Arthurian Romances (63 page)

Then they went to lead out his horse and brought him all his arms; they were eager to arm him well and soon had him properly outfitted; they made no more delay in arming him than was absolutely necessary. When they had equipped him properly, there was nothing to do but lower the drawbridge and see him off; it was lowered and off he rode, but nothing could keep the lion from accompanying him. Those who remained behind commended his soul to the Saviour, for they were very afraid that the wicked devil, their enemy, who had slain many a good man before their eyes in the square, would do the same to him. They prayed God to protect their man from death, to return him to them alive and well, and to grant him to slay the giant. Each prayed this silent prayer to God in his own manner.

The giant with fierce bravado came towards Yvain, threatening him and saying: ‘Whoever sent you here didn't love you much, by my eyes! Indeed, he couldn't have found a better way to avenge himself on you. He'll be well revenged for whatever wrong you did him!'

‘You're wasting your breath,' said Yvain, who was unafraid of him. ‘Now do your best, and I'll do mine, for such idle chatter wearies me.'

Immediately my lord Yvain charged him, for he was eager to be off. He aimed his blow at the giant's breast, which was protected with a bearskin; the giant came racing towards him from across the way, with club raised high. My lord Yvain struck him such a blow to the breast that it ripped his bearskin; he moistened the tip of his lance in his blood, the body's sauce. The giant smashed Yvain so hard with his club that he doubled him over. My lord Yvain drew his sword, which he wielded well. He found the giant unprotected – for he had so much confidence in his brute strength that he refused to wear any armour – and Yvain, with his sword drawn, rushed upon him. With the sharp edge, not the flat side, he struck him and sliced from his cheek enough flesh for grilling. And the giant in turn struck Yvain a blow that made him fall forward on to his horse's neck.

At this blow the lion bristled and prepared to help his master; he sprang in anger, and with great force he clawed and stripped like bark the giant's hairy bearskin, ripping off at the same time a huge hunk of the giant's thigh; he tore away both nerves and flesh. The giant turned to face him, bellowing and roaring like a wild bull, for he had been sorely wounded by the lion. He raised his club with both hands and tried to hit the lion, but failed when the lion leapt aside; his blow missed, falling harmlessly to one side of my lord Yvain, without touching either of them. Then my lord Yvain took aim and struck him two quick blows: before the giant could
recover Yvain had severed his shoulder from his chest with his sword's sharp blade; with his second blow, my lord Yvain ran his blade beneath the giant's breast and through his liver. The giant fell, death embraced him. And had a mighty oak fallen, I don't believe it would have made a greater thud than did the giant. All those on the castle walls were eager to behold this blow. Then it was made clear who was the swiftest among them, for they all ran to grab the spoils of the hunt like the hound that pursues the game until he has caught it. In this same manner all the men and women ran confidently and excitedly to where the giant lay upon his back.

The lord himself ran there, and all the members of his court; so did his daughter, so did his wife. Now the four brothers, who had suffered many hardships, rejoiced.

They knew that nothing in this world could detain my lord Yvain a moment longer, so they begged him to return and celebrate as soon as he had completed the task to which he was going. He answered that he did not dare promise them this; he could not guess whether it would end well or not. But he did say to the lord that he wanted his four sons and his daughter to take the dwarf and go to my lord Gawain, as soon as they learnt of his return, to tell him how he had acquitted himself on that day; for a kindness is wasted if one doesn't wish it to be made known.

And they replied: ‘This deed will not be kept secret, for that is not right. We shall be pleased to do as you wish, but we would like to ask, my lord, whom we are to praise when we come before Sir Gawain, if we do not know your name?'

‘This much you may say, when you come before him: that I told you that I was called the Knight with the Lion. I must also beg you to tell him for me that he knows me well and I him, though he would not recognize me. I ask nothing more of you. Now I must leave here; and nothing upsets me more than having tarried here so long, because before midday has passed I have much to do elsewhere, if I can get there in time.'

