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Synopsis
The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends brings together many of the traditional stories about King Arthur along with several new interpretations of the legend to provide a complete picture of his birth, adventures, romance and fate. it traces Arthur's exploits to gain the sword Excalibur, the conflict with his half sister Morgan, the birth of his bastard son Mordred, and the shadowy influence and fate of Merlin.
The collection also follows the adventures of many of Arthur's knights including Sir Balin, Sir Percival, Sir Gawain, Sir Lanval, Sir Marrock, Sir John, Sir Tristan and of course, Sir Lancelot. This culminates in the mighty Quest for the Holy Grail, the breakup of the Round Table, and finally the usurping of the throne by Mordred and the death of Arthur at Camlann.
It even looks beyond the death of Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot to a ghostly finale of love immortal.
Stories included are:
The Winning of a Sword by Howard Pyle
The Treason of Morgan le Fay by George Cox
The Knight with Two Swords by John Steinbeck
Sir Percival of Wales by Roger Lancelyn Green
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult by Hillaire Belloc
The Quest for the Holy Grail by Andrew Lang
Guinevere and Lancelot by Andrew machen
The Lady of Belec by Phyllis Anne Karr
The Quiet Monk by Jane Yolen
Release date: February 20, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Print pages: 160
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The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends
Mike Ashley
I must once again thank Dr Lawrence Mendelsburg for his help in the compilation of this book and in particular for providing the texts for “The Quest of the Saracen Beast” and “Sir Marrok”. Acknowledgements are accorded to the following for the rights to reprint the stories in this anthology.
“The Dog’s Story” © 1996 by Eleanor Arnason, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, May 1996. Reprinted by permission of the Virginia Kidd Agency, Inc., on behalf of the author.
“The Romance of Tristan and Iseult” © 1913 by Hilaire Belloc. Reprinted by permission of The Peters Fraser and Dunlop Group Limited on behalf of the Estate of Hilaire Belloc.
“Madoc the Door Ward” © 1998 by Douglas Carmichael. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Isle of Avalon” © 1998 by Phil Carradice. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Pretender” © 1996 by Stephen Dedman, first published in Realms of Fantasy, February 1997. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Winning of the Kingdom” by Geoffrey of Monmouth is based upon the translation by Sebastian Evans (London: Dent, 1912) and has been freely adapted by the editor. This version is © 1998 by Mike Ashley.
“Sir Percivale of Wales” © 1953 by Roger Lancelyn Green, first published in King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (London: Penguin Books, 1953). Reprinted by permission of Richard Lancelyn Green.
“The Lady of Belec” © 1989 by Phyllis Ann Karr, first published in The Pendragon Chronicles (London: Robinson Books, 1989) and Weird Tales, Winter 1989/90. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Guinevere and Lancelot” © 1909 by Arthur Machen, first published in T. P.’s Weekly 2 April 1909 as “Many-Tower’d Camelot” and reprinted in Notes and Queries (London: Spurr & Swift, 1926). Reprinted by permission of A. M. Heath & Company, Ltd., on behalf of the author’s estate.
“The Quest of the Saracen Beast” © 1950 by Theodore Goodridge Roberts, first published in The Blue Book, November 1950. Copyright expired 1976. No record of copyright renewal.
“Ravens’ Meat” © 1998 by Fay Sampson. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” © 1981 by Rosemary Sutcliff, from The Sword and the Circle (London: The Bodley Head, 1981). Reprinted by permission of The Bodley Head and David Higham Associates on behalf of the author’s estate.
“The Temptation of Launcelot” © 1998 by Peter Valentine Timlett. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Quiet Monk” © 1988 by Jane Yolen, first published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, March 1988. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Curtis Brown, Ltd.
“The Carle of Carlisle” © 1998 by Ron Tiner. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
All other stories and translations are in the public domain.
The fascination with King Arthur, Merlin and the knights of the Round Table continues to absorb generation after generation, and has done for over a thousand years. Once hooked, it is impossible to get free because the story has so many different aspects.
To begin with there’s the mystery of who Arthur really was. Was there a man behind the myth and, if so, who was he? And if he was real, what about Guinevere and Merlin and Lancelot and all of the others? Were they real too?
Then there is the story of adventure. Arthur and his knights were all mighty heroes undertaking chivalrous quests against evil men and savage beasts. The Arthurian legends were amongst the first tales of heroic fantasy, a field which in the last few decades has become the most popular of all genres.
Then there are the tales of romance and intrigue. Arthur’s love for Guinevere; his incestuous relationship with his sister, or half-sister, Morgan. Guinevere’s love for Lancelot and Arthur’s eventual betrayal. And we must not forget the magic and mystery of Merlin and Morgan le Fay.
The legends have something for everyone, and that’s what I’ve tried to bring together in this collection. Some of you may be aware that I have produced a series of Arthurian anthologies which looked at different aspects of the legend. The first was The Pendragon Chronicles, which followed through the life of Arthur. Then came The Camelot Chronicles which looked at the wider world of the Arthurian legend. These were followed by The Merlin Chronicles, which focused on the magical elements of the legend, The Chronicles of the Holy Grail, which looked at the mystical aspects of the ultimate quest, and finally The Chronicles of the Round Table, which brought together adventure stories of many of the knights.
The first two of these anthologies are now out of print, and my publisher asked me if I’d produce an omnibus volume. I said I’d do more than that. I didn’t just want to reprint the two volumes as one, because that wouldn’t offer anything new. What I suggested was bringing together a volume that included a mixture of old and new stories which focused on the very heart of the Arthurian legends. To this end I have selected a few stories from those first two volumes, but for the most part this book contains stories not previously reprinted. These include brand new stories, plus others either not previously published in book form or long out of print and now rare collector’s items.
The stories follow the Arthurian legend from the days before Arthur’s birth, through the episode of the sword-in-the-stone and his conquest of the kingdom, to the creation of the Knights of the Round Table and many of their adventures, to Arthur’s fate at the Battle of Camlann. There are even a couple of stories that take us beyond Arthur’s death to later echoes of the legend.
