Chapter 100

How Gandalin came to Gaul and spoke to King Perion about what his lord had asked, and the reply he received. 

[King Baldwin V of Jerusalem in his sickbed and being crowned. From William of Tyre's Historia and Continuation, 13th century manuscript from Acre. Bibliotheque Nationale Française, Richelieu Manuscrits Français 2628.]
 
+ 
 
Know that Gandalin arrived at Gaul, where he was very well received for the good news about Amadis that he brought, for they had not received any information about him for a long time. Then he took the King aside and told him everything that his lord had ordered him to say, as ye have heard. And as this was a King so courageous that he feared no confrontation, regardless of how great, especially involving that son who was a shining example throughout the world and whom he loved so much, he said:

“Gandalin, what thou askest on behalf of thy lord shall be immediately done, and if thou seest him before I do, tell him that I would not consider him a knight if he were to have let that happen, because to great hearts are given great labors. And I tell thee that if King Lisuarte does not wish to be reasonable, it will be to his own harm. And take note that I ask thee to say nothing of this to my son Galaor who is here seriously ill, so ill that I have considered him more dead than alive, and who is still in great danger, and say nothing to his companion Norandel, who thou seest coming here, for I shall tell him myself.”

Gandalin told him:

“My lord, it shall be done as ye order. And I am very pleased to have been warned, for I would not have thought about it and might have erred.”

“Then go see him,” the King said, “and tell him the news about his brother, and be careful not to say anything about why thou hast come here.”

Gandalin went to the chamber where Galaor was so weak and so ill that Gandalin was astonished to see him thus. When he entered, he knelt to kiss his hands, and Galaor looked at him and recognized who he was. Tears of pleasure came to his eyes, and he said:

“My friend Gandalin, thou art very welcome. What canst thou tell me about my lord and brother Amadis?”

Gandalin told him:

“My lord, he is at Firm Island healthy and well, and with a great desire to see you. He does not know that  are ill, my Lord, nor did I until my lord the King told me, for I came here at Amadis’ orders to tell him and the Queen that he had arrived there. And when he learns of your state of health, he will be very sorrowful, as he loves and esteems you more than anyone else in his lineage.”

Norandel, who was there, embraced him and asked him how Amadis was, and he told him what he had said to Sir Galaor and some of the things that had happened in the islands of Romania and in other foreign lands.

Norandel said to Sir Galaor:

“My lord, with such news is this ye should rightly take strength and overcome your illness, because we are going to see that knight, and may God help me, he is such that if it were only to see him, all those who are worth anything ought to consider unimportant the difficulty of their journey, although it might be very long.”

And as they were talking and Galaor was asking Gandalin many questions, the King entered and took Norandel by the hand and, speaking of other things, took him from the chamber. And when they were where Sir Galaor could not hear them, the King told him:

“My good friend, ye ought to go immediately to your father the King, because according to what I have learned, he needs help from you and all his men. Do not be concerned about other quests, because I know for a fact that he will be well served by your arrival. And do not say anything about this to your friend Sir Galaor because it would upset him deeply, which could cause him a great deal of harm due to his frailty.”

Norandel told him:

“My lord, from such a good man as yourself one ought to take advice without questioning the reason, because I am certain it will be as ye say, and I shall bid farewell to Sir Galaor tonight and take to the sea tomorrow, for there I have my ship, which awaits me at all times.”

The King did this so that Norandel could comply with what he was obliged to for his father, and also so that he would not see the King ordering his men to prepare and sending word to his friends.

And so that day they were encouraged about Sir Galaor because he was happy with the news from his brother. Gandalin told the Queen what Amadis had asked of her, and she told him that everything with be carried out as he had been ordered to say.

“But my friend Gandalin,” the Queen said, “I am very upset by this news, because I understand that my son will be in great anxiety and then in great personal danger.”

“My lady,” Gandalin said, “do not be afraid, because he will have so many men that King Lisuarte and the Emperor of Rome will not dare to attack.”

“May it please God,” the Queen said.

