The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

  It happened as Arthur had supposed. When the dead kings were discovered, the invaders were filled with panic and many of them dismounted and stood wondering what to do. And then Arthur launched his attack on the dispirited men and killed them right and left, and with his few he overcame many and many fled in terror. And when the battle was over, King Arthur knelt upon the ground and gave thanks to God for the victory. Then he sent for the queen, and when she arrived, he greeted her joyfully. Then word was brought that Sir Pellinore approached with a large force and greeted the king and saw with wonder what had been done there. When they counted their dead they found two hundred men dead and eight Knights of the Round Table slain in their tents before they could arm themselves.

  Then Arthur ordered that an abbey should be built on the battlefield as an offering of thanks and he endowed it with lands for its support. And when news of the victory traveled to the lands beyond the border, the enemies were afraid and any who had planned to attack Arthur gave up their intention.

  Arthur returned to Camelot, and he said to Pellinore, "Now there are eight vacant seats at our Round Table. Eight of our best knights are dead. We will find it hard to fill their places."

  "Sir," said Pellinore, "there are good men in this court, both young and old. My advice is that you choose four of the older knights and four of the younger."

  "Very well," the king said. "Which of the older do you suggest?"

  "The husband of your sister Morgan le Fay, Sir Uryens, for one; then the knight known as King of the Lake; for the third the noble knight Sir Hervis de Revel; and last Sir Galagars."

  "Those are well chosen," said Arthur. "Who among the younger do you prefer?"

  "First your nephew Sir Gawain, my lord. He is as good a knight as any in the land. Second, Sir Gryfflet, who has served you well in two wars, and third, Sir Kay the Seneschal, your foster brother, whose fame is growing."

  "You are right," said the king. "Sir Kay is worthy of the Round Table if he never fought again, but who for the fourth young knight? There remains a vacant seat."

  "I suggest two names, sir, but you must choose between them--Sir Bagdemagus and my son, Sir Torre. Because he is my son I cannot praise him, but if he were not my son I could say that for his age there is no better knight anywhere."

  Then King Arthur smiled at Pellinore. "You are right not to praise him," he said. "But because he is not my son, I can say that he is as good a candidate as any you have mentioned. I have seen him proved. He says little and does much. He is wellborn and very like his father in courage and courtesy. Therefore, I choose him and leave Sir Bagdemagus for another time."

  And Pellinore said, "Thank you, my lord."

  Then the eight knights were proposed to the fellowship and accepted by acclaim, and in their places their names were found in letters of gold, and the new knights took their seats at the Round Table.

  But Sir Bagdemagus was hurt and angry that Sir Torre was chosen over him. He armed himself and left the court followed by his squire, and the two rode far into the forest until they came to a cross set up in the branching path. There Bagdemagus dismounted and said his prayers devoutly, but his squire found writing on the cross which said that Sir Bagdemagus would never return to court until he could defeat a Knight of the Round Table in single combat.

  "Look," said the squire, "this writing concerns you. You must return and challenge one of the king's knights."

  "I shall never return until men speak of me with honor and say that I am worthy to be a Knight of the Table Round." And he remounted and rode doggedly on and in a little glade he found a plant which is the symbol of the Holy Grail, and his heart was lighter then, because it was known that no knight found such a token unless he was virtuous and brave.

  Many adventures came to Sir Bagdemagus and he acquitted himself well. One day he came to the great rock where Merlin was imprisoned and he could hear Merlin's voice through the stone. He tried his best to force an entrance, but Merlin called to him that it was not possible. No one could free him save she who had put him there. Reluctantly, the knight passed on, and in many lands he proved his worth and his knightliness so that his fame spread abroad, and when finally he returned to Arthur's court, he was accepted for a newly vacant seat and took his place at the Round Table by right of worth.