Most of the stories follow the traditional tale of Arthur, as we know it from Malory’s Mort d’Arthur, though I have in each case selected what I believe to be the best or most expressive example of that work. And so there are stories here from such diverse writers as Howard Pyle, Hilaire Belloc, Andrew Lang, Arthur Machen and Rosemary Sutcliff. But I also wanted stories that looked at the lesser known legends and introduced a fresh twist to some of the tales. Thus you will find some very interesting retellings by Ron Tiner and Douglas Carmichael, Fay Sampson and Eleanor Arnason, Jane Yolen and Phyllis Anne Karr. There’s also a surprising Afterword which throws an entirely new light on the legend.
In between the stories I’ve woven a narrative which links the stories together and takes us through the Arthurian world. If this is the first time you’ve read anything about King Arthur and his Knights, then I envy you the thrill of discovery. If it is not the first time, then may I welcome you back to this most enduring of all legends. I hope you all find something that stirs the imagination.
What fascinates me about the Arthurian legends is that they do have a basis in historical fact. We know that when Rome, battered on all sides by barbarian armies, withdrew their support from Britain in AD 410 it soon became a lawless land. Lowland Britain found itself under attack from the Irish to the west, the Picts in the north, and the various Germanic tribes – those we generally call Saxons – in the east and south. Within a generation what was left of society in Britain had totally broken down. There were massacres, famine and plague. Those who clung to the “civilized” Roman way of life found it difficult to survive the onslaught, but eventually they fought back. They looked for a leader amongst their own tribes and the first to emerge was a man history records as Vortigern. That, though, was a title which meant High King. It is likely that his real name (or at least his Romanised one) was Vitalinus, and that his royal palace was at Gloucester. Vitalinus attempted to bring some control back to Britain and organized the local tribes; but power went to his head and there were many who regarded him as a despot. A rival chieftain called Ambrosius Aurelianus challenged Vitalinus. All this happened around the period 430–40, still a generation or two before Arthur. However over the centuries, time has telescoped it into a much shorter period, and the following story of Vortigern, Ambrosius, the young Merlin and Uther Pendragon is related as happening in the years just prior to Arthur’s birth.
I was keen to open this anthology with a story by James Knowles (1831–1908), who was knighted in 1903. Along with Lord Tennyson, who is also represented in this anthology, Knowles was the first to re-introduce the Arthurian myth to the Victorian audience, and certainly the first to recreate Malory in narrative story form. His book The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1862) attracted the attention of Tennyson, and a strong bond of interest was forged between them, to explore the symbolism of the Arthurian legend. Knowles was an architect for much of his life – he designed the Grosvenor Hotel opposite Victoria Station – though he also founded the Metaphysical Society in 1869 and was editor of the journals Contemporary Review and Nineteenth Century.
King Vortigern the usurper sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud – “Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come; even Ambrosius and Uther, upon whose throne thou sittest – and full twenty thousand with them – and they have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay thee, ere this year be done; and even now they march towards thee as the north wind of winter for bitterness and haste.”
At those words Vortigern’s face grew white as ashes, and, rising in confusion and disorder, he sent for all the best artificers and craftsmen and mechanics, and commanded them vehemently to go and build him straightway in the furthest west of his lands a great and strong castle, where he might fly for refuge and escape the vengeance of his master’s sons – “and, moreover,” cried he, “let the work be done within a hundred days from now, or I will surely spare no life amongst you all.”
Then all the host of craftsmen, fearing for their lives, found out a proper site whereon to build the tower, and eagerly began to lay in the foundations. But no sooner were the walls raised up above the ground than all their work was overwhelmed and broken down by night invisibly, no man perceiving how, or by whom, or what. And the same thing happening again, and yet again, all the workmen, full of terror, sought out the king, and threw themselves upon their faces before him, beseeching him to interfere and help them or to deliver them from their dreadful work.
Filled with mixed rage and fear, the king called for the astrologers and wizards, and took counsel with them what these things might be, and how to overcome them. The wizards worked their spells and incantations, and in the end declared that nothing but the blood of a youth born without mortal father, smeared on the foundations of the castle, could avail to make it stand. Messengers were therefore sent forthwith through all the land to find, if it were possible, such a child. And, as some of them went down a certain village street, they saw a band of lads fighting and quarrelling, and heard them shout at one – “Avaunt, thou imp! – avaunt! Son of no mortal man! go, find thy father, and leave us in peace.”
At that the messengers looked steadfastly on the lad, and asked who he was. One said his name was Merlin; another, that his birth and parentage were known by no man; a third, that the foul fiend alone was his father. Hearing the things, the officers seized Merlin, and carried him before the king by force.
But no sooner was he brought to him than he asked in a loud voice, for what cause he was thus dragged there?
“My magicians,” answered Vortigern, “told me to seek out a man that had no human father, and to sprinkle my castle with his blood, that it may stand.”
“Order those magicians,” said Merlin, “to come before me, and I will convict them of a lie.”
The king was astonished at his words, but commanded the magicians to come and sit down before Merlin, who cried to them—
“Because ye know not what it is that hinders the foundation of the castle, ye have advised my blood for a cement to it, as if that would avail; but tell me now rather what there is below that ground, for something there is surely underneath that will not suffer the tower to stand?”
The wizards at these words began to fear, and made no answer. Then said Merlin to the king—
“I pray, Lord, that workmen may be ordered to dig deep down into the ground till they shall come to a great pool of water.”
This then was done, and the pool discovered far beneath the surface of the ground.
Then, turning again to the magicians, Merlin said, “Tell me now, false sycophants, what there is underneath that pool?” – but they were silent. Then said he to the king, “Command this pool to be drained, and at the bottom shall be found two dragons, great and huge, which now are sleeping, but which at night awake and fight and tear each other. At their great struggle all the ground shakes and trembles, and so casts down thy towers, which, therefore, never yet could find secure foundations.”
The king was amazed at these words, but commanded the pool to be forthwith drained; and surely at the bottom of it did they presently discover the two dragons, fast asleep, as Merlin had declared.
