The Story of the Grail and the Passing of ArthurPyle, Howard
General
The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur
Pyle, Howard
Arthur, King -- Legends; Arthurian romances -- Adaptations; Folklore -- England; Grail -- Legends; Knights and knighthood -- Folklore
So King Arthur arose and went forth from that place. And when the day
was come, Sir Ewaine was buried at the minster at that place, and it was
said in the history of these things that his skull was to be seen there
even to the very day of the ancient writing of this history.
[Sidenote: _King Arthur advances against Sir Mordred._]
Then after all honors had been paid to the body of Sir Ewaine, King
Arthur gathered his army together and he arose and pursued Sir Mordred
in the direction of Salisbury. And the next day he came to that place
where Sir Mordred was, and there he halted his army.
That night King Arthur lay in his pavilion and he slept very deeply and
profoundly, as sleeps the man who is weary of toil and marching. And
anon while he slept he had a dream and the dream was this:
[Sidenote: _The King hath a dream._]
He dreamed that he sat upon his throne, and that his throne was
established upon a monstrous wheel. And the wheel rose high with him
sitting upon his throne. And anon the wheel rose above the rim of the
earth, and he beheld the sun shining in all his glory. And the sun
glittered upon him and he felt all the joy and all the delight of that
sunlight. And it seemed to King Arthur that he was a great while in that
sunlight, but he was not, for the wheel was turning very slowly with
him. So the wheel reached its highest apex, and then it began to
descend. And the wheel descended more and more swiftly, and anon it
descended below the rim of the world, and so the sunlight had left the
King. And the wheel descended more and more swiftly, so that King Arthur
began to fear he would be cast out of his throne by the turning of the
wheel. And King Arthur dreamed that he looked down beneath him, and he
beheld that the wheel was descending very rapidly to a great pool, as it
were a lake. And this pool was filled with blackness and with blood,
and behold there was no bottom to that pool. And by then the throne of
King Arthur was inclining very greatly toward that pool, and the King
felt that he was slipping from his throne, and at that his soul was
filled with terror. Then he tried to awaken, but he could not. So, in
his terror, he screamed very loudly and shrilly, “Save me! Save me, or I
fall!” And so shrill was his calling that several knights and attendants
ran into the pavilion where he was, and these beheld the King struggling
in his sleep. And they cried out, “Lord, Lord! What aileth thee?
Awaken!” And with that King Arthur awoke.
And King Arthur sat up upon his couch and gazed about him, as one sunk
in great amazement, and he said, “I slept and I dreamed a dream; and it
was a dreadful dream.” And he said to those in attendance upon him, “Do
not go from me yet, for that dream hath affrighted me.”
So they all sat near to him and by and by they beheld that he breathed
very deeply and softly, wherefore they wist that he slept again. Then
all they withdrew from the pavilion, saving only two of his attendants
who still sat beside him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account