The Story of King Arthur and Other Celtic Heroes

by Padraic Colum

  The Black Man said, “Arise, man, and suffer death.”

  He came towards a valley, through which ran a river; and the borders of the valley were wooded, and on each side of the river were level meadows. On one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and on the other a flock of black sheep. And whenever one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would cross over and become white; and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross over and become black. And he saw a tall tree by the side of the river, one half of which was in flames from the root to the top, and the other half was green and in full leaf. Nigh thereto he saw a youth sitting upon a mound, and two grey-hounds, white-breasted and spotted, in leashes, lying by his side. And certain was he that he had never seen a youth of so royal a bearing as he. In the wood opposite he heard hounds raising a herd of deer.

  Peredur saluted the youth, and the youth greeted him in return. There were three roads leading from the mound; two of them were wide roads, and the third was more narrow. Peredur inquired where the three roads went. “One of them goes to my palace,” said the youth, “and one of two things I would counsel thee to do; either to proceed to my palace, which is before thee, and where thou wilt find my wife, or else to remain here to see the hounds chasing the roused deer from the wood to the plain. And thou shalt see the best grey-hounds thou didst ever behold, and the boldest in the chase, kill the deer by the water beside us; and when it is time to go to meat, my page will come with my horse to meet me, and thou shalt rest in my palace to-night.” “Heaven reward thee, but I cannot tarry, for onward must I go,” said Peredur. “The other road leads to the town, which is near here, and wherein food and liquor may be bought; and the road which is narrower than the others goes towards the cave of the Addanc.” “With thy permission I will go that way.”

  And Peredur went towards the cave. He took the stone in his left hand, and his lance in his right. As he went in he perceived the Addanc, and he pierced him through with his lance, and cut off his head. And as he came from the cave, behold there were three young men at the entrance, and they saluted Peredur, and told him that there was a prediction that he should slay that monster. Peredur gave the head to the young men, and they offered him in marriage whichever of their three sisters he might choose, and half their kingdom with her. “I came not hither to woo,” said Peredur, “but if peradventure I took a wife, I should prefer one of your sisters to all others.”

  Then they said to him, “What seekst thou, Chieftain?” “I am seeking tidings of the Castle of Wonders.” “Thy enterprise is greater, Chieftain, than thou wilt wish to pursue, nevertheless, thou shalt have tidings of the castle.” Then they said to him, “Go over yonder mountain, and thou wilt find a lake, and in the middle of the lake there is a castle, and that is the castle that is called the Castle of Wonders, and we know not what wonders are therein, but thus it is called.”

  Peredur proceeded towards the castle, and the gate of the castle was open. And when he came to the hall, the door was open, and he entered. And he beheld a chess-board in the hall, and the chess-men were playing against each other, by themselves. The side that Peredur favoured lost the game, and thereupon the others set up a shout, as though they had been living men. Peredur was wroth, and took the chess-men in his lap, and cast the chess-board into the lake.

  When he had done this, behold the black maiden came in, and she said to him, “The welcome of Heaven be not unto thee. Thou hadst rather do evil than good.” “What complaint hast thou against me, maiden?” said Peredur. “That thou hast occasioned unto the Empress the loss of her chess-board, which she would not have lost for all her empire. And the way in which thou mayest recover the chess-board is to repair to the Castle of Ysbidinongyl, where is a Black Man, who lays waste the dominions of the Empress, and if thou canst slay him, thou wilt recover the chess-board. But if thou goest there, thou wilt not return alive.” “Wilt thou direct me thither?” said Peredur. “I will show thee the way,” she replied.

  So Peredur went to the castle, and he fought with the Black Man who was there, and he overcame him. The Black Man besought mercy of Peredur. “Mercy will I grant thee,” said he, “on condition that thou cause the chess-board to be restored to the place where it was when I entered the hall.” Then Peredur went back to the Castle of Wonders.

  Again the black maiden came to him, and said, “The malediction of Heaven attend thee for thy work, since thou hast left that monster alive, who lays waste all the possessions of the Empress.” “I granted him his life,” said Peredur, “that he might cause the chess-board to be restored.” “The chess-board is not in the place where thou didst find it; go back, therefore, and slay him.” So Peredur went back, and he fought with the Black Man, and he slew him.

