LANCELOT AND GUENEVERE.
Now we come to the sorrowful tale of Lancelot and Guenevere, and of the
death of King Arthur. Already it has been told that King Arthur had
wedded Guenevere, the daughter of Leodegrance, King of Cornwall, a
damsel who seemed made of all the flowers, so fair was she, and slender,
and brilliant to look upon. And the Knights in her father’s Court bowed
down before her, and smote their hardest in the jousts where Guenevere
was present, but none dared ask her in marriage till Arthur came. Like
the rest he saw and loved her, but, unlike them, he was a King, and
might lift his eyes even unto Guenevere. The maiden herself scarcely saw
or spoke to him, but did her father’s bidding in all things, and when he
desired her to make everything ready to go clothed as beseemed a
Princess to King Arthur’s Court, her heart beat with joy at the sight of
rich stuffs and shining jewels. Then one day there rode up to the Castle
a band of horsemen sent by the King to bring her to his Court, and at
the head of them Sir Lancelot du Lake, friend of King Arthur, and winner
of all the jousts and tournaments where Knights meet to gain honour. Day
by day they rode together apart and he told her tales of gallant deeds
done for love of beautiful ladies, and they passed under trees gay with
the first green of spring, and over hyacinths covering the earth with
sheets of blue, till at sunset they drew rein before the silken
pavilion, with the banner of Uther Pendragon floating on the top. And
Guenevere’s heart went out to Lancelot before she knew. One evening she
noted, far across the plain, towers and buildings shining in the sun,
and an array of horsemen ride forth to meet her. One stopped before her
dazzled eyes, and leaping from his horse bowed low. Arthur had come to
welcome her, and do her honour, and to lead her home. But looking up at
him, she thought him cold, and, timid and alone, her thoughts turned
again to Lancelot. After that the days and years slipped by, and these
two were ever nearest the King, and in every time of danger the King
cried for Lancelot, and trusted his honour and the Queen’s to him. Sir
Lancelot spoke truly when he told Elaine that he had never worn the
badge of lady or maiden, but for all that every one looked on Sir
Lancelot as the Queen’s Knight, who could do no worship to any other
woman. The King likewise held Sir Lancelot bound to fight the Queen’s
battles, and if he was absent on adventures of his own, messengers
hastened to bring him back, as in the fight with Sir Mador. So things
went on for many years, and the King never guessed that the Queen loved
Lancelot best.
It befell one spring, in the month of May, that Queen Guenevere
bethought herself that she would like to go a-maying in the woods and
fields that lay round the City of Westminster on both sides of the
river. To this intent she called her own especial Knights, and bade them
be ready the next morning clothed all in green, whether of silk or
cloth, “and,” said she, “I shall bring with me ten ladies, and every
Knight shall have a lady behind him, and be followed by a Squire and two
yeomen, and I will that you shall all be well horsed.” Thus it was done,
and the ten Knights, arrayed in fresh green, the emblem of the spring,
rode with the Queen and her ladies in the early dawn, and smelt the
sweet of the year, and gathered flowers which they stuck in their
girdles and doublets. The Queen was as happy and light of heart as the
youngest maiden, but she had promised to be with the King at the hour of
ten, and gave the signal for departure unwillingly. The Knights were
mounting their horses, when suddenly out of a wood on the other side
rode Sir Meliagraunce, who for many years had loved the Queen, and had
sought an occasion to carry her off, but found none so fair as this. Out
of the forest he rode, with two score men in armour, and a hundred
archers behind him, and bade the Queen and her followers stay where they
were, or they would fare badly. “Traitor,” cried the Queen, “what evil
deed would you do? You are a King’s son and a Knight of the Round Table,
yet you seek to shame the man who gave you knighthood. But I tell you
that you may bring dishonour on yourself, but you will bring none on me,
for rather would I cut my throat in twain.”
“As for your threats, Madam, I pay them no heed,” returned Sir
Meliagraunce; “I have loved you many a year, and never could I get you
at such an advantage as I do now, and therefore I will take you as I
find you.” Then all the Knights spoke together saying, “Sir
Meliagraunce, bethink yourself that in attacking men who are unarmed you
put not only our lives in peril but your own honour. Rather than allow
the Queen to be shamed we will each one fight to the death, and if we
did aught else we should dishonour our knighthood for ever.”
“Fight as well as you can,” answered Sir Meliagraunce, “and keep the
Queen if you may.” So the Knights of the Round Table drew their swords,
and the men of Sir Meliagraunce ran at them with spears; but the Knights
stood fast, and clove the spears in two before they touched them. Then
both sides fought with swords, and Sir Kay and five other Knights were
felled to the ground with wounds all over their bodies. The other four
fought long, and slew forty of the men and archers of Sir Meliagraunce;
but in the end they too were overcome. When the Queen saw that she cried
out for pity and sorrow, “Sir Meliagraunce, spare my noble Knights and I
will go with you quietly on this condition, that their lives be saved,
and that wherever you may carry me they shall follow. For I give you
warning that I would rather slay myself than go with you without my
Knights, whose duty it is to guard me.”
“Madam,” replied Sir Meliagraunce, “for your sake they shall be led with
you into my own castle, if you will consent to ride with me.” So the
Queen prayed the four Knights to fight no more, and she and they would
not part, and to this, though their hearts were heavy, they agreed.
The fight being ended the wounded Knights were placed on horseback, some
sitting, some lying across the saddle, according as they were hurt, and
Sir Meliagraunce forbade any one to leave the castle (which had been a
gift to him from King Arthur), for sore he dreaded the vengeance of Sir
Lancelot if this thing should reach his ears. But the Queen knew well
what was passing in his mind, and she called a little page who served
her in her chamber and desired him to take her ring and hasten with all
speed to Sir Lancelot, “and pray him, if he loves me, to rescue me.
Spare not your horse, neither for water nor for land.” And the boy bided
his time, then mounted his horse, and rode away as fast as he might. Sir
Meliagraunce spied him as he flew, and knew whither he went, and who had
sent him; and he commanded his best archers to ride after him and shoot
him ere he reached Sir Lancelot. But the boy escaped their arrows, and
vanished from their sight. Then Sir Meliagraunce said to the Queen, “You
seek to betray me, Madam; but Sir Lancelot shall not so lightly come at
you.” And he bade his men follow him to the castle in haste, and left an
ambush of thirty archers in the road, charging them that if a Knight
mounted on a white horse came along that way they were to slay the horse
but to leave the man alone, as he was hard to overcome. After Sir
Meliagraunce had given these orders his company galloped fast to the
castle; but the Queen would listen to nothing that he said, demanding
always that her Knights and ladies should be lodged with her, and Sir
Meliagraunce was forced to let her have her will.
[Illustration: GUENEVERE SENDS HER PAGE TO LANCELOT FOR HELP.]
The castle of Sir Meliagraunce was distant seven miles from Westminster,
so it did not take long for the boy to find Sir Lancelot, and to give
him the Queen’s ring and her message. “I am ashamed for ever,” said Sir
Lancelot, “unless I can rescue that noble lady,” and while he put on his
armour, he called to the boy to tell him the whole adventure. When he
was armed and mounted, he begged the page to warn Sir Lavaine where he
had gone, and for what cause. “And pray him, as he loves me, that he
follow me to the castle of Sir Meliagraunce, for if I am a living man,
he will find me there.”
Sir Lancelot put his horse into the water at Westminster, and he swam
straight over to Lambeth, and soon after he landed he found traces of
the fight. He rode along the track till he came to the wood, where the
archers were lying waiting for him, and when they saw him, they bade him
on peril of his life to go no further along that path.
“Why should I, who am a Knight of the Round Table, turn out of any path
that pleases me?” asked Sir Lancelot.
[Illustration: THE ARCHERS THREATEN LANCELOT]
“Either you will leave this path or your horse will be slain,” answered
the archers.
“You may slay my horse if you will,” said Sir Lancelot, “but when my
horse is slain I shall fight you on foot, and so would I do, if there
were five hundred more of you.” With that they smote the horse with
their arrows, but Sir Lancelot jumped off, and ran into the wood, and
they could not catch him. He went on some way, but the ground was rough,
and his armour was heavy, and sore he dreaded the treason of Sir
Meliagraunce. His heart was near to fail him, when there passed by a
cart with two carters that came to fetch wood. “Tell me, carter,” said
Sir Lancelot, “what will you take to suffer me to go in your cart till
we are within two miles of the castle of Sir Meliagraunce?”
