Mary Macgregor

“ And Elaine, carrying the shield with her, climbed the tower stair, up to her own little room. And she put the shield carefully into a corner, thinking, ‘I will sew a cover for it, to keep it safe and bright.’ Then she went downstairs again, and saw that the knight was going, and that Lavaine was going too.
‘He has asked the knight to take him as his squire,’ she thought. ‘But although I cannot go,’ she murmured sadly, ‘I can ask him to wear my favour at the tournament.’ For in those days a knight often wore the colours of the lady who loved him. ”

“ Now the Lady Ettarde was a great lady in her own land; knights who had fought many battles and won great fame had served her, and she cared nothing for the young untried knight’s love and service.
‘Still he looks so strong, that I will pretend to care for him,’ she thought, ‘and then perhaps he will try to win the golden circlet for me, and I shall be called the “Queen of Beauty.”’ For the Lady Ettarde was a cruel and vain lady, and cared more for the golden circlet and to be called the ‘Queen of Beauty,’ than for the happiness [50] of the young knight Pelleas. ”

“ Then he laid his hand on the wonderful sword, and easily drew it out of the stone, and placed it in his sheath.
‘God has sent you the sword, now He will send you a shield as well,’ said King Arthur.
Then the King proclaimed that the next day there would be a tournament in the meadows of Camelot. For before his knights went out to new adventures, he would see Sir Galahad proved.
And in the morning the meadows lay bright in the sunshine. And the boy-knight rode bravely to his first combat, and overthrew many men; but Sir Lancelot and Sir Percivale he could not overthrow. ”

“ But what encouraged Gareth more than all Lynette said was that, when he looked up to the castle, he saw a beautiful lady at one of the windows. She smiled and waved her hands to him, and he knew that this was the Lady Lyonors. Then all his courage came back.
‘This is the fairest lady I have ever seen,’ thought Gareth. ‘I ask nothing better than to be allowed to do battle for her, and win her from the Red Knight.’
Outside the castle, hanging on a sycamore tree, was a great horn, made of an elephant’s bone, and whoever wished to fight the Red [82] Knight must blow this horn. ”

“ When he was older Pelleas left his country and all the land that belonged to him there. He would take his horse and his sword and ask the great King Arthur to make him one of his knights, for had he not learned knightly ways from the wonderful tales he had heard long ago?
After many days Pelleas reached the court. And when the King had listened to the young man’s story, and had seen his beauty and strength, he gladly made him his knight. ”

“ And he rode away, a little sorry not to hear the merry sound of the hunter’s horn, and a little vexed that he had undertaken this strange adventure.
Through valleys and over hills Geraint followed the lady, the knight and the dwarf, till at last, in the evening, he saw them go through the narrow streets of a little town, and reach a white fortress. Into this fortress the lady, the knight and the dwarf disappeared.
‘I shall find the knight there to-morrow,’ [5] thought Geraint ‘Now I must go to an inn for food and a bed,’ for he was hungry and tired after his long ride. ”

“ Page 19
‘Surely,’ thought Enid, ‘I may warn Geraint this time, for he is faint and tired [21] after the last battle.’
And Enid waited till Geraint rode up to her, and told him there were three evil men in front of them. ‘One is stronger than you,’ she said, ‘and he means to kill you.’
And Geraint answered angrily, ‘If you would but obey me, I would fight one hundred knights gladly.’ Yet Geraint loved Enid all the time, though he spoke so roughly.
Then Enid stood out of the way, and she hardly dared to look as the strongest knight attacked Geraint. ”

“ The Earl’s wife sat there, and she wore a dress that must have been very grand once, but now it was old.
Beside her stood her beautiful daughter, and she wore a faded silk gown, but Geraint thought he had never seen so fair a face.
‘This is the maiden who sang the beautiful song,’ he thought. ‘If I can win her for my bride, she shall come back with me to Queen Guinevere. But the brightest silks the Queen can dress her in, will not make her look more fair than she does in this old gown,’ he murmured to himself. ”

