The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics)

by Sioned Davies

  ‘Well,’ said Peredur, ‘how far from here is the mound you mentioned?’

  ‘I shall list the stages of your journey there, and tell you how far it is. The day you set off from here, you will come to the court of the Sons of the King of Suffering.’

  ‘Why are they called that?’

  ‘A lake monster kills them once each day. When you leave there, you will come to the court of the Countess of the Feats.’

  ‘What feats does she perform?’

  ‘She has a retinue of three hundred men. Every stranger who arrives at court is told of the feats of her retinue. That is why the retinue of three hundred men sit next to the lady, not out of disrespect to the guests, but in order to narrate the feats of her retinue. The night you set off from there you will get as far as the Mound of Mourning, and there, surrounding the mound you will find the owners of three hundred pavilions, guarding the serpent.’

  ‘Since you have been an oppressor for so long, I shall make sure that you will never be so again.’ And Peredur killed him. Then the maiden who had started to talk to him said, ‘If you were poor arriving here, you shall now be rich with the treasure of the black-haired man you have killed. And can you see the many lovely maidens in this court—you may take whichever one you wish.’

  ‘I did not come from my country, lady, to take a wife. But I see fine young men there—let each one of you pair up with another, as you wish. And I do not want any of your wealth—I do not need it.’

  From there Peredur set off, and came to the court of the Sons of the King of Suffering. When he came to the court, he could see only women. The women got up and welcomed him. As they started to talk he could see a horse approaching with a saddle on it, and a corpse in the saddle. One of the women got up and took the corpse from the saddle, and bathed it in a tub of warm water* that was by the door, and applied precious ointment to it. The man got up, alive, and went up to Peredur, and greeted him, and made him welcome. Two other corpses entered on their saddles, and the maiden gave those two the same treatment as the previous one. Then Peredur asked the lord why they were like that. They replied that there was a monster in a cave who killed them every day. And that night they left it at that.

  The next day the young men got up. Peredur asked to be allowed to go with them, for the sake of their lovers. They refused him. ‘If you were killed there, no one could bring you back to life again.’ Then they set off. Peredur followed them; but when they had disappeared so that he could not see them, behold, he came across the fairest woman he had ever seen, sitting on a mound.

  ‘I know where you are going. You are going to fight the monster, but it will kill you. And not because it is brave but because it is cunning. It lives in a cave, and there is a stone pillar at the mouth of the cave, and it can see everyone who enters but no one can see it. And with a poisonous stone spear from the shadow of the pillar it kills everyone. And if you promise to love me more than all women, I will give you a stone so that you will see the monster when you enter, but it will not see you.’

  ‘I promise, by my faith,’ said Peredur. ‘Since I first saw you, I loved you. And where would I search for you?’

  ‘When you search for me, look towards India.’* Then the maiden disappeared, after placing the stone in Peredur’s hand.

  He continued to a river valley, and the edges of the valley were wooded and on each side of the river were flat meadows. On one side of the river he could see a flock of white sheep, and on the other side he could see a flock of black sheep: when one of the white sheep bleated, one of the black sheep would come across and turn white, and when one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would come across and turn black. He could see a tall tree on the riverbank, and one half of it was burning from its roots to its tip, but the other half had fresh leaves on it. Beyond that he could see a squire sitting on top of a mound with two spotted, white-breasted greyhounds on a leash, lying beside him; and he was certain that he had never seen such a royal-looking squire. In the forest facing him he could hear hunting-dogs raising deer. He greeted the squire, and the squire greeted Peredur. And Peredur could see three paths leading away from the mound, two were wide and the third was narrower. And Peredur asked where the three paths went.

  ‘One of these paths goes to my court. And I advise you to do one of two things: either proceed to the court to my wife who is there, or stay here where you will see the hunting-dogs driving the tired deer from the forest to the open ground; and you will see the best greyhounds you have ever seen, and the bravest to face deer, killing them by the water near us. And when it is time for us to go and eat, my servant will bring my horse to meet me, and you will be welcome there tonight.’