“I cannot take you at all,” answered the carter, “for I am come to fetch
wood for my lord Sir Meliagraunce.”
“It is with him that I would speak.”
“You shall not go with me,” said the carter, but hardly had he uttered
the words when Sir Lancelot leapt up into the cart, and gave him such a
buffet that he fell dead on the ground. At this sight the other carter
cried that he would take the Knight where he would if he would only
spare his life. “Then I charge you,” said Sir Lancelot, “that you bring
me to the castle gate.” So the carter drove at a great gallop, and Sir
Lancelot’s horse, who had espied his master, followed the cart, though
more than fifty arrows were standing in his body. In an hour and a half
they reached the castle gate, and were seen of Guenevere and her ladies,
who were standing in a window. “Look, Madam,” cried one of her ladies,
“in that cart yonder is a goodly armed Knight. I suppose he is going to
his hanging.”
“Where?” asked the Queen, and as she spoke she espied that it was Sir
Lancelot, and that his horse was following riderless. “Well is he that
has a trusty friend,” said she, “for a noble Knight is hard pressed when
he rides in a cart,” and she rebuked the lady who had declared he was
going to his hanging. “It was foul talking, to liken the noblest Knight
in the world to one going to a shameful death.” By this Sir Lancelot had
come to the gate of the castle, and he got down and called till the
castle rang with his voice. “Where is that false traitor Sir
Meliagraunce, Knight of the Round Table? Come forth, you and your
company, for I, Sir Lancelot du Lake, am here to do battle with you.”
Then he burst the gate open wide, and smote the porter who tried to hold
it against him. When Sir Meliagraunce heard Sir Lancelot’s voice, he ran
into Queen Guenevere’s chamber and fell on his knees before her: “Mercy,
Madam, mercy! I throw myself upon your grace.”
“What ails you now?” said she; “of a truth I might well expect some good
Knight to avenge me, though my lord Arthur knew not of your work.”
“Madame, I will make such amends as you yourself may desire,” pleaded
Sir Meliagraunce, “and I trust wholly to your grace.”
“What would you have me do?” asked the Queen.
“Rule in this castle as if it were your own, and give Sir Lancelot cheer
till to-morrow, and then you shall all return to Westminster.”
“You say well,” answered the Queen. “Peace is ever better than war, and
I take no pleasure in fighting.” So she went down with her ladies to Sir
Lancelot, who still stood full of rage in the inner court, calling as
before “Traitor Knight, come forth!”
“Sir Lancelot,” asked the Queen, “what is the cause of all this wrath?”
“Madam,” replied Sir Lancelot, “does such a question come from you?
Methinks your wrath should be greater than mine, for all the hurt and
the dishonour have fallen upon you. My own hurt is but little, but the
shame is worse than any hurt.”
“You say truly,” replied the Queen, “but you must come in with me
peaceably, as all is put into my hand, and the Knight repents bitterly
of his adventure.”
“Madam,” said Sir Lancelot, “since you have made agreement with him, it
is not my part to say nay, although Sir Meliagraunce has borne himself
both shamefully and cowardly towards me. But had I known you would have
pardoned him so soon, I should not have made such haste to come to you.”
“Why do you say that?” asked the Queen; “do you repent yourself of your
good deeds? I only made peace with him to have done with all this noise
of slanderous talk, and for the sake of my Knights.”
“Madam,” answered Sir Lancelot, “you understand full well that I was
never glad of slander nor noise, but there is neither King, Queen, nor
Knight alive, save yourself, Madam, and my lord Arthur, that should
hinder me from giving Sir Meliagraunce a cold heart before I departed
hence.”
“That I know well,” said the Queen, “but what would you have more?
Everything shall be ordered as you will.”
“Madam,” replied Sir Lancelot, “as long as you are pleased, that is all
I care for,” so the Queen led Sir Lancelot into her chamber, and
commanded him to take off his armour, and then took him to where her ten
Knights were lying sore wounded. And their souls leapt with joy when
they saw him, and he told them how falsely Sir Meliagraunce had dealt
with him, and had set archers to slay his horse, so that he was fain to
place himself in a cart. Thus they complained each to the other, and
would have avenged themselves on Sir Meliagraunce but for the peace made
by the Queen. And in the evening came Sir Lavaine, riding in great
haste, and Sir Lancelot was glad that he was come.
Now, Sir Lancelot was right when he feared to trust Sir Meliagraunce,
for that Knight only sought to work ill both to him and to the Queen,
for all his fair words. And first he began to speak evil of the Queen to
Sir Lancelot, who dared him to prove his foul words, and it was settled
between them that a combat should take place in eight days in the field
near Westminster. “And now,” said Sir Meliagraunce, “since it is decided
that we must fight together, I beseech you, as you are a noble Knight,
do me no treason nor villainy in the mean time.”
“Any Knight will bear me witness,” answered Sir Lancelot, “that never
have I broken faith with any man, nor borne fellowship with those that
have done so.” “Then let us go to dinner,” said Sir Meliagraunce, “and
afterwards you may all ride to Westminster. Meanwhile would it please
you to see the inside of this castle?” “That I will gladly,” said Sir
Lancelot, and they went from chamber to chamber, till they reached the
floor of the castle, and as he went Sir Lancelot trod on a trap and the
board rolled, and he fell down in a cave which was filled with straw,
and Sir Meliagraunce departed and no man knew where Sir Lancelot might
be. The Queen bethought herself that he was wont to disappear suddenly,
and as Sir Meliagraunce had first removed Sir Lavaine’s horse from the
place where it had been tethered, the Knights agreed with her. So time
passed until dinner had been eaten, and then Sir Lavaine demanded
litters for the wounded Knights, that they might be carried to
Westminster with as little hurt as might be. And the Queen and her
ladies followed. When they arrived the Knights told of their adventure,
and how Sir Meliagraunce had accused the Queen of treason, and how he
and Sir Lancelot were to fight for her good name in eight days.
“Sir Meliagraunce has taken a great deal upon him,” said the King, “but
where is Sir Lancelot?”
“Sir,” answered they all, “we know not, but we think he has ridden to
some adventure.” “Well, leave him alone,” said the King. “He will be
here when the day comes, unless some treason has befallen him.”
All this while Sir Lancelot was lying in great pain within the cave, and
he would have died for lack of food had not one of the ladies in the
castle found out the place where he was held captive, and brought him
meat and drink, and hoped that he might be brought to love her. But he
would not. “Sir Lancelot,” said she, “you are not wise, for without my
help you will never get out of this prison, and if you do not appear on
the day of battle, your lady, Queen Guenevere, will be burnt in
default.” “If I am not there,” replied Sir Lancelot, “the King and the
Queen and all men of worship will know that I am either dead or in
prison. And sure I am that there is some good Knight who loves me or is
of my kin, that will take my quarrel in hand, therefore you cannot
frighten me by such words as these. If there was not another woman in
the world, I could give you no different answer.” “Then you will be
shamed openly,” replied the lady, and left the dungeon. But on the day
that the battle was to be fought she came again, and said, “Sir
Lancelot, if you will only kiss me once, I will deliver you, and give
you the best horse in Sir Meliagraunce’s stable.” “Yes, I will kiss
you,” answered Sir Lancelot, “since I may do that honourably; but if I
thought it were any shame to kiss you, I would not do it, whatever the
cost.” So he kissed her, and she brought him his armour, and led him to
a stable where twelve noble horses stood, and bade him choose the best.
He chose a white courser, and bade the keepers put on the best saddle
they had, and with his spear in his hand and his sword by his side, he
rode away, thanking the lady for all she had done for him, which some
day he would try to repay.
As the hours passed on and Sir Lancelot did not come, Sir Meliagraunce
called ever on King Arthur to burn the Queen, or else bring forth Sir
Lancelot, for he deemed full well that he had Sir Lancelot safe in his
dungeon. The King and Queen were sore distressed that Sir Lancelot was
missing, and knew not where to look for him, and what to do. Then
stepped forth Sir Lavaine and said, “My lord Arthur, you know well that
some ill-fortune has happened to Sir Lancelot, and if he is not dead, he
is either sick or in prison. Therefore I beseech you, let me do battle
instead of my lord and master for my lady the Queen.”
“I thank you heartily, gentle Knight,” answered Arthur, “for I am sure
that Sir Meliagraunce accuses the Queen falsely, and there is not one of
the ten Knights who would not fight for her were it not for his wounds.
