Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript (Oxford World's Classics)

by Malory, Thomas

  ‘Now, knight,’ said Accolon unto Arthur, ‘keep thee well from me!’

  But Arthur answered not again, but gave him such a buffet on the helm that he made him to stoop nigh falling to the earth. Then Sir Accolon withdrew him a little, and came on with Excalibur on high, and smote Sir Arthur such a buffet that he fell nigh to the earth. Then were they both wroth out of measure, and gave many sore strokes. But always Sir Arthur lost so much blood that it was marvel he stood on his feet, but he was so full of knighthood that he endured the pain. And Sir Accolon lost not a deal of blood; therefore he waxed passing light. And Sir Arthur was passing feeble, and weened verily to have died; but for all that he made countenance as he might well endure, and held Accolon as short as he might. But Accolon was so bold because of Excalibur that he waxed passing hardy. But all men that beheld them said they saw never knight fight so well as Arthur did, considering the blood that he bled. But all that people were sorry that these two brethren would not accord. So always they fought together as fierce knights.

  And at the last King Arthur withdrew him a little for to rest him; and Sir Accolon called him to battle and said, ‘It is no time for me to suffer thee to rest.’ And therewith he came fiercely upon Arthur. But Arthur therewith was wroth for the blood that he had lost, and smote Accolon on high upon the helm so mightily that he made him nigh fall to the earth; and therewith Arthur’s sword brast at the cross and fell on the grass among the blood, and the pommel and the sure handles* he held in his hand. When King Arthur saw that, he was in great fear to die, but always he held up his shield and lost no ground, nor bated no cheer.*

  [10]

  Then Sir Accolon began with words of treason, and said, ‘Knight, thou art overcome and mayst not endure, and also thou art weaponless, and lost thou hast much of thy blood; and I am full loath to slay thee. Therefore yield thee to me recreant.’

  ‘Nay,’ said Sir Arthur, ‘I may not so. For I promised by the faith of my body to do this battle to the uttermost while my life lasteth; and therefore I had liever to die with honour than to live with shame. And if it were possible for me to die a hundred times, I had liever to die so often than yield me to thee, for though I lack weapon, yet shall I lack no worship. And if thou slay me weaponless, that shall be thy shame.’

  ‘Well,’ said Accolon, ‘as for that shame I will not spare. Now keep thee from me, for thou art but a dead man.’

  And therewith Accolon gave him such a stroke that he fell nigh to the earth, and would have had Arthur to have cried him mercy. But Sir Arthur pressed unto Accolon with his shield, and gave him with the pommel in his hand such a buffet that he reeled three strides aback.

  When the Damosel of the Lake beheld Arthur, how full of prowess his body was, and the false treason that was wrought for him to have had him slain, she had great pity that so good a knight and such a man of worship should so be destroyed. And at the next stroke, Sir Accolon struck at him such a stroke that by the damosel’s enchantment the sword Excalibur fell out of Accolon’s hand to the earth. And therewith Sir Arthur lightly leapt to it and got it in his hand, and forthwith he knew it, that it was his sword Excalibur.

  ‘Ah,’ said Arthur, ‘thou hast been from me all too long, and much damage hast thou done me;’ and therewith he espied the scabbard by his side, and suddenly he started to him and pulled the scabbard from him, and threw it from him as far as he might throw it.

  ‘Ah, sir knight,’ said King Arthur, ‘this day hast thou done me great damage with this sword. Now are ye come unto your death, for I shall not warrant you but ye shall be as well rewarded with this sword or ever we depart as ye have rewarded me, for much pain have ye made me to endure and much blood have I lost.’

  And therewith Sir Arthur rushed on him with all his might and pulled him to the earth, and then rased off his helm and gave him such a buffet on his head that the blood came out at his ears, nose, and mouth.

  ‘Now will I slay thee,’ said Arthur.

  ‘Slay me ye may well,’ said Sir Accolon, ‘and it please you, for ye are the best knight that ever I found, and I see well that God is with you. But for I promised’, said Accolon, ‘to do this battle to the uttermost and never to be recreant while I lived, therefore shall I never yield me with my mouth, but God do with my body what He will.’

