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    "endpoint": "/api/sources/grail-romances/parzival/12-book-xii-gramoflanz.json"
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  "work": {
    "slug": "parzival",
    "name": "Parzival"
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  "parents": [
    {
      "slug": "grail-romances",
      "name": "Holy Grail Romances",
      "url": "/sources/grail-romances/"
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  "chapter": {
    "num": 13,
    "slug": "12-book-xii-gramoflanz",
    "title": "Book XII: Gramoflanz",
    "of": 17,
    "words": 9817,
    "text": "## Book XII: Gramoflanz\n\n\nEI DEGAST\n\nDigitized by\n\nGoogk\n\nARGUMENT\n\nIn Book xii. the poet recounts the valiant deeds done by Gawain's\nkinsmen for love's sake, and how they were as naught to the perils dared\nby Gawain.\n\nOf the watch-tower in the castle, and the magic pillar, and how Gawain\nbeheld the coming of Orgelus£ and her knight.\n\nHow Gawain fought with and overcame the Turkowit, and how he was\nurged by Orgelus6's mockery to the venture of the Perilous Ford. How\nhe plucked a bough from a tree guarded by King Gramoflanz, and was\nchallenged by that monarch to single combat. Of the repentance of\nOrgelus£, and her reconciliation with Gawain, and how both were wel-\ncomed by the dwellers in Chateau Merveil. How Gawain secretly sent a\nsquire to the court of King Arthur bidding him, his knights and ladies, to\nIoflanz to witness the combat between Gawain and Gramoflanz.\n\nE I D EG AST\n\nOW he who his rest had broken, if rest he perchance might\n\nMethinks they who hear the story had counted it him for sin.\nFor, e'en as the venture telleth, sore toil had the hero known,\nAnd in sooth did he face such peril that his fame thro* all\n\nwin,\n\nlands hath flown.\n\nLancelot on the sword-bridge battled, and Meljakanz must sue for grace,\nYet as naught was I ween his danger to the woe that Gawain must face.\nAnd that which is told of Garel, the valiant and knightly king,\nWho o'erthrew the lion 'fore the palace and made Nantes with his daring\nring—\n\nAnd he sought the knife too, Garel, but he paid for his deed full dear\nIn the pillar of marble — greater was the venture ye read of here !\nFor the darts that were shot^against Gawain, as his manly courage bade,\nFor a mule were too great a burden if they all on its back were laid !\nThe Perilous Ford hath its dangers ; and Erec must sorrow know,\nWhen for Schoie-de-la-kurt he battled, and Mabonagrein would fain lay\nlow,\n\nYet ne'er had he faced such peril as fell here to knight Gawain.\n\nNor Iwein, the gallant hero, who water would pour amain,\n\nNor feared of the stone the venture — Were these perils all knit in one,\n\nHe who knoweth to measure danger saith Gawain greater deeds had done 1\n\nWhat peril is this I tell of? If ye will, I the woe will name,\nOr too early perchance the telling ? Swift-foot Orgeluse* came,\nAnd straight to the heart of the hero hath she taken her silent way,\nThat heart that hath ne'er known trembling, that courage hath ruled alway.\nVOL. II. D\n\n5o\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nAnd how came it so stately lady might hide in so small a space ?\nFor narrow I ween was the pathway that led to her resting-place.\n\n25 And all sorrow he knew aforetime was as nought to this bitter woe,\nAnd a low wall it was that hid her when his heart did her presence know\nIn whose service he never faltered, but was watchful as he was true.\nNor find ye here food for laughter, that one who ne'er terror knew,\nA hero so brave in battle, should yield to a woman's hand.\n\n30 Alas ! woe is me for the marvel that no man may understand !\n\nAnd Frau Minne she waxeth wrathful 'gainst him who the prize hath won,\nYet dauntless and brave hath she found him, and shall find him, till life be\ndone.\n\nWho harm on a wounded foeman shall work doth his honour stain,\n\nYet in strength 'gainst his will did Love bind him, and it turned to him\n\n35 Frau Minne, wouldst have men praise thee ? Then this will I say to thee,\nThis strife shall be not to thine honour, since sore wounded Gawain shall be.\nAnd ever throughout his life-days has he lived as thou didst command,\nAnd he followed in this his father, and the men of his mother's land.\nFor they yielded thee loyal service since the days Mazadan was king,\n\n40 Who Terre-de-la-Schoie from Fay-Morgan in thy service did gallant bring.\nAnd this do men tell of his children, no man from his fealty fell.\nAnd lther of Gaheviess bare it, thy badge, and he served thee well ;\nAnd never in woman's presence did one speak of the hero's name\nBut their hearts yearned in love towards him, and they spake it, nor thought\n\n45 How then when they looked upon him? Then the tale first was told\n\nFrau Minne, a faithful servant didst thou lose in that gallant knight !\n\nSlay Gawain if thou wilt, as his cousin Ilinot by thine hand was slain,\nSince thy power with the bitter torment of desire did the knight constrain,\nTill he strove for the love of his lady all the days of his fair young life,\nr0 Florie of Kanedig was she, and he served her in many a strife.\n\nAnd he fled from the land of his fathers in the days of his youth's unrest,\nAnd was reared by this queen, and Britain ne'er saw him but as a guest.\nAnd the burden of Love weighed on him, and from Florie's land he fled,\nTill the day that in true love's service, as I told ye, men found him dead.\n\nfor gain.\n\nit shame,\n\naright !\n\nEIDEGAST\n\n5i\n\nAnd often the kin of Gawain thro' love have known sorrow sore, 55\nAnd of those by Frau Minne wounded could I name to ye many more.\nAnd why did the snow and the blood-drops move Parzival's faithful heart ?\n'Twas his wife wrought the spell, I think me ! Yea, others have known\nthine art,\n\nGaloes and Gamuret hast thou vanquished, and in sooth hast thou laid\nthem low,\n\nAnd the twain for their true love's guerdon must the death of a hero know. 60\n\nAnd Itonje, Gawain's fair sister, must love Gramoflanz the king,\n\nAnd grieve for her love ; and sorrow, Frau Minne, thou once didst bring\n\nOn fair Surdamur and her lover : since thou sufferest not Gawain's kin\n\nTo seek them another service, so on him wouldst thou honour win !\n\nBe mighty towards the mighty but here let Gawain go free, 65\nHis wounds they so sorely pain him, and the hale should thy foemen be !