{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/malory/ma07.htm","path":"neu/malory/ma07.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/malory/ma07.htm","text":"Malory: Book Seventeen, Part I\nSacred Texts\u00a0\nMalory Index\u00a0\nPrevious: Malory: Book Sixteen, Part II\u00a0\nNext: Malory: Book Seventeen, Part II\u00a0\nPart I\nChapter I\nHow Sir Galahad Fought At A Tournament, And How He Was Known Of Sir Gawaine\nAnd Sir Ector De Maris\n Now saith this story, when Galahad had rescued Percivale from the\ntwenty knights, he yede then into a waste forest wherein he rode many\njourneys; and he found many adventures the which he brought to an end,\nwhereof the story maketh here no mention. Then he took his way to the sea\non a day, and it befel as he passed by a castle where was a wonder\ntournament, but they without had done so much that they within were put to\nthe worse, yet were they within good knights enough. When Galahad saw\nthat those within were at so great a mischief that men slew them at the\nentry of the castle, then he thought to help them, and put a spear forth and\nsmote the first that he fell to the earth, and the spear brake to pieces.\nThen he drew his sword and smote there as they were thickest, and so he did\nwonderful deeds of arms that all they marvelled. Then it happened that\nGawaine and Sir Ector de Maris were with the knights without. But when they\nespied the white shield with the red cross the one said to the other: Yonder\nis the good knight, Sir Galahad, the haut prince; now he should be a great\nfool which should meet with him to fight. So by adventure he came by Sir\nGawaine, and he smote him so hard that he clave his helm and the coiffe of\niron unto his head, so that Gawaine fell to the earth; but the stroke was so\ngreat that it slanted down to the earth and carved the horse's shoulder in\ntwo. When Ector saw Gawaine down he drew him aside, and thought it no wisdom\nfor to abide him, and also for natural love, that he was his uncle. Thus\nthrough his great hardiness he beat aback all the knights without. And then\nthey within came out and chased them all about. But when Galahad saw there\nwould none turn again he stole away privily so that none wist where he was\nbecome. Now by my head, said Gawaine to Ector, now are the wonders true that\nwere said of Launcelot du Lake, that the sword which stuck in the stone\nshould give me such a buffet that I would not have it for the best castle in\nthis world; and soothly now it is proved true, for never ere had I such a\nstroke of man's hand. Sir, said Ector, meseemeth your quest is done. And\nyours is not done, said Gawaine, but mine is done, I shall seek no further.\nThen Gawaine was borne into a castle and unarmed him, and laid him in a rich\nbed, and a leech found that he might live, and to be whole within a month.\nThus Gawaine and Ector abode together, for Sir Ector would not away till\nGawaine were whole. And the good knight, Galahad, rode so long till he came\nthat night to the Castle of Carboneck; and it befel him thus that he was\nbenighted in an hermitage. So the good man was fain when he saw he was a\nknight errant. Then when they were at rest there came a gentlewoman knocking\nat the door, and called Galahad, and so the good man came to the door to wit\nwhat she would. Then she called the hermit: Sir Ulfin, I am a gentlewoman\nthat would speak with the knight which is with you. Then the good man awaked\nGalahad, and bad him: Arise, and speak with a gentlewoman that seemeth hath\ngreat need of you. Then Galahad went to her and asked her what she would.\nGalahad, said she, I will that ye arm you, and mount upon your horse and\nfollow me, for I shall show you within these three days the highest adventure\nthat every any knight saw. Anon Galahad armed him, and took his horse, and\ncommended him to God, and bad the gentlewoman go, and he would follow there\nas she liked.\nChapter II\nHow Sir Galahad Rode With The Damosel, And Came To The Ship Whereas Sir Bors\nAnd Sir Percivale Were In\n So she rode as fast as her palfrey might bear her, till that she came\nto the sea, the which was called Collibe. And at the night they came\nunto a castle in a valley, closed with a running water, and with strong\nwalls and high; and so she entered into the castle with Galahad, and there\nhad he great cheer, for the lady of that castle was the damosel's lady.