The Death of King Arthur (7 page)

Then Merlin told Arthur that, after the king's death, the twelve candles would burn no longer; he also prophesied the adventures of the Holy Grail, and the dolorous stroke that would come from the sword of Sir Balin.

Within a day or so, Arthur fell sick. He pitched his pavilion in a meadow, filled with sweet medicinal herbs, and laid himself down on a pallet to sleep. It was hoped that the sight and the smell of the herbs might cure him. But he could find no rest. As he lay there he heard the sound of a horse galloping towards the pavilion; he looked out and saw a knight going past him with the sound of great mourning. ‘Stop,' he shouted to him. ‘Why are you in such great sorrow? I may be able to help you.'

‘Nothing now can do me any good,' the sad knight replied before riding on his way.

Then there came up behind him Sir Balin. When he saw Arthur he dismounted and saluted him with due reverence. ‘You are welcome, Balin,' the king said. ‘There just came this way a knight in great distress, but I do not know the reason. Can you please ride after him and bring him before me? You may use force, if necessary.'

‘I am at your command,' Balin replied. He was astride his horse in a moment, and rode after the mournful knight. He found him in a forest, by the side of a fair lady, and he greeted him gallantly enough. ‘Sir knight,' he said, ‘you must come with me to the king and explain the causes of your sorrow.'

‘That I cannot do. It will bring down evil on my head, and be of no help to you.'

‘Then make ready, sir. I must capture you in battle and bring you by force to the king. But I am unwilling to make a fight of it.'

‘Will you be my warrant, if I go with you?'

‘Indeed. I will protect you even at the cost of my own life.'

So the knight named Sir Harleus rode out with Balin, leaving the lady in the forest. Just as they came up to the king's pavilion, however, Harleus was pierced by a spear from an invisible rider. As he lay dying he whispered to Balin, ‘This is the work of a knight called Garlon. Take my horse. It is better than yours. Ride back to the forest and rescue the fair lady. She will lead you on the quest that I have pursued. Avenge my death.'

‘I will follow the road you have taken. In the name of God I will complete your quest.' So Balin went to Arthur, and told him what had occurred. Then he returned the way he had come. After a while he rode into the forest and found the fair lady. He gave her the shaft of the spear that had killed Harleus, and she greeted his death with sorrow and dismay. Then together they rode from the forest, until they came up to the gates of a great castle. Balin had just passed through the portcullis when it was closed behind him, leaving the lady separated from him. At this point some knights surrounded her with their swords and would have killed her. But Balin mounted the stone steps of the gatepost and flung himself down into the moat, where he drew his sword and challenged them to combat. They refused to fight, saying that they were only following the custom of the castle. They told Balin that their mistress had lain sick for many years; she had been told that she must have a silver dish brimming with the blood of a noble lady, a virgin and a king's daughter, in order to be healed. So they drew blood from any damsel who came close to the castle. ‘Well,' Balin told them, ‘bleed her if you must, but do not endanger her life.' She gave up her blood willingly enough, and filled the silver dish, but it did not bring health to the lady.

They rested that night at the castle, and in the morning went on their way. They rode for four days without meeting any adventure, but then by chance on the fifth day they lodged in the manor house of a rich gentleman. As they sat at supper with their host, Balin heard cries and complaints coming from another room. ‘What is that noise?' he asked.

‘It is my son,' the host told him. ‘I will tell you what happened. I contended at a joust, where twice I managed to defeat the brother of King Pellam. In retaliation he swore to revenge himself on my best friend. That friend is my son. He is now so sick that he can be cured only by the blood of the man who has injured him. But I do not know his name. And he rides invisible.'

‘I know him,' Balin replied. ‘His name is Garlon. He has killed a knight who was in my safe keeping. I would rather meet him in combat than acquire all the gold of this land.'

‘I will tell you how you can achieve that. King Pellam of Liste-noise has proclaimed a great feast, to be held within a fortnight, but no knight may come there unless he is accompanied by his wife or paramour. You will be able to see him on that day.'

‘Then I promise to bring you some part of his blood in order to heal your son.'

