The Story of King Arthur and his Knights
“Pity of Heaven!” cried the Lady Guinevere. “What a sad thing is this
that thou tellest me! Now I do beseech thee to lead me presently unto
that knight that I may behold him. For I have in my Court a very skilful
leech, who is well used to the cure of hurts such as knights receive in
battle.”
[Sidenote: _The Lady Guinevere biddeth her leech for to heal King
Arthur._]
So Merlin brought the lady into the cell, and there she beheld King
Arthur where he lay stretched upon the pallet. And she wist not who he
was. Yet it appeared to her that in all her life she had not beheld so
noble appearing a knight as he who lay sorely wounded in that lonely
place. And King Arthur cast his looks upward to where she stood beside
his bed of pain, surrounded by her maidens, and in the great weakness
that lay upon him he wist not whether she whom he beheld was a mortal
lady or whether she was not rather some tall straight angel who had
descended from one of the Lordly Courts of Paradise for to visit him in
his pain and distresses. And the Lady Guinevere was filled with a great
pity at beholding King Arthur’s sorrowful estate. Wherefore she called
to her that skilful leech who was with her Court. And she bade him bring
a certain alabaster box of exceedingly precious balsam. And she
commanded him for to search that knight’s wounds and to anoint them with
the balsam, so that he might be healed of his hurts with all despatch.
So that wise and skilful leech did according to the Lady Guinevere’s
commands, and immediately King Arthur felt entire ease of all his aches
and great content of spirit. And when the Lady and her Court had
departed, he found himself much uplifted in heart, and three days
thereafter he was entirely healed and was as well and strong and lusty
as ever he had been in all of his life.
* * * * *
And this was the first time that King Arthur ever beheld that beautiful
lady, the Lady Guinevere of Cameliard, and from that time forth he
never forgot her, but she was almost always present in his thoughts.
Wherefore, when he was recovered he said thus to himself: “I will forget
that I am a king and I will cherish the thought of this lady and will
serve her faithfully as a good knight may serve his chosen dame.”
And so he did, as ye shall hear later in this book.
[Illustration] Chapter Third.
_How King Arthur Found a Noble Sword In a Very Wonderful Manner. And How
He Again Fought With It and Won That Battle._
[Sidenote: _King Arthur desireth to renew his battle._]
Now, as soon as King Arthur had, by means of that extraordinary balsam,
been thus healed of those grievous wounds which he had received in his
battle with King Pellinore, he found himself to be moved by a most
vehement desire to meet his enemy again for to try issue of battle with
him once more, and so recover the credit which he had lost in that
combat. Now, upon the morning of the fourth day, being entirely cured,
and having broken his fast, he walked for refreshment beside the skirts
of the forest, listening the while to the cheerful sound of the
wood-birds singing their matins, all with might and main. And Merlin
walked beside him, and King Arthur spake his mind to Merlin concerning
his intent to engage once more in knightly contest with King Pellinore.
And he said, “Merlin, it doth vex me very sorely for to have come off so
ill in my late encounter with king Pellinore. Certes, he is the very
best knight in all the world whom I have ever yet encountered.
Ne’theless, it might have fared differently with me had I not broken my
sword, and so left myself altogether defenceless in that respect.
Howsoever that may be, I am of a mind for to assay this adventure once
more, and so will I do as immediately as may be.”
Thereunto Merlin made reply, “Thou art, assuredly, a very brave man to
have so much appetite for battle, seeing how nigh thou camest unto thy
death not even four days ago. Yet how mayst thou hope to undertake this
adventure without due preparation? For, lo! thou hast no sword, nor hast
thou a spear, nor hast thou even thy misericordia for to do battle
withal. How then mayst thou hope for to assay this adventure?”
And King Arthur said, “That I know not, nevertheless I will presently
seek for some weapon as soon as may be. For, even an I have no better
weapon than an oaken cudgel, yet would I assay this battle again with so
poor a tool as that.”
[Sidenote: _Merlin telleth King Arthur of Excalibur._]
“Ha! Lord,” said Merlin, “I do perceive that thou art altogether fixed
in thy purpose for to renew this quarrel. Wherefore, I will not seek to
stay thee therefrom, but will do all that in me lies for to aid thee in
thy desires. Now to this end I must tell thee that in one part of this
forest (which is, indeed, a very strange place) there is a certain
woodland sometimes called Arroy, and other times called the Forest of
Adventure. For no knight ever entereth therein but some adventure
befalleth him. And close to Arroy is a land of enchantment which has
several times been seen. And that is a very wonderful land, for there is
in it a wide and considerable lake, which is also of enchantment. And in
the centre of that lake there hath for some time been seen the
appearance as of a woman’s arm--exceedingly beautiful and clad in white
samite, and the hand of this arm holdeth a sword of such exceeding
excellence and beauty that no eye hath ever beheld its like. And the
name of this sword is Excalibur--it being so named by those who have
beheld it because of its marvellous brightness and beauty. For it hath
come to pass that several knights have already seen that sword and have
endeavored to obtain it for their own, but, heretofore, no one hath been
able to touch it, and many have lost their lives in that adventure. For
when any man draweth near unto it, either he sinks into the lake, or
else the arm disappeareth entirely, or else it is withdrawn beneath the
lake; wherefore no man hath ever been able to obtain the possession of
that sword. Now I am able to conduct thee unto that Lake of Enchantment,
and there thou mayst see Excalibur with thine own eyes. Then when thou
hast seen him thou mayst, haply, have the desire to obtain him; which,
an thou art able to do, thou wilt have a sword very fitted for to do
battle with.”
