‘I will,’ said Arthur. And Cai made for the knight; but at once he overthrew Cai, and looked at him, and stabbed him in the forehead with the butt of his spear so that Cai’s helmet and mail cap and skin and flesh were split to the bone, as wide as the head of the shaft. And Cai returned to his companions. And from there on Arthur’s retinue went in turn to fight the knight, until each one had been overthrown by him except Arthur and Gwalchmai. And Arthur put on armour to go and fight the knight.
‘My lord,’ said Gwalchmai, ‘let me go and fight the knight first.’ Arthur gave his consent, and Gwalchmai went to fight the knight, with a cloak of brocaded silk covering him and his horse, sent to him by the daughter of the earl of Anjou; because of that, no one from the crowd recognized him. And they attacked each other, and fought that day until nightfall, but neither of them came close to overthrowing the other. And the next day they went to fight with sharp spears. But neither of them overcame the other. And the third day they went to fight, each with strong, stout, sharp spears. And they were fired with rage, and on the stroke of noon they charged, and each one thrust at the other so that the saddle-girths of both horses broke, and each one of them was thrown over his horse’s crupper to the ground. And they got up quickly, and drew their swords and pounded each other. And those who saw them like this were certain that they had never seen two men as strong as those, or as splendid; had it been a dark night it would have been bright with the sparks from their weapons. And with that the knight dealt Gwalchmai such a blow that the visor lifted from his face, and the knight realized he was Gwalchmai. Then Owain said, ‘Lord Gwalchmai, I did not recognize you because of your cloak—you are my first cousin. Take my sword and my weapons.’
‘You, Owain, are superior,’ said Gwalchmai, ‘and victory is yours; so take my sword.’ And with that Arthur saw them and came up to them.
‘Lord,’ said Gwalchmai, ‘here is Owain who has defeated me, but he will not take my weapons from me.’
‘Lord,’ said Owain, ‘it was Gwalchmai who defeated me, and he will not take my sword.’
‘Give your swords to me,’ said Arthur, ‘and then neither will have defeated the other.’ And Owain threw his arms around the emperor Arthur, and they embraced each other. And then the host came, pressing and rushing towards them to try and see Owain and embrace him, so that men almost died in that crush. That night they all went to their pavilions.
The next day the emperor Arthur asked if he could leave.
‘Lord,’ said Owain, ‘that would not be right. Three years ago I left you, lord, and this place is mine. And from that day to this I have been preparing a feast for you, because I knew you would come to look for me. Come with me to recover from your weariness, you and your men, and bathe yourselves.’ And they all went together to the castle of the Lady of the Well, and the feast that had taken three years to prepare was consumed within just three months, and they never had a more pleasant or better feast than that.
And then Arthur asked if he could leave, and he sent messengers to the countess, asking her to allow Owain to accompany him so that the noblemen of the Island of Britain and their ladies could see him for just three months. And the countess gave her consent, but she did not find it easy. And Owain accompanied Arthur to the Island of Britain. Once he had arrived among his people and drinking companions, he stayed for three years instead of the three months.
One day as Owain was eating at table in the emperor Arthur’s court in Caerllion ar Wysg, behold, a maiden approaching* on a bay horse with a curly mane that reached the ground; she was dressed in yellow brocaded silk, and the bridle and what could be seen of the saddle were all of gold. And she rode up to Owain and grabbed the ring that was on his finger.
‘This’, she said, ‘is what we do to a deceitful cheat and traitor— shame on your beard!’ And she turned her horse’s head and away she went. And then Owain remembered his journey, and he grew sad. And when he had finished eating, he went to his lodging; and he was very uneasy that night.
The next morning he got up, and he did not make for Arthur’s court but for the remote regions of the world and desolate mountains. And he wandered about like this until all his clothes disintegrated and his body all but gave out and long hair grew all over him; and he would keep company with the wild animals and feed with them until they were used to him. And with that he grew so weak that he could not keep up with them. And he went down from the mountains into the valley, and made for a park, the finest in the world, and a widowed countess owned the park.