\nBut many have sung of love's working who never so knew love's power,\nFor myself, I would hold me silent — But true lovers shall mourn this hour\nWhat chanced unto him of Norway, for the venture he faced right well,\nAnd now, without help or warning, love's tempest upon him fell ! 70\n\nQuoth the hero, * Alas, for restless my resting-place shall be,\nOne couch did so sorely wound me, and the other hath brought to me\nSore torment of love and longing ! Orgeluse' must favour show\nUnto me her true knight and servant, or small joy shall my life-days know ! '\nAs unresting he turned, and he stretched him, the bands from his wounds 75\nwere torn,\n\nSo restless he lay and wakeful awaited the coming morn.\nAnd at last the day shone on him, and many a battlefield\nAnd sword-strife more rest had brought him than the rest which his couch\nmight yield.\n\nWould one liken his woe unto Gawain's, and be e'en such a lover true,\nOf his love-wounds let him be healed, and then smitten by darts anew, 80\nArid methinks he shall find that the sorrow and torment shall vex him more\nThan all the sum of the sorrow he hath borne for love's sake before !\n\nNor love's torments alone vexed Gawain — Ever clearer it grew, the light,\nTill dark seemed the lofty tapers that erstwhile had shone so bright.\n\nitized by G00gle\n\nPARZIVAL\n\n85 Then up sprang from his couch the hero, and as blood, and as iron, red\nWith wounds, and with rust, was his linen, yet beside him he saw outspread\nHosen and shirt of woollen, and the change pleased our hero well,\nAnd robes lined with fur of the marten, and a garment that o'er them fell,\n(In Arras its stuff was woven, and from Arras 'twas hither sent,)\n\n90 And boots had they lain beside it, none too narrow for his content.\n\nIn these garments anew he clothed him, and forth from the chamber went\nGawain, and hither and thither his steps thro' the palace bent,\nTill he found the hall of his venture, no riches he e'er had known\nTo liken unto the glories within this fair castle shown.\n\n95 And there at one side of the palace a narrow dome he found,\n\nAnd it rose high above the building, and a staircase within it wound,\nAnd above stood a shining pillar ; nor of wood was it shapen fair,\nBut so large and so strong that the coffin of Kamilla it well might bear.\nAnd Klingsor, the wise, he brought it from the kingdom of Feirefis,\n\n100 And his cunning and skill had fashioned both the hall and the stair I wis !\n\nNo tent might so round be fashioned ; did the Master Geomefras will\nTo raise such a work he had failed, for unknown to his hand the skill.\n'Twas magic alone that wrought it — The venture it bids us know\nOf diamond, amethyst, topaz, carbuncle with red-fire glow, •\n105 Of chrysolite, emerald, ruby, and sardius, the windows tall,\nThat each one like to the other encircled this wondrous hall.\nAnd rich as the window columns; and carven, the roof o'erhead,\nAnd herein was a greater marvel than all marvels ye yet have read ;\n\nFor, the vault below, no pillar was like to that column fair\nno That stood in the midst of the circle, and wondrous the power it bare,\nFor so the venture telleth — Gawain fain would gaze around,\nAnd alone did he climb the watch-tower, and precious the jewels he\nfound.\n\nAnd he saw there a greater wonder, and the sight never vexed his eye,\nFor he thought him upon the column all the lands of the earth did lie.\n115 And he saw the countries circle, and the mighty mountains' crest\nMeet, e'en as two hosts in battle, as one vision the other pressed.\nAnd folk did he see in the pillar, and on horse or afoot they went, •\nThey ran, and they stood : in a window he sat him on seeing bent.\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nCame the aged Queen Arniv£, with Sangive* her child, and there\nWere two maidens, the gentle daughters that Sangive erewhile did bear. 120\nAnd the four queens they came unto Gawain, and he saw them and sprang\nupright ;\n\nAnd thus quoth the Queen Arnive*, 'Methinks thou shouldst sleep, Sir\nKnight,\n\nFor though rest may no longer please thee, thou art wounded too sore, I trow,\nThat thou further toil and labour shouldst yet for a season know ! '\nQuoth the knight, 'Lady mine and my mistress, 'since thy wisdom hath 125\nbrought to me\n\nMy wit, and my strength, all my lifetime thy servant I fain would be ! '\n\nQuoth the queen, 4 If I so may read them, the words thou didst speak but\nnow,\n\nAnd thou ownest me as thy mistress, then Sir Knight, to my bidding bow,\nAnd kiss at my will these ladies, as thou mayest, without thought of shame,\nSince nor mother nor maid before thee but a kingly birth may claim ! ' 130\nThen glad was Gawain at her bidding, and h'e kissed those ladies three,\nAncl Sangive* was first, then Itonje*, and the third was the fair Kondrie.\nAnd the five sat them down together, and Gawain saw those maidens twain,\nTheir face and their form so gracious, and he looked', and he looked again ;\nYet one woman so worked upon him, for yet in his heart she lay, 135\nThat their beauty by Orgeluse*'s he deemed but a cloudy day.\nFor he held with the Lady of Logrois none other might well compare,\nAnd his heart and his thoughts were captive to this lady so sweet and fair.\n\nNow 'twas done, and Gawain had been greeted with a kiss by those ladies\nthree,\n\nAnd so fair were they all that I wot well their beauty would fatal be *4°\nTo a heart that was yet unwounded — Then he spake to the elder queen,\nAnd he prayed her to tell of the pillar, and the marvels he there had seen.\n\nQuoth Arnive*, ' By day and by night-time that pillar, I ween, doth throw\n\nIts light for six miles around it, so long as its power I know.\n\nAnd all that within that circuit doth chance on its face we see, *45\n\nIn-water, or on the meadow, and true shall the vision be.\n\nThe bird and the beast we see here, the guest and the woodman true,\n\nHe who to this land is a stranger, or its ways of aforetime knew.\n\nDigitized by\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nYea, all may we find within it, and it shineth for six miles round ;\ni5° And so fast and so firm it standeth none moveth it from the ground,\nAnd no hammer shall ever harm it, and no smith hath, I ween, the skill.\n'Twas stolen from Queen Sekundille', I think me, against her will ! '\n\nNow Gawain he saw at this moment on the column a goodly pair,\nA knight with a lady riding, and he thought him the maid was fair,\n155 And clearly and well he saw them — and armed were both steed and knight,\nAnd his helmet was plumed and jewelled, and it gleamed in the morning\nlight.