The Buke of the Order of Knyghthood: Translated from the French by Sir Gilbert Hay, KnightLlull, Ramon
Philosophy
The Buke of the Order of Knyghthood: Translated from the French by Sir Gilbert Hay, Knight
Llull, Ramon
Chivalry
And er ony of them spak/ eche of them byheld eche others chere/ The
knyght that knewe that the squyer wold not speke fyrst/ by cause that
he wold doo to hym reuerence spak fyrst and said/ Fayr frend what is
your corage or entent/ and whyther goo ye/ wherfor be ye comen hyther/
Syre sayde he/ the renommee is sprad by ferre contreyes/ that a kynge
moche wyse and noble/ hath commaunded a courte general/ And wylle be
maade hym selfe newe knyght/ And after adoube and make other newe
knyghtes/ estraunge barons and pryue/ And therfore I goo to this courte
for to be adoubed knyght/ But whanne I was a slepe for the trauaylle
that I haue had of the grete journeyes that I haue made/ my palfroy
wente oute of the ryghte way/ and hath brought me vnto this place/
Whanne the knyght herd speke of the knyghthode & chyualrye/ And
remembryd hym of thordre of the same/ And of that whiche apperteyneth
to a knyght/ he caste out a grete syghe/ and entryd in a grete
thou[gh]t remembrynge of the honoure/ in which chyualrye hadde ben so
longe mayntened/
¶ In the meane whyle that the knyghte thus thought/ the Esquyer
demaunded of hym/ wherof he was so pensyf/
¶ And the knyght answerd to hym/
¶ Fayre sone my thoughte is of the ordre of Knyghthode or Chyualrye/
And of the gretenesse in which a knyght is holden/ in mayntenynge the
gretenesse of the honour of chyualry/ Thenne the esquyer prayed to the
knyght/ that he wold saye to hym thordre and the manere/ wherfore me
ought the better to honoure and kepe in highe worshippe hit/ as it
ought to be after the ordenaunce of god/
¶ How sone sayd the knyght knowest thou not what is the rule and ordre
of knyghthode/ and I meruaylle how thow darest demaunde chyualrye or
knyghthode/ vnto the tyme that thou knowe the ordre/
¶ For noo knyght can loue the ordre/ ne that whiche apperteyneth to his
ordre/ but yf he can knowe the defaultes that he dothe ageynst the
ordre of chyualry/
Ne no knyght ought to make ony knyghtes/ but yf he hym self knowe
thordre.
For a disordynate knyghte is he/ that maketh a knyghte/ and can not
shewe the ordre to hym/ ne the customme of chyualry.
¶ In the meane whyle that the knyght sayd these wordes to the esquyer/
that demaunded chyualrye/ withoute that he knewe/ what thynge was
chyualrye/ The esquyer answered and sayde to the knyght/ Syre yf hit be
your playsyre/ I byseche yow/ that ye wylle saye and telle to me the
ordre of chyualrye/
For wel me semeth and thynketh that I should lerne hit for the grete
desyre/ that I haue therto/ And after my power I shalle ensiewe hit/ yf
hit please yow to enseynge shewe and teche hit me/
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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