“Merlin,” quoth the King, “this is a very strange thing which thou
tellest me. Now I am desirous beyond measure for to attempt to obtain
this sword for mine own, wherefore I do beseech thee to lead me with all
despatch to this enchanted lake whereof thou tellest me.” And Merlin
said, “I will do so.”
So that morning King Arthur and Merlin took leave of that holy hermit
(the King having kneeled in the grass to receive his benediction), and
so, departing from that place, they entered the deeper forest once more,
betaking their way to that part which was known as Arroy.
[Sidenote: _Merlin and King Arthur follow a white doe._]
And after awhile they came to Arroy, and it was about noon-tide. And
when they had entered into those woodlands they came to a certain
little open place, and in that place they beheld a white doe with a
golden collar about its neck. And King Arthur said, “Look, Merlin,
yonder is a wonderful sight.” And Merlin said, “Let us follow that
doe.” And upon this the doe turned and they followed it. And by and by
in following it they came to an opening in the trees where was a little
lawn of sweet soft grass. Here they beheld a bower and before the bower
was a table spread with a fair snow-white cloth, and set with
refreshments of white bread, wine, and meats of several sorts. And at
the door of this bower there stood a page, clad all in green, and his
hair was as black as ebony, and his eyes as black as jet and exceeding
bright. And when this page beheld King Arthur and Merlin, he gave them
greeting, and welcomed the King very pleasantly saying, “Ha! King
Arthur, thou art welcome to this place. Now I prithee dismount and
refresh thyself before going farther.”
Then was King Arthur a-doubt as to whether there might not be some
enchantment in this for to work him an ill, for he was astonished that
that page in the deep forest should know him so well. But Merlin bade
him have good cheer, and he said, “Indeed, Lord, thou mayst freely
partake of that refreshment which, I may tell thee, was prepared
especially for thee. Moreover in this thou mayst foretell a very happy
issue unto this adventure.”
[Sidenote: _King Arthur is refreshed in a mysterious manner._]
So King Arthur sat down to the table with great comfort of heart (for he
was an hungered) and that page and another like unto him ministered unto
his needs, serving him all the food upon silver plates, and all the wine
in golden goblets as he was used to being served in his own court--only
that those things were much more cunningly wrought and fashioned, and
were more beautiful than the table furniture of the King’s court.
Then, after he had eaten his fill and had washed his hands from a silver
basin which the first page offered to him, and had wiped his hands upon
a fine linen napkin which the other page brought unto him, and after
Merlin had also refreshed himself, they went their way, greatly
rejoicing at this pleasant adventure, which, it seemed to the King,
could not but betoken a very good issue to his undertaking.
Now about the middle of the afternoon King Arthur and Merlin came, of a
sudden, out from the forest and upon a fair and level plain, bedight all
over with such a number of flowers that no man could conceive of their
quantity nor of the beauty thereof.
[Sidenote: _King Arthur cometh to a strange land._]
And this was a very wonderful land, for, lo! all the air appeared as it
were to be as of gold—so bright was it and so singularly radiant.
And here and there upon that plain were sundry trees all in blossom; and the
fragrance of the blossoms was so sweet that the King had never smelt any
fragrance like to it. And in the branches of those trees were a
multitude of birds of many colors, and the melody of their singing
ravished the heart of the hearer. And midway in the plain was a lake of
water as bright as silver, and all around the borders of the lake were
incredible numbers of lilies and of daffodils. Yet, although this place
was so exceedingly fair, there was, nevertheless, nowhere about it a
single sign of human life of any sort, but it appeared altogether as
lonely as the hollow sky upon a day of summer. So, because of all the
marvellous beauty of this place, and because of its strangeness and its
entire solitude, King Arthur perceived that he must have come into a
land of powerful enchantment where, happily, dwelt a fairy of very
exalted quality; wherefore his spirit was enwrapped in a manner of fear,
as he pushed his great milk-white war-horse through that long fair
grass, all bedight with flowers, and he wist not what strange things
were about to befall him.
[Sidenote: _King Arthur seeth Excalibur_]
[Sidenote: _King Arthur meeteth the Lady of the Lake._]
So when he had come unto the margin of the lake he beheld there the
miracle that Merlin had told him of aforetime. For, lo! in the midst of
the expanse of water there was the appearance of a fair and beautiful
arm, as of a woman, clad all in white samite. And the arm was encircled
with several bracelets of wrought gold; and the hand held a sword of
marvellous workmanship aloft in the air above the surface of the water;
and neither the arm nor the sword moved so much as a hair’s-breadth,
but were motionless like to a carven image upon the surface of the
lake. And, behold! the sun of that strange land shone down upon the