But Vortigern sat upon the brink of the pool till night to see what else would happen.
Then those two dragons, one of which was white, the other red, rose up and came near one another, and began a sore fight, and cast forth fire with their breath. But the white dragon had the advantage, and chased the other to the end of the lake. And he, for grief at his flight, turned back upon his foe, and renewed the combat, and forced him to retire in turn. But in the end the red dragon was worsted, and the white dragon disappeared no man knew where.
When their battle was done, the king desired Merlin to tell him what it meant. Whereat he, bursting into tears, cried out this prophecy, which first foretold the coming of King Arthur.
“Woe to the red dragon, which figureth the British nation, for his banishment cometh quickly; his lurking-holes shall be seized by the white dragon – the Saxon whom thou, O king, hast called to the land. The mountains shall be levelled as the valleys, and the rivers of the valleys shall run blood; cities shall be burned, and churches laid in ruins; till at length the oppressed shall turn for a season and prevail against the strangers. For a Boar of Cornwall shall arise and rend them, and trample their necks beneath his feet. The island shall be subject to his power, and he shall take the forests of Gaul. The house of Romulus shall dread him – all the world shall fear him – and his end shall no man know; he shall be immortal in the mouths of the people, and his works shall be food to those that tell them.
“But as for thee, O Vortigern, flee thou the sons of Constantine, for they shall burn thee in thy tower. For thine own ruin wast thou traitor to their father, and didst bring the Saxon heathens to the land. Aurelius and Uther are even now upon thee to revenge their father’s murder; and the brood of the white dragon shall waste thy country, and shall lick thy blood. Find out some refuge, if thou wilt! but who may escape the doom of God?”
The king heard all this, trembling greatly; and, convicted of his sins, said nothing in reply. Only he hasted the builders of his tower by day and night, and rested not till he had fled thereto.
In the meantime, Aurelius, the rightful king, was hailed with joy by the Britons, who flocked to his standard, and prayed to be led against the Saxons. But he, till he had first killed Vortigern, would begin no other war. He marched therefore to Cambria, and came before the tower which the usurper had built. Then, crying out to all his knights, “Avenge ye on him who hath ruined Britain and slain my father and your king!” he rushed with many thousands at the castle walls. But, being driven back again and yet again, at length he thought of fire, and ordered blazing brands to be cast into the building from all sides. These finding soon a proper fuel, ceased not to rage, till spreading to a mighty conflagration, they burned down the tower and Vortigern within it.
Then did Aurelius turn his strength against Hengist and the Saxons, and, defeating them in many places, weakened their power for a long season, so that the land had peace.
Anon the king, making many journeys to and fro, restoring ruined churches and, creating order, came to the monastery near Salisbury, where all those British knights lay buried who had been slain there by the treachery of Hengist. For when in former times Hengist had made a solemn truce with Vortigern, to meet in peace and settle terms, whereby himself and all his Saxons should depart from Britain, the Saxon soldiers carried every one of them beneath his garment a long dagger, and, at a given signal, fell upon the Britons, and slew them, to the number of nearly five hundred.
The sight of the place where the dead lay moved Aurelius to great sorrow, and he cast about in his mind how to make a worthy tomb over so many noble martyrs, who had died there for their country.
When he had in vain consulted many craftsmen and builders, he sent, by the advice of the archbishop, for Merlin, and asked him what to do. “If you would honour the burying-place of these men,” said Merlin, “with an everlasting monument, send for the Giants’ Dance which is in Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland; for there is a structure of stone there which none of this age could raise without a perfect knowledge of the arts. They are stones of a vast size and wondrous nature, and if they can be placed here as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand for ever.”
At these words of Merlin, Aurelius burst into laughter, and said, “How is it possible to remove such vast stones from so great a distance, as if Britain, also, had no stones fit for the work?”
“I pray the king,” said Merlin, “to forbear vain laughter; what I have said is true, for those stones are mystical and have healing virtues. The giants of old brought them from the furthest coast of Africa, and placed them in Ireland while they lived in that country: and their design was to make baths in them, for use in time of grievous illness. For if they washed the stones and put the sick into the water, it certainly healed them, as also it did them that were wounded in battle; and there is no stone among them but hath the same virtue still.”
When the Britons heard this, they resolved to send for the stones, and to make war upon the people of Ireland if they offered to withhold them. So, when they had chosen Uther the king’s brother for their chief, they set sail, to the number of 15,000 men, and came to Ireland. There Gillomanius, the king, withstood them fiercely, and not till after a great battle could they approach the Giants’ Dance, the sight of which filled them with joy and admiration. But when they sought to move the stones, the strength of all the army was in vain, until Merlin, laughing at their failures, contrived machines of wondrous cunning, which took them down with ease, and placed them in the ships.
When they had brought the whole to Salisbury, Aurelius, with the crown upon his head, kept for four days the feast of Pentecost with royal pomp; and in the midst of all the clergy and the people, Merlin raised up the stones, and set them round the sepulchre of the knights and barons, as they stood in the mountains of Ireland.
Then was the monument called “Stonehenge,” which stands, as all men know, upon the plain of Salisbury to this very day.
Soon thereafter it befell that Aurelius was slain by poison at Winchester, and was himself buried within the Giants’ Dance.
At the same time came forth a comet of amazing size and brightness, darting out a beam, at the end whereof was a cloud of fire shaped like a dragon, from whose mouth went out two rays, one stretching over Gaul, the other ending in seven lesser rays over the Irish sea.
At the appearance of this star a great dread fell upon the people, and Uther, marching into Cambria against the son of Vortigern, himself was very troubled to learn what it might mean. Then Merlin, being called before him, cried with a loud voice: “O mighty loss! O stricken Britain! Alas! the great prince is gone from us. Aurelius Ambrosius is dead, whose death will be ours also, unless God help us. Haste, therefore, noble Uther, to destroy the enemy; the victory shall be thine, and thou shalt be king of all Britain. For the star with the fiery dragon signifies thyself; and the ray over Gaul portends that thou shalt have a son, most mighty, whom all those kingdoms shall obey which the ray covers.”
