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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:34 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:34:34 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10472-0.txt b/10472-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a6b703c --- /dev/null +++ b/10472-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5148 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10472 *** + +ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN DE BRUT + +by + +WACE + + +TRANSLATED BY EUGENE MASON + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + "... In the chronicle of wasted time + I see descriptions of the fairest wights, + And beauty making beautiful old rhyme, + In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights." + + SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet cvi. + + +I.--WACE + +In the long line of Arthurian chroniclers Geoffrey of Monmouth +deservedly occupies the first place. The most gifted and the most +original of their number, by his skilful treatment of the Arthurian +story in his _Historia Regum Britanniae_, he succeeded in uniting +scattered legends attached to Arthur's name, and in definitely +establishing their place in chronicle history in a form that persisted +throughout the later British historical annals. His theme and his +manner of presenting it were both peculiarly adapted to win the favour +of his public, and his work attained a popularity that was almost +unprecedented in an age that knew no printed books. Not only was it +accepted as an authority by British historians, but French chroniclers +also used it for their own purposes. + +About the year 1150, five years before the death of Geoffrey, an +Anglo-Norman, Geoffrey Gaimar, wrote the first French metrical chronicle. +It consisted of two parts, the _Estorie des Bretons_ and the _Estorie des +Engles_, of which only the latter is extant, but the former is known to +have been a rhymed translation of the _Historia_ of Geoffrey of Monmouth. +Gaimar's work might possibly have had a longer life if it had not been +cast into the shade by another chronicle in verse, the _Roman de Brut_, +by a Norman poet, Wace, which fills an important and interesting place +among our Arthurian sources, not merely because of the author's qualities +as a poet and his treatment of the Arthurian story, but also because of +the type of composition that he produced. For the metrical chronicle +occupies an intermediate position between the prose chronicle, one of the +favourite forms of mediaeval monastic production throughout Europe, and +the metrical romance, which budded and blossomed most richly in France, +where, during the last half of the twelfth century, it received its +greatest impulse from Crestien de Troies, the most distinguished of the +_trouvères_. The metrical romances were written for court circles, and +were used as a vehicle for recounting adventures of love and chivalry, +and for setting forth the code of behaviour which governed the courtly +life of France at that period. Wace's poem, though based upon chronicle +history, is addressed to a public whose taste was turning toward chivalric +narrative, and it foreshadows those qualities that characterised the verse +romances, for which no more fitting themes could be found than those +supplied by the stories of Arthurian heroes, whose prowess teaches us that +we should be valiant and courteous. Wace saw the greater part of the +twelfth century. We cannot be certain of the exact year of his birth or +of his death, but we know that he lived approximately from 1100 to 1175. +Practically all our information about his life is what he himself tells +us in his _Roman de Rou_:-- + +"If anybody asks who said this, who put this history into the Romance +language, I say and I will say to him that I am Wace of the isle of +Jersey, which lies in the sea, toward the west, and is a part of the +fief of Normandy. In the isle of Jersey I was born, and to Caen I +was taken as a little lad; there I was put at the study of letters; +afterward I studied long in France.[1] When I came back from France, I +dwelt long at Caen. I busied myself with making books in Romance; many +of them I wrote and many of them I made." + +Before 1135 he was a _clerc lisant_ (reading clerk), and at length, +he says, his writings won for him from Henry II. preferment to the +position of canon at Bayeux. He was more author, however, than +prebendary, and he gave his first effort and interest to his writings. +He composed a number of saints' lives, which are still extant, but his +two most important works were his historical poems, the _Roman de Brut_ +and the _Roman de Rou_ (i.e. Rollo), a chronicle history of the Dukes of +Normandy. This latter was Wace's last production, and beside having a +literary and historic importance, it has a rather pathetic interest. +He had begun it in 1160, in obedience to a command of Henry II, but +for some unknown reason Henry later transferred the honour to another +poet. Wace laid aside his pen, left his work incomplete, and probably +soon after died. + +"Since the king has asked him to do this work, I must leave it and I +must say no more. Of old the king did me many a favour; much he gave +me, more he promised me, and if he had given all that he promised me, +it had been better for me. Here ends the book of Master Wace; let him +continue it who will." [2] + +Some twenty years earlier, in 1155, Wace had completed the _Roman de +Brut_. He himself called it the _Geste des Bretons_ ("History of the +Britons"), but it is best known under the title that appears in the +manuscripts, the _Roman de Brut_, given to it by scribes because of its +connection with Brutus, the founder of the British race. The Brut is a +reproduction in verse of Geoffrey's _Historia_. To call it a translation +is almost to give it a misnomer, for although Wace follows exactly +the order and substance of the _Historia_, he was more than a mere +translator, and was too much of a poet not to impress his own +individuality upon his work. He makes some few additions to +Geoffrey's Arthurian history, but his real contribution to the legend +is the new spirit that he put into it. In the first place his vehicle +is the swift-moving French octo-syllabic couplet, which alone gives +an entirely different tone to the narrative from that of Geoffrey's +high-sounding Latin prose. Wace, moreover, was Norman born and Norman +bred, and he inherited the possessions of his race--a love of fact, +the power of clear thought, the appreciation of simplicity, the +command of elegance in form. Such a spirit indeed was his as in a +finer type had already expressed itself in Caen in the two noble +abbeys, under whose shadow he passed the greater part of his life, +the dignified and sternly simple Abbaye-aux-Hommes of William the +Conqueror and the graceful, richly ornamented Abbaye-aux-Dames of +Queen Matilda. Sincerity and truth Wace ever aims at, but he +embellishes his narrative with countless imaginative details. As a +narrator he has the tendency to garrulity, which few mediaeval poets +altogether escaped, but he is by no means without conversational +charm, and in brief sentences abounding in colloquial turns, he leads +us easily on with seldom flagging interest even through those pages +where he is most inclined to be prolix. He is a systematic person with +accurate mental habits, and is keenly alive to the limitations of his +own knowledge. He doubtless often had to bid his common sense console +him with the reflections with which he begins his _Life of St. +Nicholas_:--"Nobody can know everything, or hear everything, or see +everything ... God distributes different gifts to different people. +Each man should show his worth in that which God has given him." + +He is extremely careful to give his authorities for his statements, +and has all the shyness of an antiquarian toward facts for which he +has not full proof. Through Breton tales, for example, he heard of the +fairy fountain of Barenton in the forest of Broceliande, where fays +and many another marvel were to be seen, and he determined to visit +it in order to find out how true these stories were. "I went there +to look for marvels. I saw the forest and I saw the land; I sought +marvels, but I found none. A fool I came back, a fool I went; a fool I +went, a fool I came back; foolishness I sought, a fool I hold myself." +[3] The wonders related of Arthur, he tells us, have been recounted so +often that they have become fables. "Not all lies, nor all true, all +foolishness, nor all sense; so much have the storytellers told, and so +much have the makers of fables fabled to embellish their stories that +they have made all seem fable." [4] He omits the prophecies of Merlin +from his narrative, because he does not understand them. "I am not +willing to translate his book, because I do not know how to interpret +it. I would say nothing that was not exactly as I said." [5] To this +scrupulous regard for the truth, absolutely foreign to the ingenious +Geoffrey, Wace adds an unusual power of visualising. He sees clearly +everything that he describes, and decorates his narrative with almost +such minute details of any scene as a seventeenth-century Dutch +painter loved to put upon his canvas. The most famous instance of +this power is his description of Arthur's embarkation for the +Roman campaign. Geoffrey, after saying simply that Arthur went to +Southampton, where the wind was fair, passes at once to the dream that +came to the king on his voyage across the Channel. But Wace paints +a complete word-picture of the scene. Here you may see the crews +gathering, there the ships preparing, yonder friends exchanging +parting words, on this side commanders calling orders, on that, +sailors manning the vessels, and then the fleet speeding over the +waves.[6] Another spirited example of this same characteristic is +found in the _Roman de Rou_ [7] in the stirring account of the advance of +the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings:-- + +"Taillefer, who sang right well, mounted on a charger that went +swiftly, rode before the duke singing of Charlemagne and of Roland, +and of Oliver and the vassals who died at Roncesval. When they had +ridden until they came close to the English, 'Sire,' said Taillefer, +'a grace! I have served you long; for all my service, you owe me a +debt. To-day, an it please you, repay it me. For all my guerdon I beg +you and fervently I pray you, grant me to deal the first blow in the +battle!' The duke replied, 'I grant it.' And Taillefer pricked on +at full gallop, on before all the others he pressed. He struck an +Englishman and killed him; beneath the breast, clean through the body +he thrust his lance; he felled him down full length on the ground; +then he drew his sword, he struck another; then he cried, 'On, on! +What do ye? Strike, strike!' Then the English surrounded him at the +second blow that he dealt. Hark to the noise raised and the cries!" + +Apart from matters of style, Wace made other changes from Geoffrey's +narrative that are more important for Arthurian romance. He wrote the +_Brut_ under the patronage of Henry II, and, if we may trust Layamon's +statement, he dedicated it to Queen Eleanor, who was the ardent +propagator in England of the courtly ideals of southern France. +Accordingly Wace, perhaps partly because of his own milieu, partly +because of his royal patroness, wove into Geoffrey's narrative more +pronouncedly chivalric material. The lack of the courtly virtue of +mesure (moderation) that is noticeable in Geoffrey's Arthur, Wace is +careful to conceal; he gives, furthermore, a place to the descriptions +of love, which fill so many lines in the later romances, but which are +absent from Geoffrey's pages. Gawain, for instance, who is "valiant +and of very great moderation," declares that jesting and the delights +of love are good, and that for the sake of his lady a young knight +performs deeds of chivalry.[8] In addition to these changes, which +are to be attributed to his personal bent and surroundings, Wace also +makes it clear that he was conversant with stories of Arthur quite +independent of the _Historia_. Fables about Arthur he himself says that +he had heard, as we have seen, and from these he adds to Geoffrey's +narrative two that bear unmistakable signs of a Celtic origin, and +that were destined to become important elements in later romance; for +he gives us the first literary record of the famous Round Table, [9] +and the first definite mention in literature of the "hope of Britain." [10] + +Wace is not to be regarded as one of the great contributors to our +knowledge of Arthurian legend, but without a familiarity with his +work, later French romance can scarcely be appreciated, so important +is his place as a delicate transformer of the story, the harsher +elements of which he veiled with the courtliness familiar to him, +while he diffused throughout it the indefinable spirit of French +romance; and this he did with the naive simplicity and grace that were +his by birth and temperament. + + + + +II.--LAYAMON + + +To Wace we owe still another debt, for the _Roman de Brut_ served as +the direct source for one of the greatest members of the Arthurian +literature of any period. This is the _Brut_, written in the first half +of the thirteenth century, after the year 1204, by Layamon, an English +priest of the country parish of Lower Arnley in Worcestershire. + +"There was a priest in the land, who was named Layamon; he was son of +Leovenath--may the Lord be gracious to him!--he dwelt at Ernley, at a +noble church upon Severn's bank,--good it there seemed to him--near +Radestone, where he books read. It came to him in mind, and in his +chief thought, that he would tell the noble deeds of the English; what +they were named, and whence they came, who first possessed the English +land, after the flood that came from the Lord.... Layamon began to +journey wide over this land, and procured the noble books which he +took for pattern. He took the English book that Saint Bede made; +another he took in Latin, that Saint Albin made, and the fair Austin, +who brought baptism in hither; the third book he took, and laid there +in the midst, that a French clerk made, who was named Wace, who well +could write; and he gave it to the noble Eleanor, who was the high +King Henry's queen. Layamon laid before him these books, and turned +over the leaves; lovingly he beheld them--may the Lord be merciful to +him!--pen he took with fingers, and wrote on book-skin, and the true +words set together, and the three books compressed into one. Now +prayeth Layamon, for love of the Almighty God, each good man that +shall read this book and learn this counsel, that he say together +these soothfast words, for his father's soul, who brought him forth, +and for his mother's soul, who bore him to be man, and for his own +soul, that it be the better. Amen!" [11] + +With these words Layamon introduces us to his book and to himself; in +fact they contain the sum total of our information about his life. But +they put us at once into sympathy with the earnest, sincere student, +who wrote, not like Geoffrey and Wace, for the favour of a high-born +patron, but for the love of England and of good men and his few +hardly-won and treasured books. Of these books Wace's _Brut_ received +the lion's share of his attention, and he made little or no use of the +others that lay before him. + +He followed Wace's poem in outline, but he succeeded in extending its +15,300 verses to 32,241, by giving a free rein to his fancy, which he +often allowed to set the pace for his pen. For Layamon in his retired +parish, performing the monotonous and far from engrossing duties of a +reading clerk,[12] lived in reality a stirring life of the imagination. +Back in the Saxon past of England his thoughts moved, and his mind +dwelt on her national epic heroes. Not only in his language, which +belongs to the period of transition from Anglo-Saxon to Middle +English, but in his verse [13] and phraseology, he shows the +influence of earlier Anglo-Saxon literature. The sound of the _Ode on +Athelstane's Victory_ and of _Beowulf_ is in our ears as we read his +intense, stirring lines. Wars and battles, the stern career of a Saxon +leader, the life of the woods and fields attracted him far more than +the refinements of a Norman court, and by emphasising the elements +that were most congenial to himself he developed an entirely different +picture from that presented by either Geoffrey or Wace. Writing with +intense interest, he lives and moves and has his being among the +events that he is narrating, and is far too deeply absorbed in his +story to limit himself to the page that he has before him. Given a +dramatic situation, the actors become living personalities to him, and +he hears impassioned words falling from their lips in terse phrases +such as he never found in the lines of Wace. Uther Pendragon, in a +deadly battle against the Irish invaders under Gillomar and Pascent, +slays Gillomar, then overtakes Pascent:-- + +"And said these words Uther the Good: 'Pascent, thou shalt abide; here +cometh Uther riding!' He smote him upon the head, so that he fell +down, and the sword put in his mouth--such meat to him was strange--so +that the point of the sword went in the earth. Then said Uther, +'Pascent, lie now there; now thou hast Britain all won to thy hand! So +is now hap to thee; therein thou art dead; dwell ye shall here, thou, +and Gillomar thy companion, and possess well Britain! For now I +deliver it to you in hand, so that ye may presently dwell with us +here; ye need not ever dread who you shall feed.'" [14] + +Arthur leads his men close to the hosts of Colgrim, the leader of the +Saxon invaders:-- + +"Thus said Arthur, noblest of kings: 'See ye, my Britons, here beside +us, our full foes,--Christ destroy them!--Colgrim the strong, out of +Saxonland? His kin in this land killed our ancestors; but now is the +day come, that the Lord hath appointed that he shall lose the life, +and lose his friends, or else we shall be dead; we may not see him +alive!....' Up caught Arthur his shield, before his breast, and he gan +to rush as the howling wolf, when he cometh from the wood, behung +with snow, and thinketh to bite such beasts as he liketh. Arthur then +called to his dear knights: 'Advance we quickly, brave thanes! all +together towards them; we all shall do well, and they forth fly, as +the high wood, when the furious wind heaveth it with strength.' Flew +over the [fields] thirty thousand shields, and smote on Colgrim's +knights, so that the earth shook again. Brake the broad spears, +shivered shields; the Saxish men fell to the ground.... Some they +gan wander as the wild crane doth in the moor-fen, when his flight is +impaired, and swift hawks pursue after him, and hounds with mischief +meet him in the reeds; then is neither good to him nor the land nor +the flood; the hawks him smite, the hounds him bite, then is the royal +fowl at his death-time." [15] + +Layamon lets his imagination display itself not merely in the dramatic +speeches that he puts into the mouths of his actors; he occasionally +composes a long incident, as in the story of the coronation of +Constans,[16] of the announcement to Arthur of Mordred's treachery,[17] +and in the very striking account of Arthur's election to the throne of +Britain and his reception of the messengers who come for him. "Arthur +sate full still; one while he was wan, and in hue exceeding pale; one +while he was red, and was moved in heart. When it all brake forth, it +was good that he spake; thus said he then, forthright, Arthur, the +noble knight: 'Lord Christ, God's Son, be to us now in aid, that I may +in life hold God's laws.'" [18] But in general Layamon's expansions +of Wace are merely slight additions or modifications, sufficient in +number, however, to go far in doubling the size of the volume. His +great change is that which I have already mentioned, the spirit in +which the story is conceived, and this is best illustrated, perhaps, +in the person of Arthur himself. For Arthur is no knight-errant, but +a grim, stern, ferocious Saxon warrior, loved by his subjects, yet +dreaded by them as well as by his foes. "Was never ere such king, so +doughty through all things." He stands in the cold glare of monarchy +and conquest, and save in the story of his birth and of his final +battle he is seldom, if ever, seen through the softer light of +romance. But Layamon is the only source for the story of which we hear +nothing in the later romances, and which is generally attributed to a +Teutonic origin, that elves came to Arthur's cradle and gave him good +gifts--to be the best of knights, a rich king, long lived, abounding +in "virtues most good." Layamon, too, gives a truly Celtic version +of Arthur's disappearance from earth. Two fairy maidens bear the wounded +king in a boat from the battle-field over the sea to Argante, the queen +of Avalon, who will make him whole again. "And the Britons ever expect +when Arthur shall return." This story, and also Layamon's very important +account of the establishment of the Round Table, which is vastly more +complete than Wace's, bear unmistakable marks of a Celtic origin. Layamon, +in fact, living as he did near the Welsh border, naturally shows +familiarity with current Welsh tradition. His work has a high value in +the vexed question of the origin and growth of Arthurian romance; for +it proves the existence of genuine Welsh tradition about Arthur, and +makes untenable the position of those critics who maintain that the +Arthurian legend had an independent development only on the continent. + +Layamon's contributions to our knowledge of the Arthurian material +are, however, comparatively small, since he augmented his original in +the main by passages inspired by his own imagination.[19] His additions +may be called poetic rather than legendary. Partly because of its +Saxon character his _Brut_ never attained wide popularity, and it had +little effect upon the cycle; but it remains one of the most truly +great literary achievements in the field of both Arthurian chronicle +and romance. + +Our three most important Arthurian chroniclers, Geoffrey, Wace, and +Layamon, were all men of marked individuality and ability; each lives +for us with as distinct a personality as if we had far more than our +very imperfect knowledge of the details of his life. Geoffrey, a +clever combiner, a highly gifted narrator and scholar, born at a happy +hour, gave the Arthurian legend a definite literary form, brought +permanently together independent elements of tradition, and +contributed enormously to the popularity of the cycle. Wace, the +professional author, the scrupulous antiquarian and naïve poet, +carefully refined the material of Geoffrey, and dressed it in the +French costume of courtly life. Layamon, the intense and imaginative +English priest, transformed it by the Saxon spirit, and divesting it +of its courtly elegance, filled it with greater simplicity and force. + + + + +EXCURSUS I.--ARTHUR'S MAGIC POSSESSIONS + + +Arthur's magic possessions form a prominent element in Welsh +tradition, and their appearance in the early chronicles is an +important testimony to the diffusion of Welsh legend. _Kilhwch and +Olwen_ contains a list of his belongings, all of which there is +reason to believe, from record or from logical inference, were of +otherworld origin. Each has its significant proper name, which in most +cases conveys the idea of brilliant whiteness, a characteristic of +Celtic fairy objects. His ship, for example, is named White Form, +his shield "Night Gainsayer," his dagger "White Haft." The _Dream of +Rhonabwy_ [20] describes his carpet (or mantle), "White," which had the +property of retaining no colour but its own, and of making whoever +was on it (or wrapped in it) invisible, and also his sword, +"Hard-breacher," graven with two serpents from whose jaws two flames +of fire seemed to burst when it was unsheathed, "and then so wonderful +was the sword that it was hard for any one to look upon it." This +sword (Caletvwlch, Caliburn, Excalibur) is a Pan-Celtic marvellous +object, and is one of Arthur's most famous possessions. The deadly +blows attributed by Nennius to him in the Battle of Mount Badon +without doubt traditionally were dealt by Caliburn. Geoffrey of +Monmouth recognised it as a fairy sword, and says that it was made in +Avalon, namely, the Celtic otherworld. We may also feel confident that +the full panoply of armour with which Geoffrey equips Arthur (ix. 4) +consisted of magic objects, although Geoffrey, who in general, as an +historian, rationalises the supernatural, merely describes them as +amazingly efficacious. The shield he calls by the name of Arthur's +ship in Welsh sources, Pridwen (evidently a fairy boat, limitless in +capacity), either from some confusion in tradition, or because, being +enchanted, Pridwen might, of course, serve as either ship or shield. + +Layamon adds further information about Arthur's weapons. His burny, +he says (vs. 21133-34) "was named Wygar" (Anglo-Saxon _wigheard_), +"Battle-hard," "which Witeze wrought," Witeze being a corrupted form +for Widia, the Anglo-Saxon name of the son of Weland, the Teutonic +Vulcan, a famous maker of magic weapons in romance, with whom his son +might easily become identified in legend. + +This is the explanation given by Professor G.L. Kittredge of the above +lines, as a correction of Sir Frederic Madden's translation: "he +[namely, the smith who made the burny] was named Wygar, the witty +wight." Layamon says (v. 21147) that Arthur's helmet was called +Goswhit, a name that is evidently a translation of some Welsh term +meaning "goosewhite," which at once classes the helmet with Arthur's +dazzlingly bright fairy belongings. Moreover, Layamon says (vs. 21158, +23779 ff.) that his spear Ron (a Welsh common noun, meaning "spear") +was made by a smith called Griffin, whose name may be the result of an +English substitution of the familiar word _griffin_ for the unfamiliar +_Gofan_, the name of the Celtic smith-god. These facts are mainly +important as testimony to the Celtic element in Arthurian romance, and +especially to Layamon's use of current Welsh Arthurian tradition. The +large variety of magical possessions assigned to Arthur is also a +notable indication of the great emphasis that Welsh legend laid +upon his mythological attributes and his character as otherworld +adventurer. + +[The above facts have been established and discussed by Professor +A.C.L. Brown in his article on the Round Table (p. 199, note 1) cited +below in Excursus II.; also in _Iwain_, Boston, 1903, p. 79, note +1; _Modern Philology_, I., 5-8; _Publications of the Modern Language +Association of America_, XXV., 25 ff. See also the notes on the lines +cited from Layamon in Sir Frederic Madden's edition of the _Brut_. For +other magic possessions of Arthur, see below, Excursus II.] + + + + +EXCURSUS II.--THE ROUND TABLE + +(Wace, _Brut_, vs. 9994 ff., 10555, 13675; Layamon, vs. 22736 ff.) + + +Our earliest authority for the story of the Round Table is Wace. He +and Layamon agree in calling it a tale of the Britons, and in saying +that Arthur had it made to prevent rivalry as to place among his +vassals when they sat at meat. Layamon, however, expands the few lines +that Wace devotes to the subject into one of his longest additions to +his source, by introducing the story of a savage fight for precedence +at a court feast, which was the immediate cause for fashioning the +Round Table, a magical object. Ancient sources prove that the Celts +had a grievous habit of quarrelling about precedence at banquets, +probably because it was their custom to bestow the largest portion of +meat upon the bravest warrior. It was also their practice to banquet +seated in a circle with the most valiant chieftain of the company +placed in the middle, possibly owing to the circular form of their +huts, possibly for the sake of avoiding the disputes that so commonly +disturbed their feastings. The Round Table, accordingly, is to be +regarded as a Pan-Celtic institution of early date, and as one of the +belongings that would naturally be attributed by popular tradition +to any peculiarly distinguished leader. Layamon's version so closely +parallels early Celtic stories of banquet fights, and has so barbaric +a tone, as to make it evident that he is here recounting a folk-tale +of pure Celtic origin, which must have been connected with Arthur +before his time, and probably before that of Wace; for this story was +undoubtedly one of those "many fables" which Wace says the Britons +told about the Round Table, but which he does not incorporate into his +narrative. + +[See A.C.L. Brown, _The Round Table before Wace in Studies and Notes +in Philology and Literature_, VII. (Boston, 1900), 183 ff.; L.F. Mott, +_Publications of the Modern Language Association of America_, XX, 231 +ff.; J.L. Weston, as above (p. xv.), pp. 883 ft.] + + + + +EXCURSUS III.--THE HOPE OF BRITAIN + +(Wace, _Brut_, 13681 ff.; Layamon, 23080 ff., 28610 ff.) + + +The belief that Arthur would return to earth, which was firmly +established among the Britons by the beginning of the twelfth +century, does not in early records appear clothed in any definite +narrative form. In later sources it assumes several phases, +the most common of which is that recorded by Layamon that Arthur had +been taken by fays from his final battle-field to Avalon, the Celtic +otherworld, whence after the healing of his mortal wound he would +return to earth. Layamon's story conforms essentially to an early type +of Celtic fairy-mistress story, according to which a valorous hero, in +response to the summons of a fay who has set her love upon him, under +the guidance of a fairy messenger sails over seas to the otherworld, +where he remains for an indefinite time in happiness, oblivious of +earth. It is easy to see that the belief that Arthur was still living, +though not in this world, might gradually take shape in such a form as +this, and that his absence from his country might be interpreted as +his prolonged sojourn in the distant land of a fairy queen, who was +proffering him, not the delights of her love, but healing for his +wounds, in order that when he was made whole again he might return "to +help the Britons." Historic, mythical, and romantic tradition have +combined to produce the version that Layamon records. Geoffrey of +Monmouth (xi. 2), writing in the mock role of serious historian and +with a tendency to rationalisation, says not a word of the wounded +king's possible return to earth. Wace, with characteristic caution, +affirms that he will not commit himself as to whether the Britons, who +say that Arthur is still in Avalon, speak the truth or not. Here, as +in the story of the Round Table, it is Layamon who has preserved for +us what was undoubtedly the form that the belief had already assumed +in Celtic story, through whatever medium it may have passed before it +reached his hands. + +In the _Vita Merlini_,[21] a Latin poem attributed by some scholars to +Geoffrey of Monmouth, a curious version of Arthur's stay in Avalon is +given. The wounded king is taken after the battle of Camlan to the +Isle of Apples (for such was understood to be the meaning of the +name _Avalon_), which is the domain of a supernatural maiden, wise and +beautiful, Morgen by name, who understands the healing art, and who +promises the king that he shall be made whole again if he abides long +with her. This is the first mention in literature of Morgan la Fée, +the most powerful fay of French romance, and regularly the traditional +healer of Arthur's wounds in Avalon. + +The Argante of Layamon's version is doubtless the same being as +Morgana, for whose name, which in any of its current spellings had +the appearance of a masculine proper name, Layamon either may have +substituted a more familiar Welsh name, Argante, as I have already +shown he might easily have done (_Studies in the Fairy Mythology of +Arthurian Romance_, Boston, 1903, pp. 26-28), or, as Professor J.L. +Bruce, with equal plausibility, has recently suggested, he may have +used a corruption of one form of the fay's name, Morgant (_Modern +Language Notes_, March, 1911, pp. 65-68). + +[I have discussed the various versions of Arthur's stay in Avalon in +_Studies in Fairy Mythology_, chapter III. On Avalon, see _id._, p. 40, +note 2. On the early belief in Arthur's return to earth, see Geoffrey +of Monmouth (_Everyman's Library_), Introduction, p. 10.] + + + + +NOTES: + +[1] i.e., Paris, in the Ile de France. Vs. 10440 ff. + +[2] Vs. 16530 ff. + +[3] _Roman de Rou_, vs. 6415 ff. + +[4] _Roman de Brut_, vs. 10038 ff. + +[5] _Id._, vs. 7733 ff. + +[6] _Id._, vs. 11472 ff. Cf. for other examples: Arthur's +conquest of Denmark, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10123 ff.; Arthur's +return to Britain from France, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10427 ff.; +Arthur's coronation, _Historia_, ix. 12 ff.; _Brut_, vs. 10610 ff. + +[7] Vs. 13149 ff. + +[8] See _Excursus II_. + +[9] Vs. 11048 ff. + +[10] See _Excursus III_. + +[11] Vs. 1 ff. + +[12] Layamon's statement that he "read books" at Arnley is +interpreted to mean that he read the services in the church. + +[13] The poem is written in part in alliterative lines on the +Anglo-Saxon system, in part in rhymed couplets of unequal length. + +[14] Vs. 18086 ff. + +[15] Vs. 20110 ff. More famous speeches still are Arthur's +comparison of Childric the Dane to a fox (vs. 20827 ff.) and his taunt +over his fallen foes, Baldulf and Colgrim (vs. 31431 ff.). + +[16] Vs. 12972 ff. + +[17] Vs. 27992 ff. + +[18] Vs. 19887 ff. + +[19] discussion of this point see J.L. Weston, in _Melanges de +philologie romane offerts à M. Wilmotte_, Paris, 1910, pp. 801, 802. + +[20] See _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, +London, 1849. + +[21] Ed. Michel and Wright, Paris, 1837. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +GENERAL WORKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE CHRONICLES + +R.H. FLETCHER, _The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles (Studies and +Notes in Philology and Literature, X)_, Boston, 1906. + +W. LEWIS JONES, King Arthur in History and Legend, London, 1911. + +M.W. MACCALLUM, _Tennyson's Idylls of the King_, Glasgow, 1894. + +H. MAYNADIER, _The Arthur of the English Poets_, Boston and New York, +1907. + +G. PARIS, _Histoire littéraire de la France_, Paris, 1888. + +J. RHYS, _Studies in the Arthurian Legend_, Oxford, 1891. + +W.H. SCHOFIELD, _English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer_, +New York and London, 1906. + +B. TEN BRINK, _Geschichte der Englischen Literatur_, and ed., A Brandl, +Strassburg, 1899. Translated into English, 1st ed, I., H.M. Kennedy, +New York, 1888, II., i., W.C. Robinson, 1893, II., ii., L.D. Schmidt, +1896. + + +AUTHORS AND WORKS + +GEOFFREY GAIMAR, _L'Estorie des Engles_, ed. T.D. Hardy and T.C. Marten +(Rolls Series), 1888-1889. + +GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, _Historia Regum Britanniae_, ed. San Marte (A. +Schulz) Halle, 1854. Translated, J.A. Giles, _Six Old English Chronicles_, +London, 1896; S. Evans, London, 1903. + +LAYAMON, _Brut_, ed. with translation, Sir F. Madden, 3 vols, London, +1847. WORKS ON LAYAMON--Introduction, Madden's ed. of _Brut_. H. Morley, +English Writers, London, 1888-1890, III, 206-231. L. Stephen and S. Lee, +_Dictionary of National Biography_, London, 1885-1904, under Layamon. +For a further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 148, note 1. + +WACE, _Roman de Brut_, ed. Le Roux de Lucy, 2 vols, Rouen, 1836-1838. +_Roman de Rou_, ed. F. Pluquet, 2 vols, Rouen, 1827, H. Andresen, 2 vols, +Heilbronn, 1877-1879, translated by E. Taylor (_Chronicle of the Norman +Conquest_), London, 1837. WORKS ON WACE--E. Du Méril, _La vie et les +ouvrages de Wace_, in _Jahrbuch für romanische u. englische Literatur, I, +i ff.; also in his _Etudes sur quelques points d'Archéologie_, Paris and +Leipzig, 1862. Grober, _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, Strassburg, +1888-1902, II, i, 635 ff. H. Morley, _English Writers_, III, 55. G. Paris, +_Romania_, IX, 592 ff. L. Stephens and S. Lee, _Dictionary National +Biography_, under Wace. A Ulbrich, _Romanische Forschungen_, XXVI, 181 ff. +For further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 128, note 1. + + + + +WACE'S ROMAN DE BRUT + + +Constantine came to Totnes, and many a stout knight with him--there +was not one but was worthy of the kingship. The host set forth towards +London, and sent messages in every part, bidding the Britons to their +aid, for as yet they were too fearful to come from their secret +places. When the Britons heard these tidings they drew, thick as rain, +from the woodlands and the mountain, and came before the host in +troops and companies. To make short a long matter, these marched so +far and wrought such deeds that in the end they altogether discomfited +those evil men who had done such sore mischief to the land. After +these things they held a great council at Cirencester, commanding +thereto all the lords and barons of the realm. In that place they +chose Constantine as their king, with no long tarrying, none being so +bold as to say him nay. So when they had ordained him king, they set +the crown on his head with marvellous joy, and owned themselves as his +men. Afterwards, by their counsel, Constantine took to wife a dame who +was come of gentle Roman blood. On this lady he begat three sons. The +eldest--whom the king named Constant--he caused to be nourished at +Winchester, and there he made him to be vowed a monk. The second son +was called Aurelius, and his surname Ambrosius. Lastly was born Uther, +and it was he whose days were longest in the land. These two varlets +were held in ward by Gosselyn, the archbishop. + +So long as Constantine lived the realm had rest and peace; but he died +before his time had come, for he reigned but twelve short years. There +was a certain Pict of his household, a traitor, a foul felon, who for +a great while had been about his person. I cannot tell the reason why +he bore the king so mortal a grudge. This Pict took the king aside +privily in an orchard, as though he would speak to him of some hidden +matter. The king had no thought to keep himself from this false felon, +who whilst he made seeming to speak in his master's ear, drew forth a +knife and smote him therewith so shrewdly that he died. Then he fled +forth from the garden. But many a time have I heard tell that it was +Vortigern who caused Constantine to be slain. Great was the sorrow the +lords and all honest people made above their king, for the realm had +now no prince, save only those children of so tender an age. They laid +him in his tomb, but in no wise put him from remembrance. The whole +realm assembled together that they might make to themselves a king. +They doubted sorely which of the two young children they should +choose, for of them they knew neither good nor ill, seeing they were +but small and frail, and yet in their warden's charge. As to Constant, +the eldest son, who was of more fitting years, they dared not to pluck +the habit from his back, since all men deemed it shame and folly to +hale him forth from his abbey. The council would have ordained one of +the two children to be king had it not been for Vortigern, who arose +before them all. This Vortigern came from Wales, and was earl in his +own land. He was a strong knight of his body, exceeding rich in goods +and kin. Very courteous was he of speech; right prudent in counsel; +and long since had made straight the road that he coveted to tread. +"What reason is here," said he, "for doubtfulness? There is naught +else to do but to make this monk, Constant, our king. He is the +rightful heir; his brothers are not long from the breast; neither is +it fitting that the crown should be placed upon a stranger's head. Let +us strip the gown boldly from his shoulders. I charge the sin upon my +own soul. My hand alone shall draw him from the abbey, and set him +before you as your king." But all the lords of the council kept +silence, for a horrible thing it seemed in their eyes that a monk +should wear the mantle of a king. Vortigern, purposing evil in his +heart, took horse, and rode swiftly to Winchester. He sought Constant +at the abbey, praying the prior of his courtesy that he might speak +with him in the parlour. "Constant," said he, "thy father is dead, and +men seek to bestow his throne upon thy brothers. Such honour is not +seemly, for thine is the crown and seat. If thou bearest me love and +affiance, and for thy part wilt promise to make richer all the riches +that are mine, on my part I will free thee from these sullen rags and +array thee in the purple and ermine of a king. Choose now between +this monastery and the heritage that is thine own." Very desirous was +Constant of the lordship, and little love had he for his abbey. Right +weary was he of choir and psalter, and lightly and easily he made him +ready to be gone. He pledged oath and faith to all that Vortigern +required, and after he had so done Vortigern took him with a strong +hand from the monastery, none daring to gainsay his deed. When +Vortigern was assured of his fealty, he caused Constant to put off the +monk's serge, and clothe him in furs and rich raiment. He carried him +to London, and sat him in his father's chair, though not with the +voice and welcome of the people. The archbishop who should have +anointed the king with oil was dead, neither was any bishop found to +give him unction, or to put his hand to the business. It was Vortigern +alone who took the crown and set it on his head. This king had no +unction nor blessing, save from the hand of Vortigern alone. + +Constant reigned in his father's stead. He who had betrayed the +commandment of God, was not one to hold his realm in surety; and thus +he came to an evil end. Sorrow not thereat. The man who sells his +master with a kiss may not hope to spend the wages of his sin. +Vortigern held Constant and his senarchy in the hollow of his hand. +The king did all according to his pleasure, and granted freely to +his every need. Very quickly, by reason of divers matters, Vortigern +perceived that the king knew but little of the world, since he was +nourished in a cloister. He remembered that the two princes were of +tender age. He saw that the mighty lords of the realm were dead, that +the people were in sore trouble and unrest, and judged that the place +and time were come. Mark now the cunning craft with which he set about +to take his seisin of the realm. "Sire," said he, "I have learned and +would bring to your knowledge that the sea folk are gathered together +from Norway, and from the country of the Danes. Since our knights are +few in number, and because of the weakness of the land, they purpose +to descend upon the kingdom, and ravish and spoil your cities. Draw +now together thy men, to guard the realm and thee. Set food within the +strong places, and keep well thy towers. Above all, have such fear of +traitors that thy castles are held of none save those true men who +will hold them to the death. If you act not after this counsel right +speedily there must reign another king." "I have granted," answered +Constant, "everything to thy hand, and have done all according to thy +will. Take now this fresh burthen upon thee, for thou art wiser than +I. I give you all the realm to thy keeping, so that none shall ravage +it or burn. Cities and manors; goods and treasure; they are thine as +constable. Thy will is my pleasure. Do swiftly that which it is seemly +should be done." Vortigern was very subtle. None knew better how +to hide away his greed. After he had taken the strong towers, the +treasure, and the riches to himself, he went again before the king. +"Sire," said he, "if it seem good to the king, my counsel would be +that he should send to the Picts of Scotland to seek of them horsemen +and sergeants to have with him about his household. In that place +where the battle is perilous we can call them to our aid. Through +these Picts and their kindred we shall hear the talk of the outland +men. They will parley between us and these Danes, and serve as embassy +between us and our foes." "Do," replied the king, "at thy pleasure. +Bring of these Picts as many as you wish. Grant them as guerdon what +you deem befits. Do all which it is seemly should be done." + +When Vortigern had taken to himself the walled cities, and gathered +together the treasure, he sent such messages to the Picts as he +desired, so that they came according to his will. Vortigern received +them with much honour, giving them greatly to drink, so that they +lived in mirth and in solace, altogether drunken and content. Of his +bounty Vortigern granted such wages, and spoke so sweetly in the ear +of each, that there was not one amongst them who did not cry loudly +in the hearing of any who would hearken, that Vortigern was more +courteous and of higher valiance than the king--yea, that he was +worthy to sit upon the king's throne, or in a richer chair than his. +Vortigern rejoiced greatly at these words. He made much of his Picts, +and honoured them more sweetly than ever before. On a day when they +had sat long at their cups, and all were well drunken, Vortigern came +amongst them in the hall. He saluted them sadly, showing the semblance +of a woeful man. "Right dear are you to my heart;" said he, "very +willingly have I served you, and right gladly would I serve you still, +if but the wealth were mine. But this realm belongs altogether to the +king. Naught can I bestow, nothing is mine to spend, save only that I +render him account of every doit. So little revenue is mine of this +land, that it becomes me to seek my fortune beyond the sea. I have set +my whole intent to serve my king to the utmost of my might, and for +recompense have of him such estate that I can maintain scarce forty +sergeants to my household. If all goes well with me we may meet again, +for I commend me to your goodwill. This weighs heavily upon me that +I must leave you now. But, beggar as I am, I can do no other; only I +entreat you this, that if you hear my business has come to a fair end, +you will of a surety seek my love again." For all his piteous speech +Vortigern was false, and had falsely spoken, but those who had well +drunken gave faith to his words. They held for gospel truth what this +vile traitor had told them. They murmured together amongst themselves: +"What then shall become of us, since we lose so generous a lord! Let +us rather slay this mad king, this shaveling, and raise Vortigern to +his seat. Worthy is he of crown and kingdom; so on him we will cast +the lot. Too long already have we suffered this renegade monk, whom +now we serve." Forthwith they entered in the king's chamber, and +laying hands upon him, slew him where he stood. They smote the head +from off his shoulders, and bare it to Vortigern in his lodging, +crying, "Look now, and see by what bands we bind you to this realm. +The king is dead, and we forbid you to go from amongst us. Take now +the crown, and become our king." Vortigern knew again the head of his +lord. He made semblance of bitter sorrow, but rejoiced privily in his +heart, though of his cunning he hid his gladness from the eyes of +men. To cover his falseness the deeper, Vortigern called the Romans +together in council. He struck the heads from off those traitors, +leaving not one to escape alive. But many a citizen was persuaded, and +some said openly, that these murderers would not have laid hands +upon the king, neither looked evilly upon him, nor thought to do him +mischief, had not Vortigern required of them such deed. + +When the death of the king was told to them who held the two brothers +in ordinance, they were assured that he who slew the king would not +scruple to serve the princes in the self-same fashion. For fear of +Vortigern they took Aurelius and Uther, and fled beyond the sea to +Little Britain, commending themselves to the pity of Budes, the king. +Since they were of his kin King Budes welcomed them right courteously. +He received them to his table with great honour, and bestowed upon +them many rich gifts. Now having taken to himself the strong places, +the castles, and the cities of the kingdom, Vortigern proclaimed him +to be king with marvellous pride. His joy was the less because the +realm was harassed by the Picts, who would avenge their kindred, whom +he had slain with the sword. Moreover he was sorely troubled, since +it was noised abroad that the two princes were gathering a company +together, purposing in a short space to return to their own land. The +rumour ran that the barons were resolved to join this great host, and +to own the brothers as their lords, so that in a while Vortigern would +be utterly destroyed. Many there were who told of such things. + +Whilst men talked thus, there came to a haven in Kent three galleys, +bearing a strange people to the land. These folk were fair of face and +comely of person. They owned as lords Hengist and Horsa, two brethren +of mighty stature, and of outland speech. The tidings came to +Vortigern at Canterbury, where he abode that day, that a foreign folk +from a far country had drawn to the realm in ships. The king sent +messages of peace and goodwill to these strangers, praying that be +they whom they might, they would come quickly and speak with him in +his palace, and return swiftly to their own place. When they received +his commandment they sought him with the more surety. They came into +the king's presence and did reverence, with a proud bearing. Vortigern +looked closely upon the brethren. Shapely were they of body, bright of +visage, taller and more comely than any youth he knew. "From what land +have you come," inquired the king, "and on what errand? Tell me now +the place of your birth." The elder and the mightier of the brethren, +called Hengist, made answer in the name of all his fellows. "We be of +a country called Saxony," said he, "there were we born and there we +abode. If thou wilt learn the chance we seek upon the sea, I will +answer truly, if so it be according to thy will." "Say on," said the +king, "and hide nothing. No harm shall come to thee of this." "Fair +king," answered Hengist, "gentle sire, I know not if I can make it +plain. Our race is of a fertile stock, more quick and abounding than +any other you may know, or whereof you have heard speak. Our folk are +marvellously fruitful, and the tale of the children is beyond measure. +Women and men are more in number than the sand, for the greater sorrow +of those amongst us who are here. When our people are so many that the +land may not sustain nor suffice them, then the princes who rule the +realm assemble before them all the young men of the age of fifteen +years and upwards, for such is our use and custom. From out of these +they choose the most valiant and the most strong, and, casting lots, +send them forth from the country, so that they may travel into divers +lands, seeking fiefs and houses of their own. Go out they must, since +the earth cannot contain them; for the children came more thickly than +the beasts which pasture in the fields. Because of the lot that fell +upon us we have bidden farewell to our homes, and putting our trust in +Mercury, the god has led us to your realm." When the king heard the +name of Mercury as the god of their governance, be inquired what +manner of men these were, and of the god in whom they believed. "We +have," answered Hengist, "gods a many, to whom it is our bounden duty +to raise altars. These gods have to name Phoebus and Saturn, Jupiter +and Mercury. Many another god we worship, according to the wont of our +country, and as our fathers have told us. But above all gods we keep +in chiefest honour Mercury, who in our own tongue is called Woden. Our +fathers held this god in such reverence that they devoted the fourth +day of the week to his service. Because of their hope in Woden they +called his feast Wednesday, and yet it bears his name. By the side of +this god of whom I have spoken, we set our goddess Freya, who is +held in worship of us all. To show forth their love, our fathers +consecrated the sixth day to her service, and on the high authority of +the past we call Friday by Freya's name." "Ill is your faith," replied +the king, "and in an evil god you put your trust. This thing is +grievous to me, but nevertheless I welcome your coming right gladly. +You are valiant men, as I deem, accustomed to harness, and so you will +be my servants, very willingly will I make you of my household, and of +wealth you shall find no lack. Certain thieves from Scotland torment +me grievously at this time, burning my land and preying on my cities. +So it be God's pleasure, your coming may turn to my rich profit, for +by His aid and yours, I look to destroy these same Picts and Scots. +For from that land come and return these thieves who so harass and +damage my realm. You shall find me no grudging master, and when I am +avenged upon them, you will have no complaint to find with bounty or +wages or gifts." In this manner the Saxons came from out their ships, +and the king's court was strengthened by a mighty company. Now in no +long time afterwards the Picts entered the king's realm, with a great +host, burning, wasting, and pilling at their will. When they would +have passed the Humber, the king, who was told thereof, hastened to +meet them with his lords, the Britons, and these Saxons. The hosts +came together, and the battle was grim and lasting, for many were +discomfited to death that day. The Picts, doubting nothing but +that they would gain the victory as they had done before, carried +themselves hardily, and struck fiercely with the sword. They fought +thus stoutly, and endured so painfully, since they were shamed to do +less than was their wont. But their evil custom was broken, for the +Saxons gained possession of the field. Since by these Saxons, and +their aid, Vortigern was delivered of this peril, he gave them their +wages, and added thereto of his bounty. On Hengist he bestowed fair +manors, and goods, and great riches, so that love lasted between them +for a long space. + +When Hengist saw that the king might in no wise pass him by, he sought +to turn this to his own profit, as was his undoubted right. He knew +well how to flatter the king to his own advantage by specious words. +On a day when the king's heart was merry, Hengist opened out what was +in his mind. "Thou hast given me many honours," said he, "and bestowed +on me plenteously of thy wealth. I am not ungrateful, but am thy +servant and will remain thy servant, striving to serve thee better in +the future even than I have striven in the past. But the longer I am +about the king's person, and the more closely I know his court, the +more clearly I see and hear and am assured that thou hast not the love +of one only baron of thy realm. Each bears thee hate, each nurses his +own grudge. I cannot speak, since nothing I know, of those children +who have stolen away the love of thine own house. They are the lawful +lords of thy barons, and these are but loyal to the sons of their +king. Within a little they will come from over sea, and spoil thee of +this realm. Not one of thy men but purposes to do thee a mischief. +Evil they wish thee, and evil they hope will be thine end. Horribly +art thou abhorred; horribly art thou menaced; for evil is on thy +track, and evil purposes shortly to pull thee down. I have considered +how best I may help thee in this peril. If it pleases the king to +bring my wife and children and all that is mine from my own land, +the sweeter hostages will be his, and the more faithful will be my +service. So diligently will I keep my trust that no foe, however bold, +shall spoil thee of one foot of thy heritage Moreover, sire, it is now +a great while since I became thy servant, and many bear malice against +me by reason of thy love. Because of their wrath I dare not tarry at +night outside my house, nor go beyond the walls. For this cause, sire, +so it may please thee, it would become thy honour to grant me some +town or tower or strong place, where I may lie in peace of nights, +when I am weaned in the king's quarrels. When thy enemies mark the +generosity of the king, they will cease to annoy so large a lord." "As +to the folk of thine house," made answer the king, "send thou at +thy pleasure, and receive them with all worship. The cost of their +sustenance shall be mine. For the rest thou art not of the faith. +Pagan thou art, and no Christian man Men, therefore, will deem that I +do very wrongfully should I grant thee the other gift you require." +"Sire," replied Hengist, "I would of thy bounty a certain manor. I +pray thee of thy courtesy to add thereto so much land--I seek no +more--as I may cover with a hide, and as may be compassed therewith. +It will be but the hide of a bull, but for the gift's sake I shall go +the more surely." Vortigern granted the boon, and Hengist thanked his +master. He made ready his messenger, and sent for his kindred from +oversea. He took the hide of a bull, and cutting it as small as he +might, made one thong of the whole skin. With this thong he compassed +a great spoil of land, and gathering good masons together, built +thereon a fair castle. In his own tongue he called this place +Vancaster, which being interpreted means Thong Castle, forasmuch as +the place was compassed by a thong. Now it is hight by many Lancaster, +and of these there are few who remember why it was first called after +this name. + +When Vancaster was well builded there drew near eighteen war galleys, +bearing to land Hengist's kindred, together with knights and footmen. +With these came Hengist's daughter, Rowena by name, a maiden yet +unwed, and most marvellously fair. After all things were made ready +Hengist prayed the king to lodge with him awhile, that he might +delight himself with meat and drink, and view the new folk of his +household, and the castle that he had builded. And the king was +pleased to hearken unto his prayer. The king rode to Vancaster with +a mean company, since he would not have it noised about the land. He +marked the castle and its towers, which were both strong and fair, and +much he praised the work. The knights who were freshly come from sea +he took to his service, and gave of his bounty. At the feast that day +men ate and drank so greatly that for the most part they were drunken. +Then came forth from her chamber Rowena, Hengist's daughter, sweetly +arrayed and right dainty to see, bearing in her hand a brimming cup +of wine. She kneeled before Vortigern very simply, and saluted him +courteously after the fashion of her land, saying, "Washael, lord +king." The king, who knew nothing of her language, sought the meaning +of the maiden's words. This was made plain to him by Redic, the +Breton, a fair scholar, who--as it is related--was the first to become +apt in the Saxon tongue. He answered swiftly, "The maiden saluted thee +courteously, calling thee lord. It is the wont of her people, sire, +that when friend drinks with friend, he who proffers the cup cries, +'Washael,' and that he who receives answers in turn, 'Drinkhael'. Then +drinks he the half of this loving cup, and for joy and for friendship +of him who set it in his hand, kisses the giver with all fair +fellowship." When he had learned this thing, the king said +"Drinkhael," and smiled upon the damsel. Rowena tasted of the cup, and +placed it in the king's hand, and in taking it from the maiden the +king kissed her sweetly. By the Saxon were we first taught in +this land to greet, saying, "Washael," and afterwards to answer, +"Drinkhael," to drain the cup in full measure, or to share it with +one other, to kiss together when the cup was passed. The custom was +commenced as I have shown you, and we observe this ritual yet, as well +I know, in the rich feasts of our country. + +Now the maiden was gracious of body, and passing fair of face, dainty +and tall, and plump of her person. She stood before the king in a web +of fine raiment, and ravished his eyes beyond measure. She filled the +king's cup willingly, and was altogether according to his wish. So +merry was the king, so well had he drunken, that he desired the +damsel in his heart. The devil, who has led many a man astray, snared +Vortigern with such sorcery, that he became mad with love to possess +Hengist's daughter. He was so fast in the devil's net that he saw +neither shame nor sin in this love. He denied not his hope, though the +maid was of pagans born. Vortigern prayed Hengist that he would grant +him the maid in marriage, and Hengist accorded her with goodwill. But +first he took counsel with his brother and his friends. These praised +the marriage, but counselled Hengist to give the damsel only on such +covenant that the king should deliver him Kent as her dowry. The king +coveted the maiden so greatly, he doted so dearly, that he made her +his queen. She was a pagan woman, and became his wife according to +the rites of the paynim. No priest blessed that marriage, there was +neither Mass nor prayer. So hot was the king's love that he espoused +her the same evening, and bestowed on Hengist Kent as her dowry. + +Hengist went into Kent, and seized all the country into his hand. +He drove forth Garagon, the governor, who had heard no word of the +business. Vortigern showed more credence and love to the heathen +than to christened men, so that these gave him again his malice, and +abandoned his counsel. His own sons held him in hatred, forsaking his +fellowship because of the pagans. For this Vortigern had married +a wife, who long was dead and at peace. On this first wife he had +begotten three sons, these only. The first was named Vortimer, the +second Passent, and the third Vortiger. Hated was this king by all the +barons of his realm, and of all his neighbours. His very kindred held +him in abhorrence. He came to an evil end, for he died in his shame, +and the pagans he befriended with him. "Sire," said Hengist to the +king, "men hold thee in hatred by reason of me, and because of thy +love they bear me malice also. I am thy father, and thou my son, since +thou wert pleased to ask my daughter for thy wife. It is my privilege +to counsel my king, and he should hearken to my counsel, and aid me to +his power. If thou wilt make sure thy throne, and grieve those who use +thee despitefully, send now for Octa my son, and for my cousin Ebissa. +There are not two more cunning captains than these, nor two champions +to excel them in battle. Give these captains of thy land towards +Scotland, for from thence comes all the mischief. They will deal with +thy foes in such fashion that never more shall they take of thy +realm, but for the rest of thy days we shall live in peace beyond the +Humber." Then answered the king, "Do what you will, and send messages +for such men as it is good for us to have." At the king's word Hengist +sent messages to his son and nephew, who hastened to his help with a +fleet of three hundred galleys. There was not a knight of their land, +who would serve for guerdon, but they carried him across the water. +After these captains were come, in their turn, from day to day, came +many another, this one with four vessels, this other with five, or +six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten. So thickly did the heathen +wend, and so closely did they mingle with the Christians, that you +might scarcely know who was a christened man and who was not. The +Britons were sorely troubled at this matter, and prayed the king +not to put such affiance in the outland folk, for they wrought much +mischief. They complained that already were too many pagans in the +land, working great shame and villainy to the people. "Separate +thyself from amongst them," they said, "at whatever cost, and send +all, or as many as may be, from the realm." Vortigern made answer that +he might not do this thing. He had entreated the Saxons to the land, +and they served him as true men. So when the barons hearkened to his +words they went their way to Vortimer. + +The Britons assembled themselves together, and taking the road to +London, chose Vortimer--the eldest of the king's three sons--to be +their lord. The king, who was assotted on his wife, clave to her +kindred, and would not forsake the heathen. Vortimer defied the +Saxons, and drove them from the walled cities, chasing and tormenting +them very grievously. He was a skilful captain, and the strife was +right sore between Vortimer and the Britons, against his father and +the Saxons. Four times the hosts met together, and four times Vortimer +vanquished his foe. The first battle was fought upon the banks of the +Darent. The second time the hosts strove together was upon the ford +near Aylesford. In this place Vortiger, the king's son, and Horsa the +Saxon, contended so fiercely in combat, body to body, that each did +the other to death, according to his desire. The other battle was +arrayed on the sea shore in Kent. Passing grim was this third battle, +for the ships fought together upon the water. The Saxons withdrew +before the Britons, so that from beyond the Humber even to Kent they +were deceived in their hope. The heathen fled in their galleys to an +islet called Thanet. The Britons assailed them in this fastness, and +so long as it was day, harassed them with arrows and quarrels, with +ships and with barges. They rejoiced loudly, for the pagans were +caught in a corner, and those not slain by the sword were fain to die +of hunger. For this reason, the Britons raised a mighty tumult and +shouting, when they trapped their enemy in the Isle of Thanet. When +the Saxons were assured that worse would befall them, save they +departed from the realm, they prayed Vortigern to go in embassy to +Vortimer his son, persuading him to give them safe conduct from the +land, and not to do them further mischief. Vortigern, who was in their +company and would in no wise depart from their fellowship, went to his +son to procure such truce as the Saxons required. Whilst he was about +this business the Saxons entered in their galleys, and with sail and +oar put out to sea as swiftly as they were able. Such was their haste +to escape that they left their wives and sons with the Britons, +returning to their own country in exceeding fear. After the Saxons +had all forsaken the realm, and the Britons were assumed of peace, +Vortimer gave again to every man that of which the heathen had spoiled +him. To build anew the churches, and to declare the law of God, which +had fallen into disuse amongst the people because of Hengist and his +heathendom, St. Germanus came to Britain, sent by St. Romanus, the +Apostle of Rome. With him came St. Louis of Troyes. These two fair +bishops, Germanus of Auxerre and Louis of Troyes, crossed the sea +to prepare the way of the Lord. By them were the tables of the law +redelivered, and men converted again to the faith. They brought many a +man to salvation; many a miracle, many a virtue, did God show in their +persons, and many a country was the sweeter for their lives. When the +law of God was restored, and Britain made again a Christian land, +hearken now what foul work was done by treason and by envy. Rowena, +that evil stepmother, caused Vortimer, her husband's son, to be +poisoned, by reason of the hatred she bore him, since he chased +Hengist from the realm. After Vortimer was certified that he must die, +and that no physician might cure him of his hurt, he called together +all his barons, and delivered unto them the treasure which he +had greatly gathered. Listen well to that he prayed his friends. +"Knights," said he, "take into your service warriors not a few, and +grudge not the sergeant his wages. Hold one to another, and maintain +the land against these Saxons. That my work may not be wasted, and +avenged upon those who live, do this thing for their terror. Take my +body, and bury it upon the shore. Raise above me such a tomb, so large +and lasting, that it may be seen from far by all who voyage on the +sea. To that coast where my body is buried, living or dead, they shall +not dare to come." Having spoken in this fashion the gentle king died, +finishing his course. His body was borne to London, and in London he +was lain to his rest. The barons raised no barrow upon the shore, as +with his dying speech he had bidden them. + +After Vortimer's death, the Britons made Vortigern their king, even +as he had been in days before. At the entreaties of his wife he sent +messages to his father-in-law, Hengist. Him he prayed to return to the +kingdom, but with a small company, so that the Britons should not give +heed to the matter; for since Vortimer his son was dead, there was +no need of a host. Hengist took ship gladly, but with him he carried +three hundred thousand men in mail. For dread of the Britons, he made +him ready as never he had done before. When the king learned that +Hengist drew to land with so mighty a host, he was altogether fearful, +and knew no word to say. The Britons assembled together in great +wrath, promising amongst themselves that they would join them in +battle, and throw the heathen from the realm. Hengist was cunning and +felon of heart. He sent false messages to the king, praying for a +truce and love-day to be granted, that they might speak together as +friend with friend. Peace above all he desired; peace he ensued; peace +was his love, and he sought her with tears. Nothing was further from +his wish than war, and he would rather be banished from the realm than +remain by force of arms. It was for the Britons to elect those whom +they willed to stay, and for the others they would return whence they +came. The Britons granted the love-day, and the two peoples took +pledges, one of the other; but who can trust the oath of a liar? A +time was appointed when this council should be holden. The king sent +messages to Hengist that he must come with few companions; and Hengist +plighted troth right willingly. Moreover, it was commanded that none +should bear weapons at the council, for fear that men should pass +from words to blows. The two parties met together near the Abbey of +Ambresbury, on the great Salisbury plain. The day was the kalends of +May. Hengist had taught his comrades, and warned them privily, that +they should come each with a sharp, two-edged knife hidden in his +hose. He bade them to sit in this Parliament, and hearken to the talk; +but when he cried, "Nimad covre seax" (which being interpreted means +"Pluck forth your knives," and would not be understanded of the +Britons), they were to snatch out their daggers and make each a dead +man of his neighbour. Now when the council was met, and men were +mingled together, the naked Briton near by the false heathen, Hengist +cried loudly, "Nimad covre seax." The Saxons, at his word, drew forth +the knives from their hose, and slew that man sitting at their side. +Hengist was seated very close the king. He held the king fast by his +mantle, so that this murder passed him by. But those who gripped the +knives thrust the keen blades through cloak and mantle, breast and +bowels, till there lay upon back or belly in that place nigh upon four +hundred and sixty men of the richest and most valiant lords of the +kingdom. Yet some won out and escaped with their lives, though they +had naught to defend their bodies save the stones. + +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, got a great club in his right hand, which +he found lying at his feet, though little he recked who had carried it +to the council. He defended his body stoutly with this mighty staff, +striking and smiting down, till he had slain fully sixty and ten of +the pagan. A mighty champion was he, and of rich worth. He clave a +path through the press, without taking a wound; for all the knives +which were flung at his body he escaped with not a hurt to the flesh. +He won at the end to his horse, which was right strong and speedy, +and riding swiftly to Gloucester, shut himself fast in his city and +victualled tower. As to Vortigern, the Saxons would have slain him +with his barons, but Hengist stood between them, crying, "Harm not the +king, for nothing but good have I received at his hand, and much has +he toiled for my profit. How then shall I suffer my daughter's lord to +die such a death! Rather let us hold him to ransom, and take freely +of his cities and walled places, in return for his life." They, +therefore, slew not the king but binding him fast with fetters of +iron, kept him close in bonds for so long a space that he swore to +render them all that they would. In quittance of his ransom, and to +come forth from prison, Vortigern granted Sussex, Essex, and Middlesex +to Hengist as his fief, besides that earldom of Kent which he had held +before. To remember this foul treason, knives were long hight seax +amongst the English, but names alter as the world moves on, and men +recall no more the meaning of the past. In the beginning the word was +used to rebuke the treason that was done. When the story of the seax +was forgotten, men spoke again of their knives, and gave no further +thought to the shame of their forefathers. + +When Vortigern was a naked man he fled beyond the Severn, and passing +deeply into Wales, dwelt there, taking counsel with his friends. He +caused his wise clerks and magicians to be summoned, inquiring of them +in what fashion he should maintain his right, and what they would +counsel him to do, were he assailed of a mightier than himself. This +he asked because he feared greatly the two brothers of Constant, who +were yet living, and knew not how to keep him from their hate. These +sorcerers bade him to build so mighty a tower, that never at any time +might it be taken by force, nor beaten down by any engine devised by +the wit of man. When this strong castle was furnished and made ready, +he should shut himself within, and abide secure from the malice of his +foes. This pleased the king, who searched throughout the land to make +choice of a fitting place to raise so strong a keep. Such a place he +met, altogether according to his mind, on mount Erir. [1] He brought +masons together, the best that might be found, and set them to the +work as quickly as they were able. The masons began to build, getting +stones ready and making them fast with mortar, but all the work that +the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground by night. +They laboured therefore with the more diligence, but the higher they +builded the tower the greater was its fall, to the very foundations +they had digged. So it chanced for many days, till not one stone +remained upon another. When the king knew this marvel, and perceived +that his travail came in nowise to an end, he took counsel of his +wizards. "By my faith," said he, "I wonder sorely what may be amiss +with my tower, since the earth will not endure it. Search and inquire +the reason of this thing; and how these foundations shall be made +sure." + +[Footnote 1: Snowdon] + +Then the magicians by their lots and divinations--though, for that +matter, it may well be that they lied--devised that the king should +seek a man born of no earthly father, him he must slay, and taking of +his blood, slake and temper therewith the mortar of the work, so that +the foundations should be made fast, and the castle might endure. +Thereat the king sent messengers throughout all the land to seek such +a man, and commanded that immediately he were found he should be +carried to the court. These messengers went two by two upon their +errand. They passed to and fro about the realm, and entered into +divers countries, inquiring of all people, at the king's bidding, +where he might be hid. But for all their labour and diligence they +learned nothing. Now it came to pass that two of the king's embassy +went their road until they came together to the town called +Caermerdin.[1] A great company of youths and children was gathered +before the gate at the entrance to the city, and the messengers stayed +awhile to mark their play. Amongst those who disported themselves at +this gate were two varlets, named Merlin and Dinabus. Presently the +two youths began to chide and jangle, and were passing wroth the one +with the other. One of the twain spake ill of his fellow, reproaching +him because of his birth. "Hold thy peace, Merlin", said Dinabus, "it +becomes you not to strive with me, whose race is so much better than +thine own. Be heedful, for I know of such an evil matter that it were +well not to tempt me beyond my power. Speak then no more against my +lineage. For my part I am come from earls and kings, but if you set +out to tell over your kindred, you could not name even your father's +name. You know it not, nor shall learn it ever; for how may a son tell +his father's name when a father he has never had?" Now the king's +messengers, who were in quest of such a sireless man, when they heard +this bitter jibe of the varlet, asked of those around concerning the +youth who had never seen his sire. The neighbours answered that the +lad's father was known of none, yea, that the very mother who had +borne him in her womb, knew nothing of the husbandman who had sown the +seed. But if his father was hidden, all the world knew of the mother +who nourished him. Daughter was she to that King of Dimetia, now gone +from Wales. Nun she was of her state, a gentlewoman of right holy +life, and lodged in a convent within the walls of their city. + +[Footnote 1: Carmarthen.] + +When the messengers heard these tidings, they went swiftly to the +warden of the city, adjuring him, by the king's will, to lay hands +upon Merlin--that sireless man--and carry him straightway to the king, +together with the lady, his mother. The warden durst not deny their +commandment. He delivered Merlin and his mother to the embassy, who +led them before the king. The king welcomed the twain with much +honour, and spoke kindly unto them. "Lady," said he, "answer me truly. +By none, save by thee, can I know who was the father of Merlin, thy +son." The nun bowed her head. After she had pondered for a little, she +made reply, "So God have me in His keeping, as I know nothing and saw +nothing of him who begat this varlet upon me. Never have I heard, +never may I tell, if he were verily man by whom I had my child. But +this I know for truth, and to its truth will I pledge my oath. At that +time when I was a maid growing tall, I cannot tell whether it was a +ghostly man, but something came often to my chamber, and kissed me +very close. By night and by day this presence sought me, ever alone, +but always in such fashion as not to be perceived. As a man he spake +soft words in my ear; as a man he dealt with me. But though many a +time he had speech with me, ever he kept himself close. He came so +often about me, so long were his kisses on my mouth, that he had his +way, and I conceived, but whether he were man in no wise have I known. +I had of him this varlet; but more I know not, and more I will not +say." + +Now the king had a certain clerk, named Malgantius, whom he held for +very wise. He sent for this learned clerk, and told over to him the +whole matter, that he might be assured whether things could chance as +this woman had said. The clerk made answer, "In books I have found it +written that a certain order of spirit ranges between the moon and our +earth. If you seek to learn of the nature of these spirits, they are +of the nature partly of man, and partly of a loftier being. These +demons are called incubi. Their home and region is the air, but this +warm world is their resort. It is not in their power to deal man great +evil, and they can do little more mischief than to trick and to annoy. +However they know well how to clothe themselves in human shape, for +their nature lends itself marvellously to the deceit. Many a maid has +been their sport, and in this guise has been deceived. It may well be +that Merlin was begotten by such a being, and perchance is of a demon +born." "King." cried Merlin suddenly, "you brought me here; tell me +now what you would, and wherefore you have sent after me." "Merlin," +answered the king, "know it you shall. Hearken diligently, so shall +you learn of all. I commenced to build a high tower, and got mortar +together, and masons to set one stone upon another, but all the work +that the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground, and was +swallowed up of night. I know not if you have heard tell thereof. +The day has not so many hours to labour, as the night has hours to +destroy; and greatly has my substance been wasted in this toil. My +councillors tell me that my tower may never stand tall, unless its +stones and lime are slaked with thy blood--the blood of a fatherless +man." "Lord God," cried Merlin, "believe not that my blood will bind +your tower together. I hold them for liars who told over such a gab. +Bring these prophets before me who prophesy so glibly of my blood, and +liars as they are, liars I will prove them to be." The king sent for +his sorcerers, and set them before Merlin. After Merlin had regarded +them curiously, one by one, "Masters," said he, "and mighty magicians, +tell us now I pray you the reason why the king's work faileth and may +not stand. If you may not show me why the tower is swallowed up of +the earth, how can your divinations declare to you that my blood will +cause it to endure! Make plain to us now what troubles the foundation, +so that the walls tumble so often to the ground, and when you have +certified this thing, show to us clearly how the mischief may be +cured. If you are not willing to declare who labours secretly to make +the house to fall, how shall it be credited that my blood will bind +the stones fast? Point out this troubler to the king, and then cry the +remedy." But all the wizards kept silence, and answered Merlin never a +word. When Merlin saw them abashed before him, he spake to the king, +and said, "Sire, give ear to me. Beneath the foundations of your tower +there lies a pool, both great and deep, and by reason of this water +your building faileth to the ground. Right easily may this be assured. +Bid your men to delve. You will then see why the tower was swallowed +up, and the truth will be proven." The king bade therefore that the +earth should be digged, and the pool was revealed as Merlin had +established. "Masters and great magicians," cried Merlin, "hearken +once more. You who sought to mix your mortar with my blood, say what +is hidden in this pond." But all the enchanters kept silence and were +dumb; yea, for good or ill they made answer never a word. Merlin +turned him again to the king. He beckoned with his hand to the king's +servants, saying, "Dig now trenches, to draw off the water from this +pool. At the bottom shall be found two hollow stones, and two dragons +sleeping in the stones. One of these dragons is white, and his fellow, +crimson as blood." Thereat the king marvelled greatly, and the +trenches were digged as Merlin had commanded. When the water was +carried about the fields, and stood low in the pool, two dragons got +them on their feet, and envisaged each the other very proudly. Passing +eager was their contention, and they strove together right grievously. +Well might be seen the foam within their mouths, and the flames that +issued from their jaws. The king seated himself upon the bank of the +pool. He prayed Merlin to show him the interpretation of these dragons +which met together so furiously. Merlin told the king what these +matters betokened, as you have oft-times heard. These dragons +prophesied of kings to come, who would yet hold the realm in their +charge. I say no more, for I fear to translate Merlin's Prophecies, +when I cannot be sure of the interpretation thereof. It is good to +keep my lips from speech, since the issue of events may make my gloss +a lie. + +The king praised Merlin greatly, and esteemed him for a true prophet. +He inquired of the youth in what hour he should die, and by what means +he would come to his end. For this king was marvellously fearful of +death. "Beware," said Merlin, "beware of the sons of Constantine. By +them you shall taste of death. Already have they left Armorica with +high hearts, and even now are upon the sea. Be certified of this, that +their fleet of fourteen galleys comes to land on the morrow. Much evil +hast thou done to them; much evil will they do to thee, and avenge +them of their wrongs. In an ill day you betrayed their brother to his +death: in an ill day you set the crown on your head; in an ill day, to +your own most bitter loss, you entreated this Saxon heathenry to your +help. You are as a man against whom arrows are loosed, both this side +and that; and I know not whether your shield should be arrayed to left +or to right. On the one road the Saxon host draws near, eager to do +you a mischief. Along this other comes the rightful heirs, to pluck +the realm from your hand, the crown from your head, and to exact the +price of their brother's blood. If you yet may flee, escape quickly; +for the brethren approach, and that speedily. Of these brethren +Aurelius shall first be king, but shall also die the first, by poison. +Uther Pendragon, his brother, will sit within his chair. He will hold +the realm in peace; but he, too, will fall sick before his time, and +die, by reason of the brewage of his friends. Then Arthur of Cornwall, +his son, like to a boar grim in battle, will utterly devour these +false traitors, and destroy thy kinsfolk from the land. A right +valiant knight, and a courteous, shall he be, and all his enemies +shall he set beneath his feet." When Merlin had come to an end, he +departed from Vortigern, and went his way. On the morrow, with no +longer tarrying, the navy of the brethren arrived at Totnes, and +therein a great host of knights in their harness. The Britons +assembled themselves together, and joined them to the host. They came +forth from the lurking places whence they had fled, at that time +Hengist harried them by mount and by dale, after he had slain the +lords by felony, and destroyed their castles. At a great council the +Britons did homage to Aurelius as their king. These tidings came to +Vortigern in Wales, and he prepared to set his house in order. He +fled to a strong castle, called Generth,[1] and there made him ready, +taking with him the most valiant of his men. This tower was on the +banks of a fair running water, called by the folk of that country the +Wye. It stood high upon Mount Droac, in the land of Hergin, as testify +the people of these parts. Vortigern furnished his fortress with a +plenteous store of arms and engines, of food and sergeants. To keep +himself the surer from his foes, he garnished the tower with all that +wit might devise. The lords of the country, having joined themselves +to the brethren, sought so diligently for King Vortigern, that in the +end they arrayed them before the castle where he lay. They cast stones +from their engines, and were ever about the gates, paining themselves +grievously to take it, for they hated him beyond measure. Much cause +had the brethren to nurse so bitter a grudge against Vortigern, +since by guile and treason he had slain their brother Constant, and +Constantine, their father, before him, as all men held to be the +truth. Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, had done homage to Aurelius, and was +with him in the host. Much he knew of this land of Wales. "Eldof," +said Aurelius, "hast thou forgotten my father who cherished thee, and +gave his faith to thee, and dost thou remember no more my brother who +held thee so dear! These both honoured thee right willingly, with love +and with reverence in their day. They were foully slain by the device +of this tyrant, this cozener with oaths, this paymaster with a knife. +We who are yet alive must bestir ourselves that we perish not by the +same means. Let us think upon the dead, and take bitter vengeance on +Vortigern for these wrongs." + +[Footnote 1: In Hereford.] + +Aurelius and Eldof laced them in their mail. They made the wild fire +ready and caused men to cast timber in the moat, till the deep fosse +was filled. When this was done they flung wild fire from their engines +upon the castle. The fire laid hold upon the castle, it spread to the +tower, and to all the houses that stood about. The castle flared like +a torch; the flames leaped in the sky; the houses tumbled to the +ground. In that place the king was burned with fire, and all his +household who fled to Generth with him. Neither dame nor damsel got +her living from that pyre; and on the same day perished the king's +wife, who was so marvellously fair. + +When the new king had brought the realm into subjection to himself, +he devised to seek the pagans, that he might deliver the country from +their hand. Right fearful was Hengist to hear these tidings, and at +once set forth for Scotland. He abandoned all his fiefs, and fled +straightway beyond the Humber. He purposed to crave such aid and +succour from the Scots as would help him in his need, and made haste +to get him to Scotland with all the speed he might. The king pursued +him swiftly with his host, making forced marches day by day. On the +road his power was increased by a great company of Britons; till with +him was a multitude which no man could number, being innumerable as +the sand of the sea. The king looked upon his realm, and saw it gnawed +to the bone. None drave the plough, nor cast seed in the furrow. The +castles and the walled cities were breached and ruined. He marked the +villages blackened by fire, and the houses of God stripped bare as a +peasant's hovel. The heathen pilled and wasted, but gathered neither +corn into barns nor cattle within the byre. He testified that this +should not endure, so he returned in safety from the battle. + +When Hengist knew that the king followed closely after, and that fight +he must, he strove to put heart and hardihood into the breasts of +his fellows. "Comrades," said he, "be not dismayed by reason of this +rabble. We know well enough what these Britons are, since they never +stand before us. If but a handful go against them, not one will stay +to fight. Many a time, with but a mean company, have I vanquished and +destroyed them. If they be in number as the sand, the more honour is +yours. A multitude such as this counts nothing. A host like theirs, +led by a weak and foolish captain, what is it worth? These are a +trembling folk, without a chief, and of them we should have little +fear. The shepherd of these sheep is a child, who is yet too young to +bear a spear, or carry harness on his back. For our part we are heroes +and champions, proven in many a stour, fighting for our very lives, +since for us there will be no other ransom. Now be confident and bold. +Let our bodies serve us for castles and for wall. Be brave and strong, +I say, for otherwise we are but dead men." When Hengist ceased +heartening his comrades, the knights arrayed them for the battle. They +moved against the Britons as speedily as their horses might bear +them, for they hoped to find them naked and unready, and to take them +unawares. The Britons so misdoubted their adversary that they watched +in their armour, both day and night. As soon as the king knew that the +heathen advanced to give battle, he ordered his host in a plain that +seemed good for his purpose. He supported the spearmen with three +thousand horsemen, clothed in mail, his own trusty vassals, who had +come with him from Armorica. The Welsh he made into two companies. The +one part he set upon the hills, so that the Paynim might not climb +there if they would. The other part he hid within the wood, to stay +them if they sought shelter in the forest. For the rest he put every +man into the plain, that it should be the more strongly held +and defended. Now when he had arrayed the battle, and given his +commandment to the captains, the king placed himself amidst the chosen +men of his own household, those whom he deemed the most loyal to his +person. He spoke apart with his friends concerning the battle. Earl +Eldof was near the king's side that day, together with many another +baron. "God," said Eldof, "what joy will be mine that hour when +Hengist and I meet face to face, with none between us. I cannot forget +the kalends of May, and that murder at Ambresbury, when he slew all +the flower of our chivalry. Right narrowly escaped I from his net" + +Whilst Eldof spake these reproachful words, making complaint of +Hengist, the Saxons drew near the field, and sought to take it. With +no long tarrying the battle was joined. What time the two hosts looked +on each other they hastened together. There you might see the vassals +striving, hand to hand. They fought body to body, those assailing, +these defending. Mighty blows with the sword were given and received +among them. Many a champion lay stark upon the ground, and the living +passed over the bodies of the dead. Shields were hewn asunder; spears +snapped like reeds; the wounded were trampled beneath men's feet, and +many a warrior died that day. The Christians called on Christ, and +the heathen answered, clamouring on their gods of clay. Like men the +pagans bore them, but the Christians like heroes. The companies of +the heathen flinched, giving ground on the field. The Britons +pressed about them, redoubling their blows, so that the Saxons were +discomfited, and turning their backs, strove no more. + +When Hengist saw his champions turn their backs, like children, to +the stroke, he fled to the town called Caerconan,[1] where he was +persuaded of shelter. The king followed fast after him, crying to the +hunters, "On, on." Hengist heard the noise of the pursuit, and had no +care to be trapped in his castle. Better to fight in the open at the +risk of his body, than to starve behind walls, with none to bring +succour. Hengist checked the rout, and rallying the host, set it again +in order of battle. The combat was passing sharp and grievous, for the +pagans advanced once more in rank and by companies. Each heartened +his fellow, so that great damage and loss were sustained by the +Christians. The host fell in disarray, and began to give back before +the onset of the foe. All would have been lost were it not for those +three thousand horsemen, who rode upon the Saxon in one mighty troop, +bringing succour and help to the footmen when they were overborne. The +pagans fought starkly and grimly. Well they knew not one would escape +with his life, if they did not keep them in this peril. In the press, +Eldof the Earl lighted on Hengist. Hatred gave him eyes, and he knew +him again because of the malice he owed him. He deemed that the time +and the means were come to satisfy his lust. Eldof ran in upon his +foe, striking him mightily with his sword. Hengist was a stout +champion, or he had fallen at the stroke. The two closed together, +with naked brands and lifted shields, smiting and guarding. Men forgot +to fight, and stared upon them, watching the great blows fall and the +gleaming swords. + +Whilst the heroes strove, Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, came hastening +like a paladin to the battle. Eldof saw him come, and being assured of +the end, arrayed himself against his adversary yet more proudly. He +sprang upon Hengist, and seizing him by the nasal of his helmet, +dragged him, with fallen head, amongst the Britons. "Knights," he +cried, "thanks be to God Who has given me my desire. He is vanquished +and taken who has caused such trouble to the land." + +[Footnote 1: Conisburg in Yorkshire.] + +Eldof showed the captive to his company, who demanded that he should +be slain with the sword. "A short shrift for the mad dog," they +clamoured, "who knows neither mercy nor pity. This is the source of +the war. This is the shedder of blood. Smite the head from his body, +and the victory is in your hands." Eldof made answer that Hengist +should have the law, good law and just. He bound him fast in fetters, +and delivered him to King Aurelius. The king chained him, hands and +feet, and set him in a strong prison to await judgment. + +Now Octa, Hengist's son, and Ebissa, his cousin, who were in the +field, hardly escaped from the battle, and fleeing, entered into York. +They strengthened the city, and made all ready, till men might come to +their aid. As for the others they hid in divers places, in the woods +and valleys, in caves and in the hills. But the power of the paynim +was broken, for many were dead, and of the living most were taken, and +in bonds, or held as thralls. The king made merry over his victory, +and gave the glory to God. He abode three full days at Caerconan to +heal the wounded of their hurt, and to give a little leisure to the +weary. At that place he called a council of his captains, to know what +it were good to do with the traitor Hengist; whether he should be +held in prison or slain outright. Eldad got him to his feet. A right +learned clerk was he, a bishop of his orders, and brother by blood to +that Earl Eldof, of whom you have heard. "My counsel to the king," +said the bishop, "is to do to the traitor Hengist--our earthly +adversary--that which holy Samuel did in old days to King Agag, when +he was made captive. Agag was a prince, passing proud, the right +glorious king of the people of Amalek. He set a quarrel upon the Jews, +that he might work them a mischief, since he sought to do them evil. +He seized their lands; he burned their goods with fire, and very often +he slew them for his pleasure. Then on a day this King Agag was taken +at a battle, the more to his sorrow. He was led before Saul, whom +these Jews so greatly desired for their king. Whilst Saul was +considering what it were well should be done with Agag, who was +delivered into his hand, Samuel stood upon his feet. This Samuel was a +holy prophet of Israel; a saint of God of the utmost sanctity; never +has there lived his like amongst the sons of men. This holy Samuel +seized on Agag, the proud king. He hewed him in many pieces, dividing +him limb from limb, and his members he sent throughout the realm. +Hearken and learn what Samuel said whilst he was hewing Agag small. +'Agag, many a man hast thou tormented for thy pleasure; many a fair +youth hast thou spoiled and slain. Thou hast drawn out many a soul +from its body, and made many a mother troubled for her son. Many a +babe hast thou rendered fatherless; but, O Agag, things evil and good +come to the like end. Now your mother presently will I make barren, +and from thy body shall the soul of thee be wrung.' Mete therefore to +your captive, O king, the measure which Samuel counted out to his." +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, was moved by the example furnished by the +bishop. He rose in the council, and laying hands on Hengist led him +without the city. There Eldof struck the head from Hengist with his +own sword. The king caused the head to be set again on the shoulders, +and gave Hengist's body seemly burial, according to the rite and +fashion of those who observe the law of the paynim. + +The king made no long stay at Caerconan, but followed eagerly after +his enemies. He came to York with a great host, and sat himself down +before the city. Octa, the son of Hengist, was within, and some of his +kindred with him. When Octa was persuaded that none might win to his +aid, he considered within himself whether he should render him to the +king's mercy. If he took his fate in his hand, and humbly besought +pity of the king, so mercy were given him all would be well, but if +his prayer was scorned, then he would defend himself to the death. +Octa did as he devised, and as his kinsfolk approved. He came forth +from the gate of the city with a company of all his barons. Octa +wore a chain of iron upon his wrists, and walking at the head of his +companions, came first to the king. "Sire," said he, "I beseech you +for mercy and pity. The gods in whom we put our trust have failed us +at need. Your gods are mightier than they. They have wrought wonders, +and set strength upon you, since we are stricken to the dust. I am +vanquished, and own myself thy servant. Behold the chain of thy +bondman! Do with me now according to thy will, to me, and these my +men. Life and limb, yea, all that we have, are at thy pleasure. But +if it seem good to the king to keep us about his person, we will +toil early and late in his service. We will serve him loyally in his +quarrels, and become his liege men." + +The king was a devout man, very piteous of heart. He looked around +him to learn what his barons thought of this matter and what would be +their counsel. Eldad, the fair bishop, spake first as a wise elder. +"Good it is, and was, and ever shall be, to show mercy on him who +requires mercy to be shown. He who forgives not another his trespass, +how may he hope that God will pardon him his sin? These cry loudly +upon thee for mercy, mercy they implore, and mercy they must have. +Britain is a great realm, long and wide, and in many a place is +inhabited of none, save the beast. Grant them enough thereof that they +may dig and plant, and live of the increase. But take first of them +such hostages, that they will serve thee loyally, and loyally content +them in their lot. We learn from Holy Writ that the children of Gibeon +sought life and league from the Jew when the Israelites held them in +their power. Peace they prayed, peace they received; and life and +covenant were given in answer to their cry. A Christian man should not +be harder than the Jew proved himself to be in his hour. Mercy they +crave, mercy they should have; so let not death deceive them in their +hope." + +The king granted land to the Saxons, according to the counsel of Eldad +The lot was appointed them in Scotland, and they set out speedily +to the place where they must dwell. But first they gave to the king +hostages of the children of their proudest blood and race. After the +king was fifteen days in the city, he sent messages commanding his +people to attend him in council. Baron and clerk, abbot and bishop, he +summoned to his court. At this council the rights of the heir and the +privileges of the orders were re-affirmed. He bade and assured that +the houses of religion, destroyed by the Romans, should be rebuilt. He +dismissed his soldiers to their homes, making viscounts and provosts +to keep his fiefs in peace, and to ensure his revenues and rent. He +sought masons and carpenters and built anew the churches. Such chapels +in his realm as were hurt or damaged in the wars, the king restored to +their former estate, for the fairer service and honour of God. After +the council was done the king set forth towards London, where his +presence was greatly desired of the citizens. He found the city but +the shadow of its former splendour, for the streets were emptied of +people, and houses and churches were alike fallen or decayed. Right +grievously the king lamented the damage done to his fair city. He +founded anew the churches, and bade clerks and burgesses to attend the +service of God, as was of wont and right. From thence the king went to +Ambresbury, that he might kneel beside the graves of those who were +foully slain at Hengist's love-day, near the abbey. He called together +a great company of masons, carpenters, and cunning artificers; for it +was in his mind to raise to their worship a monument of stone that +would endure to the world's end. + +Thereat spake to the king a certain wise man, Tremonius, Archbishop of +Caerleon, praying him to send for Merlin, and build according to his +bidding, since there was none so skilled in counsel or labour, more +truthful of word or apter in divination. The king desired greatly to +behold Merlin, and to judge by hearing of his worth. At that time +Merlin abode near the Well of Labenes. This fountain springs in a +hidden place, very deep in Wales, but I know not where, since I have +never been. Merlin came straightway to the king, even as he was +bidden. The king welcomed him with marvellous joy, honouring him right +gladly. He cherished him richly, and was ever about him with prayers +and entreaties that he would show him somewhat of things that were yet +to come, for these he was on itch to hear. "Sire," replied Merlin, +"this I may not do. I dare not open my lips to speak of such awful +matters, which are too high for me, save only when needs speak I must. +Should my tongue be unloosed by greed or lightness, should I be puffed +up by vanity, then my familiar spirit--that being by whom I know +that which I know--would withdraw his inspiration from my breath. My +knowledge would depart from me, and the words I speak would be no +weightier than the idle words on every gossip's lips. Let the future +take care of itself. Consider rather the concerns of to-day. If thou +art desirous to make a fair work and a lasting, of which men will brag +till the end of time, cause to be brought hither the carol that a +giant wrought in Ireland. This giant laboured greatly in the building +of a mighty circle of stones. He shaped his carol, setting the stones +one upon another. The stones are so many, and of such a kind; they are +so huge and so weighty; that the strength of man--as men are in these +times--might not endure to lift the least of his pebbles" The king +laughed loudly. "Merlin," said he, "since these stones are of such +heaviness that it passes the strength of the strong to move them, who +shall carry them to my masons? Have we not in this realm stones mighty +enough, and to spare?" "King," answered Merlin, "knowest thou not that +wit is more than strength! Muscle is good, but craft is better. Skill +devises means when strength fails. Cunning and engines bring many +matters to a good end, that strength would not venture even to begin. +Engines can move these stones, and by the use of engines we may make +them our own. King, these stones were carried from Africa: there they +were first shapen. The giant who ravished them to Ireland, set up his +carol to his own content. Very serviceable were these stones, and +right profitable to the sick. It was the custom of the surgeons of +that land to wash these stones with fair water. This water they would +make hot in baths, and set therein those who had suffered hurt, or +were grieved by any infirmity. They washed in this water, and were +healed of their sickness. However sore their wound, however grievous +their trouble, other medicine needed they none." When the king and his +Britons heard of the virtue residing in the stones, they all desired +them very greatly. Not one but would gladly have ventured on the quest +for these stones, of which Merlin told such marvels. They devised +therefore to pass the sea with fifteen thousand men to make war upon +the Irish, and to ease them of the stones. Uther, at his own desire, +was chosen as their captain. Merlin also went with them to furnish +engines for their toil. So Uther and his company crossed to Ireland on +such quest. When the King of Ireland, that men called Guillomer, +heard tell that strangers were arrayed in his land, he assembled his +household and the Irish, and menaced them proudly, seeking to chase +them from the realm. After they had learned the reason of this +quarrel, and that for stones the Britons were come, they mocked them +loudly, making them their mirth and their song. For mad it seemed in +the eyes of these Irish that men should pain themselves so grievously +by land and sea to gain a treasure of naked stones. "Never a stone," +said these, "shall they have; not one shall they carry with them to +their homes." Very lightly you may scorn your enemy in your heart, but +at your peril you seek to do him mischief with your hands. The Irish +mocked and menaced the stranger, and sought him until they found. The +combat was joined directly the hosts met together, but the Irish +were men of peace, unclad in mail, and not accustomed to battle. The +Britons were their jest, but they were also their victors. The King of +Ireland fled from the battle discomfited. He went from town to town, +with no long tarrying in any place, so that the Britons might not make +him their captive. + +After the Britons had laid aside their armour, and taken rest from the +battle, they were brought by Merlin, their companion, into a mountain +where the carol was builded. This high place was called Hilomar,[1] by +the folk whom they had vanquished, and the carol was upon the summit +of the mount. The Britons stared upon the stones. + +[Footnote 1: Kildare.] + +They went about them, saying each to his fellow that none had seen so +mighty a building. They marvelled how these stones were set one upon +another, and how they should be got across the sea. "Comrades," said +Merlin, "you are strong champions. Strive now if of your strength you +may move these stones, and carry them from their seat." The young men +therefore encompassed the stones before, behind, and on every side, +but heave and tug as mightily as they could, the stones for all their +travail would not budge one single inch. "Bestir yourselves," cried +Merlin, "on, friends, on. But if by strength you can do no more, then +you shall see that skill and knowledge are of richer worth than thews +and fleshly force." Having spoken these words Merlin kept silence, and +entered within the carol. He walked warily around the stones. His lips +moved without stay, as those of a man about his orisons, though I +cannot tell whether or no he prayed. At length Merlin beckoned to the +Britons. "Enter boldly," cried he; "there is nought to harm. Now you +may lift these pebbles from their seat, and bear and charge them on +your ships." So at his word and bidding they wrought as Merlin showed +them. They took the stones and carrying them to the ships, bestowed +them thereon. Afterwards the mariners hoisted their sails, and set out +for Britain. When they were safely come to their own land, they bore +the stones to Ambresbury, and placed them on the mountain near by +the burying ground. The king rode to Ambresbury to Keep the Feast of +Pentecost. Bishops, abbots, and barons, he had bidden them all to +observe the Feast. A great company of folk, both rich and poor, +gathered themselves together, and at this fair festival the king set +the crown upon his head. Three days they observed the rite, and made +merry. On the fourth--because of his exceeding reverence--he gave +pastoral crosses to two prelates. Holy Dubricius became Bishop of +Caerleon, and York he bestowed upon holy Sampson. Both these fair +prelates were great churchmen, and priests of devout and spotless +life. At the same time Merlin ranged the stones in due order, building +them side by side. This circle of stones was called by the Britons in +their own tongue The Giant's Carol, but in English it bears the name +of Stonehenge. + +When the rich feast was come to its appointed end, the court departed, +each man unto his own place. Now Passent, that was a son of Vortigern, +had fled from Wales and Britain, for fear of Aurelius and his brother +Uther. He sought refuge in Germany, and there purchased to himself +ships, and men who would serve him for guerdon; but of these he had no +great company. This Passent arrived in the north country and ravaged +it, burning the towns and spoiling the land. He dared make no long +stay, for the king hastened to the north to give him battle, and this +he might not endure. Passent took again to his ships, and fearing to +return whence he came, fared so far with sail and oar that in the end +he cast anchor off the coast of Ireland. Passent sought speech of the +king of that realm. He told over his birth and state, and showed him +his bitter need. Passent prayed the king so urgently; the twain took +such deep counsel together; that it was devised between them to pass +the sea, and offer battle to the Britons. This covenant was made of +Passent that he might avenge his father's death, and dispute his +heritage with Aurelius; but of the King of Ireland to avenge him upon +the Britons, who had vanquished him in battle, robbed his folk, and +taken to themselves the carol with a strong hand. Thus they plighted +faith to satisfy each the other for these wrongs. Guillomer and +Passent made ready as many soldiers as they might. They ordained their +ships, and with a fair wind crossed the sea, and came safely to Wales. +The host entered in Menevia, that city so praised of the Welsh, and +now called of men, Saint David. It befell that King Aurelius lay sick +at Winchester. His infirmity was sore upon him, for the trouble was +long and grievous, and the surgeons knew not whether he would mend or +die. When Aurelius learned that Passent and the King of Ireland were +come together in Wales to make sorrow in the land, he sent for Uther +his brother. He grieved beyond measure that he could not get him from +his bed. He charged Uther to hasten into Wales, and drive them from +the realm. Uther sent messages to the barons, and summoned the knights +to the war. He set out from Winchester; but partly by reason of the +long journey, and partly to increase the number of his power, he +tarried for a great while upon the road. Very long it was before he +arrived in Wales. Whilst he dallied in this fashion a certain pagan +named Appas, a man born in Saxony, craved speech of Passent. This +Appas was meetly schooled, and apt in parts. He spoke to many people +in their own tongues; he was wise in all that concerned medicine and +surgery; but he was felon and kept bad faith. "Passent," said Appas +privily, "thou hast hated this King Aurelius for long. What should +be mine if I were to slay him?" "Ease and riches I will give thee," +answered Passent. "Never a day but I will stand thy friend, so only +thy word be fulfilled, and the king taste death at thy hand" "May your +word," said Appas, "be true as mine" So the covenant was ordained +between them that Passent should count out one thousand livres, what +time Appas had done to death the king Appas was very cunning, and +right greedy and covetous of wealth. He put upon him a habit of +religion; he shaved his crown, and caused his hair to be polled close +to his head. Like a monk he was shaven, like a monk he seemed; in gown +and hood he went vested as a monk. In this guise and semblance Appas +took his way to the royal court. Being a liar he gave out that he was +a good physician, and thus won to the king's bed. Him he promised to +make whole very speedily, if he would trust himself to his hand. He +counted the pulse, and sought for the trouble "Well I know," said he, +"the cause of this evil. I have such a medicine as will soon give +you ease." Who could misdoubt so sweet a physician? The gentle king +desired greatly to be healed of his hurt, as would any of you in +a like case. Having no thought of treason, he put himself in this +traitor's care. Appas made ready a potion, laced with venom, and gave +the king to drink. He then wrapped the king warmly in a rich coverlet, +and bade him lie in peace and sleep. After the king was heated, and +the poison had lain hold upon his body, ah, God, the anguish, there +was nothing for him but death. When Aurelius knew that he must die, he +took oath of his household, that so truly as they loved him they would +carry his body to Stonehenge, and bury him within the stones that +he had builded. Thus died the king and was buried; but the traitor, +Appas, escaped and fled with his life. + +Uther entered in Wales with his host, and found the folk of Ireland +abiding yet at Menevia. At that time appeared a star, which was seen +of many. This star was hight Comet, and according to the clerks it +signified death and the passing of kings. This star shone marvellously +clear, and cast a beam that was brighter than the sun. At the end +of this beam was a dragon's head, and from the dragon's mighty jaws +issued two rays. One of these rays stretched over France, and went +from France even to the Mount of St. Bernard. The other ray went +towards Ireland, and divided into seven beams. Each of these seven +beams shone bright and clear, alike on water and on land. By reason of +this star which was seen of all, the peoples were sorely moved. +Uther marvelled greatly what it might mean, and marvellously was he +troubled. He prayed Merlin that he would read him the sign, and the +interpretation thereof. Merlin answered not a word. Sorrow had him by +the heart, and he wept bitterly. When speech returned to his mouth he +lamented with many words and sighed often. "Ah, God," said he, "sorrow +and trouble and grief have fallen on Britain this day. The realm has +lost its great captain. The king is dead--that stout champion who has +delivered the land from such evil and shame, and plucked his spoil +from the pagan." + +When Uther was certified that his brother and good lord had finished +his course, he was right heavy, and much was he dismayed. But Merlin +comforted him as he might. "Uther," said he, "be not altogether cast +down, since from Death there is no return. Bring to an end this +business of the war. Give battle to thine enemies, for to-morrow shall +see Passent and the King of Ireland vanquished. Fight boldly on the +morrow; so shalt thou conquer, and be crowned King of Britain. Hearken +to the interpretation of the sign. The dragon at the end of the beam +betokens thee thyself, who art a stout and hardy knight. One of the +two rays signifies a son born of thy body, who shall become a puissant +prince, conquering France, and beyond the borders of France. The other +ray which parted from its fellow, betokens a daughter who shall be +Queen of Scotland. Many a fair heir shall she give to her lord, and +mighty champions shall they prove both on land and sea." Uther lent +his ear to the counsel of Merlin. He caused his folk to rest them the +night, and in the morning arm them for the battle. He thought to take +the city by assault, but when the Irish saw him approach their walls, +they put on their harness, and setting them in companies, issued forth +to fight without the gates. The Irish fought valiantly, but right soon +were discomfited, for on that day the Britons slew Passent, and the +King of Ireland, his friend. Those who escaped from the field fled +towards the sea, but Uther following swiftly after, harried them to +the death. Such as reached the water climbed wildly upon their ships, +and with sail and oar set out to sea, that Uther should work them no +more mischief. + +When Uther had brought his business to a good end, he took his way +towards Winchester, and the flower of his chivalry with him. On his +road a messenger met him who told him of a surety the king was dead, +and as to the manner of his death. He related how the bishops had laid +Aurelius to rest with great pomp in the Giant's Carol, even as he had +required of his sergeants and barons whilst he was yet alive. At these +tidings Uther pressed on to Winchester, sparing not the spur. The +people came before him on his passage clamouring shrilly. "Uther, +sire," cried the common folk, "since he is dead who maintained the +poor, and did nought but good to his people, we have none to defend +us, save thee. Take then the crown, as thine by heritage and right. +Fair sire, we thy poor commons pray this thing, who desire nothing but +thy worship and thy gain." Uther rejoiced greatly at their words. He +saw clearly where his profit lay, and that no advancement is possible +to a king. He hastened, therefore, to do as the folk entreated. He +took the crown, and becoming king, loved well his people, and guarded +the honour of the realm. In remembrance of the dragon, and of the +hardy knight who should be king and a father of kings, which it +betokened, Uther wrought two golden dragons, by the counsel of his +barons. One of these dragons he caused to be borne before him when he +went into battle. The other he sent to Winchester to be set up in the +church of the bishop. For this reason he was ever after called Uther +Pendragon. Pendragon was his name in the Britons' tongue, but Dragon's +head in that of Rome. + +Uther was a mighty lord, who had confidence in his power. His sacring +at Winchester he held for proof and token that he was a king who would +beget puissant princes, by whom great deeds should be done. This faith +in his destiny gave him increase of strength. He determined in his +heart that he would accomplish all that was foretold of him, and that +through good report and ill, never would he turn back. He knew and was +persuaded that whatever the task he took in hand, he must in fulness +of time bring it to a good end. Merlin was a true prophet; and since +no lying spirit was in his mouth, it was impossible to doubt that very +swiftly all these things would come to pass. + +Now Octa, the son of Hengist, had received from Aurelius broad lands +and fair manors for him and his companions. When Octa knew that the +mighty captain was dead, he kept neither loyalty nor faith with a king +whom he despised in his heart. He called together a great company of +his friends and kinsmen, and amongst them Ossa, his cousin. Octa and +Ossa were hardy champions, and they were the lords of the host. With +them moreover were such folk as had escaped from Uther at the slaying +of Passent. These Octa had taken to himself, so that his fellowship +was passing strong. This host overran the realm from Humber to +Scotland, and subdued it in every part. Octa then came before York, +and would have seized it by violence, but the burgesses of the city +held it stoutly against him, so that the pagans might not enter within +the walls. He sat down, therefore, before the gates, and invested the +city straitly, by reason of the numbers of his host. Uther had no +thought but to succour his city, and to rescue his friends who were +shut within. He marched hot foot to York, calling his men together +from every part. Being resolved at all cost to force the heathen to +give over the siege, Uther offered them battle without delay. The +Melly was right sharp and grievous. Many a soul was parted from the +body. The heathen played their parts as men, and contended boldly with +the sword. The Britons could do them no mischief. They might not force +their way into the city, neither could those within prevail to issue +forth. The Batons might endure the battle no longer. They gave back in +the press, and as they fled, the pursuing Saxons did them marvellous +damage. The pursuit lasted until the Britons took refuge in a fastness +of those parts, and the night parted the adverseness one from the +other. This mountain was named Damen. The peak was very sharp. About +its flanks were rocks and precipices, whilst close at hand stood a +thicket of hazel trees. Upon this mountain the Britons climbed. By +this way and that, they ascended the height, until they sought safety +on the summit. There the heathen shut them fast, for they sat beneath +them in the plain, whilst all about them stretched the mountain. + +The king was very fearful, and not for himself alone. He was in sore +straits and perplexity as to what he should do to get his spearmen +from the trap. Now Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, was with the king. This +lord was very valiant and courteous, though stricken in years, and was +esteemed of all as a right prudent councillor. To him the king went, +and unravelled all the coil. Uther prayed Gorlois to counsel him as +became his honour, for he knew well that the earl regarded honour +beyond the loss of life or limb. "You ask me my counsel," said +Gorlois. "My counsel--so it be according to your will--is that we +should arm ourselves forthwith, and get down from this hill amongst +our foes. They are assuredly sleeping at this hour, for they despise +us overmuch to deem that we shall challenge them again to battle. In +the morning they will come to seek us--so we await them in the trap. +Let us take our fate in our hands like men, and fall upon them +suddenly. The foe will then be confused and bewildered, for we must +come upon them silently, without battle cry or blowing of trumpets. +Before they are awakened from sleep, we shall have slain so many in +our onset, that those who escape from our swords will not dare to +rally against us in their flight. Only this thing first. Let every man +have penitence for that he has done amiss. Let us ask God's pardon for +the sins that we have wrought, and promise faithfully to amend our +lives. Let us turn from the wickedness wherein we have walked all +these days; praying the Saviour to hold us in His hand, and grant us +strength against those who fear not His name, and make war upon His +Christians. If we do these things God will sustain our quarrel; and if +God be with us who then can do us wrong?" + +This counsel seemed good to the king and his captains. They did as +Gorlois said, and humbled themselves before God with a contrite heart, +promising to put away the evil from their lives. After they had made +an end of prayer, they took their arms, and stole down the hillside to +the valley. The Britons came amongst the pagans lying naked upon the +ground, and fast in sleep. The swordplay was right merry, for the +slaughter was very great. The Britons thrust their glaives deep in the +breasts of the foe. They lopped heads and feet and wrists from their +bodies. The Britons ranged like lions amongst their enemies. They were +as lions a-hungered for their prey, killing ewes and lambs, and all +the sheep of the flock, whether small or great. Thus the Britons +did, for they spared neither spearman nor captain. The heathen were +altogether dismayed. They were yet heavy with sleep, and could neither +get to their harness, nor flee from the field. No mercy was shown them +for all their nakedness. Armed or naked the sword was thrust through +their breast or heart or bowels. In that place the heathen perished +from the land, since the Christians destroyed them utterly. Octa and +Ossa, the lords of their host--these troublers of Britain--were taken +alive. They were led to London, and set fast in a strong prison, bound +in iron. If any of their fellows escaped from the battle, it was only +by reason of the blackness of the night. He who was able to flee, ran +from the field. He tarried not to succour his own familiar friend. But +many more were slam in that surprise than got safely away. + +When Uther parted from York he passed throughout Northumberland. From +Northumberland he entered into Scotland, having many ships and a great +host with him. He went about the length and breadth of the land, and +purged it throughly in every part. Such folk as were oppressed of +their neighbours he confirmed in their rights. Never before had the +realm such rest and peace as in the days of Uther the king. After +Uther had brought his business in the north to an end, he set forth +to London, where he purposed to take the crown on Easter Day. Uther +desired the feast to be very rich and great. He summoned therefore +dukes, earls, and wardens, yea, all his baronage from near and far, +by brief and message, to come with their wedded dames and privy +households to London for his feast. So all the lords came at the +king's commandment, bringing their wives as they were bidden. Very +richly the feast was holden. After the Mass was sung, that fair +company went in hall to meat. The king sat at the head of his hall, +upon a dais. The lords of his realm were ranged about him, each in his +order and degree. The Earl of Cornwall was near the king's person, so +that one looked upon the other's face. By the earl's side was seated +Igerne, his wife. There was no lady so fair in all the land. Right +courteous was the dame, noble of peerage, and good as she was fair. + +The king had heard much talk of this lady, and never aught but praise. +His eyes were ravished with her beauty. He loved her dearly, and +coveted her hotly in his heart, for certainly she was marvellously +praised. He might not refrain from looking upon her at table, and his +hope and desire tyrned to her more and more. Whether he ate or drank, +spoke or was silent, she was ever in his thought. He glanced aside at +the lady, and smiled if she met his eye. All that he dared of love +he showed. He saluted her by his privy page, and bestowed upon her a +gift. He jested gaily with the dame, looking nicely upon her, and made +a great semblance of friendship. Igerne was modest and discreet. She +neither granted Uther's hope, nor denied. The earl marked well these +lookings and laughings, these salutations and gifts. He needed no +other assurance that the king had set his love upon his wife. Gorlois +deemed that he owed no faith to a lord who would supplant him in her +heart. The earl rose from his seat at table; he took his dame by the +hand, and went straight from the hall. He called the folk of his +household about him, and going to the stables, got him to horse. Uther +sent after Gorlois by his chamberlain, telling him that he did shame +and wrong in departing from the court without taking leave of his +king. He bade him to do the right, and not to treat his lord so +despitefully, lest a worse thing should befall him. He could have but +little trust in his king, if he would not return for a space. Gorlois +rode proudly from the court without leave or farewell. The king +menaced him very grievously, but the earl gave small heed to his +threats, for he recked nothing of what might chance. He went into +Cornwall, and arrayed his two castles, making them ready against the +war. His wife he put in his castle of Tintagel, for this was the home +of his father and of his race. It was a strong keep, easily holden of +a few sergeants, since none could climb or throw down the walls. The +castle stood on a tall cliff, near by the sea. Men might not win to +enter by the gate, and saving the gate, there was no door to enter in +the tower. + +The earl shut his lady fast in the tower. He dared hide his treasure +in no other place, lest thieves broke through, and stole her from him. +Therefore he sealed her close in Tintagel. For himself he took the +rest of his men-at-arms, and the larger part of his knights, and rode +swiftly to the other strong fortress that was his. The king heard that +Gorlois had garnished and made ready his castle, purposing to defend +himself even against his lord. Partly to avenge himself upon the earl, +and partly to be near his vassal's wife, the king arrayed a great +host. He crossed the Severn, and coming before the castle where the +earl lay, he sought to take it by storm. Finding that he might not +speed, he sat down before the tower, and laid siege to those within. +The host invested the castle closely for full seven days, but could +not breach the walls. The earl stubbornly refused to yield, for he +awaited succour from the King of Ireland, whom he had entreated to his +aid. King Uther's heart was in another place. He was weaned beyond +measure of Gorlois and his castle. His love for Igerne urged and +called him thence, for the lady was sweeter to his mind than any other +in the world. At the end he bade to him a baron of his household, +named Ulfin, who was privy to his mind. Him he asked secretly of that +which he should do. "Ulfin," said the king, "my own familiar friend, +counsel me wisely, for my hope is in thee. My love for Igerne hath +utterly cast me down I am altogether broken and undone. I cannot go or +come about my business; I cannot wake nor sleep, I cannot rise from my +bed nor lay my head on the pillow; neither can I eat or drink, except +that this lady is ever in my mind. How to gain her to my wish I cannot +tell. But this I know, that I am a dead man if you may not counsel me +to my hope." "Oh my king," answered Ulfin, "I marvel at your words. +You have tormented the earl grievously with your war, and have burned +his lands. Do you think to win a wife's heart by shutting her husband +close in his tower? You show your love for the dame by harassing the +lord! No, the matter is too high for me, and I have one only counsel +to give you. Merlin is with us in the host. Send after him, for he is +a wise clerk, and the best counsellor of any man living. If Merlin may +not tell you what to do, there is none by whom you may win to your +desire." + +King Uther, by the counsel of Ulfin, commanded Merlin to be brought +before him. The king opened out his bitter need. He prayed that for +pity's sake Merlin would find him a way to his hope, so he were able, +since die he must if of Igerne he got no comfort. But let the clerk +seek and buy so that the king had his will. Money and wealth would be +granted plenteously, if gold were needed, for great as was the king's +evil, so large would be his delight. "Sire," answered Merlin, "have +her you shall. Never let it be said that you died for a woman's love. +Right swiftly will I bring you to your wish, or evil be the bounty +that I receive of the king's hand. Hearken to me. Igerne is guarded +very closely in Tintagel. The castle is shut fast, and plenteously +supplied with all manner of store. The walls are strong and high, so +that it may not be taken by might; and it is victualled so well, +that none may win there by siege. The castle also is held of loyal +castellans, but for all their vigils, I know well how to enter therein +at my pleasure, by reason of my potions. By craft I can change a man's +countenance to the fashion of his neighbour, and of two men each shall +take on his fellow's semblance. In body and visage, in speech and +seeming, without doubt I can shape you to the likeness of the Earl +of Cornwall. Why waste the time with many words! You, sire, shall +be fashioned as the earl. I, who purpose to go with you on this +adventure, will wear the semblance of Bertel. Ulfin, here, shall +come in the guise of Jordan. These two knights are the earl's chosen +friends, and are very close to his mind and heart. In this manner we +may enter boldly in his castle of Tintagel, and you shall have your +will of the lady. We shall be known of none, for not a man will doubt +us other than we seem." The king had faith in Merlin's word, and held +his counsel good. He gave over the governance of the host, privily, to +a lord whom he much loved. Merlin put forth his arts, and transfigured +their faces and vesture into the likeness of the earl and his people. +That very night the king and his companions entered in Tintagel. The +porter in his lodge, and the steward within his office, deemed him +their lord. They welcomed him gladly, and served him with joy. +When meat was done the king had his delight of a lady who was much +deceived. Of that embrace Igerne conceived the good, the valiant, +and the trusty king whom you have known as Arthur. Thus was Arthur +begotten, who was so renowned and chivalrous a lord. + +Now the king's men learned very speedily that Uther had departed from +the host. The captains were wearied of sitting before the castle. To +return the more quickly to their homes, they got into their harness +and seized their arms. They did not tarry to order the battle, or make +ready ladders for the wall, but they approached the tower in their +disarray. The king's men assaulted the castle from every side, and the +earl defended himself manfully, but at the last he himself was slain, +and the castle was swiftly taken. Those who were fortunate enough to +escape from the tower fled lightfoot to Tintagel. There they published +the news of this misadventure, and the death of their lord. The sorrow +and lamentation of those who bewailed the earl's death reached the +ears of the king. He came forth from his chamber, and rebuked the +messengers of evil tidings. "Why all this noise and coil?" cried he "I +am safe and sound, thank God, as you may see by looking on my face. +These tidings are not true, and you must neither believe all that the +messengers proclaim, nor deem that they tell naught but lies. The +cause is plain why my household think me lost. I came out from the +castle taking leave and speaking to no man. None knew that I went +secretly through the postern, nor that I rode to you at Tintagel, for +I feared treachery upon the way. Now men cry and clamour of my death, +because I was not seen when the king won within the tower. Doubtless +it is a grievous thing to have lost my keep, and to know that so many +goodly spearmen lie dead behind the walls. But whilst I live, my goods +at least are my own. I will go forth to the king, requiring a peace, +which he will gladly accord me. I will go at once, before he may come +to Tintagel, seeking to do us mischief, for if he falls upon us in +this trap we shall pipe to deaf ears." + +Igerne praised the counsel of him she deemed her lord. The king +embraced her by reason of her tenderness, and kissed her as he bade +farewell. He departed straightway from the castle, and his familiars +with him. When they had ridden for a while upon the road, Merlin again +put forth his enchantments, so that he, the king, and Ulfin took their +own shapes, and became as they had been before. They hastened to the +host without drawing rein, for the king was with child to know how the +castle was so swiftly taken, and in what manner the earl was slain. He +commanded before him his captains, and from this man and that sought +to arrive at the truth. Uther considered the adventure, and took his +lords to witness that whoever had done the earl to death, had done not +according to his will. He called to mind Earl Gorlois' noble deeds, +and made complaint of his servants, looking upon the barons very +evilly. He wore the semblance of a man in sore trouble, but there were +few who were so simple as to believe him. Uther returned with his host +before Tintagel. He cried to those who stood upon the wall asking why +they purposed to defend the tower, since their lord was dead and his +castle taken, neither could they look for succour in the realm, or +from across the sea. The castellans knew that the king spake sooth, +and that for them there was no hope of aid. They therefore set open +the gates of the castle, and gave the fortress and its keys into +the king's hand. Uther, whose love was passing hot, spoused Igerne +forthwith, and made her his queen. She was with child, and when her +time was come to be delivered, she brought forth a son. This son was +named Arthur, with the rumour of whose praise the whole world has been +filled. After the birth of Arthur, Uther got upon Igerne a daughter +cleped Anna. When this maiden came of age she was bestowed upon a +right courteous lord, called Lot of Lyones. Of this marriage was born +Gawain, the stout knight and noble champion. + +Uther reigned for a long time in health and peace. Then he fell into a +great sickness, failing alike in mind and strength. His infirmity lay +so sore upon him, that he might not get him from his bed. The warders, +who watched over his prison in London, were passing weary of their +long guard, and were corrupted also by fair promises that were made. +They took rich gifts from Octa, that was Hengist's son, and from Ossa, +his cousin, and delivering them out of their bonds, let them go free +from their dungeon. Octa and Ossa returned swiftly to their own place. +They purchased war galleys to themselves, and gathering their men +about them menaced Uther very grievously. With a great company +of knights, and spearmen, and archers they passed the marches of +Scotland, burning and spoiling all the realm. Since Uther was sick, +and could do little to defend his life and land, he called Lot, the +husband of his daughter, to his aid. To this lord he committed the +guidance of his host, and appointed him constable of his knights. He +commanded these that they should hearken Lot as himself, and observe +all his biddings. This Uther did because he knew Lot for a courteous +and liberal lord, cunning in counsel, and mighty with the spear. + +Now Octa vexed the Britons very sorely. He boasted himself greatly, by +reason of the number of his folk, and of the kings weakness. To avenge +his father's death and his own wrongs, he made Britain fearful of his +name; for he neither granted truce nor kept faith. Lot met Octa once +and again in battle. Many a time he vanquished his foe, but often +enough the victory remained with Octa. The game of war is like a game +of tables. Each must lose in his turn, and the player who wins to-day +will fail to-morrow. At the end Octa was discomfited, and was driven +from the country. But it afterwards befell that the Britons despised +Lot. They would pay no heed to his summons, this man for reason of +jealousy, this other because of the sharing of the spoil. The war, +therefore, came never to an end, till the king himself perceived that +something was amiss, whilst the folk of the country said openly that +the captains were but carpet knights, who made pretence of war. At +this certain men of repute came before the king, praying him to +remain no longer hidden from his people. "Come what may," said these +counsellors, "you must get to the host, and show yourself to the +barons." The king took them at their word. He caused himself to be set +within a horse litter, and carried, as though in a bier, amongst his +people. "Now we shall see," said these, "which of these recreant lords +will follow him to the host." The king sent urgent messages to the +knights who were so disdainful of Lot, summoning them on their +allegiance to hasten to his aid. For himself he was carried straight +to Verulam.