Arthur of Brytayn The hystory of the moost noble and valyaunt knyght Arthur of lytell brytayne, translated out of frensshe in to englisshe by the noble Iohan bourghcher knyght lorde Barners, newly imprynted.

How the frensshe knightes, & those of Soroloys, of Argence, of Orqueney, of Mormal, of Ismaelyte, of Valefoūde, and of Sabary dyde tournay togyder wherof Arthur and Gouernar had the honour. Capitulo .C.xiii.

[illustration]

THe fourth daye after the ma∣ryage durynge the feest, duke Goubert, syr B••rtrande, syr Clemenson, & syr Perdycas went to king Alexander and desyred him to remembre the tournay y^t thei had enterprysed, & with th•• wordes Arthur came to them, than kynge Alex∣ander answered & sayde. Fayre lordes in goddes name let it be done to morowe, than he dyd sende for all y^• erles barons and knyghtes of Fraūce & shewed them of the tournay to be holden the next day wherof they had great ioye, & euery man cōmaūded that theyr harneys should be made redy ayenst the next morning, and than the tidinges sprad ouer al the citie how that y^e frensshe men should tournay ayenst the knyghtes of that coūtre who were in ••ōbre .x. ayenst one frensshe mā And whan Arthur vnderstode y^t he sente for Gouernar, & whan he was come to hym he drew him apart and sayd, frende

to morowe shal be the tourney agaynst our men, wherfore we ought to kepe & de¦fend them, wherfore we must aduyse vs how we shal do, for I se the knightes of this coūtry haue gret enuy at th••se fren∣che knightes, & they are .x. tymes as ma∣ny as our people be, wherfore I doubt me that our knightes should haue some vylany, & I had rather dye than su••••re y^t therfore I shal shew you what we shall do, whan the tourney shal be to morow begon▪ I shal come to your lodgynge as pryuely as I can, and there ye shal abide me, and thā we wil arme vs both in straū¦ge harnes, to thentent that we sholde not be knowen and thā we wil go to the tur¦ney and helpe our knightes, for I think they shal haue grete nede of vs, & Hector and the dolphin shal be in the fyrst front and yf I can, duke Phylyp, the mayster and Brysebar shal not turney agaynste our knightes, because they haue bene in fraunce, and haue had there righte good chere and as for al the remenant I care not for. as for them they be ou••e frendes and lothe I were to displese theim, kepe secrete this matter y^t no man know ther¦of, for I wyl that we do this as couer••ly as we can. In the name of god so be it {quod} Gouernar, and so euery man drew to his rest for that day, and the next mornynge betimes, euery man rose and so went and herd masse, and after toke a so•• in wine Than the knightes ran to theyr harnes on euery side, than hornes and trompe••s began to sowne in euery strete of y^e city & than duke Goubert and al his company wer redy aparailed and so yssued into the felde. Than kynge Alexander dyd arme hym and al his company. Than Arthur came to king Emendus and wyth hym was the kyng of orqueney, than Arthur said, syr the knightes of this your coūtry are .x. tymes as many as are these french knightes, and syr they are of suche condi¦cyons that they wyl neuer recu••e back to die therfo••e, syr I know not the myndes of th••se your knightes, for yf they thin•• to ouercome them and seke therfore it ca•• be none other wise but y^• many shall dye in the quarell, syr me thinketh ther••ore y^• it were well done y^t I sholde cause be ar¦med .v. hondred knightes and take them with me to kepe y^e none yl sholde be done In the name of god {quod} kynge Emendus so be it than departed Arthur for he had that he desyred, than he toke w^t hym syr Brysebar and syr Tercelin his n••uew & did shi•• the chambre dore after them, than he said too syr Brisebar, syr I loue you & take you of my pre••y counsayle, it is so there be many knightes ayenst oure fren∣che men, for I se well they are fa••re ouer matched, wherfore I wyl go ayde them wherfore I wyl haue syr Tercelī a••med in my harneys, for he is nye of the same bygnes y^t I am of, & he shal take w^t hym v. hondred knightes w••l armed & go too the turnay to kepe the felde that no hurt shal be done, and no mā shal know but y^t it were I and ye syr Brisebar & I wil go to Gouernars lodging as priuely as we can, and there he & I wil arm vs in some straunge harneys, to thentent y^t no man shal know vs, wherfore I pray you dys∣couer me not, so than syr Tercelyn was armed in Arthurs a••mur & toke w^t hī •••• hondred & yssued out of the Citie w^t gr••t noyse of trompetes and ••abouts, than du¦ke Goubert sayd yonder cometh Arthur to kepe the feld to thentent that we shold do none outerage too these frenche men. So than in the first front was duke Hec¦tor, the dolphin and the lord de la ••ound than all the other kynges and the duke of britaine mounted on theyr horses to be¦holde

