King Arthur's Knights
sorrowful in that no word of reconciliation was said.
'I will do my lord's desire,' said the knight, 'but I see that Sir
Gawaine's hatred of me is in no way abated. Nevertheless, do thou ride,
my lord bishop, to the king. Commend me unto his good grace, and say to
him that in five days I will myself bring my lady, Queen Gwenevere,
unto him as he doth desire.'
On the day appointed, as the king sat in hall at Carlisle, surrounded
by his knights and their ladies, with Sir Gawaine standing on the high
seat beside him, there came the beat of many hoofs, and into the town
rode Sir Lancelot with the queen, knights and squires accompanying
them. They reined up at the wide door of the hall, and Sir Lancelot
alighted, and having helped the queen to dismount, he took her hand,
and led her through the ranks of knights and ladies to where sat King
Arthur.
Sir Lancelot kneeled upon the edge of the dais, and the queen with him;
and to see so noble a knight and so beautiful a lady, sad of
countenance as they were, forced many a tear to the eyes of the knights
and dames who looked on. Then, rising, and taking up the queen, Sir
Lancelot spoke:
'My most redoubted lord,' he said, 'you shall understand that by the
pope's commandment and yours I have brought unto you my lady your
queen, as right requireth; and if there be any knight here, of any
degree, who shall say that she or I have ever thought to plot treason
against your person or your crown, or the peace of this realm, then do
I say here and now that I, Lancelot du Lake, will make it good upon his
body, that he lies. And, my gracious lord, if this is all that there is
between you, my king, and myself, there need be naught of ill thought
between us, but only peace and goodwill. But I wist well that one that
hates me will not suffer ye to do what is in your good and kingly
heart.'
Sternly did Sir Lancelot look at Sir Gawaine, while the tears gushed
from King Arthur's eyes, and from the eyes of many that heard Sir
Lancelot's sad words.
Fierce and dark was the look which Sir Gawaine returned to Sir
Lancelot.
'The king may do as he will,' he said harshly and in a loud voice, 'but
wit thou well, Sir Lancelot, thou and I shall never be at peace till
one of us be slain; for thou didst slay my twain brothers, though they
bore no harness against thee nor any ill will. Yet traitorously thou
didst slay them!'
'Alas, my lord,' said Sir Lancelot, and the tears bedewed his face, 'I
cannot ask you for your forgiveness for that deed, unwitting though it
was done and in my madness. Would to Heaven they had worn harness! Wit
you well that ever will I bewail the death of my dear friend, Sir
Gareth. 'Twas I that made him knight, and ever did I delight to see
him, to hear his manly laugh ring out, and to see the light in his
brave eyes that never suffered a mean or evil action. I wot he loved me
above all other knights, and there was none of my kinsmen that I loved
so much as I loved him. Ever will the sorrow of the death of thy
brethren lie upon my soul; and to make some small amends I will, if my
lord will suffer it and it will please you, Sir Gawaine, I will walk in
my shirt and barefoot from Lemanis even unto this town, and at every
ten miles I will found a holy house, and endow it with monks to pray
for the souls of Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris. Surely, Sir Gawaine, that
will do more good unto their souls than that my most noble lord and you
should war on me.'
Every cheek was wet and the tears of the king fell from his eyes, yet
made he no effort to restrain or hide them.
'Out upon such monkish deeds!' cried Sir Gawaine, and his scornful eyes
surveyed the weeping knights and dames. 'Know thee, once for all, that
never shalt thou wipe away the treacherous murder of my brothers but by
thy blood. Ye are safe now for a season, for the pope hath given you
safety, but in this land--whatever comes of it I care not--thou shalt
not abide above fifteen days, or else I shall have thy head. So make ye
no more ado; but deliver the queen from thee, and get thee quickly out
of this court and out of this realm.'
'Well,' said Sir Lancelot, and laughed grimly, 'if I had known I should
have so short an answer to my proffers of peace, I had thought twice
ere I had come hither. But now, madam,' he said, turning to the weeping
queen beside him, 'I must say farewell to ye, for now do I depart from
this noble fellowship and this dear realm for ever. Pray for me, and
send me word if any lying tongues speak evil of you, and if any
knight's hand may deliver you by battle, believe me mine shall so
deliver you.'
With these words Sir Lancelot bent and kissed the queen's hand, and so
turned away and departed. There was neither king, baron, knight nor
squire of all that great company who did not weep, nor think that Sir
Gawaine had been of most evil mind to refuse the noble proffers of Sir
Lancelot.
Heavy was King Arthur ever thereafter, and never might man see his face
brighten nor hear his laugh; and the better of his knights sorrowed
with him, and knew what was in his heart.
'In this realm will be no more quiet,' said Sir Owen of the Fountain to
his fellows as they stood upon the walls of Carlisle and saw the band
of Sir Lancelot riding southwards, the sunlight flashing from their
helms and armour. 'The pagans have gathered strength daily while we
have fought with each other, and that which would have given us the
strength and the union which would hurl them from our coasts is
shattered and broken. By the noble fellowship of the Round Table was
King Arthur and his realm borne up, and by their nobleness the king and
all his realm was in quietness and in peace. And a great part,' he
ended, 'was because of the noble nature of Sir Lancelot, whom Sir
Gawaine's mad rage hath driven from the kingdom. Nor is all the evil
ended yet.'
