work of Chrétien de Troyes, endeavouring to
ascertain the exact position which, in the evolution of the Arthurian
romantic cycle, should be ascribed to this famous poet. It became clear
that a very considerable portion of the matter with which he dealt
belonged by its nature to the domain of what we call folk-lore; and by
reason of that nature could not have been _invented_ by the poet, but
must have ante-dated, in some instances by many centuries, any possible
_literary_ rendering. Judged by the rules laid down by scientific
authorities on comparative religion, and story-transmission, Chrétien
could not have been an _inventor_, but only a brilliantly successful
re-teller of stories long known and popular. Instead of standing at the
_source_ of Arthurian romantic tradition, he was swept into the current
at a comparatively late period of its evolution. To solve the complex
problems of Arthurian romance we must go behind Chrétien: it is the
period preceding, not following, his work in which the solution of our
puzzles must be sought.
To this Chrétien himself bears witness. The position claimed for him
by certain modern scholars is not that which he claimed for himself;
he never professed to be telling a story no one had ever heard before,
though he may have flattered himself, not without reason, that he
was telling it better than it had ever previously been told. He was
dealing with heroes and adventures already well known to his public.
The manner in which he introduces, or refers to, incidental characters
makes it abundantly clear that he expected his readers to understand
his allusions. Especially is this noticeable in the case of Perceval,
who has been claimed, with more zeal than discretion, as one of his
most famous creations. He alludes to the hero in a manner that makes it
quite evident that this story was well known, and the name familiar,
to the public, some decades before Chrétien himself undertook to tell
it.
As practical results arising from these studies I would claim:
_a_ That we, in future, place the evolution of the _Perceval_ story at
a much earlier date than we have hitherto been willing to assign to it.
_b_ That we admit the possibility of very important variations in the
tale, some of them being anterior to Chrétien's version.
_c_ That we recognise that this story of Perceval was of capital
importance in the general evolution of the Arthurian cycle.
_d_ That in the mutual relations between the _Perceval-Grail_ and
_Lancelot_ stories we have the key to the final shaping of the entire
cycle.
These principles admitted, and I think the evidence adduced goes far
to prove their soundness, it is obvious that in order to establish and
appraise the above relations at their full value, we must have complete
and critical editions of _all_ the principal texts. As matters stand
at present, the only texts which can be said to have been in any sense
critically treated are the Didot _Perceval_, and the _Parzival_ of
Wolfram von Eschenbach for the older story, and the _Charrette_ for
the younger. We have been waiting for years for a critical edition of
the _Conte del Graal_, and when we get it will the editor have taken
into consideration the various additions to Chrétien's text, and the
version of the Dutch compiler, or will it be Chrétien's portion of
the poem alone? In that case it will not help us very far. We need
sorely a critical edition of the curious _Perceval li Gallois_, with
its blending of wild, folk-lore features with late proselytising and
allegorising tendency, its baffling parallels to the German _Parzival_.
And if we are at a loss for material to adequately criticise the
earlier story, what of the later? Considering the highly mythic,
prehistoric character of so much of the Arthurian tradition, the
disappearance of so many of the intermediate stages, and the consequent
difficulty in fixing the _earliest_ form of any characteristic feature,
it would seem that our best plan would be to start from the _final_
form assumed by the cycle and work gradually backward, since for a
certain period, at least, we might hope to find solid ground beneath
our feet. But the most important text for this final form of the
Arthurian cycle, the prose _Lancelot_, remains unedited. And indeed it
might well seem to be a work beyond the powers of any one scholar; the
number alike of MSS. and of printed editions is so large; they are so
scattered, no important library but can show one or more _Lancelot_
texts, and we cannot afford to leave even _one_ of all this mass
unexamined. The great discrepancy between the printed texts which the
foregoing comparison has shown us; the pregnant hints as to earlier
redactions, which the passages I have quoted from M. Paulin Paris
and Professor Heinzel assure us may be found in the MSS., are all
indications of the vast extent of the task which confronts us.
Yet this much is certain, until it is boldly grappled with, and
scholars are in possession of a complete critical edition of the
_Lancelot_ in which all the varying adventures shall be carefully
chronicled, and all the traces of earlier redactions duly noted, any
studies such as these in the preceding pages, be they the work of
scholars of the very first rank, will always be liable to the necessity
of revision, or the risk of subversion, by the accidental discovery of
some hitherto unknown factor.[212]
This appears to me to be the great and pressing question which
confronts Arthurian scholars; we desire our work to have a permanent
value, yet we are leaving undone that which, to all appearance, is the
surest means of securing such permanence.
A work of such magnitude can, I think, only be grappled with by a
body of scholars, a chief editor, assisted by a group of sub-editors.
The great extent and diffusion of the material (the _Lancelot_ MSS.
are, as I said before, practically scattered all over Europe), render
it impossible for any one man to hope to complete the task within a
reasonable term of years. I do not know what may be the principles
regarding the choice of publications by the _Sociétié des anciens
textes Français_, whether their aim be the introduction to the public
of MSS. of which unique copies alone exist, rather than to publish
critical editions of more easily accessible texts; but if the latter
should lie within their province, I cannot imagine any publication that
would be more warmly welcomed by Arthurian scholars, or that would
be of greater interest and more enduring benefit to the students of
mediæval literature, than a full and complete edition of the prose
_Lancelot_.
APPENDIX
THE DUTCH LANCELOT[213]
(Opens with short introduction alluding to Meleagant, thus
pre-supposing the _Charrette_ adventure.)
Line 20. Eight days after Whitsuntide A., his knights, and twelve
tributary kings are hunting in a forest. Guinevere and her maidens ride
to see hunt escorted by Kay, Segramore, Dodinel, and Lancelot. Knight
rides up and seizes queen's bridle. Her knights resent this. K., S.,
and D. are overthrown. L. is about to joust when maiden rides up and
demands his aid, he is pledged to her. L. asks permission to fight
first; overthrows and badly wounds knight, and follows maiden. Wounded
knight is tended by queen's people.
Line 245. Queen sends K. after L., whom he finds fighting with two
knights; K. gives him his horse; returns to queen.
Line 352. Queen is hungry. Dodinel and Segramore go to find food. Come
to a pavilion with knight, he and S. fight, D. looks on. Maid on mule
rides up, calls D. to go with her. Knight flies and S. is left alone.
Line 444. SEGRAMORE meets one of A's horsemen pursued by two (=1533=,
_three_) knights, rescues him and overthrows knights. Comes to a
pavilion; dwarf stands at door, strikes S.'s horse with stick. S.
chastises him. Lady appears and reproaches S., he is struck with her
beauty. Enters pavilion and finds Calogrenant prisoner. He had come
there and blown horn at maid's request, two armed knights appeared
and overthrew him. S. blows horn. Red Knight appears; they fight,
well-matched. A knight arrives, carries off maiden. R. K. begs truce
that he may pursue them. S. will do so too. Cal. is released (=1533=,
_R. K. remains to guard C._). S. pursues ravisher, comes to hill and
fair meadow, ten pavilions by a fountain. Knight with thirty companions
appears and demands joust. S. overthrows him and asks news of maiden.
