{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_19959/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_19959","id":"gutenberg_19959","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19959","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: British Literature","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fantasy","Mythology, Celtic -- Wales","Tales -- Wales","Welsh literature -- 1100-1400 -- Translations into English"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1902 T. Fisher Unwin edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE MABINOGION\n\n\nTRANSLATED FROM THE RED BOOK OF HERGEST BY LADY CHARLOTTE GUEST\nVOL. I.  LONDON\nT. FISHER UNWIN\n11 PATERNOSTER\nBUILDINGS.  MXCII\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nMore than half a century ago Lady Charlotte Guest gave _The Mabinogion_\nto English readers in the form which, probably, will ever most delight\nthem.  Her transcript of the Red Book of Hergest was not perfect, she\nfound the meaning of many a Welsh phrase obscure, but her rendering is\ngenerally very accurate; and the Celtic tales retain in their new dress\nmuch of the charm, which so often evades the translator, of a perfect\nstyle formed by generations of narrating.\n\nThe Red Book of Hergest, from which _The Mabinogion_ are taken, is a\ncollection of tales and poems written during the fourteenth century.  Some\nof the Mabinogion in it have been reconstructed in Norman and Crusading\ntimes, but they contain reminiscences of a more distant period, often but\nhalf understood by the later story-teller.  Among these are \"The Dream of\nRhonabwy,\" \"The Lady of the Fountain,\" and \"Peredur the son of\nEvrawc\"--the three which happen to come first in the Red Book.  These are\nChristian, but with distant glimpses of Celtic heathenism.  The\nadventures are all grouped around Arthur and his knights; and a kind of\nconnection is given to the three tales by the presence of Owen and his\nmysterious ravens.\n\nOthers, especially the four Mabinogion properly so called and the Tale of\nLludd and Llevelys, are far older; they are older than Christianity, and\nolder than Arthur.\n\nIn this new edition of Lady Guest's translation I have put, in the form\nof footnotes, what appears to me to be a more correct or a more literal\nrendering of some of the passages of the Welsh.  This course makes it\nunnecessary to tamper with the charming translation that has become a\nclassic of the English language.\n\nI am very grateful to the Principal and Fellows of Jesus College for\naccess to the Red Book, to Dr J. Gwenogvryn Evans for permission to use\nhis edition and to Lord Wimborne (the Ivor of Lady Guest's dedication)\nfor information kindly given.\n\nOWEN EDWARDS.\n\nLINCOLN COLLEGE,\nOXFORD, 1_st_ _March_ 1902.\n\n\n\n\nTO IVOR AND MERTHYR\n\n\nMY DEAR CHILDREN,\n\nInfants as you yet are, I feel that I cannot dedicate more fitly than to\nyou these venerable relics of ancient lore, and I do so in the hope of\ninciting you to cultivate the Literature of \"Gwyllt Walia,\" in whose\nbeautiful language you are being initiated, and amongst whose free\nmountains you were born.\n\nMay you become early imbued with the chivalric and exalted sense of\nhonour, and the fervent patriotism for which its sons have ever been\ncelebrated.\n\nMay you learn to emulate the noble qualities of Ivor Hael, and the firm\nattachment to your Native Country, which distinguished that Ivor Bach,\nafter whom the elder of you was named.\n\nI am,\nYour affectionate Mother,\nC. E. GUEST.\n\nDOWLAIS, 29_th_ _August_ 1838.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN.\n\n\nKing Arthur {15} was at Caerlleon upon Usk; and one day he sat in his\nchamber; and with him were Owain the son of Urien, and Kynon the son of\nClydno, and Kai the son of Kyner; and Gwenhwyvar and her hand-maidens at\nneedlework by the window.  And if it should be said that there was a\nporter at Arthur's palace, there was none.  Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr was\nthere, acting as porter, to welcome guests and strangers, and to receive\nthem with honour, and to inform them of the manners and customs of the\nCourt; and to direct those who came to the Hall or to the presence\nchamber, and those who came to take up their lodging. {16}\n\nIn the centre of the chamber king Arthur sat, upon a seat of green\nrushes, over which was spread a covering of flame-coloured satin; and a\ncushion of red satin was under his elbow.\n\nThen Arthur spoke, \"If I thought you would not disparage me,\" said he, \"I\nwould sleep while I wait for my repast; and you can entertain one another\nwith relating tales, and can obtain a flagon of mead and some meat from\nKai.\"  And the King went to sleep.  And Kynon the son of Clydno asked Kai\nfor that which Arthur had promised them.  \"I too will have the good tale\nwhich he promised to me,\" said Kai.  \"Nay,\" answered Kynon, \"fairer will\nit be for thee to fulfil Arthur's behest in the first place, and then we\nwill tell thee the best tale that we know.\"  So Kai went to the kitchen\nand to the mead-cellar, and returned, bearing a flagon of mead, and a\ngolden goblet, and a handful of skewers upon which were broiled collops\nof meat.  Then they ate the collops and began to drink the mead.  \"Now\"\nsaid Kai, \"it is time for you to give me my story.\"  \"Kynon,\" said Owain,\n\"do thou pay to Kai the tale that is his due.\"  \"Truly,\" said Kynon,\n\"thou art older, and are a better teller of tales, and hast seen more\nmarvellous things than I; do thou therefore pay Kai his tale.\"  \"Begin\nthyself,\" quoth Owain, \"with the best that thou knowest.\"  \"I will do\nso,\" answered Kynon.\n\n\"I was the only son of my mother and father; and I was exceedingly\naspiring, and my daring was very great.  I thought there was no\nenterprise in the world too mighty for me, and after I had achieved all\nthe adventures that were in my own country, {17a} I equipped myself, and\nset forth to journey through deserts, and distant regions.  And at length\nit chanced that I came to the fairest valley in the world, wherein were\ntrees of equal growth; and a river ran through the valley, and a path was\nby the side of the river.  And I followed the path until mid-day, and\ncontinued my journey along the remainder of the valley until the evening;\nand at the extremity of a plain I came to a large and lustrous Castle, at\nthe foot of which was a torrent.  And I approached the Castle, and there\nI beheld two youths, with yellow curling hair, each with a frontlet of\ngold upon his head, and clad in a garment of yellow satin; and they had\ngold clasps upon their insteps.  In the hand of each of them was an ivory\nbow, strung with the sinews of the stag; and their arrows had their\nshafts of the bone of the whale, and were winged with peacock's feathers.\nThe shafts also had golden heads.  And they had daggers with blades of\ngold, and with hilts of the bone of the whale.  And they were shooting\ntheir daggers.\n\n\"And a little way from them, I saw a man {17b} in the prime of life, with\nhis beard newly shorn, clad in a robe and a mantle of yellow satin; and\nround the top of his mantle was a band of gold lace.  On his feet were\nshoes of variegated leather, fastened by two bosses of gold.  When I saw\nhim, I went towards him and saluted him; and such was his courtesy, that\nhe no sooner received my greeting than he returned it. {18a}  And he went\nwith me towards the Castle.  Now there were no dwellers in the Castle,\nexcept those who were in one hall.  And there I saw four and twenty\ndamsels, embroidering satin, at a window.  And this I tell thee, Kai,\nthat {18b} the least fair of them was fairer than the fairest maid thou\ndidst ever behold, in the Island of Britain; and the least lovely of them\nwas more lovely than Gwenhwyvar, the wife of Arthur, when she appeared\nloveliest at the Offering, on the day of the Nativity, or at the feast of\nEaster. {18c}  They rose up at my coming, and six of them took my horse,\nand divested me of my armour; and six others took my arms, and washed\nthem in a vessel, until they were perfectly bright.  And the third six\nspread cloths upon the tables, and prepared meat.  And the fourth six\ntook off my soiled garments, and placed others upon me; namely, an under\nvest and a doublet of fine linen, and a robe, and a surcoat, and a mantle\nof yellow satin, and a broad gold band upon the mantle.  And they placed\ncushions both beneath and around me, with coverings of red linen.  And I\nsat down.  Now the six maidens who had taken my horse, unharnessed him,\nas well as if they had been the best Squires in the Island of Britain.\nThen, behold, they brought bowls of silver wherein was water to wash; and\ntowels of linen, some green and some white; and I washed.  And in a\nlittle while the man sat down to the table. {19a}  And I sat next to him,\nand below me sat all the maidens, except those who waited on us.  And the\ntable was of silver; and the cloths upon the table were of linen.  And no\nvessel was served upon the table that was not either of gold, or of\nsilver, or of buffalo horn.  And our meat was brought to us.  And verily,\nKai, I saw there every sort of meat, and every sort of liquor, that I\never saw elsewhere; but the meat and the liquors were better served\nthere, than I ever saw them in any other place.\n\n\"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of the\ndamsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived that it\nwould be more agreeable to me to converse than to eat any more, he began\nto enquire of me who I was.  I said I was glad to find that there was\nsome one who would discourse with me, and that it was not considered so\ngreat a crime at that Court, for people to hold converse together.\n'Chieftain,' said the man, 'we would have talked to thee sooner, but we\nfeared to disturb thee during thy repast.  Now, however, we will\ndiscourse.'  Then I told the man who I was, and what was the cause of my\njourney.  And said that I was seeking whether any one was superior to me,\nor whether I could gain the mastery over all.  The man looked upon me,\nand he smiled, and said, 'If I did not fear to distress thee too much,\n{19b} I would shew thee that which thou seekest.'  Upon this I became\nanxious and sorrowful; and when the man perceived it, he said, 'If thou\nwouldst rather that I should shew thee thy disadvantage, than thine\nadvantage, I will do so.  Sleep here to-night, and in the morning, arise\nearly, and take the road upwards through the valley, until thou reachest\nthe wood, through which thou camest hither.  A little way within the\nwood, thou wilt meet with a road, branching off to the right; by which\nthou must proceed, until thou comest to a large sheltered glade, with a\nmound in the centre.  And thou wilt see a black man of great stature, on\nthe top of the mound; he is not smaller in size than two of the men of\nthis world.  He has but one foot, and one eye, in the middle of his\nforehead.  And he has a club of iron, and it is certain that there are no\ntwo men in the world, who would not find their burden in that club.  And\nhe is not a comely man, but on the contrary he is exceedingly ill\nfavoured; and he is the woodward of that wood.  And thou wilt see a\nthousand wild animals, grazing around him.  Enquire of him the way out of\nthe glade, and he will reply to thee briefly, {20} and will point out the\nroad, by which thou shalt find that which thou art in quest of.'\n\n\"And long seemed the night to me.  And the next morning I arose, and\nequipped myself, and mounted my horse, and proceeded straight through the\nvalley, to the wood, and I followed the crossroad which the man had\npointed out to me, till at length I arrived at the glade.  And there was\nI three times more astonished at the number of wild animals that I\nbeheld, than the man had said I should be.  And the black man was there,\nsitting upon the top of the mound.  Huge of stature as the man had told\nme that he was, I found him to exceed by far the description he had given\nme of him.  As for the iron club, which the man had told me was a burden\nfor two men, I am certain, Kai, that it would be a heavy weight for four\nwarriors to lift.  And this was in the black man's hand.  And he only\nspoke to me in answer to my questions. {21a}  Then I asked him what power\nhe held over those animals.  'I will shew thee, little man,' said he.  And\nhe took his club in his hand, and with it he struck a stag a great blow,\nso that he brayed vehemently, and at his braying, the animals came\ntogether, as numerous as the stars in the sky, so that it was difficult\nfor me to find room in the glade, to stand among them.  There were\nserpents, and dragons, and divers sorts of animals.  And he looked at\nthem, and bade them go and feed.  And they bowed their heads, and did him\nhomage, as vassals to their lord.\n\n\"Then the black man said to me, 'Seest thou now, little man, what power I\nhold over these animals?'  Then I enquired of him the way; and he became\nvery rough in his manner to me; however he asked me whither I would go.\nAnd when I had told him who I was, and what I sought, he directed me.\n'Take,' said he, 'that path that leads towards the head of the glade, and\nascend the wooded steep, until thou comest to its summit; and there thou\nwilt find an open space, like to a large valley, and in the midst of it a\ntall tree, whose branches are greener than the greenest pine trees.  Under\nthis tree is a fountain, and by the side of the fountain, a marble slab,\nand on the marble slab a silver bowl, attached by a chain of silver, so\nthat it may not be carried away. {21b}  Take the bowl, and throw a\nbowlful of water upon the slab, and thou wilt hear a mighty peal of\nthunder; so that thou wilt think that heaven and earth are trembling with\nits fury.  With the thunder there will come a shower so severe, that it\nwill be scarcely possible for thee to endure it and live.  And the shower\nwill be of hailstones.  And after the shower, the weather will become\nfair; but every leaf that was upon the tree will have been carried away\nby the shower.  Then a flight of birds will come and alight upon the\ntree; and in thine own country thou didst never hear a strain so sweet,\nas that which they will sing.  And at the moment thou art most delighted\nwith the song of the birds, thou wilt hear a murmuring and complaining\ncoming towards thee along the valley.  And thou wilt see a knight upon a\ncoal black horse, clothed in black velvet, and with a pennon of black\nlinen upon his lance, and he will ride unto thee to encounter thee, with\nthe utmost speed.  If thou fleest from him he will overtake thee, and if\nthou abidest there, as sure as thou art a mounted knight, he will leave\nthee on foot.  And if thou dost not find trouble in that adventure, thou\nneedst not seek it during the rest of thy life.'\n\n\"So I journeyed on, until I reached the summit of the steep.  And there I\nfound every thing, as the black man had described it to me.  And I went\nup to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and by its side the\nmarble slab; and the silver bowl, fastened by the chain.  Then I took the\nbowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the slab; and thereupon behold the\nthunder came, much more violent than the black man had led me to expect;\nand after the thunder came the shower; and of a truth I tell thee, Kai,\nthat there is neither man nor beast that could endure that shower and\nlive.  For not one of those hailstones would be stopped either by the\nflesh, or by the skin, until it had reached the bone.  I turned my\nhorse's flanks towards the shower, and placed the beak of my shield over\nhis head and neck, while I held the upper part of it over my own head.\nAnd thus I withstood the shower.  When I looked on the tree, there was\nnot a single leaf upon it, and then the sky became clear; and with that,\nbehold the birds lighted upon the tree, and sang.  And truly, Kai, I\nnever heard any melody equal to that, either before or since.  And when I\nwas most charmed with listening to the birds, lo, a murmuring voice was\nheard through the valley, approaching me, and saying, 'Oh, Knight, what\nhas brought thee hither?  What evil have I done to thee, that thou\nshouldest act towards me and my possessions, as thou hast this day?  Dost\nthou not know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man\nnor beast alive, that was exposed to it?'  And thereupon, behold a Knight\non a black horse appeared, clothed in jet black velvet, and with a tabard\nof black linen about him.  And we charged each other; and as the onset\nwas furious, it was not long before I was overthrown.  Then the Knight\npassed the shaft of his lance through the bridle rein of my horse, and\nrode off with the two horses; leaving me where I was.  And he did not\neven bestow so much notice upon me, as to imprison me, nor did he despoil\nme of my arms.  So I returned along the road by which I had come.  And\nwhen I reached the glade where the black man was, I confess to thee, Kai,\nit is a marvel that I did not melt down into a liquid pool, through the\nshame that I felt at the black man's derision.  And that night I came to\nthe same Castle, where I had spent the night preceding.  And I was more\nagreeably entertained that night, than I had been the night before; and I\nwas better feasted, and I conversed freely with the inmates of the\nCastle; and none of them alluded to my expedition to the fountain,\nneither did I mention it to any.  And I remained there that night.  When\nI arose on the morrow, I found ready saddled a dark-bay palfrey, with\nnostrils as red as scarlet.  And after putting on my armour, and leaving\nthere my blessing, I returned to my own Court.  And that horse I still\npossess, and he is in the stable yonder.  And I declare that I would not\npart with him for the best palfrey in the Island of Britain.\n\n\"Now of a truth, Kai, no man ever before confessed to an adventure so\nmuch to his own discredit; and verily it seems strange to me, that\nneither before nor since have I heard of any person, besides myself, who\nknew of this adventure, and that the subject of it should exist within\nKing Arthur's dominions, without any other person lighting upon it.\"\n\n\"Now,\" quoth Owain, \"would it not be well to go and endeavour to discover\nthat place?\"\n\n\"By the hand of my friend,\" said Kai, \"often dost thou utter that with\nthy tongue, which thou wouldest not make good with thy deeds.\"\n\n\"In very truth,\" said Gwenhwyvar, \"it were better thou wert hanged, Kai,\nthan to use such uncourteous speech towards a man like Owain.\"\n\n\"By the hand of my friend, good Lady,\" said Kai, \"thy praise of Owain is\nnot greater than mine.\"\n\nWith that Arthur awoke, and asked if he had not been sleeping a little.\n\n\"Yes, Lord,\" answered Owain, \"thou hast slept awhile.\"\n\n\"Is it time for us to go to meat?\"\n\n\"It is, Lord,\" said Owain.\n\nThen the horn for washing was sounded, and the King and all his household\nsat down to eat.  And when the meal was ended, Owain withdrew to his\nlodging, and made ready his horse and his arms.\n\nOn the morrow, with the dawn of day, he put on his armour, and mounted\nhis charger, and travelled through distant lands, and over desert\nmountains.  And at length he arrived at the valley which Kynon had\ndescribed to him; and he was certain that it was the same that he sought.\nAnd journeying along the valley, by the side of the river, he followed\nits course till he came to the plain, and within sight of the Castle.\nWhen he approached the Castle, he saw the youths shooting their daggers,\nin the place where Kynon had seen them; and the yellow man, to whom the\nCastle belonged, standing hard by.  And no sooner had Owain saluted the\nyellow man, than he was saluted by him in return.\n\nAnd he went forward towards the Castle, and there he saw the chamber; and\nwhen he had entered the chamber, he beheld the maidens working at satin\nembroidery, in chairs of gold.  And their beauty, and their comeliness\nseemed to Owain far greater than Kynon had represented to him.  And they\narose to wait upon Owain, as they had done to Kynon.  And the meal which\nthey set before him, gave more satisfaction to Owain than it had done to\nKynon.\n\nAbout the middle of the repast the yellow man asked Owain the object of\nhis journey.  And Owain made it known to him, and said, \"I am in quest of\nthe Knight who guards the fountain.\"  Upon this, the yellow man smiled,\nand said that he was as loth to point out that adventure to Owain as he\nhad been to Kynon.  However he described the whole to Owain, and they\nretired to rest.\n\nThe next morning Owain found his horse made ready for him by the damsels,\nand he set forward and came to the glade where the black man was.  And\nthe stature of the black man seemed more wonderful to Owain, than it had\ndone to Kynon, and Owain asked of him his road, and he showed it to him.\nAnd Owain followed the road, as Kynon had done, till he came to the green\ntree; and he beheld the fountain, and the slab beside the fountain with\nthe bowl upon it.  And Owain took the bowl, and threw a bowlful of water\nupon the slab.  And lo, the thunder was heard, and after the thunder came\nthe shower, much more violent than Kynon had described, and after the\nshower, the sky became bright.  And when Owain looked at the tree, there\nwas not one leaf upon it.  And immediately the birds came, and settled\nupon the tree, and sang.  And when their song was most pleasing to Owain,\nhe beheld a Knight coming towards him through the valley, and he prepared\nto receive him; and encountered him violently.  Having broken both their\nlances, they drew their swords, and fought blade to blade.  Then Owain\nstruck the Knight a blow through his helmet, head piece and visor, and\nthrough the skin, and the flesh, and the bone, until it wounded the very\nbrain.  Then the black Knight felt that he had received a mortal wound,\nupon which he turned his horse's head, and fled.  And Owain pursued him,\nand followed close upon him, although he was not near enough to strike\nhim with his sword.  Thereupon Owain descried a vast and resplendent\nCastle.  And they came to the Castle gate.  And the black Knight was\nallowed to enter, and the portcullis was let fall upon Owain; and it\nstruck his horse behind the saddle, and cut him in two, and carried away\nthe rowels of the spurs that were upon Owain's heels.  And the portcullis\ndescended to the floor.  And the rowels of the spurs and part of the\nhorse were without, and Owain, with the other part of the horse remained\nbetween the two gates, and the inner gate was closed, so that Owain could\nnot go thence; and Owain was in a perplexing situation.  And while he was\nin this state, he could see through an aperture in the gate, a street\nfacing him, with a row of houses on each side.  And he beheld a maiden,\nwith yellow curling hair, and a frontlet of gold upon her head; and she\nwas clad in a dress of yellow satin, and on her feet were shoes of\nvariegated leather.  And she approached the gate, and desired that it\nshould be opened.  \"Heaven knows, Lady,\" said Owain, \"it is no more\npossible for me to open to thee from hence, than it is for thee to set me\nfree.\"  \"Truly,\" said the damsel, \"it is very sad that thou canst not be\nreleased, and every woman ought to succour thee, for I never saw one more\nfaithful in the service of ladies than thou.  