Galahad sat there, lost in wonder, and while he did so, the squire, who had followed him from the abbey and heard what the White Knight had said, came and knelt at his feet, crying:
‘Grant me one boon, noble Sir Galahad! Make me a knight and let me ride with you on your quest! My name is Melyas, and my father is the King of Denmark.’
‘Fair sir,’ answered Galahad, ‘since you come of a race of kings, look to it that you set a good example to knighthood, for you ought to be a mirror to all chivalry. And therefore will I make you a knight forthwith, and you shall ride with me until some adventure parts us.’
So Galahad rode on his way with Sir Melyas: but before long they came to a parting of the ways, and there a pilgrim met them and said:
‘Sirs, you must choose now which road you will take. He who goes to the right comes easily to his journey’s end, but by no prowess of his own. But he who rides down the left-hand road must win through, if he can, by showing his own strength and prowess.’
‘I’ll take the left-hand way!’ cried Sir Melyas, who was longing to show off his worth as a knight; and away he rode before Galahad could stop him. Deep into the forest he went, and before long he found a rich pavilion standing empty, and in it a golden crown hanging on a splendid throne, and a banquet set out upon a table. Melyas dismounted and helped himself to the meal; then he took the golden crown, and was about to ride off again when a knight came suddenly into view shouting:
‘Put down that golden circlet which is none of yours, and defend yourself!’
‘Lord of Heaven, help now Thy new-made knight,’ prayed Melyas. Then he set his spear in rest and rode against the stranger. But the other knight smote him from his horse, took up the crown and rode away leaving him nearly dead with a great wound in his side.
Galahad had taken the other road, but it merely wound through the forest and joined on to that which Melyas had followed; and now he came to the open space by the pavilion in time to see the strange knight smite down Sir Melyas and ride away.
‘Turn, coward!’ cried Galahad, and the knight wheeled round and jousted with him furiously. Galahad struck so well that the knight was flung on to the ground, but his spear broke into little pieces with the force of his blow.
‘You fight well,’ said the stranger knight, rising slowly to his feet, ‘and I yield me to you. Have no fear for this man whom I have overcome, for I will tend him here and cure the wound which I have given him. I am a hermit, though now I ride in armour and am skilled in such arts. For his pride in choosing the left-hand road and for his greed in taking the golden crown which he did not need, Sir Melyas has received this overthrow. But go you forward, noble Sir Galahad, and trust ever in God and not in your own earthly prowess.’
Then Galahad knelt to receive this strange hermit’s blessing, and rode on his way through forest and cities, through fields and moorlands, for many, many days, meeting with more adventures than there is space to tell of, until on a day a fair damsel came riding towards him and cried:
‘Sir Galahad! Come you swiftly with me! Near at hand lies the Enchanted Ship which you must enter. Therein are Sir Percivale my brother and the strong knight Sir Bors de Gannis, and they lack only you before the ship can sail. For your quest draws near to its close, and you three knights shall come together to the castle, where lies the Holy Grail.’
‘Lead on, fair maiden,’ said Sir Galahad; and together they rode forward by many steep paths among the rocks until they came to the secret bay where the Enchanted Ship awaited them.
3
The Adventures of Sir Percivale
When Percivale set out from Camelot in quest of the Holy Grail he rode for many weeks without meeting with any unusual adventures. One day he met suddenly with Galahad, and they jousted together, neither knowing the other, and Sir Galahad struck him from his horse and rode away.
‘I must find this knight who carries a white shield with a red cross upon it,’ thought Percivale as he got slowly to his feet and remounted his horse. ‘Until this day no knight in the world has been able to overthrow me except Sir Launcelot: and that, I am sure, is not he!’
Percivale rode deep into the forests after this, anger and envy growing in his heart against the unknown knight with the red cross on the white shield. But at length he came to a little hermitage where dwelt a recluse, a holy woman who spent her days in tending all those who came to her for aid, and in praying for their souls and for her own.
She made Percivale welcome, and by degrees he told her many things, both of his past life and of his present quest.