Thus, for the second time, did Merlin foretell the coming of King Arthur. And Uther, when he was made king, remembered Merlin’s words, and caused two dragons to be made in gold, in likeness of the dragon he had seen in the star. One of these he gave to Winchester Cathedral, and had the other carried into all his wars before him, whence he was ever after called Uther Pendragon, or the dragon’s head.
Now, when Uther Pendragon had passed through all the land, and settled it – and even voyaged into all the countries of the Scots, and tamed the fierceness of that rebel people – he came to London, and ministered justice there. And it befell at a certain great banquet and high feast which the king made at Easter-tide, there came, with many other earls and barons, Gorloïs, Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Igerna, who was the most famous beauty in all Britain. And soon thereafter, Gorloïs being slain in battle, Uther determined to make Igerna his own wife. But in order to do this, and enable him to come to her – for she was shut up in the high castle of Tintagil, on the furthest coast of Cornwall – the king sent for Merlin, to take counsel with him and to pray his help. This, therefore, Merlin promised him on one condition – namely, that the king should give him up the first son born of the marriage. For Merlin by his arts foreknew that this firstborn should be the long-wished prince, King Arthur.
When Uther, therefore, was at length happily wedded, Merlin came to the castle on a certain day, and said, “Sir, thou must now provide thee for the nourishing of thy child.”
And the king, nothing doubting, said, “Be it as thou wilt.”
“I know a lord of thine in this land,” said Merlin, “who is a man both true and faithful; let him have the nourishing of the child. His name is Sir Ector, and he hath fair possessions both in England and in Wales. When, therefore, the child is born, let him be delivered unto me, unchristened, at yonder postern-gate, and I will bestow him in the care of this good knight.”
So when the child was born, the king bid two knights and two ladies to take it, bound in rich cloth of gold, and deliver it to a poor man whom they should discover at the postern-gate. And the child being delivered thus to Merlin, who himself took the guise of a poor man, was carried by him to a holy priest and christened by the name of Arthur, and then was taken to Sir Ector’s house, and nourished at Sir Ector’s wife’s own breasts. And in the same house he remained privily for many years, no man soever knowing where he was, save Merlin and the king.
Anon it befell that the king was seized by a lingering distemper, and the Saxon heathens, taking their occasion, came back from over sea, and swarmed upon the land, wasting it with fire and sword. When Uther heard thereof, he fell into a greater rage than his weakness could bear, and commanded all his nobles to come before him, that he might upbraid them for their cowardice. And when he had sharply and hotly rebuked them, he swore that he himself, nigh unto death although he lay, would lead them forth against the enemy. Then causing a horse-litter to be made, in which he might be carried – for he was too faint and weak to ride – he went up with all his army swiftly against the Saxons.
But they, when they heard that Uther was coming in a litter, disdained to fight with him, saying it would be shame for brave men to fight with one half dead. So they retired into their city; and, as it were in scorn of danger, left the gates wide open. But Uther straightway commanding his men to assault the town, they did so without loss of time, and had already reached the gates, when the Saxons, repenting too late of their haughty pride, rushed forth to the defence. The battle raged till night, and was begun again next day; but at last, their leaders, Octa and Eosa, being slain, the Saxons turned their backs and fled, leaving the Britons a full triumph.
The king at this felt so great joy, that, whereas before he could scarce raise himself without help, he now sat upright in his litter by himself, and said, with a laughing and merry face, “They called me the half-dead king, and so indeed I was; but victory to me half dead is better than defeat and the best health. For to die with honour is far better than to live disgraced.”
But the Saxons, although thus defeated, were ready still for war. Uther would have pursued them; but his illness had by now so grown, that his knights and barons kept him from the adventure. Whereat the enemy took courage, and left nothing undone to destroy the land; until, descending to the vilest treachery, they resolved to kill the king by poison.
To this end, as he lay sick at Verulam, they sent and poisoned stealthily a spring of clear water, whence he was wont to drink daily; and so, on the very next day, he was taken with the pains of death, as were also a hundred others after him, before the villainy was discovered, and heaps of earth thrown over the well.
The knights and barons, full of sorrow, now took counsel together, and came to Merlin for his help to learn the king’s will before he died, for he was by this time speechless. “Sirs, there is no remedy,” said Merlin, “and God’s will must be done; but be ye all tomorrow before him, for God will make him speak before he die.”
So on the morrow all the barons, with Merlin, stood round the bedside of the king; and Merlin said aloud to Uther, “Lord, shall thy son Arthur be the king of all this realm after thy days?”
Then Uther Pendragon turned him about, and said, in the hearing of them all, “God’s blessing and mine be upon him. I bid him pray for my soul, and also that he claim my crown, or forfeit all my blessing;” and with those words he died.
Then came together all the bishops and the clergy, and great multitudes of people, and bewailed the king; and carrying his body to the convent of Ambrius, they buried it close by his brother’s grave, within the “Giants’ Dance.”
We know nothing about the childhood of the real Arthur. Whoever he was he was almost certain to belong to one of the royal families of Britain in the fifth or sixth centuries, even if he never became a king in his own right. The few scant records that do survive from those early days refer to him as a dux bellorum, or “duke of battles,” in other words a military general. It would have been impossible though for such a war leader not to have been of royal blood, so we can imagine that the real Arthur was raised at court, perhaps the younger son of a king. He would not be thus expected to become king himself but would be trained instead in all the art and practice of war, in which he was to excel.
In the Arthurian legend, Arthur is an illegitimate son and is fostered out to be raised by Sir Ector, who provides his military training, whilst Merlin tutors him in the religious arts. It is fifteen years before Arthur is introduced back into the world in the memorable episode of the sword in the stone.
Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was an American writer and artist who established a reputation for his children’s books which he wrote and elaborately illustrated. These began with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883, before he turned to a series inspired by the Arthurian legends: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903), The Story of the Champions of the Round Table (1905), The Story of Lancelot and His Companions (1907) and The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur (1911). His style was mock medieval, rather like his contemporary William Morris, which becomes infectious after a while even if he does use some antiquated words, like hight which means named. Of all the versions of the sword-in-the-stone that I have read, this one captures the atmosphere by far the best.