[1] This once was a fair city where St. Alban fell upon his +death, but was now altogether ravaged and destroyed of the heathen. +Octa had led his people to the city, and seized thereon, making fast +the gates. The king sat down without the town. He caused great engines +to be arrayed to break through the wall, but it was very strong, and +he might make no breach. Octa and his friends made merry over the +catapults set over against them. On a morning they opened wide their +gates, and came forth to do battle with the king. A vile matter it +seemed to them that the door should be locked and barred because of +a king lying sick within a litter. They could not endure to be so +despised that he should fight against them from his coffin. As I deem +their pride went before a fall. That captain won who was deserving of +the victory. The heathen were defeated, and in that battle Octa and +his fair cousin Ossa were slain. + +[Footnote 1: St. Albans.] + +Many who escaped from the field fled into Scotland. There they made +Colgrin their chieftain, who was a friend of Octa and his cousin. +Uther rejoiced so greatly by reason of his victory, and of the honour +God had shown him, that for sheer joy he was as a man healed and +altogether whole. He set himself to hearten his barons, and inspire +them with his own courage. He said to his men, with mirth, "I like +rather to be on my bier, languishing in long infirmity, than to use +health and strength in fleeing from my foe. The Saxons disdained me, +holding me in despite because I cannot rise from my bed; but it has +befallen that he who hath one foot in the grave hath overthrown the +quick. Forward then, and press hardly on their heels who seek to +destroy our religion from the land." + +When the king had rested him for a space, and had encouraged the lords +with his words, he would have followed after the heathen. Seeing that +his sickness was yet heavy upon him, the barons prayed that he would +sojourn awhile in the city, until it pleased God to give him solace +from his hurt. This they said fearing lest his courage should bring +him to his death. It chanced, therefore, that the host departed, +leaving Uther at Verulam, because of his infirmity, none being with +him, save the folk of his private household. Now the Saxons who were +driven from the land, when they had drawn together, considered within +themselves that if the king were but dead, he had no heir who might do +them a mischief, and despoil them of their goods. Since they had no +trust in their weapons, doubting that they could slay him with the +sword, they devised to murder the king by craft and poison. They +suborned certain evil-doers, whose names I do not know, by promises +of pennies and of land. These men they conveyed to the king's court, +arrayed in ragged raiment, the better to spy in what fashion +they might draw near his person and carry out their purpose. The +malefactors came to Verulam, but for all their cunning and craft of +tongues, in no way could they win anigh the king. They went to and fro +so often; they listened to the servitors' talk so readily; that in the +end they knew that the king drank nothing but cold water, that other +liquor never passed his lips. This water was grateful to his sickness. +It sprang from a well very near his hall, and of this water he drank +freely, for none other was to his mind. When these privy murderers +were persuaded that they might never come so close to the king's body +as to slay him with a knife, they sowed their poison in the well. They +lurked secretly about the country, until it came to their ears when +and how he died, and then fled incontinent whence they came. Presently +the king was athirst, and called for drink. His cupbearer gave him +water, laced with venom, from the spring. Uther drank of the cup, and +was infected by the plague, so that there was no comfort for him save +in death. His body swelled, becoming foul and black, and very soon +he died. Right quickly all those who drank of the water from that +fountain died of the death from which their lord lay dead. After this +thing became known, and the malice of these evil-doers was made clear, +the burgesses of the city met together, and choked the well for +evermore. They cast therein so much earth, that a pyre stood above +the source, as a witness to this deed. Uther the king having fallen +asleep, his body was borne to Stonehenge, and laid to rest close by +Aurelius, his brother; the brethren lying side by side. The bishops +and barons of the realm gathered themselves together, and sent +messages to Arthur, Uther's son, bidding him to Cirencester to be made +their king. Arthur at the time of his coronation was a damoiseau of +some fifteen years, but tall and strong for his age. His faults and +virtues I will show you alike, for I have no desire to lead you astray +with words. He was a very virtuous knight, right worthy of praise, +whose fame was much in the mouths of men. To the haughty he was proud, +but tender and pitiful to the simple. He was a stout knight and a +bold: a passing crafty captain, as indeed was but just, for skill and +courage were his servants at need: and large of his giving. He was +one of Love's lovers; a lover also of glory; and his famous deeds are +right fit to be kept in remembrance. He ordained the courtesies of +courts, and observed high state in a very splendid fashion. So long as +he lived and reigned he stood head and shoulders above all princes +of the earth, both for courtesy and prowess, as for valour and +liberality. When this Arthur was freshly crowned king, of his own free +will he swore an oath that never should the Saxons have peace or rest +so long as they tarried in his realm. This he did by reason that for +a great while they had troubled the land, and had done his father and +his uncle to their deaths. Arthur called his meinie to his aid. He +brought together a fair company of warriors, bestowing on them largely +of his bounty, and promising to grant largely of the spoil. With this +host he hastened into the land that lay about York, Colgrin--who was +the chief and captain of these Saxons since the slaying of Octa--had +many Picts and Scots in his fellowship, besides a goodly company of +his own people. He desired nothing more hotly than to meet Arthur in +battle, and to abate his pride. The armies drew together upon the +banks of the Douglas. The two hosts fell one upon the other furiously, +and many a sergeant perished that day, by reason of lance thrust, or +quarrel, or dart. At the end Colgrin was discomfited, and fled from +the field. Arthur followed swiftly after, striving to come upon his +adversary, before he might hide him in York. But Colgrin, for all his +pains, took refuge in the city; so Arthur sat him down without the +walls. + +Now Baldulph, the brother of Colgrin, tamed by the shore, awaiting the +coming of Cheldric, the king, and his Saxons from Germany. When he +heard the tidings of what had befallen Colgrin at the Ford of Douglas, +and of how he was holden straitly by Arthur in York, he was passing +heavy and sorrowful, for with this Colgrin was all his hope. Baldulph +made no further tarrying for Cheldric. He broke up his camp, and +marching towards York, set his comrades in ambush, within a deep +wood, some five miles from the host. Together with the folk of his +household, and the strangers of his fellowship, Baldulph had in his +company six thousand men in mail. He trusted to fall upon Arthur by +night, when he was unready, and force him to give over the siege. But +certain of the country who had spied Baldulph spread this snare, ran +to the king, and showed him of the matter. Arthur, knowing of the +malice of Baldulph, took counsel with Cador, Earl of Cornwall, a brave +captain, who had no fear of death. He delivered to the earl's care +seven hundred horsemen, and of spearmen three thousand, and sent him +secretly to fall upon Baldulph in his lurking place. Cador did the +king's bidding. The Saxons heard no rumour of his coming, for the host +drew to the wood privily without trumpet or battle cry. Then when +Cador was near the foe, he cried his name, and burst fiercely upon the +heathen with the sword. In this combat there perished of the Saxons +more than three thousand men. Had it not been for the darkness of the +night, and the hindrance of the wood, not one might have fled on his +feet. Baldulph, the cunning captain, got him safely from the field, by +hiding beneath every bush and brake. He had lost the fairer and the +stronger half of his meinie, and was at his wits' end to know how to +take counsel with his brother, or to come to his aid. But speak with +him he would, so that craft and courage might find a way. Baldulph +devised to seek the besiegers' camp in the guise of a jongleur. He +arrayed himself in all points as a harper, for he knew well how to +chant songs and lays, and to touch the strings tunably. For his +brother's sake he made himself as a fool. He shaved off one half of +his beard and moustache, and caused the half of his head to be polled +likewise. He hung a harp about his neck, and showed in every respect +as a lewd fellow and a jester. Baldulph presently went forth from his +abode, being known again of none. He went to and fro harping on his +harp, till he stood beneath the walls of the city. The warders on the +towers hearkened to his speech, so that they drew him up by cords upon +the wall. At Baldulph's tale the folk within the city despaired of +succour, and knew not how to flee, nor where to escape. In their +extremity the news was bruited amongst them that Cheldric had come to +a haven in Scotland, with a fleet of five hundred galleys, and was +speeding to York. Cheldric knew and was persuaded that Arthur dared +not abide his onset. This was a right judgment, for Arthur made haste +to begone. The king called a council of his captains, and by their +rede decided not to await Cheldric at York, neither to give him +battle, because of the proud and marvellous host that was with him, +"Let the king fall back upon London," said the lords, "and summon +his meinie about him. The king's power will increase daily, and if +Cheldric have the hardihood to follow, with the more confidence we +shall fight." Arthur took his captains at their word. He let well the +siege, and came to London, that he might strengthen his castle, choose +his own battle ground, and trouble his adversary the more surely. +Arthur, by the rede of his counsellors, sent letters to his nephew, +the son of his sister, Hoel, King of Little Britain. For in that +country dwelt many strong barons, sib to his flesh, and the stoutest +knights of his race. In these letters, and by the mouth of his +ambassadors, Arthur prayed the king to hasten to his rescue. If Hoel +came not swiftly over sea--wrote the king--certainly his realm would +be taken from him, and shame would always be on those who watched +tamely their cousin stripped of his heritage. + +When this bitter cry came to Hoel he sought neither hindrance nor +excuse. His vassals and kinsmen got in their harness forthwith. They +arrayed their ships, and set thereon the stores. Within these ships +there entered twelve thousand knights alone, without taking count of +the sergeants and archers. So in a good hour they crossed the sea, +coming with a fair wind to the port of Southampton. Arthur welcomed +them with great joy, showing them the honour which it became him to +offer. They made no long tarrying at Southampton, nor wasted the day +in fair words and idle courtesies. The king had summoned his vassals, +and had brought together his household. Without speeches and blowings +of trumpets the two hosts set forth together towards Lincoln, which +Cheldric had besieged but had not yet taken. Arthur came swiftly and +secretly upon Cheldric. He fell silently upon the Saxons, making no +stir with horns and clarions. King Arthur and his men slew so many in +so grim and stark a fashion, that never was seen such slaughter, such +sorrow and destruction, as they made of the Saxons in one single day. +The Saxons thought only of flight. They stripped off their armour to +run the more lightly, and abandoned their horses on the field +Some fled to the mountains, others by the valleys, and many flung +themselves into the river, and were drowned miserably, striving to get +them from their foe. The Britons followed hotly at their heels, giving +the quarry neither rest nor peace. They struck many a mighty blow with +the sword, on the heads, the necks, and bodies of their adversaries. +The chase endured from Lincoln town to the wood of Cehdon. The Saxons +took refuge within the thick forest, and drew together the remnants of +their power. For their part, the Britons watched the wood, and held +it very strictly. Now Arthur feared lest the Saxons should steal +from their coverts by night, and escape from his hand. He commanded, +therefore, his meinie to cut down the trees on the skirts of the +forest. These trunks he placed one upon another, lacing the branches +fast together, and enclosing his foe. Then he sat down on the further +side of his barrier, so that none might issue forth, nor enter in. +Those within the wood were altogether dismayed, since they might +neither eat nor drink. There was no man so cunning or strong, so rich +or valiant, who could devise to carry bread and wine, flesh and flour, +for their sustenance. Three days they endured without food, till Thur +bodies were weak with hunger. Since they would not die of famine, and +might not win forth from the wood by arms, they took counsel as to +what it were well to do. They approached Arthur, praying him to keep +raiment and harness and all that they had, saving only their ships, +and let them depart to their own land. They promised to put hostages +in his power, and render a yearly tribute of their wealth, so only the +king allowed them to go on foot to the shore, and enter naked in the +ships. Arthur set faith in their word. He gave them leave to depart, +receiving hostages for assurance of their covenant. He rendered them +the ships, but kept their armour as a spoil, so that they left the +realm without a mantle to their bodies, or a sword for their defence. +The Saxons set out across the water, until their sails were lost to +sight. I know not what was their hope, nor the name of him who put it +in their mind, but they turned their boats, and passed through the +channel between England and Normandy. With sail and oar they came to +the land of Devon, casting anchor in the haven of Totnes. The heathen +breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the folk of the +country. They poured forth from their ships, and scattered themselves +abroad amongst the people, searching out arms and raiment, firing +homesteads and slaying Christian men. They passed to and fro about the +country, carrying off all they found beneath their hands. Not only did +they rob the hind of his weapon, but they slew him on his hearth with +his own knife. Thus throughout Somerset and a great part of Dorset, +these pirates spoiled and ravaged at their pleasure, finding none to +hinder them at their task. For the barons who might have made head +against them were in Scotland with the king. So by road and country, +laden with raiment and all manner of spoil, the Saxons came from their +ships to Bath. But the citizens of the town shut fast their gates, and +defended the walls against them. + +Arthur was in Scotland, punishing the folk of that realm, because +of the war they had made upon him, and of the aid they had afforded +Cheldric. When the king learned what mischief the pagans had done to +his land, and of the siege they laid to Bath, he hanged his hostages +straightway. He dared tarry no longer in Scotland, but hastened south, +leaving Hoel of Brittany lying sick at Dumbarton, I know not of what +infirmity. With what men he might, Arthur came to Bath as swiftly as +he was able, since he was resolved to chase the Saxons from before the +gates, and succour the burgesses of his city. Now, near this town a +wood stands within a wide country, and there Arthur arranged his men +and ordered the battle. He saw to the arming of his meinie, and for +himself got him into his harness. Arthur donned thigh pieces of steel, +wrought strong and fairly by some cunning smith. His hauberk was stout +and richly chased, even such a vesture as became so puissant a king. +He girt him with his sword, Excalibur. Mighty was the glaive, and +long in the blade. It was forged in the Isle of Avalon, and he who +brandished it naked in his hand deemed himself a happy man. His helmet +gleamed upon his head. The nasal was of gold; circlets of gold adorned +the headpiece, with many a clear stone, and a dragon was fashioned for +its crest. This helm had once been worn by Uther, his sire. The king +was mounted on a destrier, passing fair, strong, and speedy, loving +well the battle. He had set his shield about his neck, and, certes, +showed a stout champion, and a right crafty captain. On the buckler +was painted in sweet colours the image of Our Lady St. Mary. In her +honour and for remembrance, Arthur bore her semblance on his shield. +In his hand the king carried his lance, named Ron. Sharp it was at +the head, tough and great, and very welcome at need in the press of +battle. Arthur gave his commands to his captains, and ordained the +order of the combat. He caused his host to march in rank and company +at a slow pace towards the foe, so that when the battle was joined +none might flinch but that he was sustained of his comrades. The host +drew near to a certain mountain of those parts, and began to climb the +hill. The Saxons held this mountain strongly, and defended the height, +as though they were shut fast and safely behind walls. Small cause had +the heathen for such assurance of safety, for a mighty captain was +upon them, who would not endure their presence in his realm. Arthur +led his spearmen upon the slope, and there admonished his men. +"Behold," said he, "and see before you those false and scornful +heathen, who have destroyed and ravished your kith and kin, your near +ones and neighbours, and on your own goods and bodies have done so +much mischief. Avenge now your friends and your kinsfolk; avenge the +great ruin and burnings; avenge all the loss and the travail that for +so long a space we have suffered at their hands. For myself this day +I will avenge me for all these bitter wrongs. I will avenge the oaths +these perjurers have broken. I will silence the crying of my fathers' +blood. This day I will exact the price for all they have cost me in +loss and in sorrows, and avenge the bad faith which led them to return +to Totnes. If but this day we bear us in the battle like men, and +smite the heathen in their fastness, never again will they array +themselves proudly against us, but will be for ever before us as naked +men without a shield." With these words Arthur set his buckler before +him, and hastened to the playing of the swords. I know not the name +of the Saxon who ran upon him in the stour, but the king smote him so +fiercely that he died. Before Arthur passed across the body he cried +aloud, "God aid, Saint Mary succour. He gives twice," said he, gaily, +"who gives quickly. Here lies one whose lodging for the night I have +paid." When the Britons saw this deed they aided the king mightily, +beating down and slaying the Saxons very grievously. They pressed upon +them from every side, thrusting shrewdly with the spear, and striking +lustily with the sword. Arthur was of marvellous hardihood. Strong +beyond the common strength and of great prowess, with lifted shield +and terrible sword he hewed a path towards the summit of the mount. He +struck to right and to left, slaying many, so that the press gave back +before so stout a champion. To himself alone he slew four hundred +heathen that day, working them more mischief than was done by all his +men. To an evil end came the captains of these Saxons. Baldulph lay +dead upon the mount, and dead also was Colgrin. Cheldric and some +others fled from the field, and would have got them to their ships +that they might enter therein and garnish for their needs. + +When Arthur heard tidings of Cheldric's flight, and that he sought +again his ships, he bade Cador of Cornwall to follow swiftly after the +fugitives, giving ten thousand horsemen to his keeping chosen from his +best and closest friends. For his part, Arthur himself turned his face +to Scotland; for a messenger came who told that the wild Scots held +Hoel close within his city, and for a little would take him where he +lay. Cheldric made in all haste to his ships, but Cador was a crafty +captain, and by a way that he knew well he rode swiftly to Totnes, +before Cheldric might come to the town. He seized the galleys, manning +them with archers and country folk, and then hastened hotly on the +track of the fugitives. Two by two, and three by three, these drew +near the shore, as best they might hide them from the pursuers. To go +the more lightly, to run the more nimbly, they had thrown away their +harness, and carried nothing save their swords. They pained themselves +to get to the ships, deeming that if they might enter therein their +troubles would be at an end. As they strove to ford the river Teign, +Cador, the huntsman, came winding upon their slot. The Saxons were +dismayed beyond measure, and without stay or delay fled from their +foe. Cador lighted upon Cheldric in the steep mountain, called +Tenedic, and slew him in that place. As Cador came on Cheldric's +companions he killed them with the sword, in sore sorrow. For those +who escaped from Cador they made their way from every part to the +ships. There they were slain by the archers, or perished miserably in +the sea. The Britons took no captives, he who cried for mercy perished +alike with him who strove with his sword. The rest of the Saxons fled +to the coverts of the woods and the mountains, by large companies. In +such desolate and waste places they lurked and hid from their enemies +until hunger and thirst put a term to their miseries. + +When Cador had made an end of his slaying, and given quiet to the +land, he followed after Arthur, and took the road towards Scotland. He +came upon the king at Dumbarton, where he had brought succour to +his nephew, Hoel of Brittany. Arthur found Hoel safe in body and in +wealth, and altogether whole of his infirmity. The Scots had departed +from before the city when they heard that Arthur drew near, and +hastening to Murray, made strong the towers, and set barriers at the +gates. This they did because they were resolved to await Arthur in the +city, thinking to hold themselves against him behind the walls. Arthur +knew well that the Scots were gathered together to make head against +him in that place. He came therefore to Murray with all his power, but +they dared not abide his coming, and for dread fled to Lake Lomond, +scattering themselves abroad amongst the isles thereof. Passing wide +and deep is this fair mere. From the hills and valleys round about +sixty rivers fall therein, and making together one sweet water, pass +swiftly by a single river to the sea. Sixty islands lie upon this +water, the haunt and home of innumerable birds. Each island holds an +eyrie, where none but eagles repair to build their nests, to cry and +fight together, and take their solace from the world. When evil folk +arrive to raven and devour the realm, then all these eagles gather +themselves together, making great coil and clamour, and arraying +themselves proudly one against another. One day, or two days, three or +four, the mighty birds will strive together; and the interpretation +thereof portends horror and grim destruction amongst men. + +On this fair lake the Scots sought hiding, going and coming upon its +waters Arthur followed swiftly after. He caused to be made shallops, +barges, and light, speedy boats, and harassed them grievously in their +refuge. By reason of famine and the sword, they died by twenties, by +hundreds, and by thousands in those secret ways. + +Now Guillomer, a certain king from Ireland, wishful to aid the Scots +in this quarrel, drew towards Arthur with his host. Arthur went his +way to give him battle. When the battle was joined the Irish king was +discomfited anon. He and his men fled to their ships, getting them +back to Ireland, and Arthur came again to the mere, where he had left +his harrying of the Scots. + +Then the bishops and abbots of the realm, with divers monks and other +orders, carrying in their hands bodies of the saints and many holy +relics, came before the king beseeching him to show mercy on the +Scots. With these went a pitiful company of ladies of that country, +naked of foot, spoiled of visage, with streaming hair and rent +raiment, bearing their babes in their bosoms. These with tears and +shrill lamentations fell at Arthur's knees right humbly, weeping, +clamouring, and imploring his grace. "Sire, gentle king, have mercy +and pity," cried these lamentable women, "on this wasted land, and on +those wretched men who are dying of hunger and misery. If thou hast no +bowels of pity for the fathers, look, sire, and behold these babes +and these mothers; regard their sons and their daughters, and all +the distressful folk thou art bringing down to death. Give again the +fathers to the little children, restore to the ladies their husbands, +and to this sad company of damsels return their brothers and their +lords. Have we not paid enough by reason of the Saxon passing this +way? It was not for our pleasure they sojourned awhile in the land. We +went the more heavily for their presence, for much pain and sorrow we +suffered because of the heathen, and passing weary were we of their +speech. If we sheltered them in our houses, the greater sorrow is +ours, since we have endured the more at their hands. Our beasts they +have slain and eaten; and for our goods, these they have taken, and +sent the gear into their own realm. There was none to help us, nor +was any man so strong as to deliver us from their power. Sire, if we +prepared them a feast, it was because we feared to drink their wine +cup to the dregs. Might was theirs, and we were as the captive who +sees no succour on the road. These Saxons were pagan men. Thy servants +are Christians. Therefore the heathen oppressed us the more mightily, +and laid the heavier burdens upon us. But great as was the mischief +these Saxons wrought us, thou hast done us the sorer harm. Theirs +were the whips, but thine are the stinging scorpions. It should prove +little honour to the Christian king that he slay by hunger amongst +these rocks those folk who cry his pardon for their trespass. We die, +sire, of famine and of all misease. Nothing is left us save cold and +wretchedness. Thou hast overcome us, every one; destroy us not from +the land, but suffer us to live of thy bounty. Grant that we and all +our race--so it be thy pleasure--may find peace in the king's service. +Have mercy on thy poor Christians. We hold the faith that you, too, +count dear. How foully then should Christianity be wronged, if you +destroy the whole realm. Alas, has not mischief enough been wrought +already!" Arthur was tender of heart and marvellously pitiful. He took +compassion on this doleful company of ladies, and by reason of those +holy bodies of the saints and those fair prelates, he granted life and +member to his captives, and forgave them their debts. + +The Scots, having done homage to the king and owned themselves his +men, departed, and went their way. Hoel gazed long upon the mere, +calling to him the folk of his house. He wondered exceedingly because +of the grandeur of the lake, and because of the greatness of the +water. He marvelled altogether to behold so many islands therein, and +at the rocks thereof. He was astonied beyond measure at the number of +the eagles and their eyries, at the clamour and the shrilling of +their cries. He deemed in his heart that never had he gazed upon so +beautiful a sight. "Hoel, fair nephew," said Arthur, "very marvellous +this water seems in your eyes. Your astonishment will be the more when +you look upon yet another mere that I know. Near this lake, in this +very country, lies a water held in a cup, not round but square. This +pond is twenty feet in length, twenty in breadth, and the water +thereof is five feet deep. In the four corners of this pond are many +fish of divers fashions. These fish pass never from their corner to +another. Yet none can certify by touch or sight whether craft keeps +these fish each in his place, or what is that hindrance they may not +overcome. Yea, I cannot tell whether the pond was digged by the wit of +man, or if Nature shaped it to her will. Moreover I know of another +mere, whereof you would be more amazed than of both these marvels. +This lake is close by the Severn in the land of Wales. The sea pours +its tide into this lake; yet empty itself as it may, the waters of the +lake remain ever at the same height, never more and never less. The +ocean itself may not suffice to heap its waters above the lake, +neither to cover its shores. Yet at the ebbing of the tide, when the +sea turns to flee, then the lake spues forth the water it has taken to +its belly, so that the banks are swallowed up, the great waves rise +tall in their wrath, and the wide fields round about are hid, and all +is sodden with the foam. The folk of that country tell that should a +man stare upon the wave in its anger, so that his vesture and body be +wetted of the spray, then, whatever be his strength, the water will +draw him to itself, for it is mightier than he. Many a man has +struggled and fallen on the brink, and been drowned in its clutch. But +if a man turn his back upon the water, then he may stand safely upon +the bank, taking his pleasure as long as he will. The wave will pass +by him, doing him no mischief; he will not be wetted even of the +flying foam." So Hoel marvelled greatly at these wonders told him by +the king. Then Arthur bade sound his horns, his clarions and trumpets +to call his meinie to himself. He granted leave to all but the folk of +his privy household to return to their homes. The host went therefore +each to his own place, loudly praising the king. Even in Brittany men +told that there was no more valiant captain than he. + +Arthur turned south to York, abiding there till Christmas was past. He +kept the Feast of the Nativity within its walls. He marked clearly the +weakness and impoverishment of the city, and how deeply it was fallen +from its former state. The churches were empty and silent; whilst for +the houses they were either breached or fallen to the ground. The +king appointed Pyramus, a learned clerk who had been diligent in his +service, to the vacant see, so that the chapels might be maintained, +and those convents built anew which the heathen had destroyed. Arthur +commanded that the criers should proclaim that all honest folk must +return to their toil. He sent messages to every place, bidding those +who were dispossessed of their lands to repair to his court. There he +gave them again their heritage, and confirmed them in their fiefs and +rents. Now there were three brethren of right good birth and high +peerage, kin to many a fair family, having to name Lot, Aguisel, +and Urian. The forefather of these lords was the earl of that great +country beyond the Humber; and these in their turn held justly their +father's lands, doing wrong to none. Arthur rendered these brothers +their own, and restored them their heritage. On Urian, as head of his +house, Arthur bestowed the province of Murray, and without fee or +recompense proclaimed him king of that realm. Scotland was given to +Aguisel, who claimed it as his fief. As for Lot, who had the king's +sister to wife, Arthur confirmed him in that kingdom of Lyones, which +he had held for a great while, and gave him many another earldom +besides. This Lot was the father of Gawain, who as yet was a +damoiseau, young and debonair. + +When Arthur had settled his realm in peace, righted all wrongs, and +restored the kingdom to its ancient borders, he took to wife a certain +fresh and noble maiden, named Guenevere, making her his queen. This +damsel was passing fair of face and courteous, very gracious of +manner, and come of a noble Roman house. Cador had nourished this lady +long and richly in his earldom of Cornwall. The maiden was the +earl's near cousin, for by his mother he, too, was of Roman blood. +Marvellously dainty was the maiden in person and vesture; right +queenly of bearing, passing sweet and ready of tongue. Arthur +cherished her dearly, for his love was wonderfully set upon the +damsel, yet never had they a child together, nor betwixt them might +get an heir. + +As soon as winter was gone, and the warm days were come when it was +good to wend upon the sea, Arthur made ready his ships to cross the +straits to Ireland and conquer the land. Arthur made no long tarrying. +He brought together the most lusty warriors of his realm, both poor +and rich, all of the people who were most vigorous and apt in war. +With these he passed into Ireland, and sent about the country seeking +provand for his host. So the sergeants took seisin of cows and oxen, +and brought to the camp in droves all that was desirable for meat. +Guillomer, the king of that realm, heard that Arthur had fastened +this quarrel upon him. He hearkened to the cries and the tidings, the +plaints and the burdens, raised by those villeins whose granges and +bields were pillaged for the sustenance of his foes. Guillomer went +forth to give battle to Arthur, but in an ill hour he drew to the +field. His men were naked to their adversaries, having neither helmets +nor coats of leather nor shields. They knew nothing of archery, and +were ignorant of catapults and slings. The Britons were mighty bowmen. +They shot their shafts thickly amongst their enemies, so that the +Irish dared not show their bodies, and might find no shelter. The +Irish could endure the arrows no longer. They fled from the fight, +taking refuge where they were able. They hid in woods and thickets, in +towns and in houses, seeking refuge from the stour. Right grievous was +their discomfiture. Guillomer, their king, sought shelter within a +forest, but his fate was upon him, and he might not conceal him from +his foes. Arthur searched him out so diligently, following so hotly on +his track, that at the last he was taken captive. Guillomer did very +wisely. He paid fealty and homage to Arthur, and owned that of him he +held his heritage. Moreover he put hostages within Arthur's power, for +surety that he would render a yearly tribute to the king. When Arthur +had subdued Ireland, he went further and came even so far as Iceland. +He brought the land in subjection to himself, so that the folk thereof +owned themselves his men, and granted him the lordship. Now three +princes, by name Gonfal, King of the Orkneys, Doldamer, King of +Gothland, and Romarec, King of Finland, heard the rumour of these +deeds. They sent spies to Iceland, and learned from their messengers +that Arthur was making ready his host to pass the sea, and despoil +them of their realms. In all the world--said these messengers--there +was no such champion, nor so crafty a captain in the ordering of war. +These three kings feared mightily in case Arthur should descend upon +them, and waste their land. Lest a worse thing should befall them, +with no compulsion and of their own free wills, they set forth for +Iceland and came humbly before the king. They gave of their substance +rich gifts and offerings, and kneeling before Arthur did him fealty, +putting their countries between his hands, and proclaiming themselves +his men. They owned that of grace they held their inheritance, they +swore to render tribute to his treasury, and gave hostages for +assurance of their covenant. So they departed in peace to their own +place. For his part Arthur came again to his ships. He returned to +England, where he was welcomed of his people with marvellous joy. +Twelve years he abode in his realm in peace and content, since none +was so bold as to do him a mischief, and he did mischief to none. +Arthur held high state in a very splendid fashion. He ordained the +courtesies of courts, and bore himself with so rich and noble a +bearing, that neither the emperor's court at Rome, nor any other +bragged of by man, was accounted as aught besides that of the king. +Arthur never heard speak of a knight in praise, but he caused him to +be numbered of his household. So that he might he took him to himself, +for help in time of need. Because of these noble lords about his hall, +of whom each knight pained himself to be the hardiest champion, and +none would count him the least praiseworthy, Arthur made the Round +Table, so reputed of the Britons. This Round Table was ordained of +Arthur that when his fair fellowship sat to meat their chairs should +be high alike, their service equal, and none before or after his +comrade. Thus no man could boast that he was exalted above his fellow, +for all alike were gathered round the board, and none was alien at +the breaking of Arthur's bread. At this table sat Britons, Frenchmen, +Normans, Angevins, Flemings, Burgundians, and Loherins. Knights had +their plate who held land of the king, from the furthest marches of +the west even unto the Hill of St. Bernard. A most discourteous lord +would he be deemed who sojourned not awhile in the king's hall, who +came not with the countenance, the harness, and the vesture that were +the garb and usage of those who served Arthur about his court. From +all the lands there voyaged to this court such knights as were in +quest either of gain or worship. Of these lords some drew near to hear +tell of Arthur's courtesies; others to marvel at the pride of his +state; these to have speech with the knights of his chivalry; and some +to receive of his largeness costly gifts. For this Arthur in his day +was loved right well of the poor, and honoured meetly by the rich. +Only the kings of the world bore him malice and envy, since they +doubted and feared exceedingly lest he should set his foot upon them +every one, and spoil them of their heritage. + +I know not if you have heard tell the marvellous gestes and errant +deeds related so often of King Arthur. They have been noised about +this mighty realm for so great a space that the truth has turned to +fable and an idle song. Such rhymes are neither sheer bare lies, nor +gospel truths. They should not be considered either an idiot's tale, +or given by inspiration. The minstrel has sung his ballad, the +storyteller told over his story so frequently, little by little he +has decked and painted, till by reason of his embellishment the truth +stands hid in the trappings of a tale. Thus to make a delectable tune +to your ear, history goes masking as fable. Hear then how, because of +his valour, the counsel of his barons, and in the strength of that +mighty chivalry he had cherished and made splendid, Arthur purposed to +cross the sea and conquer the land of France. But first he deemed to +sail to Norway, since he would make Lot, his sister's lord, its king. +Sichelm, the King of Norway, was newly dead, leaving neither son nor +daughter of his body. In the days of his health, as alike when he fell +on death, Sichelm had appointed Lot to succeed him in his realm and +fief. The crown was Lot's by right, even as Sichelm proclaimed, since +Lot was the king's nephew, and there was no other heir. When the folk +of Norway learned that Sichelm had bequeathed his realm to Lot, they +held his command and ordinance in derision. They would have no alien +for their lord, nor suffer a stranger to meddle in their business, +lest he should deem them an ancient and feeble people, and give to +outland folk what was due to the dwellers in the realm. The Norwegians +resolved to make king one of their own house, that he might cherish +them and their children, and for this reason they chose from amongst +them a certain lord named Ridulph to be their king. + +When Lot perceived that his right was despised, save that he took his +heritage by force, he sought help of Arthur, his lord. Arthur agreed +to aid him in his quarrel, promising to render him his own, and to +avenge him bitterly on Ridulph. Arthur gathered together many ships +and a mighty host. He entered into Norway with this great company, +wasting the land, seizing on the manors, and spoiling the towns. +Ridulph was no trembler, and had no thought to leave the country to +its fate. He assembled his people, and prepared to give battle to the +king. Since however his carles were not many, and his friends but few, +Ridulph was defeated in the fight and slain. The greater part of his +fellowship perished with him, so that no large number remained. In +this manner Lot the King of Lyones destroyed the Norwegians from the +land. Having delivered Norway from itself Arthur granted the kingdom +to Lot, so only that he did Arthur homage as his lord. Amongst the +barons who rode in this adventure was Gawain, the hardy and famous +knight, who had freshly come from St. Sulpicius the Apostle, whose +soul may God give rest and glory. The knight wore harness bestowed on +him by the Apostle, and wondrously was he praised. This Gawain was a +courteous champion, circumspect in word and deed, having no pride nor +blemish in him. He did more than his boast, and gave more largely +than he promised. His father had sent him to Rome, that he might be +schooled the more meetly. Gawain was dubbed knight in the same day as +Wavain, and counted himself of Arthur's household. Mightily he strove +to do his devoir in the field, for the fairer service and honour of +his lord. + +After Arthur had conquered Norway, and firmly established his justice +in the land, he chose of his host those men who were the most valiant +and ready in battle, and assembled them by the sea. He brought to the +same haven many ships and barges, together with such mariners as were +needful for his purpose. When a quiet time was come, with a fortunate +wind, Arthur crossed the sea into Denmark; for the realm was very +greatly to his desire. Acil, the Danish king, considered the Britons +and the folk from Norway. He considered Arthur, who had prevailed +against so many kings. Acil knew and was persuaded that Arthur was +mightier than he. He had no mind to suffer hurt himself, or to see his +goodly heritage spoiled in a useless quarrel. What did it profit to +waste wealth and honour alike, to behold slain friends and ruined +towers? Acil wrought well and speedily. He sought peace, and ensued +it. He gave costly gifts, and made promises which were larger still, +till by reason of his words, his prayers, and supplications, concord +was established between Arthur and the king. Acil paid fealty and +homage, he became Arthur's man, and owned that of Arthur's grace he +held his fief. King Arthur rejoiced greatly at this adventure, and of +the conquest he had made. He desired honour the more greedily because +of the worship he had gained. From out of Denmark he chose, by +hundreds and by thousands, the stoutest knights and archers he could +find. These he joined to his host, purposing to lead this fair company +into France. Without any long tarrying the king acted on his purpose. +Towns, cities, and castles fell before him, so that Flanders and +the country about Boulogne were speedily in his power. Arthur was a +prudent captain. He perceived no profit in wasting his own realm, +burning his towns, and stealing from his very purse. His eyes were in +every place, and much was forbidden by his commandment. No soldier +might rob nor pill. If there was need of raiment, meat, or provand, +then must he buy with good minted coin in the market. Nothing he dared +to destroy or steal. + +Now in Arthur's day the land of France was known as Gaul. The realm +had neither king nor master, for the Romans held it strongly as a +province. This province was committed to the charge of Frollo, and the +tribune had governed the country for a great space. He took rent and +tribute of the people, and in due season caused the treasure to be +delivered to the emperor at Rome. Thus had it been since the time of +Caesar, that mighty emperor, who brought into subjection France and +Germany, and all the land of Britain. Frollo was a very worthy lord, +come of a noble Roman race, fearful of none, however hardy. He knew +well, by divers letters, the loss and the mischief done by Arthur and +his host. Frollo had no mind tamely to watch the Romans lose their +heritage. The tribune summoned to his aid all the men abiding in the +province who carried arms and owned fealty to Rome. He assembled these +together, ordaining a great company, clad in harness and plenteously +supplied with stores. With these he went out to battle against Arthur, +but he prospered less than his merit deserved. The Roman tribune was +discomfited so grievously that he sought safety in flight. Of his +fellowship he had lost a great number. Many were slain outright in +battle, others were sorely wounded, or made captive, or returned +sorrowing to their own homes. Out of the meinie Frollo had gathered +from so many cities, more than two thousand were destroyed. This was +no great marvel, since the count of Arthur's host was more than Frollo +might endure. From every land he had subdued to himself, from every +city that was taken, Arthur saw to it that not a spearman nor knight +of fitting years and strength of body, but was numbered in the host, +and commanded to serve Arthur as his lord Of these outland folk, +Arthur chose a fair company of the hardiest knights and most proven +champions to be of his private household. The very French began to +regard him as their king, so only that they had the courage of their +minds. This man loved him for his wise and comely speech this by +reason of his liberal hand: this because of his noble and upright +spirit Whether men were driven to his presence by fear, or considered +him a refuge in the storm, all found cause enough to seek his court, +to make their peace, and to acknowledge him as their suzerain. Now +Frollo, after his discomfiture by the king, fled to Paris with all +the speed he might, making no stop upon the road. The tribune feared +Arthur and his power very sorely, and since he sought a fortress to +defend his person, he would not trust his fortune to any other city. +He resolved, therefore, to await Arthur within Paris, and to fight the +king beneath the walls Frollo called to himself such legions as were +yet in towns near by. Because of the number of the fugitives who were +come to that place, together with the burgesses abiding therein, a +great concourse of people filled the city. All these folk toiled +diligently to furnish the city with corn and meat, and to make sure +the walls and gates against their foes. + +Arthur learned that Frollo was making strong his towers, and filling +the barns with victuals. He drew to Paris, and sat down without the +city. He lodged his men in the suburbs beyond the walls, holding the +town so close that food might not enter whether by the river or the +gates. Arthur shut the city fast for more than a month, since the +French defended them well and manfully. A mighty multitude was crowded +within the walls, and there was a plentiful lack of meat. All the +provand bought and gathered together in so short a space was quickly +eaten and consumed, and the folk were afterwards a-hungered. There was +little flesh, but many bellies; so that the women and children made +much sorrow Had the counsel of the poor been taken, right soon would +the keys of the city have been rendered. "Diva," clamoured the +famished citizens, "what doest thou, Frollo? Why requirest thou not +peace at Arthur's hand?" Frollo regarded the common people who failed +for famine. He looked upon the folk dying by reason of their hunger, +and knew that they would have him yield the city. Frollo perceived +that of a surety the end of all was come. The tribune chose to put +his own body in peril--yea, rather to taste of death, than to abandon +Paris to her leaguers. Frollo had full assurance of Arthur's rectitude +In the simplicity of his heart he sent urgent messages to the king, +praying him to enter in the Island, that body to body they might bring +their quarrel to an end. He who prevailed over his fellow, and came +living from the battle, should take the whole realm as his own and +receive all France for his guerdon. Thus the land would not perish, +nor the folk be utterly destroyed. Arthur hearkened willingly to the +heralds, for very greatly was their message to his mind. He accorded +that the battle should be between the two captains, even as Frollo +desired. Gauntlets were taken from one and the other, and hostages +given on behalf of Paris and on the part of the besiegers for better +assurance of the covenant that was made. + +On the morrow the two champions arrayed them in harness, and coming to +the Island, entered boldly in the lists. The banks were filled with a +mighty concourse of people, making great tumult. Not a man or woman +remained that day in his chamber. They climbed upon the walls, and +thronged the roofs of the houses, crying upon God, and adjuring Him +by His holy Name to give victory to him who would guard the realm in +peace, and preserve the poor from war Arthur's meinie, for their part, +awaited the judgment of God, in praying the King of Glory to bestow +the prize and honour on their lord. The two champions were set over +against the other, laced each in his mail, and seated on his warhorse. +The strong destriers were held with bit and bridle, so eager were they +for the battle. The riders bestrode the steeds with lifted shields, +brandishing great lances in their hands. It was no easy matter to +perceive--however curiously men looked--which was the stouter knight, +or to judge who would be victor in the joust. Certainly each was a +very worthy lord and a right courageous champion. When all was made +ready the knights struck spurs to their steeds, and loosing the rein +upon the horses' necks, hurtled together with raised buckler and lance +in rest. They smote together with marvellous fierceness. Whether by +reason of the swerving of his destrier, I cannot tell, but Frollo +failed of his stroke Arthur, on his side, smote the boss of his +adversary's shield so fairly, that he bore him over his horse's +buttock, as long as the ash staff held Arthur drew forth his sword, +and hastened to Frollo to bring the battle to an end. Frollo climbed +stoutly on his feet. He held his lance before him like a rod, and the +king's steed ran upon the spear, so that it pierced deeply in his +body. Of this thrust the destrier and his rider alike came tumbling to +the ground. When the Britons saw this thing, they might not contain +themselves for grief. They cried aloud, and seizing their weapons, for +a little would have violated the love-day. They made ready to cross +the river to the Island, and to avenge their lord upon the Gauls. +Arthur cried loudly to his Britons to observe their covenant, +commanding that not a man should move to his help that day. He gripped +Excalibur sternly in his hand, resolving that Frollo should pay +dearly for his triumph. Arthur dressed his shield above his head, and +handselling his sword, rushed upon Frollo. Frollo was a passing good +knight, hardy and strong, in no whit dismayed by the anger of his +adversary. He raised his own glaive on high, striking fiercely at +Arthur's brow. Frollo was strong beyond the strength of man. His brand +was great and sharp, and the buffet was struck with all his power. The +blade sheared through helm and coif alike, so that King Arthur was +wounded in his forehead, and the blood ran down his face. + +When Arthur felt the dolour of his hurt, and looked upon his blood, he +desired nothing, save to wreak evil on the man who had wrought this +mischief. He pressed the more closely upon Frollo. Lifting Excalibur, +his good sword, in both hands, he smote so lustily that Frollo's head +was cloven down to his very shoulders. No helmet nor hauberk, whatever +the armourer's craft, could have given surety from so mighty a blow. +Blood and brains gushed from the wound. Frollo fell upon the ground, +and beating the earth a little with his chausses of steel, presently +died, and was still. + +When men saw this bitter stroke the burgesses and sergeants raised a +loud cry. Arthur's household rejoiced beyond measure; but those of +the city wept, making great sorrow for Frollo, their champion. +Nevertheless, the citizens of Paris ran to their gates. They set the +doors wide, and welcomed Arthur, his meinie, and company within their +walls. When Arthur perceived the French were desirous to offer him +their fealty, he suffered them so to do, taking hostages that they +would abide in peace. He lodged within the city certain days, and +appointed governors, for the assurance of his power. After quiet was +established, Arthur divided the host into two parts. The one of these +companies he delivered into the charge of Hoel, the king's nephew. +With the other half he devised to conquer Anjou, Auvergne, Gascony, +and Poitou; yea, to overrun Lorraine and Burgundy, if the task did +not prove beyond his power. Hoel did his lord's commandment, even as +Arthur purposed. He conquered Berri, and afterwards Touraine, Auvergne, +Poitou, and Gascony. Guitard, the King of Poitiers, was a valiant +captain, having good knights in his service. To uphold his realm and +his rights Guitard fought many a hard battle. The luck went this way +and that. Sometimes he was the hunter, sometimes the quarry: often he +prevailed, and often, again, he lost. At the end Guitard was persuaded +Arthur was the stronger lord, and that only by submission could he +keep his own. The land was utterly wasted and ravaged. Beyond the +walls of town and castle there was nothing left to destroy; and of all +the fair vineyards not a vine but was rooted from the ground. Guitard +made overtures of peace, and accorded himself with Hoel. He swore +Arthur fealty and homage, so that the king came to love him very +dearly. The other parcels of France Arthur conquered them every one by +his own power. When there was peace over all the country, so that none +dared lift a spear against the king, Arthur sought such men as were +grown old in his quarrels, and desired greatly to return to their +homes. To these feeble sergeants Arthur rendered their wages and +gifts, and sent them rejoicing from whence they had come. The knights +of his household, and such lusty youths as were desirous of honour, +having neither dame nor children to their hearths, Arthur held in his +service for yet nine years. During these nine years that Arthur abode +in France, he wrought divers great wonders, reproving many haughty +men and their tyrannies, and chastising many sinners after their +deservings. Now it befell that when Easter was come, Arthur held high +feast at Paris with his friends. On that day the king recompensed his +servants for their losses, and gave to each after his deserts. He +bestowed guerdon meetly on all, according to his zeal and the labour +he had done. To Kay, the master seneschal of his house, a loyal and +chivalrous knight, the king granted all Anjou and Angers. Bedevere, +the king's cupbearer and very privy counsellor, received that fief of +Normandy, which aforetime was called Neustria. These lords, Kay and +Bedevere, were Arthur's faithful friends, knowing the inmost counsel +of his mind. Boulogne was given to Holden: Le Mans to Borel, his +cousin. On each and all, according to his gentleness of heart and +diligence in his lord's service, Arthur bestowed honours and fees, and +granted largely of his lands. + +After Arthur thus had feoffed his lords, and given riches to his +friends, in April, when winter was gone, he passed the sea to England, +his own realm. Marvellous joy was shown of all good folk at the return +of the king. Dames held those husbands close from whom they had been +parted so long. Mothers kissed their sons, with happy tears upon their +cheeks. Sons and daughters embraced their fathers. Cousin clipped +cousin, and neighbour that friend who once was his companion. The +aunt made much of her sister's son. Ladies kissed long that lover who +returned from France, yea, when the place was meet, clasped him yet +more sweetly in their arms. Wondrous was the joy shown of all. In +the lanes and crossways, in the highways and by-ways, you might see +friends a many staying friend, to know how it fared with him, how +the land was settled when it was won, what adventures chanced to the +seeker, what profit clave to him thereof, and why he remained so great +a while beyond the sea. Then the soldier fought his battles once +again. He told over his adventures, he spoke of his hard and weary +combats, of the toils he had endured, and the perils from which he was +delivered. + +Arthur cherished tenderly his servants, granting largely, and +promising richly, to the worthy. He took counsel with his barons, and +devised that for the louder proclamation of his fame and wealth, he +would hold a solemn feast at Pentecost, when summer was come, and that +then in the presence of his earls and baronage he would be crowned +king. Arthur commanded all his lords on their allegiance to meet him +at Caerleon in Glamorgan. He desired to be crowned king in Caerleon, +because it was rich beyond other cities, and marvellously pleasant and +fair. Pilgrims told in those days that the mansions of Caerleon were +more desirable than the palaces of Rome. This rich city, Caerleon, was +builded on the Usk, a river which falls within the Severn. He who came +to the city from a strange land, might seek his haven by this fair +water. On one side of the town flowed this clear river; whilst on the +other spread a thick forest. Fish were very plentiful in the river, +and of venison the burgesses had no lack. Passing fair and deep were +the meadows about the city, so that the barns and granges were very +rich. Within the walls rose two mighty churches, greatly praised. One +of these famed churches was called in remembrance of Saint Julius the +Martyr, and held a convent of holy nuns for the fairer service of God. +The second church was dedicate to Saint Aaron, his companion. The +bishop had his seat therein. Moreover, this church was furnished with +many wealthy clergy and canons of seemly life. These clerks were +students of astronomy, concerning themselves diligently with the +courses of the stars. Often enough they prophesied to Arthur what the +future would bring forth, and of the deeds that he would do. So goodly +was the city, there was none more delectable in all the earth. Now by +reason of the lofty palaces, the fair woods and pastures, the ease and +content, and all the delights of which you have heard, Arthur desired +to hold his court at Caerleon, and to bid his barons to attend him +every one. He commanded, therefore, to the feast, kings and earls, +dukes and viscounts, knights and barons, bishops and abbots. Nor did +Arthur bid Englishmen alone, but Frenchman and Burgundian, Auvergnat +and Gascon, Norman and Poitivin, Angevin and Fleming, together with +him of Brabant, Hainault, and Lorraine, the king bade to his dinner. +Frisian and Teuton, Dane and Norwegian, Scot, Irish, and Icelander, +him of Cathness and of Gothland, the lords of Galway and of the +furthest islands of the Hebrides, Arthur summoned them all. When these +received the king's messages commanding them to his crowning, they +hastened to observe the feast as they were bidden, every one. From +Scotland came Aguisel the king, richly vested in his royal robes; +there, too, was Unan, King of Murief, together with his son Yvam the +courteous; Lot of Lyones also, to take a brave part in the revels, +and with him that very frank and gentle knight Gawain, his son. There +besides were Stater and Cadual, kings of South Wales and of North, +Cador of Cornwall, right near to Arthur's heart; Morud, Earl of +Gloucester; and Guerdon, Earl of Winchester. Anavalt came from +Salisbury, and Rimarec from Canterbury. Earl Baldulph drew from +Silchester, and Vigenin from Leicester. There, too, was Algal of +Guivic, a baron much held in honour by the court. Other lords were +there a many, in no wise of less reputation than their fellows. The +son of Po that was hight Donander; Regian, son of Abauder; Ceilus the +son of Coil, that son of Chater named Chatellus, Griffin, the heir of +Nagroil, Ron, the son of Neco; Margoil, Clefaut, Ringar, Angan, Rimar +and Gorbonian, Kinlint, Neco and that Peredur, whom men deemed to be +gotten by Eladur. Besides these princes there drew to Caerleon such +knights as were of the king's house, and served him about his court. +These were his chosen friends, who had their seats at the King's Round +Table, but more of them I cannot tell. Many other lords were there of +only less wealth and worship than those I have named. So numerous was +this fair company that I have lost count of their numbers. A noble +array of prelates came also to Arthur's solemn feast. Abbots and +mitred bishops walked in their order and degree. The three archbishops +of the realm came in his honour, namely, the Archbishop of London, his +brother of York, and holy Dubricius, whose chair was in that self same +city. Very holy of life was this fair prelate. Very abundantly he +laboured, being Archbishop of Caerleon and Legate of Rome. Many +wonderful works were wrought by his hands. The sick were brought to +him gladly, and by reason of his love and his prayers, oftentimes +they were healed of their hurt. In olden days this Dubricius abode in +London, but now was Bishop in Wales, by reason of the evil times when +kings regarded not God, and the people forsook the churches of their +fathers. These clergy assembled at Arthur's court, for the king's +feast, together with so great a fellowship of barons that I know not +even to rehearse you their names. + +Yet these must be remembered, whomsoever I forget. Villamus, King of +Ireland, and Mahnus, King of Iceland, and Doldamer, lord of that lean +and meagre country, known as the land of Goths. Acil, the King of the +Danes; Lot, who was King of Norway, and Gonfal, jarl of the lawless +Orkneys, from whence sail the pirates in their ships. From the parts +beyond the seas came Ligier, holding the dukedom and honour of +Burgundy; Holden, Earl of Flanders; and Guerin, Earl of Chartres, +having the twelve peers of France in his company, for the richer +dignity and splendour of his state. Guitard was there, the Earl of +Poitiers; Kay, whom the king had created Earl of Angers; and Bedevere +of Neustria, that province which men now call Normandy. From Le Mans +drew Earl Borel, and from Brittany Earl Hoel. Passing noble of visage +was Hoel, and all those lords who came forth from France. They voyaged +to Arthur's court in chased harness and silken raiment, riding on +lusty horses with rich trappings, and wearing jewels, with many golden +ornaments. There was not a prince from here even unto Spain, yea, to +the very Rhine in the land of Germany, but hastened to Arthur's solemn +feast, so only that he was bidden to that crowning. Of these some came +to look on the face of the king, some to receive of his largeness +costly gifts, some to have speech with the lords of his council. Some +desired to marvel over the abundance of Arthur's wealth, and others to +hear tell of the great king's courtesies. This lord was drawn by the +cords of love; this by compulsion of his suzerain's ban, this to learn +by the witness of his eyes whether Arthur's power and prosperity +exceeded that fame of which the whole world bragged. + +When this proud company of kings, bishops, and princes was gathered +together to observe Arthur's feast, the whole city was moved. The +king's servants tolled diligently making ready for so great a +concourse of guests. Soldiers ran to and fro, busily seeking hostels +for this fair assemblage. Houses were swept and garnished, spread with +reeds, and furnished with hangings of rich arras. Halls and chambers +were granted to their needs, together with stables for the horses and +their provand. Those for whom hostelries might not be found abode in +seemly lodgings, decently appointed to their degree. The city was full +of stir and tumult. In every place you beheld squires leading horses +and destriers by the bridle, setting saddles on hackneys and taking +them off, buckling the harness and making the metal work shining and +bright. Grooms went about their business. Never was such a cleansing +of stables, such taking of horses to the meadows, such a currying and +combing, shoeing and loosing of girths, washing and watering, such a +bearing of straw and of grass for the litter, and oats for the manger. +Nor these alone, but in the courtyards and chambers of the hostels you +might see the pages and chamberlains go swiftly about their tasks, in +divers fashions. The varlets brushed and folded the habiliments and +mantles of their lords. They looked to the stuff and the fastenings of +their garments. You saw them hurry through the halls carrying furs and +furred raiment, both vair and the grey. Caerleon seemed rather a fair +than a city, at Arthur's feast. + +Now telleth the chronicle of this geste, that when the morning was +come of the day of the high feast, a fair procession of archbishops, +bishops, and abbots wended to the king's palace, to place the crown +upon Arthur's head, and lead him within the church. Two of these +archbishops brought him through the streets of the city, one walking +on either side of his person. Each bishop sustained the king by his +arm, and thus he was earned to his throne. Four kings went before +Arthur and the clerks, bearing swords in their hands. Pommel, +scabbard, and hilt of these four swords were of wrought gold. This was +the office of these kings when Arthur held state at his court. The +first of the princes was from Scotland, the second from South Wales, +the third was of North Wales, and as to the last it was Cador of +Cornwall who earned the fourth sword. All these fair princes were +at one in their purpose, being altogether at unity, when Arthur was +crowned king. To holy Dubricius it fell, as prelate of Caerleon and +Roman legate, to celebrate the office and perform such rites as were +seemly to be rendered in the church. + +That the queen might not be overshadowed by her husband's state, the +crown was set on her head in another fashion. For her part she had +bidden to her court the great ladies of the country, and such dames as +were the wives of her friends. Together with these had assembled the +ladies of her kindred, such ladies as were most to her mind, and many +fair and gentle maidens whom she desired to be about her person at the +feast. The presence of this gay company of ladies made the feast yet +more rich, when the queen was crowned in her chamber, and brought to +that convent of holy nuns for the conclusion of the rite. The press +was so great that the queen might hardly make her way through the +streets of the city. Four dames preceded their lady, bearing four +white doves in their hands. These dames were the wives of those lords +who carried the golden swords before the king. A fair company of +damsels followed after the queen, making marvellous joy and delight. +This fair fellowship of ladies came from the noblest of the realm. +Passing dainty were they to see, wearing rich mantles above their +silken raiment. All men gazed gladly upon them, for their beauty was +such that none was sweeter than her fellows. These dames and maidens +went clothed in their softest garments. Their heads were tired in +their fairest hennins, and they walked in their most holiday vesture. +Never were seen so many rich kirtles of divers colours, such costly +mantles, such precious jewels and rings. Never were seen such furs and +such ornaments, both the vair and the grey. Never was known so gay and +noble a procession of ladies, as this which hastened to the church, +lest it should be hindered from the rite. + +Now within the church Mass was commenced with due pomp and observance. +The noise of the organ filled the church, and the clerks sang tunably +in the choir. Their voices swelled or failed, according as the chant +mounted to the roof, or died away in supplication. The knights passed +from one church to the other. Now they would be at the convent of St. +Julius, and again at the cathedral church of St. Aaron. This they did +to compare the singing of the clerks, and to delight their eyes with +the loveliness of the damsels. Although the knights passed frequently +between the churches, yet no man could answer for certain at which +they remained the longer. They could not surfeit the heart by reason +of the sweetness of the melody. Yea, had the song endured the whole +day through, I doubt those knights would ever have grown weary or +content. + +When the office drew to its appointed end, and the last words were +chanted, the king put off his crown that he had carried to the church. +He took another crown which sat more lightly on his head; and in such +fashion did the queen. They laid aside their heavy robes and ornaments +of state, and vested them in less tiring raiment. The king parted from +St. Aaron's church, and returned to his palace for meat. The queen, +for her part, came again to her own house, carrying with her that fair +fellowship of ladies, yet making marvellous joy. For the Britons held +still to the custom brought by their sires from Troy, that when the +feast was spread, man ate with man alone, bringing no lady with him +to the board. The ladies and damsels ate apart. No men were in their +hall, save only the servitors, who served them with every observance, +for the feast was passing rich, as became a monarch's court. When +Arthur was seated in his chair upon the dais, the lords and princes +sat around the board, according to the usage of the country, each in +his order and degree. The king's seneschal, hight Sir Kay, served +Arthur's table, clad in a fair dalmatic of vermeil silk. With Sir Kay +were a thousand damoiseaux, clothed in ermine, who bore the dishes +from the buttery. These pages moved briskly about the tables, carrying +the meats in platters to the guests. Together with these were yet +another thousand damoiseaux, gentle and goodly to see, clothed +likewise in coats of ermine. These fair varlets poured the wine from +golden beakers into cups and hanaps of fine gold. Not one of these +pages but served in a vesture of ermine. Bedevere, the king's +cupbearer, himself set Arthur's cup upon the board; and those called +him master who saw that Arthur's servants lacked not drink. + +The queen had so many servitors at her bidding, that I may not tell +you the count. She and all her company of ladies were waited on, +richly and reverently. Right worshipfully were they tended. These +ladies had to their table many rich meats, and wines and spiced drink +of divers curious fashions. The dishes and vessels from which they ate +were very precious, and passing fair. I know not how to put before you +the wealth and the splendour of Arthur's feast. Whether for goodly men +or for chivalrous deeds, for wealth as for plenty, for courtesy as for +honour, in Arthur's day England bore the flower from all the lands +near by, yea, from every other realm whereof we know. The poorest +peasant in his smock was a more courteous and valiant gentleman than +was a belted knight beyond the sea. And as with the men, so, and no +otherwise, was it with the women. There was never a knight whose +praise was bruited abroad, but went in harness and raiment and plume +of one and the self-same hue. The colour of surcoat and armour in +the field was the colour of the gown he wore in hall. The dames and +damsels would apparel them likewise in cloth of their own colour. No +matter what the birth and riches of a knight might be, never, in all +his days, could he gain fair lady to his friend, till he had proved +his chivalry and worth. That knight was accounted the most nobly born +who bore himself the foremost in the press. Such a knight was indeed +cherished of the ladies; for his friend was the more chaste as he was +brave. + +After the king had risen from the feast, he and his fellowship went +without the city to take their delight amongst the fields. The lords +sought their pleasure in divers places. Some amongst them jousted +together, that their horses might be proven. Others fenced with the +sword, or cast the stone, or flung pebbles from a sling. There were +those who shot with the bow, like cunning archers, or threw darts at +a mark. Every man strove with his fellow, according to the game he +loved. That knight who proved the victor in his sport, and bore the +prize from his companions, was carried before the king in the sight of +all the princes. Arthur gave him of his wealth so goodly a gift, that +he departed from the king's presence in great mirth and content. The +ladies of the court climbed upon the walls, looking down on the games +very gladly. She, whose friend was beneath her in the field, gave +him the glance of her eye and her face; so that he strove the more +earnestly for her favour. Now to the court had gathered many tumblers, +harpers, and makers of music, for Arthur's feast. He who would hear +songs sung to the music of the rote, or would solace himself with the +newest refrain of the minstrel, might win to his wish. Here stood +the viol player, chanting ballads and lays to their appointed tunes. +Everywhere might be heard the voice of viols and harp and flutes. +In every place rose the sound of lyre and drum and shepherd's pipe, +bagpipe, psaltery, cymbals, monochord, and all manner of music. Here +the tumbler tumbled on his carpet. There the mime and the dancing girl +put forth their feats. Of Arthur's guests some hearkened to the teller +of tales and fables. Others called for dice and tables, and played +games of chance for a wager. Evil befalls to winner and loser alike +from such sport as this. For the most part men played at chess or +draughts. You might see them, two by two, bending over the board. When +one player was beaten by his fellow, he borrowed moneys to pay his +wager, giving pledges for the repayment of his debt. Dearly enough he +paid for his loan, getting but eleven to the dozen. But the pledge was +offered and taken, the money rendered, and the game continued with +much swearing and cheating, much drinking and quarrelling, with strife +and with anger. Often enough the loser was discontented, and rose +murmuring against his fellow. Two by two the dicers sat at table, +casting the dice. They threw in turn, each throwing higher than his +fellow. You might hear them count, six, five, three, four, two, and +one. They staked their raiment on the cast, so there were those who +threw half naked. Fair hope had he who held the dice, after his fellow +had cried his number. Then the quarrel rose suddenly from the silence. +One called across the table to his companion, "You cheat, and throw +not fairly. Grasp not the dice so tightly in your hand, but shake them +forth upon the board. My count is yet before yours. If you still have +pennies in your pouch bring them out, for I will meet you to your +wish." Thus the dicers wrangled, and to many of Arthur's guests it +chanced that he who sat to the board in furs, departed from the tables +clothed in his skin. + +When the fourth day of the week was come, on a certain Wednesday, the +king made knights of his bachelors, granting them rents to support +their stations. He recompensed those lords of his household who held +of him their lands at suit and service. Such clerks as were diligent +in their Master's business he made abbots and bishops; and bestowed +castles and towns on his counsellors and friends. To those stranger +knights who for his love had crossed the sea in his quarrel, the king +gave armour and destrier and golden ornaments, to their desire. Arthur +divided amongst them freely of his wealth. He granted lordship and +delights, greyhound and brachet, furred gown and raiment, beaker +and hanap, sendal and signet, bhaut and mantle, lance and sword and +quivers of sharp barbed arrows. He bestowed harness and buckler and +weapons featly fashioned by the smith. He gave largesse of bears +and of leopards, of palfreys and hackneys, of chargers with saddles +thereon. He gave the helm as the hauberk, the gold as the silver, yea, +he bestowed on his servants the very richest and most precious of his +treasure. Never a man of these outland knights, so only he was worthy +of Arthur's bounty, but the king granted him such gifts as he might +brag of in his own realm. And as with the foreign lords, so to the +kings and the princes, the knights, and all his barons, Arthur gave +largely many precious gifts. + +Now as King Arthur was seated on a dais with these princes and earls +before him, there entered in his hall twelve ancient men, white and +greyheaded, full richly arrayed in seemly raiment. These came within +the palace two by two. With the one hand each clasped his companion, +and in the other carried a fair branch of olive. The twelve elders +passed at a slow pace down the hall, bearing themselves right +worshipfully. They drew near to Arthur's throne, and saluted the king +very courteously. They were citizens of Rome, said the spokesman of +these aged men, and were ambassadors from the emperor, bringing with +them letters to the king. Having spoken such words, one amongst them +made ready his parchment, and delivered it in Arthur's hands. This was +the sum of the writing sent by the Emperor of Rome. + +"Lucius, the Emperor and lord of Rome, to King Arthur, his enemy, +these, according to his deservings. I marvel very greatly, and disdain +whilst yet I marvel, the pride and ill-will which have puffed you up +to seek to do me evil. I have nothing but contempt and wonder for +those who counsel you to resist the word of Rome, whilst yet one Roman +draws his breath. You have acted lightly, and by reason of vanity have +wrought mischief to us who are the front and avengers of the world. +You resemble a blind man, whose eyes the leech prepares to open. You +know not yet, but very soon you will have learned, the presumption of +him who teaches law to the justice of Rome. It is not enough to say +that you have acted after your kind, and sinned according to your +nature. Know you not whom you are, and from what dust you have come, +that you dare to dispute the tribute to Rome! Why do you steal our +land and our truage? Why do you refuse to render Caesar that which is +his own? Are you indeed so strong that we may not take our riches +from your hand? Perchance you would show us a marvellous matter. +Behold--you say--the lion fleeing from the lamb, the wolf trembling +before the kid, and the leopard fearful of the hare. Be not deceived. +Nature will not suffer such miracles to happen. Julius Caesar, our +mighty ancestor--whom, maybe, you despise in your heart--conquered the +land of Britain, taking tribute thereof, and this you have paid until +now. From other islands also, neighbours of this, it was our custom to +receive truage. These in your presumption you have taken by force, to +your own most grievous hurt. Moreover, you have been so bold as to put +yet greater shame and damage upon us, since Frollo, our tribune, is +slain, and France and Britain, by fraud, you keep wrongfully in your +power. Since, then, you have not feared Rome, neither regarded her +honour, the senate summon you by these letters, and command you under +pain of their displeasure, to appear before them at mid August, +without fail or excuse. Come prepared to make restitution of that you +have taken, whatever the cost; and to give satisfaction for all those +things whereof you are accused. If so be you think to keep silence, +and do naught of that you are bidden, I will cross the Mont St. +Bernard with a mighty host, and pluck Britain and France from your +hand. Do not deem that you can make head against me, neither hold +France in my despite. Never will you dare to pass that sea, for my +dearer pleasure; yea, were your courage indeed so great, yet never +might you abide my coming. Be persuaded that in what place soever you +await me, from thence I will make you skip. For this is my purpose, to +bind you with bonds, and bring you to Rome, and deliver you, bound, to +the judgment of the senate." + +When this letter was read in the hearing of those who were come to +Arthur's solemnity, a great tumult arose, for they were angered beyond +measure. Many of the Britons took God to witness that they would do +such things and more also to those ambassadors who had dared deliver +the message. They pressed about those twelve ancient men, with many +wild and mocking words. Arthur rose hastily to his feet, bidding the +brawlers to keep silence. He cried that none should do the Romans a +mischief, for they were an embassy, and carried the letters of their +lord. Since they were but another's mouthpiece, he commanded that none +should work them harm. After the noise was at an end, and Arthur was +assured that the elders were no longer in peril, he called his privy +council and the lords of his household together, in a certain stone +keep, that was named the Giant's Tower. The king would be advised by +his barons--so ran the summons--what answer he should give to the +messengers of Rome. Now as they mounted the stairs, earl and prince, +pell mell, together, Cador, who was a merry man, saw the king before +him. "Fair king," said the earl gaily, "for a great while the thought +has disturbed me, that peace and soft living are rotting away the +British bone. Idleness is the stepdame of virtue, as our preachers +have often told us. Soft living makes a sluggard of the hardiest +knight, and steals away his strength. She cradles him with dreams of +woman, and is the mother of chambering and wantonness. Folded hands +and idleness cause our young damoiseaux to waste their days over merry +tales, and dice, raiment to catch a lady's fancy and things that are +worse. Rest and assurance of safety will in the end do Britain more +harm than force or guile. May the Lord God be praised Who has jogged +our elbow. To my mind He has persuaded these Romans to challenge our +country that we may get us from sleep. If the Romans trust so greatly +in their might that they do according to their letters, be assured the +Briton has not yet lost his birthright of courage and hardness. I am +a soldier, and have never loved a peace that lasts over long, since +there are uglier things than war." Gawain overheard these words. "Lord +earl," said he, "by my faith be not fearful because of the young men. +Peace is very grateful after war. The grass grows greener, and the +harvest is more plenteous. Merry tales, and songs, and ladies' love +are delectable to youth. By reason of the bright eyes and the worship +of his friend, the bachelor becomes knight and learns chivalry." + +Whilst the lords jested amongst themselves in this fashion, they +climbed the tower, and were seated in the chamber. When Arthur marked +that each was in his place, silent and attentive to the business, he +considered for a little that he had to speak. Presently he lifted his +head, and spoke such words as these. "Lords," said the king, "who are +here with me, nay, rather my companions and my friends, companions +alike, whether the day be good or evil, by whose sustenance alone I +have endured such divers quarrels, hearken well to me. In the days +that are told, have we not shared victory and defeat together, +partners, you with me, as I with you, in gain and in loss? Through +you, and by reason of your help in time of trouble, have I won many +battles. You have I carried over land and sea, far and near, to many +strange realms. Ever have I found you loyal and true, in business +and counsel. Because of your prowess I hold the heritage of divers +neighbouring princes in subjection. Lords, you have hearkened to the +letters carried by the ambassadors of Rome, and to the malice they +threaten if we do not after their commandment. Very despiteful are +they against us, and purpose to work us bitter mischief. But if God be +gracious to His people, we shall yet be delivered from their hand. Now +these Romans are a strong nation, passing rich and of great power. It +becomes us therefore to consider prudently what we shall say and do in +answer to their message, looking always to the end. He who is assured +of his mark gets there by the shortest road. When the arrows start to +fly, the sergeant takes shelter behind his shield. Let us be cautious +and careful like these. This Lucius seeks to do us a mischief. He is +in his right, and it is ours to take such counsel, that his mischief +falls on his own head. To-day he demands tribute from Britain and +other islands of the sea. To-morrow he purposes in his thought to +receive truage of France. Consider first the case of Britain, and how +to answer wisely therein. Britain was conquered by Caesar of force. +The Britons knew not how to keep them against his host, and perforce +paid him their tribute. But force is no right. It is but pride puffed +up and swollen beyond measure. They cannot hold of law what they have +seized by violence and wrong. The land is ours by right, even if the +Roman took it to himself by force. The Romans really reproach us for +the shame and the damage, the loss and the sorrow Caesar visited upon +our fathers. They boast that they will avenge such losses as these, by +taking the land with the rent, and making their little finger thicker +than their father's loins. Let them beware. Hatred breeds hatred +again, and things despiteful are done to those who despitefully use +you. They come with threats, demanding truage, and reproving us for +the evil we have done them. Tribute they claim by the right of the +strong, leaving sorrow and shame as our portion. But if the Romans +claim to receive tribute of Britain because tribute was aforetime paid +them from Britain, by the same reasoning we may establish that Rome +should rather pay tribute to us. In olden days there lived two +brothers, British born, namely, Belinus, King of the Britons, and +Brennus, Duke of Burgundy, both wise and doughty lords. These stout +champions arrived with their men before Rome, and shutting the city +close, at the end gained it by storm. They took hostages of the +citizens to pay them tribute, but since the burgesses did not observe +their covenant, the brethren hanged the hostages, to the number of +four and-twenty, in the eyes of all their kinsfolk. When Belinus went +to his own place, he commended Rome to the charge of Brennus, his +brother. Now Constantine, the son of Helena, drew from Brennus and +Belinus, and in his turn held Rome in his care. Maximian, King of +Britain, after he had conquered France and Germany, passed the Mont +St. Bernard into Lombardy, and took Rome to his keeping. These mighty +kings were my near kinsmen, and each was master of Rome. Thus you have +heard, and see clearly, that not only am I King of Britain, but by law +Emperor of Rome also, so we maintain the rights of our fathers. The +Romans have had truage of us, and my ancestors have taken seisin of +them. They claim Britain, and I demand Rome. This is the sum and end +of my counsel as regards Britain and Rome. Let him have the fief and +the rent who is mightier in the field. As to France and those other +countries which have been removed from their hands, the Romans should +not wish to possess that which they may not maintain. Either the +land was not to their mind, or they had not the strength to hold it. +Perchance the Romans have no rights in the matter, and it is by reason +of covetousness rather than by love of law, that they seek this +quarrel. Let him keep the land who can, by the right of the most +strong. For all these things the emperor menaces us very grievously. I +pray God that he may do us no harm. Our fiefs and goods he promises +to take from us, and lead us captive in bonds to Rome. We care not +overmuch for this, and are not greatly frighted at his words. If he +seek us after his boast, please God, he will have no mind to threaten +when he turns again to his own home. We accept his challenge, and +appeal to God's judgment, that all may be rendered to his keeping, who +is able to maintain it in his hand." + +When Arthur the king had made an end of speaking in the ears of his +barons, the word was with those who had hearkened to his counsel. Hoel +followed after the king. "Sire," said he, "you have spoken much, and +right prudently, nor is there any who can add wisdom to your speech. +Summon now your vassals and meinie, together with us who are of your +household. Cross the sea straightway into France, and make the realm +sure with no further tarrying. From thence we can pass Mont St. +Bernard, and overrun Lombardy. By moving swiftly we shall carry the +war into the emperor's own land. We shall fright him so greatly that +he will have the less leisure to trouble Britain. Your movements, +moreover, will be so unlooked for that the Romans will be altogether +amazed, and quickly confounded. Sire, it is the Lord's purpose to +exalt you over all the kings of the earth. Hinder not the will of God +by doubtfulness. He is able to put even Rome in your power, so only it +be according to His thought. Remember the books of the Sibyl, and of +the prophecies therein. The Sibyl wrote that three kings should come +forth from Britain, who of their might should conquer Rome. Of these +three princes, two are dead. Belinus is dead, and Constantine is dead, +but each in his day was the master of Rome. You are that third king +destined to be stronger than the great city. In you the prophecy shall +be fulfilled, and the Sibyl's words accomplished. Why then scruple to +take what God gives of His bounty? Rise up then, exalt yourself, exalt +your servants, who would see the end of God's purpose. I tell you +truly that nothing of blows or hurt, neither weariness nor prison nor +death, counts aught with us in comparison with what is due to the +king's honour. For my part, I will ride in your company, so long as +this business endures, with ten thousand armed horsemen at my back. +Moreover, if your treasury has need of moneys for the quarrel, I will +put my realm in pledge, and deliver the gold and the gain to your +hand. Never a penny will I touch of my own, so long as the king has +need." + +After Hoel had ended his counsel, Aguisel, King of Scotland, who was +brother to Lot and to Urian, stood on his feet. "Sire," said he, "the +words you have spoken in this hall, where are gathered the flower of +your chivalry, are dear to their ears, for we have listened to the +disdainful messages of Rome. Be assured that each of your peers will +aid you to the utmost of his power. Now is the time and occasion to +show forth the counsel and help we can afford to our king. Not one of +us here who is a subject of your realm, and holds his manors of the +crown, but will do his duty to his liege, as is but just and right. No +tidings I have heard for a great while past sounded so good and fair +as the news that presently we shall have strife with Rome. These +Romans are a people whom I neither love with my heart, nor esteem in +my mind, but hate because they are very orgulous and proud. Upright +folk should avoid their fellowship, for they are an evil and a +covetous race, caring for no other matter but to heap treasure +together, and add to their store. The emperor of this people, by fraud +and deceit, has fastened this quarrel upon us, sending you letters +with an embassy. He deems that Britain is no other than it was, or +he would not demand his measure of tribute, pressed down and running +over. The Roman has raised such a smoke that his fingers will quickly +be scorched in the flame. Moreover, had the Roman kept quiet, even had +he refrained from threats, it becomes our honour, of our own choice, +to enter on this war, to avenge the wrongs of our fathers, and to +abase his pride. The Romans' logic is that they are entitled to +receive tribute at our hands, by reason that their fathers, in their +day, took truage of our ancestors. If this be so, it was no free-will +offering of our fathers, but was wrenched from them by force. So be +it. By force we take again our own, and revenge ourselves for all the +pilling of the past. We are a perilous people, who have proved victors +in divers great battles, and brought many a bitter war to a good end. +But what profit is ours of nil these triumphs, so long as we cry not +'check' to Rome! I desire not drink to my lips when athirst, nor meat +to my mouth when an hungered, as I desire the hour when we hurtle +together in the field. Then hey for the helm laced fast, the lifted +shield, for the brandished sword, and the mighty horse. God! what +spoil and rich ransom will he gain whose body God keeps with His +buckler that day. Never again will he be poor till his life's end. +Cities and castles will be his for the sacking; and mules, sumpters, +and destriers to the heart's desire. On then, comrades, to the +conquest of Rome, and to the parcelling of the Romans' lands. When the +proud city is destroyed, and its wardens slain, there remains yet a +work for us to do. We will pass into Lorraine, and seize the realm. We +will make our pleasaunce of all the strongholds of Germany. So we will +do, till there endures not a land to the remotest sea but is Arthur's +fief, nor one only realm to pluck them from his power. Right or wrong +this is our purpose. That my blow may be heavy as my word, and the +deed accord with the speech, I am ready to go with the king, and ten +thousand riders with me, besides men-at-arms in such plenty that no +man may count them." + +When the King of Scotland had spoken, there was much stir and tumult, +all men crying that he would be shamed for ever who did not his utmost +in this quarrel. Arthur and his baronage being of one mind together, +the king wrote certain letters to Rome, and sealed them with his +ring. These messages he committed to the embassy, honouring right +worshipfully those reverend men. "Tell your countrymen," said the +king, "that I am lord of Britain: that I hold France, and will +continue to hold it, and purpose to defend it against the Roman power. +Let them know of a surety that I journey to Rome presently at their +bidding, only it will be not to carry them tribute, but rather to seek +it at their hand." The ambassadors, therefore, took their leave, and +went again to Rome. There they told where and in what fashion they +were welcomed of the king, and reported much concerning him. This +Arthur--said these ancient men--is a lord amongst kings, generous and +brave, lettered and very wise. Not another king could furnish the +riches spent on his state, by reason of the attendance of his +ministers, and the glory of their apparel. It was useless to seek +tribute from Arthur, since in olden days Britain received tribute of +Rome. + +Now when the senate had heard the report of the messengers, and +considered the letters wherewith they were charged, they were +persuaded of ambassador and message alike that Arthur neither would do +homage nor pay them the tribute they demanded. The senate, therefore, +took counsel with the emperor, requiring him to summon all the empire +to his aid. They devised that with his host he should pass through the +mountains into Burgundy, and giving battle to King Arthur deprive him +of kingdom and crown. Lucius Tiberius moved very swiftly. He sent +messages to kings, earls, and dukes, bidding them as they loved honour +to meet him on a near day at Rome, in harness for the quest. At the +emperor's commandment came many mighty lords, whose names I find +written in the chronicles of those times. To meet Lucius came +Epistrophius, King of the Greeks, Ession, King of Broeotia, and Itarc, +King of the Turks, a passing strong and perilous knight. With these +were found Pandras, King of Egypt, and Hippolytus, King of Crete. +These were lords of very great worship, a hundred cities owning their +tyranny. Evander drew from Syria, and Teucer from Phrygia; from +Babylon came Micipsa, and from Spain, Aliphatma. From Media came King +Bocus, from Libya, Sertonus, from Bithyma, Polydetes, and from Idumea, +King Xerxes Mustansar, the King of Africa, came from his distant home, +many a long days' journey. With him were black men and Moors, bearing +their king's rich treasure. The senate gave of their number these +patricians: Marcellus and Lucius Catellus, Cocta, Cams, and Metellus. +Many other lords gladly joined themselves to that company, whose +names for all my seeking I have not found. When the host was gathered +together, the count of the footmen was four hundred thousand armed +men, besides one hundred and eighty thousand riders on horses. This +mighty army, meetly ordered and furnished with weapons, set forth on a +day to give Arthur battle from Rome. + +Arthur and his baronage departed from the court to make them ready +for battle. The king sent his messengers to and fro about the land, +calling and summoning each by his name, to hasten swiftly with his +power, so that he valued Arthur's love. Not a knight but was bidden to +ride on his allegiance, with all the men and horses that he had. The +lords of the isles, Ireland, Gothland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and +the Orkneys, promised for their part one hundred and forty thousand +men, armed and clad according to the fashion of their country. Of +these not a horseman but was a cunning rider, not a footman but bore +his accustomed weapon, battle-axe, javelin, or spear Normandy and +Anjou, Auvergne and Poitou, Flanders and Boulogne promised, without +let, eighty thousand sergeants more, each with his armour on his back. +So much it was their right and privilege to do, they said. The twelve +peers of France, who were of the fellowship of Guenn of Chartres, +promised every one to ride at Arthur's need, each man with a hundred +lances. This was their bounden service, said these peers. Hoel of +Brittany promised ten thousand men, Aguisel of Scotland two thousand +more. From Britain, his proper realm, that we now call England, Arthur +numbered forty thousand horsemen in hauberks of steel. As for the +count of the footmen--arbalestriers, archers, and spearmen--it was +beyond all measure, for the number of the host was as the grains of the +sand. When Arthur was certified of the greatness of his power, and +of the harness of his men, he wrote letters to each of his captains, +commanding him that on an appointed day he should come in ships to +Barfleur in Normandy. The lords of his baronage, who had repaired from +the court to their fiefs, hastened to make ready with those whom they +should bring across the sea. In like manner Arthur pushed on with his +business, that nothing should hinder or delay. + +Arthur committed the care of his realm, and of Dame Guenevere, his +wife, to his nephew, Mordred, a marvellously hardy knight, whom Arthur +loved passing well. Mordred was a man of high birth, and of many noble +virtues, but he was not true. He had set his heart on Guenevere, his +kinswoman, but such a love brought little honour to the queen. Mordred +had kept this love close, for easy enough it was to hide, since who +would be so bold as to deem that he loved his uncle's dame? The lady +on her side had given her love to a lord of whom much good was spoken, +but Mordred was of her husband's kin! This made the shame more +shameworthy. Ah, God, the deep wrong done in this season by Mordred +and the queen. + +Arthur, having put all the governance in Mordred's power, save only +the crown, went his way to Southampton. His meinie was lodged about +the city, whilst his vessels lay within the haven. The harbour was +filled with the ships. They passed to and fro; they remained at +anchorage; they were bound together by cables. The carpenter yet was +busy upon them with his hammer. Here the shipmen raised the mast, +and bent the sail. There they thrust forth bridges to the land, and +charged the stores upon the ship. The knights and the sergeants +entered therein in their order, bearing pikes, and leading the fearful +houses by the rein. You could watch them crying farewell, and waving +their hands, to those remaining on the shore. When the last man had +entered in the last ship the sailors raised the anchors, and worked +the galleys from the haven. Right diligently the mariners laboured, +spreading the sails, and making fast the stays. They pulled stoutly +upon the hoists and ropes, so that the ships ran swiftly out to sea. +Then they made the ropes secure, each in its wonted place. The captain +who was charged with the safety of the ship set his course carefully, +whilst pilot and steersman needfully observed his word. At his bidding +they put the helm to port, to lee, as they might better fill their +sails with the wind. As need arose the shipmen drew upon the cords and +bowlines, or let the canvas fall upon the deck, that the vessel might +be the less beaten of the waves. Thus, loosing and making fast, +letting go and bringing quickly to the deck, hauling and tugging at +the ropes--so they proceeded on their way. When night was come, they +steered their courses by the stars, furling the sails that the wind +should not carry them from their path. Very fearful were the mariners +of the dark, and went as slowly as they were able. Passing bold was +he, that first courteous captain, who builded the first ship, and +committing his body to the wind and waves, set forth to seek a land he +might not see, and to find such haven as men had never known. + +Now it came to pass that whilst the host voyaged in great content with +a fair wind towards Barfleur, that Arthur slept, for he was passing +heavy, and it was night. As the king slumbered he beheld a vision, +and, lo, a bear flying high in air towards the east. Right huge and +hideous of body was the bear, and marvellously horrible to see. Also +the king saw a dragon flying over against him towards the west. The +brightness of his eyes was such, that the whole land and sea were +filled with the radiance of his glory. When these two beasts came +together, the dragon fell upon the bear, and the bear defended himself +valiantly against his adversary. But the dragon put his enemy beneath +him, and tumbling him to the earth, crushed him utterly in the dust. +When Arthur had slept for awhile, his spirit came to him again, and he +awoke and remembered his dream. The king called therefore for his wise +clerks, and related to them and his household the vision that he had +seen of the bear and; of the dragon. Then certain of these clerks +expounded to the king his dream, and the interpretation thereof. The +dragon that was beholden of the king signified himself. By the bear +was shown forth a certain horrible giant, come from a far land, whom +he should slay. The giant desired greatly that the adventure should +end in another fashion; nevertheless all would be to the king's +profit. But Arthur replied, "My interpretation of the dream is other +than yours. To me it typifies rather the issue of the war between +myself and the emperor. But let the Creator's will be done." + +After these words no more was spoken until the rising of the sun. +Very early in the morning they came to haven at Barfleur in Normandy. +Presently the host issued from the ships, and spread themselves +abroad, to await the coming of those who tarried on the way. Now they +had but dwelled for a little while in the land when tidings were +brought to the king that a marvellously strong giant, newly come +from Spain, had ravished Helen, the niece of his kinsman, Hoel. This +doleful lady the giant had carried to a high place known as St. +Michael's Mount, though in that day there was neither church nor +monastery on the cliff, but all was shut close by the waves of the +sea. There was none in the country so hardy and strong, whether gentle +or simple of birth, that dared to do battle with the giant, or even +to come where he lay. Often enough the folk of the land had gathered +themselves together, and compassed about the rock both by land and +sea, but little had they gained from their labour. For the giant had +beaten their boats amongst the rocks, so that they were slain or +drowned. Therefore they left him to himself, since there was none +to hinder his pleasure. The peasants of the realm were exceeding +sorrowful. Their enemy spoiled their houses, harried their cattle, +bore away their wives and children, and returned to his fastness on +the mount. The villeins lurked in the woods from his wrath. They +perished of misery in secret places, so that the whole land was +barren, because there was none to labour in the fields. This +marvellous giant had to name Dinabuc. Not a soul but prayed that he +might come to an evil end. When Arthur heard these lamentable tidings +he called to him Kay the seneschal and Bedevere his cupbearer, for he +would open his counsel to no other man. He told them his purpose to +depart from the camp that same night privily, taking none with him, +save themselves alone. None but they would know of his errand, for he +rode to the mount to be assured as to whether he or the giant was +the stouter champion. All through the night the three rode together, +sparing not the spur. At daybreak they came upon the ford that leads +across the water to the mount. Looking towards the mount they beheld +a burning fire upon the hill, that might be seen from very far. Over +against the mount was set another hill, near by, and of lesser height, +and upon this hill also a fire of coals. Arthur gazed from hill to +mountain. He doubted where the giant lodged, and in which of these two +high places he should come upon him. There was no man to ask of his +dwelling, nor to tell of his outgoings. Arthur bade Bedevere to go +first to the one and then to the other hill, seeking news of the +giant. When he had found that which he sought, he must return swiftly, +bringing good tidings. Bedevere set forth upon his quest. He entered +into a little boat, and rowed over to that mount which was nearer. He +could cross in no other manner, for the tide was very full, and all +the sand was covered of the sea. Bedevere got him from the boat, and +began to climb the hill. As he climbed he stood still for a space, and +hearkened. From above Bedevere might hear a noise of sore weeping, and +loud lamentation, and doleful sighs. The knight grew cold at the heart +root by reason of his exceeding fear, since he deemed to have come +upon the giant at his play. Presently the courage returned to his +breast, and drawing the sword from its sheath, he advanced stoutly up +the hill. Bedevere considered within himself that it were better for +a knight to die, rather than know himself a coward. He reproached +himself for his tearfulness, and in heart and hope desired only to +bring the adventure to a good end. His wish proved but vain. When +Bedevere won the summit of the mountain, there was no giant, but