Part II: Anglo-Norman Literary Period, part of the Middle Ages Literary Period
Part II: Anglo-Norman Literary Period, part of the Middle Ages Literary Period
21
The Lay of Lanval: He is neglected by King Arthur
AN adventure I’ll now relay,
As it fell out; in another lay.
It tells of a lord, of high degree,
In Breton named Lanval, was he.
Now, at Carduel, the king sojourned,
Arthur the Brave, thither returned,
As the Scots from war ne’er would cease,
Nor the Picts, but marred the peace,
The land of Logres entering there,
And wreaking havoc everywhere.
At Pentecost, in summer season,
He feasted, then, for that reason,
And rich gifts gave to everyone,
Many a count, and many a baron,
All the knights of the Round Table –
None anywhere did show so able –
Estates and marriages he decreed,
For all, except one knight indeed:
That was Lanval, whom he forgot,
For to be ignored such was his lot.
Due to his valour, his largesse,
His rare beauty, and his prowess,
He was envied by many, I fear;
Those who seemed to hold him dear,
If with misfortune he had met
Would scarce their eyes with tears have wet.
A king’s son, of high parentage,
Now divorced from that heritage,
He was of the king’s household,
Yet all he’d owned he had sold.
And the king granted him naught,
Or a fraction of what he sought.
Many a doleful thought he had,
Was often pensive and ever sad.
My lords at this you need not marvel,
A man estranged, without counsel,
Must prove sad in a foreign land,
When there’s no succour to hand.
The Lay of Lanval: He meets with the two maids
THIS knight then, of whom I speak,
Who’d served the king well, did seek,
One day, after mounting his horse,
To let the steed take its own course,
Which exit from the town did yield,
And he came alone to a grassy field.
He dismounted by a flowing brook,
There his horse trembled and shook;
He unharnessed him, and let him go,
To roll on the grass in the meadow.
He doffed his cloak, under his head
He placed it, as both pillow and bed,
And lay thinking of his ill plight,
Seeing naught there to bring delight.
Lying there then, in this manner,
He saw two maidens by the water,
Coming towards him, side by side;
Never such beauty had he espied.
Both of them were richly dressed,
In purple tunics of the very best,
Tightly fastened, with fine lace,
And both of them lovely of face.
You will be safe and in our care,
You can see her pavilion’s there.’
The knight granted what they sought,
Left his mount, with scarce a thought,
Grazing, behind him, in the meadow;
They led him where a tent did show;
Twas a beautiful pavilion;
Not Semiramis of Babylon,
At her richest, in her greatest hour,
When, with wisdom, she held power,
Nor the emperor Octavian,
Possessed such a pavilion;
And at its crest an eagle of gold,
Whose value could not be told;
Nor that of each cord and pole,
That there supported the whole.
No king is there, beneath the sky,
Wealthy enough its like to buy.
The Lay of Lanval: The lady of the pavilion
BEFORE the tent he saw a maid.
No lily-flower, or rose new-made,
When they adorn a summer’s day,
Surpassed her