Merlin and the Grail

by Robert de Boron

  ‘By God,’ said the king, ‘I’ll be glad indeed to see it!’

  Then Merlin came and made his selection and bade those men be seated. And once they had sat down, Merlin walked around them and showed the king the empty place. Many others saw it, too, but only the king and Merlin knew its significance. Then Merlin asked the king to be seated; but the king said he would not do so until he had seen everyone at the table served, and he ordered that they be served before he would move from where he stood. Only when that was done did the king go and take his place.

  The court remained assembled for eight days, and the king bestowed many handsome gifts, and many beautiful jewels to ladies and damsels. Then he asked those who were seated at the table how they felt, and they answered: ‘Sire, we’ve no wish ever to move from here. Rather will we call our wives and children to join us in this city, so that we can live at Our Lord’s pleasure: such is our heart’s desire.’

  ‘Sirs,’ said the king, ‘do you all share this feeling?’

  ‘Yes indeed,’ they replied, ‘and we wonder much how this can be, for some of us have never seen each other before, yet now we love one another as sons love their fathers – if not more! It seems as if death alone can part us!’

  The king was astonished by their words, as were all who witnessed this. But he was delighted, too, and ordered that they should be as honoured in the city as he was himself.

  When everyone had gone, the king came to Merlin and said: ‘You told me the truth indeed. I now believe Our Lord wishes this table to be established. But I’m very puzzled about the empty place, and I beg you to tell me if you know who is to fill it.’

  ‘I can tell you for certain,’ Merlin replied, ‘that it will not be filled in your time. The one who is destined to do so will be born of Alain li Gros, who is here now in this land. Alain sat at Joseph’s precious table, but he has not yet taken a wife, and does not realise he is destined to father this child. The one who will fill the empty seat needs to have been in the presence of the Grail. The Grail’s guardians have never seen what is due to be fulfilled, and it will not happen in your time but in the life of the king who will follow you. But I pray you, continue to hold your assemblies and great courts here in the city of Carduel, and attend yourself and hold annual feasts here.’ Then Merlin said: ‘I’m leaving now, and I shall not return for a long time.’

  ‘Merlin,’ said the king, ‘where are you going? Won’t you be here each time I hold court?’

  ‘No,’ Merlin replied, ‘I can’t be, for I want the people who are with you to believe what they’re going to witness; I don’t want them to say I’ve made it happen.’

  So Merlin left Utherpendragon and returned to Blaise in Northumberland, and told him of these events and of the establishment of the table.

  *

  Some time later Utherpendragon held court, and his barons duly came – including the duke of Tintagel, who brought with him his son and his wife Igerne. As soon as Utherpendragon set eyes on Igerne his heart was filled with love for her – though he did not show it, except that he looked at her with more interest than he showed the other women. She noticed this herself; and when she realised he was paying her more attention than the others she avoided him immediately and was always slow to acknowledge him, for she was as worthy as she was beautiful, and very loyal towards her husband. The king, because of his love for her and to try to gain her attention, sent jewels to all the ladies, and to Igerne he sent the ones he thought she would most adore. She did not dare to refuse them, since the others all accepted; so she took them, but knew in her heart that the king had bestowed these gifts only on her account, and wanted her to have them. She hid her deeper feelings.

  So Utherpendragon held court – and he was without a wife. He was so full of love for Igerne that he did not know what on earth to do. Finally the court departed, and the king summoned his barons to return at Pentecost. He said the same to the ladies and damsels, and they promised they would attend most gladly. The king saw the duke and duchess of Tintagel on their way, honouring them greatly; and he whispered to Igerne that she bore his heart away with her, but she pretended not to have heard. He took his leave and Igerne departed, leaving Utherpendragon at Carduel. But wherever he was, his heart was always with Igerne.

  And so the king suffered till Pentecost, when the barons and their ladies gathered once again, and he was overjoyed when Igerne arrived. At the feast he distributed many generous gifts to the knights and ladies; and when he sat down to dine he seated the duke and Igerne opposite him. Such were the king’s looks and his countenance that Igerne could not help but know that he loved her. And afterwards, when the feast was done and everyone was about to return home, the king requested them to return when he summoned them, and they promised to do so without fail.