only +a flaming fire, and close by the fire a new-digged grave. The knight +drew near this fire, with the sword yet naked in his hand. Lying +beside the grave he found an old woman, with rent raiment and +streaming hair, lamenting her wretched case. She bewailed also the +fate of Helen, making great dole and sorrow, with many shrill cries. +When this piteous woman beheld Bedevere upon the mount, "Oh, wretched +man," she exclaimed, "what is thy name, and what misadventure leads +you here! Should the giant find thee in his haunt, this very day thy +life will end in shame and grief and hurt. Flee, poor wretch, upon thy +road, before he spies thee. Be pitiful to thyself, nor seek to die, +for who art thou to deliver thyself from his wrath!" "Good dame," made +reply Sir Bedevere, "give over weeping and answer my words. Tell me +who you are, and why you shed these tears. For what reason do you +abide in this isle, and crouch beside this tomb? Answer me plainly +concerning your adventure." "Fair lord," replied the ancient lady, "I +am a forsaken and a most unhappy woman. I make my lamentation for a +damsel, named Helen, whom I nourished at my breast, the niece of Duke +Hoel of this realm. Here lies her body in this tomb, that was given to +me to cherish. Alas, for her who was set upon my knees! Alas, for her +I cherished in my bosom! A certain devil ravished her away, and me +also, bearing us both to this his lair. The giant would have had to do +with the maiden, but she was so tender of her years that she might not +endure him. Passing young was the maid, whilst he, for his part, was +so gross and weighty of bone and flesh, that her burden was more than +she could bear. For this the soul departed from her body. Alas, wretch +that I am, I remain alive, and she, my joy and my love, my sweetness +and my delight, was foully done to death by this giant. Nothing was +left for me to do, but to put her body in the earth." "For what reason +do you abide in this hill," asked Sir Bedevere, "since Helen is gone +before?" "Will thou learn of the reason," said the ancient damsel, +"then it shall not be hidden; for easy it is to see that thou art a +gentle and a courteous man. When Helen had gone her way in shame and +sorrow, the giant constrained me to abide that I might suffer his +pleasure. This he did, although my heart was hot because I had seen my +lady die in sore anguish. Force keeps me in this haunt, force makes +me his sport. You cannot think that I stay of my own free will on the +mount. I but submit to the will of the Lord. Would to God that I were +dead, as for a little more I should be slain of the giant. But if I am +older of years, I am also stronger, and harder, and more firm in +my purpose, than ever was my frail Lady Helen. Nevertheless I am +well-nigh gone, and have little longer to endure. Perchance even this +very day will be my last. Friend, tarry here no further whomsoever +thou mayst be. Flee while you can, for behold the fire smokes upon the +mountain, and the devil makes him ready to ascend, according to his +custom. Be not snared within his net. Depart, and leave an old woman +to her tears and sorrow; for I have no care to live, since Helen and +her love are spoiled with dust." + +When Bedevere heard this adventure he was filled with pity. With his +whole heart he comforted the damsel as gently as he might. He left +her for a season, and hastening down the hill came straightway to the +king. Bedevere showed his lord of all that he had heard and seen. He +told over the tale of that ancient nurse lamenting by a grave; of +Helen who was dead, and of the giant's haunt upon the higher of the +hills which smoked. Arthur was passing heavy at Helen's fate. He +wasted no time in tears, nor suffered himself to be fearful. Arthur +bade his companions get into their harness, and ride with him to the +ford. The tide was now at the ebb, so that they crossed on their +horses, and came speedily to the foot of the hill. There they +dismounted, giving their mantles and destriers to the charge of the +squires. Arthur, Bedevere, and Kay, the three together, began briskly +to climb the mount. After they had climbed for a while Arthur spake to +his fellows: "Comrades, I go before to do battle with the giant. For +your part you must follow a little after. But let neither of you be so +bold as to aid me in my quarrel, so long as I have strength to strive. +Be the buffets what they may, stand you still, unless he beats me to +the ground. It is not seemly that any, save one, should have lot in +this business. Nevertheless so you see me in utmost peril and fear, +come swiftly to my succour, nor let me find death at his hands." Sir +Kay and Sir Bedevere made this covenant with their lord, and the three +knights together set forth again up the hill. Now when Arthur drew +near to the summit of the mount, he beheld the giant crouched above +his fire. He broiled a hog within the flame upon a spit. Part of the +flesh he had eaten already, and part of the meat was charred and +burning in the fire. He was the more hideous to see because his beard +and hair were foul with blood and coal. Arthur trusted to take him +thus unready, before he could get to his mace. But the giant spied his +adversary, and all amarvelled leapt lightly on his feet. He raised the +club above his shoulder, albeit so heavy that no two peasants of the +country could lift it from the ground. Arthur saw the giant afoot, and +the blow about to fall. He gripped his sword, dressing the buckler +high to guard his head. The giant struck with all his strength upon +the shield, so that the mountain rang like an anvil. The stroke was +stark, and Arthur stood mazed at the blow, but he was hardy and +strong, and did not reel. When the king came to himself, and marked +the shield shattered on his arm, he was marvellously wroth. He raised +his sword and struck full at the giant's brow. The blow was shrewd, +and would have brought the combat to an end had not the giant parried +with his mace. Even so, his head was sorely hurt, and the blood ran +down his face, that he might not see. When the giant knew that he was +wounded to his hurt, he became in his rage as a beast possessed. He +turned grimly on his adversary, even as the boar, torn of the hounds +and mangled by the hunting knife, turns on the hunter. Filled with +ire and malice the giant rushed blindly on the king. Heedless of the +sword, he flung his arms about him, and putting forth the full measure +of his might, bore Arthur to his knees. Arthur was ardent and swift +and ready of wit. He remembered his manhood, and struggled upright on +his feet. He was altogether angered, and fearful of what might hap. +Since strength could not help, he called subtlety to his aid. Arthur +made his body stiff like a rod, and held himself close, for he was +passing strong. He feigned to spring on his foe, but turning aside, +slipped quickly from under the giant's arms. When Arthur knew his +person free of these bands, he passed swiftly to and fro, eluding his +enemy's clasp. Now he was here, now there, ofttimes striking with the +sword. The giant ran blindly about, groping with his hands, for his +eyes were full of blood, and he knew not white from black. Sometimes +Arthur was before him, sometimes behind, but never in his grip, till +at the end the king smote him so fiercely with Excalibur that the blade +clove to his brain, and he fell. He cried out in his pain, and the +noise of his fall and of this exceeding bitter cry was as fetters of +iron tormented by the storm. + +Arthur stood a little apart, and gazed upon his adversary. He laughed +aloud in his mirth; for his anger was well-nigh gone. He commanded +Bedevere, his cupbearer, to strike off the giant's head, and deliver +it to the squires, that they might bear it to the host, for the +greater marvel. Bedevere did after his lord's behest. He drew his +sword, and divided the head from the shoulders. Wonderfully huge and +hideous to sight was the head of this giant. Never, said Arthur, had +he known such fear; neither had met so perilous a giant, save only +that Riton, who had grieved so many fair kings. This Riton in his day +made war upon divers kings. Of these some were slain in battle, and +others remained captive in his hand. Alive or dead, Riton used them +despitefully; for it was his wont to shave the beards of these +kings, and purfle therewith a cloak of furs that he wore, very rich. +Vainglorious beyond measure was Riton of his broidered cloak. Now by +reason of folly and lightness, Riton sent messages to Arthur, bidding +him shave his beard, and commend it forthwith to the giant, in all +good will. Since Arthur was a mightier lord and a more virtuous prince +than his fellows, Riton made covenant to prefer his beard before +theirs, and hold it in honour as the most silken fringe of his mantle. +Should Arthur refuse to grant Riton the trophy, then nought was there +to do, but that body to body they must fight out their quarrel, in +single combat, alone. He who might slay his adversary, or force him +to own himself vanquished, should have the beard for his guerdon, +together with the mantle of furs, fringes and garniture and all. +Arthur accorded with the giant that this should be so. They met in +battle on a high place, called Mount Aravius, in the far east, and +there the king slew Riton with the sword, spoiling him of that rich +garment of furs, with its border of dead kings' beards. Therefore, +said Arthur, that never since that day had he striven with so perilous +a giant, nor with one of whom he was so sorely frighted. Nevertheless +Dinabuc was bigger and mightier than was Riton, even in the prime of +his youth and strength. For a monster more loathly and horrible, a +giant so hideous and misshapen, was never slain by man, than the devil +Arthur killed to himself that day, in Mont St. Michel, over against +the sea. + +After Arthur had slam the monster, and Bedevere had taken his head, +they went their way to the host in great mirth and content. They +reached the camp, and showed the spoil to all who would, for their +hearts were high with that which they had done. Hoel was passing +sorrowful for that fair lady, his niece, making great lamentation for +a while over her who was lost in so fearsome a fashion. In token of +his dolour he budded on the mount a chapel to Our Lady St. Mary, that +men call Helen's Tomb to this very day. Although this fair chapel +was raised above the grave of this piteous lady, and is yet hight +Tombelame, none gives a thought to the damsel after whom it is named. +Nothing more have I to relate concerning this adventure, and would +tell you now of that which happened to the host. + +When the men of Ireland, and those others for whom Arthur tarried, had +joined themselves to the host, the king set forth, a day's march every +day, through Normandy. Without pause or rest he and his fellowship +passed across France, tarrying neither at town nor castle, and came +speedily into Burgundy. The king would get to Autun as swiftly as +he might, for the Romans were spoiling the land, and Lucius their +emperor, together with a great company, purposed to enter in the city. +Now when Arthur drew to the ford, leading across the waters of the +Aube, his spies and certain peasants of those parts came near and +warned him privily concerning the emperor, who lay but a little way +thence, so that the king could seek him, if he would. The Romans had +sheltered them in tents, and in lodges of branches. They were as the +sand of the shore for multitude, so that the peasants marvelled that +the earth could bring forth for the footmen and horses. Never might +the king store and garner in that day, for where he reaped with +one, Lucius the emperor would reap with four. Arthur was in no wise +dismayed at their words. He had gone through many and divers perils, +and was a valiant knight, having faith and affiance in God. On a +little hill near this river Aube, Arthur builded earthworks for his +host, making the place exceeding strong. He closed the doors fast, +and put therein a great company of knights and men at arms to hold +it close. In this fortress he set his harness and stores, so that he +could repair thither to his camp in time of need. When all was done +Arthur summoned to his counsel two lords whom he esteemed for fair and +ready speech. These two lords were of high peerage. Guerin of Chartres +was one, and the other was that Boso, Earl of Oxford, right learned +in the law. To these two barons Arthur added Gawain, who had dwelt in +Rome for so long a space. This Arthur did by reason that Gawain was a +good clerk, meetly schooled, and held in much praise and honour by his +friends in Rome. These three lords the king purposed to send as an +embassy to the emperor. They were to bear his message, bidding the +Romans to turn again to their own land, nor seek to enter France, +for it pertained to the king. Should Lucius persist in his purpose, +refusing to return whence he came, then let him give battle on the +earliest day, to determine whether Arthur or he had the better right. +This thing was certain. So long as Arthur had breath he would maintain +his claim to France, despite the Roman power. He had gained it by the +sword, and it was his by right of conquest. In ancient days Rome, in +her turn, held it by the same law. Then let the God of battles decide +whether Britain or Rome had the fairer right to France. + +The messengers of the king apparelled themselves richly for their +master's honour. They mounted on their fairest destriers, vested in +hauberks of steel, with laced helmets, and shields hung round their +necks. They took their weapons in their hands, and rode forth from the +camp. Now when certain knights and divers bold and reckless varlets +saw the embassy make ready to seek the emperor, they came to Gawain +and gave him freely of their counsel. These exhorted him that when he +reached the court, to which he fared, he should act in such fashion, +right or wrong, that a war would begin which had threatened overlong. +Yea, to use such speech that if no matter of dispute should be found +at the meeting, there might yet be quarrel enough when they parted. +The embassy accorded, therefore, that they would so do as to constrain +the Romans to give battle. Gawain and his comrades crossed a mountain, +and came through a wood upon a wide plain. At no great distance they +beheld the tents and lodges of the host. When the Romans saw the three +knights issue from the wood, they drew near to look upon their faces +and to inquire of their business. They asked of them concerning whom +they sought, and if for peace they had come within the camp. But the +three knights refused to answer, for good or evil, until they were led +before the lord of Rome. The embassy got from their horses before the +emperor's pavilion. They gave their bridles to the hands of the pages, +but as to their swords concealed them beneath their mantles. The three +knights showed neither salutation nor courtesy when they stood in the +emperor's presence. They rehearsed over Arthur's message, whilst Lucius +hearkened attentively to their words. Each of the ambassadors said +that which pleased him to be said, and told over what he held proper +to be told. The emperor listened to each and all without interruption. +After he had considered at his leisure he purposed to reply. "We come +from Arthur, our lord," said Gawain, "and bear to thee his message. He +is our king, and we are his liegemen, so it becomes us to speak only +the words he has put in our mouth. By us, his ambassadors, he bids you +refrain from setting a foot in France. He forbids you to intermeddle +with the realm, for it is his, and he will defend his right with such +power, that very certainly you may not snatch it from his hand. Arthur +requires you to seek nothing that is his. If, however, you challenge +his claim to France, then battle shall prove his title good, and by +battle you shall be thrown back to your own land. Once upon a time the +Romans conquered this realm by force, and by force they maintained +their right. Let battle decide again whether Rome or Britain has the +power to keep. Come forth to-morrow with thy host, so that it may be +proven whether you or we shall hold France. If you fear this thing, +then go your way in peace, as indeed is best, for what else is there +to do! The game is played, and Rome and you have lost." Lucius the +emperor made answer that he did not purpose to return to his realm. +France was his fief, and he would visit his own. If he might not +pursue his road to-day, why, then to-morrow. But in heart and hope he +deemed himself mighty enough to conquer France, and to take all in his +seisin. Now Quintilian, the nephew of the emperor, was seated by his +side. He took the word suddenly from his uncle's mouth, for he was a +passing proud youth, quick to quarrel, and very bitter in speech. "The +Britons," cried he, "are known to all as a vainglorious people. They +threaten readily, and they boast and brag more readily still. We have +listened to their menaces, but we remember they are of those who boast +the more because they act the less." Quintilian, as I deem, would have +continued with yet other grievous words, but Gawain, who was hot with +anger, drew forth his sword, and springing forward, made the head fly +from his shoulders. He cried to his comrades that they should get to +their horses, and the earls won their way from the pavilion, Gawain +with them, and they with him. Each seized his steed by the bridle, +and climbed nimbly in the saddle. Then they rode forth from the camp, +shield on shoulder, and lance in hand, asking no leave of any. + +The patricians within the pavilion sat silent for a space after that +bitter stroke. The emperor was the first to come from his amazement. +"Why sit you here?" cried Lucius; "follow after those men who have set +this shame upon us. Ill fall the day, if they come not to my hand!" +The bravest of his household ran from the tent crying for harness and +horses. From every side arose the shouting, "Swiftly, swiftly; bridle +and spur; gallop, gallop." The whole host was mightily moved together. +They set saddles on destriers, and led the steeds from the stable. +They girt their baldrics about them, and taking their lances, spurred +after the fugitives. The three barons pricked swiftly across the +plain. They looked this way and that; often glancing behind them to +mark how nearly they were followed. The Romans pursued them pell-mell; +some on the beaten road, and others upon the heavy fields. They came +by two, or three, or five, or six, in little clumps of spears. Now a +certain Roman rode in advance of his fellows, by reason of his good +horse, which was right speedy. He followed closely after the Britons, +calling loudly, "Lords, stay awhile. He knows himself guilty who flees +the pursuer." At his word Guerin of Chartres turned him about. He +set his buckler before him, and lowering the lance, hurtled upon his +adversary. Guerin rode but the one course. He smote the Roman so +fiercely, midmost the body, that he fell from his destrier, and died. +Guerin looked on the fallen man. He said, "A good horse is not always +great riches. Better for you had you lain coy in your chamber, than to +have come to so shameful an end." When Boso beheld this adventure of +Guerin, and heard his words, he was filled with desire of such honour. +He turned his horse's head, and seeing before him a knight seeking +advancement, ran upon him with the spear. Boso smote his adversary +in the throat, where the flesh is soft and tender. The Roman fell +straightway to the ground, for his hurt was very grievous. Boso cried +gaily to his stricken foe, "Master Roman, you must needs be fed with +gobbets and dainties. Take now your rest, till your comrades may tend +you. Then give them the message that I leave you in their care." Among +the pursuers spurred a certain patrician named Marcellus, who was come +of a very noble house. This Marcellus was amongst the last to get +in his saddle, but by reason of the strength and swiftness of his +destrier he rode now with the foremost. He had forgotten his lance, in +his haste to follow his fellows. Marcellus strove hotly to overtake +Gawain. He rode furiously with bloody spur and loosened rein. His +horse approached nearly to Gawain's crupper, and the knight was +persuaded that in no wise might he shake off his pursuer. Already +Marcellus had stretched forth his hand, promising Gawain his life if +he would yield as his prisoner. Gawain watched his hunter wanly. When +Marcellus was upon him, Gawain drew his rein sharply, so that the +Roman overran the chace. As he passed, Gawain plucked forth his +sword, and smote Marcellus terribly on the helmet. No coif could +have hindered the stroke, for it divided the head down to the very +shoulders. Marcellus tumbled from his horse and went to his place. +Then said Gawain, of his courtesy, "Marcellus, when you greet +Quintilian deep in hell, tell him, I pray, that you have found the +Britons as bold as their boast. Tell him that they plead the law with +blows, and bite more fiercely than they bark." Gawain called upon his +companions, Guerin and Boso, by their names, to turn them about, and +enter the lists with their pursuers. The two knights did cheerfully +after his counsel, so that three Romans were shocked from their +saddles. Then the messengers rode swiftly on their way, whilst the +Romans followed after, seeking in all things to do them a mischief. +They thrust at the Britons with lances, they struck mightily with +the sword, yet never might wound nor hurt, neither bring them to the +earth, nor make them their captives. There was a certain Roman, a +kinsman of Marcellus, who bestrode a horse that was right speedy. This +Roman was very dolent, because of his cousin's death, for he had seen +his body lying in the dust. He spurred his steed across the plain, and +gaining upon the three knights, made ready to avenge his kinsman's +blood. Gawain watched him ride, with lifted sword, as one who deemed +to smite the shield. When Gawain perceived his purpose, he dropped the +lance, for he had no need of a spear. He drew his sword, and as the +Roman, with brand raised high above his head, prepared to strike, +Gawain smote swiftly at the lifted limb. Arm and sword alike flew far +off in the field, the fist yet clasped about the hilt. Gawain dressed +his glaive again. He would have bestowed yet another buffet, but the +Romans hastened to the succour of their fellow, and he dared not stay. +In this fashion the huntsmen followed after the quarry, till the chase +drew near a wood, close by the entrance to that fortress Arthur had +newly built. + +Now Arthur had appointed six thousand horsemen of his host to follow +after his messengers. He commanded these horsemen to go by hill and +valley to guard against surprise. They were to watch diligently for +the ambassadors, affording them succour, so they were beset. This +great company of spears was hidden in the wood. They sat upon their +horses, helmet on head, and lance in hand, scanning the road for the +return of Arthur's embassy. Presently they were aware of many armed +men riding swiftly across the plain, and in their midst three knights, +in harness, fleeing for their lives. When the Britons marked the +quarry, and were assured of the hunters, they cried out with one +voice, and burst from their ambush. The Romans dared not abide their +coming, but scattered on the plain. The Britons rode hardly upon them, +doing them all the mischief they might, for they were passing wroth to +see their comrades handselled so despitefully. Many a Roman had reason +to rue his hunting, for some were seized and made captive, others were +sorely wounded, and divers slain. There was a certain rich baron named +Peredur. Amongst the captains of Rome not one was counted his peer. +This captain had ten thousand armed men in his bailly, who marched at +his bidding. Tidings were carried to Peredur of the snare the Britons +had limed. Peredur moved promptly. He hastened with ten thousand +shields to the plain, and by sheer force and numbers bore the Britons +back to the wood, for they were not mighty enough to contend against +him in the field. The Britons held the wood strongly, and defended it +right manfully. Peredur might not take it for all his cunning, and +lost there largely of his company. The Britons lured the Romans within +the covert, and slew them in the glooms. So hot and so perilous was +the melley, fought between the valley and the wood. + + +Arthur took thought to the tarrying of his messengers, and remembered +that those came not again whom he sent to their aid. The king summoned +Yder, the son of Nut, to his counsel. He committed to his charge seven +thousand horses and riders, and despatched them after the others, +bidding him seek until he found. Yder drew to the plain. Gawain and +Boso yet strove like champions, and for the rest there was not one but +did what he could. From afar Yder heard the cry and the tumult as the +hosts contended together. When the Britons beheld Yder's company, +they were refreshed mightily in heart and hope. They assailed their +adversaries so fiercely that they won back the ground which was lost. +Yder led his horsemen like a brave knight and a cunning captain. +He charged so vigorously with his company, that many a saddle was +emptied, many a good horse taken, and many a rider shocked. Peredur +sustained the battle stoutly, and wheeling about, returned to the +field. He was a crafty captain, knowing well the hour to charge and to +wheel, to press hard on the fugitive, or to wait. Many a fair charge +did he lead that day. He who was valiant, found Peredur yet more bold. +Whoso was minded to tourney, found Peredur yet more willing to break +a spear. His bailly smote more terribly with the sword than ever they +were stricken, so that three hundred horsemen and over lay dead upon +the field. When the Britons marked the deeds of Peredur they could not +be contained. They broke from their ranks and companies, and ran +upon the foe. They were desirous beyond measure to joust with their +adversaries, and to show forth their prowess. Above all things they +were covetous of honour, so that for chivalry they brought the battle +to confusion. So only they strove hand to hand with the Romans, they +gave no thought to the end. Peredur wished nothing better. He held his +bailly closely together, pushing home and drawing off according to +need. Many a time he charged amongst the Britons, and many a time +he returned, bringing his wounded from their midst. Boso of Oxford +regarded the battle. He saw his dead upon the ground. He marked the +craft with which Peredur--that great captain--sustained the Romans, +and knew well that all was lost, save that Peredur were slain. How +might the courage of a rash and foolish company prevail against the +discipline of the Roman host! Boso called about him the best and +bravest of his captains. "Lords," he said, "give me your counsel. You, +in whom Arthur put his trust, have entered on this battle without any +commandment of our lord. If well befalls, all will be well; if ill, +he will require his sergeants at our hands. Should we be vile and +niddering enough to gain no honour on the field, very surely we shall +receive yet more shame as our portion when we come into his presence. +Our one hope is to fight against none, great or small, save only with +Peredur. Alive or dead he must be made captive, and delivered into +Arthur's power. Until Peredur be taken we shall never draw off in +honour from the stour, but must suffer yet greater loss than before. +If then you would make him prisoner, follow after where I will lead, +and do that thing which you shall see me do." The captains, therefore, +plighted faith to follow his ensample, and in no wise to depart from +his command. + +Boso brought together as many horsemen as he might, and ranged them +in order of battle. He sent out spies to bring him tidings where that +Peredur should be met, who led the Romans so craftily. The spies +departed on their perilous errand, and returning presently, proclaimed +that Peredur rode with the host in that place where the press was +thickest, and the battle drew never to an end, Boso rode with his +company straight to the heart of the stour. He hurtled upon the +Romans, and looking on Peredur, fought his way to his side. When their +horses stood together, Boso flung his arms about his adversary, and +dragged him amongst the Britons. Then of his will he hurled himself +to the ground, and with him tumbled Sir Peredur. A very marvellous +adventure was it to behold Boso fall from his destrier in the hottest +of the battle, clasping Peredur closely in his arms. The two champions +strove mightily, but Boso was above, and for nothing would unloose his +hold. The bailly of Peredur hastened fiercely to the rescue of their +captain. Those whose lances were still unbroken charged till the +staves were splintered; when their lances failed them at need, they +laid on with their swords, working havoc amongst the Britons. At any +price the Romans would rescue their captain, and the Britons were +in the same mind to succour Boso in his jeopardy. Never might heart +desire to see battle arrayed more proudly. Never was there a fairer +strife of swords, never a more courteous contention of valiant men. +Plume and helmet were abased to the dust, shields were cloven, the +hauberk rent asunder, ash staves knapped like reeds, girths were +broken, saddles voided, and strong men thrown, and brave men wounded +to the death. The thunder of the shouting filled the field. The +Britons cried as Arthur had taught them, and the Romans answered with +the name of Rome. The one party did all that valiant men were able +to guard their captive in their midst, and the other to pluck their +captain from amongst them. So confused was the contention, so +disordered the combat, that men as they strove together hardly knew +Roman from Briton, friend from foe, save only by the cry they shouted, +and by the tongue they spoke in the stour. Gawain flung himself in the +press, hewing a path towards Boso, with mighty strokes of the sword. +With point and edge, thrust and cut, he beat down many, and put divers +to flight. Not a Roman of them all could prevail against him, nor, so +he might, would strive to hinder him in his road. From another side +of the field Yder set his face to the same end. A woodman was he, +clearing a bloody path amongst the trees. Guerin of Chartres aided him +like a loyal comrade, each covering his fellow with the shield. The +three champions drew before Peredur and Boso, and dragged them to +their feet. They brought a steed to Boso, and gave a sword to his +hand. As for Peredur, the crafty captain who had done them so many and +such great mischiefs, they held him strongly. They carried him from +the press to their own lines for the greater surety. There they left +him, bound, under the charge of trusty warders, and straightway +returned to the battle. Now the Romans had lost their captain. They +were as a ship upon the waters, without a rudder, that drifts here and +there, having neither aim nor direction, at the bidding of the winds +and waves. Such was the plight of the bailly which was spoiled of its +captain, for an army without a constable is less an army than a flock +of sheep. The Britons dealt mercilessly with their beaten foe. They +pressed hardly upon the Romans, smiting down and slaying many. They +made captives of the fallen, stripping them of wealth and armour, and +pursued hotly after the fugitives. These they bound with cords, and +came again in triumph to their companions in the wood, together with +their prisoners. The Britons carried Peredur, the wise captain, to the +camp, and bestowed him upon Arthur, their lord. They rendered also to +his hand divers other prisoners of less value than he. Arthur thanked +them for their gift. He promised to recompense each for his goodwill, +when he returned a victor to his realm. Arthur set his captives fast +in prison, whence they could in nowise break out. Afterwards he took +counsel with his barons to convey the prisoners to Paris, and guard +them close in his castle, until the king's pleasure concerning them +was known. He feared to keep them with the host, lest--watch as he +would--they should escape from his ward. Arthur made ready a strong +company to bring them to Paris, and set governors over them. He gave +Peredur and his fellows into the charge of four earls of high lineage, +namely, Cador, Borel, Richier, and Bedevere his butler. These barons +rose very early in the morning, and brought the Romans from their +prison. Like careful warders they put the captives in their midst, and +set out on their journey, riding right warily. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, had learned from his spies that the earls +purposed to start at daybreak on their road to Paris. Lucius prepared +ten thousand riders on horses. He bade them travel the whole night +through, outstripping the Britons, and devise such ambush as would +rescue their comrades from these barons. He committed this company to +Sertorius, lord of Libya, and Evander, the King of Syria. With these +princes were Caritius and Catellus Vulteius, patricians of Rome. Each +of these lords was a wealthy man of his lands, and a skilful captain +in war. Lucius had chosen them from all their fellows, and laid his +charge straitly upon them, to succour their comrades in their need. +These were the lords of the host. The ten thousand horsemen in mail +set out at nightfall on their errand. Certain peasants of the land +went with them, to guide them by the surest way. They travelled +throughout the night, sparing not the spur, till they came forth on +the Paris road. There they searched out a likely place where they +might hide them in ambush, and held themselves close and coy until +it was day. Very early in the morning the prickers of the host sent +tidings that the Britons were near at hand. Arthur's men rode in all +surety, deeming they had nought to fear. They were ordered in two +companies. Cador and Borel led the first company, and were the +vanguard of the host. A little space after came Richier, the earl, and +Bedevere, the king's cupbearer. These had Peredur and his fellows in +their care. Six hundred horsemen in harness followed at the earls' +backs, having the captives in their midst. They had tied their wrists +behind them, and fastened their feet with ropes under the bellies of +the horses. So they pricked, all unwitting, into the snare the Romans +had spread. When Cador and Borel were in the net, the Romans sallied +forth from their hiding. The hard ground trembled beneath the thunder +of the destriers' hoofs. They charged home fiercely amongst their +adversaries, but for all their amazement the Britons sustained the +shock like men. Bedevere and Richier gave ear to the tumult, and the +noise of the shouting. Their first thought was to the prisoners. These +they set in a sure place, giving them to the charge of their squires, +and commanding that they should be guarded strictly. Then they +hastened amain to the breaking of spears. The adversaries clashed +together with all their strength. The Romans drifted here and there, +in little clumps of lances, for their mind was less to discomfit the +Britons than to release the captives from their bonds. For their +part the Britons kept their order, and fared boldly among the enemy. +Passing heavy were the Romans because of the prisoners they might not +find. Very grievous was the count of their horsemen who perished in +the search. Now the captains divided the Britons by companies into +four strong columns of battle Cador of Cornwall commanded the folk of +his earldom; Bedevere the Frenchmen of Beauce, Borel had with him the +levies of Le Mans, and to Richier was committed a company drawn from +the men of his household. King Evander perceived the loss and the +peril caused to his host by reason of their divided mind Since the +captives could not be met with, he checked the hastiness of his +meinie. He drew back his horsemen, and ranged them in order. Then he +returned to the battle. It befell, therefore, that the Romans bore +away the prize, and had the better of their adversaries. They wrought +much damage to the Britons, making many prisoners. They slew, moreover, +four of the mightiest and most valiant lords of their enemies At that +time perished Yder, a faithful knight, courageous and passing strong. +Hirelgas of Peritum died, too, this day, there was no hardier knight +than he. Ahduc of Tintagel also, for whom his kin made wondrous +sorrow. Besides these was slain Sir Amaury of the Islands, but whether +he was Welsh or Briton I do not know. Earl Borel of Le Mans, a rich +lord, and a right honoured and puissant prince amongst his own, did +well and worshipfully. He checked the Romans boldly, slaying of them +more than one hundred men. Evander hastened against him. He thrust his +lance head through Borel's throat, so that the point came out at his +neck. Borel fell from his horse, for he was sped. The Britons were +dismayed beyond measure. They fled before their adversaries, since +many were killed, and where one Briton stood, ten Romans opposed +themselves over against him. Doubtless they had been utterly +discomfited, and the captives wrested from their hand, had not Guitard +of Poitiers drawn to their succour. Earl Guitard, that day, was warden +of the marches. He learned from his prickers tidings that a company +of Romans was despatched to rescue the captives. Guitard saddled his +destrier. He took with him three thousand horsemen, without counting +the spearmen and archers, and rode swiftly in aid. As they drew near +to the battle they heard the shouts of the Romans in praise of their +victory. Guitard and his company rode into the press with lowered +lances and scarlet spurs. A hundred horsemen and more were hurled from +their steeds in that shock, never to climb in the saddle again. The +Romans were altogether fearful and esmayed, making complaint of their +pitiful plight. They deemed that Arthur himself had fallen upon them +with all his meinie at his back. Their hearts turned to water, by reason +of the number of their dead. The levies of Poitou closed about them, +and the Britons failed not at need Each company strove to outvie its +fellow, contending earnestly for the greater glory. The Romans could do +no more. They turned about and fled the field, utterly discomfited and +abased. Their one thought was to get to shelter, or else they were all +dead men. The Britons pressed hardly on the fugitives, slaying many. +In the flight King Evander and Catellus were taken, and of their +fellowship six hundred and more were destroyed. Of these divers were +slain, and others made captive. The Britons took spoil of prisoners +according to their desire, and retained of these as they might. Then +they returned by the road, to the place where the combat was won. The +Britons went about the field searching amongst the dead for Borel, the +stout Earl of Le Mans. They found him among the fallen, bebled with +blood, and gashed with many a grisly wound. Afterwards they carried the +hurt to the surgeons, and the dead they laid in their graves. As for +Peredur and his companions they committed them afresh to those whom +Arthur had charged with their keeping, and sent them on their way to +Paris. The rest of the prisoners they bound straitly, and carrying them +before Arthur, delivered them to his hand. They rehearsed to the king +the tale of this adventure, and not a man of them all but pledged +his word that so the Romans made offer of battle, without doubt they +should be utterly destroyed. + +The tidings of this heavy discomfiture were brought to the emperor +Lucius learned of the capture of Evander, and of the others who +were slain. He saw his men had no more spirit in them, and that the +beginning of the war went very ill. Lucius considered the failure of +his hopes, that in nothing was he conqueror. He was passing heavy, +being altogether cast down and dismayed. He thought and thought and +feared. He knew not whether to give Arthur battle without delay, or to +await the coming of the rearward of his host. He doubted sorely that +which he should do, for wondrously affrighted was he of this battle, +by reason of the losses he had known. Lucius took counsel with his +captains, and devised to bring his company to Autun, passing by way +of Langres. He set forth with the host, and moving towards Langres, +entered the city when the day was far spent. Now Langres is builded +on the summit of a mount, and the plain lies all about the city. So +Lucius and part of his people lodged within the town, and for the rest +they sought shelter in the valley. Arthur knew well where the emperor +would draw, and of his aim and purpose. He was persuaded that the +Roman would not fight till the last man was with him. He cared neither +to tarry in the city, nor to pacify the realm. Arthur sounded his +trumpets, and bade his men to their harness. As speedily as he might +he marched out from camp. He left Langres on the left hand, and passed +beyond it bearing to the right. He had in mind to outstrip the emperor, +and seize the road to Autun. All the night through, without halt or +stay, Arthur fared by wood and plain, till he came to the valley of +Soissons. There Arthur armed his host, and made him ready for battle. +The highway from Autun to Langres led through this valley, and Arthur +would welcome the Romans immediately they were come. The king put the +gear and the camp followers from the host. He set them on a hill near +by, arrayed in such fashion as to seem men-at-arms. He deemed that the +Romans would be the more fearful, when they marked this multitude of +spears. Arthur took six thousand six hundred and sixty six men, and +ranged them by troops in a strong company. This company he hid +within a wood upon a high place. Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was the +constable of the meinie. "Your part in the battle," said Arthur, "is +to be still. Let nothing induce you to break from your post should +evil befall, and the battle roll back to the wood, charge boldly on +your adversaries, that you comrades may find rest if it chance that +the Romans turn their backs in the battle, then hurtle upon them +without delay, sparing none in the flight". So these answered, +promising to do after his word Arthur straightway ordered another +legion. It Was formed of mighty men, chosen from amongst his vassals, +with laced helmets, riding on their destriers. This fair company he +arrayed in open ground, and it owned no other captain save the king. +With this legion rode those of his privy household, whom he had +cherished and nourished at his own table. In their midst was guarded +the royal Dragon, that was the king's own gonfalon. From the rest +of his host the king made six companies, each company having ten +captains. Half of these companies were horsemen, and the others went +on foot. On each and all Arthur laid prayer and commandment, that +rider and sergeant alike should bear them as men, and contend +earnestly against the Romans. Not one of these legions but was numbered +of five thousand five hundred and fifty-five horsemen, chosen +soldiers, mighty men of valour, and mightily armed for war. Of the +eight legions, four companies were set over against their enemy, +supported by four behind. Every man was armed and clad according to +the custom of his land. Aguisel of Scotland had the forefront of the +first legion in his keeping, Cador of Cornwall being charged with the +rear. Boso and Earl Guerin of Chartres were the constables of another +company. The third company, formed of outland folk, and armed in +divers manners, was delivered to Echil, King of the Danes, and to Lot, +the King of Norway. The fourth had Hoel for constable, and with him +Gawain, who, certes, was no faintheart. Behind these four legions were +arrayed and ordered yet four other companies. Of one, Kay the sewer +and Bedevere the cupbearer were the captains. With Kay were the men +of Chinon and the Angevins; whilst under Bedevere were the levies of +Paris and of Beauce. To Holdin of Flanders and Guitard the Poitivin +were committed another company--right glad were they of their trust. +Earls Jugein of Leicester and Jonathan of Dorchester were lords and +constables of the seventh legion. Earl Curfalain of Chester and Earl +Urgain of Bath held the eighth legion as their bailly; for these +were lords by whom Arthur set great store. As for the spearmen, the +archers, and the stout arbalestriers Arthur separated them from the +press. He divided them into two portions--one for either wing of his +army. All these were about the king's person, and embattled near his +body. + +When Arthur had arrayed his legions, and set his battle in order, +hearken now that which he spake to his lords, his household, and his +vassals "Lords," said Arthur, "I take wondrous comfort when I +remember your manhood and virtues, seeing you always so valiant and +praiseworthy. In the past you have accomplished great things, but day +by day your prowess grows to the full, abating the pride of all who +set themselves against you. When I call to mind and consider that +Britain, in our day, is the lady of so many and so far lands by reason +of you and your fellows, I rejoice mightily, mightily I boast thereof, +and in my God and you right humbly do I put my trust. God grant that +you may do more marvellous works than ever you have wrought, and that +your orb has not yet reached its round. Lords, your valiance and +manhood have conquered these Romans twice already. My heart divines +the decree of fate that you will overthrow them once again. Three +times then have we discomfited these Romans. You have smitten down the +Danes; you have abated Norway, and vanquished the French. France we +hold as our fief in the teeth of the Roman power. Right easily should +you deal with the varlet, who have overborne so many and such perilous +knights. The Romans desire to make Britain their province, to grow fat +with our tribute, and to bring France once more to their allegiance +For this cause they have ransacked the east, and carried hither these +strange, outland people, who amaze Christendom, to fight in their +quarrel. Be not fearful of their numbers. Ten christened men are worth +a hundred of such paynims. The battle will be less a battle, than +a tournament of dames. Have therefore good trust in God, and be +confident of the issue. We shall deal with them lightly, so only we +show a little courage. Well I am assured what each of you will do this +day, and how he will bear him in the melley. For my part I shall be +in the four quarters of the field, and with every one of my legions. +Where the press is thickest, where the need most dire, my Dragon shall +raise his crest" + +When the proud words were ended which Arthur rehearsed in the ears of +his people, the host made answer with one loud voice. Not a man of +them all, who hearkened to his speech, but replied that he loved +better to be stark upon the field, than to know himself vanquished at +the end. The whole host was mightily moved together. They defied the +foe, they promised with oaths to bear them like men, and there were +those who wept. Such tears were not shed by reason of fearfulness. It +was the weeping of men who were utterly purposed never to fail their +king. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, was born in Spain, of a valiant and noble +stock. He was in the most comely flower of his age, having more than +thirty years, but less than forty. He was a proven knight, of high +courage, who had done great deeds already. For such feats of arms the +Roman senate had chosen him to be their emperor. Lucius rose early in +the morning, purposing to set forth from Langres to Autun His host +was now a great way upon the road, when tidings were brought of the +stratagem Arthur had practised against him. The emperor knew well that +either he must fight or retreat. Go back he would not, lest any deemed +him fearful. Moreover, should the Britons follow after, their triumph +was assured, for how may soldiers bear them with a stout heart, who +flee already from the field! Lucius called about him his kings, his +princes, and his dukes. He drew together his wisest counsellors, and +the most crafty captains of his host. To these he spake, and to the +bravest of his legions, numbering one hundred thousand men and more +besides. "Hearken, gentle lords," cried Lucius, "give ear, ye liege +men, fair conquerors, honest sons of worthy sires, who bequeathed you +so goodly an inheritance. By reason of your fathers' glorious deeds, +Rome became the empery of the world. That she will remain whilst one +only Roman breathes. Great as is the glory of your fathers who subdued +this empire, so great will be the shame of their sons in whose day +it is destroyed. But a valiant father begets a valiant son. Your +ancestors were gentle knights, and you do them no wrong. Not one of +you but comes of hardy stock, and the sap rises in your blood like +wine. Let every man strive valiantly this day to be what his father +was in his. Remember the grief that will be his lot who loses his +heritage, and whose cowardice gives to another what he holds of his +father's courage. But I know, and am persuaded, that you will maintain +your portions. Bold as were the dead, so bold are the living, and I +speak to knights who are mighty men of valour. Lords, the road is shut +which would lead us to Autun. We cannot wend our way till we have +forced the gate. I know not what silent thief, or picker, or sturdy +knave, has closed the road by which we fared. He deems that I shall +flee, and abandon the realm like a dropped pouch. He is wrong. If +I went back it was but to lure him on. Now that he has arrayed his +battle against you, brace your harness and loosen your swords. If the +Briton awaits us, he shall not be disappointed of his hope. Should he +flee he shall find us on his track. The time is come to put bit and +bridle in the jaws of this perilous beast, and to hinder him from +further mischief." + +The Romans hastened to get to their arms, for they were passing eager +to fight. They arrayed and embattled the host, setting the sergeants +in rank and company, and forming the columns in due order. The Romans +were a mingled fellowship. Divers outland kings, and many paynim and +Saracens, were mixed with the Christian folk, for all these people +owned fealty to Rome, and were in the service of the emperor. By +thirties and forties, by fifties, by sixties, by hundreds and by +legions, the captains apparelled the battle. In troops and in +thousands the horsemen pricked to their appointed place. Multitudes +of spearmen, multitudes of riders, were ranged in close order, and +by hill and valley were despatched against Arthur's host. One mighty +company, owning fealty to Rome and employed in the service of the +emperor, descended within the valley. Another great company assaulted +the Britons where they lay. Thereat broke forth a loud shrilling of +clarions and sounding of trumpets, whilst the hosts drew together. As +they approached, the archers shot so deftly, the spearmen launched +their darts so briskly, that not a man dared to blink his eye or to +show his face. The arrows flew like hail, and very quickly the melley +became yet more contentious. There where the battle was set you might +mark the lowered lance, the rent and pierced buckler. The ash staves +knapped with a shriek, and flew in splinters about the field. When the +spear was broken they turned to the sword, and plucked the brand from +its sheath. Right marvellous was the melley, and wondrously hideous +and grim. Never did men hew more mightily with the glaive. Not a man +who failed at need; not a man of them all who flinched in the press; +not one who took thought for his life. The sword smote upon the +buckler as on an anvil. The earth shuddered beneath the weight of the +fighting men, and the valley rang and clanged like a smithy with the +tumult. Here a host rushed furiously against a legion which met it +with unbroken front. There a great company of horsemen crashed with +spears upon a company as valiant as itself. Horse and rider went down +before the adversary, arrows flew and darts were hurled; lances were +splintered and the sword shattered upon the covering shield. The +strong prevailed against the weak, and the living brought sorrow to +the dead. Horses ran madly about the field, with voided saddles, +broken girths, and streaming mane. The wounded pitied their grievous +hurts, choosing death before life; but the prayer of their anguish was +lost in the tumult and the cries. Thus for a great while the two hosts +contended mightily together, doing marvellous damage, one to the +other. Neither Roman nor Briton could gain ground, so that no man knew +who would triumph in the end. Bedevere and Kay considered the battle. +They saw that the Romans held themselves closely. They were filled +with anger at the malice of the Romans, and led their company to that +place where the press was the most perilous. Ah, God, but Arthur had +men for his seneschal and cupbearer. Knights of a truth were these +who sat at his table. Kay and Bedevere smote like paladins with their +brands of steel. Many fair deeds had they done, but none so fair as +they did that day. They divided the forefront of the battle, and +cleaving a passage with the sword, opened a road for their fellows. +The Britons followed after, taking and rendering many strokes, so +that divers were wounded and many slain. Blood ran in that place like +water, and the dead they lay in heaps. Bedevere adventured deeper into +the melley, giving himself neither pause nor rest. Kay came but a +stride behind, beating down and laying low, that it was marvellous to +see. The two companions halted for a breathing space, turning them +about to encourage their men. Great was the praise and worship they +had won, but they were yet desirous of honour. They were over anxious +for fame, and their courage led them to rashness. In their hope of +destroying the Romans, they took no heed to their own safety. They +trusted beyond measure in their strength, and in the strength of their +company. There was a certain pagan, named Bocus, King of the Medes. +He was a rich lord in his land, and captain of a strong legion. Bocus +hastened his men to the battle, for he was fearful of none, however +perilous the knight. When the two hosts clashed together the +contention was very courteous, and the melley passing well sustained. +Pagan and Saracen were set to prove their manhood against Angevins and +the folk of Beauce. King Bocus took a sword, and discomfited the two +paladins. May his body rot for his pains. He thrust Bedevere through +the breast, so fiercely that the steel stood out beyond his back. +Bedevere fell, for his heart was cloven. His soul went its way. May +Jesus take it in His keeping! Kay lighted upon Bedevere lying dead. +Since he loved him more than any living man, he was determined the +pagans should not triumph over his body. He called around him as many +men as he might, and did such deeds that the Medians fled before him, +leaving the Britons on the field. Sertorius, King of Libya, beheld +this adventure, and was passing wroth. He had with him a great company +of pagans whom he had carried from his realm. Sertorius, hot with +anger, drew near, and dealt much mischief to his adversaries. He +wounded Kay to the death, and slew the best of his men. Mauled as he +was with many grim strokes, Kay guarded his comrade's body. He set it +amidst his men, and carried the burthen from the press, fighting as +they went. With him, also, he bore Arthur's banner, the golden Dragon, +let the Romans rage as they would. Now Hiresgas, the nephew of +Bedevere, loved his uncle passing well. He sought his kinsfolk and +friends, and gathered to his fellowship some three hundred men. This +company wore helmet and hauberk and brand, and rode fair destriers, +fierce and right speedy. Hiresgas ordered his house for the battle. +"Come now with me," said he to his friends, "and crave the price +of blood." Hiresgas drew near that place where Bocus, King of the +Medians, displayed his banner. When Hiresgas beheld his enemy he +became as a man possessed. He cried the battle cry of Arthur, and +together with his company charged terribly upon Bocus. He had but one +only thought, to avenge his uncle's death. Hiresgas and his fellows +burst amongst the Medians with lowered lances and covering shields. +They slew many, and flung many others from their saddles. They rode +over the fallen, trampling them beneath the hoofs of the horses, till +they reached the very cohort of that king who had slain Sir Bedevere. +Mounted on strong destriers the bold vassals followed after Hiresgas, +wheeling to right or left, as he led, till they pierced to the +gonfalon, showing the arms of the king. Hiresgas spied his foe. He +turned his horse, and pushing through the press, drew near, and smote +Bocus full on the helm. The baron was a mighty man; the stroke +was fierce, and his blade was keen and strong. He struck well and +craftily. The blow sheared through helmet and coif. It divided the +head to the shoulders, so that the soul of King Bocus sped away to the +Adversary. Hiresgas stretched out his arm, seizing the body ere it +might fall to the ground. He set his enemy before him on his horse, +and held him fast, the limbs hanging on either side. Then he made his +way from the stour, the dead man uttering neither lamentation nor cry. +The knight was grim, and his war-horse mighty. His kinsfolk gathered +behind him, that the Medians should do him no mischief. By the aid of +his fellows he won out of the battle, and carried his burthen to the +very place where his uncle lay. There, joint by joint, he hacked +King Bocus asunder. When his task was ended, Sir Hiresgas called his +comrades about him. "Come," said he, "come, true men's sons, to the +slaying of these Romans. Romans! nay, cutpurses, rather, whoresons, +paynims who have neither trust in God, nor faith in our true religion. +Rome has brought them from the east for the destruction of our lives +and our kin. On then, friends, let us wipe out these pagans, the +pagans, and such renegade Christians as have joined them to slay +Christendom more surely. Forward, to sharpen your manhood upon them." +Hiresgas led his household back to the battle. Tumult and shouting +filled the plain. Helmet and brand glittered in the sun, but the steel +often was dulled with blood, or was shattered on the shield. The fair +duke, Guitard of Poitiers, bore him as a valiant man. He held his own +stoutly against the King of Afric. The two lords contended together, +hand to hand, but it was the King of Afric died that day. Guitard +passed across his body, smiting down many Africans and Moors. Holdin, +Duke of the Flemings, was a wise prince, circumspect and sober in +counsel. He strove with the legion of Aliphatma, a King of Spain. +The two princes fought one with the other, in so great anger, that +Aliphatma was wounded to the death, and Holdin was in no better case. +Ligier, Earl of Boulogne, ran a course with the King of Babylon. I +know not who was the fairer knight, for both were shocked from their +seats. Dead upon the field lay earl and king alike. With Ligier were +slain three other earls, masters of many carles in their own lands. +Urgent, Lord of Bath, Balluc, Earl of Guitsire, and Earl Cursa of +Chester, warden of the marches of Wales, perished in a little space, +so that their men were sorely grieved. The company which followed +after their pennons flinched in the press. It gave back before the +Romans, and fled for shelter to the legion which had Gawain for its +captain, and with him Hoel, his fair friend and companion. Two such +champions you would not find, search the whole world through. Never +had knighthood seen their peers for courtesy and kindliness, as for +Wisdom and chivalry. + +Now Hoel was captain of the men of Brittany. His fellowship were proud +and debonair. They were reckless of danger to such a degree that they +neither cared nor feared to whom they were opposed. As one man they +charged, and as one man they pierced through the foe. The men of +Brittany swept down on the Romans, who were pursuing their comrades, +and trampling them under in thousands. They put them speedily to the +rightabout, and rode over many in their turn. Ah!, for the griding of +their swords, and, ah!, for the captives who were taken. The company +hurtled on, till they drew to the golden eagle which was the gonfalon +of the emperor. Lucius, himself, was very near his pennon, and with +him the flower of his meinie, the gentle men and gallant knights of +Rome. Then angels and men witnessed so mortal an encounter, as never +I deem was beheld of any, since time began. Chinmark, Earl of Tigel, +rode in Hoel's cohort. He was a great baron, and wrought much mischief +to his adversaries. His day was come, for a Roman, mean of his +station, and fighting on his feet, flung a javelin at his body, so +that he died. With the earl perished two thousand of the Britons, +every man hardier than his fellows. There, too, were slain three other +earls. Jagus, to his loss, had come from Boloan. The second was hight +Cecormanus, the third, Earl Boclonius. Few indeed of Arthur's barons +might compare with these lords in valour and worth. Had they been sons +of kings, who were but earls, the story of their gestes would be sung +by the minstrels, as I deem, about the world, so marvellous were their +feats. These three fair lords raged wondrously amongst the Romans. +Not one who came to their hands but gasped out his life, whether by +lance-thrust or sword. They forced a path to the eagle of the emperor, +but the bearers arrayed themselves against them, and cutting them off +from their companions, slew them amidst their foes. Hoel and Gawain, +his cousin, were distraught with anger when they regarded the mischief +dealt them by the Romans. To avenge their comrades, to wreak damage +upon their adversaries, they entered amongst them as lions in the +field. They smote down and did much havoc to their adversaries, +cleaving a way with many terrible blows of their swords. The Romans +defended their bodies to the death. If strokes they received, strokes +they rendered again. They opposed themselves stoutly to those who +were over against them, and were as heroes contending with champions. +Gawain was a passing perilous knight. His force and manhood never +failed, so that his strength was unabated, and his hand unwearied in +battle. He showed his prowess so grimly that the Romans quailed before +him. Gawain sought the emperor in every place, because of his desire +to prove his valour. He went to and fro, seeking so tirelessly and +diligently, that at the last he found. The captains looked on the +other's face. The emperor knew again the knight, and Gawain remembered +Lucius. The two hurtled together, but each was so mighty that he fell +not from his horse. Lucius, the emperor, was a good knight, strong +and very valiant. He was skilled in all martial exercises and of much +prowess. He rejoiced greatly to adventure himself against Gawain, +whose praise was so often in the mouths of men. Should he return +living from the battle, sweetly could he boast before the ladies +of Rome. The paladins strove with lifted arm and raised buckler. +Marvellous blows they dealt with the sword. They pained themselves +greatly, doing all that craft might devise to bring the combat to an +end. Neither of them flinched, nor gave back before the other. Pieces +were hewn from the buckler, and sparks flew from the brands. They +joined together, smiting above and thrusting under, two perfect +knights, two gentle paladins, so fierce and so terrible, that had they +been left to themselves very quickly must one have come to a fair end. + +The Roman legions recovered from the panic into which they had fallen. +They ranged themselves beneath the golden eagle, and brought succour +to the emperor at the moment of his utmost need. The legions swept +the Britons before them, and won again the field from which they +were driven. Arthur watched the fortunes of the day. He marked the +discomfiture of his host, and hearkened to the triumphant shouts of +the legionaries. He could not, and dared not, wait longer. Arthur +hastened with his chosen company to the battle. He rallied the rout, +crying to the fleeing sergeants, "Whom seek you? Turn about, for it +were better to be slain of the Romans than by your king. I am Arthur, +your captain, and mortal man shall not drive me from the field. Follow +me, for I will open a road, and beware lest the maidens of Britain +hold you as recreant. Call to mind your ancient courage, by which you +have overcome so many proud kings. For my part I will never go from +this field alive, till I have avenged me on my adversaries." Arthur +did wondrously in the eyes of all the people. He struck many a Roman +to the ground. Shield, and hauberk, and helmet he hewed asunder, +heads, arms, and gauntlets were divided by his sword. Excalibur waxed +red that day, for whom Arthur smote he slew. I cannot number the count +of his blows, and every blow a death. For as the ravenous lion deals +with his prey, so likewise did the fair king raven amongst his +enemies. Not one he spared, he turned aside from none. That man he +wounded required no surgeon for his hurt. All the press gave back +before so stark a champion, till in his path stood neither great nor +small. The King of Libya--Sertorius to name--was a lord exceeding +rich. Arthur struck the head from his shoulders. "In an ill hour you +drew from the east to bear arms in this quarrel, and to furnish drink +for Excalibur". But the dead man answered never a word. Polybetes, +King of Bithyma, fought upon his feet. This was a pagan lord, and +passing rich. Arthur found the paynim before him. He smote but one +marvellous blow, and divided his head to the shoulders. Polybetes +crashed to the earth. His soul rushed from his body, and his brains +were spattered about the field. "Roman, speed to your doom," cried +Arthur loudly, in the hearing of all. When the Britons beheld Arthur's +deeds, and hearkened to his high words, they took courage and charged +upon the Romans. The Romans met them boldly with sword and spear, +doing them many and great mischiefs. When Arthur saw that the battle +was stayed, he increased in valour, and did yet more dreadfully with +Excalibur. He slew and cast down divers, so that the ground was +cumbered with the fallen. Lucius, the emperor, for his part, was not +backward in the melley, and avenged himself grievously on the Britons. +Emperor and king, for all their seeking, might not come together. +This was heavy upon them, for each was a very courteous champion. The +battle rolled this way and that, since the contention was passing +perilous. The Romans did well, nor might the Britons do better. A +thousand men came swiftly to their deaths, for the two hosts arrayed +themselves proudly one against the other, and strove right scornfully. +Not a judge on earth could declare which host should be vanquished, +nor what man of them all would come victor and quick from the tourney. + +Now Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was constable of the bailly Arthur +had hidden on a high place within a wood. Mordup remembered Arthur's +counsel that should evil befall, and the battle draw back to the wood, +he must charge boldly on his adversaries. Mordup rode from his hiding +with a company of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six riders, clad +in gleaming helmets and coats of mail, and carrying sharp lances and +swords. These drew down the hillside, unnoticed of the Romans, and +coming out on their rear, charged hotly on the legion. The legion was +altogether discomfited. Its ranks were pierced, its order was broken, +with the loss of more than one thousand men. The Britons rode amongst +the Romans, parting each from his fellow, trampling the fallen beneath +the horses' hoofs, and slaying with the sword. The Romans could +endure no longer, for the end of all was come. They broke from their +companies, and fled fearfully down the broad road, climbing one upon +the other in their haste. There Lucius, the emperor, fell on death, +being smitten in the body by a spear. I cannot tell who smote him +down, nor of whose lance he was stricken. He was overtaken in the +press, and amongst the dead he was found slain. Beneath the thickest +of the battle he was discovered, dead, and the hurt within his breast +was dealt him by a spear. + +The Romans and their fellows from the east fled before the pursuers, +but the Britons following after did them sore mischief. They waxed +weary of slaying, so that they trod the Romans underfoot. Blood ran in +runnels, and the slain they lay in heaps. Fair palfreys and destriers +ran masterless about the field, for the rider was dead, and had +neither joy nor delight in the sun. Arthur rejoiced and made merry +over so noble a triumph, which had brought the pride of Rome to the +dust. He gave thanks to the King of Glory, who alone had granted him +the victory. Arthur commanded search to be made about the country for +the bodies of the slain, whether they were friend or foe. Many he +buried in the self-same place, but for the others he carried them to +certain fair abbeys, and laid them together to rest. As for the body +of Lucius, the emperor, Arthur bade it to be held in all honour, and +tended with every high observance. He sealed it in a bier, and sent it +worshipfully to Rome. At the same time he wrote letters to the senate +that no other truage would he pay them for Britain, which he guarded +as his realm. If truage they yet required, then truage they should +receive coined in the very mint. Kay, who was wounded to death in the +battle, was carried to Chinon, the castle he had builded, and called +after his own name. There he was interred in a holy hermitage, +standing in a little grove, near by the city. Bedevere was brought to +Bayeux in Normandy, a town of his lordship. He was lain in the ground +beyond the gate, looking over towards the south. Holdin was borne to +Flanders, and buried at Tervanna. Ligier was buried at Boulogne. + +Arthur, for his part, sojourned all through the winter in Burgundy, +giving peace and assurance to the land. He purposed when summer was +come to pass the mountains, and get him to Rome. He was hindered in +his hope by Mordred, of whose shame and vileness you shall now hear. +This Mordred was the king's kin, his sister's very son, and had +Britain in his charge. Arthur had given the whole realm to his care, +and committed all to his keeping. Mordred did whatever was good in his +own eyes, and would have seized the land to his use. He took homage +and fealty from Arthur's men, demanding of every castle a hostage. Not +content with this great sin he wrought yet fouler villainy. Against +the Christian law he took to himself the wife of the king. His uncle's +queen, the dame of his lord, he took as wife, and made of her his +spouse. + +These tidings were carried to Arthur. He was persuaded that Mordred +observed no faith towards him, but had betrayed the queen, stolen his +wife, and done him no fair service. The king gave half his host to +Hoel, committing Burgundy and France to his hand. He prayed him to +keep the land shut from its foes till he came again in peace. For +himself he would return to Britain, to bring the kingdom back to its +allegiance, and to avenge himself on Mordred, who had served his wife +and honour so despitefully. Britain, at any cost, must be regained, +for if that were lost all the rest would quickly fall a prey. Better +to defer for a season the conquest of Rome, than to be spoiled of his +own realm. In a little while he would come again, and then would go +to Rome. With these words Arthur set forth towards Wissant, making +complaint of the falseness of Mordred, who had turned him away from +his conquest; for the warships lay at Wissant ready for sea. + +Mordred learned of Arthur's purpose. He cared not though he came, for +peace was not in his heart. He sent letters to Cheldric of Saxony, +praying him to sail to his aid. The Saxon came with seven hundred +galleys, furnished with all manner of store, and laden with fighting +men. Mordred plighted faith that so Cheldric would help him with all +his power, he would grant him the land from beyond Humber to the +marches of Scotland, besides all the land in Kent that Hengist held of +Vortigern's gift, when the king espoused Rowena. Mordred and Cheldric +gathered together a right fair company. Counting Saxon pagans and +christened men there assembled sixty thousand riders on horses, +in coats of mail. Mordred numbered his army with a quiet mind. He +considered he was so strong as to drive Arthur from any haven. Let +come what might he would never abandon his spoil. For him there was no +place for repentance, yea, so black was his sin that to proffer peace +would be but a jest. Arthur saw to the harness of his men. He got them +on the ships, a multitude whom none could number, and set forth to +Romney, where he purposed to cast anchor. Arthur and his people had +scarcely issued from the galleys, when Mordred hastened against him +with his own men, and those folk from beyond the sea who had sworn +to fight in his quarrel. The men in the boats strove to get them to +shore; whilst those on the land contended to thrust them deeper in +the water. Arrows flew and spears were flung from one to the other, +piercing heart and bowels and breast of those to whom they were +addressed. The mariners pained themselves mightily to run their boats +aground. They could neither defend themselves, nor climb from the +ships, so that those were swiftly slain who struggled to land. Often +they staggered and fell, crying aloud; and in their rage they taunted +those as traitors who hindered them from coming on shore. Ere the +ships could be unladen in that port, Arthur suffered wondrous loss. +Many a bold sergeant paid the price with his head. There, too, was +Gawain, his nephew, slain, and Arthur made over him marvellous sorrow; +for the knight was dearer to his heart than any other man. Aguisel was +killed at Gawain's side; a mighty lord, and very helpful at need. Many +others also were slain, for whom Arthur, the courteous prince, felt +sore dolour. So long as Mordred kept the shipmen from the sand, he +wrought them much mischief. But when Arthur's sergeants won forth from +the boats, and arrayed them in the open country, Mordred's meinie +might not endure against them. Mordred and his men had fared richly +and lain softly overlong. They were sickly with peace. They knew not +how to order the battle, neither to seek shelter nor to wield arms, +as these things were known to Arthur's host, which was cradled and +nourished in war. Arthur and his own ravened amongst them, smiting +and slaying with the sword. They slew them by scores and by hundreds, +killing many and taking captive many more. The slaughter was very +grievous, by reason of the greatness of the press. When daylight +failed, and night closed on the field, Arthur ceased from slaughter, +and called his war hounds off. Mordred's host continued their flight. +They knew not how they went, nor whither; for there was none to lead +them, and none took heed to his neighbour. Each thought of himself, +and was his own physician. Mordred fled through the night to London, +where he hoped to find succour. He leaned on a reed, for the citizens +would not suffer him to enter in their gates. He turned from the city, +and passing the fair water of the Thames, rode to Winchester without +stay. Mordred sought refuge at Winchester, and tarrying awhile, +summoned his friends to his side. He took hostages and sureties from +the citizens, that peace and faith should be observed between them, +and that they would maintain his right. Arthur might find no rest +by reason of the hatred he bore to Mordred. Great grief was his for +Aguisel and Gawain, the friends whom he had lost. He sorrowed heavily +above his nephew, and offered him seemly burial, though in what place +I cannot tell. The chronicles are silent, and meseems there is not a +man who knows where Gawain was laid[1], nor the name of him who slew +him with the sword. When Arthur had performed these fitting rites he +gave himself over to his wrath, considering only in what way he could +destroy Mordred. + +[Footnote 1: The grave of Gawain was fabled to be in Pembrokeshire.] + +He followed after the traitor to Winchester, calling from every part +his vassals as he went. Arthur drew near the city, and lodged his host +without the walls. Mordred regarded the host which shut him fast. +Fight he must, and fight he would, for the army might never rise up +till he was taken. Once Arthur had him in his grip well he knew he was +but a dead man. Mordred gathered his sergeants together, and bade them +get quickly into their armour. He arrayed them in companies, and came +out through the gates to give battle to the pursuers. Immediately he +issued from the barriers the host ran to meet him. The contention was +very grievous, for many were smitten and many overthrown. It proved +but an ill adventure to Mordred, since his men were not able to stay +against their adversaries. Mordred was persuaded that for him there +was only one hope of safety, for his trespass was beyond forgiveness, +and much he feared the king. He assembled privily the folk of his +household, his familiar friends, and those who cherished against +Arthur the deepest grudge. With these he fled over by-ways to +Southampton, leaving the rest of his people to endure as they could. +At the port he sought pilots and mariners. These he persuaded by gifts +and fair promises straightway to put out to sea, that he might escape +from his uncle. With a favourable wind the shipmen carried him to +Cornwall. Mordred feared exceedingly for his life, and rejoiced +greatly to begone. + +King Arthur besieged Winchester strictly. At the end he took burgesses +and castle. To Yvain, son of Urian, a baron beloved of the court, +Arthur granted Scotland as a heritage. Yvain paid homage for the gift. +Of old Aguisel claimed lordship in the realm, but he was dead, leaving +neither son nor dame to come before Yvain. This Yvain was a right +worshipful knight, worthy, and of passing great valour. Very sweetly +was he praised of many. + +That queen, who was Arthur's wife, knew and heard tell of the war that +was waged by Mordred in England. She learned also that Mordred had +fled from before the king, because he might not endure against him, +and durst not abide him in the field. The queen was lodged at York, in +doubt and sadness. She called to mind her sin, and remembered that for +Mordred her name was a hissing. Her lord she had shamed, and set her +love on her husband's sister's son. Moreover, she had wedded Mordred +in defiance of right, since she was wife already, and so must suffer +reproach in earth and hell. Better were the dead than those who lived, +in the eyes of Arthur's queen. Passing heavy was the lady in her +thought. The queen fled to Caerleon. There she entered in a convent +of nuns, and took the veil. All her life's days were hidden in this +abbey. Never again was this fair lady heard or seen; never again was +she found or known of men. This she did by reason of her exceeding +sorrow for her trespass, and for the sin that she had wrought. + +Mordred held Cornwall in his keeping, but for the rest the realm +had returned to its allegiance. He compassed sea and land to gather +soldiers to his banner. Saxon and Dane, the folk of Ireland and +Norway, Saracen and pagan, each and all of them who hated Arthur +and loathed his bondage, Mordred entreated to his aid. He promised +everything they would, and gave what he could, like a man whom +necessity drives hard. Arthur was sick with wrath that he was not +avenged of Mordred. He had neither peace nor rest whilst the traitor +abode in his land. Arthur learned of Mordred's strength in Cornwall, +and this was grievous to him. His spies brought tidings of the snares +that Mordred spread, and the king waxed heavier thereat. Arthur sent +after his men to the very Humber. He gathered to himself so mighty +a host that it was as the sand for multitude. With this he sought +Mordred where he knew he could be found. He purposed to slay and make +an end of the traitor and his perjury alike. Mordred had no desire to +shrink from battle. He preferred to stake all on the cast, yea, though +the throw meant death--rather than be harried from place to place. +The battle was arrayed on the Camel, over against the entrance to +Cornwall. A bitter hatred had drawn the hosts together, so that they +strove to do each other sore mischief. Their malice was wondrous +great, and the murder passing grim. I cannot say who had the better +part. I neither know who lost, nor who gained that day. No man wists +the name of overthrower or of overthrown. All are alike forgotten, the +victor with him who died. Much people were slain on either side, so +that the field was strewn with the dead, and crimson with the blood +of dying men. There perished the brave and comely youth Arthur had +nourished and gathered from so many and far lands. There also the +knights of his Table Round, whose praise was bruited about the whole +world. There, too, was Mordred slain in the press, together with the +greater part of his folk, and in the selfsame day were destroyed the +flower of Arthur's host, the best and hardiest of his men. So the +chronicle speaks sooth, Arthur himself was wounded in his body to the +death. He caused him to be borne to Avalon for the searching of his +hurts. He is yet in Avalon, awaited of the Britons; for as they say +and deem he will return from whence he went and live again. Master +Wace, the writer of this book, cannot add more to this matter of his +end than was spoken by Merlin the prophet. Merlin said of Arthur--if +I read aright--that his end should be hidden in doubtfulness. +The prophet spoke truly. Men have ever doubted, and--as I am +persuaded--will always doubt whether he liveth or is dead. Arthur bade +that he should be carried to Avalon in this hope in the year 642 of +the Incarnation. The sorer sorrow that he was a childless man. To +Constantine, Cador's son, Earl of Cornwall, and his near kin, Arthur +committed the realm, commanding him to hold it as king until he +returned to his own. The earl took the land to his keeping. He held it +as bidden, but nevertheless Arthur came never again. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut, by Wace + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10472 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9994932 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10472 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10472) diff --git a/old/10472-8.txt b/old/10472-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9aaf3aa --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10472-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5566 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut, by Wace + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut + +Author: Wace + +Release Date: December 16, 2003 [EBook #10472] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO Latin-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN DE BRUT + +by + +WACE + + +TRANSLATED BY EUGENE MASON + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + "... In the chronicle of wasted time + I see descriptions of the fairest wights, + And beauty making beautiful old rhyme, + In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights." + + SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet cvi. + + +I.--WACE + +In the long line of Arthurian chroniclers Geoffrey of Monmouth +deservedly occupies the first place. The most gifted and the most +original of their number, by his skilful treatment of the Arthurian +story in his _Historia Regum Britanniae_, he succeeded in uniting +scattered legends attached to Arthur's name, and in definitely +establishing their place in chronicle history in a form that persisted +throughout the later British historical annals. His theme and his +manner of presenting it were both peculiarly adapted to win the favour +of his public, and his work attained a popularity that was almost +unprecedented in an age that knew no printed books. Not only was it +accepted as an authority by British historians, but French chroniclers +also used it for their own purposes. + +About the year 1150, five years before the death of Geoffrey, an +Anglo-Norman, Geoffrey Gaimar, wrote the first French metrical chronicle. +It consisted of two parts, the _Estorie des Bretons_ and the _Estorie des +Engles_, of which only the latter is extant, but the former is known to +have been a rhymed translation of the _Historia_ of Geoffrey of Monmouth. +Gaimar's work might possibly have had a longer life if it had not been +cast into the shade by another chronicle in verse, the _Roman de Brut_, +by a Norman poet, Wace, which fills an important and interesting place +among our Arthurian sources, not merely because of the author's qualities +as a poet and his treatment of the Arthurian story, but also because of +the type of composition that he produced. For the metrical chronicle +occupies an intermediate position between the prose chronicle, one of the +favourite forms of mediaeval monastic production throughout Europe, and +the metrical romance, which budded and blossomed most richly in France, +where, during the last half of the twelfth century, it received its +greatest impulse from Crestien de Troies, the most distinguished of the +_trouvères_. The metrical romances were written for court circles, and +were used as a vehicle for recounting adventures of love and chivalry, +and for setting forth the code of behaviour which governed the courtly +life of France at that period. Wace's poem, though based upon chronicle +history, is addressed to a public whose taste was turning toward chivalric +narrative, and it foreshadows those qualities that characterised the verse +romances, for which no more fitting themes could be found than those +supplied by the stories of Arthurian heroes, whose prowess teaches us that +we should be valiant and courteous. Wace saw the greater part of the +twelfth century. We cannot be certain of the exact year of his birth or +of his death, but we know that he lived approximately from 1100 to 1175. +Practically all our information about his life is what he himself tells +us in his _Roman de Rou_:-- + +"If anybody asks who said this, who put this history into the Romance +language, I say and I will say to him that I am Wace of the isle of +Jersey, which lies in the sea, toward the west, and is a part of the +fief of Normandy. In the isle of Jersey I was born, and to Caen I +was taken as a little lad; there I was put at the study of letters; +afterward I studied long in France.[1] When I came back from France, I +dwelt long at Caen. I busied myself with making books in Romance; many +of them I wrote and many of them I made." + +Before 1135 he was a _clerc lisant_ (reading clerk), and at length, +he says, his writings won for him from Henry II. preferment to the +position of canon at Bayeux. He was more author, however, than +prebendary, and he gave his first effort and interest to his writings. +He composed a number of saints' lives, which are still extant, but his +two most important works were his historical poems, the _Roman de Brut_ +and the _Roman de Rou_ (i.e. Rollo), a chronicle history of the Dukes of +Normandy. This latter was Wace's last production, and beside having a +literary and historic importance, it has a rather pathetic interest. +He had begun it in 1160, in obedience to a command of Henry II, but +for some unknown reason Henry later transferred the honour to another +poet. Wace laid aside his pen, left his work incomplete, and probably +soon after died. + +"Since the king has asked him to do this work, I must leave it and I +must say no more. Of old the king did me many a favour; much he gave +me, more he promised me, and if he had given all that he promised me, +it had been better for me. Here ends the book of Master Wace; let him +continue it who will." [2] + +Some twenty years earlier, in 1155, Wace had completed the _Roman de +Brut_. He himself called it the _Geste des Bretons_ ("History of the +Britons"), but it is best known under the title that appears in the +manuscripts, the _Roman de Brut_, given to it by scribes because of its +connection with Brutus, the founder of the British race. The Brut is a +reproduction in verse of Geoffrey's _Historia_. To call it a translation +is almost to give it a misnomer, for although Wace follows exactly +the order and substance of the _Historia_, he was more than a mere +translator, and was too much of a poet not to impress his own +individuality upon his work. He makes some few additions to +Geoffrey's Arthurian history, but his real contribution to the legend +is the new spirit that he put into it. In the first place his vehicle +is the swift-moving French octo-syllabic couplet, which alone gives +an entirely different tone to the narrative from that of Geoffrey's +high-sounding Latin prose. Wace, moreover, was Norman born and Norman +bred, and he inherited the possessions of his race--a love of fact, +the power of clear thought, the appreciation of simplicity, the +command of elegance in form. Such a spirit indeed was his as in a +finer type had already expressed itself in Caen in the two noble +abbeys, under whose shadow he passed the greater part of his life, +the dignified and sternly simple Abbaye-aux-Hommes of William the +Conqueror and the graceful, richly ornamented Abbaye-aux-Dames of +Queen Matilda. Sincerity and truth Wace ever aims at, but he +embellishes his narrative with countless imaginative details. As a +narrator he has the tendency to garrulity, which few mediaeval poets +altogether escaped, but he is by no means without conversational +charm, and in brief sentences abounding in colloquial turns, he leads +us easily on with seldom flagging interest even through those pages +where he is most inclined to be prolix. He is a systematic person with +accurate mental habits, and is keenly alive to the limitations of his +own knowledge. He doubtless often had to bid his common sense console +him with the reflections with which he begins his _Life of St. +Nicholas_:--"Nobody can know everything, or hear everything, or see +everything ... God distributes different gifts to different people. +Each man should show his worth in that which God has given him." + +He is extremely careful to give his authorities for his statements, +and has all the shyness of an antiquarian toward facts for which he +has not full proof. Through Breton tales, for example, he heard of the +fairy fountain of Barenton in the forest of Broceliande, where fays +and many another marvel were to be seen, and he determined to visit +it in order to find out how true these stories were. "I went there +to look for marvels. I saw the forest and I saw the land; I sought +marvels, but I found none. A fool I came back, a fool I went; a fool I +went, a fool I came back; foolishness I sought, a fool I hold myself." +[3] The wonders related of Arthur, he tells us, have been recounted so +often that they have become fables. "Not all lies, nor all true, all +foolishness, nor all sense; so much have the storytellers told, and so +much have the makers of fables fabled to embellish their stories that +they have made all seem fable." [4] He omits the prophecies of Merlin +from his narrative, because he does not understand them. "I am not +willing to translate his book, because I do not know how to interpret +it. I would say nothing that was not exactly as I said." [5] To this +scrupulous regard for the truth, absolutely foreign to the ingenious +Geoffrey, Wace adds an unusual power of visualising. He sees clearly +everything that he describes, and decorates his narrative with almost +such minute details of any scene as a seventeenth-century Dutch +painter loved to put upon his canvas. The most famous instance of +this power is his description of Arthur's embarkation for the +Roman campaign. Geoffrey, after saying simply that Arthur went to +Southampton, where the wind was fair, passes at once to the dream that +came to the king on his voyage across the Channel. But Wace paints +a complete word-picture of the scene. Here you may see the crews +gathering, there the ships preparing, yonder friends exchanging +parting words, on this side commanders calling orders, on that, +sailors manning the vessels, and then the fleet speeding over the +waves.[6] Another spirited example of this same characteristic is +found in the _Roman de Rou_ [7] in the stirring account of the advance of +the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings:-- + +"Taillefer, who sang right well, mounted on a charger that went +swiftly, rode before the duke singing of Charlemagne and of Roland, +and of Oliver and the vassals who died at Roncesval. When they had +ridden until they came close to the English, 'Sire,' said Taillefer, +'a grace! I have served you long; for all my service, you owe me a +debt. To-day, an it please you, repay it me. For all my guerdon I beg +you and fervently I pray you, grant me to deal the first blow in the +battle!' The duke replied, 'I grant it.' And Taillefer pricked on +at full gallop, on before all the others he pressed. He struck an +Englishman and killed him; beneath the breast, clean through the body +he thrust his lance; he felled him down full length on the ground; +then he drew his sword, he struck another; then he cried, 'On, on! +What do ye? Strike, strike!' Then the English surrounded him at the +second blow that he dealt. Hark to the noise raised and the cries!" + +Apart from matters of style, Wace made other changes from Geoffrey's +narrative that are more important for Arthurian romance. He wrote the +_Brut_ under the patronage of Henry II, and, if we may trust Layamon's +statement, he dedicated it to Queen Eleanor, who was the ardent +propagator in England of the courtly ideals of southern France. +Accordingly Wace, perhaps partly because of his own milieu, partly +because of his royal patroness, wove into Geoffrey's narrative more +pronouncedly chivalric material. The lack of the courtly virtue of +mesure (moderation) that is noticeable in Geoffrey's Arthur, Wace is +careful to conceal; he gives, furthermore, a place to the descriptions +of love, which fill so many lines in the later romances, but which are +absent from Geoffrey's pages. Gawain, for instance, who is "valiant +and of very great moderation," declares that jesting and the delights +of love are good, and that for the sake of his lady a young knight +performs deeds of chivalry.[8] In addition to these changes, which +are to be attributed to his personal bent and surroundings, Wace also +makes it clear that he was conversant with stories of Arthur quite +independent of the _Historia_. Fables about Arthur he himself says that +he had heard, as we have seen, and from these he adds to Geoffrey's +narrative two that bear unmistakable signs of a Celtic origin, and +that were destined to become important elements in later romance; for +he gives us the first literary record of the famous Round Table, [9] +and the first definite mention in literature of the "hope of Britain." [10] + +Wace is not to be regarded as one of the great contributors to our +knowledge of Arthurian legend, but without a familiarity with his +work, later French romance can scarcely be appreciated, so important +is his place as a delicate transformer of the story, the harsher +elements of which he veiled with the courtliness familiar to him, +while he diffused throughout it the indefinable spirit of French +romance; and this he did with the naive simplicity and grace that were +his by birth and temperament. + + + + +II.--LAYAMON + + +To Wace we owe still another debt, for the _Roman de Brut_ served as +the direct source for one of the greatest members of the Arthurian +literature of any period. This is the _Brut_, written in the first half +of the thirteenth century, after the year 1204, by Layamon, an English +priest of the country parish of Lower Arnley in Worcestershire. + +"There was a priest in the land, who was named Layamon; he was son of +Leovenath--may the Lord be gracious to him!--he dwelt at Ernley, at a +noble church upon Severn's bank,--good it there seemed to him--near +Radestone, where he books read. It came to him in mind, and in his +chief thought, that he would tell the noble deeds of the English; what +they were named, and whence they came, who first possessed the English +land, after the flood that came from the Lord.... Layamon began to +journey wide over this land, and procured the noble books which he +took for pattern. He took the English book that Saint Bede made; +another he took in Latin, that Saint Albin made, and the fair Austin, +who brought baptism in hither; the third book he took, and laid there +in the midst, that a French clerk made, who was named Wace, who well +could write; and he gave it to the noble Eleanor, who was the high +King Henry's queen. Layamon laid before him these books, and turned +over the leaves; lovingly he beheld them--may the Lord be merciful to +him!--pen he took with fingers, and wrote on book-skin, and the true +words set together, and the three books compressed into one. Now +prayeth Layamon, for love of the Almighty God, each good man that +shall read this book and learn this counsel, that he say together +these soothfast words, for his father's soul, who brought him forth, +and for his mother's soul, who bore him to be man, and for his own +soul, that it be the better. Amen!" [11] + +With these words Layamon introduces us to his book and to himself; in +fact they contain the sum total of our information about his life. But +they put us at once into sympathy with the earnest, sincere student, +who wrote, not like Geoffrey and Wace, for the favour of a high-born +patron, but for the love of England and of good men and his few +hardly-won and treasured books. Of these books Wace's _Brut_ received +the lion's share of his attention, and he made little or no use of the +others that lay before him. + +He followed Wace's poem in outline, but he succeeded in extending its +15,300 verses to 32,241, by giving a free rein to his fancy, which he +often allowed to set the pace for his pen. For Layamon in his retired +parish, performing the monotonous and far from engrossing duties of a +reading clerk,[12] lived in reality a stirring life of the imagination. +Back in the Saxon past of England his thoughts moved, and his mind +dwelt on her national epic heroes. Not only in his language, which +belongs to the period of transition from Anglo-Saxon to Middle +English, but in his verse [13] and phraseology, he shows the +influence of earlier Anglo-Saxon literature. The sound of the _Ode on +Athelstane's Victory_ and of _Beowulf_ is in our ears as we read his +intense, stirring lines. Wars and battles, the stern career of a Saxon +leader, the life of the woods and fields attracted him far more than +the refinements of a Norman court, and by emphasising the elements +that were most congenial to himself he developed an entirely different +picture from that presented by either Geoffrey or Wace. Writing with +intense interest, he lives and moves and has his being among the +events that he is narrating, and is far too deeply absorbed in his +story to limit himself to the page that he has before him. Given a +dramatic situation, the actors become living personalities to him, and +he hears impassioned words falling from their lips in terse phrases +such as he never found in the lines of Wace. Uther Pendragon, in a +deadly battle against the Irish invaders under Gillomar and Pascent, +slays Gillomar, then overtakes Pascent:-- + +"And said these words Uther the Good: 'Pascent, thou shalt abide; here +cometh Uther riding!' He smote him upon the head, so that he fell +down, and the sword put in his mouth--such meat to him was strange--so +that the point of the sword went in the earth. Then said Uther, +'Pascent, lie now there; now thou hast Britain all won to thy hand! So +is now hap to thee; therein thou art dead; dwell ye shall here, thou, +and Gillomar thy companion, and possess well Britain! For now I +deliver it to you in hand, so that ye may presently dwell with us +here; ye need not ever dread who you shall feed.'" [14] + +Arthur leads his men close to the hosts of Colgrim, the leader of the +Saxon invaders:-- + +"Thus said Arthur, noblest of kings: 'See ye, my Britons, here beside +us, our full foes,--Christ destroy them!--Colgrim the strong, out of +Saxonland? His kin in this land killed our ancestors; but now is the +day come, that the Lord hath appointed that he shall lose the life, +and lose his friends, or else we shall be dead; we may not see him +alive!....' Up caught Arthur his shield, before his breast, and he gan +to rush as the howling wolf, when he cometh from the wood, behung +with snow, and thinketh to bite such beasts as he liketh. Arthur then +called to his dear knights: 'Advance we quickly, brave thanes! all +together towards them; we all shall do well, and they forth fly, as +the high wood, when the furious wind heaveth it with strength.' Flew +over the [fields] thirty thousand shields, and smote on Colgrim's +knights, so that the earth shook again. Brake the broad spears, +shivered shields; the Saxish men fell to the ground.... Some they +gan wander as the wild crane doth in the moor-fen, when his flight is +impaired, and swift hawks pursue after him, and hounds with mischief +meet him in the reeds; then is neither good to him nor the land nor +the flood; the hawks him smite, the hounds him bite, then is the royal +fowl at his death-time." [15] + +Layamon lets his imagination display itself not merely in the dramatic +speeches that he puts into the mouths of his actors; he occasionally +composes a long incident, as in the story of the coronation of +Constans,[16] of the announcement to Arthur of Mordred's treachery,[17] +and in the very striking account of Arthur's election to the throne of +Britain and his reception of the messengers who come for him. "Arthur +sate full still; one while he was wan, and in hue exceeding pale; one +while he was red, and was moved in heart. When it all brake forth, it +was good that he spake; thus said he then, forthright, Arthur, the +noble knight: 'Lord Christ, God's Son, be to us now in aid, that I may +in life hold God's laws.'" [18] But in general Layamon's expansions +of Wace are merely slight additions or modifications, sufficient in +number, however, to go far in doubling the size of the volume. His +great change is that which I have already mentioned, the spirit in +which the story is conceived, and this is best illustrated, perhaps, +in the person of Arthur himself. For Arthur is no knight-errant, but +a grim, stern, ferocious Saxon warrior, loved by his subjects, yet +dreaded by them as well as by his foes. "Was never ere such king, so +doughty through all things." He stands in the cold glare of monarchy +and conquest, and save in the story of his birth and of his final +battle he is seldom, if ever, seen through the softer light of +romance. But Layamon is the only source for the story of which we hear +nothing in the later romances, and which is generally attributed to a +Teutonic origin, that elves came to Arthur's cradle and gave him good +gifts--to be the best of knights, a rich king, long lived, abounding +in "virtues most good." Layamon, too, gives a truly Celtic version +of Arthur's disappearance from earth. Two fairy maidens bear the wounded +king in a boat from the battle-field over the sea to Argante, the queen +of Avalon, who will make him whole again. "And the Britons ever expect +when Arthur shall return." This story, and also Layamon's very important +account of the establishment of the Round Table, which is vastly more +complete than Wace's, bear unmistakable marks of a Celtic origin. Layamon, +in fact, living as he did near the Welsh border, naturally shows +familiarity with current Welsh tradition. His work has a high value in +the vexed question of the origin and growth of Arthurian romance; for +it proves the existence of genuine Welsh tradition about Arthur, and +makes untenable the position of those critics who maintain that the +Arthurian legend had an independent development only on the continent. + +Layamon's contributions to our knowledge of the Arthurian material +are, however, comparatively small, since he augmented his original in +the main by passages inspired by his own imagination.[19] His additions +may be called poetic rather than legendary. Partly because of its +Saxon character his _Brut_ never attained wide popularity, and it had +little effect upon the cycle; but it remains one of the most truly +great literary achievements in the field of both Arthurian chronicle +and romance. + +Our three most important Arthurian chroniclers, Geoffrey, Wace, and +Layamon, were all men of marked individuality and ability; each lives +for us with as distinct a personality as if we had far more than our +very imperfect knowledge of the details of his life. Geoffrey, a +clever combiner, a highly gifted narrator and scholar, born at a happy +hour, gave the Arthurian legend a definite literary form, brought +permanently together independent elements of tradition, and +contributed enormously to the popularity of the cycle. Wace, the +professional author, the scrupulous antiquarian and naïve poet, +carefully refined the material of Geoffrey, and dressed it in the +French costume of courtly life. Layamon, the intense and imaginative +English priest, transformed it by the Saxon spirit, and divesting it +of its courtly elegance, filled it with greater simplicity and force. + + + + +EXCURSUS I.--ARTHUR'S MAGIC POSSESSIONS + + +Arthur's magic possessions form a prominent element in Welsh +tradition, and their appearance in the early chronicles is an +important testimony to the diffusion of Welsh legend. _Kilhwch and +Olwen_ contains a list of his belongings, all of which there is +reason to believe, from record or from logical inference, were of +otherworld origin. Each has its significant proper name, which in most +cases conveys the idea of brilliant whiteness, a characteristic of +Celtic fairy objects. His ship, for example, is named White Form, +his shield "Night Gainsayer," his dagger "White Haft." The _Dream of +Rhonabwy_ [20] describes his carpet (or mantle), "White," which had the +property of retaining no colour but its own, and of making whoever +was on it (or wrapped in it) invisible, and also his sword, +"Hard-breacher," graven with two serpents from whose jaws two flames +of fire seemed to burst when it was unsheathed, "and then so wonderful +was the sword that it was hard for any one to look upon it." This +sword (Caletvwlch, Caliburn, Excalibur) is a Pan-Celtic marvellous +object, and is one of Arthur's most famous possessions. The deadly +blows attributed by Nennius to him in the Battle of Mount Badon +without doubt traditionally were dealt by Caliburn. Geoffrey of +Monmouth recognised it as a fairy sword, and says that it was made in +Avalon, namely, the Celtic otherworld. We may also feel confident that +the full panoply of armour with which Geoffrey equips Arthur (ix. 4) +consisted of magic objects, although Geoffrey, who in general, as an +historian, rationalises the supernatural, merely describes them as +amazingly efficacious. The shield he calls by the name of Arthur's +ship in Welsh sources, Pridwen (evidently a fairy boat, limitless in +capacity), either from some confusion in tradition, or because, being +enchanted, Pridwen might, of course, serve as either ship or shield. + +Layamon adds further information about Arthur's weapons. His burny, +he says (vs. 21133-34) "was named Wygar" (Anglo-Saxon _wigheard_), +"Battle-hard," "which Witeze wrought," Witeze being a corrupted form +for Widia, the Anglo-Saxon name of the son of Weland, the Teutonic +Vulcan, a famous maker of magic weapons in romance, with whom his son +might easily become identified in legend. + +This is the explanation given by Professor G.L. Kittredge of the above +lines, as a correction of Sir Frederic Madden's translation: "he +[namely, the smith who made the burny] was named Wygar, the witty +wight." Layamon says (v. 21147) that Arthur's helmet was called +Goswhit, a name that is evidently a translation of some Welsh term +meaning "goosewhite," which at once classes the helmet with Arthur's +dazzlingly bright fairy belongings. Moreover, Layamon says (vs. 21158, +23779 ff.) that his spear Ron (a Welsh common noun, meaning "spear") +was made by a smith called Griffin, whose name may be the result of an +English substitution of the familiar word _griffin_ for the unfamiliar +_Gofan_, the name of the Celtic smith-god. These facts are mainly +important as testimony to the Celtic element in Arthurian romance, and +especially to Layamon's use of current Welsh Arthurian tradition. The +large variety of magical possessions assigned to Arthur is also a +notable indication of the great emphasis that Welsh legend laid +upon his mythological attributes and his character as otherworld +adventurer. + +[The above facts have been established and discussed by Professor +A.C.L. Brown in his article on the Round Table (p. 199, note 1) cited +below in Excursus II.; also in _Iwain_, Boston, 1903, p. 79, note +1; _Modern Philology_, I., 5-8; _Publications of the Modern Language +Association of America_, XXV., 25 ff. See also the notes on the lines +cited from Layamon in Sir Frederic Madden's edition of the _Brut_. For +other magic possessions of Arthur, see below, Excursus II.] + + + + +EXCURSUS II.--THE ROUND TABLE + +(Wace, _Brut_, vs. 9994 ff., 10555, 13675; Layamon, vs. 22736 ff.) + + +Our earliest authority for the story of the Round Table is Wace. He +and Layamon agree in calling it a tale of the Britons, and in saying +that Arthur had it made to prevent rivalry as to place among his +vassals when they sat at meat. Layamon, however, expands the few lines +that Wace devotes to the subject into one of his longest additions to +his source, by introducing the story of a savage fight for precedence +at a court feast, which was the immediate cause for fashioning the +Round Table, a magical object. Ancient sources prove that the Celts +had a grievous habit of quarrelling about precedence at banquets, +probably because it was their custom to bestow the largest portion of +meat upon the bravest warrior. It was also their practice to banquet +seated in a circle with the most valiant chieftain of the company +placed in the middle, possibly owing to the circular form of their +huts, possibly for the sake of avoiding the disputes that so commonly +disturbed their feastings. The Round Table, accordingly, is to be +regarded as a Pan-Celtic institution of early date, and as one of the +belongings that would naturally be attributed by popular tradition +to any peculiarly distinguished leader. Layamon's version so closely +parallels early Celtic stories of banquet fights, and has so barbaric +a tone, as to make it evident that he is here recounting a folk-tale +of pure Celtic origin, which must have been connected with Arthur +before his time, and probably before that of Wace; for this story was +undoubtedly one of those "many fables" which Wace says the Britons +told about the Round Table, but which he does not incorporate into his +narrative. + +[See A.C.L. Brown, _The Round Table before Wace in Studies and Notes +in Philology and Literature_, VII. (Boston, 1900), 183 ff.; L.F. Mott, +_Publications of the Modern Language Association of America_, XX, 231 +ff.; J.L. Weston, as above (p. xv.), pp. 883 ft.] + + + + +EXCURSUS III.--THE HOPE OF BRITAIN + +(Wace, _Brut_, 13681 ff.; Layamon, 23080 ff., 28610 ff.) + + +The belief that Arthur would return to earth, which was firmly +established among the Britons by the beginning of the twelfth +century, does not in early records appear clothed in any definite +narrative form. In later sources it assumes several phases, +the most common of which is that recorded by Layamon that Arthur had +been taken by fays from his final battle-field to Avalon, the Celtic +otherworld, whence after the healing of his mortal wound he would +return to earth. Layamon's story conforms essentially to an early type +of Celtic fairy-mistress story, according to which a valorous hero, in +response to the summons of a fay who has set her love upon him, under +the guidance of a fairy messenger sails over seas to the otherworld, +where he remains for an indefinite time in happiness, oblivious of +earth. It is easy to see that the belief that Arthur was still living, +though not in this world, might gradually take shape in such a form as +this, and that his absence from his country might be interpreted as +his prolonged sojourn in the distant land of a fairy queen, who was +proffering him, not the delights of her love, but healing for his +wounds, in order that when he was made whole again he might return "to +help the Britons." Historic, mythical, and romantic tradition have +combined to produce the version that Layamon records. Geoffrey of +Monmouth (xi. 2), writing in the mock role of serious historian and +with a tendency to rationalisation, says not a word of the wounded +king's possible return to earth. Wace, with characteristic caution, +affirms that he will not commit himself as to whether the Britons, who +say that Arthur is still in Avalon, speak the truth or not. Here, as +in the story of the Round Table, it is Layamon who has preserved for +us what was undoubtedly the form that the belief had already assumed +in Celtic story, through whatever medium it may have passed before it +reached his hands. + +In the _Vita Merlini_,[21] a Latin poem attributed by some scholars to +Geoffrey of Monmouth, a curious version of Arthur's stay in Avalon is +given. The wounded king is taken after the battle of Camlan to the +Isle of Apples (for such was understood to be the meaning of the +name _Avalon_), which is the domain of a supernatural maiden, wise and +beautiful, Morgen by name, who understands the healing art, and who +promises the king that he shall be made whole again if he abides long +with her. This is the first mention in literature of Morgan la Fée, +the most powerful fay of French romance, and regularly the traditional +healer of Arthur's wounds in Avalon. + +The Argante of Layamon's version is doubtless the same being as +Morgana, for whose name, which in any of its current spellings had +the appearance of a masculine proper name, Layamon either may have +substituted a more familiar Welsh name, Argante, as I have already +shown he might easily have done (_Studies in the Fairy Mythology of +Arthurian Romance_, Boston, 1903, pp. 26-28), or, as Professor J.L. +Bruce, with equal plausibility, has recently suggested, he may have +used a corruption of one form of the fay's name, Morgant (_Modern +Language Notes_, March, 1911, pp. 65-68). + +[I have discussed the various versions of Arthur's stay in Avalon in +_Studies in Fairy Mythology_, chapter III. On Avalon, see _id._, p. 40, +note 2. On the early belief in Arthur's return to earth, see Geoffrey +of Monmouth (_Everyman's Library_), Introduction, p. 10.] + + + + +NOTES: + +[1] i.e., Paris, in the Ile de France. Vs. 10440 ff. + +[2] Vs. 16530 ff. + +[3] _Roman de Rou_, vs. 6415 ff. + +[4] _Roman de Brut_, vs. 10038 ff. + +[5] _Id._, vs. 7733 ff. + +[6] _Id._, vs. 11472 ff. Cf. for other examples: Arthur's +conquest of Denmark, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10123 ff.; Arthur's +return to Britain from France, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10427 ff.; +Arthur's coronation, _Historia_, ix. 12 ff.; _Brut_, vs. 10610 ff. + +[7] Vs. 13149 ff. + +[8] See _Excursus II_. + +[9] Vs. 11048 ff. + +[10] See _Excursus III_. + +[11] Vs. 1 ff. + +[12] Layamon's statement that he "read books" at Arnley is +interpreted to mean that he read the services in the church. + +[13] The poem is written in part in alliterative lines on the +Anglo-Saxon system, in part in rhymed couplets of unequal length. + +[14] Vs. 18086 ff. + +[15] Vs. 20110 ff. More famous speeches still are Arthur's +comparison of Childric the Dane to a fox (vs. 20827 ff.) and his taunt +over his fallen foes, Baldulf and Colgrim (vs. 31431 ff.). + +[16] Vs. 12972 ff. + +[17] Vs. 27992 ff. + +[18] Vs. 19887 ff. + +[19] discussion of this point see J.L. Weston, in _Melanges de +philologie romane offerts à M. Wilmotte_, Paris, 1910, pp. 801, 802. + +[20] See _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, +London, 1849. + +[21] Ed. Michel and Wright, Paris, 1837. