by Howard Pyle
Then the youth was abashed, and he said, “I will take you to an inn.”
The youth conducts them to an inn.
So the youth conducted Geraint and Enid into the town, and he conducted him to the best inn in the town. Here the landlord came forth to meet him and Geraint said, “Show us to the best room of this place,” and the landlord did so. Geraint said to Enid, “Keep thou yonder to that side of the chamber, and I will keep to this side, for I am weary and fain would sleep.” And Enid said, “I will do so.” And Geraint said to the youth, “When I awake, be thou here to serve me.”
The youth said, “I will be here; but meantime I would fain go and see the Earl and tell him where you are lodged.” Sir Geraint said, “Go, but return again.”
So whilst Sir Geraint slept, the youth hastened to the castle of the Earl, and he said to the Earl, “Sir, certes this man is a prince or a knight-royal, for he commandeth all things as he wills.” Then the Earl said, “Where is he lodged?” And the youth told him, and the youth said, “I go presently to serve him when he awakes, for now he sleepeth.” “Commend me to him when he awakeneth,” said the Earl, and the youth replied, “I will do so.”
Sir Geraint bids the landlord to summon his friends to a feast.
That afternoon when Geraint awoke, it was time for them to take their food. So Sir Geraint summoned the landlord and bade him prepare him a feast, and the landlord said he would do so. Then Sir Geraint inquired of the landlord whether he had not some companions whom he would like to entertain, and the landlord said, yea, that there were several. Upon this Sir Geraint commanded the landlord to summon those companions and to prepare for them the best that there was in the town both to eat and to drink. “For,” quoth he, “though I be unhappy myself, yet do I love to behold those about me as happy and as gay as may be.” So the landlord went forth and bade many to come and feast with him, all these feasted at Sir Geraint’s expense, so that the entire inn was full of light and laughter and noise and merrymaking.
The Earl visits Sir Geraint.
That evening the Earl came to visit Sir Geraint, and with him he brought twelve of the worthiest knights of his court. Then Sir Geraint arose and welcomed him, and the Earl greeted Sir Geraint and sat down and conversed with him. And he asked Geraint the object of his journey, to which Geraint replied, “I have no object, saving to seek adventure such as may become the life of a knight-errant.”
Then the Earl cast his eyes upon Enid, and he looked at her very steadily, and he thought that he had never beheld a lady so fair and so beautiful as she. And as he gazed upon her his heart went out to her and he found that he loved her very extremely. Then he said to Geraint, “Have I thy permission to converse with yonder lady? For I see that she is not with thee.” “Thou hast it gladly,” said Geraint.
The Earl bespeaks Enid the Fair.
So the Earl went to where Enid sat, and he said to her, “Lady, thy hands are soft and white and thy body is fragile and delicate; it cannot be pleasant for thee to travel through the rough and cruel world with this man.” She said, “It is not unpleasant for me to journey with him whithersoever he goeth.”
The Earl said, “Lady, thou shouldst have youths and maidens to wait upon thee and to attend thee and to serve thee.” She said, “It is pleasanter to me to travel alone with yonder man than to live in state with youths and maidens to wait upon me.”
“Listen,” said the Earl, “I will give thee good advice. Give up that man and come with me. All my earldom will be at thy disposal if thou wilt do so, and thou shalt be the mistress of it and of me and of my life.”
Then Enid was very angry, and she said, “Lord, I will not go with thee! Know thou that yonder man is dearer to me than all the earth and its kingdoms and principalities, its dukedoms and its earldoms. He was the first man to whom I plighted my faith, and never hath it been withdrawn from his keeping. Shall I then leave him now for the sake of this little patch of ground, to live with thee in dishonor and suffer him to go forth into the world alone?”
Then the Earl said, “Lady, thou art in the wrong in this, for if I slay that man, then can I take thee by force. And if I take thee by force, then, when I tire of thee, I shall cast thee off into the world. But if thou comest to me willingly, then I will never cast thee off, but will keep thee as my most precious treasure so long as I am permitted to breathe the breath of life. Come thou with me, and yonder man may be suffered to depart in peace, hale and strong in limb and body, but come thou not with me and he shall die.”
