voice, 'my good brother, Sir Gareth, is slain, and also Sir Gaheris! I
cannot bear the thought of them slain. It cannot be true! I cannot
believe it!'
'Nay, nor can any think upon it,' said the king, 'and keep from
weeping.'
'Ay, ay,' said Sir Gawaine in a terrible voice, 'there shall be
weeping, I trow, and that erelong. Sir, I will go see my dead brothers.
I would kiss them ere they be laid in earth.'
'Nay, that may not be,' said the king gently. 'I knew how great would
be thy sorrow, and that sight of them would drive thee mad. And I have
caused them to be interred instantly.'
'Tell me,' said Gawaine, and men marvelled to see the wild look in his
eyes and to hear the fierce voice, 'is it truth that Sir Lancelot slew
them both?'
'It is thus told me,' said the King, 'that in his fury Sir Lancelot
knew not whom he smote.'
'But, man,' thundered Sir Gawaine, 'they bare no arms against him!
Their hearts were with him, and young Gareth loved him as if--as if
Lancelot was his own brother.'
'I know it, I know it,' replied King Arthur. 'But men say they were
mingled in the thick press of the fight, and Lancelot knew not friend
from foe, but struck down all that stood between him and the queen.'
For a space Sir Gawaine was silent, and men looked upon him with awe
and compassion. His mane of hair, grizzled and wild, was thrown back
upon his shoulders, and his eyes flamed with a glowing light as of
fire. Suddenly he stepped up to the king, and lifting his right hand
said, in a voice that trembled With rage:
'My lord, my king, and mine uncle, wit you well that now I make oath by
my knighthood, that from this day I will seek Sir Lancelot and never
rest till he be slain or he slay me. Therefore, my lord king, and you,
my fellow knights and lords, I require you all to prepare yourselves
for war; for, know you, though I ravage this land and all the lands of
Christendom, I will not rest me nor slake my revenge until I come up to
Lancelot and drive my sword into his evil heart.'
With that Sir Gawaine strode from the room, and for a space all men
were silent, so fierce and full of hatred had been his words.
'I see well,' said the king, 'that the death of these twain knights
will cause the deadliest war that hath ever raged, and never shall we
have rest until Gawaine do slay Lancelot or is slain by him. O
Lancelot! Lancelot! my peerless knight, that ever thou shouldst be the
cause of the ruin of this my fair kingdom!'
None that heard the king could keep from tears; and many felt that in
this quarrel the king's heart was not set, except for the sake of Sir
Gawaine, his nephew, and all his kin.
Then there were made great preparations in London and all the lands
south of Trent, with sharpening of swords and spears, making of harness
and beating of smiths' hammers on anvils.
Men's minds were in sore distress, and the faces of the citizens were
long and white with dismay. Daily the quarrel caused other quarrels.
Many a group of knights came to high words, some taking the side of
Lancelot and the queen, and others that of the king and Sir Gawaine.
Often they came to blows, and one or other of their number would be
left writhing and groaning on the ground.
Families broke up in bad blood by reason of it, for the sons would avow
their intent to go and enlist with Lancelot, while the fathers, in high
anger at such disloyalty to Arthur, would send their tall sons away,
bidding them never to look upon their faces again.
Women sorrowed and wept, for whichever side they took, it meant that
one or other of their dear ones was opposed to them, and would go to
battle, fighting against those of their own kin and of their own
hearths.
Towards midsummer the host was ready, and took the road to the north.
The quarrel had been noised abroad throughout Britain, and many kings,
dukes and barons came to the help of Arthur, so that his army was a
great multitude. Yet many others had gone to Lancelot, where he lay in
his castle of Joyous Gard, not far from Carlisle.
Thither, in the month of July, when the husbandmen were looking to
their ripening fields and thinking of harvest, King Arthur and Sir
Gawaine drew with their army and laid a siege against the castle of
Joyous Gard, and against the walled town which it protected. But for
all their engines of war, catapults which threw great stones, and
ramming irons which battered the walls, they could not make a way into
the place, and so lay about it until harvest time.
One day, as Queen Gwenevere stood at a window of the castle, she looked
down at the tents of the besieging host, and her gaze lingered on the
purple tent of King Arthur, with the banner of the red dragon on the
pole above it. As she looked, she saw her husband issue from the tent
and begin to walk up and down alone in a place apart. Very moody did he
seem, as he strode to and fro with bent head. Sometimes he looked
towards Joyous Gard, and then his face had a sad expression upon it
which went to the queen's heart.
