¶ Capitulum primum

WHanne the Heremyte had kepte syr Launcelot thre dayes / the heremyte gate hym an hors / an helme / and a suerd /

¶ And thenne he departed about the houre of none And thenne he sawe a lytel hows / And whanne he came nere / he sawe a Chappel / and there besyde he sawe an old man that was clothed al in white ful rychely / and thenne sire launcelot saide god saue yow / god kepe yow sayd the good man / and make yow a good knyghte / Thenne syr Launcelot alyghte and entred in to the Chappel / and there he sawe an old man dede in a whyte shert of passyng fyne clothe /

¶ Sir said the good man 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 hys ordre // For he hath ben more than an C wynter a man of a relygyon / And thenne the good man and sire Launcelot wente in to the Chappel / and the good man tooke a stole aboute hys neck and a book / and thenne be coniured on that book / & with that they sawe in an hydous fygure & horryble / that there was no man soo hard herted nor soo hard but he shold haue ben aferd / Thenne saide the fende thow hast trauaylled me gretely / Now telle me what thou wilt with me / I wille saide the good man that thow telle me how my felawe became dede / & whether he be saued or dampned / Thenne he said with an horryble voys / he is not lost but saued / how may that be sayd the good man / It semed to me that he lyued not wel / for he brake his ordre for to were a sherte / where he oughte to were none / And who that trespaceth ageynst our ordre dothe not wel / Not soo sayd the fende this man that lyeth here dede was come of a grete lygnage / and there was a lord that hyghte the erle de Vale that helde grete werre ageynste this mans neuewe the whiche hyghte Aguarus And soo this Aguarus sawe the Erle was byggar than he / Thenne he wente for to take counceylle of his vnkel the which lyeth here dede as ye maye see /

¶ And thenne he asked leue & wente oute of his heremytage Page  657 [leaf 329r] for to mayntene his neuewe ageynst the myghty Erle / and so hit happed that this man that lyeth here dede dyd so moche by his wysedome and hardynes that the Erle was take and thre of his lordes by force of this dede man /