Part I
Chapter I
How Sir Galahad Fought At A Tournament, And How He Was Known Of Sir Gawaine
And Sir Ector De Maris
Now saith this story, when Galahad had rescued Percivale from the
twenty knights, he yede then into a waste forest wherein he rode many
journeys; and he found many adventures the which he brought to an end,
whereof the story maketh here no mention. Then he took his way to the sea
on a day, and it befel as he passed by a castle where was a wonder
tournament, but they without had done so much that they within were put to
the worse, yet were they within good knights enough. When Galahad saw
that those within were at so great a mischief that men slew them at the
entry of the castle, then he thought to help them, and put a spear forth and
smote the first that he fell to the earth, and the spear brake to pieces.
Then he drew his sword and smote there as they were thickest, and so he did
wonderful deeds of arms that all they marvelled. Then it happened that
Gawaine and Sir Ector de Maris were with the knights without. But when they
espied the white shield with the red cross the one said to the other: Yonder
is the good knight, Sir Galahad, the haut prince; now he should be a great
fool which should meet with him to fight. So by adventure he came by Sir
Gawaine, and he smote him so hard that he clave his helm and the coiffe of
iron unto his head, so that Gawaine fell to the earth; but the stroke was so
great that it slanted down to the earth and carved the horse's shoulder in
two. When Ector saw Gawaine down he drew him aside, and thought it no wisdom
for to abide him, and also for natural love, that he was his uncle. Thus
through his great hardiness he beat aback all the knights without. And then
they within came out and chased them all about. But when Galahad saw there
would none turn again he stole away privily so that none wist where he was
become. Now by my head, said Gawaine to Ector, now are the wonders true that
were said of Launcelot du Lake, that the sword which stuck in the stone
should give me such a buffet that I would not have it for the best castle in
this world; and soothly now it is proved true, for never ere had I such a
stroke of man's hand. Sir, said Ector, meseemeth your quest is done. And
yours is not done, said Gawaine, but mine is done, I shall seek no further.
Then Gawaine was borne into a castle and unarmed him, and laid him in a rich
bed, and a leech found that he might live, and to be whole within a month.
Thus Gawaine and Ector abode together, for Sir Ector would not away till
Gawaine were whole. And the good knight, Galahad, rode so long till he came
that night to the Castle of Carboneck; and it befel him thus that he was
benighted in an hermitage. So the good man was fain when he saw he was a
knight errant. Then when they were at rest there came a gentlewoman knocking
at the door, and called Galahad, and so the good man came to the door to wit
what she would. Then she called the hermit: Sir Ulfin, I am a gentlewoman
that would speak with the knight which is with you. Then the good man awaked
Galahad, and bad him: Arise, and speak with a gentlewoman that seemeth hath
great need of you. Then Galahad went to her and asked her what she would.
Galahad, said she, I will that ye arm you, and mount upon your horse and
follow me, for I shall show you within these three days the highest adventure
that every any knight saw. Anon Galahad armed him, and took his horse, and
commended him to God, and bad the gentlewoman go, and he would follow there
as she liked.
Chapter II
How Sir Galahad Rode With The Damosel, And Came To The Ship Whereas Sir Bors
And Sir Percivale Were In
So she rode as fast as her palfrey might bear her, till that she came
to the sea, the which was called Collibe. And at the night they came
unto a castle in a valley, closed with a running water, and with strong
walls and high; and so she entered into the castle with Galahad, and there
had he great cheer, for the lady of that castle was the damosel's lady.
So when he was unarmed, then said the damosel: Madam, shall we abide here
all this day? Nay, said she, but till he hath dined and till he hath slept
a litt e. So he ate and slept a while till that the maid called him, and
armed him by torchlight. And when the maid was horsed and he both, the lady
took Galahad a fair child and rich; and so they departed from the castle till
they came to the seaside; and there they found the ship where Bors and
Percivale were in, the which cried on the ship's board: Sir Galahad, ye be
welcome, we have abiden you long. And when he heard them he asked them
what they were. Sir, said she, leave your horse here, and I shall leave
mine; and took their saddles and their bridles with them, and made a cross
on them, and so entered into the ship. And the two knights received them both
with great joy, and every each knew other; and so the wind arose, and drove
them through the sea in a marvellous place. And within a while it dawned.
