The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

by John Steinbeck

  MERLIN

  WHEN UTHER PENDRAGON WAS KING of England his vassal, the Duke of Cornwall, was reported to have committed acts of war against the land. Then Uther ordered the duke to attend his court and to bring with him his wife, Igraine, who was famed for her wisdom and beauty.

  When the duke arrived before the king, the great lords of the council made peace between them so that the king offered his friendship and his hospitality. Then Uther looked at the Lady Igraine and saw that she was as beautiful as he had heard. He loved her and desired her and begged her to lie with him, but Igraine was a faithful wife and she refused the king.

  She spoke privately to the duke, her husband, saying, "I believe that you were not sent for because of transgression. The king has planned to dishonor you through me. Therefore I beg you, my husband, that we may creep away from this danger and ride in the night to our own castle, for the king will not tolerate my refusal."

  And, as she wished, they went away so secretly that neither the king nor his council were aware of their going.

  When Uther discovered their flight he was filled with rage. He called the lords together and told them of the duke's treachery. The noble council, seeing and fearing his anger, advised the king to send messengers ordering the duke and Igraine to return at once, for, they said, "If he should refuse your summons it will be your duty and your right to make war against him and destroy him."

  And it was so done. The messengers galloped after the duke and came back with the curt reply that neither his wife nor he would return.

  Then the enraged Uther sent a second message advising the duke to defend himself, because within forty days the king would drag him from his strongest castle.

  Thus warned, the duke provisioned and armed his two best fortresses. He sent Igraine to the castle of Tintagel on the high cliffs above the sea, while he himself defended Terrabil, a thick-walled fort with many gates and secret doors.

  King Uther gathered an army and marched against the duke. He pitched his tents about the Castle Terrabil and laid siege to it. In the assault and fierce defense, many good men were killed, but neither side could gain the advantage until at last Uther fell sick from anger and frustration and from longing for the fair Igraine.

  Then the noble knight Sir Ulfius went to Uther's tent and asked the nature of his illness.

  "I will tell you," said the king. "I am sick from anger and from love and there are no medicines for those."

  "My lord," Sir Ulfius said, "I shall go in search of Merlin the Wizard. That wise and clever man can brew a remedy to make your heart glad." And Sir Ulfius rode out to look for Merlin.

  Now Merlin was a wise and subtle man with strange and secret powers of prophecy and those deceptions of the ordinary and the obvious which are called magic. Merlin knew the winding channels of the human mind, and also he was aware that a simple open man is most receptive when he is mystified, and Merlin delighted in mystery. Therefore, as if by chance, the searching knight Sir Ulfius came upon a ragged beggar in his path who asked him whom he sought.

  The knight was not accustomed to be questioned by such a one, and he did not deign to reply.

  Then the ragged man laughed and said, "There's no need to tell me. I know. You are looking for Merlin. Look no further. I am Merlin."

  "You--? You are a beggar," said Sir Ulfius.

  Merlin chuckled at his joke. "I am also Merlin," he said. "And if King Uther will promise me the reward I wish, I shall give him what his heart desires. And the gift I wish will be more to his honor and profit than to mine."

  Sir Ulfius was wonderstruck and he said, "If this is true and if your demand is reasonable, I can promise that you shall have it."

  "Ride back to the king then; I will follow you as quickly as I can."

  Then Sir Ulfius was glad, and he turned about and put his horse to great speed until he came at last to the tent where Uther lay ill, and he told the king he had found Merlin.

  "Where is he?" the king demanded.

  "My lord," said Ulfius, "he is afoot. He will come as soon as he can," and at that moment he saw that Merlin was already standing in the entrance of the tent, and Merlin smiled, for he took joy in causing wonder.

  Uther saw him and welcomed him and Merlin said brusquely, "Sir, I know every corner of your heart and mind. And if you will swear by your anointed kingship to grant me my wish, you shall have what I know your heart desires."

  And so great was Uther's eagerness that he swore by the four Evangelists to keep his promise.

