The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics)

by Sioned Davies

  ‘May God be good to you, lord, and where do you come from?’

  ‘I come from Arthur’s court,’ he said.

  ‘Are you Arthur’s man?’

  ‘I am, by my faith,’ said Gwalchmai.

  ‘I have good advice for you,’ said the knight. ‘I see that you are tired and weary. Go to the court and stay there tonight if you want.’

  ‘I will, lord, and may God repay you.’

  ‘Take a ring as a sign to the gatekeeper, and make for that tower; a sister of mine is there.’

  Gwalchmai came to the gate, and showed the ring, and made for the tower. When he arrived there was a big fire blazing with a bright, tall, smokeless flame, and a fair noble maiden sitting in a chair by the fire. The maiden was glad to see him and welcomed him, and got up to meet him. And he went to sit next to the maiden. They had their dinner.

  After their dinner they engaged in pleasant conversation. As they were doing so, a handsome grey-haired man entered.

  ‘You wretched whore,’ he said, ‘if you knew how wrong it is for you to sit and amuse yourself with that man, you would not do so.’ He withdrew his head, and left.

  ‘Lord,’ said the maiden, ‘if you take my advice you will secure the door, in case the man has set a trap for you,’ she said.

  Gwalchmai got up, but when he got to the door the man was with thirty others, fully armed, climbing up the tower. Gwalchmai used a gwyddbwyll board so that no one could come up until the man returned from hunting. Then the earl arrived.

  ‘What is this?’ he said.

  ‘It’s not right’, said the grey-haired man, ‘for the wretched girl over there to sit and drink until evening with the man who killed your father—he is Gwalchmai son of Gwyar.’

  ‘No more of this,’ said the earl. ‘I will go inside.’

  The earl made Gwalchmai welcome.

  ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘it was wrong of you to come to our court, if you knew you had killed our father. Since we cannot avenge that, may God avenge it.’

  ‘Friend,’ said Gwalchmai, ‘this is the situation. I came here neither to admit to killing your father nor to deny it. I am on a quest for Arthur and myself. However, I ask for a year’s respite until I return from my quest, and then, on my word, I will come to this court to do one of two things, either to admit it or deny it.’ They granted him the respite gladly. He stayed there that night.

  The next day he set off, but the story says no more than that about Gwalchmai on the matter.

  But Peredur went on his way. He wandered the island searching for news about the black-haired maiden, but found none. And he came to land that he did not recognize in a river valley. As he was travelling through the valley, he could see a rider coming towards him with the mark of a priest on him. Peredur asked for his blessing.

  ‘Miserable wretch,’ he said, ‘you do not deserve to receive a blessing, and it won’t be of any use to you seeing that you are wearing armour on a day as exalted as this.’

  ‘And what day is today?’ said Peredur.

  ‘Today is Good Friday.’

  ‘Do not chide me, I did not know. A year from today I set off from my country.’

  Then he dismounted and led his horse by the bridle. He walked part of the highway until he came to a by-road, and he took the byroad through the forest. On the other side of the forest he could see a fort with no towers, and he could see signs of habitation in the fort. He made for the fort. And at the gate of the fort he met the priest whom he had come across earlier. Peredur asked for his blessing.

  ‘God’s blessing on you,’ he said, ‘and it is better to travel thus. And you shall stay with me tonight.’ And Peredur stayed that night.

  The next day Peredur asked permission to leave.

  ‘Today is no day for anyone to travel. You shall stay with me today and tomorrow and the day after. And I will give you the best information that I can as to what you are looking for.’

  The fourth day, Peredur asked permission to leave, and begged the priest to give him information about the Fortress of Wonders.

  ‘As much as I know, I shall tell you. Cross the mountain over there, and on the far side of the mountain there is a river, and in the river valley there is the court of a king, and the king was there over Easter. And if you are to get news anywhere about the Fortress of Wonders, you will get it there.’

  Then he went on his way, and came to the river valley. And he met a number of men going to hunt. He could see among the crowd a man of high rank. Peredur greeted him. He said, ‘It is your choice, lord, either go to the court or come hunting with me. And I will send one of the retinue to entrust you to the care of one of my daughters who is there, so that you can take food and drink until I return from hunting. And if your business is one that I can help you with, then I will do so gladly.’

