Arthurian Romances

by Chretien de Troyes

  My lord Gawain clearly heard their mockery and what the ladies were saying about him; he was very upset and ashamed. But he recalled, and rightly so, that he had been accused of treason and must go to defend his honour, for if he failed to join battle as he had sworn to do, he would shame himself first of all, and his family even more so. So since he was afraid of being injured or captured he hesitated to enter the fray even though he was very eager to do so, because with each passing minute he saw the tournament getting bigger and more prestigious. And Meliant de Liz was asking for stouter lances to joust better.

  All day long until evening the tournament continued in front of the gate: whoever won carried off his winnings to where he thought them to be safest. The ladies caught sight of a tall, bald squire who was holding a broken lance shaft and approaching with a bridle over his shoulders. One of the ladies called him a simpleton and shouted to him: ‘Sir squire, so help me God, you must be a crazy fool to enter this fray for the purpose of stealing lance heads and bridles and those shafts and cruppers. And you suppose you’re a good squire! You can’t think much of yourself to risk your life like that when I can see, right below us in this meadow, goods that are unprotected and unguarded. A man’s a fool not to look to his own gain whenever he has a chance to do so. Here’s the most easy-going knight ever born, for even if you plucked out each of the hairs in his moustache he wouldn’t move! So don’t settle for petty profits: you’d do better to take all those horses and that equipment, for he won’t do a thing to stop you!’

  So he went straight into the meadow and struck one of the horses with his broken lance and and said: ‘Vassal, aren’t you hale and hardy? Why do you watch all day without doing anything – not even breaking a lance or splitting a shield?’

  ‘What concern is it of yours? Perhaps you’ll yet learn why I’ve stood aside, but by my head it won’t be now, for I wouldn’t deign to tell you. So go from here, be on your way and see to your own affairs!’

  Then the squire left him at once, and subsequently there was no one who dared say anything that might offend Gawain. The tournament ceased for the day; but many a knight had been captured and many a horse killed; the attackers had fought with the most bravery, but the defenders had won the most booty, and as they separated both sides swore to meet again on the following day in the field to continue the tournament.

  And so they separated at night and all those who had emerged from the castle returned there. My lord Gawain went there too and entered the castle after the others; in front of the gate he met the gentleman vavasour who had advised his lord to commence the tournament, who courteously and politely invited Gawain to take lodgings there, saying: ‘Sir, your lodgings are all prepared in this castle. If you please, stay with us, for if you continued further you’d not find good lodgings this night. Therefore I urge you to stay.’

  ‘I’ll stay, good sir, by your leave,’ said my lord Gawain, ‘for I’ve heard many worse offers.’

  The vavasour took him to his own house and asked him about one thing and another, and what was meant by his not bearing arms with them all that day in the tournament. And he told him everything: that he had been accused of treason and must keep from being captured, injured, or wounded until he could exculpate himself from the disgrace that had been cast upon him. And that he would dishonour himself and all his friends by his delay, if he was unable to come in time to the battle to which he had been challenged. The vavasour esteemed him more highly and said he was grateful to him: if this was his reason for avoiding the tournament, he had acted correctly. So the vavasour led him to his manor and they dismounted.

  Meanwhile the people of the court continued to heap blame upon Gawain and spoke of how their lord was going to capture him; and his elder daughter did all she could to malign him, out of hatred for her sister. ‘Father,’ she said, ‘I am well aware that you lost nothing today; on the contrary, I believe you’ve won rather more than you realize, and I’ll tell you how: you’d be a fool not to have your men seize him. The man who brought him into the city won’t dare try to defend him, for he’s a most evil trickster: he’s had shields and lances brought in and horses led in by their reins, thereby bypassing the customs duties because he looks like a knight. This is how he travels freely as he goes about his business. But give him what he deserves! He has taken lodgings with Garin, son of Berte. He passed by here not long ago and I saw him leading him off.’