She went to Sir Lancelot, and said:
'Sir Lancelot, I would that this dreadful war were done, and that thou
wert again friends and in peace with my dear lord. Something tells me
that he sorrows to be at enmity with thee. Thou wert his most famous
knight and brought most worship to the fellowship of the Round Table.
Wilt thou not try to speak to my lord? Tell him how evil were the false
reports of the conspiracy against him, and that we are innocent of any
treason against him and this dear land.'
'Lady,' said Sir Lancelot, 'on my knighthood I will try to accord with
my lord. If our enemies have not quite poisoned his thoughts of us, he
may listen and believe.'
Thereupon Sir Lancelot caused his trumpeter to sound from the walls,
and ask that King Arthur would hold a parley with him. This was done,
and Sir Pentred, a knight of King Arthur's, took the message to the
king.
In a little while King Arthur, with Sir Gawaine and a company of his
counsellors and knights, came beneath the walls, and the trumpeters
blew a truce, and the bowmen ceased from letting fly their arrows and
the men-at-arms from throwing spears.
Then Sir Lancelot came down to a narrow window in the gate-tower, and
cried out to the king:
'Most noble king, I think that neither of us may get honour from this
war. Cannot we make an end of it?'
'Ay,' cried Sir Gawaine, his face red with anger, and shaking his
mailed fist at Lancelot, 'come thou forth, thou traitor, and we will
make an end of thee.'
'Come forth,' said the king, 'and I will meet thee on the field. Thou
hast slain thirty of my good knights, taken my queen from me, and
plunged this realm in ruin.'
'Nay, lord, it was not I that caused this war,' said Sir Lancelot. 'I
had been but a base knight to have suffered the noble lady my queen to
be burned at the stake. And it passes me, my lord king, how thou
couldst ever think to suffer her to be burned.'
'She was charged with poisoning a knight who slandered her,' said the
king. 'I must see justice done on high and low, and though it grieved
me to condemn her, I could do naught else. Moreover, if Sir Pinel spoke
true, both you and she were conspiring to slay me and to rule this
kingdom in my stead.'
'A foul lie, a black calumny!' cried Sir Lancelot fiercely. 'And I
would answer for it with the strength which God might give me on any
six of your knights that may say I am so black a traitor. I tell you,
my lord king, and I swear it on my knighthood, and may death strike me
now if I lie, that neither I nor the queen have ever had evil thoughts
against your person, nor had designs upon your crown.'
At so solemn an oath men stood still and waited, for few doubted in
those days that if a man who took so great an oath was speaking
falsely, fire from heaven would instantly descend and consume him.
The moments passed and nothing happened, and men breathed again.
Sir Lancelot looked at the face of King Arthur, and saw by the light
upon it that the king believed him; and Sir Lancelot rejoiced in his
heart.
He saw the king turn to Sir Gawaine with a questioning air, as if he
would ask what more his nephew wanted. But next moment, with a harsh
laugh, Sir Gawaine spoke.
'Hark ye, Sir Lancelot, thou mayest swear to Heaven as to some things,
and there are those that may be moved by thy round oaths. But this I
charge upon thee, thou false, proud knight, that thou didst slay two
unarmed men--men that loved thee and worshipped thee! Forsooth, thou
boastful braggart and mouthing hero, thou wilt not dare to deny it!'
Sad was the face and voice of Sir Lancelot as he made reply.
'I cannot hope to find excuse from you,' he said, 'for I cannot and
never will forgive myself. I would as lief have slain my nephew, Sir
Bors, as slay young Sir Gareth whom I loved, and Gaheris his brother.
Sorrow is on me for that! I was mad in my rage and did not see them.
Only I knew that many knights stood between me and the queen, and I
slew all that seemed to bar my passage.'
'Thou liest, false, recreant knight!' cried Sir Gawaine, whose grief by
now had made him mad with the lust for revenge; 'thou slewest them in
thy pride, to despite me and the king, because we had permitted the
queen to go to the stake. Thou coward and traitor! Therefore, wit thee
well, Sir Lancelot, I will not quit this quest until I feel my sword
thrusting into thy evil heart.'
'Sorrow is on me,' said Sir Lancelot, 'to know that thou dost so
hatefully pursue me. If thou didst not, I think my lord the king would
give me his good grace again, and receive back his queen and believe us
innocent.'
'I believe it well, false, recreant knight!' cried Sir Gawaine, full of
rage to know that the king verily wished to have peace; 'but know ye
that while I live, my good uncle will make war upon thee, and at last
we will have thee in spite of thy castle walls and thy skill in battle.
