_The Adventure of the Questing Beast--King Arthur drives the Saxons from
the Realm--The Battles of Celidon Forest and Badon Hill_
Anon, thereafter, came word to King Arthur that Ryence, King of North
Wales, was making war upon King Leodegrance of Camelgard; whereat he was
passing wroth, for he loved Leodegrance well, and hated Ryence. So he
departed with Kings Ban and Bors and twenty thousand men, and came to
Camelgard, and rescued Leodegrance, and slew ten thousand of Ryence's men
and put him to flight. Then Leodegrance made a great festival to the three
kings, and treated them with every manner of mirth and pleasure which
could be devised. And there had King Arthur the first sight of Guinevere,
daughter of Leodegrance, whom in the end he married, as shall be told
hereafter.
Then did Kings Ban and Bors take leave, and went to their own country,
where King Claudas worked great mischief. And King Arthur would have gone
with them, but they refused him, saying, "Nay, ye shall not at this time,
for ye have yet much to do in these lands of your own; and we with the
riches we have won here by your gifts shall hire many good knights, and,
by the grace of God, withstand the malice of King Claudas; and if we have
need we will send to ye for succour; and likewise ye, if ye have need,
send for us, and we will not tarry, by the faith of our bodies."
When the two kings had left, King Arthur rode to Caerleon, and thither
came to him his half-sister Belisent, wife to King Lot, sent as a
messenger, but in truth to espy his power; and with her came a noble
retinue, and also her four sons--Gawain, Gaheris, Agravaine, and Gareth.
But when she saw King Arthur and his nobleness, and all the splendour of
his knights and service, she forbore to spy upon him as a foe, and told
him of her husband's plots against him and his throne. And the king, not
knowing that she was his half-sister, made great court to her; and being
full of admiration for her beauty, loved her out of measure, and kept her
a long season at Caerleon. Wherefore her husband, King Lot, was more than
ever King Arthur's enemy, and hated him till death with a passing great
hatred.
At that time King Arthur had a marvellous dream, which gave him great
disquietness of heart. He dreamed that the whole land was full of many
fiery griffins and serpents, which burnt and slew the people everywhere;
and then that he himself fought with them, and that they did him mighty
injuries, and wounded him nigh to death, but that at last he overcame and
slew them all. When he woke, he sat in great heaviness of spirit and
pensiveness, thinking what this dream might signify, but by-and-by, when
he could by no means satisfy himself what it might mean, to rid himself of
all his thoughts of it, he made ready with a great company to ride out
hunting.
As soon as he was in the forest, the king saw a great hart before him, and
spurred his horse, and rode long eagerly after it, and chased until his
horse lost breath and fell down dead from under him. Then, seeing the hart
escaped and his horse dead, he sat down by a fountain, and fell into deep
thought again. And as he sat there alone, he thought he heard the noise of
hounds, as it were some thirty couple in number, and looking up he saw
coming towards him the strangest beast that ever he had seen or heard tell
of, which ran towards the fountain and drank of the water. Its head was
like a serpent's, with a leopard's body and a lion's tail, and it was
footed like a stag; and the noise was in its belly, as it were the baying
or questing of thirty couple of hounds. While it drank there was no noise
within it; but presently, having finished, it departed with a greater
sound than ever.
The king was amazed at all this; but being greatly wearied, he fell
asleep, and was before long waked up by a knight on foot, who said,
"Knight, full of thought and sleepy, tell me if thou sawest a strange
beast pass this way?"
"Such a one I saw," said King Arthur to the knight, "but that is now two
miles distant at the least. What would you with that beast?"
"Sir," said the knight, "I have followed it for a long time, and have
killed my horse, and would to heaven I had another to pursue my quest
withal."
At that moment came a yeoman with another horse for the king, which, when
the knight saw, he earnestly prayed to be given him. "For I have followed
this quest," said he, "twelve months, and either I shall achieve him or
bleed of the best blood of my body."
It was King Pellinore who at that time followed the questing beast, but
neither he nor King Arthur knew each other.
"Sir Knight," said King Arthur, "leave that quest and suffer me to have
it, and I will follow it other twelve months."
"Ah, fool," said the knight, "thy desire is utterly in vain, for it shall
never be achieved but by me, or by my next of kin."