  Then Merlin said, "Sir, this is my desire. The first time you make love to Igraine she will conceive a child by you. When that child is born it must be given to me to do with as I wish. But I do promise that this will be to your honor and to the child's advantage. Do you agree?"

  "It shall be as you wish," said the king.

  "Then rise and make yourself ready," Merlin said. "This very night you will lie with Igraine in the castle of Tintagel by the sea."

  "How can that be?" the king asked.

  And Merlin said, "By my arts I will cause her to believe that you are the duke, her husband. Sir Ulfius and I will go with you, but we will wear the appearance of two of the duke's trusted knights. I must warn you, though, when you come to the castle, speak as little as possible or you may be discovered. Say that you are weary and ill and get quickly to bed. And, in the morning, mind you do not rise until I come for you. Now make ready, for Tintagel is ten miles from here."

  They prepared themselves and mounted and rode away. But the duke, from the walls of the castle Terrabil, saw King Uther ride away from the siege lines, and knowing the king's forces to be leaderless, he waited until nightfall and then attacked in force from the gates of the castle, and in the fight the duke was killed, a full three hours before the king arrived at Tintagel.

  When Uther and Merlin and Sir Ulfius rode through the starlit darkness toward the sea, the fog moved restlessly over the moors like wispy ghosts in floating clothes. Half-formed mist people crept with them and the forms of riders grew changeable like figures of cloud. When they came to the guarded gates of Tintagel on its high sharp rock above the whispering sea, the sentries saluted the recognized forms of the duke, and Sir Brastias and Sir Jordanus, two of his trusted men. And in the dim passages of the castle the Lady Igraine welcomed her husband and dutifully led him to her chamber. Then King Uther lay with Igraine and that night she conceived a child.

  When daylight came, Merlin appeared as he had promised. And in the misty light Uther kissed the lady Igraine and hastily departed. The sleepy sentries opened the gates to their supposed lord and his retainers and the three rode away into the mist of morning.

  And later, when news came to Igraine that her husband was dead, and had been dead when the form of him came to lie with her, she was troubled and filled with sad wonder. But she was alone now and afraid, and she mourned her lord in private and did not speak of it.

  Now that the duke was dead, the true reason for the war was lost, and the king's barons begged him to make peace with Igraine. The king smiled secretly and let himself be persuaded. He asked Sir Ulfius to arrange a meeting and very soon the lady and the king came together.

  Then Sir Ulfius spoke to the barons in the presence of the king and Igraine. "What can be wrong here?" he said. "Our king is a strong and lusty knight and he is wifeless. My lady Igraine is wise and beautiful"--he paused and then continued--"and free to marry. It would be a joy to all of us if the king would consent to make Igraine his queen."

  Then the barons shouted their agreement and urged the king to make it so. And, like the lusty knight he was, Uther allowed himself to be persuaded, and in all haste and with joy and mirth they were married in the morning.

  Igraine had three daughters by the duke and the wedding fever spread, at Uther's wish and suggestion. King Lot of Lothian and Orkney married the eldest daughter Margawse and King Nentres of Garlot wedded the second daughter, Elaine. Igraine's third daughter, Morgan le Fay, was too young for marriage. S
he was put to school in a nunnery, and there she learned so much of magic and necromancy that she became a mistress of these secret matters.

  Then, within half a year, Queen Igraine grew great with her coming child. And one night, as Uther lay beside her, he tested her truthfulness and her innocence. He asked her by the faith she owed him who was the father of her child and the queen was deeply troubled to answer.

  Uther said, "Do not be dismayed. Only tell me the truth and I shall love you the more for it no matter what it is."

  "Sir," said Igraine, "I will indeed tell you the truth although I do not understand it. On the night when my husband was killed, and after he was dead, if the reports of his knights are true, there came to me in my castle of Tintagel a man exactly like my husband in speech and appearance--and in other ways. And with him came two of his knights known to me: Sir Brastias and Sir Jordanus. And so I went to bed with him as I ought to with my lord. And on that night, I swear unto God, this child was conceived. I am puzzled, my lord, for it cannot have been the duke. And I do not know or understand more than this."