Knight will tell him if S. will grant first request asked. Leads him
to pavilion with maid and four knights. Maid will return with S.; has
been brought against her will. A knight throws knife at S. who cleaves
his head with sword. Others attack S., who slays first, and others fly.
Rides off with maid to ten pavilions, ten knights ride out, S. must go
with them to their lord or joust; chooses latter. They ask his name, he
is _Segramore die Wonderlike_. Another knight appears, S. must leave
maiden or joust. He is Brandalis, rejoiced to meet S., would entertain
him. S. says he must return to queen who waits by 'Elfin Spring.' B.
will escort maiden to her _ami_. S. rides off to house of Mathamas
(his original destination), finds him and knights in hall, and demands
provisions for queen. M. and his men treacherously attack S., finally
overpower and throw him into dungeon, where he is wellnigh starved, but
M.'s daughter takes pity upon him, and brings him food.
Line 1050. DODINEL and maid meet knight and lady richly dressed, with
dwarf. D. greets dwarf, who makes no answer but tries to kiss maiden,
who throws him to the ground. Knight tries to kill maiden, but is
unhorsed by D. and sent prisoner to queen. He is Maroc van den Ynsen
Roken, 'twixt Ireland and Scotland. (=1533=, _Marruc le roux, no island
named_.[214])
Line 1267. LANCELOT meets a black rider unarmed with knight's head
on saddle-bow, asks L.'s name, bids him give him his armour, L. has
pledged himself so to do (reference to adv. in earlier part of prose
=L.=). L. does so. Knight is 'Griffoen van den quaden passe.' He rides
thus past the Elfin Spring. Queen sees him in L.'s armour with head at
saddle-bow and thinks L. is slain. Kay and other knights pursue him,
and are overthrown, Kay taken prisoner. Queen and maidens remain at
spring weeping.
Line 1425. LANCELOT meets maiden, who hails him as best knight in the
world, thinks he is Gawain[215] (=1533=, _knows him for L._), whose
presence in land of Strangore is much desired. Leaves him, and L. and
attendant maiden come to house, where they are well received.
Line 1480. DODINEL comes to a deep river crossed by narrow plank.
Maiden crosses safely, plank will not bear weight of an armed man. D.
falls into water and is nearly drowned. When he reaches bank maid has
disappeared. Castle near at hand, knight comes out and challenges D.,
who is too exhausted to answer and is taken prisoner.
Line 1565. QUEEN and maidens return to court in great grief, tell A.
what has chanced. (=1533=, _Queen's account does not agree with facts
of story. She says 'prisoner has gone after knight.' What prisoner?
Probably Segramore's, but she says they have heard nothing of S._) Ten
knights will go in quest of L. Gawain chooses his companions: Ywein,
Garhies (_Gariët_ general spelling), Gurrehes, Mordrec, Hestor van
Maris, Acgloval ('twas he brought Perceval to court), etc. (_Neither_
=D. L.= _nor_ =1533= _give ten names, the latter adds to those
mentioned Les Hardi [le Laid Hardi?] and Brandalis_.) They take an
oath to seek a year and a day. They ride to the 'Swerte cruce' (here
we have story of Joseph of Arimathea and King Agestes [Agrestes] from
_G. S. Graal_). Gawain harangues them, they will separate, and search
forest for a week. Hear loud cries, maiden meets them, and says best
knight on earth is being slain. Leads them to a valley where one knight
fights against ten. Gawain and companions rescue him and put others to
flight. Knight has two swords. Gawain asks reason. Knight explains.
He is Eliezer (=1533=, _Helye_), son of the rich Fisher who holds the
Grail. One sword is that with which Joseph of Arimathea was wounded
(here adventures of Joseph as in _G. S. Graal_); it is broken and can
only be mended by him who achieves adventures of the Grail. Ywein begs
E. to accompany them in their search for Lancelot, he would doubtless
fulfil the test. E. refuses, must return to his father. They separate,
agreeing if they find L. to send him to E. (which they do not do).
Line 2335. _Agloval_ rides five days without special adventure. Meets
wounded knight who prays his aid. A. jousts with and overthrows
pursuer. Makes him ask pardon of first. Spends night in castle of
second, who is Griffoen van den quaden passe. A. tells him name and
quest. G. conceals share in adventure, tells A. he will find Kay at a
hermitage. When A. has ridden away sets K. free, and tells him to go to
hermitage, not saying whence he came. K. does this, meets A., hears of
quest and follows him.
Line 2565. GAWAIN rides three days without adventure. Comes to castle
of Mathamas where Segramore is imprisoned. Being weary rides past
without greeting. M. pursues him, they joust, M. is overthrown. S. is
released and M. sent prisoner to court.
Line 2685. HECTOR[216] seeks in forest up and down for eight days;
ninth, comes to where Dodinel fell into water, crosses safely and rides
to castle. Knight attacks him and is overthrown, makes feint to yield
and tries treacherously to stab H. H. smites off his head. Folk of
castle receive him gladly, tell him of D. who is freed. Maiden explains
knight was her _ami_ and hated D. who had overthrown him at a tourney,
she had been forced to fetch him hither on pain of death. H. tells D.
of quest; he will join. Leave castle and ride to trysting-place. All
meet, have heard nothing of L. Part in great grief, knowing it will be
long before they meet again.
Line 2925. GAWAIN rides fifteen (=1533=, _twelve_) days without
adventures. Comes to an abbey where he leaves his arms and takes
others. Spends Sunday there. On Monday rides forth, comes to a spring,
unhelms to drink, maid rides up, knows him, and takes him to castle.
Lord of the castle arrives with thirty knights. A great tourney to be
held on the morrow two miles hence. Mabonars (=1533=, _Marbortas_), the
king of Galehout's race (=1533=, _Galehout's cousin_), has summoned it
at Castle 'van der Molen,' will give hawk to best knight and circlet to
his lady. Maiden prays G. to help her lover Taganas (=1533=, _Tanaguis
le blanc_). On the morrow go to tourney. Argument between maiden and 'a
king's niece' as to whose knight is the best. At first G. overthrows
all adversaries. Then Red Knight appears, prolonged struggle, G. is
unhorsed, R. K. rides away, G. follows, overtakes him at forester's
house. It is Hector, who is much grieved at what he has done. G.
forgives him, and they continue quest together. Third day (=1533=,
_time not mentioned_), come to ruined chapel and churchyard wherein
is marble tomb with inscription to effect that only the 'keytive'
knight who has failed through 'luxurien' to achieve adventure of
the Grail can fulfil this. Enter churchyard, find burning tomb with
twelve others round it, upright sword on each. G. will test adventure,
enters enclosure, is attacked by swords, beaten to the ground, when he
recovers consciousness is outside. Tries again, with even worse result.
