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 lxxij

ANd thou sire Tristram faryst alle this daye as though thou haddest ben a slepe / and therfor I calle the coward wel Dynadan said sir Tristram / I was neuer called coward or now of no erthely knyghte in my lyf / and wete thou wel syr I calle my selfe neuer the more coward though syre Launcelot gaf me a falle / For I oute cepte hym of al knyghtes / And doubte ye not syr Dynadan and syr Launcelot haue a quarel good / he is to ouer good for ony knyght that now is lyuynge / and yet of his sufferaunce largesse / bounte / and curtosy I calle hym knyght pyerles / and soo sire Tristram was in maner wrothe with syr Dynadan / But alle this langage syr Dynadan said by cause he wold angre syre Tristram for to cause hym to awake his spyrytes & to be wrothe for wel knewe syr Dynadan that and syr Tristram were thorouly wrothe syre Palomydes shold not gete the pryce vpon the morn / And for this entente syr Dynadan said alle this raylynge and langage ageynst sir Tristram / Truly said syre palomydes / as for syr launcelot of his noble knyȝthode / curtosye and prowesse /

[leaf 270v] and gentilnes I knowe not his pyere / for this day sayd syre Palomydes I dyd ful vncurtoisly vnto sire launcelot and ful vnknyghtely / and ful knyghtely and curtoisly he dyd to me ageyne / for and he had ben as vngentyl to me as I was to hym this daye I had wonne no worship / And therfor sayd Palomydes I shal be sire launcelots knyght whyles my lyfe lasteth / Thys talkynge was in the howses of Kynges / But alle kynges lordes and knyghtes sayd of clere knyghthode / & of pure strengthe / of bounte / of curtosye / syr Launcelot and sir Tristram bare the pryce aboue alle knyghtes that euer were in Arthur dayes / And there were neuer knyghtes in Arthurs dayes dyd half soo many dedes as they dyd / as the book sayth / no ten knyghtes dyd not half the dedes that they dyd & there was neuer knyghte in their dayes that requyred sir launcelot or sire Tristram of ony quest soo hit were not to theyre shame but they performed their desyre