Version 1

Notes de lecture
113

Le texte de base est celui de ldition de Janet Cowen, Penguin Classics (2 vol.).

BOOK VI

CHAPTER 12. How Sir Launcelot rode disguised in Sir Kays harness,
and how he smote down a knight
1
Now turn we unto Sir Launcelot that had ridden long in a great forest, and at the last he came
into a low country, full of fair rivers and meadows1. And afore him he saw a long bridge, and three pavilions stood thereon, of silk and sendal of divers hue. And without the pavilions hung three white shields
on truncheons of spears, and great long spears stood upright by the pavilions, and at every pavilions
door stood three fresh knights, and so Sir Launcelot passed by them and spake no word.
When he was passed the three knights saiden him that it was the proud Sir Kay: He weeneth no
knight so good as he, and the contrary is ofttime proved.
By my faith, said one of the knights, his name was Sir Gaunter, I will ride after him and assay him for
all his pride, and ye may behold how that I speed.
So this knight, Sir Gaunter, armed him, and hung his shield upon his shoulder, and mounted upon a
great horse, and gat his spear in his hand, and walloped after Sir Launcelot. And when he came nigh
him, he cried, Abide, thou proud knight Sir Kay, for thou shalt not pass quit.
So Sir Launcelot turned him, and either fewtered their spears, and came together with all their
mights, and Sir Gaunters spear brake, but Sir Launcelot smote him down horse and man.
And when Sir Gaunter was at the earth his brethren said each one to other, Yonder knight is not Sir
Kay, for he is bigger2 than he.
I dare lay my head, said Sir Gilmere, yonder knight hath slain Sir Kay and hath taken his horse and his
harness.
1
2

Winchester folio 107r : and fayre meedys.

Winchester folio 107v : he is far bygger.

Whether it be so or no, said Sir Raynold, the third brother, let us now go mount upon our horses and rescue our brother Sir Gaunter, upon pain of death. We all shall have work enough to match that knight, for ever meseemeth by his person it is Sir Launcelot, or Sir Tristram, or Sir Pelleas, the good knight.
Then anon they took their horses and overtook Sir Launcelot, and Sir Gilmere put forth his spear,
and ran to Sir Launcelot, and Sir Launcelot smote him down that he lay in a swoon.
2
Sir knight, said Sir Raynold, thou art a strong man, and as I suppose thou hast slain my two brethren,
for the which riseth my heart sore against thee, and if I might with my worship I would not have ado with you, but
needs I must take part as they do, and therefore, knight, he said, keep thyself.
And so they hurtled together with all their mights, and all to-shivered both their spears. And then
they drew their swords and lashed together eagerly.
Anon therewith arose Sir Gaunter, and came unto his brother Sir Gilmere, and bad him, Arise, and
help we our brother Sir Raynold, that yonder marvellously matched yonder good knight.
Therewithal, they leapt on their horses and hurtled unto Sir Launcelot. And when he saw them
come he smote a sore stroke unto Sir Raynold, that he fell o his horse to the ground, and then he
struck to the other two brethren, and at two strokes he strake them down to the earth.
With that Sir Raynold began to start up with his head all bloody, and came straight unto Sir Launcelot.
Now let be, said Sir Launcelot, I was not far from thee when thou were made knight, Sir Raynold, and also I
know thou art a good knight, and loth I were to slay thee.
Gramercy, said Sir Raynold, as for your goodness; and I dare say as for me and my brethren, we will not be
loth to yield us unto you, with that we knew your name, for well we know ye are not Sir Kay.
As for that be it as it be may, for ye shall yield you unto Dame Guenever, and look that ye be with her on Whitsunday, and yield you unto her as prisoners, and say that Sir Kay sent you unto her.
Then they swore it should be done, and so passed forth Sir Launcelot, and each one of the brethren
halp other as well as they might.