Then did Galahad off his helm and his sword, and asked of his fellows from
whence came that fair ship. Truly, said they, ye wot as well as we
but of God's grace; and then they told every each to other of all their hard
adventures, and of their great temptations. Truly, said Galahad, ye are much
bounden to God, for ye have escaped great adventures; and had not the
gentlewoman been I had not come here, for as for you I weened never to have
found you in these strange countries. Ah, Galahad, said Bors, if Launcelot,
your father, were here then were we well at ease, for then meseemed we failed
nothing. That may not be, said Galahad, but if it pleased Our Lord. By then
the ship went from the land of Logris, and by adventure it arrived up
betwixt two rocks passing great and marvellous; but there they might not
land, for there was a swallow of the sea, save there was another ship,
and upon it they might go without danger. Go we thither, said the
gentlewoman, and there shall we see adventures, for so is Our Lord's will.
And when they came thither they found the ship rich enough, but they found
neither man nor woman therein. But they found in the end of the ship two
fair letters written, which said a dreadful word and a marvellous: Thou
man, which shall enter into this ship, beware thou be in steadfast belief,
for I am Faith, and therefore beware how thou enterest, for an thou fail I
shall not help thee. Then said the gentlewoman: Percivale, wot ye what
I am? Certes, said he, nay, to my witing. Wit ye well, said she, that I
am thy sister, which am daughter of King Pellinore, and therefore wit ye
well ye are the man in the world that I most love; and if ye be not
in perfect belief of Jesu Christ enter not in no manner of wise, for then
should ye perish the ship, for he is so perfect he will suffer no sinner
in him. When Percivale understood that she was his very sister he was
inwardly glad, and said: Fair sister, I shall enter therein, for if I
be a miscreature or an untrue knight there shall I perish.
Chapter III
How Sir Galahad Entered Into The Ship, And Of A Fair Bed Therein, With Other
Marvellous Things, And Of A Sword
In the meanwhile Galahad blessed him, and entered therein; and
then next the gentlewoman, and then Sir Bors and Sir Percivale. And when
they were in, it was so marvellous fair and rich that they marvelled; and
in middes of the ship was a fair bed, and Galahad went thereto, and
found there a crown of silk. And at the feet was a sword, rich and fair,
and it was drawn out of the sheath half a foot and more; and the sword
was of divers fashions, and the pommel was of stone, and there was in him
all manner of colours that any man might find, and every each of the colours
had divers virtues; and the scales of the haft were of two ribs of divers
beasts, the one beast was a serpent which was conversant in Calidone, and
is called the serpent of the fiend; and the bone of him is of such a virtue
that there is no hand that handleth him shall never be weary nor hurt. And the
other beast is a fish which is not right great, and haunteth the flood of
Euphrates; and that fish is called Ertanax, and his bones be of such a manner
of kind that who that handleth them shall have so much will that he shall
never be weary, and he shall not think on joy nor sorrow that he hath had, but
only that thing that he beholdeth before him. And as for this sword there
shall never man begrip him at the handles but one, but he shall pass all
other. In the name of God, said Percivale, I shall essay to handle it. So he
set his hand to the sword, but he might not begrip it. By my faith, said he,
now have I failed. Bors set his hand thereto and failed. Then Galahad beheld
the sword and saw letters like blood that said: Let see who shall essay to
draw me out of my sheath, but if he be more hardier than any other; and who
that draweth me, wit ye well he shall never fail of shame of his body, or to
be wounded to the death. By my faith, said Galahad, I would draw this sword
out of the sheath, but the offending is so great that I shall not set my hand
thereto. Now sirs, said the gentlewoman, wit ye well that the drawing of this
sword is warned to all men save all only to you. Also this ship arrived in the
realm of Logris; and that time was deadly war between King Labor, which was
father unto the maimed king, and King Hurlame, which was a Saracen. But then
was he newly christened, so that men held him afterward one of the wyttyest
men of the world. And so upon a day it befel that King Labor and King Hurlame
had assembled their folk upon the sea where this ship was arrived; and there
King Hurlame was discomfit, and his men slain; and he was afeard to be dead,
and fled to his ship, and there found this sword and drew it, and came out and