So do your best, for it is plain that some evil has been wrought on Sir
Lancelot.” Sir Lavaine was filled with joy when the King gave him leave
to do battle with Sir Meliagraunce, and rode swiftly to his place at the
end of the lists. And just as the heralds were about to cry “Lesses les
aller!” Sir Lancelot dashed into the middle on his white horse. “Hold
and abide!” commanded the King, and Sir Lancelot rode up before him, and
told before them all how Sir Meliagraunce had treated him. When the King
and Queen and all the Lords heard Sir Lancelot’s tale, their hearts
stirred within them with anger, and the Queen took her seat by the King,
in great trust of her champion. Sir Lancelot and Sir Meliagraunce
prepared themselves for battle, and took their spears, and came together
as thunder, and Sir Lancelot bore Sir Meliagraunce right over his horse.
Then Sir Lancelot jumped down, and they fought on foot, till in the end
Sir Meliagraunce was smitten to the ground by a blow on his head from
his enemy. “Most noble Knight, save my life,” cried he, “for I yield
myself unto you, and put myself into the King’s hands and yours.” Sir
Lancelot did not know what to answer, for he longed above anything in
the world to have revenge upon him; so he looked at the Queen to see
whether she would give him any sign of what she would have done. The
Queen wagged her head in answer, and Sir Lancelot knew by that token
that she would have him dead, and he understood, and bade Sir
Meliagraunce get up, and continue the fight. “Nay,” said Sir
Meliagraunce, “I will never rise till you accept my surrender.”
“Listen,” answered Sir Lancelot. “I will leave my head and left side
bare, and my left arm shall be bound behind me, and in this guise I will
fight with you.” At this Sir Meliagraunce started to his feet, and
cried, “My lord Arthur, take heed to this offer, for I will take it,
therefore let him be bound and unarmed as he has said.” So the Knights
disarmed Sir Lancelot, first his head and then his side, and his left
hand was bound behind his back, in such a manner that he could not use
his shield, and full many a Knight and lady marvelled that Sir Lancelot
would risk himself so. And Sir Meliagraunce lifted his sword on high and
would have smitten Sir Lancelot on his bare head, had he not leapt
lightly to one side, and, before Sir Meliagraunce could right himself,
Sir Lancelot had struck him so hard upon his helmet that his skull split
in two, and there was nothing left to do but to carry his dead body from
the field. And because the Knights of the Round Table begged to have him
honourably buried, the King agreed thereto, and on his tomb mention was
made of how he came by his death, and who slew him. After this Sir
Lancelot was more cherished by the King and Queen than ever he was
before.
Among the many Knights at Arthur’s Court who were the sons of Kings were
Sir Mordred and Sir Agrawaine, who had three brothers, Sir Gawaine, Sir
Gaheris and Sir Gareth. And their mother was Queen of Orkney, sister to
King Arthur. Now Sir Agrawaine and Sir Mordred had evil natures, and
loved both to invent slanders and to repeat them. And at this time they
were full of envy of the noble deeds Sir Lancelot had done, and how men
called him the bravest Knight of the Table Round, and said that he was
the friend of the King, and the sworn defender of the Queen. So they
cast about how they might ruin him, and found the way by putting jealous
thoughts into the mind of Arthur.
As was told in the tale of the marriage of Arthur, Queen Guenevere’s
heart had gone out to Lancelot on the journey to the Court, and ever she
loved to have him with her. This was known well to Sir Mordred, who
watched eagerly for a chance to work her ill.
It came one day when Arthur proclaimed a hunt. Sir Mordred guessed that
Sir Lancelot, who did not love hunting, would stay behind, and would
spend the time holding talk with the Queen. Therefore he went to the
King and began to speak evil of the Queen and Sir Lancelot. At first
King Arthur would listen to nothing, but slowly his jealousy burned
within him, and he let the ill words that accused the Queen of loving
Sir Lancelot the best, sink into his mind, and told Sir Mordred and Sir
Agrawaine that they might do their worst, and he would not meddle with
them. But they let so many of their fellowship into the secret of their
foul plot, that at last it came to the ears of Sir Bors, who begged Sir
Lancelot not to go near the Queen that day, or harm would come of it.
But Sir Lancelot answered that the Queen had sent for him, and that she
was his liege lady, and never would he hold back when she summoned him
to her presence. Therefore Sir Bors went heavily away. By ill fortune,
Sir Lancelot only wore his sword under his great mantle, and scarcely
had he passed inside the door when Sir Agrawaine and Sir Mordred, and
twelve other Knights of the Table Round, all armed and ready for battle,
cried loudly upon Sir Lancelot, that all the Court might hear.
“Madam,” said Sir Lancelot, “is there any armour within your chamber
that I might cover my body withal, for if I was armed as they are I
would soon crush them?”
“Alas!” replied the Queen, “I have neither sword nor spear nor armour,
and how can you resist them? You will be slain and I shall be burnt. If
you could only escape their hands, I know you would deliver me from
danger.”
“It is grievous,” said Sir Lancelot, “that I who was never conquered in
all my life should be slain for lack of armour.”
“Traitor Knight,” cried Sir Mordred again, “come out and fight us, for
you are so sore beset that you cannot escape us.”
“Oh, mercy,” cried Sir Lancelot, “I may not suffer longer this shame and
noise! For better were death at once than to endure this pain.” Then he
took the Queen in his arms and kissed her, and said, “Most noble
Christian Queen, I beseech you, as you have ever been my special good
lady, and I at all times your true poor Knight, and as I never failed
you in right or in wrong, since the first day that King Arthur made me
Knight, that you will pray for my soul, if I be here slain. For I am
well assured that Sir Bors, my nephew, and Sir Lavaine and many more,
will rescue you from the fire, and therefore, mine own lady, comfort
yourself whatever happens to me, and go with Sir Bors, my nephew, and
you shall live like a Queen on my lands.”
[Illustration: LANCELOT COMES OVT OF GVENEVERE’S ROOM]
“Nay, Lancelot,” said the Queen, “I will never live after your days, but
if you are slain I will take my death as meekly as ever did any
Christian Queen.”
“Well, Madam,” answered Lancelot, “since it is so, I shall sell my life
as dear as I may, and a thousandfold I am more heavy for you than for
myself.”
Therewith Sir Lancelot wrapped his mantle thickly round his arm, and
stood beside the door, which the Knights without were trying to break in
by aid of a stout wooden form.
“Fair Lords,” said Sir Lancelot, “leave this noise, and I will open the
door, and you may do with me what you will.”
“Open it then,” answered they, “for well you know you cannot escape us,
and we will save your life and bring you before King Arthur.” So Sir
Lancelot opened the door and held it with his left hand, so that but one
man could come in at once. Then came forward a strong Knight, Sir
Colegrevance of Gore, who struck fiercely at Lancelot with his sword.
But Sir Lancelot stepped on one side, that the blow fell harmless, and
with his arm he gave Sir Colgrevance a buffet on the head so that he
fell dead. And Sir Lancelot drew him into the chamber, and barred the
door.
Hastily he unbuckled the dead Knight’s armour, and the Queen and her
ladies put it on him, Sir Agrawaine and Sir Mordred ever calling to him
the while, “Traitor Knight, come out of that chamber!” But Sir Lancelot
cried to them all to go away and he would appear next morning before the
King, and they should accuse him of what they would, and he would answer
them, and prove his words in battle. “Fie on you, traitor,” said Sir
Agrawaine, “we have you in our power, to save or to slay, for King
Arthur will listen to our words, and will believe what we tell him.”
“As you like,” answered Sir Lancelot, “look to yourself,” and he flung
open the chamber door, and strode in amongst them and killed Sir
Agrawaine with his first blow, and in a few minutes the bodies of the
other twelve Knights lay on the ground beside his, for no man ever
withstood that buffet of Sir Lancelot’s. He wounded Sir Mordred also, so
that he fled away with all his might. When the clamour of the battle was
still, Sir Lancelot turned back to the Queen and said, “Alas, Madam,
they will make King Arthur my foe, and yours also, but if you will come
with me to my castle, I will save you from all dangers.”
“I will not go with you now,” answered the Queen, “but if you see
to-morrow that they will burn me to death, then you may deliver me as
you shall think best.”
