saluted her, and said, "Lady, what sword is that the arm holdeth above
the water? I would that it were mine, for I have no sword."
"Sir King," said the lady of the lake, "that sword is mine, and if thou
wilt give me in return a gift whenever I shall ask it of thee, thou
shalt have it."
"By my faith," said he, "I will give thee any gift that thou shalt ask."
"Well," said the damsel, "go into yonder barge, and row thyself unto the
sword, and take it and the scabbard with thee, and I will ask my gift of
thee when I see my time."
So King Arthur and Merlin alighted, and tied their horses to two trees,
and went into the barge; and when they came to the sword that the hand
held, King Arthur took it by the handle and bore it with him, and the
arm and hand went down under the water; and so they came back to land,
and rode again to Caerleon.
On the morrow Merlin bade King Arthur to set fiercely on the enemy; and
in the meanwhile three hundred good knights went over to King Arthur
from the rebels' side. Then at the spring of day, when they had scarce
left their tents, he fell on them with might and main, and Sir
Badewaine, Sir Key, and Sir Brastias slew on the right and on the left
marvelously; and ever in the thickest of the fight King Arthur raged
like a young lion, and laid on with his sword, and did wondrous deeds of
arms, to the joy and admiration of the knights and barons who beheld
him.
Then King Lot, King Carados, and the King of the Hundred Knights--who
also was with them--going round to the rear, set on King Arthur fiercely
from behind; but King Arthur, turning to his knights, fought ever in the
foremost press until his horse was slain beneath him. At that, King Lot
rode furiously at him, and smote him down; but rising straightway, and
being set again on horseback, he drew his sword Excalibur that he had
gained by Merlin from the lady of the lake, which, shining brightly as
the light of thirty torches, dazzled the eyes of his enemies. And
therewith falling on them afresh with all his knights, he drove them
back and slew them in great numbers, and Merlin by his arts scattered
among them fire and pitchy smoke, so that they broke and fled. Then all
the common people of Caerleon, seeing them give way, rose up with one
accord, and rushed at them with clubs and staves, and chased them far
and wide, and slew many great knights and lords, and the remainder of
them fled and were seen no more. Thus won King Arthur his first battle
and put his enemies to shame.
But the six kings, though sorely routed, prepared for a new war, and
joining to themselves five others swore together that, whether for weal
or woe, they would keep steadfast alliance till they had destroyed King
Arthur. Then, with a host of 50,000 men-at-arms on horseback, and 10,000
foot, they were soon ready, and sent forth their fore-riders, and drew
from the northern country towards King Arthur, to the castle of
Bedgraine.
But he by Merlin's counsel had sent over sea to King Ban of Benwick and
King Bors of Gaul, praying them to come and help him in his wars, and
promising to help them in return against King Claudas, their foe. To
which those kings made answer that they would joyfully fulfil his wish,
and shortly after came to London with 300 knights, well arrayed for both
peace and war, leaving behind them a great army on the other side of the
sea till they had consulted with King Arthur and his ministers how they
might best dispose of it.
And Merlin being asked for his advice and help, agreed to go himself and
fetch it over sea to England, which in one night he did; and brought
with him 10,000 horsemen and led them northward privately to the forest
of Bedgraine, and there lodged them in a valley secretly.
Then, by the counsel of Merlin, when they knew which way the eleven
kings would ride and sleep, King Arthur with Kings Ban and Bors made
themselves ready with their army for the fight, having yet but 30,000
men, counting the 10,000 who had come from Gaul.
"Now shall ye do my advice," said Merlin; "I would that King Ban and
King Bors, with all their fellowship of 10,000 men, were led to ambush
in this wood ere daylight, and stir not therefrom until the battle hath
been long waged. And thou, Lord Arthur, at the spring of day draw forth
thine army before the enemy, and dress the battle so that they may at
once see all thy host, for they will be the more rash and hardy when
they see you have but 20,000 men."
To this the three knights and the barons heartily consented, and it was
done as Merlin had devised. So on the morrow when the hosts beheld each
other, the host of the north was greatly cheered to find so few led out
against them.
Then gave King Arthur the command to Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias to take
3000 men-at-arms, and to open battle. They therefore setting fiercely on
the enemy slew them on the right hand and the left till it was wonderful
to see their slaughter.
