Latest / Tales Of King Arthur And The Round Table / 05 - Part 1 Story 4 The Story Of Sir Balin

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05 - Part 1 Story 4 The Story Of Sir Balin · Tales Of King Arthur And The Round Table

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  Speaker 1: Part one, Story four of Tales of King Arthur and
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  Speaker 1: the Round Table by Andrew Lang. This LibriVox recording is
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  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Part one, story four the story
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  Speaker 1: of Sir Balin. In those days, many kings reigned in
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  Speaker 1: the islands of the Sea, and they constantly waged war
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  Speaker 1: upon each other and on their liege lord. And news
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  Speaker 1: came to Arthur that Ryan's, king of North Wales, had
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  Speaker 1: collected a large host and had ravaged his lands and
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  Speaker 1: slain some of his people. When he heard this, Arthur
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  Speaker 1: rose in anger and commanded that all lords, knights and
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  Speaker 1: gentlemen of arms should meet him at Camelot, where he
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  Speaker 1: would call a council and hold attorney from every part.
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  Speaker 1: The knights flocked to Camelot, and the town was full
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  Speaker 1: to overflowing of armed men and their horses. And when
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  Speaker 1: they were all assembled, there rode in a damsel who
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  Speaker 1: said that she had come with a message from the
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  Speaker 1: great Lady Lile of Avelion, and begged that they would
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  Speaker 1: bring her before King Arthur. When she was led into
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  Speaker 1: his presence, she let her mantle of fur slip off
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  Speaker 1: her shoulders, and they saw that by her side a
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  Speaker 1: richly wrought sword was buckled. The king was silent with
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  Speaker 1: wonder at the strange sight. But at last he said, damsel,
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  Speaker 1: why do you wear this sword? For swords are not
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  Speaker 1: the ornaments of women. O, my Lord answered she, I
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  Speaker 1: would I could find some knight to rid me of
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  Speaker 1: this sword, which weighs me down and causes me much sorrow.
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  Speaker 1: But the man who will deliver me of it must
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  Speaker 1: be one who is mighty of his hands and pure
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  Speaker 1: in his deeds, without villainy or treason. If I find
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  Speaker 1: a knight such as this, he will draw this sword
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  Speaker 1: out of its sheath. And he only for I have
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  Speaker 1: been at the court of King Ryan's, and he and
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  Speaker 1: his knights tried with all their strength to draw the sword,
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  Speaker 1: and they could not. Let me see if I can
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  Speaker 1: draw it, said Arthur, Not because I think myself the
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  Speaker 1: best knight, for well I know how far I am
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  Speaker 1: outdone by others. But to set them an example that
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  Speaker 1: they may follow me. With that, the King took the
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  Speaker 1: sword by the sheath and by the girdle, and pulled
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  Speaker 1: at it with all his force, but the sword stuck fast. Sir,
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  Speaker 1: said the damsel, you need not pull half so hard,
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  Speaker 1: for he that shall pull it out, shall do it
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  Speaker 1: with little strength. It is not for me, answered Arthur.
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  Speaker 1: And now my barons let each man try his fortune.
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  Speaker 1: So most of the knights of the round table there
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  Speaker 1: present pulled one after another at the sword, but none
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  Speaker 1: could stir it from its sheath. Alas Alas, cried the
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  Speaker 1: damsel in great grief. I thought to find in this
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  Speaker 1: court knights that were blameless and true of heart, and
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  Speaker 1: now I know not where to look for them. By
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  Speaker 1: my faith, said Arthur, there are no better knights in
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  Speaker 1: the world than these of mine. But I am sore
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  Speaker 1: displeased that they cannot help me in this matter. Now,
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  Speaker 1: at this time, there was a poor knight at Arthur's
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  Speaker 1: court who had been kept prisoner for a year and
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  Speaker 1: a half because he had slain the king's cousin. He
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  Speaker 1: was of high birth and his name was Balen. And
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  Speaker 1: after he had suffered eighteen months the punishment of his misdeed,
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  Speaker 1: the barons prayed the king to set him free, which
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  Speaker 1: Arthur did willingly. When Balin, standing apart, beheld the knights
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  Speaker 1: one by one try the sword, and failed to draw it.
