window-ledge. And thither the other comes,
hungry for the bread which he takes and eats. I do not believe that he
ever before had tasted such hard and bitter bread. The measure of barley
kneaded with the straw, of which the bread, sourer than yeast, was made,
had not cost more than five sous; and the bread was musty and as dry
as bark. But hunger torments and whets his appetite, so that the
bread tasted to him like sauce. For hunger is itself a well mixed and
concocted sauce for any food. My lord Yvain soon ate the hermit's bread,
which tasted good to him, and drank the cool water from the jar. When he
had eaten, he betook himself again to the woods in search of stags and
does. And when he sees him going away, the good man beneath his roof
prays God to defend him and guard him lest he ever pass that way again.
But there is no creature, with howsoever little sense, that will not
gladly return to a place where he is kindly treated. So, not a day
passed while he was in this mad fit that he did not bring to his door
some wild game. Such was the life he led; and the good man took it upon
himself to remove the skin and set a good quantity of the venison to
cook; and the bread and the water in the jug was always standing on the
window-ledge for the madman to make a meal. Thus he had something to eat
and drink: venison without salt or pepper, and good cool water from the
spring. And the good man exerted himself to sell the hide and buy bread
made of barley, or oats, or of some other grain; so, after that, Yvain
had a plentiful supply of bread and venison, which sufficed him for
a long time, until one day he was found asleep in the forest by two
damsels and their mistress, in whose service they were. When they saw
the naked man, one of the three ran and dismounted and examined him
closely, before she saw anything about him which would serve to identify
him. If he had only been richly attired, as he had been many a time, and
if she could have seen him then she would have known him quickly enough.
But she was slow to recognise him, and continued to look at him until
at last she noticed a scar which he had on his face, and she recollected
that my lord Yvain's face was scarred in this same way; she was sure of
it, for she had often seen it. Because of the scar she saw that it was
he beyond any doubt; but she marvelled greatly how it came about that
she found him thus poor and stripped. Often she crosses herself in
amazement, but she