When night came, Norandel said to Sir Galaor:

“My lord, I have decided that I must go because I see that your illness will be lengthy, and it would be best for me to attend to other things because, as ye know, I have been a knight for a short period of time, and I have not earned enough honor as needed for me to be considered worthy by men of any valor. When I learned about your illness, it took me from the road on which I was placed when I left the court of my father the King. Now I ought to go elsewhere for I am needed, and God knows the sorrow that my heart feels to not be able to remain in your company. But may it please God that in this period of time I may fulfill my duties and that ye shall be improved, and I shall make it my duty to come to you, and we shall go together in search of adventure.”

When Sir Galaor heard this, he sighed with great affliction and told him:

“My good lord, I do not know how to describe the pain that I feel at being unable to go with you, but, may it please God, since no other thing can be done, His will should be fulfilled as He wishes. I commend you to God, and if by chance ye see your father the King, my Lord, kiss his hands for me, and tell him that I remain in his service, although more dead than alive, as ye see, my lord.”

Norandel left his chamber, very sad over the illness of his loyal friend Sir Galaor. The next day he heard Mass with King Perion, and bid farewell to the Queen and her daughter and all the damsels and ladies, and the Queen commended him to God, as did her daughter and all the other ladies and damsels, as those who loved him dearly, and so he went out to sea. And here nothing is told about what happened to him other than that with good weather he arrived at Great Britain, and he went to where his father the King was, and by him and by everyone else there he was very well received as the fine knight that he was.

+

Chapter 69 [part 4 of 4]

[How King Lisuarte learned that Amadis had fought for him.] 

[A street in Granadilla leading to its castle. The town, in the province of Cáceres in western Spain, was founded in the 800s and became an important strategic and commercial location in the Middle Ages. Its present castle was built by the Duke of Alba in the 1470s. The town was abandoned in the 1960s after it was surrounded by the water of a new reservoir. Starting in the 1980s, it became a university student architectural rehabilitation workshop, and its former residents and their descendants visit twice a year for fiestas. Photo by Orlacos.] 
 
+ 

So Sir Galaor and Norandel rode for three days, spending pleasant nights in towns, and on the fourth day they reached a town named Alfiad that was a seaport, and they found two ships traveling to Gaul. They boarded the ships and without delay they arrived where King Perion, Amadis, and Florestan were.

So it happened that, as Amadis was in Gaul preparing to go seek adventures to make up for the time he had spent there, during which his honor had been so diminished, each day he continued to ride along the seashore, looking at Great Britain, which held his desires and everything he valued.

One day he was riding with Sir Florestan, and they saw some boats coming, so they went there to learn the news. When they reached the shore, they saw Sir Galaor and Norandel getting into a skiff. Amadis recognized his brother and said:

“Holy Mary, that is our brother, Sir Galaor. May he be very welcome.” And he asked Sir Florestan, “Do ye know the one who is coming with him?”

“Yes,” he said, “that is Norandel, son of King Lisuarte, companion of Sir Galaor. And know that he is a very good knight, as he proved in the battle we had with his father at the Island of Mongaza, but he was not known as his son until after the great battle with the seven kings, when the King was pleased to have had him made known for his great skill.”

Amadis was very happy to have him as the brother of his lady and knew that she loved him, according to what Durin had told him. Then the knights arrived at the shore and came onto land, where they found Amadis and Florestan on foot, who welcomed them and embraced them repeatedly. They gave each of them a palfrey and left to see King Perion, who was riding out to receive them.

When they met, they wished to kiss the King’s hands, but he did not give them to Norandel. Instead, he embraced him and did him great honor, and brought them to the Queen, where they received no less honor.

Amadis, as I told you, was prepared to leave there in four days. The day before, he spoke with the King and his brothers, telling them how he needed to leave and take to the road the next day. The King said:

“My son, God knows the loneliness that I will feel, but not for that shall I keep you from going to gain honor and praise, as ye always do.”

