and stood before Arthur. 'Hail to thee, lord,' said he. 'Heaven prosper thee,' he answered, 'and be thou welcome.' 'Dost thou bring any new tidings?' 'I do, lord,' he said. 'I am one of thy foresters, lord, in the forest of Dean, and my name is Madoc, son of Turgadarn. In the forest I saw a stag, the like of which beheld I never yet.' 'What is there about him,' asked Arthur, 'that thou never yet didst see his like?' 'He is of pure white, lord, and he does not herd with any other animal, through stateliness and pride, so royal is his bearing. And I come to seek thy counsel, lord, and to know thy will concerning him. 'It seems best to me,' said Arthur, 'to go and hunt him to-morrow at break of day, and to cause general notice thereof to be given to-night, in all quarters of the court.' And Arryfuerys was Arthur's chief huntsman, and Arelivri his chief page. And all received notice; and thus it was arranged.
Then Guenever said to Arthur, 'Wilt thou permit me, lord, to go to-morrow to see and hear the hunt of the stag of which the young man spoke?' 'I will gladly,' said Arthur. And Gawain said to Arthur, 'Lord, if it seem well to thee, permit that into whose hunt soever the stag shall come, that one, be he a knight or one on foot, may cut off his head, and give it to whom he pleases, whether to his own lady-love, or to the lady of his friend.' 'I grant it gladly,' said Arthur, 'and let the steward of the household be chastised, if all things are not ready to-morrow for the chase.'
And they passed the night with songs and diversions and discourse, and ample entertainment. And when it was time for them all to go to sleep, they went. And when the next day came, they arose. And Arthur called the attendants who guarded his couch. And there were four pages whose names were Cadyrnerth, the son of Gandwy, and Ambreu, the son of Bedwor, and Amhar, the son of Arthur, and Goreu, the son of Custennin. And these men came to Arthur and saluted him, and arrayed him in his garments. And Arthur wondered that Guenever did not awake, and the attendants wished to awaken her. 'Disturb her not,' said Arthur, 'for she had rather sleep than go to see the hunting.'
Then Arthur went forth, and he heard two horns sounding, one from near the lodging of the chief huntsman, and the other from near that of the chief page. And the whole assembly of the multitudes came to Arthur, and they took the road to the forest.
And after Arthur had gone forth from the palace, Guenever awoke, and called to her maidens, and apparelled herself. 'Maidens,' said she, 'I had leave last night to go and see the hunt. Go one of you to the stable, and order hither a horse such as a woman may ride.' And one of them went, and she found but two horses in the stable; and Guenever and one of her maidens mounted them, and went through the Usk, and followed the track of the men and the horses. And as they rode thus, they heard a loud and rushing sound; and they looked behind them, and beheld a knight upon a hunter foal of mighty size. And the rider was a fair-haired youth, bare-legged, and of princely mien; and a golden-hilted sword was at his side, and a robe and a surcoat of satin were upon him, and two low shoes of leather were upon his feet; and around him was a scarf of blue purple, at each corner of which was a golden apple. And his horse stepped stately and swift and proud; and he overtook Guenever, and saluted her. 'Heaven prosper thee, Geraint,' said she; 'and why didst thou not go with thy lord to hunt?' 'Because I knew not when he went,' said he. 'I marvel too,' said she, 'how he could go, unknown to me. But thou, O young man, art the most agreeable companion I could have in the whole kingdom; and it may be I shall be more amused with the hunting than they; for we shall hear the horns when they sound, and we shall hear the dogs when they are let loose and begin to cry.'
So they went to the edge of the forest, and there they stood. 'From this place,' said she, 'we shall hear when the dogs are let loose.' And thereupon they heard a loud noise; and they looked towards the spot whence it came, and they beheld a dwarf riding upon a horse, stately and foaming and prancing and strong and spirited. And in the hand of the dwarf was a whip. And near the dwarf they saw a lady upon a beautiful white horse, of steady and stately pace; and she was clothed in a garment of gold brocade. And near her was a knight upon a war-horse of large size, with heavy and bright armor both upon himself and upon his horse. And truly they never before saw a knight, or a horse, or armor, of such remarkable size.
