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 xj

And kynge Arthur and the two Kynges lete departe the vij C knyghtes in two partyes And there were iij C knyghtes of the reame of Benwick and of gaule torned on the other syde than they dressid her sheldes / and

[leaf 25v] beganne to couche her speres many good knyghtes / So Gryflet was the first that mette with a knyghte one ladynas and they mett so egerly that al men hadde wonder / And they soo faughte that her sheldes felle to pyeces / and hors and man felle to the erthe / And bothe the frensshe knyghte and the Englysshe knyghte lay so longe that alle men wend they had ben dede / Whan lucas the botteler sawe Gryflet soo lye / he horsed hym ageyne anon / and they two dyd merueillous dedes of armes with many bachelers / Also syre kay came oute of an enbusshement with fyue knyghtes with hym / and they sixe smote other sixe doune / But syr kay dyd that day merueillous dedes of armes / that ther was none dyd so wel as he that day Thenne ther come ladynas & Grastian two knyghtes of fraunce / and dyd passynge wel that all men preysed them / Thenne come there Syre placidas a good knyghte and mette with syr kay and smote hym doune hors and man / wherfore Syre gryflet was wrothe and mette with Syre placidas soo harde that hors and man felle to the erthe / But whan the / v / knyghtes wyst that syr kay had a falle they were wrothe out of wyt / And therwith eche of them / v / bare doune a knyghte / Whanne kyng Arthur and the two kynges sawe hem begyn waxe wrothe on bothe partyes / they lepte on smale hakeneis / and lete crye that all men shold departe vnto their lodgynge And so they wente home and vnarmed them and so to euensonge and souper / And after the thre kynges wente in to a gardyn / and gaf the pryce vnto syre kay and to lucas the bottelere / and vnto Syre Gryflet / And thenne they wente vnto counceil / and with hem gwenbaus the brother vnto syr Ban & Bors a wyse Clerk / and thyder went Vlfyus and Brastias and Merlyn / And after they had ben in counceill / they wente vn to bedde / And on the morne they herde masse and to dyner / and so to their counceille and made many argumentis what were best to doo / At the last they were concluded / that Merlyn shold goo with a token of kyng Ban and that was a rynge vnto his men and kynge Bors and Gracian & placidas sholde goo ageyne and kepe theire castels and her countreyes / as for kynge Ban of Benwick and kynge Bors of Gaules had ordeyned hem / and so passed the see and came to

[leaf 26r] Benwyck / And whan the peple sawe kyng Bans rynge & gracian and placidas they were glad / and asked how the kynges ferd / and made grete ioye of their welfare and cordyng / and accordynge vnto the souerayne lordes desyre / the men of warre made hem redy in al hast possyble / soo that they were xv M on hors and foot / and they had grete plente of vytaylle with hem by Merlyns prouysyon / But gracian and placidas were lefte to furnysshe and garnysshe the castels for drede of kynge Claudas / ryght so Merlyn passed the see wel vytailled bothe by water and by land / And whan he came to the see / he sente home the foote men ageyne and took no mo with hym / but x M men on horsbak the moost parte men of armes and so shypped and passed the see in to Englond / and londed at Douer / and thorow the wytte of Merlyn he had the hoost Northward the pryuyest wey that coude be thoughte vnto the foreist of Bedegrayne / and there in a valey he lodged hem secretely /

¶ Thenne rode Merlyn vnto Arthur and the two kynges & told hem how he had sped / wherof they had grete merueylle / that man on erthe myghte spede so soone / and goo and come So Merlyn told them x M were in the forest of Bedegrayne wel armed at al poyntes / thenne was there no more to saye / but to horsbak wente all the hoost as Arthur had afore purueyed / So with xx M he passed by nyghte and day / but ther was made suche an ordenaūnce afore by Merlyn that ther shold no man of werre ryde nor go in no countrey on this syde trent water / but yf he had a token from kynge Arthur / where thorow the kynges enemyes durste not ryde as they dyd to fore to aspye