  ‘May God repay you. I will not stay but I will be on my way.’

  ‘The second path leads to the town that is close by. You can buy food and drink there. And the path that is narrower than the others goes to the monster’s cave.’

  ‘With your permission, squire, I shall go there.’

  Peredur came to the cave, and took the stone in his left hand and the spear in his right hand. And as he entered he saw the monster and thrust a spear through him and cut off his head. And when he came out of the cave he saw, in the mouth of the cave, the three companions. And they greeted Peredur and said that it had been foretold he would kill that oppressor. Peredur gave the head to the young men, and they offered him his choice of their three sisters as a wife, together with half their kingdom.

  ‘I did not come here to take a wife, but if I wanted a wife perhaps it’s your sister I would choose first.’

  Peredur went on his way. He heard a noise behind him, and he looked behind him, and could see a man on a red horse, dressed in red armour. The man drew level with him and greeted Peredur in the name of God and man. Peredur greeted the young man kindly.

  ‘Lord, I have come to ask you something.’

  ‘What do you want?’ said Peredur.

  ‘Take me as your man.’

  ‘Whom would I be taking as my man, if I were to take you?’

  ‘I will not conceal my identity from you. I am called Edlym Gleddyf Goch,* an earl from the eastern region.’

  ‘I am surprised that you are offering yourself as a man to someone who has no more land than yourself. I too have only an earldom. But since you want to become my man, I will take you gladly.’

  They came to the countess’s court. They were made welcome in the court and were told that it was not out of disrespect to them that they were seated below the retinue, but that it was the custom of the court. For whoever overthrew her retinue of three hundred men would be allowed to eat next to her, and she would love him more than any man. When Peredur had overthrown her retinue of three hundred men and sat down beside her, she said, ‘I thank God for having a young man so fair and brave as you, since I have not had the man I loved best.’

  ‘Who was the man you loved best?’

  ‘By my faith, Edlym Gleddyf Goch was the man I loved best, but I have never seen him.’

  ‘God knows,’ he said, ‘Edlym is my companion, and here he is. And it was for his sake that I came to challenge your retinue. But he could have done it better than I, had he wanted. And I will give you to him.’

  ‘God thank you, fair young man, and I will take the man I love best.’ That night Edlym and the countess slept together.

  The next day Peredur set off for the Mound of Mourning.

  ‘By your hand, lord, I will go with you,’ said Edlym.

  They came to where they could see the Mound and the pavilions.

  ‘Go to those men over there,’ said Peredur to Edlym, ‘and tell them to come and pay homage to me.’ Edlym came to them and said, ‘Come to pay homage to my lord.’

  ‘Who is your lord?’ they said.

  ‘My lord is Peredur Baladr Hir,’* said Edlym.

  ‘If it were lawful to kill a messenger, you would not return to your lord alive for making such an arrogant request of kings and earls and barons to come and pa
y homage to your lord.’

  Edlym returned to Peredur. Peredur told him to go back to them and give them a choice, either to pay homage or fight him. They chose to fight him. And Peredur overthrew the owners of a hundred pavilions that day. The next day he overthrew the owners of another hundred. But the third hundred decided to pay homage to Peredur. He asked them what they were doing there. They said that they were guarding the serpent until it died.

  ‘And then we will fight each other for the stone, and whichever one of us is victorious will get the stone.’

  ‘Wait for me here, I will go and confront the serpent.’

  ‘No, lord,’ they said, ‘we will go together to fight the serpent.’

  ‘No,’ said Peredur, ‘I do not want that. If the serpent were killed, I would get no more praise than any one of you.’ And he went to where the serpent was, and killed it, and returned to them.

  ‘Add up what you have spent since you came here, and I will repay it to you in gold,’ said Peredur. He paid them as much as each one said he was owed, and asked nothing of them save to acknowledge that they were his men.

  And he said to Edlym, ‘You shall go to the woman you love best, and I will go on my way and repay you for becoming my man.’ And then he gave the stone to Edlym.

