And for this cause would not Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain and Sir Perceval remain afar, but took their leave of Sir Agloval and of Morien and of his mother, and rode on their way till they came to King Arthur at Camelot, where he abode, as it pleased him well to do when he would fain be at peace. And when the king heard of the coming of these three knights, then was he right joyful at that time; and when he learnt concerning Sir Agloval, how his wedding feast had been held, and of the valiant deeds that Morien had done in his own land, then were king and queen alike glad at heart.
Here will I leave this tale and speak further concerning the Grail, and the winning thereof. That shall ye find set forth in the book that followeth hereafter; the other part, that which concerneth Lancelot, here cometh to an end. Now do I pray God in words straitly, that He have mercy upon me when my life shall come to an end, and bring my soul to His heavenly kingdom. May He grant this my prayer!
AMEN. NOTES
1. INTRODUCTION.—In the preface I have dwelt with some fulness on the interesting questions connected with these opening lines; here it will be sufficient to point out that in the earlier versions of the Perceval story the hero is either the only, or the sole surviving, son of his parents. The introduction of a brother, as a definite character, belongs to the later stages of Arthurian tradition. The brothers vary in number and name, but the most noted are Sir Agloval and Sir Lamorak, who appear to belong to distinct lines of development, Sir Agloval belonging mainly to the Lancelot, Sir Lamorak to the Tristan tradition. So far I have not met with the latter in any version of the prose Lancelot, though Dr. Sommer in his Studies on the Sources of Malory, refers to him as mentioned in that romance; in the Tristan, on the contrary, he is a leading figure. The Morien story, as I have remarked in the preface, has obviously been modified by the influence of the later Lancelot legend, hence, probably, the rôle assigned to Agloval.
2. PAGE 20.—Gawain as physician. The representation of Gawain as an expert in medical skill is an interesting feature which appears to belong to early tradition. The references in the poem before us are the most copious and explicit, but we also find the same accomplishment referred to in the romance of Lancelot et le cerf au pied blanc (D. L. vol. ii. 1. 22825) where Gawain instructs the physician as to the proper treatment of Lancelot's wounds; and the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach (Book X. 1. 104) also refers to this tradition. It is noticeable that Chrétien de Troyes in the parallel passage of his poem has no such allusion, nor can I recall any passage in the works of that poet which indicates any knowledge, on his part, of this characteristic of Gawain. This is one of the points of variance between Chrétien and Wolfram which, slight in itself, offers when examined valuable evidence as to a difference of sources.
3. PAGE 24.—The boast of Sir Kay. Arthur's reproof to Kay is a reference to the well-known adventure related both by Chrétien and Wolfram and found moreover in the Peredur. The hero, thrown into a love-trance by the sight of blood-drops on the snow, gives no answer to the challenge addressed to him successively by Segramore and Kay, and being rudely attacked by these knights overthrows them both. The allusion to this incident, which is not related in the prose Lancelot, shows clearly that while, on the whole, he is harmonising his romance with the indications of the later traditions, the writer is yet quite conversant with the earlier forms.
4. PAGE 26.—The Father of Adventure. "Der Aventuren Fader." The Middle English poem of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (No. 1 of this Series) speaks of the knight in somewhat similar terms as "the fine father of courtesy." Gawain was from the first the adventurous hero, par excellence of the cycle, but I know no other instance in which this characteristic is so quaintly and forcibly expressed.
5. PAGE 28.—In secret case. The original words are "in hemeliker stede." To which particular adventure of Lancelot this refers it is not easy to decide; on more than one occasion he disappears from court, and the knights headed by Gawain, ride in quest of him. Perhaps this refers to his imprisonment by Morgain le Fay (cf. summary of D.L. in Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac. Grimm's Library XII. pp. 236-7).