Arthurian Romances (82 page)

With these words he rushed away before my lord Gawain could say anything to him. And the maiden fell to the stone floor and lay for a long while in a faint; my lord Gawain gathered her in his arms and raised her up, pale and discoloured by the shock she had had.

When she had recovered, she said: ‘Ah! We are both dead! I shall die unfairly today because of you, and you, I fear, because of me. The common folk of this town will come here shortly, I feel sure: soon there will be more than ten thousand of them gathered in front of this tower. But there are arms enough within, with which I'll equip you at once. One nobleman can easily defend this tower against an entire army.'

She hurried to fetch his armour, for she was not feeling at all safe. When she had armed him fully both she and my lord Gawain were less afraid, except that as luck would have it there was no shield to be found. So my lord Gawain made a shield from a chess-board and said: ‘Friend, I don't want you to look for any other shield for me.'

Then he overturned the chessboard, which had ivory pieces, ten times heavier than other pieces and of the hardest bone. Henceforth, whatever might happen, he felt he could defend the doorway and entry to the tower, for he had Excalibur strapped to his side, the best sword ever made, which cut iron as if it were wood.

Meanwhile his accuser had descended and found, seated side by side, an assembly of his neighbours, the mayor and councilmen, and many other town dwellers, all of whom seemed in fine fettle, for they were hardy and well-fed. He came running towards them shouting: ‘Take up arms, my lords, and let us go and capture the traitor Gawain, who killed my lord!'

‘Where is he? Where is he?' they all shouted.

‘Upon my word,' he said, ‘I've found Gawain, that proven traitor, in this tower taking his pleasure, kissing and hugging our lady; and she does not even slightly resist him, but puts up with him and enjoys it. So come along and we'll capture him: if we can deliver him to my lord we will have served him well. The traitor well deserves a shameful death; but capture him alive, none the less, for my lord would rather have him alive than dead – and that's not wrong, for a dead man has nothing to fear. So rouse the whole town and do what you must!'

The mayor stood up at once, and all the councilmen after him. There you could have seen angry peasants taking up hatchets and pikes: one took a shield without arm-straps, another a door, another a basket. The town crier sounded the alarm and everyone gathered together. The church bells rang through the town so that no one would miss the call; even the poorest among them grabbed pitchfork, scythe, pickaxe, or club. Even during a snail hunt in Lombardy they do not make that much racket!
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The lowliest peasant came carrying some sort of weapon. My lord Gawain is a dead man if Almighty God does not help him!

The damsel bravely prepared herself to assist him and shouted to the townspeople. ‘Be off with you!' she said, ‘rabble, mad dogs, filthy wretches! What devils called you together? What do you want? What are you after? I hope God doesn't hear your prayer! So help me God, you'll never take the knight who's here with me – I don't know how many of you will be injured or killed instead, if God is with us. He didn't fly in here or come by some secret passage: my brother sent him as a guest to me, and earnestly beseeched me to treat him as I would treat my brother himself. And do you consider me wicked if at his request I keep him company, and bring him joy and solace? Listen to me, those who wish to listen: I welcomed him with joy for no other reason, and I never committed any folly. Therefore it makes me even angrier that you've so greatly dishonoured me by drawing your swords against me at my chamber door, and you can't even say why! And if you can give a reason, you haven't told me yet, which is a greater insult still!'

While she was speaking her mind, they splintered the door by hammering it with axes, finally splitting it in two. But Sir Gawain the doorkeeper held out strongly from within: with sword in hand he made the first one who entered pay so dearly that the others were terrified and none dared advance. Each one looked out for himself, because each feared for his own head. No one was bold enough to approach, for they were all afraid of the doorkeeper:
no one dared lift a hand against him or take a single step forward. The damsel took the chess pieces that were lying on the stone floor and flung them furiously at the mob. She tore at her hair and flailed about and swore in her wrath that she would see them all destroyed, if she could, before she died. The townspeople withdrew, promising to bring the tower down upon them if they did not surrender, but they defended themselves better and better by hurling the huge chessmen down upon them. Most turned tail and ran, for they could not withstand their assault. Since they did not dare attack or fight at the door, which was too well defended, they began to dig under the keep with steel picks to bring it down. Take my word, if you please, that the door was so narrow and low that two men could not pass through it together without great difficulty; thus, a single good man could easily hold and defend it. And there was no need to call for a better doorkeeper to slaughter unarmed villagers and split their skulls to the teeth.

