Old French Romances, Done into English, William Morris [easy books to read in english TXT] 📗

this business for all guerdon.”  “Dame,” said Robin, “I am well prayed hereof; and wot ye that I will do to my power herein.”  “It is enough,” said the lady.

No long while after the knight betook him to wending to a tournay afar from his land, and when he came there he was retained straightway of the fellowship, he and the knight of whose mesney he was, and his banner was borne into the hostel of his lord.  The tournay began, and the knight did so well by means of the good deeds of Robin, his squire, that he bore off the praise and prize of the tournay from one party and the other.  On the second day the knight betook him to wending to his own land, and Robin put him to reason many times and blamed him much in that he gave not his fair daughter in marriage, and many times he said it to him, till at the last his lord said to him: “Robin, thou and thy lady give me no peace about the marrying of my daughter; but as yet I know and see no man in my land unto whom I would give her.”  “Ah, sir,” said Robin, “there is not a knight in thy land who would not take her with a good will.”  “Fair friend Robin, they are of no avail, all of them; and to none of them shall I give her; and forsooth to no one would I give her as now, save to one man only, and he forsooth is no knight.”  “Sir, tell me of him,” said Robin, “and I shall speak or let speak to him so subtilly that the marriage shall be made.”  “Certes, Robin,” said the knight, “from the semblance that I see of thee thou willest well that my daughter should be wedded.”  “Sir,” said Robin, “thou sayest sooth, for it is well time.”  “Robin,” said the knight, “whereas thou art so eager that my daughter should be wedded, she shall be wedded right soon if thou accord to the said wedding.”  “Certes, sir,” said Robin, “of a good will shall I accord thereto.”  “Wilt thou give me thy word herein?”  “Yea, sir,” said Robin.  “Robin, thou hast served me exceeding well, and I have found thee a valiant man, and a loyal, and such as I be thou hast made me, and great gain have I gotten by thee, to wit, five hundred pounds of land; for it was but a little while that I had but five hundred, and now have I a thousand, and I tell thee that I owe much to thee: wherefore will I give my fair daughter unto thee, if thou wilt take her.”  “Ha, sir,” said Robin, “God’s mercy, what is this thou sayest?  I am too poor a person to have so high a maiden, nor one so fair and so rich as my damsel is; I am not meet thereto.  For there is no knight in this land, be he never so gentle a man, but would take her with a good will.”  “Robin, know that no knight of this land shall have her, but I shall give her to thee, if thou will it; and thereto will I give thee four hundred pounds of my land.”  “Ha, sir,” said Robin, “I deem that thou mockest me.”  “Robin,” said the knight, “wot thou surely that I mock thee not.”  “Ha, sir, neither my lady nor her great lineage will accord hereto.”  “Robin,” said the knight, “nought shall be done herein at the will of any of them.  Hold! here is my glove, I invest thee with four hundred pounds of my land, and I will be thy warrant for all.”  “Sir,” said Robin “I will nought naysay it; fair is the gift since I know that is soothfast.”  “Robin,” said the knight, “now hast thou the rights thereof.”

Then the knight delivered to him his glove, and invested him with the land and his fair daughter.

Then rode the knight so far by his journeys, that he came into his land, and when he was come thither, his wife, who was a much fair lady, made him right great joy, and said to him: “Sir, for God’s sake think of thy fair daughter, that she be wedded.”  “Dame,” said the lord, “so much hast thou spoken hereof that I have wedded her.”  “Sir,” said the lady, “unto whom?”  “Forsooth, dame, I have given her to such a man as shall never lack of valiancy: I have given her to Robin my squire.”  “Robin!  Alas!” quoth the lady; “Robin hath nought, and there is no knight so mighty in all the land, but will take her with a good will; of a surety Robin shall never have her.”  “Yea, but have her he shall, dame,” said the knight, “and I have invested him with four hundred pounds of my land; and all that I ought to warrant him, warrant him I will.”  When the dame heard that, she was much sorry, and said to her lord that Robin should have her never.  “Nay, dame,” said the lord, “have her he shall, wilt thou or wilt thou not; for even so have I made covenant and I will hold to the same.”

When the lady heard her lord, she entered into her chamber and fell a-weeping and making great dole; after the dole which she made she sent to seek her brothers and her nephews and her cousins germain, and showed them that which her lord would do; and they said to her: “Dame, what will ye that we do?  We have no will to go against thy lord, for he is a knight valiant and hardy and weighty withal: and on the other hand he may do with his daughter according to his will, and with his land which he hath gotten withal.  So wot thou well that we will not hang shield on neck herein.”  “Nay? alas, then!” said the dame, “so shall my heart never have joy if I lose my fair daughter.  At least, fair lords, I pray you that ye show him that if he does thus he will neither do well nor according to his honour.”  “Dame,” say they, “this setting forth will we do with a good will.”