  Then Sir Arthur remembered him, and thought he should have seen this knight.

  ‘Now tell me,’ said Arthur, ‘or I will slay thee, of what country ye be, and of what court.’

  ‘Sir knight,’ said Sir Accolon, ‘I am of the royal court of King Arthur, and my name is Accolon of Gaul.’

  Then was Arthur more dismayed than he was beforehand, for then he remembered him of his sister Morgan le Fay, and of the enchantment of the ship.

  ‘Ah, sir knight, I pray you, who gave you this sword, and by whom ye had it?’

  [11]

  Then Sir Accolon bethought him, and said, ‘Woe worth this sword, for by it I have gotten my death!’

  ‘It may well be,’ said the King.

  ‘Now, sir,’ said Accolon, ‘I will tell you. This sword hath been in my keeping the most part of this twelvemonth; and Morgan le Fay, King Uriens’ wife, sent it me yesterday by a dwarf, to the intent to slay King Arthur, her brother—for ye shall understand that King Arthur is the man in the world that she hateth most, because he is most of worship and of prowess of any of her blood. Also she loveth me out of measure as paramour, and I her again; and if she might bring it about to slay Arthur by her crafts, she would slay her husband King Uriens lightly. And then had she devised to have me king in this land, and so to reign, and she to be my queen. But that is now done,’ said Accolon, ‘for I am sure of my death.’

  ‘Well,’ said King Arthur, ‘I feel by you ye would have been king of this land; yet it had been great damage to have destroyed your lord,’ said Arthur.

  ‘It is truth,’ said Accolon, ‘but now I have told you the truth; where-fore I pray you tell me of whence ye are, and of what court.’

  ‘Ah, Accolon,’ said King Arthur, ‘now I let thee wit that I am King Arthur that thou hast done great damage to.’

  When Accolon heard that, he cried aloud, ‘Fair sweet lord, have mercy on me, for I knew you not.’

  ‘Ah, Sir Accolon,’ said King Arthur, ‘mercy thou shalt have, because I feel by thy words at this time thou knewest me not. But I feel by thy words that thou hast agreed to the death of my person, and therefore thou art a traitor. But I wite* thee the less, for my sister Morgan le Fay by her false crafts made thee to agree to her false lusts. But I shall be sore avenged upon her, that all Christendom shall speak of it. God knoweth I have honoured her and worshipped her more than all my kin, and more have I trusted her than my wife and all my kin after.’

  Then King Arthur called the keepers of the field and said, ‘Sirs, cometh hither, for here are we two knights that have fought unto great damage unto us both, and likely each of us to have slain other; and had any of us known other, here had been no battle, nor no stroke stricken.’

  Then all aloud cried Accolon unto all the knights and men that were there, and said, ‘Ah, lords, this knight that I have fought with is the most man of prowess and of worship in the world, for it is himself King Arthur, our all liege lord, and with mishap and misadventure have I done this battle with the lord and king that I am withheld with.’*

  [12]

  Then all the people fell down on their knees and cried King Arthur mercy.

  ‘Mercy shall ye have,’ said Arthur. ‘Here may ye see what sudden adventures befall often of errant knights, how that I have fought with a knight of my own unto my great damage and his both. But sirs, because I am sore hurt, and he both, and I had great need of a little rest, ye shall understand this shall be the opinion* betwixt you two brethren. As to thee, Sir Damas, for whom I have been champion and won the field of this knight, yet will I judge, because ye, Sir Damas, are called an orgulous* knight and full of villainy, and not worthy of prowess of your deeds. Therefore will I that ye g
ive unto your brother all the whole manor with the appurtenance, under this form: that Sir Outlake hold the manor of you, and yearly to give you a palfrey to ride upon, for that will become you better to ride on than upon a courser.* Also I charge thee, Sir Damas, upon pain of death, that thou never distress no knights errant that ride on their adventure; and also that thou restore these twenty knights that thou hast kept long prisoners, of all their harms,* that they be content. For and any of them come to my court and complain on thee, by my head thou shalt die therefor.

