And Gawain took the maiden and helped her down from her horse. The dwarf dismounted on the other side. More than a hundred knights were there; when all three had dismounted, they took them before the king.

As soon as Yder saw the queen, he fell immediately at her feet. He greeted her first of all, then the king and his knights, and said: ‘My lady, I am sent here to be your prisoner by a noble man, a brave and worthy knight: he whom my dwarf yesterday struck on the face with his whip. He has vanquished and beaten me in armed combat. My lady, I bring you the dwarf and my maiden to be at your mercy and do whatever you wish.’

The queen kept silent no longer; she asked him for news of Erec. ‘Now tell me, sir,’ she said, ‘do you know when Erec will return?’

‘My lady, tomorrow, and he will bring a maiden with him; I have never known such a beautiful one.’

When he had relayed his message, the prudent and wise queen courteously said to him: ‘Friend, since you have surrendered yourself as my prisoner, your sentence will be very light; I have no wish that evil should befall you. But now, as God may help you, tell me your name.’

And he said to her: ‘My lady, my name is Yder, son of Nut.’ It was recognized that he spoke the truth.

Then the queen rose, went before the king, and said: ‘My lord, have you heard? Now it has been to your benefit to wait for Erec, the valiant knight. I gave you very good counsel yesterday when I advised you to wait for him; that is why it is beneficial to accept counsel.’

The king replied: ‘This is no fable; these words are full of truth. The man who believes in counsel is no fool; we did well yesterday to take your advice. But if you bear any love for me, proclaim this knight free from obligation as your prisoner, on condition that he remain in my house as a member of my household and my court; and if he does not do so, may it be to his detriment.’

As soon as the king had spoken, the queen freed the knight straight away in the proper manner, on condition that he always remain at court. He hardly needed to be begged to do so: he accepted the condition; thenceforth he was a member of the court and of the household. He had scarcely been there at all when squires came running, ready to remove his armour.

Now we must speak again of Erec, who was still on the field where he had fought the battle. I don’t believe there was such joy on the isle of Saint Sanson where Tristan defeated the savage Morholt as there was around Erec. He was greatly praised and honoured by short and tall, by thin and fat; everyone esteemed his knightly prowess. There wasn’t a knight there who did not say: ‘God, what a vassal! He has no equal under the heavens.’

Afterwards he returned to his lodgings. They continued to praise him greatly and talk about him, and the count himself embraced him, rejoicing above all others and saying: ‘Sir, should it please you, you ought rightfully to take your lodging in my house, since you are the son of King Lac; should you accept my hospitality, you would do me great honour, for I would treat you as my lord. Good sir, by your leave, I beg you to stay with me.’

Erec replied: ‘May it not offend you, but tonight, I shall not abandon my host, who showed me such great honour when he gave me his daughter. And what then do you say of this, sir? Isn’t this gift exquisite and priceless?’

‘Yes, good sir,’ said the count; ‘this gift is indeed magnificent and good. The maiden is very beautiful and wise, and she is of very high lineage: her mother, you should know, is my sister. Truly my heart is very glad because you have deigned to take my niece. Again I beg you to come lodge with me this night.’

Erec replied: ‘Leave me in peace; there is no way I would do so.’

The count saw that it was useless to insist, and said: ‘Sir, as you wish! Now we may let the matter drop, but I and all my knights will be with you this night for amusement and company.’ When Erec heard this, he thanked him.

Then Erec came back to his host’s dwelling, with the count beside him; ladies and knights were there. The vavasour greatly rejoiced at this. As soon as Erec arrived, more than twenty men-at-arms came running quickly to remove his armour. Whoever was in that house was party to very great joy. Erec went to sit down first; then they all sat down around him, on beds, stools, and benches. The count sat near Erec, with the beautiful maiden between them; she was so joyful because of her lord that no maiden was ever happier.

Erec called to the vavasour, saying good and generous words to him, and he began to speak thus: ‘Good friend, good host, good sir, you have greatly honoured me, and you shall be well rewarded for it: tomorrow I shall take your daughter with me to the king’s court. There I wish to take her for my wife, and, if you will wait a short while, I shall send for you soon. I will have you escorted to my land, which is my father’s and later will be mine; it is very far from here. There I will give you two very fine, resplendent, and beautiful castles.