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Extended Summary
“Alas,”
said
King Arthur. “This war with
Sir Lancelot has been wretched.” The grief
Arthur felt for his nephew,
Sir Gawain, caused him to feel sick. For three
weeks Gawain had lain sick in his tent, recovering from
his previous battle with Lancelot through the use of
leeches. Once he was healthy again, he armed himself
head-to-toe in armor, snatched his spear, and rode his
horse to
Benwick.
“Where are you,
Lancelot?” Gawain yelled. “Come out and fight me,
traitor, and I will strike you down.”
“Do not use such
ruthless words against me,” Lancelot replied. “I know
your strength – you cannot cause me great harm.
“Come out, traitor.
You injured me in our last battle, but I have come back
for a rematch. This time, I will not lose.”
“You have accused me of
treason. I cannot deny you a fight.”
Lancelot armed himself
head-to-toe in armor, mounted himself on his horse with
a large spear, and rode outside the city gate. Both
Lancelot and Gawain’s armies assembled to watch these
two noble knights fight. Each knight prepared his
spears and charged at the other. The spears struck each
other’s shield as loud as thunder. Gawain’s spear
shattered upon impact. Gawain was hit with such force
that his horse fell to the ground, throwing him off.
Gawain drew his sword and shield and taunted Lancelot.
Lancelot got off his
horse and drew his sword and shield as well. Both
knights exchanged blows with such might that they
astonished the crowd. When Lancelot felt Gawain’s might
increase, he restrained himself. He defended against
every attack Gawain unleashed. Gawain attacked with all
his might in an attempt to destroy Lancelot. For three
hours, Gawain caused great pain upon Lancelot. But when
those three hours were up, Lancelot felt Gawain’s
strength return to normal.
“Sir Gawain,” said
Lancelot, “I have survived your onslaught twice. I have
seen just how dangerous and mighty a knight you are.
You have accomplished many deeds in your life with your
increasing strength, which has deceived many men. Now I
must carry out my deeds.”
Lancelot immediately
attacked more vigorously. Gawain defended them with all
his strength, but could not prevent Lancelot from
landing a strong blow down upon his helmet, right on top
of the previous wound, which caused him to fall to the
ground.
As Gawain woke up, he
said to Lancelot, “Traitor knight, I am not yet dead;
come to me and finish this battle!”
“I will do no more harm
to you while you are in this state,” Lancelot replied.
“I will fight you again once you are back upon your
feet, for killing a wounded man is shameful.”
Lancelot turned away
and left for the city. Gawain called out to him,
“Traitor knight, when I am fit for battle again, I will
never stop fighting you until one of us is dead!”
Gawain lay sick in bed
once again. After a month of healing, he was ready to
battle and planned on fighting again in just a few days,
but urgent news was received from England. King Arthur
and all who were with him were forced to leave France
and return to England.
End of Summary
Written by Tim Foote, class of 07 |
