CHAPTER X
THE QUESTE VERSIONS
We now reach a very important point in our investigation. The Lancelot section of Malory is not only so much condensed, but also so fragmentary in character, and, apparently, so capricious in choice of incident that a critical comparison between the version there offered and other forms of the Lancelot story can never be productive of a completely satisfactory result. It is one of those cases in which we must be content with probability, and renounce the hope of arriving at certainty. We have evidence enough to enable us to form an hypothesis as to the original character of the MS. used by Malory; of its actual condition, whether complete or incomplete, and, if the former, of the reasons which determined the compiler in his choice of incident, we cannot yet speak positively. I doubt if we shall ever be able to do so.
But with the Queste section it is different. As I remarked before, this part of the Lancelot cycle is far more homogeneous in structure than the sections preceding or following it: it is a romance within a romance, complete and rounded off in itself. Malory appears to have felt this; he condenses still, it is true, but it is condensation, not omission; he follows the sequence of incident accurately, begins with the beginning, ends with the end, consequently we are in a far better position for comparing his version with that of the other texts, and can hope to arrive at a really satisfactory result.
The first noticeable variant is in the passage 'for of a more worthyer mans hande may he not receive the order of knyghthode,' words spoken by the abbess to Lancelot. These are not in Q. but are in D. L.:
'Ende ic soude gerne sien dathi
Van uwer hant ridder werde, wildi;
Bedie van beteren man, sonder waen,
En mocht i ridderscap niet ontfaen.'—Book III. 61-64.
Also in 1533: 'car de plus preudhomme que de vous ne pourrait il recevoir l'ordre de chevalerie sicomme il nous est advis,' vol. iii. fo. 67. Here then M., D. L. and 1533 agree together against Q. W. has 'for we think that a better than he could not receive that dignity,' thus referring the phrase to Galahad—a probable misreading of the original French.
In the account of the arming of Galahad, omitted in M., Q. and D. L. agree in saying that Lancelot buckles on one spur, Bohort the other, whereas 1533 gives Lionel and Bohort. This latter is, I think, the right version, otherwise Lionel, though present, would have no share in the ceremony. W. also omits Lionel, and makes Bohort only bestow a kiss on the youth, Lancelot buckling on the spur, in this case one only.
In the adventure of the sword in the stone we again find M., D. L. and 1533 in accord against Q. All three relate that Gawain attempts to draw the sword and fails. This must be correct, as Q., though not saying that he makes the attempt, represents Arthur as telling him to laissies ester the moment he touches the hilt, words which both D. L. and 1533 place in Arthur's mouth after the attempt:
'Nu laet staen
Gi hebet wel min bevelen gedaen.'—ll. 231-2.
This latter phrase is evidently represented by M.: 'I thanke yow ſaid the kynge to ſyre Gawayne /' W. records Gawain's (Gwalchmei's) attempt, but not the king's speech.
According to 1533 no other knight makes the attempt. D. L. records Perceval's failure, and says that after that none would essay the venture.
'Soe datmen vord daer niemanne vant,
Die daer an wilde doen die hant.'—ll. 255-56.
I suspect that M., 'Thenne were there moo that durſte be ſoo hardy to ſette theire handes thereto /,' should be corrected by the substitution or insertion of a negative (no before moo or none), it would read more coherently. W. relates no attempt after Perceval, but does not say definitely that no one essays the feat.
The result here is clearly, M., D. L., 1533 against Q., with special agreement of M. and D. L., 1533 and W.174
In the case of Galahad's message to his relations at Corbenic, every one of the versions gives a different rendering.
M. My graunt sir Kynge Pelles / and my lord Petchere / (a manifest error).
Q. Mon oncle le roi Pelles / mon aioul le riche pescheoure.
D. L. Min here den Coninc Pelles—enten Coninc Vischere min ouder vader.
1533. Mon oncle le roy pescheur—et mon aieul le roi Pelles.
The greeting is omitted in W.
