Now the army of King Arthur made assault upon Joyous Gard and they made assault upon assault. And somewhiles they made breaches in the walls; but ever those breaches were rebuilded at night so that they could not enter the castle. And the army of King Arthur lost many hundreds of men, both of knights and yeomen; but the defence of the castle lost many scores, and those scores were of greater loss to them than the hundreds that King Arthur lost. For those hundreds could be replaced by other hundreds, but the scores could not be replaced by other scores.
The friends of Sir Launcelot advise with him.
So the knights who kept the castle held a council of defence, and there were at that council Sir Bors and Sir Lionel and Sir Ector and Sir Bleoberis and Sir Blamor de Ganis, and there were other knights and worthies of the blood of Sir Launcelot. Sir Lionel said, “Why remain we here within this castle? Ever we grow weaker and weaker, and by and by our enemies will break within the castle and then we shall all be put to the edge of the sword. Let us sally forth against those who thus surround us, for so haply we may cut our way through them and thus escape to the sea-shore and to France. There we shall be safe from those who could work for us our undoing.” Sir Launcelot said, “Sir, even if we could do this thing, what blood would be spilt in doing it, and what friends would we slay in that attempt!” Quoth Sir Ector, “What matters that? Are they not seeking our lives and our blood, and are we not defending ourselves? These men are no longer our friends; they are our enemies, and are seeking our lives. Let us then go forth and assail them.” All this Queen Guinevere heard, and she wept many and very bitter tears as she listened to that council. As for Sir Launcelot, he groaned very deeply but anon he said, “Let it then be so as you say, only first I must bespeak King Arthur.”
So that afternoon he appeared upon the battlements of the castle. And he leaned out over the battlements and called out to those who were below, saying to them, “Where is King Arthur? I would speak with him.”
Those who heard him ran to King Arthur, and they said to the King, “Lord, Sir Launcelot asks to speak to thee. Haply he meaneth to surrender to thee.”
The King speaketh to Sir Launcelot.
So King Arthur hurried to that place where Sir Launcelot was: and Sir Gawaine and the King of North Wales were with him. King Arthur said to Sir Launcelot, “What wouldst thou have of me, Messires? Dost thou surrender this castle?” “Not so,” quoth Sir Launcelot, “I do not surrender it, but I would speak to you of other things.”
“Sir,” said King Arthur, “concerning what other things have you to speak to me withal?”
“Lord,” said Sir Launcelot, “this is what I would say to you. What seek you here in thus assaulting this castle? Here within are many lordly knights and many knights of the Round Table who were a short time ago your friends and dependants. Some of them you yourself made knights as you made me a knight, and all of those would gladly surrender their lives for your sake. What benefit or what honor can it then be to you to slay them, who were your support and your defence, and who would be so again if you would live in peace with them? Would it be to your honor that you should slay these good, worthy honorable knights?”
“Sir,” said King Arthur, “you forget that you have seized upon my Queen and that you hold her from me in this castle. First surrender to me my Queen, and then I will consider all these things that you have to say and will reply to them as I deem to be fitting.”