  Then King Uther was glad, for he found his queen truthful. He cried out, "That is the exact truth as you tell it. For it was I myself who came to you in the likeness of your husband. It was arranged by the secret device of Merlin. Therefore, do not be puzzled or frightened any longer, for I am the father of your child."

  And the queen was easier, for she had been deeply troubled by the mystery.

  Not long after this Merlin came to the king saying, "Sir, the time draws near. We must plan for the rearing of your child when it is born."

  "I remember my promise," said Uther. "It shall be as you advise."

  Then Merlin said, "I suggest then one of your lords who is a faithful and an honorable man. His name is Sir Ector and he has lands and castles in many parts of England and Wales. Send for this man to come to you. And if you are satisfied, require of him that he put his own child to nurse with another woman so that his wife may suckle yours. And when your child is born, as you promised, it must be delivered to me, unchristened and unnamed; and I will take it away secretly, to Sir Ector."

  When Sir Ector came to Uther he promised to rear the child, and because of this the king gave him great rewards of lands.

  And when Queen Igraine came to be delivered, the king commanded the knights and two ladies to wrap the child in cloth of gold and to carry him through a little postern gate and give him to a poor man who would be waiting there.

  Thus was the child delivered to Merlin, who carried it to Sir Ector, and his wife nursed the baby at her own breast. Then Merlin brought a holy man to christen the child and it was named Arthur.

  Within two years of the birth of Arthur, a wasting sickness fell on Uther Pendragon. Then, seeing the king helpless, his enemies raided the realm and overthrew his knights and killed many of his people. And Merlin sent to the king and said gruffly, "You do not have the right to lie here in your bed, no matter what your illness. You must go into the field to lead your men, even if you are carried there in a horse litter, for your enemies will never be defeated until you yourself are there. Only then will you win a victory."

  King Uther agreed to this, and his knights carried him out and placed him on a litter between two horses, and in this way he led his army against his enemies. At St. Albans they met a great force of invaders from the north and joined battle. And on that day Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias performed great deeds of arms, and King Uther's men took heart and attacked with fury and killed many of the enemy and put the rest to flight. When it was over the king returned to London to celebrate his victory. But his strength was gone and he fell into a coma, and for three days and nights he was paralyzed and could not speak. His barons were sad and apprehensive and they asked Merlin what they should do.

  Then Merlin said, "Only God has the remedy. But if all of you will come before the king tomorrow in the morning, I shall through the help of God try to make him speak." And in the morning the barons gathered and Merlin approached the bed where the king lay and cried aloud, "Sir, is it your will that your son, Arthur, shall be king when you are dead?"

  Then Uther Pendragon turned and struggled and at last he was able to say in the hearing of all his barons, "I give Arthur God's blessing and mine. I ask that he pray for my soul." Then Uther gathered his strength and he cried, "If Arthur does not rightly and honorably claim the crown of England, he will forfeit my blessing." And with that the king fell back and very soon he died.

  King Uther was interred with all the ceremony proper for a king, and his queen, the fair Igraine, and all his barons mourned for him. His court was filled with sorrow, and for a long time there was no King of England. Then danger arose everywhere, on the borders from outside enemies and within the realm from ambitious lords. The barons surrounded themselves with armed men and many of them wished to take the crown for themselves. In this anarchy no man was safe and the laws were forgotten, so that at last Merlin went to the Archbishop of Canterbury and advised him to issue a call to all the lords and all the gentlemen of arms in the kingdom to gather in London by Christmas on pain of excommunication. It was believed that since Jesus was born on Christmas Eve, He might on that holy night give some miraculous sign who should rightly be king of the realm. When the archbishop's message was sent out to the lords and knights, many of them were moved by the call and purified their lives so that their prayers might be more acceptable to God.

