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 primum

ANd yf so be ye can descryue what ye bere / ye ar worthy to bere the armes / As for that said syr Tristram I wille ansuere you / this sheld was yeuen me / not desyred / of quene Morgan le fay And as for me I can not descryue these armes for it is no poynt of my charge / and yet I truste to god to bere hem with worship / Truly sayd kynge Arthur ye oughte not to bere none armes / but yf ye wist what ye bare / But I pray you telle me youre name / to what entente said syre Tristram / for I wold wete said Arthur / Syre ye shalle not wete as at this tyme / thenne shalle ye and I doo bataille to gyders sayd Kyng Arthur / why said syre Tristram wylle ye doo bataille with me but yf I telle you my name / and that lytyl nedeth you and ye were a man of worshyp / for ye haue sene me thys day haue had grete traueylle / And therfore ye are a vylaynous knyght to aske bataille of me consyderynge my grete traueylle / how be hit I wyl not fayle you / and haue ye no doubte that I feare not you / though ye thynke ye haue me atte a grete auauntage / yet shalle I ryght wel endure you / And there with all kynge Arthur dressid his shelde and his spere and syre Tristram ageynst hym / and they came soo egerly to gyders / And there kynge Arthur brake his spere all to pyeces vpon syr Tristrams shelde / But sir Tristram hitte Arthur ageyne that hors and man felle to the erthe / And there was kynge Arthur wounded on the lyfte syde a grete wounde and a peryllous / Thenne whanne sir Vwayne sawe his lord Arthur lye on the ground sore wounded he was passynge heuy / And thenne he dressid his shelde and his spere / and cryed

[leaf 207r] alowde vnto syr Tristram and said knyght defende the / So they came to gyder as thonder / and syr Vwayne brysed his spere / alle to pyeces vpon syre Tristrams shelde / and syre Tristram smote hym harder and sorer with suche a myȝt that he bare hym clene oute of his sadel to the erthe / with that syr Tristram torned aboute and said Fair knyghtes / I had no nede to Iuste with you / for I haue had ynough to doo this daye / Thenne arose Arthur / and wente to syr Vwayn and said to sire Tristram we haue as we haue deserued / For thurgh our orgulyte we demaunded bataille of you / and yet we knewe not youre name / Neuertheles by seynt crosse said syre Vwayne he is a stronge knyght at myn aduyse as ony is now lyuyng / Thenne sir Tristram departed / and in euery place he asked & demaunded after sir Launcelot / but in no place he coude not here of hym whether he were dede or on lyue / wherfor sir tristram made grete dole and sorowe / Soo syr Tristram rode by a forest and then̄e was he ware of a fayre toure by a mareyse on that one syde / and on that other syde a fayr medowe / And there he sawe ten knyghtes fyghtynge to gyder / And euer the nere he came / he sawe how ther was but one knyght dyd bataille ageynst nyne knyghtes / and that one dyd soo merueyllously that syre Tristram had grete wonder that euer one knyȝt myght doo soo grete dedes of armes / and thenne within a lytell whyle he had slayne half their horfes / and vnhorsed them / and their horses ranne in the feldes and foreste / Thenne syre Tristram had soo grete pyte of that one knyght that endured soo grete payne / and euer he thought hit shold be syr palomydes by his shelde / and soo he rode vnto the knyghtes and cryed vnto them / and bad them seace of their bataille / for they did them self grete shame soo many knyghtes to fyghte with one / Thenne ansuerd the maister of tho knyghtes / his name was called Breuse saunce pyte that was atte that tyme the mooste meschyeuoust knyght lyuynge / and said thus / syr knyȝt what haue ye ado with vs to medle / And therfor and ye be wyse/ departe on your way as ye cam / for this knyghte shalle not escape vs / that were pyte said syr Tristram that soo good a knyght as he is shold be slayne soo cowardly / And therfore I warne you I will socoure hym with all my puyssaunce

[leaf 207v]