Therewith he started to the king's horse, and mounted to the saddle,
crying out, "Grammercy, this horse is mine!"
"Well," said the king, "thou mayest take my horse by force, and I will not
say nay; but till we prove whether thou or I be best on horseback, I shall
not rest content."
"Seek me here," said the knight, "whenever thou wilt, and here by this
fountain thou shalt find me;" and so he passed forth on his way.
Then sat King Arthur in a deep fit of study, and bade his yeomen fetch him
yet another horse as quickly as they could. And when they left him all
alone came Merlin, disguised as a child of fourteen years of age, and
saluted the king, and asked him why he was so pensive and heavy.
"I may well be pensive and heavy," he replied, "for here even now I have
seen the strangest sight I ever saw."
"That know I well," said Merlin, "as well as thyself, and also all thy
thoughts; but thou art foolish to take thought, for it will not amend
thee. Also I know what thou art, and know thy father and thy mother."
"That is false," said King Arthur; "how shouldst thou know? thy years are
not enough."
"Yea," said Merlin, "but I know better than thou how thou wast born, and
better than any man living."
"I will not believe thee," said King Arthur, and was wroth with the child.
So Merlin departed, and came again in the likeness of an old man of
fourscore years of age; and the king was glad at his coming, for he seemed
wise and venerable. Then said the old man, "Why art thou so sad?"
"For divers reasons," said King Arthur; "for I have seen strange things
to-day, and but this moment there was here a child who told me things
beyond his years to know."
"Yea," said the old man, "but he told thee truth, and more he would have
told thee hadst thou suffered him. But I will tell thee wherefore thou art
sad, for thou hast done a thing of late for which God is displeased with
thee, and what it is thou knowest in thy heart, though no man else may
know."
"What art thou," said King Arthur, starting up all pale, "that tellest me
these tidings?"
"I am Merlin," said he, "and I was he in the child's likeness, also."
"Ah," said King Arthur, "thou art a marvellous and right fearful man, and
I would ask and tell thee many things this day."
As they talked came one with the king's horses, and so, King Arthur
mounting one, and Merlin another, they rode together to Caerleon; and
Merlin prophesied to Arthur of his death, and also foretold his own end.
And now King Arthur, having utterly dispersed and overwhelmed those kings
who had so long delayed his coronation, turned all his mind to overthrow
the Saxon heathens who yet in many places spoiled the land. Calling
together, therefore, his knights and men-at-arms, he rode with all his
hosts to York, where Colgrin, the Saxon, lay with a great army; and there
he fought a mighty battle, long and bloody, and drove him into the city,
and besieged him. Then Baldulph, Colgrin's brother, came secretly with six
thousand men to assail King Arthur and to raise the siege. But King Arthur
was aware of him, and sent six hundred horsemen and three thousand foot to
meet and fall on him instead. This therefore they did, encountering them
at midnight, and utterly defeated them, till they fled away for life. But
Baldulph, full of grief, resolved to share his brother's peril; wherefore
he shaved his head and beard, and disguised himself as a jester, and so
passed through King Arthur's camp, singing and playing on a harp, till by
degrees he drew near to the city walls, where presently he made himself
known, and was drawn up by ropes into the town.
Anon, while Arthur closely watched the city, came news that full six
hundred ships had landed countless swarms of Saxons, under Cheldric, on
the eastern coast. At that he raised the siege, and marched straight to
London, and there increased his army, and took counsel with his barons how
to drive the Saxons from the land for evermore.
Then with his nephew, Hoel, King of the Armorican Britons, who came with a
great force to help him, King Arthur, with a mighty multitude of barons,
knights, and fighting men, went swiftly up to Lincoln, which the Saxons
lay besieging. And there he fought a passing fierce battle, and made
grievous slaughter, killing above six thousand men, till the main body of
them turned and fled. But he pursued them hotly into the wood of Celidon,
where, sheltering themselves among the trees from his arrows, they made a
stand, and for a long season bravely defended themselves. Anon, he ordered
all the trees in that part of the forest to be cut down, leaving no
shelter or ambush; and with their trunks and branches made a mighty
barricade, which shut them in and hindered their escape. After three days,
brought nigh to death by famine, they offered to give up their wealth of
gold and silver spoils, and to depart forthwith in their empty ships;
moreover, to pay tribute to King Arthur when they reached their home, and
to leave him hostages till all was paid.