Sir Galaor said:

“My lord brother, if it were not for a quest in which Norandel and I are involved and which we may not rightly set aside, we would give you company. But we must fulfill it or pass a year and a day trying, as is the custom in Great Britain.”

The King asked him:

“My son, what quest is this? May it be told?”

“Yes, my lord,” he said, “for we promised it in public, and it is this: know, my lord, that in the battle we had with the seven island kings, on the side of King Lisuarte there were three knights with the same dragon insignia, but their helmets were different, one white, one purple, and one gold. These knights did such marvelous feats at arms that we were all amazed, especially at the one who wore the gold helmet, whose skill I do not think could be equaled by anyone. In fact, it is believed that without them, King Lisuarte would not have been victorious. When the battle was won, all three left the field with their faces so well hidden that they could not be recognized, and because of what has been said about them, we have promised to find them and learn who they are.”

The King said:

“We have heard about those knights here, and may God give ye good news about them.”

So they spent the day until nightfall. Amadis took his father aside with Sir Florestan, and told them:

“My lord, I wish to leave tomorrow, and it seems to me that after I go, Sir Galaor should be told the truth about that which he seeks because his labor would be in vain without us, for no one else knows it. Show him the arms, which he will easily recognize.”

“Ye speak well,” the King said, “and so it shall be done.”

That night they were with the Queen and her daughter, and with many of their ladies and damsels, relaxing with great pleasure, but they all knew they would greatly miss Amadis, who wished to travel but no one knew where. After he bid farewell to all of them, they went to sleep.

The next day they all heard Mass and left with Amadis, who rode armed on horseback, with Gandalin and his dwarf and no one else to keep him company. The Queen gave Gandalin enough money to suffice for his lord for a year. Sir Florestan asked him very humbly to take him with him, but Amadis would not agree for two reasons: first, to be more free to think about his lady; and the other, because he hoped to achieve great undertakings alone so that he alone would achieve either glory or death.

When they had traveled a league, Amadis bid them farewell and took to the road, and the King and his sons returned to the town, where he spoke privately with his son Galaor and with Norandel, and told them:

“Ye are involved in a quest that if not here, then no where else in the world will ye find the answer, for which I give thanks to God for guiding you here to release you from great labor without success. Know now that the three knights with the dragon insignia whom ye seek are myself and Amadis and Sir Florestan. I wore the white helmet, Sir Florestan wore the purple one, and Amadis wore the gold one and did such great and extraordinary deeds as ye saw.”

He told them how they had agreed to go fight, and how Urganda sent them the arms. “And so ye may fully believe this and hold your adventure to be finished, come with me.”

He took them to another chamber, the armory, and showed them the arms with the dragon insignia damaged in many places by great blows, which they immediately recognized because they had seen them often in the battle, sometimes coming to their aid, and other times they had felt great envy over what their wearers were doing.

Sir Galaor said:

“My lord, God has done us a great mercy, as have ye, to save us from this quest because our concern was that with all our effort to look for the knights with these insignia, we might fall into a situation in which we could not escape from their anger without great shame and would have to engage them in a fight to the death and make them known to all. Although they did more in public than all others in the battle, in private they would be judged differently or die for it.”

“God has done better by His mercy,” the King said.

Norandel asked repeatedly for those arms, and with much more solemnity the King gave them to him. Then the King told the two how they had been imprisoned by Arcalaus, and by what fate they were able to get out. Tears came to Galaor’s eyes for his grief at such great danger, and he told what had happened with him and Norandel with Arcalaus, and how he had called himself Granfiles and escaped from them, and everything that happened with Dinarda, and how she remained in the castle, and what took place with Ambades, the host.

They spent fourteen days there relaxing, and, after saying goodbye to the King and Queen, they got on a ship, taking the arms with the dragon insignia, and with good weather sailed to Great Britain. They arrived at the town where King Lisuarte and the Queen were, disarmed in their lodging, and went to the palace to show him that their quest had been fulfilled, bringing him the arms with the dragon insignia on their surcoats.

They were well received by the King and everyone in court. Galaor told the King:

“My lord, if it pleases you, have us heard before the Queen.”

