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
About this Item
Title
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
Author
Malory, Thomas, Sir, 15th cent.
Editor
Caxton, William, ca. 1422-1491, Sommer, H. Oskar (Heinrich Oskar), b. 1861
Publication
London: David Nutt
1889
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"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." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/MaloryWks2. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 29, 2024.
Pages
¶ Capitulum xiiij
THenne kynge Arthur and kynge Ban and Kynge
Bors with her good and trusty knyghtes set on hem
so fyersly that he made them ouer throwe her pauelions on her
hedys / but the xj kynges by manly prowesse of armes tooke
a fayre champayne / but there was slayne that morowe tyde x
M good mennys bodyes / And so they had afore hem a strong
passaye yet were they fyfty M of hardy men / Thenne it drewe
toward day / now shalle ye doo by myne aduys said Merlyn
vnto the thre kynges I wold that kynge Ban and kynge
Bors with her felauship of x M men were put in a wood
here besyde in an enbusshement and kepe them preuy / and that
they be leid or the lyght of the daye come / and that they stere
not tyll ye and your knyghtes haue foughte with hem longe
And whanne hit is daye lyght dresse your bataille euen afore
them and the passage that they may see alle your hooste / For
thenne wyl they be the more hardy when they see yow but
aboute xx M / and cause hem to be the gladder to suffre yow and
youre hoost to come ouer the passage / All the thre kynges and
the hoole barons sayde that Merlyn said passyngly wel / and
it was done anone as Merlyn had deuysed / Soo on the morn
whan eyther hoost sawe other / the hoost of the north was well
comforted / Thenne to Vlfyus and Brastias were delyuerd
thre thowsand men of armes / and they sette on them fyersly
in the passage / and slewe on the ryght hand and on the lyft
hand that it was wonder to telle /
¶ Whanne that the enleuen kynges sawe that there was so
fewe a felauship dyd suche dedes of armes they were ashamed
and sette on hem agayne fyersly / and ther was syr Vlfyus
hors slayne vnder hym / but he dyd merueyllously well on
foote /
¶ But the Duke Eustace of Cambenet
descriptionPage 54
[leaf 27v]
and Kynge Claryaunce of Northumberland / were alweye
greuous on Vlfyus / thenne Brastias sawe his felawe ferd
so with al / he smote the duke with a spere that hors & man fell
doune / that sawe kyng Claryaunce and retorned vnto
Brastias / and eyther smote other soo that hors & man wente to the
erthe / and so they lay long astonyed / & their hors knees brast
to the hard bone / Thenne cam Syr kay the sencyal with syxe
felawes with hym / and dyd passyng wel / with that cam the
xj kynges / and ther was Gryflet put to the erthe hors & man
and lucas the bottelere hors and man by kynge
Brandegorys and kyng Idres & kyng Agwysaunce / thēne waxed the
medle passynge hard on bothe partyes / whan syre kay sawe
Gryflet on foote / he rode on kyng Nentres & smote hym doun
and lad his hors vnto syr gryflet & horsed hym ageyne /
Also syr kay with the same spere smote doun kyng Lott / & hurt
hym passyng sore / that sawe the kyng with the C knyȝtes and
ran vnto syr kay and smote hym doune and toke his hors / &
gaf hym kyng Lott wherof he said gramercy / whan syr
Gryflet sawe syr kay & lucas the bottelere on foote / he tooke a sharp
spere grete and square / and rode to pynel a good man of
armes / and smote hors and man doune / And thenne he tooke
his hors / and gaf hym vnto syr kay / Thenne kynge Lot saw
kyng Nentres on foote / he ranne vnto Melot de la roche / &
smote hym doune hors and man & gaf kyng Nentres the hors &
horsed hym ageyne / Also the kyng of the C knyȝtes sawe
kynge Idres on foot thenne he ran vnto Gwymyart de bloy and
smote hym doune hors and man & gaf kynge Idres the hors
& horsed hym ageyne / & kyng Lot smote doun Claryaunce de
la foreist saueage & gaf the hors vnto duke Eustace / And so
whanne they had horsed the kynges ageyne they drewe hem
al xj kynges to gyder and said they wold be reuenged of the
dommage that they had taken that day / The meane whyle cam
in syr Ector with an egyr countenaunce / and found Vlfyus
and Brastias on foote in grete perylle of deth that were
fowle defoyled vnder horsfeet / Thenne Arthur as a lyon ranne
vnto kynge Cradelment of North walys / and smote hym
thorowe the lyfte syde that the hors and the kynge fylle doune /
And thenne he tooke the hors by the rayne / and ladde hym
descriptionPage 55
[leaf 28r]
vnto Vlfyus & said haue this hors myn old frend / for
grete nede hast thow of hors / gramercy said Vlfyus / thenne syre
Arthur dyd so merueillously in armes that all men had
wondyr / Whan the kynge with the C knyghtes sawe kyng
Cradelment on foote / he ranne vnto syre Ector that was wel horsed
syr kayes fader / and smote hors and man doune / and gaf the
hors vnto the kynge / and horsed hym ageyne / and when kyng
Arthur sawe the kyng ryde on syr Ectors hors he was wroth
and with his swerd he smote the kynge on the helme / that a
quarter of the helme and shelde fyll doune / and so the swerd
carf doune vnto the hors neck / and so the kyng & the hors fyll
doune to the ground / Thenne syr kay cam vnto syr
Morganore sencial with the kyng of the C knyghtes & smote hym doun
hors and man / and lad the hors vnto his fader syre Ector /
thenne syr Ector ranne vnto a knyght hyghte lardans / &
smote hors & man doune / & lad the hors vto syr Brastias that
grete nede had of a hors and was gretely defoyled / whan
Brastias beheld lucas the botteler that lay lyke a dede man
vnder the horse feet / and euer syr Gryflet dyd merueillously
for to rescowe hym / and there were alweyes xiiij knyghtes on
syr lucas / & thenne Brastias smote one of hem on the helme /
that it wente to the teeth / & he rode to another and smote hym
that the arme flewe in to the feld / Thēne he wente to the third
and smote hym on the sholder that sholder and arme flewe in
the feld / And whan Gryflet sawe rescowes / he smote a
knyght on the tempils that hede & helme wente to the erthe / and
gryflet took the hors of that knyght & lad hym vnto syr
lucas / & bad hym mounte vpon the hors & reuenge his hurtes /
For Brastias had slayne a knyghte to fore & horsed
gryflet /
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