ter smote off
his head. There Sir Gawaine fought nobly and slew three admirals in that
battle. And so did all the knights of the Round Table. Thus the battle
between King Arthur and Lucius the Emperor endured long. Lucius had on
his side many Saracens which were slain. And thus the battle was great,
and oftsides that one party was at a fordeal and anon at an afterdeal,
which endured so long till at the last King Arthur espied where Lucius
the Emperor fought, and did wonder with his own hands. And anon he rode
to him. And either smote other fiercely, and at last Lucius smote Arthur
thwart the visage, and gave him a large wound. And when King Arthur felt
himself hurt, anon he smote him again with Excalibur that it cleft his
head, from the summit of his head, and stinted not till it came to his
breast. And then the emperor fell down dead and there ended his life.

And when it was known that the emperor was slain, anon all the Romans
with all their host put them to flight, and King Arthur with all his
knights followed the chase, and slew down right all them that they might
attain. And thus was the victory given to King Arthur, and the triumph;
and there were slain on the part of Lucius more than an hundred
thousand. And after King Arthur did do ransack the dead bodies, and did
do bury them that were slain of his retinue, every man according to the
estate and degree that he was of. And them that were hurt he let the
surgeons do search their hurts and wounds, and commanded to spare no
salves nor medicines till they were whole.

Then the king rode straight to the place where the Emperor Lucius lay
dead, and with him he found slain the Soudan of Syria, the King of Egypt
and of Ethiopia, which were two noble kings, with seventeen other kings
of divers regions, and also sixty senators of Rome, all noble men, whom
the king did do balm and gum with many good gums aromatic, and after did
do cere them in sixty fold of cered cloth of sendal, and laid them in
chests of lead, because they should not chafe nor savour, and upon all
these bodies their shields with their arms and banners were set, to the
end they should be known of what country they were. And after he found
three senators which were alive, to whom he said, For to save your lives
I will that ye take these dead bodies, and carry them with you unto
great Rome, and present them to the Potestate on my behalf, shewing him
my letters, and tell them that I in my person shall hastil