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THenne syr launcelot syghed / and there with the teres felle on his chekes / and thenne he sayd thus / Allas moost noble Crysten Realme whome I haue loued aboue al other realmes / and in the I haue geten a grete parte of my worshyp / and now I shalle departe in this wyse / Truly me repenteth that euer I came in this realme that shold be thus shamefully bannysshed vndeserued and causeles / but fortune
is soo varyaunt / and the whele soo meuable / there nys none constaunte abydynge / and that may be preued by many old Cronykles of noble Ector and Troylus and Alysander the myghty Conquerour / and many moo other / whan they were moost in their Royalte / they alyghte lowest / and soo fareth it by me sayd sir Launcelot / for in this realme I had worshyp and by me and myn alle the hole round table hath ben encre¦cyd more in worship by me and myn blood than by ony other And therfor wete thow wel sire Gawayne I may lyue vp∣on my landes as wel as ony knyghte that here is / And yf ye moost redoubted kynge wylle come vpon my landes with syr Gawayne to werre vpon me / I must endure yow as wel as I maye / But as to yow sir Gawayne yf that ye come there I pray yow charge me not with treason nor felony / for and ye doo / I must ansuer yow / doo thou thy best sayd sir Gawayne / therfore hyhe the fast that thow were gone / and wete thou wel we shalle soone come after and breke the strengest Castel that thow hast vpon thy hede / That shalle not nede sayd sir Launce¦lot / for and I were as orgulous sette as ye are / wete you wel I shold mete yow in myddes of the felde / Make thow no mo∣re langage sayd syre Gawayne / but delyuer the quene from the / and pyke the lyghtely oute of this Courte / wel sayd syr Launcelot / and I had wyst of this shorte comynge / I wolde haue aduysed me twyes or that I had comen hyder / for and the Quene had be soo dere to me as ye noyse her / I durst haue kepte her from the felaushyp of the best knyghtes vnder heuen And thenne syr Launcelot sayd vnto Gueneuer in heryng of the kynge and hem all / Madame now I muste departe from you and this noble felauship for euer / & sythen it is soo / I byseche yow to praye for me / and saye me wel / and yf ye be hard be∣stad by ony fals tonges / lyghtly my lady sende me word / and yf ony knyghtes handes may delyuer yow by bataill / I shall delyuer yow / and there with all sir launcelot kyst the Quene / and thenne he sayd al openly now lete see what he be in this place that dar saye the Quene is not true vnto my lord Arthur lete see who will speke and he dar speke / And ther with he bro∣ughte the Quene to the Kyng / and thenne sir Launcelot toke his leue and departed / and ther was neyther Kyng duke / ne
erle / baron ne knyghte / lady nor gentylwoman / but alle they wepte as peple oute of their mynde / excepte sir Gawayn / and whan the noble sir Launcelot took his hors to ryde oute of Car¦leyl / there was sobbynge and Wepynge for pure dole of his de¦partynge / and soo he took his Way vnto Ioyous gard / And thenne euer after he called it the dolorous gard / And thus de∣parted sir Launcelot from the courte for euer / And soo whan he came to Ioyous gard he called his felaushyp vnto hym / & asked them what they wold do / thēne they ansuerd all holy to gyders with one voys they wold as he wold doo / my fayre fe¦lawes sayd syr Launcelot I must departe oute of this moost noble realme / and now I shalle departe / hit greueth me sore / for I shalle departe with no worshyp / for a flemyd man de∣parted neuer oute of a realme with noo worshyp / and that is my heuynes / for euer I fere after my dayes that men shalle cronykle vpon me that I was flemed oute of this land / and els my fayre lordes be ye sure and I had not dred shame my lady Quene Gweneuer and I shold neuer haue departed / Thenne spak many noble knyghtes as sir Palomydes / sir Sa∣fyr his broder / and sir Bellangere le bewse / and sir Vrre with sir Lauayne with many other / Sir and ye be so disposed to a byde in this land / we wyll neuer fayle yow / & yf ye lyst not to abyde in this land / ther nys none of the good knyʒtes that here ben will fayle yow / for many causes / One is / All we that ben not of your blood shalle neuer be welcome to the Courte / And sythen hit lyked vs to take a parte with yow in youre distresse & heuynesse in this realme / wete yow wel it shall ly∣ke vs as wel to goo in other countreyes with yow / and there to take suche parte as ye doo / My fayre lordes sayd sir launce∣lot I wel vnderstande yow and as I can / thanke yow / and ye shalle vnderstande suche lyuelode as I am borne vnto I shal departe with yow in this maner of wyse / that is for to say / I shalle departe alle my lyuelode and alle my landes frely a∣monge yow / and I my self wylle haue as lytel as ony of you for haue I suffycyaunt that may longe to my person / I wylle aske none other ryche araye / and I truste to god to mayntene yow on my landes as wel as euer Were mayntened ony knyʒ¦tes / Thenne spap all the knyghtes at ones / he haue shame that
wylle leue yow / For we alle vnderstande in this realme wyll be now no quyete but euer stryf and debate / now the felauship of the round table is broken / for by the noble felaushyp of the round table Was Kynge Arthur vp borne / and by their no∣bles the kynge and alle his realme was in quyete and reste / and a grete parte they sayd all was by cause of your noblesse