[Sidenote:  Sir Boindegardus affronts the Queen] With that he smote the elbow of the page who held the goblet for the Queen, and the wine was splashed all in the Queen’s face and over her stomacher.

Thereupon the Queen shrieked with terror, and one of her maidens ran to her aid and others came with napkins and wiped her face and her apparel and gave her words of cheer.

Then Sir Kay found courage to say:  “Ha! thou art a churlish knight to so affront a lady.”

With that Sir Boindegardus turned very fiercely upon him and said:  “And thou likest not my behavior, thou mayst follow me hence into a meadow a little distance from this to the eastward where thou mayst avenge that affront upon my person if thou art minded to do so.”

Then Sir Kay knew not what to reply for he wist that Sir Boindegardus was a very strong and terrible knight.  Wherefore he said, “Thou seest that I am altogether without arms or armor.”  Upon that Sir Boindegardus laughed in great scorn, and therewith seized the golden goblet from the hands of the page and went out from the pavilion, and mounting his horse rode away bearing that precious chalice with him.

[Sidenote:  Percival berates Sir Kay] Then the Queen fell aweeping very sorely from fright and shame, and when young Percival beheld her tears, he could not abide the sight thereof.  So he cried out aloud against Sir Kay, saying:  “Thou tall man! that was very ill done of thee; for, certes, with or without armor thou shouldst have taken the quarrel of this lady upon thee.  For my mother told me I should take upon me the defence of all such as needed defence, but she did not say that I was to wait for arms or armor to aid me to do what was right.  Now, therefore, though I know little of arms or of knighthood, I will take this quarrel upon myself and will do what I may to avenge this lady’s affront, if I have her leave to do so.”

And Queen Guinevere said:  “Thou hast my leave, since Sir Kay does not choose to assume my quarrel.”

[Sidenote:  The damsel praises Percival] Now there was a certain very beautiful young damsel of the court of the Queen hight Yelande, surnamed the “Dumb Maiden,” because she would hold no commerce with any knight of the court.  For in all the year she had been at the court of the King, she had spoken no word to any man, nor had she smiled upon any.  This damsel perceiving how comely and noble was the countenance of Percival, came to him and took him by the hand and smiled upon him very kindly.  And she said to him:  “Fair youth, thou hast a large and noble heart, and I feel very well assured that thou art of a sort altogether different from what thine appearance would lead one to suppose.  Now I do affirm that if thou art able to carry this adventure through with thy life, thou wilt some time become one of the greatest knights in all of the world.  For never did I hear tell of one who, without arm or armor, would take up a quarrel with a well-approved knight clad in full array.  But indeed thy heart is as brave as thy face is comely, and I believe that thou art as noble as thy speech and manner is gentle.”