In ancient days there lived a very noble King, named Uther-Pendragon, and he became Overlord of all of Britain. This King was very greatly aided unto the achievement of the Pendragonship of the realm by the help of two men, who rendered him great assistance in all that he did. The one of these men was a certain very powerful enchanter and sometime prophet known to men as Merlin the Wise; and he gave very good counsel unto Uther-Pendragon. The other man was an excellent noble and renowned knight, hight Ulfius (who was thought by many to be the greatest leader in war of any man then alive); and he gave Uther-Pendragon aid and advice in battle. So, with the help of Merlin and Sir Ulfius, Uther-Pendragon was able to overcome
“The Dog’s Story” © 1996 by Eleanor Arnason, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, May 1996. Reprinted by permission of the Virginia Kidd Agency, Inc., on behalf of the author.
“The Romance of Tristan and Iseult” © 1913 by Hilaire Belloc. Reprinted by permission of The Peters Fraser and Dunlop Group Limited on behalf of the Estate of Hilaire Belloc.
“Madoc the Door Ward” © 1998 by Douglas Carmichael. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Isle of Avalon” © 1998 by Phil Carradice. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Pretender” © 1996 by Stephen Dedman, first published in Realms of Fantasy, February 1997. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Winning of the Kingdom” by Geoffrey of Monmouth is based upon the translation by Sebastian Evans (London: Dent, 1912) and has been freely adapted by the editor. This version is © 1998 by Mike Ashley.
“Sir Percivale of Wales” © 1953 by Roger Lancelyn Green, first published in King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (London: Penguin Books, 1953). Reprinted by permission of Richard Lancelyn Green.
“The Lady of Belec” © 1989 by Phyllis Ann Karr, first published in The Pendragon Chronicles (London: Robinson Books, 1989) and Weird Tales, Winter 1989/90. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Guinevere and Lancelot” © 1909 by Arthur Machen, first published in T. P.’s Weekly 2 April 1909 as “Many-Tower’d Camelot” and reprinted in Notes and Queries (London: Spurr & Swift, 1926). Reprinted by permission of A. M. Heath & Company, Ltd., on behalf of the author’s estate.
“The Quest of the Saracen Beast” © 1950 by Theodore Goodridge Roberts, first published in The Blue Book, November 1950. Copyright expired 1976. No record of copyright renewal.
“Ravens’ Meat” © 1998 by Fay Sampson. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” © 1981 by Rosemary Sutcliff, from The Sword and the Circle (London: The Bodley Head, 1981). Reprinted by permission of The Bodley Head and David Higham Associates on behalf of the author’s estate.
“The Temptation of Launcelot” © 1998 by Peter Valentine Timlett. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Quiet Monk” © 1988 by Jane Yolen, first published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, March 1988. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Curtis Brown, Ltd.
“The Carle of Carlisle” © 1998 by Ron Tiner. First publication, original to this anthology. Printed by permission of the author.
All other stories and translations are in the public domain.
The fascination with King Arthur, Merlin and the knights of the Round Table continues to absorb generation after generation, and has done for over a thousand years. Once hooked, it is impossible to get free because the story has so many different aspects.
To begin with there’s the mystery of who Arthur really was. Was there a man behind the myth and, if so, who was he? And if he was real, what about Guinevere and Merlin and Lancelot and all of the others? Were they real too?
Then there is the story of adventure. Arthur and his knights were all mighty heroes undertaking chivalrous quests against evil men and savage beasts. The Arthurian legends were amongst the first tales of heroic fantasy, a field which in the last few decades has become the most popular of all genres.
Then there are the tales of romance and intrigue. Arthur’s love for Guinevere; his incestuous relationship with his sister, or half-sister, Morgan. Guinevere’s love for Lancelot and Arthur’s eventual betrayal. And we must not forget the magic and mystery of Merlin and Morgan le Fay.
The legends have something for everyone, and that’s what I’ve tried to bring together in this collection. Some of you may be aware that I have produced a series of Arthurian anthologies which looked at different aspects of the legend. The first was The Pendragon Chronicles, which followed through the life of Arthur. Then came The Camelot Chronicles which looked at the wider world of the Arthurian legend. These were followed by The Merlin Chronicles, which focused on the magical elements of the legend, The Chronicles of the Holy Grail, which looked at the mystical aspects of the ultimate quest, and finally The Chronicles of the Round Table, which brought together adventure stories of many of the knights.
The first two of these anthologies are now out of print, and my publisher asked me if I’d produce an omnibus volume. I said I’d do more than that. I didn’t just want to reprint the two volumes as one, because that wouldn’t offer anything new. What I suggested was bringing together a volume that included a mixture of old and new stories which focused on the very heart of the Arthurian legends. To this end I have selected a few stories from those first two volumes, but for the most part this book contains stories not previously reprinted. These include brand new stories, plus others either not previously published in book form or long out of print and now rare collector’s items.
The stories follow the Arthurian legend from the days before Arthur’s birth, through the episode of the sword-in-the-stone and his conquest of the kingdom, to the creation of the Knights of the Round Table and many of their adventures, to Arthur’s fate at the Battle of Camlann. There are even a couple of stories that take us beyond Arthur’s death to later echoes of the legend.
Most of the stories follow the traditional tale of Arthur, as we know it from Malory’s Mort d’Arthur, though I have in each case selected what I believe to be the best or most expressive example of that work. And so there are stories here from such diverse writers as Howard Pyle, Hilaire Belloc, Andrew Lang, Arthur Machen and Rosemary Sutcliff. But I also wanted stories that looked at the lesser known legends and introduced a fresh twist to some of the tales. Thus you will find some very interesting retellings by Ron Tiner and Douglas Carmichael, Fay Sampson and Eleanor Arnason, Jane Yolen and Phyllis Anne Karr. There’s also a surprising Afterword which throws an entirely new light on the legend.