As a friend thou art the\nmost sincere, and as a lover the most devoted.  Therefore,\" quoth she,\n\"whatever is in my power to do for thy release, I will do it.  Take this\nring and put it on thy finger, with the stone inside thy hand; and close\nthy hand upon the stone.  And as long as thou concealest it, it will\nconceal thee.  When they have consulted together, they will come forth to\nfetch thee, in order to put thee to death; {27} and they will be much\ngrieved that they cannot find thee.  And I will await thee on the\nhorseblock yonder; and thou wilt be able to see me, though I cannot see\nthee; therefore come and place thy hand upon my shoulder, that I may know\nthat thou art near me.  And by the way that I go hence, do thou accompany\nme.\"\n\nThen she went away from Owain, and he did all that the maiden had told\nhim.  And the people of the Castle came to seek Owain, to put him to\ndeath, and when they found nothing but the half of his horse, they were\nsorely grieved.\n\nAnd Owain vanished from among them, and went to the maiden, and placed\nhis hand upon her shoulder, whereupon she set off, and Owain followed\nher, until they came to the door of a large and beautiful chamber, and\nthe maiden opened it, and they went in, and closed the door.  And Owain\nlooked around the chamber, and behold there was not even a single nail in\nit, that was not painted with gorgeous colours; and there was not a\nsingle panel, that had not sundry images {28} in gold portrayed upon it.\n\nThe maiden kindled a fire, and took water in a silver bowl, and put a\ntowel of white linen on her shoulder, and gave Owain water to wash.  Then\nshe placed before him a silver table, inlaid with gold; upon which was a\ncloth of yellow linen; and she brought him food.  And of a truth, Owain\nnever saw any kind of meat that was not there in abundance, but it was\nbetter cooked there, than he ever found it in any other place.  Nor did\nhe ever see so excellent a display of meat and drink as there.  And there\nwas not one vessel from which he was served, that was not of gold, or of\nsilver.  And Owain ate and drank, until late in the afternoon, when lo,\nthey heard a mighty clamour in the Castle; and Owain asked the maiden\nwhat that outcry was.  \"They are administering extreme unction,\" said\nshe, \"to the Nobleman who owns the Castle.\"  And Owain went to sleep.\n\nThe couch which the maiden had prepared for him was meet for Arthur\nhimself; it was of scarlet, and fur, and satin, and sendall, and fine\nlinen.  In the middle of the night they heard a woeful outcry.  \"What\noutcry again is this?\" said Owain.  \"The Nobleman who owned the Castle is\nnow dead,\" said the maiden.  And a little after daybreak, they heard an\nexceeding loud clamour and wailing.  And Owain asked the maiden what was\nthe cause of it.  \"They are bearing to the church, the body of the\nNobleman who owned the Castle.\"\n\nAnd Owain rose up, and clothed himself, and opened a window of the\nchamber, and looked towards the Castle; and he could see neither the\nbounds, nor the extent of the hosts that filled the streets.  And they\nwere fully armed; and a vast number of women were with them, both on\nhorseback, and on foot; and all the ecclesiastics in the city, singing.\nAnd it seemed to Owain that the sky resounded with the vehemence of their\ncries, and with the noise of the trumpets, and with the singing of the\necclesiastics. {29a}  In the midst of the throng, he beheld the bier,\nover which was a veil of white linen; and wax tapers were burning beside,\nand around it, and none that supported the bier was lower in rank than a\npowerful {29b} Baron.\n\nNever did Owain see an assemblage so gorgeous with satin, and silk, and\nsendall.  And following the train, he beheld a lady with yellow hair\nfalling over her shoulders, and stained with blood; and about her a dress\nof yellow satin, which was torn.  Upon her feet were shoes of variegated\nleather.  And it was a marvel that the ends of her fingers were not\nbruised, from the violence with which she smote her hands together.  Truly\nshe would have been the fairest lady Owain ever saw, had she been in her\nusual guise.  And her cry was louder than the shout of the men, or the\nclamour of the trumpets. {30}  No sooner had he beheld the lady, than he\nbecame inflamed with her love, so that it took entire possession of him.\n\nThen he enquired of the maiden who the lady was.  \"Heaven knows,\" replied\nthe maiden, \"she may be said to be the fairest, and the most chaste, and\nthe most liberal, and the wisest, and the most noble of women.  And she\nis my mistress; and she is called the Countess of the Fountain, the wife\nof him whom thou didst slay yesterday.\"  \"Verily,\" said Owain, \"she is\nthe woman that I love best.\"  \"Verily,\" said the maiden, \"she shall also\nlove thee not a little.\"\n\nAnd with that the maid arose, and kindled a fire, and filled a pot with\nwater, and placed it to warm; and she brought a towel of white linen, and\nplaced it around Owain's neck; and she took a goblet of ivory, and a\nsilver basin, and filled them with warm water, wherewith she washed\nOwain's head.  Then she opened a wooden casket, and drew forth a razor,\nwhose haft was of ivory, and upon which were two rivets of gold.  And she\nshaved his beard, and she dried his head, and his throat, with the towel.\nThen she rose up from before Owain, and brought him to eat.  And truly\nOwain had never so good a meal, nor was he ever so well served.\n\nWhen he had finished his repast, the maiden arranged his couch.  \"Come\nhere,\" said she, \"and sleep, and I will go and woo for thee.\"  And Owain\nwent to sleep, and the maiden shut the door of the chamber after her, and\nwent towards the Castle.  When she came there, she found nothing but\nmourning, and sorrow; and the Countess in her chamber could not bear the\nsight of any one through grief.  Luned came and saluted her, but the\nCountess answered her not.  And the maiden bent down towards her, and\nsaid, \"What aileth thee, that thou answerest no one to-day?\"  \"Luned,\"\nsaid the Countess, \"what change hath befallen thee, that thou hast not\ncome to visit me in my grief?  It was wrong in thee, and I having made\nthee rich; it was wrong in thee that thou didst not come to see me in my\ndistress.  That was wrong in thee.\"  \"Truly,\" said Luned, \"I thought thy\ngood sense was greater than I find it to be.  Is it well for thee to\nmourn after that good man, or for anything else, that thou canst not\nhave?\"  \"I declare to heaven,\" said the Countess, \"that in the whole\nworld there is not a man equal to him.\"  \"Not so,\" said Luned, \"for an\nugly man would be as good as, or better than he.\" {31}  \"I declare to\nheaven,\" said the Countess, \"that were it not repugnant to me to cause to\nbe put to death one whom I have brought up, I would have thee executed,\nfor making such a comparison to me.  As it is, I will banish thee.\"  \"I\nam glad,\" said Luned, \"that thou hast no other cause to do so, than that\nI would have been of service to thee when thou didst not know what was to\nthine advantage.  And henceforth evil betide whichever of us shall make\nthe first advance towards reconciliation to the other; whether I should\nseek an invitation from thee, or thou of thine own accord shouldest seek\nto invite me.\"\n\nWith that Luned went forth; and the Countess arose and followed her to\nthe door of the chamber, and began coughing loudly.  And when Luned\nlooked back, the Countess beckoned to her; and she returned to the\nCountess.  \"In truth,\" said the Countess, \"evil is thy disposition; but\nif thou knowest what is to my advantage, declare it to me.\"  \"I will do\nso,\" quoth she.\n\n\"Thou knowest that except by warfare and arms it is impossible for thee\nto preserve thy possessions; delay not, therefore, to seek some one who\ncan defend them.\"  \"And how can I do that?\" said the Countess.  \"I will\ntell thee,\" said Luned, \"unless thou canst defend the fountain, thou\ncanst not maintain thy dominions; and no one can defend the fountain,\nexcept it be a knight of Arthur's household; and I will go to Arthur's\ncourt, and ill betide me, if I return thence without a warrior who can\nguard the fountain, as well as, or even better than, he who defended it\nformerly.\"  \"That will be hard to perform,\" said the Countess.  \"Go,\nhowever, and make proof of that which thou hast promised.\"\n\nLuned set out, under the pretence of going to Arthur's court; but she\nwent back to the chamber where she had left Owain; and she tarried there\nwith him as long as it might have taken her to have travelled to the\nCourt of King Arthur.  And at the end of that time, she apparelled\nherself, and went to visit the Countess.  And the Countess was much\nrejoiced when she saw her, and enquired what news she brought from the\nCourt.  \"I bring thee the best of news,\" said Luned, \"for I have\ncompassed the object of my mission.  When wilt thou, that I should\npresent to thee the chieftain who has come with me hither?\"  \"Bring him\nhere to visit me to-morrow, at mid-day,\" said the Countess, \"and I will\ncause the town to be assembled by that time.\"\n\nAnd Luned returned home.  And the next day, at noon, Owain arrayed\nhimself in a coat, and a surcoat, and a mantle of yellow satin, upon\nwhich was a broad band of gold lace; and on his feet were high shoes of\nvariegated leather, which were fastened by golden clasps, in the form of\nlions.  And they proceeded to the chamber of the Countess.\n\nRight glad was the Countess of their coming.  And she gazed steadfastly\nupon Owain, and said, \"Luned, this knight has not the look of a\ntraveller.\"  \"What harm is there in that, Lady?\" said Luned.  \"I am\ncertain,\" said the Countess, \"that no other man than this, chased the\nsoul from the body of my lord.\"  \"So much the better for thee, Lady,\"\nsaid Luned, \"for had he not been stronger than thy lord, he could not\nhave deprived him of life.  There is no remedy for that which is past, be\nit as it may.\"  \"Go back to thine abode,\" said the Countess, \"and I will\ntake counsel.\"\n\nThe next day, the Countess caused all her subjects to assemble, and\nshewed them that her Earldom was left defenceless, and that it could not\nbe protected but with horse and arms, and military skill.  \"Therefore,\"\nsaid she, \"this is what I offer for your choice: either let one of you\ntake me, or give your consent for me to take a husband from elsewhere, to\ndefend my dominions.\"\n\nSo they came to the determination, that it was better that she should\nhave permission to marry some one from elsewhere; and thereupon she sent\nfor the Bishops and Archbishops, to celebrate her nuptials with Owain.\nAnd the men of the Earldom did Owain homage.\n\nAnd Owain defended the Fountain with lance and sword.  And this is the\nmanner in which he defended it.  Whensoever a knight came there, he\noverthrew him, and sold him for his full worth.  And what he thus gained,\nhe divided among his Barons, and his Knights; and no man in the whole\nworld could be more beloved than he was by his subjects.  And it was thus\nfor the space of three years.\n\nIt befell that as Gwalchmai went forth one day with King Arthur, he\nperceived him to be very sad and sorrowful.  And Gwalchmai was much\ngrieved to see Arthur in this state; and he questioned him, saying, \"Oh\nmy Lord! what has befallen thee?\"  \"In sooth, Gwalchmai,\" said Arthur, \"I\nam grieved concerning Owain, whom I have lost these three years; and I\nshall certainly die, if the fourth year passes without my seeing him.  Now\nI am sure, that it is through the tale which Kynon the son of Clydno\nrelated, that I have lost Owain.\"  \"There is no need for thee,\" said\nGwalchmai, \"to summon to arms thy whole dominions, on that account; for\nthou thyself, and the men of thy household, will be able to avenge Owain,\nif he be slain; or to set him free, if he be in prison; and if alive, to\nbring him back with thee.\"  And it was settled, according to what\nGwalchmai had said.\n\nThen Arthur and the men of his household prepared to go and seek Owain;\nand their number was three thousand, beside their attendants.  And Kynon\nthe son of Clydno acted as their guide.  And Arthur came to the Castle,\nwhere Kynon had been before.  And when he came there the youths were\nshooting in the same place, and the yellow man was standing hard by.  When\nthe yellow man saw Arthur, he greeted him, and invited him to the Castle.\nAnd Arthur accepted his invitation, and they entered the Castle together.\nAnd great as was the number of his retinue, their presence was scarcely\nobserved in the Castle, so vast was its extent.  And the maidens rose up\nto wait on them.  And the service of the maidens appeared to them all to\nexcel any attendance they had ever met with; and even the pages who had\ncharge of the horses, were no worse served, that night, than Arthur\nhimself would have been, in his own Palace.\n\nThe next morning, Arthur set out thence, with Kynon for his guide, and\ncame to the place where the black man was.  And the stature of the black\nman was more surprising to Arthur, than it had been represented to him.\nAnd they came to the top of the wooded steep, and traversed the valley,\ntill they reached the green tree; where they saw the fountain, and the\nbowl and the slab.  And upon that, Kai came to Arthur, and spoke to him.\n\"My Lord,\" said he, \"I know the meaning of all this, and my request is,\nthat thou wilt permit me to throw the water on the slab, and to receive\nthe first advantage that may befall.\"  And Arthur gave him leave.\n\nThen Kai threw a bowlful of water upon the slab, and immediately there\ncame the thunder, and after the thunder the shower.  And such a\nthunderstorm they had never known before.  And many of the attendants who\nwere in Arthur's train were killed by the shower.  After the shower had\nceased, the sky became clear.  And on looking at the tree, they beheld it\ncompletely leafless.  Then the birds descended upon the tree.  And the\nsong of the birds was far sweeter than any strain they had ever heard\nbefore.  Then they beheld a Knight, on a coal-black horse, clothed in\nblack satin, coming rapidly towards them.  And Kai met him and\nencountered him, and it was not long before Kai was overthrown.  And the\nKnight withdrew. {36}  And Arthur and his host encamped for the night.\n\nAnd when they arose in the morning, they perceived the signal of combat\nupon the lance of the Knight; and Kai came to Arthur, and spoke to him.\n\"My Lord,\" said he, \"though I was overthrown yesterday, if it seem good\nto thee, I would gladly meet the Knight again to-day.\"  \"Thou mayst do\nso,\" said Arthur.  And Kai went towards the Knight.  And on the spot he\noverthrew Kai, {37a} and struck him with the head of his lance in the\nforehead, so that it broke his helmet and the headpiece, and pierced the\nskin, and the flesh, the breadth of the spearhead, even to the bone.  And\nKai returned to his companions.\n\nAfter this, all the household of Arthur went forth, one after the other,\nto combat the Knight, until there was not one that was not overthrown by\nhim, except Arthur and Gwalchmai.  And Arthur armed himself to encounter\nthe Knight.  \"Oh, my lord,\" said Gwalchmai, \"permit me to fight with him\nfirst.\"  And Arthur permitted him.  And he went forth to meet the Knight,\nhaving over himself and his horse, a satin robe of honour which had been\nsent him by the daughter of the Earl of Rhangyw, and in this dress he was\nnot known by any of the host.  And they charged each other, and fought\nall that day until the evening.  And neither of them was able to unhorse\nthe other.\n\nThe next day they fought with strong lances; and neither of them could\nobtain the mastery.\n\nAnd the third day they fought with exceeding strong lances.  And they\nwere increased with rage, and fought furiously, even until noon.  And\nthey gave each other such a shock, that the girths of their horses were\nbroken, so that they fell over their horses' cruppers to the ground.  And\nthey rose up speedily, and drew their swords, and resumed the combat.\n{37b}  And the multitude that witnessed the encounter felt assured that\nthey had never before seen two men so valiant, or so powerful.  And had\nit been midnight, it would have been light from the fire that flashed\nfrom their weapons.  And the Knight gave Gwalchmai a blow that turned his\nhelmet from off his face, so that the Knight knew that it was Gwalchmai.\nThen Owain said, \"My lord Gwalchmai, I did not know thee for my cousin,\nowing to the robe of honour, that enveloped thee; take my sword and my\narms.\"  Said Gwalchmai, \"Thou, Owain, art the victor; take thou my\nsword.\"  And with that Arthur saw that they were conversing, and advanced\ntowards them.  \"My lord Arthur,\" said Gwalchmai, \"here is Owain, who has\nvanquished me, and will not take my arms.\"  \"My lord,\" said Owain, \"it is\nhe that has vanquished me, and he will not take my sword.\"  \"Give me your\nswords,\" said Arthur, \"and then neither of you has vanquished the other.\"\nThen Owain put his arms around Arthur's neck, and they embraced.  And all\nthe host hurried forward to see Owain, and to embrace him.  And there was\nnigh being a loss of life, so great was the press.\n\nAnd they retired that night, and the next day Arthur prepared to depart.\n\"My lord,\" said Owain, \"this is not well of thee.  For I have been absent\nfrom thee these three years, {38} and during all that time, up to this\nvery day, I have been preparing a banquet for thee, knowing that thou\nwouldest come to seek me.  Tarry with me therefore, until thou and thy\nattendants have recovered the fatigues of the journey, and have been\nanointed.\"\n\nAnd they all proceeded to the Castle of the Countess of the Fountain, and\nthe banquet which had been three years preparing was consumed in three\nmonths.  Never had they a more delicious or agreeable banquet.  And\nArthur prepared to depart.  Then he sent an embassy to the Countess, to\nbeseech her to permit Owain to go with him, for the space of three\nmonths, that he might shew him to the nobles, and the fair dames of the\nIsland of Britain.  And the Countess gave her consent, although it was\nvery painful to her.  So Owain came with Arthur to the Island of Britain.\nAnd when he was once more amongst his kindred and friends, he remained\nthree years, instead of three months, with them.\n\n* * * * *\n\nAnd as Owain one day sat at meat, in the City of Caerlleon upon Usk,\nbehold a damsel entered, upon a bay horse, with a curling mane, and\ncovered with foam; and the bridle, and as much as was seen of the saddle,\nwere of gold.  And the damsel was arrayed in a dress of yellow satin.  And\nshe went up to Owain, and took the ring from off his hand.  \"Thus,\" said\nshe, \"shall be treated the deceiver, the traitor, the faithless, the\ndisgraced, and the beardless.\" {39}  And she turned her horse's head, and\ndeparted.\n\nThen his adventure came to Owain's remembrance, and he was sorrowful.  And\nhaving finished eating, he went to his own abode, and made preparations\nthat night.  And the next day he arose, but did not go to the Court, but\nwandered to the distant parts of the earth, and to uncultivated\nmountains.  And he remained there until all his apparel was worn out, and\nhis body was wasted away, and his hair was grown long.  And he went about\nwith the wild beasts, and fed with them, until they became familiar with\nhim.  But at length he grew so weak, that he could no longer bear them\ncompany.  Then he descended from the mountains to the valley, and came to\na park, that was the fairest in the world, and belonged to a widowed\nCountess.\n\nOne day the Countess and her maidens went forth to walk by a lake, that\nwas in the middle of the park.  And they saw the form of a man.  And they\nwere terrified.  Nevertheless they went near him, and touched him, and\nlooked at him.  And they saw that there was life in him, though he was\nexhausted by the heat of the sun.  And the Countess returned to the\nCastle, and took a flask full of precious ointment, and gave it to one of\nher maidens.  \"Go with this,\" said she, \"and take with thee yonder horse,\nand clothing, and place them near the man we saw just now.  And anoint\nhim with this balsam, near his heart; and if there is life in him, he\nwill arise, through the efficacy of this balsam.  Then watch what he will\ndo.\"\n\nAnd the maiden departed from her, and poured the whole of the balsam upon\nOwain, and left the horse and the garments hard by, and went a little way\noff, and hid herself, to watch him.  In a short time she saw him begin to\nmove his arms; and he arose up, and looked at his person, and became\nashamed of the unseemliness of his appearance.  Then he perceived the\nhorse and the garments, that were near him.  And he crept forward till he\nwas able to draw the garments to him from off the saddle.  And he clothed\nhimself, and with difficulty mounted the horse.  Then the damsel\ndiscovered herself to him, and saluted him.  And he was rejoiced when he\nsaw her, and enquired of her, what land and what territory that was.\n\"Truly,\" said the maiden, \"a widowed Countess owns yonder Castle; at the\ndeath of her husband, he left her two Earldoms, but at this day she has\nbut this one dwelling that has not been wrested from her, by a young\nEarl, who is her neighbour, because she refused to become his wife.\"\n\"That is pity,\" said Owain.  And he and the maiden proceeded to the\nCastle; and he alighted there, and the maiden conducted him to a pleasant\nchamber, and kindled a fire, and left him.\n\nAnd the maiden came to the Countess, and gave the flask into her hand.\n\"Ha! maiden,\" said the Countess, \"where is all the balsam?\"  \"Have I not\nused it all?\" said she.  \"Oh, maiden,\" said the Countess, \"I cannot\neasily forgive thee this; it is sad for me to have wasted seven-score\npounds' worth of precious ointment, upon a stranger whom I know not.\nHowever, maiden, wait thou upon him, until he is quite recovered.\"\n\nAnd the maiden did so, and furnished him with meat and drink, and fire,\nand lodging, and medicaments, until he was well again.  And in three\nmonths he was restored to his former guise, and became even more comely,\nthan he had ever been before.\n\nOne day Owain heard a great tumult, and a sound of arms in the Castle,\nand he enquired of the maiden the cause thereof.  \"The Earl,\" said she,\n\"whom I mentioned to thee, has come before the Castle, with a numerous\narmy, to subdue the Countess.\"  And Owain enquired of her whether the\nCountess had a horse and arms, in her possession.  \"She has the best in\nthe world,\" said the maiden.  \"Wilt thou go and request the loan of a\nhorse and arms for me,\" said Owain, \"that I may go and look at this\narmy?\"  \"I will,\" said the maiden.\n\nAnd she came to the Countess, and told her what Owain had said.  And the\nCountess laughed.  \"Truly,\" said she, \"I will even give him a horse and\narms, for ever; such a horse and such arms, had he never yet, and I am\nglad that they should be taken by him to-day, lest my enemies should have\nthem against my will to-morrow.  Yet I know not what he would do with\nthem.\"\n\nThe Countess bade them bring out a beautiful black steed, upon which was\na beechen saddle, and a suit of armour, for man and horse.  