{"id":1755,"date":"2019-07-15T18:34:18","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T18:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/epcc-britlit1\/?post_type=chapter&p=1755"},"modified":"2019-07-15T19:49:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T19:49:25","slug":"fytte-the-fourth","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/epcc-britlit1\/chapter\/fytte-the-fourth\/","title":{"raw":"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Fytte the Fourth","rendered":"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Fytte the Fourth"},"content":{"raw":"

Fytte the Fourth<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Now nighs the New Year, and the night passes.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nThe day drives on to the dark, as God bids;\r\nbut outside wild storms wakened in the world;\r\nclouds cast the cold keenly to the earth;\r\nwith discomfort enough to the naked, the snow\r\nfrom the north flew sharply, and nipped the game.\r\nThe blustering wind blew from the heights,\r\nand drove each dale full of great drifts.\r\nThe man who lay in his bed heard it right well;\r\nthough he locks his lids, full little he sleeps.\r\nBy each cock that crew he knew well the hour.\r\nPromptly he leaped up ere the day sprang,\r\nfor there was the light of a lamp that gleamed in his chamber.\r\nHe called to his chamberlain, who quickly answered him,\r\nand bade him bring his burnie and saddle his horse.\r\nThe chamberlain gets up and fetches him his weeds,\r\nand arrays Sir Gawain in proper fashion.\r\nFirst he dressed him in his clothes to keep out the cold,\r\nand then he put on the rest of his harness, that had been well kept,\r\nboth mail and plate, and brightly polished.\r\nThe rings of his rich burnie had been rocked from the rust,[90]<\/a><\/sup>\r\nand all was fresh as at first; and Gawain was fain to give thanks\r\nfor it.\r\n\u2060The attendant had wiped\r\n\u2060each piece well and often.\r\n\u2060Then the noblest man betwixt here and Greece\r\n\u2060bade his steed be brought.\r\n
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  2. Meanwhile, he threw upon himself his finest weeds;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nhis surcoat with its cognisance of excellent work,\r\nvirtuous stones set upon velvet,\r\nall wrought about and bound with embroidered seams,\r\nand fairly furred within with rare skins.\r\nYet left he not the lace, the lady's gift, \u2014\r\nthat forgot not Gawain for his own good.\r\nWhen he had belted his brand upon his broad haunches,\r\nhe dressed his love-token double about him,\r\nthe knight swathed sweetly about his waist\r\nthe girdle of green silk, which became him well,\r\nupon the royal red cloth that was fair to see.\r\nBut this hero wore not the girdle for its wealth,\r\nfor pride of the pendants, though they were polished,\r\nand though the glittering gold gleamed on the ends;\r\nbut to save himself when it behoved him to suffer,\r\nto await his doom without resistance, with no brand or knife to\r\ndefend him.\r\n\u2060By this the good man is ready\r\n\u2060and goes out quickly.\r\n\u2060Full often he thanks\r\n\u2060the distinguished company.\r\n
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  3. Gringolet the huge and strong was ready,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nwho had been kept skilfully in the safest manner.\r\nThe proud horse in his splendid condition longed for spurring.\r\nThe hero approached him, noticed his coat,\r\nand said soberly, and by his sooth swore \u2014\r\n\"Here, in this castle, is a company that are mindful of courtesy.\r\nThe man who maintains them, joy may he have;\r\nthe dear lady, love betide her in this life,\r\nsince they for charity cherish a guest\r\nand uphold honor in their hand. May the Being reward them\r\nwho holds the heavens on high \u2014 and also you all.\r\nAnd if I might live any longer in the world\r\nI should give you some reward if I could.\"\r\nThen he stepped into stirrup and strode aloft.\r\nHis servant offered him his shield; he put it on his shoulder.\r\nHe spurred Gringolet with his gilt heels,\r\nand the steed jumped on the stone; no longer he stood still,\r\nbut pranced.\r\n\u2060Gawain's servant, who bore his lance\r\n\u2060and helm, was by then on the horse.\r\n\u2060\"This castle I entrust to Christ;\r\n\u2060may he give it aye good chance!\"\r\n
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  4. The bridge was let down, and the broad gates\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nunbarred and borne open on both sides.\r\nThe hero crossed himself quickly and passed the boards,\r\npraised the porter, who knelt down before him\r\ngiving good day and praying God that he save Gawain.\r\nAnd so he went on his way with his one man\r\nthat should teach him how to find that dismal place\r\nwhere he should receive the rueful blow.\r\nThey rode by banks where boughs are bare;\r\nthey climbed by cliffs where the cold clings;\r\nthe sky was upheld, but it was ugly beneath;\r\nmist hung on the moor and melted on the mount;\r\neach hill had a hat, a huge mist-cloak.\r\nBrooks boiled and broke from their banks about,\r\nshattering sheer on their shores where they showered down.\r\nDreary was the way, where they should travel by the wood,\r\ntill soon came the season when the sun rises at\r\nthat time.\r\n\u2060They were on a hill full high,\r\n\u2060the white snow about them,\r\n\u2060when the man that rode beside him\r\n\u2060bade his master abide.\r\n
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  5. \"I have brought you hither, sir, at this time;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nand now ye are not far from that famous spot\r\nthat ye have asked and inquired so specially after.\r\nBut I shall say to you forsooth, since I know you,\r\nand ye are a man that I love well,\r\nif ye would work by my wit ye should be the better for it.\r\nThe place that ye press to is held full perilous.\r\nThere dwells in that waste a wight the worst upon earth;\r\nfor he is stiff and stern and loves to strike;\r\nand greater he is than any man in the world,\r\nand his body bigger than the four best\r\nthat are in Arthur's house, and bigger than Hector or any other.\r\nHe maintains that adventure at the green chapel.\r\nThere passes by that place none so proud in arms\r\nbut he dins him to death with dint of his hand.\r\nFor he is a man without measure and uses no mercy;\r\nfor be it churl or chaplain that rides by the chapel,\r\nmonk or mass-priest, or any man else,\r\nhe likes as well to kill him as to go alive himself.\r\nTherefore I tell ye as truly as ye sit in the saddle,\r\ncome ye there ye shall be killed \u2014\r\ntrust me well \u2014 though ye had twenty lives\r\nto spend.\r\n\u2060He has dwelt here full long\r\n\u2060and caused much strife in the land.\r\n\u2060Against his sore dints\r\n\u2060ye cannot defend yourself.\r\n
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  6. \"Therefore, good Sir Gawain, let the fellow alone,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nand go away some other road, for God's sake.\r\nRepair to some other country, where Christ may speed you;\r\nand I shall hie me home again, and promise you further \u2014\r\nwhich I will swear by God and all his good saints,\r\nso help me God and the halidom and oaths enough \u2014\r\nthat I will loyally conceal you, and never tell tale\r\nthat ever ye fled for any man that I know of.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Gramercy,\" quoth Gawain. And sternly he added,\r\n\"Well worth thee, man, who wishes my good;\r\nand I well believe thou wouldst loyally conceal me.\r\nBut if thou kept promise never so faithfully,\r\nand I gave up here, sought for fear to fly as you advise,\r\nI were a knight coward; I could not be excused.\r\nBut I will go to the chapel whatever chance may fall,\r\nand talk with that same man the tale that I like,\r\nbe it good or evil, as it pleases fate to\r\nhave it.\r\n\u2060Though he be a stern champion\r\n\u2060to cope with, and armed with a club,\r\n\u2060full well can God manage\r\n\u2060to save his servants.\"\r\n