  ‘May God repay you, and may God speed your journey.’

  Peredur went on his way. He came to a river valley, the fairest he had ever seen, and he could see many pavilions there of different colours. But he was more surprised to see the number of watermills and windmills. A large, auburn-haired man came up to him with the look of a craftsman about him. Peredur asked him who he was.

  ‘I am the head miller over all the mills over there.’

  ‘May I have lodging with you?’ said Peredur.

  ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘gladly.’ He came to the miller’s house, and saw that the miller had a fair and pleasant place. Peredur asked the miller if he could borrow money to buy food and drink for himself and the household, and he would repay him before leaving. He asked the miller why there was such a crowd of people. The miller said to Peredur, ‘It is either one or the other: either you are a man from afar or else you are mad. The empress of great Constantinople is there, and she wants only the bravest man since she has no need of wealth. And it was impossible to carry food to the several thousands that are here, and that is why there are all these mills.’ That night they rested.

  The next day Peredur got up and armed himself and his horse to go to the tournament. He could see a pavilion among the other pavilions, the fairest he had ever seen. And he could see a beautiful maiden craning her head through a window in the pavilion. He had never seen a more beautiful maiden, dressed in a garment of gold brocaded silk. He stared at the maiden and was filled with great love for her. And he gazed at the maiden in this way from morning until midday, and from midday until it was afternoon. By then the tournament had ended. He came to his lodging and he took off his armour and asked the miller if he could borrow money. The miller’s wife was angry with Peredur. But even so the miller lent him money. The next day he did the same as he had done the day before. That night he came to his lodging and borrowed money from the miller. The third day, when he was in the same place gazing at the maiden, he felt a large blow with the handle of an axe between his shoulder and neck. When he looked round at the miller, the miller said to him, ‘Do one of two things,’ said the miller, ‘either turn your head away or go to the tournament.’

  Peredur smiled at the miller and went to the tournament. He overthrew all those he encountered that day. Of those he overthrew, he sent the men as a gift to the empress, and the horses and armour as a gift to the miller’s wife, as a guarantee of the money he had borrowed. Peredur took part in the tournament until he had overthrown everyone. Those he overthrew, he sent the men to the empress’s prison, and the horses and armour to the miller’s wife as a guarantee of the money he had borrowed.

  The empress sent word to the Knight of the Mill asking him to come and see her. But he rejected the first messenger. And the second went to him. And the third time she sent one hundred knights to ask him to come and see her, and unless he came voluntarily they were to take him against his will. They went to him and related their message from the empress. He fought well against them—he had them tied up as one ties a roebuck, and thrown into the mill ditch. And the empress asked the advice of a wise man who was in her council.

  He said to her, ‘I will go to him with your message.’ He came to Peredur and greeted him, and asked him for the sake of his lover to come and see the empress. And Peredur and the miller went. He sat down in the first part of the pavilion to which he came, and she sat down next to him. They talked together for a while. Peredur took his leave and went to his lodging. The next day he went to visit her. When he came to the pavilion there was no part of it less well appointed than the rest, for they did not know where he would sit. Peredur sat next to the empress and talked lovingly. As they were sitting like that, they saw a black-haired man entering, with a golden goblet full of wine in his hand. He went down on his knee before the empress and told her to give it only to the man who would fight him for it. She looked at Peredur.

  ‘Lady,’ he said, ‘give the goblet to me.’ He drank the wine, and gave the goblet to the miller’s wife. Meanwhile, behold, a black-haired man who was bigger than the other, with a wild animal’s claw in his hand shaped like a goblet and full of wine. He presented it to the empress and told her to give it only to the man who would fight him.

  ‘Lady,’ said Peredur, ‘give it to me.’ And she gave it to Peredur. He drank the wine and gave the goblet to the miller’s wife. Meanwhile, behold, a man with red curly hair who was bigger than either of the other men, and a crystal goblet in his hand, full of wine. He went down on his knee and placed it in the empress’s hand and told her to give it only to the man who would fight him for it. And she gave it to

  The next day he armed himself and his horse, and came to the meadow. Peredur killed the three men and then went to the pavilion. The empress said to him, ‘Fair Peredur, remember the promise you made me when I gave you the stone, when you killed the monster.’