\nSo when he was unarmed, then said the damosel: Madam, shall we abide here\nall this day? Nay, said she, but till he hath dined and till he hath slept\na litt e. So he ate and slept a while till that the maid called him, and\narmed him by torchlight. And when the maid was horsed and he both, the lady\ntook Galahad a fair child and rich; and so they departed from the castle till\nthey came to the seaside; and there they found the ship where Bors and\nPercivale were in, the which cried on the ship's board: Sir Galahad, ye be\nwelcome, we have abiden you long. And when he heard them he asked them\nwhat they were. Sir, said she, leave your horse here, and I shall leave\nmine; and took their saddles and their bridles with them, and made a cross\non them, and so entered into the ship. And the two knights received them both\nwith great joy, and every each knew other; and so the wind arose, and drove\nthem through the sea in a marvellous place. And within a while it dawned.\nThen did Galahad off his helm and his sword, and asked of his fellows from\nwhence came that fair ship. Truly, said they, ye wot as well as we\nbut of God's grace; and then they told every each to other of all their hard\nadventures, and of their great temptations. Truly, said Galahad, ye are much\nbounden to God, for ye have escaped great adventures; and had not the\ngentlewoman been I had not come here, for as for you I weened never to have\nfound you in these strange countries. Ah, Galahad, said Bors, if Launcelot,\nyour father, were here then were we well at ease, for then meseemed we failed\nnothing. That may not be, said Galahad, but if it pleased Our Lord. By then\nthe ship went from the land of Logris, and by adventure it arrived up\nbetwixt two rocks passing great and marvellous; but there they might not\nland, for there was a swallow of the sea, save there was another ship,\nand upon it they might go without danger. Go we thither, said the\ngentlewoman, and there shall we see adventures, for so is Our Lord's will.\nAnd when they came thither they found the ship rich enough, but they found\nneither man nor woman therein. But they found in the end of the ship two\nfair letters written, which said a dreadful word and a marvellous: Thou\nman, which shall enter into this ship, beware thou be in steadfast belief,\nfor I am Faith, and therefore beware how thou enterest, for an thou fail I\nshall not help thee. Then said the gentlewoman: Percivale, wot ye what\nI am? Certes, said he, nay, to my witing. Wit ye well, said she, that I\nam thy sister, which am daughter of King Pellinore, and therefore wit ye\nwell ye are the man in the world that I most love; and if ye be not\nin perfect belief of Jesu Christ enter not in no manner of wise, for then\nshould ye perish the ship, for he is so perfect he will suffer no sinner\nin him. When Percivale understood that she was his very sister he was\ninwardly glad, and said: Fair sister, I shall enter therein, for if I\nbe a miscreature or an untrue knight there shall I perish.\nChapter III\nHow Sir Galahad Entered Into The Ship, And Of A Fair Bed Therein, With Other\nMarvellous Things, And Of A Sword\n In the meanwhile Galahad blessed him, and entered therein; and\nthen next the gentlewoman, and then Sir Bors and Sir Percivale. And when\nthey were in, it was so marvellous fair and rich that they marvelled; and\nin middes of the ship was a fair bed, and Galahad went thereto, and\nfound there a crown of silk. And at the feet was a sword, rich and fair,\nand it was drawn out of the sheath half a foot and more; and the sword\nwas of divers fashions, and the pommel was of stone, and there was in him\nall manner of colours that any man might find, and every each of the colours\nhad divers virtues; and the scales of the haft were of two ribs of divers\nbeasts, the one beast was a serpent which was conversant in Calidone, and\nis called the serpent of the fiend; and the bone of him is of such a virtue\nthat there is no hand that handleth him shall never be weary nor hurt. And the\nother beast is a fish which is not right great, and haunteth the flood of\nEuphrates; and that fish is called Ertanax, and his bones be of such a manner\nof kind that who that handleth them shall have so much will that he shall\nnever be weary, and he shall not think on joy nor sorrow that he hath had, but\nonly that thing that he beholdeth before him. And as for this sword there\nshall never man begrip him at the handles but one, but he shall pass all\nother. In the name of God, said Percivale, I shall essay to handle it. So he\nset his hand to the sword, but he might not begrip it. By my faith, said he,\nnow have I failed. Bors set his hand thereto and failed. Then Galahad beheld\nthe sword and saw letters like blood that said: Let see who shall essay to\ndraw me out of my sheath, but if he be more hardier than any other; and who\nthat draweth me, wit ye well he shall never fail of shame of his body, or to\nbe wounded to the death. By my faith, said Galahad, I would draw this sword\nout of the sheath, but the offending is