Notes de lecture

66


Le texte de base est celui de ldition de Janet Cowen, Penguin Classics (2 vol.).




BOOK IV



CHAPTER 5. How Sir Tor was made knight of the Round Table,
and how Bagdemagus was displeased

1 Now, said King Pellinor, I shall put to you two knights, and ye shall choose which is most worthy,
that is Sir Bagdemagus, and Sir Tor, my son. But because Sir Tor is my son I may not praise him, but else,
and he were not my son, I durst say that of his age there is not in this land a better knight than he is, nor of
better conditions and loth to do any wrong, and loth to take any wrong.
By my head, said Arthur, he is a passing good knight as any ye spake of this day, that wot I well,
said the king, for I have seen him proved, but he saith
1
little and he doth much more, for I know none in all
this court and he were as well born on his mothers side as he is on your side, that is like him of prowess and
of might: and therefore I will have him at this time, and leave Sir Bagdemagus till another time.
So when they were so chosen by the assent of all the barons, so were there founden in their
sieges every knights names
2
that here are rehearsed; and so were they set in their sieges, where-
of Sir Bagdemagus was wonderly wroth, that Sir Tor was advanced afore him, and therefore sud-
denly he departed from the court, and took his squire with him, and rode long in a forest till they
came to a cross, and there alit and said his prayers devoutly. The meanwhile his squire found
written upon the cross, that Bagdemagus should never return unto the court again, till he had
won a knights body of the Round Table, body for body.
Lo,
3
sir, said the squire, here I nd writing of you, therefore I rede you return again to the court.
That shall I never, said Bagdemagus, till men speak of me great worship, and that I be worthy to be a
knight of the Round Table.
And so he rode forth, and there by the way he found a branch of an holy herb that was the
sign of the Sangrail, and no knight found such tokens but he were a good liver.

1
Janet Cowen : sayeth (Manchester folio 48v : eyth).
2
Ldition de Janet Cowen porte every knights names ; je rectie.
3
Janet Cowen : So (Manchester : Loo).
V
e
r
s
i
o
n

1

So, as Sir Bagdemagus rode to see many adventures, it happed him to come to the rock where-
as the Lady of the Lake had put Merlin under the stone, and there he heard him make great dole;
whereof Sir Bagdemagus would have holpen him, and went unto the great stone, and it was so
heavy that an hundred men might not lift it up. When Merlin wist he was there, he bad leave his
labour, for all was in vain, for he might never be holpen but by her that put him there.
And so Bagdemagus departed and did many adventures, and proved after a full good knight,
and came again to the court and was made knight of the Round Table.
So on the morn there fell new tidings and other adventures.




Sire Tor est fait chevalier de la Table Ronde, au grand mcontentement
de Bademagu

1 Et maintenant, poursuivit le roi Pellinor, je vais vous soumettre les noms de deux chevaliers et vous
choisirez celui qui est le plus digne : il sagit de sire Bademagu et de sire Tor. Ce dernier tant mon ls, il ne map-
partient pas den faire lloge, mais si tel ntait pas le cas, joserais dire que ce pays ne compte aucun chevalier de
son ge qui lemporte sur lui, ni qui soit dun meilleur lignage, ni qui il soit galement insupportable de commet-
tre un tort comme den subir un.
[Je le jure] sur ma tte, scria Arthur, cest un chevalier qui rivalise en bravoure avec nimporte lequel
de ceux que vous avez mentionns aujourdhui, je le sais bien, poursuivit le roi, car je lai vu lpreuve : co-
nome de ses paroles, gnreux dans laction ; je ne connais personne dans toute cette cour qui, sil tait aussi bien
n du ct de sa mre que lui lest du vtre, lui soit comparable en prouesse et en vigueur. Par consquent, cest
sur lui que porte mon choix cette fois-ci, gardant sire Bademagu pour une autre fois.
Une fois donc que [les nouveaux chevaliers] eurent t dsigns par lapprobation de lensemble des
barons, le nom de chacun de ceux qui ont t mentionns se trouva inscrit sa place, puis ils furent
installs, ce qui provoqua le courroux de sire Bademagu, furieux de voir sire Tor promu avant lui ; en
consquence de quoi, il quitta brusquement la cour, accompagn de son cuyer, t une longue che-
vauche dans une fort jusqu ce quils arrivent un endroit o se dressait un calvaire : il descendit
alors de cheval et pria avec dvotion. Pendant ce temps, lcuyer constata que la croix portait une ins-
cription selon laquelle Bademagu ne retournerait jamais la cour tant quil naurait pas vaincu un
chevalier de la Table Ronde en combat singulier.
Voyez, messire, dclara lcuyer, je dcouvre ici une inscription vous concernant, qui me fait vous con-
seiller de regagner la cour.
Jamais je ny consentirai, rpondit Bademagu, ausssi longtemps quon ne fera pas lloge de ma grande
valeur et quon ne me jugera pas digne dtre chevalier de la Table Ronde.
L-dessus, il se remit en route et, un moment donn, trouva sur le bord du chemin un brin
dune sainte herbe symbolisant le saint Graal ; or aucun chevalier ne trouvait un tel signe moins de
mener une vie irrprochable.
La suite de la chevauche de sire Bademagu lui t traverser de nombreuses aventures. Cest ainsi
que le hasard voulut quil arrive au rocher o la Dame du Lac avait enferm Merlin sous une pierre et
l, il entendit lenchanteur qui dplorait son sort. Voulant se porter son secours, sire Bademagu pas-
sa sous la grande pierre, mais elle tait si lourde que cent hommes nauraient pu la soulever. Quand
Merlin se rendit compte de sa prsence, il lui dit de renoncer, ses eorts tant en pure perte, car len-
chanteur ne pourrait au grand jamais tre secouru que par celle qui lavait enferm l.
Bademagu sen alla donc vers de nouvelles et nombreuses aventures, et se rvla par la suite un
trs valeureux chevalier ; revenu la cour, il y fut fait chevalier de la Table Ronde.
Puis, le lendemain [de linvestiture de nouveaux chevaliers dans lordre de la Table Ronde], on apprit de
nouveaux vnements et commencrent dautres aventures.