In between the stories I’ve woven a narrative which links the stories together and takes us through the Arthurian world. If this is the first time you’ve read anything about King Arthur and his Knights, then I envy you the thrill of discovery. If it is not the first time, then may I welcome you back to this most enduring of all legends. I hope you all find something that stirs the imagination.
What fascinates me about the Arthurian legends is that they do have a basis in historical fact. We know that when Rome, battered on all sides by barbarian armies, withdrew their support from Britain in AD 410 it soon became a lawless land. Lowland Britain found itself under attack from the Irish to the west, the Picts in the north, and the various Germanic tribes – those we generally call Saxons – in the east and south. Within a generation what was left of society in Britain had totally broken down. There were massacres, famine and plague. Those who clung to the “civilized” Roman way of life found it difficult to survive the onslaught, but eventually they fought back. They looked for a leader amongst their own tribes and the first to emerge was a man history records as Vortigern. That, though, was a title which meant High King. It is likely that his real name (or at least his Romanised one) was Vitalinus, and that his royal palace was at Gloucester. Vitalinus attempted to bring some control back to Britain and organized the local tribes; but power went to his head and there were many who regarded him as a despot. A rival chieftain called Ambrosius Aurelianus challenged Vitalinus. All this happened around the period 430–40, still a generation or two before Arthur. However over the centuries, time has telescoped it into a much shorter period, and the following story of Vortigern, Ambrosius, the young Merlin and Uther Pendragon is related as happening in the years just prior to Arthur’s birth.
I was keen to open this anthology with a story by James Knowles (1831–1908), who was knighted in 1903. Along with Lord Tennyson, who is also represented in this anthology, Knowles was the first to re-introduce the Arthurian myth to the Victorian audience, and certainly the first to recreate Malory in narrative story form. His book The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1862) attracted the attention of Tennyson, and a strong bond of interest was forged between them, to explore the symbolism of the Arthurian legend. Knowles was an architect for much of his life – he designed the Grosvenor Hotel opposite Victoria Station – though he also founded the Metaphysical Society in 1869 and was editor of the journals Contemporary Review and Nineteenth Century.
King Vortigern the usurper sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud – “Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come; even Ambrosius and Uther, upon whose throne thou sittest – and full twenty thousand with them – and they have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay thee, ere this year be done; and even now they march towards thee as the north wind of winter for bitterness and haste.”
At those words Vortigern’s face grew white as ashes, and, rising in confusion and disorder, he sent for all the best artificers and craftsmen and mechanics, and commanded them vehemently to go and build him straightway in the furthest west of his lands a great and strong castle, where he might fly for refuge and escape the vengeance of his master’s sons – “and, moreover,” cried he, “let the work be done within a hundred days from now, or I will surely spare no life amongst you all.”
Then all the host of craftsmen, fearing for their lives, found out a proper site whereon to build the tower, and eagerly began to lay in the foundations. But no sooner were the walls raised up above the ground than all their work was overwhelmed and broken down by night invisibly, no man perceiving how, or by whom, or what. And the same thing happening again, and yet again, all the workmen, full of terror, sought out the king, and threw themselves upon their faces before him, beseeching him to interfere and help them or to deliver them from their dreadful work.
Filled with mixed rage and fear, the king called for the astrologers and wizards, and took counsel with them what these things might be, and how to overcome them. The wizards worked their spells and incantations, and in the end declared that nothing but the blood of a youth born without mortal father, smeared on the foundations of the castle, could avail to make it stand. Messengers were therefore sent forthwith through all the land to find, if it were possible, such a child. And, as some of them went down a certain village street, they saw a band of lads fighting and quarrelling, and heard them shout at one – “Avaunt, thou imp! – avaunt! Son of no mortal man! go, find thy father, and leave us in peace.”
At that the messengers looked steadfastly on the lad, and asked who he was. One said his name was Merlin; another, that his birth and parentage were known by no man; a third, that the foul fiend alone was his father. Hearing the things, the officers seized Merlin, and carried him before the king by force.
But no sooner was he brought to him than he asked in a loud voice, for what cause he was thus dragged there?
“My magicians,” answered Vortigern, “told me to seek out a man that had no human father, and to sprinkle my castle with his blood, that it may stand.”
“Order those magicians,” said Merlin, “to come before me, and I will convict them of a lie.”
The king was astonished at his words, but commanded the magicians to come and sit down before Merlin, who cried to them—
“Because ye know not what it is that hinders the foundation of the castle, ye have advised my blood for a cement to it, as if that would avail; but tell me now rather what there is below that ground, for something there is surely underneath that will not suffer the tower to stand?”
The wizards at these words began to fear, and made no answer. Then said Merlin to the king—
“I pray, Lord, that workmen may be ordered to dig deep down into the ground till they shall come to a great pool of water.”
This then was done, and the pool discovered far beneath the surface of the ground.
Then, turning again to the magicians, Merlin said, “Tell me now, false sycophants, what there is underneath that pool?” – but they were silent. Then said he to the king, “Command this pool to be drained, and at the bottom shall be found two dragons, great and huge, which now are sleeping, but which at night awake and fight and tear each other. At their great struggle all the ground shakes and trembles, and so casts down thy towers, which, therefore, never yet could find secure foundations.”
The king was amazed at these words, but commanded the pool to be forthwith drained; and surely at the bottom of it did they presently discover the two dragons, fast asleep, as Merlin had declared.
But Vortigern sat upon the brink of the pool till night to see what else would happen.
Then those two dragons, one of which was white, the other red, rose up and came near one another, and began a sore fight, and cast forth fire with their breath. But the white dragon had the advantage, and chased the other to the end of the lake. And he, for grief at his flight, turned back upon his foe, and renewed the combat, and forced him to retire in turn. But in the end the red dragon was worsted, and the white dragon disappeared no man knew where.
When their battle was done, the king desired Merlin to tell him what it meant. Whereat he, bursting into tears, cried out this prophecy, which first foretold the coming of King Arthur.