so great that I shall not set my hand\nthereto. Now sirs, said the gentlewoman, wit ye well that the drawing of this\nsword is warned to all men save all only to you. Also this ship arrived in the\nrealm of Logris; and that time was deadly war between King Labor, which was\nfather unto the maimed king, and King Hurlame, which was a Saracen. But then\nwas he newly christened, so that men held him afterward one of the wyttyest\nmen of the world. And so upon a day it befel that King Labor and King Hurlame\nhad assembled their folk upon the sea where this ship was arrived; and there\nKing Hurlame was discomfit, and his men slain; and he was afeard to be dead,\nand fled to his ship, and there found this sword and drew it, and came out and\nfound King Labor, the man in the world of all Christendom in whom was then the\ngreatest faith. And when King Hurlame saw King Labor he dressed this sword,\nand smote him upon the helm so hard that he clave him and his horse to the\nearth with the first stroke of his sword. And it was in the realm of Logris;\nand so befel great pestilence and great harm to both realms. For sithen\nincreased neither corn, nor grass, nor well-nigh no fruit, nor in the water\nwas no fish; wherefore men call it the lands of the two marches, the waste\nland, for that dolorous stroke. And when King Hurlame saw this sword so\nsarving, he turned again to fetch the scabbard, and so came into this ship and\nentered, and put up the sword in the sheath. And as soon as he had done it he\nfell down dead afore the bed. Thus was the sword proved, that none ne drew it\nbut he were dead or maimed. So lay he there till a maiden came into the ship\nand cast him out, for there was no man so hardy of the world to enter into\nthat ship for the defence.\nChapter IV\nOf The Marvels Of The Sword And Of The Scabbard\n And then beheld they the scabbard, it seemed to be of a serpent's skin,\nand thereon were letters of gold and silver. And the girdle was but poorly to\ncome to, and not able to sustain such a rich sword. And the letters said: He\nwhich shall wield me ought to be more harder than any other, if he bear me as\ntruly as me ought to be borne. For the body of him which I ought to hang by,\nhe shall not be shamed in no place while he is girt with this girdle, nor\nnever none be so hardy to do away this girdle; for it ought not to be done\naway but by the hands of a maid, and that she be a king's daughter and\nqueen's, and she must be a maid all the days of her life, both in will and\nindeed. And if she break her virginity she shall die the most villainous death\nthat ever died any woman. Sir, said Percivale, turn this sword that we may see\nwhat is on the other side. And it was red as blood, with black letters as any\ncoal, which said: He that shall praise me most, most shall he find me to blame\nat a great need; and to whom I should be most debonair shall I be most felon,\nand that shall be at one time. Fair brother, said she to Percivale, it befell\nafter a forty year after the passion of Jesu Christ that Nacien, the\nbrother-in-law of King Mordrains, was borne into a town more than fourteen\ndays' journey from his country, by the commandment of Our Lord, into an isle,\ninto the parts of the West, that men clepyd the isle of Turnance. So befell it\nthat he found this ship at the entry of a rock, and he found the bed and this\nsword as we have heard now. Not for then he had not so much hardiness to draw\nit; and there he dwelled an eight days, and at the ninth day there fell a\ngreat wind which departed him out of the isle, and brought him to another isle\nby a rock, and there he found the greatest giant that ever man might see.\nTherewith came that horrible giant to slay him; and then he looked about him\nand might not flee, and he had nothing to defend him with. So he ran to his\nsword, and when he saw it naked he praised it much, and then he shook it, and\ntherewith he brake it in the middes. Ah, said Nacien, the thing that I most\npraised ought I now most to blame, and therewith he threw the pieces of his\nsword over his bed. And after he leapt over the board to fight with the giant,\nand slew him. And anon he entered into the ship again, and the wind arose, and\ndrove him through the sea, that by adventure he came to another ship where\nKing Mordrains was, which had been tempted full evil with a fiend in the port\nof perilous rock. And when that one saw the other they made great joy of\nother, and either told other of their adventure, and how the sword failed him\nat his most need. When Mordrains saw the sword he praised it much: But the\nbreaking was not to do but by wickedness of thy self ward, for thou art in\nsome sin. And there he took the sword, and set the pieces