Arthur Rex

by Thomas Berger

  Now this severed head did leave the neck with such force that it flew within the door of the pavilion and rolled below the couch where the lady was tied fast. And she screamed when she saw it.

  But when Gareth came within to free her she did not commend him for slaying her captor, far from it! Rather she commanded him to avert his eyes while he unbound her, and when she was at liberty she put her gown in order concealing her silken thighs, and then she said, “For the second time thou hast slain a knight by deceit. I would not be protected by ignoble means! Methinks the Round Table, if it is represented by thee, must be the basest companionship in the world.”

  And once again she mounted her white palfrey and she quickly rode away. But now realizing that if he continued on his old horse he might not reach her in time to preserve her honor on the next occasion, Gareth exchanged his steed with the fine brown charger that had belonged to the late Brown Knight, and he donned the brown armor and he took up the brown weapons, and just as the lady reached the bottom of the next valley and had been taken by the knight who guarded the ford there, who wore black armor, Gareth galloped over the crest of the hill.

  “Now, lady,” said the Black Knight to her, “I can not understand how you got this far and eluded my brothers the knights blue and brown, unless you did so by some treacherous means. But be assured that I shall take you into my black pavilion, strip you naked, and then I shall dighte you soundly.”

  And the lady wept piteously.

  But when Gareth wearing the brown armor came down the hill the Black Knight said happily, “Ah, there is one of my brothers now! Well, we shall share your sweet flesh.”

  And the damsel replied, “Sir knight, ’tis not your brother but rather a wretched kitchen-knave from Camelot, who hath murdered both the Blue Knight and the Brown by treachery, and now, contrary to all laws of courtesy, hath stolen this armor and horse and these weapons.” And she said, “Though I find you wicked in the extreme, I should prefer being mishandled by an evil knight to being saved by a base fellow.”

  And this lady, whose name was Lynette, can not be blamed altogether for having a low opinion of Gareth, because she had not seen him yet in a fight. And Gareth himself was not blameless, for owing to vanity he would not defend himself against her accusations, and Lynette was but one of the many human beings who distracted by a received idea must be patiently enlightened as to the truth.

  Now Gareth was careful to come close to the Black Knight and with his visor opened to reveal that he was not the original wearer thereof.

  And the Black Knight called him a caitiff and a wretch to murder his brothers by deceit, and he promised to kill him and to flay off his entire skin and nail it to a tree as an example of what happened to knaves who hoped to rise in the world against all human and divine laws and feloniously to represent themselves as their betters.

  “Sir knight,” said Gareth, “I commiserate with you on the loss of your brothers, for I have several of mine own and I love them dearly. Yet should one of them be killed in a just fight I should not call his foe a criminal! Know you that I have fought fairly and that I have won this armor by right of conquest. And now I challenge you to a fight, for I believe your intent is illegally to ravish this damsel.”

  But Lynette then cried, “Can it be that thou dost not understand that I do not desire thy protection, and that I find it greatly obnoxious? It is far more shameful to be saved by a scullion than to be ravished by a person of one’s own class.”

  “Lady,” said the Black Knight, “I very much like your sentiments, and know you that I should never misuse you were it not that I am obliged to do so to all maidens who seek to cross this river, for ’tis the law of our eldest brother, the Red Knight of the Red Laws, that no virgin shall long remain intact in his demesnes, for this would be a great insolence towards our virile family.”

  “Then here we are at odds,” said Lynette, “for these lands properly belong to me and were wrongfully seized by your brother, and he holds my sister in captivity. And I confess that I would have him killed could I find a proper champion, the which this greasy scullion be not.”

  And Gareth, wishing to fight the Black Knight according to the rules of chivalry and fearing that the other would not agree to this (and the result would be again the ugly thing it had been with his brothers), asked this knight to dismount and to draw apart with him and speak privately, and when they did this Gareth said, “Know you I am Gareth, fourth son of King Lot of the Orkneys, nephew to Arthur of Britain, and brother to sirs Gawaine, Agravaine, and Gaheris.”

