“Sir,” said Sir Turquine, “as I treat that knight, so treat I all knights of the Round Table—­and so will I treat thee if thou be of the Round Table.”

“Well,” said Sir Launcelot, “as for that, I am indeed of the Round Table, and I have come hither for no other reason than for to do battle with thee.”

“Sir Knight,” said Sir Turquine, “thou speakest very boldly; now I pray thee to tell me what knight thou art and what is thy name.”

“Messire,” said Sir Launcelot, “I have no fear to do that.  I am called Sir Launcelot of the Lake, and I am a knight of King Arthur’s, who made me knight with his own hand.”

“Ha!” said Sir Turquine, “that is very good news to me, for of all knights in the world thou art the one I most desire to meet, for I have looked for thee for a long while with intent to do battle with thee.  For it was thou who didst slay my brother Sir Caradus at Dolorous Gard, who was held to be the best knight in all the world.  Wherefore, because of this, I have the greatest despite against thee of any man in the world, and it was because of that despite that I waged particular battle against all the knights of King Arthur’s court.  And in despite of thee I now hold five score and eight knights, who are thy fellows, in the dismallest dungeon of my castle.  Also I have to tell thee that among those knights is thine own brother, Sir Ector, and thy kinsman, Sir Lionel.  For I overthrew Sir Ector and Sir Lionel only a day or two ago, and now they lie almost naked in the lower parts of that castle yonder.  I will put down this knight as thou biddst me, and when I have done battle with thee I hope to tie thee on his saddle-horn in his place.”

So Sir Turquine loosed the cords that bound Sir Gaheris and set him from off the horse’s back, and Sir Gaheris, who was sorely wounded and very weak, sat him down upon a slab of stone near-by.

[Sidenote:  Sir Launcelot and Sir Turquine do battle together] Then Sir Launcelot and Sir Turquine made themselves ready at all points, and each took such stand as seemed to him to be best; and when each was ready for the assault, each set spurs to his horse and rushed the one against the other with such terrible violence that they smote together like a clap of thunder.

So fierce was that onset that each horse fell back upon the ground and only by great skill and address did the knight who rode him void his saddle, so as to save himself from a fall.  And in that meeting the horse of Sir Turquine was killed outright and the back of Sir Launcelot’s horse was broken and he could not rise, but lay like dead upon the ground.

Then each knight drew his sword and set his shield before him and they came together with such wrath that it appeared as though their fierce eyes shot sparks of fire through the oculariums of their helmets.  So they met and struck; and they struck many scores of times, and their blows were so violent that neither shield nor armor could withstand the strokes they gave.  For their shields were cleft and many pieces of armor were hewn from their limbs, so that the ground was littered with them.  And each knight gave the other so many grim wounds that the ground presently was all sprinkled with red where they stood.