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  7. \"Mary!\" quoth that other man, \"now thou sayest as much\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nas that thou wilt take upon thyself thine own destruction;\r\nif it pleases thee to lose thy life, I shall not let nor hinder thee.\r\nHave here thy helm on thy head, thy spear in thy hand;\r\nand ride down this same lane by yon rock-side\r\ntill thou be brought to the bottom of the rugged valley;\r\nthen look a little up the grassy slope on thy left hand,\r\nand thou shalt see in that ravine the chapel itself,\r\nand the burly man on the field who keeps it.\r\nNow farewell in God's name, Gawain the noble,\r\nfor all the gold in the world I would not go with thee\r\nnor bear thee fellowship through this wood a foot further.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nAt that the man turned his bridle in the wood,\r\nhit the horse with his heels as hard as he could;\r\nleaped over the land, and left the knight there all\r\nalone.\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\u2060\"By God's self,\" quoth Gawain,\r\n\u2060\"I will neither grieve nor groan.\r\n\u2060To God's will I am full obedient,\r\n\u2060and to him I have entrusted myself.\"\r\n
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  8. Then he spurs Gringolet and follows the path;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\npushes in by a hollow beside a thicket;\r\nrides through the rough slope right to the dale;\r\nand then he looked about him, and wild it seemed to him.\r\nHe saw no sign of dwelling anywhere around,\r\nbut on both sides high steep banks,\r\nand rough hunched crags with projecting stones;\r\nthe shadows of the cliffs seemed to him terrible.\r\nThen he paused and held back his horse,\r\nand oft changed his cheer while seeking the chapel.\r\nHe saw none such on any side, and strange it seemed to him.\r\nBut soon, a little distance off on a grassy spot he descried a mound\r\nas it were, a smooth hill by the bank of the stream\r\nnear a ford of the flood that ran there.\r\nThe burn babbled there as if it were boiling.\r\nThe knight urges his steed, and comes to the hill;\r\nlights nimbly down, and ties the rein\r\nand his rich bridle to a tree by a rough branch;\r\nthen he turns to the hill and walks about it,\r\ndebating with himself what it might be.\r\nIt had a hole at the end and on either side,\r\nand was overgrown with grass in clumps everywhere,\r\nand was all hollow within \u2014 nothing but an old cave\r\nor a crevice of an old crag. He could not understand it\r\nat all.\r\n\u2060\"Alas, Lord,\" quoth the gentle knight,\r\n\u2060\"can this be the green chapel?\r\n\u2060Here about midnight the devil\r\n\u2060might tell his matins.\"\r\n
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  9. \"Now,\" quoth Gawain, \"it certainly is mysterious here;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nthis oratory is ugly, overgrown with herbs.\r\nWell it beseems the wight clad in green\r\nhere to do his devotions in the devil's wise.\r\nNow I feel in my five wits it is the fiend\r\nthat has made this bargain with me, to destroy me here.\r\nThis is a chapel of mischance; may ill fortune betide it!\r\nIt is the cursedest kirk that ever I came in!\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nWith high helm on his head, his lance in his hand,\r\nhe strides up to the rock of the rude dwelling.\r\nThen he heard from that high hill, in a rough cave,\r\non a bank beyond the brook, a marvellously savage noise.\r\nLo, the cliff clattered as though it would split,\r\nas if one were grinding a scythe on a grindstone.\r\nIt whirred and screeched like water at a mill;\r\nit rushed and rang that it was ruth to hear.\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"By God,\" quoth Gawain then, \"that gear, I fancy,\r\nis being prepared to give me a good reception.\r\nYet though\r\n\u2060I must lose my life,\r\n\u2060fear shall\r\n\u2060never make me\r\n\u2060change colour.\"\r\n
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  10. Then the knight called full high:\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\n\"Who dwells in this place to keep covenant with me?\r\nFor now the good Gawain is passing right here.\r\nIf any wight wishes ought, let him come hither fast,\r\nnow or never, to fulfill his need!\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Abide!\" quoth one on the bank over his head.\r\n\"Thou shalt have in all haste that which I promised thee once.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nYet he kept on with that noise sharply for a while,\r\nturning and whetting, ere he would come down.\r\nAnd then he crossed by a crag and came from a hole,\r\nwhirling out of a dark place with a fell weapon \u2014\r\na Danish axe new dight, to give the blow with.\r\nIt had fast to the helve a great head, sharpened on the stone.\r\nFour feet long was the weapon \u2014\r\nno less, by that lace that gleamed full bright.\r\nAnd the man in the green was arrayed as before \u2014\r\nboth his skin and limbs, locks, and beard;\r\nsave that on foot he strides fairly on the earth.\r\nHe set the steel shaft to the stone and stalked beside it.\r\nWhen he came to the water, where he did not wish to wade,\r\nhe hopped over on his axe, and fiercely advanced,\r\nwith savage ferocity pacing the broad snow-covered\r\nglade.\r\n\u2060Sir Gawain met the knight\r\n\u2060and bowed to him, not at all low.\r\n\u2060The other said, \"Now, sweet, sir,\r\n\u2060in a covenant a man can trust thee.\"\r\n
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  11. \"Gawain,\" quoth the green warrior, \"may God preserve thee.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nIndeed thou art welcome, hero, to my place;\r\nand thou hast timed thy travel as a true man should.\r\nAnd thou knowest the covenants made between us;\r\nat this time twelve month, thou tookest what fell to thee, \u2014\r\nand I at this New Year was to repay you handsomely.\r\nAnd now we are in this valley entirely alone;\r\nhere are no men to part us, however we may behave.\r\nHave thy helm off thy head, and have here thy pay.\r\nMake no more debate than I offered thee then,\r\nwhen thou whipped off my head at one blow.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Nay,\" quoth Gawain, \"by God that lent me life,\r\nI shall grudge thee not a whit whatever misfortune falls.\r\nBut arrange thee for thy one stroke, and I shall stand still\r\nand hinder thee not the least from doing the work as\r\nyou like.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\u2060He bent the neck and bowed down,\r\n\u2060showing the flesh all bare;\r\n\u2060and behaved as it he cared not.\r\n\u2060For no dread would he flinch.\r\n