\n\nAnd they rode at a hasty gallop thro' the defile out on the plain :\nTho* I wot well he little knew it, yet they rode but to seek Gawain !\n\nAnd they came by the self-same pathway that Lischois he rode afore,\n160 The proud knight whom Gawain had vanquished, and in joust from his\ncharger bore.\n\nAnd the lady she held the bridle of the knight who to joust would ride,\nAnd the sight to Gawain brought sorrow, and swiftly he turned aside,\nAnd behold ! 'twas no lying vision, for without on the grassy plain\nBy the river rode Orgeluse*, and a knight at her side drew rein.\n165 E'en as hellebore within the nostril pierceth sharp, and a man doth sneeze,\nThro' his eye to his heart came the Duchess, and she robbed him of joy and\n\nAlas ! I wot well 'gainst Frau Minne all helpless shall be Gawain —\nThen he looked on the knight who rode there, and he spake to the queen\nagain,\n\n' Lady, a knight I see there, who rideth with well-aimed spear,\n170 Nor will cease from the goal he seeketh — Well ! I ween he may find it here,\nSince he craveth some deed of knighthood I am ready with him to fight,\nBut say, who shall be the maiden ?' she quoth, * 'Tis the lady bright\nWho is Duchess and queen of Logrois, — Now 'gainst whom doth she bear\nill-will?\n\nFor the Turkowit rideth with her, and unconquered shall he be still.\n175 With his spear such fame hath he won him, as were riches for kingdoms\nthree,\n\nAnd against a hand so valiant 'twere best not to venture thee ;\n\nFor strife is it all too early, and thou shalt be hurt too sore,\n\nAnd e'en wert thou whole I should rede thee to strive with him nevermore!5\n\nease !\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nQuoth Gawain, ' If indeed I be lord here then he who so near shall seek\nDeeds of knighthood, shall shame mine honour if vengeance I fail to wreak. 180\nSince he lusteth for strife, O Lady, thou shalt give me mine armour here ! '\nThen the ladies, the four, bewailed them with many a bitter tear :\nAnd they quoth, * Wilt thou deck thy glory ? wilt thou greater honour know?\nStrive not now, shouldst thou fall before him then greater shall wax our woe.\nBut e'en if thou be the victor, if thou girdest thine harness on - 185\n\nThou must die who so sore art wounded, and with thee are we all undone ! '\n\nGawain, he was sorely anguished, and the cause have ye heard aright,\nFor he counted himself dishonoured by the coming of such a knight.\nAnd his wounds, they must sorely pain him, yet love's torment it vexed him\nmore,\n\nAnd the grief of these four fair ladies, and the love they towards him bore. 19°\nThen he bade them to cease from weeping, and harness and sword he craved,\nAnd his charger ; and those fair women they led forth the hero brave.\nAnd he bade them go forth before him, and adown the steps they wind\nTo the hall where the other maidens so sweet and so fair they find.\n\nThen Gawain for his perilous journey was armed 'neath the light of eyes 195\nTear-dimmed, and they secret held it, and none knew save the merchant wise.\nAnd they bade him the steed make ready, and the hero he slowly stept\nTo the place where his charger waited— nor light on its back he leapt,\nBut scarcely his shield might he carry, for in sooth was he wounded sore.\nAnd thro' centre and rim was it pierced, and traces of battle bore ! 200\n\nThen again he bestrode his charger, and he turned from the Burg away,\nAnd he rode to his host so faithful ; and never he said him Nay,\nBut all that he asked he gave him, a spear both strong and new,\n(Many such had, I ween, been his tribute from that plain where they jousted\ntrue,)\n\nThen Gawain bade him ship him over, in a ferry they sought the shore, 205\nAnd the Turkowit, who high courage and the thought of sure victory bore ;\nFor so well against shame was he armed that ill-deeds from before him fled,\nAnd his fame was so high accounted, that they made of the sward their bed\nWho would ride a joust against him — From their charger they needs must\n\nfall,\n\nAnd of those who had faced his valour, his spear had o'erthrown them all. 210\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nAnd this was the rule of the hero, that by spear-thrust, and no sword-blade,\n\nWould he win to him fame in battle, or his honour be prostrate laid.\n\nAnd to him who should face his onslaught, and o'erthrow him, the self-same\n\nWould he yield, nor defend him further, but would give him his pledge\nstraightway.\n\n215 And thus heard Gawain the story from him who the pledge did hold,\nFor his pledge Plippalinot took there, when the tale of the joust was told.\nDid one fall while the other sat still, with goodwill of the heroes twain\nDid he take that which one must forfeit, and the other methinks should gain,\nOf the charger I speak, hence he led it, for he deemed they enough had\n\n220 Who was victor, and who the vanquished, from the Burg were the tidings\n\nFor the women, they looked on the jousting, and many a conflict saw.\nThen he bade Gawain seat him firmly, and the charger he led to shore,\nAnd his shield and his spear he gave him— and the Turkowit swiftly came\nAs one who his joust can measure, nor too high nor too low his aim.\n225 And Gawain turned his horse against him — of Monsalvasch, Gringuljet,\nAnd it answered unto the bridle, and his spear 'gainst the foe he set.\n\nNow forward ! — the joust be ridden — Here rideth King Lot's fair son,\nUndaunted his heart — Now know ye where the helm hath its fastening\nwon?\n\nFor there did his foeman strike him ; but Gawain sought another aim,\n23° And swift thro' the helmet's visor with sure hand the spear-point came,\nAnd plain to the sight of all men was the fate of the joust that day,\nOn his spear short and strong the helmet from his head Gawain bare away,\nAnd onward it rode, the helmet ! But the knight on the grass lay low,\nWho was blossom and flower of all manhood till he met with such mighty\n\n235 But now he in joust was vanquished, and the jewels from his helm were seen\nTo vie with the dew on the herbage and the flowers on the meadow green.\nAnd Gawain, he rode back unto him, and his pledge did he take that day,\nAnd the boatman he claimed the charger, who was there should say him\n\nday\n\nfought.\n\nbrought,\n\nfoe.\n\nNay?