PELLEAS AND ETTARRE.
When his knights went after the Holy Grail Arthur made many new knightsto fill the gaps made by their absence. As he sat in his hall one day atold Caerleon the high doors were softly parted and through these in camea youth, and with him the outer sunshine and the sweet scent of meadows.
"Make me your knight, Sir King!" he cried, "because I know all abouteverything that belongs to a knight and because I love a maiden."
This youth was Sir Pelleas-of-the-Isles who had heard that the king hadproclaimed a great tournament at Caerleon with a sword for the victorand a golden crown for the victor's sweetheart as the prize. He longedto win them, the circlet for his lady love, the sword for himself.
Just a few days before, while riding across the Forest of Dean to findthe king's palace hall at Caerleon, Pelleas had felt the sun beating onhis helmet so sharply that he reeled and almost fell from his horse.Then, seeing a hillock near-by overgrown with stately beech trees andflowers here and there beneath, he tied his horse to a tree, threwhimself down and was very soon lost in sweet dreams about a maiden, notany particular maiden for he had no sweetheart at that time.
But suddenly he was wakened with a sound of chatter and laughing at theoutskirts of the grove, and glancing through fern he saw a party ofyoung girls in many colors like the clouds at sunset, all of them ridingon richly dressed horses. They were all talking together in ahodgepodge, some pointing this way, some that, for they had lost theirway.
WAS VERY SOON LOST IN SWEET DREAMS ABOUT A MAIDEN.]
Pelleas sprang up, loosed his horse and led him into the light.
"Just in time!" cried the lady who seemed to be the leader of the party."See, our pilot-star! Youth, we are wandering damsels riding armed, asyou see, ready to tilt against the knights at Caerleon, but we've lostour way. To the right? to the left? straight on? forward? backward?which is it? tell us quickly."
Pelleas gazed at her and wondered to himself whether the famous QueenGuinevere herself was as beautiful as this maiden. For her violet eyes,scornful eyes, were large and the bloom on her cheeks was like the rosydawn. Her beauty made Pelleas timid and when she spoke to him he couldnot answer but only stammered, for he had come from far away wasteislands where besides his sisters, he had scarcely known any women butthe tough wives of the islands who made fish nets.
With a slow smile the lady turned round to her companions the smilespreading to them all. For she was Ettarre, a very great lady in herland.
"O, wild man of the woods," she cried, "don't you understand ourlanguage, or has heaven given you a beautiful face and no tongue?"
"Lady," he answered, "I just woke from my dreams, and coming out of thegloomy woods I was dazzled by the sudden light, and beg your pardon. Butare you going to Caerleon? I'm going too. Shall I lead you to the king?"
"Lead," said she.
So through the woods they went together but his tender manner, his aweof her and his bashfulness bothered her. "I've lighted on a fool," shemuttered to herself, "so raw and yet so stale!"
But since she wished to be crowned the Queen of Beauty in the king'stournament, and since Pelleas looked strong she thought perhaps he wouldfight for her, so she flattered him and was very pleasant and kind. Herthree knights and maidens were kind to him too, for she was a verygreat lady and they had to do as she did. When they reached Caerleonbefore she passed on to her lodgings she took Pelleas by the hand andsaid:
SHE TOOK PELLEAS BY THE HAND.]
"O, how strong your hand is! See; look at my poor little weak one! Willyou fight for me and win me the crown, Pelleas, so that I may love you?"
Pelleas' heart danced. "Yes! Yes!" he cried, "and will you love me if Iwin?"
"Yes, that I will," answered Ettarre laughing and flinging away his handas she peeped round to her knights and ladies until they all laughedwith her.
"O what a happy world!" thought glad Pelleas, "everybody seems happy andI am the happiest of all."
He couldn't sleep that night for joy and on the next day when he wasknighted he swore to love one maiden only. As he came away from theking's hall the men who met him all turned around to look at his face,for it flamed with happiness, and at the great banquets which Arthurgave to knights from all parts of the country Pelleas looked the noblestof the noble. For he dreamed that his lady loved him and he knew that hewas loved by the king.
On the morning when the jousts began the first that was called was thetournament of youth. Arthur wanted to keep the older, stronger men outof it so that young Pelleas might win his lady's love as she hadpromised, and be lord of the tourney. Down by the field along the riverUsk where it was held the gilded parapets were crowned with faces andthe great tower filled with eyes up to its top. Then the trumpets blewfor the tournament to begin.
All day long Sir Pelleas held the field. At the close a shout rang roundthe galleries as Ettarre caught the gold crown from his lance andcrowned herself before all the people. Her eyes sparkled as she lookedat him, but that was the last time she was kind to her knight.
She lingered a few days at Caerleon, sunny to all the other people butalways frowning at him.
Still when she left for home with her knights and maidens Sir Pelleasfollowed.
"Damsels," cried she as she saw him coming, "I ought to be ashamed tosay it and yet I can't bear that Sir Baby. Keep him back withyourselves. I'd rather have some rough old knight who knows the ways ofthe world to chatter and joke with; so don't let him come near me.Tell him all sorts of baby fables that good mothers tell their littleboys, and if he runs off for us--it doesn't matter."
ETTARRE CROWNED HERSELF BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE.]
So the young women didn't let him go near Ettarre but made him stay withthem, and as soon as they had all passed into Ettarre's castle gate upsprang the drawbridge, down rang the iron grating, and Sir Pelleas wasleft outside all alone.