“Yes,” he said.

They immediately went to her chamber, and everyone followed to see what they brought. The Queen was pleased with their arrival, and they kissed her hands. Galaor said:

“My lords, ye know how Norandel and I left here on a quest to look for the three knights with the arms with the dragon insignia, who were in your battle and at your service. And God be praised, without effort we have found them, as Norandel shall show you.”

Then Norandel took the white helmet in his hands and said:

“My lord, do ye recognize this helmet?”

“Yes,” the King said. “Many times I saw it where I wished it would be.”

“This was worn on the head of King Perion, who loves you dearly.”

Then he took the purple one and said:

“Ye see here the one worn by Sir Florestan.”

He took the gold one and said:

“Ye see, my lord, this one, who did in your service what none other could do, and it was worn by Amadis. And of whether or not I am speaking the truth, ye are the best witness, for many times ye found yourself among them, they enjoying the fame and ye the victory.”

And he told them how King Perion and his sons came to the battle secretly, and why they had left afterwards without being recognized, and how they were imprisoned by Arcalaus and how they left, burning the castle, and how he and Sir Galaor found Arcalaus in the stretcher, and how he escaped calling himself Granfiles, cousin of Sir Grumedan, at which they all laughed, including Sir Grumedan, who was there, saying that he was very happy to find himself in such a debt he had not known about.

The King asked many questions about King Perion, and Norandel told him:

“Believe, my lord, that in the whole world there is no king with as much land who is his equal.”

“And nothing shall be lost,” Sir Grumedan said, “with such sons.”

The King was quiet so as not to praise Galaor, who was present, or the others with whom he was still not pleased, but he ordered the arms put in a glass case in his palace where the arms of other famous men were kept.

Sir Galaor and Norandel spoke with Oriana and Mabilia, and gave them the greetings and courtesies of Queen Elisena and her daughter, which were received by them with great affection, since they loved each other dearly. They felt great sorrow when they were told that Amadis had left alone to go to foreign lands of diverse languages to seek the most mighty and dangerous adventures. Then they went to their lodgings and the King remained speaking with his knights about many things.

+

Chapter 69 [part 3 of 4]

[How Galaor and Norandel met Dinarda and her damsel, and how they fell in and out of love.] 

[Illustration from Roman de la Rose, written by Guillaume de Lorris in the 1200s and made into a manuscript for Count Engelbert of Nassau around 1487.]
 
+

Arcalaus left quickly because night had already fallen, but the moon shone bright. He was taken over a ridge, then left that road and took another more hidden route that he knew.

The two knights agreed that, since their horses were tired and night had come, they would rest alongside the spring.

“If that is what ye want,” Sir Galaor’s squire said, “an even better shelter is available than ye might think.”

“What is that?” Norandel said.

“Know,” he answered, “that the old building amid those brambles, the two damsels are hiding who were traveling with the knight on the stretcher.”

They dismounted next to the spring, washed their faces and hands, and went to where the damsels were. They entered through some narrow openings, and Sir Galaor shouted:

“Who is hidden here? Give me that fire, and I shall make them come out.”

Dinarda, when she heard this, was afraid and said:

“Oh, my lord knight, have mercy, for I shall come out.”

“Then come out,” he said, “so I shall see who ye are.”

“Help me,” she said, “for I can get out no other way.”

Galaor approached her, and she held out her arms, lit by the moonlight. He took her by the hands and helped her out from where she had been hiding. He was deeply struck by her, for he had never seen a damsel who looked so fair. She wore a scarlet skirt and a cape of white fur. Norandel helped out the other damsel, and they brought them to the spring, where they enjoyed the food that the squires had brought and what they found on one of Arcalaus’s packhorses.

Dinarda was afraid that Galaor would find out that she had imprisoned his father and brothers, so she desperately wished for him to become enamored of her and want her love, which until then she had given to no one. She gazed at him with desirous eyes and praised his handsome appearance to her damsel, all with the thought that, if he were to take her love and he were to find out afterwards, he would not wish to do her harm.

