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 xxiij

THenne whan sir Blamor myghte speke / he said thus Syre Tristram de Lyones I requyre the as thou art a noble knyghte and the best knyghte that euer I fond that thou wilt slee me oute / for I wold not lyue to be made lord of alle the erth / for I haue leuer dye with worship than lyue with shame / and nedes sir Tristram thou must slee me / or els thou shalt neuer wynne the feld / for I wille neuer saye the lothe word / And therfore yf thou dare slee me / slee me / I requyre the / Whanne sir Tristram herd hym saye soo knyghtely / he wyste not what to doo with hym / he remembryng hym of bothe partyes of what blood he was comen / and for sir Launcelots sake he wold be lothe to slee hym / and in the other party in no wyse he myghte not chese / but that he must make hym to saye the lothe word or els to slee hym / Thenne syre Tristram starte abak and went to the kynges that were Iuges / and ther he kneled doun to fore hem and besoughte hem for their worshippes and for kynge Arthurs and sir Laūcelots sake that they wold take this mater in theyr handes / For my fayre lordes said sir tristram hit were shame and pyte / that this noble knyght that yonder lyeth shold be slayne / for ye here wel / shamed wille he not be / and I pray to god that he neuer be slayne nor shamed for me / And as for the kyng for whome I fyghte fore I shalle requyre hym as I am his true champyon and true knyght in this felde that he wille haue mercy vpon this knyghte / So god me helpe said kynge Anguysshe I wil for your sake syre tristram be ruled as ye wylle haue me / For I knowe you for my true knyghte /

¶ And therfore I

[leaf 154v] wylle hertely pray the kynges that ben here as Iuges to take hit in theire handes / And the kynges that were Iuges called syr Bleoberys to them / and asked hym his aduyse

¶ My lordes said Bleoberys / though my broder be beten and hath the wers thorou myghte of armes I dare saye though syre Trystram hath beten his body / he hath not beten his herte / and I thanke god he is not shamed this daye / And rather than he shold be shamed / I requyre you sayd Bleoberys lete sir Tristram slee hym oute / It shalle not be soo said the kynges / for his parte aduersary bothe the kynge and the champyon haue pyte of syre Blamors knyghthode / My lordes said Bleoberys I wille ryght wel as ye wille /

¶ Thenne the kynges called the kynge of Irland and fond hym goodely and tretabyl / And thenne by alle their aduyses syre Tristram and syre Bleoberys toke vp sire Blamore / and the two bretheren were accorded with kynge Anguysshe / and kyssed and made frendys for euer / And thenne sire Blamor and sire Trystram kyssed to gyders / and there they made their othes that they wold neuer none of them two bretheren fyghte with syre Trystram / and syre Trystram made the same oth And for that gentyl bataille alle the blood of syre Launcelot loued sire Trystram for euer /

¶ Thenne kynge Anguysshe and syre Tristram toke theire leue ande sailed in to Irland with grete noblesse and ioye /

¶ Soo whanne they were in Irland / the kynge lete make it knowen thoroute alle the land how and in what manere syre Trystram had done for hym

¶ Thenne the Quene and alle that there were made the moost of hym that they myghte / But the Ioye that la beale Isoud made of syr Tristram there myghte no tonge telle / for of alle men erthely she loued hym moost