together, and they\nsoldered as fair as ever they were tofore; and there put he the sword in the\nsheath, and laid it down on the bed. Then heard they a voice that said: Go out\nof this ship a little while, and enter into the other, for dread ye fall in\ndeadly sin, for and ye be found in deadly sin ye may not escape but perish:\nand so they went into the other ship. And as Nacien went over the board he was\nsmitten with a sword on the right foot, that he fell down noseling to the\nship's board; and therewith he said: O God, how am I hurt. Amd then there came\na voice and said: Take thou that for thy forfeit that thou didst in drawing of\nthis sword, therefore thou receivest a wound, for thou were never worthy to\nhandle it, as the writing maketh mention. In the name of God, said Galahad, ye\nare right wise of these works.\nChapter V\nHow King Pelles Was Smitten Through Both Thighs Because He Drew The Sword,\nAnd Other Marvellous Histories\n Sir, said she, there was a king that hight Pelles, the maimed king. And\nwhile he might ride he supported much Christendom and Holy Church. So upon a\nday he hunted in a wood of his which lasted unto the sea; and at the last he\nlost his hounds and his knights save only one: and there he and his knight\nwent till that they came toward Ireland, and there he found the ship. And\nwhen he saw the letters and understood them, yet he entered, for he was right\nperfect of his life, but his knight had none hardiness to enter: and there\nfound he this sword, and he drew it out as much as ye may see. So therewith\nentered a spear wherewith he was smitten him through both the thighs, and\nnever sith might he be healed, nor nought shall tofore we come to him. Thus,\nsaid she, was not King Pelles, your grandsire, maimed for his hardiness? In\nthe name of God, damosel, said Galahad. So they went toward the bed to behold\nall about it, and above the head there hung two swords. Also there were two\nspindles which were as white as any snow, and other that were as red as\nblood, and other above green as any emerald: of these three colours were the\nspindles, and of natural colour within, and without any painting. These\nspindles, said the damosel, were when sinful Eve came to gather fruit, for\nwhich Adam and she were put out of paradise, she took with her the bough on\nwhich the apple hung on. Then perceived she that the branch was fair and\ngreen, and she remembered her the loss which came from the tree. Then she\nthought to keep the branch as long as she might. And for she had no coffer to\nkeep it in, she put it in the earth. So by the will of Our Lord the branch\ngrew to a great tree within a little while, and was as white as any snow,\nbranches, boughs, and leaves: that was a token a maiden planted it. But after\nGod came to Adam, and bad him know his wife fleshly as nature required. So\nlay Adam with his wife under the same tree; and anon the tree which was white\nwas full green as any grass, and all that came out of it; and in the same\ntime that they medled together there was Abel begotten: thus was the tree\nlong of green colour. And so it befell many days after, under the same tree\nCain slew Abel, whereof befel great marvel. For anon as Abel had received the\ndeath under the green tree, it lost the green colour and became red; and that\nwas in tokening of the blood. And anon all the plants died thereof, but the\ntree grew and waxed marvellously fair, and it was the fairest tree and the\nmost delectable that any man might behold and see; and so died the plants\nthat grew out of it tofore that Abel was slain under it. So long dured the\ntree till that Solomon, King David's son, reigned, and held the land after\nhis father. This Solomon was wise, and knew all the virtues of stones and\ntrees, and so he knew the course of the stars, and many other divers things.\nThis Solomon had an evil wife, wherethrough he weened that there had been no\ngood women, and so he despised them in his books. So answered a voice him\nonce: Solomon, if heaviness come to a man by a woman, ne reck thou never; for\nyet shall there come a woman whereof there shall come greater joy to man an\nhundred times more than this heaviness giveth sorrow; and that woman shall be\nborn of thy lineage. Then when Solomon heard these words he held himself but\na fool, and the truth he perceived by old books. Also the Holy Ghost showed\nhim the coming of the glorious Virgin Mary. Then asked he of the voice, if it\nshould be in the yerde of his lineage. Nay, said the voice, but there shall\ncome a man which shall be a maid, and the last of your blood, and he shall be\nas good a knight as Duke Josua, thy brother-in-law.