  ‘Lady,’ he replied, ‘what you say is true, and I remember it too.’ And Peredur ruled with the empress for fourteen years, according to the story.*

  Arthur was in Caerllion ar Wysg, one of his chief courts, and in the middle of the hall floor sat four men on a mantle of brocaded silk— Owain son of Urien, and Gwalchmai son of Gwyar, and Hywel son of Emyr Llydaw,* and Peredur Baladr Hir. Suddenly they saw a black, curly-haired maiden come in on a yellow mule, with rough reins in her hand urging the mule forward, and a rough, unfriendly look about her. Blacker were her face and her hands than the blackest iron daubed with pitch; and the colour was not the ugliest thing about her, but her shape—high cheeks and a sagging, baggy face, and a snub nose with flaring nostrils, and one eye mottled-green and piercing, and the other black, like jet, sunk deep in her head. Long yellow teeth, yellower than the flowers of the broom, and her belly rising from her breastbone higher than her chin. Her backbone was shaped like a crutch; her hips were broad and bony, but everything from there down was scrawny, except her feet and knees, which were stout.* She greeted Arthur and all his retinue except Peredur; for him she had angry, insolent words.

  ‘Peredur, I will not greet you, for you are not worthy of it. Fate was blind when it gave you talent and fame. When you came to the court of the lame king and when you saw there the young man carrying the sharpened spear, and from the tip of the spear a drop of blood streaming down to the young man’s fist, and you saw other wonders there, too—you did not question their meaning or their cause.* And had you done so, the king would have recovered his health and held his kingdom in peace. But now there is conflict and combat, knights lost and wives left widowed and young girls unprovided for, and all that because of you.’

  And then she said to Arthur, ‘With your permission, lord, my home is far away from here, in the Castle of
Pride—I do not know if you have heard of it. There are sixty-six knights and five hundred ordained knights there,* each with the woman he loves best. And whoever wants to gain fame in arms and combat and conflict will do so there if he deserves it. But whoever wants the ultimate fame and admiration I know where he can get that. There is a castle on a prominent mountain, and in it there’s a maiden, and the castle is under siege. Whoever could set her free would receive the highest praise in the world.’

  And with that she set off. Gwalchmai said, ‘By my faith, I will not sleep in peace until I know whether I can set the maiden free.’ And many of Arthur’s retinue agreed with him. Peredur, however, said otherwise, ‘By my faith, I will not sleep in peace until I know the story and significance of the spear about which the black-haired maiden spoke.’

  As everyone was getting ready, behold, a knight came to the gate, of the size and strength of a warrior, and equipped with horse and armour, and he came forward and greeted Arthur and all his retinue except for Gwalchmai. On the knight’s shoulder there was a gold-chased shield with a cross-piece of blue azure, and all his armour was the same colour as that. He said to Gwalchmai, ‘You killed my lord through your deceit and treachery, and I will prove it to you.’

  Gwalchmai got up. ‘Here is my pledge against you,’ he said, ‘either here or in a place of your choice, that I am neither a deceiver nor a traitor.’

  ‘I want the combat between us to take place in front of my king.’

  ‘Gladly,’ said Gwalchmai. ‘Go on ahead, I will follow you.’

  The knight set off, and Gwalchmai got ready. He was offered many weapons, but he only wanted his own. Gwalchmai and Peredur armed themselves, and rode after him because of their friendship and the extent of their love for each other. But they did not continue together—each went his own way.

  At daybreak Gwalchmai came to a valley,* and in the valley he could see a fort, and a large court inside the fort with very high, splendid turrets around it. And he could see a knight coming out through the gate to hunt on a shiny black, wide-nostrilled, swift-moving palfrey with a pace steady and stately, sure-footed and lively.* He was the man who owned the court. Gwalchmai greeted him.