But you'd do better to forget 3840
You asked, to prefer silence.
And I prefer not to tell you
Anything to make you unhappy.
Just let us grieve as we must,
And pay no attention.” “Impossible,” 3845
Yvain answered. “I could never
See you struck by such sadness
And not feel it in my heart, too.
And so I ask you again,
No matter what sadness it might bring me.” 3850
“Well then,” was the answer, “I'll tell you.
I've been deeply afflicted by a giant.
He wants me to give him my daughter,
Whose beauty surpasses that
Of any girl in the world. 3855
And the name of this monster, may God
Destroy him, is Harpin of the Mountain.
And every day he steals
Anything of mine he can get at.
No one has a better right 3860
Than I to complain and be sorrowful.
I may lose my mind from grief,
For I had six sons, all knights,
Handsomer than any in the world,
And this giant has captured them all. 3865
He killed two while I watched,
And tomorrow he'll kill the others
Unless I can find someone
To fight him for their freedom, or else
Hand over my daughter—and he says 3870
That, once he has her, he intends
To give her to the vilest, the filthiest
Knaves he can find in his household,
For their entertainment. He
Himself wouldn't stoop so low. 3875
And this is the grief I wait for,
Tomorrow, if God does not help me.
It’s hardly remarkable, my dear
Good sir, if all of us weep.
But for your sake, and politeness, we're trying 3880
As best we can for a moment
Or two of laughter and delight:
Anyone who invites a true gentleman
To visit,-and fails to honor him,
Is a fool, and you strike me as noble 3885
Indeed. Now you've heard everything,
The entire story of our sorrow.
The giant has left us nothing,
Neither in this castle nor the town
Around it, except what you see. 3890
You may have noticed, yourself,
As you came here this evening, how he’s left us
Nothing that might be worth
An egg, except these walls—
And they're new, for he levelled the town. 3895
When he'd stolen everything he wanted,
He set fire to the rest. And these
Are the evil things he’s done to me.”
My lord Yvain listened
To everything his host told him, 3900
And when he'd heard him out
He was happy to answer him: “Sir!”
He said. “Your troubles distress me,
And make me exceedingly angry,
But one thing I find astonishing: 3905
Tell me, why haven't you sought
For help at King Arthur’s court?
No one, no matter how mighty,
Could come to that court and not find
Someone willing to test 3910
Their prowess against his.” And then
That wealthy baron explained
That yes, he'd surely have had
The help he needed, if only
He'd known where to find Sir Gawain. 3915
“He'd never have taken it lightly,
For my wife is his sister by blood.
But a knight from some strange country,
Who came to that court seeking her,
Has taken the king’s wife. 3920
He could never have led her away,
To be sure, entirely by himself.
It was Kay, who so befuddled
The king that he allowed the queen
To pass under his protection. 3925
The king was a fool, and the queen
Reckless, entrusting herself
To Kay. But I am the one
Who truly suffers, and loses,
For who can doubt that my lord 3930
Gawain, that noble knight,
Would have hurried here as fast
As he could, had he known this was happening,
Would have saved his niece and his nephews.
But he knows nothing, which hurts me 3935
So deeply that my heart is half broken.
Gawain has gone off hunting
The villain who stole the queen—
May God bring him sorrow and shame!”
Sigh after sigh came 3940
From Yvain, hearing these words.
Pity worked in him and made him
Answer: “My dear good sir!
I'll be glad to take on this adventure,
And its dangers, if only the giant 3945
And your sons come here tomorrow
Early enough not
To cause me too much delay,
Because by noon tomorrow
I must be somewhere else, 3950
As I've given my word to be.”
“Good sir!” exclaimed the baron,
“I thank you a thousand times,
And more, for your willingness to help.”
And all the folk of his household 3955
Spoke exactly as he had.
And then his daughter came
From an inside room, graceful
And beautiful and pleasing, and exceedingly
Modest, sad, and silent. 3960
Her sorrows knew no limit;
She walked with her head bent low,
And her mother walked beside her,
Showing their obedience to their lord,
The host of that house, who'd sent for them. 3965
They came with their mantles wrapped
Around them, to cover their tears,
And he ordered them to open their mantles
And raise their heads, saying:
“You shouldn't be upset because 3970
I've asked you to come out. God
And good luck have brought us a kind
And noble knight, of wonderfully
Good birth, who promises me
He'll fight the giant. Don't wait 3975
Another moment, don't
Delay: throw yourselves
At his feet!” “God keep me from any
Such sight!” said Yvain at once.
