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

[leaf 54v]

ANd syr gauayne went in to the castel and made hym redy to lye there al nyght / and wold haue vnarmed hym / what wylle ye doo sayd gaheryse / wylle ye vnarme yow in this Countrey / ye may thynke ye haue many enemyes here / they had not sooner sayd that word but ther cā four knyghtes wel armed and assayled syr gauayne hard and said vnto hym thou newe made knyght thow hast shamed thy knyghthode / for a knyght withoute mercy is dishonoured Also thow hast slayne a fayr lady to thy grete shame to the worldes ende / and doubte thow not thow shalt haue grete nede of mercy or thow departe from vs / And therwith one of hem smote syr gauayne a grete stroke that nygh he felle to the erthe / and gaheryse smote hym ageyne sore / and soo they were on the one syde and on the other / that syr gauayne and gaheryse were in ieopardy of their lyues / and one with a bowe an archer smote syr gauayne thurȝ the arme that it greued hym wonderly sore / And as they shold haue ben slayne / there cam four fair ladyes / and besought the knyghtes of grace for syre gauayne / and goodely atte request of the ladyes they gaf syr gauayne and gahersye their lyues / & made hem to yelde them as prysoners / thenne gauayne and gaheryse made grete dole / Allas sayd syre gauayne myn arme greueth me sore / I am lyke to be maymed and so made his complaynt pytously / erly on the morow ther cam to syr gauayne one of the four ladyes / that had herd alle his complaynte and said syr knyȝte what chere / not good said he it is your owne defaulte sayd the lady / for ye haue doone a passynge fowle dede in the sleynge of the lady / the whiche will be grete vylany vnto yow / But be ye not of kynge Arthurs kyn saide the lady / yes truly sayd syr gauayne / what is your name saide the lady / ye must telle it me or ye passe / my name is gauayne the kyng Lott of Orkeney sone / and my moder is kynge Arthurs syster / A thenne are ye neuewe vnto kyng Arthur sayd the lady / and I shalle so speke for yow that ye shall haue conduyte to go to kynge Arthur for his loue / and soo she departed / and told the foure knyghtes how theire prysoner was kynge Arthurs neuewe / and his name is syr gauayne kyng Lots sone of Orkeney / and they gaf hym the hertes hede by cause it was in

[leaf 55r] his quest /

¶ Thenne anone they delyuerd syr Gauayne vnder this promyse that he shold bere the dede lady with hym in this maner / The hede of her was hanged aboute his neck and the hole body of hyr lay before hym on his hors mane / Ryght soo rode he forth vnto Camelot / And anone as he was come merlyn desyred of kyng Arthur þ^t Syre Gauayne shold be sworne to telle of alle his auentures / and how he slewe the lady / and how he wold gyue no mercy vnto the knyght / where thurgh the lady was slayne / Thenne the kynge and the quene were gretely displeasyd with syr gauayn for the sleynge of the lady / And ther by ordenaunce of the quene ther was set a quest of ladyes on syr gauayn / and they Iuged hym for euer whyle he lyued to be with all ladyes & to fyȝte for her quarels / & that euer he shold be curteys / & neuer to refuse mercy to hym / that asketh mercy / Thus was gauayne sworne vpon the four euuangelystes that he shold neuer be ageynst lady ne gentilwoman / but yf he fought for a lady / and his aduersary fouȝt for another /

And thus endeth the auenture of syr gauayn that he dyd at the maryage of kyng Arthur Amen