circumstances, there were seven who
would not have come excepting on the Queen's account. The barons were
quartered in tents, lodges, and pavilions for five leagues around.
Moreover, it was wonderful how many gentle ladies and damsels were
there. Lancelot placed his shield outside the door of his lodging-place,
and then, to make himself more comfortable, he took off his arms and lay
down upon a bed which he held in slight esteem; for it was narrow
and had a thin mattress, and was covered with a coarse hempen cloth.
Lancelot had thrown himself upon the bed all disarmed, and as he
lay there in such poor estate, behold! a fellow came in in his
shirt-sleeves; he was a herald-at-arms, and had left his coat and shoes
in the tavern as a pledge; so he came running barefoot and exposed to
the wind. He saw the shield hanging outside the door, and looked at it:
but naturally he did not recognise it or know to whom it belonged, or
who was the bearer of it. He sees the door of the house standing open,
and upon entering, he sees Lancelot upon the bed, and as soon as he saw
him, he recognised him and crossed himself. And Lancelot made a sign to
him, and ordered him not to speak of him wherever he might go, for if
he should tell that he knew him, it would be better for him to have his
eyes put out or his neck broken. "Sire," the herald says, "I have
always held you in high esteem, and so long as I live, I shall never
do anything to cause you displeasure." Then he runs from the house and
cries aloud: "Now there has come one who will take the measure! [423]
Now there has come one who will take the measure!" The fellow shouts
this everywhere, and the people come from every side and ask him what is
the meaning of his cry. He is not so rash as to answer them, but goes
on shouting the same words: "Now there has come one who will take the
measure!" This herald was the master of us all, when he taught us to use
the phrase, for he was the first to make use of it.

(Vv. 5595-5640.) Now the crowd was assembled, including the Queen and
all the ladies, the knights and the other people, and there were many
men-at-arms everywhere, to the right and left. At the place where the
tournament was to be, there were some large wooden stands for the use of
the Queen with her ladies and damsels. Such fine stands were never seen
before they were so long and well constructed. Thither the ladies betook
themselves with the Queen, wishing to see who would fare bette