Book XI · ARNIVE, part 3 of 6

¶And in this wise I heard the story--As he came to the castle gate, A merchant with merchandise costly without did his coming wait. And so rich were his wares, and precious, that in sooth I were glad at heart If I, in so great a treasure, my portion might bear and part. Then, Sir Gawain, he sprang from his charger, for ne'er had he seen before 165 Outspread in the open market such goods as were here in store. And the booth was of velvet fashioned, four-square, and both wide and high, And that which lay there for purchase no monarch might lightly buy. The Baruch of Bagdad scarcely had paid that which lay therein; Nor the Patriarch of Rankulat might think him such prize to win. 170 Yea, and great as shall be the treasure that was found but awhile ago In the land of the Greeks yet their Emperor such riches might hardly know! And e'en if these twain had helped him the price he had failed to pay That a man must count for the treasure that here before Gawain lay.

¶Then the knight greeted well the merchant as he looked on the wondrous store 175 Of marvels that lay before him, but he stayed not to turn it o'er, But bade him show clasp and girdle; then he quoth to the hero bold, 'For many a year have I sat here, yet no man doth my wares behold; None but ladies have looked upon them! yet if manhood shall nerve thine hand Of all here shalt thou be the master; they were brought from a distant land, 180 If here thou shalt be the victor, (for in sooth hast thou come for fight,) And the venture shall well betide thee, I will deal with thee well, Sir Knight! For all that my booth containeth is thine if thou win the day! So trust thou in God and His mercy, and take to the Burg thy way. Plippalinòt in sooth hath sent thee, and thy coming well praised shall be 185 Of many a gracious maiden if thy prowess shall set her free!'

¶'Now wouldst thou withstand this venture leave here for awhile thy steed, If thou trust it unto my keeping, I will give to the charge good heed.' Quoth Gawain, 'Yea, I'll gladly do so, if unseemly be not the task, Too greatly I fear thy riches such grace from thine hand to ask, 190 For ne'er since I rode upon it such keeper my steed hath known'-- Out quoth the merchant freely, 'Sir Knight, all shall be thine own, Myself, and the wares I guard here, (nor further of them I'll speak,) They are his, who in safety faceth the danger thou here dost seek!'

¶And so bold was I ween the hero that on foot did he go straightway, 195 Undaunted, to face the peril untold that before him lay. And, as I before have told ye, the Burg it stood high and wide, And its bulwarks so stoutly builded did guard it on either side. If for thirty years they stormed it, not a berry or leaf would yield, However the foe might threaten; in the midst was a grassy field, 200 (Yet the Lechfeld I ween is longer,) many turrets they towered on high, And the story it tells that Gawain, as the palace he did espy, Saw the roof shine all many-coloured, as peacock's plumes its glow, And so bright it was that its glory was dimmed nor by rain nor snow.

¶And within was it richly furnished, and decked to delight the eye, 205 And the pillars were richly carven, and the windows were arched on high, And many a fair couch costly had they set there against the wall, Nor touched they the one to the other, and rich covers lay over all. And but now had the maidens sat there, but each one had taken thought, And no one of them all remained there, and of welcome Gawain found naught. 210 Yet their joy came again with his coming, and the day of their bliss was he, And 'twere well they had looked upon him, none fairer their eyes might see. Yet none there might dare behold him, tho' to serve them he aye was fain, And yet in this thing were they guiltless--Thro' the palace strode knight Gawain, And he looked on this side and the other, and he sought well the chamber o'er, 215 If to left or to right I know not, but he saw there an open door, And wherever that door might lead him the hero was fain to go, If high fame he might gain for his seeking, or die there a death of woe!

¶So stepped he within the chamber, and behold! the shining floor, As glass it lay smooth beneath him, and the Lit-Merveil he saw, 220 The wonder-couch; and beneath it four rollers as crystal clear, And fashioned of fire-red rubies: as the swift wind afar and near Did it speed o'er the shining pavement, no floor might fairer be, Chrysolite, sardius, jasper, inwrought there the eye might see. For so had Klingsor willed it, and the thought it was his alone, 225 From far-off lands his magic had brought to the Burg each stone.

¶So smooth 'neath his feet the pavement, scarce might be his footing hold, Then fain would he seek the venture, but, so is the marvel told, As ever he stood before it the couch from its station fled, And swift as the winds of heaven o'er the glittering floor it sped. 230 (And Gawain he found all too heavy the shield that his hand gripped fast, And yet did his host give counsel it should ne'er on one side be cast.) Thought Gawain, 'Now, how may I reach thee, since still thou dost fly from me? Methinks thou shalt have a lesson, it may be I may spring to thee!' Then still stood the couch before him, and straight from the ground he leapt 235 And stood firm in the midst of the marvel, and again o'er the floor it swept, And hither and thither turning in the four walls its goal it found, And blow upon blow fell swiftly, till the Burg echoed back the sound.

¶And many a charge did he ride there, with crash, as of thunder-cloud, Or as trumpeters blow together when their blasts thro' the hall ring loud, 240 And the one vieth with the other, and each for a fair prize blows. Less loud should have been their tumult than the tumult that there arose! And waken and watch must Sir Gawain, altho' on a bed he lay. How best might the hero guard him? The noise he was fain to stay, And his head with his shield he covered--There he lay, and would wait His will 245 Who hath help in His power, and helpeth all those who entreat Him still, And shutteth His ear to no man who in sorrow for aid doth pray. And the man who is wise and steadfast, as dawneth his sorrow's day, Doth call on the hand of the Highest, that shall ne'er be too short to reach, And the aid that shall meet their lacking He sendeth to all and each. 250 And so was it now with Gawain--Thro' Whose grace he had gotten fame, He called on His power and His mercy to shelter him here from shame.