‘Sir, I pray you take the rule,’ seyde kynge Marke.
Than sir Trystram lete devyse the batayle in what maner that they sholde be. So he lete his oste be departed in six batayles, and ordayned sir Dynas the Senesciall to have the voward, and other good knyghtes to rule the remenaunte. And the same nyght sir Trystram gart bren all the Sessoynes shyppis unto the colde water. And anone, as Elyas wyst that, he seyde hit was of sir Trystrams doynge:
‘For he castyth that we shall never ascape, modyrs sonne of us. Therefore, fayre felowys, fyght frely to-morow, and myscomfort you nought for one knyght, for though he be the beste knyght of the worlde he may nat have ado with us all.’
Than they ordayned their batayles in four partyes, wondirly well apparayled and garnysshed with men of armys. Thus they wythin issued oute, and they wythoute sette frely uppon them. And there sir Dynas ded grete dedis of armys; natforthan sir Dynas and his felyshyp were put to the wors.
So with that cam sir Trystram and slew two knyghtes with one speare. Than he slew on the ryght honde and on the lyffte honde, that men mervayled that ever he myght do suche dedis of armys. And than he myght se somtyme the batayle was dryvyn a bowdraught frome the castell, and somtyme hit was at the yatys of the castell.
Than cam Elyas the captayne, russhynge here and there, and smote kynge Marke so sore uppon the helme that he made hym to avoyde his sadyll. And than sir Dynas gate kynge Marke agayne to horsebacke.
And therewyth cam syr Trystram lyke a lyon, and there he mette wyth sir Elyas, and he smote hym so sore on the helme that he avayded his sadyll. And thus they fought tylle hit was nyght, and for grete slaughtir of people and for wounded peple every party withdrew to their resseyte.
And whan kynge Marke was com wythin the castell of Tyntagyll he lacked of his knyghtes an hondred, and they withoute lacked two hondred. Than they serched the wounded men on bothe partyes, and than they wente to counceyle. And wyte you well eythir party were loth to fyght more, so that aythir myght ascape with their worshyp.
Whan Elyas the captayne undirstoode the deth of his men he made grete dole; also whan he knew that they were loth to go to batayle agayne, he was wrothe oute of mesure. Than Elyas sente unto kynge Marke in grete dispyte uppon hede whether he wolde fynde a knyght that wolde fyght with hym body for body, and yf that he myght sle kynge Markis knyght, he to have the trewayge of Cornwayle yerely, and yf that his knyght sle hym, ‘I fully releace my clayme for ever.’
Than the messynge departed unto kynge Marke and tolde hym how that his lorde Elyas had sent hym worde to fynde a knyght to do batayle wyth hym body for body. Whan kynge Marke undirstood the messynge he bade hym abyde and he sholde have his answere. Than callyd he all the batayle togydir to wyte what was best counceyle, and they seyde all at onys, To fyght in a fylde we have no lus te, for had nat bene the proues of sir Trystram, hit hadde bene lykly that we never sholde have scaped. And therefore, sir, as we deme, hit were well done to fynde a knyght that wolde do batayle wyth hym, for he knyghtly proferyth.’ Natforthan whan all this was seyde they coude fynde no knyght that wolde do batayle with hym.
‘Sir kynge,’ seyde they all, ‘here is no knyght that dare fyght with Elyas.’
‘Alas!’ seyde kynge Marke, ‘than am I shamed and uttirly distroyed, onles that my nevew sir Trystram wolde take the batayle uppon hym.’
‘Sir, wyte you well,’ they seyde all, ‘he had yesterday overmuche on hande, and he is wery and travayled and sore wounded.’
‘Where is he?’ seyde kynge Marke.
Than one answeryd and sayde, ‘Sir, he lyeth in his bedde for to repose hym.’
‘Alas!’ seyde kynge Marke, ‘but I have the succour of my nevew sir Trystram, I am utterly destroyed for ever.’
And therewithall one wente to sir Trystram there he lay, and tolde hym what kynge Marke seyde. And therewith sir Trystram arose lyghtly and put on hym a longe gowne, and cam afore the kynge and the lordis. And whan he saw them so dismayed he axed them what tydynges.
‘Never worse,’ seyde the kynge. And therewyth he tolde hym all as ye have herde aforehonde. ‘And as for you,’ seyde the kynge, ‘we may aske no more of you for shame, for thorow youre hardynesse yestirday ye saved all oure lyvys.’
‘Sir,’ seyde sir Trystram, ‘now I undirstonde ye wolde have my succour, and reson wolde that I sholde do all that lyyth in me to do, savynge my worshyp and my lyff, howbe hit that I am sore brused and hurte. And sytthyn sir Elyas proferyth so largely, I shall fyght with hym. Other ellys I woll be slayne in the fylde, othir ellys delyver Cornwayle of the olde trewage. And therefore lyghtly calle his messyngere, and he shall be answerde. For as yett my woundis bene grene, and they woll be sorer hereaftir sevennyght than they be now, and therefore he shall have his answere that I woll do batayle to-morne.’