“ When Lancelot had seen Sir Kay fall to the ground, he rode back to the court to tell King Arthur that his knight, Sir Gareth, was strong and true. And he sent men to bring home the wounded Sir Kay.
Now Lynette was more cross than ever because Lancelot had left her, and when Gareth at last rode up to her, she cried rudely, ‘You are only a kitchen-knave. Your clothes smell of cooking, and your dress is soiled with grease and tallow. ”

“ Then the Sparrow-hawk [10] built himself the white fortress for safety, but us he keeps in this old half-ruined castle.’
‘Give me arms,’ said Geraint, ‘and I will fight this knight in to-morrow’s tournament.’
‘Arms I can give you,’ said the Earl, ‘though they are old and rusty; but you cannot fight to-morrow.’ And the Earl told Geraint that the Sparrow-hawk gave a prize at the tournament. ‘But every knight who fights to-morrow must have a lady with him,’ said the Earl, ‘so that if he wins the prize in fair fight from the Sparrow-hawk, he may give it to her. ”

“ The next morning he found Sir Pelleas in his tent, looking very sad. And when Sir Gawaine asked the knight why he was so sad, Sir Pelleas told him of his love for the Lady Ettarde and of her unkindness. ‘I would rather die a hundred times than be bound by her lords,’ he said, ‘if it were not that they take me into her presence.’
Then Sir Gawaine cheered Sir Pelleas and offered to help him, for he too was one of Arthur’s knights. ”

“ Once more Gareth went back to Lynette a conqueror, but still she cried, ‘Do not come near me, kitchen-knave. You have slain a noble knight. Let me ride on alone.’
‘Whatever happens I will follow you till we reach the Lady Lyonors,’ said Gareth.
They were coming near to Castle Dangerous now, but before they reached it, a knight dressed all in green stopped them.
And Gareth fought the Green Knight too. But when he had struck him to the ground, the Green Knight begged Gareth to spare his life. ”

“ But you have no lady to whom you could give the prize, so you will not be allowed to fight.’
‘Let me fight as your beautiful Enid’s knight,’ said Geraint. ‘And if I win the prize for her, let me marry her, for I love her more than any one else in all the world.’
Then the Earl was pleased, for he knew that if the Prince took Enid away, she would go to a beautiful home. And though the old castle would be more dreary than ever without her, he loved his fair daughter too [11] well to wish to keep her there. ”

“ But the knights murmured to each other, [31] ‘We need not hope to win the prize, for Sir Lancelot will be on the field, and who can stand before the greatest knight of Arthur’s court?’
And the Queen heard what the knights said to each other, and she told Lancelot how they lost courage and hope when he came on to the field. ‘They begin to think some magic is at work when they see you, and they cannot fight their best. But I have a plan. You must go to the tournament at Camelot in disguise. ”

“ Then the Red Knight gladly restored all he had stolen. And after he had been forgiven by the Lady Lyonors, he journeyed to the court, and told Arthur all that Sir Gareth had done.
And Lynette came and took off Gareth’s armour and bathed his wounds, and he rested in his tent for ten days.
‘I will go to the castle and ask Lyonors to come home with me and be my wife,’ thought Gareth, as soon as his wounds were healed. But when he came to the castle, he found the drawbridge pulled up, and many armed men were there, who would not let him enter. ”

“ The Lady Ettarde turned to the merry lords and ladies who had followed her. ‘The knight cannot speak, though he is so strong and good-looking,’ she said scornfully.
But Sir Pelleas was wide-awake at last. He sprang to his feet, and told the Lady Ettarde that he had been dreaming, and [49] that she had seemed to him a part of his dream. ‘But I too am going to Carleon,’ he added, ‘and I will show you the way.’
And as they rode through the forest Sir Pelleas was always at his lady’s side. When the branches were in her way he pushed them aside, when the path was rough he guided her horse. ”

“ Then King Arthur arranged a feast for Sir Modred and his men. And as they feasted all went merrily till an adder glided out of a little bush and stung one of the knight’s men. And the pain was so great, that the man quickly drew his sword to kill the adder.
And when the armies saw the sword flash in the light, they sprang to their feet and [111] began to fight, ‘for this is the signal for battle,’ they thought.
And when evening came there were many thousand slain and wounded, and Sir Modred was left alone. But Arthur had still two knights with him, Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere. ”

