The Death of King Arthur

by Peter Ackroyd

  ‘Is that so? Then you are in more trouble than I can tell you.’

  They walked on towards the castle, and from its battlements a horn blew. A noble lady approached them. ‘Turn back,’ she said. ‘For the love of God, return to your ship. Otherwise you will meet your death.’

  ‘We will not turn,’ Sir Bors said. ‘The Lord who has guided us here will be our guard. We work in His service.’ As they stood talking ten knights rode towards them, calling out to them to surrender or die.

  ‘We shall not surrender,’ Sir Bors cried, ‘and you shall die!’

  The ten knights attacked them, but Sir Galahad and his companions stood their ground. They knocked three of the knights from their horses and, taking the animals for themselves, rode into the hall of the castle. Here they caused such slaughter that all of the knights of that place lay dead or dying upon the ground. ‘If God had not loved us,’ Sir Bors said, ‘we would not have had the strength to slay so many of them. They must have been great sinners.’

  ‘The vengeance is not ours,’ Sir Galahad replied. ‘It belongs to God. We can take no credit or worship for this feat of arms.’ At that moment a priest came out of a private chamber, holding the Holy Eucharist in a golden chalice. The three knights took off their helmets and kneeled before him. ‘Father,’ Sir Bors said, ‘have no fear of us. We come from the court of King Arthur.’

  The priest looked around him. ‘I see that these men have been suddenly and swiftly killed. God was with you. If you lived as long as the world, you could not achieve so much.’

  Sir Galahad bowed his head. ‘I repent that we have killed so many Christian men.’

  ‘They were not christened,’ the priest told him. ‘I will tell you all I know. The lord of this castle was known as Hernox. He had three sons, all of them knights, and a beautiful daughter. The three brothers were so besotted by their sister that one by one they raped her; when she cried out for help to her father, they killed her. Then they took their father, and consigned him to a cell in this castle. The three brothers then went on a rampage, slaughtering priests and monks; they destroyed churches and chapels, so that the Lord’s service could not be said. I was called to the bedside of the father, the Earl Hernox, and I confessed him. He told me that three servants of the Lord would come to this castle, and destroy the beasts who were once his sons. So it has happened. You have done holy work.’

  ‘You are right, father,’ Galahad said. ‘We would not have slaughtered so many men today if God had not been on our side.’

  They were taken down to the depths of the castle, where they delivered Hernox from his prison. He had seen Sir Galahad in a vision, and he began to weep. ‘I have waited for you a long time,’ he said. ‘For God’s sake hold me in your arms, so that I can depart this life in the embrace of a good man.’

  ‘Willingly, sir.’ And, as Galahad held him, Hernox died peacefully.

  See a vision of holiness

  A voice could be heard in the hall. ‘Sir Galahad, you have been well avenged on God’s enemies. Now you must go into the presence of the Maimed King, who at your hands will receive the balm for his wounds.’

  So the three knights, together with the sister of Sir Percival, continued their journey. They came into a wild wood, where they found a white hart being led gently by four lions. They decided to follow the beasts, in search of a further adventure. They rode a long way until they came into a valley. There was a hermitage here, where a good man dwelled. The white hart and the four lions entered his cell and disappeared from sight. The three knights followed them, and found the hermit saying mass. As he raised the Eucharist the white hart was transformed into a man, while three of the lions were changed into the forms of a man, an eagle and an ox. The fourth lion retained its old form. Then these apparitions went through a narrow window, of which the glass remained unbroken.

  And there came a voice saying, ‘In this manner did God enter the womb of Mary, whose virginity was neither hurt nor disturbed.’

  The four of them fell down, astonished, and saw around them a light brighter than the sun. When they recovered from their swoon, they asked the hermit to explain what they had seen.

  ‘You are all welcome,’ he said. ‘I know that you are the knights who will accomplish the quest for the Holy Grail. You are the ones to whom Our Lord will show great secrets. The hart you saw is a token of Our Saviour himself, whose white skin is a sign of regeneration. So did Our Lord slough off earthly flesh, and take on the bright life of the spirit. The four that were with him – the lion, the ox, the eagle and the man – are symbols of the four evangelists who set down in writing some of the deeds of Jesus Christ. You have been privileged to see the white hart. I doubt that you will see it again.’

