[Le morte darthur]

¶Capitulum Quartum

WHanne the kynge thus had made his prayers he herd a voys that sayd herd ben thy prayers / for thow shalt not dye tyl he haue kyst the / And whanne that knyʒte shalle come the clerenes of your eyen shalle come ageyne / and thow shalt see openly / and thy woundes shalle be heled / & erst shalle they neuer close / and this befelle of kynge Euelake / & this same kynge hath lyued this thre honderd wynters thys holy lyf / and men saye the knyghte is in the Courte that shall hele hym / Sir sayd the good man I praye yow telle me what knyghte that ye be / and yf ye be of kyng Arthurs courte & of the table roūd / ye forfoth said he / & my name is sir percyual

de Galys / And whanne the good man vnderstood his name he made grete Ioye of hym / And thenne syr percyual departed and rode tyl the houre of none / and he mette in a valey about a twenty men of armes whiche bare in a bere a knyghte dedely slayne / And whanne they sawe syr percyuale they asked hym of whens he was / and he ansuerd of the Courte of kyng Ar∣thur / thenne they cryed all at ones slee hym / Thenne syr percy¦ual smote the fyrst to the erthe and his hors vpon hym / And thenne seuen of the knyghtes smote vpon his sheld al attones and the remenaunt slewe his hors soo that he felle to the erthe Soo had they slayne hym or taken hym had not the good kn∣yʒte sir Galahad with y^e reed armes come there by aduenture in to tho partyes / And whanne he sawe alle tho knyghtes vp on one knyghte / he cryed saue me that knyghtes lyf / And then¦ne he dressid hym toward the twenty men of armes as faste as his hors myght dryue with his spere in the reyste / & smote the formest hors and man to the erthe / And whanne his spe∣re was broken / he sette his hand to his suerd and smote on the ryght hand and on the lyfte hand / that it was merueylle to see / and at euery stroke he smote one doune or put hym to a re¦buke / soo that they wold fyghte no more but fled to a thyck forest / and syr Galahad folowed them / And whanne sir per∣cyuale sawe hym chase hem soo / he made grete sorowe that hys hors was awey / And thenne he wyst wel it was syre Gala∣had / And thēne he cryed alowde A fayre knyghte abyde and suffre me to doo thankynges vnto the / for moche haue ye done for me / But euer syr Galahad rode soo fast that atte laste he past oute of his syghte / And as fast as sir percyual myght he wente after hym on foote cryenge / And thenne he mette with a yoman rydynge vpon an hakney the whiche led in his hand a grete stede blacker than ony bere / A fayr frend sayd sir per∣cyuale as euer as I maye doo for yow / and to be your true knyghte in the fyrst place ye wille requyre me that ye wille le∣ne me that black stede that I myghte ouertake a knyghte the whiche rydeth afore me

¶ Syre knyghte sayd the yoman I praye yow hold me ex∣cused of that / for that I maye not doo / For wete ye wel the hors is suche a mans hors that and I lente it yow or ony man

that he wold slee me / Allas sayd sir Percyual / I had neuer soo grete sorowe as I haue had for losynge of yonder knyghte Syr sayd the yoman I am ryghte heuy for yow / for a good hors wold byseme yow wel / but I dar not delyuer you this hors but yf ye wold take hym from me / that wille I not doo sayd syre Percyual / and soo they departed / and syre Percy∣ual sette hym doune vnder a tree / and made sorowe oute of me sure / & as he was there ther cam came a knyght rydyng on the hors that the yoman lad / and he was clene armed /