The Story of King Arthur and his Knights
spake, lo! there suddenly appeared sundry letters of gold upon the back
of that seat, and the letters of gold read the name,
=ARTHUR, KING.=
And Merlin said, “Lord, yonder seat may well be called the centre seat
of the Round Table, for, in sooth, thou art indeed the very centre of
all that is most worthy of true knightliness. Wherefore that seat shall
be called the centre seat of all the other seats.”
Then Merlin pointed to the seat that stood opposite to the Seat Royal,
and that seat also was of a very wonderful appearance as afore told in
this history. And Merlin said unto the King: “My lord King, that seat is
called the Seat Perilous, for no man but one in all this world shall sit
therein, and that man is not yet born upon the earth. And if any other
man shall dare to sit therein that man shall either suffer death or a
sudden and terrible misfortune for his temerity. Wherefore that seat is
called the Seat Perilous.”
“Merlin,” quoth the King, “all that thou tellest me passeth the bound of
understanding for marvellousness. Now I do beseech thee in all haste for
to find forthwith a sufficient number of knights to fill this Round
Table so that my glory shall be entirely complete.”
Then Merlin smiled upon the King, though not with cheerfulness, and
said, “Lord, why art thou in such haste? Know that when this Round Table
shall be entirely filled in all its seats, then shall thy glory be
entirely achieved and then forthwith shall thy day begin for to decline.
For when any man hath reached the crowning of his glory, then his work
is done and God breaketh him as a man might break a chalice from which
such perfect ichor hath been drunk that no baser wine may be allowed to
defile it. So when thy work is done and ended shall God shatter the
chalice of thy life.”
Then did the King look very steadfastly into Merlin’s face, and said,
“Old man, that which thou sayest is ever of great wonder, for thou
speakest words of wisdom. Ne’theless, seeing that I am in God His hands,
I do wish for my glory and for His good will to be accomplished even
though He shall then entirely break me when I have served His purposes.”
“Lord,” said Merlin, “thou speakest like a worthy king and with a very
large and noble heart. Ne’theless, I may not fill the Round Table for
thee at this time. For, though thou hast gathered about thee the very
noblest Court of Chivalry in all of Christendom, yet are there but two
and thirty knights here present who may be considered worthy to sit at
the Round Table.”
“Then, Merlin,” quoth King Arthur, “I do desire of thee that thou shalt
straightway choose me those two and thirty.”
“So will I do, lord King,” said Merlin.
[Sidenote: _Merlin chooseth the knights of the Round Table._]
Then Merlin cast his eyes around and lo! he saw where King Pellinore
stood at a little distance. Unto him went Merlin and took him by the
hand. “Behold, my lord King,” quoth he. “Here is the knight in all the
world next to thyself who at this time is most worthy for to sit at this
Round Table. For he is both exceedingly gentle of demeanor unto the poor
and needy and at the same time is so terribly strong and skilful that I
know not whether thou or he is the more to be feared in an encounter of
knight against knight.”
Then Merlin led King Pellinore forward and behold! upon the high seat
that stood upon the left hand of the Royal Seat there appeared of a
sudden the name,
=PELLINORE.=
And the name was emblazoned in letters of gold that shone with
extraordinary lustre. And when King Pellinore took his seat, great and
loud acclaim long continued was given him by all those who stood round
about.
Then after that Merlin had thus chosen King Arthur and King Pellinore he
chose out of the Court of King Arthur the following knights, two and
thirty in all, and these were the knights of great renown in chivalry
who did first establish the Round Table. Wherefore they were surnamed
“The Ancient and Honorable Companions of the Round Table.”
To begin, there was Sir Gawaine and Sir Ewaine, who were nephews unto
the King, and they sat nigh to him upon the right hand; there was Sir
Ulfius (who held his seat but four years and eight months unto the time
of his death, after which Sir Geheris--who was esquire unto his brother,
Sir Gawaine--held that seat); and there was Sir Kay the Seneschal, who
was foster brother unto the King; and there was Sir Baudwain of Britain
(who held his seat but three years and two months until his death, after
the which Sir Agravaine held that seat); and there was Sir Pellias and
Sir Geraint and Sir Constantine, son of Sir Caderes the Seneschal of
Cornwall (which same was king after King Arthur); and there was Sir
Caradoc and Sir Sagramore, surnamed the Desirous, and Sir Dinadan and
Sir Dodinas, surnamed the Savage, and Sir Bruin, surnamed the Black, and
Sir Meliot of Logres, and Sir Aglaval and Sir Durnure, and Sir Lamorac
(which three young knights were sons of King Pellinore), and there was
Sir Griflet and Sir Ladinas and Sir Brandiles and Sir Persavant of
Ironside, and Sir Dinas of Cornwall, and Sir Brian of Listinoise, and
Sir Palomides and Sir Degraine and Sir Epinogres, the son of the King
of North Umberland and brother unto the enchantress Vivien, and Sir
Lamiel of Cardiff, and Sir Lucan the Bottler and Sir Bedevere his
brother (which same bare King Arthur unto the ship of Fairies when he
lay so sorely wounded nigh unto death after the last battle which he
fought). These two and thirty knights were the Ancient Companions of the
Round Table, and unto them were added others until there were nine and
forty in all, and then was added Sir Galahad, and with him the Round
Table was made entirely complete.
