Arthur Rex

by Thomas Berger

  And letters in fire appeared across its back, and they spelled the name

  GALAHAD!

  Now Sir Percival spake wonderingly. “’Tis the Siege Perilous, Galahad, my friend! Thou art the one who would come, and for thee this seat hath been kept empty for all the years.”

  And Galahad smiled to hear this, but he was not well, and he said, “I wonder where King Arthur hath gone, and my father, and all the other knights of the noble company, for I would fain see them soon.”

  “I expect,” said Sir Percival, “that they have all gone out to look for the Holy Grail, for that hath been the principal quest of the Round Table for a long time.”

  “Alas then!” said Galahad. “We have missed them in both places. But it is a wonder that we did not meet them upon the road as they went towards the castle of my grandfather and we came to Camelot.”

  “And why, pray,” asked Percival, “should they go to Pelles (until lately the maimed king, now whole owing to the question which I asked naïvely)?”

  “Because,” said Galahad, who was feeling some better now owing to the strength he drew from the Siege Perilous, “that is where the Grail is kept, as everyone knoweth.”

  “Then my dream of seeing it was not a dream but reality?” asked Sir Percival.

  “I expect it was, if you have seen it,” said Galahad. “Was it carried by a maiden dressed in white samite?”

  “And she had golden hair,” said Percival agreeing.

  “Well, surely that was the Sangreal,” said young Galahad, “for there is only one golden-haired maiden there and she never carries any vessel but it, for the reason that she is the Grail Maiden.”

  “Well,” said Sir Percival, “is it not amazing then that all the knights of the Round Table have looked for this for years, when it was only a few score of leagues away from Camelot? And I myself have gone in search of it to the ends of the earth, but then I am the most ignorant of knights and have been thought by many to be purely a fool.”

  And Galahad smiled. “But if you had known where it was immediately, would you have had so many interesting adventures?”

  And Percival thought about this, and he said, “I think I was happy in not finding it straightway. For all I ever wanted was to be a knight and to have adventures and not to stay effeminately in the garden with my mother and my sister.”

  But Percival marveled to himself that this most sacred of objects should be kept at the castle of King Pelles, who was maimed through concupiscence, but he said nothing of this to young Galahad for fear of offending him. And then, for he was naïve but not stupid, he came to understand that King Pelles was an appropriate host for the Grail Maiden, for owing to his wound he had not been able to mishandle her.

  And having understood this Percival was no longer so naïve as he had been, and now he believed that it was very queer that Sir Launcelot had never come back to see his son Galahad, for Pelles’ castle was not so far from Camelot and it was well known that Launcelot had not gone questing for many a year, and therefore what had he done instead?

  Then when Galahad had rested they left the hall of the Round Table and they went to the throne room, and there, on a cushion of red velvet, on the golden throne of Britain, sat a man wearing a robe of ermine and a crown! But it was not Arthur but rather a man whose skin was so white that it looked almost blue in the crepuscular light of the chamber, for the curtains were drawn and only a few tapers did burn, and his hair and eyes were black as midnight at the dark of the moon.

  And Sir Percival clasped the handle of his sword, and Galahad did so as well.

  But seeing them the man on the throne did cry, “Hold, brave knights! Do not commit a treasonous display of arms against your sovereign!”

  And Percival and Galahad were amazed to hear this. And Sir Percival said, “Is this not Arthur’s throne?”

  “It was so formerly,” said the crowned man. “But my father is no longer amongst the quick. King Arthur is dead. Long live King Mordred! Vassals, to your knees!”

  But they remained standing, and Sir Percival said, “I am the most ignorant of knights and I do not understand many things, but with all respect I find it difficult to believe that King Arthur hath died so quietly that we never heard of it.”

  “Well,” said Mordred, “did ye not know that he went to besiege Sir Launcelot at the castle of Joyous Garde?”

  And young Galahad did gasp at these news, and Sir Percival said, “Sir, I would that you say no more. I shall go to Joyous Garde, and if what you have told me be true, then you shall receive my obeisance.”