holde the tourney, and also thyder came the kyng of valefound and mayster Ste¦uen hys son wyth hym, and .v. hondred knightes in his company. And whan the frenche men were entred into the fyelde they were not the .x. part so many as the other were. And whan mayster Steuen saw that he said to his fader, syr beholde yonder the knightes of greate hardynes seyng theyr countenaunces, for they bee nothyng abasshed for al that they be soo farre ouermatched, than Arthur wente pryuely to thabbey of saynt Germaines to Gouernar, and there they armed them in straūge harnes, and moūted on .ii. gre¦te coursers. And whan the frenche men were a renged, than Hector aduysed wel syr Rowland of bygor who was comyn¦ge toward hym than Hector rusht to his hors and encoūtred sir Rowland so rude¦ly y^t he tombled ••uer his hors tayle than kyng Emendus sayd to the duke of bry∣tayne, syr this beginnyng is on your par¦te, than the dolphyn encountred at one frusshe syr de la ••ound and syr Morand & ouerthrewe them bothe to the earth, than the turney began to be maruailous fiers but the frenche knyghtes were sore ouer matched, wherfore they endured muche payn & at last Arthur & Gouernar came towarde the prese al disguysed, than Ar∣thur sayde too Gouernar, syr whan ye se Hector bydde hym kepe vs .ii. company but be wel ware that he knowe you not, with a good wyl syr {quod} Gouernar and so they rode forth fayre a softely, and whā duke Philip saw them con••yng he sayd to the kyng, syr beholde yonder comith two straūge knightes, it semeth by theyr comyng that they are afrayd of the fyrst strokes, therw^t they aproched to the tour¦nay, than Gouernar shewed too Arthur syr Bertrand by whom the turnay was fyrst begon, and also the duke Gouberte who gaue many gret strokes w^t his swor¦de, and there w^t Arthur & Gouernar stoode styl and beheld them, than kinge Emen¦dus sayde, I thynke yonder .ii. knightes doubte greatly these strokes. Ye syr they do wisely {quod} duke Philip, therw^t Gouer∣nar ran at sir Ber••rand & b••re him cle••e out of his sadel. Mary sayd the kynge I wene we haue mocked yon••er knightes wrongfully, we shal se sone what ech o∣ther knigh•• can do therw^t Arthur ran at duke Goubert and encountred him so ru¦dely y^t he sent bothe horse and knight all to there•• in a hepe than he toke his swor¦de & layd on round about him so that he confoūded al y^t euer he attayned vnto, & Gouernar was not behynd for his pa•••• Saynt mary {quod} the kyng who knoweth yonder knightes, they seme to be the best knyghtes o•• al the world. Syr sayde the kyng of orqueney but y^t I se Arthur yon∣der withoute the felde I wolde ••aye elles playnly that it were he, by that tyme Ar¦thur had broken that gret prese, than he espyed where the do••phin & Hector & the erle of mountbelial and .xxx. of their cō∣pany were sore ouerladen, for there we••e many on them, and by that time the du∣ke Gouberte was horsed new agayne, than Arthur ran at hym and strake hym too ru••ely on the helme soo that he was thereby in a trau••ce and hys horse bare hym all about the ••yelde, tyll at the laste he came before kynge Emendus where as he was▪ and than he came to him selfe againe and sayd al the deuyl••es of hell take suche a carpenter, and he that fyrste brought him into this countrey, than Ar∣thur was ••ore handled in the prease, but than he russhed forth and charged so his swerde on these knightes in suche wise that he and Gouernar bet downe al that

••uer was before them. And whan y^t the frenche knightes saw y^t these .ii. knygh∣tes did helpe and dyde thē so nobly, than they toke on them so gret hardines that they confounded al that were before thē, than knightes of the other part sayd let vs fle away for and we abide, de••h wil fo¦low therby, and so than they fled away on euery syde fro him, than the king & su∣che as were in his cōpany and al other y^t dyd behold the tourney had great mar∣uaile of the dedes of the .ii. knightes and mayster Steuen perceiued we•• the play of Arthur than he knewe well y^t it was he and said softely to hym selfe, a gentyl knyght y^• cannest not fayle thy frendes I cā not suffre any lenger that ye shold endure more trauayle, than the mayster blewe suche a blast y^t there rose sodenlye in the tourney suche a myst y^t one could scant se an other, thā Arthur and Gouer¦nar departed as priuelye as they could & went to thabbey o•• S. Germain and so than euery man went to their own lodgī¦ges, and as sone as thei wer vnarmed al the french men went to king Alexāders lodging, and they went all ••ogider to the kinges court, and the king Emendus did welcome them and made to them ryg••te gret ••est and ioye, and was right glad of the gret prowes that he had lene in them that day, than the king toke kinge Alex∣ander by the hand and demaunded of hī wha•• .ii. knightes that they were that so nobly dyd tourney on their part that day and where that they were. And he answe¦red and sayd, syr I can not tell you what they be, nor where they are becom. Thā the kyng enquyred of al the other if they could tell any ••poynges of them, & whan the kynge sawe that he could haue noo knowledge of them he fell sodeynlye in & greate s••udye, and as he stode soo mu∣syng Arthur and Gouernar came to the court, than the kynge enbraced them and demaunded yf they knewe any thyng of those twoo knyghtes that hadde ••oone so greate prowesse. And they answered that they knewe nothynge of theym. So than they wasshed and wente to dy∣ner, and after dyner they sporced theym euery man as he lyked best, and as kyng Emendus sawe these knyghtes spor••yn∣ge of them in the palays, he remembred the two knyghtes and again demaunded yf any body knewe them. And when the mayster saw the kinge in that ca••e he ••a∣me to him and said fayre and softe••y, syr beleue certaynly that these ••woo knygh∣tes that ye desyre so sore to known was Arthur and Gouernar. Than the kyng had ryghte greate ioye, and so wente ••o theym and enbraced wyth wepyng eye•• for ioye, and sayd in open audyence, ••yth I haue gyuen my doughte•• to Arthur I repente me not, for I could not haue be∣stowed he•• more no••••y than on hym, for I coulde not haue beleued to haue seene so muche noblenes in one knyghte as I haue sene in hym this day, than the kyn¦ge made so greate feast and ••oye that it was ma••uayle to beholde, thus ••n••u••••d the feast .xv. dayes. Than all the ladyes would returne into fraunce wherof Flo¦rence was right sorowfull, how ••e it she dyd soo muche that they al•• abode other ••v. dayes & so than they departed. Than king Emendus & Florence and al other lordes and ladies broughte Gouernar & I••hannet into theyr londe of mormall, and there they were receiued with greate ioy and honor, and caried there .viii. dais