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 Tercium

IN the meane whyle Galahad blessed hym / & entrid therin / and thenne next the gentylwoman / & thenne sir Bors & sir Percyual / And whan they were in / it was so merueyllous fayre and ryche that they merueylled / & in myddes of the shyp was a fayr bedde / & Galahad wente therto / & fond there a crowne of sylke / And at the feet was a swerd ryche & fayre / and hit was drawen oute of the shethe half a foot and more / and the suerd was of dyuerse facyons / and the pomel was of stone / and there was in hym alle manere of colours that ony man myght fynde / and eueryche of the colours hadde dyuerse vertues / and the skalys of the hafte were of two rybbes of dyuerse beestes / the one beest was a serpent whiche was conuersaunt in Calydone / and is called the serpent of the fend And the bone of hym is of suche a vertu that there is no hand that handeleth hym shalle neuer be wery nor hurte / and the other beest is a fysshe which is not ryght grete / and haunteth the flood of Eufrate / and that fysshe is called Ertanax / and his bones be of suche a maner of kynde that who that handeleth hem / shalle haue soo moche wille that he shalle neuer be wery and he shalle not thynke on Ioye nor sorow that he hath had But only that thynge that he beholdeth before hym / And as for this suerd there shalle neuer man begyrype hym at the handels but one / but he shalle passe alle other / In the name of god said Percyual I shall assaye to handle hit / Soo he sette his hand to the suerd / but he myghte not begrype hit / by my feyth said he now haue I fayled / Bors set his hand therto & fayled Thenne Galahad beheld the suerd and sawe letters lyke blood that sayd / lete see who shall assaye to drawe me oute of my

[leaf 347r] shethe / but yf he be more hardyer than ony other / & who that draweth me / wete ye wel that he shalle neuer fayle of shame of his body or to be wounded to the dethe / By my feyth said galahad I wold drawe this suerd oute of the shethe / but the offendynge is soo grete that I shalle not sette my hand therto Now sirs said the gentilwoman wete ye wel that the drawynge of this suerd is warned to alle men sauf al only to yow Also this shyp aryued in the realme of Logrys / and that tyme was dedely werre bytwene kynge labor whiche was fader vnto the maymed kynge and kynge Hurlame whiche was a Sarasyn / But thenne was he newely crystend / soo that men helde hym afterward one of the wyttyest men of the world / & soo vpon a day hit befelle that kynge Labor and kynge Hurlame had assembled their folke vpon the see where this shyp was aryued / and there kyng Hurlame was discomfyte / and his men slayne / and he was aferd to be dede / and fled to his shyp and there he fond this suerd and drewe hit / and cam oute and fond kyng Labor the man in the world of al crystendom in whome was thenne the grettest feythe /

¶ And when kynge Hurlame sawe kynge Labor he dressid this suerd / and smote hym vpon the helme soo hard that he clafe hym / and his hors to the erthe with the fyrst stroke of his suerd / and hit was in the realme of Logrys / and soo bifelle grete pestylence & grete harme to both Realmes / for sythen encrecyd neyther corne ne grasse nor wel nyghe no fruyte / ne in the water was no fysshe werfor men callen hit the landes of the two marches the waste land / for that dolorous stroke / And when kynge Hurlame sawe this suerd soo keruyng / he torned ageyne to fetche the scaubard / And soo came in to this shyp and entred and putt vp the suerd in the shethe / And as soone as he had done it / he felle doune dede afore the bedde / Thus was the swerd preued that none ne drewe it but he were dede or maymed / So laye he ther tyl a mayden cam in to the shyp / and cast hym oute / for there was no man so hardy of the world to entre in to shypthat for the defence