'Yea, mighty and strong that hero,--nor sware I that oath alone, But he bade me, as true man truly, when a year should have come and gone, 460 And the Grail I still were seeking, to ride unto Pelrapär To the queen who the crown there weareth, the child of King Tampentäre. And there, as I looked upon her, I should yield me unto her grace; And from him should I bear this message in the day that I sought her face. He would say, "An she thought upon him 'twas his joy and his labour's meed, 465 His hand from the King Klamidé aforetime her land had freed."' Then the speech to the end they hearkened; and Liddamus spake this word, 'Give me leave to speak, ye shall follow, Sir Knights, when my rede is heard, For the oath that perforce thou swarest, its fulfiller shall be Gawain, And he, captive, his wings shall flutter in the snare wherein _thou_ wast ta'en. 470 For here, where we stand to hearken, shall he swear us the Grail to win, And then of free will let him ride hence; for I deem men would count it sin Were he slain in thine house--Nay, me-seemeth 'twere better to let him live, For but ill would it please thy sister an thou didst not her knight forgive! Sore stress at our hands hath he suffered, and he now to his death shall ride; 475 For far as the far sea's water shall circle the earth so wide There standeth no Burg so mighty as Monsalväsch, its towers shall fear No foeman, and strait the pathway that wendeth its walls anear, And sore dangers that road encompass--Let him slumber in peace this night, And the word that we deem the wisest shall be told him with morning light!' 480 Right well did the counsel please them, and ended, I ween, the strife, And Gawain, so the venture telleth, thus won at their hands his life.