‘Noble sir,’ said she when he had spoken concerning the knight who had overthrown him, ‘if you seek to be revenged, you run into great sin: for it is pride, and pride only, that prompts you to it. Know, moreover, that he who smote you from your horse was Galahad, the holy knight of Logres, who sat in the Siege Perilous. You knew him not because of the shield he bore: yet that shield is the divine token of his mission, and is marked with the blood of Joseph of Arimathea.’
‘Now madam,’ said Sir Percivale, ‘having learnt these things from you, I give you my word that never again will I feel envy towards Sir Galahad: rather will I seek him and be his fellow on this quest, if I am worthy.’
‘Worthy indeed you may be,’ answered the Recluse, ‘if you beware of all temptations. The powers of evil will lie in wait for you, armed with many enchantments: if you win through them in all pureness of heart and come to Castle Carbonek in the Waste Lands, there you shall find the Holy Grail; and there also shall you find the Lady Blanchefleur whom you have sought these many years, and she shall be your wife. But these things shall come to pass only if you are worthy of them: go forth, Sir Percivale, in pureness of heart and in obedience to the law of Heaven, and win your kingdom!’
Then the Recluse blessed Sir Percivale, laced his armour upon him, and sent him on his way, his heart singing with joy at the thought of his quest. So he rode all the morning, and in the middle of the day came suddenly upon about twenty armed men who were carrying a dead knight on a litter, all pierced and cut with many wounds of spears and swords. When they saw Sir Percivale they asked him whence he came, and he answered:
‘From the Court of King Arthur.’
Then they all cried at once, ‘Slay him! Slay him!’ and set upon him from every side. Percivale fought bravely, striking more than one of them dead to the earth but seven of them smote him at the same time while others killed his horse under him so that he fell to the ground and would have been slain by them there and then. But on a sudden there came out of the forest a knight in red armour bearing a white shield with a red cross on it: like a thunderbolt he came, and men fell right and left beneath his spear and sword. Before long those who were left alive turned and fled away, crying with terror, and the knight rode after them and away into the distance.
‘Fair knight, abide and suffer me to thank you!’ cried Percivale, for he realized that it was Sir Galahad; and he ran after him on foot as fast as he could, begging him to stop. But Galahad was too far away, and in a very few minutes Percivale could not even hear the sound of his horse’s hooves.
Sad and weary he wandered on through the forest, and when night fell lay down under an oak tree and was soon asleep. But at midnight he woke suddenly to find a strange woman standing beside him, her eyes flashing in the moonlight.
‘Sir Percivale, what do you here?’ she asked.
‘My horse is slain,’ he answered, ‘and I have followed on foot after Sir Galahad until weariness overtook me.’
‘If you will promise to help me in the thing I shall ask you,’ said the Strange Damsel, ‘I will lend you my own horse, and it shall carry you wherever you wish to go.’
‘That will I surely promise!’ exclaimed Sir Percivale eagerly.
‘Wait for me here, and I will fetch the horse,’ said the Strange Damsel. In a few minutes’ time she returned leading a great black horse, and Percivale was amazed when he saw it, for never before had he seen a horse so larg
e and strong and fierce. But nevertheless he took the bridle in his hand, leapt upon the creature’s back and set spurs to its sides. Away went the horse into the forest, by mountain pass and rugged hillside, on and on through the cold, clear moonlight, rushing through the air so fast that Percivale seemed to have gone four days’ journey in an hour.
At last they came down a hillside to a wide river which rushed roaring between its banks, and it seemed as if the horse was going to carry him right into the midst of the flood. Percivale tugged at the bridle, but the horse would neither stop nor turn: to the very edge they came, and Percivale saw the dark, foaming water roaring in front of him. Then he made the sign of the cross, and the horse reared up suddenly, neighing wildly, and shook him from its back; then it plunged into the river, screaming terribly, and was gone from sight: only it seemed that the water burnt after it.
