The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True

by Gerald Morris

  Sir Gawain nodded. The decision-by-single-combat idea was an ancient tradition, seldom used by that time, but if the king agreed, it might prevent bloodshed. Sir Gawain left Sir Gologras, rode across the drawbridge to where the king was waiting, and delivered his message.

  "Don't do it," counseled several of his knights. "We already have him outnumbered."

  "Perhaps," said the king. "But he's in a castle, and we're out here. Laying siege to a fortress like this is no simple matter. If he has enough food in there, we could be camped out here for months. And a single combat would save lives."

  "I think that's what Sir Gologras was hoping, too," Sir Gawain said. "But isn't there another way to—?"

  But before he could finish, King Arthur was already calling out for the heralds to signal his acceptance of the plan.

  Sir Gawain sighed and dismounted. He was glad there would not be a full-scale war, but even a single combat seemed somehow wrong to him. Then he noticed that the king and his knights were staring at him curiously. "What's the matter?" asked Sir Gawain.

  "What are those?" King Arthur asked, looking at Sir Gawain's feet.

  Sir Gawain looked down at his feet, still wearing Sir Gologras's furry slippers. "A gift from a friend," he replied.

  Chapter 6

  A Fairly Useless Tournament

  All Arthur's knights seemed excited about the single combat the next day. It was just like a tournament, but with an actual purpose and a real prize. A buzz of eager anticipation swept through the camp, but Sir Gawain wanted none of it. He still felt that fighting Sir Gologras was a mistake, but no one else shared his misgivings. He looked for Spinagras, hoping that the dwarf—not being a knight—would understand his doubts, but Spinagras was nowhere to be found.

  At the council that night, King Arthur explained to his knights what everyone had already heard by rumor: that at dawn the next day one champion from the king's camp would face one knight from Sir Gologras. If King Arthur's champion won, then Sir Gologras would swear allegiance to the throne. If Sir Gologras's champion won, then the king would leave him in peace.

  Sir Gandefere the Nearly Undefeated leaped to his feet. "Sire, I request the honor of this battle for myself!"

  King Arthur hesitated, glancing at Sir Gawain. "Er, I had thought—"

  "I shall overcome him!" Sir Gandefere promised. "I am nearly undefeated, after all!"

  "Well, see, that's the thing," King Arthur began. "Perhaps it would be best if—"

  "I think Sir Gandefere would be an excellent choice, sire," Sir Gawain said quietly.

  The king blinked. "You don't think it would be better for you to—"

  "I find that I do not wish to fight Sir Gologras's knight, Your Highness."

  There was a long silence as all King Arthur's companions stared at Sir Gawain. They had never heard him say such a thing before. Then the king closed his eyes and nodded. "Of course. Forgive me, Gawain. In my preoccupation with Sir Gologras's rebellion, I had forgotten that you have other things on your mind."

  Sir Gawain realized that the king was talking about his upcoming meeting with the Green Knight. Oddly enough, Sir Gawain had almost forgotten about that, but he didn't correct the king's mistake. The king could think whatever he wanted, so long as Sir Gawain didn't have to fight the next day.

  So it was decided that Sir Gandefere would represent King Arthur the next morning, and the knights dispersed to their tents to rest before the big day. They were all awake and dressed before dawn, and at the exact moment that the sun showed at the horizon, the great drawbridge lowered from the castle, and a knight on horseback trotted across to the field.

  "I am Sir Goliot the Practically Unconquered, champion of Sir Gologras. Who challenges me?"

  Sir Gandefere was mounted and waiting. "I am Sir Gandefere the Nearly Undefeated, champion of King Arthur, and I challenge you!"

  Without another word, the two knights spurred their horses, lowered their lances, and charged at each other. All the onlookers held their breath, watching. The two mighty warriors came together with a tremendous crash. Both lances splintered into thousands of pieces; both knights were thrown abruptly from their horses; both landed with solid thuds on the turf. Neither moved.

  For several seconds, the watchers remained still. Sir Gawain shook his head slowly, then heard a soft chuckle at his side. Glancing over he saw Spinagras, who had appeared suddenly. "Well, wasn't that useful?" commented the dwarf.

