come to you soon; speak fair words to her, so that she may give you that sword.”
So the damsel came to Arthur and greeted him, and he greeted her in return. “Damsel,” said Arthur, “what sword is that yonder which the arm is holding above the water? I would like to possess it, for I have no sword.”
“Sir Arthur,” said the damsel, “that sword is mine, and if you will give me a gift when I ask it, you shall have the sword.”
“By my faith,” said Arthur, “I will give you whatever gift you ask.”
“Well,” said the damsel, “go into that barge yonder and row yourself out to the sword and take it and the scabbard with you. I will ask a gift in return when the time is right.”
So King Arthur and Merlin dismounted and tied their horses to two trees, and went to the barge. When they came to the sword that was held by the hand, King Arthur grasped it by the handles and took it away with him; the arm and the hand went under the water. They reached the land and rode forth, and King Arthur saw a rich pavilion.
“What is the meaning of yonder pavilion?”
“Sir, that is the pavilion of the knight you fought with recently, King Pellinore, but he is away. He is not at home because he fought with a knight of yours called Egglame. They fought together, but in the end Egglame fled, or else he would have died, and Pellinore has chased him all the way to Caerleon. We will meet with him soon on the highway.”
“That will be well,” said Arthur. “Now that I have a sword I will wage battle with him and be revenged on him.”
“Sir,” said Merlin, “don’t do that. The knight is weary of fighting and chasing, so you will earn no worship if you fight him now. Also, he is not easily matched by any living man. Therefore, this is my counsel: let him be, for he shall do you good service in the near future, and his sons also after his death. Also, you will see in a very short time that you will be happy to give him your sister’s hand in marriage in reward for his good service. Therefore, do not challenge him when you see him.”
“I will do as you advise me.” Then King Arthur looked at the sword, and liked it very well.
Then Merlin said, “Which do you like better, the sword or the scabbard?”
“I like the sword better,” said Arthur.
“Then you are unwise, for the scabbard is worth ten of the sword. As long as you have the scabbard on you, you shall lose no blood, no matter how badly you are wounded. Therefore be careful to always keep the scabbard with you.”
So they rode into Caerleon, and along the way they met with King Pellinore. But Merlin had cast a spell so that King Pellinore did not see King Arthur, and passed by without saying anything.
“I marvel,” said Arthur, “that that knight would not speak.”
“Sir, he did not see you; for if he had seen you, you would not have parted on good terms.”
So they came into Caerleon, and his knights were very glad of his coming. When they heard of his adventures, they marveled that he would risk his person so all alone. But all men of worship said it was good indeed to be subject to such a leader who would risk his person in adventures as other poor knights did.
In the meantime a messenger came from King Rience of North Wales, Ireland, and many isles. This was his message: he greeted King Arthur after his fashion, and said that King Rience had defeated and overthrown eleven kings, and every one of them now did homage to him. That is to say, they gave him their beards, flayed clean off their faces. Thus, the messenger had come for King Arthur’s beard, for King Rience had trimmed a mantle with kings’ beards, and there was one blank space on his mantle. So he sent for his beard, or else he would enter in his lands and burn and slay and never stop until he had both head and beard.
CI.26
“Well,” said Arthur, “you have delivered your message, which is the most arrogant and ill-mannered message that a man has ever sent to a king. You can see that my beard is still too young to make much of a decoration. But tell your king this: I do not owe him, nor did any of my ancestors, and it will not be long before he shall do homage to me on both his knees, or else he will lose his head, by the faith of my body. This is the most shameful message that I have ever heard spoken; I sense that your king has not yet encountered with an honorable man. Tell him I will have his head unless he does homage to me.” Then the messenger departed.
“Now, is there anyone here who knows King Rience?” asked Arthur.
Then a knight named Naram answered, “Sir, I know the king well. There are few men who are of strong body as he is, and he is a very proud man. Sir, doubt not that he will make a great show of force against you.”
“Well,” said Arthur, “I will deal with him soon.”
Then King Arthur had all the children who were born on May-day sent for—those who were begotten of lords and born of ladies—for Merlin told King Arthur that he who would destroy him and all the land would be born on May-day. So he sent for them all on pain of death, and the sons of many kings and the sons of many knights were rounded up and sent to the king. And King Lot’s wife sent Mordred.
CI.27
They were all put in a ship and sent out to sea. And some were four weeks old, and some less. So by fortune the ship was wrecked near a castle, and the greatest part of it was destroyed. But Mordred was cast up onto the beach, and a good man found him, and fostered him until he was fourteen years of age, and then brought him to court, as it relates near the end of the Morte Darthur.
Many lords and barons of the realm were displeased that their children were lost. Many blamed Merlin more than Arthur, but out of fear and love, they held their peace.
When the messenger came to King Rience, he was out of his mind with rage, and gathered together a great host as it is told in the Book of Balin le Savage which follows next and tells the story of Balin’s adventure and how he got the sword.
4 Balin, The Knight with the Two Swords
After the death of Uther, his son Arthur reigned, and he had to fight a great war to bring all England under his rule, for there were many kings within the realm of England, Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall.
VI.2 CII.1
So it happened one time when Arthur was in London that a knight came and told him how King Rience of North Wales had raised a great army and had entered the land and burned and slew the king’s true liege people.
“If this is true,” said Arthur, “it would be a great shame to my honor unless I should stand against him mightily.”
“It is true,” said the knight, “for I saw the army myself.”
“Well,” said the king, “I shall order a response to his malice.” Then the king announced that all the lords, knights, and gentlemen of arms should meet at the castle which was called Camelot in those days, and there the king would hold a council and a jousting tournament.
So when the king had arrived there with all his barons and they were comfortably lodged, there came a damsel who was sent from the great Lady Lyle of Avalon. When she came before King Arthur she explained from where she had come and how she had been sent as a messenger to him for a particular reason. Then she let her richly furred mantle fall and revealed that she was girt with a noble sword; the king marveled at this and said “Damsel, why are you girt with that sword? It is not appropriate.”
“Now I shall tell you,” said the damsel. “This sword with which I am girt is an encumbrance that causes me great sorrow. The sword cannot be removed except by a knight, and his deeds and actions must prove him to be a noble knight, without villainy, treachery, or treason. If I may find such a knight that has all these virtues, he will be able to draw this sword out of its sheath. I have been in King Rience’s land, for I was told that there I might find passing good knights. And he and all his knights tried and none of them were able to draw the sword.”