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +GENERAL WORKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE CHRONICLES + +R.H. FLETCHER, _The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles (Studies and +Notes in Philology and Literature, X)_, Boston, 1906. + +W. LEWIS JONES, King Arthur in History and Legend, London, 1911. + +M.W. MACCALLUM, _Tennyson's Idylls of the King_, Glasgow, 1894. + +H. MAYNADIER, _The Arthur of the English Poets_, Boston and New York, +1907. + +G. PARIS, _Histoire littéraire de la France_, Paris, 1888. + +J. RHYS, _Studies in the Arthurian Legend_, Oxford, 1891. + +W.H. SCHOFIELD, _English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer_, +New York and London, 1906. + +B. TEN BRINK, _Geschichte der Englischen Literatur_, and ed., A Brandl, +Strassburg, 1899. Translated into English, 1st ed, I., H.M. Kennedy, +New York, 1888, II., i., W.C. Robinson, 1893, II., ii., L.D. Schmidt, +1896. + + +AUTHORS AND WORKS + +GEOFFREY GAIMAR, _L'Estorie des Engles_, ed. T.D. Hardy and T.C. Marten +(Rolls Series), 1888-1889. + +GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, _Historia Regum Britanniae_, ed. San Marte (A. +Schulz) Halle, 1854. Translated, J.A. Giles, _Six Old English Chronicles_, +London, 1896; S. Evans, London, 1903. + +LAYAMON, _Brut_, ed. with translation, Sir F. Madden, 3 vols, London, +1847. WORKS ON LAYAMON--Introduction, Madden's ed. of _Brut_. H. Morley, +English Writers, London, 1888-1890, III, 206-231. L. Stephen and S. Lee, +_Dictionary of National Biography_, London, 1885-1904, under Layamon. +For a further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 148, note 1. + +WACE, _Roman de Brut_, ed. Le Roux de Lucy, 2 vols, Rouen, 1836-1838. +_Roman de Rou_, ed. F. Pluquet, 2 vols, Rouen, 1827, H. Andresen, 2 vols, +Heilbronn, 1877-1879, translated by E. Taylor (_Chronicle of the Norman +Conquest_), London, 1837. WORKS ON WACE--E. Du Méril, _La vie et les +ouvrages de Wace_, in _Jahrbuch für romanische u. englische Literatur, I, +i ff.; also in his _Etudes sur quelques points d'Archéologie_, Paris and +Leipzig, 1862. Grober, _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, Strassburg, +1888-1902, II, i, 635 ff. H. Morley, _English Writers_, III, 55. G. Paris, +_Romania_, IX, 592 ff. L. Stephens and S. Lee, _Dictionary National +Biography_, under Wace. A Ulbrich, _Romanische Forschungen_, XXVI, 181 ff. +For further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 128, note 1. + + + + +WACE'S ROMAN DE BRUT + + +Constantine came to Totnes, and many a stout knight with him--there +was not one but was worthy of the kingship. The host set forth towards +London, and sent messages in every part, bidding the Britons to their +aid, for as yet they were too fearful to come from their secret +places. When the Britons heard these tidings they drew, thick as rain, +from the woodlands and the mountain, and came before the host in +troops and companies. To make short a long matter, these marched so +far and wrought such deeds that in the end they altogether discomfited +those evil men who had done such sore mischief to the land. After +these things they held a great council at Cirencester, commanding +thereto all the lords and barons of the realm. In that place they +chose Constantine as their king, with no long tarrying, none being so +bold as to say him nay. So when they had ordained him king, they set +the crown on his head with marvellous joy, and owned themselves as his +men. Afterwards, by their counsel, Constantine took to wife a dame who +was come of gentle Roman blood. On this lady he begat three sons. The +eldest--whom the king named Constant--he caused to be nourished at +Winchester, and there he made him to be vowed a monk. The second son +was called Aurelius, and his surname Ambrosius. Lastly was born Uther, +and it was he whose days were longest in the land. These two varlets +were held in ward by Gosselyn, the archbishop. + +So long as Constantine lived the realm had rest and peace; but he died +before his time had come, for he reigned but twelve short years. There +was a certain Pict of his household, a traitor, a foul felon, who for +a great while had been about his person. I cannot tell the reason why +he bore the king so mortal a grudge. This Pict took the king aside +privily in an orchard, as though he would speak to him of some hidden +matter. The king had no thought to keep himself from this false felon, +who whilst he made seeming to speak in his master's ear, drew forth a +knife and smote him therewith so shrewdly that he died. Then he fled +forth from the garden. But many a time have I heard tell that it was +Vortigern who caused Constantine to be slain. Great was the sorrow the +lords and all honest people made above their king, for the realm had +now no prince, save only those children of so tender an age. They laid +him in his tomb, but in no wise put him from remembrance. The whole +realm assembled together that they might make to themselves a king. +They doubted sorely which of the two young children they should +choose, for of them they knew neither good nor ill, seeing they were +but small and frail, and yet in their warden's charge. As to Constant, +the eldest son, who was of more fitting years, they dared not to pluck +the habit from his back, since all men deemed it shame and folly to +hale him forth from his abbey. The council would have ordained one of +the two children to be king had it not been for Vortigern, who arose +before them all. This Vortigern came from Wales, and was earl in his +own land. He was a strong knight of his body, exceeding rich in goods +and kin. Very courteous was he of speech; right prudent in counsel; +and long since had made straight the road that he coveted to tread. +"What reason is here," said he, "for doubtfulness? There is naught +else to do but to make this monk, Constant, our king. He is the +rightful heir; his brothers are not long from the breast; neither is +it fitting that the crown should be placed upon a stranger's head. Let +us strip the gown boldly from his shoulders. I charge the sin upon my +own soul. My hand alone shall draw him from the abbey, and set him +before you as your king." But all the lords of the council kept +silence, for a horrible thing it seemed in their eyes that a monk +should wear the mantle of a king. Vortigern, purposing evil in his +heart, took horse, and rode swiftly to Winchester. He sought Constant +at the abbey, praying the prior of his courtesy that he might speak +with him in the parlour. "Constant," said he, "thy father is dead, and +men seek to bestow his throne upon thy brothers. Such honour is not +seemly, for thine is the crown and seat. If thou bearest me love and +affiance, and for thy part wilt promise to make richer all the riches +that are mine, on my part I will free thee from these sullen rags and +array thee in the purple and ermine of a king. Choose now between +this monastery and the heritage that is thine own." Very desirous was +Constant of the lordship, and little love had he for his abbey. Right +weary was he of choir and psalter, and lightly and easily he made him +ready to be gone. He pledged oath and faith to all that Vortigern +required, and after he had so done Vortigern took him with a strong +hand from the monastery, none daring to gainsay his deed. When +Vortigern was assured of his fealty, he caused Constant to put off the +monk's serge, and clothe him in furs and rich raiment. He carried him +to London, and sat him in his father's chair, though not with the +voice and welcome of the people. The archbishop who should have +anointed the king with oil was dead, neither was any bishop found to +give him unction, or to put his hand to the business. It was Vortigern +alone who took the crown and set it on his head. This king had no +unction nor blessing, save from the hand of Vortigern alone. + +Constant reigned in his father's stead. He who had betrayed the +commandment of God, was not one to hold his realm in surety; and thus +he came to an evil end. Sorrow not thereat. The man who sells his +master with a kiss may not hope to spend the wages of his sin. +Vortigern held Constant and his senarchy in the hollow of his hand. +The king did all according to his pleasure, and granted freely to +his every need. Very quickly, by reason of divers matters, Vortigern +perceived that the king knew but little of the world, since he was +nourished in a cloister. He remembered that the two princes were of +tender age. He saw that the mighty lords of the realm were dead, that +the people were in sore trouble and unrest, and judged that the place +and time were come. Mark now the cunning craft with which he set about +to take his seisin of the realm. "Sire," said he, "I have learned and +would bring to your knowledge that the sea folk are gathered together +from Norway, and from the country of the Danes. Since our knights are +few in number, and because of the weakness of the land, they purpose +to descend upon the kingdom, and ravish and spoil your cities. Draw +now together thy men, to guard the realm and thee. Set food within the +strong places, and keep well thy towers. Above all, have such fear of +traitors that thy castles are held of none save those true men who +will hold them to the death. If you act not after this counsel right +speedily there must reign another king." "I have granted," answered +Constant, "everything to thy hand, and have done all according to thy +will. Take now this fresh burthen upon thee, for thou art wiser than +I. I give you all the realm to thy keeping, so that none shall ravage +it or burn. Cities and manors; goods and treasure; they are thine as +constable. Thy will is my pleasure. Do swiftly that which it is seemly +should be done." Vortigern was very subtle. None knew better how +to hide away his greed. After he had taken the strong towers, the +treasure, and the riches to himself, he went again before the king. +"Sire," said he, "if it seem good to the king, my counsel would be +that he should send to the Picts of Scotland to seek of them horsemen +and sergeants to have with him about his household. In that place +where the battle is perilous we can call them to our aid. Through +these Picts and their kindred we shall hear the talk of the outland +men. They will parley between us and these Danes, and serve as embassy +between us and our foes." "Do," replied the king, "at thy pleasure. +Bring of these Picts as many as you wish. Grant them as guerdon what +you deem befits. Do all which it is seemly should be done." + +When Vortigern had taken to himself the walled cities, and gathered +together the treasure, he sent such messages to the Picts as he +desired, so that they came according to his will. Vortigern received +them with much honour, giving them greatly to drink, so that they +lived in mirth and in solace, altogether drunken and content. Of his +bounty Vortigern granted such wages, and spoke so sweetly in the ear +of each, that there was not one amongst them who did not cry loudly +in the hearing of any who would hearken, that Vortigern was more +courteous and of higher valiance than the king--yea, that he was +worthy to sit upon the king's throne, or in a richer chair than his. +Vortigern rejoiced greatly at these words. He made much of his Picts, +and honoured them more sweetly than ever before. On a day when they +had sat long at their cups, and all were well drunken, Vortigern came +amongst them in the hall. He saluted them sadly, showing the semblance +of a woeful man. "Right dear are you to my heart;" said he, "very +willingly have I served you, and right gladly would I serve you still, +if but the wealth were mine. But this realm belongs altogether to the +king. Naught can I bestow, nothing is mine to spend, save only that I +render him account of every doit. So little revenue is mine of this +land, that it becomes me to seek my fortune beyond the sea. I have set +my whole intent to serve my king to the utmost of my might, and for +recompense have of him such estate that I can maintain scarce forty +sergeants to my household. If all goes well with me we may meet again, +for I commend me to your goodwill. This weighs heavily upon me that +I must leave you now. But, beggar as I am, I can do no other; only I +entreat you this, that if you hear my business has come to a fair end, +you will of a surety seek my love again." For all his piteous speech +Vortigern was false, and had falsely spoken, but those who had well +drunken gave faith to his words. They held for gospel truth what this +vile traitor had told them. They murmured together amongst themselves: +"What then shall become of us, since we lose so generous a lord! Let +us rather slay this mad king, this shaveling, and raise Vortigern to +his seat. Worthy is he of crown and kingdom; so on him we will cast +the lot. Too long already have we suffered this renegade monk, whom +now we serve." Forthwith they entered in the king's chamber, and +laying hands upon him, slew him where he stood. They smote the head +from off his shoulders, and bare it to Vortigern in his lodging, +crying, "Look now, and see by what bands we bind you to this realm. +The king is dead, and we forbid you to go from amongst us. Take now +the crown, and become our king." Vortigern knew again the head of his +lord. He made semblance of bitter sorrow, but rejoiced privily in his +heart, though of his cunning he hid his gladness from the eyes of +men. To cover his falseness the deeper, Vortigern called the Romans +together in council. He struck the heads from off those traitors, +leaving not one to escape alive. But many a citizen was persuaded, and +some said openly, that these murderers would not have laid hands +upon the king, neither looked evilly upon him, nor thought to do him +mischief, had not Vortigern required of them such deed. + +When the death of the king was told to them who held the two brothers +in ordinance, they were assured that he who slew the king would not +scruple to serve the princes in the self-same fashion. For fear of +Vortigern they took Aurelius and Uther, and fled beyond the sea to +Little Britain, commending themselves to the pity of Budes, the king. +Since they were of his kin King Budes welcomed them right courteously. +He received them to his table with great honour, and bestowed upon +them many rich gifts. Now having taken to himself the strong places, +the castles, and the cities of the kingdom, Vortigern proclaimed him +to be king with marvellous pride. His joy was the less because the +realm was harassed by the Picts, who would avenge their kindred, whom +he had slain with the sword. Moreover he was sorely troubled, since +it was noised abroad that the two princes were gathering a company +together, purposing in a short space to return to their own land. The +rumour ran that the barons were resolved to join this great host, and +to own the brothers as their lords, so that in a while Vortigern would +be utterly destroyed. Many there were who told of such things. + +Whilst men talked thus, there came to a haven in Kent three galleys, +bearing a strange people to the land. These folk were fair of face and +comely of person. They owned as lords Hengist and Horsa, two brethren +of mighty stature, and of outland speech. The tidings came to +Vortigern at Canterbury, where he abode that day, that a foreign folk +from a far country had drawn to the realm in ships. The king sent +messages of peace and goodwill to these strangers, praying that be +they whom they might, they would come quickly and speak with him in +his palace, and return swiftly to their own place. When they received +his commandment they sought him with the more surety. They came into +the king's presence and did reverence, with a proud bearing. Vortigern +looked closely upon the brethren. Shapely were they of body, bright of +visage, taller and more comely than any youth he knew. "From what land +have you come," inquired the king, "and on what errand? Tell me now +the place of your birth." The elder and the mightier of the brethren, +called Hengist, made answer in the name of all his fellows. "We be of +a country called Saxony," said he, "there were we born and there we +abode. If thou wilt learn the chance we seek upon the sea, I will +answer truly, if so it be according to thy will." "Say on," said the +king, "and hide nothing. No harm shall come to thee of this." "Fair +king," answered Hengist, "gentle sire, I know not if I can make it +plain. Our race is of a fertile stock, more quick and abounding than +any other you may know, or whereof you have heard speak. Our folk are +marvellously fruitful, and the tale of the children is beyond measure. +Women and men are more in number than the sand, for the greater sorrow +of those amongst us who are here. When our people are so many that the +land may not sustain nor suffice them, then the princes who rule the +realm assemble before them all the young men of the age of fifteen +years and upwards, for such is our use and custom. From out of these +they choose the most valiant and the most strong, and, casting lots, +send them forth from the country, so that they may travel into divers +lands, seeking fiefs and houses of their own. Go out they must, since +the earth cannot contain them; for the children came more thickly than +the beasts which pasture in the fields. Because of the lot that fell +upon us we have bidden farewell to our homes, and putting our trust in +Mercury, the god has led us to your realm." When the king heard the +name of Mercury as the god of their governance, be inquired what +manner of men these were, and of the god in whom they believed. "We +have," answered Hengist, "gods a many, to whom it is our bounden duty +to raise altars. These gods have to name Phoebus and Saturn, Jupiter +and Mercury. Many another god we worship, according to the wont of our +country, and as our fathers have told us. But above all gods we keep +in chiefest honour Mercury, who in our own tongue is called Woden. Our +fathers held this god in such reverence that they devoted the fourth +day of the week to his service. Because of their hope in Woden they +called his feast Wednesday, and yet it bears his name. By the side of +this god of whom I have spoken, we set our goddess Freya, who is +held in worship of us all. To show forth their love, our fathers +consecrated the sixth day to her service, and on the high authority of +the past we call Friday by Freya's name." "Ill is your faith," replied +the king, "and in an evil god you put your trust. This thing is +grievous to me, but nevertheless I welcome your coming right gladly. +You are valiant men, as I deem, accustomed to harness, and so you will +be my servants, very willingly will I make you of my household, and of +wealth you shall find no lack. Certain thieves from Scotland torment +me grievously at this time, burning my land and preying on my cities. +So it be God's pleasure, your coming may turn to my rich profit, for +by His aid and yours, I look to destroy these same Picts and Scots. +For from that land come and return these thieves who so harass and +damage my realm. You shall find me no grudging master, and when I am +avenged upon them, you will have no complaint to find with bounty or +wages or gifts." In this manner the Saxons came from out their ships, +and the king's court was strengthened by a mighty company. Now in no +long time afterwards the Picts entered the king's realm, with a great +host, burning, wasting, and pilling at their will. When they would +have passed the Humber, the king, who was told thereof, hastened to +meet them with his lords, the Britons, and these Saxons. The hosts +came together, and the battle was grim and lasting, for many were +discomfited to death that day. The Picts, doubting nothing but +that they would gain the victory as they had done before, carried +themselves hardily, and struck fiercely with the sword. They fought +thus stoutly, and endured so painfully, since they were shamed to do +less than was their wont. But their evil custom was broken, for the +Saxons gained possession of the field. Since by these Saxons, and +their aid, Vortigern was delivered of this peril, he gave them their +wages, and added thereto of his bounty. On Hengist he bestowed fair +manors, and goods, and great riches, so that love lasted between them +for a long space. + +When Hengist saw that the king might in no wise pass him by, he sought +to turn this to his own profit, as was his undoubted right. He knew +well how to flatter the king to his own advantage by specious words. +On a day when the king's heart was merry, Hengist opened out what was +in his mind. "Thou hast given me many honours," said he, "and bestowed +on me plenteously of thy wealth. I am not ungrateful, but am thy +servant and will remain thy servant, striving to serve thee better in +the future even than I have striven in the past. But the longer I am +about the king's person, and the more closely I know his court, the +more clearly I see and hear and am assured that thou hast not the love +of one only baron of thy realm. Each bears thee hate, each nurses his +own grudge. I cannot speak, since nothing I know, of those children +who have stolen away the love of thine own house. They are the lawful +lords of thy barons, and these are but loyal to the sons of their +king. Within a little they will come from over sea, and spoil thee of +this realm. Not one of thy men but purposes to do thee a mischief. +Evil they wish thee, and evil they hope will be thine end. Horribly +art thou abhorred; horribly art thou menaced; for evil is on thy +track, and evil purposes shortly to pull thee down. I have considered +how best I may help thee in this peril. If it pleases the king to +bring my wife and children and all that is mine from my own land, +the sweeter hostages will be his, and the more faithful will be my +service. So diligently will I keep my trust that no foe, however bold, +shall spoil thee of one foot of thy heritage Moreover, sire, it is now +a great while since I became thy servant, and many bear malice against +me by reason of thy love. Because of their wrath I dare not tarry at +night outside my house, nor go beyond the walls. For this cause, sire, +so it may please thee, it would become thy honour to grant me some +town or tower or strong place, where I may lie in peace of nights, +when I am weaned in the king's quarrels. When thy enemies mark the +generosity of the king, they will cease to annoy so large a lord." "As +to the folk of thine house," made answer the king, "send thou at +thy pleasure, and receive them with all worship. The cost of their +sustenance shall be mine. For the rest thou art not of the faith. +Pagan thou art, and no Christian man Men, therefore, will deem that I +do very wrongfully should I grant thee the other gift you require." +"Sire," replied Hengist, "I would of thy bounty a certain manor. I +pray thee of thy courtesy to add thereto so much land--I seek no +more--as I may cover with a hide, and as may be compassed therewith. +It will be but the hide of a bull, but for the gift's sake I shall go +the more surely." Vortigern granted the boon, and Hengist thanked his +master. He made ready his messenger, and sent for his kindred from +oversea. He took the hide of a bull, and cutting it as small as he +might, made one thong of the whole skin. With this thong he compassed +a great spoil of land, and gathering good masons together, built +thereon a fair castle. In his own tongue he called this place +Vancaster, which being interpreted means Thong Castle, forasmuch as +the place was compassed by a thong. Now it is hight by many Lancaster, +and of these there are few who remember why it was first called after +this name. + +When Vancaster was well builded there drew near eighteen war galleys, +bearing to land Hengist's kindred, together with knights and footmen. +With these came Hengist's daughter, Rowena by name, a maiden yet +unwed, and most marvellously fair. After all things were made ready +Hengist prayed the king to lodge with him awhile, that he might +delight himself with meat and drink, and view the new folk of his +household, and the castle that he had builded. And the king was +pleased to hearken unto his prayer. The king rode to Vancaster with +a mean company, since he would not have it noised about the land. He +marked the castle and its towers, which were both strong and fair, and +much he praised the work. The knights who were freshly come from sea +he took to his service, and gave of his bounty. At the feast that day +men ate and drank so greatly that for the most part they were drunken. +Then came forth from her chamber Rowena, Hengist's daughter, sweetly +arrayed and right dainty to see, bearing in her hand a brimming cup +of wine. She kneeled before Vortigern very simply, and saluted him +courteously after the fashion of her land, saying, "Washael, lord +king." The king, who knew nothing of her language, sought the meaning +of the maiden's words. This was made plain to him by Redic, the +Breton, a fair scholar, who--as it is related--was the first to become +apt in the Saxon tongue. He answered swiftly, "The maiden saluted thee +courteously, calling thee lord. It is the wont of her people, sire, +that when friend drinks with friend, he who proffers the cup cries, +'Washael,' and that he who receives answers in turn, 'Drinkhael'. Then +drinks he the half of this loving cup, and for joy and for friendship +of him who set it in his hand, kisses the giver with all fair +fellowship." When he had learned this thing, the king said +"Drinkhael," and smiled upon the damsel. Rowena tasted of the cup, and +placed it in the king's hand, and in taking it from the maiden the +king kissed her sweetly. By the Saxon were we first taught in +this land to greet, saying, "Washael," and afterwards to answer, +"Drinkhael," to drain the cup in full measure, or to share it with +one other, to kiss together when the cup was passed. The custom was +commenced as I have shown you, and we observe this ritual yet, as well +I know, in the rich feasts of our country. + +Now the maiden was gracious of body, and passing fair of face, dainty +and tall, and plump of her person. She stood before the king in a web +of fine raiment, and ravished his eyes beyond measure. She filled the +king's cup willingly, and was altogether according to his wish. So +merry was the king, so well had he drunken, that he desired the +damsel in his heart. The devil, who has led many a man astray, snared +Vortigern with such sorcery, that he became mad with love to possess +Hengist's daughter. He was so fast in the devil's net that he saw +neither shame nor sin in this love. He denied not his hope, though the +maid was of pagans born. Vortigern prayed Hengist that he would grant +him the maid in marriage, and Hengist accorded her with goodwill. But +first he took counsel with his brother and his friends. These praised +the marriage, but counselled Hengist to give the damsel only on such +covenant that the king should deliver him Kent as her dowry. The king +coveted the maiden so greatly, he doted so dearly, that he made her +his queen. She was a pagan woman, and became his wife according to +the rites of the paynim. No priest blessed that marriage, there was +neither Mass nor prayer. So hot was the king's love that he espoused +her the same evening, and bestowed on Hengist Kent as her dowry. + +Hengist went into Kent, and seized all the country into his hand. +He drove forth Garagon, the governor, who had heard no word of the +business. Vortigern showed more credence and love to the heathen +than to christened men, so that these gave him again his malice, and +abandoned his counsel. His own sons held him in hatred, forsaking his +fellowship because of the pagans. For this Vortigern had married +a wife, who long was dead and at peace. On this first wife he had +begotten three sons, these only. The first was named Vortimer, the +second Passent, and the third Vortiger. Hated was this king by all the +barons of his realm, and of all his neighbours. His very kindred held +him in abhorrence. He came to an evil end, for he died in his shame, +and the pagans he befriended with him. "Sire," said Hengist to the +king, "men hold thee in hatred by reason of me, and because of thy +love they bear me malice also. I am thy father, and thou my son, since +thou wert pleased to ask my daughter for thy wife. It is my privilege +to counsel my king, and he should hearken to my counsel, and aid me to +his power. If thou wilt make sure thy throne, and grieve those who use +thee despitefully, send now for Octa my son, and for my cousin Ebissa. +There are not two more cunning captains than these, nor two champions +to excel them in battle. Give these captains of thy land towards +Scotland, for from thence comes all the mischief. They will deal with +thy foes in such fashion that never more shall they take of thy +realm, but for the rest of thy days we shall live in peace beyond the +Humber." Then answered the king, "Do what you will, and send messages +for such men as it is good for us to have." At the king's word Hengist +sent messages to his son and nephew, who hastened to his help with a +fleet of three hundred galleys. There was not a knight of their land, +who would serve for guerdon, but they carried him across the water. +After these captains were come, in their turn, from day to day, came +many another, this one with four vessels, this other with five, or +six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten. So thickly did the heathen +wend, and so closely did they mingle with the Christians, that you +might scarcely know who was a christened man and who was not. The +Britons were sorely troubled at this matter, and prayed the king +not to put such affiance in the outland folk, for they wrought much +mischief. They complained that already were too many pagans in the +land, working great shame and villainy to the people. "Separate +thyself from amongst them," they said, "at whatever cost, and send +all, or as many as may be, from the realm." Vortigern made answer that +he might not do this thing. He had entreated the Saxons to the land, +and they served him as true men. So when the barons hearkened to his +words they went their way to Vortimer. + +The Britons assembled themselves together, and taking the road to +London, chose Vortimer--the eldest of the king's three sons--to be +their lord. The king, who was assotted on his wife, clave to her +kindred, and would not forsake the heathen. Vortimer defied the +Saxons, and drove them from the walled cities, chasing and tormenting +them very grievously. He was a skilful captain, and the strife was +right sore between Vortimer and the Britons, against his father and +the Saxons. Four times the hosts met together, and four times Vortimer +vanquished his foe. The first battle was fought upon the banks of the +Darent. The second time the hosts strove together was upon the ford +near Aylesford. In this place Vortiger, the king's son, and Horsa the +Saxon, contended so fiercely in combat, body to body, that each did +the other to death, according to his desire. The other battle was +arrayed on the sea shore in Kent. Passing grim was this third battle, +for the ships fought together upon the water. The Saxons withdrew +before the Britons, so that from beyond the Humber even to Kent they +were deceived in their hope. The heathen fled in their galleys to an +islet called Thanet. The Britons assailed them in this fastness, and +so long as it was day, harassed them with arrows and quarrels, with +ships and with barges. They rejoiced loudly, for the pagans were +caught in a corner, and those not slain by the sword were fain to die +of hunger. For this reason, the Britons raised a mighty tumult and +shouting, when they trapped their enemy in the Isle of Thanet. When +the Saxons were assured that worse would befall them, save they +departed from the realm, they prayed Vortigern to go in embassy to +Vortimer his son, persuading him to give them safe conduct from the +land, and not to do them further mischief. Vortigern, who was in their +company and would in no wise depart from their fellowship, went to his +son to procure such truce as the Saxons required. Whilst he was about +this business the Saxons entered in their galleys, and with sail and +oar put out to sea as swiftly as they were able. Such was their haste +to escape that they left their wives and sons with the Britons, +returning to their own country in exceeding fear. After the Saxons +had all forsaken the realm, and the Britons were assumed of peace, +Vortimer gave again to every man that of which the heathen had spoiled +him. To build anew the churches, and to declare the law of God, which +had fallen into disuse amongst the people because of Hengist and his +heathendom, St. Germanus came to Britain, sent by St. Romanus, the +Apostle of Rome. With him came St. Louis of Troyes. These two fair +bishops, Germanus of Auxerre and Louis of Troyes, crossed the sea +to prepare the way of the Lord. By them were the tables of the law +redelivered, and men converted again to the faith. They brought many a +man to salvation; many a miracle, many a virtue, did God show in their +persons, and many a country was the sweeter for their lives. When the +law of God was restored, and Britain made again a Christian land, +hearken now what foul work was done by treason and by envy. Rowena, +that evil stepmother, caused Vortimer, her husband's son, to be +poisoned, by reason of the hatred she bore him, since he chased +Hengist from the realm. After Vortimer was certified that he must die, +and that no physician might cure him of his hurt, he called together +all his barons, and delivered unto them the treasure which he +had greatly gathered. Listen well to that he prayed his friends. +"Knights," said he, "take into your service warriors not a few, and +grudge not the sergeant his wages. Hold one to another, and maintain +the land against these Saxons. That my work may not be wasted, and +avenged upon those who live, do this thing for their terror. Take my +body, and bury it upon the shore. Raise above me such a tomb, so large +and lasting, that it may be seen from far by all who voyage on the +sea. To that coast where my body is buried, living or dead, they shall +not dare to come." Having spoken in this fashion the gentle king died, +finishing his course. His body was borne to London, and in London he +was lain to his rest. The barons raised no barrow upon the shore, as +with his dying speech he had bidden them. + +After Vortimer's death, the Britons made Vortigern their king, even +as he had been in days before. At the entreaties of his wife he sent +messages to his father-in-law, Hengist. Him he prayed to return to the +kingdom, but with a small company, so that the Britons should not give +heed to the matter; for since Vortimer his son was dead, there was +no need of a host. Hengist took ship gladly, but with him he carried +three hundred thousand men in mail. For dread of the Britons, he made +him ready as never he had done before. When the king learned that +Hengist drew to land with so mighty a host, he was altogether fearful, +and knew no word to say. The Britons assembled together in great +wrath, promising amongst themselves that they would join them in +battle, and throw the heathen from the realm. Hengist was cunning and +felon of heart. He sent false messages to the king, praying for a +truce and love-day to be granted, that they might speak together as +friend with friend. Peace above all he desired; peace he ensued; peace +was his love, and he sought her with tears. Nothing was further from +his wish than war, and he would rather be banished from the realm than +remain by force of arms. It was for the Britons to elect those whom +they willed to stay, and for the others they would return whence they +came. The Britons granted the love-day, and the two peoples took +pledges, one of the other; but who can trust the oath of a liar? A +time was appointed when this council should be holden. The king sent +messages to Hengist that he must come with few companions; and Hengist +plighted troth right willingly. Moreover, it was commanded that none +should bear weapons at the council, for fear that men should pass +from words to blows. The two parties met together near the Abbey of +Ambresbury, on the great Salisbury plain. The day was the kalends of +May. Hengist had taught his comrades, and warned them privily, that +they should come each with a sharp, two-edged knife hidden in his +hose. He bade them to sit in this Parliament, and hearken to the talk; +but when he cried, "Nimad covre seax" (which being interpreted means +"Pluck forth your knives," and would not be understanded of the +Britons), they were to snatch out their daggers and make each a dead +man of his neighbour. Now when the council was met, and men were +mingled together, the naked Briton near by the false heathen, Hengist +cried loudly, "Nimad covre seax." The Saxons, at his word, drew forth +the knives from their hose, and slew that man sitting at their side. +Hengist was seated very close the king. He held the king fast by his +mantle, so that this murder passed him by. But those who gripped the +knives thrust the keen blades through cloak and mantle, breast and +bowels, till there lay upon back or belly in that place nigh upon four +hundred and sixty men of the richest and most valiant lords of the +kingdom. Yet some won out and escaped with their lives, though they +had naught to defend their bodies save the stones. + +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, got a great club in his right hand, which +he found lying at his feet, though little he recked who had carried it +to the council. He defended his body stoutly with this mighty staff, +striking and smiting down, till he had slain fully sixty and ten of +the pagan. A mighty champion was he, and of rich worth. He clave a +path through the press, without taking a wound; for all the knives +which were flung at his body he escaped with not a hurt to the flesh. +He won at the end to his horse, which was right strong and speedy, +and riding swiftly to Gloucester, shut himself fast in his city and +victualled tower. As to Vortigern, the Saxons would have slain him +with his barons, but Hengist stood between them, crying, "Harm not the +king, for nothing but good have I received at his hand, and much has +he toiled for my profit. How then shall I suffer my daughter's lord to +die such a death! Rather let us hold him to ransom, and take freely +of his cities and walled places, in return for his life." They, +therefore, slew not the king but binding him fast with fetters of +iron, kept him close in bonds for so long a space that he swore to +render them all that they would. In quittance of his ransom, and to +come forth from prison, Vortigern granted Sussex, Essex, and Middlesex +to Hengist as his fief, besides that earldom of Kent which he had held +before. To remember this foul treason, knives were long hight seax +amongst the English, but names alter as the world moves on, and men +recall no more the meaning of the past. In the beginning the word was +used to rebuke the treason that was done. When the story of the seax +was forgotten, men spoke again of their knives, and gave no further +thought to the shame of their forefathers. + +When Vortigern was a naked man he fled beyond the Severn, and passing +deeply into Wales, dwelt there, taking counsel with his friends. He +caused his wise clerks and magicians to be summoned, inquiring of them +in what fashion he should maintain his right, and what they would +counsel him to do, were he assailed of a mightier than himself. This +he asked because he feared greatly the two brothers of Constant, who +were yet living, and knew not how to keep him from their hate. These +sorcerers bade him to build so mighty a tower, that never at any time +might it be taken by force, nor beaten down by any engine devised by +the wit of man. When this strong castle was furnished and made ready, +he should shut himself within, and abide secure from the malice of his +foes. This pleased the king, who searched throughout the land to make +choice of a fitting place to raise so strong a keep. Such a place he +met, altogether according to his mind, on mount Erir. [1] He brought +masons together, the best that might be found, and set them to the +work as quickly as they were able. The masons began to build, getting +stones ready and making them fast with mortar, but all the work that +the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground by night. +They laboured therefore with the more diligence, but the higher they +builded the tower the greater was its fall, to the very foundations +they had digged. So it chanced for many days, till not one stone +remained upon another. When the king knew this marvel, and perceived +that his travail came in nowise to an end, he took counsel of his +wizards. "By my faith," said he, "I wonder sorely what may be amiss +with my tower, since the earth will not endure it. Search and inquire +the reason of this thing; and how these foundations shall be made +sure." + +[Footnote 1: Snowdon] + +Then the magicians by their lots and divinations--though, for that +matter, it may well be that they lied--devised that the king should +seek a man born of no earthly father, him he must slay, and taking of +his blood, slake and temper therewith the mortar of the work, so that +the foundations should be made fast, and the castle might endure. +Thereat the king sent messengers throughout all the land to seek such +a man, and commanded that immediately he were found he should be +carried to the court. These messengers went two by two upon their +errand. They passed to and fro about the realm, and entered into +divers countries, inquiring of all people, at the king's bidding, +where he might be hid. But for all their labour and diligence they +learned nothing. Now it came to pass that two of the king's embassy +went their road until they came together to the town called +Caermerdin.[1] A great company of youths and children was gathered +before the gate at the entrance to the city, and the messengers stayed +awhile to mark their play. Amongst those who disported themselves at +this gate were two varlets, named Merlin and Dinabus. Presently the +two youths began to chide and jangle, and were passing wroth the one +with the other. One of the twain spake ill of his fellow, reproaching +him because of his birth. "Hold thy peace, Merlin", said Dinabus, "it +becomes you not to strive with me, whose race is so much better than +thine own. Be heedful, for I know of such an evil matter that it were +well not to tempt me beyond my power. Speak then no more against my +lineage. For my part I am come from earls and kings, but if you set +out to tell over your kindred, you could not name even your father's +name. You know it not, nor shall learn it ever; for how may a son tell +his father's name when a father he has never had?" Now the king's +messengers, who were in quest of such a sireless man, when they heard +this bitter jibe of the varlet, asked of those around concerning the +youth who had never seen his sire. The neighbours answered that the +lad's father was known of none, yea, that the very mother who had +borne him in her womb, knew nothing of the husbandman who had sown the +seed. But if his father was hidden, all the world knew of the mother +who nourished him. Daughter was she to that King of Dimetia, now gone +from Wales. Nun she was of her state, a gentlewoman of right holy +life, and lodged in a convent within the walls of their city. + +[Footnote 1: Carmarthen.] + +When the messengers heard these tidings, they went swiftly to the +warden of the city, adjuring him, by the king's will, to lay hands +upon Merlin--that sireless man--and carry him straightway to the king, +together with the lady, his mother. The warden durst not deny their +commandment. He delivered Merlin and his mother to the embassy, who +led them before the king. The king welcomed the twain with much +honour, and spoke kindly unto them. "Lady," said he, "answer me truly. +By none, save by thee, can I know who was the father of Merlin, thy +son." The nun bowed her head. After she had pondered for a little, she +made reply, "So God have me in His keeping, as I know nothing and saw +nothing of him who begat this varlet upon me. Never have I heard, +never may I tell, if he were verily man by whom I had my child. But +this I know for truth, and to its truth will I pledge my oath. At that +time when I was a maid growing tall, I cannot tell whether it was a +ghostly man, but something came often to my chamber, and kissed me +very close. By night and by day this presence sought me, ever alone, +but always in such fashion as not to be perceived. As a man he spake +soft words in my ear; as a man he dealt with me. But though many a +time he had speech with me, ever he kept himself close. He came so +often about me, so long were his kisses on my mouth, that he had his +way, and I conceived, but whether he were man in no wise have I known. +I had of him this varlet; but more I know not, and more I will not +say." + +Now the king had a certain clerk, named Malgantius, whom he held for +very wise. He sent for this learned clerk, and told over to him the +whole matter, that he might be assured whether things could chance as +this woman had said. The clerk made answer, "In books I have found it +written that a certain order of spirit ranges between the moon and our +earth. If you seek to learn of the nature of these spirits, they are +of the nature partly of man, and partly of a loftier being. These +demons are called incubi. Their home and region is the air, but this +warm world is their resort. It is not in their power to deal man great +evil, and they can do little more mischief than to trick and to annoy. +However they know well how to clothe themselves in human shape, for +their nature lends itself marvellously to the deceit. Many a maid has +been their sport, and in this guise has been deceived. It may well be +that Merlin was begotten by such a being, and perchance is of a demon +born." "King." cried Merlin suddenly, "you brought me here; tell me +now what you would, and wherefore you have sent after me." "Merlin," +answered the king, "know it you shall. Hearken diligently, so shall +you learn of all. I commenced to build a high tower, and got mortar +together, and masons to set one stone upon another, but all the work +that the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground, and was +swallowed up of night. I know not if you have heard tell thereof. +The day has not so many hours to labour, as the night has hours to +destroy; and greatly has my substance been wasted in this toil. My +councillors tell me that my tower may never stand tall, unless its +stones and lime are slaked with thy blood--the blood of a fatherless +man." "Lord God," cried Merlin, "believe not that my blood will bind +your tower together. I hold them for liars who told over such a gab. +Bring these prophets before me who prophesy so glibly of my blood, and +liars as they are, liars I will prove them to be." The king sent for +his sorcerers, and set them before Merlin. After Merlin had regarded +them curiously, one by one, "Masters," said he, "and mighty magicians, +tell us now I pray you the reason why the king's work faileth and may +not stand. If you may not show me why the tower is swallowed up of +the earth, how can your divinations declare to you that my blood will +cause it to endure! Make plain to us now what troubles the foundation, +so that the walls tumble so often to the ground, and when you have +certified this thing, show to us clearly how the mischief may be +cured. If you are not willing to declare who labours secretly to make +the house to fall, how shall it be credited that my blood will bind +the stones fast? Point out this troubler to the king, and then cry the +remedy." But all the wizards kept silence, and answered Merlin never a +word. When Merlin saw them abashed before him, he spake to the king, +and said, "Sire, give ear to me. Beneath the foundations of your tower +there lies a pool, both great and deep, and by reason of this water +your building faileth to the ground. Right easily may this be assured. +Bid your men to delve. You will then see why the tower was swallowed +up, and the truth will be proven." The king bade therefore that the +earth should be digged, and the pool was revealed as Merlin had +established. "Masters and great magicians," cried Merlin, "hearken +once more. You who sought to mix your mortar with my blood, say what +is hidden in this pond." But all the enchanters kept silence and were +dumb; yea, for good or ill they made answer never a word. Merlin +turned him again to the king. He beckoned with his hand to the king's +servants, saying, "Dig now trenches, to draw off the water from this +pool. At the bottom shall be found two hollow stones, and two dragons +sleeping in the stones. One of these dragons is white, and his fellow, +crimson as blood." Thereat the king marvelled greatly, and the +trenches were digged as Merlin had commanded. When the water was +carried about the fields, and stood low in the pool, two dragons got +them on their feet, and envisaged each the other very proudly. Passing +eager was their contention, and they strove together right grievously. +Well might be seen the foam within their mouths, and the flames that +issued from their jaws. The king seated himself upon the bank of the +pool. He prayed Merlin to show him the interpretation of these dragons +which met together so furiously. Merlin told the king what these +matters betokened, as you have oft-times heard. These dragons +prophesied of kings to come, who would yet hold the realm in their +charge. I say no more, for I fear to translate Merlin's Prophecies, +when I cannot be sure of the interpretation thereof. It is good to +keep my lips from speech, since the issue of events may make my gloss +a lie. + +The king praised Merlin greatly, and esteemed him for a true prophet. +He inquired of the youth in what hour he should die, and by what means +he would come to his end. For this king was marvellously fearful of +death. "Beware," said Merlin, "beware of the sons of Constantine. By +them you shall taste of death. Already have they left Armorica with +high hearts, and even now are upon the sea. Be certified of this, that +their fleet of fourteen galleys comes to land on the morrow. Much evil +hast thou done to them; much evil will they do to thee, and avenge +them of their wrongs. In an ill day you betrayed their brother to his +death: in an ill day you set the crown on your head; in an ill day, to +your own most bitter loss, you entreated this Saxon heathenry to your +help. You are as a man against whom arrows are loosed, both this side +and that; and I know not whether your shield should be arrayed to left +or to right. On the one road the Saxon host draws near, eager to do +you a mischief. Along this other comes the rightful heirs, to pluck +the realm from your hand, the crown from your head, and to exact the +price of their brother's blood. If you yet may flee, escape quickly; +for the brethren approach, and that speedily. Of these brethren +Aurelius shall first be king, but shall also die the first, by poison. +Uther Pendragon, his brother, will sit within his chair. He will hold +the realm in peace; but he, too, will fall sick before his time, and +die, by reason of the brewage of his friends. Then Arthur of Cornwall, +his son, like to a boar grim in battle, will utterly devour these +false traitors, and destroy thy kinsfolk from the land. A right +valiant knight, and a courteous, shall he be, and all his enemies +shall he set beneath his feet." When Merlin had come to an end, he +departed from Vortigern, and went his way. On the morrow, with no +longer tarrying, the navy of the brethren arrived at Totnes, and +therein a great host of knights in their harness. The Britons +assembled themselves together, and joined them to the host. They came +forth from the lurking places whence they had fled, at that time +Hengist harried them by mount and by dale, after he had slain the +lords by felony, and destroyed their castles. At a great council the +Britons did homage to Aurelius as their king. These tidings came to +Vortigern in Wales, and he prepared to set his house in order. He +fled to a strong castle, called Generth,[1] and there made him ready, +taking with him the most valiant of his men. This tower was on the +banks of a fair running water, called by the folk of that country the +Wye. It stood high upon Mount Droac, in the land of Hergin, as testify +the people of these parts. Vortigern furnished his fortress with a +plenteous store of arms and engines, of food and sergeants. To keep +himself the surer from his foes, he garnished the tower with all that +wit might devise. The lords of the country, having joined themselves +to the brethren, sought so diligently for King Vortigern, that in the +end they arrayed them before the castle where he lay. They cast stones +from their engines, and were ever about the gates, paining themselves +grievously to take it, for they hated him beyond measure. Much cause +had the brethren to nurse so bitter a grudge against Vortigern, +since by guile and treason he had slain their brother Constant, and +Constantine, their father, before him, as all men held to be the +truth. Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, had done homage to Aurelius, and was +with him in the host. Much he knew of this land of Wales. "Eldof," +said Aurelius, "hast thou forgotten my father who cherished thee, and +gave his faith to thee, and dost thou remember no more my brother who +held thee so dear! These both honoured thee right willingly, with love +and with reverence in their day. They were foully slain by the device +of this tyrant, this cozener with oaths, this paymaster with a knife. +We who are yet alive must bestir ourselves that we perish not by the +same means. Let us think upon the dead, and take bitter vengeance on +Vortigern for these wrongs." + +[Footnote 1: In Hereford.] + +Aurelius and Eldof laced them in their mail. They made the wild fire +ready and caused men to cast timber in the moat, till the deep fosse +was filled. When this was done they flung wild fire from their engines +upon the castle. The fire laid hold upon the castle, it spread to the +tower, and to all the houses that stood about. The castle flared like +a torch; the flames leaped in the sky; the houses tumbled to the +ground. In that place the king was burned with fire, and all his +household who fled to Generth with him. Neither dame nor damsel got +her living from that pyre; and on the same day perished the king's +wife, who was so marvellously fair. + +When the new king had brought the realm into subjection to himself, +he devised to seek the pagans, that he might deliver the country from +their hand. Right fearful was Hengist to hear these tidings, and at +once set forth for Scotland. He abandoned all his fiefs, and fled +straightway beyond the Humber. He purposed to crave such aid and +succour from the Scots as would help him in his need, and made haste +to get him to Scotland with all the speed he might. The king pursued +him swiftly with his host, making forced marches day by day. On the +road his power was increased by a great company of Britons; till with +him was a multitude which no man could number, being innumerable as +the sand of the sea. The king looked upon his realm, and saw it gnawed +to the bone. None drave the plough, nor cast seed in the furrow. The +castles and the walled cities were breached and ruined. He marked the +villages blackened by fire, and the houses of God stripped bare as a +peasant's hovel. The heathen pilled and wasted, but gathered neither +corn into barns nor cattle within the byre. He testified that this +should not endure, so he returned in safety from the battle. + +When Hengist knew that the king followed closely after, and that fight +he must, he strove to put heart and hardihood into the breasts of +his fellows. "Comrades," said he, "be not dismayed by reason of this +rabble. We know well enough what these Britons are, since they never +stand before us. If but a handful go against them, not one will stay +to fight. Many a time, with but a mean company, have I vanquished and +destroyed them. If they be in number as the sand, the more honour is +yours. A multitude such as this counts nothing. A host like theirs, +led by a weak and foolish captain, what is it worth? These are a +trembling folk, without a chief, and of them we should have little +fear. The shepherd of these sheep is a child, who is yet too young to +bear a spear, or carry harness on his back. For our part we are heroes +and champions, proven in many a stour, fighting for our very lives, +since for us there will be no other ransom. Now be confident and bold. +Let our bodies serve us for castles and for wall. Be brave and strong, +I say, for otherwise we are but dead men." When Hengist ceased +heartening his comrades, the knights arrayed them for the battle. They +moved against the Britons as speedily as their horses might bear +them, for they hoped to find them naked and unready, and to take them +unawares. The Britons so misdoubted their adversary that they watched +in their armour, both day and night. As soon as the king knew that the +heathen advanced to give battle, he ordered his host in a plain that +seemed good for his purpose. He supported the spearmen with three +thousand horsemen, clothed in mail, his own trusty vassals, who had +come with him from Armorica. The Welsh he made into two companies. The +one part he set upon the hills, so that the Paynim might not climb +there if they would. The other part he hid within the wood, to stay +them if they sought shelter in the forest. For the rest he put every +man into the plain, that it should be the more strongly held +and defended. Now when he had arrayed the battle, and given his +commandment to the captains, the king placed himself amidst the chosen +men of his own household, those whom he deemed the most loyal to his +person. He spoke apart with his friends concerning the battle. Earl +Eldof was near the king's side that day, together with many another +baron. "God," said Eldof, "what joy will be mine that hour when +Hengist and I meet face to face, with none between us. I cannot forget +the kalends of May, and that murder at Ambresbury, when he slew all +the flower of our chivalry. Right narrowly escaped I from his net" + +Whilst Eldof spake these reproachful words, making complaint of +Hengist, the Saxons drew near the field, and sought to take it. With +no long tarrying the battle was joined. What time the two hosts looked +on each other they hastened together. There you might see the vassals +striving, hand to hand. They fought body to body, those assailing, +these defending. Mighty blows with the sword were given and received +among them. Many a champion lay stark upon the ground, and the living +passed over the bodies of the dead. Shields were hewn asunder; spears +snapped like reeds; the wounded were trampled beneath men's feet, and +many a warrior died that day. The Christians called on Christ, and +the heathen answered, clamouring on their gods of clay. Like men the +pagans bore them, but the Christians like heroes. The companies of +the heathen flinched, giving ground on the field. The Britons +pressed about them, redoubling their blows, so that the Saxons were +discomfited, and turning their backs, strove no more. + +When Hengist saw his champions turn their backs, like children, to +the stroke, he fled to the town called Caerconan,[1] where he was +persuaded of shelter. The king followed fast after him, crying to the +hunters, "On, on." Hengist heard the noise of the pursuit, and had no +care to be trapped in his castle. Better to fight in the open at the +risk of his body, than to starve behind walls, with none to bring +succour. Hengist checked the rout, and rallying the host, set it again +in order of battle. The combat was passing sharp and grievous, for the +pagans advanced once more in rank and by companies. Each heartened +his fellow, so that great damage and loss were sustained by the +Christians. The host fell in disarray, and began to give back before +the onset of the foe. All would have been lost were it not for those +three thousand horsemen, who rode upon the Saxon in one mighty troop, +bringing succour and help to the footmen when they were overborne. The +pagans fought starkly and grimly. Well they knew not one would escape +with his life, if they did not keep them in this peril. In the press, +Eldof the Earl lighted on Hengist. Hatred gave him eyes, and he knew +him again because of the malice he owed him. He deemed that the time +and the means were come to satisfy his lust. Eldof ran in upon his +foe, striking him mightily with his sword. Hengist was a stout +champion, or he had fallen at the stroke. The two closed together, +with naked brands and lifted shields, smiting and guarding. Men forgot +to fight, and stared upon them, watching the great blows fall and the +gleaming swords. + +Whilst the heroes strove, Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, came hastening +like a paladin to the battle. Eldof saw him come, and being assured of +the end, arrayed himself against his adversary yet more proudly. He +sprang upon Hengist, and seizing him by the nasal of his helmet, +dragged him, with fallen head, amongst the Britons. "Knights," he +cried, "thanks be to God Who has given me my desire. He is vanquished +and taken who has caused such trouble to the land." + +[Footnote 1: Conisburg in Yorkshire.] + +Eldof showed the captive to his company, who demanded that he should +be slain with the sword. "A short shrift for the mad dog," they +clamoured, "who knows neither mercy nor pity. This is the source of +the war. This is the shedder of blood. Smite the head from his body, +and the victory is in your hands." Eldof made answer that Hengist +should have the law, good law and just. He bound him fast in fetters, +and delivered him to King Aurelius. The king chained him, hands and +feet, and set him in a strong prison to await judgment. + +Now Octa, Hengist's son, and Ebissa, his cousin, who were in the +field, hardly escaped from the battle, and fleeing, entered into York. +They strengthened the city, and made all ready, till men might come to +their aid. As for the others they hid in divers places, in the woods +and valleys, in caves and in the hills. But the power of the paynim +was broken, for many were dead, and of the living most were taken, and +in bonds, or held as thralls. The king made merry over his victory, +and gave the glory to God. He abode three full days at Caerconan to +heal the wounded of their hurt, and to give a little leisure to the +weary. At that place he called a council of his captains, to know what +it were good to do with the traitor Hengist; whether he should be +held in prison or slain outright. Eldad got him to his feet. A right +learned clerk was he, a bishop of his orders, and brother by blood to +that Earl Eldof, of whom you have heard. "My counsel to the king," +said the bishop, "is to do to the traitor Hengist--our earthly +adversary--that which holy Samuel did in old days to King Agag, when +he was made captive. Agag was a prince, passing proud, the right +glorious king of the people of Amalek. He set a quarrel upon the Jews, +that he might work them a mischief, since he sought to do them evil. +He seized their lands; he burned their goods with fire, and very often +he slew them for his pleasure. Then on a day this King Agag was taken +at a battle, the more to his sorrow. He was led before Saul, whom +these Jews so greatly desired for their king. Whilst Saul was +considering what it were well should be done with Agag, who was +delivered into his hand, Samuel stood upon his feet. This Samuel was a +holy prophet of Israel; a saint of God of the utmost sanctity; never +has there lived his like amongst the sons of men. This holy Samuel +seized on Agag, the proud king. He hewed him in many pieces, dividing +him limb from limb, and his members he sent throughout the realm. +Hearken and learn what Samuel said whilst he was hewing Agag small. +'Agag, many a man hast thou tormented for thy pleasure; many a fair +youth hast thou spoiled and slain. Thou hast drawn out many a soul +from its body, and made many a mother troubled for her son. Many a +babe hast thou rendered fatherless; but, O Agag, things evil and good +come to the like end. Now your mother presently will I make barren, +and from thy body shall the soul of thee be wrung.' Mete therefore to +your captive, O king, the measure which Samuel counted out to his." +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, was moved by the example furnished by the +bishop. He rose in the council, and laying hands on Hengist led him +without the city. There Eldof struck the head from Hengist with his +own sword. The king caused the head to be set again on the shoulders, +and gave Hengist's body seemly burial, according to the rite and +fashion of those who observe the law of the paynim. + +The king made no long stay at Caerconan, but followed eagerly after +his enemies. He came to York with a great host, and sat himself down +before the city. Octa, the son of Hengist, was within, and some of his +kindred with him. When Octa was persuaded that none might win to his +aid, he considered within himself whether he should render him to the +king's mercy. If he took his fate in his hand, and humbly besought +pity of the king, so mercy were given him all would be well, but if +his prayer was scorned, then he would defend himself to the death. +Octa did as he devised, and as his kinsfolk approved. He came forth +from the gate of the city with a company of all his barons. Octa +wore a chain of iron upon his wrists, and walking at the head of his +companions, came first to the king. "Sire," said he, "I beseech you +for mercy and pity. The gods in whom we put our trust have failed us +at need. Your gods are mightier than they. They have wrought wonders, +and set strength upon you, since we are stricken to the dust. I am +vanquished, and own myself thy servant. Behold the chain of thy +bondman! Do with me now according to thy will, to me, and these my +men. Life and limb, yea, all that we have, are at thy pleasure. But +if it seem good to the king to keep us about his person, we will +toil early and late in his service. We will serve him loyally in his +quarrels, and become his liege men." + +The king was a devout man, very piteous of heart. He looked around +him to learn what his barons thought of this matter and what would be +their counsel. Eldad, the fair bishop, spake first as a wise elder. +"Good it is, and was, and ever shall be, to show mercy on him who +requires mercy to be shown. He who forgives not another his trespass, +how may he hope that God will pardon him his sin? These cry loudly +upon thee for mercy, mercy they implore, and mercy they must have. +Britain is a great realm, long and wide, and in many a place is +inhabited of none, save the beast. Grant them enough thereof that they +may dig and plant, and live of the increase. But take first of them +such hostages, that they will serve thee loyally, and loyally content +them in their lot. We learn from Holy Writ that the children of Gibeon +sought life and league from the Jew when the Israelites held them in +their power. Peace they prayed, peace they received; and life and +covenant were given in answer to their cry. A Christian man should not +be harder than the Jew proved himself to be in his hour. Mercy they +crave, mercy they should have; so let not death deceive them in their +hope." + +The king granted land to the Saxons, according to the counsel of Eldad +The lot was appointed them in Scotland, and they set out speedily +to the place where they must dwell. But first they gave to the king +hostages of the children of their proudest blood and race. After the +king was fifteen days in the city, he sent messages commanding his +people to attend him in council. Baron and clerk, abbot and bishop, he +summoned to his court. At this council the rights of the heir and the +privileges of the orders were re-affirmed. He bade and assured that +the houses of religion, destroyed by the Romans, should be rebuilt. He +dismissed his soldiers to their homes, making viscounts and provosts +to keep his fiefs in peace, and to ensure his revenues and rent. He +sought masons and carpenters and built anew the churches. Such chapels +in his realm as were hurt or damaged in the wars, the king restored to +their former estate, for the fairer service and honour of God. After +the council was done the king set forth towards London, where his +presence was greatly desired of the citizens. He found the city but +the shadow of its former splendour, for the streets were emptied of +people, and houses and churches were alike fallen or decayed. Right +grievously the king lamented the damage done to his fair city. He +founded anew the churches, and bade clerks and burgesses to attend the +service of God, as was of wont and right. From thence the king went to +Ambresbury, that he might kneel beside the graves of those who were +foully slain at Hengist's love-day, near the abbey. He called together +a great company of masons, carpenters, and cunning artificers; for it +was in his mind to raise to their worship a monument of stone that +would endure to the world's end. + +Thereat spake to the king a certain wise man, Tremonius, Archbishop of +Caerleon, praying him to send for Merlin, and build according to his +bidding, since there was none so skilled in counsel or labour, more +truthful of word or apter in divination. The king desired greatly to +behold Merlin, and to judge by hearing of his worth. At that time +Merlin abode near the Well of Labenes. This fountain springs in a +hidden place, very deep in Wales, but I know not where, since I have +never been. Merlin came straightway to the king, even as he was +bidden. The king welcomed him with marvellous joy, honouring him right +gladly. He cherished him richly, and was ever about him with prayers +and entreaties that he would show him somewhat of things that were yet +to come, for these he was on itch to hear. "Sire," replied Merlin, +"this I may not do. I dare not open my lips to speak of such awful +matters, which are too high for me, save only when needs speak I must. +Should my tongue be unloosed by greed or lightness, should I be puffed +up by vanity, then my familiar spirit--that being by whom I know +that which I know--would withdraw his inspiration from my breath. My +knowledge would depart from me, and the words I speak would be no +weightier than the idle words on every gossip's lips. Let the future +take care of itself. Consider rather the concerns of to-day. If thou +art desirous to make a fair work and a lasting, of which men will brag +till the end of time, cause to be brought hither the carol that a +giant wrought in Ireland. This giant laboured greatly in the building +of a mighty circle of stones. He shaped his carol, setting the stones +one upon another. The stones are so many, and of such a kind; they are +so huge and so weighty; that the strength of man--as men are in these +times--might not endure to lift the least of his pebbles" The king +laughed loudly. "Merlin," said he, "since these stones are of such +heaviness that it passes the strength of the strong to move them, who +shall carry them to my masons? Have we not in this realm stones mighty +enough, and to spare?" "King," answered Merlin, "knowest thou not that +wit is more than strength! Muscle is good, but craft is better. Skill +devises means when strength fails. Cunning and engines bring many +matters to a good end, that strength would not venture even to begin. +Engines can move these stones, and by the use of engines we may make +them our own. King, these stones were carried from Africa: there they +were first shapen. The giant who ravished them to Ireland, set up his +carol to his own content. Very serviceable were these stones, and +right profitable to the sick. It was the custom of the surgeons of +that land to wash these stones with fair water. This water they would +make hot in baths, and set therein those who had suffered hurt, or +were grieved by any infirmity. They washed in this water, and were +healed of their sickness. However sore their wound, however grievous +their trouble, other medicine needed they none." When the king and his +Britons heard of the virtue residing in the stones, they all desired +them very greatly. Not one but would gladly have ventured on the quest +for these stones, of which Merlin told such marvels. They devised +therefore to pass the sea with fifteen thousand men to make war upon +the Irish, and to ease them of the stones. Uther, at his own desire, +was chosen as their captain. Merlin also went with them to furnish +engines for their toil. So Uther and his company crossed to Ireland on +such quest. When the King of Ireland, that men called Guillomer, +heard tell that strangers were arrayed in his land, he assembled his +household and the Irish, and menaced them proudly, seeking to chase +them from the realm. After they had learned the reason of this +quarrel, and that for stones the Britons were come, they mocked them +loudly, making them their mirth and their song. For mad it seemed in +the eyes of these Irish that men should pain themselves so grievously +by land and sea to gain a treasure of naked stones. "Never a stone," +said these, "shall they have; not one shall they carry with them to +their homes." Very lightly you may scorn your enemy in your heart, but +at your peril you seek to do him mischief with your hands. The Irish +mocked and menaced the stranger, and sought him until they found. The +combat was joined directly the hosts met together, but the Irish +were men of peace, unclad in mail, and not accustomed to battle. The +Britons were their jest, but they were also their victors. The King of +Ireland fled from the battle discomfited. He went from town to town, +with no long tarrying in any place, so that the Britons might not make +him their captive. + +After the Britons had laid aside their armour, and taken rest from the +battle, they were brought by Merlin, their companion, into a mountain +where the carol was builded. This high place was called Hilomar,[1] by +the folk whom they had vanquished, and the carol was upon the summit +of the mount. The Britons stared upon the stones. + +[Footnote 1: Kildare.] + +They went about them, saying each to his fellow that none had seen so +mighty a building. They marvelled how these stones were set one upon +another, and how they should be got across the sea. "Comrades," said +Merlin, "you are strong champions. Strive now if of your strength you +may move these stones, and carry them from their seat." The young men +therefore encompassed the stones before, behind, and on every side, +but heave and tug as mightily as they could, the stones for all their +travail would not budge one single inch. "Bestir yourselves," cried +Merlin, "on, friends, on. But if by strength you can do no more, then +you shall see that skill and knowledge are of richer worth than thews +and fleshly force." Having spoken these words Merlin kept silence, and +entered within the carol. He walked warily around the stones. His lips +moved without stay, as those of a man about his orisons, though I +cannot tell whether or no he prayed. At length Merlin beckoned to the +Britons. "Enter boldly," cried he; "there is nought to harm. Now you +may lift these pebbles from their seat, and bear and charge them on +your ships." So at his word and bidding they wrought as Merlin showed +them. They took the stones and carrying them to the ships, bestowed +them thereon. Afterwards the mariners hoisted their sails, and set out +for Britain. When they were safely come to their own land, they bore +the stones to Ambresbury, and placed them on the mountain near by +the burying ground. The king rode to Ambresbury to Keep the Feast of +Pentecost. Bishops, abbots, and barons, he had bidden them all to +observe the Feast. A great company of folk, both rich and poor, +gathered themselves together, and at this fair festival the king set +the crown upon his head. Three days they observed the rite, and made +merry. On the fourth--because of his exceeding reverence--he gave +pastoral crosses to two prelates. Holy Dubricius became Bishop of +Caerleon, and York he bestowed upon holy Sampson. Both these fair +prelates were great churchmen, and priests of devout and spotless +life. At the same time Merlin ranged the stones in due order, building +them side by side. This circle of stones was called by the Britons in +their own tongue The Giant's Carol, but in English it bears the name +of Stonehenge. + +When the rich feast was come to its appointed end, the court departed, +each man unto his own place. Now Passent, that was a son of Vortigern, +had fled from Wales and Britain, for fear of Aurelius and his brother +Uther. He sought refuge in Germany, and there purchased to himself +ships, and men who would serve him for guerdon; but of these he had no +great company. This Passent arrived in the north country and ravaged +it, burning the towns and spoiling the land. He dared make no long +stay, for the king hastened to the north to give him battle, and this +he might not endure. Passent took again to his ships, and fearing to +return whence he came, fared so far with sail and oar that in the end +he cast anchor off the coast of Ireland. Passent sought speech of the +king of that realm. He told over his birth and state, and showed him +his bitter need. Passent prayed the king so urgently; the twain took +such deep counsel together; that it was devised between them to pass +the sea, and offer battle to the Britons. This covenant was made of +Passent that he might avenge his father's death, and dispute his +heritage with Aurelius; but of the King of Ireland to avenge him upon +the Britons, who had vanquished him in battle, robbed his folk, and +taken to themselves the carol with a strong hand. Thus they plighted +faith to satisfy each the other for these wrongs. Guillomer and +Passent made ready as many soldiers as they might. They ordained their +ships, and with a fair wind crossed the sea, and came safely to Wales. +The host entered in Menevia, that city so praised of the Welsh, and +now called of men, Saint David. It befell that King Aurelius lay sick +at Winchester. His infirmity was sore upon him, for the trouble was +long and grievous, and the surgeons knew not whether he would mend or +die. When Aurelius learned that Passent and the King of Ireland were +come together in Wales to make sorrow in the land, he sent for Uther +his brother. He grieved beyond measure that he could not get him from +his bed. He charged Uther to hasten into Wales, and drive them from +the realm. Uther sent messages to the barons, and summoned the knights +to the war. He set out from Winchester; but partly by reason of the +long journey, and partly to increase the number of his power, he +tarried for a great while upon the road. Very long it was before he +arrived in Wales. Whilst he dallied in this fashion a certain pagan +named Appas, a man born in Saxony, craved speech of Passent. This +Appas was meetly schooled, and apt in parts. He spoke to many people +in their own tongues; he was wise in all that concerned medicine and +surgery; but he was felon and kept bad faith. "Passent," said Appas +privily, "thou hast hated this King Aurelius for long. What should +be mine if I were to slay him?" "Ease and riches I will give thee," +answered Passent. "Never a day but I will stand thy friend, so only +thy word be fulfilled, and the king taste death at thy hand" "May your +word," said Appas, "be true as mine" So the covenant was ordained +between them that Passent should count out one thousand livres, what +time Appas had done to death the king Appas was very cunning, and +right greedy and covetous of wealth. He put upon him a habit of +religion; he shaved his crown, and caused his hair to be polled close +to his head. Like a monk he was shaven, like a monk he seemed; in gown +and hood he went vested as a monk. In this guise and semblance Appas +took his way to the royal court. Being a liar he gave out that he was +a good physician, and thus won to the king's bed. Him he promised to +make whole very speedily, if he would trust himself to his hand. He +counted the pulse, and sought for the trouble "Well I know," said he, +"the cause of this evil. I have such a medicine as will soon give +you ease." Who could misdoubt so sweet a physician? The gentle king +desired greatly to be healed of his hurt, as would any of you in +a like case. Having no thought of treason, he put himself in this +traitor's care. Appas made ready a potion, laced with venom, and gave +the king to drink. He then wrapped the king warmly in a rich coverlet, +and bade him lie in peace and sleep. After the king was heated, and +the poison had lain hold upon his body, ah, God, the anguish, there +was nothing for him but death. When Aurelius knew that he must die, he +took oath of his household, that so truly as they loved him they would +carry his body to Stonehenge, and bury him within the stones that +he had builded. Thus died the king and was buried; but the traitor, +Appas, escaped and fled with his life. + +Uther entered in Wales with his host, and found the folk of Ireland +abiding yet at Menevia. At that time appeared a star, which was seen +of many. This star was hight Comet, and according to the clerks it +signified death and the passing of kings. This star shone marvellously +clear, and cast a beam that was brighter than the sun. At the end +of this beam was a dragon's head, and from the dragon's mighty jaws +issued two rays. One of these rays stretched over France, and went +from France even to the Mount of St. Bernard. The other ray went +towards Ireland, and divided into seven beams. Each of these seven +beams shone bright and clear, alike on water and on land. By reason of +this star which was seen of all, the peoples were sorely moved. +Uther marvelled greatly what it might mean, and marvellously was he +troubled. He prayed Merlin that he would read him the sign, and the +interpretation thereof. Merlin answered not a word. Sorrow had him by +the heart, and he wept bitterly. When speech returned to his mouth he +lamented with many words and sighed often. "Ah, God," said he, "sorrow +and trouble and grief have fallen on Britain this day. The realm has +lost its great captain. The king is dead--that stout champion who has +delivered the land from such evil and shame, and plucked his spoil +from the pagan." + +When Uther was certified that his brother and good lord had finished +his course, he was right heavy, and much was he dismayed. But Merlin +comforted him as he might. "Uther," said he, "be not altogether cast +down, since from Death there is no return. Bring to an end this +business of the war. Give battle to thine enemies, for to-morrow shall +see Passent and the King of Ireland vanquished. Fight boldly on the +morrow; so shalt thou conquer, and be crowned King of Britain. Hearken +to the interpretation of the sign. The dragon at the end of the beam +betokens thee thyself, who art a stout and hardy knight. One of the +two rays signifies a son born of thy body, who shall become a puissant +prince, conquering France, and beyond the borders of France. The other +ray which parted from its fellow, betokens a daughter who shall be +Queen of Scotland. Many a fair heir shall she give to her lord, and +mighty champions shall they prove both on land and sea." Uther lent +his ear to the counsel of Merlin. He caused his folk to rest them the +night, and in the morning arm them for the battle. He thought to take +the city by assault, but when the Irish saw him approach their walls, +they put on their harness, and setting them in companies, issued forth +to fight without the gates. The Irish fought valiantly, but right soon +were discomfited, for on that day the Britons slew Passent, and the +King of Ireland, his friend. Those who escaped from the field fled +towards the sea, but Uther following swiftly after, harried them to +the death. Such as reached the water climbed wildly upon their ships, +and with sail and oar set out to sea, that Uther should work them no +more mischief. + +When Uther had brought his business to a good end, he took his way +towards Winchester, and the flower of his chivalry with him. On his +road a messenger met him who told him of a surety the king was dead, +and as to the manner of his death. He related how the bishops had laid +Aurelius to rest with great pomp in the Giant's Carol, even as he had +required of his sergeants and barons whilst he was yet alive. At these +tidings Uther pressed on to Winchester, sparing not the spur. The +people came before him on his passage clamouring shrilly. "Uther, +sire," cried the common folk, "since he is dead who maintained the +poor, and did nought but good to his people, we have none to defend +us, save thee. Take then the crown, as thine by heritage and right. +Fair sire, we thy poor commons pray this thing, who desire nothing but +thy worship and thy gain." Uther rejoiced greatly at their words. He +saw clearly where his profit lay, and that no advancement is possible +to a king. He hastened, therefore, to do as the folk entreated. He +took the crown, and becoming king, loved well his people, and guarded +the honour of the realm. In remembrance of the dragon, and of the +hardy knight who should be king and a father of kings, which it +betokened, Uther wrought two golden dragons, by the counsel of his +barons. One of these dragons he caused to be borne before him when he +went into battle. The other he sent to Winchester to be set up in the +church of the bishop. For this reason he was ever after called Uther +Pendragon. Pendragon was his name in the Britons' tongue, but Dragon's +head in that of Rome. + +Uther was a mighty lord, who had confidence in his power. His sacring +at Winchester he held for proof and token that he was a king who would +beget puissant princes, by whom great deeds should be done. This faith +in his destiny gave him increase of strength. He determined in his +heart that he would accomplish all that was foretold of him, and that +through good report and ill, never would he turn back. He knew and was +persuaded that whatever the task he took in hand, he must in fulness +of time bring it to a good end. Merlin was a true prophet; and since +no lying spirit was in his mouth, it was impossible to doubt that very +swiftly all these things would come to pass. + +Now Octa, the son of Hengist, had received from Aurelius broad lands +and fair manors for him and his companions. When Octa knew that the +mighty captain was dead, he kept neither loyalty nor faith with a king +whom he despised in his heart. He called together a great company of +his friends and kinsmen, and amongst them Ossa, his cousin. Octa and +Ossa were hardy champions, and they were the lords of the host. With +them moreover were such folk as had escaped from Uther at the slaying +of Passent. These Octa had taken to himself, so that his fellowship +was passing strong. This host overran the realm from Humber to +Scotland, and subdued it in every part. Octa then came before York, +and would have seized it by violence, but the burgesses of the city +held it stoutly against him, so that the pagans might not enter within +the walls. He sat down, therefore, before the gates, and invested the +city straitly, by reason of the numbers of his host. Uther had no +thought but to succour his city, and to rescue his friends who were +shut within. He marched hot foot to York, calling his men together +from every part. Being resolved at all cost to force the heathen to +give over the siege, Uther offered them battle without delay. The +Melly was right sharp and grievous. Many a soul was parted from the +body. The heathen played their parts as men, and contended boldly with +the sword. The Britons could do them no mischief. They might not force +their way into the city, neither could those within prevail to issue +forth. The Batons might endure the battle no longer. They gave back in +the press, and as they fled, the pursuing Saxons did them marvellous +damage. The pursuit lasted until the Britons took refuge in a fastness +of those parts, and the night parted the adverseness one from the +other. This mountain was named Damen. The peak was very sharp. About +its flanks were rocks and precipices, whilst close at hand stood a +thicket of hazel trees. Upon this mountain the Britons climbed. By +this way and that, they ascended the height, until they sought safety +on the summit. There the heathen shut them fast, for they sat beneath +them in the plain, whilst all about them stretched the mountain. + +The king was very fearful, and not for himself alone. He was in sore +straits and perplexity as to what he should do to get his spearmen +from the trap. Now Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, was with the king. This +lord was very valiant and courteous, though stricken in years, and was +esteemed of all as a right prudent councillor. To him the king went, +and unravelled all the coil. Uther prayed Gorlois to counsel him as +became his honour, for he knew well that the earl regarded honour +beyond the loss of life or limb. "You ask me my counsel," said +Gorlois. "My counsel--so it be according to your will--is that we +should arm ourselves forthwith, and get down from this hill amongst +our foes. They are assuredly sleeping at this hour, for they despise +us overmuch to deem that we shall challenge them again to battle. In +the morning they will come to seek us--so we await them in the trap. +Let us take our fate in our hands like men, and fall upon them +suddenly. The foe will then be confused and bewildered, for we must +come upon them silently, without battle cry or blowing of trumpets. +Before they are awakened from sleep, we shall have slain so many in +our onset, that those who escape from our swords will not dare to +rally against us in their flight. Only this thing first. Let every man +have penitence for that he has done amiss. Let us ask God's pardon for +the sins that we have wrought, and promise faithfully to amend our +lives. Let us turn from the wickedness wherein we have walked all +these days; praying the Saviour to hold us in His hand, and grant us +strength against those who fear not His name, and make war upon His +Christians. If we do these things God will sustain our quarrel; and if +God be with us who then can do us wrong?" + +This counsel seemed good to the king and his captains. They did as +Gorlois said, and humbled themselves before God with a contrite heart, +promising to put away the evil from their lives. After they had made +an end of prayer, they took their arms, and stole down the hillside to +the valley. The Britons came amongst the pagans lying naked upon the +ground, and fast in sleep. The swordplay was right merry, for the +slaughter was very great. The Britons thrust their glaives deep in the +breasts of the foe. They lopped heads and feet and wrists from their +bodies. The Britons ranged like lions amongst their enemies. They were +as lions a-hungered for their prey, killing ewes and lambs, and all +the sheep of the flock, whether small or great. Thus the Britons +did, for they spared neither spearman nor captain. The heathen were +altogether dismayed. They were yet heavy with sleep, and could neither +get to their harness, nor flee from the field. No mercy was shown them +for all their nakedness. Armed or naked the sword was thrust through +their breast or heart or bowels. In that place the heathen perished +from the land, since the Christians destroyed them utterly. Octa and +Ossa, the lords of their host--these troublers of Britain--were taken +alive. They were led to London, and set fast in a strong prison, bound +in iron. If any of their fellows escaped from the battle, it was only +by reason of the blackness of the night. He who was able to flee, ran +from the field. He tarried not to succour his own familiar friend. But +many more were slam in that surprise than got safely away. + +When Uther parted from York he passed throughout Northumberland. From +Northumberland he entered into Scotland, having many ships and a great +host with him. He went about the length and breadth of the land, and +purged it throughly in every part. Such folk as were oppressed of +their neighbours he confirmed in their rights. Never before had the +realm such rest and peace as in the days of Uther the king. After +Uther had brought his business in the north to an end, he set forth +to London, where he purposed to take the crown on Easter Day. Uther +desired the feast to be very rich and great. He summoned therefore +dukes, earls, and wardens, yea, all his baronage from near and far, +by brief and message, to come with their wedded dames and privy +households to London for his feast. So all the lords came at the +king's commandment, bringing their wives as they were bidden. Very +richly the feast was holden. After the Mass was sung, that fair +company went in hall to meat. The king sat at the head of his hall, +upon a dais. The lords of his realm were ranged about him, each in his +order and degree. The Earl of Cornwall was near the king's person, so +that one looked upon the other's face. By the earl's side was seated +Igerne, his wife. There was no lady so fair in all the land. Right +courteous was the dame, noble of peerage, and good as she was fair. + +The king had heard much talk of this lady, and never aught but praise. +His eyes were ravished with her beauty. He loved her dearly, and +coveted her hotly in his heart, for certainly she was marvellously +praised. He might not refrain from looking upon her at table, and his +hope and desire tyrned to her more and more. Whether he ate or drank, +spoke or was silent, she was ever in his thought. He glanced aside at +the lady, and smiled if she met his eye. All that he dared of love +he showed. He saluted her by his privy page, and bestowed upon her a +gift. He jested gaily with the dame, looking nicely upon her, and made +a great semblance of friendship. Igerne was modest and discreet. She +neither granted Uther's hope, nor denied. The earl marked well these +lookings and laughings, these salutations and gifts. He needed no +other assurance that the king had set his love upon his wife. Gorlois +deemed that he owed no faith to a lord who would supplant him in her +heart. The earl rose from his seat at table; he took his dame by the +hand, and went straight from the hall. He called the folk of his +household about him, and going to the stables, got him to horse. Uther +sent after Gorlois by his chamberlain, telling him that he did shame +and wrong in departing from the court without taking leave of his +king. He bade him to do the right, and not to treat his lord so +despitefully, lest a worse thing should befall him. He could have but +little trust in his king, if he would not return for a space. Gorlois +rode proudly from the court without leave or farewell. The king +menaced him very grievously, but the earl gave small heed to his +threats, for he recked nothing of what might chance. He went into +Cornwall, and arrayed his two castles, making them ready against the +war. His wife he put in his castle of Tintagel, for this was the home +of his father and of his race. It was a strong keep, easily holden of +a few sergeants, since none could climb or throw down the walls. The +castle stood on a tall cliff, near by the sea. Men might not win to +enter by the gate, and saving the gate, there was no door to enter in +the tower. + +The earl shut his lady fast in the tower. He dared hide his treasure +in no other place, lest thieves broke through, and stole her from him. +Therefore he sealed her close in Tintagel. For himself he took the +rest of his men-at-arms, and the larger part of his knights, and rode +swiftly to the other strong fortress that was his. The king heard that +Gorlois had garnished and made ready his castle, purposing to defend +himself even against his lord. Partly to avenge himself upon the earl, +and partly to be near his vassal's wife, the king arrayed a great +host. He crossed the Severn, and coming before the castle where the +earl lay, he sought to take it by storm. Finding that he might not +speed, he sat down before the tower, and laid siege to those within. +The host invested the castle closely for full seven days, but could +not breach the walls. The earl stubbornly refused to yield, for he +awaited succour from the King of Ireland, whom he had entreated to his +aid. King Uther's heart was in another place. He was weaned beyond +measure of Gorlois and his castle. His love for Igerne urged and +called him thence, for the lady was sweeter to his mind than any other +in the world. At the end he bade to him a baron of his household, +named Ulfin, who was privy to his mind. Him he asked secretly of that +which he should do. "Ulfin," said the king, "my own familiar friend, +counsel me wisely, for my hope is in thee. My love for Igerne hath +utterly cast me down I am altogether broken and undone. I cannot go or +come about my business; I cannot wake nor sleep, I cannot rise from my +bed nor lay my head on the pillow; neither can I eat or drink, except +that this lady is ever in my mind. How to gain her to my wish I cannot +tell. But this I know, that I am a dead man if you may not counsel me +to my hope." "Oh my king," answered Ulfin, "I marvel at your words. +You have tormented the earl grievously with your war, and have burned +his lands. Do you think to win a wife's heart by shutting her husband +close in his tower? You show your love for the dame by harassing the +lord! No, the matter is too high for me, and I have one only counsel +to give you. Merlin is with us in the host. Send after him, for he is +a wise clerk, and the best counsellor of any man living. If Merlin may +not tell you what to do, there is none by whom you may win to your +desire." + +King Uther, by the counsel of Ulfin, commanded Merlin to be brought +before him. The king opened out his bitter need. He prayed that for +pity's sake Merlin would find him a way to his hope, so he were able, +since die he must if of Igerne he got no comfort. But let the clerk +seek and buy so that the king had his will. Money and wealth would be +granted plenteously, if gold were needed, for great as was the king's +evil, so large would be his delight. "Sire," answered Merlin, "have +her you shall. Never let it be said that you died for a woman's love. +Right swiftly will I bring you to your wish, or evil be the bounty +that I receive of the king's hand. Hearken to me. Igerne is guarded +very closely in Tintagel. The castle is shut fast, and plenteously +supplied with all manner of store. The walls are strong and high, so +that it may not be taken by might; and it is victualled so well, +that none may win there by siege. The castle also is held of loyal +castellans, but for all their vigils, I know well how to enter therein +at my pleasure, by reason of my potions. By craft I can change a man's +countenance to the fashion of his neighbour, and of two men each shall +take on his fellow's semblance. In body and visage, in speech and +seeming, without doubt I can shape you to the likeness of the Earl +of Cornwall. Why waste the time with many words! You, sire, shall +be fashioned as the earl. I, who purpose to go with you on this +adventure, will wear the semblance of Bertel. Ulfin, here, shall +come in the guise of Jordan. These two knights are the earl's chosen +friends, and are very close to his mind and heart. In this manner we +may enter boldly in his castle of Tintagel, and you shall have your +will of the lady. We shall be known of none, for not a man will doubt +us other than we seem." The king had faith in Merlin's word, and held +his counsel good. He gave over the governance of the host, privily, to +a lord whom he much loved. Merlin put forth his arts, and transfigured +their faces and vesture into the likeness of the earl and his people. +That very night the king and his companions entered in Tintagel. The +porter in his lodge, and the steward within his office, deemed him +their lord. They welcomed him gladly, and served him with joy. +When meat was done the king had his delight of a lady who was much +deceived. Of that embrace Igerne conceived the good, the valiant, +and the trusty king whom you have known as Arthur. Thus was Arthur +begotten, who was so renowned and chivalrous a lord. + +Now the king's men learned very speedily that Uther had departed from +the host. The captains were wearied of sitting before the castle. To +return the more quickly to their homes, they got into their harness +and seized their arms. They did not tarry to order the battle, or make +ready ladders for the wall, but they approached the tower in their +disarray. The king's men assaulted the castle from every side, and the +earl defended himself manfully, but at the last he himself was slain, +and the castle was swiftly taken. Those who were fortunate enough to +escape from the tower fled lightfoot to Tintagel. There they published +the news of this misadventure, and the death of their lord. The sorrow +and lamentation of those who bewailed the earl's death reached the +ears of the king. He came forth from his chamber, and rebuked the +messengers of evil tidings. "Why all this noise and coil?" cried he "I +am safe and sound, thank God, as you may see by looking on my face. +These tidings are not true, and you must neither believe all that the +messengers proclaim, nor deem that they tell naught but lies. The +cause is plain why my household think me lost. I came out from the +castle taking leave and speaking to no man. None knew that I went +secretly through the postern, nor that I rode to you at Tintagel, for +I feared treachery upon the way. Now men cry and clamour of my death, +because I was not seen when the king won within the tower. Doubtless +it is a grievous thing to have lost my keep, and to know that so many +goodly spearmen lie dead behind the walls. But whilst I live, my goods +at least are my own. I will go forth to the king, requiring a peace, +which he will gladly accord me. I will go at once, before he may come +to Tintagel, seeking to do us mischief, for if he falls upon us in +this trap we shall pipe to deaf ears." + +Igerne praised the counsel of him she deemed her lord. The king +embraced her by reason of her tenderness, and kissed her as he bade +farewell. He departed straightway from the castle, and his familiars +with him. When they had ridden for a while upon the road, Merlin again +put forth his enchantments, so that he, the king, and Ulfin took their +own shapes, and became as they had been before. They hastened to the +host without drawing rein, for the king was with child to know how the +castle was so swiftly taken, and in what manner the earl was slain. He +commanded before him his captains, and from this man and that sought +to arrive at the truth. Uther considered the adventure, and took his +lords to witness that whoever had done the earl to death, had done not +according to his will. He called to mind Earl Gorlois' noble deeds, +and made complaint of his servants, looking upon the barons very +evilly. He wore the semblance of a man in sore trouble, but there were +few who were so simple as to believe him. Uther returned with his host +before Tintagel. He cried to those who stood upon the wall asking why +they purposed to defend the tower, since their lord was dead and his +castle taken, neither could they look for succour in the realm, or +from across the sea. The castellans knew that the king spake sooth, +and that for them there was no hope of aid. They therefore set open +the gates of the castle, and gave the fortress and its keys into +the king's hand. Uther, whose love was passing hot, spoused Igerne +forthwith, and made her his queen. She was with child, and when her +time was come to be delivered, she brought forth a son. This son was +named Arthur, with the rumour of whose praise the whole world has been +filled. After the birth of Arthur, Uther got upon Igerne a daughter +cleped Anna. When this maiden came of age she was bestowed upon a +right courteous lord, called Lot of Lyones. Of this marriage was born +Gawain, the stout knight and noble champion. + +Uther reigned for a long time in health and peace. Then he fell into a +great sickness, failing alike in mind and strength. His infirmity lay +so sore upon him, that he might not get him from his bed. The warders, +who watched over his prison in London, were passing weary of their +long guard, and were corrupted also by fair promises that were made. +They took rich gifts from Octa, that was Hengist's son, and from Ossa, +his cousin, and delivering them out of their bonds, let them go free +from their dungeon. Octa and Ossa returned swiftly to their own place. +They purchased war galleys to themselves, and gathering their men +about them menaced Uther very grievously. With a great company +of knights, and spearmen, and archers they passed the marches of +Scotland, burning and spoiling all the realm. Since Uther was sick, +and could do little to defend his life and land, he called Lot, the +husband of his daughter, to his aid. To this lord he committed the +guidance of his host, and appointed him constable of his knights. He +commanded these that they should hearken Lot as himself, and observe +all his biddings. This Uther did because he knew Lot for a courteous +and liberal lord, cunning in counsel, and mighty with the spear. + +Now Octa vexed the Britons very sorely. He boasted himself greatly, by +reason of the number of his folk, and of the kings weakness. To avenge +his father's death and his own wrongs, he made Britain fearful of his +name; for he neither granted truce nor kept faith. Lot met Octa once +and again in battle. Many a time he vanquished his foe, but often +enough the victory remained with Octa. The game of war is like a game +of tables. Each must lose in his turn, and the player who wins to-day +will fail to-morrow. At the end Octa was discomfited, and was driven +from the country. But it afterwards befell that the Britons despised +Lot. They would pay no heed to his summons, this man for reason of +jealousy, this other because of the sharing of the spoil. The war, +therefore, came never to an end, till the king himself perceived that +something was amiss, whilst the folk of the country said openly that +the captains were but carpet knights, who made pretence of war. At +this certain men of repute came before the king, praying him to +remain no longer hidden from his people. "Come what may," said these +counsellors, "you must get to the host, and show yourself to the +barons." The king took them at their word. He caused himself to be set +within a horse litter, and carried, as though in a bier, amongst his +people. "Now we shall see," said these, "which of these recreant lords +will follow him to the host." The king sent urgent messages to the +knights who were so disdainful of Lot, summoning them on their +allegiance to hasten to his aid. For himself he was carried straight +to Verulam.[1] This once was a fair city where St. Alban fell upon his +death, but was now altogether ravaged and destroyed of the heathen. +Octa had led his people to the city, and seized thereon, making fast +the gates. The king sat down without the town. He caused great engines +to be arrayed to break through the wall, but it was very strong, and +he might make no breach. Octa and his friends made merry over the +catapults set over against them. On a morning they opened wide their +gates, and came forth to do battle with the king. A vile matter it +seemed to them that the door should be locked and barred because of +a king lying sick within a litter. They could not endure to be so +despised that he should fight against them from his coffin. As I deem +their pride went before a fall. That captain won who was deserving of +the victory. The heathen were defeated, and in that battle Octa and +his fair cousin Ossa were slain. + +[Footnote 1: St. Albans.] + +Many who escaped from the field fled into Scotland. There they made +Colgrin their chieftain, who was a friend of Octa and his cousin. +Uther rejoiced so greatly by reason of his victory, and of the honour +God had shown him, that for sheer joy he was as a man healed and +altogether whole. He set himself to hearten his barons, and inspire +them with his own courage. He said to his men, with mirth, "I like +rather to be on my bier, languishing in long infirmity, than to use +health and strength in fleeing from my foe. The Saxons disdained me, +holding me in despite because I cannot rise from my bed; but it has +befallen that he who hath one foot in the grave hath overthrown the +quick. Forward then, and press hardly on their heels who seek to +destroy our religion from the land." + +When the king had rested him for a space, and had encouraged the lords +with his words, he would have followed after the heathen. Seeing that +his sickness was yet heavy upon him, the barons prayed that he would +sojourn awhile in the city, until it pleased God to give him solace +from his hurt. This they said fearing lest his courage should bring +him to his death. It chanced, therefore, that the host departed, +leaving Uther at Verulam, because of his infirmity, none being with +him, save the folk of his private household. Now the Saxons who were +driven from the land, when they had drawn together, considered within +themselves that if the king were but dead, he had no heir who might do +them a mischief, and despoil them of their goods. Since they had no +trust in their weapons, doubting that they could slay him with the +sword, they devised to murder the king by craft and poison. They +suborned certain evil-doers, whose names I do not know, by promises +of pennies and of land. These men they conveyed to the king's court, +arrayed in ragged raiment, the better to spy in what fashion +they might draw near his person and carry out their purpose. The +malefactors came to Verulam, but for all their cunning and craft of +tongues, in no way could they win anigh the king. They went to and fro +so often; they listened to the servitors' talk so readily; that in the +end they knew that the king drank nothing but cold water, that other +liquor never passed his lips. This water was grateful to his sickness. +It sprang from a well very near his hall, and of this water he drank +freely, for none other was to his mind. When these privy murderers +were persuaded that they might never come so close to the king's body +as to slay him with a knife, they sowed their poison in the well. They +lurked secretly about the country, until it came to their ears when +and how he died, and then fled incontinent whence they came. Presently +the king was athirst, and called for drink. His cupbearer gave him +water, laced with venom, from the spring. Uther drank of the cup, and +was infected by the plague, so that there was no comfort for him save +in death. His body swelled, becoming foul and black, and very soon +he died. Right quickly all those who drank of the water from that +fountain died of the death from which their lord lay dead. After this +thing became known, and the malice of these evil-doers was made clear, +the burgesses of the city met together, and choked the well for +evermore. They cast therein so much earth, that a pyre stood above +the source, as a witness to this deed. Uther the king having fallen +asleep, his body was borne to Stonehenge, and laid to rest close by +Aurelius, his brother; the brethren lying side by side. The bishops +and barons of the realm gathered themselves together, and sent +messages to Arthur, Uther's son, bidding him to Cirencester to be made +their king. Arthur at the time of his coronation was a damoiseau of +some fifteen years, but tall and strong for his age. His faults and +virtues I will show you alike, for I have no desire to lead you astray +with words. He was a very virtuous knight, right worthy of praise, +whose fame was much in the mouths of men. To the haughty he was proud, +but tender and pitiful to the simple. He was a stout knight and a +bold: a passing crafty captain, as indeed was but just, for skill and +courage were his servants at need: and large of his giving. He was +one of Love's lovers; a lover also of glory; and his famous deeds are +right fit to be kept in remembrance. He ordained the courtesies of +courts, and observed high state in a very splendid fashion. So long as +he lived and reigned he stood head and shoulders above all princes +of the earth, both for courtesy and prowess, as for valour and +liberality. When this Arthur was freshly crowned king, of his own free +will he swore an oath that never should the Saxons have peace or rest +so long as they tarried in his realm. This he did by reason that for +a great while they had troubled the land, and had done his father and +his uncle to their deaths. Arthur called his meinie to his aid. He +brought together a fair company of warriors, bestowing on them largely +of his bounty, and promising to grant largely of the spoil. With this +host he hastened into the land that lay about York, Colgrin--who was +the chief and captain of these Saxons since the slaying of Octa--had +many Picts and Scots in his fellowship, besides a goodly company of +his own people. He desired nothing more hotly than to meet Arthur in +battle, and to abate his pride. The armies drew together upon the +banks of the Douglas. The two hosts fell one upon the other furiously, +and many a sergeant perished that day, by reason of lance thrust, or +quarrel, or dart. At the end Colgrin was discomfited, and fled from +the field. Arthur followed swiftly after, striving to come upon his +adversary, before he might hide him in York. But Colgrin, for all his +pains, took refuge in the city; so Arthur sat him down without the +walls. + +Now Baldulph, the brother of Colgrin, tamed by the shore, awaiting the +coming of Cheldric, the king, and his Saxons from Germany. When he +heard the tidings of what had befallen Colgrin at the Ford of Douglas, +and of how he was holden straitly by Arthur in York, he was passing +heavy and sorrowful, for with this Colgrin was all his hope. Baldulph +made no further tarrying for Cheldric. He broke up his camp, and +marching towards York, set his comrades in ambush, within a deep +wood, some five miles from the host. Together with the folk of his +household, and the strangers of his fellowship, Baldulph had in his +company six thousand men in mail. He trusted to fall upon Arthur by +night, when he was unready, and force him to give over the siege. But +certain of the country who had spied Baldulph spread this snare, ran +to the king, and showed him of the matter. Arthur, knowing of the +malice of Baldulph, took counsel with Cador, Earl of Cornwall, a brave +captain, who had no fear of death. He delivered to the earl's care +seven hundred horsemen, and of spearmen three thousand, and sent him +secretly to fall upon Baldulph in his lurking place. Cador did the +king's bidding. The Saxons heard no rumour of his coming, for the host +drew to the wood privily without trumpet or battle cry. Then when +Cador was near the foe, he cried his name, and burst fiercely upon the +heathen with the sword. In this combat there perished of the Saxons +more than three thousand men. Had it not been for the darkness of the +night, and the hindrance of the wood, not one might have fled on his +feet. Baldulph, the cunning captain, got him safely from the field, by +hiding beneath every bush and brake. He had lost the fairer and the +stronger half of his meinie, and was at his wits' end to know how to +take counsel with his brother, or to come to his aid. But speak with +him he would, so that craft and courage might find a way. Baldulph +devised to seek the besiegers' camp in the guise of a jongleur. He +arrayed himself in all points as a harper, for he knew well how to +chant songs and lays, and to touch the strings tunably. For his +brother's sake he made himself as a fool. He shaved off one half of +his beard and moustache, and caused the half of his head to be polled +likewise. He hung a harp about his neck, and showed in every respect +as a lewd fellow and a jester. Baldulph presently went forth from his +abode, being known again of none. He went to and fro harping on his +harp, till he stood beneath the walls of the city. The warders on the +towers hearkened to his speech, so that they drew him up by cords upon +the wall. At Baldulph's tale the folk within the city despaired of +succour, and knew not how to flee, nor where to escape. In their +extremity the news was bruited amongst them that Cheldric had come to +a haven in Scotland, with a fleet of five hundred galleys, and was +speeding to York. Cheldric knew and was persuaded that Arthur dared +not abide his onset. This was a right judgment, for Arthur made haste +to begone. The king called a council of his captains, and by their +rede decided not to await Cheldric at York, neither to give him +battle, because of the proud and marvellous host that was with him, +"Let the king fall back upon London," said the lords, "and summon +his meinie about him. The king's power will increase daily, and if +Cheldric have the hardihood to follow, with the more confidence we +shall fight." Arthur took his captains at their word. He let well the +siege, and came to London, that he might strengthen his castle, choose +his own battle ground, and trouble his adversary the more surely. +Arthur, by the rede of his counsellors, sent letters to his nephew, +the son of his sister, Hoel, King of Little Britain. For in that +country dwelt many strong barons, sib to his flesh, and the stoutest +knights of his race. In these letters, and by the mouth of his +ambassadors, Arthur prayed the king to hasten to his rescue. If Hoel +came not swiftly over sea--wrote the king--certainly his realm would +be taken from him, and shame would always be on those who watched +tamely their cousin stripped of his heritage. + +When this bitter cry came to Hoel he sought neither hindrance nor +excuse. His vassals and kinsmen got in their harness forthwith. They +arrayed their ships, and set thereon the stores. Within these ships +there entered twelve thousand knights alone, without taking count of +the sergeants and archers. So in a good hour they crossed the sea, +coming with a fair wind to the port of Southampton. Arthur welcomed +them with great joy, showing them the honour which it became him to +offer. They made no long tarrying at Southampton, nor wasted the day +in fair words and idle courtesies. The king had summoned his vassals, +and had brought together his household. Without speeches and blowings +of trumpets the two hosts set forth together towards Lincoln, which +Cheldric had besieged but had not yet taken. Arthur came swiftly and +secretly upon Cheldric. He fell silently upon the Saxons, making no +stir with horns and clarions. King Arthur and his men slew so many in +so grim and stark a fashion, that never was seen such slaughter, such +sorrow and destruction, as they made of the Saxons in one single day. +The Saxons thought only of flight. They stripped off their armour to +run the more lightly, and abandoned their horses on the field +Some fled to the mountains, others by the valleys, and many flung +themselves into the river, and were drowned miserably, striving to get +them from their foe. The Britons followed hotly at their heels, giving +the quarry neither rest nor peace. They struck many a mighty blow with +the sword, on the heads, the necks, and bodies of their adversaries. +The chase endured from Lincoln town to the wood of Cehdon. The Saxons +took refuge within the thick forest, and drew together the remnants of +their power. For their part, the Britons watched the wood, and held +it very strictly. Now Arthur feared lest the Saxons should steal +from their coverts by night, and escape from his hand. He commanded, +therefore, his meinie to cut down the trees on the skirts of the +forest. These trunks he placed one upon another, lacing the branches +fast together, and enclosing his foe. Then he sat down on the further +side of his barrier, so that none might issue forth, nor enter in. +Those within the wood were altogether dismayed, since they might +neither eat nor drink. There was no man so cunning or strong, so rich +or valiant, who could devise to carry bread and wine, flesh and flour, +for their sustenance. Three days they endured without food, till Thur +bodies were weak with hunger. Since they would not die of famine, and +might not win forth from the wood by arms, they took counsel as to +what it were well to do. They approached Arthur, praying him to keep +raiment and harness and all that they had, saving only their ships, +and let them depart to their own land. They promised to put hostages +in his power, and render a yearly tribute of their wealth, so only the +king allowed them to go on foot to the shore, and enter naked in the +ships. Arthur set faith in their word. He gave them leave to depart, +receiving hostages for assurance of their covenant. He rendered them +the ships, but kept their armour as a spoil, so that they left the +realm without a mantle to their bodies, or a sword for their defence. +The Saxons set out across the water, until their sails were lost to +sight. I know not what was their hope, nor the name of him who put it +in their mind, but they turned their boats, and passed through the +channel between England and Normandy. With sail and oar they came to +the land of Devon, casting anchor in the haven of Totnes. The heathen +breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the folk of the +country. They poured forth from their ships, and scattered themselves +abroad amongst the people, searching out arms and raiment, firing +homesteads and slaying Christian men. They passed to and fro about the +country, carrying off all they found beneath their hands. Not only did +they rob the hind of his weapon, but they slew him on his hearth with +his own knife. Thus throughout Somerset and a great part of Dorset, +these pirates spoiled and ravaged at their pleasure, finding none to +hinder them at their task. For the barons who might have made head +against them were in Scotland with the king. So by road and country, +laden with raiment and all manner of spoil, the Saxons came from their +ships to Bath. But the citizens of the town shut fast their gates, and +defended the walls against them. + +Arthur was in Scotland, punishing the folk of that realm, because +of the war they had made upon him, and of the aid they had afforded +Cheldric. When the king learned what mischief the pagans had done to +his land, and of the siege they laid to Bath, he hanged his hostages +straightway. He dared tarry no longer in Scotland, but hastened south, +leaving Hoel of Brittany lying sick at Dumbarton, I know not of what +infirmity. With what men he might, Arthur came to Bath as swiftly as +he was able, since he was resolved to chase the Saxons from before the +gates, and succour the burgesses of his city. Now, near this town a +wood stands within a wide country, and there Arthur arranged his men +and ordered the battle. He saw to the arming of his meinie, and for +himself got him into his harness. Arthur donned thigh pieces of steel, +wrought strong and fairly by some cunning smith. His hauberk was stout +and richly chased, even such a vesture as became so puissant a king. +He girt him with his sword, Excalibur. Mighty was the glaive, and +long in the blade. It was forged in the Isle of Avalon, and he who +brandished it naked in his hand deemed himself a happy man. His helmet +gleamed upon his head. The nasal was of gold; circlets of gold adorned +the headpiece, with many a clear stone, and a dragon was fashioned for +its crest. This helm had once been worn by Uther, his sire. The king +was mounted on a destrier, passing fair, strong, and speedy, loving +well the battle. He had set his shield about his neck, and, certes, +showed a stout champion, and a right crafty captain. On the buckler +was painted in sweet colours the image of Our Lady St. Mary. In her +honour and for remembrance, Arthur bore her semblance on his shield. +In his hand the king carried his lance, named Ron. Sharp it was at +the head, tough and great, and very welcome at need in the press of +battle. Arthur gave his commands to his captains, and ordained the +order of the combat. He caused his host to march in rank and company +at a slow pace towards the foe, so that when the battle was joined +none might flinch but that he was sustained of his comrades. The host +drew near to a certain mountain of those parts, and began to climb the +hill. The Saxons held this mountain strongly, and defended the height, +as though they were shut fast and safely behind walls. Small cause had +the heathen for such assurance of safety, for a mighty captain was +upon them, who would not endure their presence in his realm. Arthur +led his spearmen upon the slope, and there admonished his men. +"Behold," said he, "and see before you those false and scornful +heathen, who have destroyed and ravished your kith and kin, your near +ones and neighbours, and on your own goods and bodies have done so +much mischief. Avenge now your friends and your kinsfolk; avenge the +great ruin and burnings; avenge all the loss and the travail that for +so long a space we have suffered at their hands. For myself this day +I will avenge me for all these bitter wrongs. I will avenge the oaths +these perjurers have broken. I will silence the crying of my fathers' +blood. This day I will exact the price for all they have cost me in +loss and in sorrows, and avenge the bad faith which led them to return +to Totnes. If but this day we bear us in the battle like men, and +smite the heathen in their fastness, never again will they array +themselves proudly against us, but will be for ever before us as naked +men without a shield." With these words Arthur set his buckler before +him, and hastened to the playing of the swords. I know not the name +of the Saxon who ran upon him in the stour, but the king smote him so +fiercely that he died. Before Arthur passed across the body he cried +aloud, "God aid, Saint Mary succour. He gives twice," said he, gaily, +"who gives quickly. Here lies one whose lodging for the night I have +paid." When the Britons saw this deed they aided the king mightily, +beating down and slaying the Saxons very grievously. They pressed upon +them from every side, thrusting shrewdly with the spear, and striking +lustily with the sword. Arthur was of marvellous hardihood. Strong +beyond the common strength and of great prowess, with lifted shield +and terrible sword he hewed a path towards the summit of the mount. He +struck to right and to left, slaying many, so that the press gave back +before so stout a champion. To himself alone he slew four hundred +heathen that day, working them more mischief than was done by all his +men. To an evil end came the captains of these Saxons. Baldulph lay +dead upon the mount, and dead also was Colgrin. Cheldric and some +others fled from the field, and would have got them to their ships +that they might enter therein and garnish for their needs. + +When Arthur heard tidings of Cheldric's flight, and that he sought +again his ships, he bade Cador of Cornwall to follow swiftly after the +fugitives, giving ten thousand horsemen to his keeping chosen from his +best and closest friends. For his part, Arthur himself turned his face +to Scotland; for a messenger came who told that the wild Scots held +Hoel close within his city, and for a little would take him where he +lay. Cheldric made in all haste to his ships, but Cador was a crafty +captain, and by a way that he knew well he rode swiftly to Totnes, +before Cheldric might come to the town. He seized the galleys, manning +them with archers and country folk, and then hastened hotly on the +track of the fugitives. Two by two, and three by three, these drew +near the shore, as best they might hide them from the pursuers. To go +the more lightly, to run the more nimbly, they had thrown away their +harness, and carried nothing save their swords. They pained themselves +to get to the ships, deeming that if they might enter therein their +troubles would be at an end. As they strove to ford the river Teign, +Cador, the huntsman, came winding upon their slot. The Saxons were +dismayed beyond measure, and without stay or delay fled from their +foe. Cador lighted upon Cheldric in the steep mountain, called +Tenedic, and slew him in that place. As Cador came on Cheldric's +companions he killed them with the sword, in sore sorrow. For those +who escaped from Cador they made their way from every part to the +ships. There they were slain by the archers, or perished miserably in +the sea. The Britons took no captives, he who cried for mercy perished +alike with him who strove with his sword. The rest of the Saxons fled +to the coverts of the woods and the mountains, by large companies. In +such desolate and waste places they lurked and hid from their enemies +until hunger and thirst put a term to their miseries. + +When Cador had made an end of his slaying, and given quiet to the +land, he followed after Arthur, and took the road towards Scotland. He +came upon the king at Dumbarton, where he had brought succour to +his nephew, Hoel of Brittany. Arthur found Hoel safe in body and in +wealth, and altogether whole of his infirmity. The Scots had departed +from before the city when they heard that Arthur drew near, and +hastening to Murray, made strong the towers, and set barriers at the +gates. This they did because they were resolved to await Arthur in the +city, thinking to hold themselves against him behind the walls. Arthur +knew well that the Scots were gathered together to make head against +him in that place. He came therefore to Murray with all his power, but +they dared not abide his coming, and for dread fled to Lake Lomond, +scattering themselves abroad amongst the isles thereof. Passing wide +and deep is this fair mere. From the hills and valleys round about +sixty rivers fall therein, and making together one sweet water, pass +swiftly by a single river to the sea. Sixty islands lie upon this +water, the haunt and home of innumerable birds. Each island holds an +eyrie, where none but eagles repair to build their nests, to cry and +fight together, and take their solace from the world. When evil folk +arrive to raven and devour the realm, then all these eagles gather +themselves together, making great coil and clamour, and arraying +themselves proudly one against another. One day, or two days, three or +four, the mighty birds will strive together; and the interpretation +thereof portends horror and grim destruction amongst men. + +On this fair lake the Scots sought hiding, going and coming upon its +waters Arthur followed swiftly after. He caused to be made shallops, +barges, and light, speedy boats, and harassed them grievously in their +refuge. By reason of famine and the sword, they died by twenties, by +hundreds, and