  All that year the king was in torment, and confided in two of those closest to him, telling them of the anguish he suffered for Igerne. And they said: ‘Sire, if it’s in our power, we’ll do anything you command.’

  ‘But what can I do?’ said the king.

  ‘Summon all your men to Carduel,’ they replied, ‘and command them to bring their wives and to come prepared to stay for fifteen days. That way you’ll be able to have Igerne’s company for a while.’

  The king’s decree went out and the court assembled, and again the king bestowed great gifts upon knights and ladies alike; he was a happy man indeed that day. Then he spoke to one of his counsellors, named Ulfin, and asked him what he could do, for his love for Igerne was killing him. And Ulfin replied:

  ‘What sort of a king would you be if you died of desire to lie with a woman! I’m poor compared with you, but if I loved her as much as you do I wouldn’t be thinking about dying! Who ever heard of a woman being propositioned by a man with the power to bestow great gifts on all sides, who refused to do his will? And you’re worried!’

  ‘Good advice, Ulfin!’ said the king. ‘You understand how to handle this, so I beg you, help me in every way you can. Take whatever you like from my chamber and give it to all the people around her, and then speak to Igerne in the way you know my plight demands!’

  ‘I’ll do all I can,’ said Ulfin, and as they ended their private talk he said to the king: ‘Take care to stay on good terms with the duke, and I’ll think about what to say to Igerne.’

  So the king made a great fuss of the duke and his company, and gave him and his companions many beautiful gems. Meanwhile Ulfin spoke to Igerne, saying what he thought would please her most and plying her with magnificent jewels; but Igerne resisted, declining them all, and finally drew him aside and said: ‘Ulfin, why do you want to give me these jewels and all these beautiful gifts?’

  ‘Because of your great beauty and intelligence,’ Ulfin replied, ‘and your lovely face. But what can I give you, when everything the king possesses is at your disposal, to do with as you wish?’

  ‘What?’ said Igerne.

  ‘You’ve captured the heart,’ Ulfin replied, ‘of the man to whom this whole city owes obedience. But his heart is now at your command, which is why this whole city is at your mercy!’

  ‘Whose heart do you mean?’ she asked.

  ‘The king’s!’ replied Ulfin; and Igerne raised her hand and crossed herself and said: ‘God, how treacherous the king is! He feigns friendship to the duke but means to shame him – and me likewise! Ulfin, make sure you never speak of this, for if you do, so help me God, I’ll tell my husband – and if he ever hears of it you’ll be sure to die. I’ll keep silent this time, but never again, I promise you!’

  ‘Lady,’ Ulfin replied, ‘it would be an honour to die for my lord! No lady before has ever resisted taking the king as her lover, and he loves you more than any mortal soul. But maybe this is all a tease! In God’s name, lady, have pity on the king! And be sure of this: you cannot resist his wishes.’

  ‘I will!’ Igerne answered, weeping. ‘I’ll stay forever out of his sight!’

  With that Ulfin and Igerne parted. And Ulfin came t
o the king and told him what Igerne had said, and the king replied that that was how a good lady should answer – ‘but don’t stop asking!’

  A day later, the king sat down to dine with the duke beside him. Before him the king had a most beautiful golden cup, and Ulfin advised him to send it to Igerne. The king looked up and said: ‘Sir duke, tell Igerne to take this cup and drink from it out of love for me. I’ll send it to her by one of your knights, filled with fine wine.’

  The duke, suspecting nothing untoward, replied: ‘Many thanks, my lord; she will gladly take it.’

  And he called to one of his knights, named Bretel, and said: ‘Bretel, take this cup to your lady from the king, and tell her to drink from it out of love for him.’

  So Bretel took the cup and came to where Igerne was seated, and said: ‘Lady, the king sends you this cup, and the duke bids you accept the king’s gesture and drink from it out of love for him.’

  Hearing this, the lady was filled with shame and flushed red; but she took the cup and drank. She made to send it back, but Bretel said: ‘My lord bids you keep it, lady.’