\n\nEIDEGAST\n\n' Thou art joyful, and yet hast small reason/ spake the lady of Gawain's love,\n(As of old were her words of mocking,) 4 Since wherever thy shield doth move 240\nThe lion's paw doth follow— And thou thinkest fresh fame to gain\nSince the ladies have looked on thy jousting — Well thou mayst in thy bliss\nremain,\n\nSince the Lit Merveil hath dealt gently and but little harm hath wrought !\n\nAnd yet is thy shield all splintered as if thou hadst bravely fought —\n\nThou art doubtless too sorely wounded to yearn for a further fray ? 245\n\nAnd such ill to the ' Goose ' be reckoned, that I called thee but yesterday.\n\nSo eager wert thou to vaunt thee, as a sieve hast thou pierced thro'\n\nThy shield, one would deem it riddled with the darts that toward thee flew.\n\nBut to-day mayst thou well shun danger — If thy finger shall wounded be\n\nRide hence to the maids of the castle, for well will they care for thee ! 250\n\nFar other strife were his portion, to whom I a task would give,\n\nDid thine heart yet yearn for my favour, and thou wouldst in my service live ! '\n\nQuoth Gawain to the Duchess, ' Lady, tho' deep were my wounds I trow\nThey ere this have found help and healing — If such help I from thee might\nknow\n\nThat thou, gracious, wouldst own my service, no peril would be so great, 255\nBut I, for thy love and rewarding, the issue would gladly wait ! '\nQuoth she, * Then shalt thou ride with me new honour perchance to gain ! '\nThen rich in all joy and contentment was that valiant knight Gawain —\nAnd the Turkowit went with the boatman, and he bade him the tidings bear\nTo the Burg, and there pray the maidens to have of the knight good care. 260\n\nAnd his spear it was yet unsplintered, tho' both horses they spurred amain\nTo joust, his right hand yet held it, and he bare it from off the plain.\nAnd many a maiden saw him, and wept as he rode away.\nQuoth Arnive', ' Our joy and comfort hath chosen to him to-day\nA joy for the eyes and a sorrow for the heart, yea, both flower and thorn, 265\nAlas ! that he rides with the Duchess, since he leaveth us here forlorn.\nTo the Perilous Ford he rideth, and his wounds sure shall work him ill ! '\n(Maids four hundred must weep for his going, yet new tasks would he fain\nfulfil.)\n\nBut yet tho' his wounds they pained him, his sorrow had taken flight\n\nWhen he looked upon Orgelus£, so fair was her mien and bright. 27Q\n\nDigitized by\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nThen she quoth, * Thou shalt win me a garland of fresh leaves from off a tree,\nAnd I for the gift will praise thee — If thou doest this deed for me\nThou shalt find in my love rewarding ! ' Then he quoth, * Wheresoe'er it\nstand,\n\nThe tree that shall bring such blessing as reward unto this mine hand,\n275 If I not in vain bemoan me, but win hearing for this my grief,\n\nThen thy garland, tho' death it bring me, shall lack not a single leaf ! '\n\nAnd tho' many a blossom bloomed there yet their colour it was as naught\nTo the colour of Orgeluse, and Gawain on her beauty thought\nTill it seemed him his grief of aforetime and his anguish had fled away —\n280 And thus with her guest did she journey a space from the Burg that day,\nAnd the road it was straight and easy, and it led thro' a forest fair,\nAnd Tamris I ween and Prisein were the names that the trees did bear,\nAnd the lord of the wood was Klingsor — Then Gawain the hero spake,\n* Say, where shall that garland blossom which the spell of my grief shall\n\n285 (In sooth he had best o'erthrown her, as oft shall have chanced I trow\nTo many a lovely lady.) Then she quoth, ' Thou shalt see the bough\nWhose plucking shall win thee honour ! ' O'er the field ran a deep ravine,\nAnd so near did they ride to the chasm that the tree from afar was seen.\nThen she quoth, * Now, Sir Knight, one guardeth that tree who my joy hath\n\n29° If thou bring me a bough from off it, no hero such prize shall gain\nAs from me shall be thy rewarding ! And here must I hold my way,\nNor further may I ride with thee ; but make thou no more delay,\nGod have thee in His safe keeping ! Thine horse must thou straightway\nbring\n\nTo the gulf, and with sure hand urge it o'er the Perilous Ford to spring.'\n\n295 So still on the plain she held her, and on rode the gallant knight,\nAnd he hearkened the rush of water that had riven a path with might\nThro' the plain— it was deep as a valley, and no man its waves might ford ;\nThen Gawain spurred his steed towards it, and he sprung o'er the flood so\nbroad,\n\nAnd yet but the charger's fore-feet might light on the further side,\n300 And they fell in the foaming torrent ; and the lady in anguish cried,\n\nbreak?'\n\nslain.\n\n. EIDEGAST\n\nFor swift and wide was the water ; yet Gawain he had strength enow,\nTho' heavy the weight of his armour, for he saw where there grew a bough\nThat hung o'er the foaming torrent, and he grasped it, for life was dear,\nAnd he gained on the bank a footing, and he drew from the waves his spear.\n\nUp and down the stream swam the charger, and Gawain to its aid would go, 305\nYet so swift was the rush of the water he followed with pain its flow,\nFor heavy I ween his harness, and his wounds they were deep and sore :\nThen he stretched out his spear as a whirlpool bare the charger towards the\nshore —\n\nFor the rain and the rush of the waters had broken a passage wide,\nAnd the bank at the place was shelving, and the steed swept towards the 310\nside —\n\nAnd he caught with the spear its bridle, and drew it towards the land\nTill the hero at last might reach it and lay on the rein his hand.\n\nAnd Gawain, the gallant hero, drew his horse out upon the plain,\nAnd the steed shook itself in safety, nor the torrent as prize might gain\nThe shield — Then he girt his charger, and the shield on his arm he took ; 315\nAnd if one weepeth not for his sorrow methinks I the lack may brook,\nTho' in sooth was he in sore peril — For love he the venture dared,\nFor the fair face of Orgeluse*, his hand to the bough he bared.\nAnd I wot, 'twas a gallant journey, and the tree it was guarded well,\nHe was one, were he twain, for that garland his life must the payment tell. 320\nKing Gramoflanz, he would guard it, yet Gawain he would pluck the bough.\nThe water, men called it Sabbins, and the tribute was harsh enow\nThat Gawain would fetch when both charger and knight did the wild waves\nbreast.\n\nTho' the lady was fair, / had wooed not ! To shun her methinks were best.\n\nWhen Gawain erst the bough had broken and its leaves in his helm did 325\nwave,\n\nUprode a knight towards him, and his bearing was free and brave.