Arthurian Romances (9 page)

Then he spoke to the noble vavasour. ‘Good sir, if it please you,' he said, ‘have your daughter get ready, for I wish to take her to the sparrow-hawk as you have agreed that I should.'

The vavasour straight away had a bay palfrey saddled, losing no time in doing so. The harness does not deserve mention, because of the great poverty of the vavasour. The saddle was put on and the bridle. Her hair loose and wearing no mantle, the maiden mounted; she needed no bidding. Erec wished to delay no longer: he rode off, taking at his side the daughter of his host. Behind them followed both the vavasour and his lady.

Erec rode with lance upright, the comely maiden beside him. In the streets everyone looked at him, the great folk and the small. All the people marvelled, saying to one another: ‘Who is this? Who is this knight? He must be very brave and proud to lead the beautiful maiden. His efforts will be made for good reason! He must very rightfully contend that she is the most beautiful!'

One said to the other: ‘Truly, she must have the sparrow-hawk!' Some praised the maiden, and there were many there who said: ‘God! Who can this knight be who accompanies the beautiful maiden?' ‘I don't know!' ‘I don't know,' said each, ‘but the burnished helmet suits him well, as do that hauberk, that shield, and that blade of sharpened steel. He has an excellent posture on the horse and he certainly looks like a valiant knight! He's very well-built and well-proportioned in his arms, his legs, and his feet.'

Everyone watched them closely, but they rode without tarrying or hesitating until they reached the sparrow-hawk. There they stood to one side and waited for the knight. Then they saw him coming, with his dwarf and his maiden beside him. He had already heard that a knight had come who wanted to have the sparrow-hawk, but he did not believe that in all the world there was a knight bold enough to dare to fight against him; he thought he would easily subdue and vanquish him.

All the people knew him; everyone greeted and escorted him. Following him there was a great noise of people: the knights and men-at-arms and ladies hurried after him, and the maidens as fast as they could. The knight went on ahead of them all, his maiden and his dwarf beside him. He rode most haughtily and fast towards the sparrow-hawk, but around it there was such a press of the eager common-folk that one could get no closer to it than the length of a crossbow shot.

The count came on to the field. He came towards the commoners and threatened them with a switch he held in his hand; the commoners drew back. The knight advanced and said calmly to his maiden: ‘My damsel, this bird, which is so well moulted and so beautiful, is to be rightfully yours – for you are most beautiful and noble, and so it shall be all my life. Go ahead, my sweet friend, take the sparrow-hawk from the perch.'

The maiden started to reach for it, but Erec ran to challenge her, caring nothing for the other's haughtiness. ‘Damsel,' said he, ‘away! Be satisfied with some other bird, for you have no right to this one. Regardless of whom it may upset, this sparrow-hawk will never be yours, for a better one than you claims it – a much more beautiful and courtly maiden.'

This displeased the other knight. But Erec esteemed him little and had his damsel come forward. ‘Fair one,' he said, ‘come forward! Take the bird from the perch, for it is right that you should have it! Damsel, come forward! I am prepared boldly to uphold the contest, if anyone dares come forth against me, for not one can compare with you, any more than the moon compares with the sun, neither in beauty, nor in worth, nor in nobility, nor in honour.'

When he heard Erec so vigorously propose battle, the other could stand it no more. ‘What?' he said. ‘Who are you, vassal, who have challenged me for the sparrow-hawk?'

Erec fearlessly answered him: ‘I am a knight from another land. I have come to seek this sparrow-hawk, and it is right, though some may find it unpleasant, that this maiden should have it.'

‘Away with you!' said the other. ‘That will never be. It was madness that brought you here! If you want to have the sparrow-hawk, you'll have to pay dearly for it.'

‘Pay for it, vassal? And with what?'

‘You'll have to do battle with me if you don't relinquish it.'

‘Now you've said something very foolish,' said Erec; ‘in my opinion these are empty threats, for I fear you very little.'

‘Then I defy you immediately, for this cannot be disputed without a battle.'

Erec replied: ‘Then may God grant it, for I never desired anything so much!' Now you will hear the blows.

