Wace Extract

Extract from Wace, Roman de Brut

9731 9740 9750 9760 9770 9780	Duze ans puis cel repairement Regna Artur paisiblement, Ne nuls guerreier ne l’osa Ne il altre ne guereia. Par sei, senz altre enseinement, Emprist si grant afaitement E se cuntint tant noblement, Tant bel e tant curteisement, N’esteit parole de curt d’ume, Neis de l’empereür de Rome. N’oeit parler de chevalier Ki alques feïst a preisier, Ki de sa maisnee nu fust, Pur ço qu’il aveir le peüst; Si pur aveir servir vulsist, Ja pur aveir ne s’en partist. Pur les nobles baruns qu’il out, Dunt chescuns mieldre estre quidout, Chescuns se teneit al meillur, Ne nuls n’en saveit le peiur, Fist Artur la Runde Table Dunt Bretun dient mainte fable. Illuec seeient li vassal Tuit chevalment e tuit egal; A la table egalement seeient E egalment servi esteient; Nul d’els ne se poeit vanter Qu’il seïst plus halt de sun per, Tuit esteient assis meain, Ne n’i aveit nul de forain. N’estiet past tenuz par curteis Escot ne Bretun ne Franceis, Normant, Angevin ne Flamenc Ne Burguinun ne Loherenc, De ki que il tensist sun feu, Des occident jesqu’a Muntgeu, Ki a la curt Artur n’alout E ki od lui ne sujurnout, E ki n’en aveit vesteüre E cunuissance e armeüre A la guise que cil teneient Ki en la curt Artur serveient. De plusurs terres i veneient Cil ki pris e enur quereient, Tant pur oïr ses curteisies, Tant pur veeir ses manaties, Tant pur cunuistre ses baruns, Tant pur aveir ses riches duns. De povres humes ert amez E des riches mult enurez. Li rei estrange l’envioent Kar mult remeient e dutoent Que tuit le munde cunquesist E lir digneté lur tolist. Que pur amur de sa largesce, Que pur poür de sa prüesce,	9731	For twelve years after his return [from conquering Ireland, Orkney, Gotland, Wenland, and Iceland], Arthur reigned in peace. No one dared to make war on him, nor did he go to war himself. On his own, with no instruction, he acquired such knightly skill and behaved so nobly, so finely and courteously, that there was no court so talked about, not even that of the Roman emperor. He never heard of a knight who was in any way considered to be praiseworthy who would not belong to his household, provided that he could get him, and if such a one wanted reward for his service, he would never leave deprived of it. On account of his noble barons—each of whom felt he was superior, each considered himself the best, and no one could say who was the worst—Arthur had the Round Table made, about which the British tell many a tale. There sat the vassals, all equal, all leaders; they were placed equally round the table and equally served. None of them could boast he sat higher than his peer; all were seated near the place of honour, none far away. No one—whether Scot, Briton, Frenchman, Norman, Angevin, Fleming, Burgundian or Lorrainer—whoever he held his fief from, from the West as far as Muntgieu, was accounted courtly if he did not go to Arthur’s court and stay with him and wear the livery, device and armour in the fashion of those who served at court. They came from many lands, those who sought honour and renown, partly to hear of his courtly deeds, partly to see his rich possessions, partly to know his barons, partly to receive his splendid gifts. He was loved by the poor and greatly honoured by the rich. Foreign kings envied him, doubting and fearing he would conquer the whole world and take their territories away.
9790	En cele grant pais ke jo di, Ne sai si vus l’avez oï, Furent les merveilles pruvees E les aventures truvees Ki d’Artur sunt tant recuntees Ke a fable sunt aturnees: Ne tut mençunge, ne tut veir, Ne tut folie ne tut saveir. Tant unt li cunteür cunté E li fableür tant fablé Pur lur cuntes enbeleter, Que tut unt fait fable sembler.	9785	In this time of great peace I speak of—I do not know if you have heard of it—the wondrous events appeared and the adventures were sought out which, whether for love of his generosity, or for fear of his bravery, are so often told about Arthur that they have become the stuff of fiction: not all lies, not all truth, neither total folly nor total wisdom. The raconteurs have told so many yarns, the story-tellers so many stories, to embellish their tales that they have made it all appear fiction.
9800	Par la bunté de sun curage E par le los de sun barnage E par la grant chevalerie Qu’il out afaitee e nurrie, Dist Artur que mer passereit E tute France conquerreit; Mais primes en Norwege ireit, Loth sun sururge rei fereit.	9799	Prompted by his own noble disposition, the advice of his barons, and the large body of knights he had equipped and nurtured, Arthur said he would cross the sea and conquer all France. But first he would go to Norway and make his brother-in-law Loth king there.

Source: Wace's Roman de Brut, A History of the British: Text and Translation, ed. and trans. by Judith Weiss (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1999).