\nNor too few were his years nor too many ; and in this he his pride had\nshown,\n\nWhat evil so e'er befell him he fought not with one alone,\n\nTwo or more must they be, his foemen ! So high beat his gallant heart,\n\nThat whate'er one might do to harm him unscathed might he thence depart. 330\n\n6o\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nTo Gawain this son of King Ir6t a fair * good-morrow ' gave,\n'Twas King Gramoflanz — * To the garland that doth there in thine helmet\nwave\n\nI yield not my claim ! ' thus quoth he, * Sir Knight, were ye two I trow,\nWho here for high honour seeking had reft from my tree a bough,\n335 I had greeted ye not, but had fought ye, but since thou alone shalt be,\nThou canst ride hence, for strife unequal I deem it a shame tome!'\n\nAnd Gawain, too, was loth to fight him, for no armour the king did wear,\nAnd naught but a yearling falcon he did on his white hand bear.\n(And the sister of Gawain gave it, Itonje* the maid was hight.)\n340 His headgear in Sinzester fashioned was of peacock's plumage bright,\nAnd green as grass was the mantle of velvet that wrapped him round,\nAnd with ermine lined, and on each side it swept even unto the ground.\n\nNone too tall yet strong was the charger on which the king did ride,\nFrom Denmark by land they brought it, or it came o'er the waters wide.\n345 And the monarch he rode unarmed, nor even a sword would bear.\n\nQuoth King Gramoflanz, ' Thou hast foughten, if thy shield may the truth\ndeclare,\n\nFor but little unharmed remaineth, and it seemeth sure to me\n\nThat the \"Lit Merveil \" was thy portion, and this venture hath fallen to thee ! '\n\n* Now hast thou withstood the peril that myself I were fain to dare,\n35° Had not Klingsor been ever friendly, and warfare with her my share\n\nWho in Love's strife is ever victor, since her beauty doth win the day ;\n\nAnd she beareth fierce wrath against me, and in sooth hath she cause alway !\n\nEidegast have I slain, her husband, and with him I slew heroes four ;\n\nOrgeluse' herself, as my captive, I thence to my kingdom bore,\n355 And my crown and my land would I give her, yet what service my hand\nmight yield,\n\nOf all would she naught, but with hatred her heart 'gainst my pleading\nsteeled.\n\nAnd a whole year long I held her, and a whole year long I prayed,\nYet never she hearkened to me, and ever my love gainsaid.\nAnd thus from my heart I bemoan me, since I know that her love to thee\n360 She hath promised, since here I meet thee, and death wouldst thou bring\n\nto me.\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nIf with her thou hadst hither ridden, perchance had I here been slain,\nOr perchance ye had died together — such guerdon thy love might gain ! '\n\n' And my heart other service seeketh, and mine aid lieth in thine hand,\n\nSince here thou hast been the victor thou art lord o'er this wonder-land ;\n\nAnd if thou wilt show me kindness help me now a fair maid to win 365\n\nFor whose sake my heart knoweth sorrow, to King Lot is she near of kin,\n\nAnd no maiden of all earth's maidens hath wrought me such grief and pain !\n\nHer token I bear — I prithee, if thou seest that maid again\n\nSwear thou to her faithful service — I think me she means me fair,\n\nAnd for her sake I fight, for her favour I many a peril dare ; 37°\n\nFor since with true words Orgeluse' her love hath denied to me,\n\nWherever for fame I battled, whate'er might my portion be,\n\nOf joy or of grief, she hath caused it, Itonje', for whom I fight,\n\nYet alas ! I have ne'er beheld her ! Now do me this grace, Sir Knight,\n\nIf aid thou art fain to give me, then take thou this golden ring, 375\n\nAnd unto my lovely lady, I prithee, the token bring.\n\nThou art free from strife, I fight not till thou bring with thee two or more.\n\nWhat honour were mine if I slew thee ? I ever such strife forbore ! '\n\n* Yet in sooth I can well defend me, as a man should,' quoth knight Gawain,\n' Thou thinkest small fame will it bring thee if I here at thine hand be slain, 380\nBut what honour shall / have won me by breaking this bough, I pray ?\nFor none will account it glory if I slay thee unarmed to-day !\nBut yet will I do thy message — Give me here the finger-ring,\nAnd thy sorrow of heart, and thy service, I will to thy lady bring.'\nThen the king he thanked him freely — But Gawain he quoth in this wise, 385\n'Now tell me, Sir Knight, who may he be who doth conflict with me\ndespise ? '\n\n' An thou count it me not for dishonour,' quoth the king, ' here my name be\ntold,\n\nKing Irot he was my father, who was slain by King Lot of old.\n\nAnd King Gramoflanz do men call me, and my heart doth such valour know\n\nThat never, for evil done me, will I fight with but one for foe, 390\n\nSaving one man alone, hight Gawain, of him have I heard such fame\n\nThat to fight with him I am ready, and vengeance from him I claim.\n\nFor his father he dealt with treason, in fair greeting my father slew,\n\nGood cause have I here for mine anger and the words that I speak are true.\n\nDigitized by\n\nPARZIVAL\n\n395 Now dead is King Lot, and Gawain, his fame o'er all knights stands high\nOf the Table Round, and I yearn still till the day of our strife draw nigh.'\n\nThen out quoth King Lot's son dauntless, ' Wouldst pleasure thy lady still,\nIf indeed she shall be thy lady, and dost speak of her father ill ?\nAnd reckonest to him false treason, and her brother art fain to slay !\n\n400 Then indeed must she be false maiden if she mourn not thy deeds alway !\nIf true daughter she were, and sister, for the twain would she surely speak,\nAnd forbid thee, methinks, thine hatred on kinsmen so near to wreak.\nIf so be that thy true love's father hath broken his troth, yet thou\nShouldst, as kinsman, avenge the evil that men spake of the dead, I trow !\n\n405 His son will not fear to do so, and little methinks he'll care\n\nIf small aid in his need he findeth from the love of his sister fair.\nHe, himself, will be pledge for his father, and his sin be upon my head,\nFor Sir King, I who speak am Gawain, and thou warrest not with the dead!\nBut I, from such shame to free him, what honour be mine or fame,\n\n410 in strife will I give to the scourging ere thou slander my father's name ! '\n\nQuoth the king, ' Art thou he whom 1 hated with a hatred as yet unstilled ?\nFor alike with both joy and sorrow thy valour my soul hath filled.