Arthurian Romances

by Chretien de Troyes

  ‘Sir,’ she said, ‘I do make this exception. None the less, I truly promise you that, if God keeps you from death, no physical hindrance will impede you as long as you remember me. Now put this ring of mine upon your finger and let me tell you all about the stone: no true and faithful lover, if he wears it, can be imprisoned or lose any blood, nor can any ill befall him; but whoever wears and cherishes it will remember his sweetheart and will become stronger than iron. It will be your shield and hauberk; in truth, I have never before lent or entrusted it to any knight, but out of love I give it to you.’

  Now my lord Yvain had his leave; he wept profusely upon taking it. And nothing anyone said to him could make the king delay any longer; rather, he was eager to have all their palfreys brought forward, equipped and bridled. His wish was no sooner expressed than done: the palfreys were led forth and there was nothing to do but to mount. I don’t know how much I should tell of my lord Yvain’s departure, or of the kisses showered upon him, which were mingled with tears and flavoured with sweetness. And what should I tell you of the king? How the lady escorted him with all her maidens and all her knights as well? It would take too long. Since the lady was weeping, the king urged her to stop and to return to her manor; he urged her so insistently that, in great distress, she turned back, leading her people with her.

  My lord Yvain left his lady so reluctantly that his heart stayed behind. The king might take his body with him but there was no way he could have the heart, because it clung so tightly to the heart of her who remained behind that he had no power to take it with him. Once the body is without the heart, it cannot possibly stay alive, and no man had ever before seen a body live on without its heart. Yet now this miracle happened, for Yvain remained alive without his heart, which used to be in his body but which refused to accompany it now. The heart was well kept, and the body lived in hope of rejoining the heart; thus it made for itself a strange sort of heart from Hope, which often plays the traitor and breaks his oath. Yet I don’t think the hour will ever come when Hope will betray him; and if he stays a single day beyond the period agreed upon, he will be hard pressed ever again to make a truce or peace with his lady. Yet I believe he will stay beyond it, for my lord Gawain will not let him leave his company; both of them frequented the tournaments wherever there was jousting.

  The year passed meanwhile and my lord Yvain did so splendidly all year long that my lord Gawain took great pains to honour him; and he caused him to delay so long that the entire year passed and a good bit of the next, until it reached mid-August when the king was holding court at Chester.

  The previous evening they had returned there from a tournament where my lord Yvain had fought and carried off all the glory. The story tells, I believe, that neither of the two companions wanted to take lodgings in the town, but had their tent set up instead outside the town and held court there. They never came to the king’s court, but instead the king attended theirs, for with them were most of the finest knights. King Arthur was seated in their midst when Yvain suddenly began to reflect; since the moment he had taken leave of his lady he had not been so distraught as now, for he knew for a fact that he had broken his word to her and stayed beyond the period set. With great difficulty he held back his tears, but shame forced him to repress them.

  He was still downcast when they saw a damsel coming straight towards them, approaching rapidly on a dappled black palfrey. She dismounted before their tent without anyone helping her, and without anyone seeing to her horse. And as soon as she caught sight of the king, she let fall her mantle and without it she entered the tent and approached the king. She said that her lady sent greetings to the king and my lord Gawain and all the others except Yvain, that liar, that deceiver, that unfaithful cheat, for he had beguiled and deceived her. She had clearly seen through his guile, for he had pretended to be a true lover, but was a cheat, a seducer, and a thief.

  ‘This thief has seduced my lady, who had not experienced such evil and could never have believed that he would steal her heart. Those who love truly don’t steal hearts; but there are those who call true lovers thieves, while they themselves only pretend to love and in reality know nothing about it. The true lover takes his lady’s heart but would never steal it; instead, he protects it so that those thieves who appear to be honourable men cannot steal it. The sort of men who strive to steal the hearts of those they don’t really care about are hypocritical thieves and traitors; but the true lover cherishes his lady’s heart wherever he goes and returns it to her. But Yvain has dealt my lady a mortal blow, for she thought he would keep her heart and bring it back to her before the year had passed. Yvain, you were most negligent not to remember that you were to return to my lady within one year; she gave you leave until the feast of Saint John, yet you cared so little that you never thought of her again. My lady marked in her room each day and each season, for one who loves truly is troubled and can never sleep peacefully, but all night long counts and reckons the days as they come and go. This is how true lovers pass the time and seasons. Her complaint is not unreasonable, nor is it premature. I am not mentioning it to publicly humiliate, but am simply stating that the one who married you to my lady has betrayed us. Yvain, my lady no longer cares for you, and through me she orders that you never again approach her and keep her ring no longer. By me, whom you see here before you, she orders you to send it back to her: return it, for return it you must!’

  Yvain could not answer her, for he was stunned and words failed him. The damsel stepped forward and pulled the ring from his finger; then she commended to God the king and all the others, except the man whom she left in great anguish. And his anguish grew constantly, for everything he saw added to his grief and everything he heard troubled him; he wanted to flee entirely alone to a land so wild that no one could follow or find him, and where no man or woman alive could hear any more news of him than if he had gone to perdition. He hated nothing so much as himself and did not know whom to turn to for comfort now that he was the cause of his own death. But he would rather lose his mind than fail to take revenge upon himself, who had ruined his own happiness.