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  12. Then the man in green got ready quickly,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\ngathered up his grim tool to smite Gawain.\r\nWith all the might in his body he bare it aloft,\r\nand aimed a savage blow as though he wished to kill him.\r\nHad it driven down as earnestly as he feinted,\r\nthe ever doughty one would have been dead of his dint.\r\nBut Gawain glanced to one side on the gisarm\r\nas it came gliding down to slay him there in the glade,\r\nand shrank a little with the shoulders from the sharp iron.\r\nThe other warrior with a quick motion withheld the bright weapon,\r\nand then he reproved the prince with many proud words.\r\n\"Thou art not Gawain,\" said the man, \"who is held so good,\r\nwho never flinched for any army by hill nor by vale;\r\nand now thou fleest for fear before thou feelest any harm.\r\nSuch cowardice I never heard of that knight.\r\nI neither winced nor fled, sir, when thou didst strike,\r\nnor tried any tricks in King Arthur's house.\r\nMy head flew to my foot, and yet I never budged;\r\nand thou, ere any harm taken, art fearful in heart.\r\nWherefore the better man I ought to be called\r\nfor it.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\u2060\"I flinched once,\" quoth Gawain,\r\n\u2060\"and will do so no more.\r\n\u2060Yet if my head should fall on the stones,\r\n\u2060I cannot restore it.\"\r\n
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  13. \"But make ready, sir, by thy faith, and bring me to the point.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nDeal to me my destiny, and do it promptly;\r\nfor I shall stand thee a stroke, and not start again\r\ntill thine axe has hit me \u2014 have here my troth.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Have at thee then!\" quoth the other, and heaves it aloft,\r\nand aims as savagely as if he were mad.\r\nHe strikes at him mightily, but touches the man not;\r\nfor he withheld his hand cleverly ere it could hurt.\r\nGawain awaits it properly and flinches with no member,\r\nbut stands as a stone, or a stump that\r\nis twisted into the rocky ground with a hundred roots.\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nThen merrily spoke the man in the green:\r\n\"So, now thou hast thy heart whole it behoves me to hit.\r\nNow keep back the fine hood that Arthur gave thee,\r\nand see if thou canst keep thy neck whole from this stroke.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nSaid Gawain in great anger:\r\n\"Why, thrash on, thou wild man! Thou threatenest too long.\r\nI guess that thine own heart is timid!\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Forsooth,\" quoth the other warrior, \"thou speakest so fiercely\r\nthat I will not delay thine errand a bit\r\nlonger.\"\r\n\u2060Then he takes his stride to strike\r\n\u2060and knits both brow and lip.\r\n\u2060No wonder Gawain mislikes it\r\n\u2060and gives up all thought of escape.\r\n
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  14. Lightly he lifts his axe and lets the edge\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\ncome down fairly on the bare neck.\r\nYet though he smote rudely, it hurt him but little;\r\nonly cut him on one side so that it severed the skin.\r\nThe sharp bit reached the flesh through the fair fat,\r\nso that the bright blood shot over his shoulders to the earth.\r\nAnd when the hero saw the blood glint on the snow,\r\nhe leaped forth more than a spear's length,\r\neagerly seized his helm, cast it on his head,\r\nthrew his shoulders under his fair shield,\r\npulled out a bright sword and fiercely spoke.\r\nNever in this world since he was born\r\nof his mother was he half so blithe.\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"Cease, sir, of thy blow! Offer me no more.\r\nI have without strife taken a stroke in this place;\r\nand if thou givest me more, I shall promptly repay\r\nand yield quickly again, trust\r\nthou that!\r\n\u2060Only one stroke falls to me here.\r\n\u2060The covenant which we made\r\n\u2060in Arthur's halls provided just that;\r\n\u2060and therefore, courteous sir, now hold!\"\r\n
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  15. The warrior turned from him and rested on his axe.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nHe set the shaft on the ground, leaned on the head,\r\nand beheld how the doughty hero stood\r\nhis ground grimly, fully armed and devoid of fear.\r\nIn his heart it pleased him.\r\nThen with a great voice, and a huge laugh,\r\nhe spoke merrily to the hero:\r\n\"Bold sir, in this place be not so savage.\r\nNobody has here unmannerly mishandled thee,\r\nnor done but according to the covenant made at the king's court.\r\nI promised thee a stroke and thou hast it; hold thee well paid.\r\nI release thee of the remnant, of all other rights.\r\nIf I had been skilful peradventure\r\nI could have given you a worse buffet.\r\nFirst I menaced you merrily with a pure feint,\r\nand gave thee no blow; which was but justice,\r\nconsidering the covenant we made on the first night,\r\nand which thou held with me trustily; for truly\r\nall the gain thou gave me as a good man should.\r\nThe second feint this morning, sir, I proffered thee,\r\nbecause thou didst kiss my fair wife and didst hand the kisses over to me;\r\nfor these two occasions I gave thee here but two bare feints\r\nwithout harm.\r\n\u2060A true man truly restores;\r\n\u2060such an one need dread no harm.\r\n\u2060At the third time thou didst fail;\r\n\u2060and so take thee that tap.\r\n
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  16. \"For it is my weed that thou wearest, that same woven girdle.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nMine own wife gave it thee, I know well, forsooth.\r\nNow know I well thy kisses, and thy virtues also.\r\nAnd as for the wooing of my wife, I managed it myself.\r\nI sent her to try thee, and truly it seems to me\r\nthou art the most faultless hero that ever went on foot.\r\nAs a pearl is of greater price than white peas,\r\nso is Gawain, in good faith, compared with other gay knights.\r\nBut in this case, sir, you lacked a little, and loyalty failed you.\r\nBut that was for no amorous work, nor wooing either,\r\nbut because ye loved your life, \u2014 the less I blame you.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nThat other brave man stood a great while in a study;\r\nso stricken was he for grief that he groaned within.\r\nAll the blood of his breast rushed to his face;\r\nand he shrank for shame when the warrior talked.\r\nThis was the first word that the man spoke \u2014\r\n\"Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both!\r\nIn you is villainy and vice, that destroy virtue.\"\r\nThen he caught at the knot and loosed the fastening;\r\nfiercely reached the belt to the warrior himself.\r\n\"Lo! there is the deception, foul may it fall!\r\nFor fear of thy knock cowardice taught me\r\nto make a truce with covetousness, to forsake my nature,\r\nwhich is generosity and loyalty, that belong to knights.\r\nNow am I faulty and false, and a coward have ever been.\r\nFrom treachery and untruth ever come sorrow\r\nand care.\r\n\u2060Here I confess to you, knight,\r\n\u2060that my conduct is all faulty.\r\n\u2060Let me but please you now,\r\n\u2060and after I shall beware.\"\r\n
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  17. Then the other laughed and said courteously:\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\n\"I hold it quite remedied, the harm that I had.\r\nThou hast made a clean confession, acknowledging all thy misdeeds,\r\nand hast received the penance openly from the point of my edge.\r\nI hold thee quit of that plight, and purified as clean\r\nas if thou hadst never forfeited since thou wast first born.\r\nAnd I give thee, sir, the girdle that is gold hemmed.\r\nSince it is green, as is my gown, Sir Gawain, ye may\r\nthink upon this same adventure where thou goest forth\r\namong great princes; and this shall be a genuine token\r\namong chivalrous knights of the adventure of the green chapel,\r\nand ye shall come again this New Year to my dwelling,\r\nand we shall revel the remnant of this rich feast\r\nfull well.\"\r\n\u2060The lord pressed the invitation\r\n\u2060and said, \"With my wife,\r\n\u2060who was your great enemy,\r\n\u2060I think we shall reconcile you.\"\r\n