The field was clear and open; there were people on all sides. The two knights drew well apart from one another, then spurred their steeds to begin the battle. They sought each other with the heads of their lances and struck with such power that the shields were pierced and broken, the lances shattered and splintered, and the cantles broken into pieces behind them; they could no longer stay in their stirrups. Both of them were thrown to the ground; the horses ran off across the field.

At once they jumped back to their feet. They had not missed with their lances. They drew their swords from their scabbards, savagely went at each other with the cutting edges and traded violent assaults; their helmets resounded and broke. The combat with the swords was intense: they inflicted on each other great blows, for they in no way held themselves back. They split apart whatever they hit, slicing shields and denting hauberks. The iron reddened with their blood. The combat lasted a long time; they struck so many times that they grew very tired and discouraged. Both the maidens were weeping; each of the knights saw his damsel weep, raise her hands to God and pray that He might grant the victory to the one who was striving on her account.

‘Vassal,' said the knight, ‘let us draw back a bit and rest a while, for our blows have become too weak; we should strike better blows, for it is very near evening. It is a very shameful and humiliating thing that this battle is taking so long. See there that gracious maiden who weeps for you and calls upon God! She is praying very softly for you and mine is doing likewise for me. For the sake of our ladies we must renew our efforts, with our steel blades.'

Erec replied: ‘You have spoken well.'

Then they rested briefly. Erec looked towards his lady, who was very softly praying for him. As soon as he saw her, his strength was renewed; because of her love and her beauty he regained his great courage. He remembered the queen, to whom he had said in the woods that he would avenge his shame or else increase it further.

‘Well, what am I waiting for like a coward?' he said. ‘I haven't yet avenged the outrage this vassal permitted when his dwarf struck me in the woods!' His wrath renewed itself within him; he called out angrily to the knight. ‘Vassal,' he cried, ‘I call upon you to begin our battle anew. We have rested too long; let us resume our combat!'

The other replied: ‘I have no objection.'

Then they went at each other anew. Both of them knew about fighting: at that first attack, if Erec had not covered himself, the knight would have wounded him. The knight struck him such a blow above the shield, where he was unprotected, that he sliced off a piece of his helmet, the sword cutting down to the white coif, splitting the shield down to the boss, and taking off more than a hand's breadth from the side of his hauberk. Erec might have been badly injured: the cold steel cut right to the flesh of his thigh. But God protected him that time: if the blade had not been deflected outward, it would have sliced right through his body. Erec was not at all dismayed; he paid in full whatever the other lent him. Very boldly he returned the assault, striking him across the shoulder. Erec gave him such an attack that his shield could not resist and his hauberk was worthless as the sword went right to the bone; it made the crimson blood stream downwards all the way to his belt.

Both knights were very fierce and were so evenly matched that one could not gain a foot of ground over the other. Their hauberks were badly broken and their shields were so hacked up that they had nothing left whole – it is no lie – with which to cover themselves: they were striking one another openly. Each was losing a lot of blood and both were growing very weak.

The other knight struck Erec, and Erec struck him; he gave him such a blow, unimpeded, on his helmet, that he quite stunned him. He struck him freely again and again: he gave him three blows in quick succession, broke the helmet completely apart and sliced the coif beneath. The sword went all the way to his skull; it sliced through one of the bones in his head, but did not touch his brain. He slumped and staggered; while he was staggering Erec shoved him and he fell on to his right side.

Erec pulled him by the helmet, forcibly tore it from his head and untied his ventail; he removed the armour from his face and head. When he remembered the outrage that his dwarf had committed in the wood, Erec would have cut off his head had the other not cried out for mercy. ‘Ah! Vassal,' he said, ‘you have vanquished me. Mercy! Do not kill me! Since you have defeated me and taken me prisoner, you would gain no glory or esteem if you went on to kill me; you would commit a very unknightly act. Take my sword; I surrender it to you.'

But Erec did not take it, and said: ‘All right, I won't kill you.'

‘Ah, noble knight, many thanks! For what injury or what wrong have you borne me this deadly hatred? I have never seen you before, to my knowledge, nor was I ever responsible for wronging you, nor did I cause you shame or outrage.'