‘We will leave in the morning.'

At the dawn of the next day they rode out to the court of King Pellam, where they were received with great reverence and ceremony. Balin was taken to a chamber, and clean robes were brought for him. The servant then asked him for his sword. ‘I cannot part with it,' he said. ‘It is the custom in my country for the knight to keep his weapon.' So they allowed him to wear it, and with the fair lady he went down into the hall of the castle where the other knights were gathered. Balin glanced around. ‘Is there a knight in this court,' he asked one of the guests, ‘who goes by the name of Garlon?'

‘Indeed there is. He is over there, the knight with the necklace of black jet. He has performed marvellous deeds.'

‘Well,' Balin said to himself, ‘so that is the man. If I were to kill him here, I would not escape this castle with my life. But if I leave him, I may never meet him again. And what mischief might he then make?'

Sir Garlon had seen that Balin was staring at him, so he went up to him and slapped his face with the back of his hand. ‘Knight,' he said, ‘why do you look at me for so long? Eat your meat and leave me in peace. Do what you have come for.'

‘Sir, this is not the first time you have slighted me,' Balin replied. ‘So now I will do what I have come for.' He rose to his feet and, with his sword, he cut off the head of Garlon. As the knight lay dead on the floor, Balin called out to the lady, ‘Give me the shaft of the spear that killed Harleus!' he cried. She carried the shaft everywhere with her, and handed it to him. With this weapon he opened a wide wound in Garlon's side. ‘You used this against a good knight,' he said. ‘I am glad to use it against you.'

Then Balin shouted to his old host, ‘Now we will fetch enough blood to heal your son!'

The knights at the other tables arose at once and drew their swords. King Pellam himself was fierce. ‘Why have you slain my brother? Prepare yourself to die.'

‘If I am to die,' Balin replied, ‘let it be at your hand.'

‘Precisely so. Brother must avenge brother.'

So the king thrust at him with his sword; Balin tried to parry the stroke, but his own sword was cut asunder. Now he had no weapon. He ran from room to room of the castle, looking for some form of blade, while all the way Pellam followed him roaring. At last he entered a costly and secluded chamber. Balin could see that a corpse lay here, covered in cloth of gold; beside this bier stood a table of pure gold, supported by silver legs, and upon it lay a strangely wrought spear.

Balin took up the spear and turned upon Pellam. At the first stroke the king fell down in a swoon. At that moment the roof and the walls of the castle collapsed in ruin. There was a sound as of thunder, and the air became dark as pitch. A large groan issued from the depths of the earth, and the whole land trembled. The dolorous stroke had been delivered and could never be undone. The two men lay beneath the remains of the broken stone for three days, caught in a trance until Merlin came to their rescue. He took up Balin and gave him a new horse. ‘I cannot leave,' the knight said, ‘without the fair lady.'

‘Look at her lying there,' Merlin replied. ‘She is dead. All the others are dead, too.'

Pellam lay, wounded and wasted, for many years. He could not be cured until the high prince, Galahad, healed him in his quest for the Holy Grail. Do you wish to know the secret of the spear? It was that which entered the side of Christ as he lay upon the Cross. It had drawn out the Holy Blood that Joseph of Arimathea later brought to England. It was Joseph himself who had lain upon the bed, covered in cloth of gold, and Pellam was his kinsman. So the dolorous stroke inflicted death and dismay upon the world.

Balin left Merlin in much fear. ‘I will never see you again,' he said to the wizard. He wandered from land to land, and from city to city, where he found the people dead or dying. ‘What have you done?' those still alive cried out. ‘You have caused havoc and harm to all of us. The dolorous stroke you gave Pellam will destroy us all. For that deed, you yourself will suffer!'

He rode onward, away from the lands of desolation, until one day he found himself within a fair forest.

He travelled for five days through unknown countries until he came upon a stone cross set at the mouth of a valley. It was inscribed with letters of gold and read: IT IS NOT FOR NO KNIGHT ALONE TO RIDE TOWARDS THIS CASTLE. ‘This is a riddle,' Balin said, ‘that I cannot unravel.'