Then he departed without further delay, but not before the lord had begged him, as insistently as he could, to take his four sons with him: each would do his utmost to serve him, if he would have them. But it did not please or suit him to be accompanied by anyone; he left them and went away alone.

As soon as he departed he rode as fast as his horse could carry him towards the chapel, for the road was straight and clear and he knew it well. But before he could reach the chapel the damsel had been dragged out, clad in nothing but her shift, and the stake prepared to which she was to be tied.
Those who falsely accused her of something she had never contemplated held her bound before the fire. When he arrived, my lord Yvain was greatly anguished to see her facing the fire into which she was about to be thrown. Anyone who doubted his concern would not be courteous or sensible! It is true he was greatly upset, but he was convinced that God and Righteousness would aid him and be on his side: he had faith in these comrades and the lion, too, had trust in them.

He charged at full speed into the crowd, shouting: ‘Release her! Release the girl, you wicked people! It's not right for her to be burned at the stake or in a furnace, for she has done no wrong.'

The people scattered to every side and made way for him, and he was eager to see with his own eyes the one his heart beheld wherever she went. He sought her until he found her, and this so tested his heart that he had to restrain it and rein it in just as one restrains with great difficulty a restive horse with a strong rein. Sighing he looked gladly upon her; yet he did not sigh so openly that one could hear it, but with great effort he stifled his sighs.

And he was seized by great pity when he heard and saw and understood the poor ladies making a curious lament and saying: ‘Ah! God, how You have forgotten us! We will not know what to do when we lose our good friend, who gave us such counsel and such aid and took our part at court! At her recommendation our lady dressed us in her finest robes; things will be very different for us, for we will have no voice at court. May God curse the man who takes her from us! May He curse the man who causes us to suffer such a great loss! There will be no one to say or urge: “And give this mantle and this surcoat and this robe, dear lady, to this good woman, for truly, if you send them to her they will be well used, since she is in great need of them.” Such words will go unspoken, for there is no one left who is generous and good, and everyone makes demands only for themselves and never for anyone else, even when they themselves need nothing.'

The women lamented in this fashion. My lord Yvain was among them and clearly heard their complaints, which were not false or insincere, and saw Lunete kneeling stripped to her shift; she had already made her confession, asking God's pardon for her sins and offering penitence.

And Yvain, who had loved her dearly, approached her, lifted her to her feet and said: ‘My lady, where are those who condemn and accuse you? I shall challenge them to immediate battle, if they dare to accept it.'

And she, who had until this moment not seen or noticed him, answered: ‘Sir, God has sent you to me in my great need! Those who bear false witness
against me are right here waiting; had you come just a little later I would have been dust and ashes. You have come to defend me, and may God grant you strength to do so, in so far as I am innocent of the charges brought against me.'

These words had been heard by the seneschal and his brothers. ‘Ha!' he said, ‘so like a woman: miserly with the truth, and generous with lies! He would be a foolish man who took on such a weighty task at your words! The knight who's come to die on your account is crazy, for he is alone and we are three. So I advise him to turn away before things get bad for him.'

Angered by these words, Yvain replied: ‘Whoever is frightened, let him flee! I'm not so afraid of your three shields that I would depart defeated without exchanging a single blow. I'd be most ungallant were I to abandon the lists and field to you while I was still hale and hearty! Never, as long as I'm alive and well, will I flee in the face of such threats. But I advise you to have the damsel released, whom you have so wrongly accused; for she tells me and I believe her word, given and sworn upon peril of her soul, that she never committed or spoke or conceived treason against her lady. I fully believe everything she has told me, and I shall defend her if I can, for in her righteousness I find my strength. And, if the truth be told, God himself takes on the cause of the righteous, and God and Righteousness are as one; and since they are on my side, therefore I have better companions than you, and better supporters.'