Than was the messyngere brought before kynge Marke.
‘Now herkyn, my felow,’ seyde sir Trystram, ‘go faste unto thy lorde, and bid hym make a trewe assurance on his party for the trwayge, as the kynge here shall on his party. And than tell thy lorde that sir Trystram, kynge Arthurs knyght and knyght of the Table Rounde, wyll as to-morne mete with thy lorde on horsebak to do batayle as longe as I may endure, and aftir that to do batayle with hym on foote to the uttraunce.’
The messyngere behylde sir Trystram frome the top to the too, and therewythall he departed. And so he cam to his lorde and tolde hym how he was answered of sir Trystram.
And therewithall was made ostage on bothe partyes, and made hit as sure as hit myght be that whethirsomever party had the victory, so for to ende. And than were bothe ostys assembeled on bothe partyes the fylde wythoute the castell of Tyntagyll, and there was none that bare armys but sir Trystram and sir Elyas.
So whan all the poyntemente was made they departed in sundir and cam togydirs wyth all the myght that there horsys myght ren, that ayther knyght smote othir so harde that bothe horsis and knyghtes wente to the erthe. Natforthan they bothe arose lyghtly, and dressed their shyldis on their sholdyrs with naked swerdys in their hondis, and they daysshed togydirs so that hit semed a flamynge fyre aboute them. Thus they traced and traversced, and hewe on helmys and hawberkes, and cut away many cantellys of their shyldis, and aythir wounded othir passynge sore, that the hoote blood ran freyshly uppon the erthe.
And by than they had foughtyn the mowntenaunce of an owre, sir Trystram waxed faynte and wery, and bled sore, and gaff sore abak. That sawe sir Elyas, and folowed fyersly uppon hym and wounded hym in many placis. And ever sir Trystram traced and traverced and wente froward hym here and there, and coverde hym with his shylde as he myght all waykely, that all men sayde he was overcom; for sir Elyas had gyvyn hym twenty strokes ayenste one.
Than was there lawghynge amonge the Sessoynes party, and grete dole on kynge Markis party.
‘Alas,’ seyde the kynge, ‘we ar all shamed and destroyed for ever!’ For, as the booke seyth, sir Trystram was never so macched but yf hit were of sir Launcelot.
Thus as they stode and behylde bothe partyes, that one party laughynge and the othir party wepynge, sir Trystram remembird hym of his lady, La Beale Isode, that loked uppon hym, and how he was never lykly to com in hir presence. Than he pulled up his shylde that before hynge full lowe, and than he dressed hym unto sir Elyas and gaff hym many sad strokys, twenty ayenst one, and all tobrake his shylde and his hawberke, that the hote bloode ran downe as hit had bene rayne.
Than began kynge Marke and all Cornyshemen to lawghe, and the other party to wepe. And ever sir Trystram seyde to sir Elyas, ‘Yelde the!’
And whan sir Trystram saw hym so stakir on the grounde, he seyde, ‘Sir Elyas, I am ryght sory for the, for thou arte a passynge good knyght as ever I mette withall excepte sir Launcelot.’
And therewithall sir Elyas fell to the erthe and there dyed.
‘Now what shall I do?’ seyde sir Trystram unto kynge Marke, ‘for this batayle ys at an ende.’
Than they of Elyas party departed, and kynge Marke toke of hem many presoners to redresse the harmys and the scathis, and
the remenaunte he sente into her countrey to borow oute their felowys.
Than was sir Trystram serched and well healed. Yett for all this kynge Marke wolde have slayne sir Trystram, but for all that ever sir Trystram saw other herde by kynge Marke, he wolde never beware of his treson; but evir he wolde be thereas La Beale Isode was.
Now woll we passe over this mater and speke we of the harpers that sir Launcelot and sir Dynadan had sente into Cornwayle. And at the grete feste that kynge Marke made for the joy that the Sessoynes were put oute of his contrey, than cam Elyas the harper with the lay that sir Dynadan had made, and secretly brought hit unto sir Trystram, and tolde hym the lay that sir Dynadan had made by kynge Marke. And whan sir Trystram harde hit, he sayde, ‘O Lord Jesu! That sir Dynadan can make wondirly well and yll. There he sholde make evyll!’
‘Sir,’ seyde Elyas, ‘dare I synge this songe afore kynge Marke?’ Yee, on my perell,’ seyde sir Trystram, ‘for I shall be thy waraunte.’
