by Howard Pyle
So they sailed for all that night, and anon the day dawned, and then they perceived before them another and a larger ship than the boat in which they sailed. And the boat in which they were moved very swiftly toward the ship and at last came close beside it.
They come to the “Ship of Solomon.”
Then they beheld that that ship was of a very wonderful sort, for it was built all of santal wood, and was tinted with vermilion and ultramarine, and was glorified with gold. And the sails of that ship were of variegated silk, very wonderful to behold. And the decks were spread with rich carpets, and there was no human being of any sort to be perceived about that ship.
Then Sir Percival said, “This wonderful ship must be the Ship of Solomon, and into it we are destined to enter and to discover the Grail. So let us enter it forthwith and without loss of time.”
So they departed from their own boat and entered the Ship of Solomon, and as soon as they had done so the boat in which they had sailed disappeared and was gone, and they saw it no more. And at that time they were hushed as with a great awe.
They find the Grail.
Then Sir Percival said, “Come, let us behold the Grail, which is here.” So with that saying they all descended below the deck of that boat, and coming there they beheld a table of carved silver, and against the table there leaned the spear and upon the table was a purple velvet cloth, spread over something that stood upon the table, and the cloth was embroidered very richly with gold and ornamented with many precious stones of divers colors. And from beneath it there shone a clear and brilliant light, and that light was emitted by the Grail.
Sir Galahad went to the table and took the cloth by the corners and lifted it up; and lo! beneath it was the Holy Chalice itself. And it blazed with a light that was like that of the sun — very splendid and effulgent — so that they could scarcely look upon the splendor thereof.
Then they all three kneeled down before the Grail, and set their palms together, and gave all honor and glory to its splendors. And Sir Percival said, “I have seen this before, but never so near at hand as this.” And again they all gave praise to it.
So the Ship of Solomon sailed very swiftly away with those three knights in it, and it sailed for all that day, and near eventide it approached a great city that stood upon a high and rocky hill.
They come to the city of Sarras.
And that city was the city of Sarras, and it appeared to the eyes of the three knights to be very great and beautiful. For they beheld that there were very many high pinnacles and towers to that city, and they saw that these were illuminated by the setting sun, so that they appeared as though they were built of pure and shining gold.
So the boat in which they sat sailed very swiftly toward the city, and anon it ceased its voyage beside a wharf that was there.
Then Sir Galahad said, “Let us convey this Holy Chalice to the minster, for, certes, this is where it belongeth.” And Sir Bors and Sir Percival said, “Let us do so.”
So they three took up the silver table by three of its corners, and they bare it toward the gate of the town.
How the cripple was healed.
Now the history of these things telleth that at the town gate there sat a cripple begging, and the cripple had not walked for thirty years. They say to him, “Come, help us bear the fourth corner of this table.” He said, “How can I help bear the table? Lo, I have been a cripple for thirty years, and in that time I have not walked a step without my crutches.” Sir Galahad said, “Nevertheless, arise and come hither.” Then the man arose, supported by his crutches, and they brought the table of the Grail to him, and he laid hands upon the silver table.
Then, no sooner had he touched that table, than the strength flowed into him; his joints became strongly knit and supple, and he was, as it were, no longer a cripple. Then he cried out, “Lo! I am healed!” And with that he skipped and leaped in his strength.
So the Grail was achieved, and now followeth the account of how those three worthy knights brought it in return to the city of Sarras where it belonged, and of what befell them there; so I pray you to read the conclusion of this passage hereinafter written.
NOW the news of the healing of this cripple became known; it went all through the town, so that when they entered the town, great crowds presently gathered and followed them, and the noise of the tumult of that following was like to the noise of the roaring of many waters. For ever the crowd gathered more and more to it, until all that part of the town was filled full of a slow-moving concourse of people.
They bring the Grail to the minster.
Thus they came to the minster, what time the Bishop of that minster was there, and seeing them enter with the silver table he said, “What have you there?” Sir Galahad replied, “Sir, this is the Holy Grail upon this table, and we who have achieved the quest of it have brought it hither where it belongeth.” The Bishop said, “Let me see that Grail.”
So Sir Galahad took the velvet covering of the Grail by the corners and lifted it, and lo! the glory of the Grail blazed forth before the eyes of all. And so great was that glory that it illuminated the entire interior of the minster, so that it was like the illumination of sunlight that was burst into that place. And all they who beheld the Grail and that sudden illumination bowed down before it and uttered their prayers of thanksgiving that it was returned to where it belonged.
So the Grail and the spear were placed before the high altar, and there they remained unveiled; and the glory of them illuminated all the coadjacent spaces with brightness.
So the Grail remained exposed in that city for three days, and at the end of that time it was elevated from earth to heaven, as shall now be told of.
The three knights were there in the great minster, kneeling and praying before the high altar where stood the Grail, when of a sudden they heard a voice from on high, saying, “Hail, ye heroes, and all praise to ye! For ye have recovered that Grail which here and now is to be translated from earth to heaven.”
How the Grail ascends to heaven.
