The Death of King Arthur (21 page)

‘I know your son,' Tristram told him. ‘Sir Persides is a worthy knight.' He had in fact jousted with him once, and had flirted with his lady.

The three of them rode back to the castle, where Tristram was welcomed by young Persides. ‘You are from Cornwall, are you not?' he asked him. ‘I was once in that country. I jousted before King Mark, and was fortunate enough to overthrow ten knights. But then Sir Tristram came against me. Do you know him, by any chance? He tried to take my beloved from me. I will never forget it, or forgive him.'

‘Ah,' Tristram said, ‘I can quite understand why you hate him. Do you think that he will be able to prevail against you?'

‘I know that Sir Tristram is a good knight, and perhaps a far better knight than I will ever be. But he will never be able to win my goodwill.'

They stood talking at a bay window, from which they could see the various knights preparing to take part in the tournament. Tristram observed a knight dressed all in black, riding upon a black charger. ‘What knight is that?' he asked Persides.

‘One of the best knights in the world.'

‘Lancelot?'

‘No. Palomides. The knight who has not yet been christened.' They heard many squires and others salute the man with ‘God save you, Sir Palomides!' and ‘Jesus keep you safe!' A servant came over to Persides, and told him that Palomides had already defeated thirteen challengers.

‘No wonder,' Tristram said, ‘that he is greeted on all sides. Come, sir. Let us put on our light cloaks, and watch the great play.'

‘No,' Sir Persides answered. ‘We should not dress like knaves. We must be arrayed like knights, armed and ready for combat.' So they prepared for the tournament.

When they rode out Palomides recognized Persides, and sent a squire over to him. ‘Go to that knight with the green shield, embossed with a lion of gold, and tell him that I, Palomides, wish to joust with him.' Persides took up the challenge, but was defeated and thrown.

Then Tristram determined upon revenge. But he was not yet ready, and Palomides tossed him from his horse. Tristram recovered quickly, and leaped back on to the horse. He was angry with himself for the fall, and immediately challenged Palomides to further combat.

‘Not at this time,' Palomides replied. ‘If you are still full of anger, you may prove yourself tomorrow at the Castle of Maidens. I will be there, with many other knights.'

‘Then I will have my revenge,' Tristram said to him.

Persides came over to him. ‘You have learned one thing, sir. There is no good knight that does not take a fall. No knight is ever so brave that he may not be beaten.'

Palomides rode to the house of a friend, where he lodged that night. He was too exhausted by his efforts on the field to take his place on the first day of the tournament. Instead he sat with his lord, King Arthur, on a dais and helped to judge the combatants. On that first day, it was Sir Tristram who received the prize for his valour. He fared among his opponents like a greyhound among hares. No one knew who he was. The field of combat was filled with praise for him. The wind carried the voices of the lords and ladies for two miles around, calling out, ‘The knight with the black shield has won the field!'

Yet Tristram had already gone, no man knew where. King Arthur sent ten of his best knights to find him, saying that he was worthy to be part of the Round Table.

But then fortune turned for Sir Tristram. At the tournament that day he had killed two brothers, the sons of Sir Darras. When Darras was told that they had been slain by the knight with the black shield, he went in search of him. He found him in a forest and, with the help of a hundred followers, he caught him and bound him. Then he dispatched him to his prison. In that dark place Tristram fell into sickness. He endured great pain. When a prisoner enjoys good health, he may endure all in hope of release. But when sickness touches his body, he lies bereft of everything. He can only wail and weep. So did Tristram, who suffered so much that he wished to kill himself. Here we must leave him for a while.

Tristram and the Round Table

The knights, riding on Arthur's order to seek out Tristram, travelled to diverse parts of the land. Sir Kay went westward. Sir Gaheris, the nephew of the king, rode straight into Cornwall. He was entertained there at the court of King Mark, and he explained to his host all the events of the tournament. ‘It was the greatest event ever seen in the kingdom,' he said. ‘The noblest knights in the world attended. But there was one knight that excelled over all others. He bore a black shield.'