\nAnd one thing in thee doth please me, that at last I may fight with thee,\nAnd I rede thee to wit that great honour in this hast thou won from me,\n415 Since I vowed but to fight with thee only — And our fame shall wax great\nalway,\n\nIf many a lovely lady we bring to behold the fray.\nFor I can bring fifteen hundred, and thou art of a fair host king\nAt Chateau Merveil ; and on thy side thine uncle can others bring\nFrom the land that he rules, King Arthur, and Lover its name shall be,\n420 And the city is Bems by the Korka, as well shall be known to thee.\nThere lieth he now with his vassals, and hither can make his way,\nIn eight days, with great joy ; so I bid thee to meet me the sixteenth day,\nWhen I come, for my wrong's avenging, to Ioflanz upon the plain,\nAnd the pay for this garland's plucking I there from thine hand shall gain ! '\n\n425 Then King Gramoflanz prayed of Gawain to ride unto Rosche Sabbin,\n' For nearer methinks than the city no way o'er the flood thou 'It win ! '\nBut out quoth the gallant Gawain, * I will back e'en as erst I came,\nBut in all else thy will I '11 follow.' Then they sware them by their fair fame\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nThat with many a knight and lady at Ioflanz they 'Id meet for strife\n\nOn the chosen day, and alone there would battle for death or life. 43°\n\nAnd on this wise Gawain he parted for awhile from the noble knight,\nAnd joyful he turned his bridle, and the bough decked his helm so bright.\nAnd he checked not his steed, but spurred it to the edge of the gulf once\nmore,\n\nNor Gringuljet missed his footing, but he sprang well the chasm o'er,\nAnd he fell not again, the hero — Then the lady she turned her rein 435\nAs he sprang to the gTound, and tightened the girths of his steed again,\nAnd swiftly to give him welcome, I ween, she to earth did spring,\nAnd low at his feet she cast her, and she spake, ' I such need did bring\nUpon thee, Sir Knight, as I wot well was more than thy worth might ask,\nAnd yet have I felt such sorrow, for the sorrow of this thy task, 440\nAnd the service that thou hast done me, as I deem she alone doth know\nWho loveth in truth, and, faithful, doth weep o'er her lover's woe ! '\n\nThen he quoth, ' Is this truth, and thy greeting be not falsehood in friendly\nguise,\n\nThen thyself dost thou honour, Lady ! For in this shall I be so wise\nThat I know a knight's shield claimeth honour, and thou didst against 445\nknighthood sin,\n\nFor so high doth it stand that from no man methinks doth he mocking win,\n\nWho as true knight hath ever borne him — This, Lady, I needs must say,\n\nWhoever had looked upon me had known me for knight alway,\n\nYet knighthood thou wouldst deny me when first thou my face didst see,\n\nBut henceforth that may rest — Take this garland I won at thy will for thee, 450\n\nBut I bid thee henceforth beware thee that never thy beauty bright\n\nShall again in such wise mislead thee to dishonour a gallant knight,\n\nFor I wot, ere such scorn and mocking again at thine hand I bore,\n\nThy love thou shouldst give to another, I would ask for it nevermore ! '\n\nThen she spake as she wept full sorely, that lady so sweet and fair, 455\n' Sir Knight, did I tell unto thee the woe that my heart doth bear,\nThou wouldst own that full sore my sorrow — If I shall discourteous be,\nThen he whom I wrong may forgive me of true heart with forgiveness free.\nFor of such joy no man can rob me as the joy that I lost awhile\nIn that knight of all knights the bravest, Eidegast, who knew naught of 460\nguile !\n\nDigitized by\n\nPARZIVAI\n\nSo brave and so fair my true love, his fame was as sunlight's ray,\n\nAnd for honour he strove so truly that all others, in this his day,\n\nBoth here and afar, born of woman, they owned that his praise stood high\n\nO'er that of all men, and no glory might e'er with his glory vie.\n\n465 A fountain, for aye upspringing, of virtue, his gallant youth,\n\nAnd falsehood ne'er shamed his honour nor darkened the light of truth.\nInto light came he forth from the darkness, and his honour aloft he bore,\nThat none who spake word of treason might reach to it evermore.\nFrom the root in a true heart planted it waxed and it spread amain,\n\n470 Till he rose o'er all men as Saturn doth high o'er the planets reign.\nAnd true as the one-horned marvel, since the truth I am fain to tell,\nThe knight of my love and desiring, — for whose fate maids may weep full\n\nThro' its virtue I ween it dieth — And I, I was as his heart,\n\nAnd my body was he ! Ah ! woe is me, that I must from such true love\n\n475 And King Gramoflanz, he slew him, the knight thou but now didst see,\nAnd the bough thou hast brought unto me from the tree of his ward shall be.'\n\n* Sir Knight, did I ill-entreat thee, I did it for this alone,\nI would prove if thine heart were steadfast, and my love might to thee\natone.\n\nI know well my words did wound thee, yet they were but to prove thee meant,\n480 And I pray thee, of this thy goodness, be thine anger with pity blent,\nAnd forgive me the ill I did thee. I have found thee both brave and true,\nAs gold that is tried in the furnace shineth forth from the flame anew,\nSo, methinks, doth it shine, thy courage. He, for whose harm I brought\nthee here,\n\nAs I thought me afore, and I think still, his valour hath cost me dear.'\n\n485 Quoth Gawain, ' If awhile death spare me, such lesson I '11 read the king\nAs shall put to his pride an ending, and his life in sore peril bring.\nMy faith as a knight have I pledged him, hereafter, a little space,\nTo meet him in knightly combat, nor our manhood shall we disgrace.\nAnd here I forgive thee, Lady, and if thou wilt not disdain\n\n490 My counsel so rough, I '11 tell thee wherewith thou mayst honour gain,\nWhat shall 'seem thee well as a woman, nor in aught shall unfitting be,\nHere we twain are alone, I pray thee show favour and grace to me ! '\n\nwell,\n\npart !\n\n■ 1\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nBut she quoth, 4 In an arm thus mail-clad but seldom I warmly lay ;\nYet would I not strive against thee, thou shalt on a fitting day\nWin rewarding for this thy service — Thy sorrow will I bemoan,\n\nTill thou of thy wounds art healed and all thought of thine ill be flown ;\n\nTo Chateau Merveil I '11 ride with thee.' 4 Now waxeth my joy indeed ! '\n\nQuoth the hero, of love desirous, and he lifted her on her steed,\n\nAnd close clung his arm around her : 'twas more than she deemed him worth\n\nWhen first by the spring she saw him, and mocked him with bitter mirth. 