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  18. \"Nay, forsooth,\" quoth the hero; and seizing his helm,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nhe took it off quickly and thanked the warrior.\r\n\"I have had a good visit, bliss betide you;\r\nand may He pay you well who directs all mercies.\r\nCommend me to that courteous one, your comely mate;\r\nboth the one and the other, my honoured ladies,\r\nwho have thus with their craft quaintly beguiled their knight.\r\nBut it is no wonder that a fool should rave,\r\nand through wiles of women be won to sorrow.\r\nFor so was Adam beguiled by one,\r\nand Solomon by many, indeed; and Samson also,\r\nDelilah dealt him his weird; and David thereafter\r\nwas deceived by Bathsheba, who suffered much sorrow.\r\nSince these men were plagued by their wiles, it were a huge gain\r\nto love them well and believe them not \u2014 if a person but could;\r\nfor these men were of old the best, and the most fortunate,\r\nexcellent above all others under the\r\nheavens;\r\n\u2060and all they were beguiled\r\n\u2060by women whom they had to do with.[91]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\u2060If I be now deceived,\r\n\u2060meseems I might be excused.\r\n
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  19. \"But your girdle,\" quoth Gawain, \"God reward you for it!\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nThat will I keep with good will; not for the precious gold,\r\nnor the samite nor the silk, nor the wide pendants,\r\nfor its wealth nor for its beauty nor for its fine work;\r\nbut in sign of my fault I shall behold it oft;\r\nwhen I ride in renown I shall lament to myself\r\nthe fault and the deceit of the crabbed flesh,\r\nhow tender it is to catch stains of filth;\r\nand thus when pride shall prick me for prowess of arms,\r\na look on this love-lace shall moderate my heart.\r\nBut one thing I would pray you \u2014 may it displease you not \u2014\r\nsince ye are lord of the land yonder where I have stayed\r\nworshipfully with you \u2014 may the Being who upholds\r\nthe heaven and sits on high repay you for it! \u2014\r\nhow name ye your right name? and then no more.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\n\"That shall I tell thee truly,\" quoth the other then.\r\n\"Bernlak de Hautdesert I am called in this land,\r\nthrough the might of Morgen la Fay, who dwells in my house.\r\nShe has acquired deep learning, hard-won skill,\r\nmany of the masteries of Merlin; \u2014\r\nfor she has at times dealt in rare magic\r\nwith that renowned clerk, who knows all your knights\r\nat home.\r\n\u2060Morgan the Goddess\r\n\u2060is therefore her name;\r\n\u2060no person is so haughty\r\n\u2060but she can tame him.\r\n
    <\/div><\/li>\r\n \t
  20. \"She sent me in this wise to your rich hall\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\nto assay its pride and try if it were true\r\nthat circulates about the great renown of the Round Table.\r\nShe prepared for me this wonder to take away your wits,\r\nto have grieved Guinevere and caused her to die\r\nthrough fright of that same man, that ghostly speaker\r\nwith his head in his hand before the high table.\r\nThat is she, the ancient lady at home.\r\nShe is even thine aunt, Arthur's half-sister,\r\nthe daughter of that Duchess of Tintagel upon whom dear Uther afterwards\r\nbegot Arthur, that is now king.\r\nTherefore, I beg you, sir, to come to thine aunt;\r\nmake merry in my house; my people love thee,\r\nand I like thee as well, sir, by my faith,\r\nas I do any man under God for thy great truth.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nBut he answered him nay, he would in no wise.\r\nThey embraced and kissed, each entrusted other\r\nto the Prince of Paradise, and they parted right there in\r\nthe cold.\r\n\u2060Gawain on horse full fair\r\n\u2060rides boldly to the king's court,\r\n\u2060and the knight all in green\r\n\u2060whithersoever he would.\r\n
    <\/div><\/li>\r\n \t
  21. Wild ways in the world Gawain now rides\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\non Gringolet, he who had got the boon of his life.\r\nOft he harboured in houses, and oft without;\r\nand many an adventure in vale he had, and won oft;\r\nbut that I care not at this time to mention in my tale.\r\nThe hurt was whole that he had got in his neck;\r\nand he bare the glistening belt about him,\r\ncrossed obliquely like a baldric,\r\nthe lace fastened under his left arm with a knot,\r\nin token that he was taken in a fault.\r\nAnd thus he comes to the court, the knight all sound.\r\nThere wakened joy in that dwelling when the great ones\r\nknew that good Gawain had come; joyous it seemed to them.\r\nThe king kisses the knight, and the queen also;\r\nand afterwards many a sure knight, who sought to embrace him\r\nand asked him of his journey. And wondrously he tells it,\r\nconfessing all the trials that he had,\r\nthe adventure of the chapel, the behavior of the knight,\r\nthe love of the lady \u2014 and, at the last, the lace.\r\nHe showed them the nick in his neck\r\nthat he caught at the lord's hands for his\r\nunloyalty.\r\n\u2060He grieved when he had to tell it;\r\n\u2060he groaned for sorrow,\r\n\u2060and the blood rushed to his face\r\n\u2060for shame when he declared it.\r\n
    <\/div><\/li>\r\n \t
  22. \"Lo! lord,\" quoth the hero, as he handled the lace,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]\r\n\"this that I bear in my neck is the badge of this blame.\r\nThis is the evil and the loss that I have got\r\nfrom the cowardice and covetousness that I showed there.\r\nThis is the token of untruth that I am taken in,\r\nand I must needs wear it while I may last;\r\nfor none may hide his shame without mishap,\r\nfor where it once is incurred, depart it will never.\"\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nThe king and all the court comfort the knight.\r\nThey laugh loud at his tale, and lovingly agree\r\nthat the lords and the ladies that belong to the Table,\r\neach knight of the brotherhood, should have a baldric,\r\nan oblique band about him of a bright green,\r\nand wear that for the sake of the hero.\r\nAnd that emblem was accorded the renown of the Round Table,\r\nand he was ever after honoured that had it.\r\n
    <\/div>\r\nAs it is told in the best book of romance,\r\nthus in Arthur's day this adventure betid,\r\nwhich the Brutus books bear witness of.\r\nAfter Brutus the bold hero first came hither,\r\nwhen the siege and the assault had ceased\r\nat Troy,\r\n\u2060many adventures\r\n\u2060of this sort happened.\r\n\u2060Now may He that bore the crown of thorns\r\n\u2060bring us to his bliss. AMEN.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nHONY SOIT QUI MAL PENCE<\/a>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

    Fytte the Fourth<\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Now nighs the New Year, and the night passes.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nThe day drives on to the dark, as God bids;
      \nbut outside wild storms wakened in the world;
      \nclouds cast the cold keenly to the earth;
      \nwith discomfort enough to the naked, the snow
      \nfrom the north flew sharply, and nipped the game.
