The Story of King Arthur and Other Celtic Heroes

by Padraic Colum

  It was then that Bran spoke to the seven followers who were left to him, commanding them to cut off his head. “And take my head,” said he, “and bear it unto the White Mount in London, and bury it there, with the face towards France. A long time you will be upon the road. In Harlech you will be feasting seven years, the Birds of Rhiannon singing unto you the while. And all that time this head of mine will be with you as pleasant company as ever it was when on my body. And in Penvro you will be fourscore years, and you may remain there, and the head with you uncorrupted, until you open the door that looks towards Cornwall. And after you have opened that door, there you may no longer tarry; set forth then to London to bury the head, and go straight forward.”

  So they cut off the head of great Bran, who was also called Bran the Blessed, and the seven went forward therewith. Branwen was the eighth with them. They came to an island and they sat down to rest. And Branwen looked towards Ireland and towards the Island of the Mighty, to see if she could descry them. “Alas,” said she then, “woe is me that I was ever born; two islands have been destroyed because of me!” Then she uttered a groan that all of the seven heard, and her heart broke, and she died! They made a four-sided grave for Branwen, and they buried her on the banks of the Alau.

  Then the seven journeyed forward towards Harlech, bearing the head with them. And when they came to Harlech they met a multitude of men and women coming towards them and crying. “Have you any tidings?” Manawyddan asked of them. “We have none,” said the people, “except that Caswallon, the son of Beli, has conquered the Island of the Mighty, and is crowned King in London.” “And what has become,” the seven asked, “of Caradog, the son of Bran, and the seven knights who were left with him to guard the island?” “Caswallon came upon them, and slew six of the men, and Caradog’s heart broke for grief thereof; for he could see the sword that slew the men, but the hand that wielded the sword he could not see. Caswallon had flung upon him the Veil of Illusion, so that no one could see him slay the men, but the sword only could they see.”

  Then the seven men with the head of Bran the Blessed went on to Harlech, and there they stopped to rest, and meat and liquor were provided, and they sat down to eat and drink. And there came three birds, the Birds of Rhiannon, and began singing unto them a certain song, and all the songs they had ever heard were unpleasant compared to this song; and the birds seemed to them to be at a great distance from them over the sea, yet they appeared as distinct as if they were close by. And at the feast they stayed for seven years, and for seven years they heard the music of the Birds of Rhiannon.

  And the end of seven years they went forth and they came into Penvro. And there they found a fair and regal spot overlooking the ocean; and a spacious hall was therein. They went into that hall, and two of its doors were open, but the third door was closed, that which looked towards Cornwall. “See, yonder,” said Manawyddan, “is the door that we may not open.” That night they feasted and were joyful, and of all they had seen of food laid before them, and of all they had heard of, they remembered nothing; neither of that nor of any sorrow whatsoever. And there they remained fourscore years, unconscious of having ever spent a time more joyous and mirthful. And never were they more weary than when at first they came into that hall, neither did they, any of them, know the time they had been there. And having the head with them, it was as if Bran had been with them himself. And because of the fourscore years spent there with the head of Bran, it was called “The Entertaining of the Noble Head.”

  But a day came when one said to another: “Evil betide me if I do not open the door to know if that is true which is said concerning it.” So one opened the door and looked towards Cornwall. And then, when they had looked, they were conscious of all the ills and all the evils they had ever sustained, and of all the friends and companions they had lost from the time when the host of the Island of the Mighty went into Ireland, and of all the miseries that had befallen them. They were conscious of all these things as if all of them had befallen them on that spot, and especially were they conscious of the great ill that had come to them in the death of great Bran, their lord. And because of their perturbation they could not rest, but journeyed forth with the head towards London. They buried the head of great Bran in the White Mount, and when it was buried there they knew that no invasion could come across the sea to the Island while the head was in that concealment.