So they came unto the knight, and when they had showed him their business he answered them right courteously: “Fair lords, I will tell you what I will do for the love of you; if it please you I will put off the wedding in this wise as I shall tell you; to wit: Amongst you ye be rich and of great lands; ye are nigh friends of my fair daughter, whom I love much.  If ye will give her four hundred pounds of land I will set aside the wedding, and she shall be wedded elsewhere according to your counsel.”  “A-God’s name,” quoth they, “we be nought fain to lay down so much.”  “Well, then,” said the knight, “since ye will not do this, then suffer me to do with my daughter as I list.”  “Sir, with a good will,” said they.

So the knight sent for his chaplain, and brought thither his fair daughter, and let affiance her to Robin, and set a day for the wedding.  But the third day thereafter, Robin spake to his lord, and prayed him make him a knight, whereas it was nought meet that he should take to him so high a wife and so fair before he was a knight.  His lord had great joy thereof, and the next day he was made knight, and the third day wedded the fair maiden with great feast and joyance.

But when master Robin was made knight he spake thus to his lord: “Sir, ye have made me knight; and true it is that against the peril of death I vowed me to the road unto Saint Jamesward on the morrow of my knighting; wherefore I pray thee take it not in dudgeon if to-morrow morn I must needs go my ways so soon as I shall have wedded thy fair daughter; whereas in nowise will I break mine oath.”  “Forsooth, master Robin, if thou leave thus my fair daughter and thus wise go your ways, ye shall be much to blame.”  “Sir,” said he, “I shall come back right soon if God will; but this wayfaring I needs must perforce.”  Whenas a certain knight of the court of the lord heard these words he blamed Sir Robin much, whereas he was leaving his fair wife at such a point, and Sir Robin said that he needs must do it.  “Certes,” said the knight, who had to name Raoul, “if thou goest thus to Saint James without touching thy fair wife, I will make thee cuckold before thine home-coming, and when thou comest home I will give thee good tokens that I have had share of her.  Now I will lay my land thereto against thine, which our lord hath given thee, for I have well four hundred pounds of land even as thou hast.”  “Forsooth,” said Sir Robin, “my wife is not come of such blood as that she shall misdo against me, and I may not believe in it nowise: I will make the wager with thee, if it please thee.”  “Yea,” said Sir Raoul, “wilt thou pledge thee thereto?”  “Yea, verily,” said Sir Robin, “and thou?”  “Yea, and I also.  Now go we to my lord and make record of our covenant.”  “That will I well,” said Sir Robin.  Therewith they go unto the lord, and the wager was recorded, and they pledged them to hold thereto.  On the morrow betimes Sir Robin wedded the fair maiden, and straightway after mass was said, he departed from the house and left the wedding, and took the road for St. Jakem.

But now leaveth the tale to tell of him and telleth of Sir Raoul, who was in great imagination how he might win his wager and lie by the fair lady.  And saith the tale that the lady held her much simply while her lord was on pilgrimage, and was going to the minster with a good will, and prayed God that he would bring back her lord.  But Sir Raoul pained him on the other hand how he might win his wager, for great doubt he had to lose his land.  He spake with the carline who dwelt with the fair lady, and said to her, that if she could so bring it about that she might set him in place and at point that he might speak privily with my lady Jehane, and have his will of her, he would give her much good, so that there would be no hour when she should not be rich.  “Sir, forsooth,” said the carline, “thou art so fair a knight, and so wise and courteous that my lady should well ought to love thee par amours, and I will put myself to the pain herein to the utmost of my might.”  Then the knight drew out straightway a forty sols, and gave it to her to buy a gown.  The carline took them with a goodwill, and set them away surely, and said that she would speak with the lady.  The knight departed from the carline, and the carline abode and took her lady to task when she came back from the minster, and said to her: “In God’s name, lady, tell me true!  My lord, when he went to Saint Jakem, had he ever lain by thee?”  “Wherefore dost thou say this, dame Hersent?”  “Lady, because I trow that thou be yet a clean maid.”  “Certes, dame Hersent, so am I verily; for of no woman wot I who would do such a deed.”  “Lady,” said dame Hersent, “great damage it is; for if ye wotted how great is the joy that women have when they be with a man who loveth them, ye would say that there is no joy so great; and for this cause I marvel much that ye love not par amours even as these other ladies who all love.  But if it pleaseth thee the matter is ready to hand; whereas I wot of a knight, fair and valiant and wise, who will love thee with a good will; a much rich man is he, and fairer by far than the coward recreant who hath left thee.  And if ye dare love ye may have whatso ye dare ask; and so much joy shall ye have as never lady had more.”  So much spake the carline by her words that the needle of nature stirred somewhat.  The lady asked who the knight might be.  “Who is it, lady?  A-God’s name!  I may well name him.  It is the lovely, the valiant, the hardy Sir Raoul, who is one of the mesney of thy father; the kindest heart men wot of.”  “Dame Hersent,” said the lady, “thou wert best let such words be; for I have no desire to misdo of my body, of no such blood am I come.”  “Dame,” said the carline, “I