And whatever he wanted was what everyone
Did: the horses were led in,
And all that was left was to mount them.
Should I really tell you how my lord
Yvain said his farewells, 2625
And the kisses he took, and the kisses
He gave, sprinkled with tears
And scented with sweetness? Should I tell you
About the king, how the lady
Herself escorted him, her maids 2630
In waiting with her, and all
Her ladies, and all her knights?
It would take too long to tell.
When he saw how the lady wept,
The king begged her to come 2635
No further, but go back to her home.
He urged her so seriously, and so hard,
That she and her people turned back.
How hard it was for my lord
Yvain to leave his wife! 2640
He rode off without his heart.
His body might follow the king,
But his heart could not be led.
She who held it, joined
To her own, was she who stayed home, 2645
And nothing could pry it loose.
No body without a heart
Can possibly live long. No one
Has ever seen such a marvel
As a living body with no heart. 2650
And yet this wonder came true:
The body kept its life
But kept it without its heart,
Which would not go with its body.
The heart had a good place to stay in, 2655
And the body lived on, hoping
Its heart would return, and making
A strange sort of heart out of hope,
Though hope is so often a traitor,
A breaker of promises. And Yvain 2660
Will never know in advance
Just when hope will betray him,
For all he needs to do
Is stay a day later
Than agreed on, and his wife will be hard 2665
To talk into peace and a truce.
And I think he will stay too late:
For Gawain won't let him go,
Once the two of them have begun
To travel about, fighting 2670
Wherever tournaments can be found.
And indeed, as the year went by,
Yvain had such success
Everywhere he went, that Gawain
Was determined to honor him, and made him 2675
Linger so long that a year
Had gone, and enough of the next one
With it, and Assumption had arrived,
And the month of August, and the king
Was holding his court at Chester, 2680
And the evening before they'd come
From a tournament where my lord Yvain
Had entered and fought and taken
All the prizes. And the story
Told of those times tells 2685
That lord Yvain and his comrade
Were unwilling to take lodgings in town,
But had their tents pitched
Outside the city, and held court—
For they never attended the king’s 2690
Court. The king came to theirs,
For their knights were better and far
More numerous than his. And Arthur
Was seated among them when all
Of a sudden Yvain was struck 2695
By an overwhelming thought,
A thought that surprised him more
Than anything he'd thought of since leaving
His wife. He realized all
At once that he'd broken his promise 2700
And stayed beyond the time
They'd agreed. He could barely keep
From crying, but shame held back
His tears. And while deep in thought
He saw a girl approaching him, 2705
Mounted on a black horse
With spotted white feet, and riding
Swiftly. She dismounted at the tent,
But no one helped her, and no one
Came forward to take her horse. 2710
And as soon as she was able to locate
The king, she dropped the cloak
From her shoulders, and let it fall,
And came into the tent, and straight
To the king, and stood in front of him, 2715
And said that her mistress sent greetings
To Arthur, and also to Gawain,
And to everyone except Yvain,
For he was disloyal, and a traitor,
And a liar, and a deceiver, who'd deserted 2720
His wife and betrayed her. “She knows
How little his lying is worth,
Pretending to be a faithful
Lover, but truly a treacherous
Thief. And he’s cheated my mistress, 2725
Who'd expected nothing but good,
And never believed he'd come
Only to steal her heart. For those
Who truly love are not thieves.
And yet there are men, and we call 2730
Them thieves, who cheat at love,
But really know nothing about it.
A lover takes his beloved’s
Heart, but he never steals it,
He watches it, he keeps it safe 2735
From thieves, who pretend to be honest.
But these hypocritical thieves
And traitors always struggle
To steal hearts that are worthless to them.
A lover, wherever he goes, 2740
Cherishes that heart, and returns it.
But Yvain has killed my mistress:
She thought he would care for her heart,
And bring it back to her, before
A year had gone by. Yvain! 2745
You’ve forgotten it all, you couldn't
Be bothered to remember a thing.
You were pledged to return to my mistress
In exactly a year. She gave you,
And graciously, all the time 2750
Till the feast of Saint John, and you,
You've shown her such contempt
That you've never thought of her at all.
There in her room my mistress
Counted every day, 2755
For lovers live in anxiety,
And they're never able to sleep,
But every night they add up
The days, as they come and go.
