King Arthur's Knights
couldst ever think to suffer her to be burned.'
'She was charged with poisoning a knight who slandered her,' said the
king. 'I must see justice done on high and low, and though it grieved
me to condemn her, I could do naught else. Moreover, if Sir Pinel spoke
true, both you and she were conspiring to slay me and to rule this
kingdom in my stead.'
'A foul lie, a black calumny!' cried Sir Lancelot fiercely. 'And I
would answer for it with the strength which God might give me on any
six of your knights that may say I am so black a traitor. I tell you,
my lord king, and I swear it on my knighthood, and may death strike me
now if I lie, that neither I nor the queen have ever had evil thoughts
against your person, nor had designs upon your crown.'
At so solemn an oath men stood still and waited, for few doubted in
those days that if a man who took so great an oath was speaking
falsely, fire from heaven would instantly descend and consume him.
The moments passed and nothing happened, and men breathed again.
Sir Lancelot looked at the face of King Arthur, and saw by the light
upon it that the king believed him; and Sir Lancelot rejoiced in his
heart.
He saw the king turn to Sir Gawaine with a questioning air, as if he
would ask what more his nephew wanted. But next moment, with a harsh
laugh, Sir Gawaine spoke.
'Hark ye, Sir Lancelot, thou mayest swear to Heaven as to some things,
and there are those that may be moved by thy round oaths. But this I
charge upon thee, thou false, proud knight, that thou didst slay two
unarmed men--men that loved thee and worshipped thee! Forsooth, thou
boastful braggart and mouthing hero, thou wilt not dare to deny it!'
Sad was the face and voice of Sir Lancelot as he made reply.
'I cannot hope to find excuse from you,' he said, 'for I cannot and
never will forgive myself. I would as lief have slain my nephew, Sir
Bors, as slay young Sir Gareth whom I loved, and Gaheris his brother.
Sorrow is on me for that! I was mad in my rage and did not see them.
Only I knew that many knights stood between me and the queen, and I
slew all that seemed to bar my passage.'
'Thou liest, false, recreant knight!' cried Sir Gawaine, whose grief by
now had made him mad with the lust for revenge; 'thou slewest them in
thy pride, to despite me and the king, because we had permitted the
queen to go to the stake. Thou coward and traitor! Therefore, wit thee
well, Sir Lancelot, I will not quit this quest until I feel my sword
thrusting into thy evil heart.'
'Sorrow is on me,' said Sir Lancelot, 'to know that thou dost so
hatefully pursue me. If thou didst not, I think my lord the king would
give me his good grace again, and receive back his queen and believe us
innocent.'
'I believe it well, false, recreant knight!' cried Sir Gawaine, full of
rage to know that the king verily wished to have peace; 'but know ye
that while I live, my good uncle will make war upon thee, and at last
we will have thee in spite of thy castle walls and thy skill in battle.
And then I will have thy head.'
'I trust ye for that,' said Sir Lancelot, 'for I see that thy hatred
hath crazed thee. So, if ye may get me, I shall expect no mercy.'
Then, seeing how useless it was to keep up the parley any longer, Sir
Lancelot withdrew. Next day spies brought in word to Sir Lancelot that,
at a council of his chief men, the king had said he would take back his
queen and make peace with Sir Lancelot; but that Sir Gawaine had
fiercely told him that if he did not keep up the war until Sir Lancelot
was taken or slain, he and all the kin of Lot would break away from the
realm and their allegiance. Indeed, it was rumoured that Sir Gawaine
would have made the king prisoner had he not yielded; and so powerful
was Sir Gawaine and the lords that followed him, that none could have
been strong enough to withstand them.
Sir Gawaine, yearning, by reason of his hatred, to get Sir Lancelot out
of his castle to fight with him, now sent knights to cry out shame upon
him under his walls. Thus they marched up and down, calling out
insulting names and charging him with dishonourable deeds.
Until at length the very men-at-arms that kept watch upon Sir
Lancelot's walls reddened for shame, and hurled down spears and stones
at the foul mouths. Sir Bors, Sir Ector de Maris and Sir Lionel, they
also heard the words, and going to the other knights of Sir Lancelot,
took counsel with them, and decided that this could no longer be
suffered.
Together they went to Sir Lancelot and said to him:
'Wit ye well, my lord, that we feel great scorn of the evil words which
Sir Gawaine spoke unto you when that ye parleyed with him, and also of
these shameful names which men call upon ye for all the citizens to
hear. Wherefore, we charge you and beseech you, if ye will to keep our
service, hold us no longer behind these walls, but let us out, in the
name of Heaven and your fair name, and have at these rascals.'
'Fair friends,' replied Sir Lancelot, 'I am full loth to fight against
my dear lord, King Arthur.'
'But if ye will not,' said Sir Lionel, his brother, 'all men will say
ye fear to stir from these walls, and hearing the shameful words they
cry, will say that there must be truth in them if ye seek not to
silence them.'
They spoke long with Sir Lancelot, and at length he was persuaded; and
he sent a message to the king telling him that he would come out and do
battle; but that, for the love he bore the king, he prayed he would not
expose his person in the fight.
But Sir Gawaine returned answer that this was the king's quarrel, and
that the king would fight against a traitor knight with all his power.
On the morrow, at nine in the morning, King Arthur drew forth his host,
and Sir Lancelot brought forth his array. When they stood facing each
other, Sir Lancelot addressed his men and charged all his knights to
save King Arthur from death or wounds, and for the sake of their old
friendship with Sir Gawaine, to avoid battle with him also.