“While I live I will deliver you,” said Sir Lancelot, and he left her
and went back to his lodging. When Sir Bors, who was awaiting him, saw
Sir Lancelot, he was gladder than he ever had been in his whole life
before. “Mercy!” cried Sir Lancelot, “why you are all armed!”
“Sir,” answered Sir Bors, “after you had left us, I and your friends and
your kinsmen were so troubled that we felt some great strife was at
hand, and that perchance some trap had been laid for you. So we put on
armour that we might help you whatever need you were in.” “Fair nephew,”
said Lancelot, “but now I have been more hardly beset than ever I was in
my life, and yet I escaped,” and he told them all that had happened. “I
pray you, my fellows, that you will be of good courage and stand by me
in my need, for war is come to us all.”
“Sir,” answered Sir Bors, “all is welcome that God sends us, and we have
had much good with you and much fame, so now we will take the bad as we
have taken the good.” And so said they all.
“I thank you for your comfort in my great distress,” replied Sir
Lancelot, “and you, fair nephew, haste to the Knights who are in this
place, and find who is with me and who is against me, for I would know
my friends from my foes.”
“Sir,” said Sir Bors, “before seven of the clock in the morning you
shall know.”
By seven o’clock, as Sir Bors had promised, many noble Knights stood
before Sir Lancelot, and were sworn to his cause. “My lords,” said he,
“you know well that since I came into this country I have given faithful
service unto my lord King Arthur and unto my lady Queen Guenevere. Last
evening my lady, the Queen, sent for me to speak to her, and certain
Knights that were lying in wait for me cried ‘Treason,’ and much ado I
had to escape their blows. But I slew twelve of them, and Sir Agrawaine,
who is Sir Gawaine’s brother; and for this cause I am sure of mortal
war, as these Knights were ordered by King Arthur to betray me, and
therefore the Queen will be judged to the fire, and I may not suffer
that she should be burnt for my sake.”
And Sir Bors answered Sir Lancelot that it was truly his part to rescue
the Queen, as he had done so often before, and that if she was burned
the shame would be his. Then they all took counsel together how the
thing might best be done, and Sir Bors deemed it wise to carry her off
to the Castle of Joyous Gard, and counselled that she should be kept
there, a prisoner, till the King’s anger was past and he would be
willing to welcome her back again. To this the other Knights agreed, and
by the advice of Sir Lancelot they hid themselves in a wood close by the
town till they saw what King Arthur would do. Meanwhile Sir Mordred, who
had managed to escape the sword of Sir Lancelot, rode, wounded and
bleeding, unto King Arthur, and told the King all that had passed, and
how, of the fourteen Knights, he only was left alive. The King grieved
sore at his tale, which Sir Mordred had made to sound as ill as was
possible; for, in spite of all, Arthur loved Sir Lancelot. “It is a
bitter blow,” he said, “that Sir Lancelot must be against me, and the
fellowship of the Table Round is broken for ever, as many a noble Knight
will go with him. And as I am the judge, the Queen will have to die, as
she is the cause of the death of these thirteen Knights.”
“My lord Arthur,” said Sir Gawaine, “be not over-hasty; listen not to
the foul tongue of Sir Mordred, who laid this trap for Sir Lancelot,
that we all know to be the Queen’s own Knight, who has done battle for
her when none else would. As for Sir Lancelot, he will prove the right
on the body of any Knight living that shall accuse him of wrong—either
him, or my lady Guenevere.”
“That I believe well,” said King Arthur, “for he trusts so much in his
own might that he fears no man; and never more shall he fight for the
Queen, for she must suffer death by the law. Put on, therefore, your
best armour, and go with your brothers, Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth, and
bring the Queen to the fire, there to have her judgment and suffer her
death.”
“Nay, my lord, that I will never do,” cried Sir Gawaine; “my heart will
never serve me to see her die, and I will never stand by and see so
noble a lady brought to a shameful end.”
“Then,” said the King, “let your brothers Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth be
there.”
“My lord,” replied Sir Gawaine, “I know well how loth they will be, but
they are young and unable to say you nay.”
At this Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth spoke to King Arthur: “Sir, if you
command us we will obey, but it will be sore against our will. And if we
go we shall be dressed as men of peace, and wear no armour.”
“Make yourselves ready, then,” answered the King, “for I would delay no
longer in giving judgment.”
“Alas!” cried Sir Gawaine, “that I should have lived to see this day;”
and he turned and wept bitterly, and went into his chamber.
So the Queen was led outside the gates, and her rich dress was taken
off, while her lords and ladies wrung their hands in grief, and few men
wore armour, for in that day it was held that the presence of mail-clad
Knights made death more shameful. Now among those present was one sent
by Sir Lancelot, and when he saw the Queen’s dress unclasped, and the
priest step forth to listen to her confession, he rode to warn Sir
Lancelot that the hour had come. And suddenly there was heard a sound as
of rushing horses, and Sir Lancelot dashed up to the fire, and all the
Knights that stood around were slain, for few men wore armour. Sir
Lancelot looked not where he struck, and Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth were
found in the thickest of the throng. At last he reached the Queen, and,
throwing a mantle over her, he caught her on to his saddle and rode away
with her. Right thankful was the Queen at being snatched from the fire,
and her heart was grateful to Sir Lancelot, who took her to his Castle
of Joyous Gard, and many noble Knights and Kings had fellowship with
them.
After King Arthur had given judgment for the Queen to die, he went back
into his Palace of Westminster, where men came and told him how Sir
Lancelot had delivered her, and of the death of his Knights, and in
especial of Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth, and he swooned away from sorrow.
“Alas!” he cried, when he recovered from his swoon, “alas! that a crown
was ever on my head, for in these two days I have lost forty Knights and
the fellowship of Sir Lancelot and his kinsmen, and never more will they
be of my company. But I charge you that none tell Sir Gawaine of the
death of his brothers, for I am sure that when he hears of Sir Gareth he
will go out of his mind. Oh, why did Sir Lancelot slay them? for Sir
Gareth loved Sir Lancelot more than any other man.”
“That is true,” answered some of the Knights, “but Sir Lancelot saw not
whom he smote, and therefore were they slain.”
“The death of those two,” said Arthur, “will cause the greatest mortal
war that ever was. I am sure that when Sir Gawaine knows Sir Gareth is
slain he will never suffer me to rest till I have destroyed Sir Lancelot
and all his kin, or till they have destroyed me. My heart was never so
heavy as it is now, and far more grievous to me is the loss of my good
Knights, than of my Queen; for Queens I might have in plenty, but no man
had ever such a company of Knights, and it hurts me sore that Sir
Lancelot and I should be at war. It is the ill will borne by Sir
Agrawaine and Sir Mordred to Sir Lancelot that has caused all this
sorrow.” Then one came to Sir Gawaine and told him that Sir Lancelot had
borne off the Queen, and that twenty-four Knights had been slain in the
combat. “I knew well he would deliver her,” said Sir Gawaine, “and in
that, he has but acted as a Knight should and as I would have done
myself. But where are my brethren? I marvel they have not been to seek
me.”
“Truly,” said the man, “Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth are slain.”
“Heaven forbid any such thing,” returned Sir Gawaine. “I would not for
all the world that that had happened, especially to my brother Sir
Gareth.”
“He is slain,” said the man, “and it is grievous news.”
“Who slew him?” asked Sir Gawaine.
“Sir Lancelot slew them both,” answered the man.
“He cannot have slain Sir Gareth,” replied Sir Gawaine, “for my brother
Gareth loved him better than me and all his brethren, and King Arthur
too. And had Sir Lancelot desired my brother to go with him, he would
have turned his back on us all. Therefore I can never believe that Sir
Lancelot slew my brother.”
“Sir, it is in every one’s mouth,” said the man. At this Sir Gawaine
fell back in a swoon and lay long as if he were dead. Then he ran to the
King, crying, “O King Arthur, mine uncle, my good brother Sir Gareth is
slain, and Sir Gaheris also,” and the King wept with him. At length Sir
Gawaine said, “Sir, I will go and see my brother Sir Gareth.”
“You cannot do that,” returned the King, “for I have caused him to be
buried with Sir Gaheris, as I knew well that the sight would cause you
overmuch sorrow.”
“How came he, Sir Lancelot, to slay Sir Gareth?” asked Sir Gawaine;
“mine own good lord, I pray you tell me, for neither Sir Gareth nor Sir
Gaheris bore arms against him.”
“It is said,” answered the King, “that Sir Lancelot slew them in the
thickest of the press and knew them not. Therefore let us think upon a
plan to avenge their deaths.”