H. also tries, fails; letters appear on the door that none shall dare
adventure till the 'son of the dolorous queen' come.[217] They leave
chapel and ride till they come to two roads by a cross on which is
written 'whoso takes left-hand road shall not escape without much
dishonour; of right-hand nothing shall be said save that there is much
danger.' H. insists on going to left though G. would dissuade him. They
separate.
Line 3535. GAWAIN comes to pavilion where six knights are at meat, he
greets them, they make no response. G. seats himself and begins to eat,
they order him to stop, and on his refusing attack him with swords and
axes. G. slays one, cuts off arm of another, rest flee. Rides away,
comes to a valley where he sees castle surrounded by deep water, goes
towards it. Hears cries from a tower, enters and finds maiden in bath
of boiling water (=1533=, _does not say water is boiling, and states
that she only expects aid from Lancelot_), prays him to lift her out;
he fails, she tells him he will not go hence without shame, and that
only 'the best knight in the world' can help her. G. goes to castle, is
well received. As they sit in the hall out of the chamber whence the
king came (=1533=, _he sees 'entrer parmi une verriere'_) there comes a
dove with censer in beak.[218] All are silent and kneel till dove has
passed through hall and entered a chamber. Then tables are prepared and
all sit down in silence. G. wonders much. Out of chamber where dove
entered comes the fairest maiden G. has ever seen, holding above her
head a vessel in the shape of a cup. The vessel 'ne was van houte ne
van stene, ne van metale negene.' All kneel as she passes, save G.,
and the tables are filled with the best food on earth. When she has
passed all but G. have been provided with food; he doubts if he has
done amiss. After the meal all leave the hall, doors are closed, and G.
is left alone. He lies down beneath a window. A man (dwarf?) appears
and tells G. to go into a chamber where none shall see him, would
strike him, but G. takes staff out of his hand, warns him he shall not
depart without dishonour. (=1533=, _G. is only told 'fuyez vous en
d'icy, vous n'y devez m'y estre, car en vous a trop villaine chose.'
G. sees bed through open door, and enters chamber of own accord._) G.
goes into the chamber, sees a fair bed and sits down upon it. Hears a
voice warning him if he sit unarmed on 't bedde van aventuren' he will
surely die. Arms himself; a sword (=1533=, _lance_) with fiery blade
enters room, smites him so sorely he cannot defend himself: becomes
unconscious, on recovery feels that blade is being drawn out of his
wound. Lies till daylight. (=1533=, _Quant il fut ennuyte si que l'en y
veoit mauvaisement fors que de la lune qui luysoit a plus de quarante
fenestres qui tout estoient ouvertes; lors regarde monseigneur G. en
une chambre qui estoit pres de lui._) Sees a great serpent enter the
hall, making fearful noise, out of its mouth come small serpents.
Leopard attacks serpent, fierce battle. When serpent finds it cannot
slay leopard returns to hall (chamber?), where the small serpents
attack it. They slay each other. A great wind rises, which sweeps
hall clean. G. hears women weeping, rises and sees twelve maidens
come weeping and kneel before door where dove went in. They depart,
and an armed knight comes and bids G. go and rest on a bed in another
chamber, he may no longer stay here. G. refuses, they fight fiercely
all day, at last fall exhausted. It begins to thunder, the whole palace
trembles, G. is deafened by the sound, knows not if it be day or night
(=1533=, _if he be living or dead_). A great wind rises (=1533=, _soft
and sweet_), and he hears voices, two hundred at least, singing so
sweetly, nothing on earth can be like to it. He cannot understand all
the words, only 'Glorie ende lof moete hebben ewelike die coninc van
hemelrike.' The palace is filled with a sweet smoke. Opens his eyes
and sees the maiden of evening before with vessel, preceded by two
censers (=1533=, _and two cierges_), places vessel on silver table, ten
censers give sweet smell around it. Voices sing 'Ere, bliscap, ende lof
moete hebben ewelike, Die soete here van hemelrike.' Maiden carries
vessel back to chamber. Hall grows dark and windows fly open (=1533=,
_and close again_). G. can see nothing, but feels he is healed of his
wounds, rises and looks for knight with whom he had fought, but can
find nothing. Hears people enter and feels himself taken by hands and
feet, bound, carried out of hall, and laid on a cart. Daylight comes,
he is still in the cart, to which a wretched horse is harnessed; feels
himself shamed. A maiden (=1533=, _une vieille_) comes and drives the
horse out, as they pass the gateway the people mock at and pelt G.
When bridge is passed maiden looses his bonds and tells him to leave
the cart, he has been there long enough. G. asks name of castle, it is
Cambonoyc.[219] He curses the day he was born and made knight to be
thus shamed. Rides all day, at evening comes to hermitage, where he
is kindly received. Hermit asks his name, and is rejoiced at hearing
it. Where has he spent the night? G. will not say at first. (=1533=,
_G. shows shame at being praised. H. comforts him; no man but knows
misfortune. G. says no man has had such ill-luck as he for fifteen
days. H. asks how, and G. tells all._) When he does tell, H. keeps
silence for a long time, then tells him he has seen the Holy Grail, his
own sin prevented him from being fed by it. (=1533=, _quant vous ne luy
feistes honeur bien vous deistes mesadvenir_.)[220] G. asks meaning of
serpent; it is A. his uncle. He shall leave his kingdom in charge of
his kinsmen and go to fight a knight whom he cannot overcome; on his
return his own kinsmen shall fight against, and slay him. It shall come
about through G. himself. He must swear not to reveal what H. has told
him to any one. G. spends night there, and in morning rides forth to
seek Hector.
Line 4260. HECTOR rides till eventide, meets a dwarf, who warns him,
but will give no explanation. H. rides on and comes to a stone on which
it is written, that no one enters this land save to his shame. Then
meets two maidens who lament over him. Comes to a castle surrounded by
water, over which is a bridge. A maiden sitting under a tree greets him
kindly, and tells him there is a knight at the bridge who jousts with
all comers, and throws the vanquished into the water. H. overthrows
knight and crosses bridge. The gates are closed, none may enter save by
swearing to put an end to the evil customs of the castle. H. swears and
enters. Asks what are the customs. There is an evil knight there who
fights with all who come; if victorious he drives them naked through
the streets; also he has dishonoured more than one hundred (=1533=,
_forty_) noble maidens. H. bids them lead him to knight. They take him
to a fair garden, well planted with trees, in the midst of which is an
open space. They show him an ivory horn hanging on a tree, if he sound
it the knight will come.[221] He does so and a 'hunch-backed and ugly'
(=1533=, _grant_) knight, on a white horse, appears unarmed, and asks
H. his name. If he will swear to renounce evil customs H. will tell
him, not otherwise; knight prefers to fight. Folk tell H. it was a ruse
coming to him unarmed, had he made terms and disarmed, he would have
been overpowered at once. Knight returns in red armour. After fierce
fight H. slays him and learns he must now deliver lady of the castle,
who is in a cave guarded by two leopards (=1533=, _lyons_). This he
does; slays leopards and releases lady, who is joyfully received by
the people. She is Argale van Grakenlant (=1533=, _Grindelain_), and
Lancelot's cousin. The knight was Margarij (=1533=, _Maugart le Roux_);
she is concerned to hear of L.'s disappearance.