  See the death of a virgin

  They heard mass, and left the hermitage on the following morning. Within a few hours they came up to the walls of a castle, where they were accosted by an armed knight. ‘Lords,’ he said to them, ‘tell me about this lady who accompanies you. Is she still a virgin?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘I am a maid.’

  He grabbed her bridle. ‘Then, my lady, you must obey the custom of this castle.’

  ‘Let her go!’ Sir Percival shouted at him. ‘Do you not know that a virgin must remain inviolate?’

  Then ten other knights rode from the castle, together with a noblewoman who carried a basin of silver carved into the shape of a mouth. They cried out in unison that ‘she must carry out the custom of this place’.

  ‘What is the custom?’ Sir Galahad asked them.

  ‘When a virgin comes by us, she must fill this dish with the blood from her right arm.’

  ‘That is barbarous,’ Sir Galahad said. ‘As long as I have breath within me, I will forbid it.’

  ‘God help me,’ Sir Bors added, ‘I would rather be killed than allow it.’

  ‘In that case,’ the knight of the castle said, ‘prepare to die. Even if you were the best knights in the world, you will not prevail against us.’

  The knights of King Arthur raised their swords against them, and of course beat them to the ground and killed them. But then sixty knights rode out from the castle. ‘Go back!’ Galahad called to them. ‘You will not be able to defeat us.’

  ‘Is that so?’ one of them said. ‘Our advice to you is to withdraw. We will permit you to leave, on condition that this lady carries out the custom and gives us her blood.’

  ‘That will not happen,’ Galahad told them.

  ‘So you wish to die, do you?’

  ‘I am not so sure that we will.’ The contest began, with Galahad and his companions maiming and killing all those whom they encountered. They seemed to be monsters rather than men. The fighting continued until nightfall, when a knight came out of the castle. ‘You have done much damage to us,’ he said. ‘But we offer you lodging and hospitality for the night. On our word of honour we promise to keep you from harm. And we hope that, once you have learned of our custom, you will choose to keep it.’

  ‘For the love of God,’ Sir Percival’s sister said, ‘let us go in.’

  They entered the castle, and they were greeted with great admiration. Yet, more than anything, they were curious about the custom.

  ‘We will let you know the truth,’ one of the keepers of the castle told them. ‘There lies within this place a noblewoman, who has been the lady of this castle for a long time. Some years ago she contracted a sickness that grew worse and worse until she fell into a coma. No doctor could cure her, or alleviate her condition, until a holy man came to see her and told us that she would be cured only with the blood of a virgin who was also a king’s daughter. That is why we established the custom.’

  ‘In God’s name,’ Sir Percival’s sister said, ‘this lady is likely to die without my help. I must be bled for her sake.’

  ‘You might die,’ her brother told her.

  ‘If I die to give her life, then I will acquire renown and worship. Better to lose my own life than to be disgraced by co
wardice. There need be no more battles. Tomorrow I will conform to the custom of the castle.’ The three knights accepted her decision, and on the following morning they heard mass. Sir Percival’s sister was then brought before the sick woman. ‘Who will let my blood?’ she asked.

  One of the ladies took her right arm, and made the incision. She bled so easily that the dish was soon full. She blessed the sick woman, and said to her, ‘Madam, I have come to die here in order to save you. For the love of God, pray for my soul.’ And, at that, she fainted. Sir Galahad and Sir Percival lifted her up, but she had lost so much blood that she was unlikely to live. When she awoke from her faint, she whispered to Sir Percival, ‘Fair brother, I am dying. But do not bury my body in this country. Take my corpse into a barge you will find in the port, and then launch me over the waters. When you arrive at the island of Sarras, at the end of your quest for the Holy Grail, you will find the boat moored beneath a great tower. Bury me within the temple of that city. I must tell you the truth. You and Sir Galahad will be buried in the same place.’ Sir Percival wept, but promised to obey his sister.