So at the mete in cam Elyas the harper amonge other mynstrels and began to harpe. And because he was a coryous harper men harde hym synge the same lay that sir Dynadan made, whyche spake the moste vylany by kynge Marke and of his treson that ever man herde. And whan the harper had sunge his songe to the ende, kynge Marke was wondirly wrothe and sayde, ‘Harper, how durste thou be so bolde, on thy hede, to synge this songe afore me?’
‘Sir,’ seyde Elyas, ‘wyte thou well I am a mynstrell, and I muste do as I am commaunded of thos lordis that I beare the armys of. And, sir, wyte you well that sir Dynadan, a knyght of the Table Rounde, made this songe and made me to synge hit afore you.’
‘Thou seyste well,’ seyde kynge Marke, ‘and bycause thou arte a mynstrell thou shalt go quyte. But I charge the, hyghe the faste oute of my syght!’
So Elyas the harper departed and wente to sir Trystram and tolde hym how he had sped. Than sir Trystram let make lettyrs as goodly as he cowde to Launcelot and to sir Dynadan, and so he let conduyte the harper oute of the contrey. But to sey that kynge Marke was wondirly wrothe, he was, for he demed that the lay that was songe afore hym was made by sir Trystrams counceyle, wherefore he thought to sle hym and all his well-wyllers in that contrey.
VIII. ALEXANDER THE ORPHAN
[32] Now turne we to another mater that felle betwene kyng Marke and his brother that was called the good prynce Bodwyne, that all the peple of the contrey loved hym passyng well.
So hit befelle on a tyme that the myscreauntys Sarezynes londid in the contrey of Cornwayle sone aftir the Sessoynes were departed. And whan the good prynce sir Bodwyne was ware of them where they were londed, than at the londynge he areysed the peple pryvayly and hastyly. And or hit were day he let put wylde fyre in three of his owne shippis, and suddeynly he pulled up the sayle, and wyth the wynde he made the shyppis to be drevyn amonge the navy of the Sarezynes. And to make a short tale, the three shyppis sett on fyre all the shyppis, that none were saved. And at the poynte of the day the good prynce Bodwyne with all his felyship set on the myscreauntys with showtys and cryes, and slew the numbir of forty thousand and lefft none on lyve.
Whan kynge Marke wyste this he was wondirly wrothe that his brother sholde wynne suche worship and honour. And bycause this prynce was bettir beloved than he in all that contrey, and also this prynce Bodwyne lovid well sir Trystram, and therefore he thought to sle hym. And thus, hastely and uppon hede, as a man that was full of treson, he sente for prynce Bodwyne and Anglydes, his wyff, and bade them brynge their yonge sonne with hem, that he myght se hym; and all this he ded to the entente to sle the chylde as well as his fadir, for he was the falsist traytour that ever was borne. Alas, for the goodnes and for hys good dedis this jantyll prynce Bodwyne was slayne!
So whan he cam wyth his wyff Anglydes the kynge made them fayre semblaunte tylle they had dyned. And whan they had dyned kynge Marke sente for his brother and seyde thus:
‘Brothir, how sped you whan the myscreauntes aryved by you?
Mesemyth hit had bene your parte to have sente me worde, that I myght have bene at that journey; for hit had bene reson that I had had the honoure and nat you.’
‘Sir,’ seyde prince Bodwyne, ‘hit was so that, and I had taryed tyl that I had sente for you, the myscreauntes had distroyed my contrey.’
‘Thou lyeste, false traytoure!’ seyde kynge Marke. ‘For thou arte ever aboute to wynne worship from me and put me to dishonoure, and thou cherysht that I hate!’
And therewith he stroke hym to the herte wyth a dagger, that he never aftir spake worde. Than the lady Anglydes made grete dole and sowned, for she saw her lorde slayne afore her face. Than was there no more to do, but prynce Bodwyne was dispoyled and brought to his buryellys. But his lady Anglydes pryvaly gate hir husbandis dubled and his shurte, and that she kepte secretly.
Than was there muche sorow and cryynge, and grete dole made betwyxt sir Trystram, sir Dynas, and sir Fergus. And so ded all knyghtes that were there, for that prynce was passyngly well beloved.
So La Beall Isode sente for Anglydes, his wyff, and bade her avoyde delyverly, other ellys hir yonge sonne Alysaundir le Orphelyne sholde be slayne. Whan she harde this, she toke her horse and hir chylde and rode away with suche poore men as durste ryde with hir.
Notwythstondynge, whan kynge Marke had done this dede, yet [33] he thought to do more vengeaunce, and with his swerde in his honde he sought frome chambir to chambir for Anglydes and hir yonge sonne. And whan she was myst he called a good knyght to hym that hyght sir Sadoke, and charged hym in payne of dethe to fette agayne Anglydes and hir yonge sonne.
