THE Feast of Pentecost came, and there was again a great gathering of
kings, nobles, and knights at London to decide who should be King of
Britain. Once more a great many competitors came forward and strove to
draw out the magic sword; but pull and twist as they might, it remained
immovable in the grasp of all save Arthur, who drew it forth again and
again in the sight of lords and commons. Most people were by this time
weary of the long interregnum, and of the terrible evils it had brought
upon the land. When, therefore, Arthur once more came forth the only
successful competitor from the miraculous test, the assembly broke
out into loud cries that he and none other should be king. Thereupon,
without further ado, he was first knighted by the most distinguished
knight present, and then solemnly crowned by the Archbishop of
Canterbury. Forthwith he proceeded to appoint his great officers of the
household, making Sir Kay his seneschal, according to his promise,
Sir Lucas his butler, Sir Baldwin his constable, Sir Ulfius--a wise
counsellor, as well as a brave warrior--his chamberlain, and Sir
Brastias warden of the northern frontier. For some time King Arthur was
busied in redressing wrongs that had been committed and in restoring
order in the country round about London; but after a while he set
out for Wales, and appointed a great feast to be held at the city of
Caerleon, whereat the vassal kings and barons who had not yet given in
their allegiance might acknowledge him as their overlord. At the time
agreed upon, King Lot, King Urience, King Nanters, and several others
of those who had been among the most powerful competitors for the
crown, arrived in the neighbourhood of Caerleon, each bringing a strong
following of knights and men-at-arms, and they all encamped outside the
city. Arthur was glad to hear of their coming, supposing that they meant
to tender their fealty. He therefore sent out heralds to greet them,
with costly presents. But the kings had come with no amicable purpose.
They disdainfully informed the messengers that they would receive
no gifts from a beardless boy of base parentage, that they would not
acknowledge such a boy as their king, and that they had come to bestow
gifts on him in the shape of hard blows betwixt the neck and shoulders.
On receiving this answer to his friendly advance, Arthur forthwith took
measures of defence, gathered his knights about him, laid in a stock of
provisions and munitions, and caused the city gates to be closed. The
confederate kings thereupon advanced and laid siege to the city. A few
days after this civil war had begun, Merlin made his appearance in the
camp of the kings, and some of them, being old acquaintance of his,
greeted him heartily, and asked him how it was that an unknown youth
like Arthur had been placed on the throne of Britain. Merlin told them
plainly that it was because Arthur was the son of King Uther Pendragon,
and related all the circumstances connected with his birth. His story
made little impression; but though the confederates, being themselves
famed knights, and having a much larger army than Arthur, were confident
of victory, they proposed an interview with him, and sent him by Merlin
a safe-conduct to and from their camp. Acting on Merlin’s advice, the
king came out to meet them; but as a very lofty tone was taken on both
sides, the meeting was productive of nothing but threats and defiances,
except, indeed, that three hundred of the best knights in the rebel camp
were so impressed by Arthur’s bearing and language that they came over
to him in a body. Immediate preparations for battle were made on both
sides, and early the next morning Arthur and his followers suddenly
attacked the confederates in their camp. The surprise, as well as the
great valour of the king and his knights, gave them a considerable
advantage; but the numerical superiority of the enemy was so great that
at last they were decidedly gaining ground, when Arthur drew the magic
sword he had taken from the anvil. It flashed with a radiance equal, as
the chronicle says, to that of thirty torches, and the slaughter
which the king accomplished with it was so great that the enemy beat a
precipitate retreat, leaving numbers of dead upon the field.
But this brilliant success, however satisfactory in itself, was only
the beginning of the war. The confederate kings returned to their own
countries, induced several neighbouring princes to join their alliance,
and forthwith took measures to raise a great army. Arthur and his
knights, on their part, held anxious council as to what it would be most
expedient to do, and they were assisted by the wisdom and magic craft
of Merlin. The prophet warned them that unless they obtained help they
could not contend against the rebels, who counted among them some of the
best knights then alive; and he suggested that two trusty knights should
be sent over sea to King Ban of Benwick and King Bors of Gannes, who had
been feudatories of King Uther Pendragon, and were among the most famous
warriors of the time. They were, said Merlin, engaged in a desperate war
with King Claudas of Gaul; but he proposed that they should be invited
to give their help to King Arthur, on the understanding that when firmly
established on the British throne he should in return espouse their
quarrel against Claudas.