And Owain\narmed himself, and mounted the horse, and went forth, attended by two\npages completely equipped, with horses and arms.  And when they came near\nto the Earl's army, they could see neither its extent, nor its extremity.\nAnd Owain asked the pages in which troop the Earl was.  \"In yonder\ntroop,\" said they, \"in which are four yellow standards.  Two of them are\nbefore, and two behind him.\"  \"Now,\" said Owain, \"do you return and await\nme near the portal of the Castle.\"  So they returned, and Owain pressed\nforward, until he met the Earl.  And Owain drew him completely out of his\nsaddle, and turned his horse's head towards the Castle, and, though it\nwas with difficulty, he brought the Earl to the portal, where the pages\nawaited him.  And in they came.  And Owain presented the Earl as a gift\nto the Countess.  And said to her, \"Behold a requittal to thee for thy\nblessed balsam.\"\n\nThe army encamped around the Castle.  And the Earl restored to the\nCountess the two Earldoms, he had taken from her, as a ransom for his\nlife; and for his freedom, he gave her the half of his own dominions, and\nall his gold, and his silver, and his jewels, besides hostages.\n\nAnd Owain took his departure.  And the Countess and all her subjects\nbesought him to remain, but Owain chose rather to wander through distant\nlands and deserts.\n\nAnd as he journeyed, he heard a loud yelling in a wood.  And it was\nrepeated a second and a third time.  And Owain went towards the spot, and\nbehold a huge craggy mound, in the middle of the wood; on the side of\nwhich was a grey rock.  And there was a cleft in the rock, and a serpent\nwas within the cleft.  And near the rock, stood a black lion, and every\ntime the lion sought to go thence, the serpent darted towards him to\nattack him.  And Owain unsheathed his sword, and drew near to the rock;\nand as the serpent sprung out, he struck him with his sword, and cut him\nin two.  And he dried his sword, and went on his way, as before.  But\nbehold the lion followed him, and played about him, as though it had been\na greyhound, that he had reared.\n\nThey proceeded thus throughout the day, until the evening.  And when it\nwas time for Owain to take his rest, he dismounted, and turned his horse\nloose in a flat and wooded meadow.  And he struck fire, and when the fire\nwas kindled, the lion brought him fuel enough to last for three nights.\nAnd the lion disappeared.  And presently the lion returned, bearing a\nfine large roebuck.  And he threw it down before Owain, who went towards\nthe fire with it.\n\nAnd Owain took the roebuck, and skinned it, and placed collops of its\nflesh upon skewers, around the fire.  The rest of the buck he gave to the\nlion to devour.  While he was doing this, he heard a deep sigh near him,\nand a second, and a third.  And Owain called out to know whether the sigh\nhe heard proceeded from a mortal; and he received answer, that it did.\n\"Who art thou?\" said Owain.  \"Truly,\" said the voice, \"I am Luned, the\nhand-maiden of the Countess of the Fountain.\"  \"And what dost thou here?\"\nsaid Owain.  \"I am imprisoned,\" said she, \"on account of the knight who\ncame from Arthur's Court, and married the Countess.  And he staid a short\ntime with her, but he afterwards departed for the Court of Arthur, and he\nhas not returned since.  And he was the friend I loved best in the world.\nAnd two of the pages of the Countess's chamber, traduced him, and called\nhim a deceiver.  And I told them that they two were not a match for him\nalone.  So they imprisoned me in the stone vault, and said that I should\nbe put to death, unless he came himself, to deliver me, by a certain day;\nand that is no further off, than the day after to-morrow.  And I have no\none to send to seek him for me.  And his name is Owain the son of Urien.\"\n\"And art thou certain, that if that knight knew all this, he would come\nto thy rescue?\"  \"I am most certain of it,\" said she.\n\nWhen the collops were cooked, Owain divided them into two parts, between\nhimself and the maiden; and after they had eaten, they talked together\nuntil the day dawned.  And the next morning Owain enquired of the damsel,\nif there was any place where he could get food and entertainment for that\nnight.  \"There is, lord,\" said she; \"cross over yonder, and go along the\nside of the river, and in a short time, thou wilt see a great Castle, in\nwhich are many towers.  And the Earl who owns that Castle, is the most\nhospitable man in the world.  There thou mayest spend the night.\"\n\nNever did sentinel keep stricter watch over his lord, than the lion that\nnight over Owain.\n\nAnd Owain accoutred his horse, and passed across by the ford, and came in\nthe sight of the Castle.  And he entered it, and was honourably received.\nAnd his horse was well cared for, and plenty of fodder was placed before\nhim.  Then the lion went and laid down in the horse's manger; so that\nnone of the people of the Castle dared to approach him.  The treatment\nwhich Owain met with there, was such as he had never known elsewhere, for\nevery one was as sorrowful, as though death had been upon him. {45}  And\nthey went to meat.  And the Earl sat upon one side of Owain; and on the\nother side his only daughter.  And Owain had never seen any more lovely\nthan she.  Then the lion came and placed himself between Owain's feet,\nand he fed him with every kind of food, that he took himself.  And he\nnever saw any thing equal to the sadness of the people.\n\nIn the middle of the repast, the Earl began to bid Owain welcome.  \"Then,\"\nsaid Owain, \"behold it is time for thee to be cheerful.\"  \"Heaven knows,\"\nsaid the Earl, \"that it is not thy coming that makes us sorrowful, but we\nhave cause enough for sadness and care.\"  \"What is that?\" said Owain.  \"I\nhave two sons,\" replied the Earl, \"and yesterday they went to the\nmountains to hunt.  Now there is on the mountain a monster, who kills men\nand devours them.  And he seized my sons.  And to-morrow is the time he\nhas fixed to be here, and he threatens that he will then slay my sons\nbefore my eyes, unless I will deliver into his hands this my daughter.\n{46a}  He has the form of a man, but in stature he is no less than a\ngiant.\"\n\n\"Truly,\" said Owain, \"that is lamentable.  And which wilt thou do?\"\n\"Heaven knows,\" said the Earl, \"it will be better that my sons should be\nslain, against my will, than I should voluntarily give up my daughter to\nhim to ill-treat and destroy.\"  Then they talked about other things, and\nOwain staid there that night.\n\nThe next morning, they heard an exceeding great clamour, which was caused\nby the coming of the giant, with the two youths.  And the Earl was\nanxious both to protect his Castle, and to release his two sons. {46b}\nThen Owain put on his armour, and went forth to encounter the giant; and\nthe lion followed him.  And when the giant saw that Owain was armed, he\nrushed towards him, and attacked him.  And the lion fought with the\ngiant, much more fiercely than Owain did.\n\n\"Truly,\" said the giant, \"I should find no difficulty in fighting with\nthee, were it not for the animal that is with thee.\"  Upon that Owain\ntook the lion back to the Castle, and shut the gate upon him.  And then\nhe returned to fight the giant, as before.  And the lion roared very\nloud, for he heard that it went hard with Owain.  And he climbed up, till\nhe reached the top of the Earl's Hall; and thence he got to the top of\nthe Castle, and he sprang down from the walls, and went and joined Owain.\nAnd the lion gave the giant a stroke with his paw, which tore him from\nhis shoulder to his hip, and his heart was laid bare.  And the giant fell\ndown dead.  Then Owain restored the two youths to their father.\n\nThe Earl besought Owain to remain with him, and he would not, but set\nforward towards the meadow, where Luned was.  And when he came there, he\nsaw a great fire kindled, and two youths with beautiful curling auburn\nhair, were leading the maiden to cast her into the fire.  And Owain asked\nthem what charge they had against her.  And they told him of the compact\n{47} that was between them; as the maiden had done the night before.\n\"And,\" said they, \"Owain has failed her, therefore we are taking her to\nbe burnt.\"  \"Truly,\" said Owain, \"he is a good knight, and if he knew\nthat the maiden was in such peril, I marvel that he came not to her\nrescue.  But if you will accept me in his stead, I will do battle with\nyou.\"  \"We will,\" said the youths, \"by him who made us.\"\n\nAnd they attacked Owain, and he was hard beset by them.  And with that\nthe lion came to Owain's assistance; and they two got the better of the\nyoung men.  And they said to him, \"Chieftain, it was not agreed that we\nshould fight, save with thyself alone, and it is harder for us to contend\nwith yonder animal, than with thee.\"  And Owain put the lion in the place\nwhere the maiden had been imprisoned, and blocked up the door with\nstones.  And he went to fight with the young men as before.  But Owain\nhad not his usual strength, {48} and the two youths pressed hard upon\nhim.  And the lion roared incessantly at seeing Owain in trouble.  And he\nburst through the wall, until he found a way out, and rushed upon the\nyoung men, and instantly slew them.  So Luned was saved from being\nburned.\n\nThen Owain returned with Luned, to the dominions of the Countess of the\nFountain.  And when he went thence, he took the Countess with him to\nArthur's Court, and she was his wife as long as she lived.\n\nAnd they took the road that led to the Court of the savage black man.  And\nOwain fought with him, and the lion did not quit Owain, until he had\nvanquished him.  And when he reached the Court of the savage black man,\nhe entered the hall: and beheld four and twenty ladies, the fairest that\ncould be seen.  And the garments which they had on, were not worth four\nand twenty pence.  And they were as sorrowful as death.  And Owain asked\nthem the cause of their sadness.  And they said, \"We are the daughters of\nEarls, and we all came here, with our husbands, whom we dearly loved.  And\nwe were received with honour and rejoicing.  And we were thrown into a\nstate of stupor, and while we were thus, the demon who owns this Castle,\nslew all our husbands, and took from us our horses, and our raiment, and\nour gold, and our silver.  And the corpses of our husbands are still in\nthis house, and many others with them.  And this, Chieftain, is the cause\nof our grief, and we are sorry that thou art come hither, lest harm\nshould befall thee.\"\n\nAnd Owain was grieved, when he heard this.  And he went forth from the\nCastle, and he beheld a Knight approaching him, who saluted him, in a\nfriendly and cheerful manner, as if he had been a brother.  And this was\nthe savage black man.  \"In very sooth,\" said Owain, \"it is not to seek\nthy friendship that I am here.\"  \"In sooth,\" said he, \"thou shalt not\nfind it then.\"  And with that they charged each other, and fought\nfuriously.  And Owain overcame him, and bound his hands behind his back.\nThen the black savage besought Owain to spare his life, and spoke thus,\n\"My lord Owain,\" said he, \"it was foretold, that thou shouldst come\nhither and vanquish me, and thou hast done so.  I was a robber here, and\nmy house was a house of spoil.  But grant me my life, and I will become\nthe keeper of an Hospice, and I will maintain this house as an Hospice\nfor weak and for strong, as long as I live, for the good of thy soul.\"\nAnd Owain accepted the proposal of him, and remained there that night.\n\nAnd the next day he took the four and twenty ladies, and their horses,\nand their raiment, and what they possessed of goods, and jewels, and\nproceeded with them to Arthur's Court.  And if Arthur was rejoiced when\nhe saw him, after he had lost him the first time, his joy was now much\ngreater.  And of those ladies, such as wished to remain in Arthur's\nCourt, remained there; and such as wished to depart, departed.\n\nAnd thenceforward Owain dwelt at Arthur's Court, greatly beloved as the\nhead of his household, until he went away with his followers; and those\nwere the army of three hundred ravens which Kenverchyn had left him.  And\nwherever Owain went with these, he was victorious.\n\nAnd this is the tale of THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN.\n\n\n\n\nPEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC.\n\n\nEarl Evrawc owned the Earldom of the North.  And he had seven sons.  And\nEvrawc maintained himself not so much by his own possessions as by\nattending tournaments, and wars, and combats.  And, as it often befalls\nthose who join in encounters and wars, he was slain, and six of his sons\nlikewise.  Now the name of his seventh son was Peredur, and he was the\nyoungest of them.  And he was not of an age to go to wars and encounters,\notherwise he might have been slain as his father and brothers.  His\nmother was a scheming and thoughtful woman, and she was very solicitous\nconcerning this her only son and his {52} possessions.  So she took\ncounsel with herself to leave the inhabited country, and to flee to the\ndeserts and unfrequented wildernesses.  And she permitted none to bear\nher company thither but women and boys, and spiritless men, who were both\nunaccustomed and unequal to war and fighting.  And none dared to bring\neither horses or arms where her son was, lest he should set his mind upon\nthem.  And the youth went daily to divert himself in the forest, by\nflinging sticks and staves.  And one day he saw his mother's flock of\ngoats, and near the goats two hinds were standing.  And he marvelled\ngreatly that these two should be without horns, while the others had\nthem.  And he thought they had long run wild and on that account they had\nlost their horns.  And by activity and swiftness of foot, he drove the\nhinds and the goats together into the house which there was for the goats\nat the extremity of the forest.  Then Peredur returned to his mother.\n\"Ah, mother,\" said he, \"a marvellous thing have I seen in the wood; two\nof thy goats have run wild, and lost their horns; through their having\nbeen so long missing in the wood.  And no man had ever more trouble than\nI had to drive them in.\"  Then they all arose and went to see.  And when\nthey beheld the hinds, they were greatly astonished.\n\nAnd one day they saw three knights coming along the horse-road on the\nborders of the forest.  And the three knights were Gwalchmai the son of\nGwyar, and Geneir Gwystyl, and Owain the son of Urien.  And Owain kept on\nthe track of the knight who had divided the apples in Arthur's Court,\nwhom they were in pursuit of.  \"Mother,\" said Peredur, \"what are those\nyonder?\"  \"They are angels, my son,\" said she.  \"By my faith,\" said\nPeredur, \"I will go and become an angel with them.\"  And Peredur went to\nthe road, and met them.  \"Tell me, good soul,\" said Owain, \"sawest thou a\nknight pass this way, either to-day or yesterday?\"  \"I know not,\"\nanswered he, \"what a knight is.\"  \"Such an one as I am,\" said Owain.  \"If\nthou wilt tell me what I ask thee, I will tell thee that which thou\naskest me.\"  \"Gladly will I do so,\" replied Owain.  \"What is this?\"\ndemanded Peredur, concerning the saddle.  \"It is a saddle,\" said Owain.\nThen he asked about all the accoutrements which he saw upon the men, and\nthe horses, and the arms, and what they were for, and how they were used.\nAnd Owain shewed him all these things fully, and told him what use was\nmade of them.  \"Go forward,\" said Peredur, \"for I saw such an one as thou\nenquirest for, and I will follow thee.\"\n\nThen Peredur returned to his mother and her company, and he said to her,\n\"Mother, those were not angels, but honourable knights.\"  Then his mother\nswooned away.  And Peredur went to the place where they kept the horses\nthat carried firewood, and that brought meat and drink from the inhabited\ncountry to the desert.  And he took a bony piebald horse, which seemed to\nhim the strongest of them.  And he pressed a pack into the form of a\nsaddle, and with twisted twigs he imitated the trappings which he had\nseen upon the horses.  And when Peredur came again to his mother, the\nCountess had recovered from her swoon.  \"My son,\" said she, \"desirest\nthou to ride forth?\"  \"Yes, with thy leave,\" said he.  \"Wait then, that I\nmay counsel thee before thou goest.\"  \"Willingly,\" he answered, \"speak\nquickly.\"  \"Go forward,\" then she said, \"to the Court of Arthur, where\nthere are the best, and the boldest, and the most bountiful of men.  And\nwherever thou seest a church, repeat there thy Paternoster unto it.  And\nif thou see meat and drink, and hast need of them, and none have the\nkindness or the courtesy to give them to thee, take them thyself.  If\nthou hear an outcry, proceed towards it, especially if it be the outcry\nof a woman.  If thou see a fair jewel, possess thyself of it, and give it\nto another, for thus thou shalt obtain praise.  If thou see a fair woman,\npay thy court to her, whether she will or no; for thus thou wilt render\nthyself a better and more esteemed man than thou wast before.\"\n\nAfter this discourse, Peredur mounted the horse, and taking a handful of\nsharp pointed forks in his hand, he rode forth.  And he journeyed two\ndays and two nights in the woody wildernesses, and in desert places,\nwithout food and without drink.  And then he came to a vast wild wood,\nand far within the wood he saw a fair even glade, and in the glade he saw\na tent, and seeming to him to be a church, he repeated his Paternoster to\nthe tent.  And he went towards it, and the door of the tent was open.  And\na golden chair was near the door.  And on the chair sat a lovely auburn-\nhaired maiden, with a golden frontlet on her forehead, and sparkling\nstones in the frontlet, and with a large gold ring on her hand.  And\nPeredur dismounted, and entered the tent.  And the maiden was glad at his\ncoming, and bade him welcome.  At the entrance of the tent he saw food,\nand two flasks full of wine, and two loaves of fine wheaten flour, and\ncollops of the flesh of the wild boar.  \"My mother told me,\" said\nPeredur, \"wheresoever I saw meat and drink, to take it.\"  \"Take the meat\nand welcome, chieftain,\" said she.  So Peredur took half of the meat and\nof the liquor himself, and left the rest to the maiden.  And when Peredur\nhad finished eating, he bent upon his knee before the maiden.  \"My\nmother,\" said he, \"told me, wheresoever I saw a fair jewel, to take it.\"\n\"Do so, my soul,\" said she.  So Peredur took the ring.  And he mounted\nhis horse, and proceeded on his journey.\n\nAfter this, behold the knight came, to whom the tent belonged; and he was\nthe Lord of the Glade.  And he saw the track of the horse, and he said to\nthe maiden, \"Tell me who has been here since I departed.\"  \"A man,\" said\nshe, \"of wonderful demeanour.\"  And she described to him what Peredur's\nappearance and conduct had been.  \"Tell me,\" said he, \"did he offer thee\nany wrong?\"  \"No,\" answered the maiden, \"by my faith, he harmed me not.\"\n\"By my faith, I do not believe thee; and until I can meet with him, and\nrevenge the insult he has done me, and wreak my vengeance upon him, thou\nshalt not remain two nights in the same house.\"  And the knight arose,\nand set forth to seek Peredur.\n\nMeanwhile Peredur journeyed on towards Arthur's Court.  And before he\nreached it, another knight had been there, who gave a ring of thick gold\nat the door of the gate for holding his horse, and went into the Hall\nwhere Arthur and his household, and Gwenhwyvar and her maidens, were\nassembled.  And the page of the chamber was serving Gwenhwyvar with a\ngolden goblet.  Then the knight dashed the liquor that was therein upon\nher face, and upon her stomacher, and gave her a violent blow on the\nface, and said, \"If any have the boldness to dispute this goblet with me,\nand to avenge the insult to Gwenhwyvar, let him follow me to the meadow,\nand there I will await him.\"  So the knight took his horse, and rode to\nthe meadow.  And all the household hung down their heads, lest any of\nthem should be requested to go and avenge the insult to Gwenhwyvar.  For\nit seemed to them, that no one would have ventured on so daring an\noutrage, unless he possessed such powers, through magic or charms, that\nnone could be able to take vengeance upon him.  Then, behold Peredur\nentered the Hall, upon the bony piebald horse, with the uncouth trappings\nupon it; and in this way he traversed the whole length of the Hall. {56}\nIn the centre of the Hall stood Kai.  \"Tell me, tall man,\" said Peredur,\n\"is that Arthur, yonder?\"  \"What wouldest thou with Arthur?\" asked Kai.\n\"My mother told me to go to Arthur, and receive the honour of\nknighthood.\"  \"By my faith,\" said he, \"thou art all too meanly equipped\nwith horse and with arms.\"  Thereupon he was perceived by all the\nhousehold, and they threw sticks at him.  Then, behold, a dwarf came\nforward.  He had already been a year at Arthur's Court, both he and a\nfemale dwarf.  They had craved harbourage of Arthur, and had obtained it;\nand during the whole year, neither of them had spoken a single word to\nany one.  When the dwarf beheld Peredur, \"Ha ha!\" said he, \"the welcome\nof Heaven be unto thee, goodly Peredur, son of Evrawc, the chief of\nwarriors, and flower of knighthood.\"  \"Truly,\" said Kai, \"thou art ill-\ntaught to remain a year mute at Arthur's Court, with choice of society;\nand now, before the face of Arthur and all his household, to call out,\nand declare such a man as this the chief of warriors, and the flower of\nknighthood.\"  And he gave him such a box on the ear, that he fell\nsenseless to the ground.  Then exclaimed the female dwarf, \"Ha ha! goodly\nPeredur, son of Evrawc; the welcome of Heaven be unto thee, flower of\nknights, and light of chivalry.\"  \"Of a truth, maiden,\" said Kai, \"thou\nart ill-bred to remain mute for a year at the Court of Arthur and then to\nspeak as thou dost of such a man as this.\"  And Kai kicked her with his\nfoot, so that she fell to the ground senseless.  \"Tall man,\" said\nPeredur, \"show me which is Arthur.\"  \"Hold thy peace,\" said Kai, \"and go\nafter the knight who went hence to the meadow, and take from him the\ngoblet, and overthrow him, and possess thyself of his horse and arms, and\nthen thou shalt receive the order of knighthood.\"  \"I will do so, tall\nman,\" said Peredur.  So he turned his horse's head towards the meadow.\nAnd when he came there, the knight was riding up and down, proud of his\nstrength, and valour, and noble mien.  \"Tell me,\" said the knight, \"didst\nthou see any one coming after me from the Court?\"  \"The tall man that was\nthere,\" said he, \"desired me to come, and overthrow thee, and to take\nfrom thee the goblet, and thy horse and thy armour for myself.\"\n\"Silence,\" said the knight; \"go back to the Court, and tell Arthur, from\nme, either to come himself, or to send some other to fight with me; and\nunless he do so quickly, I will not wait for him.\"  \"By my faith,\" said\nPeredur, \"choose thou whether it shall be willingly or unwillingly, but I\nwill have the horse, and the arms, and the goblet.\"  And upon this the\nknight ran at him furiously, and struck him a violent blow {58} with the\nshaft of his spear, between the neck and the shoulder.  \"Ha ha! lad,\"\nsaid Peredur, \"my mother's servants were not used to play with me in this\nwise; therefore, thus will I play with thee.\"  And thereupon he struck\nhim with a sharp pointed fork, and it hit him in the eye, and came out at\nthe back of his neck, so that he instantly fell down lifeless.\n\n\"Verily,\" said Owain the son of Urien to Kai, \"thou wert ill advised,\nwhen thou didst send that madman after the knight, for one of two things\nmust befall him.  He must either be overthrown, or slain.  If he is\noverthrown by the knight, he will be counted by him to be an honourable\nperson of the Court, and an eternal disgrace will it be to Arthur and his\nwarriors.  And if he is slain, the disgrace will be the same, and\nmoreover, his sin will be upon him; therefore will I go to see what has\nbefallen him.\"  So Owain went to the meadow, and he found Peredur\ndragging the man about.  \"What art thou doing thus?\" said Owain.  \"This\niron coat,\" said Peredur, \"will never come from off him; not by my\nefforts, at any rate.\" {59a}  And Owain unfastened his armour and his\nclothes.  \"Here, my good soul,\" said he, \"is a horse and armour better\nthan thine.  Take them joyfully, and come with me to Arthur, to receive\nthe order of knighthood, for thou dost merit it.\"  \"May I never shew my\nface again, if I go,\" said Peredur, \"but take thou the goblet to\nGwenhwyvar, and tell Arthur, that wherever I am, I will be his vassal,\nand will do him what profit and service I am able.  And say that I will\nnot come to his Court, until I have encountered the tall man that is\nthere, to avenge the injury he did to the dwarf and dwarfess.\"  And Owain\nwent back to the Court, and related all these things to Arthur and\nGwenhwyvar, and to all the household. {59b}\n\nAnd Peredur rode forward.  And as he proceeded, behold a knight met him.\n\"Whence comest thou?\" said the knight.  \"I come from Arthur's Court,\"\nsaid Peredur.  \"Art thou one of his men?\" asked he.  \"Yes, by my faith,\"\nhe answered.  \"A good service, truly, is that of Arthur.\"  \"Wherefore\nsayest thou so?\" said Peredur.  \"I will tell thee,\" said he, \"I have\nalways been Arthur's enemy, and all such of his men as I have ever\nencountered, I have slain.\"  And without further parlance, they fought,\nand it was not long before Peredur brought him to the ground, over his\nhorse's crupper.  Then the knight besought his mercy.  \"Mercy thou shalt\nhave,\" said Peredur, \"if thou wilt make oath to me, that thou wilt go to\nArthur's Court, and tell him that it was I that overthrew thee, for the\nhonour of his service; and say that I will never come to the Court, until\nI have avenged the insult offered to the dwarf and dwarfess.\"  The knight\npledged him his faith of this, and proceeded to the Court of Arthur, and\nsaid as he had promised, and conveyed the threat to Kai.\n\nAnd Peredur rode forward.  And within that week he encountered sixteen\nknights, and overthrew them all shamefully.  And they all went to\nArthur's Court, taking with them the same message which the first knight\nhad conveyed from Peredur, and the same threat which he had sent to Kai.\nAnd thereupon Kai was reproved by Arthur; and Kai was greatly grieved\nthereat.\n\nAnd Peredur rode forward.  And he came to a vast and desert wood, on the\nconfines of which was a lake.  And on the other side was a fair castle.\nAnd on the border of the lake he saw a venerable hoary-headed man sitting\nupon a velvet cushion, and having a garment of velvet upon him.  And his\nattendants were fishing in the lake.  When the hoary-headed man beheld\nPeredur approaching, he arose, and went towards the castle.  And the old\nman was lame.  Peredur rode to the palace, and the door was open, and he\nentered the hall.  And there was the hoary-headed man sitting on a\ncushion, and a large blazing fire burning before him.  And the household\nand the company arose to meet Peredur, and disarrayed him.  And the man\nasked the youth to sit on the cushion; and they sat down, and conversed\ntogether.  When it was time, the tables were laid, and they went to meat.\nAnd when they had finished their meal, the man enquired of Peredur, if he\nknew well how to fight with the sword.  \"I know not,\" said Peredur, \"but\nwere I to be taught, doubtless I should.\"  \"Whoever can play well with\nthe cudgel and shield, will also be able to fight with a sword.\"  And the\nman had two sons; the one had yellow hair, and the other auburn.  \"Arise,\nyouth,\" said he, \"and play with the cudgel and the shield.\"  And so did\nthey.  \"Tell me, my soul,\" said the man, \"which of the youths thinkest\nthou plays best?\"  \"I think,\" said Peredur, \"that the yellow-haired youth\ncould draw blood from the other, if he chose.\"  \"Arise thou, my life, and\ntake the cudgel and the shield from the hand of the youth with the auburn\nhair, and draw blood from the yellow-haired youth, if thou canst.\"  So\nPeredur arose, and went to play with the yellow-haired youth; and he\nlifted up his arm, and struck him such a mighty blow, that his brow fell\nover his eye, and the blood flowed forth.  \"Ah, my life,\" said the man,\n\"come now, and sit down, for thou wilt become the best fighter with the\nsword of any in this island; and I am thy uncle, thy mother's brother.\nAnd with me shalt thou remain a space, in order to learn the manners and\ncustoms of different countries, and courtesy, and gentleness, and noble\nbearing.  Leave, then, the habits and the discourse of thy mother, and I\nwill be thy teacher; and I will raise thee to the rank of knight from\nthis time forward.  And thus do thou.  If thou seest aught to cause thee\nwonder, ask not the meaning of it; if no one has the courtesy to inform\nthee, the reproach will not fall upon thee, but upon me that am thy\nteacher.\"  And they had abundance of honour and service.  And when it was\ntime, they went to sleep.  At the break of day, Peredur arose, and took\nhis horse, and with his uncle's permission, he rode forth.  And he came\nto a vast desert wood, and at the further end of the wood was a meadow,\nand on the other side of the meadow he saw a large castle.  And\nthitherward Peredur bent his way, and he found the gate open, and he\nproceeded to the hall.  And he beheld a stately hoary-headed man sitting\non one side of the hall, and many pages around him, who arose to receive\nand to honour Peredur.  And they placed him by the side of the owner of\nthe palace.  Then they discoursed together; and when it was time to eat,\nthey caused Peredur to sit beside the nobleman during the repast.  And\nwhen they had eaten and drank as much as they desired, the nobleman asked\nPeredur, whether he could fight with a sword?  \"Were I to receive\ninstruction,\" said Peredur, \"I think I could.\"  Now, there was on the\nfloor of the hall a huge staple, as large as a warrior could grasp.  \"Take\nyonder sword,\" said the man to Peredur, \"and strike the iron staple.\"  So\nPeredur arose, and struck the staple, so that he cut it in two; and the\nsword broke into two parts also.  \"Place the two parts together, and\nreunite them,\" and Peredur placed them together, and they became entire\nas they were before.  And a second time he struck upon the staple, so\nthat both it and the sword broke in two, and as before they reunited.  And\nthe third time he gave a like blow, and placed the broken parts together,\nand neither the staple nor the sword would unite, as before.  \"Youth,\"\nsaid the nobleman, \"come now, and sit down, and my blessing be upon thee.\nThou fightest best with the sword of any man in the kingdom.  Thou hast\narrived at two-thirds of thy strength, and the other third thou hast not\nyet obtained; and when thou attainest to thy full power, none will be\nable to contend with thee.  I am thy uncle, thy mother's brother, and I\nam brother {62} to the man in whose house thou wast last night.\"  Then\nPeredur and his uncle discoursed together, and he beheld two youths enter\nthe hall, and proceed up to the chamber, bearing a spear of mighty size,\nwith three streams of blood flowing from the point to the ground.  And\nwhen all the company saw this, they began wailing and lamenting.  But for\nall that, the man did not break off his discourse with Peredur.  And as\nhe did not tell Peredur the meaning of what he saw, he forebore to ask\nhim concerning it.  And when the clamour had a little subsided, behold\ntwo maidens entered, with a large salver between them, in which was a\nman's head, surrounded by a profusion of blood.  And thereupon the\ncompany of the court made so great an outcry, that it was irksome to be\nin the same hall with them.  But at length they were silent.  And when\ntime was that they should sleep, Peredur was brought into a fair chamber.\n\nAnd the next day, with his uncle's permission, he rode forth.  And he\ncame to a wood, and far within the wood he heard a loud cry, and he saw a\nbeautiful woman with auburn hair, and a horse with a saddle upon it,\nstanding near her, and a corpse by her side.  And as she strove to place\nthe corpse upon the horse, it fell to the ground, and thereupon she made\na great lamentation.  \"Tell me, sister,\" said Peredur, \"wherefore art\nthou bewailing?\"  \"Oh! accursed Peredur, little pity has my ill fortune\never met with from thee.\"  \"Wherefore,\" said Peredur, \"am I accursed?\"\n\"Because thou wast the cause of thy mother's death; for when thou didst\nride forth against her will, anguish seized upon her heart, so that she\ndied; and therefore art thou accursed.  And the dwarf and the dwarfess\nthat thou sawest at Arthur's Court, were the dwarfs of thy father and\nmother; and I am thy foster-sister, and this was my wedded husband, and\nhe was slain by the knight that is in the glade in the wood; and do not\nthou go near him, lest thou shouldest be slain by him likewise.\"  \"My\nsister, thou dost reproach me wrongfully; through my having so long\nremained amongst you, I shall scarcely vanquish him; and had I continued\nlonger it would, indeed, be difficult for me to succeed.  Cease,\ntherefore, thy lamenting, for it is of no avail, and I will bury the\nbody, and then I will go in quest of the knight, and see if I can do\nvengeance upon him.\"  And when he had buried the body, they went to the\nplace where the knight was, and found him riding proudly along the glade;\nand he enquired of Peredur whence he came.  \"I come from Arthur's Court.\"\n\"And art thou one of Arthur's men?\"  \"Yes, by my faith.\"  \"A profitable\nalliance, truly, is that of Arthur.\"  And without further parlance, they\nencountered one another, and immediately Peredur overthrew the knight,\nand he besought mercy of Peredur.  \"Mercy shall thou have,\" said he,\n\"upon these terms, that thou take this woman in marriage, and do her all\nthe honour and reverence in thy power, seeing thou hast, without cause,\nslain her wedded husband; and that thou go to Arthur's Court, and shew\nhim that it was I that overthrew thee, to do him honour and service; and\nthat thou tell him that I will never come to his Court again until I have\nmet with the tall man that is there, to take vengeance upon him for his\ninsult to the dwarf and the dwarfess.\"  And he took the knight's\nassurance, that he would perform all this.  Then the knight provided the\nlady with a horse and garments that were suitable for her, and took her\nwith him to Arthur's Court.  And he told Arthur all that had occurred,\nand gave the defiance to Kai.  And Arthur and all his household reproved\nKai, for having driven such a youth as Peredur from his Court.\n\nSaid Owain the son of Urien, \"This youth will never come into the Court\nuntil Kai has gone forth from it.\"  \"By my faith,\" said Arthur, \"I will\nsearch all the deserts in the island of Britain, until I find Peredur,\nand then let him and his adversary do their utmost to each other.\"\n\nThen Peredur rode forward.  And he came to a desert wood, where he saw\nnot the track either of men or animals, and where there was nothing but\nbushes and weeds.  And at the upper end of the wood he saw a vast castle,\nwherein were many strong towers; and when he came near the gate, he found\nthe weeds taller than he had done elsewhere.  And he struck the gate with\nthe shaft of his lance, and thereupon behold a lean auburn-haired youth\ncame to an opening in the battlements.  \"Choose thou, chieftain,\" said\nhe.  \"Whether shall I open the gate unto thee, or shall I announce unto\nthose that are chief, that thou art at the gateway?\"  \"Say that I am\nhere,\" said Peredur, \"and if it is desired that I should enter, I will go\nin.\"  And the youth came back, and opened the gate for Peredur.  And when\nhe went into the hall, he beheld eighteen youths, lean and red-headed, of\nthe same height and of the same aspect, and of the same dress, and of the\nsame age as the one who had opened the gate for him.  And they were well\nskilled in courtesy and in service.  And they disarrayed him.  Then they\nsat down to discourse.  Thereupon, behold five maidens came from the\nchamber into the hall.  And Peredur was certain that he had never seen\nanother of so fair an aspect as the chief of the maidens.  And she had an\nold garment of satin upon her, which had once been handsome, but was then\nso tattered, that her skin could be seen through it.  And whiter was her\nskin than the bloom of crystal, and her hair and her two eyebrows were\nblacker than jet, and on her cheeks were two red spots, redder than\nwhatever is reddest.  And the maiden welcomed Peredur, and put her arms\nabout his neck, and made him sit down beside her.  Not long after this he\nsaw two nuns enter and a flask full of wine was borne by one, and six\nloaves of white bread by the other.  \"Lady,\" said they, \"Heaven is\nwitness, that there is not so much of food and liquor as this left in\nyonder Convent this night.\"  Then they went to meat, and Peredur observed\nthat the maiden wished to give more of the food and of the liquor to him\nthan to any of the others.  \"My sister,\" said Peredur, \"I will share out\nthe food and the liquor.\"  \"Not so, my soul,\" said she.  \"By my faith,\nbut I will.\"  So Peredur took the bread, and he gave an equal portion of\nit to each alike, as well as a cup full of the liquor.  And when it was\ntime for them to sleep, a chamber was prepared for Peredur, and he went\nto rest.\n\n\"Behold, sister,\" said the youths to the fairest and most exalted of the\nmaidens, \"we have counsel for thee.\"  \"What may it be?\" she enquired.  \"Go\nto the youth that is in the upper chamber, and offer to become his wife,\nor the lady of his love, if it seem well to him.\"  \"That were indeed\nunfitting,\" said she.  \"Hitherto I have not been the lady love of any\nknight, and to make him such an offer before I am wooed by him, that,\ntruly, can I not do.\"  \"By our confession to Heaven, unless thou actest\nthus, we will leave thee here to thy enemies, to do as they will with\nthee.\"  And through fear of this, the maiden went forth; and shedding\ntears, she proceeded to the chamber.  And with the noise of the door\nopening, Peredur awoke; and the maiden was weeping and lamenting.  \"Tell\nme, my sister,\" said Peredur, \"wherefore dost thou weep?\"  \"I will tell\nthee, lord,\" said she, \"my father possessed these dominions as their\nchief, and this palace was his, and with it he held the best earldom in\nthe kingdom; then the son of another earl sought me of my father, and I\nwas not willing to be given unto him, and my father would not give me\nagainst my will, either to him or any earl in the world.  And my father\nhad no child except myself.  And after my father's death, these dominions\ncame into my own hands, and then was I less willing to accept him than\nbefore.  So he made war upon me, and conquered all my possessions except\nthis one house.  And through the valour of the men whom thou hast seen,\nwho are my foster brothers, and the strength of the house, it can never\nbe taken while food and drink remain.  And now our provisions are\nexhausted; but as thou hast seen, we have been fed by the nuns, to whom\nthe country is free.  And at length they also are without supply of food\nor liquor.  And at no later date than to-morrow, the earl will come\nagainst this place with all his forces; and if I fall into his power, my\nfate will be no better than to be given over to the grooms of his horses.\nTherefore, lord, I am come to offer to place myself in thy hands, that\nthou mayest succour me, either by taking me hence, or by defending me\nhere, whichever may seem best unto thee.\"  \"Go, my sister,\" said he, \"and\nsleep; nor will I depart from thee until I do that which thou requirest,\nor prove whether I can assist thee or not.\"  The maiden went again to\nrest; and the next morning she came to Peredur, and saluted him.  \"Heaven\nprosper thee, my soul, and what tidings dost thou bring?\"  \"None other,\nthan that the earl and all his forces have alighted at the gate, and I\nnever beheld any place so covered with tents, and thronged with knights\nchallenging others to the combat.\"  \"Truly,\" said Peredur, \"let my horse\nbe made ready.\"  So his horse was accoutred, and he arose, and sallied\nforth to the meadow.  And there was a knight riding proudly along the\nmeadow, having raised the signal for battle.  And they encountered, and\nPeredur threw the knight over his horse's crupper to the ground.  And at\nthe close of the day, one of the chief knights came to fight with him,\nand he overthrew him also, so that he besought his mercy.  \"Who art\nthou?\" said Peredur.  \"Verily,\" said he, \"I am Master of the Household to\nthe earl.\"  \"And how much of the Countess's possessions is there in thy\npower?\"  \"The third part, verily,\" answered he.  \"Then,\" said Peredur,\n\"restore to her the third of her possessions in full, and all the profit\nthou hast made by them, and bring meat and drink for a hundred men, with\ntheir horses and arms, to her court this night.  And thou shalt remain\nher captive, unless she wish to take thy life.\"  And this he did\nforthwith.  And that night the maiden was right joyful, and they fared\nplenteously.\n\nAnd the next day Peredur rode forth to the meadow; and that day he\nvanquished a multitude of the host.  And at the close of the day, there\ncame a proud and stately knight, and Peredur overthrew him, and he\nbesought his mercy.  \"Who art thou?\" said Peredur.  \"I am Steward of the\nPalace,\" said he.  \"And how much of the maiden's possessions are under\nthy control?\"  \"One third part,\" answered he.  \"Verily,\" said Peredur,\n\"thou shalt fully restore to the maiden her possessions, and, moreover,\nthou shalt give her meat and drink for two hundred men, and their horses\nand their arms.  And for thyself, thou shalt be her captive.\"  And\nimmediately it was so done.\n\nAnd the third day Peredur rode forth to the meadow; and he vanquished\nmore that day than on either of the preceding.  And at the close of the\nday, an earl came to encounter him, and he overthrew him, and he besought\nhis mercy.  \"Who art thou?\" said Peredur.  \"I am the earl,\" said he.  \"I\nwill not conceal it from thee.\"  \"Verily,\" said Peredur, \"thou shalt\nrestore the whole of the maiden's earldom, and shalt give her thine own\nearldom in addition thereto, and meat and drink for three hundred men,\nand their horses and arms, and thou thyself shalt remain in her power.\"\nAnd thus it was fulfilled.  And Peredur tarried three weeks in the\ncountry, causing tribute and obedience to be paid to the maiden, and the\ngovernment to be placed in her hands.  \"With thy leave,\" said Peredur, \"I\nwill go hence.\"  \"Verily, my brother, desirest thou this?\"  \"Yes, by my\nfaith; and had it not been for love of thee, I should not have been here\nthus long.\"  \"My soul,\" said she, \"who art thou?\"  \"I am Peredur the son\nof Evrawc from the North; and if ever thou art in trouble or in danger,\nacquaint me therewith, and if I can, I will protect thee.\"\n\nSo Peredur rode forth.  And far thence there met him a lady, mounted on a\nhorse that was lean, and covered with sweat; and she saluted the youth.\n\"Whence comest thou, my sister?\"  Then she told him the cause of her\njourney.  Now she was the wife of the Lord of the Glade.  \"Behold,\" said\nhe, \"I am the knight through whom thou art in trouble, and he shall\nrepent it, who has treated thee thus.\"  Thereupon, behold a knight rode\nup, and he enquired of Peredur, if he had seen a knight such as he was\nseeking.  \"Hold thy peace,\" said Peredur, \"I am he whom thou seekest; and\nby my faith, thou deservest ill of thy household for thy treatment of the\nmaiden, for she is innocent concerning me.\"  So they encountered, and\nthey were not long in combat ere Peredur overthrew the knight, and he\nbesought his mercy.  \"Mercy thou shalt have,\" said Peredur, \"so thou wilt\nreturn by the way thou camest, and declare that thou holdest the maiden\ninnocent, and so that thou wilt acknowledge unto her the reverse thou\nhast sustained at my hands.\"  And the knight plighted him his faith\nthereto.\n\nThen Peredur rode forward.  And above him he beheld a castle, and\nthitherward he went.  And he struck upon the gate with his lance, and\nthen, behold a comely auburn-haired youth opened the gate, and he had the\nstature of a warrior, and the years of a boy.  And when Peredur came into\nthe hall, there was a tall and stately lady sitting in a chair, and many\nhandmaidens around her; and the lady rejoiced at his coming.  And when it\nwas time, they went to meat.  And after their repast was finished, \"It\nwere well for thee, chieftain,\" said she, \"to go elsewhere to sleep.\"\n\"Wherefore can I not sleep here?\" said Peredur.  \"Nine sorceresses are\nhere, my soul, of the sorceresses of Gloucester, and their father and\ntheir mother are with them; and unless we can make our escape before\ndaybreak, we shall be slain; and already they have conquered and laid\nwaste all the country, except this one dwelling.\"  \"Behold,\" said\nPeredur, \"I will remain here to-night, and if you are in trouble, I will\ndo you what service I can; but harm shall you not receive from me.\"  So\nthey went to rest.  And with the break of day, Peredur heard a dreadful\noutcry.  And he hastily arose, and went forth in his vest and his\ndoublet, with his sword about his neck, and he saw a sorceress overtake\none of the watch, who cried out violently.  Peredur attacked the\nsorceress, and struck her upon the head with his sword, so that he\nflattened her helmet and her headpiece like a dish upon her head.  \"Thy\nmercy, goodly Peredur, son of Evrawc, and the mercy of Heaven.\"  \"How\nknowest thou, hag, that I am Peredur?\"  \"By destiny, and the\nforeknowledge that I should suffer harm from thee.  And thou shalt take a\nhorse and armour of me; and with me thou shalt go to learn chivalry and\nthe use of thy arms.\"  Said Peredur, \"Thou shalt have mercy, if thou\npledge thy faith thou wilt never more injure the dominions of the\nCountess.\"  And Peredur took surety of this, and with permission of the\nCountess, he set forth with the sorceress to the palace of the\nsorceresses.  And there he remained for three weeks, and then he made\nchoice of a horse and arms, and went his way.\n\nAnd in the evening he entered a valley, and at the head of the valley he\ncame to a hermit's cell, and the hermit welcomed him gladly, and there he\nspent the night.  