Sir Degare in Translation

Degare leaves the hermit to seek his parents. He rescues an Earl from a dragon (with blows of his staff) and then gets a bevy of beauties paraded in front of him as he tries to find the woman whose hands will fit his gloves.

He knelede adoun al so swithe, And thonked the ermite of his live, And swor he nolde stinte no stounde Til he his kinrede hadde ifounde. For in the lettre was thous iwrite, That bi the gloven he sscholde iwite Wich were his moder and who, Yhif that sche livede tho, For on hire honden hii wolde, And on non other hii nolde. Half the florines he gaf the hermite, And halvendel he tok him mide, And nam his leve an wolde go. "Nai," seide the hermite, "schaltu no! To seche thi ken mightou nowt dure Withouten hors and god armure." "Nai," quad he, "bi Hevene Kyng, Ich wil have first another thing!" He hew adoun, bothe gret and grim, To beren in his hond with him, A god sapling of an ok; Whan he tharwith gaf a strok, Ne wer he never so strong a man Ne so gode armes hadde upon, That he ne scholde falle to grounde; Swich a bourdon to him he founde. Tho thenne God he him bitawt, And aither fram other wepyng rawt. Child Degarre wente his wai Thourgh the forest al that dai. No man he ne herd, ne non he segh, Til hit was non ipassed hegh; Thanne he herde a noise kete In o valai, an dintes grete. Blive thider he gan to te: What hit ware he wolde ise. An Herl of the countré, stout and fers, With a knight and four squiers, Hadde ihonted a der other two, And al here houndes weren ago. Than was thar a dragon grim, Ful of filth and of venim, With wide throte and teth grete, And wynges bitere with to bete. As a lyoun he hadde fet, And his tail was long and gret. The smoke com of his nose awai Ase fer out of a chimenai. The knyght and squiers he had torent, Man and hors to dethe chent. The dragon the Erl assaile gan, And he defended him as a man, And stoutliche leid on with his swerd, And stronge strokes on him gerd; Ac alle his dentes ne greved him nowt: His hide was hard so iren wrout. Therl flei fram tre to tre - Fein he wolde fram him be - And the dragon him gan asail; The doughti Erl in that batail Ofsegh this child Degarre; "Ha! help!" he seide, "par charité!" The dragoun seth the child com; He laft the Erl and to him nom Blowinde and yeniend also Als he him wolde swolewe tho. Ac Degarre was ful strong; He tok his bat, gret and long, And in the forehefd he him batereth That al the forehefd he tospatereth. He fil adoun anon right, And frapte his tail with gret might Upon Degarres side, That up-so-doun he gan to glide; Ac he stert up ase a man And with his bat leide upan, And al tofrusst him ech a bon, That he lai ded, stille as a ston. Therl knelede adoun bilive And thonked the child of his live, And maked him with him gon To his castel right anon, And wel at hese he him made, And proferd him al that he hade, Rentes, tresor, an eke lond, For to holden in his hond. Thanne answerede Degarre, "Lat come ferst bifor me Thi levedi and other wimmen bold, Maidenes and widues, yonge and olde, And other damoiseles swete. Yif mine gloven beth to hem mete For to done upon here honde, Thanne ich wil take thi londe; And yif thai ben nowt so, Iich wille take me leve and go." Alle wimman were forht ibrowt In wide cuntries and forth isowt: Ech the gloven assaie bigan, Ac non ne mighte don hem on. He tok his gloven and up hem dede, And nam his leve in that stede. The Erl was gentil man of blod, And gaf him a stede ful god And noble armure, riche and fin, When he wolde armen him therin, And a palefrai to riden an, And a knave to ben his man, And yaf him a swerd bright, And dubbed him ther to knyght, And swor bi God Almighti That he was better worthi To usen hors and armes also Than with his bat aboute to go

In gratitude he did kneel And thanked the hermit for his weal, Swearing to search far aground Until his father and mother were found. For in the letter was written thus That by the gloves know he must His mother's true identity. If she were alive he would see That her hands those gloves would fit, And on none other's could they sit. He gave the hermit half his wealth The remainder he kept for his health And took his leave with his lot. "No," said the hermit, "you shall not! Your quest for kin would go off course Without good armor, without a horse." "No," he replied, "by Heaven's King, I'll start out with a simple thing!" He cut down, gnarled and great To carry as he sought his fate, A good sapling of an oak; With this weapon, such a stroke He gave that even the strongest man With good arms could not withstand The blow and crumbled to the ground; Such a pilgrim's staff he found. Then the hermit blessed the boy And he departed in sorrow, not joy. Young Degare made his way Through the forest all that day. No one was present with him to commune, Until the hour was well past noon; Then he heard in a valley below The awful noise of a great blow. Toward the sound he rode eagerly: Wondering what there was to see. An earl of that land, aggressive and strong, And the nobles who had ridden along, Had hunted deer at some cost: For all their hunting dogs were lost. There stood a dragon most ugly Filled with venom, a creature unholy, Of wide throat and fangs so great, His long tail was a fearsome trait. Bitterly his wings did beat As he trampled with lion's feet. His nostrils blew smoke to the skies As from a chimney fires rise. The noblemen he had torn apart Both men and horse felt death's dart. The dragon began to attack the Earl Who defended himself, and fought to hurl Stiff strong strokes with his sword: On dragon-hide, these were scored. But every blow came to nought: The dragon's skin was as iron wrought. The Earl scrambled from tree to tree Hoping that he could run free— And that dragon challenged the mettle Of the Earl in that battle. All this young Degare did see; He said, "I'll help, for charity!" Seeing Degare's approach, The dragon left the Earl to broach Great yawns and a rumbling bellow As if he would Degare swallow. But Degare was so strong That with his staff, great and long, That monstrous forehead he battered: And every forehead bone was shattered. In an instant the dragon fell down But by whipping his tail around He struck with a blow so fleet, That it swept Degare off his feet; But Degare quickly rose again And with his cudgel blows did rain On the fiend, smashing each bone, Till the dragon lay dead, still as stone. On humble knees the Earl now gave Thanks to him who had fought to save His life. Degare followed this lord Back to his castle for his reward. The Earl made Degare his guest, Offering him all he possessed, Rents, treasure and even lands, Were placed into Degare's hands. To this answered Degare "If you will, put on display This land's ladies for me to behold Maidens and widows, young and old, And other noble damsels sweet. If these gloves happen to meet The lady whose hands they will fit I'll take your lands and my quest quit; But if an exact fit is not found Then I'll leave and not stay around." Before him were many women brought From far-flung countries they were sought: Each one tried the gloves to don But none was able to put them on. Retrieving the gloves, Degare Prepared to continue on his way. The Earl did what a nobleman should And gave Degare a steed that was good And noble armor, of rich design Which Degare wore and looked fine, And a palfrey for to ride And a servant to take his side, And gave to him a sword most bright, And dubbing him made him a knight, Swearing by Almighty God That Degare should be a lord, Worthy to employ arms and horse Instead of using his staff's crude force.