The Death of King Arthur Read online

  ‘What shall we do?’ Arthur asked them. ‘We are weary and hard pressed.’

  ‘Let us walk on,’ King Uriens said. ‘We will find some lodging.’

  They made their way through the forest until they came on to the shore of a lake, where they saw the hart being killed by a pack of hounds. Arthur blew his horn as a symbol of his reward and then quartered the hart.

  The enchanted boat sails upon the lake

  Now Arthur saw a boat coming towards them across the lake. Its sails were of white and purple silk, and silently it came up to the shore. The wind that filled its sails smelled of violets. The king went over to it, curious to see who sailed it. But there was no earthly creature within. ‘Come, sirs,’ he said. ‘Let us explore this ship.’

  The three of them went aboard, and found it richly furnished with cloths of silk. By this time twilight had fallen, but the boat was suddenly lit by a hundred torches; they shined so brightly that the entire lake glowed with the light. The trees that encircled it cast enormous shadows. Thereupon appeared twelve fair ladies who fell to their knees and greeted the king by name. Then they led him and his companions into another room where a table was laid out with all manner of meats and wines, marvellous to behold. After the meal was over the three men were taken to their bedchambers, richly furnished, where they fell into a sound sleep.

  When King Uriens awoke, on the following morning, he was in the arms of his wife, Morgan le Fay; to his amazement he was returned to Camelot.

  When King Arthur awoke he found himself in a foul prison, while all around him rose the complaints of fearful knights. ‘Why are you so woeful?’ he asked them.

  ‘We are all prisoners here. Some of us have been lying here for eight years or more.’

  ‘For what reason?’

  One of them then began to speak. ‘The lord of this castle, Sir Damas by name, is the most false and treacherous knight in the world. He is a coward as well. He has a younger brother, Sir Oughtlake, who is loved by all as a man of worship and of courage. But he has no lands. His older brother holds them all. So Oughtlake has challenged his brother to combat, whereby the victor will win the whole estate. But Damas does not dare to fight him. Instead he has tried to find a knight who will take his place in the contest. But he is so hated that no knight will fight for him. He has captured us all, as we rode out on various adventures, and when we refused to comply with his requests he condemned us to perpetual imprisonment. That is why we sit here in sorrow. We have so little food and drink that we can barely live.’

  ‘God save you,’ Arthur said to them.

  Then a fair lady came into the cell, and asked the king how he was.

  ‘I cannot say,’ he replied.

  ‘I will tell you this, sir. You have a choice. You can either fight for the master of the castle and be delivered from this place. Or you can die in prison. Which will it be?’

  ‘This is hard for me. I would rather fight with a knight than lie here festering. If all the other prisoners here are released with me, then I will accept the challenge.’

  ‘I promise you.’

  ‘Then I am ready. All I need is a horse and armour.’

  ‘You shall have them soon enough.’

  ‘I believe, lady,’ he said, ‘that I have seen you at the court of King Arthur.’

  ‘No,’ she replied. ‘I was never there. I am the daughter of Damas, who is the lord of this castle.’ Yet she was lying. She was one of the retinue of Morgan le Fay, the sister of the king.

  So she went to Sir Damas and informed him that there was a knight in his custody who was ready to fight for him. He sent for Arthur, and at once saw that he was strong and sturdy. ‘It would be a pity,’ he said, ‘for such a knight to die in prison. Are you prepared to do battle on my behalf?’

  ‘If you free the others, I will serve you.’

  So the other knights were released from their cells, and rejoiced when they saw the light.

  We turn now to Sir Accolon of Gaul. When he awoke, after his sleep in the enchanted boat, he found himself hanging over the edge of a deep well in peril of falling to his death. From this well there came a fountain; the water flowed through a silver pipe before splashing on to a slab of marble. When he saw this wonder he quickly made the sign of the Cross to ward off harm. ‘Jesus save us all,’ he whispered. ‘The ladies of the ship have betrayed us. They were fiends, not women. If I escape from this place I will destroy them all and put an end to their enchantments.’