Then Enid was greatly troubled at that which the Earl had said to her, for she saw that he had the strength and the will and the power to do with Sir Geraint whatsoever he chose. So at last she said to him, “Listen, O great Lord and Earl. All this that I have said to thee I have said for the sake of mine honor. But if thou art of the mind that thou sayst, I would rather abide with thee. Come hither to-morrow morning with twelve armed knights and bear me away as though by force. For thus it shall appear that I have not yielded up to thee, except by force.” “I will do so,” said the Earl. “This and all things shall be as thou sayst.” After that, in a little while he arose and departed from that place.
But of all that had passed Enid said nothing to Geraint, lest he should be blinded by his rage against the Earl. Otherwise, she kept it secretly in her heart for that time.
Enid prepares the armor of Sir Geraint.
That night they both lay in the same chamber. In a little while Sir Geraint fell asleep, but Enid did not sleep. When she heard his deep breathing she arose very softly and she gathered his armor together piece by piece. And she piled all the armor where he could easily lay hand upon it. Then she lay down and slept.
Enid telleth Sir Geraint of the Earl.
Before the day broke she arose and went softly to where Sir Geraint slept, and touched her finger upon his breast and with that he awoke and started up. “Lord,” said she, “knowest thou what the Earl of this town said to me last night?” Geraint said, “Tell me.” So Enid told him all that the Earl had proposed to her. Then Geraint was very angry, and he said, “Thy beauty bringeth evil whithersoever thou bringest it. Now I will slay this Earl ere I leave this place, for he hath proposed dishonor to me.”
“Not so,” said Enid, “let be the Earl, for there are many scores against thee, and thou art only one. Rather put thou on thy armor and let us go hence with all the speed that we may, for there is yet time to escape, and thus only may we escape in peace.”
Then Geraint perceived that what she said was very true, and that he was at that place in a parlous state. So he arose and put on his armor and he summoned the landlord and the landlord came to him.
Sir Geraint gives all the horses and all of the armor to the landlord.
Quoth Sir Geraint, “What do I owe thee, good fellow, for the entertainment that I have had at this house?” Said the landlord, “Not a great deal, Messire.” “Well,” said Sir Geraint, “take thou all those eleven horses and the armor appertaining to them for thy reckoning. Will that pay our score?” “Heaven bless thee, Messire,” cried the landlord, “but that is far more than thou owest me; for thou hast not consumed in this house the value of a single horse.” “Well,” said Sir Geraint, “in that case thou wilt be all the richer. But put on thy cloak and thy hat and conduct me out of this place by some way that is another way than that by which we entered here, for I must hasten upon my quest.” Quoth the landlord, “I will do so, Lord.”
With that he hurried away. Anon he returned again, clad as for a journey. Then Sir Geraint mounted his horse and Enid mounted her horse, and they departed from that place after the landlord.
The landlord leads them from the town.
So the landlord led them by another highway from the town, and when the sun arose Sir Geraint dismissed him from their service.
The Earl follows Sir Geraint and Enid the Fair.
Now when the landlord returned to the inn he beheld that several men surrounded that place. Those men were the Ea
rl of that town, and the twelve chief knights of his state, and all were clad in full armor. The Earl was very wroth and when he beheld the landlord he cried out to him, “Fellow, where is the knight and where is that lady who were with thee last night?” “Lord,” quoth the landlord, “they have departed and by now are many miles from this. For I myself conducted them far upon the way, and am only now returned from guiding them.” Quoth the Earl, “What way went they?” and the landlord told him. Then the Earl and his court of knights departed thence. And they rode at a swift gallop upon the way that the landlord directed them. Anon they beheld the marks of horses’ hoofs fresh upon the earth, wherefore they wist that they were upon the right way.
Now as Enid and Sir Geraint rode onward upon their course, Enid looked behind her many times. At last she beheld a cloud of dust that came rapidly nearer, and she was aware that in that cloud of dust were the Earl and his court of knights. Then she cried out to Sir Geraint, “Sir Knight, prepare for battle, for yonder come thine enemies.”
