King Arthur's Knights
Thus the precious weeks went by, and much ill fortune happened in
Britain, that had ended otherwise if Sir Lancelot had been by the king.
Three days after the battle upon the shore, the king's host came up
with the host of Sir Mordred on Barham down. Many folks had joined the
rebels' side, because they hated the king for making war upon Sir
Lancelot, and the king was sorely hurt in his mind to see a banner
borne by one part of the usurper's army, on which was the device of Sir
Lancelot's.
This the crafty Sir Mordred had commanded to be done, knowing that it
would damp the spirits of King Arthur and his men.
'Verily,' said King Arthur, 'my evil deeds have sprung up as armed men
against me. I fought unjustly with Sir Lancelot, and here are some that
loved him arrayed against me for that wicked war.'
'If ye would send for Sir Lancelot,' said Sir Owen of the Fountain, who
stood by him, 'ye would learn, I verily believe, that Sir Lancelot
loves and worships you as of old, and hath no mind to fight on the side
of this sly fox, Mordred. Send for Sir Lancelot, lord.'
'Nay, I will not--I may not,' said the king. 'If he cometh by the words
which Sir Gawaine wrote to him, I shall know that he loves me and
forgives me; but if he cometh not, I shall know he hates me, and I
shall merit his ill-favour. He owes naught to me since I used him so
evilly, and therefore I may not ask his aid.'
All day the battle raged upon the great green down, and many were the
fierce fights which took place upon the top thereof, where, behind
great earthworks freshly timbered, the main host of Sir Mordred stood,
the banner of the great red dragon in their midst.
But at the last, so fast and fierce did the blows of King Arthur's men
fall, and so stubbornly did they press on, that Sir Mordred's host gave
way. Pouring forth by the upper gate, they ran pell-mell northwards,
and the knights and fighting men of Arthur kept up with them for many
miles, and there was a running fight and much wounding and slaying all
through the fresh green countryside, where the hedges were laden with
May-blossoms, and in the sky the larks were trilling.
And that day many a wounded man crawled groaning into the thickets to
die, many a chalky cart-rut ran red with blood, and many a white face,
with wide-open, sightless eyes, stared up at the blue sky, where the
fleecy clouds sailed in the gentle wind.
For three weeks after this battle both sides rested, and like great
wrestlers gathered all their strength for one great struggle. Knights
and riders were sent by both sides into all parts, with letters to
lords and knights, charging them to take their sides in the war. Many
people from about London came to the banner of Mordred, and the parts
now called Kent, Sussex and Surrey, Essex and Suffolk held wholly with
him; but those in the west, as Wales, Devon, Cornwall and the middle
parts, thronged to the banner of the king.
Few came from the north, for there the pagan pirates stalked with fire
and sword through and through the land, and the British lords and
chiefs that were alive had little power to stay them now. King Uriens
was dead, slain by the dagger of a traitor, and so were two other great
chieftains; so that men south of Trent sorrowfully shook their heads
and said that now the north was no longer the land of the British folk,
but was given over to the savage heathen hordes.
Then, to meet the many that flocked together in his favour, King Arthur
drew him with his host westward beyond Sarum. There on the wide downs
beside the great standing-stones of the Old Princes, which men now call
Stonehenge, a great multitude of chiefs and knights and yeomen came to
his banner.
But Sir Mordred avoided a battle, and, instead, kept aloof with his
army, and began to burn and harry the country which was on the side of
Arthur. He took Calleva and Cunetio, and put the people to the sword,
and took much gear from those wealthy cities; then he stole through the
great forest by night and came to Palladun, which was a rich town
builded upon the top of a great hill. He thought to take this unawares,
but it was well watched and well armed, and he strove to break into it
and was kept about it for some days.
That delay was used well by King Arthur, for he made great haste to
pass through the wild country, filled with wide marshes and thick woods
as it was, which separated him from his enemy. Then Mordred, hearing
through the spies of the king's approach, got his host away and thought
to pass into the lands of Devon, which were those of King Dewer, son of
the dead Geraint, and held firmly for Arthur.
But in the wild waste-land beside the Endless Waters, King Arthur
caught up with him, and barred his further way. And the king remembered
that this was that same land, full of gaunt standing-stones and haunted
by trolls and witches, where Merlin had once led him, and where he had
gained the sword Excalibur.
It was late in the day when the two armies faced each other, and both
prepared to pass the night upon the field. Bitter was the wind that
evening, and the skies were dun and leaden of hue, as if spring had
been overcome by winter; and to shelter the king a tent had been put up
in a little dark wood of stunted firs, called the Wood of Drood. Just
in the deep dark before the dawn, when the blood in men's veins was
coldest, and the life in their hearts was weakest, a dreadful cry
wailed out through the dark wood, and there came the sound as of
leathery wings flapping heavily to and fro above where the king lay
sleeping. Men started up about their ashen fires, their faces blanching
at the terror that cried in the dark, and they heard the wailing twice
repeated, while none dared try to see the thing that wailed.
Then, while their blood chilled and their breath stayed, they heard the
heavy flapping pass over their heads and die away towards the camp of
Mordred; and there in the distance did the three cries sound again.
