King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table

by Roger Lancelyn Green

  Book Three

  THE QUEST OF THE HOLY GRAIL

  1

  How the Holy Grail Came to Camelot

  It was the day before the Feast of Pentecost, and the knights were riding in to Camelot from every direction to take their places at the Round Table on the next day. Nearly all of them had arrived in time for the evening service in the great minster, and thereafter they were gathered together for supper in the hall of the castle.

  On a sudden there came a fair lady riding fast on a white horse, and she came before the King and did reverence to him, crying:

  ‘Sire, for God’s sake tell me where is Sir Launcelot!’

  ‘He is yonder,’ answered King Arthur. ‘Look, you can see him!’ Then she went to Sir Launcelot and said:

  ‘Good Sir knight, I require you to come with me into the forest near by.’

  ‘What will you with me?’ asked Sir Launcelot.

  ‘That you shall know when you come thither.’

  ‘Well, I will gladly go with you.’

  And so saying, Sir Launcelot turned to bid farewell to the King and Queen.

  ‘What!’ cried Guinevere, ‘will you leave us now, the night before Pentecost?’

  ‘Madam,’ said the lady, ‘he shall be with you again by dinner time to-morrow, that I promise you.’

  Then they rode away into the forest, and came before long to an abbey; and there Launcelot was welcomed by the monks and nuns, and led into a fair guest chamber where he was unarmed. There he found his two cousins Sir Bors and Sir Lionel who were spending the night there on their way to Camelot, and they rejoiced to be together again.

  While they were talking there came in twelve nuns leading Galahad with them, the fairest, finest youth in all the world.

  ‘Sir,’ said the lady abbess to Launcelot, ‘this boy is of royal lineage, and him we have tended since he was a child; Naciens the hermit of Carbonek has instructed him, and of the use of arms he has learnt also. Now we pray you to make him a knight, for there are no man’s hands more worthy than yours wherefrom he may receive the high Order of Knighthood.’

  ‘That will I do,’ said Sir Launcelot, for he knew now that Galahad was his own son, born in the mysterious Castle of Carbonek.

  All that night Galahad kept his vigil kneeling before the altar in the chapel of the monastery, and in the morning after the early service Launcelot blessed him and made him a knight.

  ‘God make you a good man,’ he said, ‘even as there is none more fair to see in this world than you are. And now, fair Sir Galahad, will you come with me to the Court of King Arthur?’

  ‘Not yet,’ he answered, ‘but soon shall you see me there.’

  So Launcelot rode back to Camelot with Bors and Lionel, and found the whole company gathered about the Round Table in the great hall: and in letters of gold upon each siege was written the name of him who should sit there; and that morning every seat was full except for the Siege Perilous, wherein none might sit and arise from it living save he for whom it was made.

  As Launcelot went to take his place at one side of it, and Percivale on the other, they saw suddenly a new writing grow in letters of gold upon the Siege Perilous:

  FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY AND FOUR YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THIS SIEGE SHOULD BE FILLED.

  ‘It seems to me,’ said Sir Launcelot, after they had all gazed for a little while in silence, ‘that this siege ought to be filled upon this very day. For to-day is the first Pentecost after the four hundred and fifty-four years! But let us cover the Siege Perilous with a silken cloth until he comes whose place it is.’

  When this was done King Arthur bade them all sit down to dinner; but Sir Kay the steward exclaimed:

  ‘Sir, if you go now to your meat you break the old custom of your court, for never before on this day have you sat down to dinner until you have seen some strange adventure.’

  ‘You speak truth,’ said King Arthur, ‘but I marvelled so at the words written upon the Siege Perilous that I did not for the moment think of the old custom.’

  Even while they stood speaking in came a squire and said to the King:

  ‘Sir, I bring you news of a wonder!’

  ‘What is it?’ asked the King.

  ‘Sir,’ answered the squire, ‘there is a great square stone floating upon the river, and in it I saw sticking a bright sword with a handle of gold shaped like a cross.’

  Then the King said: ‘I will see this marvel.’

