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 Quintum

THenne sir Bors thought he shold no more goo in to that chamber to reste hym / and soo syr Bors dressyd hym betwixe the knyghte and that chamber dore / and there sir Bors smote hym doune / and thenne that knyght yelded hym What is your name said syr Bors / Syr said he / my name is pedyuere of the streyte marches / Soo syre Bors made hym to swere at whytsonday next comyng to be atte court of kyng arthur / and yelde hym there as a prysoner as an ouercome knyghte by the handes of syr Bors / Soo thus departed syr pedyuere of the strayte marches / And thenne syre Bors layd hym doune to reste / and thenne he herd and felt moche noyse in that chamber / and thenne sir Bors aspyed that there came in / he wist not whether at the dores nor wyndowes shot of arowes and of quarels soo thyck that he merueylled / and many felle vpon hym and hurte hym in the bare places / And thenne syre Bors was ware where came in an hydous lyon / soo sire bors dressid hym vnto the lyon / & anone the lyon berafte hym his sheld & with his suerd syr bors smote of the lyons heed /

[leaf 290r] Ryght soo syre Bors forth with all sawe a dragon in the courte passynge horryble / and there semed letters of gold wryten in his forhede / and sir Bors thoughte that the letters made a sygnyfycacyon of kynge Arthur / Ryghte soo there came an horryble lybard and an old / and there they foughte longe / & dyd grete batail to gyders / And at the laste the dragon spytte oute of his mouthe as hit had ben an honderd dragons / and lyghtely alle the smal dragons slewe the old dragon and tare hym all to pyeces / Anone with alle there came an old man in to the halle / and he satte hym doune in a fayre chayre / and there semed to be two edders aboute his neck / and thenne the old man had an harp / and there he sange an old songe how Ioseph of Armathye came in to this land / thenne whanne he had songen / the old man bad sir Bors go from thens / for here shall ye haue no mo aduentures / and ful worshypfully haue ye done / and better shalle ye doo here after / And thenne sir Bors semed that there came the whytest douue with a lytel golden senser in her mouthe / And anone there with alle the tēpest ceased and passed that afore was merueyllous to here / Soo was alle that Courte ful of good sauours / Thenne syre Bors sawe four children berynge four fayre tapres / and an old man in the myddes of the children with a senser in hys owne hand / and a spere in his other hand / and that spere was called the spere of vengeaunce