When the eleven kings beheld so small a band doing such mighty deeds of
arms they were ashamed, and charged them fiercely in return. Then was
Sir Ulfius' horse slain under him; but he fought well and marvelously on
foot against Duke Eustace and King Clarience, who set upon him
grievously, till Sir Brastias, seeing his great peril, pricked towards
them swiftly, and so smote the duke through with his spear that horse
and man fell down and rolled over. Whereat King Clarience turned upon
Sir Brastias, and rushing furiously together they each unhorsed the
other and fell both to the ground, and there lay a long time stunned,
their horses' knees being cut to the bone. Then came Sir Key the
seneschal with six companions, and did wondrous well, till the eleven
kings went out against them and overthrew Sir Griflet and Sir Lucas the
butler. And when Sir Key saw Sir Griflet unhorsed and on foot, he rode
against King Nanters hotly and smote him down, and led his horse to
Griflet and horsed him again; with the same spear did Sir Key smite down
King Lot and wounded him full sore.
But seeing that, the King of the Hundred Knights rushed at Sir Key and
overthrew him in return, and took his horse and gave it to King Lot.
And when Sir Griflet saw Sir Key's mischance, he set his spear in rest,
and riding at a mighty man-at-arms, he cast him down headlong and caught
his horse and led it straightway to Sir Key.
By now the battle was growing perilous and hard, and both sides fought
with rage and fury. And Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias were both afoot and
in great danger of their death, and foully stained and trampled under
horses' feet. Then King Arthur, putting spurs to his horse, rushed
forward like a lion into the midst of all the _mêlèe_, and singling out
King Cradlemont of North Wales, smote him through the left side and
overthrew him, and taking his horse by the rein he brought it to Sir
Ulfius in haste and said, "Take this horse, mine old friend, for thou
hast great need of one, and charge by side of me." And even as he spoke
he saw Sir Ector, Sir Key's father, smitten to the earth by the King of
the Hundred Knights, and his horse taken to King Cradlemont.
But when King Arthur saw him ride upon Sir Ector's horse his wrath was
very great, and with his sword he smote King Cradlemont upon the helm,
and shore off the fourth part thereof and of the shield, and drave the
sword onward to the horse's neck and slew the horse, and hurled the king
upon the ground.
And now the battle waxed so great and furious that all the noise and
sound thereof rang out by water and by wood, so that Kings Ban and Bors,
with all their knights and men-at-arms in ambush, hearing the tumult
and the cries, trembled and shook for eagerness, and scarce could stay
in secret, but made them ready for the fray and dressed their shields
and harness.
But when King Arthur saw the fury of the enemy, he raged like a mad
lion, and stirred and drove his horse now here, now there, to the right
hand and to the left and stayed not in his wrath till he had slain full
twenty knights. He wounded also King Lot so sorely in the shoulder that
he left the field, and in great pain and dolor cried out to the other
kings, "Do ye as I devise, or we shall be destroyed. I, with the King of
the Hundred Knights, King Anguisant, King Yder, and the Duke of
Cambinet, will take fifteen thousand men and make a circuit, meanwhile
that ye do hold the battle with twelve thousand. Then coming suddenly we
will fall fiercely on them from behind and put them to the rout, but
else shall we never stand against them."
So Lot and four kings departed with their party to one side, and the six
other kings dressed their ranks against King Arthur and fought long and
stoutly.
But now Kings Ban and Bors, with all their army fresh and eager, broke
from their ambush and met face to face the five kings and their host as
they came round behind, and then began a frantic struggle with breaking
of spears and clashing of swords and slaying of men and horses. Anon
King Lot, espying in the midst King Bors, cried out in great dismay,
"Our Lady now defend us from our death and fearful wounds; our peril
groweth great, for yonder cometh one of the worshipfullest kings and
best knights in all the world."
"Who is he?" said the King of the Hundred Knights.
"It is King Bors of Gaul," replied King Lot, "and much I marvel how he
may have come with all his host into this land without our knowledge."
"Aha!" cried King Carados, "I will encounter with this king if ye will
rescue me when there is need."
"Ride on," said they.