‘That will be Sir Lancelot,' the king told him. ‘Or else Sir Palomides the Saracen.'

‘Oh no. Both of them were challenged by this knight.'

‘Then it must have been Sir Tristram de Liones.' The king was secretly angered, even as he spoke the name, because he feared that Tristram would become so powerful that he would not be able to withstand him. But the king ordered a royal feast, and among those who attended was Sir Uwain, known as Uwain with the Red Hair. After the feast was over, Uwain challenged all of the knights of Cornwall. No one accepted the challenge until Sir Andred, nephew of the king, stood up. ‘I will meet you in the field,' he said. So he put on his armour and rode out on his horse. Uwain defeated him immediately and left him, half-conscious, on the ground.

King Mark was ashamed that he had no knight to take revenge for Andred. He went over to Sir Gaheris and asked him to fight on his behalf. ‘I am unwilling, sire,' Gaheris replied. ‘I do not want to go out against a knight of the Round Table. But for your sake I will joust with Uwain.'

He rode into the field but Uwain, on seeing Gaheris's shield, rode over to him. ‘You are not permitted to do this,' Uwain told him. ‘When you became a member of the Round Table you swore that you would never raise a spear or sword against any other. You see my shield. You know me, just as I know you. You may be inclined to break your oath, but I will not do so. I do not care if others think that I am afraid of you. I prefer my honour. And you have forgotten something else. Our mothers are sisters.'

And, at that, Gaheris was ashamed and threw down his spear. Uwain rode away but King Mark, still full of wrath, followed him secretly. Before Uwain was aware of it, the king broke through a hedge and fell upon him with his sword. Fortunately Sir Kay was riding by, and saw the injured man.

‘Who has done this to you?' he asked him.

‘I have no notion. A knight came upon me suddenly. That is all I know.'

At this moment Sir Andred rode past, looking for the king. ‘You false knight!' Kay shouted at him. ‘Have you done this? If you are the villain, you will never survive this day!'

‘I did not hurt him, sir,' Andred replied. ‘On my honour.'

‘Honour? You knights of Cornwall are all the same.'

Kay then carried Uwain to the Abbey of the Black Cross, where his wounds were healed.

Meanwhile Sir Gaheris took his leave of King Mark. But before he departed, he gave the king some advice. ‘You should never have sent Sir Tristram into exile,' he said. ‘Had he been here, no knight would have withstood him.' Sir Kay entered the chamber at this moment, and the king made a semblance of welcoming him. Then he turned, and bit his lip. ‘My lords,' he said, ‘I wonder which of you is willing to take on an adventure in the forest of Morris?'

‘I will take up the challenge,' Sir Kay said.

‘I will wait,' Sir Gaheris replied. He did not trust the king, suspecting that he was a treacherous friend. He left the court, but took care to travel on the road that Sir Kay would use. Then he stopped to rest, and stayed there until he saw Sir Kay riding up. He hailed him. ‘You are not wise,' he said, ‘to obey the request of the king. He is deceitful. I know him.'

‘If that is the case,' Sir Kay told him, ‘then I must ask you to accompany me.'

‘I will not fail you.'

They rode for a while until they came to the water known as the Perilous Lake. They made a halt there in a small wood by the shore. Meanwhile King Mark remained at his castle with a few companions who were closest to him. At midnight he called for his nephew, Sir Andred, to arm and prepare himself. When he was ready the two men rode out together, dressed all in black, and made their way to the lake.

Sir Kay saw them first. He took his spear in his hand and issued a challenge. King Mark rode against him, and his spear gleamed in the moonlight. The king had a more powerful horse, and Sir Kay's mount stumbled, throwing him from the saddle.

Sir Gaheris was ready. ‘Knight!' he shouted to the king. ‘Sit fast in your saddle. I am here to avenge my companion.'

King Mark readied his spear, but Gaheris was too strong for him and smote him down. Then Gaheris went for Sir Andred, and unhorsed him. He fell so badly that he might have broken his neck. Gaheris then helped Kay to stand. The two knights took up their swords and confronted their enemy. ‘Get up,' Gaheris said, ‘and surrender. Tell us your names, or you will die.'