The lord who had offered lodgings to Gawain knew nothing of any of this, but was returning as rapidly as he could from his hunting in the woods while the mob was still trying to undermine the keep with steel pickaxes. Suddenly here is Guinganbresil, who appeared by chance that I cannot explain and came riding swiftly into the castle, completely dumbfounded at the hammering noises he heard being made by the townsfolk. He had no idea my lord Gawain was in the tower, but as soon as he learned it he ordered that no one dare be so bold – if he valued his life – as to dislodge a single stone. But they said that they would not stop on his account and would bury him, too, under the ruins that day if he were in there with Gawain. And when he saw that his order would be ignored, he determined to seek out the king and bring him to witness this havoc created by the townspeople.

The king was just returning from the woods, and when he encountered him Guinganbresil said: ‘My lord, you have been greatly disgraced by your mayor and councilmen, for they've been attacking your keep since this morning and are pulling it down. If they are not compelled to make amends and pay for it, I'll never respect you again. I had charged Gawain with treason, as you well recall, and it is he whom you are lodging in your house; yet it is right and proper, since you have made him your guest, that he should not be shamed or dishonoured.'

And the king answered Guinganbresil: ‘Trusted adviser, he shall not be so treated once we get there. What has happened to him has made me very angry and upset. If my people bear him a mortal hatred it is no surprise to me; but for honour's sake I'll keep him from being injured or captured, since I've offered him lodging.'

So they approached the tower, which they found surrounded by the townspeople in a ferment. The king ordered the mayor to leave and take all the people with him: they all left, and not a single one remained, since it was the mayor's wish. In the square there was a vavasour, a native of the town, who gave counsel throughout the land because he was a man of very great wisdom.

‘My lord,' he said to the king, ‘at this moment you need loyal and good advice. You should not be surprised that they have laid siege here to the man who committed the treason of killing your father for, as you know, the people rightly bear him a mortal hatred. But because you've offered him lodgings he must be protected and safeguarded from capture and death. And the truth of the matter is that Guinganbresil himself, present here, who accused him of high treason at the king's court, is the one who must protect and safeguard him. This much is clear: Gawain has come to defend himself at your court; but I suggest that this battle be postponed for a year and that my lord Gawain go in search of the lance whose point bleeds constantly, from which the last drop can never be wiped clean. Either he brings you this lance or he must surrender himself as your prisoner here, as he now appears. Then you would have a better reason to keep him your prisoner than you have at present. However, I don't believe you could find any task so difficult that he could not manage to do it. You should impose the harshest conditions imaginable on those you hate: I cannot suggest a better way for you to belabour your enemy.'

The king accepted this advice. He came to his sister in the tower and found her full of anger. His sister rose to meet him, together with my lord Gawain, who did not flush or tremble or show any signs of fear. Guinganbresil stepped forward and also greeted the maiden, who had grown pale; then he spoke these proud words: ‘Sir Gawain, Sir Gawain, I did offer you safe conduct, but I never told you to be so bold as to enter any castle or town belonging to my lord, but to avoid it, if you please. So you cannot complain of what has happened to you here.'

And the wise vavasour said: ‘Sir, so help me God, all of this can be made good. Who's to be blamed if the townspeople assaulted him? We'd be trying to decide this until the great Judgement Day. So let it be settled as my lord king, here present, wishes: he has commanded me to speak, and I propose that you both postpone this battle for one year, if neither of you objects, and that my lord Gawain departs having sworn an oath to my lord king that he will deliver to him within one year and no more the lance whose point weeps with the clear blood it sheds. And it is
written that in time it will come to pass that the entire kingdom of Logres, which was once the land of ogres, will be destroyed by this lance. My lord the king wishes to have this oath and promise.'

