[Le morte darthur]

¶Capitulum xxvj

THenne cam the foure sones by couple / and two of them brake their speres / and soo dyd the other two / And alle this whyle syre marhaus touched hem not / Thenne sir mar¦haus▪ ranne to the duke / and smote hym with his spere that hors and man felle to the erthe / And so he serued his sones / And thenne syr Marhaus alyghte doune and bad the duke

yelde hym or els he wold slee hym / And thenne some of his sones recouerd / and wold haue set vpon syr Marhaus / then∣ne syr Marhaus sayd to the duke seace thy sones or els I will doo the vttermest to yow all / Thenne the duke sawe he myghte not escape the deth he cryed to his sones and charged them to yelde them to syr Marhaus / And they kneled al doune / and put the pomels of theire swerdes to the knyght / and soo he re∣ceyued them / And thenne they halp vp their fader / and soo by their comynal assente promysed to syr Marhaus neuer to be foes vnto kynge Arthur / and therupon at whytsontyde after to come he and his sones and putte them in the kynges grace Thenne syr Marhaus departed and within two dayes his da¦moysel brought hym where as was a grete tornement that the lady de Vawse had cryed / And who that dyd best shold ha¦ue a ryche serklet of gold worthe a thousand besauntes / And there syr Marhaus dyd so nobly that he was renomed / & had somtyme doune fourty knyghtes / and soo the serklet of gold was rewarded hym / Thenne he departed fro thens with grete worship / And soo within seuen nyghtes his damoysel brought hym to an erles place / his name was the erle Fergus / that af¦ter was syre Trystrams knyghte / and this Erle was but a yonge man / and late come in to his landes / and there was a gyant fast by hym that hyʒte Taulurd / and he had another broder in Cornewaille that hyghte Taulas that syr Trystram slewe whanne he was oute of his mynde / So this Erle maade his complaynte vnto syre Marhaus that there was a gyaunt by hym that destroyed al his londes / & how he durst nowhere ryde nor goo for hym / Syr sayd the knyghte whether vseth he to fyghte on horsbak or on foote / nay sayd the erle there maye no hors here hym / wel said syr marhaus thenne wille I fygh∣te with hym on foote / Soo on the morne syr Marhaus prayd the erle that one of his men myghte brynge hym where as the gyaūt was / and so he was / for he sawe hym sytte vnder a tree of hoolly / and many clubbes of yron and gysarms about hym Soo thys knyghte dressid hym to the gyant putiyng his sheld afore hym / and the gyant toke an Iron clubbe in his hande / & at the fyrste stroke he clafe syre Marhaus shelde in ij pyeces / And there he was in grete peryl / for the gyant was a Wyly

fyghter / but atte last syr Marhaus smote of his ryght arme aboue the elbowe / thēne the gyant fledde and the knyght after hym / and soo he drofe hym in to a water / but the gyant was soo hyghe that he myghte not wade after hym / And thenne sir Marhaus made the erle Fergus man to fetche hym stones / & with tho stones the knyghte gaf the gyaunt many sore knoc∣kes / tyl at the last he made hym falle doune in to the water / & so was he there dede / thēne syr Marhaus wēte vnto the gyants castel / and there he delyuerd xxiiij ladyes and twelue knyʒ¦tes oute of the gyants pryson / and there he had grete rychesse withoute nombre / soo that the dayes of his lyf he was neuer poure man / thenne he retorned to the erle Fergus / the whiche thanked hym gretely / and wold haue gyuen hym half his lā¦des but he wold none take / Soo syr Marhaus dwellyd with the erle nyghe half a yere / for he was sore brysed with the gy∣aunt / and at the laste he took his leue / And as he rode by the way / he mette with syr gawayne and syr Vwayne / and so by aduenture he mette with foure knyghtes of Arthurs courte / the fyrst was syr Sagramore desyrus / syr Ozanna / syr Do∣dynas le saueage / and syre felot of lystynoyse / and there syr Marhaus with one spere smote doune these foure knyghtes / and hurte them sore / Soo he departed to mete at his day afore sel••e