Then, with a great hurtling and crashing, the knights ran together, and
much people were there slain. The knights of Sir Lancelot did great
damage among the king's people, for they were fierce knights, and
burned to revenge themselves for the evil names they had heard.
Sir Gawaine raged like a lion through the field, seeking Sir Lancelot,
and many knights did he slay or overthrow. Once, indeed, King Arthur,
dashing through the fight, came upon Sir Lancelot.
'Now, Sir Lancelot,' he cried, 'defend thee, for thou art the causer of
this civil war.'
At these words he struck at Sir Lancelot with his sword; but Sir
Lancelot took no means to defend himself, and put down his own sword
and shield, as if he could not put up arms against his king. At this
the king was abashed and put down his sword, and looked sorrowfully
upon Sir Lancelot.
Then the surging tide of battle poured between them and separated them,
until it happened that Sir Bors saw King Arthur at a little distance.
With a spear the knight rushed at the king, and so fierce was his
stroke and hardy his blow that the king was stricken to the ground.
Whereupon Sir Bors leapt from his horse and drew his sword and ran
towards the king. But some one called upon him, and looking up he saw
Sir Lancelot riding swiftly towards him.
Sir Bors held the king down upon the ground by the nose-piece of his
helm, and in his other hand he held his naked sword.
Looking up to Sir Lancelot, he cried in a fierce voice:
'Cousin, shall I make an end of this war? 'Twere easy done.'
He meant that, if the king were slain, Sir Gawaine would lose half his
forces, and could not hope to keep up the war against Sir Lancelot
singlehanded.
'Nay, nay,' said Sir Lancelot, 'on peril of thy head touch not the
king. Let him rise, man. I will not see that most noble king, who made
me knight and once loved me, either slain or shamed.'
Sir Lancelot, leaping from his horse, went and raised the king, and
held the stirrup of his horse while the king mounted again.
'My lord Arthur,' said Lancelot, looking up at the king, 'I would in
the name of Heaven that ye cause this war to cease, for none of us
shall get honour by it. And though I forbear to strike you and I try to
avoid my former brothers and friends of the Round Table, they do
continually seek to slay me and will not avoid me.'
King Arthur looked upon Lancelot, and thought how nobly courteous was
he more than any other knight. The tears burst from the king's eyes and
he could not speak, and sorrowfully he rode away and would fight no
more, but commanded the trumpets to cease battle. Whereupon Sir
Lancelot also drew off his forces, and the dead were buried and the
wounded were tended.
Next morning the battle was joined again. Very fiercely fought the
king's party, for Sir Gawaine had commanded that no quarter should be
given, and that whoever slew a knight of Sir Lancelot's should have his
helm filled with gold. Sir Gawaine himself raged like a lion about the
field, his spear in rest. He sought for Sir Lancelot; but that knight
always avoided him, and great was Gawaine's rage and scorn.
At length Sir Bors saw Sir Gawaine from afar, and spurred across the
field towards him.
'Ha! Sir Bors,' cried the other mockingly, 'if ye will find that
cowardly cousin of thine, and bring him here to face me, I will love
thee.'
''Twere well I should not take thy words seriously,' mocked Sir Bors in
his turn. 'For if I were to bring him to thee, thou wouldst sure repent
it. Never yet hath he failed to give thee thy fall, for all thy pride
and fierceness.'
This was truth. Often in the jousting of earlier days, when Sir
Lancelot had come in disguise and had been compelled to fight Sir
Gawaine, the latter had had the worst. But Sir Lancelot, loving his old
brother-in-arms as he did, had in later years avoided the assault with
Sir Gawaine; yet the greater prowess and skill of Sir Lancelot were
doubted by none.
Sir Gawaine raged greatly at the words of Sir Bors, for he knew they
were true, though he had wished they were not.
'Thy vaunting of thy recreant kinsman's might will not avail thee,' he
cried furiously. 'Defend thyself!'
'I came to have to do with thee,' replied Sir Bors fiercely. 'Yesterday
thou didst slay my cousin Lionel. To-day, if God wills it, thou thyself
shall have a fall.'
Then they set spurs to their horses and met together so furiously that
the lance of either bore a great hole in the other's armour, and both
were borne backwards off their horses, sorely wounded. Their friends
came and took them up and tended them, but for many days neither of the
knights could move from their beds.
When the knights of Sir Lancelot saw that Sir Bors was grievously
wounded, they were wroth with their leader. Going to him, they charged
him with injuring his own cause.
'You will not exert yourself to slay these braggart foes of yours,'
they said to him. 'What does it profit us that you avoid slaying
knights because, though they are now your bitter foes, they were once
brothers of the Round Table? Do they avoid ye, and seek not to slay you
and us your kindred and friends? Sir Lionel is dead, and he is your
brother; and Sir Galk, Sir Griffith, Sir Saffre and Sir Conan--all good
and mighty knights--are wounded sorely. Ye were ever courteous and
kindly, Sir Lancelot,' they ended, 'but have a care lest now your
courtesy ruin not your cause and us.'
Seeing by these words that he was like to chill the hearts of his
friends if he continued to avoid slaying his enemies, Sir Lancelot
sorrowfully promised that henceforth he would not stay his hand. After
that he avoided none that came against him, though for very sorrow he
could have wept when some knight, with whom in happier times he had