One day the countess and her handmaidens went walking beside a lake that was in the park, until they were halfway round. And they could see in the park something in the shape and form of a man, and they were frightened. Even so they approached him, and touched him, and looked at him carefully. They could see his veins throbbing, and he was tossing and turning because of the sun. And the countess returned to the castle, and took a jar of precious ointment and gave it to one of her handmaidens.
‘Go,’ she said, ‘and take this with you, and take that horse and the clothes, and place them beside the man we saw earlier. And rub him with this ointment, over his heart, and if there is life in him, he will get up as a result of this ointment; and watch what he does.’ And the maiden set off, and applied all the ointment to him, and left the horse and clothes nearby, and withdrew, and retreated some distance from him, and hid and watched him.
And before long she could see him scratching his arms and getting up, and examining his flesh, and he was ashamed to see how hideous his appearance was. And he saw the horse and clothes nearby, and dragged himself until he reached the clothes and pulled them to him from the saddle, and he put them on, and with difficulty he got on to the horse. And then the maiden made herself known to him, and greeted him. And he was glad to see the maiden, and he asked her what land that was and what place.
‘God knows,’ said the maiden, ‘a widowed countess owns the castle over there, and when her lord and husband died he left her two earldoms, but tonight all she has left is just that one house over there which has not been taken by the young earl, her neighbour, because she would not marry him.’
‘That is a sad story,’ said Owain. And Owain and the maiden went to the castle, and Owain dismounted at the castle, and the maiden took him to a comfortable chamber, and lit a fire for him and left him there. And the maiden went to the countess and placed the jar in her hand.
‘Girl,’ said the countess, ‘where is all the ointment?’
‘It is gone, lady,’ she said.
‘Girl,’ said the countess, ‘it is not easy for me to scold you; but it was unfortunate that I spent one hundred and forty pounds worth of precious ointment on a man without knowing who he is. Nevertheless, girl, wait on him so that he has enough of everything.’ And the maiden did that, she served him with food and drink and fire and bed and bath until he was well. And the hair dropped off Owain in scaly tufts. That took three months, and his flesh was then whiter than before.
And then one day Owain heard a commotion in the castle, and great preparations, and armour being brought inside. And Owain asked the maiden, ‘What is this commotion?’ he said.
‘The earl I mentioned to you’, she said, ‘is approaching the castle to try and destroy this lady, and a large host with him.’
And then Owain asked the maiden, ‘Does the countess have a horse and armour?’
‘Yes,’ said the maiden, ‘the best in the world.’
‘Will you go to the countess and ask if I may borrow the horse and weapons,’ said Owain, ‘so that I may go and look at the host?’
‘I will, gladly,’ said the maiden. And the maiden went to the countess and told her everything he had said. Then the countess laughed.
‘Between me and God,’ she said, ‘I shall give him a horse and weapons to keep, and he has never owned a better horse nor better armour. And I am glad that he is going to take them for fear that my enemies will seize them tomorrow against my will. But I don’t know w
hat he wants them for.’
And a fine black gascon horse was brought, with a saddle of beechwood on him and enough armour for a man and a horse. And Owain armed himself, and mounted the horse and set off, and two squires with him, complete with horses and armour.
And when they came to the earl’s host they could see neither border nor boundary to it. And Owain asked the squires which troop the earl was in.
‘In the troop with the four yellow standards over there,’ they said. ‘There are two in front of him, and two behind.’
‘Good,’ said Owain, ‘go back and wait for me at the castle gate.’ And they returned. And Owain rode on between the first two troops until he met the earl. And Owain pulled him from his saddle and placed him between himself and his saddle-bow, and he turned his horse’s head towards the castle. And whatever trouble he had, he carried the earl along with him, until he reached the castle gate where the squires were waiting for him. And in they came, and Owain gave the earl as a gift to the countess, and spoke to her like this: ‘Here is your payment for the healing ointment I received from you.’
