Arthurian Romances (13 page)

‘My lady, why do you dissemble? It is no use to hide it. You have been weeping, I see it plainly; you do not weep without reason. And while I slept I heard the words you spoke.'

‘Ah, fair lord, you never heard it; rather, I believe it was a dream.'

‘Now you are telling me lies. I hear you lying openly to me; if you do not recognize the truth of what I'm saying, it will be too late for you to repent.'

‘My lord, since you press me so, I shall tell you the truth; I shall conceal it from you no longer, but I fear it will distress you. Throughout this land all people – the blondes and the brunettes and the redheads – are saying that it is a great shame that you have laid down your arms. Your renown has greatly declined. Previously everyone used to say that there was no better or more valiant knight known in all the world; your equal was nowhere to be found. Now everyone holds you up to ridicule, young and old, high and low; all call you recreant. Do you believe it does not distress me when I hear you spoken of with scorn? It grieves me deeply when they speak so, and it grieves me even more that they place the blame on me. That I am blamed for it grieves me particularly, and everyone says it is because I have so bound and captured you that you are losing your renown and your concern for anything else. Now you must reconsider so you may put an end to this blame and regain your former glory, for I have heard you blamed too much. I never dared reveal this to you. Repeatedly, when I recall it, I have to weep with anguish! Just now it caused me such pain that I could not restrain myself from saying you were unfortunate.'

‘My lady,' said he, ‘you were right to do so, and those who blame me are also right. Prepare yourself at once; make ready to ride. Arise from here, and put on your most beautiful dress. Have the saddle placed upon your finest palfrey.'

Now Enide was deeply afraid. She arose, very sad and distraught; she accused and criticized herself for her ill-advised words: the goat scratches until it cannot lie comfortably.
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‘Ah!' she said, ‘wicked fool! I was too well off, for I wanted for nothing. Ah, wretch! Why was I so bold as to dare speak such madness? God! Did my lord not love me too much? In faith, alas, he did indeed. Now I am to be exiled! But it grieves me even more that I shall see my lord no more, who loved me so greatly that he cherished nothing else as much. The best man ever born had so devoted himself to me that he cared for nothing else. I wanted for nothing; I was most fortunate, but pride raised me up too high when I said such an outrageous thing. I shall be punished for my pride, and it is entirely right that I should be: you cannot recognize good fortune if you have not tasted misery.'

Lamenting continuously, Enide dressed herself becomingly in her best dress, but it gave her no pleasure; rather, it caused her much grief. Then she had a maiden call for one of her squires and ordered him to saddle her fine Norwegian palfrey: neither count nor king ever had better. As soon as she had given the order, he obeyed without delay. He saddled the dapple-grey palfrey.

And Erec called for another squire and ordered him to bring his armour that he might put it on. Then he went to a gallery and had a Limoges rug spread out before him on the floor. And the squire to whom he had given the order ran to get the armour and placed it on the rug. Erec sat on the other side, upon the image of a leopard which was portrayed in the rug, and prepared to arm himself. First he had the greaves of shining steel laced on. Next he put on such an expensive hauberk that no link could be cut from it. The hauberk was extremely costly, for outside and inside there was not so much iron as in a needle: rust could never gather there, for it was all of fine-wrought silver in tiny triple-woven links, and it was so subtly worked – I can confidently tell you – that anyone who ever wore it would be no more tired or sore than if he had put on a silken tunic over his shirt. The men-at-arms and knights all began to wonder why he was putting on his armour, but no one dared to question him. When they had put on his hauberk, a squire laced upon his head a helmet with a bejewelled golden circlet that shone more brightly than a mirror. Then he girded on his sword. Next he
ordered them to bring him his Gascon bay, all saddled up; then he called over a squire. ‘Boy,' he said, ‘run quickly to the chamber by the tower, where my wife is; go, and tell her she is making me wait too long here; she has taken too long to get dressed. Tell her to come quickly and mount up, and that I'm waiting for her.'

The squire went there; he found her ready, weeping and grieving, and he immediately said to her: ‘My lady, why do you tarry so? My lord awaits you outside with all his armour on; he would have mounted long since, had you been ready.'