  There came a voice. ‘Lords, tomorrow at dawn, you three will leave this castle. You will not see one another again until you come before the Maimed King.’

  Sir Percival’s sister asked for communion and, once she had received it, her soul left her body. On that same day the sick lady was anointed with Sir Percival’s sister’s blood and was healed. Sir Percival wrote a letter about the circumstances of his sister’s death and placed it in her right hand; then her corpse was carried to a barge and covered with black silk. The wind arose and carried the barge over the waters, and the three knights watched until it had drifted out of sight. They parted on the following morning.

  Lancelot and Galahad

  It is said, in the old stories, that when Sir Lancelot came to the restless water of Mortaise he felt himself to be in deadly danger. The black waves oppressed his thoughts. He prayed for the guidance of God, and then laid himself down to sleep. And, as he slept, a man came in a vision before him. ‘Arise, Sir Lancelot. Put on your armour. You must embark on the first ship that you see.’ Lancelot awoke, and found himself surrounded by light. He made the sign of the cross, and took up his armour.

  A ship came towards him across the water, without sail or oar, and as soon as he had boarded it he was filled with a sensation of sweetness and grace. ‘Good Jesus,’ he said, ‘this surpasses all other earthly joys.’

  He lay down on the deck, and slept until daybreak. When he awoke he found the body of Sir Percival’s sister, lying upon a beautifully embroidered bed, and in her right hand was the letter that Sir Percival had written about her death. Lancelot travelled with this lady for a month or more. If you ask how he lived, then you must remember the ineffable grace of God who fed the people of Israel with manna when they wandered in the desert. So Lancelot was sustained by the Holy Ghost.

  One night he came to a shore and, for weariness of the ship, he stepped on to the land. All at once he heard the sound of a horse coming towards him. He went back to the ship, and waited. Soon enough a knight rode up, and dismounted with saddle and bridle in his hand. The stranger asked leave to come on board the ship. ‘Sir,’ Lancelot said, ‘you are welcome.’

  ‘What is your name?’ the strange knight asked him. ‘I feel a close sympathy with you.’

  ‘I am Sir Lancelot du Lake.’

  The knight took a step back. ‘You are my begetter in the world. You are my father.’

  ‘You are Galahad? My son?’

  ‘Yes. I am.’

  So the son kneeled down and asked for his father’s blessing. The father blessed the son and the son blessed the father. They kissed one another. They were so joyful that they could hardly speak. But then after a while they began to talk of their various adventures since they had left King Arthur’s court. When Lancelot learned of the marvellous sword and sheath that Galahad had found on the ship, he expressed a great desire to see it. So Galahad drew it, and Lancelot kissed the pommel and scabbard. ‘Truly,’ he said, ‘you have witnessed some high adventures.’

  Lancelot and Galahad remained on that ship for half a year, praising and serving God with their prayers at all times. They ventured many times on deserted islands, far from the lands of men, where they found many strange beasts. Since they were not in quest of the Holy Grail, the old books make no mention of their adventures.

  One day they sailed to land, and came up by the side of a forest. A knight rode before them, wearing white armour and leading a white horse. He saluted the two knights in the name of God, and then called out to Galahad. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘you have been in the company of your father long enough. Come with me in quest of the Holy Grail.’

  Galahad knew that he must obey. He kissed his father gently on the cheek. ‘Fair sweet father,’ he said, ‘I do not know if I will see you before I see the body of Jesus Christ.’

  ‘For the love of God,’ Lancelot said, ‘pray for me in the course of your adventure.’

  Galahad left the ship and mounted the white horse, when a voice came from the sky. ‘Do well, father and son. You will not see each other again before the dreadful day of doom.’

  ‘Do you hear that, my son?’ Lancelot was greatly moved. ‘I pray that we will both be saved.’

  ‘Sir,’ Galahad told him, ‘no prayer is more virtuous than yours. We will meet in paradise. Farewell.’