Line 4812. YWEIN rides three (=1533=, _four_) days without adventure.
Fourth meets a maiden who laughs as she sees him. Y. asks reason, she
will tell him if he will promise her a gift that will cost him little.
Y. promises. A knight has threatened to take her horse, because his
_amie_ reproached him with having done little for her honour. Will Y.
give her the knight's horse? She knows Y. and his fame, and therefore
laughed for joy on meeting him. He consents and they ride together.
Knight comes out from his pavilion and demands Y.'s horse. Y. will
fight for it. They do so and the knight is slain (=1533=, _apparently
not, the lady only thinks he is dead_), and his horse is given to
maiden, who goes her way rejoicing. Y. rides till evening, when he
meets a maiden lamenting loudly; a knight has taken from her the hawk
her _ami_ gave her, _he_ will think she gave it willingly and slay her
for jealousy. Y. bids her lead him to tent of knight who stole hawk;
she does so, and Y. bids her go in and take it. Knight objects, they
fight. Both are wounded, knight mortally; prays for hermit that he may
receive last sacraments. Y. sends maiden, and himself finally returns
with hermit, who tends him for fifteen days till wounds are healed.
Line 5070. MORDRET, Gawain's youngest brother, rode all day with
nothing to eat, weary, because he was young, only twenty; fair-haired
and good to look upon, but evil at heart. Description of brothers:
Gawain fairest, courteous to all, especially the poor[222] (=1533=,
_fist voluntiers bien aux meseaulx plus que a autres gens_.) His
strength doubles, at certain times, as he fights (not specified,
=1533= says, _toutes heures du iour_), so that none can overcome him,
he will either conquer or be slain. A good knight in all things, and
faithful to his lord. Courteous to all women, and not given to boast
of his deeds. Agravain, handsome and valiant, but of bitter tongue;
'Lancelot slew him as ye shall hear' (_omitted in_ =1533=), Garhiës
(later on Gariëtte) (_Gaheriet_, =1533=) more courteous than any of the
others 'save Gawain' (_omitted in_ =1533=). His right arm was longer
than his left, so that he did great deeds of knighthood (=1533= adds,
_most gentle of all, and most relentless when wrathful_). Gurrehies
(=1533=, _Gueresches_) very valiant, fond of deeds of knighthood, never
took any rest. Handsome in face and more fastidious in dress than the
others. Much loved of ladies. Gawain's favourite, and youngest save
Mordret.[223] Mordret was valiant, but an evil knight, save for first
two years of his knighthood. 'He did more harm in his life than all
his brethren did good, for fifteen thousand[224] valiant knights were
slain in one day because of him, and he himself died there too' (=1533=
_omits this_).
Line 5250. MORDRET spends night at castle of a lady (=1533=, _widow_),
who treats him well. Next morning he rides on his way, comes to two
pavilions; at door of one is a horse ready saddled, and armour. Dwarf
comes out with bow and arrow, and shoots M.'s horse dead. M. would
chastise dwarf, but owner arrives and challenges M. They fight, and
knight is slain. M. takes horse and goes on his way. Comes to a tent
where is a fair maiden; she will lodge M. if her lover does not object;
if he does, M. must go. They fall in love; M. prays her favours and
is not refused. Lover arrives; M. may stay when he tells his name;
would do anything for Gariëtte's brother. Two knights come, with
squire bearing venison. M. is well treated. He prays maiden to come
to him when her lover is asleep. After some demur, she does so. Lover
awakes, finds M. and maiden together, reproaches him; he cannot be G.'s
brother, or he would not have acted thus. They fight; M. being the
younger and stronger, makes him swear to pardon lady. Next morning he
rides away.
Line 5530. AGRAVAIN comes to a fair tent, where there is a dead knight
on a bier, a maiden and wounded knight beside him. A. asks explanation.
Dead knight was brother to the other. On their way to A.'s court they
came to the 'Keytiven berch.' A knight, Dryas (=1533=, _Druas_),
attacked them, they were unarmed; one was slain, the other fled. Dryas
sent the body after him. He slays all who come to this place. A. says
he will avenge him; is warned if he slay D. not to sound ivory horn
dwarf will proffer, or D.'s brother, twice as fierce as he, will
come from the other side of the mountain. A. goes forth, comes to a
fountain; is challenged by D., slays him and gives head to knight,
who is much rejoiced, even more when he knows A.'s name. A. returns;
finds dwarf and maiden lamenting over D.'s body. Dwarf offers A. horn,
which he blows loudly, all know D. is slain. His brother Sornahan
(=1533=, _Sornehault_) arms and comes to avenge him. They fight, both
are thrown. A. is unconscious. S. is about to slay him, when maid rides
up, demands a boon, which S. grants: it is A.'s life. S. will keep him
in prison though maid warns him Gawain is in the land, and will avenge
his brother. S. has a wall built all round the mount, with notice that
whoever would enter must first fight with him.
Line 6095. GURRËES (=1533=, _Gueresches_) rides through thicket forty
miles long, ten (=1533=, _forty_) wide; finds knights ill-treating old
knight, rescues him. His son had accidentally slain his cousin, his
sister's son (=1533=, _a maiden_); in revenge the brothers have slain
son, and would have slain him, but for G. G. goes with him to castle,
most kindly received. Offers his love to daughter; she asks who he is,
when she hears, says he is too rich and well-born for her. Asks him
name of knight who bears certain arms; it is Lancelot. G. would fain
know what has become of him. Peasant comes lamenting, he had fled from
armed knight and wolves had slain his ass in forest, has lost means
of living. G. was the knight; prays his host to give peasant horse
for his sake, which he does. During night nephews attack castle, are
repulsed; pray for peace. G. advises host to make peace as they are
such near kinsmen; he consents. G. leaves castle, comes to fountain in
plain, where three ladies are seated, one sixty years old, one forty,
one less than twenty; youngest very poorly dressed. G. asks cause of
her grief; her husband is very jealous because she had praised Lancelot
unduly, has taken away her rich clothes, and forced her to eat with the
servants. Oldest lady is in woe because she has been forced to promise
her daughter to knight of low birth, who has murdered one wife already.
Asks G.'s advice. He tells her to keep her word, and he will free the
daughter. They go to castle together; knight arrives and claims maiden,
mother gives her up. As they ride off G. says _he_ loves maiden, will
fight for her, follows and slays knight. Beseeches maiden's love, but
she refuses; she loves another, and G. restores her to her mother
in safety. Will not stay, but will at once seek castle of lady with
jealous husband. She receives him well; her husband is away, but
returns shortly, and though angry, allows G. to stay. Meanwhile another
knight arrives, Segramore. Husband, very wroth, plots to slay them;
but page overhears and tells lady, who warns them. They prepare, and
when host would pick quarrel with S., slay him to joy of lady and her
relatives. Next morning G. and S. depart, come to thirteen pavilions,
must joust ere they go farther. Each unhorses his adversary; may depart
with honour. Owner of pavilions is Count Wigans (=1533=, _Gimas_),
hearing Gawain was in the land, has come out to seek jousts. Ride on,
meet sister of Agloval, seeking her brother; S. will escort her. G.
goes on alone.