  “Nay, good sir,” said Mordred, and he rose from the throne, “prithee linger here awhile. Thou canst not aid Arthur now, who is beyond human help. And as it happens, I have found the Holy Grail and brought it here to Camelot. Can this have been done by any but the rightful king and heir?”

  And Mordred clasped his hands and there entered into the chamber a beautiful lady, and she wore no clothes at all, and she carried between her naked breasts a cup encrusted with countless gems of rare brilliance but none was so scintillating as her ruby-red paps.

  And Galahad threw his arm across his eyes and he turned away in shame.

  And Sir Percival cried, “Felon! Liar! Impostor!” And he drew his sword and he would have slain Mordred had not that false knight quickly disappeared behind an arras, and when Percival cut it to ribbons and then looked behind it, no one was there. And the lady vanished as well (and she was Morgan la Fey).

  “Galahad,” said Sir Percival then, “we must with all speed to Joyous Garde. Surely this wicked knight hath not told the truth as to King Arthur and thy father Launcelot, than whom there were never greater friends. But methinks that if both are absent from Camelot, and all the other knights as well, and even unto the queen, some great emprise hath that castle as its locus.”

  Therefore Sir Percival and Galahad set out for the castle of Joyous Garde.

  And when they were gone Sir Mordred came out from hiding, along with his evil aunt Morgan la Fey, and she was no longer beautiful but rather an hag again.

  And Morgan la Fey said to him, “Mordred, I shall help thee no more, for thy schemes are no better than mine have been. If I know Arthur he will make his peace with Launcelot and even with Guinevere, for to be a cuckold is no great shame for him, and to hold his kingdom together means more than anything else.”

  “Nay, Aunt,” said Mordred. “His kingdom no longer exists. The crown is mine and I shall reign in Britain henceforth.”

  “Well,” said Morgan la Fey, “this is but the play-acting of the child thou art yet, and I shall perform no further in it. When Arthur returns thou shalt be but the same little bastard thou hast ever been.”

  “Nay,” cried Mordred, “I shall kill him and marry Guinevere.”

  “Guinevere!” cried Morgan la Fey, and she laughed in derision. “She be too much woman for thee!” And so saying she went out of Camelot, and she soon changed her witch’s clothing for the habit of a nun, and she entered herself into the Convent of the Little Sisters of Poverty and Pain, for after a long career in the service of evil she had come to believe that corruption were sooner brought amongst humankind by the forces of virtue, and from this moment on she was notable for her piety.

  But Sir Mordred was not in the least discouraged by her defection, for she was but a female, and whilst he hated all men, he despised women, and even Guinevere was to him only a royal piece of furniture like unto the crown and the scepter, to possess which was the king’s right. However, he did suspect that he might need more power than he yet had to keep the throne of Britain, for Sir Percival had shown no fear of him, nor did he like the look of the pale youth who accompanied him, who he could see was dying, for Mordred had a great fear of death like all vicious persons who had no claim to Heaven, and he knew that a dying man could not be threatened with worse than he already had.

  Therefore he left Camelot to recruit him an host, and as he failed ever to stir the loyal British churls to revolt, he w
ent to Germany amongst the detestable Saxons and the loathsome Angles, and by making them large proffers he collected an army amongst these villainous peoples who had always coveted Britain, the which was a gem in the mud of the world, and these he brought across the British Channel to Kent.

  Then he went to Cornwall, to the court of King Mark. Now owing to his witness of the love of Tristram and La Belle Isold, Mark became a kindly king, but when it had a tragic end he became embittered, for his grasp of philosophy did not exceed the near-at-hand, and he became an enemy of virtue and therefore he did not love King Arthur.

  So when Sir Mordred came unto him and promised that in exchange for his aid against King Arthur, Mark could divide with him the entire island of Britain, the Cornish king did agree. And he did not know of the Germans who were camped in Kent.

