like a traitor taken her
from me by force.

My most noble lord and king, said Sir Launcelot, ye may say what ye
will, for ye wot well with yourself will I not strive; but thereas ye
say I have slain your good knights, I wot well that I have done so, and
that me sore repenteth; but I was enforced to do battle with them in
saving of my life, or else I must have suffered them to have slain me.
And as for my lady, Queen Guenever, except your person of your highness,
and my lord Sir Gawaine, there is no knight under heaven that dare make
it good upon me, that ever I was a traitor unto your person. And where
it please you to say that I have holden my lady your queen years and
winters, unto that I shall ever make a large answer, and prove it upon
any knight that beareth the life, except your person and Sir Gawaine,
that my lady, Queen Guenever, is a true lady unto your person as any is
living unto her lord, and that will I make good with my hands. Howbeit
it hath liked her good grace to have me in chierte, and to cherish me
more than any other knight; and unto my power I again have deserved her
love, for ofttimes, my lord, ye have consented that she should be brent
and destroyed, in your heat, and then it fortuned me to do battle for
her, and or I departed from her adversary they confessed their untruth,
and she full worshipfully excused. And at such times, my lord Arthur,
said Sir Launcelot, ye loved me, and thanked me when I saved your queen
from the fire; and then ye promised me for ever to be my good lord; and
now methinketh ye reward me full ill for my good service. And my good
lord, meseemeth I had lost a great part of my worship in my knighthood
an I had suffered my lady, your queen, to have been brent, and insomuch
she should have been brent for my sake. For sithen I have done battles
for your queen in other quarrels than in mine own, meseemeth now I had
more right to do battle for her in right quarrel. And therefore my good
and gracious lord, said Sir Launcelot, take your queen unto your good
grace, for she is both fair, true, and good.

Fie on thee, false recreant knight, said Sir Gawaine; I let thee wit my
lord, mine uncle, King Arthur, shall have his queen and thee, maugre thy
visage, and slay you both whether it please him. It may well be, said
Sir Launcelot, but wit you well, my lord Sir Gawaine, an me list to come
out of this castle ye should win me and the queen more harder than ever
ye won a strong battle. F