_How Sir Marhaus fought with the duke and his six sons, and made them
to yield them._
Then came the four sons by couples, and two of them brake their spears,
and so did the other two. And all this while Sir Marhaus touched them
not. Then Sir Marhaus ran to the duke, and smote him with his spear
that horse and man fell to the earth. And so he served his sons. And
then Sir Marhaus alight down, and bad the duke yield him or else he
would slay him. And then some of his sons recovered, and would have set
upon Sir Marhaus. Then Sir Marhaus said to the duke, Cease thy sons, or
else I will do the uttermost to you all. When the duke saw he might not
escape the death, he cried to his sons, and charged them to yield them
to Sir Marhaus. And they kneeled all down and put the pommels of their
swords to the knight, and so he received them. And then they holp up
their father, and so by their common assent promised unto Sir Marhaus
never to be foes unto king Arthur, and thereupon at Whitsuntide after,
to come he and his sons, and put them in the king’s grace. Then Sir
Marhaus departed, and within two days his damsel brought him where as
was a great tournament that the lady de Vawse had cried. And who that
did best should have a rich circlet of gold worth a thousand besaunts.
And there Sir Marhaus did so nobly that he was renowned, and had some
time down forty knights, and so the circlet of gold was rewarded him.
Then he departed from thence with great worship. And so within seven
nights the damsel brought him to an earl’s place, his name was the earl
Fergus, that after was Sir Tristram’s knight. And this earl was but a
young man, and late come into his lands, and there was a giant fast by
him that hight Taulurd, and he had another brother in Cornwall that
hight Taulas, that Sir Tristram slew when he was out of his mind. So
this earl made his complaint unto Sir Marhaus, that there was a giant
by him that destroyed all his lands, and how he durst nowhere ride nor
go for him. Sir, said the knight, whether useth he to fight on
horseback or on foot? Nay, said the earl, there may no horse bear him.
Well, said Sir Marhaus, then will I fight with him on foot. So on the
morn Sir Marhaus prayed the earl that one of his men might bring him
whereas the giant was, and so he was, for he saw him sit under a tree
of holly, and many clubs of iron and gisarms about him. So this knight
dressed him to the giant, putting his shield afore him, and the giant
took an iron club in his hand, and at the first stroke he clave Sir
Marhaus’s shield in two pieces. And there he was in great peril, for
the giant was a wily fighter, but at the last Sir Marhaus smote off his
right arm above the elbow. Then the giant fled, and the knight after
him, and so he drove him into a water, but the giant was so high that
he might not wade after him. And then Sir Marhaus made the earl
Fergus’s man to fetch him stones, and with those stones the knight gave
the giant many sore knocks, till at the last he made him fall down into
the water, and so was he there dead. Then Sir Marhaus went unto the
giant’s castle, and there he delivered twenty-four ladies and twelve
knights out of the giant’s prison, and there he had great riches
without number, so that the days of his life he was never poor man.
Then he returned to the earl Fergus, the which thanked him greatly and
would have given him half his lands, but he would none take. So Sir
Marhaus dwelled with the earl nigh half a year, for he was sore bruised
with the giant, and at the last he took his leave. And as he rode by
the way, he met with Sir Gawaine and Sir Uwaine, and so by adventure he
met with four knights of king Arthur’s court, the first was Sir
Sagramore le Desirous, Sir Osanna, Sir Dodinas le Savage, and Sir Felot
of Listinoise; and there Sir Marhaus with one spear smote down these
four knights, and hurt them sore. So he departed to meet at his day
afore set.