  And next Mordred went to Ireland, where King Anguish still occupied the throne, and he made him the same proffer as he had made to King Mark.

  But King Anguish said, “I am too old for to go to battle, and I already have the finest land in the world. I made an error in sending Isold to Cornwall. Ireland for the Irish! I shall not fight unless some bloody buggers try to invade my lovely kingdom.” And he had Mordred stripped and taken to the sea and thrown therein.

  And Mordred had no more success amongst the Picts and the Scots. Therefore he went back to join his precious Angles and Saxons, and he formed an host of these beastly men, and they feloniously marched towards Camelot.

  Now King Arthur had gone to the castle of Joyous Garde, the which he had besieged for many months, and between him and Sir Launcelot, who was therein, a stalemate existed. For Launcelot would not surrender the queen for to be burned, and King Arthur could not go away without her. And yet they loved each other, so that they would not fight to determine whose will should prevail, nor did any of the knights on either side fight those of the other, for they were all dear friends.

  And when King Arthur learned that the supply of foodstuffs within the castle had been exhausted he sent in great stores of meat, and Sir Kay though loyal to Arthur went along with these stores, and he prepared many a delicate meal for Guinevere and her ladies-in-waiting (whom King Arthur had sent to attend her), for to please the queen’s fine palate had ever been his greatest joy.

  But Sir Gawaine that noble knight did not love Sir Launcelot any longer, and he would fain have fought with him, but Launcelot refused to meet him, and from the battlements of Joyous Garde he spake to him as follows.

  “Gawaine, my dear friend,” said he. “I believe that I could not have done other than to defend myself against the attacks of thy gallant brothers. Yet I know a terrible shame that I did slay them, for they were all three fine knights and my friends! I shall henceforth never have a moment’s peace from anguish. But that they would have taken the queen for her burning I should not have resisted them, and even now I should surrender myself to thee for whatever punishment thou wouldst bring me, were it not that I must protect the queen, who is blameless in all our troubles.”

  “Sir Launcelot,” said Sir Gawaine, standing below the wall, “I do not seek to punish thee, which is something only God may do. But I would fight thee honestly, to the death of whichever one. I can not live with honor when thou hast killed all of my family, for what would my sons think of a father who forsook his duty?”

  But Launcelot said, “My dear Gawaine, I will not again raise my sword against anyone of thy blood. I have shed too much of it!” And weeping copiously he went within.

  Now this colloquy had taken place many times in the weeks in which King Arthur had besieged Joyous Garde, and neither changed his opinion, nor did King Arthur in his dutiful conviction that Guinevere must be taken and burned at the stake. And only God knows how long they all might have remained in statu quo like unto figures woven into a tapestry were it not for Mordred.

  For Sir Mordred marched on Camelot with his Germans from the east, and King Mark had come with an host of Cornishmen from the southwest, and these forces had converged on Salisbury Plain, near Stonehenge (for which Merlin had brought the great stones from Ireland many years before, and which was sometimes thought to be a druidical monument, but which was actually an immense and cunning calendar).

  And reports were brought to King Arthur by the loyal Britons who lived in that region and who had escaped the murder and rapine wreaked by the Germans on the land.

  And hearing these news King Arthur said to Sir Gawaine, “Nephew, the realm is in dire peril. We must needs leave the siege of Joyous Garde and go to repel the foe.”

  Now Gawaine, having heard who led the enemy host, hung his head in shame, and he said, “Doth it not seem futile that I am here to defend the honor of my family when my youngest brother is a vile traitor!” And he was so tormented by this that his uncle the king at last made an admission that he had never made before to anyone, so that he might relieve that good knight his nephew.

  “Gawaine,” said he, “thou shouldst know that Mordred is thy brother but by half. Like thou and Agravaine and Gaheris and Gareth, his mother was Queen Margawse, but he did never come from the loins of thy father King Lot. Nay!” And his noble countenance become the seat of a shame much greater than that of Gawaine. “God forgive me,” said King Arthur, “for Mordred is mine own son! And begat in incest he has lived in unnatural bastardy, and I can not but hate him, for he is the creature of mine own detestable lust. And now I must go and kill him, and then methinks I am ready to die myself.”