  ‘Also, Sir Outlake, as to you, because ye are named a good knight and full of prowess, and true and gentle in all your deeds, this shall be your charge I will give you: that in all goodly haste ye come unto me and my court. And ye shall be a knight of mine; and if your deeds be thereafter,* I shall so prefer you, by the grace of God, that ye shall in short time be in ease as for to live as worshipfully as your brother Damas.’

  ‘God thank your largeness* of your great goodness and of your bounty! I shall be from henceforward in all times at your commandment. For,’ said Sir Outlake, ‘as God would, I was hurt but late with an adventurous knight through both the thighs, and else had I done this battle with you.’

  ‘God would’, said Sir Arthur, ‘it had been so, for then had not I been hurt as I am. I shall tell you the cause why: for I had not been hurt as I am, had not been my own sword that was stolen from me by treason; and this battle was ordained aforehand to have slain me, and so it was brought to the purpose by false treason and by enchantment.’

  ‘Alas,’ said Sir Outlake, ‘that is great pity that ever so noble a man as ye are of your deeds and prowess, that any man or woman might find in their hearts to work any treason against you.’

  ‘I shall reward them,’ said Arthur. ‘Now tell me,’ said Arthur, ‘how far am I from Camelot?’

  ‘Sir, ye are two days’ journey.’

  ‘I would be at some place of worship,’ said Sir Arthur, ‘that I might rest me.’

  ‘Sir,’ said Outlake, ‘hereby is a rich abbey of your elders’ foundation, of nuns, but three miles hence.’

  So the King took his leave of all the people, and mounted upon horseback, and Sir Accolon with him. And when they were come to the abbey, he let fetch leeches* and searched his wounds and Sir Accolon’s both. But Sir Accolon died within four days, for he had bled so much blood that he might not live, but King Arthur was well recovered. So when Accolon was dead he let send him in a horse-bier with six knights unto Camelot, and bade, ‘Bear him unto my sister Morgan le Fay, and say that I send her him as a present. And tell her I have my sword Excalibur and the scabbard.’

  So they departed with the body.

  [13]

  The meanwhile Morgan le Fay had weened King Arthur had been dead. So on a day she espied King Uriens lay asleep on his bed, then she called unto her a maiden of her counsel and said, ‘Go fetch me my lord’s sword, for I saw never better time to slay him than now.’

  ‘Ah, madam,’ said the damosel, ‘and ye slay my lord ye can never escape.’

  ‘Care thee not,’ said Morgan, ‘for now I see my time is best to do it; and therefore hie thee fast and fetch me the sword.’

  Then the damosel departed and found Sir Uwain sleeping upon a bed in another chamber; so she went unto Sir Uwain and awaked him and bade him arise, ‘and wait on my lady your mother, for she will slay the king your father sleeping on his bed, for I go to fetch his sword.’

  ‘Well,’ said Sir Uwain, ‘go on your way, and let me deal.’*

  Anon the damosel brought the queen the sword with quaking hands; and lightly she took the sword and pulled it out, and went boldly unto the bed’s side and awaited* how and where she might slay him best. And as she heaved up the sword to smite, Sir Uwain leapt unto his mother and caught her by the hand and said, ‘Ah, fiend, what wilt thou do? And thou were not my mother, with this sword I should smite off thy head. Ah’, said Sir Uwain, ‘men said that Merlin was begotten of a fiend, but I may say an earthly fiend bore me.’

  ‘Ah, fair son Uwain, have mercy upon me! I was tempted with a fiend, wherefore I cry thee mercy. I will never more do so; and save my worship and discover me not.’*

  ‘On this covenant,’ said Sir Uwain, ‘I will forgive you, so ye will never be about* to do such deeds.’

  ‘Nay, son, and that I make you assurance.’

  [14]

  Then came tidings unto Morgan le Fay that Accolon was dead, and his body brought unto the church, and how King Arthur had his sword again. But when Queen Morgan wist that Accolon was dead, she was so sorrowful that nigh her heart tobrast; but because she would not it were known out, she kept her countenance, and made no semblant of dole. But well she wist, and she abode* till her brother Arthur came thither, there should no gold go for her life. Then she went unto the Queen Guenivere, and asked her leave to ride into her country.

  ‘Ye may abide,’ said the Queen, ‘till your brother the king come home.’