It is difficult to know what to make of such confusion, but of the four variants I prefer the last as possessing a certain raison d'être. The Fisher King was certainly the uncle of the original Grail Winner, and King Pelles is as certainly the grandfather of Galahad. It looks to me as if the compiler of this version had made an effort to combine the Perceval and Galahad stories, though his version as it stands is in contradiction to his text.175
D. L. text should be noted as compared with the statement of the earlier section, that the Maimed King and Fisher King are one, and that the personage thus named is not King Pelles but his father. The manifest uncertainty of the Galahad Queste as to the identity of this personage, and his relationship to the Grail Winner, as compared with the much clearer statements of the early Perceval story appear to me a proof of the lateness of the former. As to which of the four versions given represents the real view of the author of the Queste, I should not like to hazard an opinion—probably copyists altered according to their own particular view of the matter!
After the appearance of the Grail there is an interesting passage, omitted in M., where Gawain remarks that each has been served with whatever food or drink he desired, which had never happened before save in the court of the roi mehaignet (Q.); roi Perles (1533, which generally adopts this spelling), coninc Vischer (D. L.). Here Q. stops, but D. L. and 1533 continue Gawain's speech, nom-pourtant ils ne peuvent onques veoir le sainct vaisseau ainsi comme nous l'avons veu, ainsi leur a este la semblance couverte (vol. iii. fo. 69). Maer si waren bedrogen in dien, Dat sijt niet oppenbare mochten sien (687-8). Nevertheless, since he has not seen it as clearly as he might, he will go in quest till it be wholly revealed to him. I think the above passage is the source of M. '/ one thynge begyled vs we myght not ſee the holy Grayle / it was ſoo precyouſly couered /.' The compiler omits, as I said above, Gawain's reference to the previous appearance, but adapts the latter part of his speech to the circumstances he is narrating. W. gives the passage practically in its entirety, but so freely rendered that we cannot use it for textual comparison. The king is called King Peleur.
Here again I think we may postulate an agreement between M., D. L., 1533 and W. in a feature omitted by Q.176
D. L. is alone against the other three in not giving the owner of the castle 'Vagan' the same name as his castle, but simply says: 'Nu was een goet man te Vagan' (l. 1146), which I suspect is the right version. W., on the contrary, does not name the castle, but says it belonged to Bagan, 'a good and religious man.'
In the account of the adventure with the shield, both D. L. and 1533 give Galahad's remarks to his companions more fully than do Q. or M., though the general bearing of the passage is well represented in this latter. In both the first Galahad tells his companions that if they fail in the adventure then he will attempt it; 1533, 'et se vous ne le pouez emporter ie l'emporteray, aussi n'ay ie point d'escu'; they then offer to leave him the adventure, but he tells them they must essay it first. D. L.:
'Elst nu dat gi falgiert daer an,
Ic sal daventure proven dan—
In' brachte genen scilt met mi.'—ll. 1244-54.
With this W. agrees.
Here, again, D. L., 1533, and W. give a much clearer text than Q.; and M., though condensing, agrees closely in substance with the two first.177
In the adventure with Melians de Lile, D. L. and 1533 again all agree against Q. in stating that he is son to the King of Denmark (W. King of Mars), thus motiving Galahad's lecture on the duties of his high station. It was certainly in Q.'s original, as he says: 'Puis ke vous estes—de si haute lignie comme de roy,' though Melians has not told him his parentage.
M., D. L., 1533, and W. are here superior to Q.
In avenging Melians on the knight who has overthrown him, M. and D. L. agree in saying that Galahad smites off the whole left arm, as against the 'poing senestre' of Q. and 1533. W. says he cuts off his nose!
