The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights
At the appearance of this star a great dread fell upon the people, and
Uther, marching into Cambria against the son of Vortigern, himself was
very troubled to learn what it might mean. Then Merlin, being called
before him, cried with a loud voice: "O mighty loss! O stricken Britain!
Alas! the great prince is gone from us. Aurelius Ambrosius is dead, whose
death will be ours also, unless God help us. Haste, therefore, noble
Uther, to destroy the enemy; the victory shall be thine, and thou shalt be
king of all Britain. For the star with the fiery dragon signifies thyself;
and the ray over Gaul portends that thou shalt have a son, most mighty,
whom all those kingdoms shall obey which the ray covers."
Thus, for the second time, did Merlin foretell the coming of King Arthur.
And Uther, when he was made king, remembered Merlin's words, and caused
two dragons to be made in gold, in likeness of the dragon he had seen in
the star. One of these he gave to Winchester Cathedral, and had the other
carried into all his wars before him, whence he was ever after called
Uther Pendragon, or the dragon's head.
Now, when Uther Pendragon had passed through all the land, and settled
it--and even voyaged into all the countries of the Scots, and tamed the
fierceness of that rebel people--he came to London, and ministered justice
there. And it befell at a certain great banquet and high feast which the
king made at Easter-tide, there came, with many other earls and barons,
Gorloïs, Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Igerna, who was the most famous
beauty in all Britain. And soon thereafter, Gorloïs being slain in battle,
Uther determined to make Igerna his own wife. But in order to do this, and
enable him to come to her--for she was shut up in the high castle of
Tintagil, on the furthest coast of Cornwall--the king sent for Merlin, to
take counsel with him and to pray his help. This, therefore, Merlin
promised him on one condition--namely, that the king should give him up
the first son born of the marriage. For Merlin by his arts foreknew that
this firstborn should be the long-wished prince, King Arthur.
When Uther, therefore, was at length happily wedded, Merlin came to the
castle on a certain day, and said, "Sir, thou must now provide thee for
the nourishing of thy child."
And the king, nothing doubting, said, "Be it as thou wilt."
"I know a lord of thine in this land," said Merlin, "who is a man both
true and faithful; let him have the nourishing of the child. His name is
Sir Ector, and he hath fair possessions both in England and in Wales.
When, therefore, the child is born, let him be delivered unto me,
unchristened, at yonder postern-gate, and I will bestow him in the care of
this good knight."
So when the child was born, the king bid two knights and two ladies to
take it, bound in rich cloth of gold, and deliver it to a poor man whom
they should discover at the postern-gate. And the child being delivered
thus to Merlin, who himself took the guise of a poor man, was carried by
him to a holy priest and christened by the name of Arthur, and then was
taken to Sir Ector's house, and nourished at Sir Ector's wife's own
breasts. And in the same house he remained privily for many years, no man
soever knowing where he was, save Merlin and the king.
Anon it befell that the king was seized by a lingering distemper, and the
Saxon heathens, taking their occasion, came back from over sea, and
swarmed upon the land, wasting it with fire and sword. When Uther heard
thereof, he fell into a greater rage than his weakness could bear, and
commanded all his nobles to come before him, that he might upbraid them
for their cowardice. And when he had sharply and hotly rebuked them, he
swore that he himself, nigh unto death although he lay, would lead them
forth against the enemy. Then causing a horse-litter to be made, in which
he might be carried--for he was too faint and weak to ride--he went up
with all his army swiftly against the Saxons.
But they, when they heard that Uther was coming in a litter, disdained to
fight with him, saying it would be shame for brave men to fight with one
half dead. So they retired into their city; and, as it were in scorn of
danger, left the gates wide open. But Uther straightway commanding his men
to assault the town, they did so without loss of time, and had already
reached the gates, when the Saxons, repenting too late of their haughty
pride, rushed forth to the defence. The battle raged till night, and was
begun again next day; but at last, their leaders, Octa and Eosa, being
slain, the Saxons turned their backs and fled, leaving the Britons a full
triumph.
The king at this felt so great joy, that, whereas before he could scarce
raise himself without help, he now sat upright in his litter by himself,
and said, with a laughing and merry face, "They called me the half-dead
king, and so indeed I was; but victory to me half dead is better than
defeat and the best health. For to die with honour is far better than to
live disgraced."
But the Saxons, although thus defeated, were ready still for war. Uther
would have pursued them; but his illness had by now so grown, that his
knights and barons kept him from the adventure. Whereat the enemy took
courage, and left nothing undone to destroy the land; until, descending to
the vilest treachery, they resolved to kill the king by poison.
To this end, as he lay sick at Verulam, they sent and poisoned stealthily
a spring of clear water, whence he was wont to drink daily; and so, on the
very next day, he was taken with the pains of death, as were also a
hundred others after him, before the villainy was discovered, and heaps of
earth thrown over the well.