  He slipped out from among the barons, because he was afraid of going mad in their presence. No one took any notice of this, and they let him go off alone: they were well aware that he did not care for their conversation or company. And he went on until he was far from the tents and pavilions. Then such a great tempest arose in his head that he went mad; he ripped and tore at his clothing and fled across fields and plains, leaving his people puzzled and with no idea of where he could be. They went in search of him right and left among the knights’ lodgings and through the hedgerows and orchards; but where they were seeking he was not to be found.

  And he ran on and on until, near a park, he encountered a youth who had a bow and five barbed arrows, whose tips were broad and sharp. Yvain approached the youth and took from him the bow and arrows he was holding; yet afterwards he did not remember anything he had done. He stalked wild animals in the forest and killed them and ate their raw flesh.

  He lived in the forest like a madman and a savage, until one day he came upon a very small and cramped abode of a hermit. The hermit was clearing his land; when he saw the naked stranger he was certain beyond any doubt that the man had lost all his senses; of this he was absolutely sure. From the fright it gave him he rushed into his little hut. The good man in his charity took some bread and clear water and placed it outside his house upon a narrow window-ledge; and Yvain, who was eager for the bread, came up: he took it and bit into it. I don’t believe he had ever tasted such hard and bitter bread; the bread, which was more sour than yeast, was made from a measure of barley – kneaded with straw – that had not cost twenty shillings; and moreover it was mouldy through and through and as dry as bark. But hunger so tormented and afflicted him that the bread tasted to him like pottage. For hunger is a sauce that blends well and is suited to all foods. My lord Yvain quickly devoured the hermit’s bread, which seemed good to him, and drank cold water fr
om the pitcher.

  After he had eaten he plunged again into the woods and hunted stags and does. And the good man in his hut, when he saw him leave, prayed to God to protect the stranger and keep him from ever returning this way. But no one, no matter how mad, would fail to return very gladly to a place where he had been kindly received. Not a day passed during Yvain’s period of madness that he didn’t bring to the hermit’s door some wild game. This was the life he led from that day on; and the good man undertook to skin the game and put a sufficient amount of meat on to cook. The bread and the pitcher of water were always at the window to nourish the madman; thus, for food and drink he had venison without salt or pepper, and cool spring water. And the good man was at pains to sell the skins and purchase unleavened bread of barley and oats.

  From then on, Yvain always had his fill of bread and meat, which the hermit provided for him, until one day he was discovered sleeping in the forest by a lady and two damsels from her household. One of the three rode up quickly and dismounted beside the naked man they had seen. But she examined him closely before she could find any mark upon him by which he could be recognized; yet she had seen him so often that she would have recognized him immediately had he been as richly attired as he had been so frequently in the past. She was slow to recognize him, but she kept looking until in the end she realized that a scar he had on his face was like a scar that my lord Yvain had on his; she was sure of this, for she had often noticed it. She recognized him by the scar and was certain beyond doubt that it was he; but she had no idea how it had happened that she found him here destitute and naked. She crossed herself repeatedly in amazement; she did not touch or awaken him, but took her horse, remounted, and came to the others and told them with tears in her eyes what she had seen.

  I don’t know whether I should waste time telling of all the sadness she displayed, but weeping she said to her mistress: ‘My lady, I have found Yvain, the most accomplished knight in the world, and the most virtuous; but I do not know what misfortune has befallen the noble man. Perhaps some grief has caused him to behave in this manner; one can certainly go mad with grief. And one can clearly see that he is not in his right mind, for truly nothing could have made him behave so shamefully if he had not lost his mind. Now may God restore his wits as good as they were before, and then may it please him to remain in your service; for in his war against you Count Alier has wickedly invaded your lands. I can foresee the war between you ending to your advantage, if it were God’s will that Yvain should be restored to his senses and undertake to help you in this need.’

  ‘Now don’t worry,’ the lady said, ‘because if he doesn’t run away I feel sure that with God’s help we can drive all the madness and turmoil from his head. But we must set off at once, for I recall an ointment given me by Morgan the Wise;10 she told me that it could drive from the head any madness, however great.’

  They set off at once towards the town, which was so close by that it was not more than half a league away, measured in the leagues of that land: for measured against ours, two of their leagues make one of ours, and four make two. Yvain remained sleeping alone while the lady went to fetch the ointment. She unfastened one of her cases and withdrew a box which she entrusted to the damsel, urging her not to be too liberal with it, to rub only his temples and forehead, for there was no need to use it elsewhere. She should apply the ointment only to his temples and forehead and conserve the rest of it carefully, for he didn’t suffer anywhere else, only in his brain. She sent along a bright-coloured gown, a coat, and a mantle of red-dyed silk. The damsel brought this for him, and also led by her right hand a fine palfrey; and from her own belongings she added a shirt and soft breeches, and black, fine-spun hose.

