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 xiiij

ANd thenne they came to gyders as two wyld bores / lasshynge to gyders tracyng and trauercyng as noble men / that ofte had ben wel proued in batail / but euer syr Palomydes dredde the myghte of syre Tristram / and therfor he suffred hym to brethe hym / thus they fought more than two houres / but often syr Tristram smote suche strokes at sir Palomydes that he made hym to knele / and syre Palomydes brake and cutte awey many pyeces of sir Tristrams shelde / & thenne sir Palomydes wounded sir Tristram for he was a wel fyghtynge man / Thenne sire Tristram was woode wrothe oute of mesure and rasshed vpon syr Palomydes with suche a myghte that sire Palomydes felle grouelynge to the erthe / & there with alle he lepte vp lyghtely vpon his feet / and thenne syre Tristram wounded Palomydes sore thurgh the sholder / & euer syr Tristram foughte stylle in lyke hard / and syr Palomydes fayled not but gaf hym many sadde strokes / And atte laste syr Tristram doubled his strokes / & by fortune syre Tristram smote syr Palomydes swerd oute of his hand / & yf sir Palomydes had stouped for his swerd he had ben slayne / Thenne Palomydes stode stylle and beheld his swerd with a sorouful herte / How now said syr Tristram vnto Palomydes / now haue I the at auauntage as thow haddest me this daye / but it shalle neuer be said in no Courte nor among good knyghtes that syr Tristram shalle slee ony knyghte that is wepenles / & therfor take thow thy swerd / & let vs make an ende of thys batail / As for to doo this batail sayd Palomydes I dar ryȝt wel ende hit / but I haue no grete luste to fyghte no more / and for this cause said Palomydes / Myn offence to yow is not soo grete / but that we may be frendes / Alle that I haue offended is and was for the loue of la Beale Isoud / And as for her/ I dar say she is pyerles aboue alle other ladyes / and also I

[leaf 306r] proferd her neuer no dishonour / and by her I haue geten the moost parte of my worship / and sythen I offended neuer as to her owne persone / And as for the offence that I haue done/ it was ageynste your owne persone / And for that offence ye haue gyuen me this day many sad strokes / and some I haue yeuen yow ageyne / and now I dar say I felte neuer man of your myghte / nor soo wel brethed / but yf hit were syr launcelot du lake / wherfor I requyre yow my lord / forgyue me alle that I haue offended vnto yow / And this same day haue me to the next chirche / and fyrst lete me be clene confessed / And after see yow now that I be truly baptysed / And thenne wil we alle ryde to gyders vnto the courte of Arthur that we be there at the hyhe feeste / Now take your hors said sir Tristram And as ye say / soo hit shal be / and alle thyn euylle wil god forgyue it yow and I doo / And here within this myle is the suffrecan of Carleil that shalle gyue yow the sacrament of baptym / Thenne they took their horses and sire Galleron rode wyth them /

¶ And whanne they cam to the suffrecan syre Tristram told hym their desyre / Thenne the suffrecan lete fylle a grete vessel with water / And whanne he had halowed hit / he thenne confessid clene syr Palomydes / and syr Tristram and sir galleron were his godfaders / And thenne soone after they departed rydynge toward Camelot / where kynge Arthur & Quene Gueneuer was / And for the moost party alle the knyghtes of the round table / And so the kynge and all the Court were glad that syre Palomydes was crystened / And at the same fesste in came Galahad and sat in the sege perillous/

¶ And soo there with alle departed and disseuered alle the knyghtes of the round table / and sire Tristram retorned ayene vnto Ioyous gard / and syr Palomydes folowed the questynge beest