In his folly the seneschal replied that Yvain could set against him whatever pleased and suited him, but that the lion must not harm them. And Yvain said that he had not brought his lion to be his champion, and that he needed no one but himself; but if his lion were to attack them, they should defend themselves well, for he would make no promises on this score.

They responded: ‘No matter what you say, if you don't discipline your lion and make him stand aside peaceably then you have no right to remain here. And you would do well to leave, for everyone in this land knows how this damsel has betrayed her lady; it's only right that fire and flames be her reward.'

‘May the Holy Spirit condemn it!' said he who well knew the truth. ‘May God not permit me to leave before I have delivered her!'

Then he ordered the lion to withdraw and lie quietly; and it withdrew as he commanded. The discussion and taunts between the two men ended at once, and they separated. The three charged towards Yvain together and he came slowly to meet them, for he did not intend to be turned back or injured by their first charge. He let them shatter their lances and kept his
intact: he made a quintain of his shield, and each broke his lance against it. And he rode off until he had put about an acre's ground between himself and them; but then he returned swiftly to the fray, for he did not care for long delays. Upon his return he encountered the seneschal ahead of his two brothers: he broke his lance upon his body, driving him to the ground despite himself. Yvain gave him such a mighty blow that he lay there a long while stunned, unable to do him any harm. The two others threw themselves into the attack: brandishing bared swords they both struck mighty blows, but received still more powerful from him, for a single one of his blows was easily worth two of theirs. He defended himself so well against them that they could gain no advantage until the seneschal himself arose and renewed the attack with all his might; the others joined in until they injured him and began to overpower him.

Seeing this, the lion delayed no longer in coming to his aid, for it recognized that Yvain was in need. And all the ladies, who dearly loved the damsel, called repeatedly upon God, begging him with all their hearts never to allow the knight suffering for her cause to be defeated or killed. With their prayers the ladies brought him aid, since they had no other weapons. And the lion brought such aid that with its first attack it struck the seneschal, who was back upon his feet, so ferociously that the chain-links flew from his hauberk like so many pieces of straw in the wind. It dragged him down so viciously that it ripped the cartilage from his shoulder and all down his side. Everything it touched it stripped away, leaving his entrails exposed. His two brothers will pay for this blow! Now all of them were equal on the field: the seneschal, who was struggling and writhing in the red stream of blood that flowed from his body, could not escape death. The lion attacked the others, and nothing my lord Yvain could do by way of threats or striking could drive it back. Though he tried his best to chase it off, the lion clearly recognized that its master was not at all displeased by its aid, but rather loved it the more for it. The lion struck at them ferociously until they had cause to rue its blows, but they in turn wounded and maimed it.

When my lord Yvain saw his lion wounded, the heart in his breast overflowed with wrath, and rightly so. He struggled to avenge his lion, striking the brothers so hard that they were completely unable to defend themselves against him, and they submitted to his mercy because of the succour brought him by his lion, which was now in dreadful pain for it had received so many wounds that it had good cause to feel distressed. And my lord Yvain was far from being uninjured himself, for he had many a wound
on his body. Yet he was not as concerned with these as for the suffering of his lion.

Now, just as he desired, he has freed his damsel, and her lady has quite willingly made her peace with her. And those who had been eager to burn her were themselves burned upon the pyre, because it is right and just that those who wrongfully condemn another should die by the same death to which they have condemned the other.

Now Lunete was happy and joyful to be reconciled to her lady, and the two of them were happier than anyone had ever been before. Everyone there offered to serve their lord, as was proper, without knowing who he was; even the lady, who possessed his heart but did not know it, implored him repeatedly to be pleased to remain there until both he and his lion were restored to health.

And he replied: ‘My lady, I cannot remain a single day in this place until my lady has ceased her anger and displeasure towards me. Only then will my task be ended.'

‘Indeed,' she said, ‘this troubles me; I don't consider the lady who bears you ill-will to be very courteous. She should not close her door to a knight of your renown unless he had grievously offended her.'