The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round TableMalory, Thomas, Sir
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The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Malory, Thomas, Sir
Arthur, King -- Legends; Arthurian romances -- Adaptations; Folklore -- England; Knights and knighthood -- Folklore
Then the hermit ran his way, and there he met with a good knight with
many men.
"Sir," said the hermit, "here is fast by my place the goodliest man
that ever I saw, and he is sore wounded with a boar, and yet he hath
slain the boar. But well I wot and he be not holpen, that goodly man
shall die of that wound, and that were great pity."
Then that knight, at the desire of the hermit, gat a cart, and in that
cart that knight put the boar and Sir Launcelot, for Sir Launcelot
was so feeble that they might right easily deal with him. And so
Sir Launcelot was brought unto the hermitage, and there the hermit
healed him of his wound. But the hermit might not find Sir Launcelot's
sustenance, and so he impaired and waxed feeble, both of his body and
of his wit, for the default of his sustenance, and waxed more wood than
he was aforehand. And then, upon a day, Sir Launcelot ran his way into
the forest; and by adventure came into the city of Corbin, where dame
Elaine was.
And so when he was entered into the town, he ran through the town
to the castle; and then all the young men of the city ran after Sir
Launcelot, and there they threw turfs at him, and gave him many sad
strokes; and as Sir Launcelot might reach any of them, he threw them
so that they would never more come in his hands, for of some he brake
their legs, and some their arms, and so fled into the castle. And then
came out knights and squires for to rescue Sir Launcelot, and when
they beheld him and looked upon his person, they thought they saw
never so goodly a man; and when they saw so many wounds upon him, they
all deemed that he had been a man of worship. And then they ordained
clothes unto his body, and straw underneath him, and a little house,
and then every day they would throw him meat, and set him drink, but
there were few or none that would bring meat to his hands.
* * * * *
So it befell that King Pelles had a nephew whose name was Castor, and
he desired of the king his uncle for to be made knight; and so at
the request of this Castor, the king made him knight at the feast of
Candlemas. And when Castor was made knight, that same day he gave many
gowns; and so Sir Castor sent for the fool, that was Sir Launcelot, and
when [Sir Launcelot] saw his time, he went into the garden and there
laid him down by a well and slept. And in the afternoon dame Elaine and
her maidens went into the garden for to play them; and as they roamed
up and down, one of dame Elaine's maidens espied where lay a goodly man
by the well sleeping, and anon showed him to dame Elaine.
"Peace," said dame Elaine, "and say no word."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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