  ‘I may not, madam,’ said Morgan le Fay, ‘for I have such hasty tidings.’

  ‘Well,’ said the Queen, ‘ye may depart when ye will.’

  So early on the morn, or it was day, she took her horse and rode all that day and most part of the night, and on the morn by noon she came to the same abbey of nuns where lay King Arthur; and she wist that he was there. And anon she asked where he was; and they answered and said how he was laid him on his bed to sleep, for he had but little rest these three nights.

  ‘Well,’ said she, ‘I charge you that none of you awake him till I do.’

  And then she alit off her horse, and thought for to steal away Excalibur his sword. And she went straight unto his chamber, and no man durst disobey her commandment. And there she found Arthur asleep on his bed, and Excalibur in his right hand naked. When she saw that, she was passing heavy that she might not come by the sword without she had awaked him, and then she wist well she had been dead.* So she took the scabbard and went her way on horseback.

  When the King awoke and missed his scabbard, he was wroth, and so he asked who had been there; and they said his sister Queen Morgan le Fay had been there, and had put the scabbard under her mantle, ‘and is gone.’

  ‘Alas,’ said Arthur, ‘falsely have ye watched me.’

  ‘Sir,’ said they all, ‘we durst not disobey your sister’s commandment.’

  ‘Ah,’ said the King, ‘let fetch me the best horse that may be found, and bid Sir Outlake arm him in all haste and take another good horse and ride with me.’

  So anon the King and Outlake were well armed, and rode after this lady. And so they came by a cross and found a cowherd, and they asked the poor man if there came any lady late riding that way.

  ‘Sir,’ said this poor man, ‘right late came a lady riding this way with forty horses, and to yonder forest she rode.’

  And so they followed fast, and within a while Arthur had a sight of Morgan le Fay; then he chased as fast as he might. When she espied him following her, she rode a great pace through the forest till she came to a plain. And when she saw she might not escape, she rode unto a lake thereby, and said, ‘Whatsoever come of me, my brother shall not have this scabbard.’ And then she let throw the scabbard in the deepest of the water. So it sank, for it was heavy of gold and precious stones.

  Then she rode into a valley where many great stones were, and when she saw she must be overtaken, she shaped herself, horse and man, by enchantment unto great marble stones. And anon withal came Sir Arthur and Sir Outlake there as the King might not know his sister and her men, and one knight from another.

  ‘Ah,’ said the King, ‘here may ye see the vengeance of God, and now am I sorry this misadventure is befallen.’

  And then he looked for the scabbard, but it would not be found; so he returned to the abbey where she came from. So when Arthur was gone, they turned all their likeness as she and they were before, and said, ‘Sirs, now may we go where we will.’*

  [15]

  And so she departed into the country
of Gore, and there was she richly received, and made her castles and towns strong, for always she dreaded much King Arthur.

  When the King had well rested him at the abbey, he rode unto Camelot and found his queen and his barons right glad of his coming. And when they heard of his strange adventures, as it is before rehearsed, then all had marvel of the falsehood of Morgan le Fay; many knights wished her burnt.

  ‘Well,’ said the King, ‘she is a kind sister! I shall so be avenged on her and I live, that all Christendom shall speak of it.’

  So on the morn there came a damosel on message from Morgan le Fay to the King, and she brought with her the richest mantle that ever was seen in the court, for it was set all full of precious stones as one might stand by another,* and therein were the richest stones that ever the King saw. And the damosel said, ‘Your sister sendeth you this mantle and desireth that ye should take this gift of her; and what thing she hath offended, she will amend it at your own pleasure.’

  When the King beheld this mantle it pleased him much; he said but little.

  [16]

  With that came the Damosel of the Lake unto the King and said, ‘Sir, I must speak with you in private.’

  ‘Say on,’ said the King, ‘what ye will.’

  ‘Sir,’ said this damosel, ‘put not upon you this mantle till ye have seen more; and in no wise let it not come on you nor on no knight of yours till ye command the bringer thereof to put it upon her.’

  ‘Well,’ said the King, ‘it shall be as you counsel me.’

  And then he said unto the damosel that came from his sister, ‘Damosel, this mantle that ye have brought me, I will see it upon you.’