The Story of King Arthur and his Knights
But now a pledge of thy good faith toward me in the future, I shall
require it of thee that thou shalt send me as hostage of thy good-will,
thy two eldest sons, to wit: Sir Aglaval and Sir Lamorack. Thy young
son, Dornar, thou mayest keep with thee for thy comfort.”
So those two young knights above mentioned came to the Court of King
Arthur, and they became very famous knights, and by and by were made
fellows in great honor of the Round Table.
And King Arthur and King Pellinore went together into the castle of King
Pellinore, and there King Pellinore’s wounds were dressed and he was
made comfortable. That night King Arthur abode in the castle of King
Pellinore, and when the next morning had come, he and Merlin returned
unto the Court of the King, where it awaited him in the forest at that
place where he had established it.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _How King Arthur rode through the forest with great joy and
delight._]
Now King Arthur took very great pleasure unto himself as he and Merlin
rode together in return through that forest; for it was the leafiest
time of all the year, what time the woodlands decked themselves in their
best apparel of clear, bright green. Each bosky dell and dingle was full
of the perfume of the thickets, and in every tangled depth the small
bird sang with all his might and main, and as though he would burst his
little throat with the melody of his singing. And the ground beneath the
horses’ feet was so soft with fragrant moss that the ear could not hear
any sound of hoof-beats upon the earth. And the bright yellow sunlight
came down through the leaves so that all the ground was scattered over
with a great multitude of trembling circles as of pure yellow gold. And,
anon, that sunlight would fall down upon the armed knight as he rode, so
that every little while his armor appeared to catch fire with a great
glory, shining like a sudden bright star amid the dark shadows of the
woodland.
So it was that King Arthur took great joy in that forest land, for he
was without ache or pain of any sort and his heart was very greatly
elated with the wonderfulness of the success of that adventure into
which he had entered. For in that adventure he had not only won a very
bitter enemy into a friend who should be of great usefulness and
satisfaction to him, but likewise, he had obtained for himself a sword,
the like of which the world had never before beheld. And whenever he
would think of that singularly splendid sword which now hung by his
side, and whenever he remembered that land of Faëry into which he had
wandered, and of that which had befallen him therein, his heart would
become so greatly elated with pure joyousness that he hardly knew how to
contain himself because of the great delight that filled his entire
bosom.
And, indeed, I know of no greater good that I could wish for you in all
of your life than to have you enjoy such happiness as cometh to one when
he hath done his best endeavor and hath succeeded with great entirety in
his undertaking. For then all the world appears to be filled as with a
bright shining light, and the body seemeth to become so elated that the
feet are uplifted from heaviness and touch the earth very lightly
because of the lightness of the spirit within. Wherefore, it is, that if
I could have it in my power to give you the very best that the world
hath to give, I would wish that you might win your battle as King Arthur
won his battle at that time, and that you might ride homeward in such
triumph and joyousness as filled him that day, and that the sunlight
might shine around you as it shone around him, and that the breezes
might blow and that all the little birds might sing with might and main
as they sang for him, and that your heart also might sing its song of
rejoicing in the pleasantness of the world in which you live.
[Sidenote: _Merlin tells King Arthur of the virtues of Excalibur, his
sheath._]
Now as they rode thus through the forest together, Merlin said to the
King: “Lord, which wouldst thou rather have, Excalibur, or the sheath
that holds him?” To which King Arthur replied, “Ten thousand times would
I rather have Excalibur than his sheath.” “In that thou art wrong, my
Lord,” said Merlin, “for let me tell thee, that though Excalibur is of
so great a temper that he may cut in twain either a feather or a bar of
iron, yet is his sheath of such a sort that he who wears it can suffer
no wound in battle, neither may he lose a single drop of blood. In
witness whereof, thou mayst remember that, in thy late battle with King
Pellinore, thou didst suffer no wound, neither didst thou lose any
blood.”
Then King Arthur directed a countenance of great displeasure upon his
companion and he said, “Now, Merlin, I do declare that thou hast taken
from me the entire glory of that battle which I have lately fought. For
what credit may there be to any knight who fights his enemy by means of
enchantment such as thou tellest me of? And, indeed, I am minded to take
this glorious sword back to that magic lake and to cast it therein where
it belongeth; for I believe that a knight should fight by means of his
own strength, and not by means of magic.”
“My Lord,” said Merlin, “assuredly thou art entirely right in what thou
holdest. But thou must bear in mind that thou art not as an ordinary
errant knight, but that thou art a King, and that thy life belongeth
not unto thee, but unto thy people. Accordingly thou hast no right to
imperil it, but shouldst do all that lieth in thy power for to preserve
it. Wherefore thou shouldst keep that sword so that it may safeguard thy
life.”
Then King Arthur meditated that saying for a long while in silence; and
when he spake it was in this wise: “Merlin, thou art right in what thou
sayest, and, for the sake of my people, I will keep both Excalibur for
to fight for them, and likewise his sheath for to preserve my life for
their sake. Ne’theless, I will never use him again saving in serious
battle.” And King Arthur held to that saying, so that thereafter he did
no battle in sport excepting with lance and a-horseback.