found King Labor, the man in the world of all Christendom in whom was then the
greatest faith. And when King Hurlame saw King Labor he dressed this sword,
and smote him upon the helm so hard that he clave him and his horse to the
earth with the first stroke of his sword. And it was in the realm of Logris;
and so befel great pestilence and great harm to both realms. For sithen
increased neither corn, nor grass, nor well-nigh no fruit, nor in the water
was no fish; wherefore men call it the lands of the two marches, the waste
land, for that dolorous stroke. And when King Hurlame saw this sword so
sarving, he turned again to fetch the scabbard, and so came into this ship and
entered, and put up the sword in the sheath. And as soon as he had done it he
fell down dead afore the bed. Thus was the sword proved, that none ne drew it
but he were dead or maimed. So lay he there till a maiden came into the ship
and cast him out, for there was no man so hardy of the world to enter into
that ship for the defence.
Chapter IV
Of The Marvels Of The Sword And Of The Scabbard
And then beheld they the scabbard, it seemed to be of a serpent's skin,
and thereon were letters of gold and silver. And the girdle was but poorly to
come to, and not able to sustain such a rich sword. And the letters said: He
which shall wield me ought to be more harder than any other, if he bear me as
truly as me ought to be borne. For the body of him which I ought to hang by,
he shall not be shamed in no place while he is girt with this girdle, nor
never none be so hardy to do away this girdle; for it ought not to be done
away but by the hands of a maid, and that she be a king's daughter and
queen's, and she must be a maid all the days of her life, both in will and
indeed. And if she break her virginity she shall die the most villainous death
that ever died any woman. Sir, said Percivale, turn this sword that we may see
what is on the other side. And it was red as blood, with black letters as any
coal, which said: He that shall praise me most, most shall he find me to blame
at a great need; and to whom I should be most debonair shall I be most felon,
and that shall be at one time. Fair brother, said she to Percivale, it befell
after a forty year after the passion of Jesu Christ that Nacien, the
brother-in-law of King Mordrains, was borne into a town more than fourteen
days' journey from his country, by the commandment of Our Lord, into an isle,
into the parts of the West, that men clepyd the isle of Turnance. So befell it
that he found this ship at the entry of a rock, and he found the bed and this
sword as we have heard now. Not for then he had not so much hardiness to draw
it; and there he dwelled an eight days, and at the ninth day there fell a
great wind which departed him out of the isle, and brought him to another isle
by a rock, and there he found the greatest giant that ever man might see.
Therewith came that horrible giant to slay him; and then he looked about him
and might not flee, and he had nothing to defend him with. So he ran to his
sword, and when he saw it naked he praised it much, and then he shook it, and
therewith he brake it in the middes. Ah, said Nacien, the thing that I most
praised ought I now most to blame, and therewith he threw the pieces of his
sword over his bed. And after he leapt over the board to fight with the giant,
and slew him. And anon he entered into the ship again, and the wind arose, and
drove him through the sea, that by adventure he came to another ship where
King Mordrains was, which had been tempted full evil with a fiend in the port
of perilous rock. And when that one saw the other they made great joy of
other, and either told other of their adventure, and how the sword failed him
at his most need. When Mordrains saw the sword he praised it much: But the
breaking was not to do but by wickedness of thy self ward, for thou art in
some sin. And there he took the sword, and set the pieces together, and they
soldered as fair as ever they were tofore; and there put he the sword in the
sheath, and laid it down on the bed. Then heard they a voice that said: Go out
of this ship a little while, and enter into the other, for dread ye fall in
deadly sin, for and ye be found in deadly sin ye may not escape but perish:
and so they went into the other ship. And as Nacien went over the board he was
smitten with a sword on the right foot, that he fell down noseling to the
ship's board; and therewith he said: O God, how am I hurt. Amd then there came
a voice and said: Take thou that for thy forfeit that thou didst in drawing of
this sword, therefore thou receivest a wound, for thou were never worthy to
handle it, as the writing maketh mention. In the name of God, said Galahad, ye
are right wise of these works.
