Mythology, Celtic -- Wales; Tales -- Wales; Welsh literature -- 1100-1400 -- Translations into English
And Peredur was resting on the shaft of his spear, pondering the same
thought, and Gwalchmai came to him without any signs of hostility, and
said to him, “If I thought that it would be as agreeable to thee as it
would be to me, I would converse with thee. I have also a message from
Arthur unto thee, to pray thee to come and visit him. And two men have
been before on this errand.” “That is true,” said Peredur, “and
uncourteously they came. They attacked me, and I was annoyed thereat,
for it was not pleasing to me to be drawn from the thought that I was in,
for I was thinking of the lady whom best I love, and thus was she brought
to my mind:—I was looking upon the snow, and upon the raven, and upon the
drops of the blood of the bird that the hawk had killed upon the snow.
And I bethought me that her whiteness was like that of the snow, and that
the blackness of her hair and her eyebrows like that of the raven, and
that the two red spots upon her cheeks were like the two drops of blood.”
Said Gwalchmai, “This was not an ungentle thought, and I should marvel if
it were pleasant to thee to be drawn from it.” “Tell me,” said Peredur,
“is Kai in Arthur’s Court?” “He is,” said he, “and behold he is the
knight that fought with thee last; and it would have been better for him
had he not come, for his arm and his shoulder-blade were broken with the
fall which he had from thy spear.” “Verily,” said Peredur, “I am not
sorry to have thus begun to avenge the insult to the dwarf and dwarfess.”
Then Gwalchmai marvelled to hear him speak of the dwarf and the dwarfess;
and he approached him, and threw his arms around his neck, and asked him
what was his name. “Peredur the son of Evrawc am I called,” said he;
“and thou, Who art thou?” “I am called Gwalchmai,” he replied. “I am
right glad to meet with thee,” said Peredur, “for in every country where
I have been I have heard of thy fame for prowess and uprightness, and I
solicit thy fellowship.” “Thou shalt have it, by my faith, and grant me
thine,” said he, “Gladly will I do so,” answered Peredur.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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