      \nThe blustering wind blew from the heights,
      \nand drove each dale full of great drifts.
      \nThe man who lay in his bed heard it right well;
      \nthough he locks his lids, full little he sleeps.
      \nBy each cock that crew he knew well the hour.
      \nPromptly he leaped up ere the day sprang,
      \nfor there was the light of a lamp that gleamed in his chamber.
      \nHe called to his chamberlain, who quickly answered him,
      \nand bade him bring his burnie and saddle his horse.
      \nThe chamberlain gets up and fetches him his weeds,
      \nand arrays Sir Gawain in proper fashion.
      \nFirst he dressed him in his clothes to keep out the cold,
      \nand then he put on the rest of his harness, that had been well kept,
      \nboth mail and plate, and brightly polished.
      \nThe rings of his rich burnie had been rocked from the rust,      [90]<\/a><\/sup>
      \nand all was fresh as at first; and Gawain was fain to give thanks
      \nfor it.
      \n\u2060The attendant had wiped
      \n\u2060each piece well and often.
      \n\u2060Then the noblest man betwixt here and Greece
      \n\u2060bade his steed be brought.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    2. Meanwhile, he threw upon himself his finest weeds;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nhis surcoat with its cognisance of excellent work,
      \nvirtuous stones set upon velvet,
      \nall wrought about and bound with embroidered seams,
      \nand fairly furred within with rare skins.
      \nYet left he not the lace, the lady’s gift, \u2014
      \nthat forgot not Gawain for his own good.
      \nWhen he had belted his brand upon his broad haunches,
      \nhe dressed his love-token double about him,
      \nthe knight swathed sweetly about his waist
      \nthe girdle of green silk, which became him well,
      \nupon the royal red cloth that was fair to see.
      \nBut this hero wore not the girdle for its wealth,
      \nfor pride of the pendants, though they were polished,
      \nand though the glittering gold gleamed on the ends;
      \nbut to save himself when it behoved him to suffer,
      \nto await his doom without resistance, with no brand or knife to
      \ndefend him.
      \n\u2060By this the good man is ready
      \n\u2060and goes out quickly.
      \n\u2060Full often he thanks
      \n\u2060the distinguished company.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Gringolet the huge and strong was ready,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nwho had been kept skilfully in the safest manner.
      \nThe proud horse in his splendid condition longed for spurring.
      \nThe hero approached him, noticed his coat,
      \nand said soberly, and by his sooth swore \u2014
      \n“Here, in this castle, is a company that are mindful of courtesy.
      \nThe man who maintains them, joy may he have;
      \nthe dear lady, love betide her in this life,
      \nsince they for charity cherish a guest
      \nand uphold honor in their hand. May the Being reward them
      \nwho holds the heavens on high \u2014 and also you all.
      \nAnd if I might live any longer in the world
      \nI should give you some reward if I could.”
      \nThen he stepped into stirrup and strode aloft.
      \nHis servant offered him his shield; he put it on his shoulder.
      \nHe spurred Gringolet with his gilt heels,
      \nand the steed jumped on the stone; no longer he stood still,
      \nbut pranced.
      \n\u2060Gawain’s servant, who bore his lance
      \n\u2060and helm, was by then on the horse.
      \n\u2060”This castle I entrust to Christ;
      \n\u2060may he give it aye good chance!”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    4. The bridge was let down, and the broad gates\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nunbarred and borne open on both sides.
      \nThe hero crossed himself quickly and passed the boards,
      \npraised the porter, who knelt down before him
      \ngiving good day and praying God that he save Gawain.
      \nAnd so he went on his way with his one man
      \nthat should teach him how to find that dismal place
      \nwhere he should receive the rueful blow.
      \nThey rode by banks where boughs are bare;
      \nthey climbed by cliffs where the cold clings;
      \nthe sky was upheld, but it was ugly beneath;
      \nmist hung on the moor and melted on the mount;
      \neach hill had a hat, a huge mist-cloak.
      \nBrooks boiled and broke from their banks about,
      \nshattering sheer on their shores where they showered down.
      \nDreary was the way, where they should travel by the wood,
      \ntill soon came the season when the sun rises at
      \nthat time.
      \n\u2060They were on a hill full high,
      \n\u2060the white snow about them,
      \n\u2060when the man that rode beside him
      \n\u2060bade his master abide.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    5. “I have brought you hither, sir, at this time;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nand now ye are not far from that famous spot
      \nthat ye have asked and inquired so specially after.
      \nBut I shall say to you forsooth, since I know you,
      \nand ye are a man that I love well,
      \nif ye would work by my wit ye should be the better for it.
      \nThe place that ye press to is held full perilous.
      \nThere dwells in that waste a wight the worst upon earth;
      \nfor he is stiff and stern and loves to strike;
      \nand greater he is than any man in the world,
      \nand his body bigger than the four best
      \nthat are in Arthur’s house, and bigger than Hector or any other.
      \nHe maintains that adventure at the green chapel.
      \nThere passes by that place none so proud in arms
      \nbut he dins him to death with dint of his hand.
      \nFor he is a man without measure and uses no mercy;
      \nfor be it churl or chaplain that rides by the chapel,
      \nmonk or mass-priest, or any man else,
      \nhe likes as well to kill him as to go alive himself.
      \nTherefore I tell ye as truly as ye sit in the saddle,
      \ncome ye there ye shall be killed \u2014
      \ntrust me well \u2014 though ye had twenty lives
      \nto spend.
      \n\u2060He has dwelt here full long
      \n\u2060and caused much strife in the land.
      \n\u2060Against his sore dints
      \n\u2060ye cannot defend yourself.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    6. “Therefore, good Sir Gawain, let the fellow alone,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nand go away some other road, for God’s sake.
      \nRepair to some other country, where Christ may speed you;
      \nand I shall hie me home again, and promise you further \u2014
      \nwhich I will swear by God and all his good saints,
      \nso help me God and the halidom and oaths enough \u2014
      \nthat I will loyally conceal you, and never tell tale
      \nthat ever ye fled for any man that I know of.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “Gramercy,” quoth Gawain. And sternly he added,
      \n“Well worth thee, man, who wishes my good;
      \nand I well believe thou wouldst loyally conceal me.