1 Bagdemagus Cf. II, 11 (volet 38) o Merlin rvle Arthur que Bademagu est son
cousin germain et celui du roi Uriens ( moins que ce ne soit son neveu, comme il est dit
dans la Suite du roman de Merlin, qui fait de Bademagu un roi de Gor(r)e.
1
Mais combien y
a-t-il de royaumes dans cette pope, o le moindre principicule est quali de roi ?).
Christopher W. Bruce, The Arthurian Name Dictionary (1999), p. 54 :
Bagdemagus [*Bademagu, Bagom(m)eds, Baldemagu, Bandemagu(l), Bando
de Magus, Bando di Mago, Bangdemagew, Bano of Mago, Baudemagu, Bran-
dymagus, Poydiconjunz]
King of Gorre and father of Meleagant, one of Guineveres abductors. He had brothers named Tarsan and
Donadix. He was a cousin of Arthur and the cousin or nephew of King Urien, from who [sic] he inherited his
kingdom. His first appearance is in Chrtiens Lancelot, in which he prevents his son from mistreating the
kidnapped Guinevere. He makes a brief appearance in the Second Continuation of Chrtiens Perceval as a
knight whom Kay hung by his feet from a tree. The Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles expound upon his char-
acter, and offer somewhat conflicting stories of his early days. His origin seems to be BAEDDAN in the
Welsh Culhwch and Olwen, possibly conflated with the name of another character.
The Vulgate version places him in the role of antagonist to Arthur: Bagdemaguss land had been ravaged by
Uther Pendragon, so when Uther died, he decided to repopulate it with Uthers former subjects. Any person
who strayed into Gorre was forced to stay. He joined his uncle Uriens rebellion against Arthur, eventually
forming a tentative peace only when necessary to expel the Saxons. He then allied with Galehaut of Sorelois
and opposed Arthur again. He grew more benign with age, and objected to his sons careless activities, in-
cluding the kidnapping of Guinevere. When his son was killed, Bagdemagus bore no ill will towards Lancelot.
His friendship with the knight led to a position at the Round Table.
The Post-Vulgate story, by contrast, presents Bagdemagus as a young companion of Gawain and Yvain.
Long before he became the king of Gorre, he was knighted by Arthur and served the King. He was furious
when Tor was elevated to the Round Table ahead of him, and he departed Camelot intent on proving his
wortheven against Knights of the Round Table. He encountered Merlin, imprisoned in his tomb, and
brought news of his fate back to knights searching for the enchanter. Eventually, he reconciled with Arthur
and was promoted to the Round Table.
In other adventures, Bagdemagus slept with the wife of King Pellinore, for which Pellinore bound him,
beat him, and left him for dead. He was rescued by Gaheris. He fought for Arthur in the wars against King
Claudas, and he participated in several tournaments. Malory, in contrast to the Vulgate version, says that
Bagdemagus hated Lancelot and plotted, with Sir Galehaut, to kill him; the plan went awry when the two
knights attacked Tristan by mistake.
Bagdemagus embarked on the Grail Quest with the others, but he was soon wounded after taking a shield
meant for Galahad. Later, he came upon Mordred raping a maiden, and he wounded him in the subsequent
combat. Gawain, seeking to avenge his brothers wound, and not knowing the identity of the knight who
wounded him, chased after Bagdemagus and challenged him to combat. Bagdemagus was mortally wounded
in the subsequent duel. Gawain lamented when he discovered Bagdemaguss identity, and Bagdemagus for-
gave him before dying. Gawain had him buried in a hermitage. The Stanzaic Morte Arthur says that he sur-
vived the Grail Quest and joined Lancelots defection from Arthurs court.
[ChretienL, Contin2, LancLac, VulgLanc, VulgMer, PostMer, PostQuest, Arthour, Stanz, Malory]
2


