castle of Sir Ontzlake. They found him groaning because he was
ill and because Sir Damas had sent him a challenge to fight with
a knight, and he could not accept it. He was much relieved when
Morgan le Fay told him that Sir Accalon would fight in his place.
Early in the afternoon, King Arthur and Sir Accalon rode into the
field where the combat was to be held. Arthur did not know who
Sir Accalon was, nor did any one else, except Morgan le Fay. Two
sides of the field were full of people who came to watch, half of
whom were friends of Sir Damas, and the other half were friends
of Sir Ontzlake.
Arthur and Sir Accalon rode at each other so furiously that at
the shock of the meeting both fell off their horses. Then they
began to fight fiercely with their swords. The king could make no
headway with his false steel, but whenever Sir Accalon struck at
Arthur he drew blood.
The king was much amazed. He grew weaker and weaker, but still he
kept on his feet. Those who watched him were sorry for him; they
thought they had never seen a man fight so bravely. At last
Arthur's sword broke, and fell in two pieces on the ground. When
Sir Accalon saw this, he cried:
"Now, yield to me."
"I will never yield," said the king, "and if you do not get me
another sword, you will be shamed before all men, for it is an
unknightly thing to fight with a defenseless man."
"I do not care," said Sir Accalon. "If you will not yield, defend
yourself with your shield as best you can."
He rushed at the king. Arthur was so weak that he could hardly
stand, but he guarded himself as well as he could with his
shield. Soon he could do no more, and fell to the ground.
At this moment the Lady of the Lake, who had given Arthur his
sword, came upon the field. She was invisible, but anyone who had
listened intently could have heard a sound like the ripple of
water as she walked. She caused Excalibur to fall out of the hand
of Sir Accalon and drop near Arthur.
When it fell, Arthur saw that it was his own Excalibur. He
grasped its handle and some of his strength came back. He
struggled to his feet, and rushing up to Sir Accalon, seized the
scabbard of Excalibur and threw it far over the field.
"Now," he said, "send for a second sword and fight with me."
Then Sir Accalon was afraid. Yet he thought that Arthur was so
weak that he could still be overcome. So he sent for a second
sword, and they began to fight again. Arthur's strength, however,
had largely returned, and in a short time he gave Sir Accalon a
mortal stroke.
Sir Accalon fell to the ground, and the king, leaning over him,
cried:
"Tell me who you are."
Then Sir Accalon was filled with remorse, and he said:
"Oh, my king, I have been a traitor to you, but now I am dying,
and I am sorry for what I have done. I deserve my death."
He told the king his name, and all about his treachery, and that
of Morgan le Fay.
King Arthur was sad.
"It is very hard to be deceived in a friend," he said, "but I
forgive you freely. I will try to cure your wound, and sometime I
shall trust you again."
"You cannot cure me," said Sir Accalon. "I am dying. Let them
carry me off the field."
So he was taken to a neighboring abbey, while the people crowded
about the king to congratulate him, but Arthur said:
"I am sad at heart. My victory is no comfort to me, for to-day I
have lost a friend whom I believed true."
Then he called the two brothers, Sir Damas and Sir Ontzlake, and
judged their cause. He decided that their property must be
divided equally between them, and that they must be friends. They
promised never to quarrel again. Arthur told them that they must
be kind to other knights and to all people. He said that if he
heard that they were not, he would come and punish them.
After this, Sir Damas gave back to the twenty knights all their
money, and they went on their way rejoicing. King Arthur mounted
his horse and rode over to the abbey, where he sat by the bed of
Sir Accalon till the poor knight died. Then the king went back
alone to his Court at Camelot.
[Illustration: The Holy Grail]
[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR FOUGHT WITH A GIANT
Once upon a time King Arthur and some of his knights were sailing
in a ship. The king, being tired, went to sleep in his cabin, and
began to dream. It seemed to him that he was sailing with his
people when a great dragon flew out of the west. This dragon had
a blue head and a gold back. Underneath he shone like a rainbow.
Flames of fire rushed out of his mouth and covered land and sea.
As he flew, there came out of the east a great bear, very rough,
and as black as coal, and with wings that flapped like windmills.
The bear and the dragon roared loudly, and they began to fight
and struggle till the sea was all red with blood. At last the
dragon conquered.