With that voice there came two hands, very white and shining, and they took the Grail, and there was no body to be seen with those hands, but only the hands themselves. And there came two other hands and took the spear, and neither was there any body to those hands. So those four hands lifted the Grail and they lifted the spear, and they bore those two holy relics aloft and away from that place. And they ascended, as it were, through the roof of the minster and were gone in a burst of glory that lingered for some little while and then faded away into darkness.
So it happened with the Grail that it was elevated into heaven, and that this was so was avouched for by many who were in the minster at that time; and several of these beheld those four hands, and saw the Grail elevated from earth to heaven. So this is to be believed in as here narrated.
Then there sounded from on high to the ears that were unstopped to hear that sound, a great anthem as of thanksgiving, as it were the tones of a mighty organ, or as it were the tones of a wonderful and melodious thunder, and they three heard that melody of music, but no other who was there heard it. And they were aware that it was the rejoicing of heaven over the return of those sacred relics to that place, wherefore they were filled with an ecstasy that was not of this world, but of heaven, and that was of great joy, yet was of awfulness and of a sort of terror.
Then was the spirit of Galahad exalted, and he lifted up his voice and cried aloud, “There is nothing remaining for me to live for. So now let me depart in peace.”
Of the passing of Galahad.
Thereat with those words the soul was drawn out of his body and the eyes of those two knights who kneeled beside him were opened and they beheld his spirit ascend into glory, and they beheld that the illumination of heaven shone round about it, and at the same time they heard, with a louder and more momentous tone, the thunder peal of heavenly triumph as the spirit of Galahad was received into its glory, together with the Grail which he had achieved.
Then the brightness cl
osed from their eyes and they beheld themselves to be kneeling in the dark and empty minster. And they looked at the body of Sir Galahad, and behold! it was dead.
So passed Sir Galahad, and at that time he was yet not twenty years of age.
Sir Bors went to the Bishop of that minster, and he said to him, “Sir, this man was altogether a good, virtuous, and perfect knight. It is our desire that his dead body should lie here in this minster at that spot whence the Grail ascended into heaven but now. Wherefore, we beseech you to suffer it to lie at that place.” To these the Bishop said, “Let, then, that be fulfilled as you ask. For I believe that that knight was indeed a very good, excellent, holy man withal.”
So they buried the body of Sir Galahad there in the minster, beside the spot whence the Holy Grail ascended into heaven, and there the tomb of Sir Galahad remained to be seen for many years after his body was so buried.
Sir Percival taketh holy orders.
After this was over and done, it being then the fourth day after they had come thither, Sir Bors said to Sir Percival, “Sir, whither now shall we go?” And Sir Percival said to him, “I shall not go anywhere; for here shall I remain, and here I shall take upon myself holy orders and shall live and die as a monk in those orders. But return you, Sir Bors, to the Court of King Arthur, and tell them of the court concerning all those things that have befallen; to wit, tell them how the Grail was achieved by us three, and how that it was taken up into heaven before our eyes, and how we beheld it enter the gates of heaven. So go you to Camelot, and tell them concerning all these things.”
Sir Bors returneth to the Court of the King.
Thus said Sir Percival, and Sir Bors said, “I will do as you bid me.” So the next day Sir Bors kissed Sir Percival upon the cheeks and either wept salt tears over the other. Then they parted company and Sir Percival remained at that place and became a monk, and Sir Bors departed thence, returning back again to Camelot.
There he arrived at the ending of a year and a day, and all they who were there made great joy over his return. For all those knights who had gone forth in search of the Grail and had not died in that quest had now returned, saving only Sir Launcelot of the Lake. For it had become known throughout the world that the Grail had been found, and that it had been elevated into heaven, so that all those who were seeking for it were returned back home again.
Then Sir Bors told them all the circumstances of the finding of the Grail, and how it had been elevated in the minster at Sarras, and of how Sir Galahad had died, and of how he had beheld the soul of Sir Galahad exalted to heaven.
And King Arthur had that history written down in three great books, and one of those books was established at Salisbury, and another at Camelot (which same is Winchester), and the third at Carleon upon the Usk; and from these three volumes the story of the Grail has descended to us of the present day, and so I have written a part of that for your delectation.
It remaineth now only to be said that Sir Bors, after all these events, returned to that lady whom he had quitted to search for the Grail. But the happiness of earth was not to be his, for he found that she had wearied of waiting for his return, and had married elsewhere. So Sir Bors returned to Camelot, and there he abided until the time of that quarrel that preceded the ending of the reign of King Arthur.
For wit ye that he who aims high will often miss the small joys of this life, and so it was with Sir Bors de Ganis. For though he was one of those who achieved the Grail, yet he missed the lesser joys of wedded life, and of that kingdom which belonged to them.
Thus hath been told to you the famous history of the recovery of the Grail and of its translation into Paradise. And this was the crowning glory of the reign of King Arthur. For after these circumstances had happened, as herein told of, there came dissensions and battles amongst those knights — knight against knight — until the famous Round Table of King Arthur was severed and shattered, never to be reunited again.
But of that more anon, for it is hereinafter to be told of. So now I pray you for to read that which followeth if you would learn the ending of all these things.
