_ King Arthur was at Caerleon upon Usk; and one day he sat in his
chamber, and with him were Owain, the son of Urien, and Kynon, the
son of Clydno, and Kay, the son of Kyner, and Guenever and her
handmaidens at needlework by the window. In the centre of the
chamher King Arthur sat, upon a seat of green rushes, [Footnote:
The use of green rushes in apartments was by no means peculiar to
the court of Carleon upon Usk. Our ancestors had a great
predilection for them, and they seem to have constituted an
essential article, not only of comfort, but of luxury. The custom
of strewing the floor with rushes is well known to have existed in
England during the Middle Ages, and also in France.] over which
was spread a covering of flame-covered satin, and a cushion of red
satin was under his elbow.
Then Arthur spoke. "If I thought you would not disparage me," said
he, "I would sleep while I wait for my repast; and you can
entertain one another with relating tales, and can obtain a flagon
of mead and some meat from Kay." And the king went to sleep. And
Kynon the son of Clydno asked Kay for that which Arthur had
promised them. "I too will have the good tale which he promised
me," said Kay. "Nay," answered Kynon; "fairer will it be for thee
to fulfil Arthur's behest in the first place, and then we will
tell thee the best tale that we know." So Kay went to the kitchen
and to the mead-cellar, and returned, bearing a flagon of mead,
and a golden goblet, and a handful of skewers, upon which were
broiled collops of meat. Then they ate the collops, and began to
drink the mead. "Now," said Kay, "it is time for you to give me my
story." "Kynon," said Owain, "do thou pay to Kay the tale that is
his due." "I will do so," answered Kynon.
"I was the only son of my mother and father, and I was exceedingly
aspiring, and my daring was very great. I thought there was no
enterprise in the world too mighty for me: and after I had
achieved all the adventures that were in my own country, I
equipped myself, and set forth to journey through deserts and
distant regions. And at length it chanced that I came to the
fairest valley in the world, wherein were trees all of equal
growth; and a river ran through the valley, and a path was by the
side of the river. And I followed the path until midday, and
continued my journey along the remainder of the valley until the
evening; and at the extremity of the plain I came to a large and
lustrous castle, at the foot of which was a torrent. And I
approached the castle, and there I beheld two youths with yellow
curling hair, each with a frontlet of gold upon his head, and clad
in a garment of yellow satin; and they had gold clasps upon their
insteps. In the hand of each of them was an ivory bow, strung with
the sinews of the stag, and their arrows and their shafts were of
the bone of the whale, and were winged with peacock's feathers.
The shafts also had golden heads. And they had daggers with blades
of gold, and with hilts of the bone of the whale. And they were
shooting at a mark.
"And a little away from them I saw a man in the prime of life,
with his beard newly shorn, clad in a robe and mantle of yellow
satin, and round the top of his mantle was a band of gold lace. On
his feet were shoes of variegated leather, [Footnote: Cordwal is
the word in the original, and from the manner in which it is used
it is evidently intended for the French Cordouan or Cordovan
leather, which derived its name from Cordova, where it was
manufactured. From this comes also our English word cordwainer.]
fastened by two bosses of gold. When I saw him I went towards him
and saluted him; and such was his courtesy, that he no sooner
received my greeting than he returned it. And he went with me
towards the castle. Now there were no dwellers in the castle,
except those who were in one hall. And there I saw four and twenty
damsels, embroidering satin at a window. And this I tell thee,
Kay, that the least fair of them was fairer than the fairest maid
thou didst ever behold in the island of Britain; and the least
lovely of them was more lovely than Guenever, the wife of Arthur,
when she appeared loveliest, at the feast of Easter. They rose up
at my coming, and six of them took my horse, and divested me of my
armor, and six others took my arms and washed them in a vessel
till they were perfectly bright. And the third six spread cloths
upon the tables and prepared meat. And the fourth six took off my
soiled garments and placed others upon me, namely, an under vest
and a doublet of fine linen, and a robe and a surcoat, and a
mantle of yellow satin, with a broad gold band upon the mantle.
And they placed cushions both beneath and around me, with
coverings of red linen, and I sat down. Now the six maidens who
had taken my horse unharnessed him as well as if they had been the
best squires in the island of Britain.
"Then behold they brought bowls of silver, wherein was water to
wash and towels of linen, some green and some white; and I washed.
And in a little while the man sat down at the table. And I sat
next to him, and below me sat all the maidens, except those who
waited on us. And the table was of silver, and the cloths upon the
table were of linen. And no vessel was served upon the table that
was not either of gold or of silver or of buffalo horn. And our
meat was brought to us. And verily, Kay, I saw there every sort of
meat, and every sort of liquor that I ever saw elsewhere; but the
meat and the liquor were better served there than I ever saw them
in any other place.
