you can never escape from death, for you are no match for them." Erec
replies: "Little esteem you have for me, and lightly you hold my words.
It seems I cannot correct you by fair request. But as the Lord have
mercy upon me until I escape from here, I swear that you shall pay
dearly for this speech of yours; that is, unless my mind should change."
Then he straightway turns about, and sees the seneschal drawing near
upon a horse both strong and fleet. Before them all he takes his stand
at the distance of four cross-bow shots. He had not disposed of his
arms, but was thoroughly well equipped. Erec reckons up his opponents'
strength, and sees there are fully a hundred of them. Then he who thus
is pressing him thinks he had better call a hair. Then they ride to meet
each other, and strike upon each other's shield great blows with their
sharp and trenchant swords. Erec caused his stout steel sword to pierce
his body through and through, so that his shield and hauberk protected
him no more than a shred of dark-blue silk. And next the Count comes
spurring on, who, as the story tells, was a strong and doughty knight.
But the Count in this was ill advised when he came with only shield and
lance. He placed such trust in his own prowess that he thought that he
needed no other arms. He showed his exceeding boldness by rushing on
ahead of all his men more than the space of nine acres. When Erec saw
him stand alone, he turned toward him; the Count is not afraid of him,
and they come together with clash of arms. First the Count strikes him
with such violence upon the breast that he would have lost his stirrups
if he had not been well set. He makes the wood of his shield to split
so that the iron of his lance protrudes on the other side. But Erec's
hauberk was very solid and protected him from death without the tear
of a single mesh. The Count was strong and breaks his lance; then Erec
strikes him with such force on his yellow painted shield that he
ran more than a yard of his lance through his abdomen, knocking him
senseless from his steed. Then he turned and rode away without further
tarrying on the spot. Straight into the forest he spurs at full speed.
Now Erec is in the woods, and the others paused a while over those who
lay in the middle of the field. Loudly they swear and vow that they will
rather follow after him for two or three days than fail to capture and
slaughter him. The Count, though grievously wounded in the abdomen,
he