  There came up to him a dwarf, with a great mouth and a flat nose. He greeted Sir Accolon and told him that he had been sent by Morgan le Fay. ‘She bids you welcome, and asks you to be of bold heart. You will do battle this morning with a brave knight. So she has sent you the sword Excalibur, together with its enchanted scabbard. She commands you to fight to the uttermost, showing no mercy. You must cut off the king’s head – for he is a king – and Morgan le Fay promises that the lady who brings her that head will be made a queen.’

  The old books tell us that Morgan le Fay had stolen the sword from her brother by magic art; she had made herself invisible, and crept into the chamber where he kept Excalibur. As soon as she touched the sword, it also vanished from men’s sight.

  ‘Now that I have this sword,’ Accolon said, ‘I will do as she desires. When did you last see Morgan le Fay?’

  ‘Just now.’

  The knight clasped the dwarf in his arms. ‘Send my greetings to the lady,’ he told him. ‘I will do her bidding or die for it. I suppose it was she who summoned up the lovely spirits on the boat?’

  ‘You can believe it, sir.’

  The earth is soaked in blood

  There now came up a knight with six squires in attendance. He saluted Accolon and asked him to rest himself in a manor house near by. So Accolon mounted the horse they had brought with them, and rode in their company.

  Meanwhile Sir Damas had sent for his brother, Sir Oughtlake, and warned him to get ready. He had found a knight to fight in his service. Oughtlake was dismayed at this news. He had been wounded one week before by a spear thrust in his side at a tournament, and he was in no condition to do battle with anyone. But the magic of Morgan le Fay now changed the course of his destiny. Accolon had in fact been taken to the manor house of Oughtlake. When the knight told his guest of his trouble, obliged to fight when he had no strength, Accolon offered to take his place. ‘I have Excalibur,’ he said, ‘and I fear no enemy.’ He did not know, of course, that he was about to fight Arthur.

  Arthur was armed and ready. He and Sir Damas heard mass, and then the king mounted his horse. At that moment a messenger came from Morgan le Fay, bearing a sword that resembled Excalibur. ‘Your sister sends you this,’ she said, ‘for the sake of the love between you. She bitterly regrets stealing it from you. She was overcome by madness.’ But the sword was a counterfeit, false and brittle.

  Sir Oughtlake rode over and announced that his champion was ready. So Arthur proceeded to the field of battle, where Accolon was waiting for him. Nineve, the companion of the Lady of the Lake, had also come to this place. She knew well enough that Morgan le Fay was intent on killing Arthur, and she had come to save him from his sister.

  The two men rode against each other with such force that they were flung from their horses on to the ground; both of them got to their feet and, summoning up all their strength, drew their swords. They did battle, stroke for stroke. As soon as he felt the first wound Arthur knew that his sword was a false one; he could not injure his opponent, whereas he was losing blood all the time. The earth was soaked with it. He soon realized that the other knight held Excalibur in his hand, and in his heart he suspected treason by Morgan le Fay.

  ‘Now, knight,’ Accolon shouted to Arthur, ‘keep well away from me!’

  Arthur did not answer him, but gave him such a blow that he almost fell to the ground. Then Accolon raised Excalibur into the air, and struck him with such force that the king reeled backwards. Still they fought on. At one point Arthur withdr
ew to rest himself but Accolon pressed forward. ‘This is no time for retreat,’ he said. He swung Excalibur and with one stroke broke Arthur’s sword, which fell into the grass. Arthur was fearful of death, but he held up his shield and parried the heavy blows as best he could.

  ‘Sir knight,’ Accolon called to him, ‘you are overcome. You cannot continue. You have no weapon, and you have lost much blood. So surrender to me before it is too late.’

  ‘No, sir. I cannot. I have given an oath that I will fight to the end. I would rather die with honour than live in shame. If I could die a hundred deaths I would choose such a fate rather than yield to you. I am without a weapon, as you say, and if you kill me you yourself will be shamed.’

