Arthurian Romances (68 page)

‘It was I.'

‘No, I!' they both declared. They were both so honest and noble that each bestowed and granted the wreath of victory to the other. Neither wished to accept it, and each tried to impress upon the king and his people that he was overcome and defeated.

But the king ended the quarrel after he had listened to them a while; he had been pleased by what he had heard and also by the sight of their embrace of one another, although each had given the other many ugly wounds.

‘My lords,' said Arthur, ‘your great love for one another is manifest when each claims to have been defeated. But now rely on me, for I believe that I can effect a reconciliation that will bring honour to you both, and for which everyone will praise me.'

Then the two knights swore that they would do his will exactly as he stated it, and the king said that he would settle the dispute faithfully and justly.

‘Where,' he said, ‘is the damsel who has thrown her sister off her own land, and has forcibly and maliciously disinherited her?'

‘Sire,' she said, ‘here I am.'

‘Are you there? Then come here! I have known for a long time that you were disinheriting her. Her rights will no longer be denied, for you yourself have just acknowledged the truth to me. It is right that you renounce all claims to her share.'

‘Ah, my lord king! If I have given a foolish answer, you shouldn't hold me to my word! In God's name, sire, don't be hard on me! You are the king and should protect me from all wrong and error.'

‘That is why,' said the king, ‘I wish to restore to your sister her rightful share, for I have never wished to be party to any wrongdoing. And you have clearly heard that your knight and hers have submitted to my mercy. What I shall say may not please you, for your wrongdoing is well known. Each knight is so eager to honour the other that he claims to have been defeated. There is no need to delay further, since it has been left to me: either you will do everything I ask exactly as I state it, without deceit, or I will announce that my nephew has been defeated in battle. That would be much the worse for you, but I am prepared to say it against my inclination.'

In fact, he would never have said it at all, but he told her this to see whether he could frighten her so that she would restore her sister's inheritance to her out of fear, because he had clearly seen that only force or fear, and no amount of pleading, would ever convince her to restore it.

Because she was afraid and frightened, she said: ‘Dear sir, I am compelled to do as you desire, but it grieves my heart. Yet I'll do it, though it hurts me: my sister will have what is rightfully her portion of my inheritance; I offer her you yourself as my pledge, so that she may be more assured of it.'
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‘Restore it to her at once,' said the king, ‘and let her be your vassal woman and hold it from you; love her as your vassal woman and let her love you as her liege-lady and as her blood-related sister.'

Thus the king arranged the matter, and so the maiden was invested with her lands and thanked him for it. The king told his brave and valiant nephew to allow himself to be disarmed and asked my lord Yvain as well, if it pleased him, to have his armour removed, for they had no further need of it. Once the vassals had taken off their armour, they embraced one another as equals. And as they were embracing, they saw the lion running towards them, seeking its master. As soon as the lion saw him, it began to express
great joy; at that, you could have seen the people drawing back and even the bravest among them fleeing.

‘Stay still, everyone,' said my lord Yvain. ‘Why are you running off? No one is chasing you! Don't be afraid that this lion you see approaching will do you any harm. Please believe this, for he is mine, and I am his; we are companions together.'

Then everyone who heard tell of the adventures of the lion and of its companion knew for certain that it could have been none other than he who had killed the wicked giant.

And my lord Gawain addressed him in these words: ‘Sir companion, so help me God, you have really covered me with shame: I've repaid you poorly for the service you did me in killing the giant to save my nephews and niece! I had thought about you for a long time, and I was particularly anxious because they told me there was love and friendship between the two of us. There's no doubt that I have thought often about this, but I have been unable to work it all out for, of all the lands where I have been, I have never heard tell of any knight known to me who was called by the name of the Knight with the Lion.'

While they were still speaking, their armour was removed, and the lion was not slow to come to where its master was seated. When it reached him, it showed its joy as far as a dumb beast could. Both knights had to be taken to sickrooms in the infirmary, for they needed a doctor and ointments to heal their wounds. The king had them brought before him, for he loved them dearly. Then King Arthur summoned a physician, who knew more than anyone about the art of healing, who ministered constantly to them until he had healed their wounds as well as he could.

When he had cured them both, my lord Yvain, who had his heart set fast on love and was dying of it, saw that he could not endure and that in the end he would die unless his lady took pity upon him; he determined that he would leave the court entirely alone and go to do battle at her spring. There he would cause so much thunder and wind and rain that she would be compelled to make her peace with him, or else there would be no end to the storm at her spring and to the rain and high winds.

As soon as my lord Yvain felt that he was sufficiently healed, he left without anyone noticing; but he had with him his lion, who would never leave him as long as it lived. Then they journeyed until they saw the spring and caused the rain to fall. Don't think I'm lying to you when I say that the storm was so violent that no one could relate a tenth of it, for it seemed that the whole forest was about to fall into Hell! The lady was fearful that her
town might collapse too: the walls trembled, the tower swayed and was on the point of crumbling. The boldest of her knights would rather have been captured by the Turks in Persia than be there within those walls. They were so afraid that they cursed their forefathers, saying: ‘Damn the first man to settle in this country, and those who built this town! In all the world they couldn't have found a more hateful place, for a single man can attack and torment and beleaguer it.'

‘You must take counsel in this matter, my lady,' said Lunete. ‘You won't find anyone willing to help you unless you seek far afield. Truly we'll never again have a moment's peace in this town, nor dare to pass beyond its walls and gate. Even if all your knights were assembled for this affair, you know full well that even the very best among them would not dare step forward. So the fact is that you have no one to defend your spring, and you will be shamed and ridiculed. It would be a pretty honour for you indeed if the knight who has attacked you leaves without being challenged to battle! Surely you are lost if you don't come up with something.'