  The king sent a short, yellow-haired lad with him. And when they came to the court, the lady had got up and was going to wash. Peredur approached, and she welcomed him warmly and made room for him next to her. And they ate their dinner. Whatever Peredur said to her, she would laugh out loud so that everyone in the court could hear. Then the short, yellow-haired lad said to the lady, ‘By my faith,’ he said, ‘if you have ever had a lover then it was this squire, and if you have not had a lover, then your heart and head are set on him.’

  The short, yellow-haired lad went to the king, and told him that it was most likely that the squire he had met was his daughter’s lover.

  ‘And if he is not her lover, I am sure he will be her lover very soon unless you safeguard against it.’

  ‘What is your advice, lad?’

  ‘I advise you to set brave men on him and hold him, until you know it for sure.’

  The king set men on Peredur to seize him and put him in prison. The maiden came to her father and asked him why he had had the squire from Arthur’s court imprisoned.

  ‘God knows,’ he replied, ‘he will not be set free tonight or tomorrow or the day after, and he will not be leaving where he is.’

  She did not confront the king about what he had said, but went to the squire.

  ‘Is it unpleasant for you being here?’

  ‘I would prefer it if I weren’t.’

  ‘Your bed and your conditions will be no worse than the king’s, and the best songs in the court you shall have at your command. And if you would prefer to have my bed here so that I could talk to you, you shall have that gladly.’

  ‘I will not object to that.’ He was in prison that night, and the maiden kept her promise to him.

  The next day Peredur could hear a commotion in the town.

  ‘Fair maiden, what is this commotion?’

  ‘The king’s host and his army are coming to this town today.’

  ‘What do they want?’

  ‘There is an earl nearby, and he has two earldoms, and he is as strong as a king. And there will be battle between them today.’

  ‘I want you to arrange a horse and armour for me to go and look at the battle,’ said Peredur, ‘and on my word I will return to my prison.’

  ‘Gladly,’ she replied. ‘I’ll arrange a horse and armour for you.’

  She gave him a horse and armour, and a pure red cloak over his armour, and a yellow shield on his shoulder. And he went to the battle. Those of the earl’s men who encountered him that day, he overthrew them all, and he returned to his prison. She asked Peredur for news, but he did not utter a single word to her. She went to ask her father for news—she asked who of his retinue had performed best. He replied that he did not recognize him: ‘He was a man with a pure red cloak over his armour, and a yellow shield on his shoulder.’

  She smiled, and went to Peredur. And he was held in high regard that night. For three consecutive days Peredur killed the earl’s men, and before anyone could find out who he was he would return to his prison. On the fourth day Peredur killed the earl himself. And the maiden went to meet her father, and asked him for news.

  ‘Good news,’ said the king. ‘The
earl has been killed,’ he said, ‘and I now own both earldoms.’

  ‘Do you know, lord, who killed him?’

  ‘I do,’ said the king. ‘The knight with the pure red cloak and yellow shield killed him.’

  ‘Lord,’ she said, ‘I know who he is.’

  ‘In God’s name,’ he replied, ‘who is he?’

  ‘Lord, he is the knight whom you imprisoned.’

  The king went to Peredur, and greeted him, and told him that he would pay him whatever he wanted for the service he had rendered. When they went to eat, Peredur was placed next to the king, and the maiden on the other side of Peredur.

  After eating, the king said to Peredur, ‘I will give you my daughter in marriage, and half my kingdom with her, and the two earldoms I will give you as a wedding gift.’

  ‘May the Lord God repay you. I did not come here to look for a wife.’

  ‘So what are you seeking, lord?’

  ‘I am seeking news of the Fortress of Wonders.’

  ‘The lord’s mind is on higher things than we expected,’ said the maiden. ‘You shall have news of the fortress, and someone to guide you through my father’s land, and plenty of food and drink. And you, lord, are the man I love best.’

  Then the king said to Peredur, ‘Cross that mountain over there, and you will see a lake, and a fortress within the lake. And it is called the Fortress of Wonders. And we know nothing of its wonders, but that is what it’s called.’

