Permits me, I will avenge you.”
“Ah well, it’s after dinner,” 590
Said Kay, who could never be quiet.
“There are lots more words in a jug
Of wine than a barrel of beer.
They say that a cat meows
When it’s full. No one moves after dinner 595
But everyone’s ready to kill
A sultan and avenge all his sins!
Are your saddle-pads ready to go,
Your iron leg-armor polished,
Your banners unfurled? Quickly, 600
My lord Yvain! By God,
Are you leaving tonight or tomorrow?
Do let us know, fair sir,
Just when you begin this ordeal,
So we all can escort you. Of course, 605
All marshals and magistrates will want
To ride at your side. And I beg you,
However you arrange things, not
To leave us without proper farewells.
And if your dreams are bad tonight, 610
Perhaps you'd better stay home.”
“The devil! Are you out of your mind,
Sir Kay?” said the queen. “Is there no way
To stop your wagging tongue?
Your mouth should be shamed by itself, 615
Forever dripping bile.
Plainly, your tongue dislikes you,
For it always says the worst
It knows about everyone you mention.
Cursed be any tongue 620
That can't say anything but wickedness!
It’s your tongue, working as it does,
That makes everyone everywhere hate you.
It couldn't do more to betray you.
Listen: I'd charge it with treason, 625
If that tongue were mine. And anyone
Incurable ought to be tied
In front of a church, like a madman
Bound to the altar screen.”
“Indeed, my lady,” said lord 630
Yvain, “I don't mind these insults.
Wherever he goes, Sir Kay
Is so talented, so wise, and so honorable
He could never be deaf or dumb.
He knows how to answer abuse 635
With good sense, and with courtesy, and he’s always
Done exactly that.
You know how truly I speak.
But I've less than no interest in quarrels
Or beginning any foolishness. He 640
Who starts a fight, who strikes
The first blow, may not be the winner,
But rather he who strikes back—
And it’s always better to quarrel
With a stranger than insult a friend. 645
I've no wish to act like a dog
That bristles and bares its teeth
Whenever another dog growls.”
And as they spoke, the king
Came out of his room, where he'd been 650
A long time. He'd slept until
That very moment. And all
The knights, as soon as they saw him,
Jumped to their feet, but he ordered them
Back to their seats, and sat 655
Himself next to the queen,
Who told him Calgrenant’s story,
Repeating it word for word,
Beautifully telling the tale
As she knew how to do. The king 660
Listened with interest, then swore
Three mighty oaths, by the soul
Of Uther Pendragon, his father,
And his son’s soul, and his mother’s,
That he would go to see 665
That fountain, and the storm, and all
The marvels, in two weeks time,
And swore he'd reach there on the eve
Of the Feast of Saint John the Baptist,
And there he would sleep, that night, 670
And he said he would take along
Everyone who wanted to come.
And everything the king had decided
Delighted the entire court,
For every knight and every 675
Squire was desperate to go.
But in spite of their joy and their pleasure
My lord Yvain was miserable,
For he'd meant to go alone,
And so he was sad and upset 680
At the king for planning his visit.
And what bothered him most of all
Was knowing that the right of combat
Would surely fall to Sir Kay
Rather than himself. If Kay 685
Requested it, Kay would get it—
Or even Sir Gawain, if Gawain
Chose to ask for it first.
Either of them would have it,
If either wanted it, and asked. 690
And feeling no need for their company
He decided not to wait,
But to go alone, if he could,
No matter for joy or for sorrow.
They could stay at home, if they chose, 695
But he'd made up his mind to reach
Brocelande forest in three days,
If he could, and try to find
That narrow, overgrown path—
And how anxious he was to see it!— 700
And the open fields and the castle
And all the pleasures and delights
Of that courteous young woman, well-bred
And beautiful to see, and that excellent
Knight, her father, so concerned 705
With honor, so honest and highborn,
So worthy and generous and open.
And then he would see the wild bulls
And the giant creature who guarded them.
It was hard for him to delay: 710
Such a huge creature, immense
And hideous, half-real, half-imagined,
And dark as any blacksmith.
And then he'd see, if he could,
The stone and the spring and the bowl 715
And the birds covering the pine tree,
And he'd make it rain and blow.
But he'd boast about nothing, and no one
Would know what he meant to do,
If he could help it, until 720
It was done, for honor or for shame,
And then he could let it be known.
