“With so high reverence6 and observance,
As well in speeche as in countenance7,
That Gawain, with his olde curtesie,
Though he were come agen out of fa?rie,
Ne coude him not amenden with a word.”
Gawain’s brothers were Agrivain, Gahariet, and Gareth.
SIR GAWAIN’S MARRIAGE
Once upon a time King Arthur held his court in merry Carlisle, when a damsel came before him and craved8 a boon9. It was for vengeance10 upon a caitiff knight, who had made her lover captive and despoiled11 her of her lands. King Arthur commanded to bring him his sword, Excalibar, and to saddle his steed, and rode forth12 without delay to right the lady’s wrong. Ere long he reached the castle of the grim baron13, and challenged him to the conflict. But the castle stood on magic ground, and the spell was such that no knight could tread thereon but straight his courage fell and his strength decayed. King Arthur felt the charm, and before a blow was struck, his sturdy limbs lost their strength, and his head grew faint. He was fain to yield himself prisoner to the churlish knight, who refused to release him except upon condition that he should return at the end of a year, and bring a true answer to the question, “What thing is it which women most desire?” or in default thereof surrender himself and his lands. King Arthur accepted the terms, and gave his oath to return at the time appointed. During the year the king rode east, and he rode west, and inquired of all whom he met what thing it is which all women most desire. Some told him riches; some, pomp and state; some, mirth; some, flattery; and some, a gallant14 knight. But in the diversity of answers he could find no sure dependence15. The year was well-nigh spent, when one day, as he rode thoughtfully through a forest, he saw sitting beneath a tree a lady of such hideous16 aspect that he turned away his eyes, and when she greeted him in seemly sort, made no answer. “What wight art thou,” the lady said, “that will not speak to me? It may chance that I may resolve thy doubts, though I be not fair of aspect.” “If thou wilt17 do so,” said King Arthur, “choose what reward thou wilt, thou grim lady, and it shall be given thee.” “Swear me this upon thy faith,” she said, and Arthur swore it. Then the lady told him the secret, and demanded her reward, which was that the king should find some fair and courtly knight to be her husband.
King Arthur hastened to the grim baron’s castle and told him one by one all the answers which he had received from his various advisers18, except the last, and not one was admitted as the true one. “Now yield thee, Arthur,” the giant said, “for thou hast not paid thy ransom19, and thou and thy lands are forfeited20 to me.” Then King Arthur said:
“Yet hold thy hand, thou proud baron,
I pray thee hold thy hand,
And give me leave to speak once more,
In rescue of my land.
This morn as I came over a moor21,
I saw a lady set,
Between an oak and a green holly22,
All clad in red scarlett.
She says all women would have their will,
This is their chief desire;
Now yield, as thou art a baron true,
That I have paid my hire.”
“It was my sister that told thee this,” the churlish baron exclaimed. “Vengeance light on her! I will some time or other do her as ill a turn.”
King Arthur rode homeward, but not light of heart, for he remembered the promise he was under to the loathly lady to give her one of his young and gallant knights for a husband. He told his grief to Sir Gawain, his nephew, and he replied, “Be not sad, my lord, for I will marry the loathly lady.” King Arthur replied:
“Now nay23, now nay, good Sir Gawaine,
My sister’s son ye be;
The loathly lady’s all too grim,
And all too foule for thee.”
But Gawain persisted, and the king at last, with sorrow of heart, consented that Gawain should be his ransom. So one day the king and his knights rode to the forest, met the loathly lady, and brought her to the court. Sir Gawain stood the scoffs24 and jeers25 of his companions as he best might, and the marriage was solemnized, but not with the usual festivities. Chaucer tells us:
“. . . There was no joye ne feste at alle;
There n’ as but hevinesse and mochel sorwe,
For prively he wed26 her on the morwe,
And all day after hid him as an owle,
So we was him his wife loked so foule!”[46]
When night came, and they were alone together, Sir Gawain could not conceal27 his aversion; and the lady asked him why he sighed so heavily, and turned away his face. He candidly28 confessed it was on account of three things, her age, her ugliness, and her low degree. The lady, not at all offended, replied with excellent arguments to all his objections. She showed him that with age is discretion29, with ugliness security from rivals, and that all true gentility depends, not upon the accident of birth, but upon the character of the individual.
Sir Gawain made no reply; but, turning his eyes on his bride, what was his amazement30 to perceive that she wore no longer the unseemly aspect that had so distressed31 him. She then told him that the form she had worn was not her true form, but a disguise imposed upon her by a wicked enchanter, and that she was condemned32 to wear it until two things should happen: one, that she should obtain some young and gallant knight to be her husband. This having been done, one-half of the charm was removed. She was now at liberty to wear her true form for half the time, and she bade him choose whether he would have her fair by day, and ugly by night, or the reverse. Sir Gawain would fain have had her look her best by night, when he alone would see her, and show her repulsive33 visage, if at all, to others. But she reminded him how much more pleasant it would be to her to wear her best looks in the throng34 of knights and ladies by day. Sir Gawain yielded, and gave up his will to hers. This alone was wanting to dissolve the charm. The lovely lady now with joy assured him that she should change no more, but as she now was, so would she remain by night as well as by day.
“Sweet blushes stayned her rud-red cheek,
Her eyen were black as sloe,
The ripening35 cherrye swelled36 her lippe,
And all her neck was snow.
Sir Gawain kist that ladye faire
Lying upon the sheete,
And swore, as he was a true knight,
The spice was never so swete.”
The dissolution of the charm which had held the lady also released her brother, the “grim baron,” for he too had been implicated37 in it. He ceased to be a churlish oppressor, and became a gallant and generous knight as any at Arthur’s court.
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1
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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6
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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7
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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8
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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9
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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11
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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14
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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15
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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16
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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17
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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18
advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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19
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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20
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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22
holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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23
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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24
scoffs
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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25
jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26
wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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27
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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28
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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29
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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30
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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31
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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32
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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33
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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34
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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35
ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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36
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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37
implicated
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| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
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