When the king awoke from this dream he sent for Merlin and told
him of it, and asked for an explanation.
"My lord," Merlin replied, "the dragon betokens yourself; the
colors on its body are signs of your glory. The bear betokens
some tyrant who torments the people and whom you will slay."
Soon after this, the ship in which the company was, came in sight
of land. When they had anchored, the knights noticed on the beach
a crowd of people who were weeping. Descending from the ship,
Arthur asked one of the men what troubled them, and what was the
name of their country.
"Good sir," returned the man, "this is the country of Brittany,
and we weep because our county is desolated by a giant. He makes
us bring him food. First, he ate up all the oxen we had, and then
our horses. Next he demanded our children, and now there are no
little ones in the land. To-day he took our good duchess of
Brittany, and carried her off to his mountain."
"Alas!" said the king. "It grieves me to hear this, not only
because a cruel deed has been done, but because the duchess of
Brittany is my cousin's wife. I must save this lady. I will fight
with the giant."
"Good sir," cried the people in amazement, "it is not possible! A
whole company of us dare not attack him, and yet we account
ourselves brave men."
"That may well be," replied Arthur, "and yet with my good sword
and scabbard, I have no fear."
Then the men said:
"If you will go, my lord, yonder is the great mountain where the
giant lives. At the top, two huge fires burn continually in front
of a cave, and in that cave are greater treasures than you can
dream of. They are all yours if you will but slay this monster."
Arthur replied nothing to them, but called Sir Kay and Sir
Bedivere, and rode with them to the foot of the mountain. From
that point he ascended alone. When he was nearly to the top he
came upon a woman, clad all in black, who sat weeping by the side
of a newly-made grave.
"Good woman, why do you weep?" asked Arthur.
"Hush, hush!" she cried, "or the giant will hear you and come and
kill you. He can hear me, but the sound of weeping delights him,
and therefore I need not restrain my grief."
"Why do you grieve?" the king asked.
"Alas! Because my good mistress, the duchess of Brittany, is
dead. The giant has killed her."
At that Arthur gripped tightly the handle of his sword and said:
"I will kill this wretch before I am an hour older."
"Ah, my lord," said the woman, "the greatest kings in the country
are afraid of him. He has a coat embroidered with the beards of
fifteen of them. He demanded these beards as a sign that they
acknowledged him as lord."
"There is at least one king who does not acknowledge him as
lord," shouted Arthur, as he strode hastily forward.
When he reached the top he saw the giant asleep in front of the
two great fires before the cave. He was taller than the tallest
pine that ever grew. His arms were as big as the trunk of an oak
tree. His mouth was as large as a cave, and from it and his
nostrils came forth fire and flame like that from the mountain of
Vesuvius. Although his huge eyes were closed, flashes of
lightning seemed to shoot from beneath the lids. At his side was
an iron club as large as a steeple. About him stood trembling old
women fanning him as he slept.
King Arthur approached the monster, and said to him:
"Wretch, awake and fight, for your hour has come."
The giant, starting up, looked down scornfully upon the king and,
laughing, threw his great club at Arthur. But the king leapt
aside and the club fell harmlessly on the ground, making a hollow
where it struck.
Then Arthur rushed toward the giant, waving his good sword
Excalibur. The giant caught him in his arms, in order to squeeze
him to death. The king's armor pressed closer and closer about
him, and he began to lose his strength. But he kept his hand upon
his scabbard, and so did not die.
In a few minutes the monster, making sure that Arthur was dead,
dropped him to the ground. After the king had recovered himself,
he sprang to his feet, and taking his sword, threw it at the
giant. The good steel pierced his neck, and he sank to the
ground, shouting so loudly that Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere at the
foot of the mountain heard, and trembled for their master's
safety.
Then the giant again seized Arthur in his arms, and the two began
to roll down the mountain side. Whenever Arthur was able to, he
struck at the giant with his dagger, wounding him sorely. At
last, still struggling and rolling, they came to the spot where
Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere were. These two loosed the giant's arms
from the king, who then gave one last blow to the monster,
killing him. Then he sent Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere for his sword
Excalibur.
When the people on the seashore heard what Arthur had done, they
fell on their knees and thanked him, offering him all the giant's
treasure. He said, however, that he would leave it with them to
divide among the poor people of the country. For himself, all he
wanted was the giant's iron club.