The advice being Merlin’s, was of course excellent, and it was
immediately followed. Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias were selected for the
mission. They crossed the sea in safety, but while making their way to
Benwick were assailed by eight of King Claudas’s knights. To Ulfius
and Brastias the odds of four to one were not at all alarming: they put
their spears in rest and successively overthrew all the eight, leaving
them so badly bruised as to be unable to mount their horses. The
emissaries then proceeded to Benwick, found there both the kings,
delivered their letters, and received a favourable answer. Ban and Bors
promised to come over at All-hallowmas with three hundred knights. King
Arthur therefore appointed a great tournament for that festival. The
kings arrived according to their promise, and were received with much
pomp and show. In company with Arthur, they were spectators of the
tournament, at which Sir Kay, Sir Lucas, and another distinguished
knight of the court, Sir Griflet, did great feats of arms, and gained
the prizes. On the following day, a council was held, at which Merlin
undertook, on being furnished with tokens of authority from the two
kings, to bring over their army to Britain with secrecy and expedition.
This he accomplished--transported ten thousand men across the
Channel, and conducted them to a concealed camp in the great forest of
Bede-graine, which at that time covered most of the country between
the rivers Trent and Humber. The enchanter then informed Arthur and
his guests of what he had done, and the three kings at once marched
northward with twenty thousand men, which was the total strength of the
force that Arthur was able to muster. Having effected a junction with
the troops of Benwick and Gannes, they waited for the advance of the
enemy.
Their patience was not long tried. The confederate princes had got
together a formidable host of fifty thousand men, with which they
marched towards Bedegraine as soon as they had got definite information
of Arthur’s whereabouts. The battle which ensued was one of the most
severe and obstinately contested in which the king was ever engaged. The
confederate kings had a great advantage in numbers, and some of them,
especially King Lot, were generals of proved skill and experience; but
all these advantages were more than counterbalanced by the knightly
prowess of Arthur and his friends, and by the fact that the craft of
Merlin was on Arthur’s side. The fighting lasted for two days. All the
leaders on both sides were again and again unhorsed and put in great
peril, only to be rescued by the valour of their fellows. The slaughter
was appalling; but at last the confederates were fairly beaten off the
field. Though their army was reduced to but fifteen thousand, however,
they took up a new position, and held it with indomitable courage.
Merlin now intervened. He told Arthur that it was time for him to
withdraw. He had won the field, and gained great spoils, which he must
divide between his own knights and his allies; but if he were to persist
in carrying on the struggle, fortune would begin to incline to the side
of his opponents. The wizard added that he could undertake that the
rebel kings would not molest Arthur for at least three years to come,
inasmuch as full employment had been found for them elsewhere, a great
army of Saxons having invaded their territories.
The time had not yet come, however, for Arthur to take peaceable
possession of his dominions. King Leodegrance of Cameliard, who has
already been mentioned as one of the chief and most loyal feudatories
of King Uther Pendragon, was at this time sorely pressed by Rience,
the Saxon King of North Wales, who was besieging him in his capital,
Carohaise. Merlin informed Arthur of his plight, and advised the king,
with Ban and Bors and the knights of the household, to go to his relief,
while the soldiery of Benwick and Gannes might be sent home to defend
their master’s territory against the troublesome Claudas. This advice
was followed. Arthur and his companions arrived at Carohaise, and having
entered the city without being observed by the besiegers, offered their
services to Leodegrance, on condition that no inquiry should be made
as to their name or quality. The offer was thankfully accepted, and an
opportunity was soon afforded them of proving their efficiency. Rience
suddenly attacked the city at the head of a large body of his troops.
Arthur and his companions armed themselves and hastened to sally out,
headed by Merlin, who carried a wonderful standard--a huge dragon, with
barbed tail and gaping jaws, whence there flashed actual sparks of fire.