  So all the knights went with him, and they came across the great meadow beside the castle and found the stone floating by the river bank with the sunlight flashing from the jewels in the hilt of the sword until it circled the cross like a halo. And upon the sword were written these words:

  NEVER SHALL MAN TAKE ME HENCE BUT ONLY HE BY WHOSE SIDE I OUGHT TO HANG, AND HE SHALL BE THE BEST KNIGHT IN THE WORLD.

  When the King read these words he said to Sir Launcelot:

  ‘Fair sir, this sword ought to be yours, for I am sure that you are the best knight in the world.’

  But Sir Launcelot thought upon Queen Guinevere and the shameful love that was between them, and he said quietly:

  ‘Sir, this is not my sword, nor am I worthy to wear it at my side. Evil shall come to any who seeks to draw it knowing that he is not worthy …’

  ‘Now, fair nephew,’ said King Arthur to Sir Gawain, ‘do you try to draw it.’

  ‘Sir,’ answered Gawain, ‘that have I no wish to do.’

  ‘Try to draw it, nevertheless,’ said King Arthur. ‘I command you.’

  ‘Sir, your command I will obey,’ said Gawain. So saying, he took the sword by the handle, but he could not stir it.

  Then Sir Percivale tried also at King Arthur’s wish, but he might not stir it either: and there was no other knight who dared set his hand to it.

  ‘Now may we go to our dinner,’ said Sir Kay, ‘for you have indeed seen a marvellous adventure.’

  So they returned to the hall and sat themselves down, every seat being filled save only the Siege Perilous which was covered with the silken cloth. But they had not put forth their hands to the meal when there came a mighty blast of wind which seemed to shake all the castle, and after it a great stillness.

  ‘Before God, fair friends,’ said King Arthur in a hushed voice, ‘this is a day of marvels: what else we shall see before night, I wonder greatly!’

  Even as he spoke there appeared in the doorway an ancient man with a long white beard leading by the hand a tall young knight, the fairest that any had seen, who was clad all in dark red armour. He had no sword or shield, but an empty scabbard hung at his side: and Launcelot knew that it was his son Sir Galahad and Naciens the ancient hermit of Carbonek.

  ‘Peace be with you all, fair lords,’ cried Naciens; and then to King Arthur he said:

  ‘My lord king, I bring you hither a young knight of royal lineage, the descendant of Joseph of Arimathea. And by this knight the marvels of your court and of the strong realm of Logres shall be fully accomplished.’

  ‘Right welcome are you to my court,’ said King Arthur.

  Then Naciens the hermit led Galahad straight up the hall to the Siege Perilous between Sir Launcelot and Sir Percivale, and drew away the silk cloth. And now all might see that the letters of the morning were there no longer, but in their stead a new inscription:

  THIS IS THE SIEGE OF SIR GALAHAD THE HIGH PRINCE.

  ‘Sir,’ said Naciens, ‘you perceive that this place is yours.’

  Then Galahad sat down in the Siege Perilous, and said: ‘Now, reverend sir, you may go, for your commands have been done. But know that I shall come again to Carbonek, and that before long.’

  So Naciens the hermit departed from amongst them, and all the knights of the Round Table wondered greatly that Sir Galahad sat there unharmed. But Launcelot looked upon his son and smiled proudly.

  ‘Upon pain of my life, this young knight shall achieve great things!’ exclaimed Sir Bors de Gannis.

  When dinne
r was ended King Arthur led Galahad down to the riverside and showed him the sword in the floating stone. ‘Here is as great a marvel as ever I saw,’ said the King. ‘Two of the best knights in the world have tried in vain to draw it forth.’

  ‘Sir,’ said Galahad, ‘that is not strange, for this adventure is not theirs, but mine. See you, I wear a scabbard, but no sword, for I knew that I should find this waiting for me.’

  So saying, he put out his hand, drew the sword easily from the stone, and slid it into the sheath at his side, saying as he did so:

  ‘Now have I the sword that struck the Dolorous Stroke. Once it hung at Sir Balyn’s side, and with it he slew his brother Balan. But Merlin set it thus in the stone that it might come to my hand on the day appointed, and shine there to the glory of God.’