Chapter V
How King Pelles Was Smitten Through Both Thighs Because He Drew The Sword,
And Other Marvellous Histories
Sir, said she, there was a king that hight Pelles, the maimed king. And
while he might ride he supported much Christendom and Holy Church. So upon a
day he hunted in a wood of his which lasted unto the sea; and at the last he
lost his hounds and his knights save only one: and there he and his knight
went till that they came toward Ireland, and there he found the ship. And
when he saw the letters and understood them, yet he entered, for he was right
perfect of his life, but his knight had none hardiness to enter: and there
found he this sword, and he drew it out as much as ye may see. So therewith
entered a spear wherewith he was smitten him through both the thighs, and
never sith might he be healed, nor nought shall tofore we come to him. Thus,
said she, was not King Pelles, your grandsire, maimed for his hardiness? In
the name of God, damosel, said Galahad. So they went toward the bed to behold
all about it, and above the head there hung two swords. Also there were two
spindles which were as white as any snow, and other that were as red as
blood, and other above green as any emerald: of these three colours were the
spindles, and of natural colour within, and without any painting. These
spindles, said the damosel, were when sinful Eve came to gather fruit, for
which Adam and she were put out of paradise, she took with her the bough on
which the apple hung on. Then perceived she that the branch was fair and
green, and she remembered her the loss which came from the tree. Then she
thought to keep the branch as long as she might. And for she had no coffer to
keep it in, she put it in the earth. So by the will of Our Lord the branch
grew to a great tree within a little while, and was as white as any snow,
branches, boughs, and leaves: that was a token a maiden planted it. But after
God came to Adam, and bad him know his wife fleshly as nature required. So
lay Adam with his wife under the same tree; and anon the tree which was white
was full green as any grass, and all that came out of it; and in the same
time that they medled together there was Abel begotten: thus was the tree
long of green colour. And so it befell many days after, under the same tree
Cain slew Abel, whereof befel great marvel. For anon as Abel had received the
death under the green tree, it lost the green colour and became red; and that
was in tokening of the blood. And anon all the plants died thereof, but the
tree grew and waxed marvellously fair, and it was the fairest tree and the
most delectable that any man might behold and see; and so died the plants
that grew out of it tofore that Abel was slain under it. So long dured the
tree till that Solomon, King David's son, reigned, and held the land after
his father. This Solomon was wise, and knew all the virtues of stones and
trees, and so he knew the course of the stars, and many other divers things.
This Solomon had an evil wife, wherethrough he weened that there had been no
good women, and so he despised them in his books. So answered a voice him
once: Solomon, if heaviness come to a man by a woman, ne reck thou never; for
yet shall there come a woman whereof there shall come greater joy to man an
hundred times more than this heaviness giveth sorrow; and that woman shall be
born of thy lineage. Then when Solomon heard these words he held himself but
a fool, and the truth he perceived by old books. Also the Holy Ghost showed
him the coming of the glorious Virgin Mary. Then asked he of the voice, if it
should be in the yerde of his lineage. Nay, said the voice, but there shall
come a man which shall be a maid, and the last of your blood, and he shall be
as good a knight as Duke Josua, thy brother-in-law.
