As of þe sounde of þe see and Sandwyche belles.'
In the great battle that follows, Lucius's army is preceded by sixty giants, born of fiends and witches, riding on tower-bearing camels. In spite of all this, Arthur is victorious, and sends the body of the emperor, whom Lancelot had killed, to Rome, as his arrears of tribute. Other battles[193] succeed this, till Arthur learns of the villany of his bastard son, Mordred, when he at once sets out for Britain, and he might well say with Edgar—
'The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.'
Gawayne, always rash, fights Mordred like a madman, and is slain in the deadly struggle. Thus dies the merriest, the kindliest, and the bravest of knights—he who was the hardiest of hand, the happiest in arms, and the most polished in hall. Now all grows dark, and the end begins to close upon all. Arthur finds the dead body of his nephew, and his great grief is beautifully exhibited in the following description:—
'Than gliftis[194] Þe gud kynge, and glapyns[195] in herte,
Gronys fulle grisely with gretande teris;
Knelis downe to the cors, and kaught it in armes,
Kastys upe his umbrere,[196] and kysses hyme sone!