ce," said the knight; "go back to the Court, and tell Arthur, from
me, either to come himself, or to send some other to fight with me; and
unless he do so quickly, I will not wait for him." "By my faith," said
Peredur, "choose thou whether it shall be willingly or unwillingly, but I
will have the horse, and the arms, and the goblet." And upon this the
knight ran at him furiously, and struck him a violent blow {58} with the
shaft of his spear, between the neck and the shoulder. "Ha ha! lad,"
said Peredur, "my mother's servants were not used to play with me in this
wise; therefore, thus will I play with thee." And thereupon he struck
him with a sharp pointed fork, and it hit him in the eye, and came out at
the back of his neck, so that he instantly fell down lifeless.

"Verily," said Owain the son of Urien to Kai, "thou wert ill advised,
when thou didst send that madman after the knight, for one of two things
must befall him. He must either be overthrown, or slain. If he is
overthrown by the knight, he will be counted by him to be an honourable
person of the Court, and an eternal disgrace will it be to Arthur and his
warriors. And if he is slain, the disgrace will be the same, and
moreover, his sin will be upon him; therefore will I go to see what has
befallen him." So Owain went to the meadow, and he found Peredur
dragging the man about. "What art thou doing thus?" said Owain. "This
iron coat," said Peredur, "will never come from off him; not by my
efforts, at any rate." {59a} And Owain unfastened his armour and his
clothes. "Here, my good soul," said he, "is a horse and armour better
than thine. Take them joyfully, and come with me to Arthur, to receive
the order of knighthood, for thou dost merit it." "May I never shew my
face again, if I go," said Peredur, "but take thou the goblet to
Gwenhwyvar, and tell Arthur, that wherever I am, I will be his vassal,
and will do him what profit and service I am able. And say that I will
not come to his Court, until I have encountered the tall man that is
there, to avenge the injury he did to the dwarf and dwarfess." And Owain
went back to the Court, and related all these things to Arthur and
Gwenhwyvar, and to all the household. {59b}

And Peredur rode forward. And as he proceeded, behold a knight met him.
"Whence comest thou?" said the knight. "I come from Arthur's Court,"
said Peredur. "Art thou one of his men?" asked he. "Yes, by my faith,"
he answered. "A