Chapter VI
How Solomon Took David's Sword By The Counsel Of His Wife, And Of Other
Matters Marvellous
Now have I certified thee of that thou stoodest in doubt. Then was
Solomon glad that there should come any such of his lineage; but ever he
marvelled and studied who that should be, and what his name might be. His
wife perceived that he studied, and thought she would know it at some season;
and so she waited her time, and asked of him the cause of his studying, and
there he told her all together how the voice told him. Well, said she, I
shall let make a ship of the best wood and most durable that men may find. So
Solomon sent for all the carpenters of the land, and the best. And when they
had made the ship the lady said to Solomon: Sir, said she, syne it is so that
this knight ought to pass all knights of chivalry which have been tofore him
and shall come after him, moreover I shall tell you, said she, ye shall go
into Our Lord's temple, where is King David's sword, your father, the which
is the marvelloust and the sharpest that ever was taken in any knight's hand.
Therefore take that, and take off the pommel, and thereto make ye a pommel of
precious stones, that it be so subtilely made that no man perceive it but that
they be all one; and after make there an hilt so marvellously and wonderly
that no man may know it; and after make a marvellous sheath. And when ye have
made all this I shall let make a girdle thereto such as shall please me. All
this King Solomon did let make as she devised, both the ship and all the
remnant. And when the ship was ready in the sea to sail, the lady let make a
great bed and marvellous rich, and set her upon the bed's head, covered with
silk, and laid the sword at the feet, and the girdles were of hemp, and
therewith the king was angry. Sir, wit ye well, said she, that I have none so
high a thing which were worthy to sustain so high a sword, and a maid shall
bring other knights thereto, but I wot not when it shall be, nor what time.
And there she let make a covering to the ship, of cloth of silk that should
never rot for no manner of weather. Yet went that lady and made a carpenter
to come to the tree which Abel was slain under. Now, said she, carve me out
of this tree as much wood as will make me a spindle. Ah madam, said he, this
is the tree the which our first mother planted. Do it, said she, or else I
shall destroy thee. Anon as he began to work there came out drops of blood:
and then would he have left, but she would not suffer him, and so he took
away as much wood as might make a spindle: and so she made him to take as
much of the green tree and of the white tree. And when these three spindles
were shapen she made them to be fastened upon the selar of the bed. When
Solomon saw this, he said to his wife: Ye have done marvellously, for though
all the world were here right now, he could not devise wherefore all this
was made, but Our Lord Himself; and thou that hast done it wotest not what
it shall betoken. Now let it be, said she, for ye shall hear tidings sooner
than ye ween. Now shall ye hear a wonderful tale of King Solomon and his wife.
Chapter VII
A Wonderful Tale Of King Solomon And His Wife
That night lay Solomon before the ship with little fellowship. And when
he was on sleep him thought there come from heaven a great company of angels,
and alit into the ship, and took water which was brought by an angel, in a
vessel of silver, and sprente all the ship. And after he came to the sword,
and drew letters on the hilt. And after went to the ship's board, and wrote
there other letters which said: Thou man that wilt enter within me, beware
that thou be full within the faith, for I ne am but Faith and Belief. When
Solomon espied these letters he was abashed, so that he durst not enter, and
so drew him aback; and the ship was anon shoven in the sea, and he went so
fast that he lost sight of him within a little while. And then a little voice
said: Solomon, the last knight of thy lineage shall rest in this bed. Then
went Solomon and awaked his wife, and told her of the adventures of the ship.
Now saith the history that a great while the three fellows beheld the bed and
the three spindles. Then they were at certain that they were of natural
colours without painting. Then they lift up a cloth which was above the
ground, and there found a rich purse by seeming. And Percivale took it, and
found therein a writ and so he read it, and devised the manner of the spindles
and of the ship, whence it came, and by whom it was made. Now, said Galahad,
where shall we find the gentlewoman that shall make new girdles to the sword?