  And he returned to the king and thanked him on Igerne’s behalf, though she had said no such thing.

  When they had eaten they rose, and Ulfin went to see what Igerne was doing. He found her deeply troubled, and she said to him: ‘Ulfin, it was a treacherous act by the king to send me that cup of his. By God, I’m going to tell my lord of the shame the two of you mean to deal him!’

  ‘You’re not that foolish!’ Ulfin replied. ‘Your husband would never believe you!’

  But Igerne said: ‘Damn anyone who hides it from him!’

  Meanwhile the king took the duke by the hand and said: ‘Let’s go and see the ladies!’

  ‘Gladly,’ said the duke, and they went to the ladies’ chambers; but the only reason for going was to see Igerne, as she knew full well. So she suffered all day; and that night, when the duke went to his lodging, he found her in her chamber weeping. Seeing this, he took her in his arms and kissed her, for he loved her dearly, and said: ‘Lady, why are you crying?’

  ‘Sir,’ she said, ‘I’ll not hide it from you: the king says he loves me. The only reason he summons all these ladies to all these courts he holds is because of me! And today he made me take his cup and commanded me to drink from it out of love for him. For that, I wish I were dead!’

  When the duke heard his wife’s words he was most distressed, for he loved her very deeply, and he summoned his knights and said to them: ‘Prepare to leave, sirs – and don’t ask why until I choose to tell you.’

  They did as the duke commanded; and he mounted with all possible secrecy, and Igerne with him, and back he rode to his own land, taking with him his wife and all his knights.

  His departure caused a great stir in the city next morning, and when the king was told that the duke was gone he was much aggrieved and said to his barons: ‘Sirs, tell me what to do about the insult the duke has committed at my court.’

  They all replied that he had acted crazily – ‘and we don’t know how he can make amends’. So they said, not knowing the reason for the duke’s departure.

  ‘If you so advise,’ said the king, ‘I’ll summon him to make amends for the offence he committed in leaving here.’

  They all agreed and advised him to do so; and two worthy men set out with his message, and rode on until they reached Tintagel. When they arrived they found the duke and delivered their message precisely; and hearing it, the duke, realising he would have to take his wife, told the messengers he would not return to court.

  ‘The king has so abused me and mine that I’ve no cause to trust or love him. God will support me in this, for He knows well enough that the king’s behaviour at court was such as to lose my love and trust.’

  So the messengers returned from Tintagel to the king, while the duke called for his men and spoke to those he trusted most, and told them why he had left Carduel and how the king had tried to make his wife betray him. When they heard this they said that, God willing, that would never happen, and that the king deserved nothing but ill if he meant such harm to one of his liegemen. Then the duke said: ‘In God’s name, sirs, help me defend my land if the king attacks me.’ They replied that they would do so most willingly.

  Meanwhile the messengers returned to Carduel and found the king and delivered the duke’s reply. The king was furious. He implored his barons to help him avenge the duke’s insult, and they said they could not refuse, but asked him as a mark of loyalty to challenge the duke but with forty days’ grace. The king agreed, and asked them then to be gathered at Tintagel ready for war.

  ‘Willingly, sire,’ they said, and the king sent messengers to challenge the duke with forty days’ grace. The duke made ready to defend himself, and the men who had borne the king’s challenge returned to tell him that the duke was preparing to resist. The king was incensed at the news, and summoned his barons and invaded the duke’s lands with a great army. When word of this reached the duke he was most alarmed. Not daring to await the king’s advance he took refuge in a strong castle and placed his wife in another. The king was advised to lay siege to the duke, and besiege him he did.

  And so the king laid siege to the duke’s castle; but he was there for a long while, for he could not take it. And he was tormented by his love for Igerne – so much so that one day, while he was in his pavilion, he began to weep; and all his men, seeing him cry, went out and left him alone. When Ulfin, who had been outside, heard this, he came to him and found him weeping. He was disturbed by this and asked him the reason for his tears.