Percivale knelt on the bank and prayed to God, for he knew that it was a fiend who had sought to carry him to Hell. For the rest of the night he knelt there praying, and in the morning he saw another strange thing. A great lion came down to the riverside to drink, and as it bent over the stream, suddenly a dreadful serpent fell from an overhanging rock and twined about the lion’s neck and body, seeking to strangle it. Then a terrible fight began between the two: only it seemed that the serpent would soon gain the victory over the lion. Presently the lion roared, as if asking for help, and Percivale drew his sword and attacked the serpent, and in a little while cut off its head and flung it into the dark river.
Then Sir Percivale turned to see if the lion would attack him also; but, instead, it came and rubbed its head against him, and fawned upon him like a great cat. Percivale cast down his shield and rested after the fight, and the lion stood and guarded him.
‘Fierce and mighty though the lion was,’ thought Percivale, ‘he was taken unaware by the serpent, and could not prevail against it, but must needs call upon me for aid … Even in such case was I, when the fiend tempted me, and strong though I am, I would have perished miserably had I not called to God for help.’
After this he wandered for many days through a wild and desolate country, and the lion went with him, protecting him by day and night from all the dangers of the way. But at last he came to the sea-coast and the lion left him on the edge of the forest, while Percivale sat down to rest by the shore, wondering which way to go.
‘Noble sir,’ said a gentle voice behind him suddenly, ‘surely you are the good knight Sir Percivale of Wales who seeks for the wonders of Castle Carbonek?’
Turning round, Percivale saw a lovely maiden dressed in black standing beside him with her hands clasped. Then he rose and greeted her courteously, but he said:
‘Lady, how know you my name and of the quest which I follow?’
‘But a little while ago,’ she answered, ‘as I came through the Waste Lands I met with a knight who rides in red armour, bearing a red cross upon a white shield …’
‘Ah, fair damsel,’ interrupted Percivale eagerly, ‘that is Sir Galahad the good knight who I have been seeking these many weary days. Tell me where he is, I pray you!’
‘I saw him in the Waste Forest,’ she answered, ‘chasing two wicked knights into the Dead Waters; and there he slew them, but there his horse was drowned and he hardly escaped with his life. Now he rests at a hermitage near by, and to-morrow I will lead you to him. But come now to my pavilion and rest, for I do not think that you have been well entertained these many days.’
‘Who are you,’ asked Percivale, ‘that offer me so much kindness?’
‘A poor disinherited lady who was once the richest in the world,’ she answered. ‘Wicked men drove me from my castle, taking the most part of my goods; and I journey now to King Arthur’s court that he may send knights and men-at-arms to overcome the robbers.’
While they talked the Disinherited Damsel led Percivale along the sea-shore until they came to a little glade carpeted with grass and flowers where a silken pavilion was pitched.
‘Here, noble sir, you may rest during the heat of the day,’ she said; and Percivale thanked her and took off his armour which he placed beneath a tree, leaning his sword against the trunk. Then he lay down on a couch spread with silk and sweet linen, and slept all the day through.
In the evening he awoke, and found the damsel awaiting him beside a richly covered table on which was set the finest meal that ever he had seen. When they had eaten she led him back into the pavilion and brought him wine in a great golden bowl, red wine, sweet and strong, and she pledged him in it, and handed it to Percivale; and he drank of it, the strongest wine that ever he had tasted. Once more she filled the bowl, but she did not give it to him for a little while: instead, she sang to him, a slow mysterious song, and drew nearer and nearer to him all the while, until her arms were about him.
‘Lady,’ he said in a broken voice, ‘you are passing fair!’
‘Sir,’ she murmured, ‘noble Percivale, I am yours for ever and ever: of all men in the world I love only you. So kiss me now: pledge me in this bowl of wine, and swear that from henceforth you will be mine alone, and do all things that I command you.’
Then Percivale pledged her in the strong wine, and bent forward to kiss her on the lips. But as he did so he thought suddenly of Blanchefleur his own true lady and how he had sworn to love her alone of all women in the world; and he saw his sword which leant against the tree with the hilt uppermost flashing in the evening light like a great shining crucifix. Then he cried to God for help, and made the sign of the cross upon his forehead.