by thousands in those secret ways. + +Now Guillomer, a certain king from Ireland, wishful to aid the Scots +in this quarrel, drew towards Arthur with his host. Arthur went his +way to give him battle. When the battle was joined the Irish king was +discomfited anon. He and his men fled to their ships, getting them +back to Ireland, and Arthur came again to the mere, where he had left +his harrying of the Scots. + +Then the bishops and abbots of the realm, with divers monks and other +orders, carrying in their hands bodies of the saints and many holy +relics, came before the king beseeching him to show mercy on the +Scots. With these went a pitiful company of ladies of that country, +naked of foot, spoiled of visage, with streaming hair and rent +raiment, bearing their babes in their bosoms. These with tears and +shrill lamentations fell at Arthur's knees right humbly, weeping, +clamouring, and imploring his grace. "Sire, gentle king, have mercy +and pity," cried these lamentable women, "on this wasted land, and on +those wretched men who are dying of hunger and misery. If thou hast no +bowels of pity for the fathers, look, sire, and behold these babes +and these mothers; regard their sons and their daughters, and all +the distressful folk thou art bringing down to death. Give again the +fathers to the little children, restore to the ladies their husbands, +and to this sad company of damsels return their brothers and their +lords. Have we not paid enough by reason of the Saxon passing this +way? It was not for our pleasure they sojourned awhile in the land. We +went the more heavily for their presence, for much pain and sorrow we +suffered because of the heathen, and passing weary were we of their +speech. If we sheltered them in our houses, the greater sorrow is +ours, since we have endured the more at their hands. Our beasts they +have slain and eaten; and for our goods, these they have taken, and +sent the gear into their own realm. There was none to help us, nor +was any man so strong as to deliver us from their power. Sire, if we +prepared them a feast, it was because we feared to drink their wine +cup to the dregs. Might was theirs, and we were as the captive who +sees no succour on the road. These Saxons were pagan men. Thy servants +are Christians. Therefore the heathen oppressed us the more mightily, +and laid the heavier burdens upon us. But great as was the mischief +these Saxons wrought us, thou hast done us the sorer harm. Theirs +were the whips, but thine are the stinging scorpions. It should prove +little honour to the Christian king that he slay by hunger amongst +these rocks those folk who cry his pardon for their trespass. We die, +sire, of famine and of all misease. Nothing is left us save cold and +wretchedness. Thou hast overcome us, every one; destroy us not from +the land, but suffer us to live of thy bounty. Grant that we and all +our race--so it be thy pleasure--may find peace in the king's service. +Have mercy on thy poor Christians. We hold the faith that you, too, +count dear. How foully then should Christianity be wronged, if you +destroy the whole realm. Alas, has not mischief enough been wrought +already!" Arthur was tender of heart and marvellously pitiful. He took +compassion on this doleful company of ladies, and by reason of those +holy bodies of the saints and those fair prelates, he granted life and +member to his captives, and forgave them their debts. + +The Scots, having done homage to the king and owned themselves his +men, departed, and went their way. Hoel gazed long upon the mere, +calling to him the folk of his house. He wondered exceedingly because +of the grandeur of the lake, and because of the greatness of the +water. He marvelled altogether to behold so many islands therein, and +at the rocks thereof. He was astonied beyond measure at the number of +the eagles and their eyries, at the clamour and the shrilling of +their cries. He deemed in his heart that never had he gazed upon so +beautiful a sight. "Hoel, fair nephew," said Arthur, "very marvellous +this water seems in your eyes. Your astonishment will be the more when +you look upon yet another mere that I know. Near this lake, in this +very country, lies a water held in a cup, not round but square. This +pond is twenty feet in length, twenty in breadth, and the water +thereof is five feet deep. In the four corners of this pond are many +fish of divers fashions. These fish pass never from their corner to +another. Yet none can certify by touch or sight whether craft keeps +these fish each in his place, or what is that hindrance they may not +overcome. Yea, I cannot tell whether the pond was digged by the wit of +man, or if Nature shaped it to her will. Moreover I know of another +mere, whereof you would be more amazed than of both these marvels. +This lake is close by the Severn in the land of Wales. The sea pours +its tide into this lake; yet empty itself as it may, the waters of the +lake remain ever at the same height, never more and never less. The +ocean itself may not suffice to heap its waters above the lake, +neither to cover its shores. Yet at the ebbing of the tide, when the +sea turns to flee, then the lake spues forth the water it has taken to +its belly, so that the banks are swallowed up, the great waves rise +tall in their wrath, and the wide fields round about are hid, and all +is sodden with the foam. The folk of that country tell that should a +man stare upon the wave in its anger, so that his vesture and body be +wetted of the spray, then, whatever be his strength, the water will +draw him to itself, for it is mightier than he. Many a man has +struggled and fallen on the brink, and been drowned in its clutch. But +if a man turn his back upon the water, then he may stand safely upon +the bank, taking his pleasure as long as he will. The wave will pass +by him, doing him no mischief; he will not be wetted even of the +flying foam." So Hoel marvelled greatly at these wonders told him by +the king. Then Arthur bade sound his horns, his clarions and trumpets +to call his meinie to himself. He granted leave to all but the folk of +his privy household to return to their homes. The host went therefore +each to his own place, loudly praising the king. Even in Brittany men +told that there was no more valiant captain than he. + +Arthur turned south to York, abiding there till Christmas was past. He +kept the Feast of the Nativity within its walls. He marked clearly the +weakness and impoverishment of the city, and how deeply it was fallen +from its former state. The churches were empty and silent; whilst for +the houses they were either breached or fallen to the ground. The +king appointed Pyramus, a learned clerk who had been diligent in his +service, to the vacant see, so that the chapels might be maintained, +and those convents built anew which the heathen had destroyed. Arthur +commanded that the criers should proclaim that all honest folk must +return to their toil. He sent messages to every place, bidding those +who were dispossessed of their lands to repair to his court. There he +gave them again their heritage, and confirmed them in their fiefs and +rents. Now there were three brethren of right good birth and high +peerage, kin to many a fair family, having to name Lot, Aguisel, +and Urian. The forefather of these lords was the earl of that great +country beyond the Humber; and these in their turn held justly their +father's lands, doing wrong to none. Arthur rendered these brothers +their own, and restored them their heritage. On Urian, as head of his +house, Arthur bestowed the province of Murray, and without fee or +recompense proclaimed him king of that realm. Scotland was given to +Aguisel, who claimed it as his fief. As for Lot, who had the king's +sister to wife, Arthur confirmed him in that kingdom of Lyones, which +he had held for a great while, and gave him many another earldom +besides. This Lot was the father of Gawain, who as yet was a +damoiseau, young and debonair. + +When Arthur had settled his realm in peace, righted all wrongs, and +restored the kingdom to its ancient borders, he took to wife a certain +fresh and noble maiden, named Guenevere, making her his queen. This +damsel was passing fair of face and courteous, very gracious of +manner, and come of a noble Roman house. Cador had nourished this lady +long and richly in his earldom of Cornwall. The maiden was the +earl's near cousin, for by his mother he, too, was of Roman blood. +Marvellously dainty was the maiden in person and vesture; right +queenly of bearing, passing sweet and ready of tongue. Arthur +cherished her dearly, for his love was wonderfully set upon the +damsel, yet never had they a child together, nor betwixt them might +get an heir. + +As soon as winter was gone, and the warm days were come when it was +good to wend upon the sea, Arthur made ready his ships to cross the +straits to Ireland and conquer the land. Arthur made no long tarrying. +He brought together the most lusty warriors of his realm, both poor +and rich, all of the people who were most vigorous and apt in war. +With these he passed into Ireland, and sent about the country seeking +provand for his host. So the sergeants took seisin of cows and oxen, +and brought to the camp in droves all that was desirable for meat. +Guillomer, the king of that realm, heard that Arthur had fastened +this quarrel upon him. He hearkened to the cries and the tidings, the +plaints and the burdens, raised by those villeins whose granges and +bields were pillaged for the sustenance of his foes. Guillomer went +forth to give battle to Arthur, but in an ill hour he drew to the +field. His men were naked to their adversaries, having neither helmets +nor coats of leather nor shields. They knew nothing of archery, and +were ignorant of catapults and slings. The Britons were mighty bowmen. +They shot their shafts thickly amongst their enemies, so that the +Irish dared not show their bodies, and might find no shelter. The +Irish could endure the arrows no longer. They fled from the fight, +taking refuge where they were able. They hid in woods and thickets, in +towns and in houses, seeking refuge from the stour. Right grievous was +their discomfiture. Guillomer, their king, sought shelter within a +forest, but his fate was upon him, and he might not conceal him from +his foes. Arthur searched him out so diligently, following so hotly on +his track, that at the last he was taken captive. Guillomer did very +wisely. He paid fealty and homage to Arthur, and owned that of him he +held his heritage. Moreover he put hostages within Arthur's power, for +surety that he would render a yearly tribute to the king. When Arthur +had subdued Ireland, he went further and came even so far as Iceland. +He brought the land in subjection to himself, so that the folk thereof +owned themselves his men, and granted him the lordship. Now three +princes, by name Gonfal, King of the Orkneys, Doldamer, King of +Gothland, and Romarec, King of Finland, heard the rumour of these +deeds. They sent spies to Iceland, and learned from their messengers +that Arthur was making ready his host to pass the sea, and despoil +them of their realms. In all the world--said these messengers--there +was no such champion, nor so crafty a captain in the ordering of war. +These three kings feared mightily in case Arthur should descend upon +them, and waste their land. Lest a worse thing should befall them, +with no compulsion and of their own free wills, they set forth for +Iceland and came humbly before the king. They gave of their substance +rich gifts and offerings, and kneeling before Arthur did him fealty, +putting their countries between his hands, and proclaiming themselves +his men. They owned that of grace they held their inheritance, they +swore to render tribute to his treasury, and gave hostages for +assurance of their covenant. So they departed in peace to their own +place. For his part Arthur came again to his ships. He returned to +England, where he was welcomed of his people with marvellous joy. +Twelve years he abode in his realm in peace and content, since none +was so bold as to do him a mischief, and he did mischief to none. +Arthur held high state in a very splendid fashion. He ordained the +courtesies of courts, and bore himself with so rich and noble a +bearing, that neither the emperor's court at Rome, nor any other +bragged of by man, was accounted as aught besides that of the king. +Arthur never heard speak of a knight in praise, but he caused him to +be numbered of his household. So that he might he took him to himself, +for help in time of need. Because of these noble lords about his hall, +of whom each knight pained himself to be the hardiest champion, and +none would count him the least praiseworthy, Arthur made the Round +Table, so reputed of the Britons. This Round Table was ordained of +Arthur that when his fair fellowship sat to meat their chairs should +be high alike, their service equal, and none before or after his +comrade. Thus no man could boast that he was exalted above his fellow, +for all alike were gathered round the board, and none was alien at +the breaking of Arthur's bread. At this table sat Britons, Frenchmen, +Normans, Angevins, Flemings, Burgundians, and Loherins. Knights had +their plate who held land of the king, from the furthest marches of +the west even unto the Hill of St. Bernard. A most discourteous lord +would he be deemed who sojourned not awhile in the king's hall, who +came not with the countenance, the harness, and the vesture that were +the garb and usage of those who served Arthur about his court. From +all the lands there voyaged to this court such knights as were in +quest either of gain or worship. Of these lords some drew near to hear +tell of Arthur's courtesies; others to marvel at the pride of his +state; these to have speech with the knights of his chivalry; and some +to receive of his largeness costly gifts. For this Arthur in his day +was loved right well of the poor, and honoured meetly by the rich. +Only the kings of the world bore him malice and envy, since they +doubted and feared exceedingly lest he should set his foot upon them +every one, and spoil them of their heritage. + +I know not if you have heard tell the marvellous gestes and errant +deeds related so often of King Arthur. They have been noised about +this mighty realm for so great a space that the truth has turned to +fable and an idle song. Such rhymes are neither sheer bare lies, nor +gospel truths. They should not be considered either an idiot's tale, +or given by inspiration. The minstrel has sung his ballad, the +storyteller told over his story so frequently, little by little he +has decked and painted, till by reason of his embellishment the truth +stands hid in the trappings of a tale. Thus to make a delectable tune +to your ear, history goes masking as fable. Hear then how, because of +his valour, the counsel of his barons, and in the strength of that +mighty chivalry he had cherished and made splendid, Arthur purposed to +cross the sea and conquer the land of France. But first he deemed to +sail to Norway, since he would make Lot, his sister's lord, its king. +Sichelm, the King of Norway, was newly dead, leaving neither son nor +daughter of his body. In the days of his health, as alike when he fell +on death, Sichelm had appointed Lot to succeed him in his realm and +fief. The crown was Lot's by right, even as Sichelm proclaimed, since +Lot was the king's nephew, and there was no other heir. When the folk +of Norway learned that Sichelm had bequeathed his realm to Lot, they +held his command and ordinance in derision. They would have no alien +for their lord, nor suffer a stranger to meddle in their business, +lest he should deem them an ancient and feeble people, and give to +outland folk what was due to the dwellers in the realm. The Norwegians +resolved to make king one of their own house, that he might cherish +them and their children, and for this reason they chose from amongst +them a certain lord named Ridulph to be their king. + +When Lot perceived that his right was despised, save that he took his +heritage by force, he sought help of Arthur, his lord. Arthur agreed +to aid him in his quarrel, promising to render him his own, and to +avenge him bitterly on Ridulph. Arthur gathered together many ships +and a mighty host. He entered into Norway with this great company, +wasting the land, seizing on the manors, and spoiling the towns. +Ridulph was no trembler, and had no thought to leave the country to +its fate. He assembled his people, and prepared to give battle to the +king. Since however his carles were not many, and his friends but few, +Ridulph was defeated in the fight and slain. The greater part of his +fellowship perished with him, so that no large number remained. In +this manner Lot the King of Lyones destroyed the Norwegians from the +land. Having delivered Norway from itself Arthur granted the kingdom +to Lot, so only that he did Arthur homage as his lord. Amongst the +barons who rode in this adventure was Gawain, the hardy and famous +knight, who had freshly come from St. Sulpicius the Apostle, whose +soul may God give rest and glory. The knight wore harness bestowed on +him by the Apostle, and wondrously was he praised. This Gawain was a +courteous champion, circumspect in word and deed, having no pride nor +blemish in him. He did more than his boast, and gave more largely +than he promised. His father had sent him to Rome, that he might be +schooled the more meetly. Gawain was dubbed knight in the same day as +Wavain, and counted himself of Arthur's household. Mightily he strove +to do his devoir in the field, for the fairer service and honour of +his lord. + +After Arthur had conquered Norway, and firmly established his justice +in the land, he chose of his host those men who were the most valiant +and ready in battle, and assembled them by the sea. He brought to the +same haven many ships and barges, together with such mariners as were +needful for his purpose. When a quiet time was come, with a fortunate +wind, Arthur crossed the sea into Denmark; for the realm was very +greatly to his desire. Acil, the Danish king, considered the Britons +and the folk from Norway. He considered Arthur, who had prevailed +against so many kings. Acil knew and was persuaded that Arthur was +mightier than he. He had no mind to suffer hurt himself, or to see his +goodly heritage spoiled in a useless quarrel. What did it profit to +waste wealth and honour alike, to behold slain friends and ruined +towers? Acil wrought well and speedily. He sought peace, and ensued +it. He gave costly gifts, and made promises which were larger still, +till by reason of his words, his prayers, and supplications, concord +was established between Arthur and the king. Acil paid fealty and +homage, he became Arthur's man, and owned that of Arthur's grace he +held his fief. King Arthur rejoiced greatly at this adventure, and of +the conquest he had made. He desired honour the more greedily because +of the worship he had gained. From out of Denmark he chose, by +hundreds and by thousands, the stoutest knights and archers he could +find. These he joined to his host, purposing to lead this fair company +into France. Without any long tarrying the king acted on his purpose. +Towns, cities, and castles fell before him, so that Flanders and +the country about Boulogne were speedily in his power. Arthur was a +prudent captain. He perceived no profit in wasting his own realm, +burning his towns, and stealing from his very purse. His eyes were in +every place, and much was forbidden by his commandment. No soldier +might rob nor pill. If there was need of raiment, meat, or provand, +then must he buy with good minted coin in the market. Nothing he dared +to destroy or steal. + +Now in Arthur's day the land of France was known as Gaul. The realm +had neither king nor master, for the Romans held it strongly as a +province. This province was committed to the charge of Frollo, and the +tribune had governed the country for a great space. He took rent and +tribute of the people, and in due season caused the treasure to be +delivered to the emperor at Rome. Thus had it been since the time of +Caesar, that mighty emperor, who brought into subjection France and +Germany, and all the land of Britain. Frollo was a very worthy lord, +come of a noble Roman race, fearful of none, however hardy. He knew +well, by divers letters, the loss and the mischief done by Arthur and +his host. Frollo had no mind tamely to watch the Romans lose their +heritage. The tribune summoned to his aid all the men abiding in the +province who carried arms and owned fealty to Rome. He assembled these +together, ordaining a great company, clad in harness and plenteously +supplied with stores. With these he went out to battle against Arthur, +but he prospered less than his merit deserved. The Roman tribune was +discomfited so grievously that he sought safety in flight. Of his +fellowship he had lost a great number. Many were slain outright in +battle, others were sorely wounded, or made captive, or returned +sorrowing to their own homes. Out of the meinie Frollo had gathered +from so many cities, more than two thousand were destroyed. This was +no great marvel, since the count of Arthur's host was more than Frollo +might endure. From every land he had subdued to himself, from every +city that was taken, Arthur saw to it that not a spearman nor knight +of fitting years and strength of body, but was numbered in the host, +and commanded to serve Arthur as his lord Of these outland folk, +Arthur chose a fair company of the hardiest knights and most proven +champions to be of his private household. The very French began to +regard him as their king, so only that they had the courage of their +minds. This man loved him for his wise and comely speech this by +reason of his liberal hand: this because of his noble and upright +spirit Whether men were driven to his presence by fear, or considered +him a refuge in the storm, all found cause enough to seek his court, +to make their peace, and to acknowledge him as their suzerain. Now +Frollo, after his discomfiture by the king, fled to Paris with all +the speed he might, making no stop upon the road. The tribune feared +Arthur and his power very sorely, and since he sought a fortress to +defend his person, he would not trust his fortune to any other city. +He resolved, therefore, to await Arthur within Paris, and to fight the +king beneath the walls Frollo called to himself such legions as were +yet in towns near by. Because of the number of the fugitives who were +come to that place, together with the burgesses abiding therein, a +great concourse of people filled the city. All these folk toiled +diligently to furnish the city with corn and meat, and to make sure +the walls and gates against their foes. + +Arthur learned that Frollo was making strong his towers, and filling +the barns with victuals. He drew to Paris, and sat down without the +city. He lodged his men in the suburbs beyond the walls, holding the +town so close that food might not enter whether by the river or the +gates. Arthur shut the city fast for more than a month, since the +French defended them well and manfully. A mighty multitude was crowded +within the walls, and there was a plentiful lack of meat. All the +provand bought and gathered together in so short a space was quickly +eaten and consumed, and the folk were afterwards a-hungered. There was +little flesh, but many bellies; so that the women and children made +much sorrow Had the counsel of the poor been taken, right soon would +the keys of the city have been rendered. "Diva," clamoured the +famished citizens, "what doest thou, Frollo? Why requirest thou not +peace at Arthur's hand?" Frollo regarded the common people who failed +for famine. He looked upon the folk dying by reason of their hunger, +and knew that they would have him yield the city. Frollo perceived +that of a surety the end of all was come. The tribune chose to put +his own body in peril--yea, rather to taste of death, than to abandon +Paris to her leaguers. Frollo had full assurance of Arthur's rectitude +In the simplicity of his heart he sent urgent messages to the king, +praying him to enter in the Island, that body to body they might bring +their quarrel to an end. He who prevailed over his fellow, and came +living from the battle, should take the whole realm as his own and +receive all France for his guerdon. Thus the land would not perish, +nor the folk be utterly destroyed. Arthur hearkened willingly to the +heralds, for very greatly was their message to his mind. He accorded +that the battle should be between the two captains, even as Frollo +desired. Gauntlets were taken from one and the other, and hostages +given on behalf of Paris and on the part of the besiegers for better +assurance of the covenant that was made. + +On the morrow the two champions arrayed them in harness, and coming to +the Island, entered boldly in the lists. The banks were filled with a +mighty concourse of people, making great tumult. Not a man or woman +remained that day in his chamber. They climbed upon the walls, and +thronged the roofs of the houses, crying upon God, and adjuring Him +by His holy Name to give victory to him who would guard the realm in +peace, and preserve the poor from war Arthur's meinie, for their part, +awaited the judgment of God, in praying the King of Glory to bestow +the prize and honour on their lord. The two champions were set over +against the other, laced each in his mail, and seated on his warhorse. +The strong destriers were held with bit and bridle, so eager were they +for the battle. The riders bestrode the steeds with lifted shields, +brandishing great lances in their hands. It was no easy matter to +perceive--however curiously men looked--which was the stouter knight, +or to judge who would be victor in the joust. Certainly each was a +very worthy lord and a right courageous champion. When all was made +ready the knights struck spurs to their steeds, and loosing the rein +upon the horses' necks, hurtled together with raised buckler and lance +in rest. They smote together with marvellous fierceness. Whether by +reason of the swerving of his destrier, I cannot tell, but Frollo +failed of his stroke Arthur, on his side, smote the boss of his +adversary's shield so fairly, that he bore him over his horse's +buttock, as long as the ash staff held Arthur drew forth his sword, +and hastened to Frollo to bring the battle to an end. Frollo climbed +stoutly on his feet. He held his lance before him like a rod, and the +king's steed ran upon the spear, so that it pierced deeply in his +body. Of this thrust the destrier and his rider alike came tumbling to +the ground. When the Britons saw this thing, they might not contain +themselves for grief. They cried aloud, and seizing their weapons, for +a little would have violated the love-day. They made ready to cross +the river to the Island, and to avenge their lord upon the Gauls. +Arthur cried loudly to his Britons to observe their covenant, +commanding that not a man should move to his help that day. He gripped +Excalibur sternly in his hand, resolving that Frollo should pay +dearly for his triumph. Arthur dressed his shield above his head, and +handselling his sword, rushed upon Frollo. Frollo was a passing good +knight, hardy and strong, in no whit dismayed by the anger of his +adversary. He raised his own glaive on high, striking fiercely at +Arthur's brow. Frollo was strong beyond the strength of man. His brand +was great and sharp, and the buffet was struck with all his power. The +blade sheared through helm and coif alike, so that King Arthur was +wounded in his forehead, and the blood ran down his face. + +When Arthur felt the dolour of his hurt, and looked upon his blood, he +desired nothing, save to wreak evil on the man who had wrought this +mischief. He pressed the more closely upon Frollo. Lifting Excalibur, +his good sword, in both hands, he smote so lustily that Frollo's head +was cloven down to his very shoulders. No helmet nor hauberk, whatever +the armourer's craft, could have given surety from so mighty a blow. +Blood and brains gushed from the wound. Frollo fell upon the ground, +and beating the earth a little with his chausses of steel, presently +died, and was still. + +When men saw this bitter stroke the burgesses and sergeants raised a +loud cry. Arthur's household rejoiced beyond measure; but those of +the city wept, making great sorrow for Frollo, their champion. +Nevertheless, the citizens of Paris ran to their gates. They set the +doors wide, and welcomed Arthur, his meinie, and company within their +walls. When Arthur perceived the French were desirous to offer him +their fealty, he suffered them so to do, taking hostages that they +would abide in peace. He lodged within the city certain days, and +appointed governors, for the assurance of his power. After quiet was +established, Arthur divided the host into two parts. The one of these +companies he delivered into the charge of Hoel, the king's nephew. +With the other half he devised to conquer Anjou, Auvergne, Gascony, +and Poitou; yea, to overrun Lorraine and Burgundy, if the task did +not prove beyond his power. Hoel did his lord's commandment, even as +Arthur purposed. He conquered Berri, and afterwards Touraine, Auvergne, +Poitou, and Gascony. Guitard, the King of Poitiers, was a valiant +captain, having good knights in his service. To uphold his realm and +his rights Guitard fought many a hard battle. The luck went this way +and that. Sometimes he was the hunter, sometimes the quarry: often he +prevailed, and often, again, he lost. At the end Guitard was persuaded +Arthur was the stronger lord, and that only by submission could he +keep his own. The land was utterly wasted and ravaged. Beyond the +walls of town and castle there was nothing left to destroy; and of all +the fair vineyards not a vine but was rooted from the ground. Guitard +made overtures of peace, and accorded himself with Hoel. He swore +Arthur fealty and homage, so that the king came to love him very +dearly. The other parcels of France Arthur conquered them every one by +his own power. When there was peace over all the country, so that none +dared lift a spear against the king, Arthur sought such men as were +grown old in his quarrels, and desired greatly to return to their +homes. To these feeble sergeants Arthur rendered their wages and +gifts, and sent them rejoicing from whence they had come. The knights +of his household, and such lusty youths as were desirous of honour, +having neither dame nor children to their hearths, Arthur held in his +service for yet nine years. During these nine years that Arthur abode +in France, he wrought divers great wonders, reproving many haughty +men and their tyrannies, and chastising many sinners after their +deservings. Now it befell that when Easter was come, Arthur held high +feast at Paris with his friends. On that day the king recompensed his +servants for their losses, and gave to each after his deserts. He +bestowed guerdon meetly on all, according to his zeal and the labour +he had done. To Kay, the master seneschal of his house, a loyal and +chivalrous knight, the king granted all Anjou and Angers. Bedevere, +the king's cupbearer and very privy counsellor, received that fief of +Normandy, which aforetime was called Neustria. These lords, Kay and +Bedevere, were Arthur's faithful friends, knowing the inmost counsel +of his mind. Boulogne was given to Holden: Le Mans to Borel, his +cousin. On each and all, according to his gentleness of heart and +diligence in his lord's service, Arthur bestowed honours and fees, and +granted largely of his lands. + +After Arthur thus had feoffed his lords, and given riches to his +friends, in April, when winter was gone, he passed the sea to England, +his own realm. Marvellous joy was shown of all good folk at the return +of the king. Dames held those husbands close from whom they had been +parted so long. Mothers kissed their sons, with happy tears upon their +cheeks. Sons and daughters embraced their fathers. Cousin clipped +cousin, and neighbour that friend who once was his companion. The +aunt made much of her sister's son. Ladies kissed long that lover who +returned from France, yea, when the place was meet, clasped him yet +more sweetly in their arms. Wondrous was the joy shown of all. In +the lanes and crossways, in the highways and by-ways, you might see +friends a many staying friend, to know how it fared with him, how +the land was settled when it was won, what adventures chanced to the +seeker, what profit clave to him thereof, and why he remained so great +a while beyond the sea. Then the soldier fought his battles once +again. He told over his adventures, he spoke of his hard and weary +combats, of the toils he had endured, and the perils from which he was +delivered. + +Arthur cherished tenderly his servants, granting largely, and +promising richly, to the worthy. He took counsel with his barons, and +devised that for the louder proclamation of his fame and wealth, he +would hold a solemn feast at Pentecost, when summer was come, and that +then in the presence of his earls and baronage he would be crowned +king. Arthur commanded all his lords on their allegiance to meet him +at Caerleon in Glamorgan. He desired to be crowned king in Caerleon, +because it was rich beyond other cities, and marvellously pleasant and +fair. Pilgrims told in those days that the mansions of Caerleon were +more desirable than the palaces of Rome. This rich city, Caerleon, was +builded on the Usk, a river which falls within the Severn. He who came +to the city from a strange land, might seek his haven by this fair +water. On one side of the town flowed this clear river; whilst on the +other spread a thick forest. Fish were very plentiful in the river, +and of venison the burgesses had no lack. Passing fair and deep were +the meadows about the city, so that the barns and granges were very +rich. Within the walls rose two mighty churches, greatly praised. One +of these famed churches was called in remembrance of Saint Julius the +Martyr, and held a convent of holy nuns for the fairer service of God. +The second church was dedicate to Saint Aaron, his companion. The +bishop had his seat therein. Moreover, this church was furnished with +many wealthy clergy and canons of seemly life. These clerks were +students of astronomy, concerning themselves diligently with the +courses of the stars. Often enough they prophesied to Arthur what the +future would bring forth, and of the deeds that he would do. So goodly +was the city, there was none more delectable in all the earth. Now by +reason of the lofty palaces, the fair woods and pastures, the ease and +content, and all the delights of which you have heard, Arthur desired +to hold his court at Caerleon, and to bid his barons to attend him +every one. He commanded, therefore, to the feast, kings and earls, +dukes and viscounts, knights and barons, bishops and abbots. Nor did +Arthur bid Englishmen alone, but Frenchman and Burgundian, Auvergnat +and Gascon, Norman and Poitivin, Angevin and Fleming, together with +him of Brabant, Hainault, and Lorraine, the king bade to his dinner. +Frisian and Teuton, Dane and Norwegian, Scot, Irish, and Icelander, +him of Cathness and of Gothland, the lords of Galway and of the +furthest islands of the Hebrides, Arthur summoned them all. When these +received the king's messages commanding them to his crowning, they +hastened to observe the feast as they were bidden, every one. From +Scotland came Aguisel the king, richly vested in his royal robes; +there, too, was Unan, King of Murief, together with his son Yvam the +courteous; Lot of Lyones also, to take a brave part in the revels, +and with him that very frank and gentle knight Gawain, his son. There +besides were Stater and Cadual, kings of South Wales and of North, +Cador of Cornwall, right near to Arthur's heart; Morud, Earl of +Gloucester; and Guerdon, Earl of Winchester. Anavalt came from +Salisbury, and Rimarec from Canterbury. Earl Baldulph drew from +Silchester, and Vigenin from Leicester. There, too, was Algal of +Guivic, a baron much held in honour by the court. Other lords were +there a many, in no wise of less reputation than their fellows. The +son of Po that was hight Donander; Regian, son of Abauder; Ceilus the +son of Coil, that son of Chater named Chatellus, Griffin, the heir of +Nagroil, Ron, the son of Neco; Margoil, Clefaut, Ringar, Angan, Rimar +and Gorbonian, Kinlint, Neco and that Peredur, whom men deemed to be +gotten by Eladur. Besides these princes there drew to Caerleon such +knights as were of the king's house, and served him about his court. +These were his chosen friends, who had their seats at the King's Round +Table, but more of them I cannot tell. Many other lords were there of +only less wealth and worship than those I have named. So numerous was +this fair company that I have lost count of their numbers. A noble +array of prelates came also to Arthur's solemn feast. Abbots and +mitred bishops walked in their order and degree. The three archbishops +of the realm came in his honour, namely, the Archbishop of London, his +brother of York, and holy Dubricius, whose chair was in that self same +city. Very holy of life was this fair prelate. Very abundantly he +laboured, being Archbishop of Caerleon and Legate of Rome. Many +wonderful works were wrought by his hands. The sick were brought to +him gladly, and by reason of his love and his prayers, oftentimes +they were healed of their hurt. In olden days this Dubricius abode in +London, but now was Bishop in Wales, by reason of the evil times when +kings regarded not God, and the people forsook the churches of their +fathers. These clergy assembled at Arthur's court, for the king's +feast, together with so great a fellowship of barons that I know not +even to rehearse you their names. + +Yet these must be remembered, whomsoever I forget. Villamus, King of +Ireland, and Mahnus, King of Iceland, and Doldamer, lord of that lean +and meagre country, known as the land of Goths. Acil, the King of the +Danes; Lot, who was King of Norway, and Gonfal, jarl of the lawless +Orkneys, from whence sail the pirates in their ships. From the parts +beyond the seas came Ligier, holding the dukedom and honour of +Burgundy; Holden, Earl of Flanders; and Guerin, Earl of Chartres, +having the twelve peers of France in his company, for the richer +dignity and splendour of his state. Guitard was there, the Earl of +Poitiers; Kay, whom the king had created Earl of Angers; and Bedevere +of Neustria, that province which men now call Normandy. From Le Mans +drew Earl Borel, and from Brittany Earl Hoel. Passing noble of visage +was Hoel, and all those lords who came forth from France. They voyaged +to Arthur's court in chased harness and silken raiment, riding on +lusty horses with rich trappings, and wearing jewels, with many golden +ornaments. There was not a prince from here even unto Spain, yea, to +the very Rhine in the land of Germany, but hastened to Arthur's solemn +feast, so only that he was bidden to that crowning. Of these some came +to look on the face of the king, some to receive of his largeness +costly gifts, some to have speech with the lords of his council. Some +desired to marvel over the abundance of Arthur's wealth, and others to +hear tell of the great king's courtesies. This lord was drawn by the +cords of love; this by compulsion of his suzerain's ban, this to learn +by the witness of his eyes whether Arthur's power and prosperity +exceeded that fame of which the whole world bragged. + +When this proud company of kings, bishops, and princes was gathered +together to observe Arthur's feast, the whole city was moved. The +king's servants tolled diligently making ready for so great a +concourse of guests. Soldiers ran to and fro, busily seeking hostels +for this fair assemblage. Houses were swept and garnished, spread with +reeds, and furnished with hangings of rich arras. Halls and chambers +were granted to their needs, together with stables for the horses and +their provand. Those for whom hostelries might not be found abode in +seemly lodgings, decently appointed to their degree. The city was full +of stir and tumult. In every place you beheld squires leading horses +and destriers by the bridle, setting saddles on hackneys and taking +them off, buckling the harness and making the metal work shining and +bright. Grooms went about their business. Never was such a cleansing +of stables, such taking of horses to the meadows, such a currying and +combing, shoeing and loosing of girths, washing and watering, such a +bearing of straw and of grass for the litter, and oats for the manger. +Nor these alone, but in the courtyards and chambers of the hostels you +might see the pages and chamberlains go swiftly about their tasks, in +divers fashions. The varlets brushed and folded the habiliments and +mantles of their lords. They looked to the stuff and the fastenings of +their garments. You saw them hurry through the halls carrying furs and +furred raiment, both vair and the grey. Caerleon seemed rather a fair +than a city, at Arthur's feast. + +Now telleth the chronicle of this geste, that when the morning was +come of the day of the high feast, a fair procession of archbishops, +bishops, and abbots wended to the king's palace, to place the crown +upon Arthur's head, and lead him within the church. Two of these +archbishops brought him through the streets of the city, one walking +on either side of his person. Each bishop sustained the king by his +arm, and thus he was earned to his throne. Four kings went before +Arthur and the clerks, bearing swords in their hands. Pommel, +scabbard, and hilt of these four swords were of wrought gold. This was +the office of these kings when Arthur held state at his court. The +first of the princes was from Scotland, the second from South Wales, +the third was of North Wales, and as to the last it was Cador of +Cornwall who earned the fourth sword. All these fair princes were +at one in their purpose, being altogether at unity, when Arthur was +crowned king. To holy Dubricius it fell, as prelate of Caerleon and +Roman legate, to celebrate the office and perform such rites as were +seemly to be rendered in the church. + +That the queen might not be overshadowed by her husband's state, the +crown was set on her head in another fashion. For her part she had +bidden to her court the great ladies of the country, and such dames as +were the wives of her friends. Together with these had assembled the +ladies of her kindred, such ladies as were most to her mind, and many +fair and gentle maidens whom she desired to be about her person at the +feast. The presence of this gay company of ladies made the feast yet +more rich, when the queen was crowned in her chamber, and brought to +that convent of holy nuns for the conclusion of the rite. The press +was so great that the queen might hardly make her way through the +streets of the city. Four dames preceded their lady, bearing four +white doves in their hands. These dames were the wives of those lords +who carried the golden swords before the king. A fair company of +damsels followed after the queen, making marvellous joy and delight. +This fair fellowship of ladies came from the noblest of the realm. +Passing dainty were they to see, wearing rich mantles above their +silken raiment. All men gazed gladly upon them, for their beauty was +such that none was sweeter than her fellows. These dames and maidens +went clothed in their softest garments. Their heads were tired in +their fairest hennins, and they walked in their most holiday vesture. +Never were seen so many rich kirtles of divers colours, such costly +mantles, such precious jewels and rings. Never were seen such furs and +such ornaments, both the vair and the grey. Never was known so gay and +noble a procession of ladies, as this which hastened to the church, +lest it should be hindered from the rite. + +Now within the church Mass was commenced with due pomp and observance. +The noise of the organ filled the church, and the clerks sang tunably +in the choir. Their voices swelled or failed, according as the chant +mounted to the roof, or died away in supplication. The knights passed +from one church to the other. Now they would be at the convent of St. +Julius, and again at the cathedral church of St. Aaron. This they did +to compare the singing of the clerks, and to delight their eyes with +the loveliness of the damsels. Although the knights passed frequently +between the churches, yet no man could answer for certain at which +they remained the longer. They could not surfeit the heart by reason +of the sweetness of the melody. Yea, had the song endured the whole +day through, I doubt those knights would ever have grown weary or +content. + +When the office drew to its appointed end, and the last words were +chanted, the king put off his crown that he had carried to the church. +He took another crown which sat more lightly on his head; and in such +fashion did the queen. They laid aside their heavy robes and ornaments +of state, and vested them in less tiring raiment. The king parted from +St. Aaron's church, and returned to his palace for meat. The queen, +for her part, came again to her own house, carrying with her that fair +fellowship of ladies, yet making marvellous joy. For the Britons held +still to the custom brought by their sires from Troy, that when the +feast was spread, man ate with man alone, bringing no lady with him +to the board. The ladies and damsels ate apart. No men were in their +hall, save only the servitors, who served them with every observance, +for the feast was passing rich, as became a monarch's court. When +Arthur was seated in his chair upon the dais, the lords and princes +sat around the board, according to the usage of the country, each in +his order and degree. The king's seneschal, hight Sir Kay, served +Arthur's table, clad in a fair dalmatic of vermeil silk. With Sir Kay +were a thousand damoiseaux, clothed in ermine, who bore the dishes +from the buttery. These pages moved briskly about the tables, carrying +the meats in platters to the guests. Together with these were yet +another thousand damoiseaux, gentle and goodly to see, clothed +likewise in coats of ermine. These fair varlets poured the wine from +golden beakers into cups and hanaps of fine gold. Not one of these +pages but served in a vesture of ermine. Bedevere, the king's +cupbearer, himself set Arthur's cup upon the board; and those called +him master who saw that Arthur's servants lacked not drink. + +The queen had so many servitors at her bidding, that I may not tell +you the count. She and all her company of ladies were waited on, +richly and reverently. Right worshipfully were they tended. These +ladies had to their table many rich meats, and wines and spiced drink +of divers curious fashions. The dishes and vessels from which they ate +were very precious, and passing fair. I know not how to put before you +the wealth and the splendour of Arthur's feast. Whether for goodly men +or for chivalrous deeds, for wealth as for plenty, for courtesy as for +honour, in Arthur's day England bore the flower from all the lands +near by, yea, from every other realm whereof we know. The poorest +peasant in his smock was a more courteous and valiant gentleman than +was a belted knight beyond the sea. And as with the men, so, and no +otherwise, was it with the women. There was never a knight whose +praise was bruited abroad, but went in harness and raiment and plume +of one and the self-same hue. The colour of surcoat and armour in +the field was the colour of the gown he wore in hall. The dames and +damsels would apparel them likewise in cloth of their own colour. No +matter what the birth and riches of a knight might be, never, in all +his days, could he gain fair lady to his friend, till he had proved +his chivalry and worth. That knight was accounted the most nobly born +who bore himself the foremost in the press. Such a knight was indeed +cherished of the ladies; for his friend was the more chaste as he was +brave. + +After the king had risen from the feast, he and his fellowship went +without the city to take their delight amongst the fields. The lords +sought their pleasure in divers places. Some amongst them jousted +together, that their horses might be proven. Others fenced with the +sword, or cast the stone, or flung pebbles from a sling. There were +those who shot with the bow, like cunning archers, or threw darts at +a mark. Every man strove with his fellow, according to the game he +loved. That knight who proved the victor in his sport, and bore the +prize from his companions, was carried before the king in the sight of +all the princes. Arthur gave him of his wealth so goodly a gift, that +he departed from the king's presence in great mirth and content. The +ladies of the court climbed upon the walls, looking down on the games +very gladly. She, whose friend was beneath her in the field, gave +him the glance of her eye and her face; so that he strove the more +earnestly for her favour. Now to the court had gathered many tumblers, +harpers, and makers of music, for Arthur's feast. He who would hear +songs sung to the music of the rote, or would solace himself with the +newest refrain of the minstrel, might win to his wish. Here stood +the viol player, chanting ballads and lays to their appointed tunes. +Everywhere might be heard the voice of viols and harp and flutes. +In every place rose the sound of lyre and drum and shepherd's pipe, +bagpipe, psaltery, cymbals, monochord, and all manner of music. Here +the tumbler tumbled on his carpet. There the mime and the dancing girl +put forth their feats. Of Arthur's guests some hearkened to the teller +of tales and fables. Others called for dice and tables, and played +games of chance for a wager. Evil befalls to winner and loser alike +from such sport as this. For the most part men played at chess or +draughts. You might see them, two by two, bending over the board. When +one player was beaten by his fellow, he borrowed moneys to pay his +wager, giving pledges for the repayment of his debt. Dearly enough he +paid for his loan, getting but eleven to the dozen. But the pledge was +offered and taken, the money rendered, and the game continued with +much swearing and cheating, much drinking and quarrelling, with strife +and with anger. Often enough the loser was discontented, and rose +murmuring against his fellow. Two by two the dicers sat at table, +casting the dice. They threw in turn, each throwing higher than his +fellow. You might hear them count, six, five, three, four, two, and +one. They staked their raiment on the cast, so there were those who +threw half naked. Fair hope had he who held the dice, after his fellow +had cried his number. Then the quarrel rose suddenly from the silence. +One called across the table to his companion, "You cheat, and throw +not fairly. Grasp not the dice so tightly in your hand, but shake them +forth upon the board. My count is yet before yours. If you still have +pennies in your pouch bring them out, for I will meet you to your +wish." Thus the dicers wrangled, and to many of Arthur's guests it +chanced that he who sat to the board in furs, departed from the tables +clothed in his skin. + +When the fourth day of the week was come, on a certain Wednesday, the +king made knights of his bachelors, granting them rents to support +their stations. He recompensed those lords of his household who held +of him their lands at suit and service. Such clerks as were diligent +in their Master's business he made abbots and bishops; and bestowed +castles and towns on his counsellors and friends. To those stranger +knights who for his love had crossed the sea in his quarrel, the king +gave armour and destrier and golden ornaments, to their desire. Arthur +divided amongst them freely of his wealth. He granted lordship and +delights, greyhound and brachet, furred gown and raiment, beaker +and hanap, sendal and signet, bhaut and mantle, lance and sword and +quivers of sharp barbed arrows. He bestowed harness and buckler and +weapons featly fashioned by the smith. He gave largesse of bears +and of leopards, of palfreys and hackneys, of chargers with saddles +thereon. He gave the helm as the hauberk, the gold as the silver, yea, +he bestowed on his servants the very richest and most precious of his +treasure. Never a man of these outland knights, so only he was worthy +of Arthur's bounty, but the king granted him such gifts as he might +brag of in his own realm. And as with the foreign lords, so to the +kings and the princes, the knights, and all his barons, Arthur gave +largely many precious gifts. + +Now as King Arthur was seated on a dais with these princes and earls +before him, there entered in his hall twelve ancient men, white and +greyheaded, full richly arrayed in seemly raiment. These came within +the palace two by two. With the one hand each clasped his companion, +and in the other carried a fair branch of olive. The twelve elders +passed at a slow pace down the hall, bearing themselves right +worshipfully. They drew near to Arthur's throne, and saluted the king +very courteously. They were citizens of Rome, said the spokesman of +these aged men, and were ambassadors from the emperor, bringing with +them letters to the king. Having spoken such words, one amongst them +made ready his parchment, and delivered it in Arthur's hands. This was +the sum of the writing sent by the Emperor of Rome. + +"Lucius, the Emperor and lord of Rome, to King Arthur, his enemy, +these, according to his deservings. I marvel very greatly, and disdain +whilst yet I marvel, the pride and ill-will which have puffed you up +to seek to do me evil. I have nothing but contempt and wonder for +those who counsel you to resist the word of Rome, whilst yet one Roman +draws his breath. You have acted lightly, and by reason of vanity have +wrought mischief to us who are the front and avengers of the world. +You resemble a blind man, whose eyes the leech prepares to open. You +know not yet, but very soon you will have learned, the presumption of +him who teaches law to the justice of Rome. It is not enough to say +that you have acted after your kind, and sinned according to your +nature. Know you not whom you are, and from what dust you have come, +that you dare to dispute the tribute to Rome! Why do you steal our +land and our truage? Why do you refuse to render Caesar that which is +his own? Are you indeed so strong that we may not take our riches +from your hand? Perchance you would show us a marvellous matter. +Behold--you say--the lion fleeing from the lamb, the wolf trembling +before the kid, and the leopard fearful of the hare. Be not deceived. +Nature will not suffer such miracles to happen. Julius Caesar, our +mighty ancestor--whom, maybe, you despise in your heart--conquered the +land of Britain, taking tribute thereof, and this you have paid until +now. From other islands also, neighbours of this, it was our custom to +receive truage. These in your presumption you have taken by force, to +your own most grievous hurt. Moreover, you have been so bold as to put +yet greater shame and damage upon us, since Frollo, our tribune, is +slain, and France and Britain, by fraud, you keep wrongfully in your +power. Since, then, you have not feared Rome, neither regarded her +honour, the senate summon you by these letters, and command you under +pain of their displeasure, to appear before them at mid August, +without fail or excuse. Come prepared to make restitution of that you +have taken, whatever the cost; and to give satisfaction for all those +things whereof you are accused. If so be you think to keep silence, +and do naught of that you are bidden, I will cross the Mont St. +Bernard with a mighty host, and pluck Britain and France from your +hand. Do not deem that you can make head against me, neither hold +France in my despite. Never will you dare to pass that sea, for my +dearer pleasure; yea, were your courage indeed so great, yet never +might you abide my coming. Be persuaded that in what place soever you +await me, from thence I will make you skip. For this is my purpose, to +bind you with bonds, and bring you to Rome, and deliver you, bound, to +the judgment of the senate." + +When this letter was read in the hearing of those who were come to +Arthur's solemnity, a great tumult arose, for they were angered beyond +measure. Many of the Britons took God to witness that they would do +such things and more also to those ambassadors who had dared deliver +the message. They pressed about those twelve ancient men, with many +wild and mocking words. Arthur rose hastily to his feet, bidding the +brawlers to keep silence. He cried that none should do the Romans a +mischief, for they were an embassy, and carried the letters of their +lord. Since they were but another's mouthpiece, he commanded that none +should work them harm. After the noise was at an end, and Arthur was +assured that the elders were no longer in peril, he called his privy +council and the lords of his household together, in a certain stone +keep, that was named the Giant's Tower. The king would be advised by +his barons--so ran the summons--what answer he should give to the +messengers of Rome. Now as they mounted the stairs, earl and prince, +pell mell, together, Cador, who was a merry man, saw the king before +him. "Fair king," said the earl gaily, "for a great while the thought +has disturbed me, that peace and soft living are rotting away the +British bone. Idleness is the stepdame of virtue, as our preachers +have often told us. Soft living makes a sluggard of the hardiest +knight, and steals away his strength. She cradles him with dreams of +woman, and is the mother of chambering and wantonness. Folded hands +and idleness cause our young damoiseaux to waste their days over merry +tales, and dice, raiment to catch a lady's fancy and things that are +worse. Rest and assurance of safety will in the end do Britain more +harm than force or guile. May the Lord God be praised Who has jogged +our elbow. To my mind He has persuaded these Romans to challenge our +country that we may get us from sleep. If the Romans trust so greatly +in their might that they do according to their letters, be assured the +Briton has not yet lost his birthright of courage and hardness. I am +a soldier, and have never loved a peace that lasts over long, since +there are uglier things than war." Gawain overheard these words. "Lord +earl," said he, "by my faith be not fearful because of the young men. +Peace is very grateful after war. The grass grows greener, and the +harvest is more plenteous. Merry tales, and songs, and ladies' love +are delectable to youth. By reason of the bright eyes and the worship +of his friend, the bachelor becomes knight and learns chivalry." + +Whilst the lords jested amongst themselves in this fashion, they +climbed the tower, and were seated in the chamber. When Arthur marked +that each was in his place, silent and attentive to the business, he +considered for a little that he had to speak. Presently he lifted his +head, and spoke such words as these. "Lords," said the king, "who are +here with me, nay, rather my companions and my friends, companions +alike, whether the day be good or evil, by whose sustenance alone I +have endured such divers quarrels, hearken well to me. In the days +that are told, have we not shared victory and defeat together, +partners, you with me, as I with you, in gain and in loss? Through +you, and by reason of your help in time of trouble, have I won many +battles. You have I carried over land and sea, far and near, to many +strange realms. Ever have I found you loyal and true, in business +and counsel. Because of your prowess I hold the heritage of divers +neighbouring princes in subjection. Lords, you have hearkened to the +letters carried by the ambassadors of Rome, and to the malice they +threaten if we do not after their commandment. Very despiteful are +they against us, and purpose to work us bitter mischief. But if God be +gracious to His people, we shall yet be delivered from their hand. Now +these Romans are a strong nation, passing rich and of great power. It +becomes us therefore to consider prudently what we shall say and do in +answer to their message, looking always to the end. He who is assured +of his mark gets there by the shortest road. When the arrows start to +fly, the sergeant takes shelter behind his shield. Let us be cautious +and careful like these. This Lucius seeks to do us a mischief. He is +in his right, and it is ours to take such counsel, that his mischief +falls on his own head. To-day he demands tribute from Britain and +other islands of the sea. To-morrow he purposes in his thought to +receive truage of France. Consider first the case of Britain, and how +to answer wisely therein. Britain was conquered by Caesar of force. +The Britons knew not how to keep them against his host, and perforce +paid him their tribute. But force is no right. It is but pride puffed +up and swollen beyond measure. They cannot hold of law what they have +seized by violence and wrong. The land is ours by right, even if the +Roman took it to himself by force. The Romans really reproach us for +the shame and the damage, the loss and the sorrow Caesar visited upon +our fathers. They boast that they will avenge such losses as these, by +taking the land with the rent, and making their little finger thicker +than their father's loins. Let them beware. Hatred breeds hatred +again, and things despiteful are done to those who despitefully use +you. They come with threats, demanding truage, and reproving us for +the evil we have done them. Tribute they claim by the right of the +strong, leaving sorrow and shame as our portion. But if the Romans +claim to receive tribute of Britain because tribute was aforetime paid +them from Britain, by the same reasoning we may establish that Rome +should rather pay tribute to us. In olden days there lived two +brothers, British born, namely, Belinus, King of the Britons, and +Brennus, Duke of Burgundy, both wise and doughty lords. These stout +champions arrived with their men before Rome, and shutting the city +close, at the end gained it by storm. They took hostages of the +citizens to pay them tribute, but since the burgesses did not observe +their covenant, the brethren hanged the hostages, to the number of +four and-twenty, in the eyes of all their kinsfolk. When Belinus went +to his own place, he commended Rome to the charge of Brennus, his +brother. Now Constantine, the son of Helena, drew from Brennus and +Belinus, and in his turn held Rome in his care. Maximian, King of +Britain, after he had conquered France and Germany, passed the Mont +St. Bernard into Lombardy, and took Rome to his keeping. These mighty +kings were my near kinsmen, and each was master of Rome. Thus you have +heard, and see clearly, that not only am I King of Britain, but by law +Emperor of Rome also, so we maintain the rights of our fathers. The +Romans have had truage of us, and my ancestors have taken seisin of +them. They claim Britain, and I demand Rome. This is the sum and end +of my counsel as regards Britain and Rome. Let him have the fief and +the rent who is mightier in the field. As to France and those other +countries which have been removed from their hands, the Romans should +not wish to possess that which they may not maintain. Either the +land was not to their mind, or they had not the strength to hold it. +Perchance the Romans have no rights in the matter, and it is by reason +of covetousness rather than by love of law, that they seek this +quarrel. Let him keep the land who can, by the right of the most +strong. For all these things the emperor menaces us very grievously. I +pray God that he may do us no harm. Our fiefs and goods he promises +to take from us, and lead us captive in bonds to Rome. We care not +overmuch for this, and are not greatly frighted at his words. If he +seek us after his boast, please God, he will have no mind to threaten +when he turns again to his own home. We accept his challenge, and +appeal to God's judgment, that all may be rendered to his keeping, who +is able to maintain it in his hand." + +When Arthur the king had made an end of speaking in the ears of his +barons, the word was with those who had hearkened to his counsel. Hoel +followed after the king. "Sire," said he, "you have spoken much, and +right prudently, nor is there any who can add wisdom to your speech. +Summon now your vassals and meinie, together with us who are of your +household. Cross the sea straightway into France, and make the realm +sure with no further tarrying. From thence we can pass Mont St. +Bernard, and overrun Lombardy. By moving swiftly we shall carry the +war into the emperor's own land. We shall fright him so greatly that +he will have the less leisure to trouble Britain. Your movements, +moreover, will be so unlooked for that the Romans will be altogether +amazed, and quickly confounded. Sire, it is the Lord's purpose to +exalt you over all the kings of the earth. Hinder not the will of God +by doubtfulness. He is able to put even Rome in your power, so only it +be according to His thought. Remember the books of the Sibyl, and of +the prophecies therein. The Sibyl wrote that three kings should come +forth from Britain, who of their might should conquer Rome. Of these +three princes, two are dead. Belinus is dead, and Constantine is dead, +but each in his day was the master of Rome. You are that third king +destined to be stronger than the great city. In you the prophecy shall +be fulfilled, and the Sibyl's words accomplished. Why then scruple to +take what God gives of His bounty? Rise up then, exalt yourself, exalt +your servants, who would see the end of God's purpose. I tell you +truly that nothing of blows or hurt, neither weariness nor prison nor +death, counts aught with us in comparison with what is due to the +king's honour. For my part, I will ride in your company, so long as +this business endures, with ten thousand armed horsemen at my back. +Moreover, if your treasury has need of moneys for the quarrel, I will +put my realm in pledge, and deliver the gold and the gain to your +hand. Never a penny will I touch of my own, so long as the king has +need." + +After Hoel had ended his counsel, Aguisel, King of Scotland, who was +brother to Lot and to Urian, stood on his feet. "Sire," said he, "the +words you have spoken in this hall, where are gathered the flower of +your chivalry, are dear to their ears, for we have listened to the +disdainful messages of Rome. Be assured that each of your peers will +aid you to the utmost of his power. Now is the time and occasion to +show forth the counsel and help we can afford to our king. Not one of +us here who is a subject of your realm, and holds his manors of the +crown, but will do his duty to his liege, as is but just and right. No +tidings I have heard for a great while past sounded so good and fair +as the news that presently we shall have strife with Rome. These +Romans are a people whom I neither love with my heart, nor esteem in +my mind, but hate because they are very orgulous and proud. Upright +folk should avoid their fellowship, for they are an evil and a +covetous race, caring for no other matter but to heap treasure +together, and add to their store. The emperor of this people, by fraud +and deceit, has fastened this quarrel upon us, sending you letters +with an embassy. He deems that Britain is no other than it was, or +he would not demand his measure of tribute, pressed down and running +over. The Roman has raised such a smoke that his fingers will quickly +be scorched in the flame. Moreover, had the Roman kept quiet, even had +he refrained from threats, it becomes our honour, of our own choice, +to enter on this war, to avenge the wrongs of our fathers, and to +abase his pride. The Romans' logic is that they are entitled to +receive tribute at our hands, by reason that their fathers, in their +day, took truage of our ancestors. If this be so, it was no free-will +offering of our fathers, but was wrenched from them by force. So be +it. By force we take again our own, and revenge ourselves for all the +pilling of the past. We are a perilous people, who have proved victors +in divers great battles, and brought many a bitter war to a good end. +But what profit is ours of nil these triumphs, so long as we cry not +'check' to Rome! I desire not drink to my lips when athirst, nor meat +to my mouth when an hungered, as I desire the hour when we hurtle +together in the field. Then hey for the helm laced fast, the lifted +shield, for the brandished sword, and the mighty horse. God! what +spoil and rich ransom will he gain whose body God keeps with His +buckler that day. Never again will he be poor till his life's end. +Cities and castles will be his for the sacking; and mules, sumpters, +and destriers to the heart's desire. On then, comrades, to the +conquest of Rome, and to the parcelling of the Romans' lands. When the +proud city is destroyed, and its wardens slain, there remains yet a +work for us to do. We will pass into Lorraine, and seize the realm. We +will make our pleasaunce of all the strongholds of Germany. So we will +do, till there endures not a land to the remotest sea but is Arthur's +fief, nor one only realm to pluck them from his power. Right or wrong +this is our purpose. That my blow may be heavy as my word, and the +deed accord with the speech, I am ready to go with the king, and ten +thousand riders with me, besides men-at-arms in such plenty that no +man may count them." + +When the King of Scotland had spoken, there was much stir and tumult, +all men crying that he would be shamed for ever who did not his utmost +in this quarrel. Arthur and his baronage being of one mind together, +the king wrote certain letters to Rome, and sealed them with his +ring. These messages he committed to the embassy, honouring right +worshipfully those reverend men. "Tell your countrymen," said the +king, "that I am lord of Britain: that I hold France, and will +continue to hold it, and purpose to defend it against the Roman power. +Let them know of a surety that I journey to Rome presently at their +bidding, only it will be not to carry them tribute, but rather to seek +it at their hand." The ambassadors, therefore, took their leave, and +went again to Rome. There they told where and in what fashion they +were welcomed of the king, and reported much concerning him. This +Arthur--said these ancient men--is a lord amongst kings, generous and +brave, lettered and very wise. Not another king could furnish the +riches spent on his state, by reason of the attendance of his +ministers, and the glory of their apparel. It was useless to seek +tribute from Arthur, since in olden days Britain received tribute of +Rome. + +Now when the senate had heard the report of the messengers, and +considered the letters wherewith they were charged, they were +persuaded of ambassador and message alike that Arthur neither would do +homage nor pay them the tribute they demanded. The senate, therefore, +took counsel with the emperor, requiring him to summon all the empire +to his aid. They devised that with his host he should pass through the +mountains into Burgundy, and giving battle to King Arthur deprive him +of kingdom and crown. Lucius Tiberius moved very swiftly. He sent +messages to kings, earls, and dukes, bidding them as they loved honour +to meet him on a near day at Rome, in harness for the quest. At the +emperor's commandment came many mighty lords, whose names I find +written in the chronicles of those times. To meet Lucius came +Epistrophius, King of the Greeks, Ession, King of Broeotia, and Itarc, +King of the Turks, a passing strong and perilous knight. With these +were found Pandras, King of Egypt, and Hippolytus, King of Crete. +These were lords of very great worship, a hundred cities owning their +tyranny. Evander drew from Syria, and Teucer from Phrygia; from +Babylon came Micipsa, and from Spain, Aliphatma. From Media came King +Bocus, from Libya, Sertonus, from Bithyma, Polydetes, and from Idumea, +King Xerxes Mustansar, the King of Africa, came from his distant home, +many a long days' journey. With him were black men and Moors, bearing +their king's rich treasure. The senate gave of their number these +patricians: Marcellus and Lucius Catellus, Cocta, Cams, and Metellus. +Many other lords gladly joined themselves to that company, whose +names for all my seeking I have not found. When the host was gathered +together, the count of the footmen was four hundred thousand armed +men, besides one hundred and eighty thousand riders on horses. This +mighty army, meetly ordered and furnished with weapons, set forth on a +day to give Arthur battle from Rome. + +Arthur and his baronage departed from the court to make them ready +for battle. The king sent his messengers to and fro about the land, +calling and summoning each by his name, to hasten swiftly with his +power, so that he valued Arthur's love. Not a knight but was bidden to +ride on his allegiance, with all the men and horses that he had. The +lords of the isles, Ireland, Gothland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and +the Orkneys, promised for their part one hundred and forty thousand +men, armed and clad according to the fashion of their country. Of +these not a horseman but was a cunning rider, not a footman but bore +his accustomed weapon, battle-axe, javelin, or spear Normandy and +Anjou, Auvergne and Poitou, Flanders and Boulogne promised, without +let, eighty thousand sergeants more, each with his armour on his back. +So much it was their right and privilege to do, they said. The twelve +peers of France, who were of the fellowship of Guenn of Chartres, +promised every one to ride at Arthur's need, each man with a hundred +lances. This was their bounden service, said these peers. Hoel of +Brittany promised ten thousand men, Aguisel of Scotland two thousand +more. From Britain, his proper realm, that we now call England, Arthur +numbered forty thousand horsemen in hauberks of steel. As for the +count of the footmen--arbalestriers, archers, and spearmen--it was +beyond all measure, for the number of the host was as the grains of the +sand. When Arthur was certified of the greatness of his power, and +of the harness of his men, he wrote letters to each of his captains, +commanding him that on an appointed day he should come in ships to +Barfleur in Normandy. The lords of his baronage, who had repaired from +the court to their fiefs, hastened to make ready with those whom they +should bring across the sea. In like manner Arthur pushed on with his +business, that nothing should hinder or delay. + +Arthur committed the care of his realm, and of Dame Guenevere, his +wife, to his nephew, Mordred, a marvellously hardy knight, whom Arthur +loved passing well. Mordred was a man of high birth, and of many noble +virtues, but he was not true. He had set his heart on Guenevere, his +kinswoman, but such a love brought little honour to the queen. Mordred +had kept this love close, for easy enough it was to hide, since who +would be so bold as to deem that he loved his uncle's dame? The lady +on her side had given her love to a lord of whom much good was spoken, +but Mordred was of her husband's kin! This made the shame more +shameworthy. Ah, God, the deep wrong done in this season by Mordred +and the queen. + +Arthur, having put all the governance in Mordred's power, save only +the crown, went his way to Southampton. His meinie was lodged about +the city, whilst his vessels lay within the haven. The harbour was +filled with the ships. They passed to and fro; they remained at +anchorage; they were bound together by cables. The carpenter yet was +busy upon them with his hammer. Here the shipmen raised the mast, +and bent the sail. There they thrust forth bridges to the land, and +charged the stores upon the ship. The knights and the sergeants +entered therein in their order, bearing pikes, and leading the fearful +houses by the rein. You could watch them crying farewell, and waving +their hands, to those remaining on the shore. When the last man had +entered in the last ship the sailors raised the anchors, and worked +the galleys from the haven. Right diligently the mariners laboured, +spreading the sails, and making fast the stays. They pulled stoutly +upon the hoists and ropes, so that the ships ran swiftly out to sea. +Then they made the ropes secure, each in its wonted place. The captain +who was charged with the safety of the ship set his course carefully, +whilst pilot and steersman needfully observed his word. At his bidding +they put the helm to port, to lee, as they might better fill their +sails with the wind. As need arose the shipmen drew upon the cords and +bowlines, or let the canvas fall upon the deck, that the vessel might +be the less beaten of the waves. Thus, loosing and making fast, +letting go and bringing quickly to the deck, hauling and tugging at +the ropes--so they proceeded on their way. When night was come, they +steered their courses by the stars, furling the sails that the wind +should not carry them from their path. Very fearful were the mariners +of the dark, and went as slowly as they were able. Passing bold was +he, that first courteous captain, who builded the first ship, and +committing his body to the wind and waves, set forth to seek a land he +might not see, and to find such haven as men had never known. + +Now it came to pass that whilst the host voyaged in great content with +a fair wind towards Barfleur, that Arthur slept, for he was passing +heavy, and it was night. As the king slumbered he beheld a vision, +and, lo, a bear flying high in air towards the east. Right huge and +hideous of body was the bear, and marvellously horrible to see. Also +the king saw a dragon flying over against him towards the west. The +brightness of his eyes was such, that the whole land and sea were +filled with the radiance of his glory. When these two beasts came +together, the dragon fell upon the bear, and the bear defended himself +valiantly against his adversary. But the dragon put his enemy beneath +him, and tumbling him to the earth, crushed him utterly in the dust. +When Arthur had slept for awhile, his spirit came to him again, and he +awoke and remembered his dream. The king called therefore for his wise +clerks, and related to them and his household the vision that he had +seen of the bear and; of the dragon. Then certain of these clerks +expounded to the king his dream, and the interpretation thereof. The +dragon that was beholden of the king signified himself. By the bear +was shown forth a certain horrible giant, come from a far land, whom +he should slay. The giant desired greatly that the adventure should +end in another fashion; nevertheless all would be to the king's +profit. But Arthur replied, "My interpretation of the dream is other +than yours. To me it typifies rather the issue of the war between +myself and the emperor. But let the Creator's will be done." + +After these words no more was spoken until the rising of the sun. +Very early in the morning they came to haven at Barfleur in Normandy. +Presently the host issued from the ships, and spread themselves +abroad, to await the coming of those who tarried on the way. Now they +had but dwelled for a little while in the land when tidings were +brought to the king that a marvellously strong giant, newly come +from Spain, had ravished Helen, the niece of his kinsman, Hoel. This +doleful lady the giant had carried to a high place known as St. +Michael's Mount, though in that day there was neither church nor +monastery on the cliff, but all was shut close by the waves of the +sea. There was none in the country so hardy and strong, whether gentle +or simple of birth, that dared to do battle with the giant, or even +to come where he lay. Often enough the folk of the land had gathered +themselves together, and compassed about the rock both by land and +sea, but little had they gained from their labour. For the giant had +beaten their boats amongst the rocks, so that they were slain or +drowned. Therefore they left him to himself, since there was none +to hinder his pleasure. The peasants of the realm were exceeding +sorrowful. Their enemy spoiled their houses, harried their cattle, +bore away their wives and children, and returned to his fastness on +the mount. The villeins lurked in the woods from his wrath. They +perished of misery in secret places, so that the whole land was +barren, because there was none to labour in the fields. This +marvellous giant had to name Dinabuc. Not a soul but prayed that he +might come to an evil end. When Arthur heard these lamentable tidings +he called to him Kay the seneschal and Bedevere his cupbearer, for he +would open his counsel to no other man. He told them his purpose to +depart from the camp that same night privily, taking none with him, +save themselves alone. None but they would know of his errand, for he +rode to the mount to be assured as to whether he or the giant was +the stouter champion. All through the night the three rode together, +sparing not the spur. At daybreak they came upon the ford that leads +across the water to the mount. Looking towards the mount they beheld +a burning fire upon the hill, that might be seen from very far. Over +against the mount was set another hill, near by, and of lesser height, +and upon this hill also a fire of coals. Arthur gazed from hill to +mountain. He doubted where the giant lodged, and in which of these two +high places he should come upon him. There was no man to ask of his +dwelling, nor to tell of his outgoings. Arthur bade Bedevere to go +first to the one and then to the other hill, seeking news of the +giant. When he had found that which he sought, he must return swiftly, +bringing good tidings. Bedevere set forth upon his quest. He entered +into a little boat, and rowed over to that mount which was nearer. He +could cross in no other manner, for the tide was very full, and all +the sand was covered of the sea. Bedevere got him from the boat, and +began to climb the hill. As he climbed he stood still for a space, and +hearkened. From above Bedevere might hear a noise of sore weeping, and +loud lamentation, and doleful sighs. The knight grew cold at the heart +root by reason of his exceeding fear, since he deemed to have come +upon the giant at his play. Presently the courage returned to his +breast, and drawing the sword from its sheath, he advanced stoutly up +the hill. Bedevere considered within himself that it were better for +a knight to die, rather than know himself a coward. He reproached +himself for his tearfulness, and in heart and hope desired only to +bring the adventure to a good end. His wish proved but vain. When +Bedevere won the summit of the mountain, there was no giant, but only +a flaming fire, and close by the fire a new-digged grave. The knight +drew near this fire, with the sword yet naked in his hand. Lying +beside the grave he found an old woman, with rent raiment and +streaming hair, lamenting her wretched case. She bewailed also the +fate of Helen, making great dole and sorrow, with many shrill cries. +When this piteous woman beheld Bedevere upon the mount, "Oh, wretched +man," she exclaimed, "what is thy name, and what misadventure leads +you here! Should the giant find thee in his haunt, this very day thy +life will end in shame and grief and hurt. Flee, poor wretch, upon thy +road, before he spies thee. Be pitiful to thyself, nor seek to die, +for who art thou to deliver thyself from his wrath!" "Good dame," made +reply Sir Bedevere, "give over weeping and answer my words. Tell me +who you are, and why you shed these tears. For what reason do you +abide in this isle, and crouch beside this tomb? Answer me plainly +concerning your adventure." "Fair lord," replied the ancient lady, "I +am a forsaken and a most unhappy woman. I make my lamentation for a +damsel, named Helen, whom I nourished at my breast, the niece of Duke +Hoel of this realm. Here lies her body in this tomb, that was given to +me to cherish. Alas, for her who was set upon my knees! Alas, for her +I cherished in my bosom! A certain devil ravished her away, and me +also, bearing us both to this his lair. The giant would have had to do +with the maiden, but she was so tender of her years that she might not +endure him. Passing young was the maid, whilst he, for his part, was +so gross and weighty of bone and flesh, that her burden was more than +she could bear. For this the soul departed from her body. Alas, wretch +that I am, I remain alive, and she, my joy and my love, my sweetness +and my delight, was foully done to death by this giant. Nothing was +left for me to do, but to put her body in the earth." "For what reason +do you abide in this hill," asked Sir Bedevere, "since Helen is gone +before?" "Will thou learn of the reason," said the ancient damsel, +"then it shall not be hidden; for easy it is to see that thou art a +gentle and a courteous man. When Helen had gone her way in shame and +sorrow, the giant constrained me to abide that I might suffer his +pleasure. This he did, although my heart was hot because I had seen my +lady die in sore anguish. Force keeps me in this haunt, force makes +me his sport. You cannot think that I stay of my own free will on the +mount. I but submit to the will of the Lord. Would to God that I were +dead, as for a little more I should be slain of the giant. But if I am +older of years, I am also stronger, and harder, and more firm in +my purpose, than ever was my frail Lady Helen. Nevertheless I am +well-nigh gone, and have little longer to endure. Perchance even this +very day will be my last. Friend, tarry here no further whomsoever +thou mayst be. Flee while you can, for behold the fire smokes upon the +mountain, and the devil makes him ready to ascend, according to his +custom. Be not snared within his net. Depart, and leave an old woman +to her tears and sorrow; for I have no care to live, since Helen and +her love are spoiled with dust." + +When Bedevere heard this adventure he was filled with pity. With his +whole heart he comforted the damsel as gently as he might. He left +her for a season, and hastening down the hill came straightway to the +king. Bedevere showed his lord of all that he had heard and seen. He +told over the tale of that ancient nurse lamenting by a grave; of +Helen who was dead, and of the giant's haunt upon the higher of the +hills which smoked. Arthur was passing heavy at Helen's fate. He +wasted no time in tears, nor suffered himself to be fearful. Arthur +bade his companions get into their harness, and ride with him to the +ford. The tide was now at the ebb, so that they crossed on their +horses, and came speedily to the foot of the hill. There they +dismounted, giving their mantles and destriers to the charge of the +squires. Arthur, Bedevere, and Kay, the three together, began briskly +to climb the mount. After they had climbed for a while Arthur spake to +his fellows: "Comrades, I go before to do battle with the giant. For +your part you must follow a little after. But let neither of you be so +bold as to aid me in my quarrel, so long as I have strength to strive. +Be the buffets what they may, stand you still, unless he beats me to +the ground. It is not seemly that any, save one, should have lot in +this business. Nevertheless so you see me in utmost peril and fear, +come swiftly to my succour, nor let me find death at his hands." Sir +Kay and Sir Bedevere made this covenant with their lord, and the three +knights together set forth again up the hill. Now when Arthur drew +near to the summit of the mount, he beheld the giant crouched above +his fire. He broiled a hog within the flame upon a spit. Part of the +flesh he had eaten already, and part of the meat was charred and +burning in the fire. He was the more hideous to see because his beard +and hair were foul with blood and coal. Arthur trusted to take him +thus unready, before he could get to his mace. But the giant spied his +adversary, and all amarvelled leapt lightly on his feet. He raised the +club above his shoulder, albeit so heavy that no two peasants of the +country could lift it from the ground. Arthur saw the giant afoot, and +the blow about to fall. He gripped his sword, dressing the buckler +high to guard his head. The giant struck with all his strength upon +the shield, so that the mountain rang like an anvil. The stroke was +stark, and Arthur stood mazed at the blow, but he was hardy and +strong, and did not reel. When the king came to himself, and marked +the shield shattered on his arm, he was marvellously wroth. He raised +his sword and struck full at the giant's brow. The blow was shrewd, +and would have brought the combat to an end had not the giant parried +with his mace. Even so, his head was sorely hurt, and the blood ran +down his face, that he might not see. When the giant knew that he was +wounded to his hurt, he became in his rage as a beast possessed. He +turned grimly on his adversary, even as the boar, torn of the hounds +and mangled by the hunting knife, turns on the hunter. Filled with +ire and malice the giant rushed blindly on the king. Heedless of the +sword, he flung his arms about him, and putting forth the full measure +of his might, bore Arthur to his knees. Arthur was ardent and swift +and ready of wit. He remembered his manhood, and struggled upright on +his feet. He was altogether angered, and fearful of what might hap. +Since strength could not help, he called subtlety to his aid. Arthur +made his body stiff like a rod, and held himself close, for he was +passing strong. He feigned to spring on his foe, but turning aside, +slipped quickly from under the giant's arms. When Arthur knew his +person free of these bands, he passed swiftly to and fro, eluding his +enemy's clasp. Now he was here, now there, ofttimes striking with the +sword. The giant ran blindly about, groping with his hands, for his +eyes were full of blood, and he knew not white from black. Sometimes +Arthur was before him, sometimes behind, but never in his grip, till +at the end the king smote him so fiercely with Excalibur that the blade +clove to his brain, and he fell. He cried out in his pain, and the +noise of his fall and of this exceeding bitter cry was as fetters of +iron tormented by the storm. + +Arthur stood a little apart, and gazed upon his adversary. He laughed +aloud in his mirth; for his anger was well-nigh gone. He commanded +Bedevere, his cupbearer, to strike off the giant's head, and deliver +it to the squires, that they might bear it to the host, for the +greater marvel. Bedevere did after his lord's behest. He drew his +sword, and divided the head from the shoulders. Wonderfully huge and +hideous to sight was the head of this giant. Never, said Arthur, had +he known such fear; neither had met so perilous a giant, save only +that Riton, who had grieved so many fair kings. This Riton in his day +made war upon divers kings. Of these some were slain in battle, and +others remained captive in his hand. Alive or dead, Riton used them +despitefully; for it was his wont to shave the beards of these +kings, and purfle therewith a cloak of furs that he wore, very rich. +Vainglorious beyond measure was Riton of his broidered cloak. Now by +reason of folly and lightness, Riton sent messages to Arthur, bidding +him shave his beard, and commend it forthwith to the giant, in all +good will. Since Arthur was a mightier lord and a more virtuous prince +than his fellows, Riton made covenant to prefer his beard before +theirs, and hold it in honour as the most silken fringe of his mantle. +Should Arthur refuse to grant Riton the trophy, then nought was there +to do, but that body to body they must fight out their quarrel, in +single combat, alone. He who might slay his adversary, or force him +to own himself vanquished, should have the beard for his guerdon, +together with the mantle of furs, fringes and garniture and all. +Arthur accorded with the giant that this should be so. They met in +battle on a high place, called Mount Aravius, in the far east, and +there the king slew Riton with the sword, spoiling him of that rich +garment of furs, with its border of dead kings' beards. Therefore, +said Arthur, that never since that day had he striven with so perilous +a giant, nor with one of whom he was so sorely frighted. Nevertheless +Dinabuc was bigger and mightier than was Riton, even in the prime of +his youth and strength. For a monster more loathly and horrible, a +giant so hideous and misshapen, was never slain by man, than the devil +Arthur killed to himself that day, in Mont St. Michel, over against +the sea. + +After Arthur had slam the monster, and Bedevere had taken his head, +they went their way to the host in great mirth and content. They +reached the camp, and showed the spoil to all who would, for their +hearts were high with that which they had done. Hoel was passing +sorrowful for that fair lady, his niece, making great lamentation for +a while over her who was lost in so fearsome a fashion. In token of +his dolour he budded on the mount a chapel to Our Lady St. Mary, that +men call Helen's Tomb to this very day. Although this fair chapel +was raised above the grave of this piteous lady, and is yet hight +Tombelame, none gives a thought to the damsel after whom it is named. +Nothing more have I to relate concerning this adventure, and would +tell you now of that which happened to the host. + +When the men of Ireland, and those others for whom Arthur tarried, had +joined themselves to the host, the king set forth, a day's march every +day, through Normandy. Without pause or rest he and his fellowship +passed across France, tarrying neither at town nor castle, and came +speedily into Burgundy. The king would get to Autun as swiftly as +he might, for the Romans were spoiling the land, and Lucius their +emperor, together with a great company, purposed to enter in the city. +Now when Arthur drew to the ford, leading across the waters of the +Aube, his spies and certain peasants of those parts came near and +warned him privily concerning the emperor, who lay but a little way +thence, so that the king could seek him, if he would. The Romans had +sheltered them in tents, and in lodges of branches. They were as the +sand of the shore for multitude, so that the peasants marvelled that +the earth could bring forth for the footmen and horses. Never might +the king store and garner in that day, for where he reaped with +one, Lucius the emperor would reap with four. Arthur was in no wise +dismayed at their words. He had gone through many and divers perils, +and was a valiant knight, having faith and affiance in God. On a +little hill near this river Aube, Arthur builded earthworks for his +host, making the place exceeding strong. He closed the doors fast, +and put therein a great company of knights and men at arms to hold +it close. In this fortress he set his harness and stores, so that he +could repair thither to his camp in time of need. When all was done +Arthur summoned to his counsel two lords whom he esteemed for fair and +ready speech. These two lords were of high peerage. Guerin of Chartres +was one, and the other was that Boso, Earl of Oxford, right learned +in the law. To these two barons Arthur added Gawain, who had dwelt in +Rome for so long a space. This Arthur did by reason that Gawain was a +good clerk, meetly schooled, and held in much praise and honour by his +friends in Rome. These three lords the king purposed to send as an +embassy to the emperor. They were to bear his message, bidding the +Romans to turn again to their own land, nor seek to enter France, +for it pertained to the king. Should Lucius persist in his purpose, +refusing to return whence he came, then let him give battle on the +earliest day, to determine whether Arthur or he had the better right. +This thing was certain. So long as Arthur had breath he would maintain +his claim to France, despite the Roman power. He had gained it by the +sword, and it was his by right of conquest. In ancient days Rome, in +her turn, held it by the same law. Then let the God of battles decide +whether Britain or Rome had the fairer right to France. + +The messengers of the king apparelled themselves richly for their +master's honour. They mounted on their fairest destriers, vested in +hauberks of steel, with laced helmets, and shields hung round their +necks. They took their weapons in their hands, and rode forth from the +camp. Now when certain knights and divers bold and reckless varlets +saw the embassy make ready to seek the emperor, they came to Gawain +and gave him freely of their counsel. These exhorted him that when he +reached the court, to which he fared, he should act in such fashion, +right or wrong, that a war would begin which had threatened overlong. +Yea, to use such speech that if no matter of dispute should be found +at the meeting, there might yet be quarrel enough when they parted. +The embassy accorded, therefore, that they would so do as to constrain +the Romans to give battle. Gawain and his comrades crossed a mountain, +and came through a wood upon a wide plain. At no great distance they +beheld the tents and lodges of the host. When the Romans saw the three +knights issue from the wood, they drew near to look upon their faces +and to inquire of their business. They asked of them concerning whom +they sought, and if for peace they had come within the camp. But the +three knights refused to answer, for good or evil, until they were led +before the lord of Rome. The embassy got from their horses before the +emperor's pavilion. They gave their bridles to the hands of the pages, +but as to their swords concealed them beneath their mantles. The three +knights showed neither salutation nor courtesy when they stood in the +emperor's presence. They rehearsed over Arthur's message, whilst Lucius +hearkened attentively to their words. Each of the ambassadors said +that which pleased him to be said, and told over what he held proper +to be told. The emperor listened to each and all without interruption. +After he had considered at his leisure he purposed to reply. "We come +from Arthur, our lord," said Gawain, "and bear to thee his message. He +is our king, and we are his liegemen, so it becomes us to speak only +the words he has put in our mouth. By us, his ambassadors, he bids you +refrain from setting a foot in France. He forbids you to intermeddle +with the realm, for it is his, and he will defend his right with such +power, that very certainly you may not snatch it from his hand. Arthur +requires you to seek nothing that is his. If, however, you challenge +his claim to France, then battle shall prove his title good, and by +battle you shall be thrown back to your own land. Once upon a time the +Romans conquered this realm by force, and by force they maintained +their right. Let battle decide again whether Rome or Britain has the +power to keep. Come forth to-morrow with thy host, so that it may be +proven whether you or we shall hold France. If you fear this thing, +then go your way in peace, as indeed is best, for what else is there +to do! The game is played, and Rome and you have lost." Lucius the +emperor made answer that he did not purpose to return to his realm. +France was his fief, and he would visit his own. If he might not +pursue his road to-day, why, then to-morrow. But in heart and hope he +deemed himself mighty enough to conquer France, and to take all in his +seisin. Now Quintilian, the nephew of the emperor, was seated by his +side. He took the word suddenly from his uncle's mouth, for he was a +passing proud youth, quick to quarrel, and very bitter in speech. "The +Britons," cried he, "are known to all as a vainglorious people. They +threaten readily, and they boast and brag more readily still. We have +listened to their menaces, but we remember they are of those who boast +the more because they act the less." Quintilian, as I deem, would have +continued with yet other grievous words, but Gawain, who was hot with +anger, drew forth his sword, and springing forward, made the head fly +from his shoulders. He cried to his comrades that they should get to +their horses, and the earls won their way from the pavilion, Gawain +with them, and they with him. Each seized his steed by the bridle, +and climbed nimbly in the saddle. Then they rode forth from the camp, +shield on shoulder, and lance in hand, asking no leave of any. + +The patricians within the pavilion sat silent for a space after that +bitter stroke. The emperor was the first to come from his amazement. +"Why sit you here?" cried Lucius; "follow after those men who have set +this shame upon us. Ill fall the day, if they come not to my hand!" +The bravest of his household ran from the tent crying for harness and +horses. From every side arose the shouting, "Swiftly, swiftly; bridle +and spur; gallop, gallop." The whole host was mightily moved together. +They set saddles on destriers, and led the steeds from the stable. +They girt their baldrics about them, and taking their lances, spurred +after the fugitives. The three barons pricked swiftly across the +plain. They looked this way and that; often glancing behind them to +mark how nearly they were followed. The Romans pursued them pell-mell; +some on the beaten road, and others upon the heavy fields. They came +by two, or three, or five, or six, in little clumps of spears. Now a +certain Roman rode in advance of his fellows, by reason of his good +horse, which was right speedy. He followed closely after the Britons, +calling loudly, "Lords, stay awhile. He knows himself guilty who flees +the pursuer." At his word Guerin of Chartres turned him about. He +set his buckler before him, and lowering the lance, hurtled upon his +adversary. Guerin rode but the one course. He smote the Roman so +fiercely, midmost the body, that he fell from his destrier, and died. +Guerin looked on the fallen man. He said, "A good horse is not always +great riches. Better for you had you lain coy in your chamber, than to +have come to so shameful an end." When Boso beheld this adventure of +Guerin, and heard his words, he was filled with desire of such honour. +He turned his horse's head, and seeing before him a knight seeking +advancement, ran upon him with the spear. Boso smote his adversary +in the throat, where the flesh is soft and tender. The Roman fell +straightway to the ground, for his hurt was very grievous. Boso cried +gaily to his stricken foe, "Master Roman, you must needs be fed with +gobbets and dainties. Take now your rest, till your comrades may tend +you. Then give them the message that I leave you in their care." Among +the pursuers spurred a certain patrician named Marcellus, who was come +of a very noble house. This Marcellus was amongst the last to get +in his saddle, but by reason of the strength and swiftness of his +destrier he rode now with the foremost. He had forgotten his lance, in +his haste to follow his fellows. Marcellus strove hotly to overtake +Gawain. He rode furiously with bloody spur and loosened rein. His +horse approached nearly to Gawain's crupper, and the knight was +persuaded that in no wise might he shake off his pursuer. Already +Marcellus had stretched forth his hand, promising Gawain his life if +he would yield as his prisoner. Gawain watched his hunter wanly. When +Marcellus was upon him, Gawain drew his rein sharply, so that the +Roman overran the chace. As he passed, Gawain plucked forth his +sword, and smote Marcellus terribly on the helmet. No coif could +have hindered the stroke, for it divided the head down to the very +shoulders. Marcellus tumbled from his horse and went to his place. +Then said Gawain, of his courtesy, "Marcellus, when you greet +Quintilian deep in hell, tell him, I pray, that you have found the +Britons as bold as their boast. Tell him that they plead the law with +blows, and bite more fiercely than they bark." Gawain called upon his +companions, Guerin and Boso, by their names, to turn them about, and +enter the lists with their pursuers. The two knights did cheerfully +after his counsel, so that three Romans were shocked from their +saddles. Then the messengers rode swiftly on their way, whilst the +Romans followed after, seeking in all things to do them a mischief. +They thrust at the Britons with lances, they struck mightily with +the sword, yet never might wound nor hurt, neither bring them to the +earth, nor make them their captives. There was a certain Roman, a +kinsman of Marcellus, who bestrode a horse that was right speedy. This +Roman was very dolent, because of his cousin's death, for he had seen +his body lying in the dust. He spurred his steed across the plain, and +gaining upon the three knights, made ready to avenge his kinsman's +blood. Gawain watched him ride, with lifted sword, as one who deemed +to smite the shield. When Gawain perceived his purpose, he dropped the +lance, for he had no need of a spear. He drew his sword, and as the +Roman, with brand raised high above his head, prepared to strike, +Gawain smote swiftly at the lifted limb. Arm and sword alike flew far +off in the field, the fist yet clasped about the hilt. Gawain dressed +his glaive again. He would have bestowed yet another buffet, but the +Romans hastened to the succour of their fellow, and he dared not stay. +In this fashion the huntsmen followed after the quarry, till the chase +drew near a wood, close by the entrance to that fortress Arthur had +newly built. + +Now Arthur had appointed six thousand horsemen of his host to follow +after his messengers. He commanded these horsemen to go by hill and +valley to guard against surprise. They were to watch diligently for +the ambassadors, affording them succour, so they were beset. This +great company of spears was hidden in the wood. They sat upon their +horses, helmet on head, and lance in hand, scanning the road for the +return of Arthur's embassy. Presently they were aware of many armed +men riding swiftly across the plain, and in their midst three knights, +in harness, fleeing for their lives. When the Britons marked the +quarry, and were assured of the hunters, they cried out with one +voice, and burst from their ambush. The Romans dared not abide their +coming, but scattered on the plain. The Britons rode hardly upon them, +doing them all the mischief they might, for they were passing wroth to +see their comrades handselled so despitefully. Many a Roman had reason +to rue his hunting, for some were seized and made captive, others were +sorely wounded, and divers slain. There was a certain rich baron named +Peredur. Amongst the captains of Rome not one was counted his peer. +This captain had ten thousand armed men in his bailly, who marched at +his bidding. Tidings were carried to Peredur of the snare the Britons +had limed. Peredur moved promptly. He hastened with ten thousand +shields to the plain, and by sheer force and numbers bore the Britons +back to the wood, for they were not mighty enough to contend against +him in the field. The Britons held the wood strongly, and defended it +right manfully. Peredur might not take it for all his cunning, and +lost there largely of his company. The Britons lured the Romans within +the covert, and slew them in the glooms. So hot and so perilous was +the melley, fought between the valley and the wood. + + +Arthur took thought to the tarrying of his messengers, and remembered +that those came not again whom he sent to their aid. The king summoned +Yder, the son of Nut, to his counsel. He committed to his charge seven +thousand horses and riders, and despatched them after the others, +bidding him seek until he found. Yder drew to the plain. Gawain and +Boso yet strove like champions, and for the rest there was not one but +did what he could. From afar Yder heard the cry and the tumult as the +hosts contended together. When the Britons beheld Yder's company, +they were refreshed mightily in heart and hope. They assailed their +adversaries so fiercely that they won back the ground which was lost. +Yder led his horsemen like a brave knight and a cunning captain. +He charged so vigorously with his company, that many a saddle was +emptied, many a good horse taken, and many a rider shocked. Peredur +sustained the battle stoutly, and wheeling about, returned to the +field. He was a crafty captain, knowing well the hour to charge and to +wheel, to press hard on the fugitive, or to wait. Many a fair charge +did he lead that day. He who was valiant, found Peredur yet more bold. +Whoso was minded to tourney, found Peredur yet more willing to break +a spear. His bailly smote more terribly with the sword than ever they +were stricken, so that three hundred horsemen and over lay dead upon +the field. When the Britons marked the deeds of Peredur they could not +be contained. They broke from their ranks and companies, and ran +upon the foe. They were desirous beyond measure to joust with their +adversaries, and to show forth their prowess. Above all things they +were covetous of honour, so that for chivalry they brought the battle +to confusion. So only they strove hand to hand with the Romans, they +gave no thought to the end. Peredur wished nothing better. He held his +bailly closely together, pushing home and drawing off according to +need. Many a time he charged amongst the Britons, and many a time +he returned, bringing his wounded from their midst. Boso of Oxford +regarded the battle. He saw his dead upon the ground. He marked the +craft with which Peredur--that great captain--sustained the Romans, +and knew well that all was lost, save that Peredur were slain. How +might the courage of a rash and foolish company prevail against the +discipline of the Roman host! Boso called about him the best and +bravest of his captains. "Lords," he said, "give me your counsel. You, +in whom Arthur put his trust, have entered on this battle without any +commandment of our lord. If well befalls, all will be well; if ill, +he will require his sergeants at our hands. Should we be vile and +niddering enough to gain no honour on the field, very surely we shall +receive yet more shame as our portion when we come into his presence. +Our one hope is to fight against none, great or small, save only with +Peredur. Alive or dead he must be made captive, and delivered into +Arthur's power. Until Peredur be taken we shall never draw off in +honour from the stour, but must suffer yet greater loss than before. +If then you would make him prisoner, follow after where I will lead, +and do that thing which you shall see me do." The captains, therefore, +plighted faith to follow his ensample, and in no wise to depart from +his command. + +Boso brought together as many horsemen as he might, and ranged them +in order of battle. He sent out spies to bring him tidings where that +Peredur should be met, who led the Romans so craftily. The spies +departed on their perilous errand, and returning presently, proclaimed +that Peredur rode with the host in that place where the press was +thickest, and the battle drew never to an end, Boso rode with his +company straight to the heart of the stour. He hurtled upon the +Romans, and looking on Peredur, fought his way to his side. When their +horses stood together, Boso flung his arms about his adversary, and +dragged him amongst the Britons. Then of his will he hurled himself +to the ground, and with him tumbled Sir Peredur. A very marvellous +adventure was it to behold Boso fall from his destrier in the hottest +of the battle, clasping Peredur closely in his arms. The two champions +strove mightily, but Boso was above, and for nothing would unloose his +hold. The bailly of Peredur hastened fiercely to the rescue of their +captain. Those whose lances were still unbroken charged till the +staves were splintered; when their lances failed them at need, they +laid on with their swords, working havoc amongst the Britons. At any +price the Romans would rescue their captain, and the Britons were +in the same mind to succour Boso in his jeopardy. Never might heart +desire to see battle arrayed more proudly. Never was there a fairer +strife of swords, never a more courteous contention of valiant men. +Plume and helmet were abased to the dust, shields were cloven, the +hauberk rent asunder, ash staves knapped like reeds, girths were +broken, saddles voided, and strong men thrown, and brave men wounded +to the death. The thunder of the shouting filled the field. The +Britons cried as Arthur had taught them, and the Romans answered with +the name of Rome. The one party did all that valiant men were able +to guard their captive in their midst, and the other to pluck their +captain from amongst them. So confused was the contention, so +disordered the combat, that men as they strove together hardly knew +Roman from Briton, friend from foe, save only by the cry they shouted, +and by the tongue they spoke in the stour. Gawain flung himself in the +press, hewing a path towards Boso, with mighty strokes of the sword. +With point and edge, thrust and cut, he beat down many, and put divers +to flight. Not a Roman of them all could prevail against him, nor, so +he might, would strive to hinder him in his road. From another side +of the field Yder set his face to the same end. A woodman was he, +clearing a bloody path amongst the trees. Guerin of Chartres aided him +like a loyal comrade, each covering his fellow with the shield. The +three champions drew before Peredur and Boso, and dragged them to +their feet. They brought a steed to Boso, and gave a sword to his +hand. As for Peredur, the crafty captain who had done them so many and +such great mischiefs, they held him strongly. They carried him from +the press to their own lines for the greater surety. There they left +him, bound, under the charge of trusty warders, and straightway +returned to the battle. Now the Romans had lost their captain. They +were as a ship upon the waters, without a rudder, that drifts here and +there, having neither aim nor direction, at the bidding of the winds +and waves. Such was the plight of the bailly which was spoiled of its +captain, for an army without a constable is less an army than a flock +of sheep. The Britons dealt mercilessly with their beaten foe. They +pressed hardly upon the Romans, smiting down and slaying many. They +made captives of the fallen, stripping them of wealth and armour, and +pursued hotly after the fugitives. These they bound with cords, and +came again in triumph to their companions in the wood, together with +their prisoners. The Britons carried Peredur, the wise captain, to the +camp, and bestowed him upon Arthur, their lord. They rendered also to +his hand divers other prisoners of less value than he. Arthur thanked +them for their gift. He promised to recompense each for his goodwill, +when he returned a victor to his realm. Arthur set his captives fast +in prison, whence they could in nowise break out. Afterwards he took +counsel with his barons to convey the prisoners to Paris, and guard +them close in his castle, until the king's pleasure concerning them +was known. He feared to keep them with the host, lest--watch as he +would--they should escape from his ward. Arthur made ready a strong +company to bring them to Paris, and set governors over them. He gave +Peredur and his fellows into the charge of four earls of high lineage, +namely, Cador, Borel, Richier, and Bedevere his butler. These barons +rose very early in the morning, and brought the Romans from their +prison. Like careful warders they put the captives in their midst, and +set out on their journey, riding right warily. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, had learned from his spies that the earls +purposed to start at daybreak on their road to Paris. Lucius prepared +ten thousand riders on horses. He bade them travel the whole night +through, outstripping the Britons, and devise such ambush as would +rescue their comrades from these barons. He committed this company to +Sertorius, lord of Libya, and Evander, the King of Syria. With these +princes were Caritius and Catellus Vulteius, patricians of Rome. Each +of these lords was a wealthy man of his lands, and a skilful captain +in war. Lucius had chosen them from all their fellows, and laid his +charge straitly upon them, to succour their comrades in their need. +These were the lords of the host. The ten thousand horsemen in mail +set out at nightfall on their errand. Certain peasants of the land +went with them, to guide them by the surest way. They travelled +throughout the night, sparing not the spur, till they came forth on +the Paris road. There they searched out a likely place where they +might hide them in ambush, and held themselves close and coy until +it was day. Very early in the morning the prickers of the host sent +tidings that the Britons were near at hand. Arthur's men rode in all +surety, deeming they had nought to fear. They were ordered in two +companies. Cador and Borel led the first company, and were the +vanguard of the host. A little space after came Richier, the earl, and +Bedevere, the king's cupbearer. These had Peredur and his fellows in +their care. Six hundred horsemen in harness followed at the earls' +backs, having the captives in their midst. They had tied their wrists +behind them, and fastened their feet with ropes under the bellies of +the horses. So they pricked, all unwitting, into the snare the Romans +had spread. When Cador and Borel were in the net, the Romans sallied +forth from their hiding. The hard ground trembled beneath the thunder +of the destriers' hoofs. They charged home fiercely amongst their +adversaries, but for all their amazement the Britons sustained the +shock like men. Bedevere and Richier gave ear to the tumult, and the +noise of the shouting. Their first thought was to the prisoners. These +they set in a sure place, giving them to the charge of their squires, +and commanding that they should be guarded strictly. Then they +hastened amain to the breaking of spears. The adversaries clashed +together with all their strength. The Romans drifted here and there, +in little clumps of lances, for their mind was less to discomfit the +Britons than to release the captives from their bonds. For their +part the Britons kept their order, and fared boldly among the enemy. +Passing heavy were the Romans because of the prisoners they might not +find. Very grievous was the count of their horsemen who perished in +the search. Now the captains divided the Britons by companies into +four strong columns of battle Cador of Cornwall commanded the folk of +his earldom; Bedevere the Frenchmen of Beauce, Borel had with him the +levies of Le Mans, and to Richier was committed a company drawn from +the men of his household. King Evander perceived the loss and the +peril caused to his host by reason of their divided mind Since the +captives could not be met with, he checked the hastiness of his +meinie. He drew back his horsemen, and ranged them in order. Then he +returned to the battle. It befell, therefore, that the Romans bore +away the prize, and had the better of their adversaries. They wrought +much damage to the Britons, making many prisoners. They slew, moreover, +four of the mightiest and most valiant lords of their enemies At that +time perished Yder, a faithful knight, courageous and passing strong. +Hirelgas of Peritum died, too, this day, there was no hardier knight +than he. Ahduc of Tintagel also, for whom his kin made wondrous +sorrow. Besides these was slain Sir Amaury of the Islands, but whether +he was Welsh or Briton I do not know. Earl Borel of Le Mans, a rich +lord, and a right honoured and puissant prince amongst his own, did +well and worshipfully. He checked the Romans boldly, slaying of them +more than one hundred men. Evander hastened against him. He thrust his +lance head through Borel's throat, so that the point came out at his +neck. Borel fell from his horse, for he was sped. The Britons were +dismayed beyond measure. They fled before their adversaries, since +many were killed, and where one Briton stood, ten Romans opposed +themselves over against him. Doubtless they had been utterly +discomfited, and the captives wrested from their hand, had not Guitard +of Poitiers drawn to their succour. Earl Guitard, that day, was warden +of the marches. He learned from his prickers tidings that a company +of Romans was despatched to rescue the captives. Guitard saddled his +destrier. He took with him three thousand horsemen, without counting +the spearmen and archers, and rode swiftly in aid. As they drew near +to the battle they heard the shouts of the Romans in praise of their +victory. Guitard and his company rode into the press with lowered +lances and scarlet spurs. A hundred horsemen and more were hurled from +their steeds in that shock, never to climb in the saddle again. The +Romans were altogether fearful and esmayed, making complaint of their +pitiful plight. They deemed that Arthur himself had fallen upon them +with all his meinie at his back. Their hearts turned to water, by reason +of the number of their dead. The levies of Poitou closed about them, +and the Britons failed not at need Each company strove to outvie its +fellow, contending earnestly for the greater glory. The Romans could do +no more. They turned about and fled the field, utterly discomfited and +abased. Their one thought was to get to shelter, or else they were all +dead men. The Britons pressed hardly on the fugitives, slaying many. +In the flight King Evander and Catellus were taken, and of their +fellowship six hundred and more were destroyed. Of these divers were +slain, and others made captive. The Britons took spoil of prisoners +according to their desire, and retained of these as they might. Then +they returned by the road, to the place where the combat was won. The +Britons went about the field searching amongst the dead for Borel, the +stout Earl of Le Mans. They found him among the fallen, bebled with +blood, and gashed with many a grisly wound. Afterwards they carried the +hurt to the surgeons, and the dead they laid in their graves. As for +Peredur and his companions they committed them afresh to those whom +Arthur had charged with their keeping, and sent them on their way to +Paris. The rest of the prisoners they bound straitly, and carrying them +before Arthur, delivered them to his hand. They rehearsed to the king +the tale of this adventure, and not a man of them all but pledged +his word that so the Romans made offer of battle, without doubt they +should be utterly destroyed. + +The tidings of this heavy discomfiture were brought to the emperor +Lucius learned of the capture of Evander, and of the others who +were slain. He saw his men had no more spirit in them, and that the +beginning of the war went very ill. Lucius considered the failure of +his hopes, that in nothing was he conqueror. He was passing heavy, +being altogether cast down and dismayed. He thought and thought and +feared. He knew not whether to give Arthur battle without delay, or to +await the coming of the rearward of his host. He doubted sorely that +which he should do, for wondrously affrighted was he of this battle, +by reason of the losses he had known. Lucius took counsel with his +captains, and devised to bring his company to Autun, passing by way +of Langres. He set forth with the host, and moving towards Langres, +entered the city when the day was far spent. Now Langres is builded +on the summit of a mount, and the plain lies all about the city. So +Lucius and part of his people lodged within the town, and for the rest +they sought shelter in the valley. Arthur knew well where the emperor +would draw, and of his aim and purpose. He was persuaded that the +Roman would not fight till the last man was with him. He cared neither +to tarry in the city, nor to pacify the realm. Arthur sounded his +trumpets, and bade his men to their harness. As speedily as he might +he marched out from camp. He left Langres on the left hand, and passed +beyond it bearing to the right. He had in mind to outstrip the emperor, +and seize the road to Autun. All the night through, without halt or +stay, Arthur fared by wood and plain, till he came to the valley of +Soissons. There Arthur armed his host, and made him ready for battle. +The highway from Autun to Langres led through this valley, and Arthur +would welcome the Romans immediately they were come. The king put the +gear and the camp followers from the host. He set them on a hill near +by, arrayed in such fashion as to seem men-at-arms. He deemed that the +Romans would be the more fearful, when they marked this multitude of +spears. Arthur took six thousand six hundred and sixty six men, and +ranged them by troops in a strong company. This company he hid +within a wood upon a high place. Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was the +constable of the meinie. "Your part in the battle," said Arthur, "is +to be still. Let nothing induce you to break from your post should +evil befall, and the battle roll back to the wood, charge boldly on +your adversaries, that you comrades may find rest if it chance that +the Romans turn their backs in the battle, then hurtle upon them +without delay, sparing none in the flight". So these answered, +promising to do after his word Arthur straightway ordered another +legion. It Was formed of mighty men, chosen from amongst his vassals, +with laced helmets, riding on their destriers. This fair company he +arrayed in open ground, and it owned no other captain save the king. +With this legion rode those of his privy household, whom he had +cherished and nourished at his own table. In their midst was guarded +the royal Dragon, that was the king's own gonfalon. From the rest +of his host the king made six companies, each company having ten +captains. Half of these companies were horsemen, and the others went +on foot. On each and all Arthur laid prayer and commandment, that +rider and sergeant alike should bear them as men, and contend +earnestly against the Romans. Not one of these legions but was numbered +of five thousand five hundred and fifty-five horsemen, chosen +soldiers, mighty men of valour, and mightily armed for war. Of the +eight legions, four companies were set over against their enemy, +supported by four behind. Every man was armed and clad according to +the custom of his land. Aguisel of Scotland had the forefront of the +first legion in his keeping, Cador of Cornwall being charged with the +rear. Boso and Earl Guerin of Chartres were the constables of another +company. The third company, formed of outland folk, and armed in +divers manners, was delivered to Echil, King of the Danes, and to Lot, +the King of Norway. The fourth had Hoel for constable, and with him +Gawain, who, certes, was no faintheart. Behind these four legions were +arrayed and ordered yet four other companies. Of one, Kay the sewer +and Bedevere the cupbearer were the captains. With Kay were the men +of Chinon and the Angevins; whilst under Bedevere were the levies of +Paris and of Beauce. To Holdin of Flanders and Guitard the Poitivin +were committed another company--right glad were they of their trust. +Earls Jugein of Leicester and Jonathan of Dorchester were lords and +constables of the seventh legion. Earl Curfalain of Chester and Earl +Urgain of Bath held the eighth legion as their bailly; for these +were lords by whom Arthur set great store. As for the spearmen, the +archers, and the stout arbalestriers Arthur separated them from the +press. He divided them into two portions--one for either wing of his +army. All these were about the king's person, and embattled near his +body. + +When Arthur had arrayed his legions, and set his battle in order, +hearken now that which he spake to his lords, his household, and his +vassals "Lords," said Arthur, "I take wondrous comfort when I +remember your manhood and virtues, seeing you always so valiant and +praiseworthy. In the past you have accomplished great things, but day +by day your prowess grows to the full, abating the pride of all who +set themselves against you. When I call to mind and consider that +Britain, in our day, is the lady of so many and so far lands by reason +of you and your fellows, I rejoice mightily, mightily I boast thereof, +and in my God and you right humbly do I put my trust. God grant that +you may do more marvellous works than ever you have wrought, and that +your orb has not yet reached its round. Lords, your valiance and +manhood have conquered these Romans twice already. My heart divines +the decree of fate that you will overthrow them once again. Three +times then have we discomfited these Romans. You have smitten down the +Danes; you have abated Norway, and vanquished the French. France we +hold as our fief in the teeth of the Roman power. Right easily should +you deal with the varlet, who have overborne so many and such perilous +knights. The Romans desire to make Britain their province, to grow fat +with our tribute, and to bring France once more to their allegiance +For this cause they have ransacked the east, and carried hither these +strange, outland people, who amaze Christendom, to fight in their +quarrel. Be not fearful of their numbers. Ten christened men are worth +a hundred of such paynims. The battle will be less a battle, than +a tournament of dames. Have therefore good trust in God, and be +confident of the issue. We shall deal with them lightly, so only we +show a little courage. Well I am assured what each of you will do this +day, and how he will bear him in the melley. For my part I shall be +in the four quarters of the field, and with every one of my legions. +Where the press is thickest, where the need most dire, my Dragon shall +raise his crest" + +When the proud words were ended which Arthur rehearsed in the ears of +his people, the host made answer with one loud voice. Not a man of +them all, who hearkened to his speech, but replied that he loved +better to be stark upon the field, than to know himself vanquished at +the end. The whole host was mightily moved together. They defied the +foe, they promised with oaths to bear them like men, and there were +those who wept. Such tears were not shed by reason of fearfulness. It +was the weeping of men who were utterly purposed never to fail their +king. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, was born in Spain, of a valiant and noble +stock. He was in the most comely flower of his age, having more than +thirty years, but less than forty. He was a proven knight, of high +courage, who had done great deeds already. For such feats of arms the +Roman senate had chosen him to be their emperor. Lucius rose early in +the morning, purposing to set forth from Langres to Autun His host +was now a great way upon the road, when tidings were brought of the +stratagem Arthur had practised against him. The emperor knew well that +either he must fight or retreat. Go back he would not, lest any deemed +him fearful. Moreover, should the Britons follow after, their triumph +was assured, for how may soldiers bear them with a stout heart, who +flee already from the field! Lucius called about him his kings, his +princes, and his dukes. He drew together his wisest counsellors, and +the most crafty captains of his host. To these he spake, and to the +bravest of his legions, numbering one hundred thousand men and more +besides. "Hearken, gentle lords," cried Lucius, "give ear, ye liege +men, fair conquerors, honest sons of worthy sires, who bequeathed you +so goodly an inheritance. By reason of your fathers' glorious deeds, +Rome became the empery of the world. That she will remain whilst one +only Roman breathes. Great as is the glory of your fathers who subdued +this empire, so great will be the shame of their sons in whose day +it is destroyed. But a valiant father begets a valiant son. Your +ancestors were gentle knights, and you do them no wrong. Not one of +you but comes of hardy stock, and the sap rises in your blood like +wine. Let every man strive valiantly this day to be what his father +was in his. Remember the grief that will be his lot who loses his +heritage, and whose cowardice gives to another what he holds of his +father's courage. But I know, and am persuaded, that you will maintain +your portions. Bold as were the dead, so bold are the living, and I +speak to knights who are mighty men of valour. Lords, the road is shut +which would lead us to Autun. We cannot wend our way till we have +forced the gate. I know not what silent thief, or picker, or sturdy +knave, has closed the road by which we fared. He deems that I shall +flee, and abandon the realm like a dropped pouch. He is wrong. If +I went back it was but to lure him on. Now that he has arrayed his +battle against you, brace your harness and loosen your swords. If the +Briton awaits us, he shall not be disappointed of his hope. Should he +flee he shall find us on his track. The time is come to put bit and +bridle in the jaws of this perilous beast, and to hinder him from +further mischief." + +The Romans hastened to get to their arms, for they were passing eager +to fight. They arrayed and embattled the host, setting the sergeants +in rank and company, and forming the columns in due order. The Romans +were a mingled fellowship. Divers outland kings, and many paynim and +Saracens, were mixed with the Christian folk, for all these people +owned fealty to Rome, and were in the service of the emperor. By +thirties and forties, by fifties, by sixties, by hundreds and by +legions, the captains apparelled the battle. In troops and in +thousands the horsemen pricked to their appointed place. Multitudes +of spearmen, multitudes of riders, were ranged in close order, and +by hill and valley were despatched against Arthur's host. One mighty +company, owning fealty to Rome and employed in the service of the +emperor, descended within the valley. Another great company assaulted +the Britons where they lay. Thereat broke forth a loud shrilling of +clarions and sounding of trumpets, whilst the hosts drew together. As +they approached, the archers shot so deftly, the spearmen launched +their darts so briskly, that not a man dared to blink his eye or to +show his face. The arrows flew like hail, and very quickly the melley +became yet more contentious. There where the battle was set you might +mark the lowered lance, the rent and pierced buckler. The ash staves +knapped with a shriek, and flew in splinters about the field. When the +spear was broken they turned to the sword, and plucked the brand from +its sheath. Right marvellous was the melley, and wondrously hideous +and grim. Never did men hew more mightily with the glaive. Not a man +who failed at need; not a man of them all who flinched in the press; +not one who took thought for his life. The sword smote upon the +buckler as on an anvil. The earth shuddered beneath the weight of the +fighting men, and the valley rang and clanged like a smithy with the +tumult. Here a host rushed furiously against a legion which met it +with unbroken front. There a great company of horsemen crashed with +spears upon a company as valiant as itself. Horse and rider went down +before the adversary, arrows flew and darts were hurled; lances were +splintered and the sword shattered upon the covering shield. The +strong prevailed against the weak, and the living brought sorrow to +the dead. Horses ran madly about the field, with voided saddles, +broken girths, and streaming mane. The wounded pitied their grievous +hurts, choosing death before life; but the prayer of their anguish was +lost in the tumult and the cries. Thus for a great while the two hosts +contended mightily together, doing marvellous damage, one to the +other. Neither Roman nor Briton could gain ground, so that no man knew +who would triumph in the end. Bedevere and Kay considered the battle. +They saw that the Romans held themselves closely. They were filled +with anger at the malice of the Romans, and led their company to that +place where the press was the most perilous. Ah, God, but Arthur had +men for his seneschal and cupbearer. Knights of a truth were these +who sat at his table. Kay and Bedevere smote like paladins with their +brands of steel. Many fair deeds had they done, but none so fair as +they did that day. They divided the forefront of the battle, and +cleaving a passage with the sword, opened a road for their fellows. +The Britons followed after, taking and rendering many strokes, so +that divers were wounded and many slain. Blood ran in that place like +water, and the dead they lay in heaps. Bedevere adventured deeper into +the melley, giving himself neither pause nor rest. Kay came but a +stride behind, beating down and laying low, that it was marvellous to +see. The two companions halted for a breathing space, turning them +about to encourage their men. Great was the praise and worship they +had won, but they were yet desirous of honour. They were over anxious +for fame, and their courage led them to rashness. In their hope of +destroying the Romans, they took no heed to their own safety. They +trusted beyond measure in their strength, and in the strength of their +company. There was a certain pagan, named Bocus, King of the Medes. +He was a rich lord in his land, and captain of a strong legion. Bocus +hastened his men to the battle, for he was fearful of none, however +perilous the knight. When the two hosts clashed together the +contention was very courteous, and the melley passing well sustained. +Pagan and Saracen were set to prove their manhood against Angevins and +the folk of Beauce. King Bocus took a sword, and discomfited the two +paladins. May his body rot for his pains. He thrust Bedevere through +the breast, so fiercely that the steel stood out beyond his back. +Bedevere fell, for his heart was cloven. His soul went its way. May +Jesus take it in His keeping! Kay lighted upon Bedevere lying dead. +Since he loved him more than any living man, he was determined the +pagans should not triumph over his body. He called around him as many +men as he might, and did such deeds that the Medians fled before him, +leaving the Britons on the field. Sertorius, King of Libya, beheld +this adventure, and was passing wroth. He had with him a great company +of pagans whom he had carried from his realm. Sertorius, hot with +anger, drew near, and dealt much mischief to his adversaries. He +wounded Kay to the death, and slew the best of his men. Mauled as he +was with many grim strokes, Kay guarded his comrade's body. He set it +amidst his men, and carried the burthen from the press, fighting as +they went. With him, also, he bore Arthur's banner, the golden Dragon, +let the Romans rage as they would. Now Hiresgas, the nephew of +Bedevere, loved his uncle passing well. He sought his kinsfolk and +friends, and gathered to his fellowship some three hundred men. This +company wore helmet and hauberk and brand, and rode fair destriers, +fierce and right speedy. Hiresgas ordered his house for the battle. +"Come now with me," said he to his friends, "and crave the price +of blood." Hiresgas drew near that place where Bocus, King of the +Medians, displayed his banner. When Hiresgas beheld his enemy he +became as a man possessed. He cried the battle cry of Arthur, and +together with his company charged terribly upon Bocus. He had but one +only thought, to avenge his uncle's death. Hiresgas and his fellows +burst amongst the Medians with lowered lances and covering shields. +They slew many, and flung many others from their saddles. They rode +over the fallen, trampling them beneath the hoofs of the horses, till +they reached the very cohort of that king who had slain Sir Bedevere. +Mounted on strong destriers the bold vassals followed after Hiresgas, +wheeling to right or left, as he led, till they pierced to the +gonfalon, showing the arms of the king. Hiresgas spied his foe. He +turned his horse, and pushing through the press, drew near, and smote +Bocus full on the helm. The baron was a mighty man; the stroke +was fierce, and his blade was keen and strong. He struck well and +craftily. The blow sheared through helmet and coif. It divided the +head to the shoulders, so that the soul of King Bocus sped away to the +Adversary. Hiresgas stretched out his arm, seizing the body ere it +might fall to the ground. He set his enemy before him on his horse, +and held him fast, the limbs hanging on either side. Then he made his +way from the stour, the dead man uttering neither lamentation nor cry. +The knight was grim, and his war-horse mighty. His kinsfolk gathered +behind him, that the Medians should do him no mischief. By the aid of +his fellows he won out of the battle, and carried his burthen to the +very place where his uncle lay. There, joint by joint, he hacked +King Bocus asunder. When his task was ended, Sir Hiresgas called his +comrades about him. "Come," said he, "come, true men's sons, to the +slaying of these Romans. Romans! nay, cutpurses, rather, whoresons, +paynims who have neither trust in God, nor faith in our true religion. +Rome has brought them from the east for the destruction of our lives +and our kin. On then, friends, let us wipe out these pagans, the +pagans, and such renegade Christians as have joined them to slay +Christendom more surely. Forward, to sharpen your manhood upon them." +Hiresgas led his household back to the battle. Tumult and shouting +filled the plain. Helmet and brand glittered in the sun, but the steel +often was dulled with blood, or was shattered on the shield. The fair +duke, Guitard of Poitiers, bore him as a valiant man. He held his own +stoutly against the King of Afric. The two lords contended together, +hand to hand, but it was the King of Afric died that day. Guitard +passed across his body, smiting down many Africans and Moors. Holdin, +Duke of the Flemings, was a wise prince, circumspect and sober in +counsel. He strove with the legion of Aliphatma, a King of Spain. +The two princes fought one with the other, in so great anger, that +Aliphatma was wounded to the death, and Holdin was in no better case. +Ligier, Earl of Boulogne, ran a course with the King of Babylon. I +know not who was the fairer knight, for both were shocked from their +seats. Dead upon the field lay earl and king alike. With Ligier were +slain three other earls, masters of many carles in their own lands. +Urgent, Lord of Bath, Balluc, Earl of Guitsire, and Earl Cursa of +Chester, warden of the marches of Wales, perished in a little space, +so that their men were sorely grieved. The company which followed +after their pennons flinched in the press. It gave back before the +Romans, and fled for shelter to the legion which had Gawain for its +captain, and with him Hoel, his fair friend and companion. Two such +champions you would not find, search the whole world through. Never +had knighthood seen their peers for courtesy and kindliness, as for +Wisdom and chivalry. + +Now Hoel was captain of the men of Brittany. His fellowship were proud +and debonair. They were reckless of danger to such a degree that they +neither cared nor feared to whom they were opposed. As one man they +charged, and as one man they pierced through the foe. The men of +Brittany swept down on the Romans, who were pursuing their comrades, +and trampling them under in thousands. They put them speedily to the +rightabout, and rode over many in their turn. Ah!, for the griding of +their swords, and, ah!, for the captives who were taken. The company +hurtled on, till they drew to the golden eagle which was the gonfalon +of the emperor. Lucius, himself, was very near his pennon, and with +him the flower of his meinie, the gentle men and gallant knights of +Rome. Then angels and men witnessed so mortal an encounter, as never +I deem was beheld of any, since time began. Chinmark, Earl of Tigel, +rode in Hoel's cohort. He was a great baron, and wrought much mischief +to his adversaries. His day was come, for a Roman, mean of his +station, and fighting on his feet, flung a javelin at his body, so +that he died. With the earl perished two thousand of the Britons, +every man hardier than his fellows. There, too, were slain three other +earls. Jagus, to his loss, had come from Boloan. The second was hight +Cecormanus, the third, Earl Boclonius. Few indeed of Arthur's barons +might compare with these lords in valour and worth. Had they been sons +of kings, who were but earls, the story of their gestes would be sung +by the minstrels, as I deem, about the world, so marvellous were their +feats. These three fair lords raged wondrously amongst the Romans. +Not one who came to their hands but gasped out his life, whether by +lance-thrust or sword. They forced a path to the eagle of the emperor, +but the bearers arrayed themselves against them, and cutting them off +from their companions, slew them amidst their foes. Hoel and Gawain, +his cousin, were distraught with anger when they regarded the mischief +dealt them by the Romans. To avenge their comrades, to wreak damage +upon their adversaries, they entered amongst them as lions in the +field. They smote down and did much havoc to their adversaries, +cleaving a way with many terrible blows of their swords. The Romans +defended their bodies to the death. If strokes they received, strokes +they rendered again. They opposed themselves stoutly to those who +were over against them, and were as heroes contending with champions. +Gawain was a passing perilous knight. His force and manhood never +failed, so that his strength was unabated, and his hand unwearied in +battle. He showed his prowess so grimly that the Romans quailed before +him. Gawain sought the emperor in every place, because of his desire +to prove his valour. He went to and fro, seeking so tirelessly and +diligently, that at the last he found. The captains looked on the +other's face. The emperor knew again the knight, and Gawain remembered +Lucius. The two hurtled together, but each was so mighty that he fell +not from his horse. Lucius, the emperor, was a good knight, strong +and very valiant. He was skilled in all martial exercises and of much +prowess. He rejoiced greatly to adventure himself against Gawain, +whose praise was so often in the mouths of men. Should he return +living from the battle, sweetly could he boast before the ladies +of Rome. The paladins strove with lifted arm and raised buckler. +Marvellous blows they dealt with the sword. They pained themselves +greatly, doing all that craft might devise to bring the combat to an +end. Neither of them flinched, nor gave back before the other. Pieces +were hewn from the buckler, and sparks flew from the brands. They +joined together, smiting above and thrusting under, two perfect +knights, two gentle paladins, so fierce and so terrible, that had they +been left to themselves very quickly must one have come to a fair end. + +The Roman legions recovered from the panic into which they had fallen. +They ranged themselves beneath the golden eagle, and brought succour +to the emperor at the moment of his utmost need. The legions swept +the Britons before them, and won again the field from which they +were driven. Arthur watched the fortunes of the day. He marked the +discomfiture of his host, and hearkened to the triumphant shouts of +the legionaries. He could not, and dared not, wait longer. Arthur +hastened with his chosen company to the battle. He rallied the rout, +crying to the fleeing sergeants, "Whom seek you? Turn about, for it +were better to be slain of the Romans than by your king. I am Arthur, +your captain, and mortal man shall not drive me from the field. Follow +me, for I will open a road, and beware lest the maidens of Britain +hold you as recreant. Call to mind your ancient courage, by which you +have overcome so many proud kings. For my part I will never go from +this field alive, till I have avenged me on my adversaries." Arthur +did wondrously in the eyes of all the people. He struck many a Roman +to the ground. Shield, and hauberk, and helmet he hewed asunder, +heads, arms, and gauntlets were divided by his sword. Excalibur waxed +red that day, for whom Arthur smote he slew. I cannot number the count +of his blows, and every blow a death. For as the ravenous lion deals +with his prey, so likewise did the fair king raven amongst his +enemies. Not one he spared, he turned aside from none. That man he +wounded required no surgeon for his hurt. All the press gave back +before so stark a champion, till in his path stood neither great nor +small. The King of Libya--Sertorius to name--was a lord exceeding +rich. Arthur struck the head from his shoulders. "In an ill hour you +drew from the east to bear arms in this quarrel, and to furnish drink +for Excalibur". But the dead man answered never a word. Polybetes, +King of Bithyma, fought upon his feet. This was a pagan lord, and +passing rich. Arthur found the paynim before him. He smote but one +marvellous blow, and divided his head to the shoulders. Polybetes +crashed to the earth. His soul rushed from his body, and his brains +were spattered about the field. "Roman, speed to your doom," cried +Arthur loudly, in the hearing of all. When the Britons beheld Arthur's +deeds, and hearkened to his high words, they took courage and charged +upon the Romans. The Romans met them boldly with sword and spear, +doing them many and great mischiefs. When Arthur saw that the battle +was stayed, he increased in valour, and did yet more dreadfully with +Excalibur. He slew and cast down divers, so that the ground was +cumbered with the fallen. Lucius, the emperor, for his part, was not +backward in the melley, and avenged himself grievously on the Britons. +Emperor and king, for all their seeking, might not come together. +This was heavy upon them, for each was a very courteous champion. The +battle rolled this way and that, since the contention was passing +perilous. The Romans did well, nor might the Britons do better. A +thousand men came swiftly to their deaths, for the two hosts arrayed +themselves proudly one against the other, and strove right scornfully. +Not a judge on earth could declare which host should be vanquished, +nor what man of them all would come victor and quick from the tourney. + +Now Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was constable of the bailly Arthur +had hidden on a high place within a wood. Mordup remembered Arthur's +counsel that should evil befall, and the battle draw back to the wood, +he must charge boldly on his adversaries. Mordup rode from his hiding +with a company of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six riders, clad +in gleaming helmets and coats of mail, and carrying sharp lances and +swords. These drew down the hillside, unnoticed of the Romans, and +coming out on their rear, charged hotly on the legion. The legion was +altogether discomfited. Its ranks were pierced, its order was broken, +with the loss of more than one thousand men. The Britons rode amongst +the Romans, parting each from his fellow, trampling the fallen beneath +the horses' hoofs, and slaying with the sword. The Romans could +endure no longer, for the end of all was come. They broke from their +companies, and fled fearfully down the broad road, climbing one upon +the other in their haste. There Lucius, the emperor, fell on death, +being smitten in the body by a spear. I cannot tell who smote him +down, nor of whose lance he was stricken. He was overtaken in the +press, and amongst the dead he was found slain. Beneath the thickest +of the battle he was discovered, dead, and the hurt within his breast +was dealt him by a spear. + +The Romans and their fellows from the east fled before the pursuers, +but the Britons following after did them sore mischief. They waxed +weary of slaying, so that they trod the Romans underfoot. Blood ran in +runnels, and the slain they lay in heaps. Fair palfreys and destriers +ran masterless about the field, for the rider was dead, and had +neither joy nor delight in the sun. Arthur rejoiced and made merry +over so noble a triumph, which had brought the pride of Rome to the +dust. He gave thanks to the King of Glory, who alone had granted him +the victory. Arthur commanded search to be made about the country for +the bodies of the slain, whether they were friend or foe. Many he +buried in the self-same place, but for the others he carried them to +certain fair abbeys, and laid them together to rest. As for the body +of Lucius, the emperor, Arthur bade it to be held in all honour, and +tended with every high observance. He sealed it in a bier, and sent it +worshipfully to Rome. At the same time he wrote letters to the senate +that no other truage would he pay them for Britain, which he guarded +as his realm. If truage they yet required, then truage they should +receive coined in the very mint. Kay, who was wounded to death in the +battle, was carried to Chinon, the castle he had builded, and called +after his own name. There he was interred in a holy hermitage, +standing in a little grove, near by the city. Bedevere was brought to +Bayeux in Normandy, a town of his lordship. He was lain in the ground +beyond the gate, looking over towards the south. Holdin was borne to +Flanders, and buried at Tervanna. Ligier was buried at Boulogne. + +Arthur, for his part, sojourned all through the winter in Burgundy, +giving peace and assurance to the land. He purposed when summer was +come to pass the mountains, and get him to Rome. He was hindered in +his hope by Mordred, of whose shame and vileness you shall now hear. +This Mordred was the king's kin, his sister's very son, and had +Britain in his charge. Arthur had given the whole realm to his care, +and committed all to his keeping. Mordred did whatever was good in his +own eyes, and would have seized the land to his use. He took homage +and fealty from Arthur's men, demanding of every castle a hostage. Not +content with this great sin he wrought yet fouler villainy. Against +the Christian law he took to himself the wife of the king. His uncle's +queen, the dame of his lord, he took as wife, and made of her his +spouse. + +These tidings were carried to Arthur. He was persuaded that Mordred +observed no faith towards him, but had betrayed the queen, stolen his +wife, and done him no fair service. The king gave half his host to +Hoel, committing Burgundy and France to his hand. He prayed him to +keep the land shut from its foes till he came again in peace. For +himself he would return to Britain, to bring the kingdom back to its +allegiance, and to avenge himself on Mordred, who had served his wife +and honour so despitefully. Britain, at any cost, must be regained, +for if that were lost all the rest would quickly fall a prey. Better +to defer for a season the conquest of Rome, than to be spoiled of his +own realm. In a little while he would come again, and then would go +to Rome. With these words Arthur set forth towards Wissant, making +complaint of the falseness of Mordred, who had turned him away from +his conquest; for the warships lay at Wissant ready for sea. + +Mordred learned of Arthur's purpose. He cared not though he came, for +peace was not in his heart. He sent letters to Cheldric of Saxony, +praying him to sail to his aid. The Saxon came with seven hundred +galleys, furnished with all manner of store, and laden with fighting +men. Mordred plighted faith that so Cheldric would help him with all +his power, he would grant him the land from beyond Humber to the +marches of Scotland, besides all the land in Kent that Hengist held of +Vortigern's gift, when the king espoused Rowena. Mordred and Cheldric +gathered together a right fair company. Counting Saxon pagans and +christened men there assembled sixty thousand riders on horses, +in coats of mail. Mordred numbered his army with a quiet mind. He +considered he was so strong as to drive Arthur from any haven. Let +come what might he would never abandon his spoil. For him there was no +place for repentance, yea, so black was his sin that to proffer peace +would be but a jest. Arthur saw to the harness of his men. He got them +on the ships, a multitude whom none could number, and set forth to +Romney, where he purposed to cast anchor. Arthur and his people had +scarcely issued from the galleys, when Mordred hastened against him +with his own men, and those folk from beyond the sea who had sworn +to fight in his quarrel. The men in the boats strove to get them to +shore; whilst those on the land contended to thrust them deeper in +the water. Arrows flew and spears were flung from one to the other, +piercing heart and bowels and breast of those to whom they were +addressed. The mariners pained themselves mightily to run their boats +aground. They could neither defend themselves, nor climb from the +ships, so that those were swiftly slain who struggled to land. Often +they staggered and fell, crying aloud; and in their rage they taunted +those as traitors who hindered them from coming on shore. Ere the +ships could be unladen in that port, Arthur suffered wondrous loss. +Many a bold sergeant paid the price with his head. There, too, was +Gawain, his nephew, slain, and Arthur made over him marvellous sorrow; +for the knight was dearer to his heart than any other man. Aguisel was +killed at Gawain's side; a mighty lord, and very helpful at need. Many +others also were slain, for whom Arthur, the courteous prince, felt +sore dolour. So long as Mordred kept the shipmen from the sand, he +wrought them much mischief. But when Arthur's sergeants won forth from +the boats, and arrayed them in the open country, Mordred's meinie +might not endure against them. Mordred and his men had fared richly +and lain softly overlong. They were sickly with peace. They knew not +how to order the battle, neither to seek shelter nor to wield arms, +as these things were known to Arthur's host, which was cradled and +nourished in war. Arthur and his own ravened amongst them, smiting +and slaying with the sword. They slew them by scores and by hundreds, +killing many and taking captive many more. The slaughter was very +grievous, by reason of the greatness of the press. When daylight +failed, and night closed on the field, Arthur ceased from slaughter, +and called his war hounds off. Mordred's host continued their flight. +They knew not how they went, nor whither; for there was none to lead +them, and none took heed to his neighbour. Each thought of himself, +and was his own physician. Mordred fled through the night to London, +where he hoped to find succour. He leaned on a reed, for the citizens +would not suffer him to enter in their gates. He turned from the city, +and passing the fair water of the Thames, rode to Winchester without +stay. Mordred sought refuge at Winchester, and tarrying awhile, +summoned his friends to his side. He took hostages and sureties from +the citizens, that peace and faith should be observed between them, +and that they would maintain his right. Arthur might find no rest +by reason of the hatred he bore to Mordred. Great grief was his for +Aguisel and Gawain, the friends whom he had lost. He sorrowed heavily +above his nephew, and offered him seemly burial, though in what place +I cannot tell. The chronicles are silent, and meseems there is not a +man who knows where Gawain was laid[1], nor the name of him who slew +him with the sword. When Arthur had performed these fitting rites he +gave himself over to his wrath, considering only in what way he could +destroy Mordred. + +[Footnote 1: The grave of Gawain was fabled to be in Pembrokeshire.] + +He followed after the traitor to Winchester, calling from every part +his vassals as he went. Arthur drew near the city, and lodged his host +without the walls. Mordred regarded the host which shut him fast. +Fight he must, and fight he would, for the army might never rise up +till he was taken. Once Arthur had him in his grip well he knew he was +but a dead man. Mordred gathered his sergeants together, and bade them +get quickly into their armour. He arrayed them in companies, and came +out through the gates to give battle to the pursuers. Immediately he +issued from the barriers the host ran to meet him. The contention was +very grievous, for many were smitten and many overthrown. It proved +but an ill adventure to Mordred, since his men were not able to stay +against their adversaries. Mordred was persuaded that for him there +was only one hope of safety, for his trespass was beyond forgiveness, +and much he feared the king. He assembled privily the folk of his +household, his familiar friends, and those who cherished against +Arthur the deepest grudge. With these he fled over by-ways to +Southampton, leaving the rest of his people to endure as they could. +At the port he sought pilots and mariners. These he persuaded by gifts +and fair promises straightway to put out to sea, that he might escape +from his uncle. With a favourable wind the shipmen carried him to +Cornwall. Mordred feared exceedingly for his life, and rejoiced +greatly to begone. + +King Arthur besieged Winchester strictly. At the end he took burgesses +and castle. To Yvain, son of Urian, a baron beloved of the court, +Arthur granted Scotland as a heritage. Yvain paid homage for the gift. +Of old Aguisel claimed lordship in the realm, but he was dead, leaving +neither son nor dame to come before Yvain. This Yvain was a right +worshipful knight, worthy, and of passing great valour. Very sweetly +was he praised of many. + +That queen, who was Arthur's wife, knew and heard tell of the war that +was waged by Mordred in England. She learned also that Mordred had +fled from before the king, because he might not endure against him, +and durst not abide him in the field. The queen was lodged at York, in +doubt and sadness. She called to mind her sin, and remembered that for +Mordred her name was a hissing. Her lord she had shamed, and set her +love on her husband's sister's son. Moreover, she had wedded Mordred +in defiance of right, since she was wife already, and so must suffer +reproach in earth and hell. Better were the dead than those who lived, +in the eyes of Arthur's queen. Passing heavy was the lady in her +thought. The queen fled to Caerleon. There she entered in a convent +of nuns, and took the veil. All her life's days were hidden in this +abbey. Never again was this fair lady heard or seen; never again was +she found or known of men. This she did by reason of her exceeding +sorrow for her trespass, and for the sin that she had wrought. + +Mordred held Cornwall in his keeping, but for the rest the realm +had returned to its allegiance. He compassed sea and land to gather +soldiers to his banner. Saxon and Dane, the folk of Ireland and +Norway, Saracen and pagan, each and all of them who hated Arthur +and loathed his bondage, Mordred entreated to his aid. He promised +everything they would, and gave what he could, like a man whom +necessity drives hard. Arthur was sick with wrath that he was not +avenged of Mordred. He had neither peace nor rest whilst the traitor +abode in his land. Arthur learned of Mordred's strength in Cornwall, +and this was grievous to him. His spies brought tidings of the snares +that Mordred spread, and the king waxed heavier thereat. Arthur sent +after his men to the very Humber. He gathered to himself so mighty +a host that it was as the sand for multitude. With this he sought +Mordred where he knew he could be found. He purposed to slay and make +an end of the traitor and his perjury alike. Mordred had no desire to +shrink from battle. He preferred to stake all on the cast, yea, though +the throw meant death--rather than be harried from place to place. +The battle was arrayed on the Camel, over against the entrance to +Cornwall. A bitter hatred had drawn the hosts together, so that they +strove to do each other sore mischief. Their malice was wondrous +great, and the murder passing grim. I cannot say who had the better +part. I neither know who lost, nor who gained that day. No man wists +the name of overthrower or of overthrown. All are alike forgotten, the +victor with him who died. Much people were slain on either side, so +that the field was strewn with the dead, and crimson with the blood +of dying men. There perished the brave and comely youth Arthur had +nourished and gathered from so many and far lands. There also the +knights of his Table Round, whose praise was bruited about the whole +world. There, too, was Mordred slain in the press, together with the +greater part of his folk, and in the selfsame day were destroyed the +flower of Arthur's host, the best and hardiest of his men. So the +chronicle speaks sooth, Arthur himself was wounded in his body to the +death. He caused him to be borne to Avalon for the searching of his +hurts. He is yet in Avalon, awaited of the Britons; for as they say +and deem he will return from whence he went and live again. Master +Wace, the writer of this book, cannot add more to this matter of his +end than was spoken by Merlin the prophet. Merlin said of Arthur--if +I read aright--that his end should be hidden in doubtfulness. +The prophet spoke truly. Men have ever doubted, and--as I am +persuaded--will always doubt whether he liveth or is dead. Arthur bade +that he should be carried to Avalon in this hope in the year 642 of +the Incarnation. The sorer sorrow that he was a childless man. To +Constantine, Cador's son, Earl of Cornwall, and his near kin, Arthur +committed the realm, commanding him to hold it as king until he +returned to his own. The earl took the land to his keeping. He held it +as bidden, but nevertheless Arthur came never again. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut, by Wace + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN *** + +***** This file should be named 10472-8.txt or 10472-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/7/10472/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut + +Author: Wace + +Release Date: December 16, 2003 [EBook #10472] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO Latin-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN DE BRUT + +by + +WACE + + +TRANSLATED BY EUGENE MASON + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + "... In the chronicle of wasted time + I see descriptions of the fairest wights, + And beauty making beautiful old rhyme, + In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights." + + SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet cvi. + + +I.--WACE + +In the long line of Arthurian chroniclers Geoffrey of Monmouth +deservedly occupies the first place. The most gifted and the most +original of their number, by his skilful treatment of the Arthurian +story in his _Historia Regum Britanniae_, he succeeded in uniting +scattered legends attached to Arthur's name, and in definitely +establishing their place in chronicle history in a form that persisted +throughout the later British historical annals. His theme and his +manner of presenting it were both peculiarly adapted to win the favour +of his public, and his work attained a popularity that was almost +unprecedented in an age that knew no printed books. Not only was it +accepted as an authority by British historians, but French chroniclers +also used it for their own purposes. + +About the year 1150, five years before the death of Geoffrey, an +Anglo-Norman, Geoffrey Gaimar, wrote the first French metrical chronicle. +It consisted of two parts, the _Estorie des Bretons_ and the _Estorie des +Engles_, of which only the latter is extant, but the former is known to +have been a rhymed translation of the _Historia_ of Geoffrey of Monmouth. +Gaimar's work might possibly have had a longer life if it had not been +cast into the shade by another chronicle in verse, the _Roman de Brut_, +by a Norman poet, Wace, which fills an important and interesting place +among our Arthurian sources, not merely because of the author's qualities +as a poet and his treatment of the Arthurian story, but also because of +the type of composition that he produced. For the metrical chronicle +occupies an intermediate position between the prose chronicle, one of the +favourite forms of mediaeval monastic production throughout Europe, and +the metrical romance, which budded and blossomed most richly in France, +where, during the last half of the twelfth century, it received its +greatest impulse from Crestien de Troies, the most distinguished of the +_trouveres_. The metrical romances were written for court circles, and +were used as a vehicle for recounting adventures of love and chivalry, +and for setting forth the code of behaviour which governed the courtly +life of France at that period. Wace's poem, though based upon chronicle +history, is addressed to a public whose taste was turning toward chivalric +narrative, and it foreshadows those qualities that characterised the verse +romances, for which no more fitting themes could be found than those +supplied by the stories of Arthurian heroes, whose prowess teaches us that +we should be valiant and courteous. Wace saw the greater part of the +twelfth century. We cannot be certain of the exact year of his birth or +of his death, but we know that he lived approximately from 1100 to 1175. +Practically all our information about his life is what he himself tells +us in his _Roman de Rou_:-- + +"If anybody asks who said this, who put this history into the Romance +language, I say and I will say to him that I am Wace of the isle of +Jersey, which lies in the sea, toward the west, and is a part of the +fief of Normandy. In the isle of Jersey I was born, and to Caen I +was taken as a little lad; there I was put at the study of letters; +afterward I studied long in France.[1] When I came back from France, I +dwelt long at Caen. I busied myself with making books in Romance; many +of them I wrote and many of them I made." + +Before 1135 he was a _clerc lisant_ (reading clerk), and at length, +he says, his writings won for him from Henry II. preferment to the +position of canon at Bayeux. He was more author, however, than +prebendary, and he gave his first effort and interest to his writings. +He composed a number of saints' lives, which are still extant, but his +two most important works were his historical poems, the _Roman de Brut_ +and the _Roman de Rou_ (i.e. Rollo), a chronicle history of the Dukes of +Normandy. This latter was Wace's last production, and beside having a +literary and historic importance, it has a rather pathetic interest. +He had begun it in 1160, in obedience to a command of Henry II, but +for some unknown reason Henry later transferred the honour to another +poet. Wace laid aside his pen, left his work incomplete, and probably +soon after died. + +"Since the king has asked him to do this work, I must leave it and I +must say no more. Of old the king did me many a favour; much he gave +me, more he promised me, and if he had given all that he promised me, +it had been better for me. Here ends the book of Master Wace; let him +continue it who will." [2] + +Some twenty years earlier, in 1155, Wace had completed the _Roman de +Brut_. He himself called it the _Geste des Bretons_ ("History of the +Britons"), but it is best known under the title that appears in the +manuscripts, the _Roman de Brut_, given to it by scribes because of its +connection with Brutus, the founder of the British race. The Brut is a +reproduction in verse of Geoffrey's _Historia_. To call it a translation +is almost to give it a misnomer, for although Wace follows exactly +the order and substance of the _Historia_, he was more than a mere +translator, and was too much of a poet not to impress his own +individuality upon his work. He makes some few additions to +Geoffrey's Arthurian history, but his real contribution to the legend +is the new spirit that he put into it. In the first place his vehicle +is the swift-moving French octo-syllabic couplet, which alone gives +an entirely different tone to the narrative from that of Geoffrey's +high-sounding Latin prose. Wace, moreover, was Norman born and Norman +bred, and he inherited the possessions of his race--a love of fact, +the power of clear thought, the appreciation of simplicity, the +command of elegance in form. Such a spirit indeed was his as in a +finer type had already expressed itself in Caen in the two noble +abbeys, under whose shadow he passed the greater part of his life, +the dignified and sternly simple Abbaye-aux-Hommes of William the +Conqueror and the graceful, richly ornamented Abbaye-aux-Dames of +Queen Matilda. Sincerity and truth Wace ever aims at, but he +embellishes his narrative with countless imaginative details. As a +narrator he has the tendency to garrulity, which few mediaeval poets +altogether escaped, but he is by no means without conversational +charm, and in brief sentences abounding in colloquial turns, he leads +us easily on with seldom flagging interest even through those pages +where he is most inclined to be prolix. He is a systematic person with +accurate mental habits, and is keenly alive to the limitations of his +own knowledge. He doubtless often had to bid his common sense console +him with the reflections with which he begins his _Life of St. +Nicholas_:--"Nobody can know everything, or hear everything, or see +everything ... God distributes different gifts to different people. +Each man should show his worth in that which God has given him." + +He is extremely careful to give his authorities for his statements, +and has all the shyness of an antiquarian toward facts for which he +has not full proof. Through Breton tales, for example, he heard of the +fairy fountain of Barenton in the forest of Broceliande, where fays +and many another marvel were to be seen, and he determined to visit +it in order to find out how true these stories were. "I went there +to look for marvels. I saw the forest and I saw the land; I sought +marvels, but I found none. A fool I came back, a fool I went; a fool I +went, a fool I came back; foolishness I sought, a fool I hold myself." +[3] The wonders related of Arthur, he tells us, have been recounted so +often that they have become fables. "Not all lies, nor all true, all +foolishness, nor all sense; so much have the storytellers told, and so +much have the makers of fables fabled to embellish their stories that +they have made all seem fable." [4] He omits the prophecies of Merlin +from his narrative, because he does not understand them. "I am not +willing to translate his book, because I do not know how to interpret +it. I would say nothing that was not exactly as I said." [5] To this +scrupulous regard for the truth, absolutely foreign to the ingenious +Geoffrey, Wace adds an unusual power of visualising. He sees clearly +everything that he describes, and decorates his narrative with almost +such minute details of any scene as a seventeenth-century Dutch +painter loved to put upon his canvas. The most famous instance of +this power is his description of Arthur's embarkation for the +Roman campaign. Geoffrey, after saying simply that Arthur went to +Southampton, where the wind was fair, passes at once to the dream that +came to the king on his voyage across the Channel. But Wace paints +a complete word-picture of the scene. Here you may see the crews +gathering, there the ships preparing, yonder friends exchanging +parting words, on this side commanders calling orders, on that, +sailors manning the vessels, and then the fleet speeding over the +waves.[6] Another spirited example of this same characteristic is +found in the _Roman de Rou_ [7] in the stirring account of the advance of +the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings:-- + +"Taillefer, who sang right well, mounted on a charger that went +swiftly, rode before the duke singing of Charlemagne and of Roland, +and of Oliver and the vassals who died at Roncesval. When they had +ridden until they came close to the English, 'Sire,' said Taillefer, +'a grace! I have served you long; for all my service, you owe me a +debt. To-day, an it please you, repay it me. For all my guerdon I beg +you and fervently I pray you, grant me to deal the first blow in the +battle!' The duke replied, 'I grant it.' And Taillefer pricked on +at full gallop, on before all the others he pressed. He struck an +Englishman and killed him; beneath the breast, clean through the body +he thrust his lance; he felled him down full length on the ground; +then he drew his sword, he struck another; then he cried, 'On, on! +What do ye? Strike, strike!' Then the English surrounded him at the +second blow that he dealt. Hark to the noise raised and the cries!" + +Apart from matters of style, Wace made other changes from Geoffrey's +narrative that are more important for Arthurian romance. He wrote the +_Brut_ under the patronage of Henry II, and, if we may trust Layamon's +statement, he dedicated it to Queen Eleanor, who was the ardent +propagator in England of the courtly ideals of southern France. +Accordingly Wace, perhaps partly because of his own milieu, partly +because of his royal patroness, wove into Geoffrey's narrative more +pronouncedly chivalric material. The lack of the courtly virtue of +mesure (moderation) that is noticeable in Geoffrey's Arthur, Wace is +careful to conceal; he gives, furthermore, a place to the descriptions +of love, which fill so many lines in the later romances, but which are +absent from Geoffrey's pages. Gawain, for instance, who is "valiant +and of very great moderation," declares that jesting and the delights +of love are good, and that for the sake of his lady a young knight +performs deeds of chivalry.[8] In addition to these changes, which +are to be attributed to his personal bent and surroundings, Wace also +makes it clear that he was conversant with stories of Arthur quite +independent of the _Historia_. Fables about Arthur he himself says that +he had heard, as we have seen, and from these he adds to Geoffrey's +narrative two that bear unmistakable signs of a Celtic origin, and +that were destined to become important elements in later romance; for +he gives us the first literary record of the famous Round Table, [9] +and the first definite mention in literature of the "hope of Britain." [10] + +Wace is not to be regarded as one of the great contributors to our +knowledge of Arthurian legend, but without a familiarity with his +work, later French romance can scarcely be appreciated, so important +is his place as a delicate transformer of the story, the harsher +elements of which he veiled with the courtliness familiar to him, +while he diffused throughout it the indefinable spirit of French +romance; and this he did with the naive simplicity and grace that were +his by birth and temperament. + + + + +II.--LAYAMON + + +To Wace we owe still another debt, for the _Roman de Brut_ served as +the direct source for one of the greatest members of the Arthurian +literature of any period. This is the _Brut_, written in the first half +of the thirteenth century, after the year 1204, by Layamon, an English +priest of the country parish of Lower Arnley in Worcestershire. + +"There was a priest in the land, who was named Layamon; he was son of +Leovenath--may the Lord be gracious to him!--he dwelt at Ernley, at a +noble church upon Severn's bank,--good it there seemed to him--near +Radestone, where he books read. It came to him in mind, and in his +chief thought, that he would tell the noble deeds of the English; what +they were named, and whence they came, who first possessed the English +land, after the flood that came from the Lord.... Layamon began to +journey wide over this land, and procured the noble books which he +took for pattern. He took the English book that Saint Bede made; +another he took in Latin, that Saint Albin made, and the fair Austin, +who brought baptism in hither; the third book he took, and laid there +in the midst, that a French clerk made, who was named Wace, who well +could write; and he gave it to the noble Eleanor, who was the high +King Henry's queen. Layamon laid before him these books, and turned +over the leaves; lovingly he beheld them--may the Lord be merciful to +him!--pen he took with fingers, and wrote on book-skin, and the true +words set together, and the three books compressed into one. Now +prayeth Layamon, for love of the Almighty God, each good man that +shall read this book and learn this counsel, that he say together +these soothfast words, for his father's soul, who brought him forth, +and for his mother's soul, who bore him to be man, and for his own +soul, that it be the better. Amen!" [11] + +With these words Layamon introduces us to his book and to himself; in +fact they contain the sum total of our information about his life. But +they put us at once into sympathy with the earnest, sincere student, +who wrote, not like Geoffrey and Wace, for the favour of a high-born +patron, but for the love of England and of good men and his few +hardly-won and treasured books. Of these books Wace's _Brut_ received +the lion's share of his attention, and he made little or no use of the +others that lay before him. + +He followed Wace's poem in outline, but he succeeded in extending its +15,300 verses to 32,241, by giving a free rein to his fancy, which he +often allowed to set the pace for his pen. For Layamon in his retired +parish, performing the monotonous and far from engrossing duties of a +reading clerk,[12] lived in reality a stirring life of the imagination. +Back in the Saxon past of England his thoughts moved, and his mind +dwelt on her national epic heroes. Not only in his language, which +belongs to the period of transition from Anglo-Saxon to Middle +English, but in his verse [13] and phraseology, he shows the +influence of earlier Anglo-Saxon literature. The sound of the _Ode on +Athelstane's Victory_ and of _Beowulf_ is in our ears as we read his +intense, stirring lines. Wars and battles, the stern career of a Saxon +leader, the life of the woods and fields attracted him far more than +the refinements of a Norman court, and by emphasising the elements +that were most congenial to himself he developed an entirely different +picture from that presented by either Geoffrey or Wace. Writing with +intense interest, he lives and moves and has his being among the +events that he is narrating, and is far too deeply absorbed in his +story to limit himself to the page that he has before him. Given a +dramatic situation, the actors become living personalities to him, and +he hears impassioned words falling from their lips in terse phrases +such as he never found in the lines of Wace. Uther Pendragon, in a +deadly battle against the Irish invaders under Gillomar and Pascent, +slays Gillomar, then overtakes Pascent:-- + +"And said these words Uther the Good: 'Pascent, thou shalt abide; here +cometh Uther riding!' He smote him upon the head, so that he fell +down, and the sword put in his mouth--such meat to him was strange--so +that the point of the sword went in the earth. Then said Uther, +'Pascent, lie now there; now thou hast Britain all won to thy hand! So +is now hap to thee; therein thou art dead; dwell ye shall here, thou, +and Gillomar thy companion, and possess well Britain! For now I +deliver it to you in hand, so that ye may presently dwell with us +here; ye need not ever dread who you shall feed.'" [14] + +Arthur leads his men close to the hosts of Colgrim, the leader of the +Saxon invaders:-- + +"Thus said Arthur, noblest of kings: 'See ye, my Britons, here beside +us, our full foes,--Christ destroy them!--Colgrim the strong, out of +Saxonland? His kin in this land killed our ancestors; but now is the +day come, that the Lord hath appointed that he shall lose the life, +and lose his friends, or else we shall be dead; we may not see him +alive!....' Up caught Arthur his shield, before his breast, and he gan +to rush as the howling wolf, when he cometh from the wood, behung +with snow, and thinketh to bite such beasts as he liketh. Arthur then +called to his dear knights: 'Advance we quickly, brave thanes! all +together towards them; we all shall do well, and they forth fly, as +the high wood, when the furious wind heaveth it with strength.' Flew +over the [fields] thirty thousand shields, and smote on Colgrim's +knights, so that the earth shook again. Brake the broad spears, +shivered shields; the Saxish men fell to the ground.... Some they +gan wander as the wild crane doth in the moor-fen, when his flight is +impaired, and swift hawks pursue after him, and hounds with mischief +meet him in the reeds; then is neither good to him nor the land nor +the flood; the hawks him smite, the hounds him bite, then is the royal +fowl at his death-time." [15] + +Layamon lets his imagination display itself not merely in the dramatic +speeches that he puts into the mouths of his actors; he occasionally +composes a long incident, as in the story of the coronation of +Constans,[16] of the announcement to Arthur of Mordred's treachery,[17] +and in the very striking account of Arthur's election to the throne of +Britain and his reception of the messengers who come for him. "Arthur +sate full still; one while he was wan, and in hue exceeding pale; one +while he was red, and was moved in heart. When it all brake forth, it +was good that he spake; thus said he then, forthright, Arthur, the +noble knight: 'Lord Christ, God's Son, be to us now in aid, that I may +in life hold God's laws.'" [18] But in general Layamon's expansions +of Wace are merely slight additions or modifications, sufficient in +number, however, to go far in doubling the size of the volume. His +great change is that which I have already mentioned, the spirit in +which the story is conceived, and this is best illustrated, perhaps, +in the person of Arthur himself. For Arthur is no knight-errant, but +a grim, stern, ferocious Saxon warrior, loved by his subjects, yet +dreaded by them as well as by his foes. "Was never ere such king, so +doughty through all things." He stands in the cold glare of monarchy +and conquest, and save in the story of his birth and of his final +battle he is seldom, if ever, seen through the softer light of +romance. But Layamon is the only source for the story of which we hear +nothing in the later romances, and which is generally attributed to a +Teutonic origin, that elves came to Arthur's cradle and gave him good +gifts--to be the best of knights, a rich king, long lived, abounding +in "virtues most good." Layamon, too, gives a truly Celtic version +of Arthur's disappearance from earth. Two fairy maidens bear the wounded +king in a boat from the battle-field over the sea to Argante, the queen +of Avalon, who will make him whole again. "And the Britons ever expect +when Arthur shall return." This story, and also Layamon's very important +account of the establishment of the Round Table, which is vastly more +complete than Wace's, bear unmistakable marks of a Celtic origin. Layamon, +in fact, living as he did near the Welsh border, naturally shows +familiarity with current Welsh tradition. His work has a high value in +the vexed question of the origin and growth of Arthurian romance; for +it proves the existence of genuine Welsh tradition about Arthur, and +makes untenable the position of those critics who maintain that the +Arthurian legend had an independent development only on the continent. + +Layamon's contributions to our knowledge of the Arthurian material +are, however, comparatively small, since he augmented his original in +the main by passages inspired by his own imagination.[19] His additions +may be called poetic rather than legendary. Partly because of its +Saxon character his _Brut_ never attained wide popularity, and it had +little effect upon the cycle; but it remains one of the most truly +great literary achievements in the field of both Arthurian chronicle +and romance. + +Our three most important Arthurian chroniclers, Geoffrey, Wace, and +Layamon, were all men of marked individuality and ability; each lives +for us with as distinct a personality as if we had far more than our +very imperfect knowledge of the details of his life. Geoffrey, a +clever combiner, a highly gifted narrator and scholar, born at a happy +hour, gave the Arthurian legend a definite literary form, brought +permanently together independent elements of tradition, and +contributed enormously to the popularity of the cycle. Wace, the +professional author, the scrupulous antiquarian and naive poet, +carefully refined the material of Geoffrey, and dressed it in the +French costume of courtly life. Layamon, the intense and imaginative +English priest, transformed it by the Saxon spirit, and divesting it +of its courtly elegance, filled it with greater simplicity and force. + + + + +EXCURSUS I.--ARTHUR'S MAGIC POSSESSIONS + + +Arthur's magic possessions form a prominent element in Welsh +tradition, and their appearance in the early chronicles is an +important testimony to the diffusion of Welsh legend. _Kilhwch and +Olwen_ contains a list of his belongings, all of which there is +reason to believe, from record or from logical inference, were of +otherworld origin. Each has its significant proper name, which in most +cases conveys the idea of brilliant whiteness, a characteristic of +Celtic fairy objects. His ship, for example, is named White Form, +his shield "Night Gainsayer," his dagger "White Haft." The _Dream of +Rhonabwy_ [20] describes his carpet (or mantle), "White," which had the +property of retaining no colour but its own, and of making whoever +was on it (or wrapped in it) invisible, and also his sword, +"Hard-breacher," graven with two serpents from whose jaws two flames +of fire seemed to burst when it was unsheathed, "and then so wonderful +was the sword that it was hard for any one to look upon it." This +sword (Caletvwlch, Caliburn, Excalibur) is a Pan-Celtic marvellous +object, and is one of Arthur's most famous possessions. The deadly +blows attributed by Nennius to him in the Battle of Mount Badon +without doubt traditionally were dealt by Caliburn. Geoffrey of +Monmouth recognised it as a fairy sword, and says that it was made in +Avalon, namely, the Celtic otherworld. We may also feel confident that +the full panoply of armour with which Geoffrey equips Arthur (ix. 4) +consisted of magic objects, although Geoffrey, who in general, as an +historian, rationalises the supernatural, merely describes them as +amazingly efficacious. The shield he calls by the name of Arthur's +ship in Welsh sources, Pridwen (evidently a fairy boat, limitless in +capacity), either from some confusion in tradition, or because, being +enchanted, Pridwen might, of course, serve as either ship or shield. + +Layamon adds further information about Arthur's weapons. His burny, +he says (vs. 21133-34) "was named Wygar" (Anglo-Saxon _wigheard_), +"Battle-hard," "which Witeze wrought," Witeze being a corrupted form +for Widia, the Anglo-Saxon name of the son of Weland, the Teutonic +Vulcan, a famous maker of magic weapons in romance, with whom his son +might easily become identified in legend. + +This is the explanation given by Professor G.L. Kittredge of the above +lines, as a correction of Sir Frederic Madden's translation: "he +[namely, the smith who made the burny] was named Wygar, the witty +wight." Layamon says (v. 21147) that Arthur's helmet was called +Goswhit, a name that is evidently a translation of some Welsh term +meaning "goosewhite," which at once classes the helmet with Arthur's +dazzlingly bright fairy belongings. Moreover, Layamon says (vs. 21158, +23779 ff.) that his spear Ron (a Welsh common noun, meaning "spear") +was made by a smith called Griffin, whose name may be the result of an +English substitution of the familiar word _griffin_ for the unfamiliar +_Gofan_, the name of the Celtic smith-god. These facts are mainly +important as testimony to the Celtic element in Arthurian romance, and +especially to Layamon's use of current Welsh Arthurian tradition. The +large variety of magical possessions assigned to Arthur is also a +notable indication of the great emphasis that Welsh legend laid +upon his mythological attributes and his character as otherworld +adventurer. + +[The above facts have been established and discussed by Professor +A.C.L. Brown in his article on the Round Table (p. 199, note 1) cited +below in Excursus II.; also in _Iwain_, Boston, 1903, p. 79, note +1; _Modern Philology_, I., 5-8; _Publications of the Modern Language +Association of America_, XXV., 25 ff. See also the notes on the lines +cited from Layamon in Sir Frederic Madden's edition of the _Brut_. For +other magic possessions of Arthur, see below, Excursus II.] + + + + +EXCURSUS II.--THE ROUND TABLE + +(Wace, _Brut_, vs. 9994 ff., 10555, 13675; Layamon, vs. 22736 ff.) + + +Our earliest authority for the story of the Round Table is Wace. He +and Layamon agree in calling it a tale of the Britons, and in saying +that Arthur had it made to prevent rivalry as to place among his +vassals when they sat at meat. Layamon, however, expands the few lines +that Wace devotes to the subject into one of his longest additions to +his source, by introducing the story of a savage fight for precedence +at a court feast, which was the immediate cause for fashioning the +Round Table, a magical object. Ancient sources prove that the Celts +had a grievous habit of quarrelling about precedence at banquets, +probably because it was their custom to bestow the largest portion of +meat upon the bravest warrior. It was also their practice to banquet +seated in a circle with the most valiant chieftain of the company +placed in the middle, possibly owing to the circular form of their +huts, possibly for the sake of avoiding the disputes that so commonly +disturbed their feastings. The Round Table, accordingly, is to be +regarded as a Pan-Celtic institution of early date, and as one of the +belongings that would naturally be attributed by popular tradition +to any peculiarly distinguished leader. Layamon's version so closely +parallels early Celtic stories of banquet fights, and has so barbaric +a tone, as to make it evident that he is here recounting a folk-tale +of pure Celtic origin, which must have been connected with Arthur +before his time, and probably before that of Wace; for this story was +undoubtedly one of those "many fables" which Wace says the Britons +told about the Round Table, but which he does not incorporate into his +narrative. + +[See A.C.L. Brown, _The Round Table before Wace in Studies and Notes +in Philology and Literature_, VII. (Boston, 1900), 183 ff.; L.F. Mott, +_Publications of the Modern Language Association of America_, XX, 231 +ff.; J.L. Weston, as above (p. xv.), pp. 883 ft.] + + + + +EXCURSUS III.--THE HOPE OF BRITAIN + +(Wace, _Brut_, 13681 ff.; Layamon, 23080 ff., 28610 ff.) + + +The belief that Arthur would return to earth, which was firmly +established among the Britons by the beginning of the twelfth +century, does not in early records appear clothed in any definite +narrative form. In later sources it assumes several phases, +the most common of which is that recorded by Layamon that Arthur had +been taken by fays from his final battle-field to Avalon, the Celtic +otherworld, whence after the healing of his mortal wound he would +return to earth. Layamon's story conforms essentially to an early type +of Celtic fairy-mistress story, according to which a valorous hero, in +response to the summons of a fay who has set her love upon him, under +the guidance of a fairy messenger sails over seas to the otherworld, +where he remains for an indefinite time in happiness, oblivious of +earth. It is easy to see that the belief that Arthur was still living, +though not in this world, might gradually take shape in such a form as +this, and that his absence from his country might be interpreted as +his prolonged sojourn in the distant land of a fairy queen, who was +proffering him, not the delights of her love, but healing for his +wounds, in order that when he was made whole again he might return "to +help the Britons." Historic, mythical, and romantic tradition have +combined to produce the version that Layamon records. Geoffrey of +Monmouth (xi. 2), writing in the mock role of serious historian and +with a tendency to rationalisation, says not a word of the wounded +king's possible return to earth. Wace, with characteristic caution, +affirms that he will not commit himself as to whether the Britons, who +say that Arthur is still in Avalon, speak the truth or not. Here, as +in the story of the Round Table, it is Layamon who has preserved for +us what was undoubtedly the form that the belief had already assumed +in Celtic story, through whatever medium it may have passed before it +reached his hands. + +In the _Vita Merlini_,[21] a Latin poem attributed by some scholars to +Geoffrey of Monmouth, a curious version of Arthur's stay in Avalon is +given. The wounded king is taken after the battle of Camlan to the +Isle of Apples (for such was understood to be the meaning of the +name _Avalon_), which is the domain of a supernatural maiden, wise and +beautiful, Morgen by name, who understands the healing art, and who +promises the king that he shall be made whole again if he abides long +with her. This is the first mention in literature of Morgan la Fee, +the most powerful fay of French romance, and regularly the traditional +healer of Arthur's wounds in Avalon. + +The Argante of Layamon's version is doubtless the same being as +Morgana, for whose name, which in any of its current spellings had +the appearance of a masculine proper name, Layamon either may have +substituted a more familiar Welsh name, Argante, as I have already +shown he might easily have done (_Studies in the Fairy Mythology of +Arthurian Romance_, Boston, 1903, pp. 26-28), or, as Professor J.L. +Bruce, with equal plausibility, has recently suggested, he may have +used a corruption of one form of the fay's name, Morgant (_Modern +Language Notes_, March, 1911, pp. 65-68). + +[I have discussed the various versions of Arthur's stay in Avalon in +_Studies in Fairy Mythology_, chapter III. On Avalon, see _id._, p. 40, +note 2. On the early belief in Arthur's return to earth, see Geoffrey +of Monmouth (_Everyman's Library_), Introduction, p. 10.] + + + + +NOTES: + +[1] i.e., Paris, in the Ile de France. Vs. 10440 ff. + +[2] Vs. 16530 ff. + +[3] _Roman de Rou_, vs. 6415 ff. + +[4] _Roman de Brut_, vs. 10038 ff. + +[5] _Id._, vs. 7733 ff. + +[6] _Id._, vs. 11472 ff. Cf. for other examples: Arthur's +conquest of Denmark, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10123 ff.; Arthur's +return to Britain from France, _Historia_, ix. 11; _Brut_, vs. 10427 ff.; +Arthur's coronation, _Historia_, ix. 12 ff.; _Brut_, vs. 10610 ff. + +[7] Vs. 13149 ff. + +[8] See _Excursus II_. + +[9] Vs. 11048 ff. + +[10] See _Excursus III_. + +[11] Vs. 1 ff. + +[12] Layamon's statement that he "read books" at Arnley is +interpreted to mean that he read the services in the church. + +[13] The poem is written in part in alliterative lines on the +Anglo-Saxon system, in part in rhymed couplets of unequal length. + +[14] Vs. 18086 ff. + +[15] Vs. 20110 ff. More famous speeches still are Arthur's +comparison of Childric the Dane to a fox (vs. 20827 ff.) and his taunt +over his fallen foes, Baldulf and Colgrim (vs. 31431 ff.). + +[16] Vs. 12972 ff. + +[17] Vs. 27992 ff. + +[18] Vs. 19887 ff. + +[19] discussion of this point see J.L. Weston, in _Melanges de +philologie romane offerts a M. Wilmotte_, Paris, 1910, pp. 801, 802. + +[20] See _Mabinogion_, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest, +London, 1849. + +[21] Ed. Michel and Wright, Paris, 1837. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +GENERAL WORKS OF REFERENCE FOR THE CHRONICLES + +R.H. FLETCHER, _The Arthurian Material in the Chronicles (Studies and +Notes in Philology and Literature, X)_, Boston, 1906. + +W. LEWIS JONES, King Arthur in History and Legend, London, 1911. + +M.W. MACCALLUM, _Tennyson's Idylls of the King_, Glasgow, 1894. + +H. MAYNADIER, _The Arthur of the English Poets_, Boston and New York, +1907. + +G. PARIS, _Histoire litteraire de la France_, Paris, 1888. + +J. RHYS, _Studies in the Arthurian Legend_, Oxford, 1891. + +W.H. SCHOFIELD, _English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer_, +New York and London, 1906. + +B. TEN BRINK, _Geschichte der Englischen Literatur_, and ed., A Brandl, +Strassburg, 1899. Translated into English, 1st ed, I., H.M. Kennedy, +New York, 1888, II., i., W.C. Robinson, 1893, II., ii., L.D. Schmidt, +1896. + + +AUTHORS AND WORKS + +GEOFFREY GAIMAR, _L'Estorie des Engles_, ed. T.D. Hardy and T.C. Marten +(Rolls Series), 1888-1889. + +GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, _Historia Regum Britanniae_, ed. San Marte (A. +Schulz) Halle, 1854. Translated, J.A. Giles, _Six Old English Chronicles_, +London, 1896; S. Evans, London, 1903. + +LAYAMON, _Brut_, ed. with translation, Sir F. Madden, 3 vols, London, +1847. WORKS ON LAYAMON--Introduction, Madden's ed. of _Brut_. H. Morley, +English Writers, London, 1888-1890, III, 206-231. L. Stephen and S. Lee, +_Dictionary of National Biography_, London, 1885-1904, under Layamon. +For a further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 148, note 1. + +WACE, _Roman de Brut_, ed. Le Roux de Lucy, 2 vols, Rouen, 1836-1838. +_Roman de Rou_, ed. F. Pluquet, 2 vols, Rouen, 1827, H. Andresen, 2 vols, +Heilbronn, 1877-1879, translated by E. Taylor (_Chronicle of the Norman +Conquest_), London, 1837. WORKS ON WACE--E. Du Meril, _La vie et les +ouvrages de Wace_, in _Jahrbuch fuer romanische u. englische Literatur, I, +i ff.; also in his _Etudes sur quelques points d'Archeologie_, Paris and +Leipzig, 1862. Grober, _Grundriss der romanischen Philologie_, Strassburg, +1888-1902, II, i, 635 ff. H. Morley, _English Writers_, III, 55. G. Paris, +_Romania_, IX, 592 ff. L. Stephens and S. Lee, _Dictionary National +Biography_, under Wace. A Ulbrich, _Romanische Forschungen_, XXVI, 181 ff. +For further bibliography, see Fletcher (as above), p. 128, note 1. + + + + +WACE'S ROMAN DE BRUT + + +Constantine came to Totnes, and many a stout knight with him--there +was not one but was worthy of the kingship. The host set forth towards +London, and sent messages in every part, bidding the Britons to their +aid, for as yet they were too fearful to come from their secret +places. When the Britons heard these tidings they drew, thick as rain, +from the woodlands and the mountain, and came before the host in +troops and companies. To make short a long matter, these marched so +far and wrought such deeds that in the end they altogether discomfited +those evil men who had done such sore mischief to the land. After +these things they held a great council at Cirencester, commanding +thereto all the lords and barons of the realm. In that place they +chose Constantine as their king, with no long tarrying, none being so +bold as to say him nay. So when they had ordained him king, they set +the crown on his head with marvellous joy, and owned themselves as his +men. Afterwards, by their counsel, Constantine took to wife a dame who +was come of gentle Roman blood. On this lady he begat three sons. The +eldest--whom the king named Constant--he caused to be nourished at +Winchester, and there he made him to be vowed a monk. The second son +was called Aurelius, and his surname Ambrosius. Lastly was born Uther, +and it was he whose days were longest in the land. These two varlets +were held in ward by Gosselyn, the archbishop. + +So long as Constantine lived the realm had rest and peace; but he died +before his time had come, for he reigned but twelve short years. There +was a certain Pict of his household, a traitor, a foul felon, who for +a great while had been about his person. I cannot tell the reason why +he bore the king so mortal a grudge. This Pict took the king aside +privily in an orchard, as though he would speak to him of some hidden +matter. The king had no thought to keep himself from this false felon, +who whilst he made seeming to speak in his master's ear, drew forth a +knife and smote him therewith so shrewdly that he died. Then he fled +forth from the garden. But many a time have I heard tell that it was +Vortigern who caused Constantine to be slain. Great was the sorrow the +lords and all honest people made above their king, for the realm had +now no prince, save only those children of so tender an age. They laid +him in his tomb, but in no wise put him from remembrance. The whole +realm assembled together that they might make to themselves a king. +They doubted sorely which of the two young children they should +choose, for of them they knew neither good nor ill, seeing they were +but small and frail, and yet in their warden's charge. As to Constant, +the eldest son, who was of more fitting years, they dared not to pluck +the habit from his back, since all men deemed it shame and folly to +hale him forth from his abbey. The council would have ordained one of +the two children to be king had it not been for Vortigern, who arose +before them all. This Vortigern came from Wales, and was earl in his +own land. He was a strong knight of his body, exceeding rich in goods +and kin. Very courteous was he of speech; right prudent in counsel; +and long since had made straight the road that he coveted to tread. +"What reason is here," said he, "for doubtfulness? There is naught +else to do but to make this monk, Constant, our king. He is the +rightful heir; his brothers are not long from the breast; neither is +it fitting that the crown should be placed upon a stranger's head. Let +us strip the gown boldly from his shoulders. I charge the sin upon my +own soul. My hand alone shall draw him from the abbey, and set him +before you as your king." But all the lords of the council kept +silence, for a horrible thing it seemed in their eyes that a monk +should wear the mantle of a king. Vortigern, purposing evil in his +heart, took horse, and rode swiftly to Winchester. He sought Constant +at the abbey, praying the prior of his courtesy that he might speak +with him in the parlour. "Constant," said he, "thy father is dead, and +men seek to bestow his throne upon thy brothers. Such honour is not +seemly, for thine is the crown and seat. If thou bearest me love and +affiance, and for thy part wilt promise to make richer all the riches +that are mine, on my part I will free thee from these sullen rags and +array thee in the purple and ermine of a king. Choose now between +this monastery and the heritage that is thine own." Very desirous was +Constant of the lordship, and little love had he for his abbey. Right +weary was he of choir and psalter, and lightly and easily he made him +ready to be gone. He pledged oath and faith to all that Vortigern +required, and after he had so done Vortigern took him with a strong +hand from the monastery, none daring to gainsay his deed. When +Vortigern was assured of his fealty, he caused Constant to put off the +monk's serge, and clothe him in furs and rich raiment. He carried him +to London, and sat him in his father's chair, though not with the +voice and welcome of the people. The archbishop who should have +anointed the king with oil was dead, neither was any bishop found to +give him unction, or to put his hand to the business. It was Vortigern +alone who took the crown and set it on his head. This king had no +unction nor blessing, save from the hand of Vortigern alone. + +Constant reigned in his father's stead. He who had betrayed the +commandment of God, was not one to hold his realm in surety; and thus +he came to an evil end. Sorrow not thereat. The man who sells his +master with a kiss may not hope to spend the wages of his sin. +Vortigern held Constant and his senarchy in the hollow of his hand. +The king did all according to his pleasure, and granted freely to +his every need. Very quickly, by reason of divers matters, Vortigern +perceived that the king knew but little of the world, since he was +nourished in a cloister. He remembered that the two princes were of +tender age. He saw that the mighty lords of the realm were dead, that +the people were in sore trouble and unrest, and judged that the place +and time were come. Mark now the cunning craft with which he set about +to take his seisin of the realm. "Sire," said he, "I have learned and +would bring to your knowledge that the sea folk are gathered together +from Norway, and from the country of the Danes. Since our knights are +few in number, and because of the weakness of the land, they purpose +to descend upon the kingdom, and ravish and spoil your cities. Draw +now together thy men, to guard the realm and thee. Set food within the +strong places, and keep well thy towers. Above all, have such fear of +traitors that thy castles are held of none save those true men who +will hold them to the death. If you act not after this counsel right +speedily there must reign another king." "I have granted," answered +Constant, "everything to thy hand, and have done all according to thy +will. Take now this fresh burthen upon thee, for thou art wiser than +I. I give you all the realm to thy keeping, so that none shall ravage +it or burn. Cities and manors; goods and treasure; they are thine as +constable. Thy will is my pleasure. Do swiftly that which it is seemly +should be done." Vortigern was very subtle. None knew better how +to hide away his greed. After he had taken the strong towers, the +treasure, and the riches to himself, he went again before the king. +"Sire," said he, "if it seem good to the king, my counsel would be +that he should send to the Picts of Scotland to seek of them horsemen +and sergeants to have with him about his household. In that place +where the battle is perilous we can call them to our aid. Through +these Picts and their kindred we shall hear the talk of the outland +men. They will parley between us and these Danes, and serve as embassy +between us and our foes." "Do," replied the king, "at thy pleasure. +Bring of these Picts as many as you wish. Grant them as guerdon what +you deem befits. Do all which it is seemly should be done." + +When Vortigern had taken to himself the walled cities, and gathered +together the treasure, he sent such messages to the Picts as he +desired, so that they came according to his will. Vortigern received +them with much honour, giving them greatly to drink, so that they +lived in mirth and in solace, altogether drunken and content. Of his +bounty Vortigern granted such wages, and spoke so sweetly in the ear +of each, that there was not one amongst them who did not cry loudly +in the hearing of any who would hearken, that Vortigern was more +courteous and of higher valiance than the king--yea, that he was +worthy to sit upon the king's throne, or in a richer chair than his. +Vortigern rejoiced greatly at these words. He made much of his Picts, +and honoured them more sweetly than ever before. On a day when they +had sat long at their cups, and all were well drunken, Vortigern came +amongst them in the hall. He saluted them sadly, showing the semblance +of a woeful man. "Right dear are you to my heart;" said he, "very +willingly have I served you, and right gladly would I serve you still, +if but the wealth were mine. But this realm belongs altogether to the +king. Naught can I bestow, nothing is mine to spend, save only that I +render him account of every doit. So little revenue is mine of this +land, that it becomes me to seek my fortune beyond the sea. I have set +my whole intent to serve my king to the utmost of my might, and for +recompense have of him such estate that I can maintain scarce forty +sergeants to my household. If all goes well with me we may meet again, +for I commend me to your goodwill. This weighs heavily upon me that +I must leave you now. But, beggar as I am, I can do no other; only I +entreat you this, that if you hear my business has come to a fair end, +you will of a surety seek my love again." For all his piteous speech +Vortigern was false, and had falsely spoken, but those who had well +drunken gave faith to his words. They held for gospel truth what this +vile traitor had told them. They murmured together amongst themselves: +"What then shall become of us, since we lose so generous a lord! Let +us rather slay this mad king, this shaveling, and raise Vortigern to +his seat. Worthy is he of crown and kingdom; so on him we will cast +the lot. Too long already have we suffered this renegade monk, whom +now we serve." Forthwith they entered in the king's chamber, and +laying hands upon him, slew him where he stood. They smote the head +from off his shoulders, and bare it to Vortigern in his lodging, +crying, "Look now, and see by what bands we bind you to this realm. +The king is dead, and we forbid you to go from amongst us. Take now +the crown, and become our king." Vortigern knew again the head of his +lord. He made semblance of bitter sorrow, but rejoiced privily in his +heart, though of his cunning he hid his gladness from the eyes of +men. To cover his falseness the deeper, Vortigern called the Romans +together in council. He struck the heads from off those traitors, +leaving not one to escape alive. But many a citizen was persuaded, and +some said openly, that these murderers would not have laid hands +upon the king, neither looked evilly upon him, nor thought to do him +mischief, had not Vortigern required of them such deed. + +When the death of the king was told to them who held the two brothers +in ordinance, they were assured that he who slew the king would not +scruple to serve the princes in the self-same fashion. For fear of +Vortigern they took Aurelius and Uther, and fled beyond the sea to +Little Britain, commending themselves to the pity of Budes, the king. +Since they were of his kin King Budes welcomed them right courteously. +He received them to his table with great honour, and bestowed upon +them many rich gifts. Now having taken to himself the strong places, +the castles, and the cities of the kingdom, Vortigern proclaimed him +to be king with marvellous pride. His joy was the less because the +realm was harassed by the Picts, who would avenge their kindred, whom +he had slain with the sword. Moreover he was sorely troubled, since +it was noised abroad that the two princes were gathering a company +together, purposing in a short space to return to their own land. The +rumour ran that the barons were resolved to join this great host, and +to own the brothers as their lords, so that in a while Vortigern would +be utterly destroyed. Many there were who told of such things. + +Whilst men talked thus, there came to a haven in Kent three galleys, +bearing a strange people to the land. These folk were fair of face and +comely of person. They owned as lords Hengist and Horsa, two brethren +of mighty stature, and of outland speech. The tidings came to +Vortigern at Canterbury, where he abode that day, that a foreign folk +from a far country had drawn to the realm in ships. The king sent +messages of peace and goodwill to these strangers, praying that be +they whom they might, they would come quickly and speak with him in +his palace, and return swiftly to their own place. When they received +his commandment they sought him with the more surety. They came into +the king's presence and did reverence, with a proud bearing. Vortigern +looked closely upon the brethren. Shapely were they of body, bright of +visage, taller and more comely than any youth he knew. "From what land +have you come," inquired the king, "and on what errand? Tell me now +the place of your birth." The elder and the mightier of the brethren, +called Hengist, made answer in the name of all his fellows. "We be of +a country called Saxony," said he, "there were we born and there we +abode. If thou wilt learn the chance we seek upon the sea, I will +answer truly, if so it be according to thy will." "Say on," said the +king, "and hide nothing. No harm shall come to thee of this." "Fair +king," answered Hengist, "gentle sire, I know not if I can make it +plain. Our race is of a fertile stock, more quick and abounding than +any other you may know, or whereof you have heard speak. Our folk are +marvellously fruitful, and the tale of the children is beyond measure. +Women and men are more in number than the sand, for the greater sorrow +of those amongst us who are here. When our people are so many that the +land may not sustain nor suffice them, then the princes who rule the +realm assemble before them all the young men of the age of fifteen +years and upwards, for such is our use and custom. From out of these +they choose the most valiant and the most strong, and, casting lots, +send them forth from the country, so that they may travel into divers +lands, seeking fiefs and houses of their own. Go out they must, since +the earth cannot contain them; for the children came more thickly than +the beasts which pasture in the fields. Because of the lot that fell +upon us we have bidden farewell to our homes, and putting our trust in +Mercury, the god has led us to your realm." When the king heard the +name of Mercury as the god of their governance, be inquired what +manner of men these were, and of the god in whom they believed. "We +have," answered Hengist, "gods a many, to whom it is our bounden duty +to raise altars. These gods have to name Phoebus and Saturn, Jupiter +and Mercury. Many another god we worship, according to the wont of our +country, and as our fathers have told us. But above all gods we keep +in chiefest honour Mercury, who in our own tongue is called Woden. Our +fathers held this god in such reverence that they devoted the fourth +day of the week to his service. Because of their hope in Woden they +called his feast Wednesday, and yet it bears his name. By the side of +this god of whom I have spoken, we set our goddess Freya, who is +held in worship of us all. To show forth their love, our fathers +consecrated the sixth day to her service, and on the high authority of +the past we call Friday by Freya's name." "Ill is your faith," replied +the king, "and in an evil god you put your trust. This thing is +grievous to me, but nevertheless I welcome your coming right gladly. +You are valiant men, as I deem, accustomed to harness, and so you will +be my servants, very willingly will I make you of my household, and of +wealth you shall find no lack. Certain thieves from Scotland torment +me grievously at this time, burning my land and preying on my cities. +So it be God's pleasure, your coming may turn to my rich profit, for +by His aid and yours, I look to destroy these same Picts and Scots. +For from that land come and return these thieves who so harass and +damage my realm. You shall find me no grudging master, and when I am +avenged upon them, you will have no complaint to find with bounty or +wages or gifts." In this manner the Saxons came from out their ships, +and the king's court was strengthened by a mighty company. Now in no +long time afterwards the Picts entered the king's realm, with a great +host, burning, wasting, and pilling at their will. When they would +have passed the Humber, the king, who was told thereof, hastened to +meet them with his lords, the Britons, and these Saxons. The hosts +came together, and the battle was grim and lasting, for many were +discomfited to death that day. The Picts, doubting nothing but +that they would gain the victory as they had done before, carried +themselves hardily, and struck fiercely with the sword. They fought +thus stoutly, and endured so painfully, since they were shamed to do +less than was their wont. But their evil custom was broken, for the +Saxons gained possession of the field. Since by these Saxons, and +their aid, Vortigern was delivered of this peril, he gave them their +wages, and added thereto of his bounty. On Hengist he bestowed fair +manors, and goods, and great riches, so that love lasted between them +for a long space. + +When Hengist saw that the king might in no wise pass him by, he sought +to turn this to his own profit, as was his undoubted right. He knew +well how to flatter the king to his own advantage by specious words. +On a day when the king's heart was merry, Hengist opened out what was +in his mind. "Thou hast given me many honours," said he, "and bestowed +on me plenteously of thy wealth. I am not ungrateful, but am thy +servant and will remain thy servant, striving to serve thee better in +the future even than I have striven in the past. But the longer I am +about the king's person, and the more closely I know his court, the +more clearly I see and hear and am assured that thou hast not the love +of one only baron of thy realm. Each bears thee hate, each nurses his +own grudge. I cannot speak, since nothing I know, of those children +who have stolen away the love of thine own house. They are the lawful +lords of thy barons, and these are but loyal to the sons of their +king. Within a little they will come from over sea, and spoil thee of +this realm. Not one of thy men but purposes to do thee a mischief. +Evil they wish thee, and evil they hope will be thine end. Horribly +art thou abhorred; horribly art thou menaced; for evil is on thy +track, and evil purposes shortly to pull thee down. I have considered +how best I may help thee in this peril. If it pleases the king to +bring my wife and children and all that is mine from my own land, +the sweeter hostages will be his, and the more faithful will be my +service. So diligently will I keep my trust that no foe, however bold, +shall spoil thee of one foot of thy heritage Moreover, sire, it is now +a great while since I became thy servant, and many bear malice against +me by reason of thy love. Because of their wrath I dare not tarry at +night outside my house, nor go beyond the walls. For this cause, sire, +so it may please thee, it would become thy honour to grant me some +town or tower or strong place, where I may lie in peace of nights, +when I am weaned in the king's quarrels. When thy enemies mark the +generosity of the king, they will cease to annoy so large a lord." "As +to the folk of thine house," made answer the king, "send thou at +thy pleasure, and receive them with all worship. The cost of their +sustenance shall be mine. For the rest thou art not of the faith. +Pagan thou art, and no Christian man Men, therefore, will deem that I +do very wrongfully should I grant thee the other gift you require." +"Sire," replied Hengist, "I would of thy bounty a certain manor. I +pray thee of thy courtesy to add thereto so much land--I seek no +more--as I may cover with a hide, and as may be compassed therewith. +It will be but the hide of a bull, but for the gift's sake I shall go +the more surely." Vortigern granted the boon, and Hengist thanked his +master. He made ready his messenger, and sent for his kindred from +oversea. He took the hide of a bull, and cutting it as small as he +might, made one thong of the whole skin. With this thong he compassed +a great spoil of land, and gathering good masons together, built +thereon a fair castle. In his own tongue he called this place +Vancaster, which being interpreted means Thong Castle, forasmuch as +the place was compassed by a thong. Now it is hight by many Lancaster, +and of these there are few who remember why it was first called after +this name. + +When Vancaster was well builded there drew near eighteen war galleys, +bearing to land Hengist's kindred, together with knights and footmen. +With these came Hengist's daughter, Rowena by name, a maiden yet +unwed, and most marvellously fair. After all things were made ready +Hengist prayed the king to lodge with him awhile, that he might +delight himself with meat and drink, and view the new folk of his +household, and the castle that he had builded. And the king was +pleased to hearken unto his prayer. The king rode to Vancaster with +a mean company, since he would not have it noised about the land. He +marked the castle and its towers, which were both strong and fair, and +much he praised the work. The knights who were freshly come from sea +he took to his service, and gave of his bounty. At the feast that day +men ate and drank so greatly that for the most part they were drunken. +Then came forth from her chamber Rowena, Hengist's daughter, sweetly +arrayed and right dainty to see, bearing in her hand a brimming cup +of wine. She kneeled before Vortigern very simply, and saluted him +courteously after the fashion of her land, saying, "Washael, lord +king." The king, who knew nothing of her language, sought the meaning +of the maiden's words. This was made plain to him by Redic, the +Breton, a fair scholar, who--as it is related--was the first to become +apt in the Saxon tongue. He answered swiftly, "The maiden saluted thee +courteously, calling thee lord. It is the wont of her people, sire, +that when friend drinks with friend, he who proffers the cup cries, +'Washael,' and that he who receives answers in turn, 'Drinkhael'. Then +drinks he the half of this loving cup, and for joy and for friendship +of him who set it in his hand, kisses the giver with all fair +fellowship." When he had learned this thing, the king said +"Drinkhael," and smiled upon the damsel. Rowena tasted of the cup, and +placed it in the king's hand, and in taking it from the maiden the +king kissed her sweetly. By the Saxon were we first taught in +this land to greet, saying, "Washael," and afterwards to answer, +"Drinkhael," to drain the cup in full measure, or to share it with +one other, to kiss together when the cup was passed. The custom was +commenced as I have shown you, and we observe this ritual yet, as well +I know, in the rich feasts of our country. + +Now the maiden was gracious of body, and passing fair of face, dainty +and tall, and plump of her person. She stood before the king in a web +of fine raiment, and ravished his eyes beyond measure. She filled the +king's cup willingly, and was altogether according to his wish. So +merry was the king, so well had he drunken, that he desired the +damsel in his heart. The devil, who has led many a man astray, snared +Vortigern with such sorcery, that he became mad with love to possess +Hengist's daughter. He was so fast in the devil's net that he saw +neither shame nor sin in this love. He denied not his hope, though the +maid was of pagans born. Vortigern prayed Hengist that he would grant +him the maid in marriage, and Hengist accorded her with goodwill. But +first he took counsel with his brother and his friends. These praised +the marriage, but counselled Hengist to give the damsel only on such +covenant that the king should deliver him Kent as her dowry. The king +coveted the maiden so greatly, he doted so dearly, that he made her +his queen. She was a pagan woman, and became his wife according to +the rites of the paynim. No priest blessed that marriage, there was +neither Mass nor prayer. So hot was the king's love that he espoused +her the same evening, and bestowed on Hengist Kent as her dowry. + +Hengist went into Kent, and seized all the country into his hand. +He drove forth Garagon, the governor, who had heard no word of the +business. Vortigern showed more credence and love to the heathen +than to christened men, so that these gave him again his malice, and +abandoned his counsel. His own sons held him in hatred, forsaking his +fellowship because of the pagans. For this Vortigern had married +a wife, who long was dead and at peace. On this first wife he had +begotten three sons, these only. The first was named Vortimer, the +second Passent, and the third Vortiger. Hated was this king by all the +barons of his realm, and of all his neighbours. His very kindred held +him in abhorrence. He came to an evil end, for he died in his shame, +and the pagans he befriended with him. "Sire," said Hengist to the +king, "men hold thee in hatred by reason of me, and because of thy +love they bear me malice also. I am thy father, and thou my son, since +thou wert pleased to ask my daughter for thy wife. It is my privilege +to counsel my king, and he should hearken to my counsel, and aid me to +his power. If thou wilt make sure thy throne, and grieve those who use +thee despitefully, send now for Octa my son, and for my cousin Ebissa. +There are not two more cunning captains than these, nor two champions +to excel them in battle. Give these captains of thy land towards +Scotland, for from thence comes all the mischief. They will deal with +thy foes in such fashion that never more shall they take of thy +realm, but for the rest of thy days we shall live in peace beyond the +Humber." Then answered the king, "Do what you will, and send messages +for such men as it is good for us to have." At the king's word Hengist +sent messages to his son and nephew, who hastened to his help with a +fleet of three hundred galleys. There was not a knight of their land, +who would serve for guerdon, but they carried him across the water. +After these captains were come, in their turn, from day to day, came +many another, this one with four vessels, this other with five, or +six, or seven, or eight, or nine, or ten. So thickly did the heathen +wend, and so closely did they mingle with the Christians, that you +might scarcely know who was a christened man and who was not. The +Britons were sorely troubled at this matter, and prayed the king +not to put such affiance in the outland folk, for they wrought much +mischief. They complained that already were too many pagans in the +land, working great shame and villainy to the people. "Separate +thyself from amongst them," they said, "at whatever cost, and send +all, or as many as may be, from the realm." Vortigern made answer that +he might not do this thing. He had entreated the Saxons to the land, +and they served him as true men. So when the barons hearkened to his +words they went their way to Vortimer. + +The Britons assembled themselves together, and taking the road to +London, chose Vortimer--the eldest of the king's three sons--to be +their lord. The king, who was assotted on his wife, clave to her +kindred, and would not forsake the heathen. Vortimer defied the +Saxons, and drove them from the walled cities, chasing and tormenting +them very grievously. He was a skilful captain, and the strife was +right sore between Vortimer and the Britons, against his father and +the Saxons. Four times the hosts met together, and four times Vortimer +vanquished his foe. The first battle was fought upon the banks of the +Darent. The second time the hosts strove together was upon the ford +near Aylesford. In this place Vortiger, the king's son, and Horsa the +Saxon, contended so fiercely in combat, body to body, that each did +the other to death, according to his desire. The other battle was +arrayed on the sea shore in Kent. Passing grim was this third battle, +for the ships fought together upon the water. The Saxons withdrew +before the Britons, so that from beyond the Humber even to Kent they +were deceived in their hope. The heathen fled in their galleys to an +islet called Thanet. The Britons assailed them in this fastness, and +so long as it was day, harassed them with arrows and quarrels, with +ships and with barges. They rejoiced loudly, for the pagans were +caught in a corner, and those not slain by the sword were fain to die +of hunger. For this reason, the Britons raised a mighty tumult and +shouting, when they trapped their enemy in the Isle of Thanet. When +the Saxons were assured that worse would befall them, save they +departed from the realm, they prayed Vortigern to go in embassy to +Vortimer his son, persuading him to give them safe conduct from the +land, and not to do them further mischief. Vortigern, who was in their +company and would in no wise depart from their fellowship, went to his +son to procure such truce as the Saxons required. Whilst he was about +this business the Saxons entered in their galleys, and with sail and +oar put out to sea as swiftly as they were able. Such was their haste +to escape that they left their wives and sons with the Britons, +returning to their own country in exceeding fear. After the Saxons +had all forsaken the realm, and the Britons were assumed of peace, +Vortimer gave again to every man that of which the heathen had spoiled +him. To build anew the churches, and to declare the law of God, which +had fallen into disuse amongst the people because of Hengist and his +heathendom, St. Germanus came to Britain, sent by St. Romanus, the +Apostle of Rome. With him came St. Louis of Troyes. These two fair +bishops, Germanus of Auxerre and Louis of Troyes, crossed the sea +to prepare the way of the Lord. By them were the tables of the law +redelivered, and men converted again to the faith. They brought many a +man to salvation; many a miracle, many a virtue, did God show in their +persons, and many a country was the sweeter for their lives. When the +law of God was restored, and Britain made again a Christian land, +hearken now what foul work was done by treason and by envy. Rowena, +that evil stepmother, caused Vortimer, her husband's son, to be +poisoned, by reason of the hatred she bore him, since he chased +Hengist from the realm. After Vortimer was certified that he must die, +and that no physician might cure him of his hurt, he called together +all his barons, and delivered unto them the treasure which he +had greatly gathered. Listen well to that he prayed his friends. +"Knights," said he, "take into your service warriors not a few, and +grudge not the sergeant his wages. Hold one to another, and maintain +the land against these Saxons. That my work may not be wasted, and +avenged upon those who live, do this thing for their terror. Take my +body, and bury it upon the shore. Raise above me such a tomb, so large +and lasting, that it may be seen from far by all who voyage on the +sea. To that coast where my body is buried, living or dead, they shall +not dare to come." Having spoken in this fashion the gentle king died, +finishing his course. His body was borne to London, and in London he +was lain to his rest. The barons raised no barrow upon the shore, as +with his dying speech he had bidden them. + +After Vortimer's death, the Britons made Vortigern their king, even +as he had been in days before. At the entreaties of his wife he sent +messages to his father-in-law, Hengist. Him he prayed to return to the +kingdom, but with a small company, so that the Britons should not give +heed to the matter; for since Vortimer his son was dead, there was +no need of a host. Hengist took ship gladly, but with him he carried +three hundred thousand men in mail. For dread of the Britons, he made +him ready as never he had done before. When the king learned that +Hengist drew to land with so mighty a host, he was altogether fearful, +and knew no word to say. The Britons assembled together in great +wrath, promising amongst themselves that they would join them in +battle, and throw the heathen from the realm. Hengist was cunning and +felon of heart. He sent false messages to the king, praying for a +truce and love-day to be granted, that they might speak together as +friend with friend. Peace above all he desired; peace he ensued; peace +was his love, and he sought her with tears. Nothing was further from +his wish than war, and he would rather be banished from the realm than +remain by force of arms. It was for the Britons to elect those whom +they willed to stay, and for the others they would return whence they +came. The Britons granted the love-day, and the two peoples took +pledges, one of the other; but who can trust the oath of a liar? A +time was appointed when this council should be holden. The king sent +messages to Hengist that he must come with few companions; and Hengist +plighted troth right willingly. Moreover, it was commanded that none +should bear weapons at the council, for fear that men should pass +from words to blows. The two parties met together near the Abbey of +Ambresbury, on the great Salisbury plain. The day was the kalends of +May. Hengist had taught his comrades, and warned them privily, that +they should come each with a sharp, two-edged knife hidden in his +hose. He bade them to sit in this Parliament, and hearken to the talk; +but when he cried, "Nimad covre seax" (which being interpreted means +"Pluck forth your knives," and would not be understanded of the +Britons), they were to snatch out their daggers and make each a dead +man of his neighbour. Now when the council was met, and men were +mingled together, the naked Briton near by the false heathen, Hengist +cried loudly, "Nimad covre seax." The Saxons, at his word, drew forth +the knives from their hose, and slew that man sitting at their side. +Hengist was seated very close the king. He held the king fast by his +mantle, so that this murder passed him by. But those who gripped the +knives thrust the keen blades through cloak and mantle, breast and +bowels, till there lay upon back or belly in that place nigh upon four +hundred and sixty men of the richest and most valiant lords of the +kingdom. Yet some won out and escaped with their lives, though they +had naught to defend their bodies save the stones. + +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, got a great club in his right hand, which +he found lying at his feet, though little he recked who had carried it +to the council. He defended his body stoutly with this mighty staff, +striking and smiting down, till he had slain fully sixty and ten of +the pagan. A mighty champion was he, and of rich worth. He clave a +path through the press, without taking a wound; for all the knives +which were flung at his body he escaped with not a hurt to the flesh. +He won at the end to his horse, which was right strong and speedy, +and riding swiftly to Gloucester, shut himself fast in his city and +victualled tower. As to Vortigern, the Saxons would have slain him +with his barons, but Hengist stood between them, crying, "Harm not the +king, for nothing but good have I received at his hand, and much has +he toiled for my profit. How then shall I suffer my daughter's lord to +die such a death! Rather let us hold him to ransom, and take freely +of his cities and walled places, in return for his life." They, +therefore, slew not the king but binding him fast with fetters of +iron, kept him close in bonds for so long a space that he swore to +render them all that they would. In quittance of his ransom, and to +come forth from prison, Vortigern granted Sussex, Essex, and Middlesex +to Hengist as his fief, besides that earldom of Kent which he had held +before. To remember this foul treason, knives were long hight seax +amongst the English, but names alter as the world moves on, and men +recall no more the meaning of the past. In the beginning the word was +used to rebuke the treason that was done. When the story of the seax +was forgotten, men spoke again of their knives, and gave no further +thought to the shame of their forefathers. + +When Vortigern was a naked man he fled beyond the Severn, and passing +deeply into Wales, dwelt there, taking counsel with his friends. He +caused his wise clerks and magicians to be summoned, inquiring of them +in what fashion he should maintain his right, and what they would +counsel him to do, were he assailed of a mightier than himself. This +he asked because he feared greatly the two brothers of Constant, who +were yet living, and knew not how to keep him from their hate. These +sorcerers bade him to build so mighty a tower, that never at any time +might it be taken by force, nor beaten down by any engine devised by +the wit of man. When this strong castle was furnished and made ready, +he should shut himself within, and abide secure from the malice of his +foes. This pleased the king, who searched throughout the land to make +choice of a fitting place to raise so strong a keep. Such a place he +met, altogether according to his mind, on mount Erir. [1] He brought +masons together, the best that might be found, and set them to the +work as quickly as they were able. The masons began to build, getting +stones ready and making them fast with mortar, but all the work that +the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground by night. +They laboured therefore with the more diligence, but the higher they +builded the tower the greater was its fall, to the very foundations +they had digged. So it chanced for many days, till not one stone +remained upon another. When the king knew this marvel, and perceived +that his travail came in nowise to an end, he took counsel of his +wizards. "By my faith," said he, "I wonder sorely what may be amiss +with my tower, since the earth will not endure it. Search and inquire +the reason of this thing; and how these foundations shall be made +sure." + +[Footnote 1: Snowdon] + +Then the magicians by their lots and divinations--though, for that +matter, it may well be that they lied--devised that the king should +seek a man born of no earthly father, him he must slay, and taking of +his blood, slake and temper therewith the mortar of the work, so that +the foundations should be made fast, and the castle might endure. +Thereat the king sent messengers throughout all the land to seek such +a man, and commanded that immediately he were found he should be +carried to the court. These messengers went two by two upon their +errand. They passed to and fro about the realm, and entered into +divers countries, inquiring of all people, at the king's bidding, +where he might be hid. But for all their labour and diligence they +learned nothing. Now it came to pass that two of the king's embassy +went their road until they came together to the town called +Caermerdin.[1] A great company of youths and children was gathered +before the gate at the entrance to the city, and the messengers stayed +awhile to mark their play. Amongst those who disported themselves at +this gate were two varlets, named Merlin and Dinabus. Presently the +two youths began to chide and jangle, and were passing wroth the one +with the other. One of the twain spake ill of his fellow, reproaching +him because of his birth. "Hold thy peace, Merlin", said Dinabus, "it +becomes you not to strive with me, whose race is so much better than +thine own. Be heedful, for I know of such an evil matter that it were +well not to tempt me beyond my power. Speak then no more against my +lineage. For my part I am come from earls and kings, but if you set +out to tell over your kindred, you could not name even your father's +name. You know it not, nor shall learn it ever; for how may a son tell +his father's name when a father he has never had?" Now the king's +messengers, who were in quest of such a sireless man, when they heard +this bitter jibe of the varlet, asked of those around concerning the +youth who had never seen his sire. The neighbours answered that the +lad's father was known of none, yea, that the very mother who had +borne him in her womb, knew nothing of the husbandman who had sown the +seed. But if his father was hidden, all the world knew of the mother +who nourished him. Daughter was she to that King of Dimetia, now gone +from Wales. Nun she was of her state, a gentlewoman of right holy +life, and lodged in a convent within the walls of their city. + +[Footnote 1: Carmarthen.] + +When the messengers heard these tidings, they went swiftly to the +warden of the city, adjuring him, by the king's will, to lay hands +upon Merlin--that sireless man--and carry him straightway to the king, +together with the lady, his mother. The warden durst not deny their +commandment. He delivered Merlin and his mother to the embassy, who +led them before the king. The king welcomed the twain with much +honour, and spoke kindly unto them. "Lady," said he, "answer me truly. +By none, save by thee, can I know who was the father of Merlin, thy +son." The nun bowed her head. After she had pondered for a little, she +made reply, "So God have me in His keeping, as I know nothing and saw +nothing of him who begat this varlet upon me. Never have I heard, +never may I tell, if he were verily man by whom I had my child. But +this I know for truth, and to its truth will I pledge my oath. At that +time when I was a maid growing tall, I cannot tell whether it was a +ghostly man, but something came often to my chamber, and kissed me +very close. By night and by day this presence sought me, ever alone, +but always in such fashion as not to be perceived. As a man he spake +soft words in my ear; as a man he dealt with me. But though many a +time he had speech with me, ever he kept himself close. He came so +often about me, so long were his kisses on my mouth, that he had his +way, and I conceived, but whether he were man in no wise have I known. +I had of him this varlet; but more I know not, and more I will not +say." + +Now the king had a certain clerk, named Malgantius, whom he held for +very wise. He sent for this learned clerk, and told over to him the +whole matter, that he might be assured whether things could chance as +this woman had said. The clerk made answer, "In books I have found it +written that a certain order of spirit ranges between the moon and our +earth. If you seek to learn of the nature of these spirits, they are +of the nature partly of man, and partly of a loftier being. These +demons are called incubi. Their home and region is the air, but this +warm world is their resort. It is not in their power to deal man great +evil, and they can do little more mischief than to trick and to annoy. +However they know well how to clothe themselves in human shape, for +their nature lends itself marvellously to the deceit. Many a maid has +been their sport, and in this guise has been deceived. It may well be +that Merlin was begotten by such a being, and perchance is of a demon +born." "King." cried Merlin suddenly, "you brought me here; tell me +now what you would, and wherefore you have sent after me." "Merlin," +answered the king, "know it you shall. Hearken diligently, so shall +you learn of all. I commenced to build a high tower, and got mortar +together, and masons to set one stone upon another, but all the work +that the builders raised by day, adown it fell to the ground, and was +swallowed up of night. I know not if you have heard tell thereof. +The day has not so many hours to labour, as the night has hours to +destroy; and greatly has my substance been wasted in this toil. My +councillors tell me that my tower may never stand tall, unless its +stones and lime are slaked with thy blood--the blood of a fatherless +man." "Lord God," cried Merlin, "believe not that my blood will bind +your tower together. I hold them for liars who told over such a gab. +Bring these prophets before me who prophesy so glibly of my blood, and +liars as they are, liars I will prove them to be." The king sent for +his sorcerers, and set them before Merlin. After Merlin had regarded +them curiously, one by one, "Masters," said he, "and mighty magicians, +tell us now I pray you the reason why the king's work faileth and may +not stand. If you may not show me why the tower is swallowed up of +the earth, how can your divinations declare to you that my blood will +cause it to endure! Make plain to us now what troubles the foundation, +so that the walls tumble so often to the ground, and when you have +certified this thing, show to us clearly how the mischief may be +cured. If you are not willing to declare who labours secretly to make +the house to fall, how shall it be credited that my blood will bind +the stones fast? Point out this troubler to the king, and then cry the +remedy." But all the wizards kept silence, and answered Merlin never a +word. When Merlin saw them abashed before him, he spake to the king, +and said, "Sire, give ear to me. Beneath the foundations of your tower +there lies a pool, both great and deep, and by reason of this water +your building faileth to the ground. Right easily may this be assured. +Bid your men to delve. You will then see why the tower was swallowed +up, and the truth will be proven." The king bade therefore that the +earth should be digged, and the pool was revealed as Merlin had +established. "Masters and great magicians," cried Merlin, "hearken +once more. You who sought to mix your mortar with my blood, say what +is hidden in this pond." But all the enchanters kept silence and were +dumb; yea, for good or ill they made answer never a word. Merlin +turned him again to the king. He beckoned with his hand to the king's +servants, saying, "Dig now trenches, to draw off the water from this +pool. At the bottom shall be found two hollow stones, and two dragons +sleeping in the stones. One of these dragons is white, and his fellow, +crimson as blood." Thereat the king marvelled greatly, and the +trenches were digged as Merlin had commanded. When the water was +carried about the fields, and stood low in the pool, two dragons got +them on their feet, and envisaged each the other very proudly. Passing +eager was their contention, and they strove together right grievously. +Well might be seen the foam within their mouths, and the flames that +issued from their jaws. The king seated himself upon the bank of the +pool. He prayed Merlin to show him the interpretation of these dragons +which met together so furiously. Merlin told the king what these +matters betokened, as you have oft-times heard. These dragons +prophesied of kings to come, who would yet hold the realm in their +charge. I say no more, for I fear to translate Merlin's Prophecies, +when I cannot be sure of the interpretation thereof. It is good to +keep my lips from speech, since the issue of events may make my gloss +a lie. + +The king praised Merlin greatly, and esteemed him for a true prophet. +He inquired of the youth in what hour he should die, and by what means +he would come to his end. For this king was marvellously fearful of +death. "Beware," said Merlin, "beware of the sons of Constantine. By +them you shall taste of death. Already have they left Armorica with +high hearts, and even now are upon the sea. Be certified of this, that +their fleet of fourteen galleys comes to land on the morrow. Much evil +hast thou done to them; much evil will they do to thee, and avenge +them of their wrongs. In an ill day you betrayed their brother to his +death: in an ill day you set the crown on your head; in an ill day, to +your own most bitter loss, you entreated this Saxon heathenry to your +help. You are as a man against whom arrows are loosed, both this side +and that; and I know not whether your shield should be arrayed to left +or to right. On the one road the Saxon host draws near, eager to do +you a mischief. Along this other comes the rightful heirs, to pluck +the realm from your hand, the crown from your head, and to exact the +price of their brother's blood. If you yet may flee, escape quickly; +for the brethren approach, and that speedily. Of these brethren +Aurelius shall first be king, but shall also die the first, by poison. +Uther Pendragon, his brother, will sit within his chair. He will hold +the realm in peace; but he, too, will fall sick before his time, and +die, by reason of the brewage of his friends. Then Arthur of Cornwall, +his son, like to a boar grim in battle, will utterly devour these +false traitors, and destroy thy kinsfolk from the land. A right +valiant knight, and a courteous, shall he be, and all his enemies +shall he set beneath his feet." When Merlin had come to an end, he +departed from Vortigern, and went his way. On the morrow, with no +longer tarrying, the navy of the brethren arrived at Totnes, and +therein a great host of knights in their harness. The Britons +assembled themselves together, and joined them to the host. They came +forth from the lurking places whence they had fled, at that time +Hengist harried them by mount and by dale, after he had slain the +lords by felony, and destroyed their castles. At a great council the +Britons did homage to Aurelius as their king. These tidings came to +Vortigern in Wales, and he prepared to set his house in order. He +fled to a strong castle, called Generth,[1] and there made him ready, +taking with him the most valiant of his men. This tower was on the +banks of a fair running water, called by the folk of that country the +Wye. It stood high upon Mount Droac, in the land of Hergin, as testify +the people of these parts. Vortigern furnished his fortress with a +plenteous store of arms and engines, of food and sergeants. To keep +himself the surer from his foes, he garnished the tower with all that +wit might devise. The lords of the country, having joined themselves +to the brethren, sought so diligently for King Vortigern, that in the +end they arrayed them before the castle where he lay. They cast stones +from their engines, and were ever about the gates, paining themselves +grievously to take it, for they hated him beyond measure. Much cause +had the brethren to nurse so bitter a grudge against Vortigern, +since by guile and treason he had slain their brother Constant, and +Constantine, their father, before him, as all men held to be the +truth. Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, had done homage to Aurelius, and was +with him in the host. Much he knew of this land of Wales. "Eldof," +said Aurelius, "hast thou forgotten my father who cherished thee, and +gave his faith to thee, and dost thou remember no more my brother who +held thee so dear! These both honoured thee right willingly, with love +and with reverence in their day. They were foully slain by the device +of this tyrant, this cozener with oaths, this paymaster with a knife. +We who are yet alive must bestir ourselves that we perish not by the +same means. Let us think upon the dead, and take bitter vengeance on +Vortigern for these wrongs." + +[Footnote 1: In Hereford.] + +Aurelius and Eldof laced them in their mail. They made the wild fire +ready and caused men to cast timber in the moat, till the deep fosse +was filled. When this was done they flung wild fire from their engines +upon the castle. The fire laid hold upon the castle, it spread to the +tower, and to all the houses that stood about. The castle flared like +a torch; the flames leaped in the sky; the houses tumbled to the +ground. In that place the king was burned with fire, and all his +household who fled to Generth with him. Neither dame nor damsel got +her living from that pyre; and on the same day perished the king's +wife, who was so marvellously fair. + +When the new king had brought the realm into subjection to himself, +he devised to seek the pagans, that he might deliver the country from +their hand. Right fearful was Hengist to hear these tidings, and at +once set forth for Scotland. He abandoned all his fiefs, and fled +straightway beyond the Humber. He purposed to crave such aid and +succour from the Scots as would help him in his need, and made haste +to get him to Scotland with all the speed he might. The king pursued +him swiftly with his host, making forced marches day by day. On the +road his power was increased by a great company of Britons; till with +him was a multitude which no man could number, being innumerable as +the sand of the sea. The king looked upon his realm, and saw it gnawed +to the bone. None drave the plough, nor cast seed in the furrow. The +castles and the walled cities were breached and ruined. He marked the +villages blackened by fire, and the houses of God stripped bare as a +peasant's hovel. The heathen pilled and wasted, but gathered neither +corn into barns nor cattle within the byre. He testified that this +should not endure, so he returned in safety from the battle. + +When Hengist knew that the king followed closely after, and that fight +he must, he strove to put heart and hardihood into the breasts of +his fellows. "Comrades," said he, "be not dismayed by reason of this +rabble. We know well enough what these Britons are, since they never +stand before us. If but a handful go against them, not one will stay +to fight. Many a time, with but a mean company, have I vanquished and +destroyed them. If they be in number as the sand, the more honour is +yours. A multitude such as this counts nothing. A host like theirs, +led by a weak and foolish captain, what is it worth? These are a +trembling folk, without a chief, and of them we should have little +fear. The shepherd of these sheep is a child, who is yet too young to +bear a spear, or carry harness on his back. For our part we are heroes +and champions, proven in many a stour, fighting for our very lives, +since for us there will be no other ransom. Now be confident and bold. +Let our bodies serve us for castles and for wall. Be brave and strong, +I say, for otherwise we are but dead men." When Hengist ceased +heartening his comrades, the knights arrayed them for the battle. They +moved against the Britons as speedily as their horses might bear +them, for they hoped to find them naked and unready, and to take them +unawares. The Britons so misdoubted their adversary that they watched +in their armour, both day and night. As soon as the king knew that the +heathen advanced to give battle, he ordered his host in a plain that +seemed good for his purpose. He supported the spearmen with three +thousand horsemen, clothed in mail, his own trusty vassals, who had +come with him from Armorica. The Welsh he made into two companies. The +one part he set upon the hills, so that the Paynim might not climb +there if they would. The other part he hid within the wood, to stay +them if they sought shelter in the forest. For the rest he put every +man into the plain, that it should be the more strongly held +and defended. Now when he had arrayed the battle, and given his +commandment to the captains, the king placed himself amidst the chosen +men of his own household, those whom he deemed the most loyal to his +person. He spoke apart with his friends concerning the battle. Earl +Eldof was near the king's side that day, together with many another +baron. "God," said Eldof, "what joy will be mine that hour when +Hengist and I meet face to face, with none between us. I cannot forget +the kalends of May, and that murder at Ambresbury, when he slew all +the flower of our chivalry. Right narrowly escaped I from his net" + +Whilst Eldof spake these reproachful words, making complaint of +Hengist, the Saxons drew near the field, and sought to take it. With +no long tarrying the battle was joined. What time the two hosts looked +on each other they hastened together. There you might see the vassals +striving, hand to hand. They fought body to body, those assailing, +these defending. Mighty blows with the sword were given and received +among them. Many a champion lay stark upon the ground, and the living +passed over the bodies of the dead. Shields were hewn asunder; spears +snapped like reeds; the wounded were trampled beneath men's feet, and +many a warrior died that day. The Christians called on Christ, and +the heathen answered, clamouring on their gods of clay. Like men the +pagans bore them, but the Christians like heroes. The companies of +the heathen flinched, giving ground on the field. The Britons +pressed about them, redoubling their blows, so that the Saxons were +discomfited, and turning their backs, strove no more. + +When Hengist saw his champions turn their backs, like children, to +the stroke, he fled to the town called Caerconan,[1] where he was +persuaded of shelter. The king followed fast after him, crying to the +hunters, "On, on." Hengist heard the noise of the pursuit, and had no +care to be trapped in his castle. Better to fight in the open at the +risk of his body, than to starve behind walls, with none to bring +succour. Hengist checked the rout, and rallying the host, set it again +in order of battle. The combat was passing sharp and grievous, for the +pagans advanced once more in rank and by companies. Each heartened +his fellow, so that great damage and loss were sustained by the +Christians. The host fell in disarray, and began to give back before +the onset of the foe. All would have been lost were it not for those +three thousand horsemen, who rode upon the Saxon in one mighty troop, +bringing succour and help to the footmen when they were overborne. The +pagans fought starkly and grimly. Well they knew not one would escape +with his life, if they did not keep them in this peril. In the press, +Eldof the Earl lighted on Hengist. Hatred gave him eyes, and he knew +him again because of the malice he owed him. He deemed that the time +and the means were come to satisfy his lust. Eldof ran in upon his +foe, striking him mightily with his sword. Hengist was a stout +champion, or he had fallen at the stroke. The two closed together, +with naked brands and lifted shields, smiting and guarding. Men forgot +to fight, and stared upon them, watching the great blows fall and the +gleaming swords. + +Whilst the heroes strove, Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, came hastening +like a paladin to the battle. Eldof saw him come, and being assured of +the end, arrayed himself against his adversary yet more proudly. He +sprang upon Hengist, and seizing him by the nasal of his helmet, +dragged him, with fallen head, amongst the Britons. "Knights," he +cried, "thanks be to God Who has given me my desire. He is vanquished +and taken who has caused such trouble to the land." + +[Footnote 1: Conisburg in Yorkshire.] + +Eldof showed the captive to his company, who demanded that he should +be slain with the sword. "A short shrift for the mad dog," they +clamoured, "who knows neither mercy nor pity. This is the source of +the war. This is the shedder of blood. Smite the head from his body, +and the victory is in your hands." Eldof made answer that Hengist +should have the law, good law and just. He bound him fast in fetters, +and delivered him to King Aurelius. The king chained him, hands and +feet, and set him in a strong prison to await judgment. + +Now Octa, Hengist's son, and Ebissa, his cousin, who were in the +field, hardly escaped from the battle, and fleeing, entered into York. +They strengthened the city, and made all ready, till men might come to +their aid. As for the others they hid in divers places, in the woods +and valleys, in caves and in the hills. But the power of the paynim +was broken, for many were dead, and of the living most were taken, and +in bonds, or held as thralls. The king made merry over his victory, +and gave the glory to God. He abode three full days at Caerconan to +heal the wounded of their hurt, and to give a little leisure to the +weary. At that place he called a council of his captains, to know what +it were good to do with the traitor Hengist; whether he should be +held in prison or slain outright. Eldad got him to his feet. A right +learned clerk was he, a bishop of his orders, and brother by blood to +that Earl Eldof, of whom you have heard. "My counsel to the king," +said the bishop, "is to do to the traitor Hengist--our earthly +adversary--that which holy Samuel did in old days to King Agag, when +he was made captive. Agag was a prince, passing proud, the right +glorious king of the people of Amalek. He set a quarrel upon the Jews, +that he might work them a mischief, since he sought to do them evil. +He seized their lands; he burned their goods with fire, and very often +he slew them for his pleasure. Then on a day this King Agag was taken +at a battle, the more to his sorrow. He was led before Saul, whom +these Jews so greatly desired for their king. Whilst Saul was +considering what it were well should be done with Agag, who was +delivered into his hand, Samuel stood upon his feet. This Samuel was a +holy prophet of Israel; a saint of God of the utmost sanctity; never +has there lived his like amongst the sons of men. This holy Samuel +seized on Agag, the proud king. He hewed him in many pieces, dividing +him limb from limb, and his members he sent throughout the realm. +Hearken and learn what Samuel said whilst he was hewing Agag small. +'Agag, many a man hast thou tormented for thy pleasure; many a fair +youth hast thou spoiled and slain. Thou hast drawn out many a soul +from its body, and made many a mother troubled for her son. Many a +babe hast thou rendered fatherless; but, O Agag, things evil and good +come to the like end. Now your mother presently will I make barren, +and from thy body shall the soul of thee be wrung.' Mete therefore to +your captive, O king, the measure which Samuel counted out to his." +Eldof, Earl of Gloucester, was moved by the example furnished by the +bishop. He rose in the council, and laying hands on Hengist led him +without the city. There Eldof struck the head from Hengist with his +own sword. The king caused the head to be set again on the shoulders, +and gave Hengist's body seemly burial, according to the rite and +fashion of those who observe the law of the paynim. + +The king made no long stay at Caerconan, but followed eagerly after +his enemies. He came to York with a great host, and sat himself down +before the city. Octa, the son of Hengist, was within, and some of his +kindred with him. When Octa was persuaded that none might win to his +aid, he considered within himself whether he should render him to the +king's mercy. If he took his fate in his hand, and humbly besought +pity of the king, so mercy were given him all would be well, but if +his prayer was scorned, then he would defend himself to the death. +Octa did as he devised, and as his kinsfolk approved. He came forth +from the gate of the city with a company of all his barons. Octa +wore a chain of iron upon his wrists, and walking at the head of his +companions, came first to the king. "Sire," said he, "I beseech you +for mercy and pity. The gods in whom we put our trust have failed us +at need. Your gods are mightier than they. They have wrought wonders, +and set strength upon you, since we are stricken to the dust. I am +vanquished, and own myself thy servant. Behold the chain of thy +bondman! Do with me now according to thy will, to me, and these my +men. Life and limb, yea, all that we have, are at thy pleasure. But +if it seem good to the king to keep us about his person, we will +toil early and late in his service. We will serve him loyally in his +quarrels, and become his liege men." + +The king was a devout man, very piteous of heart. He looked around +him to learn what his barons thought of this matter and what would be +their counsel. Eldad, the fair bishop, spake first as a wise elder. +"Good it is, and was, and ever shall be, to show mercy on him who +requires mercy to be shown. He who forgives not another his trespass, +how may he hope that God will pardon him his sin? These cry loudly +upon thee for mercy, mercy they implore, and mercy they must have. +Britain is a great realm, long and wide, and in many a place is +inhabited of none, save the beast. Grant them enough thereof that they +may dig and plant, and live of the increase. But take first of them +such hostages, that they will serve thee loyally, and loyally content +them in their lot. We learn from Holy Writ that the children of Gibeon +sought life and league from the Jew when the Israelites held them in +their power. Peace they prayed, peace they received; and life and +covenant were given in answer to their cry. A Christian man should not +be harder than the Jew proved himself to be in his hour. Mercy they +crave, mercy they should have; so let not death deceive them in their +hope." + +The king granted land to the Saxons, according to the counsel of Eldad +The lot was appointed them in Scotland, and they set out speedily +to the place where they must dwell. But first they gave to the king +hostages of the children of their proudest blood and race. After the +king was fifteen days in the city, he sent messages commanding his +people to attend him in council. Baron and clerk, abbot and bishop, he +summoned to his court. At this council the rights of the heir and the +privileges of the orders were re-affirmed. He bade and assured that +the houses of religion, destroyed by the Romans, should be rebuilt. He +dismissed his soldiers to their homes, making viscounts and provosts +to keep his fiefs in peace, and to ensure his revenues and rent. He +sought masons and carpenters and built anew the churches. Such chapels +in his realm as were hurt or damaged in the wars, the king restored to +their former estate, for the fairer service and honour of God. After +the council was done the king set forth towards London, where his +presence was greatly desired of the citizens. He found the city but +the shadow of its former splendour, for the streets were emptied of +people, and houses and churches were alike fallen or decayed. Right +grievously the king lamented the damage done to his fair city. He +founded anew the churches, and bade clerks and burgesses to attend the +service of God, as was of wont and right. From thence the king went to +Ambresbury, that he might kneel beside the graves of those who were +foully slain at Hengist's love-day, near the abbey. He called together +a great company of masons, carpenters, and cunning artificers; for it +was in his mind to raise to their worship a monument of stone that +would endure to the world's end. + +Thereat spake to the king a certain wise man, Tremonius, Archbishop of +Caerleon, praying him to send for Merlin, and build according to his +bidding, since there was none so skilled in counsel or labour, more +truthful of word or apter in divination. The king desired greatly to +behold Merlin, and to judge by hearing of his worth. At that time +Merlin abode near the Well of Labenes. This fountain springs in a +hidden place, very deep in Wales, but I know not where, since I have +never been. Merlin came straightway to the king, even as he was +bidden. The king welcomed him with marvellous joy, honouring him right +gladly. He cherished him richly, and was ever about him with prayers +and entreaties that he would show him somewhat of things that were yet +to come, for these he was on itch to hear. "Sire," replied Merlin, +"this I may not do. I dare not open my lips to speak of such awful +matters, which are too high for me, save only when needs speak I must. +Should my tongue be unloosed by greed or lightness, should I be puffed +up by vanity, then my familiar spirit--that being by whom I know +that which I know--would withdraw his inspiration from my breath. My +knowledge would depart from me, and the words I speak would be no +weightier than the idle words on every gossip's lips. Let the future +take care of itself. Consider rather the concerns of to-day. If thou +art desirous to make a fair work and a lasting, of which men will brag +till the end of time, cause to be brought hither the carol that a +giant wrought in Ireland. This giant laboured greatly in the building +of a mighty circle of stones. He shaped his carol, setting the stones +one upon another. The stones are so many, and of such a kind; they are +so huge and so weighty; that the strength of man--as men are in these +times--might not endure to lift the least of his pebbles" The king +laughed loudly. "Merlin," said he, "since these stones are of such +heaviness that it passes the strength of the strong to move them, who +shall carry them to my masons? Have we not in this realm stones mighty +enough, and to spare?" "King," answered Merlin, "knowest thou not that +wit is more than strength! Muscle is good, but craft is better. Skill +devises means when strength fails. Cunning and engines bring many +matters to a good end, that strength would not venture even to begin. +Engines can move these stones, and by the use of engines we may make +them our own. King, these stones were carried from Africa: there they +were first shapen. The giant who ravished them to Ireland, set up his +carol to his own content. Very serviceable were these stones, and +right profitable to the sick. It was the custom of the surgeons of +that land to wash these stones with fair water. This water they would +make hot in baths, and set therein those who had suffered hurt, or +were grieved by any infirmity. They washed in this water, and were +healed of their sickness. However sore their wound, however grievous +their trouble, other medicine needed they none." When the king and his +Britons heard of the virtue residing in the stones, they all desired +them very greatly. Not one but would gladly have ventured on the quest +for these stones, of which Merlin told such marvels. They devised +therefore to pass the sea with fifteen thousand men to make war upon +the Irish, and to ease them of the stones. Uther, at his own desire, +was chosen as their captain. Merlin also went with them to furnish +engines for their toil. So Uther and his company crossed to Ireland on +such quest. When the King of Ireland, that men called Guillomer, +heard tell that strangers were arrayed in his land, he assembled his +household and the Irish, and menaced them proudly, seeking to chase +them from the realm. After they had learned the reason of this +quarrel, and that for stones the Britons were come, they mocked them +loudly, making them their mirth and their song. For mad it seemed in +the eyes of these Irish that men should pain themselves so grievously +by land and sea to gain a treasure of naked stones. "Never a stone," +said these, "shall they have; not one shall they carry with them to +their homes." Very lightly you may scorn your enemy in your heart, but +at your peril you seek to do him mischief with your hands. The Irish +mocked and menaced the stranger, and sought him until they found. The +combat was joined directly the hosts met together, but the Irish +were men of peace, unclad in mail, and not accustomed to battle. The +Britons were their jest, but they were also their victors. The King of +Ireland fled from the battle discomfited. He went from town to town, +with no long tarrying in any place, so that the Britons might not make +him their captive. + +After the Britons had laid aside their armour, and taken rest from the +battle, they were brought by Merlin, their companion, into a mountain +where the carol was builded. This high place was called Hilomar,[1] by +the folk whom they had vanquished, and the carol was upon the summit +of the mount. The Britons stared upon the stones. + +[Footnote 1: Kildare.] + +They went about them, saying each to his fellow that none had seen so +mighty a building. They marvelled how these stones were set one upon +another, and how they should be got across the sea. "Comrades," said +Merlin, "you are strong champions. Strive now if of your strength you +may move these stones, and carry them from their seat." The young men +therefore encompassed the stones before, behind, and on every side, +but heave and tug as mightily as they could, the stones for all their +travail would not budge one single inch. "Bestir yourselves," cried +Merlin, "on, friends, on. But if by strength you can do no more, then +you shall see that skill and knowledge are of richer worth than thews +and fleshly force." Having spoken these words Merlin kept silence, and +entered within the carol. He walked warily around the stones. His lips +moved without stay, as those of a man about his orisons, though I +cannot tell whether or no he prayed. At length Merlin beckoned to the +Britons. "Enter boldly," cried he; "there is nought to harm. Now you +may lift these pebbles from their seat, and bear and charge them on +your ships." So at his word and bidding they wrought as Merlin showed +them. They took the stones and carrying them to the ships, bestowed +them thereon. Afterwards the mariners hoisted their sails, and set out +for Britain. When they were safely come to their own land, they bore +the stones to Ambresbury, and placed them on the mountain near by +the burying ground. The king rode to Ambresbury to Keep the Feast of +Pentecost. Bishops, abbots, and barons, he had bidden them all to +observe the Feast. A great company of folk, both rich and poor, +gathered themselves together, and at this fair festival the king set +the crown upon his head. Three days they observed the rite, and made +merry. On the fourth--because of his exceeding reverence--he gave +pastoral crosses to two prelates. Holy Dubricius became Bishop of +Caerleon, and York he bestowed upon holy Sampson. Both these fair +prelates were great churchmen, and priests of devout and spotless +life. At the same time Merlin ranged the stones in due order, building +them side by side. This circle of stones was called by the Britons in +their own tongue The Giant's Carol, but in English it bears the name +of Stonehenge. + +When the rich feast was come to its appointed end, the court departed, +each man unto his own place. Now Passent, that was a son of Vortigern, +had fled from Wales and Britain, for fear of Aurelius and his brother +Uther. He sought refuge in Germany, and there purchased to himself +ships, and men who would serve him for guerdon; but of these he had no +great company. This Passent arrived in the north country and ravaged +it, burning the towns and spoiling the land. He dared make no long +stay, for the king hastened to the north to give him battle, and this +he might not endure. Passent took again to his ships, and fearing to +return whence he came, fared so far with sail and oar that in the end +he cast anchor off the coast of Ireland. Passent sought speech of the +king of that realm. He told over his birth and state, and showed him +his bitter need. Passent prayed the king so urgently; the twain took +such deep counsel together; that it was devised between them to pass +the sea, and offer battle to the Britons. This covenant was made of +Passent that he might avenge his father's death, and dispute his +heritage with Aurelius; but of the King of Ireland to avenge him upon +the Britons, who had vanquished him in battle, robbed his folk, and +taken to themselves the carol with a strong hand. Thus they plighted +faith to satisfy each the other for these wrongs. Guillomer and +Passent made ready as many soldiers as they might. They ordained their +ships, and with a fair wind crossed the sea, and came safely to Wales. +The host entered in Menevia, that city so praised of the Welsh, and +now called of men, Saint David. It befell that King Aurelius lay sick +at Winchester. His infirmity was sore upon him, for the trouble was +long and grievous, and the surgeons knew not whether he would mend or +die. When Aurelius learned that Passent and the King of Ireland were +come together in Wales to make sorrow in the land, he sent for Uther +his brother. He grieved beyond measure that he could not get him from +his bed. He charged Uther to hasten into Wales, and drive them from +the realm. Uther sent messages to the barons, and summoned the knights +to the war. He set out from Winchester; but partly by reason of the +long journey, and partly to increase the number of his power, he +tarried for a great while upon the road. Very long it was before he +arrived in Wales. Whilst he dallied in this fashion a certain pagan +named Appas, a man born in Saxony, craved speech of Passent. This +Appas was meetly schooled, and apt in parts. He spoke to many people +in their own tongues; he was wise in all that concerned medicine and +surgery; but he was felon and kept bad faith. "Passent," said Appas +privily, "thou hast hated this King Aurelius for long. What should +be mine if I were to slay him?" "Ease and riches I will give thee," +answered Passent. "Never a day but I will stand thy friend, so only +thy word be fulfilled, and the king taste death at thy hand" "May your +word," said Appas, "be true as mine" So the covenant was ordained +between them that Passent should count out one thousand livres, what +time Appas had done to death the king Appas was very cunning, and +right greedy and covetous of wealth. He put upon him a habit of +religion; he shaved his crown, and caused his hair to be polled close +to his head. Like a monk he was shaven, like a monk he seemed; in gown +and hood he went vested as a monk. In this guise and semblance Appas +took his way to the royal court. Being a liar he gave out that he was +a good physician, and thus won to the king's bed. Him he promised to +make whole very speedily, if he would trust himself to his hand. He +counted the pulse, and sought for the trouble "Well I know," said he, +"the cause of this evil. I have such a medicine as will soon give +you ease." Who could misdoubt so sweet a physician? The gentle king +desired greatly to be healed of his hurt, as would any of you in +a like case. Having no thought of treason, he put himself in this +traitor's care. Appas made ready a potion, laced with venom, and gave +the king to drink. He then wrapped the king warmly in a rich coverlet, +and bade him lie in peace and sleep. After the king was heated, and +the poison had lain hold upon his body, ah, God, the anguish, there +was nothing for him but death. When Aurelius knew that he must die, he +took oath of his household, that so truly as they loved him they would +carry his body to Stonehenge, and bury him within the stones that +he had builded. Thus died the king and was buried; but the traitor, +Appas, escaped and fled with his life. + +Uther entered in Wales with his host, and found the folk of Ireland +abiding yet at Menevia. At that time appeared a star, which was seen +of many. This star was hight Comet, and according to the clerks it +signified death and the passing of kings. This star shone marvellously +clear, and cast a beam that was brighter than the sun. At the end +of this beam was a dragon's head, and from the dragon's mighty jaws +issued two rays. One of these rays stretched over France, and went +from France even to the Mount of St. Bernard. The other ray went +towards Ireland, and divided into seven beams. Each of these seven +beams shone bright and clear, alike on water and on land. By reason of +this star which was seen of all, the peoples were sorely moved. +Uther marvelled greatly what it might mean, and marvellously was he +troubled. He prayed Merlin that he would read him the sign, and the +interpretation thereof. Merlin answered not a word. Sorrow had him by +the heart, and he wept bitterly. When speech returned to his mouth he +lamented with many words and sighed often. "Ah, God," said he, "sorrow +and trouble and grief have fallen on Britain this day. The realm has +lost its great captain. The king is dead--that stout champion who has +delivered the land from such evil and shame, and plucked his spoil +from the pagan." + +When Uther was certified that his brother and good lord had finished +his course, he was right heavy, and much was he dismayed. But Merlin +comforted him as he might. "Uther," said he, "be not altogether cast +down, since from Death there is no return. Bring to an end this +business of the war. Give battle to thine enemies, for to-morrow shall +see Passent and the King of Ireland vanquished. Fight boldly on the +morrow; so shalt thou conquer, and be crowned King of Britain. Hearken +to the interpretation of the sign. The dragon at the end of the beam +betokens thee thyself, who art a stout and hardy knight. One of the +two rays signifies a son born of thy body, who shall become a puissant +prince, conquering France, and beyond the borders of France. The other +ray which parted from its fellow, betokens a daughter who shall be +Queen of Scotland. Many a fair heir shall she give to her lord, and +mighty champions shall they prove both on land and sea." Uther lent +his ear to the counsel of Merlin. He caused his folk to rest them the +night, and in the morning arm them for the battle. He thought to take +the city by assault, but when the Irish saw him approach their walls, +they put on their harness, and setting them in companies, issued forth +to fight without the gates. The Irish fought valiantly, but right soon +were discomfited, for on that day the Britons slew Passent, and the +King of Ireland, his friend. Those who escaped from the field fled +towards the sea, but Uther following swiftly after, harried them to +the death. Such as reached the water climbed wildly upon their ships, +and with sail and oar set out to sea, that Uther should work them no +more mischief. + +When Uther had brought his business to a good end, he took his way +towards Winchester, and the flower of his chivalry with him. On his +road a messenger met him who told him of a surety the king was dead, +and as to the manner of his death. He related how the bishops had laid +Aurelius to rest with great pomp in the Giant's Carol, even as he had +required of his sergeants and barons whilst he was yet alive. At these +tidings Uther pressed on to Winchester, sparing not the spur. The +people came before him on his passage clamouring shrilly. "Uther, +sire," cried the common folk, "since he is dead who maintained the +poor, and did nought but good to his people, we have none to defend +us, save thee. Take then the crown, as thine by heritage and right. +Fair sire, we thy poor commons pray this thing, who desire nothing but +thy worship and thy gain." Uther rejoiced greatly at their words. He +saw clearly where his profit lay, and that no advancement is possible +to a king. He hastened, therefore, to do as the folk entreated. He +took the crown, and becoming king, loved well his people, and guarded +the honour of the realm. In remembrance of the dragon, and of the +hardy knight who should be king and a father of kings, which it +betokened, Uther wrought two golden dragons, by the counsel of his +barons. One of these dragons he caused to be borne before him when he +went into battle. The other he sent to Winchester to be set up in the +church of the bishop. For this reason he was ever after called Uther +Pendragon. Pendragon was his name in the Britons' tongue, but Dragon's +head in that of Rome. + +Uther was a mighty lord, who had confidence in his power. His sacring +at Winchester he held for proof and token that he was a king who would +beget puissant princes, by whom great deeds should be done. This faith +in his destiny gave him increase of strength. He determined in his +heart that he would accomplish all that was foretold of him, and that +through good report and ill, never would he turn back. He knew and was +persuaded that whatever the task he took in hand, he must in fulness +of time bring it to a good end. Merlin was a true prophet; and since +no lying spirit was in his mouth, it was impossible to doubt that very +swiftly all these things would come to pass. + +Now Octa, the son of Hengist, had received from Aurelius broad lands +and fair manors for him and his companions. When Octa knew that the +mighty captain was dead, he kept neither loyalty nor faith with a king +whom he despised in his heart. He called together a great company of +his friends and kinsmen, and amongst them Ossa, his cousin. Octa and +Ossa were hardy champions, and they were the lords of the host. With +them moreover were such folk as had escaped from Uther at the slaying +of Passent. These Octa had taken to himself, so that his fellowship +was passing strong. This host overran the realm from Humber to +Scotland, and subdued it in every part. Octa then came before York, +and would have seized it by violence, but the burgesses of the city +held it stoutly against him, so that the pagans might not enter within +the walls. He sat down, therefore, before the gates, and invested the +city straitly, by reason of the numbers of his host. Uther had no +thought but to succour his city, and to rescue his friends who were +shut within. He marched hot foot to York, calling his men together +from every part. Being resolved at all cost to force the heathen to +give over the siege, Uther offered them battle without delay. The +Melly was right sharp and grievous. Many a soul was parted from the +body. The heathen played their parts as men, and contended boldly with +the sword. The Britons could do them no mischief. They might not force +their way into the city, neither could those within prevail to issue +forth. The Batons might endure the battle no longer. They gave back in +the press, and as they fled, the pursuing Saxons did them marvellous +damage. The pursuit lasted until the Britons took refuge in a fastness +of those parts, and the night parted the adverseness one from the +other. This mountain was named Damen. The peak was very sharp. About +its flanks were rocks and precipices, whilst close at hand stood a +thicket of hazel trees. Upon this mountain the Britons climbed. By +this way and that, they ascended the height, until they sought safety +on the summit. There the heathen shut them fast, for they sat beneath +them in the plain, whilst all about them stretched the mountain. + +The king was very fearful, and not for himself alone. He was in sore +straits and perplexity as to what he should do to get his spearmen +from the trap. Now Gorlois, Earl of Cornwall, was with the king. This +lord was very valiant and courteous, though stricken in years, and was +esteemed of all as a right prudent councillor. To him the king went, +and unravelled all the coil. Uther prayed Gorlois to counsel him as +became his honour, for he knew well that the earl regarded honour +beyond the loss of life or limb. "You ask me my counsel," said +Gorlois. "My counsel--so it be according to your will--is that we +should arm ourselves forthwith, and get down from this hill amongst +our foes. They are assuredly sleeping at this hour, for they despise +us overmuch to deem that we shall challenge them again to battle. In +the morning they will come to seek us--so we await them in the trap. +Let us take our fate in our hands like men, and fall upon them +suddenly. The foe will then be confused and bewildered, for we must +come upon them silently, without battle cry or blowing of trumpets. +Before they are awakened from sleep, we shall have slain so many in +our onset, that those who escape from our swords will not dare to +rally against us in their flight. Only this thing first. Let every man +have penitence for that he has done amiss. Let us ask God's pardon for +the sins that we have wrought, and promise faithfully to amend our +lives. Let us turn from the wickedness wherein we have walked all +these days; praying the Saviour to hold us in His hand, and grant us +strength against those who fear not His name, and make war upon His +Christians. If we do these things God will sustain our quarrel; and if +God be with us who then can do us wrong?" + +This counsel seemed good to the king and his captains. They did as +Gorlois said, and humbled themselves before God with a contrite heart, +promising to put away the evil from their lives. After they had made +an end of prayer, they took their arms, and stole down the hillside to +the valley. The Britons came amongst the pagans lying naked upon the +ground, and fast in sleep. The swordplay was right merry, for the +slaughter was very great. The Britons thrust their glaives deep in the +breasts of the foe. They lopped heads and feet and wrists from their +bodies. The Britons ranged like lions amongst their enemies. They were +as lions a-hungered for their prey, killing ewes and lambs, and all +the sheep of the flock, whether small or great. Thus the Britons +did, for they spared neither spearman nor captain. The heathen were +altogether dismayed. They were yet heavy with sleep, and could neither +get to their harness, nor flee from the field. No mercy was shown them +for all their nakedness. Armed or naked the sword was thrust through +their breast or heart or bowels. In that place the heathen perished +from the land, since the Christians destroyed them utterly. Octa and +Ossa, the lords of their host--these troublers of Britain--were taken +alive. They were led to London, and set fast in a strong prison, bound +in iron. If any of their fellows escaped from the battle, it was only +by reason of the blackness of the night. He who was able to flee, ran +from the field. He tarried not to succour his own familiar friend. But +many more were slam in that surprise than got safely away. + +When Uther parted from York he passed throughout Northumberland. From +Northumberland he entered into Scotland, having many ships and a great +host with him. He went about the length and breadth of the land, and +purged it throughly in every part. Such folk as were oppressed of +their neighbours he confirmed in their rights. Never before had the +realm such rest and peace as in the days of Uther the king. After +Uther had brought his business in the north to an end, he set forth +to London, where he purposed to take the crown on Easter Day. Uther +desired the feast to be very rich and great. He summoned therefore +dukes, earls, and wardens, yea, all his baronage from near and far, +by brief and message, to come with their wedded dames and privy +households to London for his feast. So all the lords came at the +king's commandment, bringing their wives as they were bidden. Very +richly the feast was holden. After the Mass was sung, that fair +company went in hall to meat. The king sat at the head of his hall, +upon a dais. The lords of his realm were ranged about him, each in his +order and degree. The Earl of Cornwall was near the king's person, so +that one looked upon the other's face. By the earl's side was seated +Igerne, his wife. There was no lady so fair in all the land. Right +courteous was the dame, noble of peerage, and good as she was fair. + +The king had heard much talk of this lady, and never aught but praise. +His eyes were ravished with her beauty. He loved her dearly, and +coveted her hotly in his heart, for certainly she was marvellously +praised. He might not refrain from looking upon her at table, and his +hope and desire tyrned to her more and more. Whether he ate or drank, +spoke or was silent, she was ever in his thought. He glanced aside at +the lady, and smiled if she met his eye. All that he dared of love +he showed. He saluted her by his privy page, and bestowed upon her a +gift. He jested gaily with the dame, looking nicely upon her, and made +a great semblance of friendship. Igerne was modest and discreet. She +neither granted Uther's hope, nor denied. The earl marked well these +lookings and laughings, these salutations and gifts. He needed no +other assurance that the king had set his love upon his wife. Gorlois +deemed that he owed no faith to a lord who would supplant him in her +heart. The earl rose from his seat at table; he took his dame by the +hand, and went straight from the hall. He called the folk of his +household about him, and going to the stables, got him to horse. Uther +sent after Gorlois by his chamberlain, telling him that he did shame +and wrong in departing from the court without taking leave of his +king. He bade him to do the right, and not to treat his lord so +despitefully, lest a worse thing should befall him. He could have but +little trust in his king, if he would not return for a space. Gorlois +rode proudly from the court without leave or farewell. The king +menaced him very grievously, but the earl gave small heed to his +threats, for he recked nothing of what might chance. He went into +Cornwall, and arrayed his two castles, making them ready against the +war. His wife he put in his castle of Tintagel, for this was the home +of his father and of his race. It was a strong keep, easily holden of +a few sergeants, since none could climb or throw down the walls. The +castle stood on a tall cliff, near by the sea. Men might not win to +enter by the gate, and saving the gate, there was no door to enter in +the tower. + +The earl shut his lady fast in the tower. He dared hide his treasure +in no other place, lest thieves broke through, and stole her from him. +Therefore he sealed her close in Tintagel. For himself he took the +rest of his men-at-arms, and the larger part of his knights, and rode +swiftly to the other strong fortress that was his. The king heard that +Gorlois had garnished and made ready his castle, purposing to defend +himself even against his lord. Partly to avenge himself upon the earl, +and partly to be near his vassal's wife, the king arrayed a great +host. He crossed the Severn, and coming before the castle where the +earl lay, he sought to take it by storm. Finding that he might not +speed, he sat down before the tower, and laid siege to those within. +The host invested the castle closely for full seven days, but could +not breach the walls. The earl stubbornly refused to yield, for he +awaited succour from the King of Ireland, whom he had entreated to his +aid. King Uther's heart was in another place. He was weaned beyond +measure of Gorlois and his castle. His love for Igerne urged and +called him thence, for the lady was sweeter to his mind than any other +in the world. At the end he bade to him a baron of his household, +named Ulfin, who was privy to his mind. Him he asked secretly of that +which he should do. "Ulfin," said the king, "my own familiar friend, +counsel me wisely, for my hope is in thee. My love for Igerne hath +utterly cast me down I am altogether broken and undone. I cannot go or +come about my business; I cannot wake nor sleep, I cannot rise from my +bed nor lay my head on the pillow; neither can I eat or drink, except +that this lady is ever in my mind. How to gain her to my wish I cannot +tell. But this I know, that I am a dead man if you may not counsel me +to my hope." "Oh my king," answered Ulfin, "I marvel at your words. +You have tormented the earl grievously with your war, and have burned +his lands. Do you think to win a wife's heart by shutting her husband +close in his tower? You show your love for the dame by harassing the +lord! No, the matter is too high for me, and I have one only counsel +to give you. Merlin is with us in the host. Send after him, for he is +a wise clerk, and the best counsellor of any man living. If Merlin may +not tell you what to do, there is none by whom you may win to your +desire." + +King Uther, by the counsel of Ulfin, commanded Merlin to be brought +before him. The king opened out his bitter need. He prayed that for +pity's sake Merlin would find him a way to his hope, so he were able, +since die he must if of Igerne he got no comfort. But let the clerk +seek and buy so that the king had his will. Money and wealth would be +granted plenteously, if gold were needed, for great as was the king's +evil, so large would be his delight. "Sire," answered Merlin, "have +her you shall. Never let it be said that you died for a woman's love. +Right swiftly will I bring you to your wish, or evil be the bounty +that I receive of the king's hand. Hearken to me. Igerne is guarded +very closely in Tintagel. The castle is shut fast, and plenteously +supplied with all manner of store. The walls are strong and high, so +that it may not be taken by might; and it is victualled so well, +that none may win there by siege. The castle also is held of loyal +castellans, but for all their vigils, I know well how to enter therein +at my pleasure, by reason of my potions. By craft I can change a man's +countenance to the fashion of his neighbour, and of two men each shall +take on his fellow's semblance. In body and visage, in speech and +seeming, without doubt I can shape you to the likeness of the Earl +of Cornwall. Why waste the time with many words! You, sire, shall +be fashioned as the earl. I, who purpose to go with you on this +adventure, will wear the semblance of Bertel. Ulfin, here, shall +come in the guise of Jordan. These two knights are the earl's chosen +friends, and are very close to his mind and heart. In this manner we +may enter boldly in his castle of Tintagel, and you shall have your +will of the lady. We shall be known of none, for not a man will doubt +us other than we seem." The king had faith in Merlin's word, and held +his counsel good. He gave over the governance of the host, privily, to +a lord whom he much loved. Merlin put forth his arts, and transfigured +their faces and vesture into the likeness of the earl and his people. +That very night the king and his companions entered in Tintagel. The +porter in his lodge, and the steward within his office, deemed him +their lord. They welcomed him gladly, and served him with joy. +When meat was done the king had his delight of a lady who was much +deceived. Of that embrace Igerne conceived the good, the valiant, +and the trusty king whom you have known as Arthur. Thus was Arthur +begotten, who was so renowned and chivalrous a lord. + +Now the king's men learned very speedily that Uther had departed from +the host. The captains were wearied of sitting before the castle. To +return the more quickly to their homes, they got into their harness +and seized their arms. They did not tarry to order the battle, or make +ready ladders for the wall, but they approached the tower in their +disarray. The king's men assaulted the castle from every side, and the +earl defended himself manfully, but at the last he himself was slain, +and the castle was swiftly taken. Those who were fortunate enough to +escape from the tower fled lightfoot to Tintagel. There they published +the news of this misadventure, and the death of their lord. The sorrow +and lamentation of those who bewailed the earl's death reached the +ears of the king. He came forth from his chamber, and rebuked the +messengers of evil tidings. "Why all this noise and coil?" cried he "I +am safe and sound, thank God, as you may see by looking on my face. +These tidings are not true, and you must neither believe all that the +messengers proclaim, nor deem that they tell naught but lies. The +cause is plain why my household think me lost. I came out from the +castle taking leave and speaking to no man. None knew that I went +secretly through the postern, nor that I rode to you at Tintagel, for +I feared treachery upon the way. Now men cry and clamour of my death, +because I was not seen when the king won within the tower. Doubtless +it is a grievous thing to have lost my keep, and to know that so many +goodly spearmen lie dead behind the walls. But whilst I live, my goods +at least are my own. I will go forth to the king, requiring a peace, +which he will gladly accord me. I will go at once, before he may come +to Tintagel, seeking to do us mischief, for if he falls upon us in +this trap we shall pipe to deaf ears." + +Igerne praised the counsel of him she deemed her lord. The king +embraced her by reason of her tenderness, and kissed her as he bade +farewell. He departed straightway from the castle, and his familiars +with him. When they had ridden for a while upon the road, Merlin again +put forth his enchantments, so that he, the king, and Ulfin took their +own shapes, and became as they had been before. They hastened to the +host without drawing rein, for the king was with child to know how the +castle was so swiftly taken, and in what manner the earl was slain. He +commanded before him his captains, and from this man and that sought +to arrive at the truth. Uther considered the adventure, and took his +lords to witness that whoever had done the earl to death, had done not +according to his will. He called to mind Earl Gorlois' noble deeds, +and made complaint of his servants, looking upon the barons very +evilly. He wore the semblance of a man in sore trouble, but there were +few who were so simple as to believe him. Uther returned with his host +before Tintagel. He cried to those who stood upon the wall asking why +they purposed to defend the tower, since their lord was dead and his +castle taken, neither could they look for succour in the realm, or +from across the sea. The castellans knew that the king spake sooth, +and that for them there was no hope of aid. They therefore set open +the gates of the castle, and gave the fortress and its keys into +the king's hand. Uther, whose love was passing hot, spoused Igerne +forthwith, and made her his queen. She was with child, and when her +time was come to be delivered, she brought forth a son. This son was +named Arthur, with the rumour of whose praise the whole world has been +filled. After the birth of Arthur, Uther got upon Igerne a daughter +cleped Anna. When this maiden came of age she was bestowed upon a +right courteous lord, called Lot of Lyones. Of this marriage was born +Gawain, the stout knight and noble champion. + +Uther reigned for a long time in health and peace. Then he fell into a +great sickness, failing alike in mind and strength. His infirmity lay +so sore upon him, that he might not get him from his bed. The warders, +who watched over his prison in London, were passing weary of their +long guard, and were corrupted also by fair promises that were made. +They took rich gifts from Octa, that was Hengist's son, and from Ossa, +his cousin, and delivering them out of their bonds, let them go free +from their dungeon. Octa and Ossa returned swiftly to their own place. +They purchased war galleys to themselves, and gathering their men +about them menaced Uther very grievously. With a great company +of knights, and spearmen, and archers they passed the marches of +Scotland, burning and spoiling all the realm. Since Uther was sick, +and could do little to defend his life and land, he called Lot, the +husband of his daughter, to his aid. To this lord he committed the +guidance of his host, and appointed him constable of his knights. He +commanded these that they should hearken Lot as himself, and observe +all his biddings. This Uther did because he knew Lot for a courteous +and liberal lord, cunning in counsel, and mighty with the spear. + +Now Octa vexed the Britons very sorely. He boasted himself greatly, by +reason of the number of his folk, and of the kings weakness. To avenge +his father's death and his own wrongs, he made Britain fearful of his +name; for he neither granted truce nor kept faith. Lot met Octa once +and again in battle. Many a time he vanquished his foe, but often +enough the victory remained with Octa. The game of war is like a game +of tables. Each must lose in his turn, and the player who wins to-day +will fail to-morrow. At the end Octa was discomfited, and was driven +from the country. But it afterwards befell that the Britons despised +Lot. They would pay no heed to his summons, this man for reason of +jealousy, this other because of the sharing of the spoil. The war, +therefore, came never to an end, till the king himself perceived that +something was amiss, whilst the folk of the country said openly that +the captains were but carpet knights, who made pretence of war. At +this certain men of repute came before the king, praying him to +remain no longer hidden from his people. "Come what may," said these +counsellors, "you must get to the host, and show yourself to the +barons." The king took them at their word. He caused himself to be set +within a horse litter, and carried, as though in a bier, amongst his +people. "Now we shall see," said these, "which of these recreant lords +will follow him to the host." The king sent urgent messages to the +knights who were so disdainful of Lot, summoning them on their +allegiance to hasten to his aid. For himself he was carried straight +to Verulam.[1] This once was a fair city where St. Alban fell upon his +death, but was now altogether ravaged and destroyed of the heathen. +Octa had led his people to the city, and seized thereon, making fast +the gates. The king sat down without the town. He caused great engines +to be arrayed to break through the wall, but it was very strong, and +he might make no breach. Octa and his friends made merry over the +catapults set over against them. On a morning they opened wide their +gates, and came forth to do battle with the king. A vile matter it +seemed to them that the door should be locked and barred because of +a king lying sick within a litter. They could not endure to be so +despised that he should fight against them from his coffin. As I deem +their pride went before a fall. That captain won who was deserving of +the victory. The heathen were defeated, and in that battle Octa and +his fair cousin Ossa were slain. + +[Footnote 1: St. Albans.] + +Many who escaped from the field fled into Scotland. There they made +Colgrin their chieftain, who was a friend of Octa and his cousin. +Uther rejoiced so greatly by reason of his victory, and of the honour +God had shown him, that for sheer joy he was as a man healed and +altogether whole. He set himself to hearten his barons, and inspire +them with his own courage. He said to his men, with mirth, "I like +rather to be on my bier, languishing in long infirmity, than to use +health and strength in fleeing from my foe. The Saxons disdained me, +holding me in despite because I cannot rise from my bed; but it has +befallen that he who hath one foot in the grave hath overthrown the +quick. Forward then, and press hardly on their heels who seek to +destroy our religion from the land." + +When the king had rested him for a space, and had encouraged the lords +with his words, he would have followed after the heathen. Seeing that +his sickness was yet heavy upon him, the barons prayed that he would +sojourn awhile in the city, until it pleased God to give him solace +from his hurt. This they said fearing lest his courage should bring +him to his death. It chanced, therefore, that the host departed, +leaving Uther at Verulam, because of his infirmity, none being with +him, save the folk of his private household. Now the Saxons who were +driven from the land, when they had drawn together, considered within +themselves that if the king were but dead, he had no heir who might do +them a mischief, and despoil them of their goods. Since they had no +trust in their weapons, doubting that they could slay him with the +sword, they devised to murder the king by craft and poison. They +suborned certain evil-doers, whose names I do not know, by promises +of pennies and of land. These men they conveyed to the king's court, +arrayed in ragged raiment, the better to spy in what fashion +they might draw near his person and carry out their purpose. The +malefactors came to Verulam, but for all their cunning and craft of +tongues, in no way could they win anigh the king. They went to and fro +so often; they listened to the servitors' talk so readily; that in the +end they knew that the king drank nothing but cold water, that other +liquor never passed his lips. This water was grateful to his sickness. +It sprang from a well very near his hall, and of this water he drank +freely, for none other was to his mind. When these privy murderers +were persuaded that they might never come so close to the king's body +as to slay him with a knife, they sowed their poison in the well. They +lurked secretly about the country, until it came to their ears when +and how he died, and then fled incontinent whence they came. Presently +the king was athirst, and called for drink. His cupbearer gave him +water, laced with venom, from the spring. Uther drank of the cup, and +was infected by the plague, so that there was no comfort for him save +in death. His body swelled, becoming foul and black, and very soon +he died. Right quickly all those who drank of the water from that +fountain died of the death from which their lord lay dead. After this +thing became known, and the malice of these evil-doers was made clear, +the burgesses of the city met together, and choked the well for +evermore. They cast therein so much earth, that a pyre stood above +the source, as a witness to this deed. Uther the king having fallen +asleep, his body was borne to Stonehenge, and laid to rest close by +Aurelius, his brother; the brethren lying side by side. The bishops +and barons of the realm gathered themselves together, and sent +messages to Arthur, Uther's son, bidding him to Cirencester to be made +their king. Arthur at the time of his coronation was a damoiseau of +some fifteen years, but tall and strong for his age. His faults and +virtues I will show you alike, for I have no desire to lead you astray +with words. He was a very virtuous knight, right worthy of praise, +whose fame was much in the mouths of men. To the haughty he was proud, +but tender and pitiful to the simple. He was a stout knight and a +bold: a passing crafty captain, as indeed was but just, for skill and +courage were his servants at need: and large of his giving. He was +one of Love's lovers; a lover also of glory; and his famous deeds are +right fit to be kept in remembrance. He ordained the courtesies of +courts, and observed high state in a very splendid fashion. So long as +he lived and reigned he stood head and shoulders above all princes +of the earth, both for courtesy and prowess, as for valour and +liberality. When this Arthur was freshly crowned king, of his own free +will he swore an oath that never should the Saxons have peace or rest +so long as they tarried in his realm. This he did by reason that for +a great while they had troubled the land, and had done his father and +his uncle to their deaths. Arthur called his meinie to his aid. He +brought together a fair company of warriors, bestowing on them largely +of his bounty, and promising to grant largely of the spoil. With this +host he hastened into the land that lay about York, Colgrin--who was +the chief and captain of these Saxons since the slaying of Octa--had +many Picts and Scots in his fellowship, besides a goodly company of +his own people. He desired nothing more hotly than to meet Arthur in +battle, and to abate his pride. The armies drew together upon the +banks of the Douglas. The two hosts fell one upon the other furiously, +and many a sergeant perished that day, by reason of lance thrust, or +quarrel, or dart. At the end Colgrin was discomfited, and fled from +the field. Arthur followed swiftly after, striving to come upon his +adversary, before he might hide him in York. But Colgrin, for all his +pains, took refuge in the city; so Arthur sat him down without the +walls. + +Now Baldulph, the brother of Colgrin, tamed by the shore, awaiting the +coming of Cheldric, the king, and his Saxons from Germany. When he +heard the tidings of what had befallen Colgrin at the Ford of Douglas, +and of how he was holden straitly by Arthur in York, he was passing +heavy and sorrowful, for with this Colgrin was all his hope. Baldulph +made no further tarrying for Cheldric. He broke up his camp, and +marching towards York, set his comrades in ambush, within a deep +wood, some five miles from the host. Together with the folk of his +household, and the strangers of his fellowship, Baldulph had in his +company six thousand men in mail. He trusted to fall upon Arthur by +night, when he was unready, and force him to give over the siege. But +certain of the country who had spied Baldulph spread this snare, ran +to the king, and showed him of the matter. Arthur, knowing of the +malice of Baldulph, took counsel with Cador, Earl of Cornwall, a brave +captain, who had no fear of death. He delivered to the earl's care +seven hundred horsemen, and of spearmen three thousand, and sent him +secretly to fall upon Baldulph in his lurking place. Cador did the +king's bidding. The Saxons heard no rumour of his coming, for the host +drew to the wood privily without trumpet or battle cry. Then when +Cador was near the foe, he cried his name, and burst fiercely upon the +heathen with the sword. In this combat there perished of the Saxons +more than three thousand men. Had it not been for the darkness of the +night, and the hindrance of the wood, not one might have fled on his +feet. Baldulph, the cunning captain, got him safely from the field, by +hiding beneath every bush and brake. He had lost the fairer and the +stronger half of his meinie, and was at his wits' end to know how to +take counsel with his brother, or to come to his aid. But speak with +him he would, so that craft and courage might find a way. Baldulph +devised to seek the besiegers' camp in the guise of a jongleur. He +arrayed himself in all points as a harper, for he knew well how to +chant songs and lays, and to touch the strings tunably. For his +brother's sake he made himself as a fool. He shaved off one half of +his beard and moustache, and caused the half of his head to be polled +likewise. He hung a harp about his neck, and showed in every respect +as a lewd fellow and a jester. Baldulph presently went forth from his +abode, being known again of none. He went to and fro harping on his +harp, till he stood beneath the walls of the city. The warders on the +towers hearkened to his speech, so that they drew him up by cords upon +the wall. At Baldulph's tale the folk within the city despaired of +succour, and knew not how to flee, nor where to escape. In their +extremity the news was bruited amongst them that Cheldric had come to +a haven in Scotland, with a fleet of five hundred galleys, and was +speeding to York. Cheldric knew and was persuaded that Arthur dared +not abide his onset. This was a right judgment, for Arthur made haste +to begone. The king called a council of his captains, and by their +rede decided not to await Cheldric at York, neither to give him +battle, because of the proud and marvellous host that was with him, +"Let the king fall back upon London," said the lords, "and summon +his meinie about him. The king's power will increase daily, and if +Cheldric have the hardihood to follow, with the more confidence we +shall fight." Arthur took his captains at their word. He let well the +siege, and came to London, that he might strengthen his castle, choose +his own battle ground, and trouble his adversary the more surely. +Arthur, by the rede of his counsellors, sent letters to his nephew, +the son of his sister, Hoel, King of Little Britain. For in that +country dwelt many strong barons, sib to his flesh, and the stoutest +knights of his race. In these letters, and by the mouth of his +ambassadors, Arthur prayed the king to hasten to his rescue. If Hoel +came not swiftly over sea--wrote the king--certainly his realm would +be taken from him, and shame would always be on those who watched +tamely their cousin stripped of his heritage. + +When this bitter cry came to Hoel he sought neither hindrance nor +excuse. His vassals and kinsmen got in their harness forthwith. They +arrayed their ships, and set thereon the stores. Within these ships +there entered twelve thousand knights alone, without taking count of +the sergeants and archers. So in a good hour they crossed the sea, +coming with a fair wind to the port of Southampton. Arthur welcomed +them with great joy, showing them the honour which it became him to +offer. They made no long tarrying at Southampton, nor wasted the day +in fair words and idle courtesies. The king had summoned his vassals, +and had brought together his household. Without speeches and blowings +of trumpets the two hosts set forth together towards Lincoln, which +Cheldric had besieged but had not yet taken. Arthur came swiftly and +secretly upon Cheldric. He fell silently upon the Saxons, making no +stir with horns and clarions. King Arthur and his men slew so many in +so grim and stark a fashion, that never was seen such slaughter, such +sorrow and destruction, as they made of the Saxons in one single day. +The Saxons thought only of flight. They stripped off their armour to +run the more lightly, and abandoned their horses on the field +Some fled to the mountains, others by the valleys, and many flung +themselves into the river, and were drowned miserably, striving to get +them from their foe. The Britons followed hotly at their heels, giving +the quarry neither rest nor peace. They struck many a mighty blow with +the sword, on the heads, the necks, and bodies of their adversaries. +The chase endured from Lincoln town to the wood of Cehdon. The Saxons +took refuge within the thick forest, and drew together the remnants of +their power. For their part, the Britons watched the wood, and held +it very strictly. Now Arthur feared lest the Saxons should steal +from their coverts by night, and escape from his hand. He commanded, +therefore, his meinie to cut down the trees on the skirts of the +forest. These trunks he placed one upon another, lacing the branches +fast together, and enclosing his foe. Then he sat down on the further +side of his barrier, so that none might issue forth, nor enter in. +Those within the wood were altogether dismayed, since they might +neither eat nor drink. There was no man so cunning or strong, so rich +or valiant, who could devise to carry bread and wine, flesh and flour, +for their sustenance. Three days they endured without food, till Thur +bodies were weak with hunger. Since they would not die of famine, and +might not win forth from the wood by arms, they took counsel as to +what it were well to do. They approached Arthur, praying him to keep +raiment and harness and all that they had, saving only their ships, +and let them depart to their own land. They promised to put hostages +in his power, and render a yearly tribute of their wealth, so only the +king allowed them to go on foot to the shore, and enter naked in the +ships. Arthur set faith in their word. He gave them leave to depart, +receiving hostages for assurance of their covenant. He rendered them +the ships, but kept their armour as a spoil, so that they left the +realm without a mantle to their bodies, or a sword for their defence. +The Saxons set out across the water, until their sails were lost to +sight. I know not what was their hope, nor the name of him who put it +in their mind, but they turned their boats, and passed through the +channel between England and Normandy. With sail and oar they came to +the land of Devon, casting anchor in the haven of Totnes. The heathen +breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the folk of the +country. They poured forth from their ships, and scattered themselves +abroad amongst the people, searching out arms and raiment, firing +homesteads and slaying Christian men. They passed to and fro about the +country, carrying off all they found beneath their hands. Not only did +they rob the hind of his weapon, but they slew him on his hearth with +his own knife. Thus throughout Somerset and a great part of Dorset, +these pirates spoiled and ravaged at their pleasure, finding none to +hinder them at their task. For the barons who might have made head +against them were in Scotland with the king. So by road and country, +laden with raiment and all manner of spoil, the Saxons came from their +ships to Bath. But the citizens of the town shut fast their gates, and +defended the walls against them. + +Arthur was in Scotland, punishing the folk of that realm, because +of the war they had made upon him, and of the aid they had afforded +Cheldric. When the king learned what mischief the pagans had done to +his land, and of the siege they laid to Bath, he hanged his hostages +straightway. He dared tarry no longer in Scotland, but hastened south, +leaving Hoel of Brittany lying sick at Dumbarton, I know not of what +infirmity. With what men he might, Arthur came to Bath as swiftly as +he was able, since he was resolved to chase the Saxons from before the +gates, and succour the burgesses of his city. Now, near this town a +wood stands within a wide country, and there Arthur arranged his men +and ordered the battle. He saw to the arming of his meinie, and for +himself got him into his harness. Arthur donned thigh pieces of steel, +wrought strong and fairly by some cunning smith. His hauberk was stout +and richly chased, even such a vesture as became so puissant a king. +He girt him with his sword, Excalibur. Mighty was the glaive, and +long in the blade. It was forged in the Isle of Avalon, and he who +brandished it naked in his hand deemed himself a happy man. His helmet +gleamed upon his head. The nasal was of gold; circlets of gold adorned +the headpiece, with many a clear stone, and a dragon was fashioned for +its crest. This helm had once been worn by Uther, his sire. The king +was mounted on a destrier, passing fair, strong, and speedy, loving +well the battle. He had set his shield about his neck, and, certes, +showed a stout champion, and a right crafty captain. On the buckler +was painted in sweet colours the image of Our Lady St. Mary. In her +honour and for remembrance, Arthur bore her semblance on his shield. +In his hand the king carried his lance, named Ron. Sharp it was at +the head, tough and great, and very welcome at need in the press of +battle. Arthur gave his commands to his captains, and ordained the +order of the combat. He caused his host to march in rank and company +at a slow pace towards the foe, so that when the battle was joined +none might flinch but that he was sustained of his comrades. The host +drew near to a certain mountain of those parts, and began to climb the +hill. The Saxons held this mountain strongly, and defended the height, +as though they were shut fast and safely behind walls. Small cause had +the heathen for such assurance of safety, for a mighty captain was +upon them, who would not endure their presence in his realm. Arthur +led his spearmen upon the slope, and there admonished his men. +"Behold," said he, "and see before you those false and scornful +heathen, who have destroyed and ravished your kith and kin, your near +ones and neighbours, and on your own goods and bodies have done so +much mischief. Avenge now your friends and your kinsfolk; avenge the +great ruin and burnings; avenge all the loss and the travail that for +so long a space we have suffered at their hands. For myself this day +I will avenge me for all these bitter wrongs. I will avenge the oaths +these perjurers have broken. I will silence the crying of my fathers' +blood. This day I will exact the price for all they have cost me in +loss and in sorrows, and avenge the bad faith which led them to return +to Totnes. If but this day we bear us in the battle like men, and +smite the heathen in their fastness, never again will they array +themselves proudly against us, but will be for ever before us as naked +men without a shield." With these words Arthur set his buckler before +him, and hastened to the playing of the swords. I know not the name +of the Saxon who ran upon him in the stour, but the king smote him so +fiercely that he died. Before Arthur passed across the body he cried +aloud, "God aid, Saint Mary succour. He gives twice," said he, gaily, +"who gives quickly. Here lies one whose lodging for the night I have +paid." When the Britons saw this deed they aided the king mightily, +beating down and slaying the Saxons very grievously. They pressed upon +them from every side, thrusting shrewdly with the spear, and striking +lustily with the sword. Arthur was of marvellous hardihood. Strong +beyond the common strength and of great prowess, with lifted shield +and terrible sword he hewed a path towards the summit of the mount. He +struck to right and to left, slaying many, so that the press gave back +before so stout a champion. To himself alone he slew four hundred +heathen that day, working them more mischief than was done by all his +men. To an evil end came the captains of these Saxons. Baldulph lay +dead upon the mount, and dead also was Colgrin. Cheldric and some +others fled from the field, and would have got them to their ships +that they might enter therein and garnish for their needs. + +When Arthur heard tidings of Cheldric's flight, and that he sought +again his ships, he bade Cador of Cornwall to follow swiftly after the +fugitives, giving ten thousand horsemen to his keeping chosen from his +best and closest friends. For his part, Arthur himself turned his face +to Scotland; for a messenger came who told that the wild Scots held +Hoel close within his city, and for a little would take him where he +lay. Cheldric made in all haste to his ships, but Cador was a crafty +captain, and by a way that he knew well he rode swiftly to Totnes, +before Cheldric might come to the town. He seized the galleys, manning +them with archers and country folk, and then hastened hotly on the +track of the fugitives. Two by two, and three by three, these drew +near the shore, as best they might hide them from the pursuers. To go +the more lightly, to run the more nimbly, they had thrown away their +harness, and carried nothing save their swords. They pained themselves +to get to the ships, deeming that if they might enter therein their +troubles would be at an end. As they strove to ford the river Teign, +Cador, the huntsman, came winding upon their slot. The Saxons were +dismayed beyond measure, and without stay or delay fled from their +foe. Cador lighted upon Cheldric in the steep mountain, called +Tenedic, and slew him in that place. As Cador came on Cheldric's +companions he killed them with the sword, in sore sorrow. For those +who escaped from Cador they made their way from every part to the +ships. There they were slain by the archers, or perished miserably in +the sea. The Britons took no captives, he who cried for mercy perished +alike with him who strove with his sword. The rest of the Saxons fled +to the coverts of the woods and the mountains, by large companies. In +such desolate and waste places they lurked and hid from their enemies +until hunger and thirst put a term to their miseries. + +When Cador had made an end of his slaying, and given quiet to the +land, he followed after Arthur, and took the road towards Scotland. He +came upon the king at Dumbarton, where he had brought succour to +his nephew, Hoel of Brittany. Arthur found Hoel safe in body and in +wealth, and altogether whole of his infirmity. The Scots had departed +from before the city when they heard that Arthur drew near, and +hastening to Murray, made strong the towers, and set barriers at the +gates. This they did because they were resolved to await Arthur in the +city, thinking to hold themselves against him behind the walls. Arthur +knew well that the Scots were gathered together to make head against +him in that place. He came therefore to Murray with all his power, but +they dared not abide his coming, and for dread fled to Lake Lomond, +scattering themselves abroad amongst the isles thereof. Passing wide +and deep is this fair mere. From the hills and valleys round about +sixty rivers fall therein, and making together one sweet water, pass +swiftly by a single river to the sea. Sixty islands lie upon this +water, the haunt and home of innumerable birds. Each island holds an +eyrie, where none but eagles repair to build their nests, to cry and +fight together, and take their solace from the world. When evil folk +arrive to raven and devour the realm, then all these eagles gather +themselves together, making great coil and clamour, and arraying +themselves proudly one against another. One day, or two days, three or +four, the mighty birds will strive together; and the interpretation +thereof portends horror and grim destruction amongst men. + +On this fair lake the Scots sought hiding, going and coming upon its +waters Arthur followed swiftly after. He caused to be made shallops, +barges, and light, speedy boats, and harassed them grievously in their +refuge. By reason of famine and the sword, they died by twenties, by +hundreds, and by thousands in those secret ways. + +Now Guillomer, a certain king from Ireland, wishful to aid the Scots +in this quarrel, drew towards Arthur with his host. Arthur went his +way to give him battle. When the battle was joined the Irish king was +discomfited anon. He and his men fled to their ships, getting them +back to Ireland, and Arthur came again to the mere, where he had left +his harrying of the Scots. + +Then the bishops and abbots of the realm, with divers monks and other +orders, carrying in their hands bodies of the saints and many holy +relics, came before the king beseeching him to show mercy on the +Scots. With these went a pitiful company of ladies of that country, +naked of foot, spoiled of visage, with streaming hair and rent +raiment, bearing their babes in their bosoms. These with tears and +shrill lamentations fell at Arthur's knees right humbly, weeping, +clamouring, and imploring his grace. "Sire, gentle king, have mercy +and pity," cried these lamentable women, "on this wasted land, and on +those wretched men who are dying of hunger and misery. If thou hast no +bowels of pity for the fathers, look, sire, and behold these babes +and these mothers; regard their sons and their daughters, and all +the distressful folk thou art bringing down to death. Give again the +fathers to the little children, restore to the ladies their husbands, +and to this sad company of damsels return their brothers and their +lords. Have we not paid enough by reason of the Saxon passing this +way? It was not for our pleasure they sojourned awhile in the land. We +went the more heavily for their presence, for much pain and sorrow we +suffered because of the heathen, and passing weary were we of their +speech. If we sheltered them in our houses, the greater sorrow is +ours, since we have endured the more at their hands. Our beasts they +have slain and eaten; and for our goods, these they have taken, and +sent the gear into their own realm. There was none to help us, nor +was any man so strong as to deliver us from their power. Sire, if we +prepared them a feast, it was because we feared to drink their wine +cup to the dregs. Might was theirs, and we were as the captive who +sees no succour on the road. These Saxons were pagan men. Thy servants +are Christians. Therefore the heathen oppressed us the more mightily, +and laid the heavier burdens upon us. But great as was the mischief +these Saxons wrought us, thou hast done us the sorer harm. Theirs +were the whips, but thine are the stinging scorpions. It should prove +little honour to the Christian king that he slay by hunger amongst +these rocks those folk who cry his pardon for their trespass. We die, +sire, of famine and of all misease. Nothing is left us save cold and +wretchedness. Thou hast overcome us, every one; destroy us not from +the land, but suffer us to live of thy bounty. Grant that we and all +our race--so it be thy pleasure--may find peace in the king's service. +Have mercy on thy poor Christians. We hold the faith that you, too, +count dear. How foully then should Christianity be wronged, if you +destroy the whole realm. Alas, has not mischief enough been wrought +already!" Arthur was tender of heart and marvellously pitiful. He took +compassion on this doleful company of ladies, and by reason of those +holy bodies of the saints and those fair prelates, he granted life and +member to his captives, and forgave them their debts. + +The Scots, having done homage to the king and owned themselves his +men, departed, and went their way. Hoel gazed long upon the mere, +calling to him the folk of his house. He wondered exceedingly because +of the grandeur of the lake, and because of the greatness of the +water. He marvelled altogether to behold so many islands therein, and +at the rocks thereof. He was astonied beyond measure at the number of +the eagles and their eyries, at the clamour and the shrilling of +their cries. He deemed in his heart that never had he gazed upon so +beautiful a sight. "Hoel, fair nephew," said Arthur, "very marvellous +this water seems in your eyes. Your astonishment will be the more when +you look upon yet another mere that I know. Near this lake, in this +very country, lies a water held in a cup, not round but square. This +pond is twenty feet in length, twenty in breadth, and the water +thereof is five feet deep. In the four corners of this pond are many +fish of divers fashions. These fish pass never from their corner to +another. Yet none can certify by touch or sight whether craft keeps +these fish each in his place, or what is that hindrance they may not +overcome. Yea, I cannot tell whether the pond was digged by the wit of +man, or if Nature shaped it to her will. Moreover I know of another +mere, whereof you would be more amazed than of both these marvels. +This lake is close by the Severn in the land of Wales. The sea pours +its tide into this lake; yet empty itself as it may, the waters of the +lake remain ever at the same height, never more and never less. The +ocean itself may not suffice to heap its waters above the lake, +neither to cover its shores. Yet at the ebbing of the tide, when the +sea turns to flee, then the lake spues forth the water it has taken to +its belly, so that the banks are swallowed up, the great waves rise +tall in their wrath, and the wide fields round about are hid, and all +is sodden with the foam. The folk of that country tell that should a +man stare upon the wave in its anger, so that his vesture and body be +wetted of the spray, then, whatever be his strength, the water will +draw him to itself, for it is mightier than he. Many a man has +struggled and fallen on the brink, and been drowned in its clutch. But +if a man turn his back upon the water, then he may stand safely upon +the bank, taking his pleasure as long as he will. The wave will pass +by him, doing him no mischief; he will not be wetted even of the +flying foam." So Hoel marvelled greatly at these wonders told him by +the king. Then Arthur bade sound his horns, his clarions and trumpets +to call his meinie to himself. He granted leave to all but the folk of +his privy household to return to their homes. The host went therefore +each to his own place, loudly praising the king. Even in Brittany men +told that there was no more valiant captain than he. + +Arthur turned south to York, abiding there till Christmas was past. He +kept the Feast of the Nativity within its walls. He marked clearly the +weakness and impoverishment of the city, and how deeply it was fallen +from its former state. The churches were empty and silent; whilst for +the houses they were either breached or fallen to the ground. The +king appointed Pyramus, a learned clerk who had been diligent in his +service, to the vacant see, so that the chapels might be maintained, +and those convents built anew which the heathen had destroyed. Arthur +commanded that the criers should proclaim that all honest folk must +return to their toil. He sent messages to every place, bidding those +who were dispossessed of their lands to repair to his court. There he +gave them again their heritage, and confirmed them in their fiefs and +rents. Now there were three brethren of right good birth and high +peerage, kin to many a fair family, having to name Lot, Aguisel, +and Urian. The forefather of these lords was the earl of that great +country beyond the Humber; and these in their turn held justly their +father's lands, doing wrong to none. Arthur rendered these brothers +their own, and restored them their heritage. On Urian, as head of his +house, Arthur bestowed the province of Murray, and without fee or +recompense proclaimed him king of that realm. Scotland was given to +Aguisel, who claimed it as his fief. As for Lot, who had the king's +sister to wife, Arthur confirmed him in that kingdom of Lyones, which +he had held for a great while, and gave him many another earldom +besides. This Lot was the father of Gawain, who as yet was a +damoiseau, young and debonair. + +When Arthur had settled his realm in peace, righted all wrongs, and +restored the kingdom to its ancient borders, he took to wife a certain +fresh and noble maiden, named Guenevere, making her his queen. This +damsel was passing fair of face and courteous, very gracious of +manner, and come of a noble Roman house. Cador had nourished this lady +long and richly in his earldom of Cornwall. The maiden was the +earl's near cousin, for by his mother he, too, was of Roman blood. +Marvellously dainty was the maiden in person and vesture; right +queenly of bearing, passing sweet and ready of tongue. Arthur +cherished her dearly, for his love was wonderfully set upon the +damsel, yet never had they a child together, nor betwixt them might +get an heir. + +As soon as winter was gone, and the warm days were come when it was +good to wend upon the sea, Arthur made ready his ships to cross the +straits to Ireland and conquer the land. Arthur made no long tarrying. +He brought together the most lusty warriors of his realm, both poor +and rich, all of the people who were most vigorous and apt in war. +With these he passed into Ireland, and sent about the country seeking +provand for his host. So the sergeants took seisin of cows and oxen, +and brought to the camp in droves all that was desirable for meat. +Guillomer, the king of that realm, heard that Arthur had fastened +this quarrel upon him. He hearkened to the cries and the tidings, the +plaints and the burdens, raised by those villeins whose granges and +bields were pillaged for the sustenance of his foes. Guillomer went +forth to give battle to Arthur, but in an ill hour he drew to the +field. His men were naked to their adversaries, having neither helmets +nor coats of leather nor shields. They knew nothing of archery, and +were ignorant of catapults and slings. The Britons were mighty bowmen. +They shot their shafts thickly amongst their enemies, so that the +Irish dared not show their bodies, and might find no shelter. The +Irish could endure the arrows no longer. They fled from the fight, +taking refuge where they were able. They hid in woods and thickets, in +towns and in houses, seeking refuge from the stour. Right grievous was +their discomfiture. Guillomer, their king, sought shelter within a +forest, but his fate was upon him, and he might not conceal him from +his foes. Arthur searched him out so diligently, following so hotly on +his track, that at the last he was taken captive. Guillomer did very +wisely. He paid fealty and homage to Arthur, and owned that of him he +held his heritage. Moreover he put hostages within Arthur's power, for +surety that he would render a yearly tribute to the king. When Arthur +had subdued Ireland, he went further and came even so far as Iceland. +He brought the land in subjection to himself, so that the folk thereof +owned themselves his men, and granted him the lordship. Now three +princes, by name Gonfal, King of the Orkneys, Doldamer, King of +Gothland, and Romarec, King of Finland, heard the rumour of these +deeds. They sent spies to Iceland, and learned from their messengers +that Arthur was making ready his host to pass the sea, and despoil +them of their realms. In all the world--said these messengers--there +was no such champion, nor so crafty a captain in the ordering of war. +These three kings feared mightily in case Arthur should descend upon +them, and waste their land. Lest a worse thing should befall them, +with no compulsion and of their own free wills, they set forth for +Iceland and came humbly before the king. They gave of their substance +rich gifts and offerings, and kneeling before Arthur did him fealty, +putting their countries between his hands, and proclaiming themselves +his men. They owned that of grace they held their inheritance, they +swore to render tribute to his treasury, and gave hostages for +assurance of their covenant. So they departed in peace to their own +place. For his part Arthur came again to his ships. He returned to +England, where he was welcomed of his people with marvellous joy. +Twelve years he abode in his realm in peace and content, since none +was so bold as to do him a mischief, and he did mischief to none. +Arthur held high state in a very splendid fashion. He ordained the +courtesies of courts, and bore himself with so rich and noble a +bearing, that neither the emperor's court at Rome, nor any other +bragged of by man, was accounted as aught besides that of the king. +Arthur never heard speak of a knight in praise, but he caused him to +be numbered of his household. So that he might he took him to himself, +for help in time of need. Because of these noble lords about his hall, +of whom each knight pained himself to be the hardiest champion, and +none would count him the least praiseworthy, Arthur made the Round +Table, so reputed of the Britons. This Round Table was ordained of +Arthur that when his fair fellowship sat to meat their chairs should +be high alike, their service equal, and none before or after his +comrade. Thus no man could boast that he was exalted above his fellow, +for all alike were gathered round the board, and none was alien at +the breaking of Arthur's bread. At this table sat Britons, Frenchmen, +Normans, Angevins, Flemings, Burgundians, and Loherins. Knights had +their plate who held land of the king, from the furthest marches of +the west even unto the Hill of St. Bernard. A most discourteous lord +would he be deemed who sojourned not awhile in the king's hall, who +came not with the countenance, the harness, and the vesture that were +the garb and usage of those who served Arthur about his court. From +all the lands there voyaged to this court such knights as were in +quest either of gain or worship. Of these lords some drew near to hear +tell of Arthur's courtesies; others to marvel at the pride of his +state; these to have speech with the knights of his chivalry; and some +to receive of his largeness costly gifts. For this Arthur in his day +was loved right well of the poor, and honoured meetly by the rich. +Only the kings of the world bore him malice and envy, since they +doubted and feared exceedingly lest he should set his foot upon them +every one, and spoil them of their heritage. + +I know not if you have heard tell the marvellous gestes and errant +deeds related so often of King Arthur. They have been noised about +this mighty realm for so great a space that the truth has turned to +fable and an idle song. Such rhymes are neither sheer bare lies, nor +gospel truths. They should not be considered either an idiot's tale, +or given by inspiration. The minstrel has sung his ballad, the +storyteller told over his story so frequently, little by little he +has decked and painted, till by reason of his embellishment the truth +stands hid in the trappings of a tale. Thus to make a delectable tune +to your ear, history goes masking as fable. Hear then how, because of +his valour, the counsel of his barons, and in the strength of that +mighty chivalry he had cherished and made splendid, Arthur purposed to +cross the sea and conquer the land of France. But first he deemed to +sail to Norway, since he would make Lot, his sister's lord, its king. +Sichelm, the King of Norway, was newly dead, leaving neither son nor +daughter of his body. In the days of his health, as alike when he fell +on death, Sichelm had appointed Lot to succeed him in his realm and +fief. The crown was Lot's by right, even as Sichelm proclaimed, since +Lot was the king's nephew, and there was no other heir. When the folk +of Norway learned that Sichelm had bequeathed his realm to Lot, they +held his command and ordinance in derision. They would have no alien +for their lord, nor suffer a stranger to meddle in their business, +lest he should deem them an ancient and feeble people, and give to +outland folk what was due to the dwellers in the realm. The Norwegians +resolved to make king one of their own house, that he might cherish +them and their children, and for this reason they chose from amongst +them a certain lord named Ridulph to be their king. + +When Lot perceived that his right was despised, save that he took his +heritage by force, he sought help of Arthur, his lord. Arthur agreed +to aid him in his quarrel, promising to render him his own, and to +avenge him bitterly on Ridulph. Arthur gathered together many ships +and a mighty host. He entered into Norway with this great company, +wasting the land, seizing on the manors, and spoiling the towns. +Ridulph was no trembler, and had no thought to leave the country to +its fate. He assembled his people, and prepared to give battle to the +king. Since however his carles were not many, and his friends but few, +Ridulph was defeated in the fight and slain. The greater part of his +fellowship perished with him, so that no large number remained. In +this manner Lot the King of Lyones destroyed the Norwegians from the +land. Having delivered Norway from itself Arthur granted the kingdom +to Lot, so only that he did Arthur homage as his lord. Amongst the +barons who rode in this adventure was Gawain, the hardy and famous +knight, who had freshly come from St. Sulpicius the Apostle, whose +soul may God give rest and glory. The knight wore harness bestowed on +him by the Apostle, and wondrously was he praised. This Gawain was a +courteous champion, circumspect in word and deed, having no pride nor +blemish in him. He did more than his boast, and gave more largely +than he promised. His father had sent him to Rome, that he might be +schooled the more meetly. Gawain was dubbed knight in the same day as +Wavain, and counted himself of Arthur's household. Mightily he strove +to do his devoir in the field, for the fairer service and honour of +his lord. + +After Arthur had conquered Norway, and firmly established his justice +in the land, he chose of his host those men who were the most valiant +and ready in battle, and assembled them by the sea. He brought to the +same haven many ships and barges, together with such mariners as were +needful for his purpose. When a quiet time was come, with a fortunate +wind, Arthur crossed the sea into Denmark; for the realm was very +greatly to his desire. Acil, the Danish king, considered the Britons +and the folk from Norway. He considered Arthur, who had prevailed +against so many kings. Acil knew and was persuaded that Arthur was +mightier than he. He had no mind to suffer hurt himself, or to see his +goodly heritage spoiled in a useless quarrel. What did it profit to +waste wealth and honour alike, to behold slain friends and ruined +towers? Acil wrought well and speedily. He sought peace, and ensued +it. He gave costly gifts, and made promises which were larger still, +till by reason of his words, his prayers, and supplications, concord +was established between Arthur and the king. Acil paid fealty and +homage, he became Arthur's man, and owned that of Arthur's grace he +held his fief. King Arthur rejoiced greatly at this adventure, and of +the conquest he had made. He desired honour the more greedily because +of the worship he had gained. From out of Denmark he chose, by +hundreds and by thousands, the stoutest knights and archers he could +find. These he joined to his host, purposing to lead this fair company +into France. Without any long tarrying the king acted on his purpose. +Towns, cities, and castles fell before him, so that Flanders and +the country about Boulogne were speedily in his power. Arthur was a +prudent captain. He perceived no profit in wasting his own realm, +burning his towns, and stealing from his very purse. His eyes were in +every place, and much was forbidden by his commandment. No soldier +might rob nor pill. If there was need of raiment, meat, or provand, +then must he buy with good minted coin in the market. Nothing he dared +to destroy or steal. + +Now in Arthur's day the land of France was known as Gaul. The realm +had neither king nor master, for the Romans held it strongly as a +province. This province was committed to the charge of Frollo, and the +tribune had governed the country for a great space. He took rent and +tribute of the people, and in due season caused the treasure to be +delivered to the emperor at Rome. Thus had it been since the time of +Caesar, that mighty emperor, who brought into subjection France and +Germany, and all the land of Britain. Frollo was a very worthy lord, +come of a noble Roman race, fearful of none, however hardy. He knew +well, by divers letters, the loss and the mischief done by Arthur and +his host. Frollo had no mind tamely to watch the Romans lose their +heritage. The tribune summoned to his aid all the men abiding in the +province who carried arms and owned fealty to Rome. He assembled these +together, ordaining a great company, clad in harness and plenteously +supplied with stores. With these he went out to battle against Arthur, +but he prospered less than his merit deserved. The Roman tribune was +discomfited so grievously that he sought safety in flight. Of his +fellowship he had lost a great number. Many were slain outright in +battle, others were sorely wounded, or made captive, or returned +sorrowing to their own homes. Out of the meinie Frollo had gathered +from so many cities, more than two thousand were destroyed. This was +no great marvel, since the count of Arthur's host was more than Frollo +might endure. From every land he had subdued to himself, from every +city that was taken, Arthur saw to it that not a spearman nor knight +of fitting years and strength of body, but was numbered in the host, +and commanded to serve Arthur as his lord Of these outland folk, +Arthur chose a fair company of the hardiest knights and most proven +champions to be of his private household. The very French began to +regard him as their king, so only that they had the courage of their +minds. This man loved him for his wise and comely speech this by +reason of his liberal hand: this because of his noble and upright +spirit Whether men were driven to his presence by fear, or considered +him a refuge in the storm, all found cause enough to seek his court, +to make their peace, and to acknowledge him as their suzerain. Now +Frollo, after his discomfiture by the king, fled to Paris with all +the speed he might, making no stop upon the road. The tribune feared +Arthur and his power very sorely, and since he sought a fortress to +defend his person, he would not trust his fortune to any other city. +He resolved, therefore, to await Arthur within Paris, and to fight the +king beneath the walls Frollo called to himself such legions as were +yet in towns near by. Because of the number of the fugitives who were +come to that place, together with the burgesses abiding therein, a +great concourse of people filled the city. All these folk toiled +diligently to furnish the city with corn and meat, and to make sure +the walls and gates against their foes. + +Arthur learned that Frollo was making strong his towers, and filling +the barns with victuals. He drew to Paris, and sat down without the +city. He lodged his men in the suburbs beyond the walls, holding the +town so close that food might not enter whether by the river or the +gates. Arthur shut the city fast for more than a month, since the +French defended them well and manfully. A mighty multitude was crowded +within the walls, and there was a plentiful lack of meat. All the +provand bought and gathered together in so short a space was quickly +eaten and consumed, and the folk were afterwards a-hungered. There was +little flesh, but many bellies; so that the women and children made +much sorrow Had the counsel of the poor been taken, right soon would +the keys of the city have been rendered. "Diva," clamoured the +famished citizens, "what doest thou, Frollo? Why requirest thou not +peace at Arthur's hand?" Frollo regarded the common people who failed +for famine. He looked upon the folk dying by reason of their hunger, +and knew that they would have him yield the city. Frollo perceived +that of a surety the end of all was come. The tribune chose to put +his own body in peril--yea, rather to taste of death, than to abandon +Paris to her leaguers. Frollo had full assurance of Arthur's rectitude +In the simplicity of his heart he sent urgent messages to the king, +praying him to enter in the Island, that body to body they might bring +their quarrel to an end. He who prevailed over his fellow, and came +living from the battle, should take the whole realm as his own and +receive all France for his guerdon. Thus the land would not perish, +nor the folk be utterly destroyed. Arthur hearkened willingly to the +heralds, for very greatly was their message to his mind. He accorded +that the battle should be between the two captains, even as Frollo +desired. Gauntlets were taken from one and the other, and hostages +given on behalf of Paris and on the part of the besiegers for better +assurance of the covenant that was made. + +On the morrow the two champions arrayed them in harness, and coming to +the Island, entered boldly in the lists. The banks were filled with a +mighty concourse of people, making great tumult. Not a man or woman +remained that day in his chamber. They climbed upon the walls, and +thronged the roofs of the houses, crying upon God, and adjuring Him +by His holy Name to give victory to him who would guard the realm in +peace, and preserve the poor from war Arthur's meinie, for their part, +awaited the judgment of God, in praying the King of Glory to bestow +the prize and honour on their lord. The two champions were set over +against the other, laced each in his mail, and seated on his warhorse. +The strong destriers were held with bit and bridle, so eager were they +for the battle. The riders bestrode the steeds with lifted shields, +brandishing great lances in their hands. It was no easy matter to +perceive--however curiously men looked--which was the stouter knight, +or to judge who would be victor in the joust. Certainly each was a +very worthy lord and a right courageous champion. When all was made +ready the knights struck spurs to their steeds, and loosing the rein +upon the horses' necks, hurtled together with raised buckler and lance +in rest. They smote together with marvellous fierceness. Whether by +reason of the swerving of his destrier, I cannot tell, but Frollo +failed of his stroke Arthur, on his side, smote the boss of his +adversary's shield so fairly, that he bore him over his horse's +buttock, as long as the ash staff held Arthur drew forth his sword, +and hastened to Frollo to bring the battle to an end. Frollo climbed +stoutly on his feet. He held his lance before him like a rod, and the +king's steed ran upon the spear, so that it pierced deeply in his +body. Of this thrust the destrier and his rider alike came tumbling to +the ground. When the Britons saw this thing, they might not contain +themselves for grief. They cried aloud, and seizing their weapons, for +a little would have violated the love-day. They made ready to cross +the river to the Island, and to avenge their lord upon the Gauls. +Arthur cried loudly to his Britons to observe their covenant, +commanding that not a man should move to his help that day. He gripped +Excalibur sternly in his hand, resolving that Frollo should pay +dearly for his triumph. Arthur dressed his shield above his head, and +handselling his sword, rushed upon Frollo. Frollo was a passing good +knight, hardy and strong, in no whit dismayed by the anger of his +adversary. He raised his own glaive on high, striking fiercely at +Arthur's brow. Frollo was strong beyond the strength of man. His brand +was great and sharp, and the buffet was struck with all his power. The +blade sheared through helm and coif alike, so that King Arthur was +wounded in his forehead, and the blood ran down his face. + +When Arthur felt the dolour of his hurt, and looked upon his blood, he +desired nothing, save to wreak evil on the man who had wrought this +mischief. He pressed the more closely upon Frollo. Lifting Excalibur, +his good sword, in both hands, he smote so lustily that Frollo's head +was cloven down to his very shoulders. No helmet nor hauberk, whatever +the armourer's craft, could have given surety from so mighty a blow. +Blood and brains gushed from the wound. Frollo fell upon the ground, +and beating the earth a little with his chausses of steel, presently +died, and was still. + +When men saw this bitter stroke the burgesses and sergeants raised a +loud cry. Arthur's household rejoiced beyond measure; but those of +the city wept, making great sorrow for Frollo, their champion. +Nevertheless, the citizens of Paris ran to their gates. They set the +doors wide, and welcomed Arthur, his meinie, and company within their +walls. When Arthur perceived the French were desirous to offer him +their fealty, he suffered them so to do, taking hostages that they +would abide in peace. He lodged within the city certain days, and +appointed governors, for the assurance of his power. After quiet was +established, Arthur divided the host into two parts. The one of these +companies he delivered into the charge of Hoel, the king's nephew. +With the other half he devised to conquer Anjou, Auvergne, Gascony, +and Poitou; yea, to overrun Lorraine and Burgundy, if the task did +not prove beyond his power. Hoel did his lord's commandment, even as +Arthur purposed. He conquered Berri, and afterwards Touraine, Auvergne, +Poitou, and Gascony. Guitard, the King of Poitiers, was a valiant +captain, having good knights in his service. To uphold his realm and +his rights Guitard fought many a hard battle. The luck went this way +and that. Sometimes he was the hunter, sometimes the quarry: often he +prevailed, and often, again, he lost. At the end Guitard was persuaded +Arthur was the stronger lord, and that only by submission could he +keep his own. The land was utterly wasted and ravaged. Beyond the +walls of town and castle there was nothing left to destroy; and of all +the fair vineyards not a vine but was rooted from the ground. Guitard +made overtures of peace, and accorded himself with Hoel. He swore +Arthur fealty and homage, so that the king came to love him very +dearly. The other parcels of France Arthur conquered them every one by +his own power. When there was peace over all the country, so that none +dared lift a spear against the king, Arthur sought such men as were +grown old in his quarrels, and desired greatly to return to their +homes. To these feeble sergeants Arthur rendered their wages and +gifts, and sent them rejoicing from whence they had come. The knights +of his household, and such lusty youths as were desirous of honour, +having neither dame nor children to their hearths, Arthur held in his +service for yet nine years. During these nine years that Arthur abode +in France, he wrought divers great wonders, reproving many haughty +men and their tyrannies, and chastising many sinners after their +deservings. Now it befell that when Easter was come, Arthur held high +feast at Paris with his friends. On that day the king recompensed his +servants for their losses, and gave to each after his deserts. He +bestowed guerdon meetly on all, according to his zeal and the labour +he had done. To Kay, the master seneschal of his house, a loyal and +chivalrous knight, the king granted all Anjou and Angers. Bedevere, +the king's cupbearer and very privy counsellor, received that fief of +Normandy, which aforetime was called Neustria. These lords, Kay and +Bedevere, were Arthur's faithful friends, knowing the inmost counsel +of his mind. Boulogne was given to Holden: Le Mans to Borel, his +cousin. On each and all, according to his gentleness of heart and +diligence in his lord's service, Arthur bestowed honours and fees, and +granted largely of his lands. + +After Arthur thus had feoffed his lords, and given riches to his +friends, in April, when winter was gone, he passed the sea to England, +his own realm. Marvellous joy was shown of all good folk at the return +of the king. Dames held those husbands close from whom they had been +parted so long. Mothers kissed their sons, with happy tears upon their +cheeks. Sons and daughters embraced their fathers. Cousin clipped +cousin, and neighbour that friend who once was his companion. The +aunt made much of her sister's son. Ladies kissed long that lover who +returned from France, yea, when the place was meet, clasped him yet +more sweetly in their arms. Wondrous was the joy shown of all. In +the lanes and crossways, in the highways and by-ways, you might see +friends a many staying friend, to know how it fared with him, how +the land was settled when it was won, what adventures chanced to the +seeker, what profit clave to him thereof, and why he remained so great +a while beyond the sea. Then the soldier fought his battles once +again. He told over his adventures, he spoke of his hard and weary +combats, of the toils he had endured, and the perils from which he was +delivered. + +Arthur cherished tenderly his servants, granting largely, and +promising richly, to the worthy. He took counsel with his barons, and +devised that for the louder proclamation of his fame and wealth, he +would hold a solemn feast at Pentecost, when summer was come, and that +then in the presence of his earls and baronage he would be crowned +king. Arthur commanded all his lords on their allegiance to meet him +at Caerleon in Glamorgan. He desired to be crowned king in Caerleon, +because it was rich beyond other cities, and marvellously pleasant and +fair. Pilgrims told in those days that the mansions of Caerleon were +more desirable than the palaces of Rome. This rich city, Caerleon, was +builded on the Usk, a river which falls within the Severn. He who came +to the city from a strange land, might seek his haven by this fair +water. On one side of the town flowed this clear river; whilst on the +other spread a thick forest. Fish were very plentiful in the river, +and of venison the burgesses had no lack. Passing fair and deep were +the meadows about the city, so that the barns and granges were very +rich. Within the walls rose two mighty churches, greatly praised. One +of these famed churches was called in remembrance of Saint Julius the +Martyr, and held a convent of holy nuns for the fairer service of God. +The second church was dedicate to Saint Aaron, his companion. The +bishop had his seat therein. Moreover, this church was furnished with +many wealthy clergy and canons of seemly life. These clerks were +students of astronomy, concerning themselves diligently with the +courses of the stars. Often enough they prophesied to Arthur what the +future would bring forth, and of the deeds that he would do. So goodly +was the city, there was none more delectable in all the earth. Now by +reason of the lofty palaces, the fair woods and pastures, the ease and +content, and all the delights of which you have heard, Arthur desired +to hold his court at Caerleon, and to bid his barons to attend him +every one. He commanded, therefore, to the feast, kings and earls, +dukes and viscounts, knights and barons, bishops and abbots. Nor did +Arthur bid Englishmen alone, but Frenchman and Burgundian, Auvergnat +and Gascon, Norman and Poitivin, Angevin and Fleming, together with +him of Brabant, Hainault, and Lorraine, the king bade to his dinner. +Frisian and Teuton, Dane and Norwegian, Scot, Irish, and Icelander, +him of Cathness and of Gothland, the lords of Galway and of the +furthest islands of the Hebrides, Arthur summoned them all. When these +received the king's messages commanding them to his crowning, they +hastened to observe the feast as they were bidden, every one. From +Scotland came Aguisel the king, richly vested in his royal robes; +there, too, was Unan, King of Murief, together with his son Yvam the +courteous; Lot of Lyones also, to take a brave part in the revels, +and with him that very frank and gentle knight Gawain, his son. There +besides were Stater and Cadual, kings of South Wales and of North, +Cador of Cornwall, right near to Arthur's heart; Morud, Earl of +Gloucester; and Guerdon, Earl of Winchester. Anavalt came from +Salisbury, and Rimarec from Canterbury. Earl Baldulph drew from +Silchester, and Vigenin from Leicester. There, too, was Algal of +Guivic, a baron much held in honour by the court. Other lords were +there a many, in no wise of less reputation than their fellows. The +son of Po that was hight Donander; Regian, son of Abauder; Ceilus the +son of Coil, that son of Chater named Chatellus, Griffin, the heir of +Nagroil, Ron, the son of Neco; Margoil, Clefaut, Ringar, Angan, Rimar +and Gorbonian, Kinlint, Neco and that Peredur, whom men deemed to be +gotten by Eladur. Besides these princes there drew to Caerleon such +knights as were of the king's house, and served him about his court. +These were his chosen friends, who had their seats at the King's Round +Table, but more of them I cannot tell. Many other lords were there of +only less wealth and worship than those I have named. So numerous was +this fair company that I have lost count of their numbers. A noble +array of prelates came also to Arthur's solemn feast. Abbots and +mitred bishops walked in their order and degree. The three archbishops +of the realm came in his honour, namely, the Archbishop of London, his +brother of York, and holy Dubricius, whose chair was in that self same +city. Very holy of life was this fair prelate. Very abundantly he +laboured, being Archbishop of Caerleon and Legate of Rome. Many +wonderful works were wrought by his hands. The sick were brought to +him gladly, and by reason of his love and his prayers, oftentimes +they were healed of their hurt. In olden days this Dubricius abode in +London, but now was Bishop in Wales, by reason of the evil times when +kings regarded not God, and the people forsook the churches of their +fathers. These clergy assembled at Arthur's court, for the king's +feast, together with so great a fellowship of barons that I know not +even to rehearse you their names. + +Yet these must be remembered, whomsoever I forget. Villamus, King of +Ireland, and Mahnus, King of Iceland, and Doldamer, lord of that lean +and meagre country, known as the land of Goths. Acil, the King of the +Danes; Lot, who was King of Norway, and Gonfal, jarl of the lawless +Orkneys, from whence sail the pirates in their ships. From the parts +beyond the seas came Ligier, holding the dukedom and honour of +Burgundy; Holden, Earl of Flanders; and Guerin, Earl of Chartres, +having the twelve peers of France in his company, for the richer +dignity and splendour of his state. Guitard was there, the Earl of +Poitiers; Kay, whom the king had created Earl of Angers; and Bedevere +of Neustria, that province which men now call Normandy. From Le Mans +drew Earl Borel, and from Brittany Earl Hoel. Passing noble of visage +was Hoel, and all those lords who came forth from France. They voyaged +to Arthur's court in chased harness and silken raiment, riding on +lusty horses with rich trappings, and wearing jewels, with many golden +ornaments. There was not a prince from here even unto Spain, yea, to +the very Rhine in the land of Germany, but hastened to Arthur's solemn +feast, so only that he was bidden to that crowning. Of these some came +to look on the face of the king, some to receive of his largeness +costly gifts, some to have speech with the lords of his council. Some +desired to marvel over the abundance of Arthur's wealth, and others to +hear tell of the great king's courtesies. This lord was drawn by the +cords of love; this by compulsion of his suzerain's ban, this to learn +by the witness of his eyes whether Arthur's power and prosperity +exceeded that fame of which the whole world bragged. + +When this proud company of kings, bishops, and princes was gathered +together to observe Arthur's feast, the whole city was moved. The +king's servants tolled diligently making ready for so great a +concourse of guests. Soldiers ran to and fro, busily seeking hostels +for this fair assemblage. Houses were swept and garnished, spread with +reeds, and furnished with hangings of rich arras. Halls and chambers +were granted to their needs, together with stables for the horses and +their provand. Those for whom hostelries might not be found abode in +seemly lodgings, decently appointed to their degree. The city was full +of stir and tumult. In every place you beheld squires leading horses +and destriers by the bridle, setting saddles on hackneys and taking +them off, buckling the harness and making the metal work shining and +bright. Grooms went about their business. Never was such a cleansing +of stables, such taking of horses to the meadows, such a currying and +combing, shoeing and loosing of girths, washing and watering, such a +bearing of straw and of grass for the litter, and oats for the manger. +Nor these alone, but in the courtyards and chambers of the hostels you +might see the pages and chamberlains go swiftly about their tasks, in +divers fashions. The varlets brushed and folded the habiliments and +mantles of their lords. They looked to the stuff and the fastenings of +their garments. You saw them hurry through the halls carrying furs and +furred raiment, both vair and the grey. Caerleon seemed rather a fair +than a city, at Arthur's feast. + +Now telleth the chronicle of this geste, that when the morning was +come of the day of the high feast, a fair procession of archbishops, +bishops, and abbots wended to the king's palace, to place the crown +upon Arthur's head, and lead him within the church. Two of these +archbishops brought him through the streets of the city, one walking +on either side of his person. Each bishop sustained the king by his +arm, and thus he was earned to his throne. Four kings went before +Arthur and the clerks, bearing swords