Line 7840. GURRËES comes to four tents, in first a meal spread;
second, four coffers, and a dwarf sleeping; third, two maidens; fourth,
maid and knight. G. eats, and goes to sleep in last tent by maiden.
Knight awakes, drags G. out of bed; G. seizes sword and smites off
knight's head (=1533=, _cleaves him in two_); lady much grieved, it
was her husband. G., smitten with her, forces her to ride with him.
Come to a forest; knight challenges G. and is slain. Next day four
brothers of lady overtake them, but are overthrown by G. Come to Abbey
of White Nuns. Lady takes veil, she is of high birth; Lancelot, Lionel,
and Bohort are her kinsmen. G. rides on, comes to Sornahan's Mount,
is overthrown, and shares fate of Agravain. S.'s niece treats the
prisoners well.
Line 8540. GARIËTTE meets a maiden seeking Lancelot, and they ride
together. Her brother-in-law has seized her lands, and she seeks one of
A.'s knights to fight with him. G. promises to do so. Come to an abbey,
see maid's uncle, who encourages G. Reach pavilions of Count Glimas
(cf. _supra_), joust, and G. overthrows count himself, whom he sends
prisoner to Gawain. Count treats them well. Next morning they go on;
meet six knights, with knight and maiden, whom they are treating very
cruelly. Knight is Brandalis of the R. T.; by his oath of fellowship G.
must aid him first. Gosennes van Strangeloet comes up and frees maiden,
who is so much hurt she lives but six days. G. returns to maid he is
escorting. They ride on and come to tent where is a dwarf (=1533=,
_three pavilions, dwarf in first_), he will lodge them if his master
permits; G. promises to leave if he objects. Knight comes with two
maidens; ill-treats dwarf. G. interferes, overcomes knight, and makes
him ask pardon of dwarf. G. has already slain his nephews (=1533=, _he
was one of the knights who had taken Brandalis_.)[225] Next morning
they ride on, and come to land of lady of Roestoc, where fight is to
be fought. Rejoiced to see G. for sake of Gawain, who had fought for
her against Segurades, 'alse hier voren gescreven es,' l. 9366. (This
evidently refers to the earlier part of the _Lancelot_, and makes it
probable that the Dutch compiler had also translated the first part
of the work.) Fierce fight between G. and Gindan, the brother-in-law.
Latter, seeing he is over-matched, jumps into river and is drowned;
maiden regains her land. G. departs; meets a maid who reproaches him
with cowardice: he did not free captive maiden, and has allowed his
two brothers to be in prison. G. explains conditions of his vow, and
asks about brothers. She tells him, and he rides to Sornahan's Mount,
overthrows him, and frees Agravain and Gurries. S. _did not know who
they were_. (This is a contradiction of previous statement, that maiden
tells him A.'s name and threatens him with Gawain's anger.) Brothers
stay three days till wounds are healed, then ride forth. First night
lodge with hermit; second, with rich man, who warns them not to seek
Lancelot in that land; there is civil war, the duke's six sons have
rebelled against him because he made his daughter and her husband his
heirs; they have slain these two. The three agree to help duke, ride
to castle, overthrowing two knights on their way. Duke accepts their
aid, but does not know who they are. Great battle, Agravain is taken
prisoner, but exchanged for two of the sons.
Line 10735. ARTHUR and court are much distressed; do not know how
adventure of the Grail is to be achieved if Lancelot be dead. (It is
not explained how they know of the Grail, nor is it clear whether L.
is to achieve it personally, or through agency of Galahad.) Lionel
returns, and is much distressed at news. Questions wounded knight, who
proves to be Bohort. (The reason for B.'s attempt to lead away the
queen is given in the earlier section of the _Lancelot_, so far as
=D. L.= is concerned it is not explained.) Maiden comes from Lady van
Galvoye to beg aid, wants Lancelot or Gawain, if both absent, will have
B. B. and L. go with messenger. Queen gives B. a ring for Lancelot; if
any one find him it will be B.
Line 11167. QUEEN has dream L. is faithless to her. Very ill. When
better sends her niece to 'Moustier Royale' to find Lady of the Lake,
and bid her come to Guinevere.
Line 11520. LANCELOT, six weeks before wounds are healed, then sets
forth, and finds maiden lamenting, her sister had been carried off, and
her lover slain in defending her. She has been to A.'s court, but they
are too sorrowful to give aid. L. will help her if she will go errand
for him. She leads him to tower, knight too wounded to resist, frees
damsel. Maiden must now go to court, say she has seen a knight who had
eaten with L. 'and slept in same bed' (_not in_ =1533=). All greatly
rejoiced. A. gives maid a castle.
Line 11870. LANCELOT rides with sister, comes to a fountain, where two
knights and two ladies are at a meal. They ask L. to join them. One
maiden falls in love with L. L. drinks from spring, two vipers have
poisoned it, is very ill, and is nursed by maiden. While still ill,
Bohort and Lionel find him, and he sends his hair, which has fallen
out, to queen, who is much rejoiced. (Love complications between maiden
and L. Lionel again sent to queen, this time for advice. Maid swears to
remain virgin for L.'s sake; L. will be her knight.) When cured L. and
maiden ride on, come to castle of the six brothers, who make up false
tale as to their cause. L. believes them, and fights for them. Duke
is killed, and the three sons of King Lot taken prisoners. L. is much
distressed, bids them be well treated, and rides off, hiding his name.
(Here follows his slumber in forest with Lionel, when latter is carried
off by Tarquin; L.'s being taken by the queens; released by daughter of
Duke of Rochedon, and attending tourney. All this has been commented
upon in chap. ix.)
Line 14580. LANCELOT at the Grail Castle. This has also been previously
noticed.
Line 15353. LANCELOT leaves castle, and comes to another 'surrounded
by water' (_detail omitted in_ =1533=). Knight challenges him; lost
in thought, L. does not hear, but rides over bridge, and is thrust
from horse into water; gates closed, must spend night in wood. Sits by
spring, three (=1533=, _four_) knights ride up, with maid who cured
L. of poison; have carried her off against her will. She says were L.
there they would not have dared. Knights say L.'s father was a coward,
he must be one too; would do violence to lady. L. appears and rescues
her, slaying one knight. They ride to castle of lady's kinswoman,
where they spend the night. Next day L. will go to castle where he
lost his horse. Host would dissuade him; failing, rides with him. Asks
does he know Hector. Tells him H. is his brother (as H. is previously
represented as one of A.'s most valiant knights, it is difficult to
understand how L. comes to be ignorant on this point). The knight at
castle is H.'s uncle. Would not joust with L., but thinks this is not
he. Is overthrown. L. is welcomed by lady of the castle, who tells
him H. is her son and his brother. L. next comes to forest, with
hermit's cell and chapel at entrance, with notice warning knights to
go no further. Hermit begs L. not to attempt the adventure; it is 'Der
Verlorenen Forest'; has seen a hundred knights (=1533=, _two hundred
within half-year_) enter, but none have ever returned. L. insists on
going on (=1533=, _stays night with H._). Meets maiden, who warns him
he goes to his death. Comes to a clearing where is a company of knights
and maidens dancing and singing; feels compelled to join them. Squire
leaves him and returns.
