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 xxij

BVt as soone as they were there oure lord sente hem the Sancgreal / thorow whoos grace they were al waye fulfylled whyle that they were in pryson / Soo at the yeres ende hit befelle that this kynge Estourause lay seke and felte that he shold dye / Thenne he sente for the thre knyghtes & they came afore hym / and he cryed hem mercy of that he had done to them / and they forgaf hit hym goodely and he dyed anone / Whanne the kynge was dede / alle the cyte was desmayed and wyst not who myghte be her kynge /

¶ Ryght soo as they were in counceille there came a voyce amonge them / and badde hem chese the yongest knyght of them thre to be her kynge for he shalle wel mayntene yow and all yours / Soo they made Galahad kynge by alle the assente of the hole Cyte / & els they wold haue slayne hym / And whanne he was come to beholde the land / he lete make aboue the table of syluer a cheste of gold and of precyous stones that hylled the holy vessel / And euery day erly the thre felawes wold come afore hit / & make their prayers / Now at the yeres ende the self daye after Galahad had borne the croune of gold / he arose vp erly and his felawes / and came to the palais / and sawe to fore hem the holy vessel / and a man knelynge on his knees in lykenes of a Bisshop that had aboute hym a grete felaushyp of Angels as it had ben Ihesu Cryst hym self / & thenne he arose

[leaf 362r] and beganne a masse of oure lady / And whan he cam to the sacrament of the masse / and had done / anone he called Galahad and sayd to hym come forthe the seruaunt of Ihesu cryst and thou shalt see that thou hast moche desyred to see / & thenne he beganne to tremble ryght hard / whan the dedely flesshe beganne to beholde the spyrytuel thynges / Thenne he helde vp his handes toward heuen / and sayd lord I thanke the / for now I see that that hath ben my desyre many a daye /

¶ Now blessyd lord wold I not lenger lyue yf it myghte please the lord / & there with the good man tooke oure lordes body betwixe hys handes / and proferd it to Galahad / and he receyued hit ryghte gladly and mekely /

¶ Now wotest thow what I am sayd the good man / Nay said Galahad / I am Ioseph of Armathye the whiche oure lord hath sente here to the to bere the felaushyp / and wotest thou wherfor that he hath sente me more than ony other / For thou hast resemblyd in to thynges in that thou hast sene the merueyles of the Sancgreal in that thou hast ben a clene mayden as I haue ben and am / And whanne he had said these wordes Galahad went to Percyual and kyssed hym & commaunded hym to god / and soo he wente to sire Bors / & kyssed hym / and commaunded hym to god / and sayd Fayre lord salewe me to my lord syr launcelot my fader / And as soone as ye see hym / byd hym remembre of this vnstable world And there with he kneled doune tofore the table / and made his prayers / and thenne sodenly his soule departed to Ihesu Crist and a grete multitude of Angels bare his soule vp to heuen / that the two felawes myghte wel behold hit / Also the two felawes sawe come from heuen an hand / but they sawe not the body / And thenne hit cam ryght to the vessel / and took it and the spere / and soo bare hit vp to heuen / Sythen was there neuer man soo hardy to saye that he had sene the Sancgreal /