Arthurian Romances

by Chretien de Troyes

  For her residence she had had a number of fine rooms outfitted, as well as a large and spacious hall. They reached the lodging by riding along a river bank, and a drawbridge was lowered to let them pass. They crossed over the bridge and found the tile-roofed hall open before them. They entered through the opened door and saw a table covered with a long, wide cloth; upon it a meal was set out. There were lighted candles in candelabra and gilded silver goblets, and two pots, one filled with red wine and the other with heady white wine. Beside the table, on the end of the bench, they found two basins brimming with hot water for washing their hands. On the other end they saw a finely embroidered white towel to dry them. They neither saw nor found valet, servant, or squire therein. The knight lifted the shield from round his neck and hung it on a hook; he took his lance and laid it upon a rack. Then he jumped down from his horse, as did the girl from hers. The knight was pleased that she did not want to await his help to dismount.

  As soon as she was dismounted, she hastened to a room from which she brought forth a short mantle of scarlet that she placed upon his shoulders. Though the stars were already shining, the hall was not at all dark: a great light from the many large, twisted-wax candles banished all darkness from the room.

  Having placed the mantle over her guest’s shoulders, the girl said: ‘My friend, here are the water and the towel; no one else offers them to you, for you see that there is no one here except me. Wash your hands and be seated when it pleases you; the hour and food require it, as you can see. So wash now, then take your place.’

  ‘Most willingly.’

  Then he sat down and she took her place beside him, which pleased him greatly. They ate and drank together until it was time to leave the table. When they had risen from eating, the girl said to the knight: ‘Sir, go outside and amuse yourself, if you don’t mind; but if you please, only stay out until you think I’m in bed. Don’t let this upset or displease you, for then you may come in to me at once, if you intend to keep the promise you made me.’

  ‘I will keep my promise to you,’ he replied, ‘and will return when I believe the time has come.’

  Then he went out and tarried a long while in the courtyard, until he was obliged to return, for he could not break his promise. He came back into the hall, but he could not find his would-be lover, who was no longer there. When he saw she had disappeared, he said: ‘Wherever she may be, I’ll look until I find her.’

  He started at once to look for her on account of the promise he had given her. As he entered a room, he heard a girl scream out loudly; it was that very girl with whom he was supposed to sleep. Then he saw before him the opened door of another room; he went in that direction and right before his eyes he saw that a knight had attacked her and was holding her nearly naked across the bed.

  The girl, who was sure he would help her, screamed: ‘Help! sir knight – you are my guest – if you don’t get this knight off me, I’ll never find anyone to pull him away! And if you don’t help me at once, he’ll shame me before your very eyes! You are the one who is to share my bed, as you’ve already sworn to me. Will this man force his will upon me in your sight? Gentle knight, gather your strength and help me at once!’

  He saw that the other held the girl uncovered to the waist, and he was troubled and embarrassed to see that naked body touching hers. Yet this sight evoked no lust in our knight, nor did he feel the least touch of jealousy. Moreover, two well-armed knights guarded the entrance with drawn swords; behind them were four men-at-arms, each holding an axe – the kind that could split a cow’s backbone as easily as a root of juniper or broom.

  The knight hesitated in the doorway and said: ‘My God, what can I do? I have set off in pursuit of nothing less than the queen, Guinevere. I must not have a hare’s heart when I am in quest of her. If Cowardice lends me his heart and I follow his command, I’ll never attain what I pursue. I am disgraced if I don’t go in to her. Indeed I am greatly shamed even to have considered holding back – my heart is black with grief. I am so shamed and filled with despair that I feel I should die for having delayed here so long. May God never have mercy on me if there’s a word of pride in anything I say, and if I would not rather the honourably than live shamed. If the way to her were free and those fiends were to let me cross to her unchallenged, what honour would there be in it? To be sure, the lowliest man alive could save her then! And still I hear this miserable girl constantly begging me for help, reminding me of my promise and reproaching me most bitterly!’