"Until the repast was half over, neither the man nor any one of
the damsels spoke a single word to me; but when the man perceived
that it would be more agreeable for me to converse than to eat any
more, he began to inquire of me who I was. Then I told the man who
I was and what was the cause of my journey, and said that I was
seeking whether any one was superior to me, or whether I could
gain mastery over all. The man looked upon me, and he smiled and
said, 'If I did not fear to do thee a mischief, I would show thee
that which thou seekest.' Then I desired him to speak freely. And
he said: 'Sleep here to-night, and in the morning arise early, and
take the road upwards through the valley, until thou readiest the
wood. A little way within the wood thou wilt come to a large
sheltered glade, with a mound in the centre. And thou wilt see a
black man of great stature on the top of the mound. He has but one
foot, and one eye in the middle of his forehead. He is the wood-
ward of that wood. And thou wilt see a thousand wild animals
grazing around him. Inquire of him the way out of the glade, and
he will reply to thee briefly, and will point out the road by
which thou shalt find that which thou art in quest of.'
"And long seemed that night to me. And the next morning I arose
and equipped myself, and mounted my horse, and proceeded straight
through the valley to the wood, and at length I arrived at the
glade. And the black man was there, sitting upon the top of the
mound; and I was three times more astonished at the number of wild
animals that I beheld than the man had said I should be. Then I
inquired of him the way and he asked me roughly whither I would
go. And when I had told him who I was and what I sought, 'Take,'
said he, 'that path that leads toward the head of the glade, and
there thou wilt find an open space like to a large valley, and in
the midst of it a tall tree. Under this tree is a fountain, and by
the side of the fountain a marble slab, and on the marble slab a
silver bowl, attached by a chain of silver, that it may not be
carried away. Take, the bowl and throw a bowlful of water on the
slab. And if thou dost not find trouble in that adventure, thou
needest not seek it during the rest of thy life.'
"So I journeyed on until I reached the summit of the steep. And
there I found everything as the black man had described it to me.
And I went up to the tree, and beneath it I saw the fountain, and
by its side the marble slab, and the silver bowl fastened by the
chain. Then I took the bowl, and cast a bowlful of water upon the
slab, and immediately I heard a mighty peal of thunder, so that
heaven and earth seemed to tremble with its fury. And after the
thunder came a, shower; and of a truth I tell thee, Kay, that it
was such a shower as neither man nor beast could endure and live.
I turned my horse's flank toward the shower, and placed the beak
of my shield over his head and neck, while I held the upper part
of it over my own neck. And thus I withstood the shower. And
presently the sky became clear, and with that, behold, the birds
lighted upon the tree, and sang. And truly, Kay, I never heard any
melody equal to that, either before or since. And when I was most
charmed with listening to the birds, lo! a chiding voice was heard
of one approaching me and saying: 'O knight, what has brought thee
hither? What evil have I done to thee that thou shouldst act
towards me and my possessions as thou hast this day? Dost thou not
know that the shower to-day has left in my dominions neither man
nor beast alive that was exposed to it?' And thereupon, behold, a
knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and
with a tabard of black linen about him. And we charged each other,
and, as the onset was furious, it was not long before I was
overthrown. Then the knight passed the shaft of his lance through
the bridle-rein of my horse, and rode off with the two horses,
leaving me where I was. And he did not even bestow so much notice
upon me as to imprison me, nor did he despoil me of my arms. So I
returned along the road by which I had come. And when I reached
the glade where the black man was, I confess to thee, Kay, it is a
marvel that I did not melt down into a liquid pool, through the
shame that I felt at the black man's derision. And that night I
came to the same castle where I had spent the night preceding. And
I was more agreeably entertained that night than I had been the
night before. And I conversed freely with the inmates of the
castle; and none of them alluded to my expedition to the fountain,
neither did I mention it to any. And I remained there that night.
When I arose on the morrow I found ready saddled a dark bay
palfrey, with nostrils as red as scarlet. And after putting on my
armor, and leaving there my blessing, I returned to my own court.
And that horse I still possess, and he is in the stable yonder.
And I declare that I would not part with him for the best palfrey
in the island of Britain.
"Now, of a truth, Kay, no man ever before confessed to an
adventure so much to his own discredit; and verily it seems
strange to me that neither before nor since have I heard of any
person who knew of this adventure, and that the subject of it
should exist within King Arthur's dominions without any other
person lighting upon it." _