Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 13 (of 15), King Arthur (1)Malory, Thomas, Sir
General
Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 13 (of 15), King Arthur (1)
Malory, Thomas, Sir
Arthurian romances; Malory, Thomas, Sir, active 15th century. Morte d'Arthur -- Adaptations
Lamorak soon got his revenge. For as he rode with Sir Driant towards
Camelot he met by the way a boy who had been sent by Morgan le Fay to
King Arthur. For the false enchantress still held to her hatred against
her noble brother, and by all means sought his harm. So by magic art she
had made a drinking-horn of such strange virtue that if any lady drank
of it who had been false to her husband all the wine would be spilled,
but if she had been true to him, she might drink in peace and safety.
This horn she sent to Arthur's court, hoping that Guenever might drink
thereof and be dishonored, for her love for Lancelot was known to all
but the king.
Lamorak, learning from the boy his errand, bade him bear the horn to
King Mark's court, and tell the king that it was sent to prove the
falseness of his lady, who loved Sir Tristram more than she did her
wedded lord.
Soon afterwards, therefore, the boy appeared at Tintagil Castle, and
presented King Mark the magic horn, telling him of its virtues, and all
that Sir Lamorak had bidden him say.
"By my royal faith we shall try it, then!" said the king. "Not only my
queen, but all the ladies of the court, shall drink of it, and we shall
learn who among them has other lovers than their liege lords."
Much to their unwillingness, Queen Isolde and a hundred ladies of the
court were made to drink from the magic horn, and of them all only four
drank without spilling the wine.
"Now, by my knightly honor, all these false dames shall be burnt!" cried
the king. "My court shall be purged of this vile stain."
"That shall they not," cried the barons. "We shall never consent that
the queen and all these ladies shall be destroyed for a horn wrought by
sorcery, and sent here to make mischief by as foul a sorceress and witch
as the earth holds. She has always been an enemy to all true lovers and
sought to do them harm, and if we meet with Morgan le Fay she will get
but scant courtesy at our hands. We would much rather believe the horn
false than all our ladies untrue."
But Tristram's anger was turned towards Lamorak for this affront, for he
knew well what had been his purpose. And he vowed in his heart that he
would yet repay him for this treacherous act.
His affection for Queen Isolde kept as warm as though the love-draught
still flowed in his veins, and he sought her at every opportunity, for
the two greatest joys that life held for him were to tell her of his
love and hear from her lips that her love for him had never dimmed.
But his treacherous cousin Andred watched his every movement, and kept
the king advised that Tristram continued his secret interviews with the
queen. So an ambush of twelve knights was set, and one day, when
Tristram had just paid a stolen visit to the queen, and sat in loving
converse by her side, these ambushed knights broke suddenly upon him,
took him prisoner, and bound him hand and foot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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