      \nBut if thou kept promise never so faithfully,
      \nand I gave up here, sought for fear to fly as you advise,
      \nI were a knight coward; I could not be excused.
      \nBut I will go to the chapel whatever chance may fall,
      \nand talk with that same man the tale that I like,
      \nbe it good or evil, as it pleases fate to
      \nhave it.
      \n\u2060Though he be a stern champion
      \n\u2060to cope with, and armed with a club,
      \n\u2060full well can God manage
      \n\u2060to save his servants.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    7. “Mary!” quoth that other man, “now thou sayest as much\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nas that thou wilt take upon thyself thine own destruction;
      \nif it pleases thee to lose thy life, I shall not let nor hinder thee.
      \nHave here thy helm on thy head, thy spear in thy hand;
      \nand ride down this same lane by yon rock-side
      \ntill thou be brought to the bottom of the rugged valley;
      \nthen look a little up the grassy slope on thy left hand,
      \nand thou shalt see in that ravine the chapel itself,
      \nand the burly man on the field who keeps it.
      \nNow farewell in God’s name, Gawain the noble,
      \nfor all the gold in the world I would not go with thee
      \nnor bear thee fellowship through this wood a foot further.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      At that the man turned his bridle in the wood,
      \nhit the horse with his heels as hard as he could;
      \nleaped over the land, and left the knight there all
      \nalone.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      \u2060”By God’s self,” quoth Gawain,
      \n\u2060”I will neither grieve nor groan.
      \n\u2060To God’s will I am full obedient,
      \n\u2060and to him I have entrusted myself.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    8. Then he spurs Gringolet and follows the path;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \npushes in by a hollow beside a thicket;
      \nrides through the rough slope right to the dale;
      \nand then he looked about him, and wild it seemed to him.
      \nHe saw no sign of dwelling anywhere around,
      \nbut on both sides high steep banks,
      \nand rough hunched crags with projecting stones;
      \nthe shadows of the cliffs seemed to him terrible.
      \nThen he paused and held back his horse,
      \nand oft changed his cheer while seeking the chapel.
      \nHe saw none such on any side, and strange it seemed to him.
      \nBut soon, a little distance off on a grassy spot he descried a mound
      \nas it were, a smooth hill by the bank of the stream
      \nnear a ford of the flood that ran there.
      \nThe burn babbled there as if it were boiling.
      \nThe knight urges his steed, and comes to the hill;
      \nlights nimbly down, and ties the rein
      \nand his rich bridle to a tree by a rough branch;
      \nthen he turns to the hill and walks about it,
      \ndebating with himself what it might be.
      \nIt had a hole at the end and on either side,
      \nand was overgrown with grass in clumps everywhere,
      \nand was all hollow within \u2014 nothing but an old cave
      \nor a crevice of an old crag. He could not understand it
      \nat all.
      \n\u2060”Alas, Lord,” quoth the gentle knight,
      \n\u2060”can this be the green chapel?
      \n\u2060Here about midnight the devil
      \n\u2060might tell his matins.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    9. “Now,” quoth Gawain, “it certainly is mysterious here;\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nthis oratory is ugly, overgrown with herbs.
      \nWell it beseems the wight clad in green
      \nhere to do his devotions in the devil’s wise.
      \nNow I feel in my five wits it is the fiend
      \nthat has made this bargain with me, to destroy me here.
      \nThis is a chapel of mischance; may ill fortune betide it!
      \nIt is the cursedest kirk that ever I came in!”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      With high helm on his head, his lance in his hand,
      \nhe strides up to the rock of the rude dwelling.
      \nThen he heard from that high hill, in a rough cave,
      \non a bank beyond the brook, a marvellously savage noise.
      \nLo, the cliff clattered as though it would split,
      \nas if one were grinding a scythe on a grindstone.
      \nIt whirred and screeched like water at a mill;
      \nit rushed and rang that it was ruth to hear.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      “By God,” quoth Gawain then, “that gear, I fancy,
      \nis being prepared to give me a good reception.
      \nYet though
      \n\u2060I must lose my life,
      \n\u2060fear shall
      \n\u2060never make me
      \n\u2060change colour.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    10. Then the knight called full high:\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \n“Who dwells in this place to keep covenant with me?
      \nFor now the good Gawain is passing right here.
      \nIf any wight wishes ought, let him come hither fast,
      \nnow or never, to fulfill his need!”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “Abide!” quoth one on the bank over his head.
      \n“Thou shalt have in all haste that which I promised thee once.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      Yet he kept on with that noise sharply for a while,
      \nturning and whetting, ere he would come down.
      \nAnd then he crossed by a crag and came from a hole,
      \nwhirling out of a dark place with a fell weapon \u2014
      \na Danish axe new dight, to give the blow with.
      \nIt had fast to the helve a great head, sharpened on the stone.
      \nFour feet long was the weapon \u2014
      \nno less, by that lace that gleamed full bright.
      \nAnd the man in the green was arrayed as before \u2014
      \nboth his skin and limbs, locks, and beard;
      \nsave that on foot he strides fairly on the earth.
      \nHe set the steel shaft to the stone and stalked beside it.
      \nWhen he came to the water, where he did not wish to wade,
      \nhe hopped over on his axe, and fiercely advanced,
      \nwith savage ferocity pacing the broad snow-covered
      \nglade.
      \n\u2060Sir Gawain met the knight
      \n\u2060and bowed to him, not at all low.
      \n\u2060The other said, “Now, sweet, sir,
      \n\u2060in a covenant a man can trust thee.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    11. “Gawain,” quoth the green warrior, “may God preserve thee.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nIndeed thou art welcome, hero, to my place;
      \nand thou hast timed thy travel as a true man should.
      \nAnd thou knowest the covenants made between us;
      \nat this time twelve month, thou tookest what fell to thee, \u2014
      \nand I at this New Year was to repay you handsomely.
      \nAnd now we are in this valley entirely alone;
      \nhere are no men to part us, however we may behave.
      \nHave thy helm off thy head, and have here thy pay.
      \nMake no more debate than I offered thee then,
      \nwhen thou whipped off my head at one blow.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “Nay,” quoth Gawain, “by God that lent me life,
      \nI shall grudge thee not a whit whatever misfortune falls.
      \nBut arrange thee for thy one stroke, and I shall stand still
      \nand hinder thee not the least from doing the work as
      \nyou like.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      \u2060He bent the neck and bowed down,
      \n\u2060showing the flesh all bare;
      \n\u2060and behaved as it he cared not.
      \n\u2060For no dread would he flinch.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    12. Then the man in green got ready quickly,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \ngathered up his grim tool to smite Gawain.
      \nWith all the might in his body he bare it aloft,
      \nand aimed a savage blow as though he wished to kill him.