  He approached the doorway at once and thrust his head and neck through; as he looked up towards the gable, he saw swords flashing towards him and drew back swiftly. The knights were unable to check their strokes and both swords shattered as they struck the ground. With the swords shattered, he was less afraid of the axes. He leapt in among the knights, jabbing one man down with his elbows and another after him. He struck the two nearest him with his elbows and forearms and beat them both to the ground. The third swung at him and missed, but the fourth struck him a blow that ripped his mantle and shirt and tore open the white flesh of his shoulder. Though blood was pouring from his wound, our knight took no respite, and without complaining of his wound he redoubled his efforts until he managed to grab the head of the knight who would have raped his hostess. (Before he leaves, he will be able to keep his promise to her.) He pulled him up, whether he liked it or not. Then the knight who had missed his blow rushed upon our knight as fast as he could with his axe raised to strike – he meant to hack the knight’s skull through to the teeth. But our knight skilfully manoeuvred the rapist between himself and the other, and the axeman’s blow struck him where the shoulder joins the neck, splitting the two asunder. Our knight seized the axe and wrested it free; he dropped the man he’d been holding to look once more to his own defence, for the two knights were fast upon him and the three remaining axemen were again most cruelly assailing him.

  He leapt to safety between the bed and the wall and challenged them: ‘Come on, all of you! As long as I’m in this position, you’ll find your match, even if there were twenty-seven of you! You’ll never manage to wear me out!’

  Watching him, the girl said: ‘By my eyes, you needn’t worry from now on, since I am with you.’ She dismissed the knights and men-at-arms at once, and they immediately left her presence without question. Then the girl continued: ‘You have defended me well, sir, against my entire house-hold. Now come along with me.’

  They entered the hall hand in hand; yet he was not pleased, for he would gladly have been free of her. A bed had been prepared in the middle of the hall, with smooth, full, white sheets. The bedding was not of cut straw or rough quilted padding. A covering of two silk cloths of floral design was spread over the mattress. The girl lay down upon the bed, but without removing her shift. The knight was at great pains to unlace and remove his leggings. He was sweating from his efforts; yet in the midst of his sufferings his promise overpowered him and urged him on. Is this duress? As good as such, for because of it he had to go and sleep with the girl. His promise urged him on. He lay down with great reluctance; like her, he did not remove his shift. He carefully kept from touching her, moving away and turning his back to her. Nor did he say any more than would a lay-brother, who is forbidden to speak when lying in bed. Not once did he look towards her or anywhere but straight before him. He could show her no favour. But why? Because his heart, which was focused on another, felt nothing for her; not everyone desires or is pleased by what others hold to be beautiful and fair. The knight had but one heart, and it no longer belonged to him; rather, it was promised to another, so he could not bestow it elsewhere. His heart was kept fixed on a single object by Love, who rules all hearts. All hearts? Not really, only those Love esteems. And whoever Love deigns to rule should esteem themselves all the more. Love esteemed this knight’s heart and ruled it above all others and gave it such sovereign pride that I would not wish to find fault with him here for rejecting what Love forbids him to have and for setting his purpose by Lo
ve’s commands.

  The girl saw clearly that he disliked her company and would gladly be rid of her, and that he would never seek her favours, for he had no desire to touch her.

  ‘If it does not displease you, sir,’ she said, ‘I will leave you and go to bed in my own room so you can be more at ease. I don’t believe that my comfort or my presence is pleasing to you. Do not consider me ill-bred for telling you what I believe. Now rest well this night, for you have kept your promise so fully that I have no right to ask even the least thing more of you. I’m leaving now and I wish to commend you to God.’

  With these words she arose. This did not displease the knight; on the contrary, he was glad to have her go, for his heart was devoted fully to another. The girl perceived this clearly; she went into her own room, disrobed completely, and lay in her bed saying to herself: ‘Of all the knights I have ever known this is the only one I would value the third part of an angevin,9 for I believe he is intent upon a quest more dangerous and difficult than any ever undertaken by a knight. May God grant him success in it!’

