The Story of King Arthur and his Knights
not what to say or where to look, and those who were there also
perceived that the King had guessed aright.
Then King Arthur came very close to that knight with great sternness of
demeanor, and he said, “Now, thou traitor knight! thou didst ask me to
enter into thy sport with thee a year ago, so at these present it is my
turn to ask thee to have sport with me. And this is the sport I will
have, that thou shalt give me that chain and locket that hang about thy
neck, and that I shall give thee the collar which hangeth about my
neck.”
[Sidenote: _King Arthur slayeth the knight of the castle._]
At this, the face of that knight fell all pale, like to ashes, and he
emitted a sound similar to the sound made by a hare when the hound lays
hold upon it. Then King Arthur catched him very violently by the arm,
and he catched the locket and brake it away from about the knight’s
neck, and upon that the knight shrieked very loud, and fell down upon
his knees and besought mercy of the King, and there was great uproar in
that place. Then King Arthur opened the locket and lo! there was a ball
as of crystal, very clear and shining. And King Arthur said, “I will
have no mercy,” and therewith he flung the ball violently down upon the
stone of the pavement so that it brake with a loud noise. Then, upon
that instant, the knight-conjurer gave a piercing bitter cry and fell
down upon the ground; and when they ran to raise him up, behold! he was
entirely dead.
Now when the people of that castle beheld their knight thus suddenly
dead, and when they beheld King Arthur how he stood in the fury of his
kingly majesty, they were greatly afeared so that they shrunk away from
the King where he stood. Then the King turned and went out from that
castle and no one stayed him, and he mounted his horse and rode away,
and no one gave him let or hindrance in his going.
Now when the King had left the castle in that wise, he went straight to
the hut where was the old beldame and he said to her, “Thou hast holpen
me a very great deal in mine hour of need, so now will I fulfil that
pledge which I made unto thee, for I will take thee unto my Court and
thou shalt choose one of my knights for thy husband. For I think there
is not one knight in all my Court but would be very glad to do anything
that lieth in his power to reward one who hath saved me as thou hast
done this day.”
[Sidenote: _King Arthur taketh the old woman away with him._]
Therewith he took that old woman and he lifted her up upon the crupper
of his horse; then he himself mounted upon his horse, and so they rode
away from that place. And the King comported himself to that aged
beldame in all ways with the utmost consideration as though she had been
a beautiful dame of the highest degree in the land. Likewise he showed
her such respect that had she been a lady of royal blood, he could not
have shown greater respect to her.
So in due time they reached the Court, which was then at Carleon. And
they came there nigh about mid-day.
Now about that time it chanced that the Queen and a number of the lords
of the Court, and a number of the ladies of the Court, were out in the
fields enjoying the pleasantness of the Maytime; for no one in all the
world, excepting the esquire, Boisenard, knew anything of the danger
that beset King Arthur; hence all were very glad of the pleasantness of
the season. Now as King Arthur drew nigh to that place, these lifted up
their eyes and beheld him come, and they were astonished beyond all
measure to see King Arthur come to them across that field with that old
beldame behind him upon the saddle, wherefore they stood still to wait
until King Arthur reached them.
But when King Arthur had come to them, he did not dismount from his
horse, but sat thereon and regarded them all very steadfastly; and Queen
Guinevere said, “Sir, what is this? Hast thou a mind to play some merry
jest this day that thou hast brought hither that old woman?”
“Lady,” said King Arthur, “excepting for this old woman it were like to
have been a very sorry jest for thee and for me; for had she not aided
me I would now have been a dead man and in a few days you would
doubtless all have been in great passion of sorrow.”
Then all they who were there marvelled very greatly at the King’s words.
And the Queen said, “Sir, what is it that hath befallen thee?”
Thereupon King Arthur told them all that had happened to him from the
very beginning when he and Boisenard had left the castle of Tintagalon.
And when he had ended his story, they were greatly amazed.
Now there were seventeen lords of the Court there present. So when King
Arthur had ended his story, he said unto these, “Messires, I have given
my pledge unto this aged woman that any one of you whom she may choose,
shall take her unto him as his wife, and shall treat her with all the
regard that it is possible for him to do; for this was the condition
that she laid upon me. Now tell me, did I do right in making unto her my
pledge that I would fulfil that which she desired?” And all of those who
were present said, “Yea, lord, thou didst right, for we would do all in
the world for to save thee from such peril as that from which thou hast
escaped.”
[Sidenote: _The old woman chooseth Sir Gawaine._]
Then King Arthur said to that old woman, “Lady, is there any of these
knights here whom you would choose for to be your husband?” Upon this,
the old woman pointed with her very long, bony finger unto Sir Gawaine,
saying, “Yea, I would marry that lord, for I see by the chain that is
around his neck and by the golden circlet upon his hair and by the
haughty nobility of his aspect, that he must be the son of a king.”
