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"Le Morte DArthur": Notes de Lecture Volet 16
"Le Morte DArthur": Notes de Lecture Volet 16
Notes de lecture
16
Le texte de base est celui de ldition de Janet Cowen, Penguin Classics (2 vol.).
BOOK I
the earth. Also in that ire he felled King Morganor, and there was great slaughter of good knights
and much people.
4 By then came into the press King Arthur, and found King Ban standing among dead men and
dead horse, ghting on foot as a wood lion, that there came none nigh him as far as he might
reach with his sword but he caught a grievous buet; whereof King Arthur had great pity. And
Arthur was so bloody, that by his shield there might no man know him, for all was blood and
brains on his sword. And as Arthur looked by him he saw a knight that was passingly well horsed,
and therewith Sir Arthur ran to him, and smote him on the helm, that his sword went unto his
teeth, and the knight sank down to the earth dead, and anon Arthur took the horse by the rein,
and led him unto King Ban, and said, Fair brother, have this horse for ye1 have great mister thereof, and
me repenteth sore of your great damage.
It shall be soon revenged, said King Ban, for I trust in God mine eure is not such but some of them
may sore repent this.
I will well, said Arthur, for I see your deeds full actual; nevertheless, I might not come at you at that
time.
5 But when King Ban was mounted on horseback, then there began new battle, the which was
sore and hard, and passing great slaughter. And so through great force King Arthur, King Ban, and
King Bors made their knights a little to withdraw them. But alway the eleven kings with their
chivalry never turned back; and so withdrew them to a little wood, and so over a little river, and
there they rested them, for on the night they might have no rest on the eld. And then the eleven
kings and knights put them on a heap all together, as men adread and out of all comfort. But
there was no man might pass them, they held them so hard together both behind and before, that
King Arthur had marvel of their deeds of arms, and was passing wroth.
Ah, Sir Arthur, said King Ban and King Bors, blame them not, for they do as good men ought to do.
For by my faith, said King Ban, they are the best ghting men, and knights of most prowess, that
ever I saw or heard speak of, and those eleven kings are men of great worship; and if they were longing unto
you there were no king under the heaven had such eleven knights, and of such worship.
I may not love them, said Arthur, they would destroy me.
That wot we well, said King Ban and King Bors, for they are your mortal enemies, and that hath
been proved aforehand, and this day they have done their part, and that is great pity of their wilfulness.
6 Then all the eleven kings drew them together, and then said King Lot, Lords, ye must other
ways than ye do, or else the great loss is behind; ye may see what people we have lost, and what good men we
lose, because we wait always on these foot-men, and ever in saving of one of the foot-men we lose ten horsemen for him; therefore this is mine advice: let us put our foot-men from us, for it is near night, for the noble
Arthur will not tarry on the foot-men, for they may save themselves 2, the wood is near hand. And when we
horsemen be together, look every each of you kings let make such ordinance that none break upon pain of
death. And who that seeth any man dress him to ee, lightly that he be slain, for it is better that we slay a
coward, than through a coward all we to be slain. How say ye? said King Lot, answer me all ye kings.
7 It is well said, quoth King Nentres; so said the King of the Hundred Knights; the same said the
King Carados, and King Uriens; so did King Idres and King Brandegoris; and so did King Cradelment, and the Duke of Cambenet; the same said King Clarivaus and King Agwisance, and sware
they would never fail other, neither for life nor for death. And whoso that ed, but did as they
did, should be slain. Then they amended their harness, and righted their shields, and took new
spears and set them on their thighs, and stood still as it had been a plump of wood.
1
2
La version publie sur Internet par Project Gutenberg porte for he have, erreur manifeste.
Caxton : for they maye aue hym elf.
Sur ma foi, ajouta le roi Ban, ce sont les meilleurs combattants et les chevaliers les plus capables de
prouesse que jaie jamais vus ou dont jaie jamais entendu parler, et ces onze rois sont des hommes valeureux :
sils taient vous, vous seriez lunique roi sur terre avoir onze chevaliers incomparables et dun tel mrite.
Il mest impossible de les porter dans mon cur, rpondit Arthur : ils veulent ma perte.
Nous le savons pertinemment, conclurent le roi Ban et le roi Bohort, car ce sont vos ennemis mortels et la preuve en a dj t faite ; aujourdhui, ils ont jou leur rle et leur opinitret est regrettable.
6 Les onze rois se runirent alors et le roi Lot prit la parole : Messeigneurs, il vous faut adopter une
autre tactique que lactuelle, faute de quoi le dsastre nous attend. Vous voyez bien quelles gens nous avons
perdu et quels combattants nous perdons parce que nous nous occupons toujours de ces fantassins : en voulant
sauver un de ces fantassins, cela ne manque jamais, nous perdons dix cavaliers cause de lui ; par consquent,
voici ce que je prconise : sparons-nous de nos gens de pied, car la tombe de la nuit est proche, le noble Arthur
ne sattardera pas aux fantassins, qui sont capables dassurer leur propre sauvegarde, le bois tant tout proche.