5°°\n\nThen joyful Gawain he rode hence ; yet the lady she wept alway,\nAnd he mourned with her woe, and he prayed her the cause of her grief to\nsay,\n\nAnd in God's Name to cease from weeping ! Then she quoth, * I must\n\nmourn, Sir Knight,\nBecause of the hand that slew him, the knight of my love, in fight ;\nFor that deed to my heart brought sorrow, tho' I naught but delight had 5°5\n\nknown\n\nWhen Eidegast's love rejoiced me ; yet was I not so o'erthrown\n\nBut since then I might seek his mischief, whatever the cost might be,\n\nAnd many fierce jousts have been ridden that were aimed at his life by me.\n\nAnd here, methinks, canst thou aid me, and avenge me on him, my foe,\n\nAnd repay me for this sore sorrow that my heart doth for ever know.' 510\n\n4 For the winning his death I took gladly the service he proffered me,\n\nA king, who of earthly wishes the master and lord should be,\n\nSir Knight, he was named Anfortas — As his love-pledge to me he sent\n\nThat which standeth without thy portals, from Tabronit it came, that tent,\n\nAnd great I ween is its value— But alas ! for that gallant king, 5r5\n\nSuch reward did he win in my service as all joy to an end must bring.\n\nWhere fain I my love had given, there must I fresh sorrow know,\n\nFor bitter indeed was his guerdon ! — As great, or e'en greater, woe\n\nThan the death of Eidegast brought me, was my lot thro' Anfortas' fate.\n\nNow say, how shall I, of all women most wretched, in this estate, 520\n\nIf my heart yet be true, be other than of senses and mind distraught,\n\nYea, at times have I been beside me when I on Anfortas thought ;\n\nAfter Eidegast did I choose him, my avenger and love to be —\n\nNow hearken and hear how Klingsor won that booth thou erewhile didst\n\nsee :\n\nVOL. II.\n\nE\n\nPARZIVAL\n\n525 When it fell so the brave Anfortas, who this token had sent to me,\n\nWas of love and of joy forsaken, then I feared lest I shamed should be ;\nFor Klingsor, such power he wiekkth by the force of his magic spell,\nThat maiden or man to his purpose can he force as shall please him well.\nAll gallant folk that he seeth, unharmed may they ne'er go free —\n\n53o Thus my riches to him 1 proffered, if so be he sware peace with me.\nAnd he that should brave the venture, and he that should win the prize,\nTo him I my love should offer ; but if so be that in his eyes\nMy love were a thing unworthy, the booth should be mine again.\nBut now hast thou done my bidding, and it falleth unto us twain ;\n\n535 And 'twas sworn in the ears of many, for thereby I hoped to lure\nMy foe (yet in this I failed) for the strife he might ne'er endure.'\n\n' Now courtly and wise is Klingsor ; for his honour it pleased him well\nThat many a deed of knighthood, at my will, in his land befell,\nBy the hand of my valiant servants, with many a thrust and blow.\n\n540 All the week, every day as it passes, and the weeks into years do grow,\nMy troops in their changing order beset him by night and day,\nFor at great cost my snares so cunning for Gramoflanz did I lay.\nAnd many have striven with him, yet must him as victor own ;\nYet I still for his life am thirsting, and at last shall he be o'erthrown.\n\n545 And some were too rich for my payment, and but for my love would serve,\nThen I bid them for that do me service, but reward did they ne'er deserve.'\n\n' And never a man beheld me but his service I swiftly won,\nSave one, and he bare red armour ; to my folk he much ill had done,\nFor hither he rode from Logrois, and he there did my knights o'erthrow\n550 In such wise that they fell before him, and it pleased me but ill I trow.\nAnd, between Logrois and thy meadow, five knights they followed fair,\nAnd he cast them to earth, and their chargers the boatman from thence\nmust bear.\n\nThen as he my knights had vanquished, I myself did the hero pray\n\nFor my love and my land to serve me, but naught would that red knight\n\n555 Save he had a wife who was fairer, and should aye to his heart be dear.\nThen wroth was I at his answer, and the name of his wife would hear :\n\" Wouldst thou know the name of my chosen ? — She reigneth at Pelrapar,\nAnd Parzival all men call me, and naught for thy love I care,\n\nsay,\n\nEIDEGAST 67\n\nOther sorrow the Grail dotn give me ! \" Then in anger he rode away ;\nNow, I prithee, here give me counsel, if evil I did that day, 560\nWhen I, by heart-sorrow driven, proffered love to that gallant knight ?\nShould I count my fair fame dishonoured?' Quoth Gawain to that lady\nbright,\n\n' A gallant knight is he, truly, who thus thy desire hath crossed,\nHad he to thy bidding hearkened no fame thou thro* him hadst lost ! '\n\nThen Gawain, the courteous hero, and the lady his rein beside, 565\nGazed lovingly on each other — and so far on their way did ride,\nThat they drew anear to the castle, where the venture erewhile befell,\nAnd they who looked forth might see them — ' Now, Lady, 'twould please me\nwell\n\nIf thou do this thing that I ask thee, from all men my name withhold,\nWhich the knight who once stole my charger aloud in thine hearing told. 57©\nBut do this that I say, if any shall pray thee to tell my name,\nSay, \" I know not the name of my true knight, none spake it when here he\ncame.'\"\n\nThen she quoth, 1 1 will keep it secret, since thou wouldst not 'twere spoken\nhere.'\n\nAnd the knight and the lovely lady they rode to the Burg anear.\n\nNow the knights they had heard of the coming of one who, with valiant hand, 575\nFaced the venture, and slew the lion, and the Turkowit dared withstand,\nYea, and had in fair joust o'erthrown him ; and now on the flowery plain,\nThe meadow of strife, rode the hero, and they looked on the knight Gawain,\nFrom the battlements could they see him ; and the forces together draw ;\nAnd with ringing blast of trumpet they pass thro' the castle door, 58<>\nAnd rich banners on high were tossing, and their steeds o'er the plain they\nflew,\n\nAnd he deemed that they came for battle, so swift they towards him drew.\nAs Gawain from afar might see them to the lady he spake again,\n'Do they come here with thought of battle?' But she quoth, 'They are\nKlingsor's men,\n\nFrom afar have they seen thy coming, and they ride their new lord to greet, 585\nWith joy would they bid thee welcome ! Refuse not this honour meet,\nSince 'tis gladness that doth constrain thein.' There, too, in a vessel fair\nPlippalinot came to meet them, and his daughter with him did bear ;\n\nDigitized by\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nAnd swift o'er the flowery meadow the maiden towards them stept,\n59° And joyful she hailed the hero for whom she aforetime wept.