And then I will have thy head.'
'I trust ye for that,' said Sir Lancelot, 'for I see that thy hatred
hath crazed thee. So, if ye may get me, I shall expect no mercy.'
Then, seeing how useless it was to keep up the parley any longer, Sir
Lancelot withdrew. Next day spies brought in word to Sir Lancelot that,
at a council of his chief men, the king had said he would take back his
queen and make peace with Sir Lancelot; but that Sir Gawaine had
fiercely told him that if he did not keep up the war until Sir Lancelot
was taken or slain, he and all the kin of Lot would break away from the
realm and their allegiance. Indeed, it was rumoured that Sir Gawaine
would have made the king prisoner had he not yielded; and so powerful
was Sir Gawaine and the lords that followed him, that none could have
been strong enough to withstand them.
Sir Gawaine, yearning, by reason of his hatred, to get Sir Lancelot out
of his castle to fight with him, now sent knights to cry out shame upon
him under his walls. Thus they marched up and down, calling out
insulting names and charging him with dishonourable deeds.
Until at length the very men-at-arms that kept watch upon Sir
Lancelot's walls reddened for shame, and hurled down spears and stones
at the foul mouths. Sir Bors, Sir Ector de Maris and Sir Lionel, they
also heard the words, and going to the other knights of Sir Lancelot,
took counsel with them, and decided that this could no longer be
suffered.
Together they went to Sir Lancelot and said to him:
'Wit ye well, my lord, that we feel great scorn of the evil words which
Sir Gawaine spoke unto you when that ye parleyed with him, and also of
these shameful names which men call upon ye for all the citizens to
hear. Wherefore, we charge you and beseech you, if ye will to keep our
service, hold us no longer behind these walls, but let us out, in the
name of Heaven and your fair name, and have at these rascals.'
'Fair friends,' replied Sir Lancelot, 'I am full loth to fight against
my dear lord, King Arthur.'
'But if ye will not,' said Sir Lionel, his brother, 'all men will say
ye fear to stir from these walls, and hearing the shameful words they
cry, will say that there must be truth in them if ye seek not to
silence them.'
They spoke long with Sir Lancelot, and at length he was persuaded; and
he sent a message to the king telling him that he would come out and do
battle; but that, for the love he bore the king, he prayed he would not
expose his person in the fight.
But Sir Gawaine returned answer that this was the king's quarrel, and
that the king would fight against a traitor knight with all his power.
On the morrow, at nine in the morning, King Arthur drew forth his host,
and Sir Lancelot brought forth his array. When they stood facing each
other, Sir Lancelot addressed his men and charged all his knights to
save King Arthur from death or wounds, and for the sake of their old
friendship with Sir Gawaine, to avoid battle with him also.
Then, with a great hurtling and crashing, the knights ran together, and
much people were there slain. The knights of Sir Lancelot did great
damage among the king's people, for they were fierce knights, and
burned to revenge themselves for the evil names they had heard.
Sir Gawaine raged like a lion through the field, seeking Sir Lancelot,
and many knights did he slay or overthrow. Once, indeed, King Arthur,
dashing through the fight, came upon Sir Lancelot.
'Now, Sir Lancelot,' he cried, 'defend thee, for thou art the causer of
this civil war.'
At these words he struck at Sir Lancelot with his sword; but Sir
Lancelot took no means to defend himself, and put down his own sword
and shield, as if he could not put up arms against his king. At this
the king was abashed and put down his sword, and looked sorrowfully
upon Sir Lancelot.
Then the surging tide of battle poured between them and separated them,
until it happened that Sir Bors saw King Arthur at a little distance.
With a spear the knight rushed at the king, and so fierce was his
stroke and hardy his blow that the king was stricken to the ground.
Whereupon Sir Bors leapt from his horse and drew his sword and ran
towards the king. But some one called upon him, and looking up he saw
Sir Lancelot riding swiftly towards him.
Sir Bors held the king down upon the ground by the nose-piece of his
helm, and in his other hand he held his naked sword.
Looking up to Sir Lancelot, he cried in a fierce voice:
'Cousin, shall I make an end of this war? 'Twere easy done.'
He meant that, if the king were slain, Sir Gawaine would lose half his
forces, and could not hope to keep up the war against Sir Lancelot
singlehanded.