In the symbolic interpretation of Melians' adventure, 1533 gives the fullest and clearest version. The right-hand road represents the Way of Our Lord, wherein His knights 'cheminent de iour et de nuyt la nuyt selon l'arme et le iour selon le corps,' 1533 (vol. iii. fo. 74), which is intelligible. Q. exactly reverses this: 'entrent de jours selon l'arme, et de nuis selon le corps.' M. gives, 'For the way on the ryƺt hand betokeneth the hyghe way of our lord Jheſu Cryſte / and the way of a true good lyver /'; W., 'On that road go the souls of the innocent,' thus evading the difficulty. D. L. is here very confused, and does not seem to have understood the passage.
In the adventure of the Castle of Maidens, M., D. L., and 1533 again agree in saying that Galahad meets seven maidens, against one in Q. M.'s '/ Soo moche peple in the stretes that he myghte not nombre them /' is evidently a rendering of 1533: 'tant de gens que il estoit impossible de les scavoir nombrer.' D. L. has exactly the same phrase, but gives 'joncfrouwen' instead of 'gens,' thus for once agreeing with Q., which gives puceles, against the other two. W. here gives 'maidens,' but in the first instance has 'a youth.'
A little later, 1533 and D. L. throw light upon an apparent contradiction between M. and Q., noted by Dr. Sommer.178 The old man of whom Galahad inquires the meaning of the adventure is, as Dr. Sommer remarks, the same who has given him the keys; but M. says he asks a 'preest.' Both 1533 and D. L. agree in saying that Galahad asks the old man who brought him the keys, when he comes to him the second time, if he be a priest, and is answered in the affirmative. Again, the three agree in giving seven years as the time the customs have been established, against the two in Q. W. here agrees in both points with 1533 and D. L.
It is plain that we must reckon this entire adventure among the agreements of M., D. L., 1533, and W., though in one particular D. L. and W. agree with Q.
In the account of the fight of Gawayne, Gareth, and Uwayne, with the seven brethren, both D. L. and 1533 give Gariët (Gaheriet) as the equivalent of Gareth.179
When Lancelot is sleeping before the Grail chapel, 1533 clearly states that the servant of the knight who has been healed takes Lancelot's sword and helmet, as well as his horse, whereas Q. only mentions the horse; but says later that Lancelot finds himself 'tot desgarnis de ses armes et de son cheval.' D. L. also only mentions the horse at the moment, but a little later on states that Lancelot is 'sonder scilt ende helm ende part,' thus practically agreeing with 1533. M. differs from both in saying that it is sword, helm, and horse of which the squire deprives him. W. here agrees with M.
M. and D. L. agree in omitting the parallel between Lancelot and the bad servant, in the Parable of the Talents, which is given by 1533 and W. But it is a noticeable feature of both D. L. and 1533 that though they give as a rule a fuller account than M., both of them shorten very considerably the improving and 'sermonising' sections which are such a feature of Q. On the other hand, both give the adventurous sections in a more accurate and detailed manner.
Perceval's interview with the recluse, in Book XIV., is clearer in D. L. than in either of the French versions, and has some special features of interest.180 Thus in Q. Perceval asks, who was the knight who overthrew him. He does not know 'ne se ch'est chil qui vint en armes vermeilles a court' (when he does not say); the recluse answers, 'Yes,' and she will tell him the 'senefianche.' In D. L. the passage runs thus: Perceval asks,
'"Oft gi wet wie die riddere es
Dien ic soeke berecht mi des,"
Si gaf hem antwerde daer of;
"Hets die gene die quam int hof
In sinxen dage, ende die dan
Die rode wapine hadde an."
"Nu seldi mi wel berichten des,
Wat betokenessen dat was?"'—ll. 3229-36.
This seems to me a preferable rendering.
W. here hovers between the two versions. The aunt tells Perceval who Galahad is in answer to his question, as in D. L., but volunteers the explanation as in 1533.
Later on Perceval tells her:
'Hoe hi gevonnen hadde sijn lant,
Ende sijn broder daer in es bleven
Met sinen liden, mit sinen neven.
"Dat wet ic wel," seit si saen,
"Die heilegeest deet mi verstaen,
Dies ic harde blide was."'—ll. 3442-47.