  Explicit

  MORGAN LE FAY

  MORGAN LE FAY, KING ARTHUR'S HALF-SISTER, was a dark, handsome, passionate woman, and cruel and ambitious. In a nunnery she studied necromancy and became proficient in the dark and destructive magic which is the weapon of the jealous. She joyed in bending and warping men to her will through beauty and enchantment, and when these failed she used the blacker arts of treason and murder. It was her pleasure to use men against men, fashioning from their weaknesses weapons for their strength. Having Sir Uryens for her husband, she made promises to Sir Accolon of Gaul and so enmeshed him in dreams and enchantments that his will was slack and his honor drugged, and he became the implement of her deepest wish. For Morgan hated her brother, Arthur, hated his nobility and was jealous of his crown. Morgan le Fay planned her brother's murder with intricate care. She would give the crown to Uryens but keep its power for herself, and the entangled Accolon would be the murder weapon.

  By her arts Morgan the witch made a sword and sheath exactly like Excalibur in appearance, and secretly she substituted it for Arthur's sword. Then she beguiled Accolon with promises, canceled his conscience with his lust, and instructed him in the part he was to play, and when he agreed he thought her eyes lighted with love when they were fired with triumph, for Morgan le Fay loved no one. Hatred was her passion and destruction her pleasure.

  Then Accolon by instruction took his place near Arthur and never left his side.

  When there were no wars or tournaments it was the custom of knights and fighting men to hunt in the great forests which covered so much of England. In the breakneck chase of deer through forest and swamp and over rutted and rock-strewn hills, they tempered their horsemanship, and meeting the savage charge of wild boars, they kept their courage high and their dexterity keen. And also their mild enterprise loaded the turning spits in the kitchens with succulent meat for the long tables of the great hall.

  On a day when King Arthur and many of his knights quartered the forest in search of quarry, the king and Sir Uryens and Sir Accolon of Gaul started a fine stag and gave chase. They were well horsed, so that before they knew it they were ten miles from the rest of the fellowship. The proud, high-antlered stag drew them on, and with whip and spur they pushed their foaming horses through tangled undergrowth and treacherous bogs, leaped streams and fallen trees until they overdrove their mounts and the foundered horses fell heaving to the ground, with bloody bits and rowel stripes on their sides.

  The three knights, now footbound, watched the stag move wearily away. "This is a pretty thing," said Arthur. "We are miles from help."

  Sir Uryens said, "We haven't any choice but to go on foot and look for some place to lodge and wait for help." They walked heavily through the oak forest until they came to the bank of a deep, wide river, and on the bank lay the exhausted stag, ringed with hounds, a brachet tearing at his throat. King Arthur scattered the hounds and killed the stag, and he raised his hunting horn and sounded the death call of a prize taken.

  And only then did the knights look about them. On the smooth dark water they saw a little ship covered with silken cloth that hung over the sides and dipped into the water, and the boat moved silently toward the bank and grounded itself in the sandy shallows nearby. Arthur waded to the boat and looked under the silken hangings and saw no one there. He called to his friends to come, and the three boarded the little vessel and found it laden with luxury, with soft cushions and rich hangings, but they could see no occupants. The three men sat tiredly down on the soft cushions and rested while the evening came and the forest darkened around them. Night birds called in the forest and wild ducks came coasting in and the black wall of the forest reared over them.

/>   As the companions nodded sleepily, a ring of torches flared up around them, and from the cabin of the ship twelve lovely damsels emerged, dressed in flowing silken gowns. The ladies curtsied to the king and saluted him by his name and welcomed him, and Arthur thanked them for their courtesy. Then they led the king and his fellows to a cabin hung with tapestry, and at a rich table they served wine and meats of many kinds, and such delicacies that all sat in wonder at the variety and profusion of the supper. And after they had supped long and pleasantly, and their eyes were heavy with good wine, the damsels led each to separate cabins richly hung with beds deep and soft. Then the three sank into the beds and instantly they fell into a deep, drugged sleep.

  In the dawn Sir Uryens opened his wine-swollen eyes and saw that he lay in his own bed in his own lodgings in Camelot and Morgan le Fay seemingly asleep beside him. He had gone to sleep two days' journey away, and he could remember nothing else. He studied his wife through slitted lids, for there were many things he did not know about her and many other things he did not want to know. And so he held his peace and concealed his wonder.