So King Carados and all his host rode softly till they came within a
bow-shot of King Bors, and then both hosts, spurring their horses to
their greatest swiftness, rushed at each other. And King Bors
encountered in the onset with a knight, and struck him through with a
spear, so that he fell dead upon the earth; then drawing his sword, he
did such mighty feats of arms that all who saw him gazed with wonder.
Anon King Ban came also forth upon the field with all his knights, and
added yet more fury, sound, and slaughter, till at length both hosts of
the eleven kings began to quake, and drawing all together into one body,
they prepared to meet the worst, while a great multitude already fled.
Then said King Lot, "Lords, we must take yet other means, or worse loss
still awaits us. See ye not what people we have lost in waiting on the
footmen, and that it costs ten horsemen to save one of them? Therefore
it is my counsel to put away our footmen from us, for it is almost
night, and King Arthur will not stay to slaughter them. So they can save
their lives in this great wood hard by. Then let us gather into one
band all the horsemen that remain, and whoso breaketh rank or leaveth
us, let him be straightway slain by him that seeth him, for it is better
that we slay a coward than through a coward be all slain. How say ye?"
said King Lot; "answer me, all ye kings."
"It is well said," replied they all.
And swearing they would never fail each other, they mended and set right
their armor and their shields, and took new spears and set them
steadfastly against their thighs, waiting, and so stood still as a clump
of trees stands on the plain; and no assaults could shake them, they
held so hard together; which when King Arthur saw he marveled greatly,
and was very wroth. "Yet," cried he, "I may not blame them, by my faith,
for they do as brave men ought to do, and are the best fighting men and
knights of most prowess that I ever saw or heard tell of." And so said
also Kings Ban and Bors, and praised them greatly for their noble
chivalry.
But now came forty noble knights out of King Arthur's host, and prayed
that he would suffer them to break the enemy. And when they were
allowed, they rode forth with their spears upon their thighs, and
spurred their horses to their hottest. Then the eleven kings, with a
party of their knights, rushed with set spears as fast and mightily to
meet them; and when they were encountered, all the crash and splinter of
their spears and armor rang with a mighty din, and so fierce and bloody
was their onset that in all that day there had been no such cruel press,
and rage, and smiting. At that same moment rode fiercely into the
thickest of the struggle King Arthur and Kings Ban and Bors, and slew
downright on both hands right and left, until their horses went in blood
up to the fetlocks.
And while the slaughter and the noise and shouting were at their
greatest, suddenly there came down through the battle Merlin the Wizard,
upon a great black horse, and riding to King Arthur, he cried out,
"Alas, my Lord! will ye have never done? Of sixty thousand have ye left
but fifteen thousand men alive. Is it not time to stay this slaying? for
God is ill pleased with ye that ye have never ended, and yonder kings
shall not be altogether overthrown this time. But if ye fall upon them
any more, the fortune of this day will turn, and go to them. Withdraw,
Lord, therefore, to thy lodging, and there now take thy rest, for to-day
thou hast won a great victory, and overcome the noblest chivalry of all
the world. And now for many years those kings shall not disturb thee.
Therefore, I tell thee, fear them no more, for now they are sore beaten,
and have nothing left them but their honor; and why shouldest thou slay
them to take that?"
Then said King Arthur, "Thou sayest well, and I will take thy counsel."
With that he cried out, "Ho!" for the battle to cease, and sent forth
heralds through the field to stay more fighting. And gathering all the
spoil, he gave it not amongst his own host, but to Kings Ban and Bors
and all their knights and men-at-arms, that he might treat them with the
greater courtesy as strangers.
Then Merlin took his leave of Arthur and the two other kings, and went
to see his master, Blaise, a holy hermit, dwelling in Northumberland,
who had nourished him through all his youth. And Blaise was passing glad
to see him, for there was a great love ever between them; and Merlin
told him how King Arthur had sped in the battle, and how it had ended;
and told him the names of every king and knight of worship who was
there. So Blaise wrote down the battle, word for word, as Merlin told
him; and in the same way ever after, all the battles of King Arthur's
days Merlin caused Blaise, his master, to record.
