He sette hit on a whit roche thik and hegh.
With gode dykes al aboute depe and dregh[1].
Men may never with no craft this castil doun myne,
Ne may never do harme to hit no maner engyne.
This castil is ever ful of love and of grace,
To al that any nede has socour and solace.
Four toures ay hit has, and kernels fair,
Thre bailliees al aboute, that may noȝt apair:
Nouther hert[2] may wele thinke ne tung may wel telle,
Al the bounté and the bewté of this ilk castelle.
Seven barbicans are sette so sekirly aboute,
That no maner of shoting may greve fro withoute.
This castel is paynted without with thre maner colours,
Rede brennand[3] colour is above toward the fair tours,
Meyne colour is y-myddes of ynde and of blewe,
Grene colour be the ground that never changes hewe.
The poem goes on to state that internally the walls are painted white.
6. A Castle, from MS. Addit. 10,293, fol. 160 vo.
In another part of our romances we learn how Sir Iwain loses his way similarly in a wood, and how he finds a path which leads him to the castle of a poor gentleman on the border of the forest. He hastens thither because he hears a horn sounding for assistance. He finds the breteske open, and a young man (vallet) in the upper part who is sounding the horn. It appears that this castle is occupied by the young man, his mother and sister, and a small number of serjeants or household servants, and that a party of robbers from the forest have succeeded in surprising it, and are occupied in killing his mother and the servants, and in outraging his sister, he alone having taken refuge in