“My King, my lord and mine uncle,” said Sir Gawaine, “I swear to you by
my knighthood that from this day I will never rest until Sir Lancelot or
I be slain. And I will go to the world’s end till I find him.”
“You need not seek him so far,” answered the King, “for I am told that
Sir Lancelot will await me and you in the Castle of Joyous Gard, and
many people are flocking to him. But call your friends together, and I
will call mine;” and the King ordered letters to be sent throughout all
England summoning his Knights and vassals to the siege of Joyous Gard.
The Castle of Joyous Gard was strong, and after fifteen weeks had passed
no breach had been made in its walls. And one day, at the time of
harvest, Sir Lancelot came forth on a truce, and the King and Sir
Gawaine challenged him to do battle.
“Nay,” answered Sir Lancelot, “with yourself I will never strive, and I
grieve sorely that I have slain your Knights. But I was forced to it,
for the saving of my life and that of my lady the Queen. And except
yourself, my lord, and Sir Gawaine, there is no man that shall call me
traitor but he shall pay for it with his body. As to Queen Guenevere,
ofttimes, my lord, you have consented in the heat of your passion that
she should be burnt and destroyed, and it fell to me to do battle for
her, and her enemies confessed their untruth, and acknowledged her
innocent. And at such times, my lord Arthur, you loved me and thanked me
when I saved your Queen from the fire, and promised ever to be my good
lord, for I have fought for her many times in other quarrels than my
own. Therefore, my gracious lord, take your Queen back into your grace
again.”
To these words of Sir Lancelot’s King Arthur answered nothing, but in
his heart he would fain have made peace with Sir Lancelot, but Sir
Gawaine would not let him. He reproached Sir Lancelot bitterly for the
deaths of his brothers and kinsmen, and called Sir Lancelot a craven and
other ill names that he would not fight with King Arthur. So at the last
Sir Lancelot’s patience and courtesy failed him, and he told them that
the next morning he would give them battle.
The heart of Sir Gawaine leaped with joy when he heard these words of
Sir Lancelot, and he summoned all his friends and his kinsfolk, and bade
them watch well Sir Lancelot, and to slay him if a chance offered. But
he knew not that Sir Lancelot had bidden the Knights of his following in
no wise to touch King Arthur or Sir Gawaine. And when the dawn broke a
great host marched out of the Castle of Joyous Gard, with Sir Lancelot
at the head, and Sir Bors and Sir Lionel commanding on either side. All
that day they fought, and sometimes one army seemed to be gaining, and
sometimes the other. Many times King Arthur drew near Sir Lancelot, and
would have slain him, and Sir Lancelot suffered him, and would not
strike again. But the King was unhorsed by Sir Bors, and would have been
slain but for Sir Lancelot, who stayed his hand. “My lord Arthur,” he
said, “for God’s love, stop this strife. I cannot strike you, so you
will gain no fame by it, though your friends never cease from trying to
slay me. My lord, remember what I have done in many places, and how evil
is now my reward.” Then when King Arthur was on his horse again he
looked on Sir Lancelot, and tears burst from his eyes, thinking of the
great courtesy that was in Sir Lancelot more than in any other man. He
sighed to himself, saying softly, “Alas! that ever this war began,” and
rode away, while the battle ended for that time and the dead were
buried.
But Sir Gawaine would not suffer the King to make peace, and they fought
on, now in one place, and now in another, till the Pope heard of the
strife and sent a noble clerk, the Bishop of Rochester, to charge the
King to make peace with Sir Lancelot, and to take back unto him his
Queen, the Lady Guenevere. Now, the King, as has been said, would fain
have followed the Pope’s counsel and have accorded with Sir Lancelot,
but Sir Gawaine would not suffer him. However, as to the Queen Sir
Gawaine said nothing; and King Arthur gave audience to the Bishop, and
swore on his great seal that he would take back the Queen as the Pope
desired, and that if Sir Lancelot brought her he should come safe and go
safe. So the Bishop rode to Joyous Gard and showed Sir Lancelot what the
Pope had written and King Arthur had answered, and told him of the
perils which would befall him if he withheld the Queen. “It was never in
my thought,” answered Sir Lancelot, “to withhold the Queen from King
Arthur, but as she would have been dead for my sake it was my part to
save her life, and to keep her from danger till better times came. And I
thank God that the Pope has made peace, and I shall be a thousand times
gladder to bring her back than I was to take her away. Therefore ride to
the King, and say that in eight days I myself will bring the Lady
Guenevere unto him.” So the Bishop departed, and came to the King at
Carlisle, and told him what Sir Lancelot had answered, and tears burst
from the King’s eyes once more.
A goodly host of a hundred Knights rode eight days later from the Castle
of Joyous Gard; every Knight was clothed in green velvet, and held in
his hand a branch of olive, and bestrode a horse with trappings down to
his heels. And behind the Queen were four and twenty gentlewomen clad in
green likewise, while twelve esquires attended on Sir Lancelot. He and
the Queen wore dresses of white and gold tissue, and their horses were
clothed in housings of the same, set with precious stones and pearls;
and no man had ever gazed on such a noble pair, as they rode from Joyous
Gard to Carlisle. When they reached the castle, Sir Lancelot sprang from
his horse and helped the Queen from hers, and led her to where King
Arthur sat, with Sir Gawaine and many lords around him. He kneeled down,
and the Queen kneeled with him, and many Knights wept as though it had
been their own kin. But Arthur sat still and said nothing. At that Sir
Lancelot rose, and the Queen likewise, and, looking straight at the
King, he spoke—
“Most noble King, I have brought to you my lady the Queen, as right
requires; and time hath been, my lord Arthur, that you have been greatly
pleased with me when I did battle for my lady your Queen. And full well
you know that she has been put to great wrong ere this, and it seems to
me I had more cause to deliver her from this fire, seeing she would have
been burnt for my sake.”
“Well, well, Sir Lancelot,” said the King, “I have given you no cause to
do to me as you have done, for I have held you dearer than any of my
Knights.” But Sir Gawaine would not suffer the King to listen to
anything Sir Lancelot said, and told him roughly that while one of them
lived peace could never be made, and desired on behalf of the King that
in fifteen days he should be gone out of the country. And still King
Arthur said nothing, but suffered Sir Gawaine to talk as he would; and
Sir Lancelot took farewell of him and of the Queen, and rode, grieving
sorely, out of the Court, and sailed to his lands beyond the sea.
Though the Queen was returned again, and Sir Lancelot was beyond the
sea, the hate of Sir Gawaine towards him was in no way set at rest, but
he raised a great host and persuaded the King to follow him. And after
many sieges and long fighting it befell upon a day, that Sir Gawaine
came before the gates of Sir Lancelot’s town, armed at all points, and
sitting on a noble horse, with a great spear in his hand. And he cried
with a great voice, “Where art thou now, thou false traitor, Sir
Lancelot? Why hidest within holes and walls like a coward?”
At this language Sir Lancelot’s kin and his Knights drew round him, and
they said, “Now must you defend yourself like a Knight or be shamed for
ever. You have slept already too long and suffered overmuch.”
Then Sir Lancelot bade them saddle his strongest horse and fetch his
arms, and he spoke aloud to King Arthur.
“My lord Arthur and noble King, I am right sad for your sake, for had I
been vengeful then could I have met you in the field. But for half a
year I have forborne to come near you, and now I can endure it no
longer.”
Then Sir Gawaine said, “Sir Lancelot, if thou darest do battle, leave
thy babbling and come forth, and let us ease our hearts.” Then Sir
Lancelot and his noble Knights came out of the city, and their number
was so great that Arthur marvelled, and sorrowed that he and Sir
Lancelot should be estranged. Then Sir Gawaine and Sir Lancelot rode for
each other, and at the word came together with a great shock, and smote
each other in the middle of their shields. But the Knights were so
strong, and their spears so big, that the horses could not endure their
buffets, and fell to the earth. Then they fought together, and struck
each other on their sides so that the blood burst forth in many places.
Now, Sir Gawaine, by a gift from a holy man, grew thrice as strong in
the three hours before noon than at any other time, and this being the
hour of the combat, Sir Gawaine won great honour. For his sake the King
had all battles before him take place just before noon, and few knew of
this advantage save King Arthur.