And in the morning he arose, and when he went forth,\nbehold a shower of snow had fallen the night before, and a hawk had\nkilled a wild fowl in front of the cell.  And the noise of the horse\nscared the hawk away, and a raven alighted upon the bird.  And Peredur\nstood, and compared the blackness of the raven, and whiteness of the\nsnow, and the redness of the blood, to the hair of the lady that best he\nloved, which was blacker than jet, and to her skin which was whiter than\nthe snow, and to the two red spots upon her cheeks, which were redder\nthan the blood upon the snow appeared to be.\n\nNow Arthur and his household were in search of Peredur.  \"Know ye,\" said\nArthur, \"who is the knight with the long spear that stands by the brook\n{72} up yonder?\"  \"Lord,\" said one of them, \"I will go and learn who he\nis.\"  So the youth came to the place where Peredur was, and asked him\nwhat he did thus, and who he was.  And from the intensity with which he\nthought upon the lady whom best he loved, he gave him no answer.  Then\nthe youth thrust at Peredur with his lance, and Peredur turned upon him,\nand struck him over his horse's crupper to the ground.  And after this,\nfour and twenty youths came to him, and he did not answer one more than\nanother, but gave the same reception to all, bringing them with one\nsingle thrust to the ground.  And then came Kai, and spoke to Peredur\nrudely and angrily; and Peredur took him with his lance under the jaw,\nand cast him from him with a thrust, so that he broke his arm and his\nshoulder blade, and he rode over him one and twenty times.  And while he\nlay thus, stunned with the violence of the pain that he had suffered, his\nhorse returned back at a wild and prancing pace.  And when the household\nsaw the horse come back without his rider, they rode forth in haste to\nthe place where the encounter had been.  And when they first came there,\nthey thought that Kai was slain; but they found that if he had a skilful\nphysician, he yet might live.  And Peredur moved not from his meditation,\non seeing the concourse that was around Kai.  And Kai was brought to\nArthur's tent, and Arthur caused skilful physicians to come to him.  And\nArthur was grieved that Kai had met with this reverse, for he loved him\ngreatly.\n\n\"Then,\" said Gwalchmai, \"it is not fitting that any should disturb an\nhonourable knight from his thought unadvisedly; for either he is\npondering some damage that he has sustained, or he is thinking of the\nlady whom best he loves.  And through such ill-advised proceeding,\nperchance this misadventure has befallen him who last met with him.  And\nif it seem well to thee, lord, I will go and see if this knight has\nchanged from his thought; and if he has, I will ask him courteously to\ncome and visit thee.\"  Then Kai was wrath, and he spoke angry and\nspiteful words.  \"Gwalchmai,\" said he, \"I know that thou wilt bring him\nbecause he is fatigued.  Little praise and honour, nevertheless, wilt\nthou have from vanquishing a weary knight, who is tired with fighting.\nYet, thus hast thou gained the advantage over many.  And while thy speech\nand thy soft words last, a coat of thin linen were armour sufficient for\nthee, and thou wilt not need to break either lance or sword in fighting\nwith the knight in the state he is in.\"  Then said Gwalchmai to Kai,\n\"Thou mightest use more pleasant words, wert thou so minded; and it\nbehoves thee not upon me to wreak thy wrath and thy displeasure.  Methinks\nI shall bring the knight hither with me without breaking either my arm or\nmy shoulder.\"  Then said Arthur to Gwalchmai, \"Thou speakest like a wise\nand a prudent man; go and take enough of armour about thee, and choose\nthy horse.\"  And Gwalchmai accoutred himself, and rode forward hastily to\nthe place where Peredur was.\n\nAnd Peredur was resting on the shaft of his spear, pondering the same\nthought, and Gwalchmai came to him without any signs of hostility, and\nsaid to him, \"If I thought that it would be as agreeable to thee as it\nwould be to me, I would converse with thee.  I have also a message from\nArthur unto thee, to pray thee to come and visit him.  And two men have\nbeen before on this errand.\"  \"That is true,\" said Peredur, \"and\nuncourteously they came.  They attacked me, and I was annoyed thereat,\nfor it was not pleasing to me to be drawn from the thought that I was in,\nfor I was thinking of the lady whom best I love; and thus was she brought\nto my mind,--I was looking upon the snow, and upon the raven, and upon\nthe drops of the blood of the bird that the hawk had killed upon the\nsnow.  And I bethought me that her whiteness was like that of the snow,\nand that the blackness of her hair and her eyebrows was like that of the\nraven, and that the two red spots upon her cheeks were like the two drops\nof blood.\"  Said Gwalchmai, \"This was not an ungentle thought, and I\nshould marvel if it were pleasant to thee to be drawn from it.\"  \"Tell\nme,\" said Peredur, \"is Kai in Arthur's Court?\"  \"He is,\" said he, \"and\nbehold he is the knight that fought with thee last; and it would have\nbeen better for him had he not come, for his arm and his shoulder blade\nwere broken with the fall which he had from thy spear.\"  \"Verily,\" said\nPeredur, \"I am not sorry to have thus begun to avenge the insult to the\ndwarf and dwarfess.\"  Then Gwalchmai marvelled to hear him speak of the\ndwarf and the dwarfess; and he approached him, and threw his arms around\nhis neck, and asked him what was his name.  \"Peredur the son of Evrawc am\nI called,\" said he, \"and thou?  Who art thou?\"  \"I am called Gwalchmai,\"\nhe replied.  \"I am right glad to meet with thee,\" said Peredur, \"for in\nevery country where I have been, I have heard of thy fame for prowess and\nuprightness, and I solicit thy fellowship.\"  \"Thou shall have it, by my\nfaith, and grant me thine,\" said he.  \"Gladly will I do so,\" answered\nPeredur.\n\nSo they rode forth together joyfully towards the place where Arthur was;\nand when Kai saw them coming, he said, \"I knew that Gwalchmai needed not\nto fight the knight.  And it is no wonder that he should gain fame; more\ncan he do by his fair words, than I by the strength of my arm.\"  And\nPeredur went with Gwalchmai to his tent, and they took off their armour.\nAnd Peredur put on garments like those that Gwalchmai wore; and they went\ntogether unto Arthur, and saluted him.  \"Behold, lord,\" said Gwalchmai,\n\"him whom thou hast sought so long.\"  \"Welcome unto thee, chieftain,\"\nsaid Arthur.  \"With me thou shalt remain; and had I known thy valour {76}\nhad been such, thou shouldst not have left me as thou didst.\nNevertheless, this was predicted of thee by the dwarf and the dwarfess,\nwhom Kai ill treated, and whom thou hast avenged.\"  And hereupon, behold\nthere came the Queen and her handmaidens, and Peredur saluted them.  And\nthey were rejoiced to see him, and bade him welcome.  And Arthur did him\ngreat honour and respect, and they returned towards Caerlleon.\n\nAnd the first night, Peredur came to Caerlleon, to Arthur's Court, and as\nhe walked in the city after his repast, behold, there met him Angharad\nLaw Eurawc.  \"By my faith, sister,\" said Peredur, \"thou art a beauteous\nand lovely maiden; and were it pleasing to thee, I could love thee above\nall women.\"  \"I pledge my faith,\" said she, \"that I do not love thee, nor\nwill I ever do so.\"  \"I also pledge my faith,\" said Peredur, \"that I will\nnever speak a word to any Christian again, until thou come to love me\nabove all men.\"\n\nThe next day, Peredur went forth by the high road, along a mountain\nridge, and he saw a valley of a circular form, the confines of which were\nrocky and wooded.  And the flat part of the valley was in meadows, and\nthere were fields betwixt the meadows and the wood.  And in the bosom of\nthe wood he saw large black houses, of uncouth workmanship.  And he\ndismounted, and led his horse towards the wood.  And a little way within\nthe wood he saw a rocky ledge, along which the road lay.  And upon the\nledge was a lion bound by a chain, and sleeping.  And beneath the lion he\nsaw a deep pit, of immense size, full of the bones of men and animals.\nAnd Peredur drew his sword, and struck the lion, so that he fell into the\nmouth of the pit, and hung there by the chain; and with a second blow he\nstruck the chain, and broke it, and the lion fell into the pit, and\nPeredur led his horse over the rocky ledge, until he came into the\nvalley.  And in the centre of the valley he saw a fair castle, and he\nwent towards it.  And in the meadow by the Castle he beheld a huge grey\nman sitting, who was larger than any man he had ever before seen.  And\ntwo young pages were shooting the hilts of their daggers, of the bone of\nthe sea horse.  And one of the pages had red hair, and the other auburn.\nAnd they went before him to the place where the grey man was.  And\nPeredur saluted him.  And the grey man said, \"Disgrace to the beard of my\nporter.\"  Then Peredur understood that the porter was the lion.  And the\ngrey man and the pages went together into the Castle, and Peredur\naccompanied them; and he found it a fair and noble place.  And they\nproceeded to the hall, and the tables were already laid, and upon them\nwas abundance of food and liquor.  And thereupon he saw an aged woman and\na young woman come from the chamber; and they were the most stately women\nhe had ever seen.  Then they washed, and went to meat, and the grey man\nsat in the upper seat at the head of the table, and the aged woman next\nto him.  And Peredur and the maiden were placed together; and the two\nyoung pages served them.  And the maiden gazed sorrowfully upon Peredur,\nand Peredur asked the maiden wherefore she was sad.  \"For thee, my soul;\nfor, from when I first beheld thee, I have loved thee above all men.  And\nit pains me to know that so gentle a youth as thou should have such a\ndoom as awaits thee to-morrow.  Sawest thou the numerous black houses in\nthe bosom of the wood.  All these belong to the vassals of the grey man\nyonder, who is my father.  And they are all giants.  And to-morrow they\nwill rise up against thee, and will slay thee.  And the Round Valley is\nthis valley called.\"  \"Listen, fair maiden, wilt thou contrive that my\nhorse and arms be in the same lodging with me to-night.\"  \"Gladly will I\ncause it so to be, by Heaven, if I can.\"\n\nAnd when it was time for them to sleep rather than to carouse, they went\nto rest.  And the maiden caused Peredur's horse and arms to be in the\nsame lodging with him.  And the next morning Peredur heard a great tumult\nof men and horses around the Castle.  And Peredur arose, and armed\nhimself and his horse, and went to the meadow.  Then the aged woman and\nthe maiden came to the grey man, \"Lord,\" said they, \"take the word of the\nyouth, that he will never disclose what he has seen in this place, and we\nwill be his sureties that he keep it.\"  \"I will not do so, by my faith,\"\nsaid the grey man.  So Peredur fought with the host; and towards evening,\nhe had slain the one-third of them without receiving any hurt himself.\nThen said the aged woman, \"Behold, many of thy host have been slain by\nthe youth.  Do thou, therefore, grant him mercy.\"  \"I will not grant it,\nby my faith,\" said he.  And the aged woman and the fair maiden were upon\nthe battlements of the Castle, looking forth.  And at that juncture,\nPeredur encountered the yellow-haired youth, and slew him.  \"Lord,\" said\nthe maiden, \"grant the young man mercy.\"  \"That will I not do, by\nHeaven,\" he replied; and thereupon Peredur attacked the auburn-haired\nyouth, and slew him likewise.  \"It were better thou hadst accorded mercy\nto the youth, before he had slain thy two sons; for now scarcely wilt\nthou thyself escape from him.\"  \"Go, maiden, and beseech the youth to\ngrant mercy unto us, for we yield ourselves into his hands.\"  So the\nmaiden came to the place where Peredur was, and besought mercy for her\nfather, and for all such of his vassals as had escaped alive.  \"Thou\nshalt have it, on condition that thy father, and all that are under him,\ngo and render homage to Arthur, and tell him that it was his vassal\nPeredur that did him this service.\"  \"This will we do willingly, by\nHeaven.\"  \"And you shall also receive baptism; and I will send to Arthur,\nand beseech him to bestow this valley upon thee, and upon thy heirs after\nthee for ever.\"  Then they went in, and the grey man and the tall woman\nsaluted Peredur.  And the grey man said unto him, \"Since I have possessed\nthis valley, I have not seen any Christian depart with his life, save\nthyself.  And we will go to do homage to Arthur, and to embrace the\nfaith, and be baptized.\"  Then said Peredur, \"To Heaven I render thanks\nthat I have not broken my vow to the lady that best I love, which was,\nthat I would not speak one word unto any Christian.\"\n\nThat night they tarried there.  And the next day, in the morning, the\ngrey man, with his company, set forth to Arthur's Court; and they did\nhomage unto Arthur, and he caused them to be baptized.  And the grey man\ntold Arthur, that it was Peredur that had vanquished them.  And Arthur\ngave the valley to the grey man and his company, to hold it of him as\nPeredur had besought.  And with Arthur's permission, the grey man went\nback to the Round Valley.\n\nPeredur rode forward next day, and he traversed a vast tract of desert,\nin which no dwellings were.  And at length he came to a habitation, mean\nand small.  And there he heard that there was a serpent that lay upon a\ngold ring, and suffered none to inhabit the country for seven miles\naround.  And Peredur came to the place where he heard the serpent was.\nAnd angrily, furiously, and desperately, fought he with the serpent; and\nat the last he killed it, and took away the ring.  And thus he was for a\nlong time without speaking a word to any Christian.  And therefrom he\nlost his colour and his aspect, through extreme longing after the Court\nof Arthur, and the society of the lady whom best he loved, and of his\ncompanions.  Then he proceeded forward to Arthur's Court, and on the road\nthere met him Arthur's household, going on a particular errand, with Kai\nat their head.  And Peredur knew them all, but none of the household\nrecognised him.  \"Whence comest thou, chieftain?\" said Kai.  And this he\nasked him twice, and three times, and he answered him not.  And Kai\nthrust him through the thigh with his lance.  And lest he should be\ncompelled to speak, and to break his vow, he went on without stopping.\n\"Then,\" said Gwalchmai, \"I declare to Heaven, Kai, that thou hast acted\nill in committing such an outrage on a youth like this, who cannot\nspeak.\"  And Gwalchmai returned back to Arthur's Court.  \"Lady,\" said he\nto Gwenhwyvar, \"seest thou how wicked an outrage Kai has committed upon\nthis youth who cannot speak; for Heaven's sake, and for mine, cause him\nto have medical care before I come back, and I will repay thee the\ncharge.\"\n\nAnd before the men returned from their errand, a knight came to the\nmeadow beside Arthur's Palace, to dare some one to the encounter.  And\nhis challenge was accepted; and Peredur fought with him, and overthrew\nhim.  And for a week he overthrew one knight every day.\n\nAnd one day, Arthur and his household were going to Church, and they\nbeheld a knight who had raised the signal for combat.  \"Verily,\" said\nArthur, \"by the valour of men, I will not go hence until I have my horse\nand my arms to overthrow yonder boor.\"  Then went the attendants to fetch\nArthur's horse and arms.  And Peredur met the attendants as they were\ngoing back, and he took the horse and arms from them, and proceeded to\nthe meadow; and all those who saw him arise and go to do battle with the\nknight, went upon the tops of the houses, and the mounds, and the high\nplaces, to behold the combat.  And Peredur beckoned with his hand to the\nknight to commence the fight.  And the knight thrust at him, but he was\nnot thereby moved from where he stood.  And Peredur spurred his horse,\nand ran at him wrathfully, furiously, fiercely, desperately, and with\nmighty rage, and he gave him a thrust, deadly-wounding, severe, furious,\nadroit and strong, under his jaw, and raised him out of his saddle, and\ncast him a long way from him.  And Peredur went back, and left the horse\nand the arms with the attendant as before, and he went on foot to the\nPalace.\n\nThen Peredur went by the name of the Dumb Youth.  And behold, Angharad\nLaw Eurawc met him.  \"I declare to Heaven, chieftain,\" said she, \"woeful\nis it that thou canst not speak; for couldst thou speak, I would love\nthee best of all men; and, by my faith, although thou canst not, I do\nlove thee above all.\"  \"Heaven reward thee, my sister,\" said Peredur, \"by\nmy faith, I also do love thee.\"  Thereupon it was known that he was\nPeredur.  And then he held fellowship with Gwalchmai, and Owain the son\nof Urien, and all the household, and he remained in Arthur's Court.\n\nArthur was in Caerlleon upon Usk; and he went to hunt, and Peredur went\nwith him.  And Peredur let loose his dog upon a hart, and the dog killed\nthe hart in a desert place.  And a short space from him he saw signs of a\ndwelling, and towards the dwelling he went, and he beheld a hall, and at\nthe door of the hall he found bald swarthy youths playing at chess.  And\nwhen he entered, he beheld three maidens sitting on a bench, and they\nwere all clothed alike, as became persons of high rank.  And he came, and\nsat by them upon the bench; and one of the maidens looked steadfastly\nupon Peredur, and wept.  And Peredur asked her wherefore she was weeping.\n\"Through grief, that I should see so fair a youth as thou art, slain.\"\n\"Who will slay me?\" enquired Peredur.  \"If thou art so daring as to\nremain here to-night, I will tell thee.\"  \"How great soever my danger may\nbe from remaining here, I will listen unto thee.\"  \"This Palace is owned\nby him who is my father,\" said the maiden, \"and he slays every one who\ncomes hither without his leave.\"  \"What sort of a man is thy father, that\nhe is able to slay every one thus?\"\n\n\"A man who does violence and wrong unto his neighbours, and who renders\njustice unto none.\"  And hereupon he saw the youths arise and clear the\nchessmen from the board.  And he heard a great tumult; and after the\ntumult there came in a huge black one-eyed man, and the maidens arose to\nmeet him.  And they disarrayed him, and he went and sat down; and after\nhe had rested and pondered awhile, he looked at Peredur, and asked who\nthe knight was.  \"Lord,\" said one of the maidens, \"he is the fairest and\ngentlest youth that ever thou didst see.  And for the sake of Heaven, and\nof thine own dignity, have patience with him.\"  \"For thy sake I will have\npatience, and I will grant him his life this night.\"  Then Peredur came\ntowards them to the fire, and partook of food and liquor, and entered\ninto discourse with the ladies.  And being elated with the liquor, he\nsaid to the black man, \"It is a marvel to me, so mighty as thou sayest\nthou art, who could have put out thine eye?\"  \"It is one of my habits,\"\nsaid the black man, \"that whosoever puts to me the question which thou\nhast asked, shall not escape with his life, either as a free gift, or for\na price.\"  \"Lord,\" said the maiden, \"whatsoever he may say to thee in\njest, and through the excitement of liquor, make good that which thou\nsaidest and didst promise me just now.\"  \"I will do so, gladly, for thy\nsake,\" said he.  \"Willingly will I grant him his life this night.\"  And\nthat night thus they remained.\n\nAnd the next day the black man got up, and put on his armour, and said to\nPeredur, \"Arise, man, and suffer death.\"  And Peredur said unto him, \"Do\none of two things, black man; if thou wilt fight with me, either throw\noff thy own armour, or give arms to me, that I may encounter thee.\"  \"Ha!\nman,\" said he, \"couldst thou fight, if thou hadst arms?  Take, then, what\narms thou dost choose.\"  And thereupon the maiden came to Peredur with\nsuch arms as pleased him; and he fought with the black man, and forced\nhim to crave his mercy.  \"Black man, thou shalt have mercy, provided thou\ntell me who thou art, and who put out thine eye.\"  \"Lord, I will tell\nthee, I lost it in fighting with the Black Serpent of the Carn.  There is\na mound, which is called the Mound of Mourning; and on the mound there is\na earn, and in the earn there is a serpent, and on the tail of the\nserpent there is a stone, and the virtues of the stone are such, that\nwhosoever should hold it in one hand, in the other he will have as much\ngold as he may desire.  And in fighting with this serpent was it that I\nlost my eye.  And the Black Oppressor am I called.  And for this reason I\nam called the Black Oppressor, that there is not a single man around me\nwhom I have not oppressed, and justice have I done unto none.\"  \"Tell me\"\nsaid Peredur, \"how far is it hence?\"  \"The same day that thou settest\nforth, thou wilt come to the Palace of the Sons of the King of the\nTortures.\"  \"Wherefore are they called thus?\"  \"The Addanc of the Lake\nslays them once every day.  When thou goest thence, thou wilt come to the\nCourt of the Countess of the Achievements.\"  \"What achievements are\nthere?\" asked Peredur.  \"Three hundred men there are in her household,\nand unto every stranger that comes to the Court, the achievements of her\nhousehold are related.  And this is the manner of it,--the three hundred\nmen of the household sit next unto the Lady; and that not through\ndisrespect unto the guests, but that they may relate the achievements of\nthe household.  And the day that thou goest thence, thou wilt reach the\nMound of Mourning, and round about the mound there are the owners of\nthree hundred tents guarding the serpent.\"  \"Since thou hast, indeed,\nbeen an oppressor so long,\" said Peredur, \"I will cause that thou\ncontinue so no longer.\"  So he slew him.\n\nThen the maiden spoke, and began to converse with him.  \"If thou wast\npoor when thou camest here, henceforth thou wilt be rich through the\ntreasure of the black man whom thou hast slain.  Thou seest the many\nlovely maidens that there are in this Court, thou shalt have her whom\nthou best likest for the lady of thy love.\"  \"Lady, I came not hither\nfrom my country to woo; but match yourselves as it liketh you with the\ncomely youths I see here; and none of your goods do I desire, for I need\nthem not.\"  Then Peredur rode forward, and he came to the Palace of the\nSons of the King of the Tortures; and when he entered the Palace, he saw\nnone but women; and they rose up, and were joyful at his coming; and as\nthey began to discourse with him, he beheld a charger arrive, with a\nsaddle upon it, and a corpse in the saddle.  And one of the women arose,\nand took the corpse from the saddle, and anointed it in a vessel of warm\nwater, which was below the door, and placed precious balsam upon it; and\nthe man rose up alive, and came to the place where Peredur was, and\ngreeted him, and was joyful to see him.  And two other men came in upon\ntheir saddles, and the maiden treated these two in the same manner as she\nhad done the first.  Then Peredur asked the chieftain wherefore it was\nthus.  