  Lancelot sees the Grail

  Galahad left him and, with the white knight, entered the forest. Lancelot continued his life at sea; the wind took him wherever it wished, and he spent his days in prayer. There came a time when he arrived at the sea entrance of an ancient castle. There were no guards at the gate, except for two lions who lay beside it in the moonlight. Lancelot heard a voice calling his name. ‘Lancelot, Lancelot, leave this ship and enter the castle. There you will find what you most wish for.’

  He leaped from the ship, taking up his sword to ward off the lions. But a dwarf came from behind a rock and wounded him so badly that he was obliged to drop the sword. A voice came from far off. ‘O man of little faith and less belief. Why do you trust in your sword rather than in your Saviour? He will be of more service to you than any armour.’

  Lancelot fell to his knees. ‘Sweet Father Jesus. Out of Your great mercy You have reproved me for my sins. I hope and pray that I will become one of Your servants.’ He crossed himself, and rose. Putting his sword back into its sheath, he walked towards the lions. They looked threateningly at him, and growled, but he went past them without harm. Then he entered the courtyard of the castle.

  All the doors and gates were open, but the hall was empty. He walked through the passageways, and at last found a chamber where the door was closed. He put his hand to it, but it would not move. He tried hard to undo the door, but stopped when he heard a voice that was not of this earth. It was part of the music of the spheres. And he heard the singing of ‘joy and honour to the Father of Heaven’.

  Lancelot kneeled down before the door. He knew well enough that the Holy Grail was contained within that chamber. ‘If ever I have deserved pity,’ he prayed, ‘oh, sweet Jesus, grant my plea that I may be permitted to see what is behind this door.’

  The door began to open, little by little, and there issued a light that blazed more brilliantly than the brightness of the sun and all the stars. Lancelot stood up, and would have entered; but once more he heard the voice. ‘Lancelot, Lancelot, go no nearer. It is not permitted to you.’ So he stepped back. Yet at the same time he peered into the room. He saw an altar of silver, with the Holy Grail covered in a cloth of red silk threaded with gold; angels were gathered about it, praising God. One of them held a burning candle, while another carried a crucifix. A priest stood before the holy vessel, holding up a young man towards it as if in consecration or sacrifice. But it seemed to Lancelot that the priest would fall to the ground, bearing such a weight. So he went forward to help. ‘Jesus, my Saviour,’ he called out, ‘surely it is no sin to
help a good man in need?’

  He came into the room and advanced towards the altar. But he was surrounded by a wind that burned like fire; he believed that he was being consumed in flame. He fell to the floor, and could not rise from it. He lost all powers of speech, of sight, and of hearing. He felt many hands lifting him up, and taking him out of the holy chamber.

  The next morning he was found, stretched out before the door. One of the servants in the castle felt his pulse, and found the semblance of life still within him. Yet he could not stir. He was carried into a chamber, and placed gently in a bed. He lay there for four days. Some said that he still lived, and others believed him to be already dead. One old man, wiser than most, was sure that he lived. ‘He has as much strength as any of you,’ he said. ‘Make sure that he is well tended until he is fully restored to health.’

  So Lancelot lay, still and silent, for twenty-four days and nights. On the twenty-fifth day, just after dawn, he opened his eyes. When he saw the servants standing around his bed, he cried for sorrow. ‘Why did you wake me? I was more at ease when I was asleep. I have seen such sights, by the grace of Lord Jesus! I have been given access to secrets.’

  ‘What did you see?’ they asked him.

  ‘I have seen marvels that no tongue may tell. If I had not been such a sinner, I would have witnessed more.’

  They told him that he had lain for twenty-four days and nights. ‘That is my punishment,’ he said, ‘for twenty-four years of guilt and sin. My name is Lancelot du Lake. I sought the Grail.’ They asked him how he was. ‘I am whole and healthy, thanks be to God. But tell me this. Where am I?’

  They told him that he lay in the Castle of Corbenic. ‘This castle,’ they said, ‘marks the end of your quest. You have seen the Holy Grail. You will see it no more.’

  The Miracle of Galahad