Et quand nous autres, cavaliers, seront entre nous, que chacun parmi vous, rois, veille dicter que nul ne doit
abandonner sa position, sous peine de mort. Et si quelquun voit lun des ntres, quel quil soit, sapprter
prendre la fuite, quil le tue sans hsiter, car mieux vaut que mettions mort un couard que dtre, par la faute
dun couard, tous tus. Quen dites-vous ? demanda le roi Lot, rpondez-moi, rois, tous tant que vous tes.
7 Voil qui est bien dit fut la raction du roi Nentres ; le roi des Cent Chevaliers eut la mme,
ainsi que le roi Caradoc, le roi Urien, le roi Idiers, le roi Brandegore, le roi Cradelment, le duc de
Cambenync, le roi Clarivaus et le roi Aguisans, jurant, la vie, la mort, de ne jamais faillir leur
devoir dentraide. Et quiconque saviserait de fuir ou mme den faire mine, devait tre tu. Puis ils
remirent en place leur armure, redressrent leur bouclier, prirent de nouvelles lances quils mirent
en appui sur leur cuisse, puis se grent, immobiles comme des blocs de bois.
1 with bands of green and thereupon gold Il y a eu trs tt un engouement pour larmorial des chevaliers de la Table Ronde, engouement qui, en juger par le cas prsent,
ne semble gure tenir compte des textes sources.
Voici ce qucrivent respectivement Michel Pastoureau (1980) et Freddy Sibileau (Les Armoiries de chevaliers de la Table Ronde, 2e version, avril 2009), qui intgre les donnes des
ouvrages de Michel Pastoureau [ici : Armorial (37)] :
(de gueules = rouge ) En ralit, AD (BnF, ms. franais, 1437) donne Il portoit en es armes
dargent a troys bandes de vert :
Nul ne sait pourquoi sinople est pass, en hraldique, du sens de rouge celui de
vert . Reste que Malory, mentionn comme rfrence pour lmail rouge du blason du
roi Ban, parle dun mail vert.
Document et clich :
Bibliothque municipale de Lille
Cote actuelle : Ms 329
f 7v
Sinople est pass en anglais sous deux formes morphologiquement et smantiquement direncies, attestes depuis le XVe sicle : sinoper1 ( rouge ) et sinople ( vert ). La seconde se trouve, par exemple, chez Caxton, The Booke of Fayttes of Armes and of Chyualrye
(1489) : That other coloure of armoyrie is grene that men calle sinople or verte whiche betokneth
godes feldes & medowes pour traduire le Livre des faits darmes et de chevalerie, de Christine de
Pizan :
Du moins jusquaux annes 1380-1400. cette date, en effet, les usages changent assez rapidement dans les documents hraldiques rdigs en franais (armoriaux blasonns, manuels de blason, rcits de tournois, descriptions darmoiries) : le mot vert disparat et est remplac par le terme sinople. Les raisons de cette substitution, qui sopre en moins dune gnration, restent nigmatiques.
Michel Pastoureau, Une couleur en mutation : le vert la fin du Moyen ge (2007).
Dans Li romans de Durmart le Galois, dition dEdmund Stengel (1873), on relve les
occurrences suivantes :
Mesire Durmars sor celui*
Estoit monts, si prent lescu
Et si la a son col pendu.
Bien vos sai lescu deviser :
Pains estoit dun sinople cler
A II liepars dor eslevs,
Corans et dargent corons.
*[= ce cheval]
vers 1415
deviser dcrire
vers 1408
vers 4666
vers 7325
vers 7432
vers 8482
vers 9346
Li chevaliers* ne salua
Ne roi ne conte qui fuist la,
Vers les escus sest aprochies,
Venus i est tos eslaissies,
Tantost en a I abatu
Qui dun riche sinople fu
A II liepars dor flanboians.
Mesires Durmars li vaillans
Voit bien, que ce est ses escus
Qui devant lui est abatus
* = li vers chevaliers
vers 10100
Yo, seor gobernador, me llamo el doctor Pedro Recio de Agero, y soy natural de un lugar llamado Tirteafuera, que est entre
Caracuel y Almodvar del Campo, a la mano derecha. Tirteafuera es la famosa pedana almodovarea cuna del doctor D. Pedro
Recio de Agero, personaje singular de la segunda parte de El Quijote, explique le site Internet de la municipalit.
12 Lords, ye must other ways than ye do Winchester : Lordis ye muste do othir wyse than
ye do
13 or else the great loss is behind venir
14 dress him to ee du franais dresser prparer
15 but did as they did ne serait-ce que (but) se comportait (did) comme sil (as as if;
they renvoie whoso) le faisait (senfuyait)