'Nay, nay,' said Sir Lancelot, 'on peril of thy head touch not the
king. Let him rise, man. I will not see that most noble king, who made
me knight and once loved me, either slain or shamed.'
Sir Lancelot, leaping from his horse, went and raised the king, and
held the stirrup of his horse while the king mounted again.
'My lord Arthur,' said Lancelot, looking up at the king, 'I would in
the name of Heaven that ye cause this war to cease, for none of us
shall get honour by it. And though I forbear to strike you and I try to
avoid my former brothers and friends of the Round Table, they do
continually seek to slay me and will not avoid me.'
King Arthur looked upon Lancelot, and thought how nobly courteous was
he more than any other knight. The tears burst from the king's eyes and
he could not speak, and sorrowfully he rode away and would fight no
more, but commanded the trumpets to cease battle. Whereupon Sir
Lancelot also drew off his forces, and the dead were buried and the
wounded were tended.
Next morning the battle was joined again. Very fiercely fought the
king's party, for Sir Gawaine had commanded that no quarter should be
given, and that whoever slew a knight of Sir Lancelot's should have his
helm filled with gold. Sir Gawaine himself raged like a lion about the
field, his spear in rest. He sought for Sir Lancelot; but that knight
always avoided him, and great was Gawaine's rage and scorn.
At length Sir Bors saw Sir Gawaine from afar, and spurred across the
field towards him.
'Ha! Sir Bors,' cried the other mockingly, 'if ye will find that
cowardly cousin of thine, and bring him here to face me, I will love
thee.'
''Twere well I should not take thy words seriously,' mocked Sir Bors in
his turn. 'For if I were to bring him to thee, thou wouldst sure repent
it. Never yet hath he failed to give thee thy fall, for all thy pride
and fierceness.'
This was truth. Often in the jousting of earlier days, when Sir
Lancelot had come in disguise and had been compelled to fight Sir
Gawaine, the latter had had the worst. But Sir Lancelot, loving his old
brother-in-arms as he did, had in later years avoided the assault with
Sir Gawaine; yet the greater prowess and skill of Sir Lancelot were
doubted by none.
Sir Gawaine raged greatly at the words of Sir Bors, for he knew they
were true, though he had wished they were not.
'Thy vaunting of thy recreant kinsman's might will not avail thee,' he
cried furiously. 'Defend thyself!'
'I came to have to do with thee,' replied Sir Bors fiercely. 'Yesterday
thou didst slay my cousin Lionel. To-day, if God wills it, thou thyself
shall have a fall.'
Then they set spurs to their horses and met together so furiously that
the lance of either bore a great hole in the other's armour, and both
were borne backwards off their horses, sorely wounded. Their friends
came and took them up and tended them, but for many days neither of the
knights could move from their beds.
When the knights of Sir Lancelot saw that Sir Bors was grievously
wounded, they were wroth with their leader. Going to him, they charged
him with injuring his own cause.
'You will not exert yourself to slay these braggart foes of yours,'
they said to him. 'What does it profit us that you avoid slaying
knights because, though they are now your bitter foes, they were once
brothers of the Round Table? Do they avoid ye, and seek not to slay you
and us your kindred and friends? Sir Lionel is dead, and he is your
brother; and Sir Galk, Sir Griffith, Sir Saffre and Sir Conan--all good
and mighty knights--are wounded sorely. Ye were ever courteous and
kindly, Sir Lancelot,' they ended, 'but have a care lest now your
courtesy ruin not your cause and us.'
Seeing by these words that he was like to chill the hearts of his
friends if he continued to avoid slaying his enemies, Sir Lancelot
sorrowfully promised that henceforth he would not stay his hand. After
that he avoided none that came against him, though for very sorrow he
could have wept when some knight, with whom in happier times he had
drunk wine and jested at the board in Camelot, rushed at him with
shrewd strokes to slay him.
As the fight went on, the lust of battle grew in Sir Lancelot's heart,
and manfully he fought, and with all his strength and skill he lay
about him. By the time of evensong his party stood very well, and the
king's side seemed dispirited and as if they would avoid the fierce
rushes with which Sir Lancelot's knights attacked them.
Staying his horse, Sir Lancelot looked over the field, and sorrowed to
see how many dead there were--dead of whom many may have been slain by
their own kindred. He saw how the horses of his knights were splashed
with the blood that lay in pools here and there, and grief was heavy
upon him.
Sir Palom, a very valiant knight, came up to him.
