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 ij

ANd soo as sire mordred wat at Douer with his host there came kyng Arthur with a grete nauye of shyppes and galeyes and Carryks / & there was syr Mordred redy awaytynge vpon his londage to lette his owne fader to lāde vp the lande that he was kyng ouer / thenne there was launcynge of grete botes and smal / and ful of noble men of armes / and there was moche slaughter of gentyl knyghtes and many a full bolde baron was layd ful lowe on bothe partyes / But kynge Arthur was soo couragyous that there myght no maner of knyghtes lette hym to lande / and his knyghtes fyersly folowed hym / and so they landed maulgre sir mordreds and alle his power / and put sir mordred abak that he fledde & alle his peple / Soo whan this batail was done / kyng Arthur lete burye his peple that were dede / And thenne was noble syr Gawayne fonde in a grete bote lyenge more than half dede / Whan syr Arthur wyst that syre Gawayne was layd so lowe he wente vnto hym / and there the kyng made sorowe oute of mesure / and took sire Gawayne in his armes / and thryes he there swouned / And thenne whan he awaked / he sayd / allas sir Gawayne my systers sone / here now thow lyggest the man in the world that I loued moost / and now is my Ioye gone / for now my neuewe syre Gawayne I will discouer me vnto your persone / in syr Launcelot & you I moost had my Ioye / & myn affyaunce / & now haue I lost my Ioye of you bothe / wherfor alle myn erthely Ioye is gone from me / Myn vnkel kyng Arthur said sir Gawayn wete you wel my deth day is come / & alle is thorou myn owne hastynes & wilfulnes / for I am smyten vpon thold wounde the which sir launcelot gaf me / on the whiche I fele wel I must dye / & had sir laūcelot ben with you as he was / this vnhappy werre had neuer begonne / & of alle this am I causer / for sir laūcelot & his blood thorou their prowes

[leaf 421v] helde alle your cankeryd enemyes in subiectyon and daungere And now sayd sir Gawayne ye shalle mysse sir Launcelot / But allas I wold not accorde with hym / and therfor sayd syr Gawayne I praye yow fayre vnkel that I may haue paper / pen / and ynke / that I may wryte to syre Launcelot a cedle with myn owne handes / And thenne whan paper & ynke was broughte / thenne Gawayn was set vp weykely by kynge Arthur / for he was shryuen a lytel tofore / and thenne he wrote thus as the Frensshe book maketh mencyon / Vnto syre Launcelot floure of alle noble knyghtes that euer I herd of / or sawe / by my dayes / I syre Gawayne kynge Lottes sone of Orkeney / syster sone vnto the noble kyng Arthur / sende the gretynge / & lete the haue knowleche that the tenth day of may I was smyten vpon the old wound that thou gauest me / afore the Cyte of Benwyck / and thorow the same woūd that thou gauest me / I am come to my dethe day / And I wil that alle the world wete / that I sir Gawayne knyghte of the table round / soughte my dethe / and not thorou thy deseruynge / but it was myn owne sekynge / wherfor I byseche the sir launcelot / to retorne ageyne vnto this realme / and see my tombe / & praye some prayer more of lesse for my soule / And this same day that I wrote this sedyl / I was hurte to the dethe in the same wound / the whiche I had of thy hand syr Launcelot / For a of a [sic] more nobler man myghte I not be slayne / Also sir Launcelot for alle the loue that euer was betwyxe vs / make no taryenge / but come ouer the see in al haste / that thow mayst with thy noble knyghtes rescowe that noble kynge that made the knyghte / that is my lord Arthur / for he is ful streygthly bestadde with a fals traytour / that is my half broder syr Mordred / and he hath lete croune hym kynge / and wold haue wedded my lady quene Gueneuer / and soo had he done had she not put her self in the toure of london / and soo the / x / day of May last past / my lord Arthur and we alle landed vpon them at douer / and there we putte that fals traytour syre Mordred to flyghte / and there it mysfortuned me to be stryken vpon thy stroke / And at the date of this letter was wryten but two houres and an half afore my dethe wryten with myn owne hand / and soo subscrybed with parte of my hertes

[leaf 422r] blood / And I requyre the moost famous knyghte of the world that thou wylt see my Tombe / and thenne sir Gawayne wept and kynge Arthur wepte / And thēne they swouned both / And whan they awaked bothe / the kynge made syr Gawayn to receyue his saueour / And thenne sir Gawayne praid the kynge for to sende for sir launcelot / and to cherysshe hym aboue alle other knyghtes / And so at the houre of none syr Gawayn yelded vp the spyryte / and thenne the kynge lete entiere hym in a chappel within douer Castel / and there yet alle men maye see the sculle of hym / and the same wound is sene that syr Launcelot gaf hym in bataill / Thenne was it told the kynge that syr Mordred had pyghte a newe feld vpon Baramdoune / And vpon the morne the kynge rode thyder to hym and there was a grete bataille betwixe them / and moche peple was slayne on bothe partyes / but at the last syr Arthurs party stode best / and sir Mordred and his party fledde vnto Caūturbery