Fair sir, said Percivale's sister, dismay you not, for by the leave of God I
shall let make a girdle to the sword, such one as shall long thereto. And then
she opened a box, and took out girdles which were seemly wrought with golden
threads, and upon that were set full precious stones, and a rich buckle of
gold. Lo, lords, said she, here is a girdle that ought to be set about the
sword. And wit ye well the greatest part of his girdle was made of my hair,
which I loved well while that I was a woman of the world. But as soon as I
wist that this adventure was ordained me I clipped off my hair, and made this
girdle in the name of God. Ye be well found, said Sir Bors, for certes ye have
put us out of great pain, wherein we should have entered ne had your tidings
been. Then went the gentlewoman and set it on the girdle of the sword. Now,
said the fellowship, what is the name of the sword, and what shall we call it?
Truly, said she, the name of the sword is the Sword with the strange girdles;
and the sheath, mover of blood; for no man that hath blood in him ne shall
never see the one part of the sheath which was made of the tree of life. Then
they said to Galahad: in the name of Jesu Christ, and pray you that ye gird
you with this sword which hath been desired so much in the realm of Logris.
Now let me begin, said Galahad, to grip this sword for to give you courage;
but wit ye well it longeth no more to me than it doth to you. And then he
gripped about it with his fingers a great deal; and then she girt him about
the middle with the sword. Now reck I not though I die, for now I hold me one
of the blessed maidens of the world, which hath made the worthiest knight of
the world. Damosel, said Galahad, ye have done so much that I shall be your
knight all the days of my life. Then they went from that ship, and went to the
other. And anon the wind drove them into the sea a great pace, but they had no
victuals: but it befell that they came on the morn to a castle that men call
Carteloise, that was in the marches of Scotland. And when they had passed the
port, the gentlewoman said: Lords, here be men arriven that, an they wist that
ye were of King Arthur's court, ye should be assailed anon. Damosel, said
Galahad, He that cast us out of the rock shall deliver us from them.
Chapter VIII
How Galahad And His Fellows Came To A Castle, And How They Were Fought
Withal, And How They Slew Their Adversaries, And Other Matters
So it befell as they spoke thus there came a squire by them, and asked
what they were; and they said they were of King Arthur's house. Is that
sooth? said he. Now by my head, said he, ye be ill arrayed; and then turned
he again unto the cliff fortress. And within a while they heard an horn blow.
Then a gentlewoman came to them, and asked them of whence they were; and they
told her. Fair lords, said she, for God's love turn again if ye may, for ye
be come unto your death. Nay, they said, we will not turn again, for He shall
help us in whose service we be entered in. Then as they stood talking there
came knights well armed, and bad them yield them or else die. That yielding,
said they, shall be noyous to you. And therewith they let their horses run,
and Sir Percivale note the foremost to the earth, and took his horse, and
mounted thereupon, and the same did Galahad. Also Bors served another so, for
they had no horses in that country, for they left their horses when they took
their ship in other countries. And so when they were horsed then began they
to set upon them; and they of the castle fled into the strong fortress, and
the three knights after them into the castle, and so alit on foot, and with
their swords slew them down, and gat into the hall. Then when they beheld the
great multitude of people that they had slain, they held themself great
sinners. Certes, said Bors, I ween an God had loved them that we should not
have had power to have slain them thus. But they have done so much against
Our Lord that He would not suffer them to reign no longer. Say ye not so,
said Galahad, for if they misdid against God, the vengeance is not ours, but
to Him which hath power thereof. So came there out of a chamber a good man
which was a priest, and bare God's body in a cup. And when he saw them which
lay dead in the hall he was all abashed; and Galahad did off his helm and
kneeled down, and so did his two fellows. Sir, said they, have ye no dread of
us, for we be of King Arthur's court. Then asked the good man how they were
slain so suddenly, and they told it him. Truly, said the good man, an ye
might live as long as the world might endure, ne might ye have done so great
an alms deed at this. Sir, said Galahad, I repent me much, inasmuch as they
were christened. Nay, repent you not, said he, for they were not christened,
and I shall tell you how that I wot of this castle. Here was Lord Earl Hernox
not but one year, and he had three sons, good knights of arms, and a daughter,
the fairest gentlewoman that men knew. So those three knights loved their
sister so sore that they brent in love, and so they lay by her, maugre her
head. And for she cried to her father they slew her, and took their father
and put him in prison, and wounded him nigh to death, but a cousin of hers
rescued him. And then did they great untruth: they slew clerks and priests,
and made beat down chapels, that Our Lord's service might not be served nor
said. And this same day her father sent to me for to be confessed and houseld;
but such shame had never man as I had this day with the three brethren, but
the earl bad me suffer, for he said they should not long endure, for three
servants of Our Lord should destroy them, and now it is brought to an end.