Immediately a great wind tore the pavilion away so that it floated in the air like a cloud of black smoke and was gone.
‘Fair sweet Lord Jesus Christ, let me not be shamed!’ prayed Percivale. And the damsel screamed aloud:
‘Alas, Sir Percivale, you have betrayed me!’
Then the great, pure wind took her also, and she went with it across the sea, shrieking horribly, and it seemed that all the water burnt after her.
Once more Percivale knelt alone, praying by the sea-shore when the fiend had gone from him. Then he slept beneath the tree and woke in the morning to find a ship moored by the shore and a woman dressed in the white robes of a nun, with an ivory crucifix hanging at her neck, bending over him.
‘Awake, Sir Percivale!’ she cried. ‘Wake and put your armour on! You have overcome the temptations of this world, and now you may enter the Enchanted Ship and sail with me towards Carbonek. Soon shall Sir Galahad be with you on the ship, and Sir Bors also who must bear witness to the wonders that shall be. Do not fear, but come with me: I am your sister Dindrane, though you know me not, and Naciens the holy hermit of Carbonek has been my instructor.’
Then Percivale was filled with joy, and he put on his armour and went down with his sister to where the Enchanted Ship was awaiting them.
4
The Adventures of Sir Bors de Gannis
Sir Bors de Gannis, who was a cousin of Sir Launcelot, rode quietly away from Camelot in quest of the Holy Grail, and before he had gone very far he met with a hermit upon an ass.
‘Greetings, Sir knight,’ said the old hermit, ‘what manner of man are you?’
‘Good father,’ answered Sir Bors, ‘I am a simple Knight of King Arthur’s court, and my great desire is to learn how best to seek for the Holy Grail, for in quest of it am I bound.’
‘Come with me,’ said the hermit, ‘and I will instruct you. For not by earthly strength may you reach the Grail, but only by purity of heart.’
For many days Sir Bors remained at the hermitage learning many things; and all that time he ate nothing but bread and water as the hermit did.
At length the day came when he must ride on his way once more.
‘Gentle sir,’ said the hermit, ‘see to it that you eat bread only and drink water until you are fed at the table of the Holy Grail’
‘Good father,’ answered Sir Bors, ‘that I promise. But how do you know that I shall ever come to the table of the Holy Grail?�
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‘There are but few of you who shall come to it,’ said the hermit, ‘and you, Sir Bors, are one of them, though you have done no great deeds nor won undying fame in Logres. For in purity of life and not in pride of deeds dwells that which makes a man worthy to achieve this quest. Go forward in the fear of God, and live to tell of the ending of the quest of the Holy Grail … My words you may believe, for I am Naciens the Hermit of Carbonek.’
Bors rode forward after this for many days, meeting with some few adventures by the way, but nothing very unusual. But at last it chanced as he passed through a forest and came to a parting of two roads that a great adventure befell him. On one side he saw suddenly two knights leading a horse on which was bound a naked man, and the two knights were beating him with thorns until the blood ran down to the ground. As Sir Bors came into sight the wounded man raised his head and Bors saw to his horror that it was his brother Sir Lionel. Full of fury, Sir Bors made ready to attack the two cowardly knights; but just as he was about to set spurs to his horse a cry rang out from the other road:
‘Help me, for the love of Maiden Mary!’ Wheeling round, Sir Bors saw a lovely damsel struggling with an armed knight who was dragging her towards his horse to carry her away.
‘Help me, noble knight!’ cried the maiden. ‘For King Arthur’s sake, who surely made you knight – help a damsel in distress, and suffer me not to be shamed by this wicked man!’
When Sir Bors heard this he knew not what to do. ‘If I let those two carry my brother away,’ he thought, ‘he will probably be dead before I can come to his rescue. But if I leave this maiden then she will suffer black shame and maybe death also – and by mine oaths of knighthood I may not leave any woman who is in need of my help.’ Then Bors prayed: ‘Fair Lord, whose creature I am, preserve my brother Lionel and let not these knights slay him – for I must succour this maid first.’
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table Page 20