So lord Yvain stole off,
Making sure that he met no one,
And went to his lodgings, alone. 725
His servants and attendants were there,
And he ordered his saddle put on
And spoke to his favorite squire,
One from whom he hid nothing.
“Now listen! Come after me, 730
And bring my weapons and armor!
I'm going out through that gate,
Not on my war-horse, and only
Walking him. Be careful, and hurry;
I've a long, long way to go. 735
I want new shoes on my war-horse,
And I want him brought to me, and quickly,
And I want you to bring back the other.
But be careful, I warn you, and if anyone
Asks where I've gone, be sure 740
You tell him nothing. You may
Have counted on me before,
But never again, if you fail me.”
“My lord!” he said, “all is well.
No one will learn a thing 745
From me. Go! And I'll follow.”
So lord Yvain mounted,
Meaning to avenge his cousin’s
Shame before he returned,
If he could. His squire ran 750
For weapons and the war-horse, and leaped up
On its back. There was no delay,
He had plenty of horseshoes and nails.
Then he followed his master’s tracks
Until he saw him, dismounted, 755
Waiting along the road,
But off to the side, in a sheltered
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Spot. Armor and weapons
Were handed over, and put on,
And once he was ready Yvain 760
Wasted no time, but day
After day hurried over mountains
And across valleys and deep,
Broad forests, and strange places,
And wild places, riding 765
Through dangerous ways with many
Perils and many difficulties,
Until he reached the right road,
All choked with brambles, and dark,
And then he felt himself safe, 770
No longer able to lose
His way. Whoever might have to
Pay for it, he would not stop
Till he saw the pine shading
The fountain, and the stone, and the storm, 775
And the hail and the rain and the thunder
And wind. That night, to be sure,
He was sheltered exactly as he'd hoped,
And indeed he found his host
Still better and even more honorable 780
Than he could have expected, and as
For the girl he saw a hundred
Times more beauty and good sense
Than Calgrenant had ever spoken of,
For who can truly tell 785
The worth of a lady and a knight?
The moment a man turns toward
Goodness, nothing can sum up
His story, no tongue encompass
The honors such a knight can earn. 790
My lord Yvain slept well,
That night, and was happy, and the day
That followed showed him the wild
Bulls and the creature who guarded them,
Who showed him the path to take. 795
And yet he crossed himself
A hundred times at the sight
Of that monster, wondering how Nature
Could make such ugliness, such horror.
Then he went to the spring, and saw 800
Everything he'd wanted to see.
Not stopping for a moment, standing
Erect, he poured the bowl
Of water directly on the stone,
And at once it blew and it rained 805
And created the storm he’d been told of.
And when God brought back fair weather
The birds came to the pine tree
And sang their wonderfully joyous
Songs above that dangerous 810
Spring. But before their rapture
Ended, the knight appeared,
Blazing with anger and pounding
On the ground as if he were hunting
A stag. And they rushed at each other, 815
Fighting furiously, as if
To show how they hated, and would kill.
They each swung mighty lances,
And slashed and smashed away
Until both their shields were cracked, 820
And their shoulder mail was broken,
And their spears were split and splintered,
With pieces flying in the air.
Then they drew their swords and came forward,
And the slicing of their swords cut through 825
The straps holding up their shields,
And the shields themselves were hacked
To bits, from top to bottom,
So the shreds hung down and neither
Covered their bodies nor defended them, 830
So split and torn that their gleaming
Swords hit directly
On each other’s sides
And arms and hips. They went
At each other savagely, desperately, 835
Neither moving from his spot
Any more than a block of stone.
There were never two knights angrier
Or more determined to kill or be killed.
And they chose their blows with care, 840
Struggling to make them work.
Their helmets began to cave in,
And break, and the metal in their mail-shirts
Began to snap, and blood
Began to flow, the mail 845
Growing so hot it protected
Their bodies no more than a cloak.
Stabbing at each other’s faces
It was wonderful that so fierce and hard
A fight could go on for so long, 850
But both were knights of such heart
And such courage that neither would ever
Yield a foot of ground
Until mortally wounded. And both
Were as noble as brave, for neither 855
Attempted to wound the other’s
Horse, neither wishing
To stoop so low. They sat
In their saddles the whole time, never
Setting a foot on the ground. 860
What a beautiful fight it was!
