Arthurian Romances (64 page)

‘My lady,' said he, ‘however much it may hurt me, I am pleased by whatever she desires. But do not question me about this, for nothing can force me to tell the cause or the offence to anyone except those who are already well aware of it.'

‘Does anyone except you two know of it?'

‘Yes, to be sure, my lady.'

‘Tell us your name, if you please, good sir; then you may leave without obligation.'

‘Without obligation, my lady? Indeed not, for I owe more than I could repay. None the less I should not conceal from you the name I have chosen for myself: whenever you hear reports of the Knight with the Lion, it is I; I wish to be called by this name.'

‘For God's sake, sir, how is it that we have never before seen you or heard your name mentioned?'

‘My lady, that shows you that I am not of great renown.'

Then the lady repeated: ‘Once again, if it would not trouble you, I would like to urge you to stay.'

‘Indeed, my lady, I could not until I was certain I possessed my lady's good will.'

‘Go then in God's favour, good sir, and may it please Him to turn your grief and sorrow into joy!'

‘My lady,' he said, ‘may God hear your prayer!' Then he added softly, under his breath: ‘My lady, you carry the key and have the locket in which my happiness is enclosed, yet do not know it.'

Then he left in great sorrow, and there was no one who recognized him except Lunete alone. Lunete accompanied him a long while and he begged her as he rode off never to reveal who had been her champion.

‘My lord,' she said, ‘it won't be told.'

Afterwards he begged her to remember him and to speak a good word for him in her lady's presence, should the occasion arise. She told him to say no more about that, and that she would never forget him and would not be unfaithful or idle. And he thanked her a hundred times and departed, downcast and distraught on account of his lion, which he had to carry since it was too weak to follow him. Upon his shield he made a litter of moss and ferns; after he had made a bed for it, he laid it upon it as gently as he could and carried it along stretched out on the inside of his shield.

He bore it along in this fashion until he arrived in front of the gate of a very strong and beautiful manor. He found it locked and called out, and the porter opened it before he had had the chance to call out more than once. The porter reached for his reins, saying: ‘Good sir, I offer you free use of my lord's lodging, if it pleases you to dismount here.'

‘I wish to accept this offer,' he said, ‘for I am in great need of it and it is time to find a lodging.'

Next he passed through the gateway and saw the assembled household all coming to meet him. They greeted him and helped him dismount: some placed his shield, still bearing the lion, upon a stone bench; others took his horse and put it in a stable; others, just as they should, took and removed his armour. As soon as the lord heard this news he came into the courtyard and greeted Yvain; and his wife followed him, along with all his sons and daughters; there were crowds of other people, who all happily offered him lodging. They placed him in a quiet room because they found he was ill, and they gave proof of their good nature by putting his lion with him. Two maidens who were skilled in medicine set themselves to healing Yvain, and both were daughters of the lord of the manor. I don't know how many days they stayed there before he and his lion were healed and they were obliged to continue onward.

Meanwhile it happened that the lord of Blackthorn had a quarrel with Death; and Death so overpowered him that he was forced to die. After his death it happened that the elder of his two daughters claimed that she would keep all of his lands as her own as long as she was to live, and that her
sister would have no share. The younger sister said she would go to King Arthur's court to seek help in defending her lands. And when the elder saw that her sister would not concede to her the entire inheritance without contest, she was extremely vexed and determined that, if possible, she would reach court before her.

She readied herself at once; without delay or hesitation she rode until she came to court. And the other set off after her and hastened as fast as she could; but her journey and efforts were wasted, for her elder sister had already presented her case to my lord Gawain, and he had granted everything she had requested. But Gawain had insisted that if she were to tell anyone, he would not then take up arms in her cause; and she had agreed to this condition.

Just afterwards the other sister arrived at court, wrapped in a short mantle of scarlet lined with ermine. Only three days previously Queen Guinevere had returned from the prison where Meleagant had kept her and all the other captives; and Lancelot, betrayed, remained locked within the tower. And on the very day that the maiden arrived at court, news reached there of the cruel and wicked giant that the Knight with the Lion had slain in battle. My lord Gawain's nephews greeted their uncle in the name of the Knight with the Lion, and his niece told him all about the great service and bold deeds he had done for them for his sake, and said that Gawain was well acquainted with him although he would not recognize him. This conversation was overheard by the younger daughter of Blackthorn, who was bewildered, distraught, and confused, fearing that she would not find help or good counsel at court, since the best had failed her: she had tried in every way, by pleading and by cajoling, to persuade my lord Gawain, and he had said to her, ‘My friend, you are begging me for what I cannot undertake, since I have accepted another cause and will not abandon it.'

The maiden withdrew at once and came before the king. ‘My lord,' she said, ‘I came to you and to your court to seek help, yet have found none, and I am surprised that I cannot find help here. Yet it would be ill-mannered of me to depart without obtaining leave. Moreover, I would like my sister to know that she could have what is mine out of love, if she wished it, but I will never surrender my inheritance to her because of force, provided I can find help and support.'

‘What you say is proper,' affirmed the king, ‘and while she is still here I urge, pray, and beg her to leave you your rightful share.'

But the elder sister, assured of having the best knight in the world as her champion, answered: ‘Sire, may God strike me down if I share with her one
castle, town, field, forest, meadow, or anything whatsoever. But if any knight, whoever he may be, dares to bear arms on her behalf and fight for her rights, let him come forth at once!'

‘Your offer is unfair,' said the king, ‘for she needs more time; if she wishes, she can seek a champion for up to forty days, in accord with the practice of all courts.'

‘Good sir king,' replied the elder sister, ‘you may establish your laws as you desire and as you please, and it would not be right or proper for me to disagree with you. Therefore I must accept the delay if she requests it.'