And they told him, that there was an Addanc in a cave, which slew\nthem once every day.  And thus they remained that night.\n\nAnd next morning the youths arose to sally forth, and Peredur besought\nthem, for the sake of the ladies of their love, to permit him to go with\nthem; but they refused him, saying, \"If thou shouldst be slain there,\nthou hast none to bring thee back to life again.\"  And they rode forward,\nand Peredur followed after them; and after they had disappeared out of\nhis sight, he came to a mound, whereon sat the fairest lady he had ever\nbeheld.  \"I know thy quest,\" said she, \"thou art going to encounter the\nAddanc, and he will slay thee, and that not by courage, but by craft.  He\nhas a cave, and at the entrance of the cave there is a stone pillar, and\nhe sees every one that enters, and none see him; and from behind the\npillar he slays every one with a poisonous dart.  And if thou wouldst\npledge me thy faith, to love me above all women, I would give thee a\nstone, by which thou shouldst see him when thou goest in, and he should\nnot see thee.\"  \"I will, by my troth,\" said Peredur, \"for when first I\nbeheld thee, I loved thee; and where shall I seek thee?\"  \"When thou\nseekest me, seek towards India.\"  And the maiden vanished, after placing\nthe stone in Peredur's hand.\n\nAnd he came towards a valley, through which ran a river; and the borders\nof the valley were wooded, and on each side of the river were level\nmeadows.  And on one side of the river he saw a flock of white sheep, and\non the other a flock of black sheep.  And whenever one of the white sheep\nbleated, one of the black sheep would cross over, and become white; and\nwhen one of the black sheep bleated, one of the white sheep would cross\nover, and become black.  And he saw a tall tree by the side of the river,\none half of which was in flames from the root to the top, and the other\nhalf was green and in full leaf.  And nigh thereto he saw a youth sitting\nupon a mound, and two greyhounds, white-breasted, and spotted, in\nleashes, lying by his side.  And certain was he, that he had never seen a\nyouth of so royal a bearing as he.  And in the wood opposite he heard\nhounds raising a herd of deer.  And Peredur saluted the youth, and the\nyouth greeted him in return.  And there were three roads leading from the\nmound; two of them were wide roads, and the third was more narrow.  And\nPeredur enquired where the three roads went.  \"One of them goes to my\npalace,\" said the youth, \"and one of two things I counsel thee to do,\neither to proceed to my palace, which is before thee, and where thou wilt\nfind my wife, or else to remain here to see the hounds chasing the roused\ndeer from the wood to the plain.  And thou shall see the best greyhounds\nthou didst ever behold, and the boldest in the chase, kill them by the\nwater beside us; and when it is time to go to meat, my page will come\nwith my horse to meet me, and thou shalt rest in my palace to-night.\"\n\"Heaven reward thee; but I cannot tarry, for onward must I go.\"  \"The\nother road leads to the town, which is near here, and wherein food and\nliquor may be bought; and the road which is narrower than the others goes\ntowards the cave of the Addanc.\"  \"With thy permission, young man, I will\ngo that way.\"\n\nAnd Peredur went towards the cave.  And he took the stone in his left\nhand, and his lance in his right.  And as he went in, he perceived the\nAddanc, and he pierced him through with his lance, and cut off his head.\nAnd as he came from the cave, behold the three companions were at the\nentrance; and they saluted Peredur, and told him that there was a\nprediction that he should slay that monster.  And Peredur gave the head\nto the young men, and they offered him in marriage whichever of the three\nsisters he might choose, and half their kingdom with her.  \"I came not\nhither to woo,\" said Peredur, \"but if peradventure I took a wife, I\nshould prefer your sister to all others.\"  And Peredur rode forward, and\nhe heard a noise behind him.  And he looked back, and saw a man upon a\nred horse, with red armour upon him; and the man rode up by his side, and\nsaluted him, and wished him the favour of Heaven and of man.  And Peredur\ngreeted the youth kindly.  \"Lord, I come to make a request unto thee.\"\n\"What wouldest thou?\"  \"That thou shouldest take me as thine attendant.\"\n\"Who then should I take as my attendant, if I did so?\"  \"I will not\nconceal from thee what kindred I am of.  Etlym Gleddyv Coch am I called,\nan Earl from the East Country.\"  \"I marvel that thou shouldest offer to\nbecome attendant to a man whose possessions are no greater than thine\nown; for I have but an earldom like thyself.  But since thou desirest to\nbe my attendant, I will take thee joyfully.\"\n\nAnd they went forward to the Court of the Countess, and all they of the\nCourt were glad at their coming; and they were told it was not through\ndisrespect they were placed below the household, but that such was the\nusage of the Court.  For, whoever should overthrow the three hundred men\nof her household, would sit next the Countess, and she would love him\nabove all men.  And Peredur having overthrown the three hundred men of\nher household, sat down beside her, and the Countess said, \"I thank\nHeaven that I have a youth so fair and so valiant as thou, since I have\nnot obtained the man whom best I love.\"  \"Who is he whom best thou\nlovest?\"  \"By my faith, Etlym Gleddyv Coch is the man whom I love best,\nand I have never seen him.\"  \"Of a truth, Etlym is my companion; and\nbehold here he is, and for his sake did I come to joust with thy\nhousehold.  And he could have done so better than I, had it pleased him.\nAnd I do give thee unto him.\"  \"Heaven reward thee, fair youth, and I\nwill take the man whom I love above all others.\"  And the Countess became\nEtlym's bride from that moment.\n\nAnd the next day Peredur set forth towards the Mound of Mourning.  \"By\nthy hand, lord, but I will go with thee,\" said Etlym.  Then they went\nforwards till they came in sight of the mound and the tents.  \"Go unto\nyonder men,\" said Peredur to Etlym, \"and desire them to come and do me\nhomage.\"  So Etlym went unto them, and said unto them thus--\"Come and do\nhomage to my lord.\"  \"Who is thy lord?\" said they.  \"Peredur with the\nlong lance is my lord,\" said Etlym.  \"Were it permitted to slay a\nmessenger, thou shouldest not go back to thy lord alive, for making unto\nKings, and Earls, and Barons, so arrogant a demand as to go and do him\nhomage.\"  Peredur desired him to go back to them, and to give them their\nchoice, either to do him homage or to do battle with him.  And they chose\nrather to do battle.  And that day Peredur overthrew the owners of a\nhundred tents.  And the next day he overthrew the owners of a hundred\nmore; and the third day the remaining hundred took counsel to do homage\nto Peredur.  And Peredur enquired of them, wherefore they were there.  And\nthey told him they were guarding the serpent until he should die.  \"For\nthen should we fight for the stone among ourselves, and whoever should be\nconqueror among us would have the stone.\"  \"Await here,\" said Peredur,\n\"and I will go to encounter the serpent.\"  \"Not so, lord,\" said they, \"we\nwill go altogether to encounter the serpent.\"\n\n\"Verily,\" said Peredur, \"that will I not permit; for if the serpent be\nslain, I shall derive no more fame therefrom than one of you.\"  Then he\nwent to the place where the serpent was, and slew it, and came back to\nthem, and said, \"Reckon up what you have spent since you have been here,\nand I will repay you to the full.\"  And he paid to each what he said was\nhis claim.  And he required of them only that they should acknowledge\nthemselves his vassals.  And he said to Etlym, \"Go back unto her whom\nthou lovest best, and I will go forwards, and I will reward thee for\nhaving been my attendant.\"  And he gave Etlym the stone.  \"Heaven repay\nthee and prosper thee,\" said Etlym.\n\nAnd Peredur rode thence, and he came to the fairest valley he had ever\nseen, through which ran a river; and there he beheld many tents of\nvarious colours.  And he marvelled still more at the number of\nwater-mills and of wind-mills that he saw.  And there rode up with him a\ntall auburn-haired man, in a workman's garb, and Peredur enquired of him\nwho he was.  \"I am the chief miller,\" said he, \"of all the mills yonder.\"\n\"Wilt thou give me lodging?\" said Peredur.  \"I will, gladly,\" he\nanswered.  And Peredur came to the miller's house, and the miller had a\nfair and pleasant dwelling.  And Peredur asked money as a loan from the\nmiller, that he might buy meat and liquor for himself, and for the\nhousehold, and he promised that he would pay him again ere he went\nthence.  And he enquired of the miller, wherefore such a multitude were\nthere assembled.  Said the miller to Peredur, \"One thing is certain;\neither thou art a man from afar, or thou art beside thyself.  The Empress\nof Cristinobyl the Great is here; and she will have no one but the man\nwho is most valiant; for riches does she not require.  And it was\nimpossible to bring food for so many thousands as are here, therefore\nwere all these mills constructed.\"  And that night they took their rest.\n\nAnd the next day Peredur arose, and he equipped himself and his horse for\nthe tournament.  And among the other tents, he beheld one, which was the\nfairest he had ever seen.  And he saw a beauteous maiden leaning her head\nout of a window of the tent, and he had never seen a maiden more lovely\nthan she.  And upon her was a garment of satin.  And he gazed fixedly on\nthe maiden, and began to love her greatly.  And he remained there, gazing\nupon the maiden from morning until mid-day, and from mid-day until\nevening; and then the tournament was ended; and he went to his lodging,\nand drew off his armour.  Then he asked money of the miller as a loan,\nand the miller's wife was wroth with Peredur; nevertheless, the miller\nlent him the money.  And the next day he did in like manner as he had\ndone the day before.  And at night he came to his lodging, and took money\nas a loan from the miller.  And the third day, as he was in the same\nplace, gazing upon the maiden, he felt a hard blow between the neck and\nthe shoulder, from the edge of an axe.  And when he looked behind him, he\nsaw that it was the miller; and the miller said to him, \"Do one of two\nthings: either turn thy head from hence, or go to the tournament.\"  And\nPeredur smiled on the miller, and went to the tournament; and all that\nencountered him that day, he overthrew.  And as many as he vanquished, he\nsent as a gift to the Empress, and their horses and arms he sent as a\ngift to the wife of the miller, in payment of the borrowed money.  Peredur\nattended the tournament until all were overthrown, and he sent all the\nmen to the prison of the Empress, and the horses and arms to the wife of\nthe miller, in payment of the borrowed money.  And the Empress sent to\nthe Knight of the Mill, to ask him to come and visit her.  And Peredur\nwent not for the first nor for the second message.  And the third time\nshe sent an hundred knights to bring him against his will, and they went\nto him, and told him their mission from the Empress.  And Peredur fought\nwell with them, and caused them to be bound like stags, and thrown into\nthe mill dyke.  And the Empress sought advice of a wise man, who was in\nher counsel; and he said to her, \"With thy permission, I will go to him\nmyself.\"  So he came to Peredur, and saluted him, and besought him, for\nthe sake of the lady of his love, to come and visit the Empress.  And\nthey went, together with the miller.  And Peredur went and sat down in\nthe outer chamber of the tent, and she came and placed herself by his\nside.  And there was but little discourse between them.  And Peredur took\nhis leave, and went to his lodging.  And the next day he came to visit\nher, and when he came into the tent, there was no one chamber less\ndecorated than the others.  And they knew not where he would sit.  And\nPeredur went and sat beside the Empress, and discoursed with her\ncourteously.  And while they were thus, they beheld a black man enter\nwith a goblet full of wine in his hand.  And he dropped upon his knee\nbefore the Empress, and besought her to give it to no one who would not\nfight with him for it.  And she looked upon Peredur.  \"Lady,\" said he,\n\"bestow on me the goblet.\"  And Peredur drank the wine, and gave the\ngoblet to the miller's wife.  And while they were thus, behold there\nentered a black man, of larger stature than the other, with a wild\nbeast's claw in his hand, wrought into the form of a goblet, and filled\nwith wine.  And he presented it to the Empress, and besought her to give\nit to no one but the man who would fight with him.  \"Lady,\" said Peredur,\n\"bestow it on me.\"  And she gave it to him.  And Peredur drank the wine,\nand sent the goblet to the wife of the miller.  And while they were thus,\nbehold a rough-looking crisp-haired man, taller than either of the\nothers, came in with a bowl in his hand full of wine; and he bent upon\nhis knee, and gave it into the hands of the Empress, and he besought her\nto give it to none but him who would fight with him for it; and she gave\nit to Peredur, and he sent it to the miller's wife.  And that night\nPeredur returned to his lodging; and the next day he accoutred himself\nand his horse, and went to the meadow, and slew the three men.  Then\nPeredur proceeded to the tent, and the Empress said to him, \"Goodly\nPeredur, remember the faith thou didst pledge me when I gave thee the\nstone, and thou didst kill the Addanc.\"  \"Lady,\" answered he, \"thou\nsayest truth, I do remember it.\"  And Peredur was entertained by the\nEmpress fourteen years, as the story relates.\n\n* * * * *\n\nArthur was at Caerlleon upon Usk, his principal palace; and in the centre\nof the floor of the hall were four men sitting on a carpet of velvet,\nOwain the son of Urien, and Gwalchmai the son of Gwyar, and Howel the son\nof Emyr Llydaw, and Peredur of the long lance.  And thereupon they saw a\nblack curly-headed maiden enter, riding upon a yellow mule, with jagged\nthongs in her hand, to urge it on; and having a rough and hideous aspect.\nBlacker were her face and her two hands than the blackest iron covered\nwith pitch; and her hue was not more frightful than her form.  High\ncheeks had she, and a face lengthened downwards, and a short nose with\ndistended nostrils.  And one eye was of a piercing mottled grey, and the\nother was as black as jet, deep sunk in her head.  And her teeth were\nlong and yellow, more yellow were they than the flower of the broom.  And\nher stomach rose from the breast bone, higher than her chin.  And her\nback was in the shape of a crook, and her legs were large and bony.  And\nher figure was very thin and spare, except her feet and her legs, which\nwere of huge size.  And she greeted Arthur and all his household, except\nPeredur.  And to Peredur she spoke harsh and angry words.  \"Peredur, I\ngreet thee not, seeing that thou dost not merit it.  Blind was fate in\ngiving thee fame and favour.  When thou wast in the Court of the Lame\nKing, and didst see there the youth bearing the streaming spear, from the\npoints of which were drops of blood flowing in streams, even to the hand\nof the youth, and many other wonders likewise, thou didst not enquire\ntheir meaning nor their cause.  Hadst thou done so, the King would have\nbeen restored to health, and his dominions to peace.  Whereas, from\nhenceforth, he will have to endure battles and conflicts, and his knights\nwill perish, and wives will be widowed, and maidens will be left\nportionless, and all this is because of thee.\"  Then said she unto\nArthur, \"May it please thee, lord, my dwelling is far hence, in the\nstately castle of which thou hast heard, and therein are five hundred and\nsixty-six knights of the order of Chivalry, and the lady whom best he\nloves with each; and whoever would acquire fame in arms, and encounters,\nand conflicts, he will gain it there, if he deserve it.  And whoso would\nreach the summit of fame and of honour, I know where he may find it.\nThere is a Castle on a lofty mountain, and there is a maiden therein, and\nshe is detained a prisoner there, and whoever shall set her free will\nattain the summit of the fame of the world.\"  And thereupon she rode\naway.\n\nSaid Gwalchmai, \"By my faith, I will not rest tranquilly until I have\nproved if I can release the maiden.\"  And many of Arthur's household\njoined themselves with him.  Then, likewise said Peredur, \"By my faith, I\nwill not rest tranquilly until I know the story and meaning of the lance\nwhereof the black maiden spoke.\"  And while they were equipping\nthemselves, behold a knight came to the gate.  And he had the size and\nthe strength of a warrior, and was equipped with arms and habiliments.\nAnd he went forward, and saluted Arthur and all his household, except\nGwalchmai.  And the knight had upon his shoulder a shield, ingrained with\ngold, with a fesse of azure blue upon it, and his whole armour was of the\nsame hue.  And he said to Gwalchmai, \"Thou didst slay my lord, by thy\ntreachery and deceit, and that will I prove upon thee.\"  Then Gwalchmai\nrose up.  \"Behold,\" said he, \"here is my gage against thee, to maintain\neither in this place, or wherever else thou wilt, that I am not a traitor\nor deceiver.\"  \"Before the King whom I obey, will I that my encounter\nwith thee take place,\" said the knight.  \"Willingly,\" said Gwalchmai, \"go\nforward, and I will follow thee.\"  So the knight went forth, and\nGwalchmai accoutred himself, and there was offered unto him abundance of\narmour, but he would take none but his own.  And when Gwalchmai and\nPeredur were equipped, they set forth to follow him, by reason of their\nfellowship, and of the great friendship that was between them.  And they\ndid not go after him in company together, but each went his own way.\n\nAt the dawn of day, Gwalchmai came to a valley, and in the valley he saw\na fortress, and within the fortress a vast palace, and lofty towers\naround it.  And he beheld a knight coming out to hunt from the other\nside, mounted on a spirited black snorting palfrey, that advanced at a\nprancing pace, proudly stepping, and nimbly bounding, and sure of foot;\nand this was the man to whom the palace belonged.  And Gwalchmai saluted\nhim, \"Heaven prosper thee, chieftain,\" said he, \"and whence comest thou?\"\n\"I come,\" answered he, \"from the Court of Arthur.\"  \"And art thou\nArthur's vassal?\"  \"Yes, by my faith,\" said Gwalchmai.  \"I will give thee\ngood counsel,\" said the knight.  \"I see that thou art tired and weary, go\nunto my palace, if it may please thee, and tarry there to-night.\"\n\"Willingly, lord,\" said he, \"and Heaven reward thee.\"  \"Take this ring as\na token to the porter, and go forward to yonder tower, and therein thou\nwilt find my sister.\"  And Gwalchmai went to the gate, and shewed the\nring, and proceeded to the tower.  And on entering, he beheld a large\nblazing fire, burning without smoke, and with a bright and lofty flame,\nand a beauteous and stately maiden was sitting on a chair by the fire.\nAnd the maiden was glad at his coming, and welcomed him, and advanced to\nmeet him.  And he went and sat beside the maiden, and they took their\nrepast.  And when their repast was over, they discoursed pleasantly\ntogether.  And while they were thus, behold there entered a venerable\nhoary-headed man.  \"Ah! base girl,\" said he, \"if thou didst think that it\nwas right for thee to entertain and to sit by yonder man; thou wouldest\nnot do so.\"  And he withdrew his head, and went forth, \"Ha! chieftain,\"\nsaid the maiden, \"if thou wilt do as I counsel thee, thou wilt shut the\ndoor, lest the man should have a plot against thee.\"  Upon that Gwalchmai\narose, and when he came near unto the door, the man, with sixty others,\nfully armed, were ascending the tower.  And Gwalchmai defended the door\nwith a chessboard, that none might enter until the man should return from\nthe chase.  And thereupon, behold the earl arrived.  \"What is all this?\"\nasked he.  \"It is a sad thing,\" said the hoary-headed man, \"the young\ngirl yonder has been sitting and eating with him who slew your father.  He\nis Gwalchmai the son of Gwyar.\"  \"Hold thy peace, then,\" said the earl,\n\"I will go in.\"  And the earl was joyful concerning Gwalchmai.  \"Ha!\nchieftain,\" said he, \"it was wrong of thee to come to my Court, when thou\nknewest that thou didst slay my father; and though we cannot avenge him,\nHeaven will avenge him upon thee.\"  \"My soul,\" said Gwalchmai, \"thus it\nis; I came not here either to acknowledge or to deny having slain thy\nfather; but I am on a message from Arthur, and therefore do I crave the\nspace of a year until I shall return from my embassy, and then, upon my\nfaith, I will come back unto this palace, and do one of two things,\neither acknowledge it, or deny it.\"  And the time was granted him\nwillingly; and he remained there that night.  And the next morning he\nrode forth.  And the story relates nothing further of Gwalchmai\nrespecting this adventure.\n\nAnd Peredur rode forward.  And he wandered over the whole island, seeking\ntidings of the black maiden, and he could meet with none.  And he came to\nan unknown land, in the centre of a valley, watered by a river.  And as\nhe traversed the valley, he beheld a horseman coming towards him, and\nwearing the garments of a priest, and he besought his blessing.  \"Wretched\nman,\" said he, \"thou meritest no blessing, and thou wouldst not be\nprofited by one, seeing that thou art clad in armour on such a day as\nthis.\"  \"And what day is to-day?\" said Peredur.  \"To-day is Good Friday,\"\nhe answered.  \"Chide me not, that I knew not this, seeing that it is a\nyear to-day since I journeyed forth from my country.\"  Then he\ndismounted, and led his horse in his hand.  And he had not proceeded far\nalong the high road before he came to a cross road, and the cross road\ntraversed a wood.  And on the other side of the wood he saw an\nunfortified castle, which appeared to be inhabited.  And at the gate of\nthe castle there met him the priest whom he had seen before, and he asked\nhis blessing.  \"The blessing of Heaven be unto thee,\" said he, \"it is\nmore fitting to travel in thy present guise, than as thou wast erewhile;\nand this night thou shalt tarry with me.\"  So he remained there that\nnight.\n\nAnd the next day Peredur sought to go forth.  \"To-day may no one journey.\nThou shalt remain with me to-day and to-morrow, and the day following,\nand I will direct thee as best I may to the place which thou art\nseeking.\"  And the fourth day Peredur sought to go forth, and he\nentreated the priest to tell him how he should find the Castle of\nWonders.  \"What I know thereof, I will tell thee,\" he replied.  \"Go over\nyonder mountain, and on the other side of the mountain thou wilt come to\na river, and in the valley wherein the river runs is a King's Palace,\nwherein the King sojourned during Easter.  And if thou mayest have\ntidings anywhere of the Castle of Wonders, thou wilt have them there.\"\n\nThen Peredur rode forward.  