Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur. Sir Thomas Malory
me.”
Merlin had done this, for he well knew that if King Lot had been at the first battle with his army, King Arthur would have been slain and all his army distressed. Merlin well knew that one of the kings would die that day, and he was loath that either one should die; but of the two, he would have preferred King Lot of Orkney to have been slain rather than Arthur.
“What is the best thing to do?” said King Lot. “Is it better to try and negotiate with Arthur or else to fight? For the greater part of our people are killed and distressed.”
“Sir,” said a knight, “attack Arthur, for they are weary and tired of fighting, while we are fresh.”
“As for me,” said King Lot, “I would ask that every knight do his part as I will do mine.”
Then they advanced with banners and spears and struck one another and damaged their spears. Arthur’s knights—with the help of the Knight with the Two Swords and his brother Balan—fought strongly against King Lot and his army. And always King Lot was at the forefront of the fighting and did marvelous deeds of arms, and his host was encouraged by his deeds.
Alas, he could not endure; it was a great pity that such a knight as he should be overmatched—he who until recently had been a knight of King Arthur and married to the king’s sister. But because Arthur had lain by his wife and conceived on her Sir Mordred, King Lot was always opposed to Arthur.
There was a knight that was called the Knight with the Strange Beast (although at this time he was called King Pellinore) who was such a man of prowess as were few men living at that time. He struck a mighty blow at King Lot as he fought with his enemies; his stroke missed, however, and struck the neck of King Lot’s horse, so that it fell to the earth taking King Lot with it. And then King Pellinore struck a great blow that went through his helmet and head down to the eyebrows.
Then all the Orkney host fled at the death of King Lot, but all of them were hunted down and slain. King Pellinore bore the blame for the death of King Lot, and because of this Sir Gawain avenged the death of his father ten years after he was made a knight, and slew King Pellinore with his own hands.
Also slain at this battle were twelve kings who had sided with King Lot and King Nero, and they were buried in the church of Saint Stephen in Camelot. The remnant of the knights and others who died there were buried beneath a great rock.
So King Lot’s wife, Morgause, came to the burial with her four sons, Gawain, Aggravain, Gaheris and Gareth. King Uriens, Sir Uwain’s father, also came, along with his wife, Morgan le Fay, who was King Arthur’s sister. All of these people came to the interment.
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Out of all the twelve kings, Arthur made the tomb of Lot be the most richly decorated, and he made this tomb himself. Then Arthur had twelve images of the kings made out of copper and tin, and gilt them with gold. Each one of them held a taper of wax in his hand that burned night and day. And King Arthur was rendered as a figure standing above them with a drawn sword in his hand, and all the twelve figures were given expressions as if they had been overcome.
Merlin made all this through his magical craft, and then he told the king that when he was dead the tapers would no longer burn after the adventure of the Holy Grail would be achieved. He also told King Arthur how Balin, the worshipful knight, should strike the Dolorous Stroke, which would cause great trouble.
“Ah, where is Balin, Balan, and Pellinore?”
“As for King Pellinore,” said Merlin, “he will meet with you soon. And as for Balin, he will not be away from you for long. But the other brother will depart; you will not see him anymore.”
“By my faith,” said Arthur, “they are two manly knights! Balin surpasses the prowess of any knight that I have ever encountered, and I owe him much. I wish to God he would stay with me!”
“Sir,” said Merlin, “see that you guard carefully the scabbard of Excalibur, for you will lose no blood as long as you have the scabbard on your person, no matter how many wounds you may have.”
So after this, Arthur trustingly brought the scabbard to Morgan le Fay, his sister. But she loved another knight better than she loved her husband, King Uriens, or her brother, King Arthur. She wanted to have her brother Arthur slain, so she had another, similar scabbard made for Excalibur, and gave Excalibur to her lover. This knight’s name was Accolon, who later nearly killed King Arthur.
Merlin then told King Arthur the prophecy that there would be a great battle on Salisbury Plain, in which Mordred, his own son, would be against him. He also told him that Bagdemagus was close cousin to both himself and to King Uriens.
Within a day or two, King Arthur fell sick; he had his pavilion erected in a meadow, and there he laid down on a pallet to sleep, but he was unable to get any rest. Then he heard a great noise, as if a horse was coming, and he looked out of the porch door of the pavilion and saw a knight coming his direction and making great dole.
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“Abide, fair sir,” said Arthur, “and tell my why you are making such sorrow.”
“You can do little to help me,” said the knight, and so passed by and went on to Meliot Castle. After that, Balin came by. And when he saw King Arthur he dismounted from his horse and came to the king on foot and greeted him.
“By my head,” said Arthur, “you are welcome. Sir, just now came riding by a knight making a great moaning, but why, I do not know. So I would ask you, by your courtesy and gentleness, to fetch that knight back either by force or by good will.”
“I will do more for your lordship than that,” said Balin, “or I will injure him.” So Balin rode a distance and found the knight with a damsel in the forest and said, “Sir knight, you must come with me to King Arthur and tell him of your sorrow.”
“I will not,” said the knight, “because it will harm me greatly and won’t do you any good.”
“Sir,” said Balin, “I pray you, make you ready, for you must go with me or else I must fight with you and bring you by force; and that I do not wish to do.”
“Will you guarantee my safety,” said the knight, “if I go with you?”
“Yes,” said Balin, “or else, by the faith of my body, I will die trying to protect you.” So the knight prepared to go with Balin and left the damsel waiting. And just as they were about to reach Arthur’s pavilion, an invisible knight came up and smote the knight who went with Balin through the body with a spear.
“Alas!” said the knight, “I am slain under your safe-conduct by a knight called Garlon. Therefore take my horse, which is better than yours, and ride back to the damsel and take up the quest that I was engaged in. She will lead you. And avenge my death when you are able.”
“That I shall do,” said Balin, “and I make a vow to do so before God and on my knighthood.” So he departed from King Arthur with great sorrow.
Then King Arthur had this knight richly buried, and made mention on his tomb that here was slain Sir Harleus by the treachery of the knight Garlon. And ever after that the damsel carried with her the shaft of the spear that had killed Sir Harleus the Barbarous.
5 Balin and the Dolorous Stroke
So Balin and the damsel rode into the forest and there met a knight who had been hunting. And that knight asked why Balin made such great sorrow.
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“I would rather not tell,” said Balin.
“Now,” said the knight, “if I were armed as you are, I would fight with you unless you told me.”
“That would not be necessary,” said Balin, “I am not afraid to tell you.” And so he told him all that had happened.
“Ah!” said the knight. “Is this all? Here I pledge by the faith of my body never to depart from you as long as my life lasts.” So they went to their