Le Morte Darthur
of Accolon’s hand to the earth; and therewithal Sir Arthur lightly
leapt to it, and got it in his hand, and forthwithal he knew that it
was his sword Excalibur, and said, Thou hast been from me all too long,
and much damage hast thou done me. And therewith he espied the scabbard
hanging by his side, and suddenly he start to him, and pulled the
scabbard from him, and anon threw it from him as far as he might throw
it. O knight, said Arthur, this day hast thou done me great damage with
this sword; now are ye come unto your death, for I shall not warrant
you but ye shall as well be rewarded with this sword or ever we depart,
as thou hast rewarded me, for much pain have ye made me to endure, and
much blood have I lost. And therewith Sir Arthur rushed on him with all
his might and pulled him to the earth, and then rushed off his helm,
and gave him such a buffet on the head that the blood came out at his
ears, his nose, and his mouth. Now will I slay thee, said Arthur. Slay
me ye may well, said Accolon, and it please you, for ye are the best
knight that ever I found, and I see well that God is with you: but for
I promised to do this battle to the uttermost, said Accolon, and never
to be recreant while I lived, therefore shall I never yield me with my
mouth, but God do with my body what he will. Then Sir Arthur remembered
him, and thought he should have seen this knight. Now tell me, said
Arthur, or I will slay thee, of what country art thou, and of what
court? Sir knight, said Sir Accolon, I am of the court of king Arthur,
and my name is Accolon of Gaul. Then was Arthur more dismayed than he
was beforehand; for then he remembered him of his sister Morgan le Fay,
and of the enchantment of the ship. O Sir knight, said he, I pray you
tell me who gave you this sword, and by whom ye had it.
CHAP. XI.
_How Accolon confessed the treason of Morgan le Fay, king Arthur’s
sister, and how she would have done slay him._
Then Sir Accolon bethought him, and said, Woe worth this sword, for by
it have I gotten my death. It may well be, said the king. Now Sir, said
Sir Accolon, I will tell you: This sword hath been in my keeping the
most part of this twelvemonth, and Morgan le Fay, king Uriens’ wife,
sent it me yesterday by a dwarf, to this intent that I should slay king
Arthur her brother. For ye shall understand king Arthur is the man in
the world that she most hateth, because he is most of worship and of
prowess of any of her blood. Also, she loveth me out of measure as
paramour, and I her again. And if she might bring about to slay Arthur
by her crafts, she would slay her husband king Uriens lightly, and then
had she me devised to be king in this land, and so to reign, and she to
be my queen; but that is now done, said Sir Accolon, for I am sure of
my death. Well, said king Arthur, I feel by you ye would have been king
in this land. It had been great damage for to have destroyed your lord,
said Arthur. It is truth, said Sir Accolon, but now I have told you
truth, wherefore I pray you tell me of whence ye are, and of what
court? O Accolon, said king Arthur, now I let thee wit that I am king
Arthur to whom thou hast done great damage. When Accolon heard that he
cried aloud, Fair sweet lord, have mercy on me, for I knew you not. O
Sir Accolon, said king Arthur, mercy shalt thou have, because I feel by
thy words at this time thou knewest not my person. But I understand
well by thy words that thou hast agreed to the death of my person, and
therefore thou art a traitor; but I blame thee the less, for my sister
Morgan le Fay by her false crafts made thee to agree and consent to her
false lusts, but I shall be sore avenged upon her and I live, that all
Christendom shall speak of it. God knoweth I have honoured her and
worshipped her more than all my kin, and more have I trusted her than
mine own wife, and all my kin after. Then Sir Arthur called the keepers
of the field, and said, Sirs, come hither, for here are we two knights
that have fought unto a great damage unto us both, and like each one of
us to have slain other, if it had happed so; and had any of us known
other, here had been no battle, nor stroke stricken. Then all aloud
cried Sir Accolon unto all the knights and men that were then there
gathered together, and said to them in this manner: O lords, this noble
knight that I have fought withal, the which me sore repenteth, is the
most man of prowess, of manhood, and of worship in the world, for it is
himself king Arthur, our alther liege lord, and with mishap and with
misadventure have I done this battle with the king and lord that I am
holden withal.
CHAP. XII.