  ‘So be it. Stay away from me now, or you are a dead man.’ Accolon attacked him again with his sword, but Arthur pushed him back with his shield. When Nineve saw that Arthur was about to fall, she made use of the sorcery she had learned from Merlin. She made a sign, and Excalibur fell from the hands of Accolon. Arthur leaped upon it and took it up.

  ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘you have been away from me too long. Look how much damage you have done!’ Then he saw the enchanted scabbard by Accolon’s side. In one bound he snatched it from him and threw it as far as he could. ‘Sir knight,’ he shouted, ‘you have done great deeds with my sword today! Now you are about to die. I will repay you for my blood in kind.’ He ran towards Accolon and struck him so furiously that his helmet broke and he fell to the ground. Then Arthur gave him a beating; the blood burst from his mouth, his ears and his nose. ‘Now I will kill you!’ he screamed.

  ‘Kill me, sir, if you must. I have never seen a knight fight so courageously. I know that God is with you. I have made a pledge to do battle until the end, and I will never perjure myself. God may do with my body what He will.’

  Arthur thought that he recognized the man, bloody and disfigured though he was. ‘Tell me,’ he said, ‘what country do you come from? What court?’

  ‘I come from the court of King Arthur. My name is Accolon of Gaul.’

  Arthur was angry to the point of fury. He recalled the sorcery used against them on the boat, and he was overwhelmed with suspicion. ‘Tell me, sir, who gave you this sword?’

  ‘I wish that I had never seen it. It has caused me much grief.’

  ‘But who gave it to you?’

  ‘It was the gift of Morgan le Fay. It was sent to me yesterday, by a dwarf, with the intention of killing King Arthur. I must tell you this. He is the man she most hates in the world. She once promised to place me on his throne. We would have ruled together. That is all past now. I am prepared for nothing but death.’

  ‘It would have been dishonourable to have destroyed your lord,’ Arthur said to him.

  ‘True enough. My love for Morgan le Fay led me astray. But who are you, sir?’

  The king took off his helmet. ‘I am Arthur.’

  The king condemns his sister

  Sir Accolon looked at him aghast. ‘Oh my God! Have mercy on me, your grace. I did not know you.’

  ‘I will be merciful. Your words assure me that you did not recognize me here. But by your own witness you are guilty of planning my death. You are a traitor. Yet still I am inclined to forgive you. My sister has woven her spells around you, and by her sorcery she has brought you to ruin. I shall be avenged upon her. I will do to her such things as will resound through Christendom. Once I loved and honoured her. Now she will reap the fruit of my hatred.’

  Arthur then called for the keepers of the field, and told them that two good knights had come close to killing each other. ‘If I had known who he was,’ he said, ‘I would never have raised my sword against him.’

  Then Accolon called to all the spectators. ‘Kneel down. This is your king. This is Arthur.’

  They all fell to their knees and cried out for forgiveness.

  ‘I grant you mercy,’ the king said. ‘You see what happens when two knights are led astray. I have fought here with one of my own men. We are both badly hurt. I crave rest. But, before that, I must pass judgement on the two brothers.’ So he called before him Sir Damas and Sir Oughtlake. ‘Damas, you have brought dishonour upon yourself. I convict you of cowardice and villainy. Therefore I order you to give all your lands to your brother. In return he will give you a palfrey each year on which to ride. Only good knights can be carried by a proper horse. I charge you to compensate these knights for their long time in your prison, and to promise on your life that you will never keep captives again. If any word of complaint is heard against you in my court, you will die for it. Do you hear me?’ Sir Damas bowed his head in silence. ‘As for you, Sir Oughtlake, you have proved your prowess and your valour. I charge you to come to my court as soon as you can, where I will make you one of my own knights.’

  ‘God thank you,’ Sir Oughtlake replied, ‘for your goodness and generosity. From this time forward I am yours to command. If I had not been wounded, I would have been the one to do battle with you today.’

  ‘I wish you had been my opponent, for I would not have been hurt so badly. My own sword was used against me, and I was almost killed by sorcery.’

  ‘It is distressing,’ Sir Oughtlake said, ‘that so great a king as you should be threatened by traitors.’

  ‘They will get their reward. And she will also be punished. Be sure of it. Now tell me this. How far are we from Camelot?’

