Le Morte Darthur / by Syr Thomas Malory ; the original edition of William Caxton now reprinted and edited with an introduction and glossary by H. Oskar Sommer ; with an essay on Malory's prose style by Andrew Lang

¶ Capitulum xxxvij

NOw wille we speke of sir Lucan the buttelere that by fortune he came rydyng to the same place there as was syr Tristram / and in he came in none other entente / but to aske herberowe / thenne the porter asked what was his name / Telle your lord that my name is syr Lucan the botteler a knyghte of the round table / Soo the porter wente vnto syre Darras lord of the place / and told hym who was there to aske herborouȝ / Nay nay seid syr Daname that was neuewe to syr Darras / saye hym that he shalle not be lodged here / But lete hym wete that I syr Daname wyll mete with hym anon and bydde hym make hym redy / So sire Daname came forth on horsbak / and there they mette to gyders with speres / and sir Lucan smote doune syr Daname ouer his hors croupe / and thēne he fledde in to that place / and sir Lucan rode after hym / & asked after hym many tymes / Thenne syr dynadan said to sire Tristram hit is shame to see the lordes cosyn of this place defoiled / Abyde said sir Tristram and I shalle redresse it / and in the meane whyle syr Dynadan was on horsbak and he Iustid with Lucan þ^e botteler / & ther sir lucan smote doune dynadā thurȝ the thyck of the thyghe / and soo he rode his way / and sire tristram was wrothe that sir Dynadan was hurte / & folowed after and thought to auenge hym / and within a whyle he ouertook sir lucan / and badde hym torne / and soo they mette to gyders soo that sire Tristram hurt sir Lucan passynge sore / and

[leaf 200r] gaf hym a falle / With that came sire Vwayne a gentyl knyȝt And whanne he sawe fire Lucan soo hurte / he called syre tristram to Iuste with hym / Faire knyght said sire Tristram telle me your name I requyre you / Syre knyghte wete ye wel my name is syre Vwayne le fyse de roy Vreyne / A saide sire Tristram by my wille I wold not haue adoo with you at no tyme / ye shalle not soo said sir Vwayne but ye shalle haue adoo with me / And thenne sire Tristram sawe none other boote but rode ageynst hym and ouerthrewe syr Vwayn and hurte hym in the syde / and soo he departed vnto his lodgynge ageyne / And whanne sire Dynadan vnderstood that syr Tristram had hurte sir Lucan / he wold haue ryden after syr Lucan for to haue slayne hym / but sir Tristram wold not suffre hym /

¶ Thenne syr Vwayne lete ordeyne an hors lytter / and brought sir Lucan to the abbey of Ganys / and the castel there by hyght the castel of Ganys / of the whiche syr Bleoberys was lord / And at that Castel sire launcelot promysed alle his felawes to mete in the quest of syr Tristram / Soo whan sir tristram was come to his lodgyng ther cam a damoisel þ^t told sir Darras that thre of his sones were slayne at that turnement and two greuously woūded that they were neuer lyke to helpe them self / And alle this was done by a noble knyghte that bare the black shelde / and that was he that bare the pryce /

¶ Thenne came there one and told syr Darras that the same knyght was within hym that bare the black sheld / Thenne sir Darras yede vnto sir Tristrams chamber / and there he fond his sheld shewed it to the damoysel / A syr said the damoysel that same is he / that slewe your thre sones / Thenne withoute ony taryenge sir Darras putte syre Tristram and syre Palomydes and syr Dynadan within a strong pryson / and there sir Tristram was lyke to haue dyed of grete sekenesse / and euery day syr Palomydes wold repreue sir Tristram of old hate betwixe them / And euer sir Tristram spak fayre and said lytel / But whan sir Palomydes sawe the fallynge of sekenesse of sir Tristram thenne was he heuy for hym / and comforted hym in alle the best wyse he coude / And as the Frensshe booke saith there came fourty knyghtes to sire Darras / that were of his owne kyn / and they wold haue slayne sire Tristram and

[leaf 200v] his two felawes / but sire Darras wold not suffre that but kepte them in pryson / and mete and drynke they had / So sire Tristram endured there grete payne / for sekenesse had vndertake hym / and that is the grettest payne a prysoner maye haue For alle the whyle a prysoner may haue his helthe of body / he maye endure vnder the mercy of god and in hope of good delyueraunce / But whanne sekenes toucheth a prysoners body / thenne may a prysoner say al welthe is hym berafte / and thenne he hath cause to wayle and to wepe / Ryȝt so dyd syre Tristram whanne sekenes had vndertake hym / for thenne he tooke suche sorou that he had almost slayne hym self