  And so she did her best to cause shame to my lord Gawain. The lord mounted his horse at once, for he wanted to go himself; he headed straight for the manor where my lord Gawain was staying. When his younger daughter saw him set off in this fashion, she stole away through a back door, not wishing to be seen, and went directly and swiftly to my lord Gawain’s lodgings at the manor of Garin, son of Berte, who had two very beautiful daughters. When the maidens saw their young mistress coming, it was their duty to welcome her joyfully, which they did in all sincerity: each took her by a hand and led her in gaily, kissing her eyes and lips. Meanwhile Sir Garin, who was neither poor nor impoverished, had remounted and set off for the court with his son Bertran, as was their custom, for they wished to speak with their lord, whom they met along the way. The vavasour Garin greeted him and asked him where he was going, to which the lord replied that he wished to enjoy the festivities of his manor.

  ‘Indeed, this is no displeasure or pain to me,’ said Sir Garin, ‘and while you’re there you can see the most handsome knight in the world.’

  ‘By my faith, I’m not going there for that,’ said the lord. ‘Instead, I’ll have him seized: he’s a merchant out to sell horses, yet he pretends he’s a knight.’

  ‘What! This accusation I hear you making is most wicked!’ said Sir Garin. ‘I am your liegeman and you’re my lord, but I now renounce my homage and that of all my lineage. I defy you here and now rather than suffer this indignity to occur in my manor.’

  ‘I had no such intention,’ said the lord, ‘so help me God. Your guest and your house will have only honour from me; but not, I swear to you, because I’ve been advised or counselled to do such a thing.’

  ‘I thank you sincerely,’ said the vavasour, ‘and it will be a great honour for me to have you come to see my guest.’

  And so they joined company and rode along together until they came to the manor where my lord Gawain was staying. As soon as my lord Gawain saw them, like the proper knight he was he arose and said: ‘Welcome!’ They both returned his greeting and then sat down beside him. Then the gentleman who was lord of that land asked him why he had stood aside and had not entered the fray all day after coming to the tournament. My lord Gawain did not deny that it might be considered wrong and shameful, but explained at once that a knight had accused him of treason, and that he was going to defend his honour at a royal court.

  ‘You have an honourable excuse, sir, without any doubt,’ said the lord. ‘Where will this combat be held?’

  ‘My lord,’ he said, ‘I must go before the king of Escavalon, and I trust I’m headed straight in that direction.’

  ‘I’ll give you an escort who’ll take you there,’ said the lord. ‘And since you must cross through very barren land, I’ll give you provisions and horses to carry them.’

  My lord Gawain replied that he had no need of the gift, for if he could find any for sale, he had money enough for food and good lodgings and whatever else he might need wherever he went. Therefore he sought nothing from him. At this the lord turned to leave, but as he was leaving he saw his younger daughter coming the other way. She immediately clasped my lord Gawain’s leg and said: ‘Good my lord, listen to me! I have come before you to lay claim against my sister for having hit me: uphold my rights, if you please.’

  My lord Gawain, who did not understand what this was about, remained silent; but he placed his hand upon her head and the girl grasped it and said: ‘I tell you, dear sir, that I lay claim before you against my sister, for whom I bear no love or affection, because today she has caused me great shame on your
account.’

  ‘And what is this to me, my pretty?’ he answered. ‘What rights can I uphold for you?’

  The lord, who had taken his leave, heard his daughter’s request and said: ‘Daughter, who instructed you to come and make your claim before knights?’

  And Gawain said: ‘My good sir, is she your daughter then?’

  ‘Yes, but don’t pay any attention to what she says,’ said the lord. ‘She’s a child – a silly, foolish thing.’

  ‘Indeed,’ said my lord Gawain, ‘then I’d be very ill-mannered not to do what she wants. Tell me at once, my sweet and noble child, what rights I can secure for you against your sister, and how?’

  ‘Sir, just for tomorrow, if you please, you could bear arms in the tourney for love of me.’

  ‘Tell me then, dear friend, if ever you have requested anything of a knight before?’

  ‘No, my lord.’

  ‘Don’t pay any attention to what she says,’ said her father. ‘Don’t listen to her foolishness.’

  But my lord Gawain replied: ‘Sir, as God is my helper, she has spoken well for such a little girl and I’ll not refuse her request. Rather, since it pleases her, I’ll be her knight for a while tomorrow.’

  ‘I thank you, dear sir!’ she said, so happy that she bowed right down to his feet.