Line 16260. YWEIN stays at hermitage till wounds are healed, then
rides forth. Meets dwarf, maiden has stolen his brachet; will Y. get
it back for him? Promises to do so. Maid and knight ride up. Y. bids
dwarf take dog; does so. Y. and knight fight fiercely; finally find it
is Bohort, rejoiced to meet each other. Dwarf tells them L. is well,
was at tourney lately (=1533=, _also gives news of intended tourney at
Kamalot_). They separate. Y. goes to an Abbey of White Nuns, is healed
of his wounds. Rides forth. Meets lady thrashing a dwarf, bids her
stop; she will, if Y. will do what she wants; promises. He must kiss
her; so ugly he hesitates. She reproaches him; he is certainly not Y.,
she will go to court and complain of him. Y. calls her back. She will
let him off if he will fetch sword, shield, and helmet from tent near
by. Dwarf warns Y. she is most treacherous lady in land. Y. will go.
Rides with her, takes arms, leaving his own in their place. Maidens
rush out of tent weeping and tearing their hair. He has dishonoured all
maidens in the land, will come to shame. Y. asks explanation. They will
not answer; he waits till evening, and as no one comes rides on to a
hermitage, where he is well received. H. asks if custom still maintains
that no man may sit at R. T. unless he be wounded. Custom given up
since Lancelot, Galehaut, and Hector were admitted unwounded. Now each
knight must vanquish one at least in week following, or forfeit seat
(=1533=, _must have done so in preceding week_), (ll. 16770-875).
Y. asks of shield; belongs to a giant who had wasted the land, but
for love of a maiden had promised to remain in castle unless one did
him shame. After a year (=1533=, _longuement y avoit été_), becoming
weary, had sought chance of release, so had hung up shield, setting
twelve maidens to watch it (=1533=, _the people of the land had set
the watch_). Now he will be free, land wasted and maids dishonoured.
Y. rides on, bearing shield; all flee from him (=1533=, _two maidens
only_). Finds two maids by spring; they bid him eat with them, does
so. Knight comes up, would fight with Y. for having released giant. Is
overcome. Y. sends him to giant to tell him who it is who has taken the
shield. Knight goes, giant strikes off his hand for tidings (=1533=,
_giant gives him his choice: he may lose his hand for the shield or
his head for the helmet_),[226] and rides through land destroying
and slaying wherever he goes. Y. rides on, seeking shelter; no one
will have him. At one castle fights with father and son. Sleeps under
tree. Is wakened by sound of giant, who makes more noise than twenty
(=1533=, _twelve_) knights. Y. calls him, but he is too angry to hear.
Y. mounts and rides after him. Comes to 'Castel van den Trepasse'; five
(=1533=, _fifteen_) knights fall upon him, kill his horse, and make him
prisoner; will deliver him to giant.
Line 17470. BOHORT comes to lady of Galvoye. She has been deprived of
a castle by a knight, and needs champion; fight to be fought at King
Pelles's court. Come to Corbenic. King and daughter rejoiced to see B.;
tell him of L.'s great deeds. Fights with and overcomes knight. Sees
Grail. Does not sleep in 'palace of adventures.' Next morning comes to
a hermit, who knew his father and King Ban. Tells him how his father
had built this chapel in memory of a victory gained over King Cerces,
and given it a golden (=1533=, _silver_) crown won from king's steward.
B. leaves, meets maiden, who reproaches him for having left Grail
castle without testing adventures, should have slept in hall. (_Here_
=1533= _gives adventure of a lady whose brother has been taken prisoner
while seeking a sparrow-hawk. B. frees him._) Returns to Kamalot.
Line 18070. GAWAIN meets the maid who cured L. of poison, and was
rescued by him. Assures him L. is well. They ride together to court.
Line 18130. LANCELOT at the '_caroles_' sits on throne in centre of
ring, and has crown placed on head. Enchantment ceases. Maid explains
it has lasted ever since King Ban came there on his way from A.'s
wedding. With him was a youth, his nephew, learned in necromancy. Fell
in love with maiden sitting on throne, and for her sake wove spell
that dance should continue till fairest and bravest knight on earth
came.[227] Also made chessboard of gold and silver, which plays of
itself against all men. At last clerk and maiden died, but spell was
not broken. L. plays with chessboard and wins; enchantment ceases for
ever. Chessboard is sent as present to Guinevere. L. leaves castle,
meets knight, who threatens him, but flies when L. would fight. Comes
to a high tower where party of knights lie in wait for him. They attack
him, overthrow and bind him, and cast him into pit infested with
serpents. Maid releases him. Her father was nephew to Duke Karles whom
L. has slain. Squire warns his lord of L.'s escape; he arms his knights
and attacks L., who takes refuge in maiden's room. L. slays nineteen
(=1533=, _more than twenty-four_). Father jumps out of the window, and
breaks his neck. L. tells maiden all are slain. She seeks father's
body, cannot find it, so thinks he has escaped. L. throws corpses out
of windows. They go to rest, and maiden has dream which terrifies her
much. Next morning they ride out together; hear cries for help, find
knight ill-treating lady, and bids him stop, when he strikes off her
head and throws it in L.'s face. (This is the adventure in =M.=, Book
VI., and has been commented upon earlier.)
Line 19179. LANCELOT rides back to maiden, finds her gone. Meets
knight, who asks if he has seen knight and maiden (=1533=, _two knights
and maid_), asks for his maiden. She has been carried off by four
knights. L. pursues. Finds them about to burn her. L. slays twenty
(?), rescues maid: this was meaning of her dream. Knights were her
brother and three of his followers. Come to house of lady, where they
stay fourteen days, till L. is cured from bites of serpents in the
pit. Ride together. Come to 'Castle of the Charrette.' Lad meets them;
rejoiced at L.'s coming. Daughter of Duke of Rochedon, who freed L.
from prison of queen, is to be married against her will to brother of
Queen of Foreestan; it was he who slew her betrothed, his own nephew.
L. enters church, challenges knight, who flies; lady receives her lands
again. Morgain le Fay is there, bids L. unhelm, 'in the name of her
whom he loves best.' They reproach each other, and M. threatens L. with
punishment. L. and maid depart as quickly as possible, fearing M.'s
spells.
