e which was hoarse,
weak, and broken; for his blood was all stirred up by the blows he had
received. "My lord," he says, "the night comes on! I think no blame
or reproach will attach to us if the night comes between us. But I
am willing to admit, for my own part, that I feel great respect and
admiration for you, and never in my life have I engaged in a battle
which has made me smart so much, nor did I ever expect to see a knight
whose acquaintance I should so yearn to make. You know well how to land
your blows and how to make good use of them: I have never known a knight
who was so skilled in dealing blows. It was against my will that I
received all the blows you have bestowed on me to-day; I am stunned
by the blows you have I struck upon my head." "Upon my word," my lord
Gawain replies, "you are not so stunned and faint but that I am as much
so, or more. And if I should tell you the simple truth, I think you
would not be loath to hear it, for if I have lent you anything of mine,
you have fully paid me back, principal and interest; for you were more
ready to pay back than I was to accept the payment. But however that
may be, since you wish me to inform you of my name, it shall not be kept
from you: my name is Gawain the son of King Lot." As soon as my
lord Yvain heard that, he was amazed and sorely troubled; angry and
grief-stricken, he cast upon the ground his bloody sword and broken
shield, then dismounted from his horse, and cried: "Alas, what mischance
is this! Through what unhappy ignorance in not recognising each other
have we waged this battle! For if I had known who you were, I should
never have fought with you; but, upon my word, I should have surrendered
without a blow." "How is that?" my lord Gawain inquires, "who are you,
then?" "I am Yvain, who love you more than any man in the whole wide
world, for you have always been fond of me and shown me honour in every
court. But I wish to make you such amends and do you such honour in this
affair that I will confess myself to have been defeated." "Will you do
so much for my sake?" my gentle lord Gawain asks him; "surely I should
be presumptuous to accept any such amends from you. This honour shall
never be claimed as mine, but it shall be yours, to whom I resign
it." "Ah, fair sire, do not speak so. For that could never be. I am so
wounded and exhausted that I cannot endure more." "Surely, you have no
cause to be concerned." his friend and companion replies; "but for