  Then they parted without saying anything more. The lord carried his daughter before him on his palfrey’s neck and asked her what had been the cause of this quarrel; and she told him the truth from beginning to end, saying: ‘Sir, I was very upset because my sister kept insisting that Meliant de Liz was the best and most handsome of all, yet in the meadow below I had seen this knight and I couldn’t keep myself from replying to her and saying that I had seen one more handsome than Meliant. And because of that my sister called me a silly brat and pulled my hair – a curse upon anyone who enjoyed that! I’d let both my tresses be cut off at the back of my neck, though it would destroy my beauty, if only I could be sure that tomorrow morning in the combat my knight would defeat Meliant de Liz. That would put an end to his praises that the lady my sister keeps singing! She never stopped talking about him today, which upset all the ladies – but from a great gale falls only a drop of rain!’

  ‘Sweet daughter,’ said the gentleman, ‘I order and permit you to send him out of courtesy some token of your affection, either your sleeve or your wimple.’

  And she modestly replied: ‘Most willingly, since you say so. But my sleeves are so little I wouldn’t dare send them to him; I’m afraid that if I sent him one he wouldn’t think much of it.’

  ‘My daughter, I’ll see to this,’ said her father. ‘Now don’t fret, for I’m glad to do it.’

  As they talked he carried her along in his arms, happy to be holding and hugging her, until at last they came to his palace. And when the elder daughter saw him coming holding her sister in his arms, her heart was filled with anger and she said: ‘Sir, where has my sister, the Maiden with the Little Sleeves been? She knows lots of tricks and ruses, for she’s practised them a long while. Where did you bring her from just now?’

  ‘And what are you trying to achieve?’ he asked. ‘You’d do well to keep quiet, for she’s worth more than you. By pulling her tresses and hitting her you have made me angry. You haven’t behaved properly at all.’

  She was left very discouraged by her father’s scolding reprimand. Then he had a piece of red samite taken from one of his coffers and ordered a long, wide sleeve be made from it; then he called his daughter and said: ‘My daughter, get up early tomorrow and go to the knight before he stirs. Give him this new sleeve as a token of love, and he’ll wear it when he goes to the tournament.’

  And she answered to her father that as soon as she saw the dawn break she intended to be awake, washed, and ready to set out.

  Her father left upon hearing this and she, filled ‘with happiness, begged all her ladies-in-waiting not to let her sleep late in the morning but to awaken her promptly, as soon as they saw the dawn, if they wished to retain her favour. And they did exactly as she asked, for as soon as they saw dawn break in the early morning they awoke and dressed her. The maiden arose early and went all alone to where my lord Gawain was staying. But by the time she arrived there they had already arisen and gone to church to hear Mass sung for them. The damsel awaited them at the vavasour’s until they had said all their prayers and completed their spiritual obligations. After they returned from church the maiden rushed up to my lord Gawain and said: ‘May God protect you and give you honour on this day! Please wear this sleeve that I give you as a token of my love.’

  ‘Gladly, my friend, and I thank you for it,’ said my lord Gawain.

  After this the knights did not delay in donning their armour. They congregated in their armour outside the town, and the damsels and all the ladies of the town climbed once more above the walls to watch the groups of brave and hardy knights assemble. Ahead of them all, Meliant de Liz charged furiously towards the opposing camp, having left his companions a full two and a half acres behind. The elder sister caught sight of her lover and could not hold her tongue: ‘My ladies, behold him who is the lord and flower of chivalry!’

  Then my lord Gawain charged as fast as his horse could carry him towards Meliant; the knight showed no fear, but shattered his lance entirely to pieces. And my lord Gawain’s blow did him great injury as he knocked him abruptly on to the ground. Then he stretched out his hand to Meliant’s horse, took it by the bridle and gave it to a squire, telling him to go to the one in whose honour he was fighting and tell her that he sent her the first prize he had won that day, for he wanted her to have it. The squire led the horse with its saddle to the maiden, who had clearly seen, from where she was at a window in the keep, Sir Meliant de Liz fall.

  She said: ‘Sister, now you can see Sir Meliant de Liz, whom you’ve bragged about so much, lying on the ground! Everyone will have to admit that what I said yesterday was right! So help me God, now we can see that there is one who’s better than him!’

