Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603 -- Fiction; Historical fiction
At the last the hero cast his three spears, one upon the horse, one upon
the shield, and one upon the helmet of the good knight. But the bronze
bent upon the steel; it would not enter in though it were thrown with
never such a force. The young knight reeled in his saddle, and his
steed upon his feet. Yet, as that hero drove the chariot in, to cast the
last spear, the young knight spurred his horse suddenly in upon them,
and though the charioteer was very agile with his car, nevertheless the
young lord’s spear met the great shield of bronze and pierced it
through; between the hero and the other the point went, and the ivory
wheels of the chariot broke and the white horses fell one upon the
other, being taken upon the side by that steel-clad horse. Then that
hero sprang from the chariot and ran more swiftly than the young lord
could follow to a great rock that was in the grass by the streamside.
So he had up the great rock of marble before ever Hamewarts was upon
him, and cast that rock upon horse and rider so that both fell down
among the asphodels. Then that knight in armour drew himself from under
his horse, for the ground there was soft and marshy, and he was but
little crushed. And so he stood up upon his feet, having in one hand his
bright dagger that was the length of his fore-arm. And that hero had
had no time to cast himself upon the knight, for he was for the moment
out of breath with the exertion of casting that great rock.
So all there were well pleased and declared that that was a drawn
battle. They had off their harness and their clothes and went all
a-bathing in the foam of that rapid stream. And, as each one would have
it, so those bright waters were warmed by the heat of the sunlight
through which they had passed, or icy with the snows that had been their
origin.
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