And by this may ye wit that Our Lord is not displeased with your deeds.
Certes, said Galahad, an it had not pleased Our Lord, never should we have
slain so many men in so little a while. And then they brought the Earl Hernox
out of prison into the middes of the hall, that knew Galahad anon, and yet he
saw him never afore but by revelation of Our Lord.
Chapter IX
How The Three Knights, With Percivale's Sister, Came Unto The Same Forest,
And Of An Hart And Four Lions, And Other Things
Then began he to weep right tenderly, and said: Long have I abiden your
coming, but for God's love hold me in your arms, that my soul may depart out
of my body in so good a man's arms as ye be. Gladly, said Galahad. And then
one said on high, that all heard: Galahad, well hast thou avenged me on
God's enemies. Now behoveth thee to go to the maimed king as soon as thou
mayest, for he shall receive by thee hath which he hath abiden so long. And
therewith the soul departed from the body, and Galahad made him to be buried
as him ought to be. Right so departed the three knights, and Percivale's
sister with them. And so they came into a waste forest, and there they saw
afore them a white hart which four lions led. Then they took them to assent
for to follow after for to know whither they repaired; and so they rode after
a great pace till that they came to a valley, and thereby was an hermitage
where a good man dwelled, and the hart and the lions entered also. So when
they saw all this they turned to the chapel, and saw the good man in a
religious weed and in the armour of Our Lord, for he would sing mass of the
Holy Ghost; and so they entered in and heard mass. And at the secrets of the
mass they three saw the hart become a man, the which marvelled them, and set
him upon the altar in a rich siege; and saw the four lions were changed, the
one to the form of a man, the other to the form of a lion, and the third to an
eagle, and the fourth was changed unto an ox. Then took they their siege where
the hart sat, and went out through a glass window, and there was nothing
perished nor broken; and they heard a voice say: In such a manner entered the
Son of God in the womb of a maid Mary, whose virginity ne was perished ne
hurt. And when they heard these words they fell down to the earth and were
astonied; and therewith was a great clereness. And when they were come to
theirself again they went to the good man and prayed him that he would say
them truth. What thing have ye seen? said he. And they told him all that they
had seen. Ah lords, said he, ye be welcome; now wot I well ye be the good
knights the which shall bring the Sangreal to an end; for ye be they unto whom
Our Lord shall shew great secrets. And well ought Our Lord be signified to an
hart, for the hart when he is old he waxeth young again in his white skin.
Right so cometh again Our Lord from death to life, for He lost earthly flesh
that was the deadly flesh, which He had taken in the womb of the blessed
Virgin Mary; and for that cause appeared Our Lord as a white hart without
spot. And the four that were with Him is to understand the four evangelists
which set in writing a part of Jesus Christ's deeds that He did sometime when
He was among you an earthly man; for wit ye well never erst ne might no
knight know the truth, for ofttimes or this our Lord showed Him unto good
men and unto good knights, in likeness of an hart, but I suppose from
henceforth ye shall see no more. And then they joyed much, and dwelled there
all that day. And upon the morrow when they had heard mass they departed and
commended the good man to God: and so they came to a castle and passed by.
So there came a knight armed after them and said: Lords, hark what I shall
say to you.