There is no parallel to this in the other versions, but it agrees with what we find in Morien; and I think it probable that the Dutch compiler, who seems to have been very familiar with the Perceval story, may have introduced it.181
The castle at which Perceval is to seek a kinsman is not named in D. L., but M. Goothe, W. Goth, and 1533 Got, agree against Q. there.
In Perceval's adventure with the Fiend Horse, the text of 1533 is again preferable, being clear and detailed throughout, e.g. whereas when the lady asks Perceval what he does under the tree, Q. makes him answer, 'Qu'il ne sent ni bien ne mal mais s'il eust cheval il se leva d'illuec.' 1533 gives 'qu'il ne faisoit ne bien ne mal' mais si j'avoye ung cheval ie m'en iroye d'icy.' W. here agrees with 1533.
After the fight with the dragon, M. tells us that Perceval 'caſte donne his ſheld / whiche was broken /.' Q., agreeing in the first part, omits this feature; but both D. L. and 1533 say the shield was not broken, but burnt: 'Der verbernt was wech ende wede' (3886); 'Qui estoit tout brulé' (III. fo. 83). As we have previously been told that the dragon was breathing forth flame, this is manifestly correct. W., describing the fight, says, 'his shield and breastplate were burnt all in front of him,' and that he 'threw the shield from him burning.' M., who is condensing here, omits the fiery breath, hence, I suspect, the broken instead of burnt shield.
I think we may take this again as agreement of M., D. L., W., and 1533 against Q.
The 'drois enchanteres vns multeplieres de paroles' of the French versions, with which M. closely agrees, is in D. L.:
'Hets een toverare sijt seker des
Die can dinen van vele spraken
Ende van enen worde hondert maken.'—ll. 4294-6.
An amplification probably due to the exigencies of rhyme;182 though as W. gives, 'He was a necromancer, who of one word would make twelve without ever saying a word of truth,' the original source may have had something similar.
M., D. L., and W. again agree against Q. and 1533 in giving a shorter version of Perceval's prayer, and omitting all New Testament references.
The adventure of the dead hermit, in Book XV., is, again, better told in D. L. and 1533 than in M. or Q. Thus Q. omits to state the nature of the supposed transgression, which is clearly set forth in the other three:
'Maer hine es niet, donket mi,
Na sire ordinen gebode,
Noch na onsen herre Gode;
Want hi niet heden den dach
In sulken abite sterven ne mach,
Hine hebbe bi enegen onmaten
Sine ordine nu gelaten.'—ll. 4780-87.
This is evidently the source of M.'s 'this man that is dede oughte not to be in suche clothynge as ye see hym in / for in that he brake the othe of his ordre /.' W. gives the same reason at greater length.
Later on M. seems to have had before him a reading nearer to Q.: in the morning, 'il trouuerent sans faille le preudhomme de vie,' which M. understood as alive, since he says, 'he laye all that nygt tyl hit was daye in that fyre and was not dede /,' though immediately afterwards he says that the Hermit came and found him dead. D. L. and 1533 say, 'Ende alse dat vier utginc si vonden Den goeden man doet tien stonden,' ll. 4915-16; 'ilz trouverent sans nulle faulte le preudhomme mort.' The miracle consisting in the fact that his garments (e.g. the linen shirt) were untouched by fire, so that he evidently had died from the previous ill-usage, not from the burning—a result which he had predicted. W., on the contrary, says that 'when the fire was extinguished the man was as lively as he was before. And then he prayed Jesus Christ to take his soul to Him, and He received him, without injury to the shirt or himself.' The whole adventure should be carefully compared, and the superiority of these three versions will be clearly seen. The two first are, I think, the correct version of the incident, but W., though rendering freely, gives a fuller account than is often the case.
