THE BANISHMENT OF BERTELAK; AND KING ARTHUR AND KING LOT: FOOTNOTES

7 seche, seek.

11 of treson, concerning treason; agein, against.

12 tho, those; apele, accuse; sey no nay but, do not deny; slough, slew.

13 deffie, challenge; moche, many.

14 cosin germain, first cousin; diffouled, defiled.

14-15 me semeth, I believe.

15 in alle maners that oon may, in any way one can; oweth he to greve, he should injure.

16 diffied, formally challenged.

18 take, taken.

19-20 ye sey your volunté, you may say what you wish.

20 ageins, against; mysdide I never, I never did wrong; ne1, nor.

21 will, desire; right be hadde, justice is observed; se, see.

22 moste be at youre volunté, must abide by your wishes.

23 yoven be, given by; rede, advice.

28 voyde, leave.

29 tale, verdict.

30 high, loudly.

31 awarded, decided.

33 forswhere, forswear.

34 longed, belonged.

35 on that other side, in addition to which; holde, held; oweth, ought to; condite, permit; saf, safe.

36 tho, those.

38 saugh, saw; forjuged, found guilty; noon, nothing.

39 moo, more; durste, dared; withsey, oppose.

40 puyssaunt, powerful.

41 have falsed, challenged.

44 that, until; whereas, where.

46 cowde, knew.

47 forejuged, condemned.

47-48 for that fill to, as a result it caused.

49 here, hear; yef, if.

51 cesse, cease.

53 myry, merry.

55 was in talent, desired.

57-58 that ther leve here, so that is left here.

58 will come ride, wish to ride; stilleche, slowly.

59 ordeyne redy, prepare.

60 vitaile, food; deynteis, delicacies; ne faute, is lacking.

62 encombred, threatened; be the wey, along the way; of, by.

70 pensif, concerned.

71 myshappe, harm.

72 marched into, bordered upon.

75 strongely, quickly.

76 parties, sides.

77 as longed to, as was fitting for.

78 coude, could; entermete, conduct.

79-80 leste mysspeker, least speaker of ill.

80 noon avauntor, not a boaster; longeth to, concerns.

81 worship, honor.

82 of that, that; distrobeled, set upon; of, by.

87 her, their.

88 seche, seek; so, also.

89-90 feed men with, retainers of.

91 com, came.

92 sithen, afterwards.

93 elther, older.

94 castelein, marshall.

96 asspies, spies.

97 agein, towards; hem enbusshed, lay in wait for them.

101 conveyed hem, accompanied them.

104 well spedde of that, understood what.

106 departe, concludes.

108 wiste, knew.

111 seth that, since.

120 gromes, grooms; somers, pack horses; wiste, knew.

121 saugh, saw.

126 hem, them; lede hir to garison, lead her to safety.

129 dide falle upon, encountered; wacche, scouts.

132 assels, shoulders.

133 hem ascride so high, they shouted so loudly.

142 renne, run.

144 stynte, stopped; hauberkes, mail shirts; shof, shoved.

146 croupe, cruppers.

147 drowh, drew.

148 for that, because.

149 be, by.

152 coveited, desired; quyk, alive.

153 glenched, moved.

156-57 sterte to, leaped to him.

158 smyten of, smite off.

159 but as, except that.

160 com, came.

163 stour, battle; myschef, danger.

165 moo, more.

167 behielde, looked.

168 be, by.

169 sore desired the assemble, greatly wished to reach the assembly; enterpendaunt, enterprising.

170 right sure, constant; ne hadde ben oon tecche, if not for one trait.

170-71 copiouse of langage, excessive in speaking.

172 bourdinge, playing; japinge, joking; game, fun.

173 for that, because; of custome, by habit; borde of the sothe, make fun of the truth.

175 myshapped, was ill-treated.

176 didde, caused; annoye, harm; agein, to.

178 saf oon, except one; slough, slew.

180 ermyte, hermit.

181 that, who; seyn, seen; dede, deed.

188 avaunten, declare.

190 yef, unless.

192 medled, fighting.

195 myster, need; rudely, strongly.

196 newliche, newly.

197 moche, strongly.

201 lifte, left.

205 broused, bruised.

206 pight, stuck; drough, drew.

208 upright, face up; raced it of, tore it off.

210 avaled, opened.

211 but yef, unless.

211-12 so anguysshous, in such anguish.

213 sle, slay.

214 forfet agein thee, harm to you; wherfore, for which; sleen, slay.