“ Enid heard the crash of his armour as he fell, and in a moment she was beside him. She unbuckled the armour and took off his helmet Then she took her veil of faded silk and bound up his wound. But Geraint lay quite still.
Enid’s horse wandered into a forest and was lost, but Geraint’s noble war-horse kept watch with Enid, as if he understood.
About noon, the Earl, in whose country [25] they now were, passed along with his followers. He saw the two by the wayside, and shouted to Enid, ‘Is he dead?’
‘No, no, not dead; he cannot be dead. Let him be carried out of the sun,’ she entreated. ”

“ In the evening Sir Lancelot told the Baron how he was going in disguise to the tournament, and how, by mistake, he had brought his own shield with him. ‘If you can lend me another, I will leave my shield with you till I come back from Camelot,’ said the knight.
Then they gave him Sir Torre’s shield, for Sir Torre had been wounded in his first battle, and could not go to the tournament. And Elaine came running gladly to take the strange knight’s shield under her care. [33] But none of them knew that it was Sir Lancelot’s shield, for he had not told them his name. ”

“ For two miles the King rode through the valley, till he reached a hermitage. And he saw a warrior there, dressed in white armour, and sitting on a white horse.
The warrior rode quickly towards the King, and struck him so hard that he broke his armour. Then he thrust his spear through the King’s right shoulder, as [99] though he held no shield.
‘The shield can be borne only by a peerless knight. It does not belong to you,’ said the warrior, as he gave it to the squire, telling him to carry it back to the abbey and to give it to Sir Galahad with his greeting. ”

“ Beside the shield there was a long black spear, and close to the spear there was a great black horse, covered with silk, and the silk was black. And looking blacker than all the rest was a huge black rock.
Through the darkness they could see some [77] one sitting near the rock. It was a knight, and he was armed in black armour, and his name was ‘the Knight of the Black Land.’
Lynette saw the knight. ‘Flee down the valley, before the Black Knight saddles his horse,’ she called to Gareth. But she knew that even the Black Knight would not frighten her kitchen-knave. ”

“ And as Elaine’s father, the old Baron, welcomed the knight, Lavaine and Elaine whispered together, ‘This is better than to [32] see many knights passing on their way to Camelot.’
And Lancelot stayed at Astolat till evening, and he told many tales of Arthur’s court.
As Elaine and Lavaine listened to his voice, and looked at his face, with the scars of many battles on it, they loved him. ‘I will be his squire and follow him,’ thought Lavaine, and Elaine wished that she might follow the strange knight too. ”

“ Surely he will begin his adventures the more gladly, that I help to send him forth,’ she murmured, thinking half-regretfully of the long year she had made him [71] spend in the kitchen.
And Gareth was glad when he saw his mother’s gift; and when he had put on the armour, there was no more handsome knight in all King Arthur’s court than Sir Gareth. He mounted his horse, and, telling the dwarf to follow, rode quickly after Lynette. ”

“ Then they began to fight on foot, and the Black Knight wounded Gareth, but Gareth smote him with such strength, that his sword cut through the knight’s armour, and then the Black Knight fell to the ground and died. ”

“ And the knight carried the King on his [115] shoulders down to the water’s side. There they found a barge lying, and seated in it were three Queens, and each Queen wore a black hood. And when they saw King Arthur they wept.
‘Lay me in the barge,’ said the King. And when Sir Bedivere had laid him there, King Arthur rested his head on the lap of the fairest Queen. And they rowed from land.
Sir Bedivere, left alone, watched the barge as it drifted out of sight, and then he went sorrowfully on his way, till he reached a hermitage. And he lived there as a hermit for the rest of his life. ”

“ And Enid left the Queen and the lords and ladies gladly, to go with Geraint.
But all the time Geraint could not help thinking, ‘Enid is longing for the knights and ladies she knew at the court.’
When Geraint reached his own country, he forgot all about the robbers, who were destroying his land. He forgot to go to the hunt, or the tournament, or to look after the poor people. And this was all because he loved Enid so much. He thought, ‘I will stay with her all day. ”