This offer, therefore, he accepted, and suffered them to depart. But when
they had been a few hours at sea, they repented of their shameful flight,
and turned their ships back again, and landing at Totnes, ravaged all the
land as far as the Severn, and, burning and slaying on all sides, bent
their steps towards Bath.
When King Arthur heard of their treachery and their return, he burned with
anger till his eyes shone like two torches, and then he swore a mighty
oath to rest no more until he had utterly destroyed those enemies of God
and man, and had rooted them for ever out of the land of Britain. Then
marching hotly with his armies on to Bath, he cried aloud to them, "Since
these detestable impious heathens disdain to keep their faith with me, to
keep faith with God, to whom I sware to cherish and defend this realm,
will now this day avenge on them the blood of all that they have slain in
Britain!"
In like manner after him spoke the archbishop, standing upon a hill, and
crying that to-day they should fight both for their country and for
Paradise, "For whoso," he said, "shall in this holy war be slain, the
angels shall forthwith receive him; for death in this cause shall be
penance and absolution for all sins."
At these words every man in the whole army raged with hatred, and pressed
eagerly to rush upon those savages.
Anon King Arthur, dressed in armour shining with gold and jewels, and
wearing on his head a helmet with a golden dragon, took a shield painted
with the likeness of the blessed Mary. Then girding on Excalibur and
taking in his right hand his great lance Ron, he placed his men in order
and led them out against the enemy, who stood for battle on the slope of
Badon Hill, ranged in the form of a wedge, as their custom was. And they,
resisting all the onslaughts of King Arthur and his host, made that day a
stout defence, and at night lay down upon the hill.
But on the next day Arthur led his army once again to the attack, and with
wounds and slaughter such as no man had ever seen before, he drove the
heathen step by step before him, backwards and upwards, till he stood with
all his noblest knights upon the summit of the hill.
And then men saw him, "red as the rising sun from spur to plume," lift up
his sword, and, kneeling, kiss the cross of it; and after, rising to his
feet, set might and main with all his fellowship upon the foe, till, as a
troop of lions roaring for their prey, they drove them like a scattered
herd along the plains, and cut them down till they could cut no more for
weariness.
That day King Arthur by himself alone slew with his word Excalibur four
hundred and seventy heathens. Colgrin also, and his brother Baldulph, were
slain.
Then the king bade Cador, Duke of Cornwall, follow Cheldric, the chief
leader, and the remnant of his hosts, unto the uttermost. He, therefore,
when he had first seized their fleet, and filled it with chosen men, to
beat them back when they should fly to it at last, chased them and slew
them without mercy so long as he could overtake them. And though they
crept with trembling hearts for shelter to the coverts of the woods and
dens of mountains, yet even so they found no safety, for Cador slew them,
even one by one. Last of all he caught and slew Cheldric himself, and
slaughtering a great multitude took hostages for the surrender of the
rest.
Meanwhile, King Arthur turned from Badon Hill, and freed his nephew Hoel
from the Scots and Picts, who besieged him in Alclud. And when he had
defeated them in three sore battles, he drove them before him to a lake,
which was one of the most wondrous lakes in all the world, for it was fed
by sixty rivers, and had sixty islands, and sixty rocks, and on every
island sixty eagles' nests. But King Arthur with a great fleet sailed
round the rivers and besieged them in the lake for fifteen days, so that
many thousands died of hunger.
Anon the King of Ireland came with an army to relieve them; but Arthur,
turning on him fiercely, routed him, and compelled him to retreat in
terror to his land. Then he pursued his purpose, which was no less to
destroy the race of Picts and Scots, who, beyond memory, had been a
ceaseless torment to the Britons by their barbarous malice.
So bitterly, therefore, did he treat them, giving quarter to none, that at
length the bishops of that miserable country with the clergy met together,
and, bearing all the holy relics, came barefooted to the king to pray his
mercy for their people. As soon as they were led before him they fell down
upon their knees, and piteously besought him to spare the few survivors of
their countrymen, and grant them any corner of the land where they might
live in peace. When he thus heard them, and knew that he had now fully
punished them, he consented to their prayer, and withdrew his hosts from
any further slaughter.