  She went on deliberately provoking her sister in this fashion until she lost her head and said: ‘Shut up, you brat! If I hear you say another word today I’ll hit you so hard your feet won’t hold you up!’

  ‘Goodness, sister! Remember God,’ replied the younger sister. ‘Since I’ve spoken the truth, you’ve no cause at all to hit me! Upon my oath, I clearly saw him knocked down, just as you did yourself; and I think he doesn’t yet have the strength to get up again. And even if you die of shame, I still say there’s not a lady here who can’t see him lying there on his back with his legs in the air.’

  Her sister would have slapped her had she not been restrained; but the ladies around her would not let her strike her. Just then they saw the squire coming, leading the horse by his right hand. He found the maiden seated at a window and presented her with the horse. The maiden thanked him more than sixty times, had the horse led off, and the squire returned to convey her gratitude to his lord – who appeared to be the lord and master of the tournament: there was no knight skilful enough, if he matched lances against him, not to be thrown from his stirrups. Never before had he been so intent upon winning horses. He presented four that day, which he won with his own hands: he sent the first to the young girl; with the second he paid homage to the vavasour’s wife, whom he pleased immensely; one of the vavasour’s two daughters received the third, the other the fourth.

  After the tournament broke up the knights re-entered the town by the main gate; my lord Gawain carried off the honours on both sides, though it was not yet midday when he left the combat. On his return my lord Gawain was accompanied by so many knights that the whole street was filled, and everyone who followed him wanted to ask and inquire who he was and where he came from. He met the younger maiden just before the door of her manor; her only reaction was to hold steady his stirrup while she greeted him, saying: ‘Five hundred thanks, good sir.’

  He knew exactly what she meant and replied to her nobly: ‘I’ll be white-haired
and grey, my dear, before I fail in your service, wherever I may be. And no matter how far I may be from you, if ever I learn you need my help, nothing at all could prevent my coming at the first summons.’

  ‘I thank you sincerely,’ said the damsel.

  While they were conversing, her father came into the square and did everything in his power to persuade my lord Gawain to stay the night and take lodgings with him, but first he begged and requested him to tell him his name, if he would. My lord Gawain refused to stay, but told him: ‘Sir, I am called Gawain; I’ve never hidden my name anywhere it was asked, but I’ve never given it unless I was first asked for it.’

  When the lord heard that it was my lord Gawain, his heart was filled with joy and he said to him: ‘My lord, please stay and accept my service tonight. Until now I’ve not served you in any way, but I can swear to you I’ve never in my life seen a knight I’d rather honour.’

  He begged him repeatedly to stay, but my lord Gawain refused his every entreaty. And the younger sister, who was neither discourteous nor foolish, took him by the foot, kissed it, and commended him to God. My lord Gawain asked her what she had meant by this; and she replied that she had kissed his foot because she wanted him to remember her wherever he might go.

  And he said to her: ‘Have no fear dear friend for, so help me God, I’ll never forget you after I’ve left here.’

  He departed as soon as he had taken leave of his host and the others, who all commended him to God.

  My lord Gawain lay that night in a small monastery, where he was provided for in every way. Very early the next day he was riding on his way when, as he passed, he saw some wild beasts grazing at the edge of a forest. He told his squire, Yonet, who was leading one of his horses – the best he had – and carrying a strong and stiff lance, to stop; then he told him to bring the lance and to harness up the charger he was leading with his right hand, and to take and lead his palfrey instead. His squire did not hesitate, but immediately handed over to him his horse and lance. Gawain set off after the hinds, hunting them with such skill and cunning that he overtook a white one beside a thorn bush and laid his lance across its neck. The hind leapt like a stag and fled; Gawain followed and pursued her and was about to catch her securely and stop her when his horse completely threw a shoe from a front hoof. So my lord Gawain rode on to overtake his supply horses, but it upset him to feel his horse stumbling under him; he did not know what had made it lame, but thought that perhaps a stick had stuck in its hoof. He called Yvonet at once and ordered him to dismount and care for his horse, for it was limping badly. Yvonet did as he was ordered: he lifted its foot high and discovered it was missing a shoe, and said: ‘Sir, it needs reshoeing. There’s nothing to do but walk it gently until we are able to find a smith who can reshoe it.’