Her sister replied that she did request, desire, and ask for it. She immediately commended the king to God and departed from the court, determined that she would spend all her life seeking through every land for the Knight with the Lion, who devoted himself to helping women in need of assistance.

And so she set out upon the quest and travelled across many realms without learning any news, which so distressed her that she fell ill. But she was very fortunate to arrive at the house of acquaintances to whom she was very close, and who could tell just by looking at her that she was not at all well. They insisted that she remain with them, and when she told them her situation, another maiden took up the search that she had been pursuing and continued the quest in her place.

So while the one remained behind, the other rode rapidly along entirely alone all day long, until the shadows of night fell. She was frightened by the night, but her fright was doubled because it was raining as heavily as God could make it pour and she was in the depths of the forest. The night and the forest frightened her, but she was more upset by the rain than either the night or the forest. And the road was so bad that her horse often sank to its girth in the mud. A maiden in the forest alone with no escort might easily be frightened by the bad weather and the black night – so black that she could not make out the horse upon which she was seated. Therefore she implored incessantly, first God, then His Mother, and then all the saints in heaven; and that night she offered many prayers that God might show her the way to a lodging and lead her out of this forest.

She prayed until she heard the sound of a horn, which greatly cheered her because she felt that she might find lodging, if only she could reach it. She headed in that direction until she joined a paved road that led her directly towards the sound of the horn, which had been blown loud and long three times. And she made straight for the sound until she came to a cross set up to the right of the road; she thought that the horn and the one
who had blown it might be there. She spurred on in that direction until she neared a bridge and saw the white walls and barbican of a small round tower. Thus by good fortune she had headed towards the castle and reached it because the sound had led her there. The horn blasts that had attracted her had been sounded by a watchman who had climbed up upon the ramparts. As soon as the watchman saw her, he shouted greetings to her and descended. He took the key to the gate and opened it, saying: ‘Welcome, maiden, whoever you may be. This night you will be well lodged.'

‘I ask nothing more this night,' said the maiden, and he led her within. After the hardships and trials she had undergone that day, she was fortunate to find such comfortable lodgings there. After supper her host addressed her and inquired where she was going and what she was seeking.

She answered him at once: ‘I am seeking one whom I believe I have never seen and have never known; but he has a lion with him, and they say that if I find him I can place all my trust in him.'

‘I can testify for my part,' he said, ‘that when I was in most desperate need God led him to me some days ago. Blessed be the paths which led him to my manor, for he avenged me against one of my mortal enemies and gave me great pleasure when he killed him before my very eyes. Tomorrow outside this gate you can behold the body of a huge giant that he killed so easily he hardly worked up a sweat.'

‘For God's sake, sir,' said the maiden, ‘now tell me in all truthfulness if you know where he was headed or if he stopped anywhere.'

‘I don't,' he said, ‘so help me God! But tomorrow I can start you along the road upon which he set off.'

‘And may God lead me to where I might hear a true report,' she said, ‘for if I find him I shall be overjoyed.' They talked in this manner for a long while before finally going to bed.

As soon as the dawn broke the damsel arose, for she was very eager to find what she was seeking. When the lord of the manor and all his companions had arisen, they set her upon the proper path that led straight to the spring beneath the pine. She rode swiftly along the road until she arrived at the town, where she asked the first people she encountered whether they could inform her concerning the knight and the lion who were travelling together. And they told her that they had seen them defeat three knights right over there on the field.

‘In the name of God,' she insisted at once, ‘since you have told me so much, don't hold anything back, if you have more to tell me!'

‘No,' they said, ‘we don't know anything except what we have told you.
We have no idea what became of him. If the woman for whose sake he came here cannot give you any information, there will be no one to tell you. However, if you wish to speak with her, you need go no further, because she has gone into this church to hear Mass and pray to God and she has been in there long enough to have finished all her prayers.' Just as they were saying this to her, Lunete came out of the church. ‘There she is,' they said.

The maiden went towards her and they greeted one another. The damsel immediately asked about Yvain and the lion. Lunete said she would have one of her palfreys saddled, for she wished to go with her and would take her to an enclosed field to which she had accompanied him. The damsel thanked her wholeheartedly. In no time at all they brought her the palfrey and she mounted. As they were riding along Lunete told her how she had been accused and charged with treason, how the pyre had been lit upon which she was to be placed, and how he had come to her aid when she was in the greatest need. Conversing in this way, she accompanied her as far as the path where my lord Yvain had parted from her.

When she had accompanied her that far, she said: ‘Keep on this road until you come to a place where if it pleases God and the Holy Spirit, you will be given news of him more accurate than any that I know. I definitely remember leaving him quite near here, or at this very place; we have not seen one another since, nor do I know what he has done since then, for he was in great need of healing when he left me. From here I send you after him, and may it please God that you find him healthy today, rather than tomorrow. Go now. I commend you to God; I dare not follow you further, for my lady might get angry with me.'

They separated at once. Lunete returned and the other rode on until she found the manor where my lord Yvain had stayed until he was restored to health. She saw people in front of the gate: ladies, knights, and men-at-arms, as well as the lord of the manor. She greeted them and asked if they could give her information about a knight whom she was seeking.

‘Who is he?' they inquired.

‘One who they say is never without a lion.'

‘Upon my word, maiden,' said the lord, ‘he has just now left us; you can catch up with him today if you can follow his horse's tracks, but don't waste any time!'

‘Sir,' she said, ‘God forbid! But tell me now which direction to take.'

‘This way, straight ahead,' they told her, and they begged her to greet him on their behalf. But they wasted their time in asking for she did not pay
them any heed; instead, she set off at full gallop, for a trot seemed to her too slow, even though her palfrey's gait was rapid. So she galloped through the mire as fast as over the smooth and level road, until she caught sight of the knight in company with his lion.