And at last lord Yvain
Shattered the other’s helmet
With a blow that stunned him, left him dizzy
And weak and frightened, for no one 865
Had ever dealt him such a terrible
Stroke. Under his cracked
Helmet his head was split
To the brain, and blood poured
From his skull and stained his gleaming 870
Mail-shirt, and he felt such crushing
Pain that his courage failed him.
And indeed his heart did him
No injustice, for he felt himself fatally
Wounded and that nothing could save him. 875
And as fast as he could think, he turned
And galloped straight toward his castle,
Where the drawbridge was lowered and the gate
Swung wide and open, with lord
Yvain galloping after him, 880
Spurring his horse to its fastest.
Like a falcon swooping on its prey
When he sees it run, and almost
Snatching it up, close
But missing, so Yvain pursued him, 885
Almost able to grasp him,
But just unable to reach
Though so close behind he could hear
The knight groaning in pain,
Closer and closer, but unable 890
To catch him. And he rode still faster,
All his effort lost
If he can't get him, alive
Or dead, for he remembered the taunts
And insults spoken by Sir Kay. 895
Nor had he fulfilled the promise
Made to his cousin, and no one
Would ever believe him without
Some true tokens of victory.
Their galloping chase came straight 900
To the castle gate, and both
Rode right in, but neither
Man nor woman walked
In those streets, as they galloped down them,
Both of them riding swiftly 905
Right to the palace door.
Now that door was high and broad,
But the entry was exceedingly narrow,
So neither two men nor two horses
Could go through at once unless 910
They were crushed uncomfortably against
One another, and directly in the center,
For it was built exactly like a trap
Set for a rat when he comes
Hunting what was never his. 915
And a sharp blade hung
Up above, which shot viciously
Down on its tracks when anything
Touched its trigger, or even
Came close, no matter how gently. 920
And just below the door
Were two hidden springs, connected
To a sliding iron grate
That could cut like a knife. If anyone
Stepped onto this device 925
The grate came sliding down
And whoever was caught beneath it
Was crushed, was cut to pieces.
And just in the middle the path
Narrowed so sharply that it might 930
Have been a track through the woods.
And knowing his way, the beaten
Knight rushed through this passage,
With lord Yvain dashing
So closely behind him, galloping 935
So fast that he reached out his hand
And pulled at the bow of his saddle.
And it was lucky he leaned so far forward,
Stretching to grasp at his enemy,
For without that bit of luck 940
The grate and the knife would have chopped him
In two, for his horse tripped
The trigger, thundering across
The beams, and like a devil out of hell
The gate came crashing down, 945
Striking the saddle and the horse’s
Hindquarters and slicing them through.
But lord Yvain, with God’s
Great grace, was barely touched,
For the blade came level with his back, 950
Cutting off both his spurs
Just even with his heels. And as
He tumbled, terrified, to the ground,
The defeated knight with his mortal
Wound escaped him. There stood 955
Another gate, just beyond
The one where they'd been, and the knight
He'd been chasing rode straight on through
And it shut behind him, and so
He made his escape. And there 960
My lord Yvain was caught,
Tormented and at a loss,
Finding himself in this closed
Passageway, covered with a gilded
Ceiling, its walls decorated 965
With beautiful, expensive paints.
But nothing pained him so much
As not knowing just where the knight
He'd been chasing had vanished.
He stood uncertain, and then 970
A small door opened
In a small room close by,
And a girl came out, alone,
Beautiful and well-mannered, and then
She shut the door behind her. 975
And seeing lord Yvain
At first she was deeply distressed.
“Knight!” she exclaimed. “You've surely
Come in an evil hour.
If anyone sees you here 980
They'll cut you into tiny pieces,
For the lord of this castle is mortally
Wounded, and of course I know
You've killed him. My lady’s grief
Is so powerful, and everyone around her 985
Weeps so violently they're almost
Ready to die of it, if they knew
You were here! But their grief is so great
That once they knew where you were
They'd kill you, or capture you, as it pleased them, 990
And nothing could stop them if they came
To attack you.” And lord Yvain
Answered her: “And yet, if God
So wills it, they'll neither kill me
Nor have me in their hands.” “No,” 995
Yvain Page 3