Then Sir Geraint, who had been sunk in thought, became aware of the coming of those others. Thereupon he closed the visor of his helmet and prepared himself in all ways for the encounter. Thereafter he turned his horse in the middle of the highway and stood waiting for his enemies.
Anon they reached him and drew rein a little distance away. Then the Earl came forward and spake to Sir Geraint, saying, “Sir Knight, we mean no harm to thee, but only ask thee that thou wilt give up that lady whom thou hast with thee. For thou holdest her against her desire; her only desire being to go with us.”
Then Sir Geraint turned to Enid and said, “Lady, is this true? If thou desirest to go with yonder Lord thou hast my leave to do so.” “Nay,” said she, “I do not desire to go with him. Rather would I go with thee to death than to go with him to joy.”
So Sir Geraint said to the Earl, “Messire, the lady says thou art mistaken and she does not desire to go with thee.”
The Earl said to Enid, “Lady, what didst thou tell me yesterday?” And Enid said, “Messire, I told thee many things to mislead thee, for the occasion called upon me to do so.”
Then the Earl talked aside for a little while with his followers. Anon he called to Sir Geraint, “Sir Knight, I will not let thee go until thou hast tried a fall or two with these knights of mine for the sake of thy lady, her bright eyes and her slender body.” “Well,” said Sir Geraint, “I am willing to do battle with thy knights now or at any time.” “And this shall be the result of this battle,” said the Earl. “If thou winnest this battle, thou mayst go free, but if we win then thy lady must return with us.” Quoth Sir Geraint, “That is certes a hard saying.”
Sir Geraint does battle with the followers of the Earl.
So the strongest and most powerful of all those knights made him ready for the assault, and when he was in all ways prepared, he and Geraint made a violent charge, the one against the other. Three times they charged and at the third assault Sir Geraint overthrew him so violently that he lay like one dead in the middle of the high-road. Then one after the other all the others of those twelve knights assaulted Sir Geraint, and each in turn was overthrown very violently upon the earth.
Then the Earl said to Sir Geraint, “Sir Knight, thou hast fought well and very valiantly for thy lady, and truly hast thou won her. Depart in peace.” “Not so,” cried Sir Geraint in great passion, “for I have one more to deal with, and that one is thou thyself. For I have yet to do with thee ere I depart from this place.”
“Well,” said the Earl, “be it as thou sayst. For I will fight with thee till either thee or I have overcome the other. And to that one who overthroweth the other thy lady shalt belong.” “So be it,” said Sir Geraint.
Sir Geraint overthrows the Earl.
So each made him ready for the encounter, and when they were in all ways prepared they set spur to flank and drave the one against the other with such violence that they met with a crash as of thunder in the middle of the course. In that encounter Sir Geraint was upborn by his passion so that he smote true and fairly against his enemy’s shield. But the spear of the Earl was shattered into a great many pieces. The spear of Sir Geraint held, so that it pierced the shield of the Earl, and Sir Geraint lifted the Earl out of his saddle and hurled him several ells behind the crupper of his horse, where he lay like one dead upon the earth.
Then Sir Geraint ran to where the Earl was. And he rushed off his helmet and he drew his sword and catching the Earl by the long hair of his head he drew forward his neck so as to sever his head from his body. Thereupon the Earl awoke from his swoon and perceiving that death loomed very near to him, he clutched Sir Geraint about the thighs, clinging to them and crying out, “Sir Knight, spare my life!” “Why should I spare thee?” cried out Sir Geraint very violently. “Hast thou not attempted my life and hast thou not attempted mine honor and the honor of my lady, and were we not guests in thy town? I will not spare thy life!” And he whirled his sword as though to strike.
Sir Geraint spares the life of the Earl.
Then Enid came to where Sir Geraint was and clutched him by the arm and she said, “Worthy knight, Sir Geraint! I pray thee spare this man his life. For what canst thou gain by slaying him?” “Well,” said Sir Geraint, “since this lady asks thy life at my hands I give it to her to dispose of as she pleases.” Enid said, “I thank thee, Lord!” Then she said to the Earl, “Arise, and go thou hence in peace!”
So after that Sir Geraint remounted his horse and he and Enid departed from that place, riding as aforetime. That is, Enid rode a long distance ahead and Geraint rode behind, following after her.