  ‘Two days’ ride, sir.’

  ‘I would like to go to some religious house, where I might rest and where my wounds can be healed.’

  ‘There is a rich abbey of nuns close by, founded by your father.’

  So Arthur and Accolon took horse and journeyed to the abbey. They were tended there by good doctors, but Accolon died of his wounds four days later. He had lost too much blood. The king recovered his strength, however. He placed the body of Accolon on a horse-bier and ordered six knights to accompany it back to Camelot. ‘Bear it to my sister Morgan le Fay,’ he told them. ‘Tell her that it is my gift to her. And inform her, too, that I have recovered my sword and my scabbard.’

  Morgan le Fay wishes to kill her husband

  Meanwhile Morgan le Fay, believing that the king was dead, made plans to murder her husband. She wished to govern the realm with her lover, Accolon, and gain all glory. She saw King Uriens asleep on his bed, and called for one of her maidens. ‘Fetch my lord’s sword,’ she said. ‘There is no better time to kill him.’

  ‘Madam,’ the girl said, ‘if you murder your husband, there will be no escape for you.’

  ‘Hush. This is the time. Bring me the sword.’

  So the girl left the chamber, and went straight to the queen’s son. She roused Sir Uwain from sleep. ‘Get up, sir,’ she told him. ‘My lady, your mother, is intent upon killing your father. She has asked me to bring his sword to her.’

  ‘Go on your way,’ Sir Uwain replied. ‘I will deal with her.’

  With quaking hands the girl brought the sword to the queen. Morgan le Fay took it with a smile and approached the bed. Just as she lifted the weapon, to smite her husband, Sir Uwain caught her hand and forced it down. ‘What kind of fiend are you!’ he shouted at her. ‘If you were not my mother, I would take this sword and cut off your head! It is said that Merlin is the offspring of the devil, but I am sure that I am the son of an earthly demon.’

  ‘Have mercy on me, fair son. I have been tempted by a fiend, and have been led astray. I will never do anything like this again. Have pity on me. Do not denounce me to the court.’

  ‘As long as you keep your promise, I will not betray you.’

  ‘I give you my promise.’

  Then the report reached her that Sir Accolon was dead, and that the king had gained his sword again. At this news she almost swooned with grief. But she did not want her sorrow to be known, and so kept her countenance. She realized well enough, however, that when Arthur returned her life would be in peril. ‘No gold will I get from him,’ she said to herself. So she went quickly to the queen, Guinevere,
and asked permission to leave the court on urgent business in her own country.

  ‘But you will wait for the return of your brother?’ Guinevere asked her.

  ‘I cannot stay, my lady. The summons is too urgent.’

  ‘Then of course you must leave.’

  So at dawn, on the next day, Morgan le Fay mounted her horse and rode day and night from Arthur’s court. On the second day she arrived at the abbey where Arthur was resting from his wounds. When she knew that he was there, she asked how he was. ‘He is asleep now,’ the abbess told her. ‘He slept little for the last three nights.’

  ‘Well then,’ she replied, ‘I order you not to awake him before I do.’

  She was scheming to steal his sword and scabbard once more. She went straight to the chamber where her brother lay, and there saw him asleep with his drawn sword in his hand. ‘I cannot take Excalibur from him without waking him,’ she whispered. ‘What am I to do?’ Then she saw the enchanted scabbard and, in a moment, snatched it up. She left the chamber and called for her horse.

  When Arthur awoke he saw that his scabbard was missing. ‘Who has come in here while I slept?’ he asked the abbess.

  ‘Only your sister, sire. Queen Morgan le Fay.’

  ‘You have failed me. You have not watched me carefully.’

  ‘What could I say to the queen? I did not dare to disobey her.’

  ‘Obey me now. Fetch me the best horse that can be found. Arouse Sir Oughtlake. Tell him to meet me, well armed and well horsed, within the hour.’

  The two of them galloped off in pursuit of Morgan le Fay. After many miles they came up to a stone cross, where they found a poor cowherd. They asked him if any lady had come riding that way.