  King Arthur came to his senses on the cold stones of a dungeon floor. Dusky light from a high slit in the wall showed him the restless figures of many other prisoners. The king sat up, asking, "Where am I, and who are you?"

  "We are captive knights," they told him. "There are twenty of us here and some of us have been kept in this dark cell for as much as eight years."

  "For what reason?" asked the king. "Is it for ransom?"

  "No," said one of the knights. "I will tell you the cause. The lord of this castle is Sir Damas, a mean and recreant man, and also a coward. His younger brother is Sir Outlake, a good, brave, honorable knight. Sir Damas has refused to share the inherited lands with his brother, except for a small manor house and lands Sir Outlake holds by force and guards against his brother. The people of the countryside love Sir Outlake for his kindness and justice, but they hate Sir Damas, because he is cruel and vengeful, as most cowards are. For many years there has been war and contention between the brothers, and Sir Outlake has issued a challenge to fight in single combat for his rights against his brother or any knight Sir Damas may appoint. But Sir Damas has not the courage to fight, and moreover he is so hated that no knight will enter the field for him. And so he with a gang of hired fighting men has laid traps for good knights venturing alone, and fallen on them and brought them captive to this place. He offers freedom if we will fight for him, but everyone has refused and some he has tortured and some starved to death. All of us are faint from hunger and the cramping prison so that we could not fight even if we wished to."

  And Arthur said, "May God in his mercy deliver you."

  Now a damsel looked through the iron grill of the dungeon door and beckoned to Arthur, and she said softly, "How do you like it here?"

  "Am I supposed to like a prison?" said Arthur. "Why do you ask?"

  "Because you have a choice," the damsel said. "If you will fight for my lord you will be released, but if you refuse, as these other fools have, you will spend your life here."

  "It is a strange way to get a champion," said the king, "but for myself I would rather combat with a knight than live in a dungeon. If I agree to fight, will you release these other prisoners?"

  "Yes," said the damsel.

  "Then I am ready," the king said, "but I have neither horse nor armor."

  "You shall have everything you need, sir."

  The king looked closely at her and he said, "It seems to me that I have seen you at King Arthur's court."

  "No," she said. "I have never been there. I am the daughter of the lord of this castle."

  While the girl went to make arrangements, Arthur searched his memory, and he was quite sure he had seen her attending his sister Morgan le Fay.

  Sir Damas accepted Arthur's offer and he took an oath to deliver the prisoners and the king swore to fight his utmost against Sir Damas's enemy. Then the twenty weak and starving knights were brought out of the dungeon and given food, and they all remained to see the combat.

  Now we must go to Sir Accolon, the third knight, who had slept the enchanted sleep. He awakened close beside a deep well where a movement in his sleep would have cast him down. From the well there issued a silver pipe spouting water into a marble fountain. Morgan's magic had weakened with her absence, so that Accolon blessed himself, and he said aloud, "Jesus save my lord King Arthur and Sir Uryens. Those were not ladies in the ship but fiends from hell. If I can come clear of this misadventure I will destroy them and all others who practice evil magic."

  And at that moment an ugly dwarf with thick lips and a flat nose came out of the forest and saluted Sir Accolon. "I come from Morgan le Fay," said the dwarf, and the spell settled back on the knight. "She greets you and bids you be strong-hearted, because tomorrow in the morning you are to fight with a knight. Because she loves you, she sends you this sword Excalibur and its scabbard. And she says if you love her you will fight without mercy, as you promised her in private. She will also expect the king's head as proof that you have fulfilled your oath."

  Sir Accolon was deep enchanted now. He said, "I understand. I shall keep my promise and I can, now that I have Excalibur. When did you see my lady?"

  "A little time ago," said the dwarf.

  Then Accolon in his rapture embraced the ugly dwarf and kissed him and said, "Greet my lady for me and tell her I will keep my promise or die in the attempt. Now I understand the little ship and the sleep. My lady has arranged all of it, isn't that true?"