Galaor, given his ways, had no other thought than how to make her willingly become his beloved, and soon came to know that she was very willing; so after supper, he left Norandel with the damsel and, chatting, took Dinarda into some underbrush in the forest. He began to embrace her, and she threw her arms around his neck, showing him great love although she despised him, as some women sometimes do out of fear or selfish greed rather than happiness. So it happened that she who until that time had often needed to protect her chastity, for she had been desired by many lovers whom she had cast aside, now found herself with her enemy through adverse fate, although she considered it an advantage; and she changed from damsel to lady.

Norandel, who had remained with the damsel, had great hopes that she would give him her love because he was very struck by her, but she told him:

“Ye may do your will by force, but by my will it shall not be done unless my lady Dinarda orders it so.”

Norandel said:

“Is this Dinarda the daughter of Ardan Canileo, whom they say has come to this land to get advice from Arcalaus the Sorcerer about how to avenge her father’s death?”

“I do not know why she came here,” she said, “but she is the one of whom ye speak, and know that the knight who has attained her love has had great good fortune, because she is a damsel who has been coveted and desired by more men than any other, but until now no one could have her.”

At that, Galaor and Dinarda returned, who had enjoyed their leisure together, but not equally. Instead, I say that her sadness was greater than his pleasure. Norandel took Galaor aside and said:

“Do ye not know who this damsel is?”

“No more than ye do,” he said.

“Then know that she is Dinarda, daughter of Ardan Canileo, whom your cousin Mabilia told you had come to this land to seek the death of Amadis by trickery.”

Sir Galaor thought about that and said:

“Of her heart I know nothing besides that it seemed to show that she loved me dearly, and I would not wish to do her harm for anything in the world because of all the woman I have seen she is the one who has made me the happiest, and I do not wish her to be separated from me. Since we are going to Gaul, I will find a way to have Amadis make some amends to her so that she will forgive him.”

As they were talking, Dinarda was with her damsel and learned how she had not wished to consent to Norandel’s request, and how she had told him who she was, which Dinarda regretted, and said:

“My friend, in such times discretion means we must deny our wills, for otherwise we shall be in great danger. I ask you to do what that knight wishes, and let us show them love until we find a way to leave them.”

She said she would do so. Sir Galaor and Norandel, after they had spoken for a while, returned to the damsels, and spent part of the night talking and playing with them amid laughter and pleasure. Then, each man took his partner and lay down on beds of grass their squires had made, where they slept and enjoyed themselves all night.

Sir Galaor asked Dinarda the name of the evil knight who had wanted to kill them, and he meant the knight he had killed, but she understood that he meant the knight in the stretcher, and she told him:

“How did ye not know when ye approached the stretcher that he was Arcalaus? The knights ye defeated were his.”

“Really?” Sir Galaor said. “That was Arcalaus?”

“Yes, he truly was,” she said.

“Oh Holy Mary!” he said. “What subtlety he used to escape death.”

When Dinarda heard that they had not killed him, she was the happiest woman in the world, but she did not show it. She said:

“Earlier today I would have given my life for his, but now that I have your love and your mercy and restraint, I hope he will suffer an ignoble death because I know that he deeply despises you, and what he wishes for you and your family may God be pleased to have befall upon him.”

And she embraced him and showed him all the love she could. And so, as ye hear, they spent the night, and when day came, they armed themselves and took their lovers and their squires, who carried their weapons, and continued their travels toward the sea and Gaul.

Arcalaus arrived at midnight at his castle, terrified by what had happened to him. He ordered its gates closed and that no one be allowed to enter without his permission. He tended to his injuries with the intention of being more evil and doing greater crimes than ever, as evil men do; for although God’s spirit is within them, they do not wish or desire to be released from the mighty chains that the vile Enemy has thrown around them. Instead, enchained, they are taken to the lowest pit of hell, as it must be believed that this evil man was.

