en;
wherefore he fled all alone and was gone out of the field a league,
and an English knight pursued him and ever cried to him and said,
'Return again, sir knight, it is a shame to fly away thus.' Then the
knight turned, and the English knight thought to have stricken him
with his spear in the targe, but he failed, for sir Oudart swerved
aside from the stroke, but he failed not the English knight, for he
strake him such a stroke on the helm with his sword, that he was
astonied and fell from his horse to the earth and lay still. Then sir
Oudart alighted and came to him or he could rise, and said, 'Yield
you, rescue or no rescue, or else I shall slay you.' The Englishman
yielded and went with him, and afterward was ransomed. Also it
fortuned that another squire of Picardy called John de Hellenes was
fled from the battle and met with his page, who delivered him a new
fresh horse, whereon he rode away alone. The same season there was in
the field the lord Berkeley of England, a young lusty knight, who the
same day reared his banner, and he all alone pursued the said John of
Hellenes. And when he had followed the space of a league, the said
John turned again and laid his sword in the rest instead of a spear,
and so came running toward the lord Berkeley, who lift up his sword to
have stricken the squire; but when he saw the stroke come, he turned
from it, so that the Englishman lost his stroke and John strake him as
he passed on the arm, that the lord Berkeley's sword fell into the
field. When he saw his sword down, he lighted suddenly off his horse
and came to the place where his sword lay, and as he stooped down to
take up his sword, the French squire did pike his sword at him, and by
hap strake him through both the thighs, so that the knight fell to the
earth and could not help himself. And John alighted off his horse and
took the knight's sword that lay on the ground, and came to him and
demanded if he would yield him or not. The knight then demanded his
name. 'Sir,' said he, 'I hight John of Hellenes; but what is your
name?' 'Certainly,' said the knight, 'my name is Thomas and am lord of
Berkeley, a fair castle on the river of Severn in the marches of
Wales.' 'Well, sir,' quoth the squire, 'then ye shall be my prisoner,
and I shall bring you in safe-guard and I shall see that you shall be
healed of your hurt.' 'Well,' said the knight, 'I am content to be
your prisoner, for ye have by law of arms won me.' There he sware t