  “My lord,” said the Black Knight, “then you are a prince?”

  “Indeed,” said Gareth, “and I am in disguise. But I have never been false, which is to say, I did truly work as a scullion for a twelvemonth. And having served amongst them I can tell you that I have no great love for lackeys, who are for the most part lazy and dishonest and with little feeling but self-pity. And though perhaps this character is due to their low position in the world, perhaps it is not, for methinks that there must always be some hierarchy amongst mortals and that a man might serve well whatever the situation into which he hath been born by chance. Yet my greatest condemnation must be reserved for those of higher stations who do evil.”

  Now the Black Knight heard little of the wisdom which Gareth though a very young man had gained since leaving the court of the remote Orkneys, for this knight was confused by the sudden change from scullion, too mean to fight, to prince, too far above him who was but the second son of a baron.

  Therefore bowing low he said to Gareth, “Your Highness, shall you forgive me for not recognizing by your very seat on the horse (which quite properly you took by conquest from my brother) that you are the very model of all that is royal? I fear I am utterly disgraced!”

  Now Gareth groaned in dismay, for he despaired that he could ever get this obsequious knight to fight him. But then he conceived a plan, and throwing back his head he laughed derisively and he said, “O gullible fool! I am but a mendacious knave!” And he tripped him up, so that the Black Knight fell down upon the ground. And Gareth said to him, “I shall mount now and take up the brown lance and unless you defend yourself I shall stick you where you sit.”

  And this ruse was successful, for the Black Knight rose in a fury and he mounted his steed, and they charged upon each other. Now the Black Knight’s black lance did break upon Gareth’s brown shield, but Gareth’s brown lance hurled the Black Knight from his saddle.

  And then Gareth dismounted, and they fought with swords for only so long as it took Gareth to chop the Black Knight’s blade off at the handle, and then he put the brown sword at his throat and he asked him to yield.

  “That I do gladly,” said the Black Knight, “for no one but a prince hath such prowess at arms, and I know you are right royal whatever your guise!” And he swore fealty to Gareth.

  Now watching this the damsel Lynette was amazed, for it confounded all her prejudices, and she had not heard the Black Knight address Gareth by his proper title, so that she still assumed he was but a scullion. And yet she had clearly seen him defeat a formidable knight in the fairest of contests. And therefore several truths did here conflict, and in her confusion she swooned.

  Now the Black Knight was as gentle and gracious as he had been brutal before, and he carried her within the pavilion and he bathed her temples with Cologne-water. And when she came to her senses she asked him whether she had seen him defeated by a kitchen-knave.

  Now in commanding him to care for Lynette, Gareth had made the Black Knight promise not to reveal his true identity, and therefore this knight now said, “My lady, the man in the brown armor did overwhelm me in a fair test.”

  And Lynette said in disgust, “For shame, sir knight! Begone! I now find thee more offensive than he.”

  And the Black Knight replied, “Lady, I accept your scorn as deserved, but you would do better not to disdain that man.”

  And he then went without, where Gareth said to him, “Go to C
amelot and offer thy fealty to King Arthur, and be henceforth a knight of good repute, abstaining from all wickedness.”

  So the Black Knight did as he was commanded, and for the rest of his life he intended to serve virtue alone.

  Now Lynette came out of the pavilion, where Gareth did await her, and she was not quite so proud as before.

  “Look here,” said she, “perhaps I have judged thee too harshly. Thou hast some prowess at arms, though I do not know how thou couldst have got it in the kitchens. Never can I approve of thine exceeding thy station, but thou hast surely saved me from an evil fate. So much shall I grant thee. And now it is for thine own good that I say, return to Camelot while thou dost still live! For however thou wert able to vanquish the blue, brown, and black knights, the Red Knight of the Red Lawns is invincible. And though I can not say I am overfond of thee, I do not wish to see thee killed needlessly.”

  But Gareth saluted her from his seat on the brown horse, saying, “Lady, lead and I shall follow.”