Enide wondered greatly what her lord had in mind, but she behaved wisely, for she seemed as happy as she could when she appeared before him. She came to him in the middle of the courtyard, and King Lac came running after her. Knights came running as fast as they could: all, young and old, inquired and asked whether he wanted to take any of them along: everyone offered his services. But Erec swore and promised them that he would have no companion except his wife; he said that he would go alone.

The king was full of anguish at this. ‘Dear son,' he said, ‘what is your purpose? You must tell me your plans; you must conceal nothing from me. Tell me where you want to go since, despite their requests to do so, you wish no squire or knight to accompany you. If you have undertaken to fight in single combat against some knight, you need not refuse for all that to take some portion of your knights along with you, for pleasure and companionship. A king's son must not travel alone! Dear son, have your packhorses loaded and take along thirty or forty of your knights, or even more, and have silver and gold brought along and everything befitting a gentleman.'

At length Erec replied and told him everything and related how he had undertaken his journey. ‘Sire,' he said, ‘it cannot be otherwise. I shall take along no spare horse; I have no need of gold or silver, squires or men-at-arms; I ask no company other than my wife's. But, whatever may happen, if I die and she returns I pray that you should love her and hold her dear for love of me and because I ask it, and that you grant her half your land, freely without battle and without strife, for the rest of her life.'

The king heard what his son was asking and said: ‘Dear son, I grant her this. But seeing you leave unaccompanied causes me great sorrow; you would not do this, if it were up to me.'

‘Sire, it cannot be otherwise. I am leaving; I commend you to God. But think of my companions: give them horses and arms and everything knights need.'

The king could not keep from weeping when he parted from his son; similarly the other people wept. Ladies and knights were weeping and displaying great sorrow on his account. There was no one who did not grieve; many fainted upon the courtyard. Weeping they kissed and embraced him; their grief nearly drove them mad. I believe they would have shown no greater sorrow if they had seen him mortally wounded.

And he said to comfort them: ‘Lords, why do you weep so bitterly? I am neither wounded nor taken prisoner; you gain nothing by this sorrow. Although I am leaving, I shall return when it pleases God and when I can. I commend you one and all to God; give me your leave, for you are making me wait too long, and the sight of your weeping causes me great sorrow and anguish.' He commended them to God, and they did him; then they parted in great despondency.

Erec rode off leading his wife, knowing not where but open to adventure. ‘Ride rapidly,' he said, ‘and take care not to be so reckless, if you see anything at all, to say a single word to me. Mind you do not speak to me unless I speak to you first. Go ahead briskly, in complete confidence.'

‘My lord,' said she, ‘as you wish.'

She went in front and kept silent. Neither said a word to the other, but Enide was very sorrowful. She lamented to herself bitterly, but softly so that he would not hear. ‘Oh, misery,' she said, ‘God had raised and elevated me to great joy; now in such a short time He has abased me! Fortune, who had beckoned me, has speedily withdrawn her hand. I should not care about this, alas! if I dared speak to my lord; but I am utterly undone and betrayed, for my lord has developed a hatred of me. He hates me, I see that clearly, since he does not wish to speak to me; and I am not bold enough to dare to look at him.'

While she was lamenting in this fashion, a knight who lived by robbery came out of the forest; he had two companions with him, and all three of them wore armour. He greatly coveted the palfrey that Enide was riding. ‘Do you know, my lords, what awaits you?' he asked his two companions. ‘If you don't make a killing here, we are shameful and dishonourable and incredibly unlucky. Here comes a very beautiful lady – whether married or not I don't know, but she is very richly dressed – her palfrey and saddle, and her breast-strap and bridle are worth at least twenty marks of silver. I want to have the palfrey, and you can have all the other goods; I seek no more for my share. The knight will carry off nothing of the lady's, God save me! I'm planning such an attack on him – I tell you this quite confidently – that it will cost him very dearly; so it is right that I should go to make the first attack.'

They granted him this and he spurred his horse; he covered himself with his shield, and the other two remained behind. At that time it was customary that two knights should not join in an attack against one, and if the others had attacked their adversary it would have been considered treachery.