  And he wept greatly, and Sir Gawaine though in great grief himself sought to comfort him, but he could find no way in which to do it. And then Gawaine thought of his old friend Launcelot again, and how that he filled a need for the queen, who else had been alone all her life, for King Arthur had been unmanned through his unnatural connection with Gawaine’s own mother. And Sir Gawaine, first the merry lecher and then the satisfied husband, understood that he had been a rare man in being made happy by all women he had ever met, and few knights and fewer kings could say the same.

  But then thinking further, he believed that if Sir Launcelot had not engaged in an illegal congress with Guinevere and then carried her away when it was discovered, the detestable traitor Mordred could not have gone so far in his design to ruin King Arthur and destroy the Round Table.

  Now King Arthur soon dried his eyes and he prepared to march on Mordred’s host, for he was the king and kings can not allow the accidents of personality to obscure the essence of their rule.

  And he said to Sir Gawaine, “In this extreme situation Guinevere’s crime must be seen as a mere foible, and furthermore we require the service of the many good knights who joined Sir Launcelot at Joyous Garde. Therefore go to him and say that King Arthur doth withdraw the siege, and that he shall not fear punishment on the condition that he void Britain absolutely and stay in banishment forever.”

  “And what of the queen?” asked Sir Gawaine.

  “She may go anywhere she listeth,” said King Arthur, “except to return to Camelot. I will not lift mine hand against her now or in the future.”

  And Sir Gawaine went below the wall of Joyous Garde and he called to Sir Launcelot, who came onto the battlements, and he told him of King Arthur’s decision. And Sir Launcelot was pleased to hear that the queen would not be burned, and therefore he had the gates opened and all the knights that had been with him came out and they joined the king’s forces without prejudice.

  Then Guinevere rode forth alone on her white palfrey, and on that morning when the sky was leaden it was as if the sun had appeared upon the earth. And she came to the pavilion of King Arthur, and she dismounted and she went in unto him and she fell upon her knees.

  Now King Arthur protested, “Rise, Guinevere! You have nothing for to beg of me, for I would do you no harm, having taken my oath upon it.”

  “Arthur,” said Guinevere, “I kneel before you because you are the king and I am your subject like any other, but what I beg of you is nothing for myself. Indeed, with me you have been more
merciful than any other king would have been in all the world. But I beg you not to banish Sir Launcelot, and not for mine own sake, but rather for yours. To overcome your enemies you will need his sword, which is invincible. Nor is he guilty of wrongdoing, for what he did was by command of his queen, to whom you had sent him as her own knight. And I had nobody else to rule over! Therefore he bears no responsibility for this shame, and all of it is mine.”

  And though kneeling in entreaty Guinevere was humble in no wise, but rather she was as proud as she had ever been, for she was the sort of woman who could not be otherwise to save her soul.

  And King Arthur came to her and taking her hands he lifted her to her feet. “My dear queen,” he said, “you do embarrass me and not for the first time. Of late I have considered whether you would not have been a better sovereign than I, and whether were our situations reversed I should as consort have acted as well as you.

  “But to proceed further with this fantasy would no doubt be blasphemous, God having decided which must rule and which must serve. And power came to me by surprise: until I drew the sword from the stone a second time that fatal day, I never knew I was so much as a prince, let alone a king.”

  And King Arthur looked very old and weary, and he sat down upon the portable throne which he used when afield.

  “Indeed, though I was proficient with weapons when a boy I did not foresee a career as a knight. I expected to be a farmer, Guinevere! And I confess to thee alone that I have never felt so comfortable with men as with animals, and the best friends I ever had in all my life were the hounds of Sir Hector my foster-father, R.I.P., and the horses, and even the sheep and the swine. And it is a curious thing that my father Uther Pendragon, with whom I have shared little else, did also have a great love for his beasts.”