Do you know how it is with lovers? 2760
They watch the days and the seasons.
She accuses you neither with no reason
Nor too soon, though nothing I say
Is meant for some judge’s ears.
The only thing I say 2765
Is that she who married you to my mistress
Has betrayed her. Yvain! My mistress
Disowns you. She sends me to tell you
Never to come back, but only
Return her ring. I 2770
Who stand here before you will carry it
Back to her. Surrender it now!
You're pledged to give it back.”
And Yvain could not speak, could not answer,
Deprived of his senses and his tongue. 2775
But the girl came forward, and pulled
The ring from his finger, and then
Commended the king to God,
And all the others, except him
Whom she left in deep distress.— 2780
And his sorrow grew all the time,
Making him suffer from everything
He heard and everything he saw.
He wished he'd been sent away
To some savage land, all alone, 2785
Where no one would know him, or find him,
And neither man nor woman
Would know anything more about him
Than if he'd fallen in some abyss.
There was nothing he hated as much 2790
As himself, and no one to comfort him
In the death he'd chosen for himself.
And still he would choose to go mad
Rather than not take revenge
On himself, for taking away 2795
His happiness. He withdrew from his fellow
Knights, and feared for his sanity.
And they ignored him, left him
Entirely alone, as he chose.
And they knew how little he cared 2800
For their doings, and their words, and for them.
And then he wandered far
From all the pavilions and tents.
And such a storm broke
In his skull that he lost his senses, 2805
And he tore at his skin and his clothes,
And crossed meadows and fields, and left
His squires and his men so uncertain
That they had no idea where he was.
And they hunted everywhere, seeking him 2810
Wherever there were knights living,
And in hedgerows, and in orchards, but nowhere
They looked was where he was.
Running, and running, he'd gone
Until near an enclosure he found 2815
A boy carrying a bow
And five hunting arrows,
Large ones, and sharp, and he had
Sense enough left that he took
The boy’s bow, and took the arrows 2820
The boy had with him. But nothing
He had done stayed in his mind:
He remembered none of it. And then
He lay in wait for the forest
Animals, and killed them, and ate 2825
Their flesh completely raw.
And that was how he lived
In the woods, like a madman or a savage,
Until he came on a squat
And tiny house that belonged 2830
To a hermit, who was clearing ground
For a garden. And seeing Yvain
All naked, he knew at once
That the man’s mind was not right,
Which was true, of course. And the hermit 2835
Was terribly afraid, and shut
Himself in his tiny house.
But the good man took a bit
Of his bread, and some pure water,
And for charity’s sake set them 2840
Outside, on a narrow window.
And Yvain came, hungering
For the bread, which he snatched up and bolted.
He'd never in his life tasted
Such hard, coarse stuff, and sour, 2845
Baked out of grain worth
A couple of pennies, at most,
Baked from rotten barley
And straw, or more like husks
Or shells than cake, mouldy 2850
All through, and dry as bark.
But hunger hurt him, and forced him,
And he thought it tasted like porridge,
For hunger is a lovely, well-made
Sauce for any food. 2855
And he finished every bite
Of the hermit’s bread, and enjoyed it,
And drank some good cold water.
And after he'd eaten he went back
To the wood, and hunted deer. 2860
And seeing him leave, the good man,
Hiding under his roof,
Prayed for God to preserve
And protect him, and keep Yvain
Away. But no one, no matter 2865
How crack-brained, thinks of staying
Away from a place where he’s treated
Well. So as long as the frenzy
Was on him not a day would pass
But Yvain would bring the hermit 2870
Some wild beast, and leave it
At his door. And that was his life.
And the good man made it his business
To skin most of the carcasses
And cook the meat, and whenever 2875
The madman wanted to eat
And drink there was bread and water
Waiting on the window, and so
He ate and he drank, his meat
Unsalted, and no pepper, and his drink 2880
Cold water fresh from a spring.
And the good man made it his business
To sell the hides and buy bread
Baked of good barley or oats
Or wheat, so Yvain was well 2885
Supplied with both bread and meat,
Which could last him a long, long time.
Until one day two girls,
And their mistress with them, in whose service
Both were engaged, found him 2890
Sleeping in the forest. And one of them,
As soon as she saw the naked
Man, dismounted and ran
And stared at him hard, trying
To find something about him 2895
From which she might know his name.