'Geraint,' said Guenever, 'knowest thou the name of that tall knight yonder?' 'I know him not,' said he, 'and the strange armor that he wears prevents my either seeing his face or his features.' 'Go, maiden,' said Guenever, 'and ask the dwarf who that knight is.' Then the maiden went up to the dwarf; and she inquired of the dwarf who the knight was. 'I will not tell thee,' he answered. 'Since thou art so churlish,' said she, 'I will ask him, myself.' 'Thou shalt not ask him, by my faith,' said he. 'Wherefore not?' said she. 'Because thou art not of honor sufficient to befit thee to speak to my lord.' Then the maiden turned her horse's head towards the knight, upon which the dwarf struck her with the whip that was in his hand across the face and the eyes, so that the blood flowed forth. And the maiden returned to Guenever, complaining of the hurt she had received. 'Very rudely has the dwarf treated thee,' said Geraint, and he put his hand upon the hilt of his sword. But he took counsel with himself, and considered that it would be no vengeance for him to slay the dwarf, and to be attacked unarmed by the armed knight; so he refrained.
'Lady,' said he, 'I will follow him, with thy permission, and at last he will come to some inhabited place, where I may have arms, either as a loan or for a pledge, so that I may encounter the knight.' 'Go,' said she, 'and do not attack him until thou hast good arms; and I shall be very anxious concerning thee, until I hear tidings of thee.' 'If I am alive,' said he, 'thou shalt hear tidings of me by to-morrow afternoon;' and with that he departed.
And the road they took was below the palace of Caerleon, and across the ford of the Usk; and they went along a fair and even and lofty ridge of ground, until they came to a town, and at the extremity of the town they saw a fortress and a castle. And as the knight passed through the town, all the people arose and saluted him, and bade him welcome. And when Geraint came into the town, he looked at every house to see if he knew any of those whom he saw. But he knew none, and none knew him, to do him the kindness to let him have arms, either as a loan or for a pledge. And every house he saw was full of men and arms and horses. And they were polishing shields, and burnishing swords, and washing armor, and shoeing horses. And the knight and the lady and the dwarf rode up to the castle, that was in the town, and every one was glad in the castle. And from the battlements and the gates they risked their necks, through their eagerness to greet them, and to show their joy.
Geraint stood there to see whether the knight would remain in the castle; and when he was certain that he would do so, he looked around him. And at a little distance from the town he saw an old palace in ruins, wherein was a hall that was falling to decay. And as he knew not any one in the town, he went towards the old palace. And when he came near to the palace, he saw a hoary-headed man, standing by it, in tattered garments. And Geraint gazed steadfastly upon him. Then the hoary-headed man said to him, 'Young man, wherefore art thou thoughtful?' 'I am thoughtful,' said he, 'because I know not where to pass the night.' 'Wilt thou come forward this way, chieftain,' said he, 'and thou shalt have of the best that can be procured for thee.' So Geraint went forward. And the hoary- headed man led the way into the hall. And in the hall he dismounted, and he left there his horse. Then he went on to the upper chamber with the hoary-headed man. And in the chamber he beheld an old woman, sitting on a cushion, with old, worn-out garments upon her; yet it seemed to him that she must have been comely when in the bloom of youth. And beside her was a maiden, upon whom were a vest and a veil, that were old, and beginning to be worn out. And truly he never saw a maiden more full of comeliness and grace and beauty than she. And the hoary-headed man sail to the maiden, 'There is no attendant for the horse of this youth but thyself.' 'I will render the best service I am able,' said she, 'both to him and to his horse.' And the maiden disarrayed the youth, and then she furnished his horse with straw and with corn; and then she returned to the chamber. And the hoary-headed man said to the maiden, 'Go to the town, and bring hither the best that thou canst find, both of food and of liquor.' 'I will gladly, lord,' said she. And to the town went the maiden. And they conversed together while the maiden was at the town. And behold, the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead, ind a quarter of a young bullock. And in the hands of the maiden was a quantity of white bread, and she had some manchet bread in her veil, and she came into the chamber. 'I could not obtain better than this,' said she, 'nor with better should I have been trusted.' 'It is good enough,' said Geraint. And they caused the meat to be boiled; and when their food was ready, they sat down. And it was in this wise. Geraint sat between the hoary-headed man and his wife, and the maiden served them. And they ate and drank.
And when they had finished eating, Geraint talked with the hoary-headed man, and he asked him in the first place to