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  Speaker 1: His heart beat fast, Yet he shrank from taking his turn,
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  Speaker 1: for he was meanly dressed and could not compare with
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  Speaker 1: the other barons. But after the damsel had bid farewell
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  Speaker 1: to Arthur and his court and was setting out on
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  Speaker 1: her journey homewards, he called to her and said, Damsel,
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  Speaker 1: I pray you to suffer me to try your sword
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  Speaker 1: as well as these lords, for though I am so
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  Speaker 1: poorly clothed, my heart is as high as theirs. The
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  Speaker 1: damsel stopped and looked at him, and a ended, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: it is not needful to put you to such trouble,
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  Speaker 1: for where so many have failed, it is hardly likely
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  Speaker 1: that you will succeed. Ah, fair damsel, said Balin. It
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  Speaker 1: is not fine clothes that make good deeds. You speak truly,
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  Speaker 1: replied the damsel. Therefore do what you can. Then Balin
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  Speaker 1: took the sword by the girdle and sheath and pulled
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  Speaker 1: it out easily, and when he looked at the sword,
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  Speaker 1: he was greatly pleased with it. The king and the
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  Speaker 1: knights were dumb with surprise that it was Balen who
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  Speaker 1: had triumphed over them, and many of them envied him
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  Speaker 1: and felt anger towards him. In truth, said the damsel,
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  Speaker 1: this is the best knight that I ever found. But Sir,
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  Speaker 1: I pray you give me the sword again, no answer
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  Speaker 1: to Balen. I will keep it till it is taken
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  Speaker 1: from me by force. It is for your sake, not mine,
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  Speaker 1: that I ask for it, said the damsel. For with
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  Speaker 1: that sword you shall slay the man you love best,
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  Speaker 1: and it will bring about your own ruin. I will
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  Speaker 1: take what befalls me, replied Balin. But the sword I
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  Speaker 1: will not give up by the faith of my body.
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  Speaker 1: So the damsel departed in great sorrow. The next day,
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  Speaker 1: Sir Balin left the court, and, armed with his sword,
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  Speaker 1: set forth in search of adventures, which he found in
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  Speaker 1: many places where he had not thought to meet with them.
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  Speaker 1: In all the fights that he fought, Sir Balin was
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  Speaker 1: the victor, and Arthur and Merlin his friend. Knew that
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  Speaker 1: there was no knight living of greater deeds or more
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  Speaker 1: worthy of worship, and he was known to all as
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  Speaker 1: Sir Balin le Savage, the Knight of the two Swords.
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  Speaker 1: One day he was writing forth when at the turning
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  Speaker 1: of a road he saw a cross, and on it
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  Speaker 1: was written in letters of gold. Let no knight ride
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  Speaker 1: towards this castle. Sir Balin was still reading the writing
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  Speaker 1: when there came towards him an old man with white hair,
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  Speaker 1: who said, Sir Balin, le savage, this is not the
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  Speaker 1: way for you, So turn again and choose some other path.
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  Speaker 1: And so he vanished, and a horn blew loudly as
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  Speaker 1: a horn is blown at the death of a beast.
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  Speaker 1: That blast, said Balin is for me. But I am
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  Speaker 1: still alive. And he rode to the castle, where a
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  Speaker 1: great company of knights and ladies met him and welcomed
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  Speaker 1: him and made him a feast. Then the lady of
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  Speaker 1: the castle said to him, knight with the two swords,
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  Speaker 1: you must now fight a knight that guards an island.
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  Speaker 1: For it is our law that no man may leave
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  Speaker 1: us without he first fight attorney. That is a bad custom,
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  Speaker 1: said Balin. But if I must, I am ready, for
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  Speaker 1: though my horse is weary, my heart is strong, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: said a knight to him. Your shield does not look
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  Speaker 1: whole to me. I will lend you another. So Balin
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  Speaker 1: listened to him and took the shield that was offered,
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  Speaker 1: and left his own. With his own coat of arms
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  Speaker 1: behind him, he rode down to the shore and led
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  Speaker 1: his horse into a boat, which took them across. When
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  Speaker 1: he reached the other side, a damsel came to him, crying, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: knight Balin, why have you left your own shield behind you?