  After that armour and horses were brought, and the knights jousted in the meadow by the river.

  ‘Fair sir,’ said King Arthur to Galahad, ‘let me now give you a shield.’

  ‘Not so,’ answered Sir Galahad, ‘for God will send me a shield at the time appointed.’

  Then he took a spear and jousted with all who came, striking such mighty blows and riding so well and so furiously that none might stand against him, shieldless though he was – no, not even Sir Tristram or Sir Gareth. But with Sir Launcelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Percivale, and Sir Bors he did not joust.

  In the evening King Arthur and his knights rode back towards the castle; and as they went a damsel on a white palfrey came riding towards them. She greeted King Arthur, and asked if Sir Launcelot was there: and he answered himself:

  ‘I am here, fair lady!’

  Then she said, weeping sorely, ‘Ah, Sir Launcelot! You know not how great a change has come upon you this day!’

  ‘Damsel, why say you so?’ he asked.

  ‘Sir,’ she answered, sobbing bitterly, ‘I speak the truth. In the morning of this day you were the best knight in the world. But now a better than you has come into the realm of Logres, and has drawn forth the sword out of the floating stone, as Merlin knew it should be.’

  ‘I knew well that I was never the best,’ said Sir Launcelot.

  ‘Of sinful men you are still the best,’ cried the damsel, ‘but now a better than you is here. Ah, King Arthur, a greater glory shall be yours this day than any king’s ever in the land of Britain. But weep, Sir Launcelot, weep for that which you have lost!’

  So crying, she rode away and was lost in the gathering gloom.

  Silently they went into the great hall and sat down in their places at the Round Table. Then King Arthur looked about him and saw that all the sieges were full, and he remembered the words of Merlin the wise enchanter.

  ‘Lo! now,’ said King Arthur, ‘there sits about this board the fairest company that ever the world shall see. This is the highest hour of this our holy realm of Logres, the hour of the Glory of Logres.’

  Even as he said these words there blew a great wind about the castle and a mighty crash of thunder shook the place; then on a sudden a sunbeam cut through the gloom from end to end of the great hall, seven times more clear than ever man saw on the brightest day of summer; and the glory of God was upon them all. Each knight looked upon one another, and each saw the other fairer than he had ever seemed before: yet none could speak a word, and they sat there at the Round Table as if they had been stricken dumb.

  Then the Holy Grail entered into the hall covered in a cloth of white samite, so filled with glorious light that none might behold it. Nor could they see who carried the Holy Grail, for it seemed to glide upon the sunbeam, passing through the midst of them and filling them with the joy and peace of the fullness of God. Then on a sudden it departed from among them, and none might see where it went: but the sunbeam faded also, and they sat in silence, filled with a great peace. Only Sir Mordred hid his face in his hands, and the hot tears of shame trickled between his fingers.

  Presently King Arthur said, in a hushed voice:

  ‘Surely we ought to thank Our Lord Jesus Christ that He has sent His blessing upon us on this the high Feast of Pentecost.’

  ‘Truly we are blessed above all men,’ said Sir Gawain. ‘Yet surely this day has but shown us that there are greater glories yet to seek after. Even now when the Holy Grail came amongst us, it was so veiled from our sight that we might not see it nor draw near to it. Wherefore I make here a vow that to-morrow morning, without any delay, I shall go forth in quest of the Holy Grail, and never cease until I have achieved that quest – or learnt that I am not worthy to achieve it.’

  When the other knights of the Round Table heard Sir Gawain say this, nearly all of them rose up also and made the same vow.

  ‘Alas,’ cried King Arthur, ‘fair nephew, you have well nigh slain me with that vow: for now you have taken from me the fairest and the truest knighthood that ever was seen together in any realm of the world. For when you all depart from hence, I am sure that never again will this full company be met together here about the Table Round – for many shall die upon that quest. And thinking that, I am sorely grieved, for I have loved you all as well as my life. Moreover I know that hereafter shall come the passing of the realm of Logres, and that the time draws near of that last battle whereof Merlin warned me.’

  In the morning all those knights who were sworn to the great adventure met in the minster and made anew their vows of knighthood. Then in ones and twos they rode away from Camelot, some this way, and some that, in quest of the Holy Grail.