\n\nThen Gawain gave her courteous greeting, and stirrup and foot she kissed,\nAnd she turned her to Orgeluse', nor the lady her welcome missed.\nAnd she prayed him to 'light from his charger the while that she held the\nrein,\n\nAnd then to the ship she led them, the lady and knight Gawain ;\n595 And there, in the place of honour, a carpet and cushions lay,\n\nAnd the Duchess by Gawain sat her, as the maiden the twain did pray.\nAnd her office the maid forgat not, she disarmed the hero there,\nAnd in sooth it is said that the mantle she did for his robing bear\nWhich had served him that night for cover, when he did 'neath her roof-\ntree lie,\n\n6oo And now was the hour for its wearing and it wrapped him right royally.\nSo clad was Gawain in her mantle, and his own robe beneath he wore,\nAnd the harness he laid from off him on one side the maiden bore.\n\nAnd now as they sat together for the first time the lady fair\nMight look on his face and know him— Then unto the twain they bare\n605 Two game-birds that well were roasted, and with them a flask of wine,\n\nAnd two cakes did the maiden bring them on a cloth that was white and\nfine —\n\nThe birds were the prey of the falcon — but Gawain and his lady bright\nMust seek water themselves, if to wash them ere they ate here should seem\nthem right,\n\nAnd this did the twain ; and joyful was the knight that he now might eat\n610 With her, for whose sake he would suffer joy, or sorrow, as seemed her meet.\nAnd oft as the cup she gave him that her sweet lips had touched, anew\nSprang his joy that he thus drank with her, and his sorrow behind him drew,\nAnd it halted nor might o'ertake him, and his gladness on swift foot sped,\nSo fair was her mouth and so rosy her lips that from grief he fled.\n\n615 And no longer his wounds they pained him — Then the ladies from out the\ntower\n\nThey looked on the feast, and below them there rode in the self-same hour,\nOn the further side of the river, brave knights who would show their skill.\nAnd the boatman alike and his daughter Gawain thanked with right goodwill,\n\nDigitized by\n\nEIDEGAST\n\nEre yet he might ferry them over, and the lady spake with him there,\nFor the food and the drink they had brought them — Then out quoth the 620\nlady fair,\n\n4 Now what hath that knight befallen, who yestreen, ere I rode away,\nWas o'erthrown in a joust by another ? Was he slain, or doth live alway ? '\n\nQuoth the boatman, 4 He liveth, Lady, and he spake but this day with me,\nHe was given to me for his charger : if thy will be to set him free,\nIn his stead will I have the \" swallow \" that Queen Sekundille sent 625\nTo Anfortas, be thine the hero, with the harp were I well content ! '\n\n4 Both the harp and the other riches that the booth may within it hold,'\n\nQuoth the lady, 4 are his who sits here, he may give them, or aye withhold,\n\nLet him do as he will ! If he love me, Lischois he methinks will loose,\n\nNor freedom unto the other, my prince, will he here refuse. 630\n\nFlorand of Itolak is he, of my night-watch was he the chief,\n\nAnd as he as Turkowit served me, so his sorrow shall be my grief! '\n\nQuoth Gawain to his lovely lady, 4 Ere it weareth to eventide\nThou shalt look on the twain in freedom ! ' Then they came to the further\nside,\n\nAnd the Duchess, so fair to look on, he lifted upon her steed, 635\n\nAnd many a noble horseman were waiting them on the mead,\n\nAnd greeting fair they gave them ; and they turned to the Burg again,\n\nAnd joyful they rode around them and skilful they drew the rein,\n\nAnd the Buhurd was fair to look on — What more shall I tell ye here ?\n\nGawain, and his lovely lady, at the castle they found good cheer, 640\n\nIn such wise did the ladies greet them at Chateau Merveil that day,\n\nAnd good fortune had here befallen that such bliss should be his alway.\n\nThen Arnive* she straightway led him to a chamber, and they who knew\n\nOf such lore his hurts they tended, and they bound up his wounds anew.\n\nQuoth Gawain unto Arnive, 4 Give me, Lady, a messenger ! ' 645\n\nThen straightway she sent a maiden, and the maid brought again with her\n\nA footman, both true and manly, as behoved him well to be.\n\nAnd an oath did he swear unto Gawain, to serve him right faithfully,\n\nAnd, were it for joy or for sorrow, his errand to secret hold\n\nFrom all men, both there and elsewhere, till he came where it might be told. 650\n\nDigitized by\n\n7o\n\nPARZIVAL\n\nThen they brought to him ink and parchment, and Gawain, King Lot's fair\nson,\n\nWrote clear with his hand the message, and thus did the writing run —\n\nTo them who abode in Lover's fair country, King Arthur brave\n\nAnd his queen, with a faith unstained, true service and good he gave ;\n\n655 And he said, had he fame deserved, and they would not his praise were slain,\nThey should come to his aid in his trouble, and show to him truth again,\nAnd with following of knights and ladies to Ioflanz their way should wend,\nWhere he came himself, and his honour would in mortal strife defend.\nAnd further, this thing he told them, the foemen on either side\n\n660 Had pledged themselves in all honour and pomp to the field to ride ;\nAnd therefore he, Gawain, prayed them, both lady alike and knight,\nIf they bare goodwill towards him, with their king to behold the fight,\nFor so should it be to their honour. He commended him to them all\nWho were of his service worthy, for the strife that should there befall ! —\n\n665 No seal did he put to the letter, yet token enough it bare\n\nOf him who should be the writer. Quoth Gawain to the footman there,\n' No longer shalt thou delay thee, the king and the queen abide\nIn the city of Bems by the Korka ; seek the queen in the morning-tide\nAnd the thing she shall bid thee, do thou. But this shalt thou secret hold,\n\n670 That I in this land am master shall unto no ear be told.\n\nNor of this thing be thou forgetful, that thou shalt my servant be,\nAnd do thou, without delaying, the errand I give to thee ! '\n\nThen the footman from thence he gat him, and Arnive she softly went,\nAnd she asked of him what was his errand? and whither his road was\nbent ?\n\n675 And he quoth, ' Nay, I may not tell thee, for an oath have I sworn to-day,\nGod keep thee, for I must ride hence !' To the army he took his way.\n\n■ 1",
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