  ‘I weep for Igerne,’ the king replied, ‘and I can see it’s going to be my death, for I can find no peace at all. I feel so sorry for myself – it’s killing me!’

  ‘My lord,’ said Ulfin, ‘you’re being very weak-hearted, thinking you’re going to die for a woman! If Merlin were here he’d give you good advice.’

  ‘I fear I must have angered him,’ the king replied. ‘He’s come nowhere near me for a long time. Or perhaps he disapproves of me loving the wife of my liegeman. But it’s no good – my heart is lost; and I know he forbade me to send for him.’

  ‘But I’m sure,’ said Ulfin, ‘that if he’s in good health and cares for you, he’ll come and give you guidance.’

  So Ulfin comforted the king, and told him to put a good face to it and be of good cheer and to summon his men and be with them again: that would relieve a good deal of his sorrow. The king told Ulfin he would willingly do so; and so their talk ended. And the king besieged the castle for a great while longer and launched attacks against it, but capture it he could not.

  Then one day, while Ulfin was riding amongst the army, he came across a man he did not recognise. And the man said to him: ‘Sir Ulfin, I’d like to speak with you privately, away from here.’

  ‘Very well,’ Ulfin replied, and they drew away from the army, the man on foot and Ulfin riding. Then Ulfin dismounted to talk to the old man and asked him who he was, and he answered: ‘I’m an old man, as you can see. But when I was young I was held to be wise. Sir Ulfin, I’ve just come from Tintagel, where a worthy man accosted me and told me that your king Utherpendragon is in love with the duke’s wife, and is destroying the duke’s land because he took her away from Carduel. But if you’ll get me a good reward, I know a man who can guide the king in his love for Igerne and arrange for him to meet with her.’

  Ulfin was amazed, wondering how the man could say these things, and begged him to direct him to the one who could give the king such help.

  ‘First,’ said the old man, ‘I want to know how the king will repay him.’

  ‘When I’ve spoken to the king,’ Ulfin replied, ‘I’ll meet you back here.’

  ‘You’ll find either me or my messenger,’ the old man said, ‘on this path between here and the army.’

  Then Ulfin left him and rode back to the king and told him what he had said. When the king heard his words he laughed, saying: ‘Ulfin, will you know him
tomorrow if you see him?’

  ‘Why yes,’ replied Ulfin, ‘he’s an old man, and he’s going to meet me down there in the morning to find out what reward you’ll give.’

  And the king laughed again, guessing that it was Merlin. Next morning he followed Ulfin, and when they had ridden out beyond the army they came upon a crippled man, who cried out as the king rode past him: ‘King! If God will grant your heart’s dearest wish, give me a decent reward!’

  The king roared with laughter, and said to Ulfin: ‘Will you do something for me?’

  ‘If it’s in my power I’ll do anything,’ he said.

  ‘Then go,’ said the king, ‘and give yourself to this cripple, and tell him I’ve nothing else to offer!’

  And Ulfin went at once and sat beside him. Seeing him sit at his side the cripple said: ‘What do you want?’

  ‘The king has sent me to you,’ Ulfin replied. ‘He wants me to be yours.’

  When the cripple heard this he laughed and said: ‘The king has twigged, and knows me better than you! But go to him now, and tell him he’s running a grave risk in the pursuit of his desires; but he’s been very perceptive and will be duly rewarded.’

  Ulfin remounted and went to tell the king what the cripple had said. Hearing his words, the king replied: ‘Ulfin, do you realise who the cripple was that I gave you to? He was the man you spoke to yesterday!’

  ‘My lord,’ said Ulfin, ‘can a man really change shape so?’

  ‘It’s Merlin playing games with us!’ replied the king. ‘When he wants you to know his identity, he’ll let you know for sure!’

  Just then Merlin arrived at the king’s tent in his familiar shape and asked where the king was. A boy ran to tell him that Merlin was asking for him, and the king was speechless with delight. Then he said to Ulfin: ‘Now you’ll see what I meant about Merlin!’

  ‘I’ll see, my lord,’ replied Ulfin, ‘whether you’ll gain by doing his will, for no-one is more able to help you in your love for Igerne.’