Thus Sir Lancelot fought with Sir Gawaine, and felt his might increase
and wondered, dreading that he might be shamed. And he thought that this
must be a fiend and no earthly man, so he covered himself with his
shield, and kept his might and breath until the three hours were past
and Sir Gawaine had no more than his own might. Then Sir Lancelot
doubled his strokes, and gave him a buffet on the helmet, and Sir
Gawaine fell down on his side. And Sir Lancelot returned to his city,
and Sir Gawaine was carried to the King’s pavilion. While he lay
wounded, news came from England that caused King Arthur to give up his
war with Sir Lancelot, and return in haste to his own country.
THE END OF IT ALL.
Now, when King Arthur left England to fight with Sir Lancelot, he
ordered his nephew Sir Mordred to govern the land, which that false
Knight did gladly. And as soon as he thought he might safely do so he
caused some letters to be written saying that King Arthur had been slain
in battle, and he had himself crowned King at Canterbury, where he made
a great feast which lasted fifteen days. After it was over, he went to
Winchester and summoned Queen Guenevere, and told her that on a certain
day he would wed her and that she should make herself ready. Queen
Guenevere’s soul grew cold and heavy as she heard these words of Sir
Mordred’s, for she hated him with all her might, as he hated her; but
she dared show nothing, and answered softly that she would do his
bidding, only she desired that first she might go to London to buy all
manner of things for her wedding. Sir Mordred trusted her because of her
fair speech, and let her go. Then the Queen rode to London with all
speed, and went straight to the Tower, which she filled in haste with
food, and called her men-at-arms round her. When Sir Mordred knew how
she had beguiled him he was wroth out of measure, and besieged the
Tower, and assaulted it many times with battering rams and great
engines, but could prevail nothing, for the Queen would never, for fair
speech nor for foul, give herself into his hands again.
The Bishop of Canterbury hastened unto Sir Mordred, and rebuked him for
wishing to marry his uncle’s wife. “Leave such desires,” said the
Bishop, “or else I shall curse you with bell, book, and candle. Also,
you noise abroad that my lord Arthur is slain, and that is not so, and
therefore you will make ill work in the land.” At this Sir Mordred waxed
very wroth, and would have killed the Bishop had he not fled to
Glastonbury, where he became a hermit, and lived in poverty and prayed
all day long for the realm, for he knew that a fierce war was at hand.
Soon word came to Sir Mordred that King Arthur was hurrying home across
the seas, to be avenged on his nephew, who had proved traitor. Wherefore
Sir Mordred sent letters to all the people throughout the kingdom, and
many followed after him, for he had cunningly sown among them that with
him was great joy and softness of life, while King Arthur would bring
war and strife with him. So Sir Mordred drew with a great host to Dover,
and waited for the King. Before King Arthur and his men could land from
the boats and ships that had brought them over the sea Sir Mordred set
upon them, and there was heavy slaughter. But in the end he and his men
were driven back, and he fled, and his people with him. After the fight
was over, the King ordered the dead to be buried; and there came a man
and told him that he had found Sir Gawaine lying in a boat, and that he
was sore wounded. And the King went to him and made moan over him: “You
were ever the man in the world that I loved most,” said he, “you and Sir
Lancelot.” “Mine uncle King Arthur,” answered Sir Gawaine, “my death day
has come, and all through my own fault. Had Sir Lancelot been with you
as he used to be this unhappy war had never begun, and of that I am the
cause, for I would not accord with him. And therefore, I pray you, give
me paper, pen, and ink that I may write to him.” So paper and ink were
brought, and Sir Gawaine was held up by King Arthur, and a letter was
writ wherein Sir Gawaine confessed that he was dying of an old wound
given him by Sir Lancelot in the siege of one of the cities across the
sea, and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Merlin. “Of a more noble man
might I not be slain,” said he. “Also, Sir Lancelot, make no tarrying,
but come in haste to King Arthur, for sore bested is he with my brother
Sir Mordred, who has taken the crown, and would have wedded my lady
Queen Guenevere had she not sought safety in the Tower of London. Pray
for my soul, I beseech you, and visit my tomb.” And after writing this
letter, at the hour of noon, Sir Gawaine gave up his spirit, and was
buried by the King in the chapel within Dover Castle. Then was it told
King Arthur that Sir Mordred had pitched a new field upon Barham Down,
and the next morning the King rode hither to him, and there was a fierce
battle between them, and many on both sides were slain. But at the last
King Arthur’s party stood best, and Sir Mordred and his men fled to
Canterbury.
After the Knights which were dead had been buried, and those that were
wounded tended with healing salves, King Arthur drew westwards towards
Salisbury, and many of Sir Mordred’s men followed after him, but they
that loved Sir Lancelot went unto Sir Mordred. And a day was fixed
between the King and Sir Mordred that they should meet upon a down near
Salisbury, and give battle once more. But the night before the battle
Sir Gawaine appeared unto the King in a vision, and warned him not to
fight next day, which was Trinity Sunday, as he would be slain and many
of his Knights also; but to make a truce for a month, and at the end of
that time Sir Lancelot would arrive, and would slay Sir Mordred, and all
his Knights with him. As soon as he awoke the King called the Bishops
and the wisest men of his army, and told them of his vision, and took
counsel what should be done. And it was agreed that the King should send
an embassage of two Knights and two Bishops unto Sir Mordred, and offer
him as much goods and lands as they thought best if he would engage to
make a treaty for a month with King Arthur.
So they departed, and came to Sir Mordred, where he had a grim host of
an hundred thousand men. For a long time he would not suffer himself to
be entreated, but at the last he agreed to have Cornwall and Kent in
King Arthur’s days, and after all England. Furthermore, it was decided
that King Arthur and Sir Mordred should meet in the plain between their
hosts, each with fourteen persons. “I am glad of this,” said King
Arthur, when he heard what had been done; but he warned his men that if
they were to see a sword drawn they were to come on swiftly and slay
that traitor, Sir Mordred, “for I in no wise trust him.” And in like
wise spake Sir Mordred unto his host. Then they two met, and agreed on
the truce, and wine was fetched and they drank, and all was well. But
while they were drinking an adder crept out of a bush, and stung one of
the fourteen Knights on his foot, and he drew his sword to slay the
adder, not thinking of anything but his pain. And when the men of both
armies beheld that drawn sword, they blew trumpets and horns and shouted
grimly, and made them ready for battle. So King Arthur leaped on his
horse, and Sir Mordred on his, and they went back to their own armies,
and thus began the fight, and never was there seen one more doleful in
any Christian land. For all day long there was rushing and riding,
spearing and striking, and many a grim word was there spoken, and many a
deadly stroke given. And at the end full an hundred thousand dead men
lay upon the down, and King Arthur had but two Knights left living, Sir
Lucan and his brother Sir Bedivere. “Alas! that I should have lived to
see this day,” cried the King, “for now I am come to mine end; but would
to God that I knew where were that traitor Sir Mordred that hath caused
all this mischief.” Then suddenly he saw Sir Mordred leaning on his
sword among a great heap of dead men.
“Give me my spear,” said King Arthur unto Sir Lucan.
“Sir, let him be,” answered Sir Lucan. “Remember your dream, and leave
off by this. For, blessed be God, you have won the field, and we three
be alive, and of the others none is alive save Sir Mordred himself. If
you leave off now, the day of destiny is past.”
“Tide me death, tide me life,” said the King, “he shall not escape my
hands, for a better chance I shall never have;” and he took his spear in
both hands and ran towards Sir Mordred, crying, “Traitor! now is your
death day come,” and smote him under the shield, so that the spear went
through his body. And when Sir Mordred felt he had his death wound, he
raised himself up and struck King Arthur such a blow that the sword
clave his helmet, and then fell stark dead on the earth again. When Sir
Lucan and Sir Bedivere saw that sight they carried the King to a little
chapel, but they hoped not to leave him there long, for Sir Lucan had
noted that many people were stealing out to rob the slain of the
ornaments on their armour. And those that were not dead already they
slew.
[Illustration: THE LAST BATTLE / Sir Mordred]
“Would that I could quit this place to go to some large town,” said the
King, when he had heard this, “but I cannot stand, my head works so. Ah,
Lancelot, sorely have I missed thee.” At that Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere
tried to lift him, but Sir Lucan had been grievously wounded in the
fight, and the blood burst forth again as he lifted Arthur, and he died
and fell at the feet of the King.
“Alas!” said the King, “he has died for my sake, and he had more need of
help than I. But he would not complain, his heart was so set to help me.
