" Then again the king says to him: "Son, thou
wouldst act very courteously to renounce this pretension. I
advise thee and beg thee to keep the peace. Thou knowest well
that the honour will belong to the knight, if he wins the Queen
from thee in battle. He would doubtless rather win her in battle
than as a gift, for it will thus enhance his fame. It is my
opinion that he is seeking her, not to receive her peaceably, but
because he wishes to win her by force of arms. So it would be
wise on thy part to deprive him of the satisfaction of fighting
thee. I am sorry to see thee so foolish; but if thou dost not
heed my advice, evil will come of it, and the ensuing misfortune
will be worse for thee. For the knight need fear no hostility
from any one here save thee. On behalf of myself and all my men,
I will grant him a truce and security. I have never yet done a
disloyal deed or practised treason and felony, and I shall not
begin to do so now on thy account any more than I would for any
stranger. I do not wish to flatter thee, for I promise that the
knight shall not lack any arms, or horse or anything else he
needs, in view of the boldness he has displayed in coming thus
far. He shall be securely guarded and well defended against all
men here excepting thee.
Pages:
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679