“Alas! Alas! misfortune! in sorrow art thou given me, though never did I even dream of this.” Saith the King of England: “Zibrid of the Roses, my greatest comfort! now, alas! is my fortune in evil case; if it be not for thy help, I shall lose my kingly might. Therefore I have kept thee till last, that thou mightest deliver me from my distress, for I have no one in my court mightier than thou art. If thou holdest thyself against Stilfrid, I will give thee the half of my kingdom, and moreover, on my faith, I will give thee my dear daughter.” Saith Zibrid: “I will strive for that, even if I am to be slain by Stilfrid.” Zibrid was Prince of Temar and was very splendidly equipped; his shield and helmet glittered with gold, and on his shield he bore eighteen golden roses on a red field, and these roses signified, that, when he smiled, roses fell in showers around him. In those lands there was no man handsomer, and moreover, in himself he was a valiant hero; he had costly armour on him, that was all set with pearls and precious stones. And when he sat on his horse, which he called Skropel, it curvetted proudly beneath him, and he held in