The list of Celidoine's descendants agrees in D. L. and 1533, while M., though varying from the other three, leans rather to these two than to Q.:
I think here the second name is certainly Nasciens, and that the mysterious Cham of D. L. and 1533 (a personage whom we do not know) ought probably to be Alain. Such a mistake might easily be made by a copyist, if the MS. before him were not clear and he was unfamiliar with Grail traditions. I think it very likely that M.'s source was much the same as that of D. L. and 1533, and that he dropped out Cham, but the comparison of the four versions is interesting. The list is omitted in W.
The black and white knights are treated by D. L. as purely visionary and symbolic, and no names are given.
The incident of the black knight, who issues from the lake and kills Lancelot's horse, differs in 1533 from the other four versions. Instead of striking the horse at once he rides past Lancelot without touching him, then returns, striking the horse en route and disappearing in the lake. I suspect that this is the right version; the knight is evidently a water-demon, and having his dwelling in the lake should return there.
At the commencement of Book XVI., when Gawain and Hector meet, they ask if any tidings have been heard of the principal questers. Here there are some interesting variants: Q. mentions Lancelot, Galahad, and Bohort, but says these four are the best of the questers; D. L. only mentions these, but says rightly these three; 1533 first mentions Lancelot alone, then Galahad, Perceval, and Bohort, and reckoning all together, says these four, and with this M. and W. agree.
There are but few interesting variants in the account of Bohort's adventures; the symbolic interpretations are, as usual, much less insisted upon, indeed 1533 gives no such explanation either of the disinherited lady, or of the 'lily and dry wood' vision, though Bohort is assured of Lionel's safety. The fight between the two brothers is also more briefly told: we do not hear that they lie long unconscious after the flame descends, but Bohort is told at once to join Perceval. Here W. agrees with D. L. and 1533.
D. L. differs from all the other versions in naming the damsel who warns Bohort of her mistress' suicidal intention. She is called Pallada.
In Book XVII., in all concerning the mysterious ship, the text of D. L. and 1533 is far superior to that of Q. The inscription in D. L. runs thus:
'Hort man, die wils gaen hier in,
Besie di wel, ende oec merc
Dattu sijs geloves vol ende sterc.
Want ic els niet dan gelove ben
Hier bi hoede elkerlijc hem:
Falgiert hem eneger maniren
Van gelove, ic sal hem falgiren.'—ll. 7910-16.
1533 says the inscription is in 'langaige dit Caldeu,' and says 'si tost q tu guerpiras ta creance ie te guerpiray en telle maniere que tu ne auras de moi ne conseil ne ayde,' and proceeds to explain (which no other text I have consulted does) that if he who enters fail in faith he will fall into the water. This should be compared with the passage in Hucher,183 where the inscription on the ship agrees closely and is also said to be in Caldiu. The warning as to the nature of the penalty is omitted here, but the penalty is incurred exactly as 1533 foretells.
M. evidently had the warning of D. L. and 1533 before him when he wrote 'for and thou faile I shal not helpe the /.' W. gives the warning in more general terms, due perhaps to the translator.
Perceval's speech on entering the ship is again best given by 1533. Here, he says, he will enter 'pour ce que se ie suis desloyal que ie y perisse comme desloyal, et se ie suis plain de foy et tel comme bon chevalier doit estre que ie soye sauvé,' i.e. he submits to the test in all humility. Q. says: 'Car iou sui plain de foi et teus comme chivalers doit estre,' thus omitting the qualifying phrases, and giving the speech quite a different meaning. W. closely agrees with Q. D. L. also, though less abrupt, practically agrees with Q.; while M. must have had the version of 1533 before him: 'for yf I be a nys creature or an untrue knyghte there shalle I perysshe'—a reading he could not possibly have derived from either of the other two.
In the account of the scabbard of the sword we have a most interesting variety of readings, but, comparing one with the other, it appears certain that here again 1533 is in the right.
One side of the scabbard is said by D. L., 1533 and M. to be red as blood, with an inscription in letters black as a coal; while Q. says the scabbard is 'black as pitch'—an evident confusion with the inscription. W. says the sheath is 'rose-red,' with letters of gold and silver.
