Stories of King Arthur and His Knights: Retold from Malory's "Morte dArthur"Malory, Thomas, Sir
General
Stories of King Arthur and His Knights: Retold from Malory's "Morte dArthur"
Malory, Thomas, Sir
Arthur, King -- Juvenile literature; Arthurian romances -- Adaptations; Knights and knighthood -- Juvenile literature
Meanwhile a knight came unto King Mark and told him of a mad man in the
forest at the fair fountain. So he commanded his knights to take Sir
Tristram with fairness, and bring him to his castle, yet he knew not
that the mad man was Sir Tristram. They did softly and fair, and cast
mantles upon Sir Tristram, and so led him unto Tintagil. There they
bathed him, and gave him hot suppings, till they had brought him well
to his remembrance. But all this while there was no creature that knew
Sir Tristram, nor what man he was.
Now it fell upon a day that the queen, the Fair Isoud, heard of this
man that ran wild in the forest and how the king had brought him home
to the court, and with Dame Bragwaine she went to see him in the
garden, where he was reposing in the sun. When she looked upon Sir
Tristram she knew not that it was he, yet it seemed to her she had seen
him before. But as soon as Sir Tristram saw her he knew her well
enough, and he turned away his visage and wept. The queen had always
with her a little dog that Sir Tristram gave her the first time that
ever she came into Cornwall, and never would that dog depart from her
unless Sir Tristram was nigh there with Isoud. Anon as this little dog
caught a scent of Sir Tristram, she leaped upon him, licked his cheeks,
whined and smelled at his feet and over his whole body. Then the Fair
Isoud saw that it was her lord, Sir Tristram, and thereupon she fell
down in a swoon, and so lay a great while.
When she might speak, she blessed God that Sir Tristram was still
alive, yet she knew that her lord King Mark would discover him by the
little dog that would never leave him.
CHAPTER XXII
HOW KING MARK WAS SORRY FOR THE GOOD
RENOWN OF SIR TRISTRAM
The queen departed from Sir Tristram but the little dog would not from
him. Therewithal came King Mark, and the dog set upon him and bayed at
all the barons. Thereupon Sir Andred saw by the dog that it was Sir
Tristram, and King Mark repented that he had brought the mad man in
from the forest. Then he let call his barons to judge Sir Tristram to
death. They would not assent thereto, but by the advice of them all he
was banished out of the country for ten years.
So Sir Tristram was made to depart out of the country of Cornwall, and
there were many barons brought him into his ship. When he was ready to
set sail he said: "Greet well King Mark and all mine enemies, and say I
will come again when I may. And well am I rewarded for the fighting
with Sir Marhaus, and delivering all this country from servage, and
well am I rewarded for the fetching of the Fair Isoud out of Ireland,
and the danger I was in first and last."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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