“Woe to the red dragon, which figureth the British nation, for his banishment cometh quickly; his lurking-holes shall be seized by the white dragon – the Saxon whom thou, O king, hast called to the land. The mountains shall be levelled as the valleys, and the rivers of the valleys shall run blood; cities shall be burned, and churches laid in ruins; till at length the oppressed shall turn for a season and prevail against the strangers. For a Boar of Cornwall shall arise and rend them, and trample their necks beneath his feet. The island shall be subject to his power, and he shall take the forests of Gaul. The house of Romulus shall dread him – all the world shall fear him – and his end shall no man know; he shall be immortal in the mouths of the people, and his works shall be food to those that tell them.
“But as for thee, O Vortigern, flee thou the sons of Constantine, for they shall burn thee in thy tower. For thine own ruin wast thou traitor to their father, and didst bring the Saxon heathens to the land. Aurelius and Uther are even now upon thee to revenge their father’s murder; and the brood of the white dragon shall waste thy country, and shall lick thy blood. Find out some refuge, if thou wilt! but who may escape the doom of God?”
The king heard all this, trembling greatly; and, convicted of his sins, said nothing in reply. Only he hasted the builders of his tower by day and night, and rested not till he had fled thereto.
In the meantime, Aurelius, the rightful king, was hailed with joy by the Britons, who flocked to his standard, and prayed to be led against the Saxons. But he, till he had first killed Vortigern, would begin no other war. He marched therefore to Cambria, and came before the tower which the usurper had built. Then, crying out to all his knights, “Avenge ye on him who hath ruined Britain and slain my father and your king!” he rushed with many thousands at the castle walls. But, being driven back again and yet again, at length he thought of fire, and ordered blazing brands to be cast into the building from all sides. These finding soon a proper fuel, ceased not to rage, till spreading to a mighty conflagration, they burned down the tower and Vortigern within it.
Then did Aurelius turn his strength against Hengist and the Saxons, and, defeating them in many places, weakened their power for a long season, so that the land had peace.
Anon the king, making many journeys to and fro, restoring ruined churches and, creating order, came to the monastery near Salisbury, where all those British knights lay buried who had been slain there by the treachery of Hengist. For when in former times Hengist had made a solemn truce with Vortigern, to meet in peace and settle terms, whereby himself and all his Saxons should depart from Britain, the Saxon soldiers carried every one of them beneath his garment a long dagger, and, at a given signal, fell upon the Britons, and slew them, to the number of nearly five hundred.
The sight of the place where the dead lay moved Aurelius to great sorrow, and he cast about in his mind how to make a worthy tomb over so many noble martyrs, who had died there for their country.
When he had in vain consulted many craftsmen and builders, he sent, by the advice of the archbishop, for Merlin, and asked him what to do. “If you would honour the burying-place of these men,” said Merlin, “with an everlasting monument, send for the Giants’ Dance which is in Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland; for there is a structure of stone there which none of this age could raise without a perfect knowledge of the arts. They are stones of a vast size and wondrous nature, and if they can be placed here as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand for ever.”
At these words of Merlin, Aurelius burst into laughter, and said, “How is it possible to remove such vast stones from so great a distance, as if Britain, also, had no stones fit for the work?”
“I pray the king,” said Merlin, “to forbear vain laughter; what I have said is true, for those stones are mystical and have healing virtues. The giants of old brought them from the furthest coast of Africa, and placed them in Ireland while they lived in that country: and their design was to make baths in them, for use in time of grievous illness. For if they washed the stones and put the sick into the water, it certainly healed them, as also it did them that were wounded in battle; and there is no stone among them but hath the same virtue still.”
When the Britons heard this, they resolved to send for the stones, and to make war upon the people of Ireland if they offered to withhold them. So, when they had chosen Uther the king’s brother for their chief, they set sail, to the number of 15,000 men, and came to Ireland. There Gillomanius, the king, withstood them fiercely, and not till after a great battle could they approach the Giants’ Dance, the sight of which filled them with joy and admiration. But when they sought to move the stones, the strength of all the army was in vain, until Merlin, laughing at their failures, contrived machines of wondrous cunning, which took them down with ease, and placed them in the ships.
When they had brought the whole to Salisbury, Aurelius, with the crown upon his head, kept for four days the feast of Pentecost with royal pomp; and in the midst of all the clergy and the people, Merlin raised up the stones, and set them round the sepulchre of the knights and barons, as they stood in the mountains of Ireland.
Then was the monument called “Stonehenge,” which stands, as all men know, upon the plain of Salisbury to this very day.
Soon thereafter it befell that Aurelius was slain by poison at Winchester, and was himself buried within the Giants’ Dance.
At the same time came forth a comet of amazing size and brightness, darting out a beam, at the end whereof was a cloud of fire shaped like a dragon, from whose mouth went out two rays, one stretching over Gaul, the other ending in seven lesser rays over the Irish sea.
At the appearance of this star a great dread fell upon the people, and Uther, marching into Cambria against the son of Vortigern, himself was very troubled to learn what it might mean. Then Merlin, being called before him, cried with a loud voice: “O mighty loss! O stricken Britain! Alas! the great prince is gone from us. Aurelius Ambrosius is dead, whose death will be ours also, unless God help us. Haste, therefore, noble Uther, to destroy the enemy; the victory shall be thine, and thou shalt be king of all Britain. For the star with the fiery dragon signifies thyself; and the ray over Gaul portends that thou shalt have a son, most mighty, whom all those kingdoms shall obey which the ray covers.”
Thus, for the second time, did Merlin foretell the coming of King Arthur. And Uther, when he was made king, remembered Merlin’s words, and caused two dragons to be made in gold, in likeness of the dragon he had seen in the star. One of these he gave to Winchester Cathedral, and had the other carried into all his wars before him, whence he was ever after called Uther Pendragon, or the dragon’s head.
Now, when Uther Pendragon had passed through all the land, and settled it – and even voyaged into all the countries of the Scots, and tamed the fierceness of that rebel people – he came to London, and ministered justice there. And it befell at a certain great banquet and high feast which the king made at Easter-tide, there came, with many other earls and barons, Gorloïs, Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Igerna, who was the most famous beauty in all Britain. And soon thereafter, Gorloïs being slain in battle, Uther determined to make Igerna his own wife. But in order to do this, and enable him to come to her – for she was shut up in the high castle of Tintagil, on the furthest coast of Cornwall – the king sent for Merlin, to take counsel with him and to pray his help. This, therefore, Merlin promised him on one condition – namely, that the king should give him up the first son born of the marriage. For Merlin by his arts foreknew that this firstborn should be the long-wished prince, King Arthur.