So sir Sadoke departed, and rode aftir Anglydes, and within ten myle he overtoke her and bade hir turne ayen and ryde with hym to kynge Marke.
‘Alas, fayre knyght!’ she seyde, ‘what shall ye wynne be my sunnys deth, other ellys by myne? For I have overmuche harme, and to grete a losse.’
‘Madame,’ seyde sir Sadoke, ‘for your losse is grete dole and pité.
But, madame,’ seyde sir Sadoke, ‘wolde ye departe oute of this contrey wyth youre sonne, and kepe hym tyll he be of ayge, that he may revenge his fadyrs deth? Than wolde I suffit you to departe frome me, so ye promyse me to revenge the deth of prynce Bodwyne.’
‘A, jantyll knyght, Jesu thanke the! And yf ever my sonne, Alysaundir le Orphelyne, lyve to be a knyght, he shall have his fadirs dublet and his shurte with the blody markes, and I shall gyff hym suche a charge that he shall remembir hit whylys he lyvyth.’
And therewithall departed sir Sadoke frome her, and ayther departed frome other. And whan sir Sadoke cam unto kynge Marke he tolde hym faythfully that he had drowned yonge Alysaundir, her sonne; and thereof kynge Marke was full glad.
Now turne we unto Anglydes that rode bothe nyght and day by adventure oute off Cornwayle, and sylden and in feaw placis she rested, but ever she drewe southwarde to the seesyde, tyll by fortune she cam to a castell that is called Magowns, that now is called Arundell, in Southsex. And the conestable of that castell welcomed Anglydes, and seyde she was wellcom to her owne castell.
And so she was there worshypfully resceyved, for the conestable his wyff was her ny cousyn. And the conestablys name was sir Bellyngere, and he tolde Anglydes that the same castell was hers by ryght inerytaunce.
Thus Anglydes endured yerys and wyntyrs, tyll Alysaundir was bygge and stronge, and there was none so wyghty in all that contrey, that there was no man myght do no maner of maystry afore hym.
Than uppon a day sir Bellyngere the constable cam to Anglydes and seyde, ‘Madame, hit were tyme my lorde sir Alysaundir were made knyght, for he is a stronge yonge man.’
‘Sir,’ seyde she, ‘I wolde he were made knyght, but than muste I gyff hym the moste charge that ever synfull modir gaff to hir childe.”As for that, do as ye lyste, and I shall gyff hym warnynge that he shall be made knyght. And hit woll be well done that he be made knyght at oure Lady day in Lente.’
‘Be hit so,’ seyde Anglydes, ‘and I pray you, make ye redy therefore.’ So cam the conestable to Alysaundir, a
nd tolde hym that he sholde at oure Lady day of Lente be made a knyght.
‘Sir, I thanke God and you,’ seyde Alysaundir ‘for this is the beste tydynges that ever cam to me.’
Than the conestable ordayned twenty of the grettyste jantylmennes sunnys and the beste borne men of that contrey whyche sholde be made knyghtes the same day that Alysaundir was made knyght. And so on the same day that he and his twenty felowys were made knyghtes, at the offerynge of the masse there cam this lady Anglydes unto her sonne and seyde thus:
A, my fayre swete sonne, I charge the uppon my blyssynge and of the hyghe Order of Chevalry that thou takyste here this day, to take hede what I shall sey and charge the wythall.’
And therewithall she pulled oute a blody dublet and a blody shurte that was bebled with olde bloode. Whan Alysaundir saw this he sterte abak, and waxed paale, and sayde, ‘Fayre moder, what may this be or meane?’
‘I shall tell the, fayre son. This was thyne owne fadyrs doublet and shurte that he ware uppon hym that same tyme that he was slayne.’ And there she tolde hym why and wherefore. And for hys good dedis kynge Marke slew hym with his dagger afore myne owne yghen. And therefore this shall be youre charge that I gyff you at thys tyme. Now I requere the, and I charge the uppon my blyssynge [35] and uppon the hyghe Order of Knyghthode, that thou be revenged uppon kynge Marke for the deth of thy fadir.’
And therewythall she sowned. Than Alysaundir lepte to his modir, and toke her up in his armys, and sayde, ‘Fayre modir, ye have gyvyn me a grete charge, and here I promyse you I shall be avenged uppon kynge Marke whan that I may, and that I promyse to God and to you.’
So this feste was ended, and the conestable by the avyce of Anglydes let purvey that Alysaundir were well horsed and harneyste. Than he justed with his twenty felowys that were made knyghtes with hym; but for to make a shone tale, he overthrewe all the twenty, that none myght withstonde hym a buffet. Than one of the knyghtes departed unto kynge Marke, and tolde all how Alysaundir was made knyght and all the charge that his modir gaff hym, as ye have harde aforetyme.
Complete Works of Sir Thomas Malory Page 54