  And when he returned to the Castle of Wonders, he found the black maiden there. “Ah, maiden,” said he, “where is the Empress?” “I declare to Heaven that thou wilt not see her now, unless thou dost slay the monster that is in yonder forest.” “What monster is there?” “It is a stag that is as swift as the swiftest bird; he has one horn on his forehead, as long as the shaft of a spear, and as sharp as whatever is sharpest. He destroys the branches of the best trees in the forest, and he kills every animal that he meets with therein, and those that he doth not slay perish with hunger. And what is worse than that, he comes every night, and drinks up the fish-pond, and leaves the fishes exposed, so that for the most part they die before the water returns again.” “Maiden,” said Peredur, “wilt thou come and show me this animal?” “Not so,” said the maiden, “for he has not permitted any mortal to enter the forest for above a twelvemonth. Behold, here is a little dog belonging to the Empress, which will rouse the stag, and will chase him towards thee.”

  Then the little dog went as a guide to Peredur, and roused the stag, and brought him towards the place where Peredur was. The stag attacked Peredur, and he let him pass by him, and as he did so, he smote off his head with his sword. And while he was looking on the head of the stag, he saw a lady on horseback coming toward him. She took the little dog in the lappet of her cape, and the head and the body of the stag lay before her. And around the stag’s neck was a golden collar. “Ha! Chieftain,” said she, “uncourteously hast thou acted in slaying the fairest jewel that was in my dominions.” “I was entreated so to do, and is there any way by which I can obtain thy friendship?” “There is,” she replied. “Go thou forward unto yonder mountain, and there thou wilt find a grove, and in the grove there is a cromlech; do thou there challenge a man three times to fight, and thou shalt have my friendship.”

  So Peredur proceeded onward, and came to the side of the grove, and challenged any man to fight. And a Black Man rose from beneath the cromlech, mounted upon a bony horse, and both he and the horse were clad in huge rusty armour. And they fought. As often as Peredur cast the Black Man to the earth, he would jump again into the saddle. And Peredur dismounted, and drew his sword, and thereupon the Black Man disappeared with Peredur’s horse and his own, so that he could not gain sight of him a second time.

  Then Peredur went along the mountain, and at the other side of the mountain he beheld a castle in the valley, wherein was a river. He went to the castle, and as he entered it, he saw a hall, and the door of the hall was open, and he went in. He saw a lame, hoary-headed man sitting on one side of the hall. And Peredur beheld his horse, which the Black Man had taken, in the stall. He went and seated himself on one side of the hoary-headed man.

  Then, behold, a yellow-haired youth came, and bent upon the knee before Peredur, and besought his friendship. “Lord,” said the youth, “it was I who came in the form of the black maiden to Arthur’s Court, and when thou didst throw down the chess-board, and when thou didst slay the Black Man of Ysbidinongyl, and when thou didst slay the stag, and when thou didst go to fight the Black Man of the cromlech. And I came with the bloody head on the salver, and with the lance that streamed with blood from the point to the hand, all along the shaft; and the hea
d was thy cousin’s, and he was killed by the sorceresses of Gloucester, who also lamed thy uncle, this nobleman. And there is a prediction that thou art to avenge these things.”

  As they were being spoken about, the sorceresses came. And Peredur began to fight with them, and one of the sorceresses slew a man before Peredur’s face, and Peredur bade her forbear. And the sorceress slew a man before Peredur’s face a second time, and a second time he forbade her. And the third time the sorceress slew a man before the face of Peredur, and then Peredur drew his sword, and smote the sorceress on the helmet, and all her head-armour was split in two parts. And she set up a cry, and desired the other sorceresses to flee, and told them that this was Peredur, the man who had learnt chivalry with them, and by whom they were destined to be slain. Then Arthur and his household came, and they fell upon the sorceresses, and they slew the sorceresses of Gloucester every one. And thus is it related of Peredur in the Castle of Wonders.

  THE STORY OF GERAINT AND THE MAIDEN ENID

  I

  One Whitsuntide, as King Arthur was holding his Court at Caerleon upon Usk, there entered a tall, fair-haired youth clad in a coat and a surcoat of diapered satin, with a golden-hilted sword about his neck, and low shoes of leather upon his feet. He came and stood before Arthur. “Hail to thee, Lord,” said he. “Heaven prosper thee,” said the King, “and be thou welcome. Dost thou bring any new tidings?” “I do, Lord,” said the youth. “Then tell me thine errand,” said King Arthur.