\nChapter VI\nHow Solomon Took David's Sword By The Counsel Of His Wife, And Of Other\nMatters Marvellous\n Now have I certified thee of that thou stoodest in doubt. Then was\nSolomon glad that there should come any such of his lineage; but ever he\nmarvelled and studied who that should be, and what his name might be. His\nwife perceived that he studied, and thought she would know it at some season;\nand so she waited her time, and asked of him the cause of his studying, and\nthere he told her all together how the voice told him. Well, said she, I\nshall let make a ship of the best wood and most durable that men may find. So\nSolomon sent for all the carpenters of the land, and the best. And when they\nhad made the ship the lady said to Solomon: Sir, said she, syne it is so that\nthis knight ought to pass all knights of chivalry which have been tofore him\nand shall come after him, moreover I shall tell you, said she, ye shall go\ninto Our Lord's temple, where is King David's sword, your father, the which\nis the marvelloust and the sharpest that ever was taken in any knight's hand.\nTherefore take that, and take off the pommel, and thereto make ye a pommel of\nprecious stones, that it be so subtilely made that no man perceive it but that\nthey be all one; and after make there an hilt so marvellously and wonderly\nthat no man may know it; and after make a marvellous sheath. And when ye have\nmade all this I shall let make a girdle thereto such as shall please me. All\nthis King Solomon did let make as she devised, both the ship and all the\nremnant. And when the ship was ready in the sea to sail, the lady let make a\ngreat bed and marvellous rich, and set her upon the bed's head, covered with\nsilk, and laid the sword at the feet, and the girdles were of hemp, and\ntherewith the king was angry. Sir, wit ye well, said she, that I have none so\nhigh a thing which were worthy to sustain so high a sword, and a maid shall\nbring other knights thereto, but I wot not when it shall be, nor what time.\nAnd there she let make a covering to the ship, of cloth of silk that should\nnever rot for no manner of weather. Yet went that lady and made a carpenter\nto come to the tree which Abel was slain under. Now, said she, carve me out\nof this tree as much wood as will make me a spindle. Ah madam, said he, this\nis the tree the which our first mother planted. Do it, said she, or else I\nshall destroy thee. Anon as he began to work there came out drops of blood:\nand then would he have left, but she would not suffer him, and so he took\naway as much wood as might make a spindle: and so she made him to take as\nmuch of the green tree and of the white tree. And when these three spindles\nwere shapen she made them to be fastened upon the selar of the bed. When\nSolomon saw this, he said to his wife: Ye have done marvellously, for though\nall the world were here right now, he could not devise wherefore all this\nwas made, but Our Lord Himself; and thou that hast done it wotest not what\nit shall betoken. Now let it be, said she, for ye shall hear tidings sooner\nthan ye ween. Now shall ye hear a wonderful tale of King Solomon and his wife.\nChapter VII\nA Wonderful Tale Of King Solomon And His Wife\n That night lay Solomon before the ship with little fellowship. And when\nhe was on sleep him thought there come from heaven a great company of angels,\nand alit into the ship, and took water which was brought by an angel, in a\nvessel of silver, and sprente all the ship. And after he came to the sword,\nand drew letters on the hilt. And after went to the ship's board, and wrote\nthere other letters which said: Thou man that wilt enter within me, beware\nthat thou be full within the faith, for I ne am but Faith and Belief. When\nSolomon espied these letters he was abashed, so that he durst not enter, and\nso drew him aback; and the ship was anon shoven in the sea, and he went so\nfast that he lost sight of him within a little while. And then a little voice\nsaid: Solomon, the last knight of thy lineage shall rest in this bed. Then\nwent Solomon and awaked his wife, and told her of the adventures of the ship.\nNow saith the history that a great while the three fellows beheld the bed and\nthe three spindles. Then they were at certain that they were of natural\ncolours without painting. Then they lift up a cloth which was above the\nground, and there found a rich purse by seeming. And Percivale took it, and\nfound therein a writ and so he read it, and devised the manner of the spindles\nand of the ship, whence it came, and by whom it was made. Now, said Galahad,\nwhere shall we find the gentlewoman that shall make new girdles to the sword?