“Now, it would hardly be right 3980
For my lord Gawain’s sister
To throw herself at my feet,
Nor his niece. May God protect me
From ever feeling such pride
That I let them lie at my feet! 3985
Please: I could never forget
My shame, if I ever permitted it.
But surely they can allow
Themselves to be pleased and comforted,
At least till tomorrow, when they'll know 3990
If God wishes them to be helped.
I've no need to ask for anything
Else, except that the giant
Come soon, so I won't break my promise.
For I can't permit anything 3995
To keep me, tomorrow at noon,
From the greatest undertaking, truly,
That I could ever attempt.”
And so he kept himself
From promising too much, worried 4000
That in fact the giant might not
Come in time to let him
Reach the girl locked
In the chapel and be able to help her.
Still, what he promised was enough 4005
To make them feel hopeful, and everyone
Offered him thanks, trusting
In his prowess, sure of his strength,
; Believing he must be a hero
If he shares his journey with a lion 4010
Who goes along beside him
As sweetly as any lamb.
And the hope he'd brought them gave them
Such comfort, made them so happy,
That they completely forgot their sorrow. 4015
When the hour struck, he was led
To sleep in a brightly lit room,
Escorted to his bed by both
The girl and her mother, for he
Was already dear to them both, 4020
And would have been a hundred
Thousand times more had they truly
Known his courtesy and the battles
He had won. And he and the lion
Lay down together, and slept. 4025
No one was brave enough
To sleep with them: indeed, they closed
The door of the room so tightly
That they couldn't come out until morning.
And then, when they'd unlocked the door, 4030
He rose and heard Mass—and waited.
And because of his promise he waited
Until the hour of prime,
Then called them all together,
Including his host, and said: 4035
“My lord! There’s no more time.
I need to go, with your leave;
I can't allow myself
To linger. Believe me, for it’s true,
That I'd gladly, I'd cheerfully wait 4040
Even longer, for the sake of Sir Gawain’s
Nephews, and his niece, for I love him
Dearly, except that the business
Awaiting me is desperately urgent,
And I've very far to go!” 4045
And then the girl’s mind
Quivered and reeled with fear,
And her mother’s, and her father’s too.
They were so afraid that he'd leave
That they thought of throwing themselves 4050
Full length at his feet, until
They remembered his words and realized
He'd think it neither good nor proper.
Then the baron offered to give him
Anything he owned, land 4055
Or anything else, whatever
He wanted, if only he'd wait
A bit longer. And he answered: “May God
Protect me from accepting anything
From you!” And the terrified girl 4060
Began to weep and moan,
Begging him to stay. Utterly
Anguished, totally distraught,
She begged him by the glorious queen
Of Heaven, and the angels on high, 4065
And by God Himself, not to go,
But to wait a little longer.
And she begged him by her uncle, who he says
He knows and loves and thinks well of.
And an infinite pity seized him, 4070
Hearing her call on him in the name
Of the man he loved best in the world,
And by the mother of Heaven,
And in God’s own name, to him
The honey and sweetness of pity. 4075
And anguish filled him, and he sighed,
For not by his father’s kingdom
Could he see her burned at the stake,
That girl he'd promised to help.
He'd either go out of his mind, 4080
Or cut his life short, if he couldn't
Reach her in time. And yet,
On the other hand, it pained him
Even to think of the kindness
Of Gawain, his friend. And his heart 4085
Came close to splitting in his body,
Knowing he could not wait.
And yet he waited, not moving,
And lingered, and stayed there longer,
Till the giant came pounding up, 4090
Leading along the knights
He'd captured. A club hung from
His neck, huge and sharpened,
And he used it to prod them along.
And the knights were dressed in clothing 4095
Worth less than a straw, only
Dirty, stinking shirts.
And he'd tied them tight, ropes
On their feet and hands, and mounted them
On four stumping packhorses, 4100
Swaybacked, and skinny, and feeble.
These horses came riding along
A wood, and a dwarf, puffed
Like an ox, had tied their tails
Together, and walking beside them 4105
Beat them as he went, with a lash
With four knots, plainly impressed
With himself and feeling most brave;
Indeed, he beat them till they bled.
And so the giant and the dwarf 4110
Led those knights, to their shame.