And the host pitched their tents around the castle, and in return for his life the earl gave back to the countess the two earldoms. And in return for his freedom he gave up half his own domain, and all her gold and silver and jewels, and pledges to meet that. And Owain set off, and the countess invited him to stay and all to be his domain, but Owain wanted nothing except to travel the remote and uninhabited regions of the world.
And as he was travelling thus he heard a loud shriek in a forest, and a second, and a third. And he approached, and when he got there he could see a huge cliff in the middle of the forest and a grey rock in the side of the cliff. And there was a cleft in the rock, and a snake in the cleft, and a pure white lion near the snake. And whenever the lion tried to get away, the snake would dart towards him, and then the lion would shriek. Owain drew his sword and approached the rock. And as the snake was coming out of the rock Owain struck it with his sword so it lay in two halves on the ground, and he wiped his sword and continued on his way as before. But he could see the lion following him, playing around him like a greyhound he had reared himself. And they travelled throughout the day until evening.
When it was time for Owain to rest, he dismounted and let his horse graze in a level, wooded meadow. And Owain lit a fire, and by the time he had the fire ready the lion had enough firewood for three nights. And the lion disappeared, but then at once returned with a large, fine roebuck, and he dropped it in front of Owain, and went to lie on the other side of the fire from him. Owain took the roebuck and skinned it, and put chops on spits around the fire, and gave the whole buck apart from that to the lion to feed upon. And as Owain was doing this he heard a loud groaning, and a second, and a third, not far from him. And Owain asked whether it was a human being who was groaning.
‘Yes, indeed,’ said the creature.
‘Who are you?’ said Owain.
‘God knows,’ she said, ‘I am Luned, handmaiden to the Lady of the Well.’
‘What are you doing there?’ said Owain.
‘I have been imprisoned,’ she said, ‘because of a young man who came from the emperor’s court to claim the countess as his wife, and he was with her a short time. And he went to visit Arthur’s court, but he never returned. And he was the friend I think I loved best in the whole world. Two of the countess’s chamberlains made fun of him in front of me and called him a cheat and traitor. And I said that the two of them together could not stand up to him alone. And because of that they imprisoned me in this stone vessel, and said that I would die unless he came to defend me by a certain day. And that day is no later than the day after tomorrow, and I have no one to look for him. He was Owain son of Urien.’
‘Are you sure’, said Owain, ‘that if that young man knew this he would come to defend you?’
‘I am certain, between me and God,’ she said. And when the chops were cooked through, Owain divided them in half between himself and the maiden, and they ate. And after that they conversed until it was light the next day.
And the next day Owain asked the maiden if there was anywhere he could find food and hospitality that night.
‘Yes, lord,’ she said. ‘Go on over to the ford,’ she said, ‘and take the road alongside the river, and before long you’ll see a great castle with many towers. And the earl who owns that castle is the best man for providing food, and you can stay there tonight.’ And no watchman ever guarded his lord as well as the lion guarded Owain the night before.
And then Owain saddled his horse and travelled on through the ford until he saw the castle. And Owain entered the castle and he was given an honourable welcome, and his horse was groomed to perfection and given plenty of food. And the lion went to lie down in the horse’s manger, so that no one from the castle dared go near the horse because of the lion. And Owain was certain that he had never seen a place with such good service as that. Yet everyone there was as sad as if death were on each of them. And they went to eat, and the earl sat on one side of Owain, and his only daughter on Owain’s other side. And Owain was certain that he had never seen such a beautiful girl. And the lion came to lie between Owain’s feet under the table, and he fed it with every dish that he was given. The greatest failing Owain saw there was the men’s sadness.
Halfway through the meal the earl welcomed Owain.
‘It’s high time to be more cheerful,’ said Owain.