When Uther, therefore, was at length happily wedded, Merlin came to the castle on a certain day, and said, “Sir, thou must now provide thee for the nourishing of thy child.”
And the king, nothing doubting, said, “Be it as thou wilt.”
“I know a lord of thine in this land,” said Merlin, “who is a man both true and faithful; let him have the nourishing of the child. His name is Sir Ector, and he hath fair possessions both in England and in Wales. When, therefore, the child is born, let him be delivered unto me, unchristened, at yonder postern-gate, and I will bestow him in the care of this good knight.”
So when the child was born, the king bid two knights and two ladies to take it, bound in rich cloth of gold, and deliver it to a poor man whom they should discover at the postern-gate. And the child being delivered thus to Merlin, who himself took the guise of a poor man, was carried by him to a holy priest and christened by the name of Arthur, and then was taken to Sir Ector’s house, and nourished at Sir Ector’s wife’s own breasts. And in the same house he remained privily for many years, no man soever knowing where he was, save Merlin and the king.
Anon it befell that the king was seized by a lingering distemper, and the Saxon heathens, taking their occasion, came back from over sea, and swarmed upon the land, wasting it with fire and sword. When Uther heard thereof, he fell into a greater rage than his weakness could bear, and commanded all his nobles to come before him, that he might upbraid them for their cowardice. And when he had sharply and hotly rebuked them, he swore that he himself, nigh unto death although he lay, would lead them forth against the enemy. Then causing a horse-litter to be made, in which he might be carried – for he was too faint and weak to ride – he went up with all his army swiftly against the Saxons.
But they, when they heard that Uther was coming in a litter, disdained to fight with him, saying it would be shame for brave men to fight with one half dead. So they retired into their city; and, as it were in scorn of danger, left the gates wide open. But Uther straightway commanding his men to assault the town, they did so without loss of time, and had already reached the gates, when the Saxons, repenting too late of their haughty pride, rushed forth to the defence. The battle raged till night, and was begun again next day; but at last, their leaders, Octa and Eosa, being slain, the Saxons turned their backs and fled, leaving the Britons a full triumph.
The king at this felt so great joy, that, whereas before he could scarce raise himself without help, he now sat upright in his litter by himself, and said, with a laughing and merry face, “They called me the half-dead king, and so indeed I was; but victory to me half dead is better than defeat and the best health. For to die with honour is far better than to live disgraced.”
But the Saxons, although thus defeated, were ready still for war. Uther would have pursued them; but his illness had by now so grown, that his knights and barons kept him from the adventure. Whereat the enemy took courage, and left nothing undone to destroy the land; until, descending to the vilest treachery, they resolved to kill the king by poison.
To this end, as he lay sick at Verulam, they sent and poisoned stealthily a spring of clear water, whence he was wont to drink daily; and so, on the very next day, he was taken with the pains of death, as were also a hundred others after him, before the villainy was discovered, and heaps of earth thrown over the well.
The knights and barons, full of sorrow, now took counsel together, and came to Merlin for his help to learn the king’s will before he died, for he was by this time speechless. “Sirs, there is no remedy,” said Merlin, “and God’s will must be done; but be ye all tomorrow before him, for God will make him speak before he die.”
So on the morrow all the barons, with Merlin, stood round the bedside of the king; and Merlin said aloud to Uther, “Lord, shall thy son Arthur be the king of all this realm after thy days?”
Then Uther Pendragon turned him about, and said, in the hearing of them all, “God’s blessing and mine be upon him. I bid him pray for my soul, and also that he claim my crown, or forfeit all my blessing;” and with those words he died.
Then came together all the bishops and the clergy, and great multitudes of people, and bewailed the king; and carrying his body to the convent of Ambrius, they buried it close by his brother’s grave, within the “Giants’ Dance.”
We know nothing about the childhood of the real Arthur. Whoever he was he was almost certain to belong to one of the royal families of Britain in the fifth or sixth centuries, even if he never became a king in his own right. The few scant records that do survive from those early days refer to him as a dux bellorum, or “duke of battles,” in other words a military general. It would have been impossible though for such a war leader not to have been of royal blood, so we can imagine that the real Arthur was raised at court, perhaps the younger son of a king. He would not be thus expected to become king himself but would be trained instead in all the art and practice of war, in which he was to excel.
In the Arthurian legend, Arthur is an illegitimate son and is fostered out to be raised by Sir Ector, who provides his military training, whilst Merlin tutors him in the religious arts. It is fifteen years before Arthur is introduced back into the world in the memorable episode of the sword in the stone.
Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was an American writer and artist who established a reputation for his children’s books which he wrote and elaborately illustrated. These began with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883, before he turned to a series inspired by the Arthurian legends: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903), The Story of the Champions of the Round Table (1905), The Story of Lancelot and His Companions (1907) and The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur (1911). His style was mock medieval, rather like his contemporary William Morris, which becomes infectious after a while even if he does use some antiquated words, like hight which means named. Of all the versions of the sword-in-the-stone that I have read, this one captures the atmosphere by far the best.
In ancient days there lived a very noble King, named Uther-Pendragon, and he became Overlord of all of Britain. This King was very greatly aided unto the achievement of the Pendragonship of the realm by the help of two men, who rendered him great assistance in all that he did. The one of these men was a certain very powerful enchanter and sometime prophet known to men as Merlin the Wise; and he gave very good counsel unto Uther-Pendragon. The other man was an excellent noble and renowned knight, hight Ulfius (who was thought by many to be the greatest leader in war of any man then alive); and he gave Uther-Pendragon aid and advice in battle. So, with the help of Merlin and Sir Ulfius, Uther-Pendragon was able to overcome
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The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends
Mike Ashley
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