And he came to the valley in which was the\nriver, and there met him a number of men going to hunt, and in the midst\nof them was a man of exalted rank, and Peredur saluted him.  \"Choose,\nchieftain,\" said the man, \"whether thou wilt go with me to the chase, or\nwilt proceed to my Palace, and I will despatch one of my household to\ncommend thee to my daughter, who is there, and who will entertain thee\nwith food and liquor until I return from hunting; and whatever may be\nthine errand, such as I can obtain for thee, thou shalt gladly have.\"  And\nthe King sent a little yellow page with him as an attendant; and when\nthey came to the palace, the lady had arisen, and was about to wash\nbefore meat.  Peredur went forward, and she saluted him joyfully, and\nplaced him by her side.  And they took their repast.  And whatsoever\nPeredur said unto her, she laughed loudly, so that all in the palace\ncould hear.  Then spoke the yellow page to the lady.  \"By my faith,\" said\nhe, \"this youth is already thy husband; or if he be not, thy mind and thy\nthoughts are set upon him.\"  And the little yellow page went unto the\nKing, and told him that it seemed to him that the youth whom he had met\nwith was his daughter's husband, or if he were not so already, that he\nwould shortly become so, unless he were cautious.  \"What is thy counsel\nin this matter, youth?\" said the King.  \"My counsel is,\" he replied,\n\"that thou set strong men upon him, to seize him, until thou hast\nascertained the truth respecting this.\"  So he set strong men upon\nPeredur, who seized him, and cast him into prison.  And the maiden went\nbefore her father, and asked him, wherefore he had caused the youth from\nArthur's Court to be imprisoned.  \"In truth,\" he answered, \"he shall not\nbe free to-night, nor to-morrow, nor the day following, and he shall not\ncome from where he is.\"  She replied not to what the king had said, but\nshe went to the youth.  \"Is it unpleasant to thee to be here?\" said she.\n\"I should not care, if I were not,\" he replied.  \"Thy couch and thy\ntreatment shall be in no wise inferior to that of the King himself, and\nthou shalt have the best entertainment that the palace affords.  And if\nit were more pleasing to thee that my couch should be here, that I might\ndiscourse with thee, it should be so, cheerfully.\"  \"This can I not\nrefuse,\" said Peredur.  And he remained in prison that night.  And the\nmaiden provided all that she had promised him.\n\nAnd the next day Peredur heard a tumult in the town.  \"Tell me, fair\nmaiden, what is that tumult?\" said Peredur.  \"All the King's hosts and\nhis forces have come to the town to-day.\"  \"And what seek they here?\" he\nenquired.  \"There is an Earl near this place, who possesses two Earldoms,\nand is as powerful as a king; and an engagement will take place between\nthem to-day.\"  \"I beseech thee,\" said Peredur, \"to cause a horse and arms\nto be brought, that I may view the encounter, and I promise to come back\nto my prison again.\"  \"Gladly,\" said she, \"will I provide thee with horse\nand arms.\"  So she gave him a horse and arms, and a bright scarlet robe\nof honour over his armour, and a yellow shield upon his shoulder.  And he\nwent to the combat; and as many of the Earl's men as encountered him that\nday, he overthrew; and he returned to his prison.  And the maiden asked\ntidings of Peredur, and he answered her not a word.  And she went and\nasked tidings of her father, and enquired who had acquitted himself best\nof the household.  And he said that he knew not, but that it was a man\nwith a scarlet robe of honour over his armour, and a yellow shield upon\nhis shoulder.  Then she smiled, and returned to where Peredur was, and\ndid him great honour that night.  And for three days did Peredur slay the\nEarl's men; and before any one could know who he was, he returned to his\nprison.  And the fourth day Peredur slew the Earl himself.  And the\nmaiden went unto her father, and enquired of him the news.  \"I have good\nnews for thee,\" said the King, \"the Earl is slain, and I am the owner of\nhis two Earldoms.\"  \"Knowest thou, lord, who slew him?\"  \"I do not know,\"\nsaid the King.  \"It was the knight with the scarlet robe of honour, and\nthe yellow shield.\"  \"Lord,\" said she, \"I know who that is.\"  \"By\nHeaven,\" he exclaimed, \"who is he?\"  \"Lord,\" she replied, \"he is the\nknight whom thou hast imprisoned.\"  Then he went unto Peredur, and\nsaluted him, and told him that he would reward the service he had done\nhim, in any way he might desire.  And when they went to meat, Peredur was\nplaced beside the King, and the maiden on the other side of Peredur, \"I\nwill give thee,\" said the King, \"my daughter in marriage, and half my\nkingdom with her, and the two Earldoms as a gift.\"  \"Heaven reward thee,\nlord,\" said Peredur, \"but I came not here to woo.\"  \"What seekest thou,\nthen, chieftain?\"  \"I am seeking tidings of the Castle of Wonders.\"  \"Thy\nenterprise is greater, chieftain, than thou wilt wish to pursue,\" said\nthe maiden, \"nevertheless, tidings shalt thou have of the Castle, and\nthou shalt have a guide through my father's dominions, and a sufficiency\nof provisions for thy journey, for thou art, O chieftain, the man whom\nbest I love.\"  Then she said to him, \"Go over yonder mountain, and thou\nwilt find a Lake, and in the middle of the Lake there is a Castle, and\nthat is the Castle that is called the Castle of Wonders; and we know not\nwhat wonders are therein, but thus is it called.\"\n\nAnd Peredur proceeded towards the Castle, and the gate of the Castle was\nopen.  And when he came to the hall, the door was open, and he entered.\nAnd he beheld a chessboard in the hall, and the chessmen were playing\nagainst each other, by themselves.  And the side that he favoured lost\nthe game, {102} and thereupon the others set up a shout, as though they\nhad been living men.  And Peredur was wroth, and took the chessmen in his\nlap, and cast the chessboard into the lake.  And when he had done thus,\nbehold the black maiden came in, and she said to him, \"The welcome of\nHeaven be not unto thee.  Thou hadst rather do evil than good.\"  \"What\ncomplaint hast thou against me, maiden?\" said Peredur.  \"That thou hast\noccasioned unto the Empress the loss of her chessboard, which she would\nnot have lost for all her empire.  And the way in which thou mayest\nrecover the chessboard is, to repair to the Castle of Ysbidinongyl, where\nis a black man, who lays waste the dominions of the Empress; and if thou\ncanst slay him, thou wilt recover the chessboard.  But if thou goest\nthere, thou wilt not return alive.\"  \"Wilt thou direct me thither?\" said\nPeredur.  \"I will show thee the way,\" she replied.  So he went to the\nCastle of Ysbidinongyl, and he fought with the black man.  And the black\nman besought mercy of Peredur.  \"Mercy will I grant thee,\" said he, \"on\ncondition that thou cause the chessboard to be restored to the place\nwhere it was when I entered the hall.\"  Then the maiden came to him and\nsaid, \"The malediction of Heaven attend thee for thy work, since thou\nhast left that monster alive, who lays waste all the possessions of the\nEmpress.\"  \"I granted him his life,\" said Peredur, \"that he might cause\nthe chessboard to be restored.\"  \"The chessboard is not in the place\nwhere thou didst find it; go back, therefore, and slay him,\" answered\nshe.  So Peredur went back, and slew the black man.  And when he returned\nto the palace, he found the black maiden there.  \"Ah! maiden,\" said\nPeredur, \"where is the Empress?\"  \"I declare to Heaven that thou wilt not\nsee her now, unless thou dost slay the monster that is in yonder forest.\"\n\"What monster is there?\"  \"It is a stag that is as swift as the swiftest\nbird; and he has one horn in his forehead, as long as the shaft of a\nspear and as sharp as whatever is sharpest.  And he destroys the branches\nof the best trees in the forest and he kills every animal that he meets\nwith therein; and those that he does not slay perish of hunger.  And what\nis worse than that, he comes every night, and drinks up the fish pond,\nand leaves the fishes exposed, so that for the most part they die before\nthe water returns again.\"  \"Maiden,\" said Peredur, \"wilt thou come and\nshow me this animal?\"  \"Not so,\" said the maiden, \"for he has not\npermitted any mortal to enter the forest for above a twelvemonth.  Behold,\nhere is a little dog belonging to the Empress, which will rouse the stag,\nand will chase him towards thee, and the stag will attack thee.\"  Then\nthe little dog went as a guide to Peredur, and roused the stag, and\nbrought him towards the place where Peredur was.  And the stag attacked\nPeredur, and he let him pass by him, and as he did so, he smote off his\nhead with his sword.  And while he was looking at the head of the stag,\nhe saw a lady on horseback coming towards him.  And she took the little\ndog in the lappet of her cap, and the head and the body of the stag lay\nbefore her.  And around the stag's neck was a golden collar.  \"Ha!\nchieftain,\" said she, \"uncourteously hast thou acted in slaying the\nfairest jewel that was in my dominions.\"  \"I was intreated so to do; and\nis there any way by which I can obtain thy friendship?\"  \"There is,\" she\nreplied.  \"Go thou forward unto yonder mountain, and there thou wilt find\na grove; and in the grove there is a cromlech, do thou there challenge a\nman three times to fight, and thou shalt have my friendship.\"\n\nSo Peredur proceeded onward, and came to the side of the grove, and\nchallenged any man to fight.  And a black man arose from beneath the\ncromlech, mounted upon a bony horse, and both he and his horse were clad\nin huge rusty armour.  And they fought.  And as often as Peredur cast the\nblack man to the earth, he would jump again into his saddle.  And Peredur\ndismounted, and drew his sword; and thereupon the black man disappeared\nwith Peredur's horse and his own, so that he could not gain sight of him\na second time.  And Peredur went along the mountain, and on the other\nside of the mountain he beheld a castle in the valley, wherein was a\nriver.  And he went to the castle; and as he entered it, he saw a hall,\nand the door of the hall was open, and he went in.  And there he saw a\nlame grey-headed man, sitting on one side of the hall, with Gwalchmai\nbeside him.  And Peredur beheld his horse, which the black man had taken,\nin the same stall with that of Gwalchmai.  And they were glad concerning\nPeredur.  And he went and seated himself on the other side of the hoary-\nheaded man.  Then, behold a yellow-haired youth came, and bent upon the\nknee before Peredur, and besought his friendship.  \"Lord,\" said the\nyouth, \"it was I that came in the form of the black maiden to Arthur's\nCourt, and when thou didst throw down the chessboard, and when thou didst\nslay the black man of Ysbidinongyl, and when thou didst slay the stag,\nand when thou didst go to fight the black man of the cromlech.  And I\ncame with the bloody head in the salver, and with the lance that streamed\nwith blood from the point to the hand, all along the shaft; and the head\nwas thy cousin's, and he was killed by the sorceresses of Gloucester, who\nalso lamed thine uncle; and I am thy cousin.  And there is a prediction\nthat thou art to avenge these things.\"  Then Peredur and Gwalchmai took\ncounsel, and sent to Arthur and his household, to beseech them to come\nagainst the sorceresses.  And they began to fight with them, and one of\nthe sorceresses slew one of Arthur's men before Peredur's face, and\nPeredur bade her forbear.  And the sorceress slew a man before Peredur's\nface a second time, and a second time he forbade her.  And the third time\nthe sorceress slew a man before the face of Peredur, and then Peredur\ndrew his sword, and smote the sorceress on the helmet, and all her head\narmour was split in two parts.  And she set up a cry, and desired the\nother sorceresses to flee, and told them that this was Peredur, the man\nwho had learnt Chivalry with them, and by whom they were destined to be\nslain.  Then Arthur and his household fell upon the sorceresses, and slew\nthe sorceresses of Gloucester every one And thus is it related concerning\nthe Castle of Wonders.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DREAM OF RHONABWY.\n\n\nMadawc the son of Maredudd possessed Powys within its boundaries, from\nPorfoed to Gwauan in the uplands of Arwystli.  And at that time he had a\nbrother, Iorwerth the son of Maredudd, in rank not equal to himself.  And\nIorwerth had great sorrow and heaviness because of the honour and power\nthat his brother enjoyed, which he shared not.  And he sought his fellows\nand his foster-brothers, and took counsel with them what he should do in\nthis matter.  And they resolved to despatch some of their number to go\nand seek a maintenance for him.  Then Madawc offered him to become Master\nof the Household and to have horses, and arms, and honour, and to fare\nlike as himself.  But Iorwerth refused this.\n\nAnd Iorwerth made an inroad into England, slaying the inhabitants, and\nburning houses, and carrying away prisoners.  And Madawc took counsel\nwith the men of Powys, and they determined to place an hundred men in\neach of the three Commots of Powys to seek for him.  And thus did they in\nthe plains of Powys from Aber Ceirawc, and in Allictwn Ver, and in Rhyd\nWilure, on the Vyrnwy, the three best Commots of Powys.  So he was none\nthe better, he nor his household, in Powys, nor in the plains thereof.\n{108}  And they spread these men over the plains as far as Nillystwn\nTrevan.\n\nNow one of the men who was upon this quest was called Rhonabwy.  And\nRhonabwy and Kynwrig Vrychgoch, a man of Mawddwy, and Cadwgan Vras, a man\nof Moelvre in Kynlleith, came together to the house of Heilyn Goch the\nson of Cadwgan the son of Iddon.  And when they near to the house, they\nsaw an old hall, very black and having an upright gable, whence issued a\ngreat smoke; and on entering, they found the floor full of puddles and\nmounds; and it was difficult to stand thereon, so slippery was it with\nthe mire of cattle.  And where the puddles were a man might go up to his\nankles in water and dirt.  And there were boughs of holly spread over the\nfloor whereof the cattle had browsed the sprigs.  When they came to the\nhall of the house, they beheld cells full of dust, and very gloomy, {109}\nand on one side an old hag making a fire.  And whenever she felt cold,\nshe cast a lapful of chaff upon the fire, and raised such a smoke, that\nit was scarcely to be borne, as it rose up the nostrils.  And on the\nother side was a yellow calf skin on the floor, a main privilege was it\nto any one who should get upon that hide.\n\nAnd when they had sat down, they asked the hag where were the people of\nthe house.  And the hag spoke not but muttered.  Thereupon behold the\npeople of the house entered; a ruddy, clownish curly-headed man, with a\nburthen of fagots on his back, and a pale slender woman, also carrying a\nbundle under her arm.  And they barely welcomed the men, and kindled a\nfire with the boughs.  And the woman cooked something and gave them to\neat, barley bread, and cheese, and milk and water.\n\nAnd there arose a storm of wind and rain, so that it was hardly possible\nto go forth with safety.  And being weary with their journey, they laid\nthemselves down and sought to sleep.  And when they looked at the couch,\nit seemed to be made but of a little coarse straw full of dust and\nvermin, with the stems of boughs sticking up therethrough, for the cattle\nhad eaten all the straw that was placed at the head and the foot.  And\nupon it was stretched an old russet-coloured rug, threadbare and ragged;\nand a coarse sheet, full of slits was upon the rug, and an ill-stuffed\npillow, and a worn-out cover upon the sheet.  And after much suffering\nfrom the vermin, and from the discomfort of their couch, a heavy sleep\nfell on Rhonabwy's companions.  But Rhonabwy, not being able either to\nsleep or to rest, thought he should suffer less if he went to lie upon\nthe yellow calfskin that was stretched out on the floor.  And there he\nslept.\n\nAs soon as sleep had come upon his eyes, it seemed to him that he was\njourneying with his companions across the plain of Argyngroeg, and he\nthought that he went towards Rhyd y Groes on the Severn.  As he\njourneyed, he heard a mighty noise, the like whereof heard he never\nbefore; and looking behind him, he beheld a youth with yellow curling\nhair, and with his beard newly trimmed, mounted on a chesnut horse,\nwhereof the legs were grey from the top of the forelegs, and from the\nbend of the hindlegs downwards.  And the rider wore a coat of yellow\nsatin sewn with green silk, and on his thigh was a gold-hilted sword,\nwith a scabbard of new leather of Cordova, belted with the skin of the\ndeer, and clasped with gold.  And over this was a scarf of yellow satin\nwrought with green silk, the borders whereof were likewise green.  And\nthe green of the caparison of the horse, and of his rider, was as green\nas the leaves of the fir tree, and the yellow was as yellow as the\nblossom of the broom.  So fierce was the aspect of the knight, that fear\nseized upon them, and they began to flee.  And the knight pursued them.\nAnd when the horse breathed forth, the men became distant from him, and\nwhen he drew in his breath, they were drawn near to him, even to the\nhorse's chest.  And when he had overtaken them, they besought his mercy.\n\"You have it gladly!\" said he, \"fear nought.\"  \"Ha, chieftain, since thou\nhast mercy upon me, tell me also who thou art,\" said Rhonabwy.  \"I will\nnot conceal my lineage from thee.  I am Iddawc the son of Mynyo, yet not\nby my name, but by my nickname am I best known.\"  \"And wilt thou tell us\nwhat thy nickname is?\"  \"I will tell you; it is Iddawc Cordd Prydain.\"\n\"Ha, chieftain,\" said Rhonabwy, \"why art thou called thus?\"  \"I will tell\nthee.  I was one of the messengers between Arthur and Medrawd his nephew,\nat the battle of Camlan; and I was then a reckless youth, and through my\ndesire for battle, I kindled strife between them, and stirred up wrath,\nwhen I was sent by Arthur the Emperor to reason with Medrawd, and to shew\nhim, that he was his foster-father and his uncle, and to seek for peace,\nlest the sons of the Kings of the Island of Britain, and of the nobles,\nshould be slain.  And whereas Arthur charged me with the fairest sayings\nhe could think of, I uttered unto Medrawd the harshest I could devise.\nAnd therefore am I called Iddawc Cordd Prydain, for from this did the\nbattle of Camlan ensue.  And three nights before the end of the battle of\nCamlan I left them, and went to the Llech Las in North Britain to do\npenance.  And there I remained doing penance seven years, and after that\nI gained pardon.\"\n\nThen lo! they heard a mighty sound which was much louder than that which\nthey had heard before, and when they looked round towards the sound;\nbehold a ruddy youth, without beard or whiskers, {111} noble of mien, and\nmounted on a stately courser.  And from the shoulders and the front of\nthe knees downwards the horse was bay.  And upon the man was a dress of\nred satin wrought with yellow silk, and yellow were the borders of his\nscarf.  And such parts of his apparel and of the trappings of his horse\nas were yellow, as yellow were they as the blossom of the broom, and such\nas were red, were as ruddy as the ruddiest blood in the world.\n\nThen behold the horseman overtook them, and he asked of Iddawc a share of\nthe little men that were with him.  \"That which is fitting for me to\ngrant I will grant, and thou shalt be a companion to them as I have\nbeen.\"  And the horseman went away.  \"Iddawc,\" enquired Rhonabwy, \"who\nwas that horseman?\"  \"Rhuvawn Pebyr, the son of Prince Deorthach.\"\n\nAnd they journeyed over the plain of Argyngroeg as far as the ford of\nRhyd y Groes on the Severn.  And for a mile around the ford on both sides\nof the road, they saw tents and encampments, and there was the clamour of\na mighty host.  And they came to the edge of the ford, and there they\nbeheld Arthur sitting on a flat island below the ford, having Bedwini\n{112} the Bishop on one side of him, and Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw on the\nother.  And a tall auburn-haired youth stood before him, with his\nsheathed sword in his hand, and clad in a coat and a cap of jet black\nsatin.  And his face was white as ivory, and his eyebrows black as jet,\nand such part of his wrist as could be seen between his glove and his\nsleeve was whiter than the lily, and thicker than a warrior's ankle.\n\nThen came Iddawc and they that were with him, and stood before Arthur,\nand saluted him.  \"Heaven grant thee good,\" said Arthur.  \"And where,\nIddawc, didst thou find these little men?\"  \"I found them, lord, up\nyonder on the road.\"  Then the Emperor smiled.  \"Lord,\" said Iddawc,\n\"wherefore dost thou laugh?\"  \"Iddawc,\" replied Arthur, \"I laugh nor; but\nit pitieth me that men of such stature as these should have this Island\nin their keeping, after the men that guarded it of yore.\"  Then said\nIddawc, \"Rhonabwy, dost thou see the ring with a stone set in it, that is\nupon the Emperor's hand?\"  \"I see it,\" he answered.  \"It is one of the\nproperties of that stone, to enable thee to remember that thou seest here\nto-night, and hadst thou not seen the stone, thou wouldest never have\nbeen able to remember aught thereof.\"\n\nAfter this they saw a troop coming towards the ford.  \"Iddawc,\" enquired\nRhonabwy, \"to whom does yonder troop belong?\"  \"They are the fellows of\nRhuvawn Pebyr the son of Prince Deorthach.  And these men are honourably\nserved with mead and bragget, and are freely beloved by the daughters of\nthe kings of the Island of Britain.  And this they merit, for they were\never in the front and the rear in every peril.\"  And he saw but one hue\nupon the men and the horses of this troop, for they were all as red as\nblood.  And when one of the knights rode forth from the troop, he looked\nlike a pillar of fire glancing athwart the sky.  And this troop encamped\nabove the ford.\n\nThen they beheld another troop coming towards the ford, and these from\ntheir horses' chests upwards were whiter than the lily, and below blacker\nthan jet.  And they saw one of these knights go before the rest, and spur\nhis horse into the ford in such a manner that the water dashed over\nArthur and the Bishop, and those holding counsel with them, so that they\nwere as wet as if they had been drenched in the river.  And as he turned\nthe head of his horse, the youth who stood before Arthur struck the horse\nover the nostrils with his sheathed sword, so that had it been with the\nbare blade it would have been a marvel if the bone had not been wounded\nas well as the flesh.  And the knight drew his sword half out of the\nscabbard, and asked of him, \"Wherefore didst thou strike my horse?\nWhether was it in insult or in counsel unto me?\"  \"Thou dost indeed lack\ncounsel.  What madness caused thee to ride so furiously as to dash the\nwater of the ford over Arthur, and the consecrated Bishop, and their\ncounsellors, so that they were as wet as if they had been dragged out of\nthe river?\"  \"As counsel then will I take it.\"  So he turned his horse's\nhead round towards his army.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who was yonder knight?