When the little troop of knights, who in all numbered only forty-two,
arrived at the gate, they found it locked, and the porter refused to
give them egress without an order from King Leodegrance. There was no
time for parleying, so Merlin simply stepped forward and lifted the
ponderous gate out of its place, with all its locks, bolts, and bars,
calmly replacing it when the knights had passed through. He then resumed
his position at their head, and they swept down on a detachment of
the besiegers who were conducting a convoy to their camp, cut them to
pieces, and captured the convoy. Meanwhile Leodegrance, with the bulk of
his army, was fighting gallantly in another part of the field; but his
troops had not the prowess of Arthur and his companions, nor were they
supported by the necromancy of Merlin, so, being wofully outnumbered, it
is not surprising that they were defeated. Leodegrance himself was taken
prisoner, and was being led off to Rience’s camp by an escort of
five hundred knights, when Arthur and his little squadron made their
appearance, dispersed the escort, and rescued the king. The battle still
continued for some hours, during which Arthur distinguished himself by
cleaving in twain, by a single stroke of his sword, a giant fifteen
feet high who had ventured to encounter him in single combat.
Eventually Rience was utterly routed, and very few of his troops escaped
extermination. The immense spoils of his camp were given up, by order of
King Leodegrance, to Arthur, who forthwith divided them among the people
of Carohaise, and thereby much increased his already great popularity.
On his return to the city, Arthur was unarmed by the fair hands of
Guenever, the king’s daughter, whose beauty had already made a
deep impression on his heart; while the like honour was done to his
companions by the ladies of the court.
While Arthur was thus warring on behalf of King Leode-grance, the
confederate kings who had given him so much trouble were carrying on a
desperate struggle with the heathen invaders who had descended in swarms
upon their territories, and who also carried their ravages into the
dominions of Arthur himself. Gawaine, Agravaine, and Gaheris, the sons
of King Lot, with Galachin, the son of King Nanters, having learned from
their mothers that Arthur was in truth their uncle, and the son of King
Uther Pendragon, resolved to throw in their fortunes with his, and join
his company of knights. With this design they collected a small
force and set out. They were but unproved warriors; but incessantly
encountering on their journey great bodies of the persevering enemy who
was seeking to overrun Britain, they performed prodigies of valour, and
slaughtered thousands of the Saxons. Gawaine especially distinguished
himself. His strength, always greater than that of ordinary men, became
doubled between the hours of nine o’clock in the morning and noon, and
the same phenomenon again took place between three in the afternoon and
even-song. He generally contrived to engage in battle at those times of
the day when his prowess was greatest, and of course wrought terrible
havoc among the heathen, devoting his attention especially to the
giants, who were numerous in their ranks, and cutting them to pieces in
a fashion which rivalled the exploits of his uncle at Carohaise.
Having at length completely dispersed and overcome all the enemies they
could find, the young warriors made their way to London, and thence to
Camelot. In the meantime Arthur was engaged in a final struggle with
King Rience, who now had the aid of his brother, King Nero, King Lot of
Orkney, and others of the confederates. King Rience himself was taken
prisoner by some of ‘Arthur’s knights while on a nocturnal expedition;
and on the next day another great battle was fought, in which Nero was
totally defeated, and King Lot fell by the hand of one of Arthur’s most
formidable knights, King Pellinore--an event which laid the foundation
of a blood-feud that continued for many years.
In the realm of Britain there was now no longer any one who disputed
Arthurs title or supremacy. So he came to Camelot, and set up his court
there in great splendour, and many famous knights gathered about him.
But Sir Ulfius and others of his older counsellors often urged him to
take a wife, so that the realm might have a queen as well as a king.
Arthur was not displeased with this counsel, for the love he had felt
for Guenever when he first saw her at the court of her father King
Leodegrance had rather grown greater than less. So he sought the advice
of Merlin, who said he ought to marry, and asked him if there were any
lady that he loved. He answered frankly that his heart was set upon
Guenever.
“Sir,” answered Merlin, “the lady is one of the fairest that lives; but
if you did not love her so well, I would find you a queen of no less
beauty and goodness. Since, however, your heart is set upon her, it is
bootless to think of any other.”
Merlin said this because he was well aware that the king’s choice would
not be for his happiness; and he would have given him some warning, but
Arthur’s passion for Guenever was too strong to let him listen. Merlin
therefore offered no farther opposition, but went to Cameliard and asked
Leodegrance to give Arthur his daughter to wife, letting him know at the
same time that the great monarch who now sued for Guenever’s hand was
the same unknown champion who had rescued him from the sword of King
Rience. Gratitude alone would have made Leodegrance favour the suit of
one who had given such decisive proof that he possessed the qualities
most esteemed in those troublous times; and he was naturally overjoyed
on learning that the knight who had already won his daughter’s heart,
and now sought her hand, was none other than his liege lord. Guenever
was not less pleased; and when Merlin escorted her to Loudon, where her
bridegroom was awaiting her, he took with him also the Round Table, and
as many of its knights as still remained, by way of a marriage gift from
King Leodegrance. Arthur gave the princess a right royal welcome, and
avowed that the Round Table and its gallant company were more welcome to
him than any other dower that Leodegrance could have bestowed with his
daughter.