But of the knights whom he overthrew in that encounter it is to be written that several were so sorely hurt that it was many weeks ere they were sufficiently recovered to be abroad again.
And now followeth the further adventures of Sir Geraint and of Enid at this time; so I pray you to read that which hereinafter appeareth.
Chapter Fifth
Sir Geraint is wounded in his encounter with another knight. He is discovered by the Court of King Arthur and is healed of his wounds.
SO SIR GERAINT and Enid travelled in that wise until at last they came through a thin, small woods and so out into another open place.
Here they beheld before them a valley of singular beauty, for through the centre of the valley there ran a wide, smoothly flowing river, and upon either side of the river there were meadow-lands and fields, and not far away from where they were there was a town, very large and considerable. All around the town was a wall of stone, very high and strong. And about the town was a fortress castle, tall and forbidding, that looked down upon the town and upon the high-road. The high-road upon which they travelled crossed a bridge over the river, and so entered the town, but ere it reached the bridge it branched and one branch ran down along one side of the river upon which they were. Upon either side of the bridge head were two tall towers that overlooked the bridge and guarded it.
Sir Geraint questions the horseman concerning the town.
So Sir Geraint and Enid sat for awhile looking down upon that fair prospect, and the more they looked upon it the more they delighted in it. As they so sat, anon they beheld a horseman come from the town and cross the bridge, and when he had crossed the bridge he turned him in their direction. By and by he had approached closely enough for Sir Geraint to speak to him, and thereupon Sir Geraint rode forth and met him and they two saluted one another. Then Sir Geraint said to him, “Sir, I pray you tell me; what town is that yonder, and who is the lord of this fair and beautiful valley and of yonder town?” “Messire,” said the other, “I will gladly tell thee that and anything else that I am able. The town itself is called the Town of Redlands. The lord of all this country is a very brave, renowned and valiant Earl called the Little King. He is so called because he rules this place away from all other lords as though he were king of it in his own right.”
Sir Geraint said, “May I pass by yonder bridge head where are the two tow
ers without crossing over the bridge and into the town?” The other replied, “Messire, I will tell thee truly. The Little King hath ordained it that no one shall pass into his land without his permission, wherefore he will not allow that any knight shall pass by yonder bridge and into the lands beyond it.” “Nevertheless,” said Sir Geraint, “I am of a mind to pass by that bridge and into the country beyond it maugre his will that wise or otherwise.” “If thou dost do so,” said the other, “thou wilt in all likelihood meet with shame and disgrace.” “No matter for that,” said Sir Geraint, “I shall assume even such a risk as that.” At that the other laughed, and so they saluted each one the other again and then the knight departed upon his way.
Sir Geraint and Enid pass by the bridge head.
So Sir Geraint followed the Lady Enid and she preceded and he followed after her. Thus together they went down to the river. Coming there, he bade her not to cross the bridge, so in obedience to that command they went past the bridge and past the two towers at the bridge head, and so rode along beside the river. Thus with Enid riding before him and he riding behind her, he had gone a considerable distance when he became suddenly aware that some one was galloping behind them. Then Sir Geraint turned him about and beheld that an armed knight was following after them at a swift gallop.
So Sir Geraint drew rein and waited for the other to come up with them, and when the other knight had come pretty close to where he stood, he also drew rein. The Strange Knight said, “Sir Knight, is it through ignorance or through presumption that you travel thus without leave through my dominions?” Him Sir Geraint answered very proudly, saying, “Messire, how should I know that this road was forbid to those who would pass to travel along it?”
“Nay,” said the other fiercely, “thou didst know that it is forbidden to any one to pass into my land without my permission and so thou hast infringed the rules of my earldom. Hence thou shalt come now with me to my court and do me satisfaction.” “I will not come with thee to thy castle,” said Sir Geraint, “and I will not do thee any satisfaction. For this is an high-road and it is free for any one to travel upon it who chooses to do so.” “Well,” said the other, “let that be as it may; but I tell thee that thou shalt this day do satisfaction to me or else I will suffer defeat at thy hands.” “That,” said Sir Geraint, “shall be as Heaven shall foreordain.”