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 xxviij

NOw torne we ageyne vnto sire Tristram and to Kyng Marke / As syr Tristram was at Iustes and att turnement / hit fortuned he was sore hurte bothe with a spere and with a swerd / but yet he wanne alweyes the degre And for to repose hym / he wente to a good knyght that duelled in Cornewaile in a Castel whos name was Syr Dynas le Seneschall / Thenne by mysfortune there came oute of Sessoyne a grete nombre of men of armes / and an hydous hoost / & they entred nyghe the castel of Tyntagyl / and her Capytayns name was Elyas a good man of armes / Whan Kyng Mark vnderstode his enemyes were entred in to his land / he maade grete dole and sorow / for in no wyse by his wille kyng Mark wold not sende for sir Tristram for he hated hym dedely / Soo whan his counceill was come / they deuysed and cast many peryls of the strengthe of her enemyes / And thenne they concluded all at ones and said thus vnto kynge Marke / Syr wete ye wel ye must sende for sire Tristram the good knyghte or els they wylle neuer be ouercome / For by sire Tristram they must be foughten with alle / or els we rowe ageynst the streme

¶ Wel said Kynge Marke I wille doo by your counceylle / but yet he was ful lothe ther to / but nede constrayned hym to sende for hym / Thenne was he sente for in alle hast that myȝte be that he shold come to Kynge Marke / And whanne he vnderstood that Kynge Marke had sente for hym / he mounted vpon a softe ambuler and rode to Kynge Marke / And when he was come / the Kynge said thus / Faire neuewe syr Tristrā this is alle / Here be come oure enemyes of Sessoyne / that are here nyghe hand / and withoute taryenge they must be mette with shortly or els they wylle destroye this countrey / Syr said sir Tristram wete ye wel alle my power is at your commaundement / And wete ye wel syre / these eyght dayes I may bere

[leaf 230r] none armes for my woundes ben not yet hole / And by that day I shalle doo what I may / ye saye wel said kynge Marke / Thenne goo ye ageyne and repose yow and make yow fresshe And I shalle go and mete the Sessoyns with alle my power Soo the Kyng departed vnto Tyntagyl and sir Tristram went to repose hym / and the Kyng made a grete hoost and departed them in thre / The fyrste parte ledde syr Dynas the Seneschall and sir Andred ledde the second parte / and sir Arguys ledde the thyrd parte / and he was of the blood of Kyng Mark / and the Sessoyns had thre grete batails / and many good men of armes / And soo Kynge Marke by the aduyse of his Knyghtes yssued oute of the Castel of Tyntagyl vpon his enemyes And Dynas the good knyghte rode oute afore / and slewe ij Knyghtes his owne handes / and thenne beganne the batayls / And there was merueyllous brekyng of speres and smytyng of suerdes / and slewe doune many good knyghtes / And euer was syr Dynas the Seneschal the best of Kyng Markes party / And thus the bataille endured longe with grete mortalyte But at the last Kynge Mark and sire Dynas were they neuer soo lothe they withdrewen hem to the castel of Tyntagyll / with grete slaughter of peple / And the Sessoyns folowed on fast / that ten of them were put within the gates and four slayne with the porte coloyse / Thenne Kyng Marke sente for sire Tristram by a varlet that told hym alle the mortalyte /

¶ Thenne he sente the varlet ageyne and bad hym telle Kyng Mark that I wille come as soone as I am hole / for erste I maye doo hym noo good / Thenne Kynge Mark hadde his ansuer / There with came Elyas and badde the Kynge yelde vp the castel / for ye maye not hold it no whyle / Sir Elyas said the kyng so wyll I yelde vp the castel yf I be not soone rescoued / Anone Kyng Marke sente ageyne for rescowe to sir tristram / By thenne sir Tristram was hoole / and he hadde goten hym ten good Knyghtes of Arthurs / And with hem he rode vnto Tyntagyl / And whanne he sawe the grete hoost of Sessoyns he merueylled wonder gretely / And thenne sir Trystram rode by the woodes and by the dyches as secretely as he myght tyl he came nyghe the gatys / And there dressid a Knyghte to hym / when he sawe that sir Tristram wold entre & sir tristram

[leaf 230v] smote hym doune dede / And soo he serued thre mo / And eueryche of these ten knyghtes slewe a man of armes / Soo sir tristram entryd in to the castel of Tyntagyl / And whan kynge Marke wyst that sir Tristram was come he was glad of his comyng / and soo was alle the felaushyp / and of hym they made grete Ioye