‘Indeed,' said my lord Gawain, ‘I'd rather let myself languish in prison for seven years, or even die, than swear this oath to you or give you my word upon it. I'm not so afraid of dying that I'd not prefer to suffer and die an honourable death than live in shame, having broken my word.'

‘Good sir,' said the vavasour, ‘it will not bring you shame and your honour will not suffer if you express your oath in the terms I propose: you will swear to do all in your power to seek the lance; if you do not find the lance, you'll return to this tower and be absolved of your oath.'

‘I am prepared to take the oath,' said he, ‘exactly as you have stated it.'

A very precious reliquary was brought out to him at once, and he swore an oath to do everything in his power to seek the bleeding lance. Thus the battle between himself and Guinganbresil was postponed for one year: he escaped a great peril when he avoided this one. Before he left the tower he took leave of the maiden and told all his squires to return to his land with all of his horses except Gringalet. Weeping, the squires left their lord and rode off. I do not care to speak further of them or of their grief. At this point the tale ceases to tell of my lord Gawain and begins to speak of Perceval.

Perceval, the story relates, had lost his memory so totally that he no longer remembered God. April and May passed five times – that was five full years – without his having entered a church or adored God or His Cross. Five years he remained like this, yet in spite of everything he never ceased to pursue deeds of chivalry: he sought out the most difficult, treacherous and unusual adventures, and found enough to test his valour, never undertaking any venture that he was unable to accomplish. In the course of the five years he sent sixty worthy knights as prisoners to King Arthur's court. So he passed the five years without ever thinking of God.

At the end of the five years it happened that he was riding through a deserted region, armed as usual in all his armour; he met three knights and, with them, as many as ten ladies, their heads covered by hoods. They were all walking barefoot and wearing hairshirts. The ladies were amazed to find him fully armed and bearing his shield and lance since they, to secure the salvation of their souls, were doing penance on foot for the sins they had committed.

One of the three knights stopped him and said: ‘My good sir, do you not believe in Jesus Christ, who established the New Law and gave it to
Christians? Indeed, it is not proper or good but very wrong to bear arms on the day when Jesus died.'

And Perceval, who was so troubled in his heart that he had no idea of the day or hour or time, said: ‘What day is it today, then?'

‘What day, sir? You don't know! It is Good Friday, when one should worship the Cross and lament for one's sins, because on this day the Man who was sold for thirty pieces of silver was hung upon the Cross. He who was guiltless of any sin looked down on the sins that ensnared and stained all mankind, and became man for our sins. It is true that He was God and man, that the Virgin gave birth to a Son conceived by the Holy Spirit in whom God assumed flesh and blood, and that His divinity was concealed under the flesh of man. All this is certain. And whoever does not believe this will never see Him face to face: He was born of the Virgin lady and took the soul and body of man in addition to His Holy Divinity; and on a day like today, in truth, He was nailed upon the Cross and delivered all His friends from Hell. This was truly a holy death, which saved the living and brought the dead back to life. The wicked Jews, whom we should kill like dogs, brought harm to themselves and did us great good when in their malice they raised Him on the Cross: they damned themselves and saved us. All those who believe in Him should be doing penance on this day: no man who believes in God should bear arms today on the field or roadway.'

‘And where are you coming from dressed like this?' asked Perceval.

‘Sir, from close by here; from a good man, a holy hermit, who lives in this forest, and who is so reverent that he lives solely by the glory of God.'

‘In God's name, my lords, what were you doing there? What did you request? What were you seeking?'

‘What, sir?' said one of the ladies. ‘We asked forgiveness for our sins, and we confessed them to him. We fulfilled the most important duty that any Christian can do who truly wishes to please God.'