  So ends the story concerning the wrong done unto Branwen, and concerning the entertainment of Bran, when the host of the sevenscore countries and ten countries went over to Ireland to avenge the wrong done unto Branwen; and concerning the seven years’ banquet in Harlech, and the singing of the Birds of Rhiannon, and the sojourning of the head of Bran for the space of fourscore years.

  IV

  HOW THE TUSK AND THE SWORD WERE WON

  Thereafter Arthur and his household were in the Island of Britain. And one day Kai and Bedour went and sat upon a beacon cairn on the top of the mountain Plinlimmon, in the highest wind that ever was in the world.

  Then looking around them they saw to the south, afar off, a great smoke that did not bend with the wind. Kai, looking at it, said, “By the hand of my friend, yonder is the fire of a robber.” They hastened towards the smoke; they came so near to it that they could see a huge wild man scorching a boar. “Behold, yonder is the greatest robber that ever fled from Arthur,” said Bedour. “Dost thou know him?” said Kai. “I know him,” said Bedour, “he is Dillus the Bearded.” “And there is no leash in the world,” said Kai, “that will hold Drudwin, the Little Dog of Greit, save a leash made from the beard of this Dillus.” “Even that will be useless,” said Bedour, “unless his beard be plucked alive from his face with wooden tweezers; if his beard be plucked out when he is dead, it will be brittle and it will not hold the Little Dog of Greit. What should we do to pluck his beard out?” “Let us suffer him,” said Kai, “to eat as much as he will of the meat, and then fall asleep, and after that we may be able to pluck the beard from his face.”

  They hid, and they watched the huge robber cook and then eat the whole of the boar. While he was cooking it and eating it they made wooden tweezers. And when they knew that Dillus was asleep, when his loud snores came to them, they made a pit under his feet. They thrust the huge robber into the pit, and they filled the pit up with clay so that he could not move in it. And while Dillus the Robber was held in this way, they plucked out his beard with the wooden tweezers, and out of his beard they made the leash that would hold Drudwin, the Little Dog of Greit.

  It was Arthur who obtained the Little Dog of Greit. A little while before this a maiden whose name was Creidulad was betrothed to a youth named Gwythur. But before she became his bride Creidulad was carried away by force by Gwyn. Then Gwythur gathered up his forces and he attacked Gwyn. But Gwyn overcame him and captured many of Gwythur’s nobles. And amongst the nobles captured was Greit who owned the dog Drudwin.

  When Arthur heard of this war he went into the North, and he summoned Gwyn before him. And the nobles whom Gwyn had captured, Arthur caused to be liberated. He made a peace between Gwythur and Gwyn, and the peace was on the condition that the maiden should remain in her father’s house without advantage to either of the chieftains who had fought for her, and that they should fight for her every first of May, from thenceforth until the day of doom, and that whichever of them should then be conqueror should have the maiden for his bride.

  For having reconciled the chieftains Arthur was given Greit’s dog, Drudwin. The leash that could hold the Little Dog of Greit was already in Arthur’s keeping, and all was ready for the hunting of the boar Yskithyrwyn.

  The boar was in the North and Arthur was in the North. Gado, King of North Britain, was there too. They went to the chase of the boar, the chief huntsman leading the Little Dog of Greit, held by the leash that was made out of the beard of Dillus the Robber. Arthur came leading his own hound, Cavall. And Gado, mounted on Arthur’s mare Lamrei, was first to attack the boar. He wielded a might
y axe, and, greatly daring, he came valiantly up to the boar, and clove his head in twain. But the boar was not killed by that stroke. A hound held him while Odgar, the son of the King of Ireland, plucked the tusk out of his jaw. Now the boar was not slain by the dogs Yspaddaden had spoken of, but by Cavall, Arthur’s own dog.

  Kai and Bedour went through the land together. They came to a vast castle, the largest surely in the world. And, behold! a black man, huger than three of the biggest men they had ever seen, came forth out of the castle. They spoke to him, and said, “Whence comest thou, O man?” “From the castle which you see yonder.” “Whose castle is that?” they asked. “Stupid are ye truly, O men. There is no one in the world that does not know to whom that castle belongs. It is the castle of Gurnach the Giant.”

