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 quartum

[leaf 330v]

¶ Capitulum Quartum

LOo sir launcelot said the good man / there thou myȝtest vnderstande the hyghe lygnage that thou art comen of / And thyne aduysyon betokeneth after the passion of Ihesu Criste fourty yere Ioseph of Armathye preched the vyctory of kynge Euelake / that he had in the batails the better of his enemyes of the seuen kynges and the two knyghtes / the fyrst of hem is called Nappus an holy man / and the second hyghte Nacyen in remembraunce of his graunte syre / and in hym dwelled oure lord Ihesu Cryst / And the thyrd was called Hellyas le grose / and the fourth hyght Lysays / and the fyfthe hyghte Ionas / he departed out of his countrey and went in to walys / and toke there the doughter of Manuel / where by he had the lond of Gaule / and he came to dwelle in this countrey / And of hym came kynge launcelot thy graūte syre / the whiche there wedded the kynges doughter of Irland and he was as worthy a man as thow art / and of hym cam kynge Ban thy fader the which was the last of the seuen kynges / and by the sir launcelot hit sygnefyeth that the Angels sayd thou were none of the seuen felauships / and the laste was the ix knyght / he was sygnefyed to a lyon / for he shold passe all maner of erthely knyghtes / that is syre Galahad / the whiche thow gate on kynge Pelles doughter / and thou ought to thanke god more than ony other man lyuynge / for of a synner erthely thow hast no piere as in knyghthode nor neuer shalle be / But lytyl thanke hast thou gyuen to god for al the grete vertues that god hath lent the /

¶ Syr said Launcelot ye saye that that good knyȝt is my sone That ouȝtest thow to knowe and no man better said the good man / For thow knewest the doughter of kyng Pelles flesshely / and on her thow begattest Galahad / And that was he that at the feest of Pentecost satte in the sege peryllous / And therfor make thow hit knowen openly that he is one of thy begetynge on kynge Pelles doughter / for that wyl be youre worship and honour and to alle thy kynred / And I coūceyle yow in no place prece not vpon hym to haue

[leaf 331r] adoo with hym / wel sayd launcelot / me semeth that good knyghte shold praye for me vnto the hyghe fader / that I falle not to synne ageyne / Trust thow wel sayd the good man thou faryst mykel the better for his prayer / but the sone shall not bere the wyckednes of the fader / Nor the fader shalle not bere the wyckednes of the sone / but eueryche shalle bere his owne burthen / And therfor beseke thow only god / and he wylle helpe the in alle thy nedes / And thenne syr launcelot and he wente to souper / and soo leyd hym to rest / and the hayre prycked so syr launcelots skynne whiche greued hym ful sore / but he toke hit mekely / and suffred the payne / and soo on the morne / he herd his masse and took his armes / and soo toke his leue /