Stopping in front of the gate,
In the middle of the plain, the giant
Shouted to the baron that he'd kill
His sons, unless he handed 4115
Over his daughter—and her
He'd give to his scum, as a slut,
For he himself no longer
Cared for her or would bother to take her.
She'd have a thousand of the scum 4120
All over her, all the time,
Filthy, naked scum,
Kitchen slaves and stablemen,
All of them wanting their share.
And the baron was almost out of 4125
His mind, hearing how they'd use
His daughter as a whore, if they got her,
And if they didn't they'd kill
His four sons in front of his eyes.
He suffered like someone who'd rather 4130
Be dead than alive, exclaiming
“Oh God, I'm miserable!” and weeping
Bitter tears, and sighing.
And then my good and gentle
Lord Yvain spoke to him: 4135
“Sir! He’s cruel and presumptuous,
This giant, swaggering out there.
But God will not suffer him
To have your daughter in his power!
He’s full of contempt for her, he'd love 4140
To shame her, but it would be tragic
For such a beautiful creature,
Born of such noble parents,
To be handed over to scullions.
My weapons, hurry! and my horse! 4145
Let down the drawbridge, so I
Can ride out there! One
Of us must fall, he
Or I, I know not which.
If I can humble that savage 4150
Beast, that cruel villain,
Who’s been abusing you,
And make him surrender your sons,
And then apologize
For the shameful words he’s spoken, 4155
I'd gladly commend you to God
And go about my business.”
And so they fetched him his horse,
And brought him his weapons, and worked
To get him well armored, quickly 4160
Equipped for battle, getting him
Ready as fast as their hands
Could move, without wasting a moment.
And when he was armored and ready
There was nothing left but to lower 4165
The drawbridge and let him ride out.
They lowered it, and out he went—
But the lion had no intention
Of staying behind. All those
Who remained in the castle commended 4170
Yvain to their Lord’s keeping,
Terribly afraid that the fiend,
The demon, who'd already killed
So many good knights in front
Of their eyes, in that very same place, 4175
Might be able to do it again.
They prayed to God to keep death
From Yvain, to return him alive
&
nbsp; And well, and to let him kill
The giant. So all of them fervently 4180
Prayed to God for what all of them
Wished. And the giant approached him
Fiercely, and threatened him, saying:
“By my eyes, whoever sent you
Out here isn't much of a friend! 4185
But he couldn't have planned a better
Way for getting revenge.
Whatever you did to him, or meant to,
He'll have a perfect revenge.”
But Yvain, who felt no fear, 4190
Answered: “What a lot of noise!
Do your best, and I'll
Do mine. Stupid words
Bore me.” And Yvain charged him,
Worried that he might be late. 4195
And he aimed his lance at his chest,
Protected behind a bearskin.
And the giant came running at him,
Beating at Yvain with his club.
And Yvain struck so hard 4200
At his chest that he pierced the skin,
Then having no sauce, dipped
The tip of his lance in blood.
And the giant beat him with his club
Till the knight bent to escape him. 4205
Then Yvain drew the sword
He knew how to swing so well,
And finding the giant unprotected,
Trusting so much in his strength
That he scorned the use of armor, 4210
Went at him with the sharp blade
And slashed him so well, not bothering
With the flat side, cut him
So fiercely, that he sliced a piece
The size of a steak from his cheek. 4215
And the giant him so hard
In return that he bent his head
Down to the horse’s neck.
And the lion bristled at this blow,
Ready to help his master, 4220
Then leaped angrily, powerfully,
And seized the giant’s bearskin
And ripped and tore it like bark,
And bit out of his hide
A chunk of his hip, tore it 4225
Meat and muscle alike.
And the giant ran, roaring
And bellowing like a bull, for the lion
Had hurt him badly. He lifted
His club with both hands, and tried 4230
To strike the lion, but missed,
For the lion jumped back, and the giant
Wasted his blow. It hit
The ground, useless, near
Yvain, touching neither lion 4235
Nor man. And quickly Yvain
Swung at him, and again, and hit him,
And before the giant knew
What was happening the sword had severed
His shoulder from his body. And the very 4240
Next blow ran the length
Of the sword just under his chest,
Straight into the liver. And the giant
Fell, death reaching out
To take him. I doubt that a giant 4245
Oak crashing down
Could topple with a louder sound.
And all those standing on the walls
Yvain Page 11