Had Yvain been dressed as he'd always
Been, many and many
A day, in rich and noble
Robes, she'd have known him at once. 2900
But it took her time to know him,
And she stared and stared until,
At last, she became aware
Of a scar on his face, just such
A scar as she'd seen on the face 2905
Of my lord Yvain, and she knew it,
For she'd seen it often. And the scar
Made it all clear: it was him,
She had no doubt. But what
A wondrous thing to behold 2910
What he'd come to, to find him in the woods,
Naked and poor. She watched him,
Amazed, crossing herself,
But neither touched nor awoke him.
She took her horse, and remounted, 2915
And went back to the others, and weeping
Told them everything she'd seen.
Should I stop to tell you all the grief
She showed? I don't know. In any
Event, she said to her mistress, 2920
Weeping: “My lady! I've found
Yvain, the most famous knight
In the world, and the best. But what sin
Has stricken this noble man
I haven't the faintest idea. 2925
I expect he’s experienced some sorrow,
And it’s brought him to this. It’s easy
For grief to drive you mad.
And anyone can see it, and know it:
The man’s quite out of his mind. 2930
For he'd never permit himself
To be seen so shamefully if he hadn't
Lost his senses. Would God
Had restored him exactly as he was,
In the best of health and mind, 2935
And made him willing and able
To come to your aid! For Count
Alier, with whom you're at war,
Has launched a bitter attack.
But the war between you two 2940
Would be quickly settled in your favor
If God gave you the blessed
Good fortune to have him restored
To his senses, and led him to take
Your side in this time of need.” 2945
Said the lady: “Be careful! For surely,
If he doesn't escape us, I think
That with God’s assistance we may
Be able to drive all this frenzy
And storm from his head, and return him 2950
To himself. But we'll have to hurry.
I remember a magic ointment,
Given me by Morgan le Fay,
Who told me no fever in the brain
Could resist it. It will cure them all.” 2955
And at once they headed back
To her castle, not more than half
A mile distant (the way they measure
Miles in that country,
as compared
To us, calling two miles 2960
One, and four miles two).
Yvain stayed alone, sleeping,
And the lady hunted for the ointment.
She went to her linen chest,
Unlocked it, took out a box 2965
And gave it to the girl, warning her
Not to use it too freely.
His temples and his forehead should be rubbed:
There was no need to use it elsewhere.
Only his temples required 2970
The ointment; the rest should be kept.
There was nothing wrong with any
Part of him except his brain.
And she told her to bring a fur-lined
Cloak, and scarlet silk clothes. 2975
And the girl took them, and her right hand
Led a fine horse. And she added
A shirt and some well-spun breeches,
And beautiful new stockings, all
Her own. She rode off quickly, 2980
With all these things, and found him
Still sleeping, there where she'd left him.
She put the horses in a sheltered
Spot, and tied them exceedingly
Carefully and well, then carrying 2985
The clothes and the ointment she walked
Where he lay asleep on the ground.
And it took great courage to approach
The madman as she did, meaning
To touch and to handle him. Then she took 2990
The ointment and rubbed him with it
Until none was left in the box,
So anxious to cure him that she rubbed him
Everywhere, till she'd used it all,
Paying no attention to her mistress' 2995
Warning—indeed, completely
Forgetting it. She rubbed in more
Than could ever be needed, but hardly
Enough, in her opinion.
She rubbed from his temples and his forehead 3000
Right down to his toes. She rubbed
His temples and all his body
So well, in that bright warm sun,
That all his frenzy and his sadness
Slipped right out of his brain. 3005
But she was foolish to anoint his body:
It was hardly necessary. And yet,
I suspect she'd have done the same thing
If the box had held five times
As much. Then carrying away 3010
The box, she went to rest
Near the horses, but carefully didn't
Take the clothing: if God
Restored him to his senses, she wanted him
To see it, and take it, and wear it. 3015
Hiding herself behind
A huge oak, she waited till he'd slept
All he wanted, and woke, and was cured,
His mind and his memory recovered.
And seeing himself naked 3020
As ivory, he was terribly ashamed,
But it would have been worse had he known
Everything he'd done. But all
He knew was his nakedness. And he saw
The new clothes, and was deeply astonished: 3025
Yvain Page 8
