{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/mart/mart018.htm","path":"neu/mart/mart018.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/mart/mart018.htm","text":"CHAPTER XIX\nHow King Arthur rode to Carlion, and of his dream,\nand how he saw the questing beast.\nTHEN after the departing of King Ban and of King Bors, King\nArthur rode into Carlion. And thither came to him, King Lot's\nwife, of Orkney, in manner of a message, but she was sent thither\nto espy the court of King Arthur; and she came richly beseen,\nwith her four sons, Gawaine, Gaheris, Agravine, and Gareth, with\nmany other knights and ladies. For she was a passing fair lady,\ntherefore the king cast great love unto her, and desired to lie\nby her; so they were agreed, and he begat upon her Mordred, and\nshe was his sister, on his mother's side, Igraine. So there she\nrested her a month, and at the last departed. Then the king\ndreamed a marvellous dream whereof he was sore adread. But all\nthis time King Arthur knew not that King Lot's wife was his\nsister. Thus was the dream of Arthur: Him thought there was\ncome into this land griffins and serpents, and him thought they\nburnt and slew all the people in the land, and then him thought\nhe fought with them, and they did him passing great harm, and\nwounded him full sore, but at the last he slew them. When the\nking awaked, he was passing heavy of his dream, and so to put it\nout of thoughts, he made him ready with many knights to ride a-\nhunting. As soon as he was in the forest the king saw a great\nhart afore him. This hart will I chase, said King Arthur, and so\nhe spurred the horse, and rode after long, and so by fine force\noft he <36>was like to have smitten the hart; whereas the king\nhad chased the hart so long, that his horse lost his breath, and\nfell down dead. Then a yeoman fetched the king another horse.\nSo the king saw the hart enbushed, and his horse dead, he set him\ndown by a fountain, and there he fell in great thoughts. And as\nhe sat so, him thought he heard a noise of hounds, to the sum of\nthirty. And with that the king saw coming toward him the\nstrangest beast that ever he saw or heard of; so the beast went\nto the well and drank, and the noise was in the beast's belly\nlike unto the questing of thirty couple hounds; but all the while\nthe beast drank there was no noise in the beast's belly: and\nthere.with the beast departed with a great noise, whereof the\nking had great marvel. And so he was in a great thought, and\ntherewith he fell asleep. Right so there came a knight afoot\nunto Arthur and said, Knight full of thought and sleepy, tell me\nif thou sawest a strange beast pass this way. Such one saw I,\nsaid King Arthur, that is past two mile; what would ye with the\nbeast? said Arthur. Sir, I have followed that beast long time,\nand killed mine horse, so would God I had another to follow my\nquest. Right so came one with the king's horse, and when the\nknight saw the horse, he prayed the king to give him the horse:\nfor I have followed this quest this twelvemonth, and either I\nshall achieve him, or bleed of the best blood of my body.\nPellinore, that time king, followed the Questing Beast, and after\nhis death Sir Palamides followed it.","title":"Le Morte d'Arthur BOOK I CHAPTER XIX","type":"page"}