The people sent fifty men to the top of the mountain to get it
for him. As they had no horses, it was a long time before they
could drag the club to the seashore. There they put it on a
barge. It was so heavy that it pressed the barge down till the
water came almost to the edge of the vessel. Then King Arthur
bade the people good-by, and took ship with his knights. The
grateful men of Brittany stood on the shore, and shouted and
waved until the ship could no longer be seen.
[Illustration: The Shield]
[Illustration] HOW ARTHUR FOUGHT WITH ROME
In the time of the great Roman, Julius Cæsar, about five hundred
years before King Arthur was born, the people of Rome conquered
Britain. They made many improvements in the land, building roads
and walls, the remains of which may be seen to this day. But they
also forced the Britons to pay them much money. All the kings did
this up to the time of Arthur. He, however, considered that
England was his own. He had conquered the lesser kings, and made
one realm of all the land, over which he ruled with wise
government. So he refused to send any money to Rome.
Once King Arthur's knights were all together in the great hall.
It was a time of peace, and they spent the days in riding and
hunting. On this day, while the king was sitting on his throne,
twelve old men entered, each bearing a branch of olive, as a sign
that they came in peace. They were the messengers of the emperor
of Rome, and, after bowing to the king, they said:
"Sir, our mighty emperor sends you greeting, and commands you to
acknowledge him as lord, and to send him the money due him from
your realm. Your father and his predecessors did this, and so
must you. If you refuse, the emperor will make such war against
you that it will be an example to all the world."
At this the young knights laid their hands to their swords, but
the older knights, who had self-control enough to hide their
feelings, waited to see what the king would do.
Arthur bowed courteously to the messengers, and told them that he
would soon give them an answer. He commanded a knight to take
them to a lodging, and to see that they had all they needed, and
he ordered that no harm should be done them. Then he called a
council of his great lords and asked their advice.
Sir Lancelot, Arthur's favorite lord, spoke first, saying:
"My lord, we have rested for many weeks, and can make sharp war
now. In days gone by, we should not have dared attack the Romans,
and indeed, our attempt will make the world wonder. But of a
truth, we ought to fight."
Then spoke King Angus of Scotland:
"My lord Arthur, you are the greatest lord on earth. You have
made all of us lesser kings your subjects, and bound the kingdom
together, and stopped our civil wars. We love you and we will
help you. We pray you to make war on these Romans. When they
ruled our elders, they demanded much gold and made our people
very poor. If you will fight, I will furnish you with twenty
thousand men, and will bear all the cost of them myself."
Then all the other lords promised to furnish men and arms. When
Arthur heard this, he was glad of their courage and good will.
He called in the messengers and said to them:
"Return to your emperor. Tell him that I refuse his command, for
I owe him nothing. I have won this kingdom by my own strength.
Tell him that I shall come with all my army to Rome and make him
acknowledge me as lord."
Then Arthur told his treasurer to give the messengers gifts, and
to take them safely out of the country. Sir Lancelot conducted
them to the sea, where they took ship and sailed to France. On
they journeyed over the Alps and into Italy. When they told the
emperor of Rome their message, he said:
"I had thought Arthur would yield."
But the messengers said:
"Sir, his face would have told you, if you had seen it, that he
would never yield. In truth, there is need of fear, for he is a
great king and surrounded by great knights."
"This is foolish talk," the emperor said. "Remember that we are
Romans. We have ruled the world for centuries, and a little king
of little England shall not make us fear. You say that he is
coming to fight with us. We will take a few troops and go
forthwith to France to meet him."
The messengers begged the emperor to take many troops.
"My lord emperor," they said, "these men of Arthur are very
numerous and very brave."
So at last the emperor brought all his men to France, and there,
whenever he found people who were loyal to Arthur, he killed and
laid waste.
Meanwhile, Arthur had gathered together all his troops. He bade
farewell to Queen Guinevere, who was so grieved that she fell in
a swoon. Then he rode off at the head of his men till they came
to the sea, and there they embarked in ten thousand boats and
sailed to France.
They marched till they came near to the troops of the emperor of
Rome, where they rested for the night. In the morning they rose
at dawn and looked at the Roman legions. These were encamped in a
green field which glittered with the gold on their tents and
armor. The emperor's tent was of purple silk and bore on the top
a golden eagle, the emblem of Rome.