  2

  The First Adventures of Sir Galahad

  By hill and dale, forest and plain, rode Sir Galahad on his way without meeting with any adventure, and on the evening of the fourth day he came to a great abbey. Here he was received kindly by the monks, who unarmed him and led him into the guest-chamber, where he found two other Knights of the Round Table already sitting at supper, King Bagdemagus and Sir Ywain.

  ‘Sirs,’ said Galahad, when he had greeted them, ‘what adventure brought you hither?’

  ‘Sir,’ they answered, ‘we heard tell of a wondrous shield that is kept in this abbey, and that no man can bear it on his arm without meeting with ill-fortune within three days. Yet it is also said that whosoever can bear this shield shall achieve the quest of the Holy Grail.’

  ‘To-morrow,’ said King Bagdemagus, ‘I shall take the shield and try the adventure of it. Wherefore I beg you to remain here three days: for if I be not he who may wear it, the shield shall be returned to this abbey before that time is passed. And I think that if I be not the man, then surely Sir Galahad will not fail’

  ‘Surely I will wait,’ said Galahad, ‘for indeed I require a shield.’

  Next morning they heard mass together, and then King Bagdemagus asked the abbot concerning the shield.

  ‘It is for the best knight only,’ said the abbot, ‘wherefore I counsel you not to touch it.’ Yet he led them behind the altar and showed them the shield, which was polished until it seemed as white as snow all over except for a cross painted red in the middle of it.

  ‘I know well that I am not the best of all knights,’ said King Bagdemagus, ‘but nevertheless I will try to wear it!’ With that he set it on his arm, mounted his horse and rode away into the forest, with his squire following a little way behind him. They had not gone two miles when they came to a fair open valley with a stone hermitage built at one side of it, and King Bagdemagus had scarcely left the cover of the trees when he saw a strange knight clad all in shining white armour come riding out of the forest at the further end with his spear in rest. Then Bagdemagus set his spear in rest also, and the two of them came together like a whirlwind. Straight though Bagdemagus aimed, his spear seemed to hit nothing at all; but the White Knight’s spear struck him through the shoulder where the shield did not cover him, and laid him senseless on the ground.

  ‘This man has done great folly to wear the shield,’ said the White Knight to Bagdemagus’s squire. ‘But take him up gently and return whence you came. Take the shield also, for it belongs to Sir Gala
had the good knight, and to him alone.’

  ‘Sir,’ said the squire, ‘what knight are you, that I may tell Sir Galahad?’

  ‘Take no heed for my name,’ said the White Knight. ‘It is not for you, nor for any man on earth to know it.’

  Then the squire set King Bagdemagus on his horse, hung the shield at the saddle-bow, and led him slowly back to the abbey where he was put to bed and tended long before his wound was healed.

  ‘Sir,’ said the squire to Galahad, ‘the White Knight who overthrew King Bagdemagus sends you greeting, and bade me say that this shield is yours alone and that, wearing it, you shall meet with great adventures.’

  ‘Now blessed be the good fortune that brings this shield to me,’ cried Sir Galahad; and, setting it on his arm, he rode away into the forest.

  Before long he came to the glade by the stone hermitage, and there the White Knight met him suddenly, coming out of the forest like a sunbeam which is not there until the moment it is seen.

  ‘I greet you, sir, in the name of God,’ cried Galahad. ‘Tell me, I pray you, the marvels of this shield I bear.’

  ‘For long has it hung in yonder abbey,’ said the White Knight, ‘waiting there until the holy knight of Logres should come for it: and you are that man. More than four centuries ago that shield was fashioned in the city of Sarras in the Holy Land, and Joseph of Arimathea brought it with him to Britain upon the Enchanted Ship. When he lay dying he drew the cross upon it with his own blood and caused it to be hung behind the altar where you found it this day. Go forward now, Galahad, true Knight of God, for your quest shall prosper!’

  When the White Knight had spoken all these words he turned and rode swiftly away: yet before ever he reached the forest edge he was gone from sight as a sunbeam fades when a cloud passes over the sun.