  "You may well believe it, sir," said the dwarf and he slipped away into the forest and left Accolon dreaming beside the silver fountain.

  And soon there came a knight accompanied by a lady and six squires, and he begged Accolon to come to a manor nearby to dine and rest, and Accolon accepted. All this was planned by Morgan le Fay, for the lord of the manor was Sir Outlake, who lay wounded by a spear thrust in the thigh. And as Sir Accolon sat with him, word was brought that Sir Damas had a champion to fight against his brother in the morning.

  Then Sir Outlake was furious with his wound, for he had wanted this test of arms for a long time, but his legs were so hurt that he could not sit a horse.

  Sir Accolon was confident because he had the protection of the sword Excalibur, and he offered to fight as Sir Outlake's champion.

  Then Sir Outlake was glad and he thanked Sir Accolon with all his heart for his offer, and he sent Sir Damas a message saying that his champion would fight for him.

  This combat had the blessing of custom and the authority of religion. It was an appeal to God to decide which of two men was right and to show His decision in the victor. The outcome had the force of law. And because of the hatred men felt for Sir Damas and the esteem in which Sir Outlake was held, the whole countryside assembled to see the trial by arms, knights and free men, and on the fringes of the gathering bondsmen and serfs. Twelve honorable men of the country were chosen to wait upon the champions where they sat with their horses, shields dressed, visors down, and spears booted, waiting for the signal to begin. The morning sun slanted through the leaves of great oaks which surrounded the jousting ground. Mass had been sung and each champion had prayed for the decision, and now they waited.

  Then a damsel rode onto the field and from under her riding cloak she drew a sword and scabbard--the counterfeit Excalibur. The damsel said, "Because of her great love for you, your sister Morgan le Fay sends you Excalibur, my lord, the sheath to protect your life and the sword to give you victory."

  "How kind my sister is," said Arthur. "Give her my thanks and love." And he took the false sword and belted it to his side.

  Now the horn blew its savage signal, and both knights couched their spears and hurtled together, and both spears struck true and held, and both men were hurled to the ground, and they sprang up and drew their swords and faced each other. They circled and feinted, each testing the other and looking for a weakness or an opening.

  And as t
hey opened the fight, Nyneve of the Lake rode up, driving her horse fast, the same damsel who had beguiled Merlin and sealed him in the rock. The necromantic art she had wrung from the adoring old man had given her power, but also it aroused rivalry and suspicion in Morgan le Fay. Nyneve loved the king and hated his evil sister. She knew the plot against Arthur's life and she had come at speed to save him before the combat joined and the laws against interference were applied. But she arrived late and had to watch the unequal contest, for although each knight delivered strokes and cuts, Excalibur bit deep and ripped its wounding way through Arthur's armor, while the false sword of the king glanced harmlessly from the shield and helm of Accolon.

  When Arthur felt his blood pouring from his wounds and felt the blunt uselessness of his sword, he was dismayed, and suspicion grew in him that he had been tricked. Then he was afraid, for every stroke of Accolon bit deep while Arthur's strongest blows were impotent. The counterfeit sword in his hand was forged of base metal, soft and useless.

  Now Accolon felt his advantage and pressed on, and the king struck such a furious stroke that the very weight of it staggered Accolon, who stepped away to get his breath and clear his head, but in a moment he came on again, and without art or skill the two rained strokes until Arthur bled from a hundred wounds, while Accolon was unhurt, protected by the sheath of the true Excalibur.

  Then a murmur of wonder went through the circle of watchers. They saw that Arthur fought well and yet could not wound his enemy, and they were amazed that he could continue with such loss of blood. Then Arthur drew back to rest and gather his strength, but Accolon cried out in triumph, "Come! Fight. This is no time to let you rest," and he charged forward and forced the battle so that Arthur in despair leaped in and swung a great stroke to the helm, and his sword blade broke and left only the pommel in his hand. Helpless, he covered himself with his shield while Accolon showered cuts upon him, trying to finish him. And as he attacked Sir Accolon said, "You are finished, helpless and lost. I don't want to kill you. Surrender and give up the cause."