Sir Galaor and Norandel and their lovers rode for two days toward a port to go to Gaul, and on the third day they arrived at a castle where they decided to seek shelter. They found the gate open, went inside, and did not encounter a single person. But then a knight came out of a hall who was the lord of the castle, and when he saw them inside, he glowered at his staff because they had left the gate open.

But he greeted the knights with a happy face and received them very well, and did them many honors, although against his will because this knight, named Ambades, was a cousin of Arcalaus the Sorcerer, and he recognized Dinarda, who was his niece, and learned from her how the knights had brought her against her will.

In secret, Ambades’ mother wept with her and wanted to have them killed. But Dinarda told her:

“Do not let this madness take you or my uncle.”

Then she told them how the two knights had defeated Arcalaus’ seven knights, and everything that had happened to him, and said:

“My lady, do them honor, for they are very courageous knights, and tomorrow I and my damsel shall linger, and when they leave, pull up the drawbridge, and thus we shall be safe.”

She, Ambades, and his mother agreed, and they served supper to Sir Galaor and Norandel and their squires, and give them good beds to sleep in. Ambades did not sleep all night because he was so afraid to have such men in his castle. When morning came, he arose and put on his armor, went to his guests, and said:

“My lords, I wish to accompany you and show you the road, since this is my work: to ride armed in search of adventure.”

“Host,” Sir Galaor said, “we would appreciate that.”

Then they were armed, had their lovers mounted on their palfreys, and left the castle. But the host and the damsels remained behind, and when the knights and their squires were outside, the drawbridge was pulled up, and so the trick was executed. Ambades dismounted happily, went to the top of the castle wall, and saw the knights waiting to see someone they could ask about the damsels. He said:

“Go, wicked and lying guests, and may God confound you and give you as bad a night as ye gave me, for the ladies that ye thought to enjoy will remain with me.”

Sir Galaor said:

“Host, what are you saying? Do not be such a man who after having given us this service and pleasure in your home, in the end would do such dishonesty as to take our ladies by force.”

“If it were so,” he said, “it would be a bigger pleasure because the affront would be greater, but I took them willingly because they were forced to travel with their enemies.”

“Let us see them,” Galaor said, “and we shall learn if it is as ye say.”

“I shall do so,” he said, “not to give you pleasure but because ye shall see how detested ye are by them.”

Then he brought Dinarda to the wall, and Sir Galaor told her:

“Dinarda, my lady, this knight says that ye stay there by your will. I cannot believe it given the great love between us.”

Dinarda said:

“If I showed you love, it was due to the overwhelming fear I had, but since ye know that I am the daughter of Ardan Canileo, and ye are the brother of Amadis, how could I be made to love you, especially since ye wish to take me to Gaul where I would be in the power of my enemies? Go, Sir Galaor, and if I did anything for you, do not thank me, and do not remember me as anything but as an enemy.”

“Stay there, then,” Galaor said, “with the ill fate that God may give you, for from a root like Arcalaus, there can only be a bud like you.”

Norandel, who was irate, said to his lover:

“And ye, what shall ye do?”

“The will of my lady,” she said.

“May God confound her will,” he said, “and the will of this evil man for the way he tricked us.”

“If I am evil,” Ambades said, “ye are not such men that I would consider myself honored to defeat.”

“If thou art such a praiseworthy knight as thou sayest,” Norandel said, “come out and fight with me, I on foot and thou on horseback. And if thou wert to kill me, know that thou wouldst eliminate a mortal enemy of Arcalaus, and if I defeat thee, give us the damsels.”

“What a fool thou art,” Ambades said. “I hold you both as nothing. Then, what would I do to thee alone on foot, when I am on horseback? And as for what thou sayest about Arcalaus, my lord, he would not give a straw for twenty like thee or like thy companion.”

He took a Turkish bow and began to fire arrows at them. They pulled back and returned to the road that they had been on before, speaking about how Arcalaus’ vileness extended to all those in his lineage. They both laughed heartily about the answers from Dinarda and their host, and about Norandel’s ire, and about how their host, speaking from safety, held them as so little.

+