‘God knows, it’s not on your account that we’re sad, but rather because a matter for sadness and grief has come upon us.’
‘What’s that?’ said Owain.
‘I had two sons, and yesterday they went to the mountain to hunt. And there is a monster there, and he kills men and devours them. And he has captured my sons, and tomorrow is the day set between us to hand over this maiden, or else he will kill my sons in front of me. And although he looks like a human, he is as big as a giant.’
‘God knows,’ said Owain, ‘that is a tragedy. And which one of those things will you do?’
‘God knows,’ said the earl, ‘I find it more honourable for him to kill my sons whom he got against my will than to give him my daughter willingly, to be raped and killed.’ And they talked of other matters. Owain stayed there that night.
The next morning they heard an incredibly loud noise—it was the huge man coming with the two lads. And the earl wanted to defend the castle from him and abandon his two sons. Owain put on his armour and went out to contend with the man, followed by the lion. And when the man saw Owain in armour, he made for him and fought against him. And the lion fought much better than Owain against the huge man.
‘Between me and God,’ said the man to Owain, ‘it would not be difficult for me to fight you if the animal were not with you.’
And then Owain threw the lion into the castle and closed the gate on him, and returned to fight as before with the huge man. But the lion howled upon hearing Owain’s distress, and he climbed up on the earl’s hall, and from the hall to the castle wall, and from there jumped until he was with Owain. And the lion struck a blow with its paw on the huge man’s shoulder until the paw came out at the fork of his legs, so that all his entrails could be seen slithering out of him. And then the huge man fell down dead. Then Owain gave the earl his two sons; and the earl invited Owain to stay, and Owain did not want that but returned to the meadow where Luned was.
He could see there a huge blazing fire, and two handsome lads with curly auburn hair taking the maiden to throw her into the fire. And Owain asked them what they wanted of the maiden. And they told him their story as the maiden had told it the night before: ‘and Owain has failed her, and so we are going to burn her.’
‘God knows,’ said Owain, ‘he was a good knight, and I would be surprised that he did not come to defend her if he knew the maiden needed him. And if you want me to take his place, then I will.’
‘We do,’ said the lads, ‘by Him who made us.’ And they went to fight Owain. And he came
to grief at the hands of the two lads, and with that the lion came to Owain’s assistance, and they overcame the lads. And then they said, ‘Lord, we agreed to fight with you alone, and it is harder for us to fight with that animal than with you.’
And then Owain placed the lion where the maiden had been imprisoned, and made a wall of stones at the entrance, and went to fight the men as before. But Owain’s strength had not fully recovered, and the two lads were getting the better of him. And the lion was howling all the time because Owain was in trouble. And the lion tore at the wall until he found a way out, and quickly he killed one of the lads, and straightaway he killed the other. And so they saved Luned from being burned. And then Owain, accompanied by Luned, went to the kingdom of the Lady of the Well, and when he left there he took the countess with him to Arthur’s court, and she was his wife as long as she lived.
And after that Owain came to the court of the Black Oppressor,* and fought against him, and the lion did not leave Owain until he had overcome the Black Oppressor. And when Owain came to the court of the Black Oppressor he made for the hall, and there he saw twenty-four ladies, the most beautiful that anyone had ever seen, but the clothes they wore were not worth twenty-four pieces of silver. And they were as sad as death itself.
And Owain asked them why they were sad. They said that they were the daughters of earls, and that they had arrived there, each accompanied by the man she loved best. ‘And when we came here we were made welcome and were treated properly, and were made drunk. And when we were drunk the fiend who owns this court came and killed all our husbands, and stole our horses and our clothes and our gold and our silver. And the bodies of our husbands are in this very house, and many other bodies besides. And that, lord, is why we are sad. And we are sorry, lord, that you too have come here for fear that you shall come to harm.’ And Owain was sad to hear that, and went out to walk.
The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) Page 20