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04 - Part 1 Story 3 How The Round Table Began · Tales Of King Arthur And The Round Table

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  Speaker 1: Part one, Story three 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 three, How the
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  Speaker 1: Round Table began. After King Arthur had fought and conquered
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  Speaker 1: many enemies, he said one day to Merlin, whose counsel
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  Speaker 1: he took all the days of his life. My barons
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  Speaker 1: will let me have no rest, but bid me take
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  Speaker 1: a wife. And I have answered them that I shall
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  Speaker 1: take none except you advise me. It is well, replied Merlin,
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  Speaker 1: that you should take a wife. But is there any
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  Speaker 1: woman that you love better than another? Yes, said Arthur,
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  Speaker 1: I love Guenevere, daughter of Leodegranz, king of Cameliard, in
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  Speaker 1: whose house is the round table that my father gave him.
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  Speaker 1: This maiden is the fairest that I have ever seen,
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  Speaker 1: or ever shall see. Sir, answered Merlin, what you say
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  Speaker 1: as to her beauty is true. But if your heart
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  Speaker 1: was not set on her, I find you another as
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  Speaker 1: fair and of more goodness than she. But if a
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  Speaker 1: man's heart is once set, it is idle to try
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  Speaker 1: to turn him. Then Merlin asked the king to give
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  Speaker 1: him a company of knights and esquires that he might
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  Speaker 1: go to the court of King Leodogrants and tell him
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  Speaker 1: that King Arthur desired to wed his daughter, which Arthur
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  Speaker 1: did gladly. Therefore Merlin rode forth and made all the
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  Speaker 1: haste he could, till he came to the castle of
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  Speaker 1: Cameliod and told King Leodogrants who had sent him? And
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  Speaker 1: why that is the best news I have ever had,
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  Speaker 1: replied Leedi Grantz. For little did I think that so
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  Speaker 1: great a noble a king should seek to marry my daughter.
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  Speaker 1: As for Lance to endow her with, I would give
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  Speaker 1: whatever he chose, But he has lands enough of his own,
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  Speaker 1: so I will give him instead something that will please
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  Speaker 1: him much more, the round table which Uther Pendragon gave me,
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  Speaker 1: where a hundred and fifty knights can sit at one time,
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  Speaker 1: I myself can call to my side a hundred good knights,
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  Speaker 1: but I lack fifty, for the wars have slain many,
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  Speaker 1: and some are absent. And without more words, King Leodograntz
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  Speaker 1: gave his consent that his daughter should wed King Arthur.
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  Speaker 1: And Merlin returned with his knights and esquires, journeying partly
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  Speaker 1: by water and partly by land, till they drew near
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  Speaker 1: to London. When King Arthur heard of the coming of
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  Speaker 1: Merlin and of the knights with the round table, he
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  Speaker 1: was filled with joy and said to those that stood
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  Speaker 1: about him, this news that Merlin has brought me is welcome, indeed,
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  Speaker 1: for I have long loved this fair lady, and the
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  Speaker 1: round table is dearer to me than great riches. Then
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  Speaker 1: he ordered that Sir Launcelot should ride to fetch the queen,
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  Speaker 1: and that preparations for the marriage and her coronation should
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  Speaker 1: be made, which was done now. Merlin said the King,
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  Speaker 1: go and look about my kingdom, and bring fifty of
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  Speaker 1: the bravest and most famous knights that can be found
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  Speaker 1: throughout the land. But no more than eight and twenty
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  Speaker 1: knights could Merlin find. With these. Arthur had to be content,
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  Speaker 1: and the Bishop of Canterbury was fetched, and he blessed
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  Speaker 1: the seats that were placed by the round table, and
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  Speaker 1: the knights sat in them. Fair sirs, said Merlin. When
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  Speaker 1: the Bishop had ended his blessing, arise all of you
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  Speaker 1: and pay your homage to the King. So the knights
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  Speaker 1: arose to do his bidding, and in every seat was
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  Speaker 1: the name of the knight who had sat on it
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  Speaker 1: written in letters of gold, but two seats were empty.
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  Speaker 1: After that, young Gawain came to the King and prayed
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  Speaker 1: him to make him a knight on the day that
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  Speaker 1: he should wed Guinevere. That I will gladly, replied the King,
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  Speaker 1: for you are my sister's son. As the king was speaking,
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  Speaker 1: a poor man entered the court, bringing with him a
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  Speaker 1: youth about eighteen years old, riding on a lee mayor,
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  Speaker 1: though it was not the custom for gentlemen to ride
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  Speaker 1: on mares. Where is King Arthur, asked the man. Yonder
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  Speaker 1: answered the knights. Have you business with him? Yes, said
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  Speaker 1: the man, and he went and bowed low before the king.
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  Speaker 1: I have heard, o, King Arthur, Flower of knights and kings,
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  Speaker 1: that at the time of your marriage, you would give
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  Speaker 1: any man the gift he would ask for. That is truth,
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  Speaker 1: answered the King. As long as I do no wrong
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  Speaker 1: to other men or to my kingdom, I thank you
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  Speaker 1: for your gracious words, said the poor man. The boon
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  Speaker 1: I would ask is that you would make my son
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  Speaker 1: a knight. It is a great boon to ask, answered
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  Speaker 1: the King. What is your name, sir? My name is
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  Speaker 1: aries the cowherd. Is it you or your son that
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  Speaker 1: has thought of this? Honor. It is my son who
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  Speaker 1: desires it, and not, I replied the man. I have
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  Speaker 1: thirteen sons who tend to cattle and work in the
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  Speaker 1: fields if I bid them. But this will do nothing
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  Speaker 1: but shoot and cast darts, or go to watch battles
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  Speaker 1: and look on knights, and all day long. He beseeches
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  Speaker 1: me to bring him to you, that he may be knighted. Also,
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  Speaker 1: what is your name, said Arthur, turning to the young man, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: my name is Tor. Where is your sword that I
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  Speaker 1: may knight you, said the king. It is here, my lord,
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  Speaker 1: take it out of its sheath, said the King, and
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  Speaker 1: require me to make you a knight. Then Tor jumped
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  Speaker 1: off his mare and pulled out his sword, and knelt
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  Speaker 1: before the king, praying that he might be made a
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  Speaker 1: knight and a knight of the round table. As for
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  Speaker 1: a knight that I will make you, said Arthur, smiting
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  Speaker 1: him in the neck with his sword. And if you
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  Speaker 1: are worthy of it, you shall be a knight of
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  Speaker 1: the round Table. Then was the high feast made ready,
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  Speaker 1: and the King was wedded to Fair Guinevere at Camelot
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  Speaker 1: in the Church of Saint Stephen, with all due observance,
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  Speaker 1: and the next day Gawaine was made a knight, also
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  Speaker 1: Sir Torps, proved before long by his gallant deeds that
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  Speaker 1: he was well worthy to sit in one of the
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  Speaker 1: empty seats at the round table. End of Part one,
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  Speaker 1: Story three