  And Peredur came to the fortress, and the gate of the fortress was open. And when he came to the hall, the door was open. As he entered, he could see gwyddbwyll in the hall, and each of the two sides playing against the other. And the side he supported lost the game, and the other side shouted just as if they were men.* He got angry, and took the pieces in his lap and threw the board into the lake. As he was doing so, behold, the black-haired maiden entered.

  ‘May you not receive God’s welcome. You do evil more often than good.’

  ‘Of what are you accusing me, black-haired maiden?’

  ‘You have made the empress lose her board, and she would not wish that for her empire.’

  ‘Is there a way to get the board back?’

  ‘There is, if you were to go to the Fortress of Ysbidinongyl. There is a black-haired man there, destroying much of the empress’s land; kill him and you would get the board. But if you go there, you will not come back alive.’

  ‘Will you guide me there?’

  ‘I will show you a way there.’

  He came to the Fortress of Ysbidinongyl and fought the black-haired man. The black-haired man asked Peredur for mercy.

  ‘I will be merciful—see that the board is where it was when I entered the hall.’ Then the black-haired maiden arrived.

  ‘God’s curse on you for your effort, for leaving alive the oppressor who is destroying the empress’s land.’

  ‘I let him have his life,’ said Peredur, ‘in order to get the board.’

  ‘The board is not where you first found it. Go back and kill him.’ Peredur went and killed the man.

  ‘Maiden,’ said Peredur, ‘where is the empress?’

  ‘Between me and God, you will not see her again unless you kill an oppressor that is in the forest over there.’

  ‘What sort of oppressor is it?’

  ‘A stag, as swift as the swiftest bird, and there is one horn in his forehead, as long as a spear-shaft, and as sharp as the sharpest thing.And he eats the tops of the trees and what grass there is in the forest. And he kills every animal he finds in the forest, and those he does not kill die of starvation. And worse than that, he comes every day and drinks the fishpond dry, and leaves the fish exposed, and most of them die before it fills again with water.’

  ‘Maiden,’ said Peredur, ‘will you come and show me this creature?’

  ‘No, I will not. No man has dared enter the forest for a year. There is the lady’s lapdog—it will raise the stag and bring him to you. And the stag will attack you.’

  The lapdog went as Peredur’s guide, and raised the stag, and brought it to Peredur. And the stag rushed at Peredur, but he let it charge past him and cut off its head with a sword. As he was looking at the stag’s head, he could see a lady on horseback coming towards him and picking up the lapdog in the sleeve of her cape and placing the stag’s head between herself and the saddle-bow, together with the collar of red gold that was round its neck.

  ‘Lord,’ she said, ‘you did a discourteous thing, killing the most beautiful jewel in my land.’

  ‘I was told to do that. And is there any way I can win your friendship?’

  ‘Yes, there is. Go to the hillside and there you will see a bush. And at the base of the bush there is a slab. And ask for a man to fight you, three times—you would then have my friendship.’

  Peredur went on his way and came to the edge of the bush and asked for a man to fight. A black-haired man arose from beneath the slab, on a scraggy horse, and big, rusty armour on him and his horse. And they fought. As Peredur threw the black-haired man to the ground, he would jump up again into his saddle. Peredur dismounted and drew his sword. With that the black man disappeared, and Peredur’s horse and his own horse with him, so that he did not get a second glimpse of them.

  Peredur walked along the mountain, and on the other side of the mountain he could see a fortress in a river valley, and he approached the fortress. And as he entered the fortress he could see a hall, and the hall door open, and he entered. And he could see a lame, grey-haired man sitting at the end of the hall, with Gwalchmai sitting on one side of him. And he could see Peredur’s horse in the same stall as Gwalchmai’s horse. They made Peredur welcome, and he went to sit on the other side of the grey-haired man. With that a yellow-haired lad went down on his knee before Peredur and asked him for his friendship.

  ‘Lord,’ said the lad, ‘I came in the guise of the black-haired maiden to Arthur’s court, and when you threw away the gwyddbwyll, and when you killed the black-haired man from Ysbidinongyl, and when you killed the stag, and when you fought against the blackhaired man from the slab. And I brought the head on the salver, all covered in blood, and the spear with the blood streaming along it from its tip to its hilt. And the head was your cousin’s, and it was the witches of Caerloyw who killed him, and they made your uncle lame. And I am your cousin, too, and it is foretold that you will avenge that.’