      \nHad it driven down as earnestly as he feinted,
      \nthe ever doughty one would have been dead of his dint.
      \nBut Gawain glanced to one side on the gisarm
      \nas it came gliding down to slay him there in the glade,
      \nand shrank a little with the shoulders from the sharp iron.
      \nThe other warrior with a quick motion withheld the bright weapon,
      \nand then he reproved the prince with many proud words.
      \n“Thou art not Gawain,” said the man, “who is held so good,
      \nwho never flinched for any army by hill nor by vale;
      \nand now thou fleest for fear before thou feelest any harm.
      \nSuch cowardice I never heard of that knight.
      \nI neither winced nor fled, sir, when thou didst strike,
      \nnor tried any tricks in King Arthur’s house.
      \nMy head flew to my foot, and yet I never budged;
      \nand thou, ere any harm taken, art fearful in heart.
      \nWherefore the better man I ought to be called
      \nfor it.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      \u2060”I flinched once,” quoth Gawain,
      \n\u2060”and will do so no more.
      \n\u2060Yet if my head should fall on the stones,
      \n\u2060I cannot restore it.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    13. “But make ready, sir, by thy faith, and bring me to the point.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nDeal to me my destiny, and do it promptly;
      \nfor I shall stand thee a stroke, and not start again
      \ntill thine axe has hit me \u2014 have here my troth.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “Have at thee then!” quoth the other, and heaves it aloft,
      \nand aims as savagely as if he were mad.
      \nHe strikes at him mightily, but touches the man not;
      \nfor he withheld his hand cleverly ere it could hurt.
      \nGawain awaits it properly and flinches with no member,
      \nbut stands as a stone, or a stump that
      \nis twisted into the rocky ground with a hundred roots.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      Then merrily spoke the man in the green:
      \n“So, now thou hast thy heart whole it behoves me to hit.
      \nNow keep back the fine hood that Arthur gave thee,
      \nand see if thou canst keep thy neck whole from this stroke.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      Said Gawain in great anger:
      \n“Why, thrash on, thou wild man! Thou threatenest too long.
      \nI guess that thine own heart is timid!”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      “Forsooth,” quoth the other warrior, “thou speakest so fiercely
      \nthat I will not delay thine errand a bit
      \nlonger.”
      \n\u2060Then he takes his stride to strike
      \n\u2060and knits both brow and lip.
      \n\u2060No wonder Gawain mislikes it
      \n\u2060and gives up all thought of escape.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    14. Lightly he lifts his axe and lets the edge\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \ncome down fairly on the bare neck.
      \nYet though he smote rudely, it hurt him but little;
      \nonly cut him on one side so that it severed the skin.
      \nThe sharp bit reached the flesh through the fair fat,
      \nso that the bright blood shot over his shoulders to the earth.
      \nAnd when the hero saw the blood glint on the snow,
      \nhe leaped forth more than a spear’s length,
      \neagerly seized his helm, cast it on his head,
      \nthrew his shoulders under his fair shield,
      \npulled out a bright sword and fiercely spoke.
      \nNever in this world since he was born
      \nof his mother was he half so blithe.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “Cease, sir, of thy blow! Offer me no more.
      \nI have without strife taken a stroke in this place;
      \nand if thou givest me more, I shall promptly repay
      \nand yield quickly again, trust
      \nthou that!
      \n\u2060Only one stroke falls to me here.
      \n\u2060The covenant which we made
      \n\u2060in Arthur’s halls provided just that;
      \n\u2060and therefore, courteous sir, now hold!”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    15. The warrior turned from him and rested on his axe.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nHe set the shaft on the ground, leaned on the head,
      \nand beheld how the doughty hero stood
      \nhis ground grimly, fully armed and devoid of fear.
      \nIn his heart it pleased him.
      \nThen with a great voice, and a huge laugh,
      \nhe spoke merrily to the hero:
      \n“Bold sir, in this place be not so savage.
      \nNobody has here unmannerly mishandled thee,
      \nnor done but according to the covenant made at the king’s court.
      \nI promised thee a stroke and thou hast it; hold thee well paid.
      \nI release thee of the remnant, of all other rights.
      \nIf I had been skilful peradventure
      \nI could have given you a worse buffet.
      \nFirst I menaced you merrily with a pure feint,
      \nand gave thee no blow; which was but justice,
      \nconsidering the covenant we made on the first night,
      \nand which thou held with me trustily; for truly
      \nall the gain thou gave me as a good man should.
      \nThe second feint this morning, sir, I proffered thee,
      \nbecause thou didst kiss my fair wife and didst hand the kisses over to me;
      \nfor these two occasions I gave thee here but two bare feints
      \nwithout harm.
      \n\u2060A true man truly restores;
      \n\u2060such an one need dread no harm.
      \n\u2060At the third time thou didst fail;
      \n\u2060and so take thee that tap.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    16. “For it is my weed that thou wearest, that same woven girdle.\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nMine own wife gave it thee, I know well, forsooth.
      \nNow know I well thy kisses, and thy virtues also.
      \nAnd as for the wooing of my wife, I managed it myself.
      \nI sent her to try thee, and truly it seems to me
      \nthou art the most faultless hero that ever went on foot.
      \nAs a pearl is of greater price than white peas,
      \nso is Gawain, in good faith, compared with other gay knights.
      \nBut in this case, sir, you lacked a little, and loyalty failed you.
      \nBut that was for no amorous work, nor wooing either,
      \nbut because ye loved your life, \u2014 the less I blame you.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      That other brave man stood a great while in a study;
      \nso stricken was he for grief that he groaned within.
      \nAll the blood of his breast rushed to his face;
      \nand he shrank for shame when the warrior talked.
      \nThis was the first word that the man spoke \u2014
      \n“Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both!
      \nIn you is villainy and vice, that destroy virtue.”
      \nThen he caught at the knot and loosed the fastening;
      \nfiercely reached the belt to the warrior himself.
      \n“Lo! there is the deception, foul may it fall!
      \nFor fear of thy knock cowardice taught me
      \nto make a truce with covetousness, to forsake my nature,
      \nwhich is generosity and loyalty, that belong to knights.
      \nNow am I faulty and false, and a coward have ever been.
      \nFrom treachery and untruth ever come sorrow
      \nand care.
      \n\u2060Here I confess to you, knight,
      \n\u2060that my conduct is all faulty.
      \n\u2060Let me but please you now,
      \n\u2060and after I shall beware.”<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    17. Then the other laughed and said courteously:\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \n“I hold it quite remedied, the harm that I had.
      \nThou hast made a clean confession, acknowledging all thy misdeeds,
      \nand hast received the penance openly from the point of my edge.
      \nI hold thee quit of that plight, and purified as clean
      \nas if thou hadst never forfeited since thou wast first born.
      \nAnd I give thee, sir, the girdle that is gold hemmed.
