CHAPTER XI

THE MORT ARTUR

This, the final section of the _Lancelot_ cycle, offers less opportunity for criticism. The versions of =D. L.= and =1533=, though still closely in accord with each other, differ much less from the summary given by Dr. Sommer, and show less affinity with Malory.[196]

So far as Malory is concerned I differ from Dr. Sommer, who says that 'he cannot have derived his account from the prose _Lancelot_.'[197] On the contrary I think there is little doubt that Malory had the latter portion of the _Lancelot_ before him, but dislocated it by the introduction of the _Charrette_ and _Urre of Hungary_[198] episodes, which he most probably knew in an independent form; though of course, as I have suggested above, it is quite possible that some _Lancelot_ MSS. may have included the latter. But considering the clear proof that the English compiler was following an _Agravain_ MS. for the earlier part of his _Lancelot_ adventures, and that he includes the Astolat and Patryse stories, which are a part of the ordinary _Mort Artur_[199] section, I see no reason to doubt that his _Lancelot_ MS. represented _all_ the latter part of the cycle (as we know he had, and followed, an alternative version of the =M. A.= proper). I have carefully compared both =D. L.= and =1533= with the abstract given in the _Studies_, and give the following as the most important of the variants, but I should like to make it clearly understood, both as regards this and the previous sections, that the instances I quote by no means represent _all_ the points of contact and departure to be noted between the different versions. I have many others in my notes, and a critical edition will certainly very much strengthen the case I have here stated in outline.

As we have before noted, =D. L.= and =1533= agree against =S.= in incorporating with the _Queste_ the passage generally given as the opening of =M. A.= Otherwise all three versions are in practical agreement as regards the events leading up to the tournament at Winchester. =D. L.= does not mention Hector when Lancelot inquires on which side his kinsmen are fighting, but only Bohort and Lionel. =1533= agrees here with =S.=

According to =D. L.= and =1533= Gawain and Gaheriet take no part in the fighting at Arthur's desire: he fears they may fight with Lancelot, and ill-will arise from it. =S.= does not mention this, so I cannot say if it be in the =1513= edition or not.

=S.= says, 'The people think the two knights' (Lancelot and his comrade) 'cannot be the sons of the lord of the castle of Escalot.' This does not agree with the other versions: the people think they _are_ the lord's sons at first; then _Gawain_ says, one of them cannot be. =D. L.=:

'_Ende man waende daer wel dat Lanceloet Ware een vanden broderen van Scaerloet._'--ll. 851-2.

and Gawain proceeds to say, 'This knight with the red sleeve is not he whom I thought, no one ever saw such valour by one of the "Kinder van Scaerloet."' Arthur asks what knight he may be. =D. L.= makes Gawain say simply he does not know, 'but he is certainly a good knight'; while =1533= goes on to add 'if Lancelot had not been left at Kamalot he would have said that this was he.' This does not at all agree with =S.=

Both =1533= and =D. L.= agree against =S.= in saying Lancelot's wounds will take six (not seven) weeks to heal.

When Gawain and Gaheriet follow Lancelot, =S.= says they meet a _wounded_ knight; in =1533= the knight is dead. =D. L.= omits the incident.

When Gawain returns to Arthur, =S.= represents the king as saying 'it was not the first time he took trouble without results, nor will it be the last.' =1533= and =D. L.= here add '_through that knight_,' which is evidently correct.

=S.= simply says the second tourney is fixed at Tanebor, 'du lundi dapres en ung moys'; whereas the other versions carefully specify the wherabouts of this place, 'dat een casteel es, Staende in den inganc van Nortgales.' =D. L.= spells it 'Caneborch.'

Again, according to =S.=, Lancelot, unable to go to the tourney, sends greeting to the queen and Gawain, 'from the knight who wore the red sleeve'; whereas =D. L.= and =1533= say 'the knight who won the tournament at Winchester' and make no mention of the sleeve, which, considering the relations between Lancelot and Guinevere, seems to me the better version. Neither do these mention that Guinevere tries to persuade Bohort to return to Camelot.