The name is given differently in each instance: Q., memoire de sens; D. L., Gedinkenesse van sinne; M., meuer of blood; 1533, memoire de sang. D. L. and 1533 go on to say that 'none shall look upon that part of the scabbard which is made of the Tree of Life but they shall be reminded of the blood of Abel.' M. omits the latter part of this sentence, thus making great confusion.
Now, comparing these versions together, the right reading becomes perfectly clear. The scabbard is red, for it was made (at least one half of it was) of the wood of the Tree of Life, which, as we are distinctly told, turned red at the death of Abel; and the inscription 'memoire de sang' was intended to keep this event in mind. The confusion, in the case of Q. and D. L., clearly arose from the MS. at the root of the first having had the reading sans for sanc or sang (a reading often met with); a careless copyist, heedless of the sense of his transcription, wrote sens and this was correctly translated by the compiler of D. L. as sinne; a reading which, however unintelligible in itself, would probably not strike the compiler (who was certainly an intelligent writer with a very good knowledge of French) as absolute nonsense, inasmuch as it was connected with the 'calling to mind' of the death of Abel. Q., who omits this qualifying passage, does make nonsense of it. In M.'s case the mistake was in the first word, and probably arose from a confusion between m and uv, which may very well be due to Caxton; otherwise M. appears to have had the same version as 1533, which, alone, has preserved it free from error. W. omits the inscription altogether.
The 'erle Hernox' in M., Ernous in Q., is in D. L. and 1533 Arnout and Arnoul. Ernoulf in W.
Both D. L. and 1533 state that the maiden who shall cure the lady by her blood must be not only a virgin and a king's daughter but Perceval's sister. This is neither in Q. nor in M., and may perhaps indicate that, as I have suggested, these two versions belonged to an original Perceval-Lancelot redaction, from which they introduced occasional additions to Perceval's share of the Queste, as in the previous allusion to his having recovered his kingdom in D. L.184
In the account of Lancelot's visit to Corbenic, after being struck down at the sight of the Grail, Q. says he is discovered seated (seant) before the door, while the other three all represent him as lying (lyinge—licgende—gisant), which is certainly more in harmony with the general situation. D. L. says that when Lancelot recovers and knows he has lain unconscious fourteen days he bethinks him:
'Hoe hi hadde gedient den viant
.xiiij. jaer, ende pensede te hant,
Dat hem onse here daerti dede
Die macht verlisen in sine lede
.xiiij. dage.'—ll. 9919-23.
Whereas Q. only says 'qu'il avoit servi l'anemi.' A meaningless phrase, as it stands. M. agrees with D. L. with the exception that he says twenty-four instead of fourteen, in which he is certainly correct, as Lancelot's liaison with Guinevere had begun long before the birth of Galahad. The number may have been altered by the compiler of D. L. for the exigencies of the rhyme, which would not admit the original form. 1533 omits the passage altogether, condensing considerably at this point.185 W. does not specify whether he were lying or seated, but agrees with D. L. in giving fourteen years, which rather looks as if that number may have been in the source of this latter.
In the account of the questers at Castle Corbenic D. L. and 1533 alike clear up a passage which, as it stands, is obscure in M. and utterly unintelligible in Q. Nine stranger knights arrive at the castle,186 three being of Gaul, three of Ireland, and three of Denmark. When they separate the next day, Q. has this unintelligible passage—Galahad has asked the strangers' names—'et tant qu'il trouverent estrois de gariles, que claudins li fieus le roi claudas, en ert li uns et li autre de quel terre qu'il fuissent, erent asses gentile homme et de haut lignage.'187 M. renders, without any mention of names being asked, 'But the thre knyghtes of Gaule, one of them hyghte Claudyne, kynge Claudas sone / and the other two were grete gentylmen' (which should surely have given Dr. Sommer a clue to the right rendering of the passage).