216 distrouble, disturb.

217 Me liste nothinge, I do not choose.

218 anoon, now; that as, what; thee sey, tell you.

221 that, the one that.

223 caitife, wretched.

224 myschef, misfortune; ne not hath don, nor has done for.

226 nempned, spoke.

227 nevew, nephew.

228 wolde have clypt, desired to embrace.

229 caitif, wretch; viliche, vilely.

230 arome, back.

232 seynge, in the sight of.

233 for elles, or else; leve, leave; wedde, pledge.

234 saf, except for; sowowned, swooned.

238 iyen, eyes.

240 aperceyved, seen.

242 hem departed, separated them; fowlé, foully; overleide, treated.

243 evyll beseyn, harshly treated.

244 moo, more.

248 Wherefore be, Why have; parties, area; Wiste, Knew.

249 awayte, ambush; douted, feared.

251 of, by.

252 medlé, battle.

254 owe, ought.

257 worship, honor; hym shewed, given him.

258 don of, taken off.

259 valed, opened.

260 saugh, saw.

264 be, by.

265 forfeted, surrendered.

271 for that, because; forfet, victory.

274 volunté, desire.

276 owe, ought.

278 pees, peace.

285 enforced, expanded.

287 on, in.

288 seinge, before.

289 refeffed, re-installed.

291 jocunde, happy.

293 yede, went.

295 pight withoute, pitched outside.

297 hool, altogether; sore encrece, greatly increase.

298 roiall and plentevouse, royally and generously.

300 yaf, gave; yeftes, gifts.

301 apertened, belonged.

303 cowde, knew; that, so that.

304 recovered, found.

307 that, so that.

308 wisten, knew; pees, peace.

310 somowned, summoned.

311 spedde, done.

313 er, before.

315 forfet, the damage; hym, i.e., Arthur.

321 longeth to, is right for.

323 wore; crowne, the crown.

326 owe for to, should.

327 deyse, dais; theras, where.

338 meesse were served in, dinner had been served.

340 yelde, give.

344 into, until; here, hear; be, by.

345 forwarde, promise; yef it be myster, if there is need; do, cause.

346 prise, fame; hiderto repeire, hither are come.

347 peres, peers.

348 Seeth, Since.

350 acorded alle, all agreed; reherse, say.

353 high, loudly; here, hear.

354 to, before.

356 yef, if.

358 by so that, of such a kind that.

362 graunte to that as, assent to what.

363 ne, nor.

364 it hadde, there had been.

366 cowde, knew; norture, manners.

367 ofre, offer.

371 be, by.

374 withholde, claim; meyné, company.

375 come in, go into; seche, seek; loos and pris, fame and honor.

375-76 eny man hem aske, anyone asks them.

378 dressed hir upstondinge, stood up.

381 guerdon of, reward for.

383 And, And since; withholde, claimed.

384 quyte, reward.

389 sool, alone; repeire, returning.

390 but yef, unless.

391 everyche, everyone.

396 wolde comforte, wished to please; seth, since.

398 moste, must; wite, know.

399 wherof, therefore.

402 will, wish.

412 With that, Then; clothes taken up, tablecloths removed.

413 iherde, heard.

415 fooll, clown.

419 moche, large.

420 sewen ther, follow where.

422 lowen, laughed.

424 henge, hung.

425 tohakked, hacked all to pieces; seyn, say.

427 fill yef, it happened if.

429 as, if

THE BANISHMENT OF BERTELAK; AND KING ARTHUR AND KING LOT: NOTES

The Banishment of Bertelak; and King Arthur and King Lot
[Fols. 166v (line 13)-172r (line 27)]

1 Arthur's strife against the rebel barons now nears its end, as King Lot agrees to do homage to Arthur and the two become reconciled. This section is important also for establishing the foundations for a code of knightly conduct, for depicting the ways in which Arthur wishes to conduct his court, and for introducing several of the specific customs of the court. For example, it is here for the first time that Arthur declares he will not eat when he is holding court until he has heard some strange tiding. Here, too, is established the tradition of Arthur's knights returning to the court no later than a year and a day from the time they set out and openly reporting their adventures to the court.

