verso. haue abrydgyd it and many thynges left out / And in me place haue sette certayn versys / that he neuer made ne sette ys booke / of whyche bookes so incorrecte was one brought to vj yere passyd / whyche I supposed had ben veray true ។ corAnd accordyng to the same I dyde do enprynte a certayn || Sign. a ij. bre of them, whyche anon were sold to many and dyuerse yl men, of whome one gentylman cam to me, and said that book was not accordyng in many places vnto the book that Ferey chaucer had made / To whom I answerd that I had maaccordyng to my copye / and by me was nothyng added ne usshyd / Thenne he sayd he knewe a book whyche hys fader and moche louyd / that was very trewe / and accordyng vnys owen first book by hym made / and sayd more yf I wold cynte it agayn he wold gete me the same book for a copye / be it he wyst wel / that hys fader wold not gladly departe t / To whom I said / in caas that he coude gete me suche a book Te and correcte / yet I wold ones endeuoyre me to enprynte it -n / for to satysfye thauctour / where as to fore by ygnouraunce ryd in hurtyng and dyffamyng his book in dyuerce places ettyng in somme thynges that he neuer sayd ne made / and leg out many thynges that he made whyche ben requysite to be - in it / And thus we fyll at accord / And he ful gentylly of hys fader the said book / and delyuerd it to me / by whiche ue corrected my book / as here after alle alonge by thayde of ghty god shal folowe / whom I humbly beseche to gyue me and ayde to achyeue / and accomplysshe / to hys laude ho- and glorye / and that alle ye that shal in thys book rede or e / wyll of your charyte emong your dedes of mercy / rememthe sowle of the sayd Gefferey chaucer first auctour / and ma of thys book / And also that alle we that shal see and rede in / may so take and vnderstonde the good and vertuous tathat it may so prouffyte / vnto the helthe of our sowles / that - thys short and transitorye lyf we may come to euerlastyng n heuen / Amen By Wylliam Caxton Sig. ij. recto. a XXV Kyng Arthur 1 [1485] [PROLOGUE] Fter that I had accomplysshed and fynysshed dyuers hystoryes as wel of contemplacyon as of other hysto ryal and worldly actes of grete conquerors ។ pryn ces / And also certeyn bookes of ensaumples and doctryne / Many noble and dyuers gentylmen of thys royame of Englond camen and demaunded me many and oftymes / wherfore that I haue not do made Jenprynte the noble hystorye of the saynt greal / and of the moost renomed crysten Kyng / Fyrst and chyef of the thre best crysten and worthy / kyng Arthur / whyche ought moost to be remembred emonge vs englysshe men tofore al other crysten kynges / For it is notoyrly knowen thorugh the vnyuersal world / that there been ix worthy J the best that euer were / That is to wete thre paynyms / thre Jewes and thre crysten men / As for the paynyms they were tofore the Incarnacyon of Cryst / whiche were named / the fyrst Hector of Troye / of whome thystorye is comen bothe in balade and in prose / The second Alysaunder the grete / J the thyrd Julyus Cezar Emperour of Rome of whome thystoryes ben wel kno and had / And as for the thre Jewes whyche also were tofore thyncarnacyon of our lord of whome the fyrst was Duc Josue whyche brought the chyldren of Israhel in to the londe of byheste / The second Dauyd kyng of Jherusalem / the thyrd Judas Machabeus of these thre the byble reherceth al theyr noble hystoryes actes / And sythe the sayd Jncarnacyon haue ben thre noble crysten men stalled and admytted thorugh the vnyuersal world in to the nombre of the ix beste ។ worthy / of whome was fyrst the noble Arthur / whos noble actes I pur pose to wryte in thys present book here folowyng / The second was Charlemayn or Charles the grete / of whome thystorye is had in many places bothe in frensshe and englysshe / and the thyrd and last was Godefray of boloyn / of whos Actes y lyf 1 The unique copy of this work, which was formerly owned by the Earl of Jersey, is now in the Hoe collection, New York. verso. [ made a book vnto thexcellent prynce and kyng of noble me norye kynge Edward the fourth / the sayd noble Jentylmen Instantly requyred me temprynte thystorye of the sayd noble cyng and conquerour kyng Arthur / and of his knyghtes wyth thystorye of the saynt greal / and of the deth and endyng of the sayd Arthur / Affermyng that I out rather tenprynte nis actes and noble feates / than of godefroye of boloyne / or || ny of the other eyght / consyderyng that he was a man borne Sig. ij. vythin this royame and kyng and Emperour of the same / And that there ben in frensshe dyuers and many noble volunes of his actes / and also of his knyghtes / To whome J answerd / that dyuers men holde oppynyon / that there was 10 suche Arthur / and that