XIII
OF THE REBELLION OF MORDRED AND THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR
When Sir Lancelot and all his men had left the realm of Britain and had
betaken themselves to Brittany, where Sir Lancelot had a kingdom of his
own, the Saxons began to increase in Britain, both in strength and
numbers. Almost daily a long black ship, crammed with pagans, was
sighted from some part of the coast; and the British, praying that the
fierce pirates would not visit their homes, would watch the terrible
warship till it passed; or else, caught unawares, would have to flee
inland in a breathless panic when the dragon-headed prow loomed through
the sea-mist, and the barbarous warriors swarmed over the sides and ran
knee-deep in the water, their eyes gleaming with the joy of killing and
their hands eager for the looting.
Then King Arthur made ready a great host, and for two years he fought
in the northern parts against the bands of the pirates. Swift were the
blows he struck, for the great wide Roman roads were still open, not
grass-grown and deserted, and with his mounted knights and men he could
ride quickly from place to place, striking fiercely and scattering the
foul pagans.
Ten was the number of these battles which he fought in the north, six
against the Saxon pirates and four against the wild cats of Caledonia,
whom men call Picts and Scots, and who had ventured south in greater
numbers as soon as they heard how the king warred with his lords and
the rich land was open to plunder. Two others he fought in the south,
one against an insolent band of pirates who dared even to attack his
palace-city of Caerleon-upon-Usk. But so heavy and deadly a blow did he
strike at them then, that from that battle barely a dozen pagans were
left to flee like fire to their ships.
Not without loss of many of his brave warriors did Arthur win these
battles, for the pagans were good men of their hands and not easily
were they beaten. Saddest of all was the loss of the noble Geraint,
who, thrusting back the pirates once again from the harbour of
Llongporth, got his death there with many of his valiant men.
When the fame of King Arthur's prowess and the might of his knights had
gone abroad among the pagans, they were afraid and would not venture in
great numbers to invade the land again, and there was peace and rest in
Britain for a space.
Then Sir Gawaine, remembering his hatred of Sir Lancelot, persuaded the
king to make him ready another host, with which to invade the land of
Brittany where Sir Lancelot ruled his kingdom. For a long time the king
would not listen to his advice, and the queen, with all her power,
strove against Sir Gawaine. But that knight and his large following of
knights and men-at-arms had been of great service in the recent wars
against the pagans, and the king could not wholly refuse to listen to
Sir Gawaine's demands.
Also Sir Mordred added his words to those of his brother, and said that
men who came from Brittany said that Sir Lancelot was getting him ready
a large army, and training many men, although he was at peace with his
neighbours in Gaul. But the rumour went, as Sir Mordred reported, that
Sir Lancelot was only waiting his time, and when King Arthur should be
more than usually pressed by his pagan foes, Sir Lancelot and his great
host would sail swiftly across the sea and seize the kingdom of
Britain, when Arthur, exhausted by war, would be unable to withstand
the fresh warriors of Sir Lancelot, and would lose both his queen and
his crown.
For a time the king would not suffer these evil rumours to be mentioned
in his presence, but many of his counsellors thought there was much
truth in them. At length, so persistent was Sir Mordred and those whom
he craftily persuaded to believe him, that for sheer weariness the king
consented to take an army across to Brittany, and to demand that Sir
Lancelot should own that the king was his overlord, and that he should
do homage to King Arthur for his kingdom.
The host was prepared, therefore, and at a meeting of his council King
Arthur made his nephew, Sir Mordred, Regent of Britain, to rule in the
king's place while he should be abroad; and Queen Gwenevere he placed
under the governance of Sir Mordred, as well as the officers of the
court.
When they had passed the sea and landed in the coasts of Sir Lancelot's
country, Sir Gawaine ordered his knights to go through the nearer
parts, burning the houses of the people and wasting their lands. This
he did in order to enrage Sir Lancelot against the king, so that he
would not listen quietly to any demand which the king might make of
him.
Word was brought to Sir Lancelot of the landing of King Arthur and the
plundering and wasting of the land, but for some days he would do
naught; for he was loath to take up arms against the king he loved, who
had made him a knight.
At length Sir Bors came to him, and with that knight were others, as
Sir Lunel of the Brake, Sir Magus of Pol, and Sir Alan of the Stones
with his six mighty brothers.
'My lord, Sir Lancelot,' said Sir Bors, 'it is great shame that we
suffer them to ride over our lands, burning the homes of our folk and
destroying the crops in the fields.'
Sir Alan also, who with his brothers were seven as noble knights as a
man might seek in seven lands ere he might find a brotherhood as
valiant and withal as courteous, spoke to the like purport, saying:
'Sir Lancelot, for the love of our land, let us ride out and meet these
invaders in the field, for we have never been wont to cower in castles
nor in towns.'
Then spoke Sir Lancelot, who was lord of them all.
'My fair lords,' he said, 'ye wit well that I am loath to raise my hand
against my own dear lord and to shed the blood of Christian men. Yet I
understand how it chafes you to stand by and see your fair land ruined
by those that hate me. Therefore I will send a messenger to my lord