King Arthur and the Knights of the Round TableMalory, Thomas, Sir
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King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Malory, Thomas, Sir
Arthurian romances
"It would have been sore treason of thee to destroy thy lord," said
Arthur. "Thou sayest truly," answered he; "but now that I have told
thee, and openly confessed to thee all that foul treason whereof I now
do bitterly repent, tell me, I pray thee, whence art thou, and of what
court?" "O, Sir Accolon!" said King Arthur, "learn that I am myself King
Arthur." When Sir Accolon heard this he cried aloud, "Alas, my gracious
lord! have mercy on me, for I knew thee not." "Thou shalt have mercy,"
said he, "for thou knewest not my person at this time; and though by
thine own confession thou art a traitor, yet do I blame thee less,
because thou hast been blinded by the false crafts of my sister Morgan
le Fay, whom I have trusted more than all others of my kin, and whom I
now shall know well how to punish." Then did Sir Accolon cry loudly, "O,
lords, and all good people! this noble knight that I have fought with is
the noblest and most worshipful in all the world; for it is King Arthur,
our liege lord and sovereign king; and full sorely I repent that I have
ever lifted lance against him, though in ignorance I did it."
Then all the people fell down on their knees and prayed the pardon of
the king for suffering him to come to such a strait. But he replied,
"Pardon ye cannot have, for, truly, ye have nothing sinned; but here ye
see what ill adventure may ofttimes befall knights-errant, for to my own
hurt, and his danger also, I have fought with one of my own knights."
Then the king commanded Sir Damas to surrender to his brother the whole
manor, Sir Outzlake only yielding him a palfrey every year; "for," said
he scornfully, "it would become thee better to ride on than a courser;"
and ordered Damas, upon pain of death, never again to touch or to
distress knights-errant riding on their adventures; and also to make
full compensation and satisfaction to the twenty knights whom he had
held in prison. "And if any of them," said the king, "come to my court
complaining that he hath not had full satisfaction of thee for his
injuries, by my head, thou shalt die therefor."
Afterwards, King Arthur asked Sir Outzlake to come with him to his
court, where he should become a knight of his, and, if his deeds were
noble, be advanced to all he might desire.
So then he took his leave of all the people and mounted upon horseback,
and Sir Accolon went with him to an abbey hard by, where both their
wounds were dressed. But Sir Accolon died within four days after. And
when he was dead, the king sent his body to Queen Morgan, to Camelot,
saying that he sent her a present in return for the sword Excalibur
which she had sent him by the damsel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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