\"  \"The most eloquent and\nthe wisest youth that is in this Island; Adaon the son of Taliesin.\"  \"Who\nwas the man that struck his horse?\"  \"A youth of froward nature; Elphin\nthe son of Gwyddno.\"\n\nThen spake a tall and stately man, of noble and flowing speech, saying\nthat it was a marvel that so vast a host should be assembled in so narrow\na space, and that it was a still greater marvel that those should be\nthere at that time who had promised to be by mid-day in the battle of\nBadon, fighting with Osla Gyllellvawr.  \"Whether thou mayest choose to\nproceed or not, I will proceed.\"  \"Thou sayest well,\" said Arthur, \"and\nwe will go all together.\"  \"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who was the man who\nspoke so marvellously unto Arthur erewhile?\"  \"A man who may speak as\nboldly as he listeth, Caradawc Vreichvras, the son of Llyr Marini, his\nchief counsellor and his cousin.\"\n\nThen Iddawc took Rhonabwy behind him on his horse, and that mighty host\nmoved forward, each troop in its order, towards Cevndigoll.  And when\nthey came to the middle of the ford of the Severn, Iddawc turned his\nhorse's head, and Rhonabwy looked along the valley of the Severn.  And he\nbeheld two fair troops coming towards the ford.  One troop there came of\nbrilliant white, whereof every one of the men had a scarf of white satin\nwith jet black borders.  And the knees and the tops of the shoulders of\ntheir horses were jet black, though they were of a pure white in every\nother part.  And their banners were pure white, with black points to them\nall.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who are yonder pure white troop?\"  \"They are\nthe men of Norway, and March the son of Meirchion is their prince.  And\nhe is cousin unto Arthur.\"  And further on he saw a troop, whereof each\nman wore garments of jet black, with borders of pure white to every\nscarf; and the tops of the shoulders and the knees of their horses were\npure white.  And their banners were jet black with pure white at the\npoint of each.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who are the jet black troop yonder?\"  \"They are\nthe men of Denmark, and Edeyrn the son of Nudd is their prince.\"\n\nAnd when they had overtaken the host, Arthur and his army of mighty ones\ndismounted below Caer Badon, and he perceived that he and Iddawc\njourneyed the same road as Arthur.  And after they had dismounted he\nheard a great tumult and confusion amongst the host, and such as were\nthen at the flanks, turned to the centre, and such as had been in the\ncentre moved to the flanks.  And then, behold, he saw a knight coming,\nclad, both he and his horse, in mail, of which the rings were whiter than\nthe whitest lily, and the rivets redder than the ruddies blood.  And he\nrode amongst the host.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"will yonder host flee?\"  \"King Arthur never\nfled, and if this discourse of thine were heard, thou wert a lost man.\nBut as to the knight whom thou seest yonder, it is Kai.  The fairest\nhorseman is Kai in all Arthur's Court; and the men who are at the front\nof the army hasten to the rear to see Kai ride, and the men who are in\nthe centre, flee to the side from the shock of his horse. {116a}  And\nthis is the cause of the confusion of the host.\"\n\nThereupon they heard a call made for Kadwr, Earl of Cornwall, and behold\nhe arose with the sword of Arthur in his hand.  And the similitude of two\nserpents was upon the sword in gold.  And when the sword was drawn from\nits scabbard, it seemed as if two flames of fire burst forth from the\njaws of the serpents, and then, so wonderful was the sword, that it was\nhard for any one to look upon it.  And the host became still, and the\ntumult ceased, and the Earl returned to the tent.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who is the man who bore the sword of Arthur?\"\n\"Kadwr, the Earl of Cornwall, whose duty is to arm the King on the days\nof battle and warfare.\"\n\nAnd they heard a call made for Eirynwych Amheibyn, Arthur's servant, a\nred, rough, ill-favoured man, having red whiskers {116b} with bristly\nhairs.  And behold he came upon a tall red horse, with the mane parted on\neach side, and he brought with him a large and beautiful sumpter pack.\nAnd the huge red youth dismounted before Arthur, and he drew a golden\nchair out of the pack, and a carpet of diapered satin.  And he spread the\ncarpet before Arthur, and there was an apple of ruddy gold at each corner\nthereof, and he placed the chair upon the carpet.  And so large was the\nchair that three armed warriors might have sat therein.  Gwenn was the\nname of the carpet, and it was one of its properties, that whoever was\nupon it no one could see him, and he could see every one.  And it would\nretain no colour but its own.\n\nAnd Arthur sat within the carpet, and Owain the son of Urien was standing\nbefore him.  \"Owain,\" said Arthur, \"wilt thou play chess?\"  \"I will,\nLord,\" said Owain.  And the red youth brought the chess for Arthur and\nOwain; golden pieces and a board of silver.  And they began to play.\n\nAnd while they were thus, and when they were best amused with their game,\nbehold they saw a white tent with a red canopy, and the figure of a jet\nblack serpent on the top of the tent, and red glaring venomous eyes in\nthe head of the serpent, and a red flaming tongue.  And there came a\nyoung page with yellow curling hair, and blue eyes, and a newly springing\nbeard, wearing a coat and a surcoat of yellow satin, and hose of thin\ngreenish yellow cloth upon his feet, and over his hose shoes of parti-\ncoloured leather, fastened at the insteps with golden clasps.  And he\nbore a heavy three-edged sword with a golden hilt, in a scabbard of black\nleather tipped with fine gold.  And he came to the place where the\nEmperor and Owain were playing at chess.\n\nAnd the youth saluted Owain.  And Owain marvelled that the youth should\nsalute him and should not have saluted the Emperor Arthur.  And Arthur\nknew what was in Owain's thought.  And he said to Owain, \"Marvel not that\nthe youth salutes thee now, for he saluted me erewhile; and it is unto\nthee that his errand is.\"  Then said the youth unto Owain, \"Lord, is it\nwith thy leave that the young pages and attendants of the Emperor harass\nand torment and worry the Ravens?  And if it be not with thy leave, cause\nthe Emperor to forbid them.\"  \"Lord,\" said Owain, \"thou hearest what the\nyouth says; if it seem good to thee, forbid them from my Ravens.\"  \"Play\nthy game,\" said he.  Then the youth returned to the tent.\n\nThat game did they finish, and another they began, and when they were in\nthe midst of the game, behold, a ruddy young man with auburn curling\nhair, and large eyes, well grown, and having his beard new shorn, came\nforth from a bright yellow tent, upon the summit of which was the figure\nof a bright red lion.  And he was clad in a coat of yellow satin, falling\nas low as the small of his leg, and embroidered with threads of red silk.\nAnd on his feet were hose of fine white buckram, and buskins of black\nleather were over his hose, whereon were golden clasps.  And in his hand\na huge, heavy, three-edged sword, with a scabbard of red-deer hide,\ntipped with gold.  And he came to the place where Arthur and Owain were\nplaying at chess.  And he saluted him.  And Owain was troubled at his\nsalutation, but Arthur minded it no more than before.  And the youth said\nunto Owain, \"Is it not against thy will that the attendants of the\nEmperor harass thy Ravens, killing some and worrying others?  If against\nthy will it be, beseech him to forbid them.\"  \"Lord,\" said Owain, \"forbid\nthy men if it seem good to thee.\"  \"Play thy game,\" said the Emperor.  And\nthe youth returned to the tent.\n\nAnd that game was ended, and another begun.  And as they were beginning\nthe first move of the game, they beheld at a small distance from them a\ntent speckled yellow, the largest ever seen, and the figure of an eagle\nof gold upon it, and a precious stone on the eagle's head.  And coming\nout of the tent, they saw a youth with thick yellow hair upon his head,\nfair and comely, and a scarf of blue satin upon him, and a brooch of gold\nin the scarf upon his right shoulder as large as a warrior's middle\nfinger.  And upon his feet were hose of fine Totness, and shoes of parti-\ncoloured leather, clasped with gold, and the youth was of noble bearing,\nfair of face, with ruddy cheeks and large hawk's eyes.  In the hand of\nthe youth was a mighty lance, speckled yellow, with a newly sharpened\nhead; and upon the lance a banner displayed.\n\nFiercely angry, and with rapid pace, came the youth to the place where\nArthur was playing at chess with Owain.  And they perceived that he was\nwroth.  And thereupon he saluted Owain, and told him that his Ravens had\nbeen killed, the chief part of them, and that such of them as were not\nslain were so wounded and bruised that not one of them could raise its\nwings a single fathom above the earth.  \"Lord,\" said Owain, \"forbid thy\nmen.\"  \"Play,\" said he \"if it please thee.\"  Then said Owain to the\nyouth, \"Go back, and wherever thou findest the strife at the thickest,\nthere lift up the banner, and let come what pleases Heaven.\"  So the\nyouth returned back to the place where the strife bore hardest upon the\nRavens, and he lifted up the banner; and as he did so they all rose up in\nthe air, wrathful and fierce and high of spirit, clapping their wings in\nthe wind, and shaking off the weariness that was upon them.  And\nrecovering their energy and courage, furiously and with exultation did\nthey, with one sweep, descend upon the heads of the men, who had erewhile\ncaused them anger and pain and damage, and they seized some by the heads\nand others by the eyes, and some by the ears, and others by the arms, and\ncarried them up into the air; and in the air there was a mighty tumult\nwith the flapping of the wings of the triumphant Ravens, and with their\ncroaking; and there was another mighty tumult with the groaning of the\nmen, that were being torn and wounded, and some of whom were slain.\n\nAnd Arthur and Owain marvelled at the tumult as they played at chess;\nand, looking, they perceived a knight upon a dun-coloured horse coming\ntowards them.  And marvellous was the hue of the dun horse.  Bright red\nwas his right shoulder, and from the top of his legs to the centre of his\nhoof was bright yellow.  Both the knight and his horse were fully\nequipped with heavy foreign armour.  The clothing of the horse from the\nfront opening upwards was of bright red sendal, and from thence opening\ndownwards was of bright yellow sendal.  A large gold-hilted one-edged\nsword had the youth upon his thigh, in a scabbard of light blue, and\ntipped with Spanish laton.  The belt of the sword was of dark green\nleather with golden slides and a clasp of ivory upon it, and a buckle of\njet black upon the clasp.  A helmet of gold was on the head of the\nknight, set with precious stones of great virtue, and at the top of the\nhelmet was the image of a flame-coloured leopard with two ruby-red stones\nin its head, so that it was astounding for a warrior, however stout his\nheart, to look at the face of the leopard, much more at the face of the\nknight.  He had in his hand a blue-shafted lance, but from the haft to\nthe point it was stained crimson-red, with the blood of the Ravens and\ntheir plumage.\n\nThe knight came to the place where Arthur and Owain were seated at chess.\nAnd they perceived that he was harassed and vexed and weary as he came\ntowards them.  And the youth saluted Arthur, and told him, that the\nRavens of Owain were slaying his young men and attendants.  And Arthur\nlooked at Owain and said, \"Forbid thy Ravens.\"  \"Lord,\" answered Owain,\n\"play thy game.\"  And they played.  And the knight returned back towards\nthe strife, and the Ravens were not forbade any more than before.\n\nAnd when they had played awhile, they heard a mighty tumult, and a\nwailing of men, and a croaking of Ravens, as they carried the men in\ntheir strength into the air, and, tearing them betwixt them, let them\nfall piecemeal to the earth.  And during the tumult they saw a knight\ncoming towards them on a light grey horse, and the left foreleg of the\nhorse was jet black to the centre of his hoof.  And the knight and the\nhorse were fully accoutred with huge heavy blue armour.  And a robe of\nhonour of yellow diapered satin was upon the knight, and the borders of\nthe robe were blue.  And the housings of the horse were jet black, with\nborders of bright yellow.  And on the thigh of the youth was a sword,\nlong, and three-edged, and heavy.  And the scabbard was of red cut\nleather, and the belt of new red deerskin, having upon it many golden\nslides and a buckle of the bone of the sea horse, the tongue of which was\njet black.  A golden helmet was upon the head of the knight, wherein were\nset sapphire stones of great virtue.  And at the top of the helmet was\nthe figure of a flame-coloured lion, with a fiery-red tongue, issuing\nabove a foot from his mouth, and with venomous eyes, crimson-red, in his\nhead.  And the knight came, bearing in his hand a thick ashen lance, the\nhead whereof, which had been newly steeped in blood, was overlaid with\nsilver.\n\nAnd the youth saluted the Emperor: \"Lord,\" said he, \"carest thou not for\nthe slaying of thy pages, and thy young men, and the sons of the nobles\nof the Island of Britain, whereby it will be difficult to defend this\nIsland from henceforward for ever?\"  \"Owain,\" said Arthur, \"forbid thy\nRavens.\"  \"Play this game, Lord,\" said Owain.\n\nSo they finished the game, and began another; and as they were finishing\nthat game, lo, they heard a great tumult and a clamour of armed men, and\na croaking of Ravens, and a flapping of wings in the air, as they flung\ndown the armour entire to the ground, and the men and the horses\npiecemeal.  Then they saw coming a knight on a lofty-headed piebald\nhorse.  And the left shoulder of the horse was of bright red, and its\nright leg from the chest to the hollow of the hoof was pure white.  And\nthe knight and horse were equipped with arms of speckled yellow,\nvariegated with Spanish laton.  And there was a robe of honour upon him,\nand upon his horse, divided in two parts, white and black, and the\nborders of the robe of honour were of golden purple.  And above the robe\nhe wore a sword three-edged and bright, with a golden hilt.  And the belt\nof the sword was of yellow goldwork, having a clasp upon it of the eyelid\nof a black sea horse, and a tongue of yellow gold to the clasp.  Upon the\nhead of the knight was a bright helmet of yellow laton, with sparkling\nstones of crystal in it, and at the crest of the helmet was the figure of\na griffin, with a stone of many virtues in its head.  And he had an ashen\nspear in his hand, with a round shaft, coloured with azure blue.  And the\nhead of the spear was newly stained with blood, and was overlaid with\nfine silver.\n\nWrathfully came the knight to the place where Arthur was, and he told him\nthat the Ravens had slain his household and the sons of the chief men of\nthis Island, and he besought him to cause Owain to forbid his Ravens.  And\nArthur besought Owain to forbid them.  Then Arthur took the golden\nchessmen that were upon the board, and crushed them until they became as\ndust.  Then Owain ordered Gwres the son of Rheged to lower his banner.  So\nit was lowered, and all was peace.\n\nThen Rhonabwy enquired of Iddawc, who were the first three men that came\nto Owain, to tell him his Ravens were being slain.  Said Iddawc, \"They\nwere men who grieved that Owain should suffer loss, his fellow-chieftains\nand companions, Selyv the son of Kynan Garwyn of Powys, and Gwgawn\nGleddyvrudd, and Gwres the son of Rheged, he who bears the banner in the\nday of battle and strife.\"  \"Who,\" said Rhonabwy, \"were the last three\nmen who came to Arthur, and told him that the Ravens were slaughtering\nhis men?\"  \"The best of men,\" said Iddawc, \"and the bravest, and who\nwould grieve exceedingly that Arthur should have damage in aught;\nBlathaon, the son of Mawrheth, {124a} and Rhuvawn Pebyr the son of Prince\nDeorthach, and Hyveidd Unllenn.\"\n\nAnd with that behold four and twenty knights came from Osla Gyllellvawr,\nto crave a truce of Arthur for a fortnight and a month.  And Arthur arose\nand went to take counsel.  And he came to where a tall auburn\ncurly-headed man was a little way off, and there he assembled his\ncounsellors.  Bedwini, {124b} the Bishop, and Gwarthegyd the son of Kaw,\nand March the son of Meirchawn, and Caradawc Vreichvras, and Gwalchmai\nthe son of Gwyar, and Edeyrn the son of Nudd, and Rhuvawn Pebyr the son\nof Prince Deorthach, and Rhiogan the son of the King of Ireland, and\nGwenwynwyn the son of Nav, Howel the son of Emyr Llydaw, Gwilym the son\nof Rhwyf Freinc, and Daned the son of Ath, {124c} and Goreu Custennin,\nand Mabon the son of Modron, and Peredur Paladyr Hir, and Hyveidd {125a}\nUnllenn, and Twrch the son of Perif, and Nerth the son of Kadarn, and\nGobrwy the son of Echel Vorddwyttwll, Gwair the son of Gwestyl, and Gadwy\n{125b} the son of Geraint, Trystan {125c} the son of Tallwch, Moryen\nManawc, Granwen the son of Llyr, and Llacheu the son of Arthur, and\nLlawvrodedd Varvawc, and Kadwr Earl of Cornwall, Morvran the son of\nTegid, and Rhyawd the son of Morgant, and Dyvyr the son of Alun Dyved,\nGwrhyr Gwalstawd Ieithoedd, Adaon the son of Taliesin, Llary {125d} the\nson of Kasnar {125e} Wledig, and Fflewddur Fflam, and Greidawl\nGalldovydd, Gilbert the son of Kadgyffro, Menw the son of Teirgwaedd,\nGwrthmwl Wledig, Cawrdav the son of Caradawc Vreichvras, Gildas the son\nof Kaw, Kadyriaith the son of Saidi, and many of the men of Norway, and\nDenmark, and many of the men of Greece, and a crowd of the men of the\nhost came to that counsel.\n\n\"Iddawc,\" said Rhonabwy, \"who was the auburn haired man to whom they came\njust now?\"  \"Rhun the son of Maelgwn Gwynedd, a man of whose prerogative\nit is, that he may join in counsel with all.\" {125f}  \"And wherefore did\nthey admit into counsel with men of such dignity as are yonder a\nstripling so young as Kadyriaith the son of Saidi?\"  \"Because there is\nnot throughout Britain a man better skilled in counsel than he.\"\n\nThereupon, behold, bards came and recited verses before Arthur, and no\nman understood those verses, but Kadyriaith only, save that they were in\nArthur's praise.\n\nAnd, lo, there came four and twenty asses with their burdens of gold and\nof silver, and a tired wayworn man with each of them, bringing tribute to\nArthur from the Islands of Greece.  Then Kadyriaith the son of Saidi\nbesought that a truce might be granted to Osla Gyllellvawr for the space\nof a fortnight and a month, and that the asses and the burdens they\ncarried might be given to the bards, to be to them as the reward for\ntheir stay and that their verse might be recompensed, during the time of\nthe truce.  And thus it was settled.\n\n\"Rhonabwy,\" said Iddawc, \"would it not be wrong to forbid a youth who can\ngive counsel so liberal as this from coming to the councils of his Lord?\"\n\nThen Kai arose, and he said, \"Whosoever will follow Arthur, let him be\nwith him to-night in Cornwall, and whosoever will not, let him be opposed\nto Arthur even during the truce.\"  And through the greatness of the\ntumult that ensued, Rhonabwy awoke.  And when he awoke he was upon the\nyellow calfskin, having slept three nights and three days.\n\nAnd this tale is called The Dream of Rhonabwy.  And this is the reason\nthat no one knows the dream without a book, neither bard nor gifted seer;\nbecause of the various colours that were upon the horses, and the many\nwondrous colours of the arms and of the panoply, and of the precious\nscarfs, and of the virtue-bearing stones.\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes:\n\n\n{15}  \"The Emperor Arthur\" all through the tale.\n\n{16}  To begin to honour them, to inform them of the manners and the\ncustoms of the Court, those he was told were to go to the hall or the\npresence chamber, and those he was told were to get lodging.\n\n{17a}  And I did not think there was in the world a wrong too mighty for\nme to set right.  And when I had set right all the wrongs that were in my\nown country.\n\n{17b}  Add \"with fair curly hair.\"\n\n{18a}  And such was his courtesy that he greeted me before I could greet\nhim.\n\n{18b}  Add, \"I ween that.\"\n\n{18c}  When she was ever loveliest, at Christmas, or at Easter tide mass.\n\n{19a}  And the man I had seen erstwhile sat down to the table.\n\n{19b}  Did I not think that too much trouble would befall thee.\n\n{20}  With querulous roughness.\n\n{21a}  And he would but bandy words with me.\n\n{21b}  So that they cannot be separated.\n\n{27}  Add \"On account of the knight.\"\n\n{28}  An image of a different kind.\n\n{29a}  Monks.\n\n{29b}  Land-owning.\n\n{30}  Louder was her cry than any trumpet blast that arose from among the\nmultitude.\n\n{31}  \"Truly,\" said Luned, \"I thought thy good sense was greater than I\nfind it to be.  Is it better to grieve because thou canst not get _that_\ngood man, than it is to grieve for anything else thou canst never get?\"\n\"I declare to heaven,\" said the Countess, \"that I could never get my lord\nin any other man, be he the best in the world.\"  \"Oh yes,\" said Luned,\n\"thou couldst marry a husband that would be as good as he, or better than\nhe.\"\n\n{36}  Encamped.\n\n{37a}  Add \"and looked at him.\"\n\n{37b}  And belaboured each other.\n\n{38}  Add \"and this is my abode.\"\n\n{39}  To the disgrace of thy beard.\n\n{45}  Owen was certain he had never seen better service, but every one\nwas as sorrowful as if death had been upon him.\n\n{46a}  And to-morrow is the appointed day for me to meet him, to deliver\nto him yonder maiden, otherwise he will kill my sons before my eyes.\n\n{46b}  And the Earl determined to hold the castle against him, abandoning\nhis two sons to their fate.\n\n{47}  And they told him their tale.\n\n{48}  But Owen's strength had not yet returned.\n\n{52}  Her.\n\n{56}  And very unmeet for so honourable a Court.\n\n{58}  Add \"causing a grievous wound.\"\n\n{59a}  \"This iron coat will never come off him,\" said Peredur.  \"I doubt\nwhether it is not part of himself, born with him.\"\n\n{59b}  Add \"and the threat against Kai.\"\n\n{62}  We are brother and sister.\n\n{72}  In the dingle.\n\n{76}  Progress.\n\n{102}  And the side that he would favour would lose the game.\n\n{108}  And they reckoned that the corn land of Powys, from Aber Ceirawc\nin Allictun Ver to Rhyd Wilure on the Vyrnwy, was as good as the three\nbest commots in Powys; and that, if there was not sustenance for him and\nhis followers in that corn land, there would be none in Powys.\n\n{109}  Scantly draped, poverty-stricken.\n\n{111}  Moustache.\n\n{112}  Bedwin.\n\n{116a}  For fear of being crushed by his horse.\n\n{116b}  A red moustache.\n\n{124a}  Murheth.\n\n{124b}  Bedwin.\n\n{124c}  Oth.\n\n{125a}  Heneidd.\n\n{125b}  Adwy.\n\n{125c}  Dyrstan.\n\n{125d}  Llara.\n\n{125e}  Kasnat.\n\n{125f}  It is his privilege that everyone should come to have counsel\nwith him.\n\nPrinted at\nThe Edinburgh Press\n9 & 11 Young Street","title":"The Mabinogion Vol. 1","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":34397}