alle suche bookes as been maad of ym / ben but fayned and fables / by cause that somme cronyles make of hym no mencyon ne remembre hym noo thynge ne of his knyghtes / wher to they answerd / and one in specyal sayd / that in hym that shold say or thynke / that there was ne mer suche a kyng callyd Arthur / myght wel be aretted grete Folye and blyndenesse / For he sayd that there were many euy Hences of the contrarye / Fyrst ye may see his sepulture in the monasterye of Glastyngburye / And also in polycronycon in he v book the syxte chappytre / and in the seuenth book the xxiij chappytre / where his bodye was buryed and after foun Hen and translated in to the sayd monasterye / ye shall se also n thystorye of bochas in his book de casu principum / parte of nis noble actes / and also of his falle / Also galfrydus in his brutysshe book recounteth his lyf / and in dyuers places of Englond / many remembraunces ben yet of hym and shall emayne perpetuelly / and also of his knyghtes / Fyrst in the bbey of westmestre at saynt Edwardes shryne remayneth the prynte of his seal in reed waxe closed in beryll / Jn whych is vryton Patricius Arthurus / Britannie / Gallie / Germanie / Hacie / Jmperator / Item in the castel of douer ye may see Gauvayns skulle / J Cradoks mantel. At wynchester the ronnde -able / in other places Launcelottes swerde and many other hynges / Thenne al these thynges consydered there can no man -esonably gaynsaye butt here was a kyng of thys lande named Arthur / For in al places crysten and hethen he is rebuted and taken for one of the ix worthy / And the fyrst of he thre Crysten men / And also he is more spoken of beyonde the see moo bookes 1 made of his noble actes than there be in englond as wel in duche ytalyen spanysshe and grekysshe a in frensshe / And yet of record remayne in wytnesse of hym in wales in the toune of Camelot the grete stones y meruayllous werkys of yron lyeng under the grounde Jryal vautes || which dyuers now lyuyng hath seen / wherfor it is a meruayl why he is nomore renomed in his owne contreye / sauf onelye it accordeth to the word of god / whyche sayth that no man is accept for a prophete in his owne contreye / Thenne al these thyn ges forsayd aledged J coude not wel denye / but that there was suche a noble kyng named Arthur / and reputed one of the ix worthy fyrst chyef of the crysten men / J many noble volumes be made of hymy of his noble knyghtes in frensshe which I haue seen redde beyonde the see / which been not had in our maternal tongue / but in walsshe ben many y also in frensshe / Jsomme in englysshe but nowher nygh alle / wherfore suche as haue late ben drawen oute bryefly in to englysshe / I haue after the symple connynge that god hath sente to me / vnder the fauour and correctyon of al noble lordes and gentylmen enprysed to enprynte a book of the noble hystoryes of the sayd kynge Arthur / and of certeyn of his knyghtes after a copye vnto me delyuerd / whyche copye Syr Thomas Malorye dyd take oute of certayn bookes of frensshe and reduced it in to Englysshe / And I accordyng to my copye haue doon sette it in enprynte / to the entente that noble men may see and lerne the noble actes of chivalrye / the Jentyl and vertuous dedes that somme knyghtes vsed in tho dayes:/ by whyche they came to honour / and how they that were vycious were punysshed and ofte put to shame and rebuke / humbly besechyng al no ble lordes and ladyes and al other estates of what estate or degre they been of / that shal see and rede in this sayd book and werke / that they take the good and honest actes in their remembraunce / and to folowe the same / wherin they shalle fynde many joyous and playsaunt hystoryes / and noble J renomed actes of humanyte / gentylnesse and chyualryes / For herein may be seen noble chiualrye / Curtosye / Humanyte frendlynesse / hardynesse / loue / frendshypp / Cowardyse / Murdre / hate / vertue / and synne / Doo after the good and leue the euyll / and it shal brynge you to good fame and renom Sig. iij. recto. text: boookes Lee / And for to passe the tyme thys book1 shal be plesaunte rede in / but for to gyue fayth and beleue that al is trewe at is conteyned herin / ye be at your liberte but al is wryn for our doctryne / and for to beware that we falle not to || ce ne synne / but texcersyse and folowe vertu / by whyche we ay come and atteyne to good fame and renomme in thys f / and after thys shorte and transytorye lyf to come vnto erlastyng blysse in heuen / the whyche he graunte vs that ygneth in heuen the blessyd Trynyte Amen / 1 text: boook Sig. iij. verso. . recto, col. 1. ynt XXVI Charles the Grete Paul doctour PROLOGUE 1 of somme werkes haultayne doon col. 2. ryte sayth to VS that from the original, like "Thenuoye |