The number of “sieges” or seats at the Round Table was a hundred and
fifty, but the knights sent by the King of Cameliard only numbered a
hundred. Arthur was anxious to have all the seats filled before his
marriage, and urged Merlin to collect all the knights worthy of the
honour whom he could find. The necromancer obeyed; but though he used
his utmost diligence, there were still several vacant seats at the
table. Each seat was then solemnly consecrated by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and the knights all swore the oath of which the terms were
set forth in the first chapter of this chronicle. Then Arthur’s nephew,
Gawaine, came forward and asked a boon of his uncle.
“Ask,” said the king, “and I will grant it.”
“Sir,” answered Gawaine, “I beg that you will make me knight on the same
day that you wed Queen Guenever.”
“That will I do with a good will,” Arthur replied; “both because you are
my sister’s son, and because you have already proved yourself a man of
valour and worship in the field.”
[Illustration: 050]
But before the day appointed for the marriage, King Arthur held a great
feast at Camelot, that lasted for eight days; and one time, while the
king and all his counsellors and knights were gathered in the hall of
the palace, there came before him a squire leading a horse, on which
there sat a knight wounded to the death. The squire said that there was
a knight in the forest who had set up a pavilion by the wayside, and
forced every knight that passed to joust with him, and that he had now
mortally stricken the knight before them. At this there was a great
outcry in the court, and many were eager to undertake the adventure;
but Sir Griflet besought Arthur, for the sake of all the services he had
rendered, to give it to him. The king consented,’ though unwillingly,
for Griflet was but a young knight, and Merlin said that the knight of
the pavilion was one of the best in the world. Sir Griflet, however,
entreated the king, who let him go, on a promise that he would return
and relate whatever befell him.
Sir Griflet armed himself accordingly, and rode forth in all haste;
and presently he came to a fountain by the wayside, where he saw a rich
pavilion, and a strong horse standing under a tree, on which hung a
shield with a device of many colours, and a great spear. Then Griflet
lifted his own spear and smote the shield, so that it fell to the
ground. With that, a knight came out of the pavilion, and said, “Fair
knight, why smote you down my shield?”
“Because I will joust with you,” answered Sir Griflet.
“It were better you did not,” said the knight, full courteously, “for
you are but young, and newly made knight, and your might is nothing to
mine.”
“Let that be as it may,” said Griflet, “I will joust with you.”
“It is not at my desire,” returned the other; “but since no better may
be, you shall have your wish.” Then he took his spear and shield, and
got on his horse, and they rode together. Griflet’s spear was shivered
on the strange knight’s shield; but the latter smote Griflet through
his armour and his left side, so that horse and man fell down. When the
knight saw that, he was sorry; but hee unlaced Griflet’s helm, and,
when he was a little recovered, helped him on his horse, and bade him
farewell, saying that he had a mighty heart, and that if he lived he
would prove a passing good knight. With that Griflet rode to the court,
and told his tale as well as he could; but he was for long in great
danger, and only through the skill of the leeches was his life saved.
Now King Arthur was exceedingly wroth that Griflet was hurt, and early
the next morning he armed himself secretly and went forth to seek the
stranger-knight. As he rode, he saw Merlin running, chased by three
churls, so he galloped toward them, and when they saw him coming they
fled.
“Now, Merlin,” exclaimed the king, “here wouldst thou have been slain,
in spite of all thy craft, had I not come.”
“Not so,” answered Merlin; “I could have saved myself if I would. But
you, sir, are nearer your death than I, for you are now going to your
death if God do not befriend you.”
But the king would not quit the adventure; so he and Merlin rode along,
till they came to the pavilion by the side of the fountain; and the
knight was sitting within the pavilion all armed.
“Sir Knight,” said Arthur, “for what cause abideth thou here, that no
knight may ride this way but that he joust with thee? I advise thee to
leave that custom.”
