[Le morte darthur]

¶Capitulum x

SYr Galahalt sayd the squyer that knyghte that woun¦ded Bagdemagus sendeth yow gretynge / and bad that ye shold bere this shelde where thurgh / grete aduentu∣res shold befalle / Now blessid be good & fortune said Gala¦had / And thenne he asked his armes / and mounted vpon his hors / and henge the whyte shelde aboute his neck / & com∣maunded hem vnto god / and syr Vwayne said he wold bere hym felauship yf it pleasyd hym / ¶Sir sayd Galahad that maye ye not / for I must goo alone sauf this squyer shall bere me f••lauship / and so departed Vwayne / Thenne within a why∣le came Galahad there as the whyte knyght abode hym by the heremytage / and eueryche salewed other curt••isly / ¶Sir said Galahad by this shelde ben many merueils fallen / Sir sayd the knyght hit befelle after the passion of our lord Ihesu Crist xxxij yere that Ioseph of Armathye the gentyl knyghte / the whiche took doune oure lord of the hooly Crosse att that tyme he departed from Iherusalem with a grete party of his kynred with hym / and so he laboured tyl that they came to a cyte that hyght Sarras / and att that same houre that Ioseph came to Sarras there was a kynge that hyghte Euelake that had gre¦t•• werre ageyne the Sarasyns / and in especyal ageynste one Sarasyn / the whiche was kyng Euelaks cosyn / a ryche kyng

and a myghty whiche marched nyghe this land / and his name was called Tolleme la feyntes / Soo on a day this two mette to doo bataill / Thenne Ioseph the sone of Ioseph of Armathye wente to kynge Euelake / and told hym he shold be discomfyt and slayne but yf he lefte his bileue of the old lawe and by loue vpon the newe lawe / And thenne there he shewed hym the ryght bileue of the holy Trynyte / to the whiche he agreed vnto with alle his herte / and there this shelde was maade for kynge Euelake in the name of hym that dyed vpon the crosse And thenne thurgh his good bileue he had the better of kyng Tolleme / For whanne Euelake was in the batail / there was a clothe sette afore the sheld / And whanne he was in the gret¦test perylle he lete putte awaye the clothe / and thenne his ene∣myes sawe a fygur of a man on the Crosse where thurgh they alle were discomfyte / And soo it befelle that a man of Kynge Euelaks was smyten his hand of / and bare that hand in his other hand / and Ioseph called that man vnto hym / and badde hym goo with good deuocyon touche the Crosse / And as soone as that man had touched the Crosse with his hand / it was as hole as euer hit was to fore / Thenne soone after there felle a grete merueyll that the Crosse of the sheld at one tyme vanys¦shed awey that no man wyst where it became / And thenne ky∣nge Euelake was baptysed / and for the moost party alle the peple of that Cyte / So soone after Ioseph wold departe / and kynge Euelake wold goo with hym whether he wold or nold / And soo by fortune they came in to this land that at that tyme was called grete Bretayne / and there they fond a grete felon paynym / that put Ioheph in to pryson / And soo by fortune ty∣dynges cam vnto a worthy man that hyghte Mondrames / & he assembled alle his peple for the grete renomme he had herde of Ioseph / and soo he came in to the land of grete Bretayne & disherited this felon paynym and consumed hym / and ther with delyuerd Ioseph oute of pryson / and after that alle the peple were torned to the Crysten feithe