Then turned he back to his own realm, and came to York for Christmas, and
there with high solemnity observed that holy tide; and being passing
grieved to see the ruin of the churches and houses, which the rage or the
pagans had destroyed, he rebuilt them, and restored the city to its
ancient happy state.
And on a certain day, as the king sat with his barons, there came into the
court a squire on horseback, carrying a knight before him wounded to the
death, and told the king that hard by in the forest was a knight who had
reared up a pavilion by the fountain, "and hath slain my master, a valiant
knight, whose name was Nirles; wherefore I beseech thee, Lord, my master
may be buried, and that some good knight may avenge his death."
At that stepped forth a squire named Griflet, who was very young, being of
the same age with King Arthur, and besought the king, for all the service
he had done, to give him knighthood.
"Thou art full young and tender of age," said King Arthur, "to take so
high an order upon thee."
"Sir," said Griflet, "I beseech thee make me a knight;" and Merlin also
advising the king to grant his request, "Well," said Arthur, "be it then
so," and knighted him forthwith. Then said he to him, "Since I have
granted thee this favour, thou must in turn grant me a gift."
"Whatsoever thou wilt, my lord," replied Sir Griflet.
"Promise me," said King Arthur, "by the faith of thy body, that when thou
hast jousted with this knight at the fountain, thou wilt return to me
straightway, unless he slay thee."
"I promise," said Sir Griflet; and taking his horse in haste, he dressed
his shield, and took a spear in his hand and rode full gallop till he came
to the fountain, by the side of which he saw a rich pavilion, and a great
horse standing well saddled and bridled, and on a tree close by there hung
a shield of many colours and a long lance.
Then Sir Griflet smote upon the shield with the butt of his spear until he
cast it to the ground. At that a knight came out of the pavilion and said,
"Fair knight, why smote ye down my shield?"
"Because," said Griflet, "I would joust with thee."
"It were better not," replied the knight; "for thou art young and but
lately made a knight, and thy strength is small compared to mine."
"For all that," said Sir Griflet, "I will joust with ye."
"I am full loath," replied the knight; "but if I must I must."
Then did they wheel their horses far apart, and running them together,
the strange knight shivered Sir Griflet's spear to fragments, and smote
him through the shield and the left side, and broke his own spear into Sir
Griflet's body, so that the truncheon stuck there, and Sir Griflet and his
horse fell down. But when the strange knight saw him overthrown, he was
sore grieved, and hastily alighted, for he thought that he had slain him.
Then he unlaced his helm and gave him air, and tended him carefully till
he came out of his swoon, and leaving the truncheon of his spear in his
body, he set him upon horse, and commended him to God, and said he had a
mighty heart, and if he lived would prove a passing good knight. And so
Sir Griflet rode to the court, where, by aid of good physicians, he was
healed in time and his life saved.
At that same time there came before the king twelve old men, ambassadors
from Lucius Tiberius, Emperor of Rome, and demanded of Arthur tribute unto
Caesar for his realm, or else, said they, the emperor would destroy both
him and his land. To whom King Arthur answered that he owed the emperor no
tribute, nor would send him any; but said he, "On a fair field I will pay
him his proper tribute--with a sharp spear and sword; and by my father's
soul that tribute shall he take from me, whether he will or not." So the
ambassadors departed passing wroth, and King Arthur was as wroth as they.
But on the morrow of Sir Griflet's hurt, the king commanded to take his
horse and armour secretly outside the city walls before sunrise of the
next morning, and, rising a long while before dawn, he mounted up and took
his shield and spear, and bade his chamberlain tarry till he came again;
but he forbore to take Excalibur, for he had given it for safety into
charge of his sister, Queen Morgan le Fay. And as the king rode at a soft
pace he saw suddenly three villains chasing Merlin and making to attack
and slay him. Clapping spurs to his horse, he rushed towards them, and
cried out in a terrible voice, "Flee, churls, or take your deaths;" but
they, as soon as they perceived a knight, fled away with the haste of
hares.