2 Tor Voir volets 49 et 50. En tant adoub avant Gauvain, Tor avait froiss ce der-
nier, qui veut le tuer ; en tant admis la Table Ronde au dtriment de Bademagu, qui de-
vra attendre son heure, le mme Tor fait un nouveau mcontent. Rien nest simple (Semp,
1962).
3 because Sir Tor is my son I may not praise him, but else, and he were not my son, I durst say
Cf. Monsieur, ce nest pas parce que je suis son pre, mais je puis dire que jai sujet dtre content de

1
En VI, 4, volet 105, est mentionn pour la premire fois un King Bagdemagus, dont peut lire lpitaphe en XVII, 17, volet
424 : Here lieth King Bagdemagus of Gore (tu par Gauvain) ; il sagit dun seul et mme personnage.
2
Chrtien de Troyes, Lancelot ; Second Continuation of Chrtiens Perceval ; Lancelot do Lac ; Vulgate Lancelot ; Vulgate Merlin ;
Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin ; Post-Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal ; Arthour and Merlin ; The Stanzaic Morte Arthur ; Malory, Le
Morte Darthur.
lui Monsieur Diafoirus, Le Malade imaginaire II, 5.
4 of better conditions status or station in society cf. XVI, 15 (volet 405) thy brother
is one of the worthiest knights in the world, and of the best conditions ton frre [lui dit lermite]
est lun des plus valeureux chevaliers au monde et du plus haut rang ; voir :
Je congnois que pouvres et riches,
Sagez et folz, pretres et laiz,
Nobles, villains, larges et chiches,
Petiz et grans, et beaulx et laitz,
Dames a rebras colletz,
De quelconque condicon,
Portans atours et bourreletz,
Mort aiit ans excepcon. Villon
5 and he were as well born on his mothers side as he is on your side Tor est enfant naturel :
ls dun roi et dune lle de ferme, et Arthur souligne incidemment lingalit sociale de
ses ascendants.
6 founden dj vu dans la Prface de Caxton.
7 a good liver Pas exactement un bon vivant ! Il sagit, au dpart, de la notion aristo-
tlicienne d/eudamona (je dirais panouissement, accomplissement , ful-
lment), laquelle ont t appliqus des ltres de lecture chrtiens.
8 a branch of an holy herb Note de Janet Cowen :
Vinaver (p. 1342, n. 132. 14-17) has shown how this rather puzzling reference could be due to
Malorys mistaking of the word branke, used in his source in the literary sense of a subdivision of a
cycle of stories.
Dans la Suite du roman de Merlin ( 357, p. 310-311 de ld. de G. Roussineau), le narrateur
mais je renvoie sans plus attendre aux objections souleves par lditeur dans une note
fournie, la p. 662 faisant allusion lystoire dou saint Graal, en mentionne une branke
branche
1
qui est apielee la branke del Brait
2
[qui] est droitement une des brankes del Graal :
Malory en a fait a branch of an holy herb that was the sign of the Sangrail.
9 his squire found written upon the cross body for body amorce dun projet inabouti ?
10 under the stone Voir IV, 1 (volet 62), lentombement de Merlin, pisode qui occupe les
paragraphes 380 388 de la Suite du roman de Merlin. and there he heard him make great dole
Ne il ne fu puis nus qui Merlin ost parler, se ne fu Bandemagus, qui y vint .. jours aprs
chou que Merlins i avoit est mis. Et a chelui point vivoit encore Merlins, qui parla a lui la ou
Bandemagus sassaioit a la lame lever, car il voloit savoir qui cestoit qui en la lame se plain-
gnoit si durement. ( 386) La lame est une pierre tombale et le texte dsigne par
brais, brait [castillan : baladro] le cri de dtresse de Merlin.
Braire signie dabord crier , sans connotation particulire (brailler appartient la
mme famille tymologique : brailer comme un ane ans cropiere, dit Janotus de Brag-
mardo) : Ki dunc vet cez ecuz i malmis, Cez blancs obercs ki dunc ot fremir Et ces ecuz

1
Faisceau de textes apparents sans constituer un ensemble cohrent , dit le Dictionnaire des termes littraires (2005) ;
exemple : le Roman de Renart.
2
Cf. El Baladro del Sabio Merln.
ur cez helmes cruiir, Cez chevalers ki dunc vet car Et humes braire, contre tere murir, De
grant dulor li pot uvenir ! (Roland) Li roys Richars [Cur de Lion] t tant darmes
outre mer celle foys que il y fu, que quant li cheval aus Sarrazins avoient peur dau-
cun buion, leur maitre leur dioient: Cuides-tu, feoient-ils leur chevaus, que ce
soit li roys Richars dAngleterre ? Et quant li enfant aus Sarrazinnes breoient, elles leur
dioient: Tay-toi, tay-toi, ou je irai querre le roy Richart, qui te tuera. (Joinville) La
truie jeta ung grant brait (Froissart).
TLFi et, sa suite, le cnrtl, donnent les Recherches italiennes et franoies (1640) dAn-
toine Oudin comme 1
re
attestation de la restriction de sens au cri de lne ; mais on
peut remonter 1579 et au Livre des animaux et de lexcellence de lhomme dAmbroise
Par, ch. XXV.
11 holpen Voir II, 13 (volet 40) 8.