  Peredur and Gwalchmai decided to send for Arthur and his retinue, to ask him to set upon the witches. And they began to fight the witches, and one of the witches killed one of Arthur’s men in front of Peredur, and Peredur told her to stop. A second time the witch killed a man in front of Peredur, and a second time Peredur told her to stop. A third time the witch killed a man in front of Peredur, and Peredur drew his sword and struck the witch on top of her helmet, so that the helmet and all the armour and the head were split in two. She gave a scream and told the other witches to flee, and said that it was Peredur, the man who had been learning horsemanship with them and who was fated to kill them. Then Arthur and his retinue attacked the witches, and all the witches of Caerloyw were killed. And that is what is told of the Fortress of Wonders.*

  The Dream of the Emperor Maxen

  MAXEN WLEDIG* was emperor of Rome, and he was the fairest man, and the wisest, and the best suited to be emperor of all his predecessors. One day he was at a council of kings; and he said to his companions, ‘I want to go hunting tomorrow’, he said.

  Early the next day he set out with his retinue, and they came to the valley of the river that flows down to Rome. He hunted the valley until it was noon. Moreover, with him that day were thirty crowned kings, vassals of his. It was not so much for the pleasure of hunting that the emperor hunted for that length of time, but because he had been made a man of such high rank that he was lord over all those kings. The sun was high in the sky above his head, and the heat was great, and Maxen fell asleep. His chamberlains* protected him from the sun by raising shields on spear-shafts around him. They
placed a gold-chased shield under his head; and so the emperor slept.

  And then he had a dream. This was his dream, that he was travelling along the river valley to its source until he came to the highest mountain he had ever seen, and he was sure that the mountain was as high as the sky. As he came over the mountain he could see that he was travelling along level plains, the fairest that anyone had ever seen, on the other side of the mountain. And he could see great, wide rivers flowing from the mountain to the sea, and he was travelling to the sea-fords and the rivers. After travelling in this way for a long time, he came to the mouth of a great river, the widest that anyone had seen, and he could see a great city at the mouth of the river, and a great wall around the city with many great towers of different colours. At the mouth of the river he saw a fleet, and that was the largest fleet he had ever seen. Among the fleet he saw a ship which was much larger and fairer than any of the others: of as much of it that he could see above the water, one plank was of gold and the next was of silver. He saw a bridge of whalebone from the ship to the shore, and imagined he was walking along the bridge into the ship. A sail was hoisted on the ship, and she steered over sea and ocean. He saw himself coming to the fairest island in the world, and having crossed the island from one sea to the other he could see, at the far end of the island, steep mountains and lofty crags, and rough, rugged terrain the like of which he had never seen before. From there he saw an island in the sea, facing that rugged terrain, and between him and the island he saw a land whose plain was the length of its sea, whose forest was the length of its mountain. From that mountain he saw a river crossing the land, making for the sea, and at the mouth of the river he saw a great castle, the fairest that anyone had ever seen, and he saw the castle gate was open, and he came into the castle. He saw a hall in the castle. He thought that the roof-tiles of the hall were all of gold. The side of the hall he thought to be of valuable, sparkling stones. The floors of the hall he imagined to be of pure gold, with golden couches and silver tables. On a couch facing him he saw two young, auburn-haired lads playing gwyddbwyll.* He saw that the board for the gwyddbwyll was silver, and its pieces were of red gold. The lads’ garments were of pure black brocaded silk, and frontlets of red gold on their heads holding their hair in place, with precious, sparkling stones in them, rubies and white gems alternating with imperial stones. On their feet were boots of new Cordovan leather, with bands of red gold fastening them. And at the foot of the hall-pillar he saw a grey-haired man in a chair of elephant ivory with the images of two eagles in red gold on it. There were gold bracelets on his arms, and many gold rings on his fingers; and a gold torque around his neck, and a gold frontlet holding his hair; and a noble quality about him. There was a gwyddbwyll board in front of him, and a bar of gold in his hand, and with steel files he was carving gwyddbwyll pieces from the bar.