Two of Arthur's knights, Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, rode out to
the emperor, and told him that their king had come.
"That I see," said the emperor laughing, "and he shall soon
return."
The two knights made no answer, but rode back to Arthur. Soon all
the soldiers on each side made ready for fighting. The preparation
was careful, for they knew that the contest was to be a great
one. The emperor of Rome addressed his soldiers:
"Romans, remember that Rome is the chief city of the world. I do
not say fight as men; I say to you, fight as Romans. Then you
will surely conquer these Britains."
King Arthur galloped up and down before the front rank of his
men, looking at them carefully. He was on a beautiful white horse
whose mane rose and fell in the wind like a wave of the sea. His
soldiers cheered lustily for their beloved commander. Then King
Arthur raised his hand for silence, and spoke in a loud, clear
voice:
"My knights and men whom I love, remember that you are fighting
to-day for your rights and for the independence of Britain.
Strike well, and do not forget that great courage is as powerful
as great numbers."
With that, he gave the signal for attack. The Romans stood in
full battle array with their emperor in front. Beside him were
sixteen kings with gold helmets and silver armor. The English
approached, shouting a battle-cry.
Then the Romans, at the call of the trumpet, rushed forward, and
in a moment the two great armies clashed together. Clouds of dust
arose through which could be seen at intervals the heads of
horses and the helmets of men. The few poor shepherds and women
who stood on the outside did not know that the greatest battle of
the time was going on under that cloud of dust.
[Illustration: _"King Arthur raising his hand for silence"_]
Inside the cloud there was great confusion. Britains and Romans
were fighting side by side, so closely packed that sometimes it
was hard to strike. All fought bravely, but no one did so well as
Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The battle did not cease until it was
dark. Each side had lost many men. King Arthur wept as he rode
over the field and counted his dead knights, and even his
beautiful horse drooped its head as if it, also, understood.
But the next day the two armies began to fight again, and when
the emperor finally saw that his men were losing and that most of
the kings who were helping him were dead, he said:
"This Arthur is a demon and not a man. I will fight with him
myself and end this battle." And before any one could stop him,
he spurred up to King Arthur and said:
"You on the white horse who refuse to pay me tribute, come out
that I may kill you."
Then Arthur rode quickly towards the emperor. The two men began
to fight, and Arthur soon saw that he was contending with a
powerful man. He gave the emperor many a stroke with Excalibur,
but he himself received deep blows. At last the emperor pierced
Arthur's helmet, and wounded him deeply in the cheek.
King Arthur raised his good Excalibur with a last effort and
struck his enemy with it so fiercely on the head that the blow
cleft the helmet and pierced to the emperor's chin. He fell from
his horse without a moan. When the Romans near by saw that their
ruler was dead, they gave a great cry of grief and rushed upon
Arthur, but his good knights protected him.
At last, seeing themselves conquered, the Romans surrendered.
Arthur found among his prisoners three senators, and among the
dead, sixty senators, the sixteen kings, and the emperor.
He was sorrowful, for he knew that they were great men. So he had
them embalmed and laid in chests of lead. Around each chest flags
were wound, and the shields of the dead warriors placed on top.
Then he said to the three surviving senators:
"Take these noble dead bodies back to Rome. When the Romans see
them they will never again dare ask tax or tribute of me. I will
not go to Rome and take the city from you, but if ever you send
to me for gold, I shall invade your land and never rest till all
Italy is mine."
The senators bowed their heads. Then they laid the body of the
emperor on a car, all alone, with the gold eagle above him. They
laid the bodies of the kings and the senators two by two on
chariots, and so went slowly towards Rome. And never again did
the kings of Britain have to pay a tax to the Romans.
[Illustration: The Holy Grail]
[Illustration] THE KNIGHT WITH the BADLY MADE COAT
One day when Arthur and his knights were in the hall of the Round
Table, a young man entered. He was so large that his shoulders
were as wide as the doorway, and he could hardly squeeze through.
The knights looked at him in amazement, for he was almost a
giant.
When he came closer to them, they saw that he had on a coat which
was far too large for him. It hung in wrinkles and folds all over
his back, and the sleeves were so long that he had to turn them
up almost to the elbow. The coat was of rich material, gold
cloth, but it was old and blood-stained.