The knights and barons, full of sorrow, now took counsel together, and
came to Merlin for his help to learn the king's will before he died, for
he was by this time speechless. "Sirs, there is no remedy," said Merlin,
"and God's will must be done; but be ye all to-morrow before him, for God
will make him speak before he die."
So on the morrow all the barons, with Merlin, stood round the bedside of
the king; and Merlin said aloud to Uther, "Lord, shall thy son Arthur be
the king of all this realm after thy days?"
Then Uther Pendragon turned him about, and said, in the hearing of them
all, "God's blessing and mine be upon him. I bid him pray for my soul, and
also that he claim my crown, or forfeit all my blessing;" and with those
words he died.
Then came together all the bishops and the clergy, and great multitudes of
people, and bewailed the king; and carrying his body to the convent of
Ambrius, they buried it close by his brother's grave, within the "Giants'
Dance."
CHAPTER II
_The Miracle of the Sword and Stone, and the Coronation of King
Arthur--The Sword Excalilur--The War with the Eleven Kings_
Now Arthur the prince had all this time been nourished in Sir Ector's
house as his own son, and was fair and tall and comely, being of the age
of fifteen years, great in strength, gentle in manner, and accomplished in
all exercises proper for the training of a knight.
But as yet he knew not of his father; for Merlin had so dealt, that none
save Uther and himself knew aught about him. Wherefore it befell, that
many of the knights and barons who heard King Uther speak before his
death, and call his son Arthur his successor, were in great amazement; and
some doubted, and others were displeased.
Anon the chief lords and princes set forth each to his own land, and,
raising armed men and multitudes of followers, determined every one to
gain the crown for himself; for they said in their hearts, "If there be
any such a son at all as he of whom this wizard forced the king to speak,
who are we that a beardless boy should have rule over us?"
So the land stood long in great peril, for every lord and baron sought but
his own advantage; and the Saxons, growing ever more adventurous, wasted
and overran the towns and villages in every part.
Then Merlin went to Brice, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and advised him
to require all the earls and barons of the realm and all knights and
gentlemen-at-arms to come to him at London, before Christmas, under pain
of cursing, that they might learn the will of Heaven who should be king.
This, therefore, the archbishop did, and upon Christmas Eve were met
together in London all the greatest princes, lords, and barons; and long
before day they prayed in St. Paul's Church, and the archbishop besought
Heaven for a sign who should be lawful king of all the realm.
And as they prayed, there was seen in the churchyard, set straight before
the doorways of the church, a huge square stone having a naked sword stuck
in the midst of it. And on the sword was written in letters of gold,
"Whoso pulleth out the sword from this stone is born the rightful King of
Britain."
At this all the people wondered greatly; and, when Mass was over, the
nobles, knights, and princes ran out eagerly from the church to see the
stone and sword; and a law was forthwith made that whoso should pull out
the sword should be acknowledged straightway King of Britain.
Then many knights and barons pulled at the sword with all their might, and
some of them tried many times, but none could stir or move it.
When all had tried in vain, the archbishop declared the man whom Heaven
had chosen was not yet there. "But God," said he, "will doubtless make
him known ere many days."
So ten knights were chosen, being men of high renown, to watch and keep
the sword; and there was proclamation made through all the land that
whosoever would, had leave and liberty to try and pull it from the stone.
But though great multitudes of people came, both gentle and simple, for
many days, no man could ever move the sword a hair's breadth from its
place.
Now, at the New Year's Eve a great tournament was to be held in London,
which the archbishop had devised to keep together lords and commons, lest
they should grow estranged in the troublous and unsettled times. To the
which tournament there came, with many other knights, Sir Ector, Arthur's
foster-father, who had great possessions near to London; and with him came
his son, Sir Key, but recently made knight, to take his part in the
jousting, and young Arthur also to witness all the sports and fighting.
But as they rode towards the jousts, Sir Key found suddenly he had no
sword, for he had left it at his father's house; and turning to young
Arthur, he prayed him to ride back and fetch it for him. "I will with a
good will," said Arthur; and rode fast back after the sword.
But when he came to the house he found it locked and empty, for all were
gone forth to see the tournament. Whereat, being angry and impatient, he
said within himself, "I will ride to the churchyard and take with me the
sword that sticketh in the stone, for my brother shall not go without a
sword this day."
So he rode and came to the churchyard, and alighting from his horse he
tied him to the gate, and went to the pavilion, which was pitched near
the stone, wherein abode the ten knights who watched and kept it; but he
found no knights there, for all were gone to see the jousting.
Then he took the sword by its handle, and lightly and fiercely he pulled
it out of the stone, and took his horse and rode until he came to Sir Key
and delivered him the sword. But as soon as Sir Key saw it he knew well it
was the sword of the stone, and, riding swiftly to his father, he cried
out, "Lo! here, sir, is the sword of the stone, wherefore it is I who must
be king of all this land."
When Sir Ector saw the sword, he turned back straight with Arthur and Sir
Key and came to the churchyard, and there alighting, they went all three
into the church, and Sir Key was sworn to tell truly how he came by the