‘You who are so clever,' said her lady, ‘tell me what I should do about it, and I'll follow your advice.'

‘Indeed, my lady, if I had a solution I would gladly offer it; but you need a much wiser counsellor than I. Therefore I don't dare interfere, and I'll endure the rain and wind along with everyone else until it pleases God to show me some brave man at your court who will take upon himself the burden and responsibility of this combat. But I don't believe it will be today, which bodes ill for your situation.'

And the lady answered her at once: ‘Damsel, speak of something else! There's no one in my household I can expect to defend the spring or the stone. But, if it please God, let us hear your advice and suggestion, for they always say that time of need is the best test of a friend.'

‘My lady, if someone thought he could find the man who slew the giant and defeated the three knights, he would do well to seek him out. Yet as long as the knight suffers the anger and displeasure of his lady, I don't believe he'd follow any man or woman in this world, unless that person swore and promised to do everything in his power to alleviate the great enmity that his lady feels towards him, for he's dying of sadness and grief.'

‘I am prepared,' her lady replied, ‘to pledge to you my word of honour before you set out on this quest that, if he comes to my rescue, I will do everything he desires, without guile or deception, to reconcile them, if I am able.'

‘My lady,' Lunete answered her then, ‘I have no doubt that you can very
easily make his peace, if you so desire. As for the oath, I hope you won't mind if I take it before I set off on my way.'

‘I've no objection,' said her lady.

With consummate courtesy Lunete had a very precious reliquary brought to her at once, and the lady knelt before it. Lunete very courteously caught her in the game of Truth.
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As she administered the oath, she left out nothing that it might be useful to include.

‘Raise your hand, my lady,' she said. ‘I don't want you to blame me in the future for this or anything, because you are not doing me a favour. What you're doing is for your own benefit! If you please, swear now that you will do all that you can to see that the Knight with the Lion will be assured of having his lady's good favour, just as he once had it.'

The lady then raised her right hand and spoke these words: ‘Exactly as you have said, I say it too, that, so help me God and the saints, I will never be faint of heart or fail to do all that is within my power. I shall restore the love and goodwill that he once enjoyed with his lady, in so far as I have the strength and ability.'

Now Lunete has succeeded. She had never desired anything as much as what she had just accomplished. A palfrey of gentle pace had already been led out for her. Merrily and with a smile on her face Lunete mounted and rode until she found beside the pine tree the man she had not thought to find so near at hand. Instead, she had thought she would have to search far and wide before coming upon him. Because of the lion she recognized him as soon as she saw him; she rode swiftly towards him, then dismounted upon the hard earth. And my lord Yvain recognized her as soon as he caught sight of her.

He greeted her and she returned his greeting, saying: ‘My lord, I am very happy to have found you so close!'

‘What?' my lord Yvain replied. ‘Were you looking for me, then?'

‘In truth, yes, and I haven't felt so happy since the day I was born, for I have made my lady agree that, unless she wants to perjure herself, she will be your lady again as she once was, and you her lord. I can tell you this in all truthfulness.'

My lord Yvain was overjoyed at this marvellous news he thought he would never hear. He couldn't show his gratitude enough to the girl who had arranged this for him.

He kissed her eyes and then her face, saying: ‘Indeed, my sweet friend, there is no way I could ever repay you for this. I fear that I don't have strength enough or time to pay you all the honour and service due.'

‘My lord,' she said, ‘don't be concerned or let that worry you, for you'll have strength and time enough to help both me and others. If I have rendered my dues, then I am owed no more gratitude than the person who borrows another's goods and then repays him. And even now I don't believe I've paid back all I owed.'

‘You have indeed, as God is my witness, in more than five hundred thousand ways! Let's be off as soon as you are ready. And have you told her who I am?'

‘No, upon my word; and she doesn't know you except as the Knight with the Lion.'

And so they went off conversing, with the lion faithfully following, until they all three reached the town. They spoke not a word to man or woman they met in the streets. When they came before the lady, they found her overjoyed at having heard that her maiden was approaching, bringing with her the lion and the knight whom she was most eager to meet, to know, and to see.

My lord Yvain let himself fall at her feet in full armour, and Lunete, who was beside him, said: ‘My lady, bid him rise and use your power, efforts, and wisdom to procure that reconciliation and pardon that no one this whole world over can procure except you.'

The lady had him arise at once and said: ‘All my resources are his; I wish only to do his will and bring him happiness, so far as I am able.'

‘Indeed, my lady,' replied Lunete, ‘I wouldn't say it if it weren't true: you have much more power in this matter than I have said. So now I will tell you the whole truth, and you'll realize that you have never had and never will have a better friend than this knight. God, who desires that there be perfect peace and perfect unending love between you and him, caused me to find him today quite nearby. To prove the truth of all this there's but one thing more to say: my lady, do not be angry with him further, for he has no other lady but you. This is my lord Yvain, your husband.'

At these words the lady trembled and said: ‘So help me God Almighty, you've caught me neatly in your trap! In spite of myself you will make me love a man who doesn't love or respect me. What a fine thing you've done! What a great way to serve me! I'd rather have put up with the storms and high winds all my life; and if it were not such an ugly and wicked thing to break one's oath, this knight would find no peace with me no matter what his efforts. Every day of my life I would have harboured, as fire smoulders under the ashes, a pain it is no longer fitting to mention, since I must be reconciled to him.'

My lord Yvain heard and understood that his cause was proceeding so well that he would have his peace and reconciliation.

‘My lady,' he said, ‘one should have mercy on a sinner. I have paid dearly for my foolishness, and I am glad to have paid. Folly caused me to stay away, and I acknowledge my guilt and wrong. I've been very bold to dare to come before you now, but if you will take me back, I'll never do you wrong again.'