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 quintum

IN goddes name sayd syr launcelot / for I promyse you by the feythe of my body I had as moche to doo as I myght to saue my self fro you vnshamed / and therfore haue ye no doubte of none erthely knyghte / Hope ye so that I maye ony whyle stand a proued knyght sayd Beaumayns / ye sayd Launcelot / doo as ye haue done / and I shal be your waraunt / Thenne I praye you sayd Beaumayns yeue me the ordre of knyghthode / thenne must ye telle me your name seyd launcelot / and of what kynne ye be borne / Syr soo that ye wylle not discouer me I shal sayd Beaumayns / nay sayd syre laūcelot / and that I promyse yow by the feithe of my body / vn tyl hit be openly knowen / Thenne syr he sayd my name is Gareth and broder vnto syr Gawayn of fader and moder / A syr said Launcelot I am more gladder of you than I was / For euer me thouȝte ye shold be of a grete blood / and that ye cam not to the courte neyther for mete ne for drynke / And thenne sire Launcelot gaf hym thordre of knyȝthode / and thenne sire Gareth prayd hym for to departe and lete hym goo / Soo syre launcelot departed from hym and came to syre kay and maade hym to be born home vpon his shelde / and so he was helyd hard with the lyf / and al men scorned syr kay / and in especyal sir Gawayne and syre launcelot sayd it was not his parte to rebuke no yong man / for ful lytel knewe he of what byrth he is comen / and for what cause he came to this courte / and soo we leue syr kay and torne we vnto Beaumayns / whanne he had ouertaken the damoysel / anone she sayd what dost thow here / thou stynkest al of the kechyn / thy clothes ben bawdy of

[lead 110r] the greece and talowe that thou gaynest in kyng Arthurs kechyn / wenest thou sayd she that I alowe the for yonder knyȝt that thou kyllest / Nay truly / for thou slewest hym vnhappely and cowardly / therfor torne ageyn bawdy kechyn page / I knowe the wel / for syre kay named the Beaumayns / what arte thou but a luske and a torner of broches and a ladyl wessher Damoysel sayd Beaumayns saye to me what ye wylle / I wylle not goo from you what someuer ye say / for I haue vntertake to kynge Arthur for to acheue your aduenture / and so shal I fynysshe it to the ende / eyther I shal dye therfore / Fy on the kechyn knaue wolt thou fynysshe myn aduenture / thou shalt anone be met with al / that thou woldest not for alle the brothe that euer thou soupest ones loke hym in the face / I shal assaye sayd Beaumayns / Soo thus as they rode in the woode / ther came a man fleynge al that euer he myghte / whether wolt thou sayd Beaumayns / O lord he said / helpe me / for here by in a slade are syxe theues that haue taken my lord and bounde hym / soo I am aferd lest they wyl slee hym / Brynge me thyder said Beaumayns / and soo they rode to gyders vntyl they came there as was the knyghte bounden / and thenne he rode vnto hem / and strake one vnto the dethe / and thenne an other / and at the thyrd stroke he slewe the thyrdde theef / and thenne the other thre fledde / And he rode after hem / and he ouertook hem / and thenne tho thre theues tourned ageyne and assayled Beaumayns hard / but at the last he slewe them / & retorned and vnbounde the knyghte / And the knyght thanked hym / and prayd hym to ryde with hym to his castel there a lytel besyde / and he shold worshipfully rewarde hym for his good dedes / Syr sayd Beaumayns I wille no reward haue / I was this day made knyghte of noble syr launcelot / & therfor I wylle no reward haue / but god rewarde me / And also I must folowe this damoysel / And whan he came nyghe her she bad hym ryde fro her / for thou smellyst al of the kechyn / Wenest thou that I haue Ioye of the / for al this dede that thou hast done nys but myshappen the / But thou shalt see a syghte shal make the torne ageyne and that lyghtly / Thenne the same knyght whiche was rescowed of the theues rode after that damoysel and prayed her to lodge with hym alle that nyghte And by cause it was nere nyght / the damoysel rode with hym

[leaf 110v] to his castel / and there they had grete chere / and at souper the knyght sat syr Beumayns afore the damoisel / Fy fy said she syr knyghte ye are vncurtoys to sette a kechyn page afore me hym bysemeth better to stycke a swyne than to sytte afore a damoysel of hyhe parage / thenne the knyght was ashamed atte her wordes / and took hym vp / and sette hym at asyde bord / and sette hym self afore hym / and soo al that nyght they had good chere and mery reste /