Enide saw the robbers and was seized by very great fear. ‘Dear God!' she cried, ‘what can I say? My lord will be killed or taken prisoner, for they are three and he is alone. One knight against three is not playing fair; that one is about to strike him even though my lord is not on his guard. God! Am I to be such a coward that I will not dare warn him? I shall not be so cowardly: I will warn him, without fail.'

She immediately turned towards him, saying: ‘Fair lord, what are you thinking of? Here come three knights spurring after you in hot pursuit; I am afraid that you will be harmed.'

‘What?' said Erec. ‘What did you say? You really have too little esteem for me! You have shown very great presumption in disobeying my orders and doing what I forbade. You will be forgiven this time, but if it happens again you will not be forgiven.'

Then he turned his shield and lance; he rode to meet the other knight, who saw him coming and challenged him. When Erec heard him, he defied him. Both spurred their steeds and came together with lances lowered; but the other knight missed Erec, whereas Erec wounded him, for he was skilled in the attack. He struck his shield so violently that he split it from top to bottom, and the hauberk afforded no more protection: he broke and ruptured it in the middle of his chest, and he thrust a foot and a half of his lance into his body. He pulled it out with a twisting motion, and the other fell; he could not escape death, for the lance had drunk from his heart.

One of the other two galloped forward, leaving his companion behind, and spurred towards Erec and threatened him. Erec placed his shield in position and boldly attacked the other, who placed his shield before his chest. They struck one another on the blazons;
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while the other knight's lance flew into bits, Erec made a quarter of his lance pass through the other's body. That one will trouble him no more today! Erec knocked him, unconscious, from his charger, then spurred obliquely towards the other.

When that one saw him coming towards him, he began to flee: he was afraid and dared not wait for him. Into the forest he ran to seek refuge, but his flight was to no avail. Erec pursued him and cried aloud: ‘Varlet, varlet, come back this way! Prepare to defend yourself, or I shall strike you as you flee. Your flight is pointless!' But the other had no wish to turn back; he went on fleeing at a great pace. Erec pursued and caught up with him; he
struck him full on his painted shield and knocked him over the other side of his horse. Erec need fear these three no more: one he had killed, another wounded, and dealt with the third leaving him unhorsed and on foot.

He took all three horses and tied them together by the reins. Each had a different coat from the others: the first was white as milk, the second black, not bad looking, and the third was dappled all over. Erec came back to the road, where Enide was waiting for him. He ordered her to drive the three horses ahead of her, and he began to threaten her, so that she should not again be so rash as to let a single word escape her lips, unless he gave her leave to speak. She replied: ‘I shall never do it again, fair lord, since that is your pleasure.' Then they rode on and she kept silent.

They had not gone one league when in a valley before them five more knights came towards them, each with fewtered lance, shield held ready and burnished helmet laced on; they were looking for plunder. At that moment they saw the approaching lady leading the three horses, with Erec following her. As soon as they saw them, they verbally divided among themselves every bit of their equipment, just as if they were already in possession of it. Covetousness is a wicked thing; and it would not be to their liking that a good defence was about to be made against it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and he who thinks to grasp may miss: so did they in this attack.

One said that he would have the lady or die in the attempt, and another said the dappled charger would be his – that was all he wanted of the booty. The third said he would have the black. ‘And I the white!' said the fourth. The fifth was no coward, for he said he would have the knight's charger and his armour; he wanted to win them in single combat, and so he would attack the knight first, if they would give him leave to do so. And readily they granted him this.

Then he left them and went forward; he had a good, sure-footed horse. Erec saw him and pretended he was not yet on his guard. When Enide saw them, her blood pounded in her veins; she felt great fear and dismay. ‘Alas,' she said, ‘what shall I do? I don't know what to say or do, since my lord threatens me so and says that he will punish me if I say anything to him. But if my lord were killed here, nothing could comfort me; I would be dead and destroyed. God! My lord does not see him; what am I waiting for, wicked fool? Now I am putting too high a value on my words by delaying speaking for so long. I know full well that those who are coming are bent on doing ill. Oh, God, how will I tell him? He'll kill me. All right, let him! I shall tell him nevertheless.' Then she called softly to him: ‘My lord!'