Erec replied: ‘Yes, you did.'

‘Ah, sir, then do tell me! I have never seen you before, to my knowledge, and if I have wronged you, I shall place myself at your mercy.'

Then Erec said: ‘Vassal, it was I who was in the forest yesterday with Queen Guinevere, when you allowed your ignoble dwarf to strike my lady's maiden. It is a vile thing to strike a woman! And then he struck me afterwards. You held me in very low esteem and you behaved far too haughtily when you allowed such an outrage and were not displeased to see such a dwarfish freak strike the maiden and me. Because of this injury I must hate you, for you committed too great an offence. You must render yourself my prisoner, and immediately without delay go directly to my lady, for you will certainly find her at Cardigan, if you go there. You will easily reach there before nightfall; it is less than seven leagues, I believe. Into her hands you will deliver yourself and your maiden and your dwarf, to do her bidding. And tell her that I send this message: that I shall joyfully arrive tomorrow, bringing along a maiden, so beautiful and so wise and so worthy that her equal is nowhere to be found; you can tell her so in truth. And now I want to know your name.'

Then the other was forced to reveal it: ‘Sir, my name is Yder, son of Nut. This morning I did not believe that a single man could better me by his knighthood; now I have found and encountered a better man than I. You are a very valiant knight. Here I solemnly promise you that straight away, without further delay, I shall deliver myself to the queen. But tell me, do not conceal it, by what name are you called? Who shall I say sends me there? I am all ready to set on my way.'

And he replied: ‘I shall tell you; I shall never conceal my name from you. My name is Erec. Go, and tell her that I have sent you to her.'

‘I am on my way, I agree to your terms. My dwarf, my maiden and myself I shall place completely at her mercy; you need have no fear on that account. And I shall tell her the news of you and your maiden.'

Then Erec acknowledged his solemn pledge. Everyone – the count and the people around him, the maidens and the nobles – came to witness their settlement. Some were grieved, but others were joyful: it pleased some; it displeased others. Many were joyful for the maiden in the white dress with the noble and generous heart, the daughter of the vavasour, but those who loved Yder and his lady were saddened on their account. Yder wished to stay no longer; he had to honour his pledge. At once he got on to his horse. Why should I tell you a long tale? He took his dwarf and his maiden with him. They traversed the wood and the plain, keeping to the most direct route until they came to Cardigan.

My lord Gawain and Kay the seneschal were together then in the galleries outside the hall; a great number of barons, I believe, had come there with them. They saw clearly those who were arriving. The seneschal saw them first and said to my lord Gawain: ‘My lord, it is my guess that that knight riding there is the one of whom the queen spoke, who caused her so much distress yesterday. I believe there are three of them: I see the dwarf and the maiden.'

‘It's true,' said my lord Gawain, ‘there is a maiden and a dwarf coming with the knight and they are heading directly towards us. The knight is fully armed, but his shield is far from whole; if the queen saw him, I believe she would recognize him. I say, seneschal, go call her!'

Kay immediately went to do so; he found her in a chamber. ‘My lady,' said he, ‘do you remember the dwarf who angered you yesterday and wounded your maiden?'

‘Yes, I remember him quite well, seneschal; do you know anything about this? Why have you reminded me of it?'

‘My lady, because I have seen a travelling knight in armour, coming on an iron-grey charger. If my eyes have not deceived me, he has a maiden with him, and I believe the dwarf is coming with them, holding the whip with which Erec was struck on the neck.'

Then the queen rose and said: ‘Seneschal, let us go to see whether it is that vassal. If it is he, you may be sure that I will recognize him as soon as I see him.'

And Kay said: ‘I shall take you there; now come up to the galleries where our companions are; from there we saw him coming, and my lord Gawain himself awaits you there. My lady, let us go there, for we have tarried here too long.'

Then the queen led the way, came to the windows, and stood by my lord Gawain. She clearly recognized the knight. ‘Aha!' she said, ‘it is he! He has been in very great danger; he has seen combat. I do not know whether Erec has avenged his insult, or whether this knight has beaten Erec, but he has many blows on his shield. His hauberk is covered with blood; there is more red on it than white.'