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Notes de lecture

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Le texte de base est celui de ldition de Janet Cowen, Penguin Classics(2 vol.).

BOOK VII

CHAPTER 25. How the Queen of Orkney came to this feast of Pentecost,and Sir Gawain and his brethren came to ask her blessing

1 So then the king and they went to meat, and were served in the best manner. And as they sat atthe meat, there came in the Queen of Orkney, with ladies and knights a great number. And then SirGawain, Sir Agravain, and Gaheris arose, and went to her and saluted her upon their knees, and askedher blessing; for in fifteen year they had not seen her. Then she spake on high to her brother KingArthur:

Where have ye done my young son Sir Gareth? He was here amongst you a twelvemonth, and ye made akitchen knave of him, the which is shame to you all. Alas, where have ye done my dear son that was my joy andbliss?

O dear mother,said Sir Gawain, I knew him not.Nor I,said the king, that now me repenteth, but thanked be God he is proved a worshipful knight as anyis now living of his years, and I shall never be glad till I may find him.

Ah, brother,said the Queen unto King Arthur, and unto Sir Gawain, and to all her sons, ye didyourself great shame when ye amongst you kept my son in the kitchen and fed him like a poor hog.

Fair sister,said King Arthur, ye shall right well wit I knew him not, nor no more did Sir Gawain, nor hisbrethren; but sithen it is so,said the king, that he is thus gone from us all, we must shape a remedy to find him.Also, sister, meseemeth ye might have done me to wit of his coming, and then and I had not done well to him yemight have blamed me. For when he came to this court he came leaning upon two mens shoulders, as though he might not have gone. And then he asked me three gifts; and one he asked the same day, that was that I would givehim meat enough that twelvemonth; and the other two gifts he asked that day a twelvemonth, and that was that he

might have the adventure of the damosel Lynet, and the third was that Sir Launcelot should make him knightwhen he desired him. And so I granted him all his desire, and many in this court marvelled that he desired his sus-tenance for a twelvemonth. And thereby, we deemed, many of us, that he was not come of a noble house.

2 Sir,said the Queen of Orkney unto King Arthur her brother, wit ye well that I sent him unto youright well armed and horsed, and worshipfully beseen of his body, and gold and silver plenty to spend.

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It may be,said the King, but thereof saw we none, save that same day as he departed from us, knightstold me that there came a dwarf hither suddenly, and brought him armour and a good horse full well and richlybeseen; and thereat we all had marvel from whence that riches came, that we deemed all that he was come of menof worship.

Brother, said the queen, all that ye say I believe, for ever sithen he was grown he was marvellouslywitted, and ever he was faithful and true of his promise. But I marvel, said she, that Sir Kay did mock him andscorn him, and gave him that name Beaumains; yet, Sir Kay,said the queen, named him more righteously than

he weened; for I dare say and he be alive, he is as fair an handed man and well disposed as any is living.Sister1,said Arthur, let this language be still, and by the grace of God he shall be found and he be withinthis Seven Realms, and let all this pass and be merry, for he is proved to be a man of worship, and that is my joy.

La reine des Orcades vient la fte de la Pentecte ; sire Gauvainet ses frres lui demandent sa bndiction

1 Le roi et eux se mirent alors table et on leur servit des mets succulents. Au cours du repas, lareine des Orcades, avec sa suite nombreuse de dames et de chevaliers, fit son entre ; sire Gauvain, sireAgravain et [sire] Guerrehet se levrent et allrent la saluer genoux, lui demandant sa bndiction :cela faisait quinze ans quils ne lavaient pas vue. Puis elle sadressa haute voix son [demi-]frre le roiArthur :

Quavez-vous fait de mon jeune fils, sire Gahriet? Il a sjourn ici un an parmi vous et vous en avez faitun souillard de cuisine, pour votre plus grande honte tous. Hlas ! quavez-vous de mon fils chri, qui tait ma joieet ma flicit ?

ma chre mre, lui dit sire Gauvain,je ne lavais pas reconnu.Moi non plus, enchana le roi, ce qu prsent je dplore, mais grces soient rendues Dieu il sest

rvl un des chevaliers les plus valeureux de sa gnration et je ne connatrai plus la joie tant que je ne laurai pasretrouv.Ah ! mon frre, insista la reine, parlant au roi Arthur, sire Gauvain et ses autres fils [prsents],

vous vous tes grandement couverts de honte quand, ayant mon fils parmi vous, vous lavez confin dans les cuisi-nes et ly avez nourri comme un misrable cochon lengrais.

Chre sur, rpondit le roi Arthur, soyez bien persuade que je ne lavais pas reconnu, linstar desire Gauvain et de ses frres; mais puisquil en est ainsi, poursuivit le roi, et quil nous a tous quitts, il nous fautchafauder un plan pour le retrouver. Du reste, ma sur, jai limpression que vous auriez pu minformer de savenue et si, dans ces conditions, je ne lui avais pas rserv un bon accueil, vous auriez t fonde men faire le re-proche. son arrive ma cour, il sappuyait sur les paules de deux hommes, comme sil avait du mal marcher.Puis il ma demand de lui accorder trois dons: le premier, le jour mme, tait que je le nourrisse suffisanceun an

durant et les deux autres, au bout de lan, taient de se voir confier laventure de la demoiselle Lionette et enfinquau moment o lui le demanderait sire Lancelot le fasse chevalier. Je lui ai accord toutes ses demandes et biendes gens de ma cour se montrrent surpris quil se soit content de vouloir sa subsistance ; de l, nous fmes nom-breux conclure quil ntait pas issu dune famille noble.

2 Messire, dit la reine des Orcades son frre le roi Arthur, je vous lai envoy, nen doutez pas, trsbien arm et mont, vtu avec lgance et disposant de sommes rondelettes en or et en argent.

Cela se peut, rpondit le roi, mais il navait pas un sou vaillant ; pourtant, le jour de son dpart, montrapport des chevaliers, un nain est arriv soudain, avec une armure et un beau cheval, richement caparaonn :du coup, nous nous sommes tous demands do il tirait de pareils moyens, et nous en avons conclu quil apparte-nait une ligne de preux.

Mon frre, dit la reine, je crois tout ce que vous me dites car, depuis quil est devenu adulte, il a lespritextrmement vif, toujours fidle sa parole et ses engagements. Mais je mtonne, ajouta-t-elle, que sire Keu,

1Ldition dAlfred W[illiam] Pollard [1859-1944], publie en 1900, donne ici encore Sir(p. 256, 8eligne), ce qui rend le pas-

sage incomprhensible ; mme texte, mmes erreurs, dans la publication sur Internet de Project Gutenberg.

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par moquerie et mpris, lui ait donn ce surnom de Beaumains;tout bien considr, corrigea-t-elle,sire Keu necroyait pas si bien dire car, je laffirme, si mon fils est vivant, il a les plus belles mains et est le mieux bti de sescontemporains.

Ma sur, coupa Arthur, laissons-l ce discours; grce Dieu, on le retrouvera sil na pas quitt les SeptRoyaumes: nen parlons plus et ayons le cur la fte, car il sest rvl un homme de valeur, ce qui me remplitdaise.

La reine des Orcades est Margawse/Morgause, demi-sur dArthuret pouse du roi Lot.

1 this Seven Realms= lHeptarchie.

John George BartholomewsA Literary and Historical Atlas of Europe(1914)

Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex.

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2 he is as fair an handed man and well disposed as any is living

Voir volet 120 ; le surnom de Longuemain (dirzdast, , longimanus, macro-chre) donn Artaxerxs peut avoir un sens littral ou figur.