The young man strode up to the king and said:
"My lord, my name is Brune. I can tell you no more than that. I
beg you to make me a knight."
At this Sir Kay laughed and said:
"He must be called The Knight with the Badly Made Coat."
"Call me what you will," said the young man. "Yes, I take that
name, for I will not tell my real one."
Then Arthur spoke to him gently:
"Young man, you ask a great thing. All those in my Court who are
made knights must serve for a long time as squires. If they prove
themselves loyal and brave, I make them knights. But I must
always know whence they come, and who their fathers are."
"My lord," said the young man, "I do indeed ask a great thing. I
would gladly tell you more of myself, but I am under a vow to
reveal no more than you already know. Yet I will tell you this,
further. I am the son of a noble who was as big as a giant. My
good father was very peaceable and did not care to fight; so he
never came to your Court, and you did not hear of him. He lived
at home with my mother and me, and the simple people who plowed
the land about our castle.
"Every one ought to have loved him; but he had one enemy. One
day, six years ago, when I was only a boy, my father and I were
in the forest. My father was sleeping at the foot of a tree, and
I was bathing in a brook near by. This enemy, who wanted my
father's lands, came up and drove his sword into my father's
heart. Then he rode away. I ran up to my dead father and took off
the coat which he wore and put it on. I swore never to take it
off, and never to tell my father's name or where I came from,
till I had avenged his death.
"Then I rode home to our castle, but our enemy had taken
possession of it, and had made my mother prisoner. As I was not
yet grown up I vowed that I would stay with the good shepherds
near by till I was strong enough to pull up a young tree by the
roots. Then I would go to King Arthur's Court and ask to be made
a knight. So every month I have tried to uproot a young tree.
This morning I succeeded, and here, my lords, I am."
The knights were much moved and prayed the king to make him a
knight. They said that they would teach him to use arms. The king
said that he would wait to see what sort of man Brune was.
A few days after this all the knights rode off to a tournament
and Brune was left at home with a few soldiers. He was in the
castle yard practicing some of the lessons in warfare which the
knights had been teaching him. While he was hard at work, Queen
Guinevere with twelve soldiers who were her bodyguard passed by.
As she was speaking kindly to Brune, they heard a terrible noise,
and looking in the direction from which it came, saw a dreadful
sight. A fierce lion which had been confined in a tower of stone
had broken out of its prison and was rushing towards them. The
twelve soldiers fled, leaving the queen and Brune alone.
"Ah," said Brune, "not all the cowards in the world are dead."
[Illustration: _"The king touched him lightly with his sword"_]
He stood still while the lion bounded towards him. He had dropped
his sword, and as the beast leaped upon him, he seized its head
in his hands. Then he slowly, slowly, bent its head back. It was
a strong lion, and with the effort the muscles on Brune's neck
stood out like great ropes. Presently, the queen and Brune heard
a loud crack and they knew that the lion's neck was broken. Brune
loosed his hold, and the huge tawny body dropped to the ground,
quivered a moment, and was still.
While this was going on, the king and his knights returned. They
saw at a glance what Brune had done, and cheered him loudly. The
king rode up to him.
"Kneel down," he said.
Brune knelt down by the body of the lion, and the king touched
him lightly with his sword, saying:
"Sir Brune, I make you a knight of my Round Table. Be always
loyal, brave, and merciful."
Then all the knights were glad, but Sir Brune was gladdest of
all.
[Illustration: The Two Horses]
[Illustration] SIR LANCELOT & SIR BRUNE
After Sir Brune, the Knight with the Badly Made Coat, had been at
Arthur's Court for some months, he became eager to seek for the
enemy of his father. Sir Lancelot, who took an interest in the
big young knight, advised him to wait and try his strength at
some smaller adventure first.
One day, when Sir Lancelot was away hunting, a damsel entered
Arthur's hall. She carried a black shield which had painted on it
a white hand holding a sword. She bowed to the king and said:
"My lord, I come for a knight to undertake the adventure of the
black shield."
"And what is that adventure, fair damsel?" asked the king.
"That I may not tell you," answered the damsel, "except that it
will cause much fighting and bloodshed to the knight who chooses
it."
Some of the knights were eager to go, and Sir Kay pressed forward
to finger the shield.
"Do not touch it, good Sir Kay," said the maiden, "for this
adventure is not for you. I am to choose the knight."