* * * * *
King Arthur kept Excalibur as the chiefest treasure of all his
possessions. For he said to himself, “Such a sword as this is fit for a
king above other kings and a lord above other lords. Now, as God hath
seen fit for to intrust that sword into my keeping in so marvellous a
manner as fell about, so must He mean that I am to be His servant for to
do unusual things. Wherefore I will treasure this noble weapon not more
for its excellent worth than because it shall be unto me as a sign of
those great things that God, in His mercy, hath evidently ordained for
me to perform for to do Him service.”
So King Arthur had made for Excalibur a strong chest or coffer, bound
around with many bands of wrought iron, studded all over with great
nails of iron, and locked with three great padlocks. In this strong-box
he kept Excalibur lying upon a cushion of crimson silk and wrapped in
swathings of fine linen, and very few people ever beheld the sword in
its glory excepting when it shone like a sudden flame in the uproar of
battle.
For when the time came for King Arthur to defend his realm or his
subjects from their enemies, then he would take out the sword, and
fasten it upon the side of his body; and when he did so he was like unto
a hero of God girt with a blade of shining lightning. Yea; at such times
Excalibur shone with so terrible a brightness that the very sight
thereof would shake the spirits of every wrong-doer with such great fear
that he would, in a manner, suffer the pangs of death ere ever the edge
of the blade had touched his flesh.
So King Arthur treasured Excalibur and the sword remained with him for
all of his life, wherefore the name of Arthur and of Excalibur are one.
So, I believe that that sword is the most famous of any that ever was
seen or heard tell of in all the Courts of Chivalry.
As for the sheath of the blade, King Arthur lost that through the
treachery of one who should, by rights, have been his dearest friend (as
you shall hear of anon), and in the end the loss of that miraculous
sheath brought it about that he suffered a very great deal of pain and
sorrow.
All that also you shall read of, God willing, in due season.
* * * * *
So endeth the story of the winning of Excalibur, and may God give unto
you in your life, that you may have His truth to aid you, like a shining
sword, for to overcome your enemies; and may He give you Faith (for
Faith containeth Truth as a scabbard containeth its sword), and may that
Faith heal all your wounds of sorrow as the sheath of Excalibur healed
all the wounds of him who wore that excellent weapon. For with Truth and
Faith girded upon you, you shall be as well able to fight all your
battles as did that noble hero of old, whom men called King Arthur.
PART III
The Winning of a Queen
_So, having told you how King Arthur obtained that very excellent sword,
Excalibur, for a weapon of defence, I shall now presently recount sundry
other noble and knightly adventures whereby he won for himself a most
beautiful and gentle lady for his Queen._
_For, though all the world is very well acquainted with the renown of
that perfectly gracious dame, the Lady Guinevere, yet I do not think
that the whole story of those adventures by the which King Arthur won
her good favor hath ever yet been told._
_So as the matter hereinafter to be related contains not only the
narrative of that affair, but also the account of a certain enchanted
disguise which King Arthur assumed for his purposes, as well as sundry
adventures of very knightly daring which he undertook, I have great hope
that he who reads what I have written shall find it both an agreeable
and an entertaining history._
[Illustration] Chapter First.
_How King Arthur Went to Tintagalon with Four of His Court, and How He
Disguised Himself for a Certain Purpose._
[Sidenote: _How King Arthur held a feast at Carleon upon Usk._]
Now, upon a certain day King Arthur proclaimed a high feast, which was
held at Carleon upon Usk. Many noble guests were bidden, and an
exceedingly splendid Court gathered at the King’s castle. For at that
feast there sat seven kings and five queens in royal state, and there
were high lords and beautiful ladies of degree, to the number of three
score and seven; and there were a multitude of those famous knights of
the King’s Court who were reckoned the most renowned in arms in all of
Christendom. And of all this great gathering of kings, lords, and
knights, not one man looked askance at his neighbor, but all were united
in good fellowship. Wherefore, when the young King looked about him and
beheld such peace and amity among all these noble lords where,
aforetime, had been discord and ill-regard: “Certes,” quoth he to
himself, “it is wonderful how this reign of mine hath knit men together
in kindness and good fellowship!” And because of such thoughts as
these, his spirit took wings like unto a bird and sang within him.
Now while the King sat thus at feast, lo! there came an herald-messenger
from the west-country. And the herald came and stood before the King,
and said: “Greeting to thee, King Arthur!”
Then the King said: “Speak, and tell me, what is thy message?”
[Sidenote: _A herald-messenger comes from the west-country._]
To which the herald made reply: “I come from King Leodegrance of
Cameliard, who is in sore trouble. For thus it is: His enemy and thine
enemy, King Ryence of North Wales (he who at one time in contempt of
thee commanded thee to send him thy beard for to trim his mantle), doth