  With all these things she returned so swiftly that she found him still sleeping there where she had left him. She placed the two horses in a clearing, tying and tethering them well; then with the gown and ointment she came to where he was sleeping, and she showed real courage in approaching the madman close enough to touch and treat him. She took the ointment and rubbed it over him until there was none left in the box: she was so eager to heal him that she applied the ointment everywhere. She lavished it all upon him, not heeding her mistress’s warning, nor even recalling it. She applied more than was necessary; but she used it to good purpose, so she thought. She rubbed his temples and his forehead and his entire body down to his toes. She rubbed his temples and his whole body so vigorously under the hot sun that she expelled the madness and melancholy from his brain; but she was foolish to anoint his body, for it was of no avail to him. Had there been five gallons of the ointment she would have done the same, I believe.

  She hurried off, carrying the box, and hid herself near her horses, but she did not take the gown with her because if he awakened she wanted him to see it there ready for him, and to take it and put it on. She stayed behind a large oak until he had slept enough and was healed and rested and had regained his senses and memory. But then he saw that he was as naked as an ivory statuette; he was ashamed, and would have been more so had he realized what had happened to him, but he didn’t know why he was naked. In front of him he saw the new gown; he wondered greatly how and by what chance this gown had come to be there. And he was disturbed and embarrassed at seeing his own bare flesh and said that he would be dead and betrayed had anyone who knew him found or seen him in this state.

  None the less he dressed and looked out into the forest to see if anyone was approaching. He attempted to rise and stand upright, but did not have strength enough to walk. He needed to be helped and assisted, because his great illness had so weakened him that he could barely stand upon his feet. Now the damsel did not wish to delay any longer; she mounted her palfrey and rode by him as if she had not noticed him. In desperate need of help of any kind to lead him to a hostelry until he could regain some of his strength, he made a great effort to call out to her. And the damsel began looking about her as if she did not realize what was the matter with him. Feigning fright, she rode back and forth, since she didn’t want to go directly to him.

  And he began to call her again: ‘Damsel, this way! this way!’

  Then the damsel directed her ambling palfrey towards him. By behaving in this manner she led him to believe that she knew nothing about him and had never seen him before, and in doing so she behaved wisely and courteously.

  When she came before him, she said to him: ‘Sir knight, what do you want, calling to me in such distress?’

  ‘Ah!’ he said, ‘prudent damsel, I have found myself in these woods, but I don’t know by what misfortune. In the name of God and your faith in Him, I beg you only that you lend or give me outright this palfrey that you are leading.’

  ‘Gladly, sir, but come along with me to where I’m going.’

  ‘Which way?’ he asked.

  ‘Out of these woods to a town I know of nearby.’

  ‘Fair damsel, now tell me if I can be of service to you.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘but I don’t think you are at all well just now; you’ll have to remain with us at least two weeks. Take the horse I’m holding and let us find lodgings for you.’

  And he, who asked for nothing else, took it and mounted. They rode until they came to the middle of a bridge over a swift and roaring stream. The damsel threw the empty box she had been carrying into the stream, because in this way she hoped to excuse herself to her mistress for the ointment. She would tell her that in crossing the bridge she had accidentally dropped the box into the water: the box slipped from her grasp because the palfrey stumbled beneath her, and she herself had nearly tumbled in after it, which would have been even worse. She intended to use this lie when she came before her mistress.

  They rode along together until they reached the town; there the lady welcomed my lord Yvain cheerfully. When they were alone, she asked the damsel for her box of ointment, and the damsel told her the lie just as she had rehearsed it, for she dared not tell her the truth.

  The lady was furious with her and
said: ‘This is a dreadful loss, for I’m quite certain that it will never be recovered. But once something has been lost one can do nothing but make do without it. One often thinks things will turn out well that later turn out ill; so I, who thought this knight would bring me wealth and joy, have now lost the most cherished and best of my possessions. None the less, I would wish that you serve him above all others.’

  ‘Ah, my lady, you speak wisely now. It would be a terrible thing to turn one misfortune into two.’

  Then they said no more of the box and proceeded to look to my lord Yvain’s comfort in every way they could: they bathed him, washed his hair, and had him shaved and trimmed, for one could have grabbed a whole fistful of beard on his face. Whatever he wished they did for him: if he wanted armour, it was laid out for him; if he wanted a horse, a large and handsome, strong and hardy one awaited him.

  Yvain remained there until one Tuesday when Count Alier approached the town with men-at-arms and knights, setting fires around it and pillaging the land. Those within the town meanwhile mounted their horses and donned their armour. Some in armour and others without, they sallied forth until they encountered the plunderers who, not deigning to flee before them, awaited them at a pass. My lord Yvain, having now rested long enough to have fully recovered his strength, struck into the thick of the press. He hammered a knight’s shield with such force that I think he knocked knight and horse down together in a heap. This knight never arose again, for his back was broken and his heart had burst within his breast.