D. L. runs thus:
'Ende alsi buten den castele quamen
Vragede elc oms sanders namen,
Soedat si worden geware das,
Dat van den drien van Gaule was
Claudijn Claudas sone die een,
Ende si vonden van den anderen tween
Dat si waren van groter machte
Ridders, ende van groten geslachte'—ll. 10601-8.
1533 has, 'Si trouverent que des trois de Gaulle Claudius le filz au roy Claudas en estoit ung et les autres estoiet assez vaillans.' It seems clear that M.'s text is that of D. L. carelessly abridged.188
Both D. L. and 1533 conclude the Queste section with the passage relating the death of the twenty-two (twenty-four) questers, eighteen of whom fell by the hand of Gawain; the writing out of the knights' adventures, and the preservation of the record in the abbey of Salisbury where Map found them, this latter item being omitted by 1533. This passage is, as a rule, now found at the beginning of the Mort Artur section, but, I think, it is clear that its proper place is at the end of the Queste; as I have pointed out already, the light in which it represents Gawain is entirely in keeping with that romance, while it does not agree with either the Mort Artur or the Lancelot, both of which regard Arthur's gallant nephew with genuine respect. Further, the drawing up of a record of adventures is better placed at the end of the section dealing with the adventures to be recorded than at the beginning of another. M.'s words, 'alle this was made in grete bookes / and put up in almeryes at Salysbury /' coupled with his total omission of any corresponding passage at the commencement of the next book, seem to prove that in his source, too, it stood at the end of the Queste.189
What now are the results we may deduce from this examination of four versions of the Galahad Queste? First, I think it is clear that the verse translation in D. L. and the prose 1533 both offer a text very decidedly superior to that edited by Dr. Furnivall, and, if Dr. Sommer's extracts are to be relied on, that represented by the majority of the printed editions of the Lancelot. Second, it is equally clear that the text used by Malory stood in close relation to these two versions. Many variants attributed by Dr. Sommer to the English compiler, are, it is now certain, due to his source, in the treatment of which he shows little sign of intelligence or invention, but rather a tendency to compression at all hazards, sometimes omitting the very part of a phrase which was required to make the whole intelligible. The general tendency of our examination, therefore, goes to establish the practical agreement of D. L., 1533 and M., as against Q. and S. The version given by W. is so free a rendering, and omits so many details, that it is scarcely possible to place it. It seems clear that the original source must have belonged to the same MS. family as the former three, but whether the agreement was with 1533, rather than with D. L. and M., or vice versa, it is impossible to say.
But how do these three stand as regards each other? On the whole 1533 appears to represent the better text, and it also appears to have preserved signs of an earlier redaction, yet I do not think it is the direct source of the other two. We often find D. L. and M. agreeing in details of numbers and names, as against the other version; certainly in the case of such a name as Brimol van Pleîche, Bromel la Pleche, the agreement must be due to a French source common to both. I should be inclined to postulate some such scheme as this.
As will be seen from the summary of D. L. appended to these studies, both this version and M. show, in the Lancelot section, a certain plus of incident as against 1533, though these incidents vary in each case. The relation cannot, therefore, be exactly determined, but I think there can be no reasonable doubt that for the Lancelot-Queste section of his compilation Malory used an Agravain-Queste MS.
That he had two MSS., one for the Lancelot, another for the Queste, as Dr. Sommer190 suggests, is highly unlikely. It would be too curious a chance that he should in each case hit on a version so closely corresponding to that of the two with which we have compared his reading.
This appears to me practically to dispose of the argument, that Malory had before him a number of episodic romances, an argument often brought forward;191 the 'Turquine' episode in Book VI., the whole of Book VII., and the adventure with the damsel of Escalot being instances in point. Turquine certainly came out of the Lancelot, as did the lady of Escalot; Book VII. may have been an episodic romance, as also the handling of Urre of Hungary; though this latter, as we shall see, may equally well be an amplification of an adventure found in the prose Lancelot.192