And I should sorrow yet more if I were still to live long, but my time
flieth fast. Therefore, Sir Bedivere, cease moaning and weeping, and
take Excalibur, my good sword, and go with it to yonder water-side, and
when thou comest there, I charge thee, throw my sword in that water, and
come again and tell me what thou hast seen.”
“My lord,” answered Sir Bedivere, “your commandment shall be done,” and
he departed. But when he looked at that noble sword, and beheld the
jewels and gold that covered the pommel and hilt, he said to himself,
“If I throw this rich sword into the water no good will come of it, but
only harm and loss;” so he hid Excalibur under a tree, and returned unto
the King and told him his bidding was done. “What did you see there?”
asked the King.
“Sir,” answered Sir Bedivere. “I saw nothing but the winds and the
waves.”
“You have not dealt truly with me,” said the King. “Go back, and do my
command; spare not, but throw it in.” But again Sir Bedivere’s heart
failed him, and he hid the sword, and returned to tell the King he had
seen nothing but the wan water.
“Ah, traitor!” cried King Arthur, “this is twice you have betrayed me.
If you do not now fulfil my bidding, with mine own hands will I slay
you, for you would gladly see me dead for the sake of my sword.” Then
Sir Bedivere was shamed at having disobeyed the King, and drew forth the
sword from its hiding-place, and carried it to the water-side, and with
a mighty swing threw it far into the water. And as it flew through the
air, an arm and hand lifted itself out of the water, and caught the
hilt, and brandished the sword thrice, and vanished with it beneath the
water. So Sir Bedivere came again unto the King, and told him what he
saw.
“Alas!” said the King, “help me hence, for I have tarried overlong;” and
Sir Bedivere took him on his back, and bare him to the water-side. And
when they stood by the bank, a little barge containing many fair ladies
and a Queen, all in black hoods, drew near, and they wept and shrieked
when they beheld King Arthur.
“Now put me into the barge,” said the King, and Sir Bedivere laid him
softly down, and the ladies made great mourning, and the barge rowed
from the land.
“Ah, my lord Arthur!” cried Sir Bedivere, “what shall become of me now
you go from me, and I am left here alone with my enemies?”
[Illustration: EXCALIBVR RETVRNS TO THE MERE]
“Comfort yourself,” replied the King, “and do as well as you may, for I
go unto the valley of Avilion, to be healed of my grievous wound. And if
you never more hear of me, pray for my soul.” But Sir Bedivere watched
the barge till it was beyond his sight, then he rode all night till he
came to a hermitage. Now when Queen Guenevere heard of the battle, and
how that King Arthur was slain and Sir Mordred and all their Knights,
she stole away, and five ladies with her, and rode to Amesbury; and
there she put on clothes of black and white, and became a nun, and did
great penance, and many alms deeds, and people marvelled at her and at
her godly life. And ever she wept and moaned over the years that were
past, and for King Arthur.
As soon as the messenger whom the King had sent with Sir Gawaine’s
letter reached Sir Lancelot, and he learned that Sir Mordred had taken
for himself the crown of England, he rose up in wrath, and, calling Sir
Bors, bid him collect their host, that they should pass at once over the
sea to avenge themselves on that false Knight. A fair wind blew them to
Dover, and there Sir Lancelot asked tidings of King Arthur. Then the
people told him that the King was slain, and Sir Mordred, and an hundred
thousand men besides, and that the King had buried Sir Gawaine in the
chapel at Dover Castle. “Fair Sirs,” said Sir Lancelot, “show me that
tomb;” and they showed it to him, and Sir Lancelot kneeled before it,
and wept and prayed, and this he did for two days. And on the third
morning he summoned before him all the great lords and leaders of his
host, and said to them, “Fair lords, I thank you all for coming here
with me, but we come too late, and that will be bitter grief to me as
long as I shall live. But since it is so, I will myself ride and seek my
lady Guenevere in the west country, where they say she has gone, and
tarry you here, I entreat you, for fifteen days, and if I should not
return take your ships and depart into your own country.”
Sir Bors strove to reason with him that the quest was fruitless, and
that in the west country he would find few friends; but his words
availed nothing. For seven days Sir Lancelot rode, and at last he came
to a nunnery, where Queen Guenevere was looking out from her lattice,
and was ware of his presence as he walked in the cloister. And when she
saw him she swooned, and her ladies and gentlewomen tended her. When she
was recovered, she spoke to them and said, “You will marvel, fair
ladies, why I should swoon. It was caused by the sight of yonder Knight
who stands there, and I pray you bring him to me.” As soon as Sir
Lancelot was brought, she said to her ladies, “Through me and this man
has this war been wrought, for which I repent me night and day.
Therefore, Sir Lancelot, I require and pray you never to see my face
again, but go back to your own land, and govern it and protect it; and
take to yourself a wife, and pray that my soul may be made clean of its
ill doing.”
“Nay, Madam,” answered Sir Lancelot, “that shall I never do; but the
same life that you have taken upon you, will I take upon me likewise.”
“If you will do so,” said the Queen, “it is well; but I may never
believe but that you will turn to the world again.”
“Well, Madam,” answered he, “you speak as it pleases you, but you never
knew me false to my promise, and I will forsake the world as you have
done. For if in the quest of the Sangreal I had forsaken its vanities
with all my heart and will, I had passed all Knights in the quest,
except Sir Galahad my son. And therefore, lady, since you have taken you
to perfection, I must do so also, and if I may find a hermit that will
receive me I will pray and do penance while my life lasts. Wherefore,
Madam, I beseech you to kiss me once again.”
“No,” said the Queen, “that I may not do,” and Sir Lancelot took his
horse and departed in great sorrow. All that day and the next night he
rode through the forest till he beheld a hermitage and a chapel between
two cliffs, and heard a little bell ring to Mass. And he that sang Mass
was the Bishop of Canterbury, and Sir Bedivere was with him. After Mass
Sir Bedivere told Sir Lancelot how King Arthur had thrown away his sword
and had sailed to the valley of Avilion, and Sir Lancelot’s heart almost
burst for grief. Then he kneeled down and besought the Bishop that he
might be his brother. “That I will gladly,” said the Bishop, and put a
robe upon him.
After the fifteen days were ended, and still Sir Lancelot did not
return, Sir Bors made the great host go back across the sea, while he
and some of Sir Lancelot’s kin set forth to seek all over England till
they found Sir Lancelot. They rode different ways, and by fortune Sir
Bors came one day to the chapel where Sir Lancelot was. And he prayed
that he might stay and be one of their fellowship, and in six months six
other Knights were joined to them, and their horses went where they
would, for the Knights spent their lives in fasting and prayer, and kept
no riches for themselves.
In this wise six years passed, and one night a vision came to Sir
Lancelot in his sleep charging him to hasten unto Amesbury. “By the time
that thou come there,” said the vision, “thou shalt find Queen Guenevere
dead; therefore take thy fellows with thee and fetch her corpse, and
bury it by the side of her husband, the noble King Arthur.”
Then Sir Lancelot rose up and told the hermit, and the hermit ordered
him to make ready and to do all as the vision had commanded. And Sir
Lancelot and seven of the other Knights went on foot from Glastonbury to
Amesbury, and it took them two days to compass the distance, for it was
far and they were weak with fasting. When they reached the nunnery Queen
Guenevere had been dead but half an hour, and she had first summoned her
ladies to her, and told them that Sir Lancelot had been a priest for
near a twelvemonth. “And hither he cometh as fast as he may,” she said,
“to fetch my corpse, and beside my lord King Arthur he shall bury me.
And I beseech Almighty God that I may never have power to see Sir
Lancelot with my bodily eyes.” “Thus,” said the ladies, “she prayed for
two days till she was dead.” Then Sir Lancelot looked upon her face and
sighed, but wept little, and next day he sang Mass. After that the Queen
was laid on a bier drawn by horses, and an hundred torches were carried
round her, and Sir Lancelot and his fellows walked behind her singing
holy chants, and at times one would come forward and throw incense on
the dead. So they came to Glastonbury, and the Bishop of Canterbury sang
a Requiem Mass over the Queen, and she was wrapped in cloth, and placed
first in a web of lead, and then in a coffin of marble, and when she was
put into the earth Sir Lancelot swooned away.
“You are to blame,” said the hermit, when he awaked from his swoon, “you
ought not make such manner of sorrow.”