  “I am one of thy foresters in the Forest of Dean,” said the youth. “In the forest I saw a stag, the like of which I never yet beheld. He is of pure white, and he does not herd with any other animal through stateliness and pride, so royal is his bearing. And I come to seek thy counsel, Lord, and to know thy will concerning him.” “It seems best to me,” said Arthur, “to go and hunt him to-morrow at break of day.”

  Then all in the palace received notice of the hunting that was to be at break of day. “Lord,” said Queen Gwenhuivar to King Arthur, “wilt thou permit me to go to-morrow to see and hear the hunt of the stag of which the young man spoke?” “I will, gladly,” said Arthur. “Then I will go,” said she. And Gwalchmai said to Arthur, “Lord, if it seem well to thee, permit that into whose hunt soever the stag shall come, may that one cut off the stag’s head, and give it to whom he pleases, whether to his own lady-love, or to the lady of his friend.” “I grant it gladly,” said Arthur. “And let the steward of the household be chastised if we are not all ready to-morrow for the chase.”

  When day came, they rose, and Arthur called the attendants who guarded his couch. They came to Arthur and saluted him, and arrayed him in his garments. Arthur wondered that Gwenhuivar did not awake, and did not move in her bed. The attendants wished to awaken her. “Disturb her not,” said Arthur, “for she had rather sleep than see the hunting.”

  Then Arthur went forth, and he heard two horns sounding, one from near the lodging of the chief huntsman, and the other from near that of the chief page. The whole of the Court came to Arthur, and they took the road to the forest.

  After Arthur had gone forth from the palace, Gwenhuivar awoke, and she called to her maidens, and apparelled herself. “Maidens,” said she, “go one of you to the stable, and order hither a horse such as a woman may ride.” And one of her maidens went, and she found but two horses in the stable, and Gwenhuivar and one of her maidens mounted them, and went through the Usk, and followed the track of the men and the horses.

  As they rode thus, they heard a loud and rushing sound; and they looked behind them, and beheld a knight upon a hunter foal of mighty size; the rider was a fair-haired youth, bare-legged, and of princely mien, and a golden-hilted sword was at his side, and a robe and a surcoat of satin were upon him, and two low shoes of leather upon his feet; and around him was a scarf of purple, at each corner of which was a golden apple. And his horse stepped stately, and swift, and proud. The youth overtook Gwenhuivar, and saluted her.

  “Heaven prosper thee, Geraint,” said the Queen, “and the welcome of Heaven be unto thee. And why didst thou not go with thy lord to hunt?” “Because I knew not when he went,” said Geraint. “I was asleep.” “I was asleep, too,” said the Queen. “But thou, O young man, art the most agreeable companion I could have in the whole kingdom; and it may be, that I shall be more amused with the hunting than they; for we shall hear the horns when they sound, and we shall hear the dogs when they are let loose, and begin to cry.” So they went to the edge of the forest, and there they stood. “From this place,” said the Queen, “we shall hear when the dogs are let loose.”

  While they were standing there they heard a loud noise, and they looked towards the spot whence it came, and they beheld a dwarf riding upon a horse, stately, and foaming, and prancing, and strong, and spirited. In the hand of the dwarf was a whip. And near the dwarf they saw a lady upon a beautiful white horse, of steady and stately pace; and she was clothed in a garment of gold brocade. Beside her was a knight upon a war horse of large size, with heavy and bright armour both upon himself and upon his horse. Those who were with the Queen thought that never before had they seen a knight, or a horse, or armour, of such remarkable size.

  “Geraint,” said Gwenhuivar, “knowest thou the name of that tall knight yonder?” “I know him not,” said Geraint, “and the strange armour that he wears prevents my seeing either his face or his features.” “Go, maiden,” said Gwenhuivar, “and ask the dwarf who that knight is.” Then the maiden went up to the dwarf; and the dwarf waited for the maiden, when he saw her coming towards him. The maiden inquired of the dwarf who the knight was. “I will not tell thee,” he answered. “Since thou art so churlish as not to tell me,” she said, “I will ask him himself.” “Thou shalt not ask him, by my faith,” said he. “Wherefore?” said she. “Because thou art not of sufficient honour to befit thee to speak to my lord.” Then the maiden turned her horse’s head towards the knight, upon which the dwarf struck her with the whip that was in his hand across the face and the eyes, until the blood flowed forth. And the maiden, through the hurt she received from the blow, returned to Gwenhuivar, complaining of the pain.