Then King Arthur said unto Sir Gawaine, “Sir, art thou willing to fulfil
my pledge unto this old woman?” And Sir Gawaine said, “Yea, lord,
whatsoever thou requirest of me, that will I do.” So Sir Gawaine came to
the old woman and took her hand into his and set it to his lips; and not
one of all those present so much as smiled. Then they all turned their
faces and returned unto the King’s castle; and they were very silent and
downcast, for this was sore trouble that had come upon that Court.
[Sidenote: _Sir Gawaine taketh the old woman to wife._]
Now after they had returned unto the Court, they assigned certain
apartments therein to that old woman, and they clad her in rich raiment
such as a queen might wear, and they assigned unto her a Court such as
was fit for a queen; and it seemed to all the Court that, in the rich
robes which she wore, she was ten times more ugly than she was before.
So when eleven days had passed, Sir Gawaine was wedded to that old
woman in the chapel of the King’s Court with great ceremony and pomp of
circumstance, and all of those who were there were as sad and as
sorrowful as though Sir Gawaine had been called upon to suffer his
death.
Afterward that they were married, Sir Gawaine and the old woman went to
Sir Gawaine’s house and there Sir Gawaine shut himself off from all the
world and suffered no one to come nigh him; for he was proud beyond all
measure, and in this great humiliation he suffered in such a wise that
words cannot tell how great was that humiliation. Wherefore he shut
himself away from the world that no one might behold his grief and his
shame.
[Sidenote: _Sir Gawaine is in great sorrow._]
And all the rest of that day he walked continually up and down his
chamber, for he was altogether in such despair that it came unto his
mind that it would be well if he took his own life; for it seemed to him
impossible for to suffer such shame as that which had come upon him. So
after a while it fell the dark of the early night and therewith a
certain strength came to Sir Gawaine and he said, “This is a shame for
me for to behave in this way; for since I have married that lady she is
my true wedded wife and I do not treat her with that regard unto which
she hath the right.” So he went out of that place and sought the
apartment of that old woman who was his wife, and by that time it was
altogether dark. But when Sir Gawaine had come into that place where she
was, that old woman upbraided him, crying out upon him, “So, Sir! You
have treated me but ill upon this our wedding-day, for you have stayed
all the afternoon away from me and now only come to me when it is dark
night.” And Sir Gawaine said, “Lady, I could not help it, for I was very
sore oppressed with many cares. But if I have disregarded thee this day,
I do beseech thy forgiveness therefore, and I will hold myself willing
to do all that is in my power to recompense thee for any neglect that I
have placed upon thee.” Then the lady said, “Sir, it is very dark in
this place; let us then have a light.” “It shall be as thou dost
desire,” said Sir Gawaine, “and I, myself, will go and fetch a light for
thee.”
So Sir Gawaine went forth from that place and he brought two waxen
tapers, one in either hand, and he bore them in candlesticks of gold;
for he was minded to show all respect unto that old woman. And when he
came into the room he perceived that she was at the farther end of the
apartment and he went toward her, and she arose and stood before him as
he approached.
[Sidenote: _Of the beautiful lady who appeareth to Sir Gawaine._]
But when the circle of light fell upon that old woman, and when Sir
Gawaine beheld her who stood before him, he cried out aloud in a very
great voice because of the great marvel and wonder of that which he saw.
For, instead of that old woman whom he had left, he beheld a lady of
extraordinary beauty and in the very flower of her youth. And he beheld
that her hair was long and glossy and very black, and that her eyes were
likewise black like to black jewels, and that her lips were like coral,
and her teeth were like pearls. So, for a while, Sir Gawaine could not
speak, and then he cried out, “Lady! lady! who art thou?”
Then that lady smiled upon Sir Gawaine with such loving-kindness that he
wist not what to think, other than that this was an angel who had
descended to that place out of paradise. Wherefore he stood before her
for a long time and could find no more words to say, and she continued
to smile upon him very kindly in that wise. Then by and by Sir Gawaine
said to her, “Lady, where is that dame who is my wife?” And the lady
said, “Sir Gawaine, I am she.” “It is not possible,” cried out Sir
Gawaine, “for she was old and extraordinarily ugly, but I believe that
thou art beautiful beyond any lady whom I have beheld.” And the lady
said, “Nevertheless, I am she and because thou hast taken me for thy
wife with thine own free will and with great courtesy, so is a part of
that enchantment that lay upon me removed from me. For I will now be
able to appear before thee in mine own true shape. For whiles I was a
little while ago so ugly and foul as thou didst behold me to be, now am
I to be as thou seest me, for one-half the day--and the other half
thereof I must be ugly as I was before.”
Then Sir Gawaine was filled beyond all words with great joy. And with
that joy there came an extreme passion of loving regard for that lady.
So he cried out aloud several times, “This is surely the most wonderful
thing that ever befell any man in all the world.” Therewith he fell down
upon his knees and took that lady’s hands into his own hands, and kissed
her hands with great fervor, and all the while she smiled upon him as
she had done at first.
Then again the lady said, “Come, sit thee down beside me and let us
consider what part of the day I shall be in the one guise, and what part
of the day I shall be in the other guise; for all day I may have the one
appearance, and all night I may have the other appearance.”
Then Sir Gawaine said, “I would have thee in this guise during the night