When Gawain comes to Escalot =S.= represents him as admiring the maiden's beauty and envying the knight 'with the red sleeve.' =1533= says, more correctly, 'the knight who wins her love'; he has not yet learned to whom the sleeve belonged.

In the account of what happens after Gawain's return to court, and Guinevere's learning the truth, all the versions agree on the whole, and it is noticeable that =M.=, though making Bohort a more energetic defender of his cousin's good faith, yet correctly reproduces all the main features of incident and speech. I think any one comparing his version closely with two or three others can hardly fail to come to the conclusion that it is the prose _Lancelot_ and no other account he is reproducing.

According to =S.= Lancelot's kinsmen only remain for a week at court; according to =1533= and =D. L.= it is 'that week and the next.'

When they leave the court on the second occasion after the tournament of Tanebor, neither =D. L.= nor =1533= say (as =S.= does) that the queen tries to persuade Bohort to remain, though they agree in making her regret his departure.

After Lancelot's return to court when Bohort lectures Guinevere on the mischief done by women, with reference to David, Solomon, etc., =D. L.= omits the reference to Tristan, while =1533= amplifies it by saying 'it is not five years since Tristan died for love of Iseult.'

=D. L.= omits all reference to Lancelot's being wounded in the wood, condensing considerably at this point, and gives no account of the arrival of the dead body of the maiden of Escalot.

In the account of how Lancelot learns of the queen's danger from Madoc de la porte, all three versions differ. According to =S.= he meets a knight from Kamalot who tells him of the queen's plight, and at once resolves to rescue her. _The next day_ he meets Hector and reveals his intentions; and a few days after both meet Bohort, who asks if they know the news. =1533= says that as the first knight rides off, Hector appears from a cross-road; he is on his way to defend Guinevere.

In =D. L.= it is not said how Lancelot first learns the news, but he meets Hector and Bohort together, and on their asking him if he has heard, replies in the affirmative.

I suspect =M.= had a version akin to this last before him as he makes _Bohort_ Lancelot's informant.

In the account of the final detection of Lancelot and Guinevere, =S.=, as I have before pointed out, goes wrong, by substituting _Guerreshes_ for _Gariët_. All the texts I have consulted agree in stating that it is this latter who sides with Gawain, and refuses to be a party to the betrayal.[200]

=D. L.= omits the fact that Arthur hears of Lancelot's victory at the tournament of Cahere; and also the remark of Bohort that only Morgain or Agravain can have betrayed him.

In the details of the detection all three versions agree closely.

In the account of Guinevere's trial =S.= again diverges from the others. We read[201] 'Arthur decides to punish Guinevere with death. He will have her tried at once. =P. L.= introduces here, and a little later, a certain "roy Yon" who counsels moderation. The trial takes place; Arthur, with Gaheriet, Mordred, and Agravain, doom the queen to the stake.' I do not know if this accurately represents the text =1513=, it certainly differs widely from the reading of =D. L.= and =1533=.

=D. L.= does not mention Yon; =1533= simply introduces him as telling Arthur that the trial cannot take place that evening, while both agree in saying that _Gawain_ (whom =S.= does not mention at all) warns the king not to proceed to extremities, threatening to give up all his lands if the queen be burnt. Mordred and Agravain doom the queen to death, Arthur _alone_ specifies the nature of that death.[202]

In the account of the fatal fight at the stake, =D. L.= represents Lancelot as slaying both Gawain's brothers, while =1533= agrees with =S.= in saying that Bohort kills Guerresches and Lancelot Gaheriet. =M.=, it will be remembered, agrees in this with =D. L.= It may be noted that all three, =1533=, =D. L.=, and =M.=, while making no remark about Guerresches, especially lament Gaheriet: the two first say that Lancelot knows Gawain will never forgive him for this, and =M.= speaks of him as 'the noble knyghte,' making the identity with Gareth quite clear.