'See, lord,' he cried, 'how our foes flinch from the fierce hurtling of
our knights. They are dispirited by the wounding of Sir Gawaine. Sir
Kay is also wounded, and Sir Torre is slain. Now, if ye will take my
advice, this day should cease this war once for all. Do ye gather all
your forces, lord, and I think with one great dash together ye should
scatter their wavering knights, and this field would be won.'
'Alas!' said Sir Lancelot, 'I would not have it so. It cuts me to my
heart to war as I do against my lord Arthur, and to trample him and his
people in the mire of defeat--nay, I should suffer remorse till my last
day.'
'My lord,' said Sir Palom, 'I think ye are unwise. Ye spare them thus
to come again against ye. They will give ye no thanks, and if they
could get you and yours at so great a disadvantage, wit you well they
would not spare you.'
But Sir Lancelot would not be moved, and in pity he ordered the
trumpeters to sound the retreat. King Arthur did likewise, and each
party retired in the twilight from the field, where the wounded lay
groaning till death or succour came; and the dead lay still and pale,
until the kindly earth was thrown over them.
Some weeks passed in which the armies did not meet; for the host of
King Arthur was not now so proud as they had been, seeing that they had
lost many good knights; and Sir Lancelot would not of his own will
sally out from his castle to fall upon the king.
But ever Sir Gawaine tried to inflame the mind of King Arthur and his
kinsmen against Sir Lancelot, and he advised them to join battle with
their enemy. Moreover, from the lands of his kingdom of Lothian, of
which Sir Gawaine was now king in the place of his dead father, King
Lot, a great body of young knights and men-at-arms came; and the king's
party began to recover their courage.
Many began daily to ride to the walls of Joyous Gard, and by insult and
evil names endeavoured to tempt forth the men of Sir Lancelot. Soon the
young knights clamoured to King Arthur and Sir Gawaine to permit them
to attack the walls, and reluctantly the king consented to call his
council for next day to devise some means of breaking down the castle.
Headstrong was the counsel given by the young knights at that meeting,
and greatly did King Arthur sorrow to feel that, for love of his
nephew, Sir Gawaine, he would be compelled to yield to their wild
demands for further battle.
Suddenly the door of the hall where sate the council was opened, and
the porter of the gate appeared and approached the king.
'My lord,' he said, 'the holy Bishop of London and King Geraint of
Devon crave audience of you.'
Some of the fierce young knights scowled at the names and uttered cries
of disgust.
The king's face brightened, and before any could advise him against his
will, he said:
'Bid them enter instantly.'
'The meddling priest and the petty king that knoweth not his mind!'
sneered Sir Gawaine, looking fiercely about the room. 'I pray thee,
uncle,' he said to the king, 'listen not to their womanish persuasions,
if thou lovest me.'
King Arthur did not answer, but looked towards the door impatiently.
Through this there came first three priests and three armed men, and
behind them stepped an old and reverend man, the hair beside his
tonsure white as driven snow, and falling over his white robe edged
with red, that showed his rank as bishop. Then, towering above him, a
noble knightly figure, came Geraint of Devon, grown nobler still since
those noble days when he had proved himself to be a strong leader
indeed, while men had thought him soft and foolish.
All rose to their feet in reverence to the bishop, and fondly did King
Arthur welcome Geraint, for this wise knight had from the first opposed
Sir Gawaine in this war, and had refused to fight against Sir Lancelot
and the queen, though he abated not his service to the king.
Dark was the look which Gawaine darted at Geraint, but quiet yet
fearless was Geraint's answering gaze.
'What ye have to say,' said Gawaine angrily, 'say it quickly and
begone. If ye are still of two minds, there seems no need to speak, and
there is no need to bring a bishop to your aid.'
'Gawaine,' said King Geraint, and his voice was quiet, yet with a ring
of menace in it, 'I think grief hath made you a little mad. Let the
bishop speak, I pray ye. He hath a message for the king.'
'My lord,' said the bishop, 'I come from his Holiness the Pope.'
At these words Sir Gawaine started forward, his hand upon his sword, as
if he would willingly in his madness slay the holy priest.
'And,' went on the bishop, his grave voice and his quiet look not
bating for all the wrathful fire in Sir Gawaine's eyes, 'I bear with me
the bull of his Holiness--see, here it is--by which his Highness doth
charge King Arthur of Britain, as he is a Christian king, to take back
Queen Gwenevere unto his love and worship, and to make peace with Sir
Lancelot.'
The murmurs of the wild young knights rose in a sudden storm, while Sir
Gawaine glared with looks of hatred at King Geraint and the bishop.