  A knight appeared at the castle gate and began approaching the prone forms of the champions. King Arthur called for Sir Reynold. "Go check on Gandefere, will you?"

  A minute later, Sir Reynold and the knight from the castle had determined that both knights were alive, just knocked out. "What happens now, I wonder?" Sir Gawain muttered to Spinagras. He didn't have to wonder long. Sir Reynold drew his sword and called out in a ringing voice, "I, Sir Reynold the Brave, will take the place of my fallen companion, Sir Gandefere!"

  At once, the knight from the castle drew his own sword and replied, "And I, Sir Regal the Dauntless, will fight for Sir Goliot!" Then the two knights charged each other on foot, swinging their swords. They hacked and slashed and parried for a moment, backed away, then charged again.

  "Shouldn't someone drag Goliot and Gandefere out of the way?" mused Spinagras. "They're rather underfoot."

  For several minutes, Sir Reynold and Sir Regal fought, dancing nimbly around their unconscious companions. Then Sir Regal directed a mighty overhand blow at Sir Reynold. Sir Reynold parried the blow with his own blade, and neither was hurt, but both swords broke at the impact. For a moment, the two knights stared at their blade-less sword hilts; then both drew daggers from their belts and began slashing and stabbing and fighting with the small blades. But daggers aren't designed for cutting through armor. Ten minutes later, both knives were broken.

  Sir Reynold and Sir Regal looked lost for a moment. Then Sir Reynold grasped the edge of his shield and swung it at Sir Regal. Taken by surprise, Sir Regal stumbled backward, tripping over either Goliot or Gandefere. He was up again in a trice, though, bellowing with rage and wielding his own shield as a weapon. For quite a little while, then, they bashed each other with their shields. At last, Sir Regal managed to knock Sir Reynold's shield from his grasp and, stooping quickly, Sir Regal picked it up and threw it like a discus into the castle's moat. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to put down his own shield before throwing, with the result that both shields splashed and sank into the murky water. The two knights watched until the last bubbles had disappeared, then turned to look at each other.

  "Take that!" shouted Sir Reynold, throwing a

  heavy punch at Sir Regal's head. "Owww!" he screamed as his fist bounced harmlessly from Sir Regal's helmet.

  Sensing an advantage, Sir Regal replied at once with his own punch. "Ouch!" Sir Regal shouted, holding his hand. Fists aren't designed for penetrating armor, either.

  The two knights circled each other for a moment, rubbing their bruised hands. Sir Gawain leaned close to Spinagras. "Tell me the truth, friend," he said. "Is all this, um, a little bit stupid?"

  Then Sir Regal seemed to have an idea. Dashing down to the moat, he took up a stone from the water's edge and threw it at Sir Reynold. It bounced harmlessly off Sir Reynold's shoulder. "Hey!" shouted Sir Reynold. Running to the moat he found his own stone and flung it at Sir Regal, but it missed because Sir Regal had already stooped to find another rock. Sir Reynold ran close and kicked water into Sir Regal's face, blinding him. Sir Regal lost the rock he had been about to take up, but he scooped up a handful of sand and gravel and threw it at Sir Reynold. It made a tinkling noise on the iron armor.

  "Stupid?" replied Spinagras. "Maybe a little bit."

  Now both knights were on their knees throwing gravel at each other with both hands as fast as they could. Sir Gawain closed his eyes. "Someone please make it stop," he moaned.

  King Arthur must have been thinking the same thing, because at that moment he strode onto the tournament f
ield and called out firmly, "Enough! Both of you!" The two knights stopped splashing and throwing dirt. "This is no way to settle a dispute!" snapped the king.

  Spinagras snorted softly and muttered, almost too quietly to hear, "But hitting someone with a sword is?"

  Sir Regal spoke, his voice sulky. "All right, then. We'll have another go at it tomorrow, but this time my master, Sir Gologras, will come himself to fight, and Sir Gologras has never been defeated!"

  "Wait!" said Sir Reynold. "We may end this today, after all! Look!" He pointed at Sir Gandefere and Sir Goliot. Both had wakened and were slowly picking themselves up. They shook their heads groggily and looked around. Then they saw each other, let out a bellow of rage in unison, drew their swords as one, and bashed each other on the helmets. Both dropped to the ground like stones and lay there unmoving.