  At that she fell asleep and lay in her bed until the light of day appeared. As dawn broke, she rose quickly from her bed. The knight awoke, arose, then dressed and armed himself without waiting for anyone. The girl arrived to find him fully dressed.

  ‘I hope a good day has dawned for you,’ she said when she saw him.

  ‘The same to you, dear lady,’ replied the knight. And he added that he was in a hurry to have his horse brought forth.

  The girl had it led to him and said: ‘Sir, if you dare to escort me according to the customs and usages that have been observed in the Kingdom of Logres10 since long before our days, I will accompany you some distance along this way.’

  The customs and practices at this time were such that if a knight encountered a damsel or girl alone – be she lady or maidservant – he would as soon cut his own throat as treat her dishonourably, if he prized his good name. And should he assault her, he would be for ever disgraced at every court. But if she were being escorted by another, and the knight chose to do battle with her defender and defeated him at arms, then he might do with her as he pleased without incurring dishonour or disgrace. This was why the girl told him that she would accompany him if he dared to escort her according to the terms of this custom and to protect her from those who might try to do her harm.

  ‘I assure you,’ he replied, ‘that no one will ever trouble you unless he has first defeated me.’

  ‘Then,’ she said, ‘I wish to accompany you.’

  No sooner had she ordered her palfrey to be saddled than it was done; and then it was brought forth along with the knight’s horse. The two of them mounted without waiting for a squire and rode off rapidly. She spoke to him, but he paid no heed to what she said and refused to speak himself; to reflect was pleasing, to speak was torment. Love frequently reopened the wound she had dealt him; yet the knight never wrapped it to let it heal or recover, for he had no wish to find a doctor or to bandage it, unless the wound grew deeper. Yet gladly he sought that certain one…

  They kept to the tracks and paths of the right road without deviating until they came to a spring in the middle of a meadow. Beside the spring was a flat rock on which someone (I don’t know who) had left a comb of gilded ivory. Not since the time of the giant Ysoré11 had anyone, wise man or fool, seen such a fine comb. In its teeth a good half-handful of hair had been left by the lady who had used it.

  When the girl noticed the spring and the flat rock, she took a different path, since she did not want the knight to see them. And he, delighting in and savouring his pleasant meditations, did not immediately notice that she had led him from his path. But when he did notice, he was afraid of being tricked, believing she had turned aside to avert some danger.

  ‘Stop!’ he said to her. ‘You’ve gone astray; come back here! I don’t think anyone ever found the right way by leaving this road.’

  ‘Sir,’ the girl said, ‘I’m certain we’ll do better to go this way.’

  But he replied: ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking, young lady, but you can plainly see that this is the right and beaten path. Since I have started along this road, I’ll take no other. So if it pleases you, come with me, for I plan to continue along this way.’

  They rode on together until they neared the stone and saw the comb. ‘Never in all my life,’ said the knight, ‘have I seen a finer comb than this!’

  ‘Give it to me,’ said the girl.

  ‘Gladly, my lady,’ he answered. Then he bent down and picked it up. As he held it, he gazed steadfastly at the hair until the girl began to laugh.

  When he noticed her laughing, he asked her to tell him why; and she replied: ‘Don’t be so curious; I’ll tell you nothing for the moment.’

  ‘Why?’ he asked.

  ‘Because I don’t want to.’

  On hearing this reply, he begged her as one who feels that lovers should never betray one another in any way: ‘If you love anyone in your heart, my lady, in his name I beg and urge you not to hide your thoughts from me.’

  ‘Your appeal is too powerful,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell you and hide nothing from you: I’m as sure as I have ever been that this comb belonged to the queen – I know it. Believe me when I assure you that the bright, beautiful, shining strands of hair you see entangled in its teeth have come from the queen’s own head. They never grew in any other meadow.’

  ‘Truly,’ the knight replied, ‘there are many kings and queens; which one do you mean?’