“Truly,” answered Sir Lancelot, “I trust I do not displease God, but
when I remember her beauty, and her nobleness, and that of the King, and
when I saw his corpse and her corpse lie together, my heart would not
bear up my body. And I remembered, too, that it was through me and my
pride that they both came to their end.”
From that day Sir Lancelot ate so little food that he dwined away, and
for the most part was found kneeling by the tomb of King Arthur and
Queen Guenevere. None could comfort him, and after six weeks he was too
weak to rise from his bed. Then he sent for the hermit and to his
fellows, and asked in a weary voice that they would give him the last
rites of the Church; and begged that when he was dead his body might be
taken to Joyous Gard, which some say is Alnwick and others Bamborough.
That night the hermit had a vision that he saw Sir Lancelot being
carried up to heaven by the angels, and he waked Sir Bors and bade him
go and see if anything ailed Sir Lancelot. So Sir Bors went and Sir
Lancelot lay on his bed, stark dead, and he smiled as he lay there. Then
was there great weeping and wringing of hands, more than had been made
for any man; but they placed him on the horse bier that had carried
Queen Guenevere, and lit a hundred torches, and in fifteen days they
reached Joyous Gard. There his body was laid in the choir, with his face
uncovered, and many prayers were said over him. And there, in the midst
of their praying, came Sir Ector de Maris, who for seven years had
sought Sir Lancelot through all the land.
“Ah, Lancelot,” he said, when he stood looking beside his dead body,
“thou wert head of all Christian Knights. Thou wert the courtliest
Knight that ever drew sword, and the faithfulest friend that ever
bestrode a horse. Thou wert the goodliest Knight that ever man has seen,
and the truest lover that ever loved a woman.”
NOTES
Page 2, l. 16. tourney, tournament; a fight in which many knights
joined.
Page 3, l. 31. Arthur’s parentage. Uther Pendragon was King Arthur’s
father. In Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur,” it is explained how he, when King
of all England, marched into Cornwall against the powerful Duke of
Tintagil. In the siege that followed the Duke of Tintagil was killed,
and his lady, the dame Igraine, afterwards became the wife of King
Uthur. It is also explained how, on the advice of Merlin, their son
Arthur was fostered by the wife of a certain Sir Ector, and brought up
with his son Kay. Uther Pendragon died two years after this, and on his
deathbed Merlin asked if Arthur should not be proclaimed his successor.
To this Uther Pendragon replied, “I give him my blessing, and
righteously may he claim the crown on forfeiture of my blessing.” Merlin
had to provide some other means therefore to enable Arthur to succeed to
his heritage, and this we have in the tale of the “Drawing of the
Sword.”
Page 3, l. 32. Merlin. A magician. One of the chief characters in the
earlier tales.
Page 5, l. 7. seneschal, steward.
Page 5, l. 13. Twelfth Day, twelve days after Christmas.
Page 5, l. 18. Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin
Mary, called Candlemas on account of the number of lighted candles used.
Page 6, l. 29. barge here means pleasure-boat.
Page 7, l. 14. Carlion, or Carleon, at that time an important city in
South Wales, situated about six miles from the mouth of the river Usk.
Page 7, l. 27. Round Table, the famous table at which King Arthur’s
knights sat. There are several accounts of its origin. One of the
reasons suggested for its shape is that, being round, no dispute could
arise between the knights for the higher places.
Page 8, l. 32. Sir Lancelot, the best loved and bravest of King Arthur’s
knights, famed for his chivalry.
Page 9, l. 13. Sir Gawaine was one of the five nephews of the King (the
other brothers being Mordred, Agrawaine, Gaheris, and Gareth).
Page 11, l. 14. Avelion, or Avalon, is generally associated with
Glastonbury.
Page 18, l. 18. Pentecost, Whitsuntide.
Page 19, l. 16. daïs, a raised platform in the hall at which the highly
born sat.
Page 25, l. 16. scullion, the lowest servant of the kitchen; washer of
dishes.
Page 29, l. 19. high degree, high station in life.
Page 33, l. 28. venison, the flesh of the deer.
Page 33, l. 28. capons, large chickens.
Page 36, l. 14. ger-falcon, or gyrfalcon, a large and fierce kind of
falcon.
Page 37, l. 12. Feast of the Assumption. This took place on the 15th of
August (Lady Day).
Page 37, l. 16. device, badge; distinguishing mark; coat of arms.
Page 37, l. 17. bare them. _Bare_ is the old form of bore; _them_ is
themselves.
Page 41, l. 5. Michaelmas, the 29th of September.
Page 41, l. 28. chamberlain, a high officer of the court; master of the
ceremonies.
Page 43, l. 31. Gore, or Gower, is a strip of hilly country in
Glamorganshire, running out into the sea, and ending in Worm’s Head.
Page 46, l. 18. Nimue is the Lady of the Lake mentioned in the story of
“Excalibur.” She is generally a good friend to King Arthur.
Page 48. the Holy Graal. The graal is the vessel which our Lord used at
the Last Supper.
Page 49, l. 15. pall, a covering thrown over the dead.
Page 49, l. 23. ill-favoured, with unpleasant features.
Page 50, l. 28. “till I be shriven of the priest,” “till my sins have
been confessed to a priest, and I have been absolved.”
Page 50, l. 33. wise, fashion.
Page 51, l. 14. divers, several, sundry.
Pegs 51, l. 28. samite, a kind of silk stuff.
Page 52, l. 4. wist, knew.
Page 52, l. 30. Sir Galahad, son of Sir Lancelot, the truest of knights
in thought and deed.
Page 53, l. 16. White Abbey. The Benedictines wore black garments. This
abbey belonged, no doubt, to one of the other orders of monks.
Page 53, l. 28. Mass. A service of the Catholic Church. There was, of
course, only one Church in those days, Protestantism being of much later
date.
Page 59, l. 4. palfrey, a horse for riding; distinct from a war-horse.
Page 59, l. 31. helm, helmet.
Page 60, l. 15. discomfited, routed, defeated.
Page 64, l. 9. hair shirt. The irritation caused by wearing a hair shirt
was a penance for sins committed. This was a common form of penance.
Page 65, l. 17. purged, purified.
Page 65, l. 27. peer, equal.
Page 66, l. 1. Sir Ector de Maris, Sir Lancelot’s brother.
Page 66, l. 13. Sir Percivale and his sister were the daughter of King
Pellinore.
Page 74, l. 18. King Pelles, the father of Elaine.
Page 77, l. 22. almonries, or almories, cupboards. (Literally places
where alms were distributed; places for broken victuals.)
Page 85, l. 10. made a covenant, made an agreement; undertook.
Page 85, l. 29. couched their spears, put their spears in rest, and
levelled them for the charge.
Page 89, l. 13. Camelot is identified by Malory with Winchester, but
there is reason to believe that actually it was in Somerset.
Page 90, l. 15. a joust was a trial of strength between two knights.
Page 91, l. 10. token. It was the custom for knights to wear their
ladies’ “tokens.”
Page 91, l. 31. burgess, citizen.
Page 93, l. 2. Sir Gawaine. Being the King’s nephew, the King took
special interest in him.
Page 93, l. 18. press, throng, fight.
Page 94, l. 11. mêlée, thick of the fight.
Page 95, l. 32. Northgalis, North Wales.
Page 105, l. 10. Sir Brandiles, one of the knights of the Round Table.
Page 108, l. 2. pavilion, tent.
Page 109, l. 4. doublet, the upper part of a man’s dress.
Page 119, l. 28. lesses les aller, the old French form of the “Laissez
aller” in “Ivanhoe,” meaning “Go!”
Page 131, l. 34. craven, coward.
Page 132, l. 13. Sir Lionel, Sir Bors’ brother.
Page 133, l. 28. olive, the token of peace.
Page 137, l. 14. bell, book, and candle. This curse was so called
because a bell was rung while it was being read from a book, and as soon
as it was over a candle was solemnly extinguished. The last part of the
ceremony was meant to show more clearly to the offender how completely
he was put beyond the grace of the Church.
Page 137, l. 17. waxed, grew.
Page 138, l. 34. salves, ointments.
Page 140, l. 28. tide me death, though death betide me.
Page 142, l. 2. stark, more commonly used with the word stiff (stiff and
stark) to denote death.
Page 143, l. 5. wan, pale, grey.
Page 145, l. 6. alms deeds, deeds of charity.
Page 148, l. 32. dwined, dwindled.
THE END.
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, BECCLES.
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