in their hands. Pommel, +scabbard, and hilt of these four swords were of wrought gold. This was +the office of these kings when Arthur held state at his court. The +first of the princes was from Scotland, the second from South Wales, +the third was of North Wales, and as to the last it was Cador of +Cornwall who earned the fourth sword. All these fair princes were +at one in their purpose, being altogether at unity, when Arthur was +crowned king. To holy Dubricius it fell, as prelate of Caerleon and +Roman legate, to celebrate the office and perform such rites as were +seemly to be rendered in the church. + +That the queen might not be overshadowed by her husband's state, the +crown was set on her head in another fashion. For her part she had +bidden to her court the great ladies of the country, and such dames as +were the wives of her friends. Together with these had assembled the +ladies of her kindred, such ladies as were most to her mind, and many +fair and gentle maidens whom she desired to be about her person at the +feast. The presence of this gay company of ladies made the feast yet +more rich, when the queen was crowned in her chamber, and brought to +that convent of holy nuns for the conclusion of the rite. The press +was so great that the queen might hardly make her way through the +streets of the city. Four dames preceded their lady, bearing four +white doves in their hands. These dames were the wives of those lords +who carried the golden swords before the king. A fair company of +damsels followed after the queen, making marvellous joy and delight. +This fair fellowship of ladies came from the noblest of the realm. +Passing dainty were they to see, wearing rich mantles above their +silken raiment. All men gazed gladly upon them, for their beauty was +such that none was sweeter than her fellows. These dames and maidens +went clothed in their softest garments. Their heads were tired in +their fairest hennins, and they walked in their most holiday vesture. +Never were seen so many rich kirtles of divers colours, such costly +mantles, such precious jewels and rings. Never were seen such furs and +such ornaments, both the vair and the grey. Never was known so gay and +noble a procession of ladies, as this which hastened to the church, +lest it should be hindered from the rite. + +Now within the church Mass was commenced with due pomp and observance. +The noise of the organ filled the church, and the clerks sang tunably +in the choir. Their voices swelled or failed, according as the chant +mounted to the roof, or died away in supplication. The knights passed +from one church to the other. Now they would be at the convent of St. +Julius, and again at the cathedral church of St. Aaron. This they did +to compare the singing of the clerks, and to delight their eyes with +the loveliness of the damsels. Although the knights passed frequently +between the churches, yet no man could answer for certain at which +they remained the longer. They could not surfeit the heart by reason +of the sweetness of the melody. Yea, had the song endured the whole +day through, I doubt those knights would ever have grown weary or +content. + +When the office drew to its appointed end, and the last words were +chanted, the king put off his crown that he had carried to the church. +He took another crown which sat more lightly on his head; and in such +fashion did the queen. They laid aside their heavy robes and ornaments +of state, and vested them in less tiring raiment. The king parted from +St. Aaron's church, and returned to his palace for meat. The queen, +for her part, came again to her own house, carrying with her that fair +fellowship of ladies, yet making marvellous joy. For the Britons held +still to the custom brought by their sires from Troy, that when the +feast was spread, man ate with man alone, bringing no lady with him +to the board. The ladies and damsels ate apart. No men were in their +hall, save only the servitors, who served them with every observance, +for the feast was passing rich, as became a monarch's court. When +Arthur was seated in his chair upon the dais, the lords and princes +sat around the board, according to the usage of the country, each in +his order and degree. The king's seneschal, hight Sir Kay, served +Arthur's table, clad in a fair dalmatic of vermeil silk. With Sir Kay +were a thousand damoiseaux, clothed in ermine, who bore the dishes +from the buttery. These pages moved briskly about the tables, carrying +the meats in platters to the guests. Together with these were yet +another thousand damoiseaux, gentle and goodly to see, clothed +likewise in coats of ermine. These fair varlets poured the wine from +golden beakers into cups and hanaps of fine gold. Not one of these +pages but served in a vesture of ermine. Bedevere, the king's +cupbearer, himself set Arthur's cup upon the board; and those called +him master who saw that Arthur's servants lacked not drink. + +The queen had so many servitors at her bidding, that I may not tell +you the count. She and all her company of ladies were waited on, +richly and reverently. Right worshipfully were they tended. These +ladies had to their table many rich meats, and wines and spiced drink +of divers curious fashions. The dishes and vessels from which they ate +were very precious, and passing fair. I know not how to put before you +the wealth and the splendour of Arthur's feast. Whether for goodly men +or for chivalrous deeds, for wealth as for plenty, for courtesy as for +honour, in Arthur's day England bore the flower from all the lands +near by, yea, from every other realm whereof we know. The poorest +peasant in his smock was a more courteous and valiant gentleman than +was a belted knight beyond the sea. And as with the men, so, and no +otherwise, was it with the women. There was never a knight whose +praise was bruited abroad, but went in harness and raiment and plume +of one and the self-same hue. The colour of surcoat and armour in +the field was the colour of the gown he wore in hall. The dames and +damsels would apparel them likewise in cloth of their own colour. No +matter what the birth and riches of a knight might be, never, in all +his days, could he gain fair lady to his friend, till he had proved +his chivalry and worth. That knight was accounted the most nobly born +who bore himself the foremost in the press. Such a knight was indeed +cherished of the ladies; for his friend was the more chaste as he was +brave. + +After the king had risen from the feast, he and his fellowship went +without the city to take their delight amongst the fields. The lords +sought their pleasure in divers places. Some amongst them jousted +together, that their horses might be proven. Others fenced with the +sword, or cast the stone, or flung pebbles from a sling. There were +those who shot with the bow, like cunning archers, or threw darts at +a mark. Every man strove with his fellow, according to the game he +loved. That knight who proved the victor in his sport, and bore the +prize from his companions, was carried before the king in the sight of +all the princes. Arthur gave him of his wealth so goodly a gift, that +he departed from the king's presence in great mirth and content. The +ladies of the court climbed upon the walls, looking down on the games +very gladly. She, whose friend was beneath her in the field, gave +him the glance of her eye and her face; so that he strove the more +earnestly for her favour. Now to the court had gathered many tumblers, +harpers, and makers of music, for Arthur's feast. He who would hear +songs sung to the music of the rote, or would solace himself with the +newest refrain of the minstrel, might win to his wish. Here stood +the viol player, chanting ballads and lays to their appointed tunes. +Everywhere might be heard the voice of viols and harp and flutes. +In every place rose the sound of lyre and drum and shepherd's pipe, +bagpipe, psaltery, cymbals, monochord, and all manner of music. Here +the tumbler tumbled on his carpet. There the mime and the dancing girl +put forth their feats. Of Arthur's guests some hearkened to the teller +of tales and fables. Others called for dice and tables, and played +games of chance for a wager. Evil befalls to winner and loser alike +from such sport as this. For the most part men played at chess or +draughts. You might see them, two by two, bending over the board. When +one player was beaten by his fellow, he borrowed moneys to pay his +wager, giving pledges for the repayment of his debt. Dearly enough he +paid for his loan, getting but eleven to the dozen. But the pledge was +offered and taken, the money rendered, and the game continued with +much swearing and cheating, much drinking and quarrelling, with strife +and with anger. Often enough the loser was discontented, and rose +murmuring against his fellow. Two by two the dicers sat at table, +casting the dice. They threw in turn, each throwing higher than his +fellow. You might hear them count, six, five, three, four, two, and +one. They staked their raiment on the cast, so there were those who +threw half naked. Fair hope had he who held the dice, after his fellow +had cried his number. Then the quarrel rose suddenly from the silence. +One called across the table to his companion, "You cheat, and throw +not fairly. Grasp not the dice so tightly in your hand, but shake them +forth upon the board. My count is yet before yours. If you still have +pennies in your pouch bring them out, for I will meet you to your +wish." Thus the dicers wrangled, and to many of Arthur's guests it +chanced that he who sat to the board in furs, departed from the tables +clothed in his skin. + +When the fourth day of the week was come, on a certain Wednesday, the +king made knights of his bachelors, granting them rents to support +their stations. He recompensed those lords of his household who held +of him their lands at suit and service. Such clerks as were diligent +in their Master's business he made abbots and bishops; and bestowed +castles and towns on his counsellors and friends. To those stranger +knights who for his love had crossed the sea in his quarrel, the king +gave armour and destrier and golden ornaments, to their desire. Arthur +divided amongst them freely of his wealth. He granted lordship and +delights, greyhound and brachet, furred gown and raiment, beaker +and hanap, sendal and signet, bhaut and mantle, lance and sword and +quivers of sharp barbed arrows. He bestowed harness and buckler and +weapons featly fashioned by the smith. He gave largesse of bears +and of leopards, of palfreys and hackneys, of chargers with saddles +thereon. He gave the helm as the hauberk, the gold as the silver, yea, +he bestowed on his servants the very richest and most precious of his +treasure. Never a man of these outland knights, so only he was worthy +of Arthur's bounty, but the king granted him such gifts as he might +brag of in his own realm. And as with the foreign lords, so to the +kings and the princes, the knights, and all his barons, Arthur gave +largely many precious gifts. + +Now as King Arthur was seated on a dais with these princes and earls +before him, there entered in his hall twelve ancient men, white and +greyheaded, full richly arrayed in seemly raiment. These came within +the palace two by two. With the one hand each clasped his companion, +and in the other carried a fair branch of olive. The twelve elders +passed at a slow pace down the hall, bearing themselves right +worshipfully. They drew near to Arthur's throne, and saluted the king +very courteously. They were citizens of Rome, said the spokesman of +these aged men, and were ambassadors from the emperor, bringing with +them letters to the king. Having spoken such words, one amongst them +made ready his parchment, and delivered it in Arthur's hands. This was +the sum of the writing sent by the Emperor of Rome. + +"Lucius, the Emperor and lord of Rome, to King Arthur, his enemy, +these, according to his deservings. I marvel very greatly, and disdain +whilst yet I marvel, the pride and ill-will which have puffed you up +to seek to do me evil. I have nothing but contempt and wonder for +those who counsel you to resist the word of Rome, whilst yet one Roman +draws his breath. You have acted lightly, and by reason of vanity have +wrought mischief to us who are the front and avengers of the world. +You resemble a blind man, whose eyes the leech prepares to open. You +know not yet, but very soon you will have learned, the presumption of +him who teaches law to the justice of Rome. It is not enough to say +that you have acted after your kind, and sinned according to your +nature. Know you not whom you are, and from what dust you have come, +that you dare to dispute the tribute to Rome! Why do you steal our +land and our truage? Why do you refuse to render Caesar that which is +his own? Are you indeed so strong that we may not take our riches +from your hand? Perchance you would show us a marvellous matter. +Behold--you say--the lion fleeing from the lamb, the wolf trembling +before the kid, and the leopard fearful of the hare. Be not deceived. +Nature will not suffer such miracles to happen. Julius Caesar, our +mighty ancestor--whom, maybe, you despise in your heart--conquered the +land of Britain, taking tribute thereof, and this you have paid until +now. From other islands also, neighbours of this, it was our custom to +receive truage. These in your presumption you have taken by force, to +your own most grievous hurt. Moreover, you have been so bold as to put +yet greater shame and damage upon us, since Frollo, our tribune, is +slain, and France and Britain, by fraud, you keep wrongfully in your +power. Since, then, you have not feared Rome, neither regarded her +honour, the senate summon you by these letters, and command you under +pain of their displeasure, to appear before them at mid August, +without fail or excuse. Come prepared to make restitution of that you +have taken, whatever the cost; and to give satisfaction for all those +things whereof you are accused. If so be you think to keep silence, +and do naught of that you are bidden, I will cross the Mont St. +Bernard with a mighty host, and pluck Britain and France from your +hand. Do not deem that you can make head against me, neither hold +France in my despite. Never will you dare to pass that sea, for my +dearer pleasure; yea, were your courage indeed so great, yet never +might you abide my coming. Be persuaded that in what place soever you +await me, from thence I will make you skip. For this is my purpose, to +bind you with bonds, and bring you to Rome, and deliver you, bound, to +the judgment of the senate." + +When this letter was read in the hearing of those who were come to +Arthur's solemnity, a great tumult arose, for they were angered beyond +measure. Many of the Britons took God to witness that they would do +such things and more also to those ambassadors who had dared deliver +the message. They pressed about those twelve ancient men, with many +wild and mocking words. Arthur rose hastily to his feet, bidding the +brawlers to keep silence. He cried that none should do the Romans a +mischief, for they were an embassy, and carried the letters of their +lord. Since they were but another's mouthpiece, he commanded that none +should work them harm. After the noise was at an end, and Arthur was +assured that the elders were no longer in peril, he called his privy +council and the lords of his household together, in a certain stone +keep, that was named the Giant's Tower. The king would be advised by +his barons--so ran the summons--what answer he should give to the +messengers of Rome. Now as they mounted the stairs, earl and prince, +pell mell, together, Cador, who was a merry man, saw the king before +him. "Fair king," said the earl gaily, "for a great while the thought +has disturbed me, that peace and soft living are rotting away the +British bone. Idleness is the stepdame of virtue, as our preachers +have often told us. Soft living makes a sluggard of the hardiest +knight, and steals away his strength. She cradles him with dreams of +woman, and is the mother of chambering and wantonness. Folded hands +and idleness cause our young damoiseaux to waste their days over merry +tales, and dice, raiment to catch a lady's fancy and things that are +worse. Rest and assurance of safety will in the end do Britain more +harm than force or guile. May the Lord God be praised Who has jogged +our elbow. To my mind He has persuaded these Romans to challenge our +country that we may get us from sleep. If the Romans trust so greatly +in their might that they do according to their letters, be assured the +Briton has not yet lost his birthright of courage and hardness. I am +a soldier, and have never loved a peace that lasts over long, since +there are uglier things than war." Gawain overheard these words. "Lord +earl," said he, "by my faith be not fearful because of the young men. +Peace is very grateful after war. The grass grows greener, and the +harvest is more plenteous. Merry tales, and songs, and ladies' love +are delectable to youth. By reason of the bright eyes and the worship +of his friend, the bachelor becomes knight and learns chivalry." + +Whilst the lords jested amongst themselves in this fashion, they +climbed the tower, and were seated in the chamber. When Arthur marked +that each was in his place, silent and attentive to the business, he +considered for a little that he had to speak. Presently he lifted his +head, and spoke such words as these. "Lords," said the king, "who are +here with me, nay, rather my companions and my friends, companions +alike, whether the day be good or evil, by whose sustenance alone I +have endured such divers quarrels, hearken well to me. In the days +that are told, have we not shared victory and defeat together, +partners, you with me, as I with you, in gain and in loss? Through +you, and by reason of your help in time of trouble, have I won many +battles. You have I carried over land and sea, far and near, to many +strange realms. Ever have I found you loyal and true, in business +and counsel. Because of your prowess I hold the heritage of divers +neighbouring princes in subjection. Lords, you have hearkened to the +letters carried by the ambassadors of Rome, and to the malice they +threaten if we do not after their commandment. Very despiteful are +they against us, and purpose to work us bitter mischief. But if God be +gracious to His people, we shall yet be delivered from their hand. Now +these Romans are a strong nation, passing rich and of great power. It +becomes us therefore to consider prudently what we shall say and do in +answer to their message, looking always to the end. He who is assured +of his mark gets there by the shortest road. When the arrows start to +fly, the sergeant takes shelter behind his shield. Let us be cautious +and careful like these. This Lucius seeks to do us a mischief. He is +in his right, and it is ours to take such counsel, that his mischief +falls on his own head. To-day he demands tribute from Britain and +other islands of the sea. To-morrow he purposes in his thought to +receive truage of France. Consider first the case of Britain, and how +to answer wisely therein. Britain was conquered by Caesar of force. +The Britons knew not how to keep them against his host, and perforce +paid him their tribute. But force is no right. It is but pride puffed +up and swollen beyond measure. They cannot hold of law what they have +seized by violence and wrong. The land is ours by right, even if the +Roman took it to himself by force. The Romans really reproach us for +the shame and the damage, the loss and the sorrow Caesar visited upon +our fathers. They boast that they will avenge such losses as these, by +taking the land with the rent, and making their little finger thicker +than their father's loins. Let them beware. Hatred breeds hatred +again, and things despiteful are done to those who despitefully use +you. They come with threats, demanding truage, and reproving us for +the evil we have done them. Tribute they claim by the right of the +strong, leaving sorrow and shame as our portion. But if the Romans +claim to receive tribute of Britain because tribute was aforetime paid +them from Britain, by the same reasoning we may establish that Rome +should rather pay tribute to us. In olden days there lived two +brothers, British born, namely, Belinus, King of the Britons, and +Brennus, Duke of Burgundy, both wise and doughty lords. These stout +champions arrived with their men before Rome, and shutting the city +close, at the end gained it by storm. They took hostages of the +citizens to pay them tribute, but since the burgesses did not observe +their covenant, the brethren hanged the hostages, to the number of +four and-twenty, in the eyes of all their kinsfolk. When Belinus went +to his own place, he commended Rome to the charge of Brennus, his +brother. Now Constantine, the son of Helena, drew from Brennus and +Belinus, and in his turn held Rome in his care. Maximian, King of +Britain, after he had conquered France and Germany, passed the Mont +St. Bernard into Lombardy, and took Rome to his keeping. These mighty +kings were my near kinsmen, and each was master of Rome. Thus you have +heard, and see clearly, that not only am I King of Britain, but by law +Emperor of Rome also, so we maintain the rights of our fathers. The +Romans have had truage of us, and my ancestors have taken seisin of +them. They claim Britain, and I demand Rome. This is the sum and end +of my counsel as regards Britain and Rome. Let him have the fief and +the rent who is mightier in the field. As to France and those other +countries which have been removed from their hands, the Romans should +not wish to possess that which they may not maintain. Either the +land was not to their mind, or they had not the strength to hold it. +Perchance the Romans have no rights in the matter, and it is by reason +of covetousness rather than by love of law, that they seek this +quarrel. Let him keep the land who can, by the right of the most +strong. For all these things the emperor menaces us very grievously. I +pray God that he may do us no harm. Our fiefs and goods he promises +to take from us, and lead us captive in bonds to Rome. We care not +overmuch for this, and are not greatly frighted at his words. If he +seek us after his boast, please God, he will have no mind to threaten +when he turns again to his own home. We accept his challenge, and +appeal to God's judgment, that all may be rendered to his keeping, who +is able to maintain it in his hand." + +When Arthur the king had made an end of speaking in the ears of his +barons, the word was with those who had hearkened to his counsel. Hoel +followed after the king. "Sire," said he, "you have spoken much, and +right prudently, nor is there any who can add wisdom to your speech. +Summon now your vassals and meinie, together with us who are of your +household. Cross the sea straightway into France, and make the realm +sure with no further tarrying. From thence we can pass Mont St. +Bernard, and overrun Lombardy. By moving swiftly we shall carry the +war into the emperor's own land. We shall fright him so greatly that +he will have the less leisure to trouble Britain. Your movements, +moreover, will be so unlooked for that the Romans will be altogether +amazed, and quickly confounded. Sire, it is the Lord's purpose to +exalt you over all the kings of the earth. Hinder not the will of God +by doubtfulness. He is able to put even Rome in your power, so only it +be according to His thought. Remember the books of the Sibyl, and of +the prophecies therein. The Sibyl wrote that three kings should come +forth from Britain, who of their might should conquer Rome. Of these +three princes, two are dead. Belinus is dead, and Constantine is dead, +but each in his day was the master of Rome. You are that third king +destined to be stronger than the great city. In you the prophecy shall +be fulfilled, and the Sibyl's words accomplished. Why then scruple to +take what God gives of His bounty? Rise up then, exalt yourself, exalt +your servants, who would see the end of God's purpose. I tell you +truly that nothing of blows or hurt, neither weariness nor prison nor +death, counts aught with us in comparison with what is due to the +king's honour. For my part, I will ride in your company, so long as +this business endures, with ten thousand armed horsemen at my back. +Moreover, if your treasury has need of moneys for the quarrel, I will +put my realm in pledge, and deliver the gold and the gain to your +hand. Never a penny will I touch of my own, so long as the king has +need." + +After Hoel had ended his counsel, Aguisel, King of Scotland, who was +brother to Lot and to Urian, stood on his feet. "Sire," said he, "the +words you have spoken in this hall, where are gathered the flower of +your chivalry, are dear to their ears, for we have listened to the +disdainful messages of Rome. Be assured that each of your peers will +aid you to the utmost of his power. Now is the time and occasion to +show forth the counsel and help we can afford to our king. Not one of +us here who is a subject of your realm, and holds his manors of the +crown, but will do his duty to his liege, as is but just and right. No +tidings I have heard for a great while past sounded so good and fair +as the news that presently we shall have strife with Rome. These +Romans are a people whom I neither love with my heart, nor esteem in +my mind, but hate because they are very orgulous and proud. Upright +folk should avoid their fellowship, for they are an evil and a +covetous race, caring for no other matter but to heap treasure +together, and add to their store. The emperor of this people, by fraud +and deceit, has fastened this quarrel upon us, sending you letters +with an embassy. He deems that Britain is no other than it was, or +he would not demand his measure of tribute, pressed down and running +over. The Roman has raised such a smoke that his fingers will quickly +be scorched in the flame. Moreover, had the Roman kept quiet, even had +he refrained from threats, it becomes our honour, of our own choice, +to enter on this war, to avenge the wrongs of our fathers, and to +abase his pride. The Romans' logic is that they are entitled to +receive tribute at our hands, by reason that their fathers, in their +day, took truage of our ancestors. If this be so, it was no free-will +offering of our fathers, but was wrenched from them by force. So be +it. By force we take again our own, and revenge ourselves for all the +pilling of the past. We are a perilous people, who have proved victors +in divers great battles, and brought many a bitter war to a good end. +But what profit is ours of nil these triumphs, so long as we cry not +'check' to Rome! I desire not drink to my lips when athirst, nor meat +to my mouth when an hungered, as I desire the hour when we hurtle +together in the field. Then hey for the helm laced fast, the lifted +shield, for the brandished sword, and the mighty horse. God! what +spoil and rich ransom will he gain whose body God keeps with His +buckler that day. Never again will he be poor till his life's end. +Cities and castles will be his for the sacking; and mules, sumpters, +and destriers to the heart's desire. On then, comrades, to the +conquest of Rome, and to the parcelling of the Romans' lands. When the +proud city is destroyed, and its wardens slain, there remains yet a +work for us to do. We will pass into Lorraine, and seize the realm. We +will make our pleasaunce of all the strongholds of Germany. So we will +do, till there endures not a land to the remotest sea but is Arthur's +fief, nor one only realm to pluck them from his power. Right or wrong +this is our purpose. That my blow may be heavy as my word, and the +deed accord with the speech, I am ready to go with the king, and ten +thousand riders with me, besides men-at-arms in such plenty that no +man may count them." + +When the King of Scotland had spoken, there was much stir and tumult, +all men crying that he would be shamed for ever who did not his utmost +in this quarrel. Arthur and his baronage being of one mind together, +the king wrote certain letters to Rome, and sealed them with his +ring. These messages he committed to the embassy, honouring right +worshipfully those reverend men. "Tell your countrymen," said the +king, "that I am lord of Britain: that I hold France, and will +continue to hold it, and purpose to defend it against the Roman power. +Let them know of a surety that I journey to Rome presently at their +bidding, only it will be not to carry them tribute, but rather to seek +it at their hand." The ambassadors, therefore, took their leave, and +went again to Rome. There they told where and in what fashion they +were welcomed of the king, and reported much concerning him. This +Arthur--said these ancient men--is a lord amongst kings, generous and +brave, lettered and very wise. Not another king could furnish the +riches spent on his state, by reason of the attendance of his +ministers, and the glory of their apparel. It was useless to seek +tribute from Arthur, since in olden days Britain received tribute of +Rome. + +Now when the senate had heard the report of the messengers, and +considered the letters wherewith they were charged, they were +persuaded of ambassador and message alike that Arthur neither would do +homage nor pay them the tribute they demanded. The senate, therefore, +took counsel with the emperor, requiring him to summon all the empire +to his aid. They devised that with his host he should pass through the +mountains into Burgundy, and giving battle to King Arthur deprive him +of kingdom and crown. Lucius Tiberius moved very swiftly. He sent +messages to kings, earls, and dukes, bidding them as they loved honour +to meet him on a near day at Rome, in harness for the quest. At the +emperor's commandment came many mighty lords, whose names I find +written in the chronicles of those times. To meet Lucius came +Epistrophius, King of the Greeks, Ession, King of Broeotia, and Itarc, +King of the Turks, a passing strong and perilous knight. With these +were found Pandras, King of Egypt, and Hippolytus, King of Crete. +These were lords of very great worship, a hundred cities owning their +tyranny. Evander drew from Syria, and Teucer from Phrygia; from +Babylon came Micipsa, and from Spain, Aliphatma. From Media came King +Bocus, from Libya, Sertonus, from Bithyma, Polydetes, and from Idumea, +King Xerxes Mustansar, the King of Africa, came from his distant home, +many a long days' journey. With him were black men and Moors, bearing +their king's rich treasure. The senate gave of their number these +patricians: Marcellus and Lucius Catellus, Cocta, Cams, and Metellus. +Many other lords gladly joined themselves to that company, whose +names for all my seeking I have not found. When the host was gathered +together, the count of the footmen was four hundred thousand armed +men, besides one hundred and eighty thousand riders on horses. This +mighty army, meetly ordered and furnished with weapons, set forth on a +day to give Arthur battle from Rome. + +Arthur and his baronage departed from the court to make them ready +for battle. The king sent his messengers to and fro about the land, +calling and summoning each by his name, to hasten swiftly with his +power, so that he valued Arthur's love. Not a knight but was bidden to +ride on his allegiance, with all the men and horses that he had. The +lords of the isles, Ireland, Gothland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and +the Orkneys, promised for their part one hundred and forty thousand +men, armed and clad according to the fashion of their country. Of +these not a horseman but was a cunning rider, not a footman but bore +his accustomed weapon, battle-axe, javelin, or spear Normandy and +Anjou, Auvergne and Poitou, Flanders and Boulogne promised, without +let, eighty thousand sergeants more, each with his armour on his back. +So much it was their right and privilege to do, they said. The twelve +peers of France, who were of the fellowship of Guenn of Chartres, +promised every one to ride at Arthur's need, each man with a hundred +lances. This was their bounden service, said these peers. Hoel of +Brittany promised ten thousand men, Aguisel of Scotland two thousand +more. From Britain, his proper realm, that we now call England, Arthur +numbered forty thousand horsemen in hauberks of steel. As for the +count of the footmen--arbalestriers, archers, and spearmen--it was +beyond all measure, for the number of the host was as the grains of the +sand. When Arthur was certified of the greatness of his power, and +of the harness of his men, he wrote letters to each of his captains, +commanding him that on an appointed day he should come in ships to +Barfleur in Normandy. The lords of his baronage, who had repaired from +the court to their fiefs, hastened to make ready with those whom they +should bring across the sea. In like manner Arthur pushed on with his +business, that nothing should hinder or delay. + +Arthur committed the care of his realm, and of Dame Guenevere, his +wife, to his nephew, Mordred, a marvellously hardy knight, whom Arthur +loved passing well. Mordred was a man of high birth, and of many noble +virtues, but he was not true. He had set his heart on Guenevere, his +kinswoman, but such a love brought little honour to the queen. Mordred +had kept this love close, for easy enough it was to hide, since who +would be so bold as to deem that he loved his uncle's dame? The lady +on her side had given her love to a lord of whom much good was spoken, +but Mordred was of her husband's kin! This made the shame more +shameworthy. Ah, God, the deep wrong done in this season by Mordred +and the queen. + +Arthur, having put all the governance in Mordred's power, save only +the crown, went his way to Southampton. His meinie was lodged about +the city, whilst his vessels lay within the haven. The harbour was +filled with the ships. They passed to and fro; they remained at +anchorage; they were bound together by cables. The carpenter yet was +busy upon them with his hammer. Here the shipmen raised the mast, +and bent the sail. There they thrust forth bridges to the land, and +charged the stores upon the ship. The knights and the sergeants +entered therein in their order, bearing pikes, and leading the fearful +houses by the rein. You could watch them crying farewell, and waving +their hands, to those remaining on the shore. When the last man had +entered in the last ship the sailors raised the anchors, and worked +the galleys from the haven. Right diligently the mariners laboured, +spreading the sails, and making fast the stays. They pulled stoutly +upon the hoists and ropes, so that the ships ran swiftly out to sea. +Then they made the ropes secure, each in its wonted place. The captain +who was charged with the safety of the ship set his course carefully, +whilst pilot and steersman needfully observed his word. At his bidding +they put the helm to port, to lee, as they might better fill their +sails with the wind. As need arose the shipmen drew upon the cords and +bowlines, or let the canvas fall upon the deck, that the vessel might +be the less beaten of the waves. Thus, loosing and making fast, +letting go and bringing quickly to the deck, hauling and tugging at +the ropes--so they proceeded on their way. When night was come, they +steered their courses by the stars, furling the sails that the wind +should not carry them from their path. Very fearful were the mariners +of the dark, and went as slowly as they were able. Passing bold was +he, that first courteous captain, who builded the first ship, and +committing his body to the wind and waves, set forth to seek a land he +might not see, and to find such haven as men had never known. + +Now it came to pass that whilst the host voyaged in great content with +a fair wind towards Barfleur, that Arthur slept, for he was passing +heavy, and it was night. As the king slumbered he beheld a vision, +and, lo, a bear flying high in air towards the east. Right huge and +hideous of body was the bear, and marvellously horrible to see. Also +the king saw a dragon flying over against him towards the west. The +brightness of his eyes was such, that the whole land and sea were +filled with the radiance of his glory. When these two beasts came +together, the dragon fell upon the bear, and the bear defended himself +valiantly against his adversary. But the dragon put his enemy beneath +him, and tumbling him to the earth, crushed him utterly in the dust. +When Arthur had slept for awhile, his spirit came to him again, and he +awoke and remembered his dream. The king called therefore for his wise +clerks, and related to them and his household the vision that he had +seen of the bear and; of the dragon. Then certain of these clerks +expounded to the king his dream, and the interpretation thereof. The +dragon that was beholden of the king signified himself. By the bear +was shown forth a certain horrible giant, come from a far land, whom +he should slay. The giant desired greatly that the adventure should +end in another fashion; nevertheless all would be to the king's +profit. But Arthur replied, "My interpretation of the dream is other +than yours. To me it typifies rather the issue of the war between +myself and the emperor. But let the Creator's will be done." + +After these words no more was spoken until the rising of the sun. +Very early in the morning they came to haven at Barfleur in Normandy. +Presently the host issued from the ships, and spread themselves +abroad, to await the coming of those who tarried on the way. Now they +had but dwelled for a little while in the land when tidings were +brought to the king that a marvellously strong giant, newly come +from Spain, had ravished Helen, the niece of his kinsman, Hoel. This +doleful lady the giant had carried to a high place known as St. +Michael's Mount, though in that day there was neither church nor +monastery on the cliff, but all was shut close by the waves of the +sea. There was none in the country so hardy and strong, whether gentle +or simple of birth, that dared to do battle with the giant, or even +to come where he lay. Often enough the folk of the land had gathered +themselves together, and compassed about the rock both by land and +sea, but little had they gained from their labour. For the giant had +beaten their boats amongst the rocks, so that they were slain or +drowned. Therefore they left him to himself, since there was none +to hinder his pleasure. The peasants of the realm were exceeding +sorrowful. Their enemy spoiled their houses, harried their cattle, +bore away their wives and children, and returned to his fastness on +the mount. The villeins lurked in the woods from his wrath. They +perished of misery in secret places, so that the whole land was +barren, because there was none to labour in the fields. This +marvellous giant had to name Dinabuc. Not a soul but prayed that he +might come to an evil end. When Arthur heard these lamentable tidings +he called to him Kay the seneschal and Bedevere his cupbearer, for he +would open his counsel to no other man. He told them his purpose to +depart from the camp that same night privily, taking none with him, +save themselves alone. None but they would know of his errand, for he +rode to the mount to be assured as to whether he or the giant was +the stouter champion. All through the night the three rode together, +sparing not the spur. At daybreak they came upon the ford that leads +across the water to the mount. Looking towards the mount they beheld +a burning fire upon the hill, that might be seen from very far. Over +against the mount was set another hill, near by, and of lesser height, +and upon this hill also a fire of coals. Arthur gazed from hill to +mountain. He doubted where the giant lodged, and in which of these two +high places he should come upon him. There was no man to ask of his +dwelling, nor to tell of his outgoings. Arthur bade Bedevere to go +first to the one and then to the other hill, seeking news of the +giant. When he had found that which he sought, he must return swiftly, +bringing good tidings. Bedevere set forth upon his quest. He entered +into a little boat, and rowed over to that mount which was nearer. He +could cross in no other manner, for the tide was very full, and all +the sand was covered of the sea. Bedevere got him from the boat, and +began to climb the hill. As he climbed he stood still for a space, and +hearkened. From above Bedevere might hear a noise of sore weeping, and +loud lamentation, and doleful sighs. The knight grew cold at the heart +root by reason of his exceeding fear, since he deemed to have come +upon the giant at his play. Presently the courage returned to his +breast, and drawing the sword from its sheath, he advanced stoutly up +the hill. Bedevere considered within himself that it were better for +a knight to die, rather than know himself a coward. He reproached +himself for his tearfulness, and in heart and hope desired only to +bring the adventure to a good end. His wish proved but vain. When +Bedevere won the summit of the mountain, there was no giant, but only +a flaming fire, and close by the fire a new-digged grave. The knight +drew near this fire, with the sword yet naked in his hand. Lying +beside the grave he found an old woman, with rent raiment and +streaming hair, lamenting her wretched case. She bewailed also the +fate of Helen, making great dole and sorrow, with many shrill cries. +When this piteous woman beheld Bedevere upon the mount, "Oh, wretched +man," she exclaimed, "what is thy name, and what misadventure leads +you here! Should the giant find thee in his haunt, this very day thy +life will end in shame and grief and hurt. Flee, poor wretch, upon thy +road, before he spies thee. Be pitiful to thyself, nor seek to die, +for who art thou to deliver thyself from his wrath!" "Good dame," made +reply Sir Bedevere, "give over weeping and answer my words. Tell me +who you are, and why you shed these tears. For what reason do you +abide in this isle, and crouch beside this tomb? Answer me plainly +concerning your adventure." "Fair lord," replied the ancient lady, "I +am a forsaken and a most unhappy woman. I make my lamentation for a +damsel, named Helen, whom I nourished at my breast, the niece of Duke +Hoel of this realm. Here lies her body in this tomb, that was given to +me to cherish. Alas, for her who was set upon my knees! Alas, for her +I cherished in my bosom! A certain devil ravished her away, and me +also, bearing us both to this his lair. The giant would have had to do +with the maiden, but she was so tender of her years that she might not +endure him. Passing young was the maid, whilst he, for his part, was +so gross and weighty of bone and flesh, that her burden was more than +she could bear. For this the soul departed from her body. Alas, wretch +that I am, I remain alive, and she, my joy and my love, my sweetness +and my delight, was foully done to death by this giant. Nothing was +left for me to do, but to put her body in the earth." "For what reason +do you abide in this hill," asked Sir Bedevere, "since Helen is gone +before?" "Will thou learn of the reason," said the ancient damsel, +"then it shall not be hidden; for easy it is to see that thou art a +gentle and a courteous man. When Helen had gone her way in shame and +sorrow, the giant constrained me to abide that I might suffer his +pleasure. This he did, although my heart was hot because I had seen my +lady die in sore anguish. Force keeps me in this haunt, force makes +me his sport. You cannot think that I stay of my own free will on the +mount. I but submit to the will of the Lord. Would to God that I were +dead, as for a little more I should be slain of the giant. But if I am +older of years, I am also stronger, and harder, and more firm in +my purpose, than ever was my frail Lady Helen. Nevertheless I am +well-nigh gone, and have little longer to endure. Perchance even this +very day will be my last. Friend, tarry here no further whomsoever +thou mayst be. Flee while you can, for behold the fire smokes upon the +mountain, and the devil makes him ready to ascend, according to his +custom. Be not snared within his net. Depart, and leave an old woman +to her tears and sorrow; for I have no care to live, since Helen and +her love are spoiled with dust." + +When Bedevere heard this adventure he was filled with pity. With his +whole heart he comforted the damsel as gently as he might. He left +her for a season, and hastening down the hill came straightway to the +king. Bedevere showed his lord of all that he had heard and seen. He +told over the tale of that ancient nurse lamenting by a grave; of +Helen who was dead, and of the giant's haunt upon the higher of the +hills which smoked. Arthur was passing heavy at Helen's fate. He +wasted no time in tears, nor suffered himself to be fearful. Arthur +bade his companions get into their harness, and ride with him to the +ford. The tide was now at the ebb, so that they crossed on their +horses, and came speedily to the foot of the hill. There they +dismounted, giving their mantles and destriers to the charge of the +squires. Arthur, Bedevere, and Kay, the three together, began briskly +to climb the mount. After they had climbed for a while Arthur spake to +his fellows: "Comrades, I go before to do battle with the giant. For +your part you must follow a little after. But let neither of you be so +bold as to aid me in my quarrel, so long as I have strength to strive. +Be the buffets what they may, stand you still, unless he beats me to +the ground. It is not seemly that any, save one, should have lot in +this business. Nevertheless so you see me in utmost peril and fear, +come swiftly to my succour, nor let me find death at his hands." Sir +Kay and Sir Bedevere made this covenant with their lord, and the three +knights together set forth again up the hill. Now when Arthur drew +near to the summit of the mount, he beheld the giant crouched above +his fire. He broiled a hog within the flame upon a spit. Part of the +flesh he had eaten already, and part of the meat was charred and +burning in the fire. He was the more hideous to see because his beard +and hair were foul with blood and coal. Arthur trusted to take him +thus unready, before he could get to his mace. But the giant spied his +adversary, and all amarvelled leapt lightly on his feet. He raised the +club above his shoulder, albeit so heavy that no two peasants of the +country could lift it from the ground. Arthur saw the giant afoot, and +the blow about to fall. He gripped his sword, dressing the buckler +high to guard his head. The giant struck with all his strength upon +the shield, so that the mountain rang like an anvil. The stroke was +stark, and Arthur stood mazed at the blow, but he was hardy and +strong, and did not reel. When the king came to himself, and marked +the shield shattered on his arm, he was marvellously wroth. He raised +his sword and struck full at the giant's brow. The blow was shrewd, +and would have brought the combat to an end had not the giant parried +with his mace. Even so, his head was sorely hurt, and the blood ran +down his face, that he might not see. When the giant knew that he was +wounded to his hurt, he became in his rage as a beast possessed. He +turned grimly on his adversary, even as the boar, torn of the hounds +and mangled by the hunting knife, turns on the hunter. Filled with +ire and malice the giant rushed blindly on the king. Heedless of the +sword, he flung his arms about him, and putting forth the full measure +of his might, bore Arthur to his knees. Arthur was ardent and swift +and ready of wit. He remembered his manhood, and struggled upright on +his feet. He was altogether angered, and fearful of what might hap. +Since strength could not help, he called subtlety to his aid. Arthur +made his body stiff like a rod, and held himself close, for he was +passing strong. He feigned to spring on his foe, but turning aside, +slipped quickly from under the giant's arms. When Arthur knew his +person free of these bands, he passed swiftly to and fro, eluding his +enemy's clasp. Now he was here, now there, ofttimes striking with the +sword. The giant ran blindly about, groping with his hands, for his +eyes were full of blood, and he knew not white from black. Sometimes +Arthur was before him, sometimes behind, but never in his grip, till +at the end the king smote him so fiercely with Excalibur that the blade +clove to his brain, and he fell. He cried out in his pain, and the +noise of his fall and of this exceeding bitter cry was as fetters of +iron tormented by the storm. + +Arthur stood a little apart, and gazed upon his adversary. He laughed +aloud in his mirth; for his anger was well-nigh gone. He commanded +Bedevere, his cupbearer, to strike off the giant's head, and deliver +it to the squires, that they might bear it to the host, for the +greater marvel. Bedevere did after his lord's behest. He drew his +sword, and divided the head from the shoulders. Wonderfully huge and +hideous to sight was the head of this giant. Never, said Arthur, had +he known such fear; neither had met so perilous a giant, save only +that Riton, who had grieved so many fair kings. This Riton in his day +made war upon divers kings. Of these some were slain in battle, and +others remained captive in his hand. Alive or dead, Riton used them +despitefully; for it was his wont to shave the beards of these +kings, and purfle therewith a cloak of furs that he wore, very rich. +Vainglorious beyond measure was Riton of his broidered cloak. Now by +reason of folly and lightness, Riton sent messages to Arthur, bidding +him shave his beard, and commend it forthwith to the giant, in all +good will. Since Arthur was a mightier lord and a more virtuous prince +than his fellows, Riton made covenant to prefer his beard before +theirs, and hold it in honour as the most silken fringe of his mantle. +Should Arthur refuse to grant Riton the trophy, then nought was there +to do, but that body to body they must fight out their quarrel, in +single combat, alone. He who might slay his adversary, or force him +to own himself vanquished, should have the beard for his guerdon, +together with the mantle of furs, fringes and garniture and all. +Arthur accorded with the giant that this should be so. They met in +battle on a high place, called Mount Aravius, in the far east, and +there the king slew Riton with the sword, spoiling him of that rich +garment of furs, with its border of dead kings' beards. Therefore, +said Arthur, that never since that day had he striven with so perilous +a giant, nor with one of whom he was so sorely frighted. Nevertheless +Dinabuc was bigger and mightier than was Riton, even in the prime of +his youth and strength. For a monster more loathly and horrible, a +giant so hideous and misshapen, was never slain by man, than the devil +Arthur killed to himself that day, in Mont St. Michel, over against +the sea. + +After Arthur had slam the monster, and Bedevere had taken his head, +they went their way to the host in great mirth and content. They +reached the camp, and showed the spoil to all who would, for their +hearts were high with that which they had done. Hoel was passing +sorrowful for that fair lady, his niece, making great lamentation for +a while over her who was lost in so fearsome a fashion. In token of +his dolour he budded on the mount a chapel to Our Lady St. Mary, that +men call Helen's Tomb to this very day. Although this fair chapel +was raised above the grave of this piteous lady, and is yet hight +Tombelame, none gives a thought to the damsel after whom it is named. +Nothing more have I to relate concerning this adventure, and would +tell you now of that which happened to the host. + +When the men of Ireland, and those others for whom Arthur tarried, had +joined themselves to the host, the king set forth, a day's march every +day, through Normandy. Without pause or rest he and his fellowship +passed across France, tarrying neither at town nor castle, and came +speedily into Burgundy. The king would get to Autun as swiftly as +he might, for the Romans were spoiling the land, and Lucius their +emperor, together with a great company, purposed to enter in the city. +Now when Arthur drew to the ford, leading across the waters of the +Aube, his spies and certain peasants of those parts came near and +warned him privily concerning the emperor, who lay but a little way +thence, so that the king could seek him, if he would. The Romans had +sheltered them in tents, and in lodges of branches. They were as the +sand of the shore for multitude, so that the peasants marvelled that +the earth could bring forth for the footmen and horses. Never might +the king store and garner in that day, for where he reaped with +one, Lucius the emperor would reap with four. Arthur was in no wise +dismayed at their words. He had gone through many and divers perils, +and was a valiant knight, having faith and affiance in God. On a +little hill near this river Aube, Arthur builded earthworks for his +host, making the place exceeding strong. He closed the doors fast, +and put therein a great company of knights and men at arms to hold +it close. In this fortress he set his harness and stores, so that he +could repair thither to his camp in time of need. When all was done +Arthur summoned to his counsel two lords whom he esteemed for fair and +ready speech. These two lords were of high peerage. Guerin of Chartres +was one, and the other was that Boso, Earl of Oxford, right learned +in the law. To these two barons Arthur added Gawain, who had dwelt in +Rome for so long a space. This Arthur did by reason that Gawain was a +good clerk, meetly schooled, and held in much praise and honour by his +friends in Rome. These three lords the king purposed to send as an +embassy to the emperor. They were to bear his message, bidding the +Romans to turn again to their own land, nor seek to enter France, +for it pertained to the king. Should Lucius persist in his purpose, +refusing to return whence he came, then let him give battle on the +earliest day, to determine whether Arthur or he had the better right. +This thing was certain. So long as Arthur had breath he would maintain +his claim to France, despite the Roman power. He had gained it by the +sword, and it was his by right of conquest. In ancient days Rome, in +her turn, held it by the same law. Then let the God of battles decide +whether Britain or Rome had the fairer right to France. + +The messengers of the king apparelled themselves richly for their +master's honour. They mounted on their fairest destriers, vested in +hauberks of steel, with laced helmets, and shields hung round their +necks. They took their weapons in their hands, and rode forth from the +camp. Now when certain knights and divers bold and reckless varlets +saw the embassy make ready to seek the emperor, they came to Gawain +and gave him freely of their counsel. These exhorted him that when he +reached the court, to which he fared, he should act in such fashion, +right or wrong, that a war would begin which had threatened overlong. +Yea, to use such speech that if no matter of dispute should be found +at the meeting, there might yet be quarrel enough when they parted. +The embassy accorded, therefore, that they would so do as to constrain +the Romans to give battle. Gawain and his comrades crossed a mountain, +and came through a wood upon a wide plain. At no great distance they +beheld the tents and lodges of the host. When the Romans saw the three +knights issue from the wood, they drew near to look upon their faces +and to inquire of their business. They asked of them concerning whom +they sought, and if for peace they had come within the camp. But the +three knights refused to answer, for good or evil, until they were led +before the lord of Rome. The embassy got from their horses before the +emperor's pavilion. They gave their bridles to the hands of the pages, +but as to their swords concealed them beneath their mantles. The three +knights showed neither salutation nor courtesy when they stood in the +emperor's presence. They rehearsed over Arthur's message, whilst Lucius +hearkened attentively to their words. Each of the ambassadors said +that which pleased him to be said, and told over what he held proper +to be told. The emperor listened to each and all without interruption. +After he had considered at his leisure he purposed to reply. "We come +from Arthur, our lord," said Gawain, "and bear to thee his message. He +is our king, and we are his liegemen, so it becomes us to speak only +the words he has put in our mouth. By us, his ambassadors, he bids you +refrain from setting a foot in France. He forbids you to intermeddle +with the realm, for it is his, and he will defend his right with such +power, that very certainly you may not snatch it from his hand. Arthur +requires you to seek nothing that is his. If, however, you challenge +his claim to France, then battle shall prove his title good, and by +battle you shall be thrown back to your own land. Once upon a time the +Romans conquered this realm by force, and by force they maintained +their right. Let battle decide again whether Rome or Britain has the +power to keep. Come forth to-morrow with thy host, so that it may be +proven whether you or we shall hold France. If you fear this thing, +then go your way in peace, as indeed is best, for what else is there +to do! The game is played, and Rome and you have lost." Lucius the +emperor made answer that he did not purpose to return to his realm. +France was his fief, and he would visit his own. If he might not +pursue his road to-day, why, then to-morrow. But in heart and hope he +deemed himself mighty enough to conquer France, and to take all in his +seisin. Now Quintilian, the nephew of the emperor, was seated by his +side. He took the word suddenly from his uncle's mouth, for he was a +passing proud youth, quick to quarrel, and very bitter in speech. "The +Britons," cried he, "are known to all as a vainglorious people. They +threaten readily, and they boast and brag more readily still. We have +listened to their menaces, but we remember they are of those who boast +the more because they act the less." Quintilian, as I deem, would have +continued with yet other grievous words, but Gawain, who was hot with +anger, drew forth his sword, and springing forward, made the head fly +from his shoulders. He cried to his comrades that they should get to +their horses, and the earls won their way from the pavilion, Gawain +with them, and they with him. Each seized his steed by the bridle, +and climbed nimbly in the saddle. Then they rode forth from the camp, +shield on shoulder, and lance in hand, asking no leave of any. + +The patricians within the pavilion sat silent for a space after that +bitter stroke. The emperor was the first to come from his amazement. +"Why sit you here?" cried Lucius; "follow after those men who have set +this shame upon us. Ill fall the day, if they come not to my hand!" +The bravest of his household ran from the tent crying for harness and +horses. From every side arose the shouting, "Swiftly, swiftly; bridle +and spur; gallop, gallop." The whole host was mightily moved together. +They set saddles on destriers, and led the steeds from the stable. +They girt their baldrics about them, and taking their lances, spurred +after the fugitives. The three barons pricked swiftly across the +plain. They looked this way and that; often glancing behind them to +mark how nearly they were followed. The Romans pursued them pell-mell; +some on the beaten road, and others upon the heavy fields. They came +by two, or three, or five, or six, in little clumps of spears. Now a +certain Roman rode in advance of his fellows, by reason of his good +horse, which was right speedy. He followed closely after the Britons, +calling loudly, "Lords, stay awhile. He knows himself guilty who flees +the pursuer." At his word Guerin of Chartres turned him about. He +set his buckler before him, and lowering the lance, hurtled upon his +adversary. Guerin rode but the one course. He smote the Roman so +fiercely, midmost the body, that he fell from his destrier, and died. +Guerin looked on the fallen man. He said, "A good horse is not always +great riches. Better for you had you lain coy in your chamber, than to +have come to so shameful an end." When Boso beheld this adventure of +Guerin, and heard his words, he was filled with desire of such honour. +He turned his horse's head, and seeing before him a knight seeking +advancement, ran upon him with the spear. Boso smote his adversary +in the throat, where the flesh is soft and tender. The Roman fell +straightway to the ground, for his hurt was very grievous. Boso cried +gaily to his stricken foe, "Master Roman, you must needs be fed with +gobbets and dainties. Take now your rest, till your comrades may tend +you. Then give them the message that I leave you in their care." Among +the pursuers spurred a certain patrician named Marcellus, who was come +of a very noble house. This Marcellus was amongst the last to get +in his saddle, but by reason of the strength and swiftness of his +destrier he rode now with the foremost. He had forgotten his lance, in +his haste to follow his fellows. Marcellus strove hotly to overtake +Gawain. He rode furiously with bloody spur and loosened rein. His +horse approached nearly to Gawain's crupper, and the knight was +persuaded that in no wise might he shake off his pursuer. Already +Marcellus had stretched forth his hand, promising Gawain his life if +he would yield as his prisoner. Gawain watched his hunter wanly. When +Marcellus was upon him, Gawain drew his rein sharply, so that the +Roman overran the chace. As he passed, Gawain plucked forth his +sword, and smote Marcellus terribly on the helmet. No coif could +have hindered the stroke, for it divided the head down to the very +shoulders. Marcellus tumbled from his horse and went to his place. +Then said Gawain, of his courtesy, "Marcellus, when you greet +Quintilian deep in hell, tell him, I pray, that you have found the +Britons as bold as their boast. Tell him that they plead the law with +blows, and bite more fiercely than they bark." Gawain called upon his +companions, Guerin and Boso, by their names, to turn them about, and +enter the lists with their pursuers. The two knights did cheerfully +after his counsel, so that three Romans were shocked from their +saddles. Then the messengers rode swiftly on their way, whilst the +Romans followed after, seeking in all things to do them a mischief. +They thrust at the Britons with lances, they struck mightily with +the sword, yet never might wound nor hurt, neither bring them to the +earth, nor make them their captives. There was a certain Roman, a +kinsman of Marcellus, who bestrode a horse that was right speedy. This +Roman was very dolent, because of his cousin's death, for he had seen +his body lying in the dust. He spurred his steed across the plain, and +gaining upon the three knights, made ready to avenge his kinsman's +blood. Gawain watched him ride, with lifted sword, as one who deemed +to smite the shield. When Gawain perceived his purpose, he dropped the +lance, for he had no need of a spear. He drew his sword, and as the +Roman, with brand raised high above his head, prepared to strike, +Gawain smote swiftly at the lifted limb. Arm and sword alike flew far +off in the field, the fist yet clasped about the hilt. Gawain dressed +his glaive again. He would have bestowed yet another buffet, but the +Romans hastened to the succour of their fellow, and he dared not stay. +In this fashion the huntsmen followed after the quarry, till the chase +drew near a wood, close by the entrance to that fortress Arthur had +newly built. + +Now Arthur had appointed six thousand horsemen of his host to follow +after his messengers. He commanded these horsemen to go by hill and +valley to guard against surprise. They were to watch diligently for +the ambassadors, affording them succour, so they were beset. This +great company of spears was hidden in the wood. They sat upon their +horses, helmet on head, and lance in hand, scanning the road for the +return of Arthur's embassy. Presently they were aware of many armed +men riding swiftly across the plain, and in their midst three knights, +in harness, fleeing for their lives. When the Britons marked the +quarry, and were assured of the hunters, they cried out with one +voice, and burst from their ambush. The Romans dared not abide their +coming, but scattered on the plain. The Britons rode hardly upon them, +doing them all the mischief they might, for they were passing wroth to +see their comrades handselled so despitefully. Many a Roman had reason +to rue his hunting, for some were seized and made captive, others were +sorely wounded, and divers slain. There was a certain rich baron named +Peredur. Amongst the captains of Rome not one was counted his peer. +This captain had ten thousand armed men in his bailly, who marched at +his bidding. Tidings were carried to Peredur of the snare the Britons +had limed. Peredur moved promptly. He hastened with ten thousand +shields to the plain, and by sheer force and numbers bore the Britons +back to the wood, for they were not mighty enough to contend against +him in the field. The Britons held the wood strongly, and defended it +right manfully. Peredur might not take it for all his cunning, and +lost there largely of his company. The Britons lured the Romans within +the covert, and slew them in the glooms. So hot and so perilous was +the melley, fought between the valley and the wood. + + +Arthur took thought to the tarrying of his messengers, and remembered +that those came not again whom he sent to their aid. The king summoned +Yder, the son of Nut, to his counsel. He committed to his charge seven +thousand horses and riders, and despatched them after the others, +bidding him seek until he found. Yder drew to the plain. Gawain and +Boso yet strove like champions, and for the rest there was not one but +did what he could. From afar Yder heard the cry and the tumult as the +hosts contended together. When the Britons beheld Yder's company, +they were refreshed mightily in heart and hope. They assailed their +adversaries so fiercely that they won back the ground which was lost. +Yder led his horsemen like a brave knight and a cunning captain. +He charged so vigorously with his company, that many a saddle was +emptied, many a good horse taken, and many a rider shocked. Peredur +sustained the battle stoutly, and wheeling about, returned to the +field. He was a crafty captain, knowing well the hour to charge and to +wheel, to press hard on the fugitive, or to wait. Many a fair charge +did he lead that day. He who was valiant, found Peredur yet more bold. +Whoso was minded to tourney, found Peredur yet more willing to break +a spear. His bailly smote more terribly with the sword than ever they +were stricken, so that three hundred horsemen and over lay dead upon +the field. When the Britons marked the deeds of Peredur they could not +be contained. They broke from their ranks and companies, and ran +upon the foe. They were desirous beyond measure to joust with their +adversaries, and to show forth their prowess. Above all things they +were covetous of honour, so that for chivalry they brought the battle +to confusion. So only they strove hand to hand with the Romans, they +gave no thought to the end. Peredur wished nothing better. He held his +bailly closely together, pushing home and drawing off according to +need. Many a time he charged amongst the Britons, and many a time +he returned, bringing his wounded from their midst. Boso of Oxford +regarded the battle. He saw his dead upon the ground. He marked the +craft with which Peredur--that great captain--sustained the Romans, +and knew well that all was lost, save that Peredur were slain. How +might the courage of a rash and foolish company prevail against the +discipline of the Roman host! Boso called about him the best and +bravest of his captains. "Lords," he said, "give me your counsel. You, +in whom Arthur put his trust, have entered on this battle without any +commandment of our lord. If well befalls, all will be well; if ill, +he will require his sergeants at our hands. Should we be vile and +niddering enough to gain no honour on the field, very surely we shall +receive yet more shame as our portion when we come into his presence. +Our one hope is to fight against none, great or small, save only with +Peredur. Alive or dead he must be made captive, and delivered into +Arthur's power. Until Peredur be taken we shall never draw off in +honour from the stour, but must suffer yet greater loss than before. +If then you would make him prisoner, follow after where I will lead, +and do that thing which you shall see me do." The captains, therefore, +plighted faith to follow his ensample, and in no wise to depart from +his command. + +Boso brought together as many horsemen as he might, and ranged them +in order of battle. He sent out spies to bring him tidings where that +Peredur should be met, who led the Romans so craftily. The spies +departed on their perilous errand, and returning presently, proclaimed +that Peredur rode with the host in that place where the press was +thickest, and the battle drew never to an end, Boso rode with his +company straight to the heart of the stour. He hurtled upon the +Romans, and looking on Peredur, fought his way to his side. When their +horses stood together, Boso flung his arms about his adversary, and +dragged him amongst the Britons. Then of his will he hurled himself +to the ground, and with him tumbled Sir Peredur. A very marvellous +adventure was it to behold Boso fall from his destrier in the hottest +of the battle, clasping Peredur closely in his arms. The two champions +strove mightily, but Boso was above, and for nothing would unloose his +hold. The bailly of Peredur hastened fiercely to the rescue of their +captain. Those whose lances were still unbroken charged till the +staves were splintered; when their lances failed them at need, they +laid on with their swords, working havoc amongst the Britons. At any +price the Romans would rescue their captain, and the Britons were +in the same mind to succour Boso in his jeopardy. Never might heart +desire to see battle arrayed more proudly. Never was there a fairer +strife of swords, never a more courteous contention of valiant men. +Plume and helmet were abased to the dust, shields were cloven, the +hauberk rent asunder, ash staves knapped like reeds, girths were +broken, saddles voided, and strong men thrown, and brave men wounded +to the death. The thunder of the shouting filled the field. The +Britons cried as Arthur had taught them, and the Romans answered with +the name of Rome. The one party did all that valiant men were able +to guard their captive in their midst, and the other to pluck their +captain from amongst them. So confused was the contention, so +disordered the combat, that men as they strove together hardly knew +Roman from Briton, friend from foe, save only by the cry they shouted, +and by the tongue they spoke in the stour. Gawain flung himself in the +press, hewing a path towards Boso, with mighty strokes of the sword. +With point and edge, thrust and cut, he beat down many, and put divers +to flight. Not a Roman of them all could prevail against him, nor, so +he might, would strive to hinder him in his road. From another side +of the field Yder set his face to the same end. A woodman was he, +clearing a bloody path amongst the trees. Guerin of Chartres aided him +like a loyal comrade, each covering his fellow with the shield. The +three champions drew before Peredur and Boso, and dragged them to +their feet. They brought a steed to Boso, and gave a sword to his +hand. As for Peredur, the crafty captain who had done them so many and +such great mischiefs, they held him strongly. They carried him from +the press to their own lines for the greater surety. There they left +him, bound, under the charge of trusty warders, and straightway +returned to the battle. Now the Romans had lost their captain. They +were as a ship upon the waters, without a rudder, that drifts here and +there, having neither aim nor direction, at the bidding of the winds +and waves. Such was the plight of the bailly which was spoiled of its +captain, for an army without a constable is less an army than a flock +of sheep. The Britons dealt mercilessly with their beaten foe. They +pressed hardly upon the Romans, smiting down and slaying many. They +made captives of the fallen, stripping them of wealth and armour, and +pursued hotly after the fugitives. These they bound with cords, and +came again in triumph to their companions in the wood, together with +their prisoners. The Britons carried Peredur, the wise captain, to the +camp, and bestowed him upon Arthur, their lord. They rendered also to +his hand divers other prisoners of less value than he. Arthur thanked +them for their gift. He promised to recompense each for his goodwill, +when he returned a victor to his realm. Arthur set his captives fast +in prison, whence they could in nowise break out. Afterwards he took +counsel with his barons to convey the prisoners to Paris, and guard +them close in his castle, until the king's pleasure concerning them +was known. He feared to keep them with the host, lest--watch as he +would--they should escape from his ward. Arthur made ready a strong +company to bring them to Paris, and set governors over them. He gave +Peredur and his fellows into the charge of four earls of high lineage, +namely, Cador, Borel, Richier, and Bedevere his butler. These barons +rose very early in the morning, and brought the Romans from their +prison. Like careful warders they put the captives in their midst, and +set out on their journey, riding right warily. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, had learned from his spies that the earls +purposed to start at daybreak on their road to Paris. Lucius prepared +ten thousand riders on horses. He bade them travel the whole night +through, outstripping the Britons, and devise such ambush as would +rescue their comrades from these barons. He committed this company to +Sertorius, lord of Libya, and Evander, the King of Syria. With these +princes were Caritius and Catellus Vulteius, patricians of Rome. Each +of these lords was a wealthy man of his lands, and a skilful captain +in war. Lucius had chosen them from all their fellows, and laid his +charge straitly upon them, to succour their comrades in their need. +These were the lords of the host. The ten thousand horsemen in mail +set out at nightfall on their errand. Certain peasants of the land +went with them, to guide them by the surest way. They travelled +throughout the night, sparing not the spur, till they came forth on +the Paris road. There they searched out a likely place where they +might hide them in ambush, and held themselves close and coy until +it was day. Very early in the morning the prickers of the host sent +tidings that the Britons were near at hand. Arthur's men rode in all +surety, deeming they had nought to fear. They were ordered in two +companies. Cador and Borel led the first company, and were the +vanguard of the host. A little space after came Richier, the earl, and +Bedevere, the king's cupbearer. These had Peredur and his fellows in +their care. Six hundred horsemen in harness followed at the earls' +backs, having the captives in their midst. They had tied their wrists +behind them, and fastened their feet with ropes under the bellies of +the horses. So they pricked, all unwitting, into the snare the Romans +had spread. When Cador and Borel were in the net, the Romans sallied +forth from their hiding. The hard ground trembled beneath the thunder +of the destriers' hoofs. They charged home fiercely amongst their +adversaries, but for all their amazement the Britons sustained the +shock like men. Bedevere and Richier gave ear to the tumult, and the +noise of the shouting. Their first thought was to the prisoners. These +they set in a sure place, giving them to the charge of their squires, +and commanding that they should be guarded strictly. Then they +hastened amain to the breaking of spears. The adversaries clashed +together with all their strength. The Romans drifted here and there, +in little clumps of lances, for their mind was less to discomfit the +Britons than to release the captives from their bonds. For their +part the Britons kept their order, and fared boldly among the enemy. +Passing heavy were the Romans because of the prisoners they might not +find. Very grievous was the count of their horsemen who perished in +the search. Now the captains divided the Britons by companies into +four strong columns of battle Cador of Cornwall commanded the folk of +his earldom; Bedevere the Frenchmen of Beauce, Borel had with him the +levies of Le Mans, and to Richier was committed a company drawn from +the men of his household. King Evander perceived the loss and the +peril caused to his host by reason of their divided mind Since the +captives could not be met with, he checked the hastiness of his +meinie. He drew back his horsemen, and ranged them in order. Then he +returned to the battle. It befell, therefore, that the Romans bore +away the prize, and had the better of their adversaries. They wrought +much damage to the Britons, making many prisoners. They slew, moreover, +four of the mightiest and most valiant lords of their enemies At that +time perished Yder, a faithful knight, courageous and passing strong. +Hirelgas of Peritum died, too, this day, there was no hardier knight +than he. Ahduc of Tintagel also, for whom his kin made wondrous +sorrow. Besides these was slain Sir Amaury of the Islands, but whether +he was Welsh or Briton I do not know. Earl Borel of Le Mans, a rich +lord, and a right honoured and puissant prince amongst his own, did +well and worshipfully. He checked the Romans boldly, slaying of them +more than one hundred men. Evander hastened against him. He thrust his +lance head through Borel's throat, so that the point came out at his +neck. Borel fell from his horse, for he was sped. The Britons were +dismayed beyond measure. They fled before their adversaries, since +many were killed, and where one Briton stood, ten Romans opposed +themselves over against him. Doubtless they had been utterly +discomfited, and the captives wrested from their hand, had not Guitard +of Poitiers drawn to their succour. Earl Guitard, that day, was warden +of the marches. He learned from his prickers tidings that a company +of Romans was despatched to rescue the captives. Guitard saddled his +destrier. He took with him three thousand horsemen, without counting +the spearmen and archers, and rode swiftly in aid. As they drew near +to the battle they heard the shouts of the Romans in praise of their +victory. Guitard and his company rode into the press with lowered +lances and scarlet spurs. A hundred horsemen and more were hurled from +their steeds in that shock, never to climb in the saddle again. The +Romans were altogether fearful and esmayed, making complaint of their +pitiful plight. They deemed that Arthur himself had fallen upon them +with all his meinie at his back. Their hearts turned to water, by reason +of the number of their dead. The levies of Poitou closed about them, +and the Britons failed not at need Each company strove to outvie its +fellow, contending earnestly for the greater glory. The Romans could do +no more. They turned about and fled the field, utterly discomfited and +abased. Their one thought was to get to shelter, or else they were all +dead men. The Britons pressed hardly on the fugitives, slaying many. +In the flight King Evander and Catellus were taken, and of their +fellowship six hundred and more were destroyed. Of these divers were +slain, and others made captive. The Britons took spoil of prisoners +according to their desire, and retained of these as they might. Then +they returned by the road, to the place where the combat was won. The +Britons went about the field searching amongst the dead for Borel, the +stout Earl of Le Mans. They found him among the fallen, bebled with +blood, and gashed with many a grisly wound. Afterwards they carried the +hurt to the surgeons, and the dead they laid in their graves. As for +Peredur and his companions they committed them afresh to those whom +Arthur had charged with their keeping, and sent them on their way to +Paris. The rest of the prisoners they bound straitly, and carrying them +before Arthur, delivered them to his hand. They rehearsed to the king +the tale of this adventure, and not a man of them all but pledged +his word that so the Romans made offer of battle, without doubt they +should be utterly destroyed. + +The tidings of this heavy discomfiture were brought to the emperor +Lucius learned of the capture of Evander, and of the others who +were slain. He saw his men had no more spirit in them, and that the +beginning of the war went very ill. Lucius considered the failure of +his hopes, that in nothing was he conqueror. He was passing heavy, +being altogether cast down and dismayed. He thought and thought and +feared. He knew not whether to give Arthur battle without delay, or to +await the coming of the rearward of his host. He doubted sorely that +which he should do, for wondrously affrighted was he of this battle, +by reason of the losses he had known. Lucius took counsel with his +captains, and devised to bring his company to Autun, passing by way +of Langres. He set forth with the host, and moving towards Langres, +entered the city when the day was far spent. Now Langres is builded +on the summit of a mount, and the plain lies all about the city. So +Lucius and part of his people lodged within the town, and for the rest +they sought shelter in the valley. Arthur knew well where the emperor +would draw, and of his aim and purpose. He was persuaded that the +Roman would not fight till the last man was with him. He cared neither +to tarry in the city, nor to pacify the realm. Arthur sounded his +trumpets, and bade his men to their harness. As speedily as he might +he marched out from camp. He left Langres on the left hand, and passed +beyond it bearing to the right. He had in mind to outstrip the emperor, +and seize the road to Autun. All the night through, without halt or +stay, Arthur fared by wood and plain, till he came to the valley of +Soissons. There Arthur armed his host, and made him ready for battle. +The highway from Autun to Langres led through this valley, and Arthur +would welcome the Romans immediately they were come. The king put the +gear and the camp followers from the host. He set them on a hill near +by, arrayed in such fashion as to seem men-at-arms. He deemed that the +Romans would be the more fearful, when they marked this multitude of +spears. Arthur took six thousand six hundred and sixty six men, and +ranged them by troops in a strong company. This company he hid +within a wood upon a high place. Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was the +constable of the meinie. "Your part in the battle," said Arthur, "is +to be still. Let nothing induce you to break from your post should +evil befall, and the battle roll back to the wood, charge boldly on +your adversaries, that you comrades may find rest if it chance that +the Romans turn their backs in the battle, then hurtle upon them +without delay, sparing none in the flight". So these answered, +promising to do after his word Arthur straightway ordered another +legion. It Was formed of mighty men, chosen from amongst his vassals, +with laced helmets, riding on their destriers. This fair company he +arrayed in open ground, and it owned no other captain save the king. +With this legion rode those of his privy household, whom he had +cherished and nourished at his own table. In their midst was guarded +the royal Dragon, that was the king's own gonfalon. From the rest +of his host the king made six companies, each company having ten +captains. Half of these companies were horsemen, and the others went +on foot. On each and all Arthur laid prayer and commandment, that +rider and sergeant alike should bear them as men, and contend +earnestly against the Romans. Not one of these legions but was numbered +of five thousand five hundred and fifty-five horsemen, chosen +soldiers, mighty men of valour, and mightily armed for war. Of the +eight legions, four companies were set over against their enemy, +supported by four behind. Every man was armed and clad according to +the custom of his land. Aguisel of Scotland had the forefront of the +first legion in his keeping, Cador of Cornwall being charged with the +rear. Boso and Earl Guerin of Chartres were the constables of another +company. The third company, formed of outland folk, and armed in +divers manners, was delivered to Echil, King of the Danes, and to Lot, +the King of Norway. The fourth had Hoel for constable, and with him +Gawain, who, certes, was no faintheart. Behind these four legions were +arrayed and ordered yet four other companies. Of one, Kay the sewer +and Bedevere the cupbearer were the captains. With Kay were the men +of Chinon and the Angevins; whilst under Bedevere were the levies of +Paris and of Beauce. To Holdin of Flanders and Guitard the Poitivin +were committed another company--right glad were they of their trust. +Earls Jugein of Leicester and Jonathan of Dorchester were lords and +constables of the seventh legion. Earl Curfalain of Chester and Earl +Urgain of Bath held the eighth legion as their bailly; for these +were lords by whom Arthur set great store. As for the spearmen, the +archers, and the stout arbalestriers Arthur separated them from the +press. He divided them into two portions--one for either wing of his +army. All these were about the king's person, and embattled near his +body. + +When Arthur had arrayed his legions, and set his battle in order, +hearken now that which he spake to his lords, his household, and his +vassals "Lords," said Arthur, "I take wondrous comfort when I +remember your manhood and virtues, seeing you always so valiant and +praiseworthy. In the past you have accomplished great things, but day +by day your prowess grows to the full, abating the pride of all who +set themselves against you. When I call to mind and consider that +Britain, in our day, is the lady of so many and so far lands by reason +of you and your fellows, I rejoice mightily, mightily I boast thereof, +and in my God and you right humbly do I put my trust. God grant that +you may do more marvellous works than ever you have wrought, and that +your orb has not yet reached its round. Lords, your valiance and +manhood have conquered these Romans twice already. My heart divines +the decree of fate that you will overthrow them once again. Three +times then have we discomfited these Romans. You have smitten down the +Danes; you have abated Norway, and vanquished the French. France we +hold as our fief in the teeth of the Roman power. Right easily should +you deal with the varlet, who have overborne so many and such perilous +knights. The Romans desire to make Britain their province, to grow fat +with our tribute, and to bring France once more to their allegiance +For this cause they have ransacked the east, and carried hither these +strange, outland people, who amaze Christendom, to fight in their +quarrel. Be not fearful of their numbers. Ten christened men are worth +a hundred of such paynims. The battle will be less a battle, than +a tournament of dames. Have therefore good trust in God, and be +confident of the issue. We shall deal with them lightly, so only we +show a little courage. Well I am assured what each of you will do this +day, and how he will bear him in the melley. For my part I shall be +in the four quarters of the field, and with every one of my legions. +Where the press is thickest, where the need most dire, my Dragon shall +raise his crest" + +When the proud words were ended which Arthur rehearsed in the ears of +his people, the host made answer with one loud voice. Not a man of +them all, who hearkened to his speech, but replied that he loved +better to be stark upon the field, than to know himself vanquished at +the end. The whole host was mightily moved together. They defied the +foe, they promised with oaths to bear them like men, and there were +those who wept. Such tears were not shed by reason of fearfulness. It +was the weeping of men who were utterly purposed never to fail their +king. + +Now Lucius, the emperor, was born in Spain, of a valiant and noble +stock. He was in the most comely flower of his age, having more than +thirty years, but less than forty. He was a proven knight, of high +courage, who had done great deeds already. For such feats of arms the +Roman senate had chosen him to be their emperor. Lucius rose early in +the morning, purposing to set forth from Langres to Autun His host +was now a great way upon the road, when tidings were brought of the +stratagem Arthur had practised against him. The emperor knew well that +either he must fight or retreat. Go back he would not, lest any deemed +him fearful. Moreover, should the Britons follow after, their triumph +was assured, for how may soldiers bear them with a stout heart, who +flee already from the field! Lucius called about him his kings, his +princes, and his dukes. He drew together his wisest counsellors, and +the most crafty captains of his host. To these he spake, and to the +bravest of his legions, numbering one hundred thousand men and more +besides. "Hearken, gentle lords," cried Lucius, "give ear, ye liege +men, fair conquerors, honest sons of worthy sires, who bequeathed you +so goodly an inheritance. By reason of your fathers' glorious deeds, +Rome became the empery of the world. That she will remain whilst one +only Roman breathes. Great as is the glory of your fathers who subdued +this empire, so great will be the shame of their sons in whose day +it is destroyed. But a valiant father begets a valiant son. Your +ancestors were gentle knights, and you do them no wrong. Not one of +you but comes of hardy stock, and the sap rises in your blood like +wine. Let every man strive valiantly this day to be what his father +was in his. Remember the grief that will be his lot who loses his +heritage, and whose cowardice gives to another what he holds of his +father's courage. But I know, and am persuaded, that you will maintain +your portions. Bold as were the dead, so bold are the living, and I +speak to knights who are mighty men of valour. Lords, the road is shut +which would lead us to Autun. We cannot wend our way till we have +forced the gate. I know not what silent thief, or picker, or sturdy +knave, has closed the road by which we fared. He deems that I shall +flee, and abandon the realm like a dropped pouch. He is wrong. If +I went back it was but to lure him on. Now that he has arrayed his +battle against you, brace your harness and loosen your swords. If the +Briton awaits us, he shall not be disappointed of his hope. Should he +flee he shall find us on his track. The time is come to put bit and +bridle in the jaws of this perilous beast, and to hinder him from +further mischief." + +The Romans hastened to get to their arms, for they were passing eager +to fight. They arrayed and embattled the host, setting the sergeants +in rank and company, and forming the columns in due order. The Romans +were a mingled fellowship. Divers outland kings, and many paynim and +Saracens, were mixed with the Christian folk, for all these people +owned fealty to Rome, and were in the service of the emperor. By +thirties and forties, by fifties, by sixties, by hundreds and by +legions, the captains apparelled the battle. In troops and in +thousands the horsemen pricked to their appointed place. Multitudes +of spearmen, multitudes of riders, were ranged in close order, and +by hill and valley were despatched against Arthur's host. One mighty +company, owning fealty to Rome and employed in the service of the +emperor, descended within the valley. Another great company assaulted +the Britons where they lay. Thereat broke forth a loud shrilling of +clarions and sounding of trumpets, whilst the hosts drew together. As +they approached, the archers shot so deftly, the spearmen launched +their darts so briskly, that not a man dared to blink his eye or to +show his face. The arrows flew like hail, and very quickly the melley +became yet more contentious. There where the battle was set you might +mark the lowered lance, the rent and pierced buckler. The ash staves +knapped with a shriek, and flew in splinters about the field. When the +spear was broken they turned to the sword, and plucked the brand from +its sheath. Right marvellous was the melley, and wondrously hideous +and grim. Never did men hew more mightily with the glaive. Not a man +who failed at need; not a man of them all who flinched in the press; +not one who took thought for his life. The sword smote upon the +buckler as on an anvil. The earth shuddered beneath the weight of the +fighting men, and the valley rang and clanged like a smithy with the +tumult. Here a host rushed furiously against a legion which met it +with unbroken front. There a great company of horsemen crashed with +spears upon a company as valiant as itself. Horse and rider went down +before the adversary, arrows flew and darts were hurled; lances were +splintered and the sword shattered upon the covering shield. The +strong prevailed against the weak, and the living brought sorrow to +the dead. Horses ran madly about the field, with voided saddles, +broken girths, and streaming mane. The wounded pitied their grievous +hurts, choosing death before life; but the prayer of their anguish was +lost in the tumult and the cries. Thus for a great while the two hosts +contended mightily together, doing marvellous damage, one to the +other. Neither Roman nor Briton could gain ground, so that no man knew +who would triumph in the end. Bedevere and Kay considered the battle. +They saw that the Romans held themselves closely. They were filled +with anger at the malice of the Romans, and led their company to that +place where the press was the most perilous. Ah, God, but Arthur had +men for his seneschal and cupbearer. Knights of a truth were these +who sat at his table. Kay and Bedevere smote like paladins with their +brands of steel. Many fair deeds had they done, but none so fair as +they did that day. They divided the forefront of the battle, and +cleaving a passage with the sword, opened a road for their fellows. +The Britons followed after, taking and rendering many strokes, so +that divers were wounded and many slain. Blood ran in that place like +water, and the dead they lay in heaps. Bedevere adventured deeper into +the melley, giving himself neither pause nor rest. Kay came but a +stride behind, beating down and laying low, that it was marvellous to +see. The two companions halted for a breathing space, turning them +about to encourage their men. Great was the praise and worship they +had won, but they were yet desirous of honour. They were over anxious +for fame, and their courage led them to rashness. In their hope of +destroying the Romans, they took no heed to their own safety. They +trusted beyond measure in their strength, and in the strength of their +company. There was a certain pagan, named Bocus, King of the Medes. +He was a rich lord in his land, and captain of a strong legion. Bocus +hastened his men to the battle, for he was fearful of none, however +perilous the knight. When the two hosts clashed together the +contention was very courteous, and the melley passing well sustained. +Pagan and Saracen were set to prove their manhood against Angevins and +the folk of Beauce. King Bocus took a sword, and discomfited the two +paladins. May his body rot for his pains. He thrust Bedevere through +the breast, so fiercely that the steel stood out beyond his back. +Bedevere fell, for his heart was cloven. His soul went its way. May +Jesus take it in His keeping! Kay lighted upon Bedevere lying dead. +Since he loved him more than any living man, he was determined the +pagans should not triumph over his body. He called around him as many +men as he might, and did such deeds that the Medians fled before him, +leaving the Britons on the field. Sertorius, King of Libya, beheld +this adventure, and was passing wroth. He had with him a great company +of pagans whom he had carried from his realm. Sertorius, hot with +anger, drew near, and dealt much mischief to his adversaries. He +wounded Kay to the death, and slew the best of his men. Mauled as he +was with many grim strokes, Kay guarded his comrade's body. He set it +amidst his men, and carried the burthen from the press, fighting as +they went. With him, also, he bore Arthur's banner, the golden Dragon, +let the Romans rage as they would. Now Hiresgas, the nephew of +Bedevere, loved his uncle passing well. He sought his kinsfolk and +friends, and gathered to his fellowship some three hundred men. This +company wore helmet and hauberk and brand, and rode fair destriers, +fierce and right speedy. Hiresgas ordered his house for the battle. +"Come now with me," said he to his friends, "and crave the price +of blood." Hiresgas drew near that place where Bocus, King of the +Medians, displayed his banner. When Hiresgas beheld his enemy he +became as a man possessed. He cried the battle cry of Arthur, and +together with his company charged terribly upon Bocus. He had but one +only thought, to avenge his uncle's death. Hiresgas and his fellows +burst amongst the Medians with lowered lances and covering shields. +They slew many, and flung many others from their saddles. They rode +over the fallen, trampling them beneath the hoofs of the horses, till +they reached the very cohort of that king who had slain Sir Bedevere. +Mounted on strong destriers the bold vassals followed after Hiresgas, +wheeling to right or left, as he led, till they pierced to the +gonfalon, showing the arms of the king. Hiresgas spied his foe. He +turned his horse, and pushing through the press, drew near, and smote +Bocus full on the helm. The baron was a mighty man; the stroke +was fierce, and his blade was keen and strong. He struck well and +craftily. The blow sheared through helmet and coif. It divided the +head to the shoulders, so that the soul of King Bocus sped away to the +Adversary. Hiresgas stretched out his arm, seizing the body ere it +might fall to the ground. He set his enemy before him on his horse, +and held him fast, the limbs hanging on either side. Then he made his +way from the stour, the dead man uttering neither lamentation nor cry. +The knight was grim, and his war-horse mighty. His kinsfolk gathered +behind him, that the Medians should do him no mischief. By the aid of +his fellows he won out of the battle, and carried his burthen to the +very place where his uncle lay. There, joint by joint, he hacked +King Bocus asunder. When his task was ended, Sir Hiresgas called his +comrades about him. "Come," said he, "come, true men's sons, to the +slaying of these Romans. Romans! nay, cutpurses, rather, whoresons, +paynims who have neither trust in God, nor faith in our true religion. +Rome has brought them from the east for the destruction of our lives +and our kin. On then, friends, let us wipe out these pagans, the +pagans, and such renegade Christians as have joined them to slay +Christendom more surely. Forward, to sharpen your manhood upon them." +Hiresgas led his household back to the battle. Tumult and shouting +filled the plain. Helmet and brand glittered in the sun, but the steel +often was dulled with blood, or was shattered on the shield. The fair +duke, Guitard of Poitiers, bore him as a valiant man. He held his own +stoutly against the King of Afric. The two lords contended together, +hand to hand, but it was the King of Afric died that day. Guitard +passed across his body, smiting down many Africans and Moors. Holdin, +Duke of the Flemings, was a wise prince, circumspect and sober in +counsel. He strove with the legion of Aliphatma, a King of Spain. +The two princes fought one with the other, in so great anger, that +Aliphatma was wounded to the death, and Holdin was in no better case. +Ligier, Earl of Boulogne, ran a course with the King of Babylon. I +know not who was the fairer knight, for both were shocked from their +seats. Dead upon the field lay earl and king alike. With Ligier were +slain three other earls, masters of many carles in their own lands. +Urgent, Lord of Bath, Balluc, Earl of Guitsire, and Earl Cursa of +Chester, warden of the marches of Wales, perished in a little space, +so that their men were sorely grieved. The company which followed +after their pennons flinched in the press. It gave back before the +Romans, and fled for shelter to the legion which had Gawain for its +captain, and with him Hoel, his fair friend and companion. Two such +champions you would not find, search the whole world through. Never +had knighthood seen their peers for courtesy and kindliness, as for +Wisdom and chivalry. + +Now Hoel was captain of the men of Brittany. His fellowship were proud +and debonair. They were reckless of danger to such a degree that they +neither cared nor feared to whom they were opposed. As one man they +charged, and as one man they pierced through the foe. The men of +Brittany swept down on the Romans, who were pursuing their comrades, +and trampling them under in thousands. They put them speedily to the +rightabout, and rode over many in their turn. Ah!, for the griding of +their swords, and, ah!, for the captives who were taken. The company +hurtled on, till they drew to the golden eagle which was the gonfalon +of the emperor. Lucius, himself, was very near his pennon, and with +him the flower of his meinie, the gentle men and gallant knights of +Rome. Then angels and men witnessed so mortal an encounter, as never +I deem was beheld of any, since time began. Chinmark, Earl of Tigel, +rode in Hoel's cohort. He was a great baron, and wrought much mischief +to his adversaries. His day was come, for a Roman, mean of his +station, and fighting on his feet, flung a javelin at his body, so +that he died. With the earl perished two thousand of the Britons, +every man hardier than his fellows. There, too, were slain three other +earls. Jagus, to his loss, had come from Boloan. The second was hight +Cecormanus, the third, Earl Boclonius. Few indeed of Arthur's barons +might compare with these lords in valour and worth. Had they been sons +of kings, who were but earls, the story of their gestes would be sung +by the minstrels, as I deem, about the world, so marvellous were their +feats. These three fair lords raged wondrously amongst the Romans. +Not one who came to their hands but gasped out his life, whether by +lance-thrust or sword. They forced a path to the eagle of the emperor, +but the bearers arrayed themselves against them, and cutting them off +from their companions, slew them amidst their foes. Hoel and Gawain, +his cousin, were distraught with anger when they regarded the mischief +dealt them by the Romans. To avenge their comrades, to wreak damage +upon their adversaries, they entered amongst them as lions in the +field. They smote down and did much havoc to their adversaries, +cleaving a way with many terrible blows of their swords. The Romans +defended their bodies to the death. If strokes they received, strokes +they rendered again. They opposed themselves stoutly to those who +were over against them, and were as heroes contending with champions. +Gawain was a passing perilous knight. His force and manhood never +failed, so that his strength was unabated, and his hand unwearied in +battle. He showed his prowess so grimly that the Romans quailed before +him. Gawain sought the emperor in every place, because of his desire +to prove his valour. He went to and fro, seeking so tirelessly and +diligently, that at the last he found. The captains looked on the +other's face. The emperor knew again the knight, and Gawain remembered +Lucius. The two hurtled together, but each was so mighty that he fell +not from his horse. Lucius, the emperor, was a good knight, strong +and very valiant. He was skilled in all martial exercises and of much +prowess. He rejoiced greatly to adventure himself against Gawain, +whose praise was so often in the mouths of men. Should he return +living from the battle, sweetly could he boast before the ladies +of Rome. The paladins strove with lifted arm and raised buckler. +Marvellous blows they dealt with the sword. They pained themselves +greatly, doing all that craft might devise to bring the combat to an +end. Neither of them flinched, nor gave back before the other. Pieces +were hewn from the buckler, and sparks flew from the brands. They +joined together, smiting above and thrusting under, two perfect +knights, two gentle paladins, so fierce and so terrible, that had they +been left to themselves very quickly must one have come to a fair end. + +The Roman legions recovered from the panic into which they had fallen. +They ranged themselves beneath the golden eagle, and brought succour +to the emperor at the moment of his utmost need. The legions swept +the Britons before them, and won again the field from which they +were driven. Arthur watched the fortunes of the day. He marked the +discomfiture of his host, and hearkened to the triumphant shouts of +the legionaries. He could not, and dared not, wait longer. Arthur +hastened with his chosen company to the battle. He rallied the rout, +crying to the fleeing sergeants, "Whom seek you? Turn about, for it +were better to be slain of the Romans than by your king. I am Arthur, +your captain, and mortal man shall not drive me from the field. Follow +me, for I will open a road, and beware lest the maidens of Britain +hold you as recreant. Call to mind your ancient courage, by which you +have overcome so many proud kings. For my part I will never go from +this field alive, till I have avenged me on my adversaries." Arthur +did wondrously in the eyes of all the people. He struck many a Roman +to the ground. Shield, and hauberk, and helmet he hewed asunder, +heads, arms, and gauntlets were divided by his sword. Excalibur waxed +red that day, for whom Arthur smote he slew. I cannot number the count +of his blows, and every blow a death. For as the ravenous lion deals +with his prey, so likewise did the fair king raven amongst his +enemies. Not one he spared, he turned aside from none. That man he +wounded required no surgeon for his hurt. All the press gave back +before so stark a champion, till in his path stood neither great nor +small. The King of Libya--Sertorius to name--was a lord exceeding +rich. Arthur struck the head from his shoulders. "In an ill hour you +drew from the east to bear arms in this quarrel, and to furnish drink +for Excalibur". But the dead man answered never a word. Polybetes, +King of Bithyma, fought upon his feet. This was a pagan lord, and +passing rich. Arthur found the paynim before him. He smote but one +marvellous blow, and divided his head to the shoulders. Polybetes +crashed to the earth. His soul rushed from his body, and his brains +were spattered about the field. "Roman, speed to your doom," cried +Arthur loudly, in the hearing of all. When the Britons beheld Arthur's +deeds, and hearkened to his high words, they took courage and charged +upon the Romans. The Romans met them boldly with sword and spear, +doing them many and great mischiefs. When Arthur saw that the battle +was stayed, he increased in valour, and did yet more dreadfully with +Excalibur. He slew and cast down divers, so that the ground was +cumbered with the fallen. Lucius, the emperor, for his part, was not +backward in the melley, and avenged himself grievously on the Britons. +Emperor and king, for all their seeking, might not come together. +This was heavy upon them, for each was a very courteous champion. The +battle rolled this way and that, since the contention was passing +perilous. The Romans did well, nor might the Britons do better. A +thousand men came swiftly to their deaths, for the two hosts arrayed +themselves proudly one against the other, and strove right scornfully. +Not a judge on earth could declare which host should be vanquished, +nor what man of them all would come victor and quick from the tourney. + +Now Mordup, Earl of Gloucester, was constable of the bailly Arthur +had hidden on a high place within a wood. Mordup remembered Arthur's +counsel that should evil befall, and the battle draw back to the wood, +he must charge boldly on his adversaries. Mordup rode from his hiding +with a company of six thousand six hundred and sixty-six riders, clad +in gleaming helmets and coats of mail, and carrying sharp lances and +swords. These drew down the hillside, unnoticed of the Romans, and +coming out on their rear, charged hotly on the legion. The legion was +altogether discomfited. Its ranks were pierced, its order was broken, +with the loss of more than one thousand men. The Britons rode amongst +the Romans, parting each from his fellow, trampling the fallen beneath +the horses' hoofs, and slaying with the sword. The Romans could +endure no longer, for the end of all was come. They broke from their +companies, and fled fearfully down the broad road, climbing one upon +the other in their haste. There Lucius, the emperor, fell on death, +being smitten in the body by a spear. I cannot tell who smote him +down, nor of whose lance he was stricken. He was overtaken in the +press, and amongst the dead he was found slain. Beneath the thickest +of the battle he was discovered, dead, and the hurt within his breast +was dealt him by a spear. + +The Romans and their fellows from the east fled before the pursuers, +but the Britons following after did them sore mischief. They waxed +weary of slaying, so that they trod the Romans underfoot. Blood ran in +runnels, and the slain they lay in heaps. Fair palfreys and destriers +ran masterless about the field, for the rider was dead, and had +neither joy nor delight in the sun. Arthur rejoiced and made merry +over so noble a triumph, which had brought the pride of Rome to the +dust. He gave thanks to the King of Glory, who alone had granted him +the victory. Arthur commanded search to be made about the country for +the bodies of the slain, whether they were friend or foe. Many he +buried in the self-same place, but for the others he carried them to +certain fair abbeys, and laid them together to rest. As for the body +of Lucius, the emperor, Arthur bade it to be held in all honour, and +tended with every high observance. He sealed it in a bier, and sent it +worshipfully to Rome. At the same time he wrote letters to the senate +that no other truage would he pay them for Britain, which he guarded +as his realm. If truage they yet required, then truage they should +receive coined in the very mint. Kay, who was wounded to death in the +battle, was carried to Chinon, the castle he had builded, and called +after his own name. There he was interred in a holy hermitage, +standing in a little grove, near by the city. Bedevere was brought to +Bayeux in Normandy, a town of his lordship. He was lain in the ground +beyond the gate, looking over towards the south. Holdin was borne to +Flanders, and buried at Tervanna. Ligier was buried at Boulogne. + +Arthur, for his part, sojourned all through the winter in Burgundy, +giving peace and assurance to the land. He purposed when summer was +come to pass the mountains, and get him to Rome. He was hindered in +his hope by Mordred, of whose shame and vileness you shall now hear. +This Mordred was the king's kin, his sister's very son, and had +Britain in his charge. Arthur had given the whole realm to his care, +and committed all to his keeping. Mordred did whatever was good in his +own eyes, and would have seized the land to his use. He took homage +and fealty from Arthur's men, demanding of every castle a hostage. Not +content with this great sin he wrought yet fouler villainy. Against +the Christian law he took to himself the wife of the king. His uncle's +queen, the dame of his lord, he took as wife, and made of her his +spouse. + +These tidings were carried to Arthur. He was persuaded that Mordred +observed no faith towards him, but had betrayed the queen, stolen his +wife, and done him no fair service. The king gave half his host to +Hoel, committing Burgundy and France to his hand. He prayed him to +keep the land shut from its foes till he came again in peace. For +himself he would return to Britain, to bring the kingdom back to its +allegiance, and to avenge himself on Mordred, who had served his wife +and honour so despitefully. Britain, at any cost, must be regained, +for if that were lost all the rest would quickly fall a prey. Better +to defer for a season the conquest of Rome, than to be spoiled of his +own realm. In a little while he would come again, and then would go +to Rome. With these words Arthur set forth towards Wissant, making +complaint of the falseness of Mordred, who had turned him away from +his conquest; for the warships lay at Wissant ready for sea. + +Mordred learned of Arthur's purpose. He cared not though he came, for +peace was not in his heart. He sent letters to Cheldric of Saxony, +praying him to sail to his aid. The Saxon came with seven hundred +galleys, furnished with all manner of store, and laden with fighting +men. Mordred plighted faith that so Cheldric would help him with all +his power, he would grant him the land from beyond Humber to the +marches of Scotland, besides all the land in Kent that Hengist held of +Vortigern's gift, when the king espoused Rowena. Mordred and Cheldric +gathered together a right fair company. Counting Saxon pagans and +christened men there assembled sixty thousand riders on horses, +in coats of mail. Mordred numbered his army with a quiet mind. He +considered he was so strong as to drive Arthur from any haven. Let +come what might he would never abandon his spoil. For him there was no +place for repentance, yea, so black was his sin that to proffer peace +would be but a jest. Arthur saw to the harness of his men. He got them +on the ships, a multitude whom none could number, and set forth to +Romney, where he purposed to cast anchor. Arthur and his people had +scarcely issued from the galleys, when Mordred hastened against him +with his own men, and those folk from beyond the sea who had sworn +to fight in his quarrel. The men in the boats strove to get them to +shore; whilst those on the land contended to thrust them deeper in +the water. Arrows flew and spears were flung from one to the other, +piercing heart and bowels and breast of those to whom they were +addressed. The mariners pained themselves mightily to run their boats +aground. They could neither defend themselves, nor climb from the +ships, so that those were swiftly slain who struggled to land. Often +they staggered and fell, crying aloud; and in their rage they taunted +those as traitors who hindered them from coming on shore. Ere the +ships could be unladen in that port, Arthur suffered wondrous loss. +Many a bold sergeant paid the price with his head. There, too, was +Gawain, his nephew, slain, and Arthur made over him marvellous sorrow; +for the knight was dearer to his heart than any other man. Aguisel was +killed at Gawain's side; a mighty lord, and very helpful at need. Many +others also were slain, for whom Arthur, the courteous prince, felt +sore dolour. So long as Mordred kept the shipmen from the sand, he +wrought them much mischief. But when Arthur's sergeants won forth from +the boats, and arrayed them in the open country, Mordred's meinie +might not endure against them. Mordred and his men had fared richly +and lain softly overlong. They were sickly with peace. They knew not +how to order the battle, neither to seek shelter nor to wield arms, +as these things were known to Arthur's host, which was cradled and +nourished in war. Arthur and his own ravened amongst them, smiting +and slaying with the sword. They slew them by scores and by hundreds, +killing many and taking captive many more. The slaughter was very +grievous, by reason of the greatness of the press. When daylight +failed, and night closed on the field, Arthur ceased from slaughter, +and called his war hounds off. Mordred's host continued their flight. +They knew not how they went, nor whither; for there was none to lead +them, and none took heed to his neighbour. Each thought of himself, +and was his own physician. Mordred fled through the night to London, +where he hoped to find succour. He leaned on a reed, for the citizens +would not suffer him to enter in their gates. He turned from the city, +and passing the fair water of the Thames, rode to Winchester without +stay. Mordred sought refuge at Winchester, and tarrying awhile, +summoned his friends to his side. He took hostages and sureties from +the citizens, that peace and faith should be observed between them, +and that they would maintain his right. Arthur might find no rest +by reason of the hatred he bore to Mordred. Great grief was his for +Aguisel and Gawain, the friends whom he had lost. He sorrowed heavily +above his nephew, and offered him seemly burial, though in what place +I cannot tell. The chronicles are silent, and meseems there is not a +man who knows where Gawain was laid[1], nor the name of him who slew +him with the sword. When Arthur had performed these fitting rites he +gave himself over to his wrath, considering only in what way he could +destroy Mordred. + +[Footnote 1: The grave of Gawain was fabled to be in Pembrokeshire.] + +He followed after the traitor to Winchester, calling from every part +his vassals as he went. Arthur drew near the city, and lodged his host +without the walls. Mordred regarded the host which shut him fast. +Fight he must, and fight he would, for the army might never rise up +till he was taken. Once Arthur had him in his grip well he knew he was +but a dead man. Mordred gathered his sergeants together, and bade them +get quickly into their armour. He arrayed them in companies, and came +out through the gates to give battle to the pursuers. Immediately he +issued from the barriers the host ran to meet him. The contention was +very grievous, for many were smitten and many overthrown. It proved +but an ill adventure to Mordred, since his men were not able to stay +against their adversaries. Mordred was persuaded that for him there +was only one hope of safety, for his trespass was beyond forgiveness, +and much he feared the king. He assembled privily the folk of his +household, his familiar friends, and those who cherished against +Arthur the deepest grudge. With these he fled over by-ways to +Southampton, leaving the rest of his people to endure as they could. +At the port he sought pilots and mariners. These he persuaded by gifts +and fair promises straightway to put out to sea, that he might escape +from his uncle. With a favourable wind the shipmen carried him to +Cornwall. Mordred feared exceedingly for his life, and rejoiced +greatly to begone. + +King Arthur besieged Winchester strictly. At the end he took burgesses +and castle. To Yvain, son of Urian, a baron beloved of the court, +Arthur granted Scotland as a heritage. Yvain paid homage for the gift. +Of old Aguisel claimed lordship in the realm, but he was dead, leaving +neither son nor dame to come before Yvain. This Yvain was a right +worshipful knight, worthy, and of passing great valour. Very sweetly +was he praised of many. + +That queen, who was Arthur's wife, knew and heard tell of the war that +was waged by Mordred in England. She learned also that Mordred had +fled from before the king, because he might not endure against him, +and durst not abide him in the field. The queen was lodged at York, in +doubt and sadness. She called to mind her sin, and remembered that for +Mordred her name was a hissing. Her lord she had shamed, and set her +love on her husband's sister's son. Moreover, she had wedded Mordred +in defiance of right, since she was wife already, and so must suffer +reproach in earth and hell. Better were the dead than those who lived, +in the eyes of Arthur's queen. Passing heavy was the lady in her +thought. The queen fled to Caerleon. There she entered in a convent +of nuns, and took the veil. All her life's days were hidden in this +abbey. Never again was this fair lady heard or seen; never again was +she found or known of men. This she did by reason of her exceeding +sorrow for her trespass, and for the sin that she had wrought. + +Mordred held Cornwall in his keeping, but for the rest the realm +had returned to its allegiance. He compassed sea and land to gather +soldiers to his banner. Saxon and Dane, the folk of Ireland and +Norway, Saracen and pagan, each and all of them who hated Arthur +and loathed his bondage, Mordred entreated to his aid. He promised +everything they would, and gave what he could, like a man whom +necessity drives hard. Arthur was sick with wrath that he was not +avenged of Mordred. He had neither peace nor rest whilst the traitor +abode in his land. Arthur learned of Mordred's strength in Cornwall, +and this was grievous to him. His spies brought tidings of the snares +that Mordred spread, and the king waxed heavier thereat. Arthur sent +after his men to the very Humber. He gathered to himself so mighty +a host that it was as the sand for multitude. With this he sought +Mordred where he knew he could be found. He purposed to slay and make +an end of the traitor and his perjury alike. Mordred had no desire to +shrink from battle. He preferred to stake all on the cast, yea, though +the throw meant death--rather than be harried from place to place. +The battle was arrayed on the Camel, over against the entrance to +Cornwall. A bitter hatred had drawn the hosts together, so that they +strove to do each other sore mischief. Their malice was wondrous +great, and the murder passing grim. I cannot say who had the better +part. I neither know who lost, nor who gained that day. No man wists +the name of overthrower or of overthrown. All are alike forgotten, the +victor with him who died. Much people were slain on either side, so +that the field was strewn with the dead, and crimson with the blood +of dying men. There perished the brave and comely youth Arthur had +nourished and gathered from so many and far lands. There also the +knights of his Table Round, whose praise was bruited about the whole +world. There, too, was Mordred slain in the press, together with the +greater part of his folk, and in the selfsame day were destroyed the +flower of Arthur's host, the best and hardiest of his men. So the +chronicle speaks sooth, Arthur himself was wounded in his body to the +death. He caused him to be borne to Avalon for the searching of his +hurts. He is yet in Avalon, awaited of the Britons; for as they say +and deem he will return from whence he went and live again. Master +Wace, the writer of this book, cannot add more to this matter of his +end than was spoken by Merlin the prophet. Merlin said of Arthur--if +I read aright--that his end should be hidden in doubtfulness. +The prophet spoke truly. Men have ever doubted, and--as I am +persuaded--will always doubt whether he liveth or is dead. Arthur bade +that he should be carried to Avalon in this hope in the year 642 of +the Incarnation. The sorer sorrow that he was a childless man. To +Constantine, Cador's son, Earl of Cornwall, and his near kin, Arthur +committed the realm, commanding him to hold it as king until he +returned to his own. The earl took the land to his keeping. He held it +as bidden, but nevertheless Arthur came never again. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut, by Wace + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARTHURIAN CHRONICLES: ROMAN *** + +***** This file should be named 10472.txt or 10472.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/7/10472/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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