Sire Lancelot reprend sa chevauche en se faisant passer pour sire Keu,

dont il a endoss larmure, et abat un chevalier
1
Passons maintenant sire Lancelot qui, aprs une longue chevauche dans une vaste fort, se
retrouva enn dans une plaine o abondaient belles rivires et prairies, et aperut en face de lui un
pont tout en longueur sur lequel taient dresses trois tentes multicolores de soie et de cendal ; lextrieur des tentes, trois cus blancs taient accrochs des bois de lance, des lances dune longueur impressionnantes taient ches en terre ct des tentes, et lentre des tentes se tenaient trois chevaliers robustes : sire Lancelot passa devant eux, sans mot dire.
Une fois quil fut pass, les trois chevaliers se dirent entre eux que ctait le er sire Keu : Il
croit quaucun chevalier ne peut lui tenir tte, alors que cest souvent linverse qui se vrie.
Ma foi, ajouta lun deux, du nom de sire Gautier, je vais le rattraper et mettre sa grande ert lpreuve : vous pourrez assister mon triomphe.
Ce chevalier, donc, sire Gautier, revtit son armure, attacha son bouclier son paule [gauche],
enfourcha un grand cheval, saisit sa lance et galopa la poursuite de sire Lancelot. Et quand il se fut
rapproch, il lui cria : Arrte-toi, sire Keu, chevalier plein doutrecuidance, car tu niras pas plus loin sans
rgler tes comptes.
Sire Lancelot t alors demi-tour, chacun afautra sa lance et ils se heurtrent de plein fouet : la
lance de sire Gautier se rompit, tandis que sire Lancelot jetait bas monture et cavalier.
Lorsque sire Gautier fut terre, ses deux frres se dirent lun lautre : Ce chevalier-l nest pas
sire Keu, car il a une plus forte corpulence.
Je mettrais ma tte couper, assura sire Gilmere, que ce chevalier-l a tu sire Keu, puis lui a pris son
cheval et son armure.
En tout cas, lui rpondit sire Raynold, le troisime frre, en selle tout de suite et allons au secours de
notre frre sire Gautier, sinon cest la mort assure. Nous aurons tous fort faire pour galer ce chevalier-l, car jai
sans cesse limpression, daprs son aspect physique, que cest sire Lancelot, sire Tristan ou encore sire Pellas, le
valeureux chevalier.

Ils montrent aussitt cheval, rattraprent sire Lancelot, sire Gilmere abaissa sa lance et se rua
sur sire Lancelot, et ce dernier le projeta au sol, o il svanouit.
2
Messire chevalier, dit sire Raynold [ Lancelot], tu es quelquun de vigoureux et tu as, je suppose, tu
mes deux frres, ce qui fait monter en moi la colre envers toi ; si cela mtait possible sans droger mon honneur,
je me passerais de vous aronter, mais il mincombe de me battre tout comme eux et, par consquent, chevalier,
conclut-il, dfends-toi ! 1
Ils se rurent alors lun contre lautre en y mettant toutes leurs forces et, ayant rompu leurs
lances, dgainrent, et changrent de violents coups dpe.
ce moment-l, sire Gautier se releva, alla trouver son frre sire Gilmere et lexhorta : Lve-toi
et allons secourir notre frre sire Raynold qui, l-bas, a brillamment tenu tte ce preux chevalier-l.
Aussitt, ils bondirent sur leurs montures et se rurent sur sire Lancelot qui, les voyant venir,
assena sire Raynold un coup violent qui le prcipita sur le sol, puis frappa les deux autres frres qui,
en deux coups dpe, il t vider les arons.
Cest alors que sire Raynold, la tte toute ensanglante, commena se relever, puis vint droit
sur sire Lancelot.
Allons, restons-en l, dcida sire Lancelot, je me trouvais non loin de toi le jour o tu as t fait chevalier, sire Raynold, et sachant aussi que tu es un preux chevalier, et ce nest pas de gat de cur que je taurais tu.
Devant tant de gnrosit, Dieu vous le rende, rpondit sire Raynold, car je nhsite pas dire, au nom
de mes frres et au mien, que nous nous rendrons volontiers vous, condition de connatre votre nom, puisque
nous navons aucun doute : vous ntes pas sire Keu.
Que ce soit le cas ou non, vous ferez [tous trois] votre soumission entre les mains de dame Guenivre
(veillez vous trouver auprs delle le jour de la Pentecte), rendez-vous bien elle en tant que prisonniers et dites
que vous lui tes envoys par sire Keu.
Ils jurrent alors de sexcuter et sire Lancelot se remit en chemin, tandis que les trois frres
sentraidaient de leur mieux.

1 and at every pavilions door stood three fresh knights

J. Cowen, I, p. 216 :
and at every pavilions door stood three fresh squires; cest la leon (fautive) de Caxton :

en garde ! mais le tutoiement est eac.