The castle at which the queen and Lancelot stay _en route_ for Joyous Garde, called _Scalee_ by =S.=, _Scalle_ in =1533=, and _Calet_ in =D. L.= does not, I think, belong to Keux the seneschal, as =S.= supposes; =D. L.= does not mention him, and =1533= speaks of '_ung Keux_,' a friend of Lancelot's, which cannot be _Kay_. Both here, and in the '_Keux_ du Parc' of the Turquine adventure, I suspect that we have not a proper name at all, but a misreading of 'Queus'=_count_. In the latter instance =D. L.= renders _Keux_ by _Grave_.

On p. 255, =S.= must surely have misread his source, as he says that Lancelot sends messengers to _King Ban of Benoyc_, asking his aid. King Ban was of course dead long before; =D. L.= and =1533= say to _the barons_ of Benoyc, which must be the right reading.

Again, the summary of the battle, =S.=, p. 256, differs very materially from =D. L.= and =1533=. =S.= says Gawain fights like a madman and kills thirty of Lancelot's men with his own hand, wounding others, Lionel among them. The next day there is another battle, in which occurs the incident of Arthur being unhorsed by Bohort, and remounted by Lancelot. Now in the other two versions Bohort and Gawain wound each other so desperately at the first onslaught that they are carried off the field half dead, and it is _Hector_ who overthrows Arthur.

Later on, after the return of Guinevere, when =S.= represents _Hector_ as challenging Gawain, the other two versions give _Bohort_.

After the kinsmen return to Benoyc we find =D. L.= in apparent contradiction with the other versions. =S.= says that he makes Bohort king of Benoic and Lionel of Gannes, while he himself keeps the crown of Gaule, _because Arthur gave it to him_. =1533= seems to agree with this latter phrase, as it says, 'et pour ce que le roy Artus me donna le royaulme de Gaule ie le tiendray.[203] =D. L.= on the contrary says:

'_Ende vanden conincrike, dat secgic u, Van Gaule sone doe ic niet nu, Ende ne houder gene tale af, Om dat mi die coninc Artur gaf; Want al haddi mi gegeven vor nu Al die werelt, dat secgic u, Ic gavese hem al weder te hant, Bedie ic ne soude en geen lant Nu ter tijt van hem willen houden._'--ll. 7407-15.

Now in the earlier portion of =D. L.=, after the war with Claudas, we are told that Lancelot has made Bohort king of Gannes, Hector of Benoyc, and Lionel of Gaul, an arrangement which exactly agrees with that which =M.= takes from the English =M. A.= In this earlier passage Lancelot gives as reason for not taking the crown that he prefers to remain a simple knight, and =1533= represents Bohort and Hector as following his example and declining the offered kingdoms.

I think the lesson of this discrepancy is that the _Lancelot_ and the =M. A.= were fundamentally independent of each other, and each contained an account of the crowning of the race of Ban. When brought into close contact this caused a contradiction of statement which =D. L.= and =1533= evaded each in their own way. =S.= gives no clue to what happened on the earlier occasion.

The number of knights Arthur takes with him on his last expedition agrees in =D. L.= and =M.=, sixty thousand, against forty thousand in the two French versions.[204]

In both =1533= and =D. L.=, Guinevere does not, as in =S.=, ask for a _week's_ respite, but for a _day_, and Mordred himself suggests she shall have the week. _Labor_, whom =S.= calls simply 'a faithful knight,' is in both these versions a near kinsman--_neve_, _cousin_. =D. L.= gives as a reason for Guinevere's rejection of Mordred's offer that she suspects his true relation to Arthur. This is not in =1533=.

In the account of the fight between Lancelot and Gawain, all three versions apparently differ at the outset. Gawain will send the challenge by a squire. =S.=, squire refuses, fearing Lancelot's wrath; =1533=, refuses, fearing to bring about Gawain's death; =D. L.=, goes at once.