  “Very rudely has the dwarf treated thee,” said Geraint. “I will go myself to know who the knight is.” “Go,” said Gwenhuivar. Then Geraint went up to the dwarf. “Who is yonder knight?” said Geraint. “I will not tell thee,” said the dwarf. “Then I will ask him myself,” said Geraint. “Thou wilt not, by my faith,” said the dwarf, “thou art not honourable enough to speak with my lord.” Said Geraint, “I have spoken with men of equal rank with him.” And saying that, he turned his horse’s head towards the knight; but the dwarf overtook him, and struck him as he had done the maiden, so that the blood coloured the scarf that Geraint wore. Then Geraint put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but he took counsel with himself, and considered that it would be no vengeance for him to slay the dwarf, and to be attacked unarmed by an armed knight, so he returned to where Gwenhuivar was.

  The dwarf struck him as he had done the maiden.

  “Thou hast acted wisely and discreetly,” said she. “Lady,” said he, “I will follow him yet, with thy permission; and at last he will come to some inhabited place, where I may have arms either as a loan or for a pledge, so that I may encounter the knight.” “Go,” said she, “and do not attack him until thou hast good arms, and I shall be very anxious concerning thee, until I hear tidings of thee.” “If I am alive,” said he, “thou shalt hear tidings of me by to-morrow afternoon.” And saying that, he departed.

  The road that the knight, the dwarf, and the lady took was below the palace of Caerleon, and across the ford of the Usk. Geraint followed, and they went along a fair and even and lofty ridge of ground, until they came to a town, and at the extremity of the town Geraint saw a fortress and a castle. As the knight passed through, all the people arose and saluted him, and bade him welcome. Geraint looked at every house to see if he knew any of those whom he saw there. But he knew none, and none knew him to do
him the kindness to let him have arms either as a loan or for a pledge. And every house he saw was full of men, and arms, and horses. And the men were polishing shields, and burnishing swords, and washing armour, and shoeing horses. The knight and the lady and the dwarf rode up to the castle that was in the town, and every one was glad in the castle. From the battlements and the gates they risked their necks, through their eagerness to greet them, and to show their joy.

  Geraint stood there to see whether the knight would remain in the castle; and when he was certain that he would do so, he looked around him; and at a little distance from the town he saw an old palace in ruins, wherein was a hall that was falling to decay. And as he knew not any one in the town, he went towards the old palace; and when he came near to the palace, he saw but one chamber, and a bridge of marble-stone leading to it. And upon the bridge he saw sitting a hoary-headed man, upon whom were tattered garments. Geraint gazed steadfastly upon him for a long time. Then the hoary-headed man spoke to him. “Young man,” he said, “wherefore art thou thoughtful?” “I am thoughtful,” said Geraint, “because I know not where to go to-night.” “Wilt thou come forward this way?” said the hoary-headed man, “and thou shalt have of the best that can be procured for thee.”

  Geraint went forward. In the hall he dismounted, and he left there his horse. Then he went to the upper chamber with the hoary-headed man. And in the chamber he beheld an aged woman, sitting on a cushion, with old, tattered garments of satin upon her; and it seemed to him that he had never seen a woman fairer than she must have been, when in the fullness of youth.

  And then he saw beside the aged woman a maiden, upon whom were a vest and a veil, that were old, and beginning to be worn out. And truly, he never saw a maiden more full of comeliness, and grace, and beauty than she. The hoary-headed man said to the maiden, “There is no attendant for the horse of this youth but thyself.” “I will render the best service I am able,” said she, “both to him and to his horse.” And the maiden disencumbered the youth, and then she furnished the horse with straw and with corn. The hoary-headed man said to her, “Go to the town, and bring hither the best that thou canst find both of food and drink.” “I will, gladly, Lord,” said she. And to the town she went.