 Capitulum xij
Now torne we vnto yre launcelot that had ryden long in a grete foret / and at the lat he came in to a lowe countray ful of fayre
Ryuers and medowes / And afore hym he awe a longe brydge / and thre pauelions tode ther on of ylke and endel of dyuers
hewe / And withoute the pauelions henge thre whyte heldes on truncheons of perys / & grete longe perys tode vpryght by the
pauelions / and at euery pauelions dore tode thre frehe quyers / and oo yre launcelot paed by them and pake no worde /
whan he was pate the thre knyghtes ayden hym that hit was the proud kay / he weneth no knyght oo good as he / and the
contrary is oftyme preued / By my feythe ayd one of the knyghtes / his name was yre gaunter / I wylle ryde after hym / & aaye
hym / for alle his pryde / and ye may beholde how that I pede / Soo this knyght yre Gaunter armed hym / and henge his helde
vpon his holder / and mounted vpon a grete hors / and gate his pere in his hand / and wallopt after yre launcelot / and whanne
he came nyghe hym / he cryed Abyde thou proude knyght yr kay / for thou halt not pae quyte / Soo yr launcelot torned hym /
and eyther feutryd their peres / and came to gyders with alle theyr myghtes / and yre Gaunters pere brake but yre launcelot
mote hym doune hors and man / and whan yr gaunter was at the erthe / his bretheren ayd echone to other yonder knyght is
not yre kay / for he is bygger than he / I dare laye my heed ayd yre Gylmere yonder knyghte hath layne yr kay and hath taken
his hors and his harneis / whether it be oo or no ayd yr Raynold the thyrd broder / lete vs now goo mounte vpon oure hores
and recowe our broder ir Gaunter vpon payne of dethe / we alle hal haue werke ynou to matche that knyght / for euer me
emeth by his perone it is yre Launcelot / or yr Trytram / or yr Pelleas the good knyght / Thenne anon they toke theyr hores
and ouertook yr launcelot / and yre gylmere put forth his pere / and ranne to ir launcelot / and yre launcelot mote hym
doune that he lay in a woune / Syre knyght ayd yr Raynold thou arte a trong man / and as I suppoe thou hat layne my two
bretheren / for the whiche rayth my herte ore ageynt the / And yf I myght with my worhip I wold not haue a doo with yow but
nedes I mut take parte as they doo / And therfor knyghte he ayd / kepe thy elf / And oo they hurtled to gyders with alle theyr
myghtes / and al to heuered bothe theyre peres / And thenne they drewe her werdes and lahyd to gyder egerly / Anone there
with aroos yre Gauter / and came vnto his broder yre gylmere / and bad hym arye and helpe we oure broder yr Raynold that
yonder merueyllouly matched yonder good knyght / There with alle they lepte on theyr hores & hurtled vnto yre launcelot /
And whanne he awe them come / he mote a ore troke vnto yr Raynold that he felle of his hors to the ground / And thenne
he troke to the other two bretheren / and at two trokes he trake them doune to the erthe / With that ir Raynold beganne to
tarte vp with his heede al blody / and came treyte vnto yre launcelot / Now late be ayd ir launcelot / I was not ferre from the
whan thou were maade knyght ir Raynold / and alo I knowe thou arte a good knyght / and lothe I were to lee the / Gramercy
ayd yr raynold as for your goodnes / And I dare aye as for me and my bretheren we wyl not be lothe to yelde vs vnto you / with
that we knewe your name / for wel we knowe ye are not ire kay / As for that be it as it be maye / for ye hal yelde yow vnto dame
gweneuer / and loke that ye be with her on whytonday and yelde you vnto her as pryoners / and aye that yre kay ente yow
vnto her / thenne they wore hit hold be done / and o paed forthe ire launcelot / and echone of the bretheren halpe other as
wel as they myght
Capitulum xiij
Soo ir launcelot rode in to a depe foret / and ther by in a lade / he awe four knyghtes houyng vnder an oke / and they were of
Arthurs courte / one was ir Sagramour le deyrus and Ector de marys / and ir Gawayn and ir Vwayne / Anone as thee four
knyghtes had apyed ir Launcelot they wend by his armes it hadde ben ir kay / Now by my feythe ayd ir Sagramour / I wylle
preue ir kayes myghte / & gate his pere in his hand / and came toward ir launcelot Ther with ir launcelot was ware and knewe
hym wel / and

Winchester folio 107r, lignes 17-31 :

Ligne 24 : and at euery pavylyon dore toode .iii. freyh knyghts

La formulation at every pavilions door stood three fresh knights pourrait laisser penser
que trois chevaliers sont posts lentre de chaque tente, ce que dment le reste du passage.
2 When he was passed the three knights saiden him that it was the proud Kay Winchester :
But whan he was pate e .iii. knyghts knew hym and eyde hit was e proude Sir kay

(Sir a d sauter la composition chez Caxton.)

3 his brethren 1) le narrateur mnage ses eets, annonant dabord la prsence de
trois chevaliers, pour indiquer ensuite, par un biais, quils sont frres ; 2) ni Malory, ni
Caxton nemploient pour le pluriel la forme brothers brethren constitue une pice de
muse, tmoin de la dliquescence de la exion nominale et de lincomprhension quelle
rvle chez ceux qui la vcurent : on y retrouve -en (une des deux dsinences gnralises de pluriel) ajout brer, datif singulier de bror, bror [thme en -r], reconnaissable au timbre de sa voyelle radicale rsultant de lapophonie1 ( *brri, cf. frtr,
). En vieil-anglais, le nominatif pluriel tait (e)bror (ultrieurement (e)brra, (e)brru).
Caxton nemploie que le pluriel brether(e)n.
Winchester : breerne (pl.), breirn(e) (pl.), broerne (pl.),
4 Sir knight, said Sir Raynold tutoie-vouvoiement.
Caxton :
How yr Launcelot rode dyguyed in Syr kayes harnoys / & how he mote doun a knyght
Un seul chevalier au lieu de 3 : erreur sans consquence, mais qui suppose un titreur pris
par le temps ou distrait.

Ou inexion vocalique ; Umlaut, Vokalvernderung.