King Arthur at his returne into Britaine, found that Mordred had
[Sidenote: Rather Cerdicke as _Leland_ thinketh.]
caused himselfe to be made king, & hauing alied himselfe with
Cheldrike a Saxon (not him whome Galfride, as ye haue heard, supposeth
to haue béene wounded & slaine before) was readie to resist his
landing, so that before he could come on land, he lost manie of his
men: but yet at length he repelled the enimies, and so tooke land at
Sandwich, where he first arriued, and ioining in battell with his
enimies, he discomfited them, but not without great losse of his
people: speciallie he sore lamented the death of Gawaine the brother
of Mordred, which like a faithfull gentleman, regarding more his
honour and loiall truth than néerenesse of bloud and coosenage, chose
rather to fight in the quarrell of his liege king and louing maister,
than to take part with his naturall brother in an vniust cause, and so
there in the battell was slaine, togither also with Angusseli, to whom
Arthur afore time had committed the gouernment of Scotland. Mordred
fled from this battell, and getting ships sailed westward, and
[Sidenote: Gawaine buried at Douer.]
finallie landed in Cornwall. King Arthur caused the corps of Gawaine
to be buried at Douer (as some hold opinion:) but William Malmesburie
supposeth, he was buried in Wales, as after shall be shewed. The dead
bodie of Angussell was conueied into Scotland, and was there buried.
When that Arthur had put his enimies to flight, and had knowledge into
what parts Mordred was withdrawne, with all spéed he reinforced his
armie with new supplies of souldiers called out of diuerse parties,
and with his whole puissance hasted forward, not resting till he came
néere to the place where Mordred was incamped, with such an armie
as he could assemble togither out of all parties where he had anie
friends. ¶ Héere (as it appéereth by Iohn Leland, in his booke
intituled, "The assertion of Arthur") it may be douted in what place
Mordred was incamped: but Geffrey of Monmouth sheweth, that after
Arthur had discomfited Mordred in Kent at the first landing, it
chanced so that Mordred escaped and fled to Winchester, whither Arthur
followed him, and there giuing him battell the second time, did also
put him to flight. And following him from thence, fought eftsoones
with him at a place called Camblane, or Kemelene in Cornwall, or (as
some authors haue) néere vnto Glastenburie.
[Sidenote: _Richard Turner_.]
This battell was fought to such proofe, that finallie Mordred was
slaine, with the more part of his whole armie, and Arthur receiuing
diuers mortall wounds died of the same shortlie after, when he had
reigned ouer the Britains by the tearme of 26 yéeres. His corps was
buried at Glastenburie aforesaid, in the churchyard, betwixt two
pillers: where it was found in the daies of king Henrie the second,
about the yeere of our Lord 1191, which was in the last yéere of the
reigne of the same Henrie, more than six hundred yéeres after the
buriall thereof. He was laid 16 foot déepe vnder ground, for doubt
that his enimies the Saxons should haue found him. But those that
digged the ground there to find his bodie, after they had entered
about seuen foot déepe into the earth, they found a mightie broad
stone with a leaden crosse fastened to that part which laie downewards
toward the corps, conteining this inscription:
"Hîc iacet sepultus inclytus rex Arthurius in insula Aualoniæ."
This inscription was grauen on that side of the crosse which was next
to the stone: so that till the crosse was taken from the stone, it was
vnséene. His bodie was found, not inclosed within a toome of marble or
other stone curiouslie wrought, but within a great trée made hollowe
for the nonce like a trunke, the which being found and digged vp, was
opened, and therein were found the kings bones, of such maruellous
bignesse, that the shinbone of his leg being set on the ground,
reached vp to the middle thigh of a verie tall man: as a moonke of
that abbeie hath written, which did liue in those daies, and saw it.
¶ But Gyraldus Cambrensis (who also liued in those daies, and spake
with the abbat of the place, by whom the bones of this Arthur were
then found) affirmeth, that by report of the same abbat, he learned,
that the shinbone of the said Arthur being set vp by the leg of a
verie tall man (the which the abbat shewed to the same Gyraldus) came
aboue the knée of the same man the length of three fingers breadth,
which is a great deale more likelie than the other. Furthermore the
skull of his head was of a woonderfull largenesse, so that the space
of his forehead betwixt his two eies was a span broad. There appéered
in his head the signes and prints of ten wounds or more: all the which
were growne into one wem, except onelie that whereof it should séeme
he died, which being greater than the residue, appéered verie plaine.