_How Arthur accorded the two brethren, and delivered the twenty
knights, and how Sir Accolon died._
Then all the people fell down on their knees, and cried king Arthur
mercy. Mercy shall ye have, said Arthur: here may ye see what
adventures befall oft time of errant knights, how that I have fought
with a knight of mine own unto my great damage and his both. But sirs,
because I am sore hurt, and he both, and I had great need of a little
rest, ye shall understand the opinion betwixt you two brethren: As to
thee, Sir Damas, for whom I have been champion, and won the field of
this knight, yet will I judge because ye Sir Damas are called an
orgulous knight, and full of villainy, and not worth of prowess of your
deeds, therefore I will that ye give unto your brother all the whole
manor with the appurtenance, under this form, that Sir Ontzlake hold
the manor of you, and yearly to give you a palfrey to ride upon, for
that will become you better to ride on than upon a courser. Also I
charge thee, Sir Damas, upon pain of death, that thou never distress no
knights errant that ride on their adventure. And also that thou restore
these twenty knights that thou hast long kept prisoners of all their
harness that they be content for, and if any of them come to my court
and complain of thee, by my head thou shalt die therefore. Also, Sir
Ontzlake, as to you, because ye are named a good knight, and full of
prowess, and true and gentle in all your deeds, this shall be your
charge: I will give you that in all goodly haste ye come unto me and my
court, and ye shall be a knight of mine, and if your deeds be
thereafter I shall so prefer you, by the grace of God, that ye shall in
short time be in ease for to live as worshipfully as your brother Sir
Damas.—God thank your largeness of your goodness and of your bounty,
and I shall be from henceforth at all times at your commandment: for,
Sir, said Sir Ontzlake, I was hurt but late with an adventurous knight
through both my thighs, which grieved me sore, and else had I done this
battle with you. Would, said Arthur, it had been so, for then had not I
been hurt as I am. I shall tell you the cause why: for I had not been
hurt as I am had not it been mine own sword that was stolen from me by
treason; and this battle was ordained aforehand to have slain me, and
so it was brought to the purpose by false treason, and by false
enchantment. Alas, said Sir Ontzlake, that is great pity, that ever so
noble a man as ye are of your deeds and prowess, that any man or woman
might find in their hearts to work any treason against you. I shall
reward them, said Arthur, in short time by the grace of God. Now tell
me, said Arthur, how far am I from Camelot? Sir, ye are two days’
journey therefrom. I would fain be at some place of worship, said Sir
Arthur, that I might rest me. Sir, said Sir Ontzlake, hereby is a rich
abbey of your elders’ foundation, of Nuns, but three mile hence. So the
king took his leave of all the people, and mounted upon horseback, and
Sir Accolon with him. And when they were come to the abbey, he let
fetch leeches and search his wounds and Accolon’s both, but Sir Accolon
died within four days, for he had bled so much blood that he might not
live, but king Arthur was well recovered. So when Accolon was dead he
let send him on an horse-bier with six knights unto Camelot, and said,
Bear him to my sister Morgan le Fay, and say that I send her him to a
present, and tell her that I have my sword Excalibur, and the scabbard.
So they departed with the body.
CHAP. XIII.
_How Morgan would have slain Sir Uriens her husband, and how Sir Uwaine
her son saved him._
The mean while Morgan le Fay had wend king Arthur had been dead. So on
a day she espied king Uriens lay in his bed sleeping, then she called
unto her a maiden of her counsel, and said: Go fetch me my lord’s
sword, for I saw never better time to slay him than now. O Madam, said
the damsel, and ye slay my lord, ye can never escape. Care not you,
said Morgan le Fay, for now I see my time in the which it is best to do
it, and therefore hie thee fast, and fetch me the sword. Then the
damsel departed, and found Sir Uwaine sleeping upon a bed in another
chamber, so she went unto Sir Uwaine, and awaked him, and bad him,
Arise, and wait on my lady your mother, for she will slay the king your
father sleeping in his bed, for I go to fetch his sword. Well, said Sir
Uwaine, go on your way, and let me deal. Anon the damsel brought Morgan
the sword with quaking hands, and she lightly took the sword, and
pulled it out, and went boldly unto the bed-side, and awaited how and
where she might slay him best. And as she lift up the sword to smite,
Sir Uwaine lept unto his mother, and caught her by the hand, and said,
Ah, fiend, what wilt thou do? And thou wert not my mother, with this
sword I should smite off thy head. Ah, said Sir Uwaine, men say that
Merlin was begotten of a devil, but I may say an earthly devil bare me.
Oh fair son Uwaine, have mercy upon me; I was tempted with a devil,
wherefore I cry thee mercy; I will never more do so; and save my
worship and discover me not. On this covenant, said Sir Uwaine, I will
forgive it you, so ye will never be about to do such deeds. Nay, son,
said she, and that I make you assurance.
CHAP. XIV.
_How queen Morgan le Fay made great sorrow for the death of Accolon,
and how she stole away the scabbard from Arthur._
Then came tidings unto Morgan le Fay that Accolon was dead, and his
body brought unto the church, and how king Arthur had his sword again.
But when queen Morgan wist that Accolon was dead she was so sorrowful
that near her heart to burst. But because she would not it were known,
outward she kept her countenance, and made no semblance of sorrow. But
well she wist, and she abode till her brother Arthur came thither,
there should no gold go for her life.
Then she went unto queen Guenever, and asked her leave to ride into the
country. Ye may abide, said queen Guenever, till your brother the king
come home. I may not, said Morgan le Fay, for I have such hasty tidings
that I may not tarry. Well, said Guenever, ye may depart when ye will.
So early on the morn, or it was day, she took her horse and rode all
that day, and most part of the night, and on the morn by noon she came
to the same abbey of nuns, whereas lay king Arthur, and she, knowing he
was there, asked where he was: and they answered how he had laid him in
his bed to sleep, for he had had but little rest these three nights.
Well, said she, I charge you that none of you awake him till I do. And
then she alight off her horse, and thought for to steal away Excalibur
his sword, and so she went straight unto his chamber, and no man durst
disobey her commandment, and there she found Arthur asleep in his bed,
and Excalibur in his right hand naked. When she saw that, she was
passing heavy that she might not come by the sword without she had
awaked him, and then she wist well she had been dead. Then she took the