Line 19525. How knight with dead maiden fulfils L.'s commands, and body
is buried.
Line 19595. LANCELOT comes to Kamalot; lodges with hermit for tourney.
Sends maiden with letter to queen. She receives heritage for the one
lost. King Ider, jealous of L. King and queen say he could overthrow
all R. T. Knights very angry at this, except Gawain (=1533=, _and
Bohort_). Queen sends message to L. to come secretly and discomfit
knights. L. is recognised by King Bagdemagus, who will aid him. L.
comes in red armour, does great deeds till he beholds queen, when he
nearly swoons, and is carried off the field by K. B. R. T. knights get
best of it. Queen sends message by Bohort to tell L. to come secretly
that evening (maid of poison cure is there; queen is at first jealous,
then satisfied). Ider praises Red Knight, says L. would not have done
so well. Queen makes King B. challenge A. to another tourney in three
days. L. spends each night with queen. Third day she arms him in white,
Bohort in red. L. not to enter field till after tierce. He overthrows
and wounds Gawain and Gariëtte, and scatters knights of R. T. A. bids
him unhelm, is joyful at recognising L. Sunday, great feast made in
his honour. Chessboard is brought, all play and are beaten save L.
Clerk writes down on oath all L.'s adventures in book, which was found
after king's death. All others tell their story. A. says L. has done
more for honour of R. T. than all the rest put together; they are very
jealous. Decide to go forth and seek all who have not returned from
quest. Gawain will seek his three (=1533=, _four_) brothers. (Confusion
here; when we last heard of Agravain, Gurrëes, and Gariëtte they
were prisoners. How did latter return for tourney? =D. L.= probably
saw this, and only mentions three brothers, including Mordred, while
=1533= says four, which is certainly wrong.) Bohort will seek Hector
and Lionel. (=1533=, _Will join quest; they shall not go without him.
H. and L. are not mentioned._) Queen and L. talk over adventure of
churchyard as told by Gawain. She is sure L. is knight meant to achieve
it, and is very sad; he will fail through his sinful love for her. L.
says he has more bliss from her love than from any feats of arms, all
he has done has been inspired by her. King Bagdemagus is made knight
of R. T.
Line 21596. LANCELOT, Bagdemagus, Gariëtte, and Bohort set forth;
Gawain will follow when wounds are healed. Come to castle of 'Witten
Dorne,' meet knight on horseback, naked, beaten, and ill-used by one
hundred men; it is Mordret. Lord of the castle is Matheus die felle
(=1533=, _Marchant li felon_). G. releases M., attack castle, slay lord
and scatter his people. Ride fifteen days till they come to castle
where Y. is in prison. Host refuses lodging; hates A.; has one of his
knights in prison. They attack castle, and release Y. Are told of the
giant, he will come on the morrow, host had meant to give Y. up to
him. B. asks boon of L., that he may fight giant. L. unwilling, but
consents. Great fight, giant is slain. Next morning all ride forth
(seven). Y. suggests they should separate. All ride different ways,
meet again at castle on All Saints Day.[228]
Line 22120. LANCELOT rides fifteen days, meets maiden, asks her of
Lionel. She tells him, and promises to lead him to Tarquin's castle,
if he will promise to go with her wherever she pleases afterwards. He
agrees. (Adventure with Tarquin has been commented upon in chap. ix. p.
154.)
Line 22600. LANCELOT. Maiden leads him to knight who steals horses;
maid rides first, L. after; knight attacks maid and is slain by L.
Rests eight days till wounds are healed. Then would find Hector.
(=1533=, _Meets old man who tells him H. had slain knight there
previous day, shows him road_.) Adventures at castle (cf. chap. ix. p.
155). Finds at castle squire from A.'s court, bids him lead his horses
into 'ten Verlorene foreeste' and wait for him at cross. Comes with two
knights whom he dismisses, rides into forest, meets maiden who says she
is seeking him to achieve an adventure. Emissary of Morgain's leads
him to tower; drugs him. M. comes, blows powder up his nostrils, which
deprives him of his senses; when he recovers he is in prison. Sees man
in outer hall illuminating, begs brush and colours, and paints on walls
of prison history of his love for queen. M. sees this, and resolves to
show it to A.
Line 23146. GAWAIN comes first to Tarquin's castle, now owned by 'Grave
van den Parke,' who tells him of L.'s feat. Then to hermitage, finds
King B. sick, has heard of L. slaying owners of Castle Vaguel. Tells
him of _rendezvous_ for All Saints. L. will surely be there. B. had
helped Gurrëes against four knights and been badly wounded. G. offers
to stay with him, but B. will not allow it.
Line 23260. Tryst at castle. All meet save L. and Bohort. Gawain says
'twould be great shame to return to court without them, will seek till
S. Mary Magdalene's Day, then quest will have lasted a year and a day.
All separate, agreeing to meet again at castle. 'Some ride all year,
some are taken prisoners' (_omitted by_ =1533=), finally only Mordret,
Agloval (=1533=, _Agravain_) and Bagdemagus return. Much perplexed.
Decide to send messenger secretly to court, to know if anything has
been heard of questers. Finding nothing is known, swear to ride till
they find their comrades.
Line 23388. LANCELOT lies all winter a prisoner, when summer comes
(=1533=, _two winters, one summer, second spring_), scent of flowers
and sight of roses remind him of Guinevere. Tears out bars of window
and escapes, leaving insulting message with porter for M. Meets
maiden, who tells him Lionel is prisoner in castle of King Vagor of
Estrangeloet. Challenged by king's son; unless he can find someone to
take his place will be overcome. L. will go. Meets wounded knight on
litter, if L. will lodge in his castle will meet one of A.'s knights
who lies sick there. He himself has been wounded by shot from maiden's
bow, and iron cannot be pulled out till best knight in world comes. Has
been to A's court, but useless till L. returns. A. is much distressed
at absence of Gawain and L.[229] Go to castle, L. asks to be allowed
to try to pull out shaft. Knight says it is no use to try unless he be
L. Does not reveal name. Would see sick knight, it is King B., wounded
in a tourney. Rejoiced to see L., tells him of quest. L. leaves next
day, and B. tells knight who he was. Knight follows in litter. L. comes
to the castle 'dat fremde eylant,' meets squire, who tells him Lionel
is there, L. says he is one of A.'s knights. Will fight instead of
Lionel. King receives him well; Lionel is joyful. A lady had accused
him falsely to her husband, they fought, and husband was slain, he was
king's son. Brother challenged Lionel, who being too badly wounded
to fight at once had been imprisoned lest he escape. L. fights and
is victorious, peace is made, and the two cousins ride off together.
Knight in litter follows on their tracks. They come to an abbey,
'Celice' or 'die cleine aelmoesene' in die 'Mersce van Scollant.' (Here
follows long story as to origin of abbey.)