An old man was suddenly walking towards him. ‘Balin the Savage,' he called out to him. ‘This is no place for you. Turn back before it is too late.' The old man then disappeared, and at that moment a horn blew as at the death of a hart.

‘That blast,' Balin said, ‘has been blown for me. I am the prize. Yet I am still alive.' There appeared before him a hundred ladies who with music and dancing led him into a castle, at the other end of the valley, where he was greeted by many good knights. The mistress of the castle came up to him, smiling. ‘Sir Balin with the Two Swords,' she said to him. ‘It is time for you to joust with the knight who holds this place. No man may pass this way without meeting him. It is the custom.'

‘An unhappy custom,' Balin replied.

‘It is only one knight.'

‘If I must joust, then I will,' he said, ‘even though I have travelled many miles. My horse is weary, but my heart is still fresh.'

‘Sir,' one knight said to him, ‘your shield is not good. I will lend you a bigger and better one, if you wish.'

So Balin exchanged his shield for another, and rode out for battle. Before he could prepare himself a lady appeared and advanced towards him. ‘Oh, Balin!' she cried. ‘What have you done? By your shield you would have been known. It would have protected you from any peril.'

‘I am sorry,' he said, ‘that I ever came into this country. But I cannot turn back. That would bring shame upon me. I will face my fate, come what may. Life or death will be mine at the end of this day.'

He blessed himself, and rode forward. He saw before him, riding out of the castle, a knight dressed in red; the warrior's horse was harnessed in the same colour. He did not know that it was his own brother, Balan, who was preparing to charge him. Balan did not recognize the shield of Balin, borrowed for the occasion, and so the two brothers fought one another unawares. They clashed spears and shields so sharply that both men fell to the earth. Balan was the first to rise to his feet, and went after Balin with his drawn sword; Balin parried the thrust with his shield, and rose up for battle. They fought long and bitterly, until the ground was covered in their blood. Both of them by now were badly wounded and close to death. Balan, the younger brother, now withdrew himself a little and lay upon the earth.

‘What knight are you?' Balin called to him. ‘I have never known any other man to match me as you have.'

‘I am Balan. I am brother to the mighty knight Balin.'

‘Oh God!' Balin cried out. ‘Why have I lived to see this day?' He fell backward in a faint. Balan crawled over to him and took off his helmet. But Balin's face was so bloody and disfigured that he could not make out his features. But then Balin recovered from his faint, and cried out, ‘Oh, Balan, my brother! You have killed me, and I have killed you. All the wide world shall speak of us both!'

‘I did not know you, brother,' Balan replied. ‘You were carrying the wrong shield, so I mistook you for another knight.'

‘Someone in this castle was plotting against us. I was given this shield. I wish I could destroy this place, and put down its evil customs.'

‘When I rode to this castle,' his brother told him, ‘I was forced to confront a knight dressed in red. After I had defeated him I was doomed to remain here to challenge all newcomers. It would have happened to you.'

The mistress of the castle then came out to them, and heard them moaning in their grief. ‘We came out of the same womb,' Balan said to her. ‘We spring from the same mother's belly. So bury us together here, where we fought in battle.' Graciously she granted them their wish. She sent for a priest who anointed them and read the last rites to them.

‘When we are buried in the same tomb,' Balin said, ‘make mention of the fact that we were two brothers who fought and slew one another by sorrowful mischance. No worthy knight or good man will see this sepulchre without praying for our souls.' Then Balin died, and his brother breathed his last at midnight. The lady set up the tomb, and recorded there the fact that Balan had been killed by his brother. But she did not know the name of Balin.

Then Merlin came to this tomb, and inscribed his own message in letters of gold: HERE LIES BALIN THE SAVAGE. HE WAS KNOWN AS THE KNIGHT WITH TWO SWORDS. IT WAS HE WHO DELIVERED THE DOLOROUS STROKE. Merlin also made a bed out of magical wood, so that any man who lay in it would go out of his wits. Only Lancelot, in later years, was able to break the spell.