  "Never mind," said Sir Reynold.

  "Until tomorrow, then!" snapped Sir Regal. "You shall see what true knightly power is when you face Sir Gologras the Unconquered!"

  Chapter 7

  Sir Gawain the Once Defeated

  As soon as it became known that Sir Gologras would be representing himself the next day, then Sir Gawain knew he was going to have to fight. Who could King Arthur send to face Sir Gologras the Unconquered but Sir Gawain the Undefeated? Still, Sir Gawain tried to argue.

  "But, sire, I don't want to fight him," he explained. "I like Sir Gologras."

  "I understand, Gawain," the king replied, "but this is for the kingdom. If the people of Britain are ever to live in safety, then all must agree to support one ruler. If I let Sir Gologras refuse to swear loyalty, how can I expect the rest of the people to be true?"

  Sir Gawain sighed. "I know. But isn't there anyone else?"

  At this moment, King Arthur received some surprising support. Spinagras the dwarf had seemed scornful of the day's tournament, but now he spoke up in favor of the next day's battle. "You must send someone, Your Highness, but don't even think about sending anyone but Sir Gawain. Speaking as one who's seen Sir Gologras fight, I can tell you that only your very best knight stands a chance. He's a demon with a sword, he is."

  Sir Gawain frowned at Spinagras, but the dwarf ignored him. King Arthur looked grim, but he only said, "I'm sorry, Gawain. But it has to be you. Be ready at dawn tomorrow."

  "Yes, sire," said Sir Gawain, and true to his word, he was.

  As on the day before, the great castle's drawbridge began to lower just at the crack of dawn, and when it was down, an armed and armored knight rode across to the field beyond. The knight raised his lance in salute. "I am Sir Gologras the Unconquered, here to defend my home and my family tradition. Where is your champion, King Arthur?"

  Sir Gawain rode forward, stopping just in front of Sir Gologras and raising the visor on his helmet. "Here I am. Sir Gawain."

  "Sir Gawain?" repeated Sir Gologras. Sir Gawain nodded. "So," said Sir Gologras, "this is your idea of friendship, is it?"

  "I vowed obedience to my king, who has sent me. I will keep my vow."

  Sir Gologras snorted. "See what comes of all this vow-taking business?"

  "We wouldn't have to do this if you would take one yourself," Sir Gawain suggested. "Just promise never to rebel against the king. It isn't so hard."

  "I have only made one solemn promise in my life," Sir Gologras said.

  Sir Gawain brightened. "You have? You've made one? Then why not make just one more?"

  "Because that solemn promise was to my father, on his deathbed. I promised not to make any more solemn promises."

  "Well, that's not fair!" exclaimed Sir Gawain. "No, really! Promise me not to make any promises? That's cheating! Either you make promises, or you don't!"

  Sir Gologras hesitated. "When you put it that way, it does seem a little irregular. But all the same, do you want me to break that promise?"

  Now Sir Gawain hesitated. "No, I guess not. Just as I won't break my promise to King Arthur." He sighed. "So where does that leave us?"

  "I think we have to fight," Sir Gologras said.

  "Bother," replied Sir Gawain. Then they separated, rode to their positions, pointed their lances, and charged. As had happened the day before with Sir Gandefere and Sir Goliot, both knights' lances splintered, and both knights were thrown from their horses. This time, though, the two knights rose at once and continued the contest with swords.

  As has already been mentioned, detailed accounts of battles are curiously dull to read. To do a fight justice, each attacking sword blow and defending parry must be noted. The problem is that the blow and parry together only take a fraction of a second, but it takes much longer than that to read about them. As a result, the poor readers get left behind. By the time they've finished with that first exchange, the knights have already gone on to have three or even four more. After that, there's no catching up at all, but only falling further and further behind, and so readers lose interest. The same sort of thing happens at school sometimes.

  So, to make a long (and dull) battle story short: The swift and skillful swordplay of Sir Gawain and Sir Gologras was splendid to watch, and all who were privileged to witness their battle knew that they would never again behold such brilliant knightly warriors. The champions went on without slackening their pace for nearly an hour, but after that they slowed down slightly. They would fight a bit, then back away and circle each other, catching their breath and watching for an opening. During one of these circling times, Sir Gologras said, "I can see why you're undefeated, my friend. You really are a splendid swordsman."