Line 24454. LANCELOT hears at abbey of castle near by,[230] 'die
verbodene berch,' a knight had built it for love of his lady, only
a narrow footpath leads to it. At abbey shields of knights of R. T.
overthrown by knight of castle; them he keeps in prison, all others
he slays. L. sees shields of Gawain, Ywein, and others (=1533=, _does
not mention Ywein_), and decides to rescue them. At foot of hills
finds hermit, who foretells his success. Finds cross with inscription,
for forty (=1533=, _twenty_) years all who came have been vanquished,
'save one, and he doubtless was of David's line' (_omitted in_ =1533=).
Goes on, finds pavilion with dwarf, who warns him not to fight, shows
him a horn he must blow. Prisoners in castle warn him; sees Gawain,
wounded in the head. Knight appears. Fierce fight, finally L. gets
the better of his foe, who is Bohort (=1533=, _names B. in middle of
fight, apparently forgetting that no one knows who he is_), he had
overcome knight of castle two years (=1533=, _one year_) ago, and been
forced to take his place (by whom?). He may imprison his comrades but
must slay all others; did not know their names, would not ask them.
(How, then, did he know they _were_ his comrades?) He is much ashamed
and apologises to knights; all are rejoiced to see L. Stay there
that night. L. has wonderful dream. Old man appears, and bids him
ride without delay to 'ten Vreschlichen woude,' where he will find a
wondrous adventure. He is his grandfather. L. rises, arms, and rides
away at once. 'Comrades depart together' (_omitted in_ =1533=).
Line 25150. LANCELOT meets dwarf, who warns him of great adventures.
Comes to hermitage by a fountain, where is a bleeding tomb guarded by
two leopards (=1533=, _lyons_), whom L. slays. Sees head in fountain,
water is boiling, but takes head out and lays it in tomb; it is his
grandfather's body, treacherously slain by a kinsman on a Good Friday.
Fountain will not cease boiling till one comes who can bring adventure
to end, which he cannot, on account of his sin with Guinevere.[231] L.
rides on, comes to forest full of wild beasts. Rescues boy from bear.
Rides in search of lodging. Moon rises. Sees white hart with gold chain
round neck, guarded by six leopards (=1533=, _lyons_), marvels much;
swears not to leave forest till he has learnt meaning. Comes to two
pavilions, asks lodging. Must joust with owner; does so, and slays him;
twelve maidens make great lamentations, carry off body on bier; he was
a great king. L. is much distressed. Knight comes and asks lodging.
Had kept Easter at A.'s court. All sorrowful because of absence of L.
and G.; but joyful news has come that he who shall achieve adventure
of Grail is born of Fisher King's daughter.[232] He seeks fountain
of Sycamores, where a valiant knight has overthrown Gawain and Ywein;
twelve have made a vow to seek it. Boy knows road, will lead knight to
it. On the morrow they separate; knight, Sarras van Logres, comes to
fountain, fights with Belyas the Black, and is overthrown. L., who has
followed secretly, comes up, overthrows B., gives S. his horse; tells
him his name, and bids him return to court, saying he and all questers
are well, and will be at court for Pentecost. S. rides off, meets
wounded knight seeking L.; directs him. Comes to court on a Sunday; all
are rejoiced at news. A. will hold great feast in their honour.
Line 26045. Maid sent by queen to Lady of the Lake comes to court
of King Claudas; who asks tidings of L. and kinsmen. Maid says they
are best and bravest knights alive, and will certainly come and slay
him, and take back their lands. Claudas imprisons maiden, and sends
messengers to court to see if her tale be true. One is so impressed
that he becomes A.'s man; other returns and tells C. what he has seen.
First tells queen fate of maiden; she writes to C. bidding him free
her. C. returns insulting answer. Queen, much distressed, longs for
L.'s return.
Line 26630. LANCELOT. When Sarras has left him, another knight appears,
like Belyas. They fight; knight flies, pursued by L. to castle near
at hand. L.'s horse is slain; but he slays all who attack him, and
reaches garden, where in tent, guarded by four knights, he finds
Mordret chained. L. releases him, and they escape together. Belyas and
Bryadas had wished to be knights of R. T. A. refused, not knowing them.
They had sworn to keep fountain against all comers; L. has mortally
wounded both. L. meets wounded knight, whom he heals at last, sending
message to King B. that questers are found; also to those released at
'Verbodene berch,' bidding them meet him at court. Gawain is ready,
but Ywein demurs, all are not found yet. G. says duration of quest
should be year and day, they have been away three years. All agree
to go. (This seems to indicate that =1533= was correct in not noting
their departure earlier, as =D. L.= does, thus contradicting itself.
Probably an earlier redaction did make them leave at once, while a
later introduced more of L.'s adventures. This points to the later
interpolation of 'tomb' adventures.) B. knights one of the squires,
'Axille die blonde,' and gives him the castle.
Line 27236. GAWAIN and comrades come to a castle by a deep water, where
men are erecting lodges for a tourney. It is the castle of Galehoudijn,
'neve' of _Gawain_ (obvious mistake for Gallehault), (=1533=, _son of
Gallehault and la belle Géande_, but she was Gallehault's mother).
Conceal their names, are well received and lodged outside castle.
Hear a tumult, and see Agloval pursued by forty armed men. Go to his
aid, and slay many. Their host is much distressed; they tell him they
are of A.'s court. Galehoudijn arrives; is angry at first, but when
Gawain reveals their names, is much rejoiced, does them great honour,
and knights their host. (=1533= _is very confused here, persistently
calling Galehoudijn, Gallehault; correcting mistake, and then relapsing
again._)
Line 27735. LANCELOT[233] and MORDRET ride till nightfall. See white
hart and leopards; decide to follow them. Two knights ride suddenly
out of side road, unhorse them and take their steeds. Dwarf appears,
will lead them to horses, if they will give him a gift. Promise; he
leads them to two pavilions where they find their horses, and go off
with them. Come to a hermitage, where they spend the night. L. asks
H. of white hart; mystery may not be revealed till 'the good knight'
come. Asks of king whom he slew, and who was mourned by maidens (cf.
_supra_, p. 239), he was named Merlan, from 'die Marchen van Scollant,'
a wicked man; L. did well to slay him. Next morning they ride away;
are attacked by knights who stole their horses. M. overthrows them,
and gives knights' horses to L. Spend this night with 'Vavasseur,' who
tells them of Galehoudijn's tourney. They will go, host with four sons
(_no number in_ =1533=) to attend them. Next morning they ride to hear
Mass. Meet an old man who prophesies M. shall be ruin of kingdom and
death of his father, 'who is a mightier king than K. Lot.' M., angry,
smites off his head. L. finds letter on dead man saying who M. really
is. Would slay him and avert mischief, but for love of Gawain, whose
brother he is. Come to tourney. Kings of Norgales and of a hundred
knights there. L. discomfits all comers. Then rides out of press
followed by Bohort, who suspects his identity. Meet, and agree to ride
to court together.
Line 28835. GAWAIN and his companions are much annoyed when they find
they have missed L. again. Agree to return to court, each going his own
way.