›e Are.

Hauberks er broken, and helmes reven,

Styf strakes war thar gyfen;

Thai foght on hors ftifly always,

The batel was wele more to prays;

Bot at the laft fyr Ywayne

On his felow kyd his mayne,

So egerly he fmate him than,

He clefe the helme and the herne pan":
The knyght wist he was nere ded,
To fly than was his best rede;
And faft he fled with al hys mayne,
And faft folowe fyr Ywayne,
Bot he ne might him overtake,
Tharfore grete murning gan he make :
He folowd him ful stowtlyk',
And wold have tane him ded or quik;
He folowed him to the cetè,

Naman lyfand met he.

Whan thai come to the kaftel zate,

In he folowed fast tharate:
At aither entre was, I wys,
Straytly wroght a port culis,
Shod wele with yren and ftele,
And also grunden wonder wele:
Under that then was a fwyke *
That made fyr Ywayn to myflike,
His hors fote toched thare on;
Than fel the port culis onone',

So in Minot's Poems. MSS. Cott. GALB. E. ix. ut fupr.

And fum lay knoked out their hernes.

While fir Ywaine remains in this perilous confinement, a lady looks out of a wicket which opened in the wall of the gateway, and releases him. She gives him her ring,

A quylte ful nobil lay tharon,

Richer faw he never none, &c.

Here he is fecreted. In the mean time, the Lord of the castle dies of his wounds, and is magnificently buried. But before the interment, the people of the castle search for fir Ywayne.

Half his ftede thar fand thai a

e

That within the zates lay;

Bot the knight thar fand thai noght:
Than was thar mekil forow unfoght,
Dore ne window was thar nane,
Whar he myght oway gane.
Thai faid he fold thare be laft',

Or els he cowth of weche craft
Or he cowth of nygromancy,
Or he had wenges to fly.
Haftily than went thai all

And foght him in the maydens hall,
In chambers high es noght at hide,
And in folers on ilka fide.

h

Sir Ywayne faw ful wele al that,
And ftill opon the bed he fat:
Thar was nane that anes mynt
Unto the bed at fmyte' a dynt * :
Al about thai fmate so fast,
That mani of thair wapins braft;
Mekyl forow thai made ilkane,

For thai ne myght wreke thair lord bane.
Thai went oway with dreri chere,

And fone thar efter come the Bere';

A lady folowd white fo mylk,

In al that lond was none fwilk:

Sho wrang her fingers, outbrafte the blode,
For mekyl wa" fho was nere wode";

Hir fayr har scho alto drogh,
And ful oft fel fho down in fwogh';

Sho wepe with a ful dreri voice.
The hali water, and the croyce,
Was born bifore the proceffion;
Thar folowd mani a moder fon.
Bifor the cors rade a knyght
On his stede that was ful wight";
In his armurs wele arayd,
With spere and target gudely grayd.
Than fir Ywayne herd the cry

Of the dole of that fayr lady, &c.

Sir Ywayne defires the damfel's permission to look at the lady of the deceased knight through a window. He falls in love with her. She paffes her time in praying for his foul.

Unto his faul was fho ful hulde ':

Opon a fawter al of gulde',

To fay the fal-mas' faft fho bigan.

The damfel", whose name is Lunet, promises fir Ywaine an interview with the Lady. She ufes many arguments to the Lady, and with much art, to fhew the neceffity of her marrying again, for the defence of her castle.