\nFair sir, said Percivale's sister, dismay you not, for by the leave of God I\nshall let make a girdle to the sword, such one as shall long thereto. And then\nshe opened a box, and took out girdles which were seemly wrought with golden\nthreads, and upon that were set full precious stones, and a rich buckle of\ngold. Lo, lords, said she, here is a girdle that ought to be set about the\nsword. And wit ye well the greatest part of his girdle was made of my hair,\nwhich I loved well while that I was a woman of the world. But as soon as I\nwist that this adventure was ordained me I clipped off my hair, and made this\ngirdle in the name of God. Ye be well found, said Sir Bors, for certes ye have\nput us out of great pain, wherein we should have entered ne had your tidings\nbeen. Then went the gentlewoman and set it on the girdle of the sword. Now,\nsaid the fellowship, what is the name of the sword, and what shall we call it?\nTruly, said she, the name of the sword is the Sword with the strange girdles;\nand the sheath, mover of blood; for no man that hath blood in him ne shall\nnever see the one part of the sheath which was made of the tree of life. Then\nthey said to Galahad: in the name of Jesu Christ, and pray you that ye gird\nyou with this sword which hath been desired so much in the realm of Logris.\nNow let me begin, said Galahad, to grip this sword for to give you courage;\nbut wit ye well it longeth no more to me than it doth to you. And then he\ngripped about it with his fingers a great deal; and then she girt him about\nthe middle with the sword. Now reck I not though I die, for now I hold me one\nof the blessed maidens of the world, which hath made the worthiest knight of\nthe world. Damosel, said Galahad, ye have done so much that I shall be your\nknight all the days of my life. Then they went from that ship, and went to the\nother. And anon the wind drove them into the sea a great pace, but they had no\nvictuals: but it befell that they came on the morn to a castle that men call\nCarteloise, that was in the marches of Scotland. And when they had passed the\nport, the gentlewoman said: Lords, here be men arriven that, an they wist that\nye were of King Arthur's court, ye should be assailed anon. Damosel, said\nGalahad, He that cast us out of the rock shall deliver us from them.\nChapter VIII\nHow Galahad And His Fellows Came To A Castle, And How They Were Fought\nWithal, And How They Slew Their Adversaries, And Other Matters\n So it befell as they spoke thus there came a squire by them, and asked\nwhat they were; and they said they were of King Arthur's house. Is that\nsooth? said he. Now by my head, said he, ye be ill arrayed; and then turned\nhe again unto the cliff fortress. And within a while they heard an horn blow.\nThen a gentlewoman came to them, and asked them of whence they were; and they\ntold her. Fair lords, said she, for God's love turn again if ye may, for ye\nbe come unto your death. Nay, they said, we will not turn again, for He shall\nhelp us in whose service we be entered in. Then as they stood talking there\ncame knights well armed, and bad them yield them or else die. That yielding,\nsaid they, shall be noyous to you. And therewith they let their horses run,\nand Sir Percivale note the foremost to the earth, and took his horse, and\nmounted thereupon, and the same did Galahad. Also Bors served another so, for\nthey had no horses in that country, for they left their horses when they took\ntheir ship in other countries. And so when they were horsed then began they\nto set upon them; and they of the castle fled into the strong fortress, and\nthe three knights after them into the castle, and so alit on foot, and with\ntheir swords slew them down, and gat into the hall. Then when they beheld the\ngreat multitude of people that they had slain, they held themself great\nsinners. Certes, said Bors, I ween an God had loved them that we should not\nhave had power to have slain them thus. But they have done so much against\nOur Lord that He would not suffer them to reign no longer. Say ye not so,\nsaid Galahad, for if they misdid against God, the vengeance is not ours, but\nto Him which hath power thereof. So came there out of a chamber a good man\nwhich was a priest, and bare God's body in a cup. And when he saw them which\nlay dead in the hall he was all abashed; and Galahad did off his helm and\nkneeled down, and so did his two fellows. Sir, said they, have ye no dread of\nus, for we be of King Arthur's court. Then asked the good man how they were\nslain so suddenly, and they told it him. Truly, said the good man, an ye\nmight live as long as the world might endure, ne might ye have done so great\nan alms deed at this. Sir, said Galahad, I repent me much, inasmuch as they\nwere christened. Nay, repent you not, said he, for they were not christened,\nand I shall tell