The issue of the fight too is different in =D. L.= and =1533=. In =S.=, Gawain receives a mortal wound in the head and retreats. In =1533=, Lancelot appeals to the king: it is vesper-tide, and a fight for treason must be concluded by nightfall. Arthur, seeing Gawain is getting the worst of the battle, stops it at once. =D. L.= apparently condenses a similar version, but makes Arthur appeal to Lancelot, who says that he will be dishonoured if he leave his foe in possession of the field, but Arthur entreats him to do so for his sake, and Lancelot retires. Both agree in saying that Gawain is over twenty years Lancelot's senior, and is now eighty-two years old![205]

=D. L.= represents the war with Rome as lasting twenty years, which would make both Arthur and Gawain well over a hundred at the time of their death!

After the news of Mordred's treachery =D. L.= makes no mention of Gawain being carried in a litter on the return journey, or of his desire for Lancelot's forgiveness; nor does he warn Arthur against fighting with Mordred. This is, I suspect, due to the compiler's desire to condense, as =1533= agrees in the main with =S.= The warning against Mordred appears, however, to be fuller in the former, _e.g._ _Studies_, p. 265. Gawain is represented as saying briefly, 'Avoid, if possible, fighting with Mordred, for it will cause your death,' which is in =1533=, 'Car ie vous dy vrayement que se vous mourez par une homme [=q] vive vous mourrez par lui et madame la royne,' p. 154, which certainly seems to point to an earlier redaction of the =M. A.=, where Guinevere was a partner in Mordred's treason.[206]

In the description of Arthur's death there are some interesting variants. Both =1533= and =D. L.= account for Lucan's death by the weight of Arthur's armour; it is that, and not the vehemence of the king's embrace, which really kills the sorely wounded knight.

They again differ in the details of the final scene. =S.= says 'a boat full of ladies arrives; they land, go ashore, put Arthur, his horse, and armour into the boat, and row off.' =D. L.= says they call Arthur, who rises, takes his horse and armour, and goes into the ship. =1533= says the mistress of the party is Morgain; she calls Arthur, who rises at sight of her, she takes him by the hand (which would seem to imply her landing), and bids him bring horse and arms and enter the boat, which he does. Dr. Sommer evidently regards the entire account as absurd, but I not only accept it, but regard the versions of =D. L.= and =1533=, which would merit his strictures more fully than that in which he finds such difficulty, as representing the earlier and more primitive form of the story. There is no doubt that Arthur was conceived of as living and ruling in Avalon. This account of his practically voluntary departure for the mysterious island is much more in accord with that idea than the version which represents him in the extremity of mortal weakness, and subsequently dead and buried. Arthur's tomb is _not_ compatible with Arthur in Avalon, and I strongly suspect that the earlier redaction of the =M. A.= made no mention of it; it is certainly omitted in the corresponding section of the Didot _Perceval_, which only says he departed to have his wounds healed in Avalon, and has not since been seen; but Bretons claim to have heard his horn, and seen his armour, and believe he will return.

There is a curious discrepancy in the accounts of Lancelot's death, which seems to point to two distinct versions of that event. =S.= says he died August 5th, but does not say how long he was ill. =D. L.= says he fell ill on May 15th, and died after four days. =1533= says he fell ill May 15th, was ill four days, and died August 5th! Evidently a combination by some unintelligent compiler of the two previous accounts, but it is unusual to find such an obvious _bévue_ in so otherwise admirable a version as that of =1533=.

All three agree that Lancelot is buried in Galehault's tomb, and that Bohort becomes a hermit in his stead.

From the above comparison it seems clear that though offering less striking and interesting variants, the Dutch version and that of =1533= yet maintain, on the whole, their previous agreement as against =S.=; while =M.=, which here possesses an alternative source the English =M. A.=, yet occasionally betrays the same curious agreement with =D. L.= which we have noted before. The result appears to confirm the conclusion previously arrived at, that =D. L.= and =1533= represent a common French original, and that =M.='s source, whether complete or incomplete, was a MS. belonging to the same family.