III
ARTHUR DRIVES THE SAXONS FROM HIS REALM
Anon, thereafter, came word to King Arthur that Ryence, King of North
Wales, was making war upon King Leodegrance of Camelgard; whereat he was
passing wroth, for he loved Leodegrance well, and hated Ryence. So he
departed with Kings Ban and Bors and twenty thousand men, and came to
Camelgard, and rescued Leodegrance, and slew ten thousand of Ryence's
men and put him to flight. Then Leodegrance made a great festival to the
three kings, and treated them with every manner of mirth and pleasure
which could be devised. And there had King Arthur the first sight of
Guinevere, daughter of Leodegrance, whom in the end he married, as shall
be told hereafter.
Then did Kings Ban and Bors take leave, and went to their own country,
where King Claudas worked great mischief. And King Arthur would have
gone with them, but they refused him, saying, "Nay, ye shall not at this
time, for ye have yet much to do in these lands of your own; and we with
the riches we have won here by your gifts shall hire many good knights,
and, by the grace of God, withstand the malice of King Claudas; and if
we have need we will send to ye for succor; and likewise ye, if ye have
need, send for us, and we will not tarry, by the faith of our bodies."
When the two kings had left, King Arthur rode to Caerleon, and thither
came to him his half-sister Belisent, wife to King Lot, sent as a
messenger, but in truth to espy his power; and with her came a noble
retinue, and also her four sons--Gowain, Gaheris, Agravaine, and Gareth.
But when she saw King Arthur and his nobleness, and all the splendor of
his knights and service, she forebore to spy upon him as a foe, and told
him of her husband's plots against him and his throne. And the king, not
knowing that she was his half-sister, made great court to her; and being
full of admiration for her beauty, loved her out of measure, and kept
her a long season at Caerleon. Wherefore her husband, King Lot, was more
than ever King Arthur's enemy, and hated him till death with a passing
great hatred.
At that time King Arthur had a marvelous dream, which gave him great
disquietness of heart. He dreamed that the whole land was full of many
fiery griffins and serpents, which burnt and slew the people everywhere;
and then that he himself fought with them, and that they did him mighty
injuries, and wounded him nigh to death, but that at last he overcame
and slew them all. When he woke, he sat in great heaviness of spirit and
pensiveness, thinking what this dream might signify, but by-and-by, when
he could by no means satisfy himself what it might mean, to rid himself
of all his thoughts of it, he made ready with a great company to ride
out hunting.
As soon as he was in the forest, the king saw a great hart before him,
and spurred his horse, and rode long eagerly after it, and chased until
his horse lost breath and fell down dead from under him. Then, seeing
the hart escaped and his horse dead, he sat down by a fountain, and fell
into deep thought again. And as he sat there alone, he thought he heard
the noise of hounds, as it were some thirty couple in number, and
looking up he saw coming towards him the strangest beast that ever he
had seen or heard tell of, which ran towards the fountain and drank of
the water. Its head was like a serpent's, with a leopard's body and a
lion's tail, and it was footed like a stag; and the noise was in its
belly, as it were the baying or questing of thirty couple of hounds.
While it drank there was no noise within it; but presently, having
finished, it departed with a greater sound than ever.
The king was amazed at all this; but being greatly wearied, he fell
asleep, and was before long waked up by a knight on foot, who said,
"Knight, full of thought and sleepy, tell me if thou sawest a strange
beast pass this way?"
"Such a one I saw," said King Arthur to the knight, "but that is now two
miles distant at the least. What would you with that beast?"
"Sir," said the knight, "I have followed it for a long time, and have
killed my horse, and would to heaven I had another to pursue my quest
withal."
At that moment came a yeoman with another horse for the king, which,
when the knight saw, he earnestly prayed to be given him. "For I have
followed this quest," said he, "twelve months, and either I shall
achieve him or bleed of the best blood of my body."
It was King Pellinore who at that time followed the questing beast, but
neither he nor King Arthur knew each other.
"Sir Knight," said King Arthur, "leave that quest and suffer me to have
it, and I will follow it other twelve months."
"Ah, fool," said the knight, "thy desire is utterly in vain, for it
shall never be achieved but by me, or by my next of kin."
Therewith he started to the king's horse, and mounted to the saddle,
crying out, "Gramercy, this horse is mine!"
"Well," said the king, "thou mayest take my horse by force, and I will
not say nay; but till we prove whether thou or I be best on horseback, I
shall not rest content."
"Seek me here," said the knight, "whenever thou wilt, and here by this
fountain thou shalt find me;" and so he passed forth on his way.