  "You, too," Sir Gawain replied, with feeling. "It's an honor to see such skill. After this is all over, you must show me that trick you have of twisting your blade at the parry to drive my sword further off course. I've never seen anything like that."

  "Do you like it? I came up with that myself."

  "You've nearly had me a dozen times with that trick," Sir Gawain said.

  "And what about the way you switch hands?" commented Sir Gologras. "That took me completely by surprise the first time you did it. Do you practice as much with your left hand as with your right?"

  "More, actually," Sir Gawain said.

  "Amazing," replied Sir Gologras. "We must train together after this."

  "Unless one of us is dead."

  The two knights circled in silence for a moment.

  "Yes," Sir Gologras said at last. "Unless one of us is dead."

  They closed again and fought fiercely and brilliantly for several minutes. They each landed several blows on each other, but only on the places that were best protected by their armor. Then they broke apart to circle again.

  "I thought you had me there for a moment," said Sir Gologras as soon as he had his breath. "When

  I slipped just then, I left quite an opening at my neck. I'm surprised you didn't cut off my head."

  "I ... ah ... I thought it might be a trap," Sir Gawain said. "And what about you? When I lunged forward and you stepped aside, you could have brought your sword right down on my back, where my armor's weakest."

  Sir Gologras said nothing for a long moment. At last he murmured, "I ... thought it might be a trap?"

  They circled some more.

  "This is going to go on for a long time, isn't it?" asked Sir Gawain.

  Sir Gologras nodded. "And yet it can't end until one of us wins. When it's over, one of us will no longer be unvanquished."

  "Does that really matter so much?" asked Sir Gawain.

  "That, my friend, is a very good question," replied Sir Gologras slowly. "Ready to go again?"

  "Ready," said Sir Gawain.

  They charged again, and once more the swords flickered and swung and clanged and thudded. The watchers in the field and on the castle walls could scarcely see the blades, so swiftly did they move, but the knights themselves always seemed able to block each thrust or slash. Then Sir Gawain got his chance. Sir Gologras swung a mighty blow, which Sir Gawain parried, but the force of the two swords striking was such that Sir Gawain's right hand
went numb. Realizing that Sir Gologras's sword hand might also be numb, Sir Gawain quickly switched his blade to his left hand and brought the hilt down on Sir Gologras's hand. It worked. Already numb, Sir Gologras lost his grip on his sword. Sir Gawain stepped on it, then laid the edge of his own blade on Sir Gologras's neck.

  "Yield, Sir Gologras," he said.

  Slowly, Sir Gologras sank to his knees and removed his helmet. "I can't yield," he said.

  "What?"

  "If I yield, then I'll have to swear loyalty to the king, and I've promised not to do that."

  "Then what do we do?"

  "You won, Sir Gawain. You'll have to kill me now."

  "I don't want to."

  "Nevertheless, you have to. Go on. Cut off my head."

  "Blister it! Why do people keep asking me to cut off their heads?" exclaimed Sir Gawain, furiously. "I don't like cutting off heads!"

  "Well, I don't see what else we can do."

  Sir Gawain glared at his stubborn friend for a long moment. Then he said, "Unless this is one of your traps."

  "Eh?"

  "You could be kneeling in order to take advantage of me. You know that my right hand is numb and probably can't hold my sword very tightly."

  "You're holding your sword in your left hand," Sir Gologras pointed out.

  Sir Gawain shifted his sword back to his right hand. "As I was saying," he continued, "you could be planning to knock my own sword out of my hand, then shove me back off your sword and get the advantage."

  "Seems like a pretty stupid trap to me," said Sir Gologras.

  "That's what makes it such a good plan. No one would suspect it. You'd take me completely by surprise."

  "Would I?"

  "Yes."

  With one hand, Sir Gologras knocked Sir Gawain's sword from his grasp. With the other he pushed Sir Gawain a step backwards. Grasping his own sword, Sir Gologras rose to his feet and laid the blade on Sir Gawain's neck. "Yield, Sir Gawain."