Men's hearts sickened as they turned and crept the nearer to each
other, but few dared to utter the words upon their lips.
Two knights slept in the tent with king, Sir Kay and Sir Owen; and they
lay in the dark, trembling at the cries of terrible import. When they
passed, the knights would not move, fearing to be the first to speak.
'My Lords,' came the quiet voice of King Arthur out of the dark, 'that
was the voice of the Hag of Warning. Men say it hath foretold the
deaths of many of my house, but I know not. Yet will I take the issue
as God shall give it me, trusting in His mercy and the blood of His Son
Jesus, and Him crucified.'
'Amen,' said the two knights, and said no more.
When, in a little while, the sun rose, flashing his warm rays into the
fearful eyes that greeted him, men's terror quickly vanished; and when
fires were lit and oaten cakes were browning on the irons, or collops
sputtered on their skewers, tongues were loosened and faces began to
smile. But few spoke of the cries which they had heard, for all loved
their king, and hoped that somehow they had dreamed an evil dream, or
had but heard the cries of some foul night-bird.
Breakfast being ended, the captains and knights began to trim their men
in army array, and talk was eager of the coming battle. Then were seen,
coming from Sir Mordred's camp, two bishops; and these were taken at
their desire to Arthur, where he stood surrounded by his knights and
chieftains.
'Lord,' said one of the bishops, he that was head of the great choir or
monastery of Amesbury, 'cannot we make accord between you and your
nephew? Sad it is to see so many great and valiant warriors ranged
against each other. Many are sisters' sons, and all are of one speech,
one kindred. If this unnatural war doth continue, how much sorrow there
will be, how many noble hearts be stilled in death or broken in grief
for him that shall never return! How many puissant bodies, now quick
and passionate and handsome, will be meat for snarling wolves and
carrion for foul birds!'
'What says my rebellious nephew?' asked the king sternly.
'My lord,' said the other bishop, a man of soft and silky speech, and
he was chief of the choir of Clovesho, 'he asks but little, and if ye
are willing to make treaty, he also is willing. Grant him but the
earldom of Kent and the Andred, with a seat at London, during your
days, and do thou appoint him king after your days. For now that Sir
Gawaine, Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth are slain, he is the only sister's
son you have. If ye grant these things he will be your liege, faithful
in all things, and a strong arm against your enemies.'
Then some of King Arthur's knights would have him agree to these terms,
but others would not, and said the king should make no treaty with a
traitor, but that Mordred should come and throw himself upon the mercy
of his king and uncle.
At the last, after much counsel had been taken, King Arthur agreed to
meet Mordred, with fourteen of his chief men, in the space betwixt
their hosts, and the king should also take fourteen knights with him.
So the bishops went back with this message, and King Arthur called the
chieftains of his host about him.
'I go to see this traitor, my nephew,' he said to them, 'whether he
means falsely or truly with this talk of a treaty. But look ye, I in no
wise trust him. Hold ye your men warily, and if ye see any sword drawn
among us where we stand, do thou sound the horns of attack and come on
fiercely, and slay that rebel and all that hold with him.'
In like wise did Mordred warn his men, 'for,' said he, knowing how
greatly he had sinned against his generous and noble uncle, 'I know
well that King Arthur and his knights would be avenged on me if they
could.'
The party from each army went forward over the stony hillside, until
they met midway between the armies, and men watched them keenly. King
Arthur spoke chidingly to his nephew Mordred, who, sour and dark of
face, looked craftily at the faces of his uncle and his knights. And
the chiefs with Mordred, men for the most part of violent and ambitious
natures, looked haughtily at King Arthur's party. Nevertheless, there
was no bad blood shown, and the talk was continued, and Mordred
repeated the demands which the bishops had made.
'But I care not to give to thee Kent and London,' said the king. 'I
tell thee frankly, Mordred, I would not trust thee there. I fear me
thou wouldst try some crafty plot with the Saxon pagans if I gave them
thee, as that rebel Caros did, who for a time made himself emperor of
the Romans here in this land.'
'Ha' done, then, my father,' said Gorfalk, the son of Mordred, an
insolent young man. 'Let us cease this. I doubt not we be big enough to
get all the kingdom if we fight.'
The king looked sternly at the young man, and there was silence among
them all as men waited for Arthur's reply.
Then it happened that a young chieftain, standing near the king, felt
something bite his foot where the low leathern shoe left it naked. He
looked down and saw that he was treading on a viper, which had struck
him and was about to strike again. With a cry the knight stepped aside,
drew his sword, and cut the reptile in two.
As the blade flashed, silvery bright in the sunlight, a great hoarse
cry rose like thunder from the two masses of men watching them on
either side; trumpets blared and horns squealed, and shouts of command
rose sharp and keen.
Instantly the men standing with Arthur and Mordred looked about them,
saw where the young chieftain stood with drawn sword, and knew that now
nothing could avert the battle.
'The gods will have it so!' sneered Mordred.
Already the earth trembled and shook with the beat of ten thousand feet
of the armies rushing together. A knight of Mordred's, drawing his