Then sat King Arthur in a deep fit of study, and bade his yeomen fetch
him yet another horse as quickly as they could. And when they left him
all alone came Merlin, disguised as a child of fourteen years of age,
and saluted the king, and asked him why he was so pensive and heavy.
"I may well be pensive and heavy," he replied, "for here even now I have
seen the strangest sight I ever saw."
"That know I well," said Merlin, "as well as thyself, and also all thy
thoughts; but thou art foolish to take thought, for it will not amend
thee. Also I know what thou art, and know thy father and thy mother."
"That is false," said King Arthur; "how shouldst thou know? thy years
are not enough."
"Yea," said Merlin, "but I know better than thou how thou wast born, and
better than any man living."
"I will not believe thee," said King Arthur, and was wroth with the
child.
So Merlin departed, and came again in the likeness of an old man of
fourscore years of age; and the king was glad at his coming, for he
seemed wise and venerable. Then said the old man, "Why art thou so sad?"
"For divers reasons," said King Arthur; "for I have seen strange things
to-day, and but this moment there was here a child who told me things
beyond his years to know."
"Yea," said the old man, "but he told thee truth, and more he would have
told thee hadst thou suffered him. But I will tell thee wherefore thou
art sad, for thou hast done a thing of late for which God is displeased
with thee, and what it is thou knowest in thy heart, though no man else
may know."
"What are thou," said King Arthur, starting up all pale, "that tellest
me these tidings?"
"I am Merlin," said he, "and I was he in the child's likeness, also."
"Ah," said King Arthur, "thou art a marvelous and right fearful man, and
I would ask and tell thee many things this day."
As they talked came one with the king's horses, and so, King Arthur
mounting one, and Merlin another, they rode together to Caerleon; and
Merlin prophesied to Arthur of his death, and also foretold his own end.
And now King Arthur, having utterly dispersed and overwhelmed those
kings who had so long delayed his coronation, turned all his mind to
overthrow the Saxon heathens who yet in many places spoiled the land.
Calling together, therefore, his knights and men-at-arms, he rode with
all his hosts to York, where Colgrin, the Saxon, lay with a great army;
and there he fought a mighty battle, long and bloody, and drove him into
the city, and besieged him. Then Baldulph, Colgrin's brother, came
secretly with six thousand men to assail King Arthur and to raise the
siege. But King Arthur was aware of him, and sent six hundred horsemen
and three thousand foot to meet and fall on him instead. This therefore
they did, encountering them at midnight, and utterly defeated them, till
they fled away for life. But Baldulph, full of grief, resolved to share
his brother's peril; wherefore he shaved his head and beard, and
disguised himself as a jester, and so passed through King Arthur's camp,
singing and playing on a harp, till by degrees he drew near to the city
walls, where presently he made himself known, and was drawn up by ropes
into the town.
Anon, while Arthur closely watched the city, came news that full six
hundred ships had landed countless swarms of Saxons, under Cheldric, on
the eastern coast. At that he raised the siege, and marched straight to
London, and there increased his army, and took counsel with his barons
how to drive the Saxons from the land for evermore.
Then with his nephew, Hoel, King of the Armorican Britons, who came with
a great force to help him, King Arthur, with a mighty multitude of
barons, knights, and fighting men, went swiftly up to Lincoln, which the
Saxons lay besieging. And there he fought a passing fierce battle, and
made grievous slaughter, killing above six thousand men, till the main
body of them turned and fled. But he pursued them hotly into the wood of
Celidon, where, sheltering themselves among the trees from his arrows,
they made a stand, and for a long season bravely defended themselves.
Anon, he ordered all the trees in that part of the forest to be cut
down, leaving no shelter or ambush; and with their trunks and branches
made a mighty barricade, which shut them in and hindered their escape.
After three days, brought nigh to death by famine, they offered to give
up their wealth of gold and silver spoils, and to depart forthwith in
their empty ships; moreover, to pay tribute to King Arthur when they
reached their home, and to leave him hostages till all was paid.
This offer, therefore, he accepted, and suffered them to depart. But
when they had been a few hours at sea, they repented of their shameful
flight, and turned their ships back again, and landing at Totnes,
ravaged all the land as far as the Severn, and, burning and slaying on
all sides, bent their steps towards Bath.