THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN.
KYNON'S ADVENTURE.
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
chamber King Arthur sat, upon a seat of green rushes* over which was
spread a covering of flame-colored 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.
* The use of green rushes in apartments was by no means peculiar
to the court of Caerleon 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, it is well known, existed in England
during the Middle Ages, and also in France.
"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 a 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 peacocks' 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 way 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,* 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.
* 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.
"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 the
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 reachest 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 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."