Sir Andred spoke first, although he was still in great pain. ‘This man is King Mark of Cornwall,' he said. ‘And I am his nephew Andred.'

‘Treacherous men, both of you. You would do harm to us under the guise of hospitality. It would be a pity if you lived any longer.'

‘Spare me,' the king said, ‘and I will make amends to you. Remember that I am an anointed king.'

‘The more shame to you. When you were anointed with chrism you swore an oath that you would protect all men of worship. You are worthy to die.'

He lashed out with his sword, while the king tried to cover himself with his shield. But it was not enough to save him. The king kneeled down and surrendered; he then swore an oath on the cross of his sword that never again would he ride against any knights. He also promised to be a good and true friend of Tristram, if that knight should ever return to Cornwall. By this time Sir Kay had pinned Sir Andred to the ground, and was about to kill him.

‘Let him be!' Gaheris called out. ‘Spare his life.'

‘Sir, there is no reason to spare him. He betrayed Sir Tristram. He was responsible for sending him into exile.'

‘I have given the king his life. I ask you to do the same for Andred.'

Sir Kay reluctantly let Andred go. Sir Gaheris went over to Kay. ‘Well,' he said, ‘you have learned this, Kay. It is hard to root out from the flesh what is bred in the bone.' By which he meant that a bad king cannot change.

They could not find Tristram, however hard they rode, because he was still closely kept in the prison to which he had been consigned by Sir Darras. Among his fellow prisoners were two knights of the Round Table, Sir Dinadan and Sir Griflet. The prisoners argued among themselves, and often Griflet offended Tristram with his words. ‘I wonder at you, Griflet,' Dinadan said, ‘for stirring up bad feeling. If a wolf and a sheep were in prison together, the wolf would leave the sheep in peace.'

Then Tristram turned to Griflet. ‘I have heard all your bad feelings towards me. But I will not defend myself at this time. I will wait and see what the lord of this place chooses to do with us.'

Griflet was silent, and peace descended upon them. But then a lady entered the place where they lay. ‘My lords,' she said, ‘be of good cheer. I have heard Sir Darras say that your lives are safe.' So they were comforted.

It was at this time that Tristram fell sick, and seemed ready to die. Griflet and Dinadan wept for his plight. When the same lady came to see them, she found them mourning. So she went back to Sir Darras. ‘My lord,' she told him, ‘the knight with the black shield is likely to die.'

‘That cannot be,' he said. ‘I will not allow any good knight to lose his life in my castle. Call the three of them to me.'

When Tristram stood before him, Sir Darras went up to him. ‘Sir knight,' he said, ‘I am sorry for your sickness. I know that you are called a noble knight, and I can see from your countenance that is correct. You have killed two of my sons. That grieved, and still grieves, me. But I will never let it be said that I allowed the death of a knight in my care. So go with your companions. Take your horse and armour. Ride wherever you choose. But I release you on one condition. That you will be a good friend to the two sons who are left to me. And tell me this. What is your name?'

‘I am Tristram of Liones. I was born in Cornwall, and I am nephew of the king there. As for the death of your sons, I could have done nothing other. If they had been my own kin, I could have treated them no differently. If I had killed them out of malice or treachery, I would be worthy of death.'

‘Yes. What you did was according to the code and custom of chivalry. I know that. That is why I could not put you to death. But I beseech you, Sir Tristram, to be a good friend to my surviving sons.'

‘On my oath as a knight,' he said, ‘I will do you faithful service.'

Tristram remained at the castle until he had recovered from his sickness. When he had regained his strength, he and his companions rode out until they came to a crossroad. ‘Now, sirs,' Tristram said, ‘we must separate. Each of us must seek his own destiny.'

He rode on, delighted by his freedom and still eager for adventure. He had the misfortune, however, of entering a castle where Morgan le Fay was lodged. He was shown fine hospitality all that day and night but, on the following morning when he wished to depart, Morgan le Fay stopped him. ‘You must know,' she said, ‘that it will not be easy to depart. You are here as my prisoner.'