Now as each of these knights was chosen by Merlin, lo! as he took that
knight by the hand, the name of that knight suddenly appeared in golden
letters, very bright and shining, upon the seat that appertained to him.
But when all had been chosen, behold! King Arthur saw that the seat upon
the right hand of the Seat Royal had not been filled, and that it bare
no name upon it. And he said unto Merlin: “Merlin, how is this, that the
seat upon my right hand hath not been filled, and beareth no name?”
And Merlin said: “Lord, there shall be a name thereon in a very little
while, and he who shall sit therein shall be the greatest knight in all
the world until that the knight cometh who shall occupy the Seat
Perilous. For he who cometh shall exceed all other men in beauty and in
strength and in knightly grace.”
And King Arthur said: “I would that he were with us now.” And Merlin
said: “He cometh anon.”
Thus was the Round Table established with great pomp and great ceremony
of estate. For first the Archbishop of Canterbury blessed each and every
seat, progressing from place to place surrounded by his Holy Court, the
choir whereof singing most musically in accord, whiles others swung
censers from which there ascended an exceedingly fragrant vapor of
frankincense, filling that entire pavilion with an odor of Heavenly
blessedness.
And when the Archbishop had thus blessed every one of those seats, the
chosen knight took each his stall at the Round Table, and his esquire
came and stood behind him, holding the banneret with his coat-of-arms
upon the spear-point above the knight’s head. And all those who stood
about that place, both knights and ladies, lifted up their voices in
loud acclaim.
[Sidenote: _Of the ceremony of installation of the Round Table._]
Then all the knights arose, and each knight held up before him the cross
of the hilt of his sword, and each knight spake word for word as King
Arthur spake. And this was the covenant of their Knighthood of the Round
Table: That they would be gentle unto the weak; that they would be
courageous unto the strong; that they would be terrible unto the wicked
and the evil-doer; that they would defend the helpless who should call
upon them for aid; that all women should be held unto them sacred; that
they would stand unto the defence of one another whensoever such defence
should be required; that they would be merciful unto all men; that they
would be gentle of deed, true in friendship, and faithful in love. This
was their covenant, and unto it each knight sware upon the cross of his
sword, and in witness thereof did kiss the hilt thereof. Thereupon all
who stood thereabouts once more gave loud acclaim.
Then all the knights of the Round Table seated themselves, and each
knight brake bread from the golden patten, and quaffed wine from the
golden chalice that stood before him, giving thanks unto God for that
which he ate and drank.
Thus was King Arthur wedded unto Queen Guinevere, and thus was the Round
Table established.
[Illustration] _CONCLUSION_
_So endeth this Book of King Arthur which hath been told by me with such
joyousness of spirit that I find it to be a very great pleasure, in
closing this first volume of my work, to look forward to writing a
second volume, which now presently followeth._
_In that volume there shall be told the history of several very noble
worthies who were of the Court of the King, and it seems to me to be a
good thing to have to do with the history of such noble and honorable
knights and gentlemen. For, indeed, it might well please anyone to read
such an history, and to hear those worthies speak, and to behold in what
manner they behaved in times of trial and tribulation. For their example
will doubtless help us all to behave in a like manner in a like case._
[Illustration] Foreword.
_Here beginneth the Second Book of the History of King Arthur, called
The Book of Three Worthies, because it has to do with three very
excellent, honorable Lords of the Court of King Arthur._
_Of these three, the first is Merlin the Wise, the second is Sir
Pellias, surnamed the Gentle Knight, and the third is Sir Gawaine, the
son of King Lot of Orkney and the Isles._
_So now presently follows the story of the passing of Merlin the Wise;
in the which you shall see how the very wisdom that Merlin possessed in
such great measure was the cause of his own undoing. Wherefore I do hope
that you yourselves may take that story unto heart so that you shall see
that those gifts of mind or person which God assigns unto you may not
be so misused by you or others that they shall become the means of
compassing your own downfall._
_For it shall not excuse you in any wise that, as you journey forward in
your life, you shall find many men who, like Merlin, have been endowed
by the grace of God with very great gifts of talent which they might
very easily use to the great benefit of mankind, but which they so
misuse as to bring the greater ruin upon themselves and the greater harm
unto other men. For, if you shall prove so weak or so wicked as to
misuse your talents in that manner unto the harm of others and of
yourself, it shall not make your fault the less that others shall have
done greater evil than yourself._
_Wherefore, let this story of Merlin be a warning unto you, I pray you
all. For, though I do not believe that Merlin intended that his talents
of magic should do harm unto others, yet, because of his folly, they did
as great harm as though he himself had designed to do evil by means of
them. Yea; it is hard to tell whether the wickedness or the follies of
men do the greater harm in the world; therefore seek to guard yourself
well, not only against sin, but against folly and weakness likewise._
[Illustration: Sorcery.] Prologue.