  Then they said to the huge man, “What treatment is there for guests and strangers who alight at the castle?” “O Chieftains, Heaven protect you,” said the black man. “No guest ever returned thence alive, and no one may ever enter therein unless he is a craftsman bringing a craft with him.”

  On hearing the huge man say this, Kai went towards the castle. “Open the gate,” he said. “I will not open it,” said the porter. “Wherefore wilt thou not?” “The knife is in the meat, and the drink is in the horn, and there is revelry within the hall of Gurnach the Giant. Except for a craftsman who brings his craft, the gate will not be opened this night.” “Verily, porter,” said Kai, “I bring a craft with me.” “What is thy craft?” said the Giant’s porter. “I am the best burnisher of swords in the world.” “I will go and tell this to Gurnach the Giant, and I will bring thee an answer,” said the porter.

  The porter went into the hall, and Gurnach the Giant said to him, “Hast thou any news from the gate?” “There is a man at the portal who desires to come in,” said the porter. “Didst thou inquire of him if he possessed a craft?” “I did inquire.” “And what answer did he make you?” “He told me that he was a man well skilled in the burnishing of swords.” “Then I have need of him. For a long time I have sought for some one who might polish my famous sword, and I found no one. Let this man enter, since he brings with him his craft.”

  The porter thereupon returned and opened the gate. Kai went in by himself. And when he entered the hall he saluted Gurnach the Giant, and a chair was placed for him opposite the Giant’s. Gurnach said to him: “O man, is it true what is reported of thee, that thou knowest how to burnish swords?” “I know full well how to do so,” answered Kai. Then Gurnach called on his attendants, and the famous sword was brought to Kai.

  Kai took a blue whetstone from under his arm; he asked the Giant whether he would have his sword burnished white or blue. “Do with it as it seems good to thee,” answered the Giant. Then Kai polished one half of the blade and put the sword in the Giant’s hand. “Will this please thee?” he asked. “I would that the whole of the blade was like the part you have polished,” said the Giant. And then he said to himself, “When the whole of the blade is polished, I will slay him.”

  After a while he said to Kai: “It is a marvel to me that such a man as thou should be without a companion.” “O noble sir,” said Kai, “I have a companion, and he is the best teller of tales in the world.” “Who may he be?” asked the Giant. “Let the porter go forth, and I will tell him whereby he may know my companion. The head of his lance will leave its shaft, and draw blood from the wind, and will descend upon its shaft again.” The porter went to the gate and opened it. Bedour entered the hall and saluted Gurnach. The Giant said to him: “Tell me a tale while your companion is burnishing my sword.” Thereupon Bedour began to tell the story that is called, “The Story of Lud and Levellis.”

  The giant said, “Tell me a tale while your companion is burnishing my sword.”

  THE STORY OF LUD AND LEVELLIS

  Said Bedour: Three plagues fell upon the Island of the Mighty, the like of which had never been known by anyone in the Island. The first was a race that had come in, a race of magicians called the Coranians. So great was their power that there might be no discourse on the face of the Island, however low it might be spoken, but what if the wind met it, it was known to this race. And by reason of this, the Coranians were very powerful and the men of Britain could do nothing against them.

  The second plague was a shriek, a shriek which came on every May Eve, over every hearth in the Island of Britain. And this shriek went through the people’s hearts, and so scared them that the men lost their hue and their strength, and the women their children, and the young men and maidens lost their senses, and all the animals and trees and the earth and the waters were left barren.

  And the third plague was this: no matter how much of provisions and goods might be prepared in the King’s court, were there even so much as meat and drink for a whole year, none of it could ever be found, except what was consumed on the first night. And of two of these plagues no one ever knew their cause, therefore was there better hope of the people being freed from the first than from the second and third.