"These are only the ways of ladies with their lovers when the ladieswant to find out whether the lovers are true or not. Well, she can tryme with anything, I'll be true through all."
So he stayed there until dark, then went to a priory not far off and thenext morning came back. Every day he did the same whether it rained orshone, armed on his charger, and stayed all the day beneath the walls,although nobody opened the gate for him.
This made Ettarre's scorn turn to anger. She told her three knights togo out and drive him away. But when they came out Pelleas overthrew themall as they dashed upon him one after the other. So they went backinside and he kept his watch as before. This turned Ettarre's anger intohate. As she walked on top of the walls with her three knights about aweek later she pointed down to Pelleas and said:
"He haunts me, look, he besieges me! I can't breathe. Strike him down,put my hate into your blows and drive him away from my walls."
So down they went but Pelleas overthrew them all again so Ettarre calleddown from the tower above, "Bind him and bring him in."
Pelleas heard her say this so he did not resist, but let the men bindhim and take him into his lady love. "See me, Lady," he said cheerily,"your prisoner, and if you keep me in your dungeon here I'll be quitecontent if you'll just let me see your face every day. For I've sworn myvows and you've given me your promise and I know that when you've doneproving me you will give me your love and have me for your knight."
But she made fun of his vows and told her knights to put him outsideagain and "if he isn't a fool to the middle of his bones," said she,"he'll never come back." Then the three knights laughed and thrust himout of the gates.
But a week later Ettarre called them again, "He's watching there yet. Hecomes just like a dog that's been kicked out of his master's door. Don'tyou hate him? Go after him, all of you at once, and if you don't killhim bind him as you did before and bring him in."
So the three knights couched their spears all together, three againstone, ready to dash upon Pelleas, low down beneath the shadow of thetowers.
Gawain passing by on a lonely adventure saw them.
> "The villains!" he shouted to Pelleas, "I'll strike for you!"
"No," cried Pelleas, "when one's doing a lady's will one doesn't needany help."
Gawain stood by quivering to fight while the three knights sprang downupon Pelleas, but Pelleas all alone beat the three of them together.Then they rose to their feet, and he stood still while they bound himand took him into their lady.
"You're scarcely fit to touch your victor, you dogs!" she cried to hermen, "far less bind him; but take him out as he is and let whoever wantsto untie him. Then if he comes again--"
She paused just a minute and Pelleas broke in at once with, "Lady, Iloved you and thought you very beautiful, but if you don't love medon't trouble yourself about it; you won't see me again."
As soon as Pelleas was put outside the gate Gawain sprang forward,loosed his bonds, flung them over the walls and cried out:
"My faith, and why did you let those wretches tie you up so when youwere victor of all the jousts?"
"O," said Pelleas, "they were just obeying the wishes of my lady, andher wishes are mine."
Gawain laughed. "Lend me your horse and armor," he said, "and I'll tellher I've killed you. Then she'll let me in just to hear all about it andwhen I've made her listen I'll tell her all about you, what a great andgood fellow you are. Give me three days to melt her and on the thirdevening I'll bring you golden news."
"Don't betray me," cried Pelleas, as he handed over his horse and allhis weapons except his sword. "Aren't you the knight they call'Light-of-love?'"
"That is just because women are so light," Gawain rejoined, laughing.
Then he rode up to the castle gate, and blew the bugle so musically thatall the hidden echoes in the walls rang out.
"Away with you!" cried Ettarre's maidens, running up to the towerwindow. "Our lady doesn't love you."
"I'm Gawain from Arthur's court," cried Gawain, lifting his vizor sothat they could see his face. "I've killed Pelleas whom you hate so.Open the gates and I'll make you merry with my story."
The ladies ran down crying out to Ettarre, "Pelleas is dead! Sir Gawainof Arthur's court has killed him and is blowing the bugle to come in totell us."
"Let him in," said Ettarre.
Then they opened the gates and Gawain rode inside.
For three days Pelleas wandered all about, doing nothing but thinking ofGawain and Ettarre, and on the third night, when Gawain did not come, hewondered why Gawain lingered with his golden news. At last he rode up toEttarre's castle, tied his horse outside and walked in through the wideopen gates. The court he found all dark and empty, not a lightglimmering from anywhere, so he passed out by the back gate, into thelarge gardens beyond of red and white roses, where he saw threepavilions. In one he found the three knights with their squires, all redwith revelling, and all asleep, in the second he saw the girls withtheir scornful smiles frozen stiff in slumber, and in the third layGawain with Ettarre, the golden crown he had won for her at the joust onher forehead, both sleeping.
Pelleas drew back as if he had touched a snake.
"I'll kill them just as they lie," he cried in a passion. "O! to thinkthat any knight could be so false!"
But he was too manly to kill anyone in sleep, so he just laid his swordacross their throats and passed out to his horse, crushed his saddlewith his thighs, clenched his hands together and groaned.
"I loathe her now just as much as I loved her!" he cried, and dashinghis spurs into his horse he bounded out into the darkness and never cameback.
Meanwhile Ettarre, feeling the cold sword on her neck, awoke.
"Liar!" she cried to Gawain, as she saw that it was the sword ofPelleas, "you haven't killed Pelleas, for he's been here and could havekilled us both just now."
And ever after that, as those who tell the story say, the proud andscornful Ettarre sighed for Pelleas, the one true knight in the world,her only faithful lover, and at last pined away because he never cameback.
Tales from Tennyson Page 9