  In the greatest church in London, perhaps St. Paul's, the lords and knights gathered to pray long before dawn. And when matins and first Mass were over, there was seen in the churchyard, in a place nearest the high altar, a great block of marble, and in the marble was set a steel anvil in which a sword was driven. In letters of gold was written:

  WHOEVER PULLS THIS SWORD

  FROM THIS STONE AND ANVIL

  IS KING OF ALL ENGLAND

  BY RIGHT OF BIRTH.

  The people were amazed and carried the news of the miracle to the archbishop, who said, "Go back into the church and pray to God. And let no man touch the sword until High Mass is sung." And this they did, but when the service was over all the lords went to look at the stone and the sword and some tried to draw out the blade, but no one could move it.

  "The man is not here who will draw this sword," said the archbishop, "but do not doubt that God will make him known. Until that happens," he went on, "I suggest that ten knights, men of good fame, be appointed to guard this sword."

  And it was so ordered and further proclaimed that any man who wished might try to release the sword. For New Year's Day a great tournament was planned and this was designed by the archbishop to keep the lords and knights together, for he reckoned that God would at that time make known who should win the sword.

  On New Year's Day, when holy service was over, the knights and barons rode to the field where some would joust--two armored men riding in single combat, each seeking to unhorse his opponent. Others joined the tourney, a military sport wherein chosen groups of armed and mounted men engaged in general melee. By these sports the knights and barons kept themselves hard and practiced for war and also won honor and renown for bravery and expertness with horse, with shield, with lance and sword, for all the barons and the knights were fighting men.

  It happened that Sir Ector, who was the lord of lands nearby to London, rode in for the jousting, and with him came his son Sir Kay, only made a knight at Allhallows of that year, and also young Arthur came, who had been reared in Sir Ector's house and who was Sir Kay's foster brother. As they rode toward the jousting field, Sir Kay discovered that he had forgotten his sword at his father's lodging, and he asked young Arthur to ride back for it.

  "I will do it gladly," said Arthur, and he turned his horse and galloped back to bring his foster brother's sword to him. But when he came to the lodging he found it empty and locked up, for everyone had gone out to see the jousting.

  Then Arthur was angry and he said to himself, "Very well, I will ride to the churchyard and ta
ke the sword that is sticking in the stone there. I do not want my brother, Sir Kay, to be without a sword today."

  When he came to the churchyard, Arthur dismounted and tied his horse to the stile and walked to the tent, and he found no guardian knights there, for they too had gone to the jousting. Then Arthur grasped the sword by its handle and easily and fiercely drew it from the anvil and the stone, and he mounted his horse and rode quickly until he overtook Sir Kay and gave him the sword.

  As soon as Sir Kay saw the sword, he knew it came from the stone and he went quickly to his father and held it out to him. "Sir, look here! I have the sword of the stone and therefore I must be King of England."

  Sir Ector recognized the sword and he called Arthur and Sir Kay to him and all three returned quickly to church. And there Sir Ector made Sir Kay swear how he had got the sword.

  "My brother, Arthur, brought it to me," Sir Kay answered.

  Then Sir Ector turned to Arthur. "And how did you get this sword?"

  Arthur said, "When I rode back for my brother's sword, I found no one at home, so I could not get it. I did not want my brother to be without a sword and so I came here and took the sword from the stone for him."

  "Were there no knights here guarding the sword?" Sir Ector asked.

  "No, sir," said Arthur. "There was no one here."

  Sir Ector was silent for a time and then he said, "I understand now that you must be king of this land."

  "Why should that be?" said Arthur. "For what reason should I be king?"

  "My lord," Sir Ector said, "God has willed that only the man who can draw this sword from this stone shall be the rightful king of this land. Now let me see whether you can put the sword back as it was and then draw it out again."

  "That is not difficult," said Arthur, and he drove the blade into the anvil. Then Sir Ector tried to draw it out and he could not and he told Sir Kay to try. Sir Kay pulled at the sword with all his might and he could not move it.