This section of the PM begins, however, with the trial of Bertelak le Rous, who was mentioned earlier as a great traitor to Arthur. Bertelak's most serious crime is not that he has killed the man who raped his cousin's wife, but stems from the fact that by taking the law into his own hands he has violated the safe-conduct the king had established during the time surrounding his daughter's wedding. Thus, despite his many good qualities as a knight, he is judged quite harshly by the king's council of barons (which includes Arthur and Gawain), who recommend that he be stripped of his land and banished. As he embarks on his exile, Bertelak arrives by chance at the same abbey where the False Gonnore had taken shelter earlier; and now having been thrown together by chance, the pair of outcasts begin plotting revenge.

12-13 but firste I dide hym deffie. Bertelak is saying that he announced his hostile intentions to his enemy in an open and formal manner. Normally, serving such notice to one's enemy in this fashion is the honorable way for a knight to act.

21 Bertelak le Rous. Bertelak le Rous, or Bertelak the Rede, may have some relationship to the figure of Bertilak de Hautdesert in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The two men possess similar knightly attributes; each lives far off in a wild country; each is associated with a wily, attractive temptress; and each becomes involved in a plot to challenge the supremacy of Arthur's court. Bertilak de Hautdesert's "beaver-hued" beard (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, line 845) may even relate to Bertelak's epithet -- "le Rous" or "the Red."

35-36 ye holde court open . . . this high feste. In addition to taking justice into his own hands, Bertelak has also violated the general safe-conduct that King Leodegan had ordered for the period of time surrounding the royal wedding.

47-50 And for that fill to Arthur . . . to writen it. Once again the author alludes to the great difficulties Bertelak will create for Arthur later on; however, the ME version of the PM breaks off before reaching this section of the story.

170-76 for that he was copiouse of langage . . . grete annoye. The author is very understanding of Kay's joking and jesting nature, as is Arthur; but as the author points out, many of Kay's fellow knights were not so forgiving or understanding, and as a result, they often treated him with malice.

176-81 But a trewe knyght was he . . . all the dede. The author suggests that in his lifetime Kay was only guilty of one real act of treachery -- the killing of Loholt (or Hoot), the son Arthur had begotten on Lysanor. While this act of treachery is only alluded to in the PM, it is actually described in the OF Perlesvaus.

185 the shelde of goolde and azur. The heraldic device on Gawain's shield is a "lyon rampaunt" (a lion standing upright on its hind legs) in "azur" (blue), displayed on a field of gold. The device on Gawain's famous shield in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a golden pentangle (five-pointed star) displayed on a field of "gules" (red).

292 and fro that day forth . . . all her lif. This reconciliation and newly established friendship between King Lot and King Arthur stands in stark contrast to what occurs in Malory's Morte D'Arthur, where King Lot remains Arthur's bitter enemy until he is killed in battle (Vinaver, p. 48).

342-43 I will stablissh to my courte alle the tymes. Arthur is declaring that he will hold his high court (those special occasions when he "shall bere crowne") at regular times throughout the year -- e.g., at the high feasts of Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and so on. He also announces that on such occasions he will not sit down to eat until after something unusual has occurred. This famous custom turns up frequently in medieval Arthurian works -- e.g., in Chrétien's Perceval, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and in both the "Gareth" and "Grail" sections in Malory.

356-57 yef eny maiden have eny nede. This vow that all of the Knights of the Round Table swear -- that they will aid any maiden who comes to the court and requests assistance -- becomes one of the fundamental tenets of the Chivalric Code.

377 the Knyghtes of Queene Gonnore. Gawain and his fellows wish to establish a special bond of "fealty" with the queen, and the queen is pleased to grant their request. Thus comes into being "The Queen's Knights," an important sub-group within the larger knightly fellowship. In Malory's Morte D'Arthur ten of these knights accompany the queen when she goes a-Maying at the beginning of "The Knight of the Cart" episode: "And that tyme was such a custom that the quene rode never wythoute a grete felshyp of men of armys aboute her.And they were many good knyghtes, and the moste party were yonge men that wolde have worshyp, and they were called the Quenys Knyghtes" (Vinaver, p. 650).

387-93 And whiche of us so it be . . . in the comynge. Here Gawain sets guidelines for how his knights will conduct themselves in their individual adventures: they must endeavor to complete their tasks and return to the court within a year and a day, if not sooner; and they must swear that upon their return they will report truthfully all that has happened to them.

399-400 I putte in youre governance . . . at youre plesier. This is a remarkable gesture of love and trust on Arthur's part.

413-14 Dagenet of Clarion. In Malory, Dagonet appears only in the "Tristrem" section, where he is portrayed as being little more than the court fool. So too in Tennyson's "The Last Tournament."