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 Octauum

ANd anone as he was a slepe / hym befelle a vysyon / that there came to hym two byrdes / the one as whyte as a swan / and the other was merueyllous blak / but it was not soo grete as the other / but in the lykenes of a Rauen / thēne the whyte byrd came to hym / and sayd / and thou woldest gyue me mete and serue me / I shold gyue the alle the ryches of the world / And I shalle make the as fayre and as whyte as I am / Soo the whyte byrd departed / and there came the blak byrd to hym & sayd / & thou wolte serue me to morowe & haue me in no despyte / though I be blak / for wete thow wel / that more auayleth my blaknes than the others whytnes / and thenne he departed / and he had another vysyon / hym thoughte / that he came to a grete place whiche semed a chappel / & there he fonde a chayer sette on the lyfte syde whiche was worme eten / and feble / And on the ryghte hand were two floures lyke a lylye / and the one wold haue benome the others whytnes But a good man departed hem that touched not the other / & thenne oute of eueryche floure came oute many floures and fruyte grete plente / Thenne hym thoughte the good man sayd / shold not be doo grete foly that wold lete these two floures perysshe for to socoure the rotten tree that hit felle not to the erthe Syr sayd he / it semeth me that this woode myghte not auayle Now kepe the sayd the good man that thou neuer see suche aduenture befalle the / Thenne he awaked and made a sygne of the crosse in myddes of the forhede / and soo rose / & clothed hym and there came the lady of the place / and she salewed hym / & he her ageyne / and so wente to a chappel and herd their seruyse And ther came a companye of knyghtes that the lady had sent

[leaf 338r] for to lede sir Bors vnto bataille / Thenne asked he his armes And whanne he was armed / she prayd hym to take a lytyl morsel to dyne / Nay madame sayd he / that shalle I not do tyll I haue done my bataille by the grace of god / And soo he lept vpon his hors / and departed alle the knyghtes and men with hym / And as soone as these two ladyes mette to gyder / She whiche Bors shold fyghte for complayned her and sayd madame ye haue done me wronge to bireue me of my landes that kynge Anyaus gaf me / and ful lothe I am there shold be ony bataille / ye shalle not chese sayd the other lady or els youre knyghte withdrawe hym / Thenne ther was the crye made whiche party had the better of tho two knyghtes that his lady shold reioyse alle the lande / Now departed the one knyghte here / and the other there / Thenne they came gyders with suche a raundon that they perced their sheldes and their hauberkes / & the speres flewe in pyeces / and they wounded eyther other sore / Thenne hurteled they to gyders so that they felle both to the erthe / and their horses betwix their legges / and anone they arose and sette handes to their swerdes / and smote echone other vpon the hedes that they made grete woundes and depe that the blood wente oute of her bodyes / For ther fond sir Bors gretter defence in that knyght more than he wende / For that Prydam was a passynge good knyghte / and he wounded sir bors ful euyl and he hym ageyne / but euer this Prydam helde the stoure in lyke hard / That perceyued sire Bors and suffred hym tyl he was nyghe attaynte /

¶ And thenne he ranne vpon hym more and more/ and the other wente bak for drede of deth Soo in his withdrawynge he felle vp ryght / and syre Bors drewe his helme soo strongly that he rente hit fro his hede / and gafe hym grete strokes with the flatte of his swerd vpon the vysage / and bad hym yelde hym or he shold slee hym / Thenne he cryed hym mercy and sayd Faire knyght for goddes loue slee me not / and I shall ensure the neuer werre ageynst thy lady / but be alwey toward her / Thenne Bors lete hym be / thenne the old lady fledde with alle her knyghtes