Also in opening the toome of his wife quéene Gueneuer, that was buried
with him, they found the tresses of hir haire whole and perfect, and
finelie platted, of colour like to the buruished gold, which being
touched, immediatlie fell to dust. The abbat, which then was
[Sidenote: _Henricus Blecensis_ seu _Soliacensis_. _Io. Leland_.]
gouernour of the house, was named Stephan, or Henrie de Blois,
otherwise de Sullie, nephue to king Henrie the second (by whose
commandement he had serched for the graue of Arthur) translated the
bones as well of him as of quéene Gueneuer, being so found, into the
great church, and there buried them in a faire double toome of marble,
laieng the bodie of the king at the head of the toome, and the bodie
[Sidenote: _Dauid Pow._ _pag._ 238, 239.]
of the quéene at his féet towards the west part. ¶ The writer of
the historie of Cambria now called Wales saith, that the bones of the
said Arthur, and Gueneuer his wife were found in the Ile of Aualon
(that is, the Ile of Alpes) without the abbeie of Glastenbury,
fiftéene féet within the ground, & that his graue was found by the
meanes of a Bardh, whome the king heard at Penbroke singing the acts
of prince Arthur, and the place of his buriall.
_Iohn Leland in his booke intituled Assertio Arthuri, hath for the
woorthie memorie of so noble a prince, honored him with a learned
epitaph, as heere followeth._
Saxonicas toties qui fudit Marte cruento
_Who vanquisht Saxon troops so oft, with battels bloudie broiles,_
Turmas, & peperit spolijs sibi nomen opimis,
_And purchast to himselfe a name with warlike wealthie spoiles,_
Fulmineo toties Pictos qui contudit ense,
_Who hath with shiuering shining swoord, the Picts so oft dismaid,_
Imposuítque iugum Scoti ceruicibus ingens:
_And eke vnweldie seruile yoke on necke of Scots hath laid:_
Qui tumidos Gallos, Germanos quíque feroces
_Who Frenchmen puft with pride, and who the Germans fierce in fight_
Perculit, & Dacos bello confregit aperto:
_Discomfited, and danted Danes with maine and martiall might:_
Denique Mordredum è medio qui sustulit illud
_Who of that murdring Mordred did the vitall breath expell,_
Monstrum, horrendum, ingens, dirum, sæuúmque tyrannum,
_That monster grislie, lothsome, huge, that diresome tyrant fell,_
Hoc iacet extinctus monumento Arthurius alto,
_Heere liuelesse Arthur lies intoomd, within this statelie hearse,_
Militiæ clarum decus, & virtutis alumnus:
_Of chiualrie the bright renowme, and vertues nursling fearse:_
Gloria nunc cuius terram circumuolat omnem,
_Whose glorie great now ouer all the world dooth compasse flie,_
Aetherijque petit sublimia tecta Tonantis.
_And of the airie thunder skales the loftie building hie_.
Vos igitur gentis proles generosa Britannæ,
_Therefore you noble progenie of Britaine line and race,_
Induperatori ter magno assurgite vestro,
_Arise vnto your emperour great, of thrice renowmed grace,_
Et tumulo sacro roseas inferte corollas,
_And cast vpon his sacred toome the roseall garlands gaie,_
Officij testes redolentia munera vestri.
_That fragrant smell may witnesse well, your duties you displaie_.
¶ These verses I haue the more willinglie inserted, for that I had
the same deliuered to me turned into English by maister Nicholas
Roscarocke, both right aptlie yeelding the sense, and also properlie
answering the Latine, verse for verse.
* * * * *
_Vpon what occasion the graue of king Arthur was sought for, the
follie of such discouered as beleeued that he should returne and
reigne againe as king in Britaine, whether it be a fiction or a
veritie that there was such an Arthur or no; discordance among writers
about the place of Gawains buriall and Arthurs death; of queene
Gueneuer the wife of king Arthur, hir beautie and dishonest life,
great disagreement among writers touching Arthur and his wiues to the
impeachment of the historie, of his life and death._