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 xv

THenne he enforced hym mykel to vndoo the dore / thenne he lystned and herd a voyce whiche sange so swetely that it semed none erthely thynge / and hym thoughte the voyce said Ioye and honour be to the fader of heuen / Thenne

[leaf 356r] Launcelot kneled doun to fore the chamber / for wel wyst he that there was the Sancgreal within that chamber / Thenne sayd he Fair swete fader Ihesu Cryst yf euer I dyd thyng that pleasyd the lord / for thy pyte ne haue me not in despyte for my synnes done afore tyme / and that thou shewe me some thynge of that I seke / And with that he sawe the chamber dore open and there came oute a grete clerenes / that the hows was as bryghte as all torches of the world had ben there / So cam he to the chamber dore / and wold haue entryd / And anone a voyce said to hym / Flee launcelot / and entre not / for thou oughtest not to doo hit / And yf thou entre / thou shalt forthynke hit / Thenne he withdrewe hym abak ryght heuy / Thenne loked he vp in the myddes of the chamber / and sawe a table of syluer and the holy vessel couerd with reed samyte / and many angels aboute hit / wherof one helde a candel of waxe brennyng and the other held a crosse and the ornementys of an aulter And bifore the holy vessel he sawe a good man clothed as a preest / And it semed that he was at the sacrynge of the masse And it semed to Launcelot that aboue the preestes handes were thre men wherof the two putte the yongest by lykenes bitwene the preestes handes / and soo he lyfte hit vp ryght hyhe / & it semed to shewe so to the peple / And thenne launcelot merueyled not a lytyl / For hym thouȝt the preest was so gretely charged of the fygure that hym semed that he shold falle to the erthe / And whan he sawe none aboute hym that wolde helpe hym / Thenne came he to the dore a grete paas and sayd / Faire fader Ihesu Cryst ne take hit for no synne though I helpe the good man whiche hath grete nede of help / Ryghte soo entryd he in to the chamber and cam toward the table of syluer / and whanne he came nyghe he felte a brethe that hym thoughte hit was entremedled with fyre whiche smote hym so sore in the vysage that hym thoughte it brente vysage / and there with he felle to the erthe and had no power to aryse / as he that was soo araged that had loste the power of his body and his herynge and his seynge

¶ Thenne felte he many handes aboute hym whiche tooke hym vp / and bare hym oute of the chamber dore / withoute ony amendynge of his swoune / and lefte hym there semyng dede to

[leaf 356v] of the chamber dore and lefte hym there semynge dede to al peple / Soo vpon the morowe whan it was fayre day they within were arysen / and fonde Launcelot lyenge afore the chamber dore / Alle they merueylled how that he cam in / and so they loked vpon hym and felte his pouse to wyte whether there were ony lyf in hym / and soo they fond lyf in hym / but he myght not stande nor stere no membre that he had / and soo they tooke hym by euery parte of the body / and bare hym in to chamber and leyd hym in a ryche bedde ferre from alle folke / and soo he lay four dayes / Thenne the one sayd he was on lyue / and the other sayd Nay / In the name of god sayd and old man / for I doo yow veryly to wete / he is not dede / but he is soo fulle of lyf as the myghtyest of yow alle / and therfor I counceylle yow that he be wel kepte tyl god send hym ageyne /