  “Beaumains,” said she, “why dost thou persist in this mad venture? Must I apologize for abusing thee? Then I do so freely. Thou art a brave man. Is that not enough? Then add to it this: dressed in that fine armor and mounted on a good horse thou wouldst seem to the manner born.” And here she stamped her little foot in its satin slipper. “Now what lady could ever say more in condescension?”

  “Lady,” said Gareth, “you have been as generous to me as I could wish. And I am grateful to you for your kind concern, but nothing in the world could stop me from fighting the Red Knight of the Red Lawns, for that is my quest, and but one knight shall emerge from that encounter, only God knows which.”

  Now Lynette had never heard such a brave intent announced by any knight, let alone a scullion, and she would have fallen in love with Gareth then had he not been a knave.

  “Well,” said she, “come ride by my side, Beaumains. Tis the least I can do in view of thy destination. No longer will I seek to avoid thy company.”

  But in riding towards the castle which the Red Knight held criminally, Gareth nevertheless lagged an horse’s length behind Lynette, for if the truth be known, he did cherish her illusion as to his inferiority.

  So they crossed the last ford and rode over an hill and down into a forest, and from the trees in this forest hung the dead bodies of many knights, with their shields around their necks and upside down. And at this dreadful sight Lynette did gasp in horror and she brought her palfrey close to Gareth’s horse, saying, “This be the fell work of the Red Knight. These were my loyal men, alas! I beg thee to flee, my dear Beaumains, for here thou seest forty valorous knights, and they were not enough all together to withstand him.”

  But Gareth said, “Lady, I will fight the Red Knight.”

  And despite her fear Lynette now was offended by him again. “Beaumains,” said she, “there is a difference between true courage and reckless arrogance. Now, as a scullion thou perhaps couldst not know this, but that in itself is why the orders are distinguished one from the next. I confess that I did not believe thou couldst defeat thy betters at arms, and I was wrong, for thou didst vanquish the knights blue, brown, and black. Yet never allow thyself to believe that God will permit thee to flout the scheme of chivalry forever. Thou hast gone further than any other knave. Be content with that, Beaumains, and stay alive as the most valiant scullion who ever lived.”

  “Lady,” said Gareth smiling, “with all respect, you do give too much worship to distractions.” And for the first time he galloped on ahead of her, and he reached the place where the wood gave way to a broad plain, and there he saw a stately castle.

  Now a great sycamore grew at the edge of the forest, and attached to its trunk by a silver chain was a large silver horn, and Gareth took this to his lips for to blow upon it, but Lynette rode to him and she spake as follows.

  “If I can not keep thee from meeting the Red Knight,” said she, “then at least do not yet sound the horn, which summons him to arms. At least wait till the sun begins to fall, when his strength will dwindle, for when it is high in the sky he hath the strength of seven men.”

  But Gareth said, “I shall never be more ready to fight than I am now.” And he lifted the silver horn.

  Yet Lynette was desperate to preserve him, for in great perversity and defying her faith and her moral principles she could not forbear from admitting to herself (in great shame) that she loved him with all her heart, knave though he be.

  And crying, “I am lost!” she leaned across her palfrey and sought to keep the horn from his lips by interposing her own pink mouth, and she was a maiden of the greatest beauty with long hair of the richest auburn color and flawless skin of perfect whiteness except for the rose of her lips and cheeks, and her eyes were as glowing gems.

  But not yet had Gareth noticed her in the amorous way, and he did not now, when he thought only of fighting the Red Knight of the Red Lawns. And her palfrey stepped away at this moment, and Lynette was not able to kiss him.

  So putting the silver horn to his lips Gareth sounded it towards the castle across the plain, and hardly had the last note died away when the great gates swung open and through them rode the Red Knight of the Red Lawns, and never did he gallop but rather he walked his blood-red charger towards Gareth. And all his armor was bright red and so were his weapons, and a red plume fluttered from his helm.

  And he came to Gareth across the field, and he said, “Why, brown Brother, dost sound the horn? Didst think I might not yet be in possession of the castle? Didst not see the corses I have hung from every tree? No knight on earth can long stand against me!” But then he drew close enough to see that it was not his brother’s face inside the brown helmet with the open visor, and he cried in rage, “O insolent impostor!”