you how that I wot of this castle. Here was Lord Earl Hernox\nnot but one year, and he had three sons, good knights of arms, and a daughter,\nthe fairest gentlewoman that men knew. So those three knights loved their\nsister so sore that they brent in love, and so they lay by her, maugre her\nhead. And for she cried to her father they slew her, and took their father\nand put him in prison, and wounded him nigh to death, but a cousin of hers\nrescued him. And then did they great untruth: they slew clerks and priests,\nand made beat down chapels, that Our Lord's service might not be served nor\nsaid. And this same day her father sent to me for to be confessed and houseld;\nbut such shame had never man as I had this day with the three brethren, but\nthe earl bad me suffer, for he said they should not long endure, for three\nservants of Our Lord should destroy them, and now it is brought to an end.\nAnd by this may ye wit that Our Lord is not displeased with your deeds.\nCertes, said Galahad, an it had not pleased Our Lord, never should we have\nslain so many men in so little a while. And then they brought the Earl Hernox\nout of prison into the middes of the hall, that knew Galahad anon, and yet he\nsaw him never afore but by revelation of Our Lord.\nChapter IX\nHow The Three Knights, With Percivale's Sister, Came Unto The Same Forest,\nAnd Of An Hart And Four Lions, And Other Things\n Then began he to weep right tenderly, and said: Long have I abiden your\ncoming, but for God's love hold me in your arms, that my soul may depart out\nof my body in so good a man's arms as ye be. Gladly, said Galahad. And then\none said on high, that all heard: Galahad, well hast thou avenged me on\nGod's enemies. Now behoveth thee to go to the maimed king as soon as thou\nmayest, for he shall receive by thee hath which he hath abiden so long. And\ntherewith the soul departed from the body, and Galahad made him to be buried\nas him ought to be. Right so departed the three knights, and Percivale's\nsister with them. And so they came into a waste forest, and there they saw\nafore them a white hart which four lions led. Then they took them to assent\nfor to follow after for to know whither they repaired; and so they rode after\na great pace till that they came to a valley, and thereby was an hermitage\nwhere a good man dwelled, and the hart and the lions entered also. So when\nthey saw all this they turned to the chapel, and saw the good man in a\nreligious weed and in the armour of Our Lord, for he would sing mass of the\nHoly Ghost; and so they entered in and heard mass. And at the secrets of the\nmass they three saw the hart become a man, the which marvelled them, and set\nhim upon the altar in a rich siege; and saw the four lions were changed, the\none to the form of a man, the other to the form of a lion, and the third to an\neagle, and the fourth was changed unto an ox. Then took they their siege where\nthe hart sat, and went out through a glass window, and there was nothing\nperished nor broken; and they heard a voice say: In such a manner entered the\nSon of God in the womb of a maid Mary, whose virginity ne was perished ne\nhurt. And when they heard these words they fell down to the earth and were\nastonied; and therewith was a great clereness. And when they were come to\ntheirself again they went to the good man and prayed him that he would say\nthem truth. What thing have ye seen? said he. And they told him all that they\nhad seen. Ah lords, said he, ye be welcome; now wot I well ye be the good\nknights the which shall bring the Sangreal to an end; for ye be they unto whom\nOur Lord shall shew great secrets. And well ought Our Lord be signified to an\nhart, for the hart when he is old he waxeth young again in his white skin.\nRight so cometh again Our Lord from death to life, for He lost earthly flesh\nthat was the deadly flesh, which He had taken in the womb of the blessed\nVirgin Mary; and for that cause appeared Our Lord as a white hart without\nspot. And the four that were with Him is to understand the four evangelists\nwhich set in writing a part of Jesus Christ's deeds that He did sometime when\nHe was among you an earthly man; for wit ye well never erst ne might no\nknight know the truth, for ofttimes or this our Lord showed Him unto good\nmen and unto good knights, in likeness of an hart, but I suppose from\nhenceforth ye shall see no more. And then they joyed much, and dwelled there\nall that day. And upon the morrow when they had heard mass they departed and\ncommended the good man to God: and so they came to a castle and passed by.\nSo there came a knight armed after them and said: Lords, hark what I shall\nsay to you.","title":"Malory: Book Seventeen, Part I","type":"page"}