PART III. The Passing of Arthur
HERE BEGINNETH THE history of the passing of Arthur, of his Round Table, and of many of the splendid and glorious knights thereof. With it comes the conclusion of this history, for no more shall then remain to be written thereof.
Chapter First
How Queen Guinevere visited Sir Launcelot in the forest; how Sir Launcelot returned to Court as aforetime, and how he fled once more from the Court.
NOW IT HATH been told how that after the quest of the Grail all those knights who had not died in that quest, or who were able to return did return to the Court of King Arthur.
Sir Launcelot dwelleth in the forest.
But Sir Launcelot of the Lake did not return with the other knights, for he abided in the forest not very far distant from the habitation of the Hermit of the Forest. There he lived a recluse in pious meditation, considering of his sins and repenting of them.
Several knights had seen him at that place where he was dwelling and they knew him, and they brought away from that place news of him and of the life he led. That news became known at the Court of King Arthur, and there was much talked of, and King Arthur said, “What a pity it is that so great and so noble a knight as Sir Launcelot should thus deny himself to the world. For in the world he is the greatest knight of the world, but out of the world he is as any other man.”
Queen Guinevere sendeth for Sir Launcelot.
All these things Queen Guinevere heard and she meditated upon them as she sat thoughtfully in her bower. So one day she called to her a page, and she said to him that he should ride to such and such a part of the forest, and that there he would find Sir Launcelot. And the Queen said to the page that he was then to tell Sir Launcelot to return to the Court of the King. And she said to the page to tell Sir Launcelot that all the court spake of him continually, and that all desired that he should return to them.
So the page went to that part of the forest as the Queen had commanded, and there he found Sir Launcelot in his cell; and the cheeks of Sir Launcelot were hollow and his limbs and body were thin and shrunken from continual fasting and meditation. Then the page kneeled down before him and said, “Sir, the Queen bids you for to return to the Court of King Arthur; for all the ladies and the lords of the court desire you to return there and be the ornament of that court as you were aforetime.”
Sir Launcelot said to the page, “Return thou to the Queen and say to her that I will not return back into the world as she desires me to do. For here I dwell in peace and quietness and I repent me of all my manifold sins as it becometh me to do. For those same sins have stood as a shadow betwixt me and the Grail, so that when the Grail was present I slept, and when it was gone I awoke and found that it was gone. Wherefore I repent me of those sins. And so I will abide here and meditate upon them for all the rest of my life.”
So the page returned to Queen Guinevere and delivered these words of Sir Launcelot to her, and the Queen said, “How is this? He will not come? Then will I go myself and bring him.”
Queen Guinevere goeth to Sir Launcelot.
So she procured a great white horse, and she procured rich and gaudy raiment, such as a knight at court might wear, and with these things and with a court of knights and ladies and several pages she betook her way into the forest.
Then all that part of the forest into which she penetrated became gay and jocund with her coming. For it was as though the sunlight had suddenly burst through the leaves of the forest. All the silent woodland was made noisy with the clear sounds of talk and laughter, and of musical and merry chattering.
So the Queen came to that part of the forest where Sir Launcelot was, and Sir Launcelot came forth from his hut to meet her. And he stood afar off from her and said, “Lady, what wouldst thou here?” She said, “Launcelot, I come to thee to bring thee away from this lonely place, for the Court of the king is the fittest place f
or thee to be in. For thou art the greatest knight in Christendom, wherefore it ill becometh thee to hide thyself away in this desolate place.”
Then Sir Launcelot lifted up his voice and cried aloud, “Get you gone, Lady, and trouble me no more, for I know you not. Yet it was because of you that I cast aside my wife so that she died because of my neglect. Because of that sin and because of other sins that thou wottest of I slept while the Grail passed before me, and could not awake until after it was gone. So lie I here thinking of that and of other misfortunes that have visited me because of my many sins. Thus it is that here in the woodlands I endeavor to purify my soul of those sins.”
The Queen speaketh to Sir Launcelot.
Then the Queen drew nearer to him and she said to him, “Launcelot, thinkest thou that thus thy sins may be remitted unto thee? Wit thou that thy sins are like an enemy, and that the only way in which thou canst conquer those sins is to battle manfully with them and not to fly from them. Arise! shake off this sluggishness and come forth into the world again, for it awaits thee. There and there only may thy sins be remitted unto thee.”
Then Sir Launcelot groaned and he hid his face in his arms and anon he said, “Lady, tempt me not.” Then after another while he said, “I cannot go with thee, for I have no horse to ride.”
Then Queen Guinevere smiled and she said, “Launcelot, I have purveyed thee with a horse, and it is here.” Then Sir Launcelot cried out again as in a sort of despair, “Still I cannot go with thee for I have no clothes fit to wear at court.”
And again Queen Guinevere smiled and she said, “Also I have provided thee with clothes; they, too, are here.” Then she commanded two of her pages to convey the chest of clothes into Sir Launcelot’s cell and they did so. Then they opened the chest and Sir Launcelot gazed into it, and beheld all that noble apparel of silks and velvets, of gold and jewels, of silver and of lace.