"O Merlin," said the king; "here hadst thou been killed, despite thy many
crafts, had I not chanced to pass."
"Not so," said Merlin, "for when I would, I could have saved myself; but
thou art nearer to thy death than I, for without special help from heaven
thou ridest now towards thy grave."
And as they were thus talking, they came to the fountain and the rich
pavilion pitched beside it, and saw a knight sitting all armed on a chair
in the opening of the tent. "Sir knight," said King Arthur, "for what
cause abidest thou here? to joust with any knight that passeth by? If so,
I caution thee to quit that custom."
"That custom," said the knight, "have I followed and will follow, let
whosoever will say nay, and if any is aggrieved at it, let him who will
amend it."
"I will amend it," said King Arthur.
"And I will defend it," answered the knight.
Then the knight mounted his horse and made himself ready, and charging at
each other they met so hard that both their lances splintered into pieces.
Then King Arthur drew his sword, but the knight cried out, "Not so; but
let us run another tilt together with sharp spears."
"I would with a good will," said King Arthur; "but I have no more spears."
"I have enough of spears," replied the knight, and called a squire, who
brought two good new lances.
Then spurring their horses, they rushed together with all their might, and
broke each one his own spear short off in his hand. Then the king again
put his hand to his sword, but the knight once more cried out, "Nay, yet
abide awhile; ye are the best jouster that I ever met with; for the love
of knighthood, let us joust yet once again."
So once again they tilted with their fullest force, and this time King
Arthur's spear was shivered, but the knight's held whole, and drove so
furiously against the king that both his horse and he were hurled to the
ground.
At that, King Arthur was enraged and drew his sword and said, "I will
attack thee now, Sir knight, on foot, for on horseback I have lost the
honour."
"I will be on horseback," said the knight. But when he saw him come on
foot, he lighted from his horse, thinking it shame to have so great
advantage.
And then began they a strong battle, with many great strokes and grievous
blows, and so hewed with their swords that the fragments of their armour
flew about the fields, and both so bled that all the ground around was
like a marsh of blood. Thus they fought long and mightily, and anon, after
brief rest fell to again, and so hurtled together like two wild boars that
they both rolled to the ground. At last their swords clashed furiously
together, and the knight's sword shivered the king's in two.
Then said the knight, "Now art thou in my power, to save thee or to slay.
Yield therefore as defeated, and a recreant knight, or thou shall surely
die."
"As for death," replied King Arthur, "welcome be it when it cometh; but as
for yielding me to thee as a recreant because of this poor accident upon
my sword, I had far liefer die than be so shamed."
So saying, he sprang on the knight, and took him by the middle and threw
him down, and tore off his helm. But the knight, being a huge man,
wrestled and struggled in a frenzy with the king until he brought him
under, and tore off his helm in turn, and would have smitten off his head.
At that came Merlin and said, "Knight, hold thy hand, for if thou slayest
yonder knight, thou puttest all this realm to greater loss and damage than
ever realm was in; for he is a man of greater worship than thou dreamest
of."
"Who then is he?" cried the knight.
"Arthur Pendragon!" answered Merlin.
Then would he have slain him for dread of his wrath, but Merlin cast a
spell upon the knight, so that he fell suddenly to the earth in a deep
sleep. Then raising up the king, he took the knight's horse for himself
and rode away.
"Alas," said King Arthur, "what hast thou done, Merlin? hast thou slain
this good knight by thy crafts? There never lived a better knight; I had
rather lose my kingdom for a year than have him dead."
"Be not afraid," said Merlin; "he is more whole and sound than thou art,
and is but in a sleep, wherefrom in three hours' time he will awake. I
told thee what a knight he was, and how near thou wast to death. There
liveth not a better knight than he in all the world, and hereafter he
shall do thee good service. His name is King Pellinore, and he shall have
two sons, who shall be passing valiant men, and, save one another, shall
have no equal in prowess and in purity of life. The one shall be named
Percival, and the other Lamoracke of Wales."
So they rode on to Caerleon, and all the knights grieved greatly when they
heard of this adventure, that the king would jeopardise his person thus
alone. Yet could they not hide their joy at serving under such a noble
chief, who adventured his own life as much as did the poorest knight among
them all.