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  Speaker 1: Alas you have put yourself in great danger, for by
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  Speaker 1: your shield you should have been known. I grieve over
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  Speaker 1: your doom, for there is no man living that can
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  Speaker 1: rival you for courage and bold deeds. I repent, answered Balin,
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  Speaker 1: ever having come into this country, but for very shame,
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  Speaker 1: I must go on whatever befalls me, either for life
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  Speaker 1: or death, I am ready to take it. Then he
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  Speaker 1: examined his armor and saw that it was whole, and
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  Speaker 1: mounted his horse. As he went along the path, he
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  Speaker 1: beheld a knight come out of a castle in front,
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  Speaker 1: clothed in red, riding a horse with red trappings. When
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  Speaker 1: this red knight looked on the two swords, he thought
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  Speaker 1: for a moment it was Balin, but the shield did
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  Speaker 1: not bear Balin's device. So they rode at each other
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  Speaker 1: with their spears and smote each other's shields so hard
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  Speaker 1: that both horses and men fell to the ground with
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  Speaker 1: the shock, and the knights lay unconscious on the ground
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  Speaker 1: for some minutes. But soon they rose up again and
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  Speaker 1: began the fight afresh, and they fought till the place
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  Speaker 1: was red with their blood, and they had each seven
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  Speaker 1: great wounds. What knight are you, asked Balen the sabage,
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  Speaker 1: pausing for breath. For never before have I found any
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  Speaker 1: knight to match me. My name, said he is Balan,
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  Speaker 1: brother to the good knight Balin. Alas cried Balin, that
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  Speaker 1: I should ever live to see this day, and he
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  Speaker 1: fell back, fainting to the ground. At this sight, Balan
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  Speaker 1: crept on his feet and hands and pulled off Balin's
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  Speaker 1: helmet so that he might see his face. The fresh
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  Speaker 1: air revived Balin, and he awoke and said, O, Balan,
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  Speaker 1: my brother, you have slain me and I you and
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  Speaker 1: the whole world speak ill of us. Both Alas, cried Balan.
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  Speaker 1: If I had only known you, I saw your two swords,
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  Speaker 1: but from your shield I thought you had been another knight.
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  Speaker 1: Woe is me, said Balin. All this was wrought by
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  Speaker 1: an unhappy knight in the castle, who caused me to
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  Speaker 1: change my shield for his. If I lived, I would
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  Speaker 1: destroy that castle that he should not deceive other men.
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  Speaker 1: You would have done well, answered Balan, for they have
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  Speaker 1: kept me prisoner ever since I slew a knight that
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  Speaker 1: guarded this island, and they would have kept you captive too.
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  Speaker 1: Then came the lady of the castle and her companions
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  Speaker 1: and listened as they made their moan, and Balan prayed
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  Speaker 1: that she would grant them the grace to lie together
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  Speaker 1: there where they died, and their wish was given them,
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  Speaker 1: and she and those that were with her wept for pity.
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  Speaker 1: So they died, and the lady made a tomb for
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  Speaker 1: them and put Balan's name alone on it. For Balin's
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  Speaker 1: name she knew not, but Merlin knew. And next morning
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  Speaker 1: he came and wrote it in letters of gold, and
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  Speaker 1: he ungirded Balin's sword and unscrewed the pommel and put
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  Speaker 1: another pommel on it, and bad a knight that stood
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  Speaker 1: by handle it. But the knight could not. At that
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  Speaker 1: Merlin laughed. Why do you laugh, asked the knight, Because
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  Speaker 1: said Merlin, no man shall handle this sword, but the
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  Speaker 1: best knight in the world, and that is either Sir
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  Speaker 1: Launcelot or his son, Sir Galahad. With this sword, Sir
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  Speaker 1: Launcelot shall slay the man he loves best, and his
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  Speaker 1: name is Sir Gawaine. And this was later done in
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  Speaker 1: a fight across the seas. All this Merlin wrote on
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  Speaker 1: the pommel of the sword. Next he made a bridge
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  Speaker 1: of steel to the island, six inches broad, and no
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  Speaker 1: man could pass over it, that was guilty of any
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  Speaker 1: evil deeds. The scabbard of the sword he left on
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  Speaker 1: this side of the island, so that Galahad should find it.
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  Speaker 1: The sword itself he put in a magic stone, which
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  Speaker 1: floated down the stream to Camelot that is now called Winchester.
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  Speaker 1: And the same day Galahad came to the river, having
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  Speaker 1: in his hand the scabbard, and he saw the sword
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  Speaker 1: and pulled it out of the stone, as is told
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  Speaker 1: in another place. End of Part one, Story four