  ‘Upon my word, sir, the wife of King Arthur.’

  On hearing this, the knight did not have strength enough to keep from falling forward and was obliged to catch himself upon the saddle-bow. When the girl saw this, she was amazed and terrified, fearful he might fall. Do not reproach her for this fear, because she thought he had fainted. Indeed he had come quite near fainting, for the pain he felt in his heart had driven away his speech and the colour from his face. The girl dismounted and ran as quickly as she could to aid and support him, because she would not have him fall for anything. When he saw her, he was ashamed and said to her: ‘Why have you come here before me?’

  Do not suppose that the girl would reveal the true reason. He would be ashamed and troubled, and it would cause him pain and anguish were she to reveal the truth. Therefore she hid the truth and said with utmost tact: ‘Sir, I came to get this comb. That’s why I dismounted. I wanted it so much I couldn’t wait any longer.’

  He was willing for her to have the comb, but first he removed the hair, being careful not to break a single strand. Never will the eye of man see anything receive such reverence, for he began to adore the hair, touching it a hundred thousand times to his eye, his mouth, his forehead and his cheeks. He expressed his joy in every way imaginable and felt himself most happy and rewarded. He placed the hair on his breast near his heart, between his shirt and his skin. He would not have traded it for a cart loaded with emeralds or carbuncles; nor did he fear that ulcers or any other disease could afflict him; he had no use for magic potions mixed with pearls, nor for drugs against pleurisy, nor for theriaca,12 nor even for prayers to Saint Martin and Saint James. He placed so much faith in these strands of hair that he felt no need for any other aid.

  But what were these strands like? I’d be taken for a fool and liar were I to describe them faithfully: when the Lendi Fair13 is at its height and all the finest goods are gathered there, this knight would not accept them all – it’s the absolute truth – should it prevent his finding this hair. And if you still demand the truth, I’d say that if you took gold that had been refined a hundred thousand times and melted down as many, and if you put it beside these strands of hair, the gold would appear, to one who saw them together, as dull as the darkest night compared to the brightest summer day of all this year. But why should I lengthen my story?

  The girl remounted at once, still holding the comb, and the knight rejoiced and delighted in the hair that he pressed to his breast. Beyond t
he plain they entered a forest and took a sidetrack that eventually narrowed to where they were obliged to continue in single file, since it was impossible to ride two horses abreast. The girl preceded her escort along the path. At the very narrowest place on the trail they saw a knight coming towards them.

  The girl recognized him the moment she saw him and said to her escort: ‘Sir knight, do you see that man coming towards us fully armed and ready for battle? He believes beyond a doubt that he can carry me off with him without meeting any resistance. I know he is intending to do this, because he loves me, though in vain, and has implored me for a long while both in person and by messenger. But my love is not for him; there is no way I could love him. God help me, I’d rather die than ever love him at all! I know he’s as happy at this moment as if he’d already won me. But now I’ll see what you can do: I’ll see if you are bold and if your escort can bring me safely through. If you can protect me, then I shall be able to say without lying that you are a bold and worthy knight.’

  He answered only, ‘Go on, go on,’ which was as much as to say, ‘I’m not worried by anything you’ve told me. You’ve no cause to be afraid.’

  As they went along conversing thus, the single knight was rapidly approaching them at full gallop. He hastened so because he was confident of success and considered himself quite fortunate to see the one he most loved. As soon as he drew near her, he greeted her verbally with words that came from his heart, saying: ‘May the girl whom I most desire, who gives me the least joy and the greatest pain, be welcome from wherever she has come.’

  It was not proper that she should be so stingy with her words as to refuse to return his greeting – from her mouth, if not from her heart. The knight was elated to hear the girl respond, though it cost her little effort and was not allowed to stain her lips. And had he fought brilliantly that moment at a tournament he would not have been this pleased with himself or felt that he had won as much honour or renown. Out of pride and vanity he reached for her bridle rein.