“That custom,” answered the knight, “I have used, and will use, whoever
may forbid it; and whoever is grieved by it may amend it if he can.”
“I will amend it,” said the king.
“And I shall defend it,” said the knight. He took his shield and spear,
and mounted his horse, and he and the king ran together with such force
that both their spears were broken, but neither lost his seat. Then King
Arthur drew his sword.
[Illustration: 056]
“Nay,” said the knight, “let us try another course with spears.”
“Right willingly,” answered the king, “if I had another spear.”
“I have spears enough,” said the knight; and forthwith a squire brought
two new spears from the pavilion. Again the two knights came together so
mightily that the spears were broken.
“You are,” quoth the stranger, “as good a jouster as ever I met withal.
For the love of the high order of knighthood let us joust it once
again.”
“I assent,” replied the king; so new spears were brought, and they
tilted for the third time. But now it was only Arthur’s spear that broke
scathless. The strange knight smote the centre of the king’s shield so
hard that horse and man went to the ground. Then was King Arthur sore
angered, and he drew his sword and said,--
“I will assay thee, Sir Knight, on foot, for I have lost the honour on
horseback.”
“I will be on horseback,” answered the stranger. But as the king drew
near he sprang from his horse lest it should be slain. Then he also
drew his sword, and they fought furiously together, and struck strong
strokes, giving each other many wounds; and they both grew at last so
wearied that they could scarce stand. It chanced that as their swords
clashed together, Arthur’s sword broke in two pieces. Then said the
knight,--
“Thou art at my mercy, whether I list to spare thee or slay thee, and if
thou do not yield as recreant, thou shalt die.”
“As for death,” answered the king, “welcome be it when it cometh; but
rather than be so shamed as to yield recreant, I had liever die.” Then
suddenly he leaped upon the other, and took him by the middle, and threw
him to the ground But the strange knight was of exceeding strength,
and he got the king under him, and raised his sword to slay him. Then
Merlin, who had stood by, came up, and said,--
“Sir Knight, hold thy hand, for if thou slayest this knight thou wilt do
this kingdom great damage. He is a man of greater rank than thou knowest
of.”
“Why, who is he?” said the knight.
“It is King Arthur,” was the answer.
Then the stranger raised his sword again to kill the king, for he
dreaded his wrath; but Merlin cast such an enchantment upon him that
he fell asleep. After that, Merlin set the king on his horse again, and
himself took the knight’s horse, and they rode away together.
“Alas!” cried the king, “what have you done, Merlin? Have you slain that
good knight by your crafts? He is the best man of his hands that ever I
met, and I would rather lose a year’s rents than that he should die.”
“Fear nothing, sir,” answered Merlin. “He is more whole than you are. He
is but asleep, and will wake within these three hours.” And he told the
king that the knight was Sir Pellinore--the same that had slain King
Lot.
Then they rode to a hermitage where dwelt a holy man that was an
excellent leech, and he searched the king’s wounds, and healed them in
three days. Then they departed; and as they went Arthur said to Merlin,
“I have no sword.”
“No matter,” answered Merlin, “near by there is a sword that shall be
yours if all go well.”
Presently they came to a lake, and in the middle of it the king saw an
arm thrust out of the water, clothed in white samite, that held a fair
sword in the hand.
“Yonder,” said Merlin, “is the sword I spoke of.” Just then they saw a
damsel walking by the lake.
“What damsel is that?” asked the king.
Merlin said she was the lady of the lake, and that the sword belonged to
her; but if he spoke her fair, she would doubtless give it him. Then the
king saluted the damsel, and asked what sword that was, held up above
the water, and said he would it were his, for he had none.
“Sir King,” answered the lady, “that sword is mine, and if you will give
me a gift when I ask you, you shall have it.”
This the king gladly promised; and then she bade him take a boat that
was there, and row out to the sword and take it, and she would ask for
her gift when she saw fit. The king obeyed her direction, and took the
sword; and when he held it in his hand, he liked it exceedingly. Merlin
told him that its name was Excalibur, which signifies “cut-steel;” but
that the scabbard was still more precious than the sword, for while he
wore it he could lose no blood, no matter how sorely he was wounded.
Then the king and Merlin returned to Camelot, where all the court
greeted them joyfully; and when King Arthur’s adventures were told, all
the knights were happy to be under chief who was as ready to put his
person in peril as any one of them.