as chained as the lady had said and ever he
wept for pure despair.

Now the lady of that castle was very tender of heart, wherefore she
pitied Sir Gawaine because he appeared to be so misshapen and deformed.
So ever she spoke kindly and gently to him and she would not suffer that
any of the people of the castle should torment him. Thus it was that
though at first Sir Gawaine was minded to escape from the castle, yet
afterward he would not escape, for he said to himself: "Why should I
leave this place; and where can I, poor wretch that I be, find a better
and kinder shelter in my misfortunes than I have at this castle?" So he
became gentle and tractable and would not have quitted that place even
if he could have done so.

[Sidenote: _How Sir Gawaine dwelleth at the castle._]

And Sir Gawaine abode in that castle for more than a year, and ever the
lady treated him with kindness and with gentle tenderness and ever he
treated her with such courtliness as a knight royal might bestow upon a
lady. So great was his courtliness of demeanor that the lady marvelled
much thereat, yea, insomuch that she said to herself: "Certes this poor
creature must have been reared in a noble court or else he must have
dwelt a long time in such a place, for to have learned such courtliness
of manner as he showeth."

And sometimes it befell that the lady would question Sir Gawaine as to
what had happened to him in times gone by; but Sir Gawaine had taught
himself wisdom upon that point and now he would tell her nothing; for he
was aware that whenever he had been moved to speak about himself and
what had befallen him, then they who heard him would think him to be
mad, and would laugh at him and mock him, wherefore he would no longer
give any one the chance to declare that he was mad. So ever he held his
peace and ever the lady of the castle wondered how it was that he had
come to have so much of gentleness and dignity of demeanor.

So that winter and another winter passed, and during all that time Sir
Gawaine abode at the castle of the gentle lady as aforesaid. Then came
the springtime and the summertime again, and the season when all the
trees were green and bosky and when the days were warm and balmy once
more.

Now it befell about the middle of that summer that the lord and the lady
of the castle whereof Sir Gawaine was now the dwarf went forth ahawking,
and a very gay court of the castle folk went with them. With these the
lady took her