  That was after the time of Beli the Great who had for sons, Lud, Caswallon, and Levellis. After the death of Beli, the kingdom of the Island of Britain fell into the hands of Lud his eldest son; and Lud ruled prosperously, and rebuilt the walls of London, and encompassed it about with numberless towers. He was a mighty warrior, and generous and liberal in giving meat and drink to all that sought them. And though he had many castles and cities, the city he had rebuilt he loved more than any. He lived therein most part of the year; therefore was it called Caer Lud, and then Caer London, and at last, London.

  Lud loved his brother Levellis because he was a wise and a discreet man. Levellis took the daughter of the King of France for his wife. The crown of the kingdom came with the maiden, and thenceforth Levellis ruled the land of France wisely and happily.

  Now when the three plagues spoken of afflicted the Island of Britain, King Lud felt sorrow and care because he knew not how he might free his people from them. And at last he resolved to go to the King of France, his brother, to seek his counsel as to what might be done.

  First he caused the men of Britain to make ready a fleet. They had to make it ready in secret and in silence lest the Coranians, that race of magicians, should know of their errand. And when all was made ready they went into their ships, Lud and those whom he chose to bring with him. And then, with no sound from the sailors, the ships began to cleave the seas towards France.

  And Levellis, seeing the ships coming, sailed in a fleet to meet his brother. And then, in a single ship, each came towards the other. Levellis came aboard Lud’s ship. And when they were come together, each put his arms about the other’s neck, and they welcomed each other with brotherly love.

  Then Levellis said that he knew the cause of his brother’s coming to his land. And in order that the wind might not catch their words, nor the Coranians know what they might say, Levellis caused a long horn to be made, and through this horn they discoursed. But whatever words they spoke through this horn, one to the other, neither of them could hear anything but harsh and hostile words. And when Levellis understood this, he knew that there was a demon thwarting them, and changing what words were said through the horn, and he caused wine to be put therein to wash it. And through the virtue of the wine, the demon was driven out and the brothers talked to each other through the horn without their words being changed.

  Levellis assured Lud that he had power to destroy the race of the Coranians. He would give him, he said, certain insects; these insects were to be bruised in water, and the water was to be cast over the Coranians. That would destroy the whole tribe. But the same water cast over the men of Britain would not destroy them.

  The second plague, he said, was because, in the Island of Britain, there were two dragons fighting one against the other. The dragon that was being overcome made the fearful outcry. And Levellis told Lud how he might come to see the two dragons fighting, and how he might put them into a place where no outcry could be heard from either of them.


  The cause of the third plague, he said, was a mighty man of magic, who took the King’s meat, and the King’s drink, and the King’s store. Through illusions and charms he was able to cause everyone to sleep. Levellis counselled Lud to keep watch himself upon his food and provisions. “And lest he should overcome thee with sleep,” he said, “let there be a cauldron of cold water by thy side, and when thou art oppressed with sleep, plunge into the cauldron.”

  Then Lud returned to his own land. Soon afterwards he brought together in one place the men of Britain and the tribe of the magicians. He had ready the water in which the insects were bruised; he flung it over all who were there. The men of Britain were unharmed by the water, but it no sooner fell upon the Coranians than they ran from the place. Never afterwards were they seen on the Island of Britain.

  After this Lud caused the Island to be measured in its length and its breadth. He found the place that was the centre of the Island, and in that place he caused the earth to be dug, and in the pit a cauldron to be set, a cauldron that was filled with the best mead that could be made, and he put over it a covering of fine satin. King Lud himself watched by the pit and the cauldron. And in the middle of the night two dragons came and began to fight with each other. When they had wearied each other out with fighting, they fell down, and they came upon the covering of satin, and they drew it with them to the bottom of the cauldron. They drank up all the mead and they lay in the cauldron, asleep. Then Lud folded the covering around the cauldron, and he had it, with the dragons within it, borne away and carried within a secure place that he had, a place within the mountain of Snowdon. And there he had the dragons closed up, and whether they lived or whether they died there, no man knew, and the fearful outcry that one of the dragons used to make was heard no more in King Lud’s dominions.