      \nSince it is green, as is my gown, Sir Gawain, ye may
      \nthink upon this same adventure where thou goest forth
      \namong great princes; and this shall be a genuine token
      \namong chivalrous knights of the adventure of the green chapel,
      \nand ye shall come again this New Year to my dwelling,
      \nand we shall revel the remnant of this rich feast
      \nfull well.”
      \n\u2060The lord pressed the invitation
      \n\u2060and said, “With my wife,
      \n\u2060who was your great enemy,
      \n\u2060I think we shall reconcile you.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    18. “Nay, forsooth,” quoth the hero; and seizing his helm,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nhe took it off quickly and thanked the warrior.
      \n“I have had a good visit, bliss betide you;
      \nand may He pay you well who directs all mercies.
      \nCommend me to that courteous one, your comely mate;
      \nboth the one and the other, my honoured ladies,
      \nwho have thus with their craft quaintly beguiled their knight.
      \nBut it is no wonder that a fool should rave,
      \nand through wiles of women be won to sorrow.
      \nFor so was Adam beguiled by one,
      \nand Solomon by many, indeed; and Samson also,
      \nDelilah dealt him his weird; and David thereafter
      \nwas deceived by Bathsheba, who suffered much sorrow.
      \nSince these men were plagued by their wiles, it were a huge gain
      \nto love them well and believe them not \u2014 if a person but could;
      \nfor these men were of old the best, and the most fortunate,
      \nexcellent above all others under the
      \nheavens;
      \n\u2060and all they were beguiled
      \n\u2060by women whom they had to do with.      [91]<\/a><\/sup>
      \n\u2060If I be now deceived,
      \n\u2060meseems I might be excused.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    19. “But your girdle,” quoth Gawain, “God reward you for it!\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nThat will I keep with good will; not for the precious gold,
      \nnor the samite nor the silk, nor the wide pendants,
      \nfor its wealth nor for its beauty nor for its fine work;
      \nbut in sign of my fault I shall behold it oft;
      \nwhen I ride in renown I shall lament to myself
      \nthe fault and the deceit of the crabbed flesh,
      \nhow tender it is to catch stains of filth;
      \nand thus when pride shall prick me for prowess of arms,
      \na look on this love-lace shall moderate my heart.
      \nBut one thing I would pray you \u2014 may it displease you not \u2014
      \nsince ye are lord of the land yonder where I have stayed
      \nworshipfully with you \u2014 may the Being who upholds
      \nthe heaven and sits on high repay you for it! \u2014
      \nhow name ye your right name? and then no more.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      “That shall I tell thee truly,” quoth the other then.
      \n“Bernlak de Hautdesert I am called in this land,
      \nthrough the might of Morgen la Fay, who dwells in my house.
      \nShe has acquired deep learning, hard-won skill,
      \nmany of the masteries of Merlin; \u2014
      \nfor she has at times dealt in rare magic
      \nwith that renowned clerk, who knows all your knights
      \nat home.
      \n\u2060Morgan the Goddess
      \n\u2060is therefore her name;
      \n\u2060no person is so haughty
      \n\u2060but she can tame him.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    20. “She sent me in this wise to your rich hall\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \nto assay its pride and try if it were true
      \nthat circulates about the great renown of the Round Table.
      \nShe prepared for me this wonder to take away your wits,
      \nto have grieved Guinevere and caused her to die
      \nthrough fright of that same man, that ghostly speaker
      \nwith his head in his hand before the high table.
      \nThat is she, the ancient lady at home.
      \nShe is even thine aunt, Arthur’s half-sister,
      \nthe daughter of that Duchess of Tintagel upon whom dear Uther afterwards
      \nbegot Arthur, that is now king.
      \nTherefore, I beg you, sir, to come to thine aunt;
      \nmake merry in my house; my people love thee,
      \nand I like thee as well, sir, by my faith,
      \nas I do any man under God for thy great truth.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      But he answered him nay, he would in no wise.
      \nThey embraced and kissed, each entrusted other
      \nto the Prince of Paradise, and they parted right there in
      \nthe cold.
      \n\u2060Gawain on horse full fair
      \n\u2060rides boldly to the king’s court,
      \n\u2060and the knight all in green
      \n\u2060whithersoever he would.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    21. Wild ways in the world Gawain now rides\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \non Gringolet, he who had got the boon of his life.
      \nOft he harboured in houses, and oft without;
      \nand many an adventure in vale he had, and won oft;
      \nbut that I care not at this time to mention in my tale.
      \nThe hurt was whole that he had got in his neck;
      \nand he bare the glistening belt about him,
      \ncrossed obliquely like a baldric,
      \nthe lace fastened under his left arm with a knot,
      \nin token that he was taken in a fault.
      \nAnd thus he comes to the court, the knight all sound.
      \nThere wakened joy in that dwelling when the great ones
      \nknew that good Gawain had come; joyous it seemed to them.
      \nThe king kisses the knight, and the queen also;
      \nand afterwards many a sure knight, who sought to embrace him
      \nand asked him of his journey. And wondrously he tells it,
      \nconfessing all the trials that he had,
      \nthe adventure of the chapel, the behavior of the knight,
      \nthe love of the lady \u2014 and, at the last, the lace.
      \nHe showed them the nick in his neck
      \nthat he caught at the lord’s hands for his
      \nunloyalty.
      \n\u2060He grieved when he had to tell it;
      \n\u2060he groaned for sorrow,
      \n\u2060and the blood rushed to his face
      \n\u2060for shame when he declared it.<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    22. “Lo! lord,” quoth the hero, as he handled the lace,\u2060[ original<\/a> ]
      \n“this that I bear in my neck is the badge of this blame.
      \nThis is the evil and the loss that I have got
      \nfrom the cowardice and covetousness that I showed there.
      \nThis is the token of untruth that I am taken in,
      \nand I must needs wear it while I may last;
      \nfor none may hide his shame without mishap,
      \nfor where it once is incurred, depart it will never.”<\/p>\n
      <\/div>\n

      The king and all the court comfort the knight.
      \nThey laugh loud at his tale, and lovingly agree
      \nthat the lords and the ladies that belong to the Table,
      \neach knight of the brotherhood, should have a baldric,
      \nan oblique band about him of a bright green,
      \nand wear that for the sake of the hero.
      \nAnd that emblem was accorded the renown of the Round Table,
      \nand he was ever after honoured that had it.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n

      As it is told in the best book of romance,
      \nthus in Arthur’s day this adventure betid,
      \nwhich the Brutus books bear witness of.
      \nAfter Brutus the bold hero first came hither,
      \nwhen the siege and the assault had ceased
      \nat Troy,
      \n\u2060many adventures
      \n\u2060of this sort happened.
      \n\u2060Now may He that bore the crown of thorns
      \n\u2060bring us to his bliss. AMEN.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      HONY SOIT QUI MAL PENCE<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

      \n\t\t\t

      Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
      Public domain content<\/div>