  “My lord Red Knight of the Red Lawns,” said Gareth, “I overcame your three brothers honestly, and I would fight you now.”

  But the fair Lynette rode between them and she said to the Red Knight, “Sir, this person is not a knight but rather a valiant knave, the bravest in the world, and he is dear to me. Permit him to live, for killing him would bring you no worship. Further, if you grant me this favor, I shall put myself into your hands for whatever inordinate use you would make of me.”

  And the Red Knight roared in brutal rage. “Impudent bitch!” he cried. “I already possess thy castle and thy young sister is my helpless captive. What canst thou give me further but thy maidenhead, the which I shall anyway shatter at my convenience either before or after I take thy sister’s? (Which I have not yet done only because my virility is so voracious that I must needs ravish two virgins at once.) And having once used a damsel, I find her subsequently loathsome, and therefore ye both shall be installed thereafter in a twopenny brothel!”

  And so did this pestilent knight make his beastly boast.

  And then Gareth said to Lynette, “Lady, will you void this field? For I would fight this knight.”

  So weeping hot tears Lynette withdrew, and she wept both in sorrow because this brave scullion, whom she loved, would soon be dead, and in a certain resentment that neither of these men, good nor bad, did count her as at all significant in their affairs, and she would rather have harloted herself to save the life of Beaumains than to have him preserved by any other means in which she did not figure, for such is a proud lady’s hunger for mastery.

  But the Red Knight cried, “Thou shalt kill me, puppy? Ordinarily I have the strength of seven, but now that I have learned of thy vanquishing of my brothers (which was surely done by deceit), in vengeance my powers are increased three times!”

  And in fury he rode to an enormous oak which grew at the edge of the wood, and drawing his red sword he severed the trunk with one blow, and it could not have been encircled by four men joining hands, and this great oak, an hundred and fifty feet high, in falling felled a score of lesser trees.

  Then the Red Knight went half a mile away across the plain, and he turned and began his charge, and whereas he was at the outset but
a little speck of red on the horizon, he soon grew larger, and the speed of his red stallion was as the north wind and its hoofs made a sound like unto twenty drums struck at once.

  Now Gareth waited till but an hundred yards remained between them, and then he began his own charge. And when he and the Red Knight met, it was with such force that the lance of each penetrated the other’s shield up to the handle and plucked it away from each man’s grasp and carried it away. And turning their horses each discarded his lance which was now impeded by a spitted shield, and both drew their swords.

  Now with his first blow the Red Knight cut off the head of Gareth’s brown horse altogether, and spraying blood from the stump of its neck the animal collapsed onto its forelegs and Gareth was projected onto the earth.

  Now the Red Knight rode down upon him swinging his fell sword, but Gareth smote him in his right arm and he cut it cleanly off. But when it fell the Red Knight caught up the sword in his left gauntlet, and he turned his horse so as to bring the advantage to the sinister side. Then he swung at Gareth with full force, for his left arm was quite as strong as his right, and thanks be to God that Gareth was not struck by this blow, for had it hit him he would have been in two parts.

  Then a blow of Gareth’s did miss the Red Knight, but it cut the girth of his saddle and he fell from his steed, but though pouring blood from his severed arm he soon raised himself and with one swing of his mighty red sword he cut through Gareth’s breastplate and the point went through the coat of mail beneath, and it scored Gareth’s chest from high on the right shoulder diagonally down to his left hip. And fortunate it was that this wound but sliced open the skin and did not go deeper, yet copious blood ran out and down onto Gareth’s greaves and it covered his boots.

  And soon the field on which they fought was covered with blood from the both of them, and Gareth slipped and fell sometimes, but the Red Knight was in his own element, for his color was blood-red and he had so colored many lawns, and that his right arm had been lost did not distress him in any wise, and he smote Gareth more sorely than he himself was smitten, and he hacked away much armor and he wounded him often.