Bulfinch's Mythology Part 42

When Caradoc heard of their coming, his first emotion was that of joy and love. But soon he began to fear that the sight of his emaciated form, and of his sufferings, would disgust Guimier; and this apprehension became so strong, that he departed secretly from Nantes, and hid himself in a hermitage. He was sought far and near by the knights of Arthur's court, and Cador made a vow never to desist from the quest till he should have found him. After long wandering, Cador discovered his friend in the hermitage, reduced almost to a skeleton, and apparently near his death. All other means of relief having already been tried in vain, Cador at last prevailed on the enchanter Eliaures to disclose the only method which could avail for his rescue. A maiden must be found, his equal in birth and beauty, and loving him better than herself, so that she would expose herself to the same torment to deliver him.

Two vessels were then to be provided, the one filled with sour wine, and the other with milk. Caradoc must enter the first, so that the wine should reach his neck, and the maiden must get into the other, and, exposing her bosom upon the edge of the vessel, invite the serpent to forsake the withered flesh of his victim for this fresh and inviting food. The vessels were to be placed three feet apart, and as the serpent crossed from one to the other. a knight was to cut him in two. If he failed in his blow, Caradoc would indeed be delivered, but it would be only to see his fair champion suffering the same cruel and hopeless torment. The sequel may be easily foreseen. Guimier willingly exposed herself to the perilous adventure, and Cador, with a lucky blow, killed the serpent. The arm in which Caradoc had suffered so long recovered its strength, but not its shape, in consequence of which he was called Caradoc Briefbras, Caradoc of the Shrunken Arm.

Caradoc and Guimier are the hero and heroine of the ballad Of the "Boy and the Mantle," which follows:

"THE BOY AND THE MANTLE

"In Carlisle dwelt King Arthur, A prince of pa.s.sing might, And there maintained his Table Round, Beset with many a knight.

"And there he kept his Christmas, With mirth and princely cheer, When lo! a strange and cunning boy Before him did appear.

"A kirtle and a mantle This boy had him upon, With brooches, rings, and ouches, Full daintily bedone.

"He had a sash of silk About his middle meet; And thus with seemly curtesie He did King Arthur greet:

"'G.o.d speed thee, brave King Arthur.

Thus feasting in thy bower, And Guenever, thy goodly queen, That fair and peerless flower.

"'Ye gallant lords and lordlings, I wish you all take heed, Lest what ye deem a blooming rose Should prove a cankered weed.'

"Then straightway from his bosom A little wand he drew; And with it eke a mantle, Of wondrous shape and hue.

"'Now have thou here, King Arthur, Have this here of me, And give unto thy comely queen, All shapen as you see.

"'No wife it shall become, That once hath been to blame.'

Then every knight in Arthur's court Sly glanced at his dame.

"And first came Lady Guenever, The mantle she must try.

This dame she was new-fangled, [1]

And of a roving eye.

"When she had taken the mantle, And all with it was clad, From top to toe it s.h.i.+vered down, As though with shears beshred.

"One while it was too long, Another while too short, And wrinkled on her shoulders, In most unseemly sort.

"Now green, now red it seemed, Then all of sable hue; 'Beshrew me,' quoth King Arthur, 'I think thou be'st not true!'

"Down she threw the mantle, No longer would she stay; But, storming like a fury, To her chamber flung away.

"She cursed the rascal weaver, That had the mantle wrought; And doubly cursed the froward imp Who thither had it brought.

I had rather live in deserts, Beneath the greenwood tree, Than here, base king, among thy grooms The sport of them and thee.'

"Sir Kay called forth his lady, And bade her to come near: 'Yet dame, if thou be guilty, I pray thee now forbear.'

"This lady, pertly giggling, With forward step came on, And boldly to the little boy With fearless face is gone.

"When she had taken the mantle, With purpose for to wear, It shrunk up to her shoulder, And left her back all bare.

"Then every merry knight, That was in Arthur's court, Gibed and laughed and flouted, To see that pleasant sport.

"Down she threw the mantle, No longer bold or gay, But, with a face all pale and wan To her chamber slunk away.

"Then forth came an old knight A pattering o'er his creed, And proffered to the little boy Five n.o.bles to his meed:

"'And all the time of Christmas Plum-porridge shall be thine, If thou wilt let my lady fair Within the mantle s.h.i.+ne.'

"A saint his lady seemed, With step demure and slow, And gravely to the mantle With mincing face doth go.

"When she the same had taken That was so fine and thin, It shrivelled all about her, And showed her dainty skin.

"Ah! little did her mincing, Or his long prayers bestead; She had no more hung on her Than a ta.s.sel and a thread.

"Down she threw the mantle, With terror and dismay, And with a face of scarlet To her chamber hied away.

"Sir Cradock called his lady, And bade her to come near: 'Come win this mantle, lady, And do me credit here:

"'Come win this mantle, lady, For now it shall be thine, If thou hast never done amiss, Since first I made thee mine.'

"The lady, gently blus.h.i.+ng, With modest grace came on; And now to try the wondrous charm Courageously is gone.

"When she had ta'en the mantle, And put it on her back, About the hem it seemed To wrinkle and to crack.

"'Lie still,' she cried, 'O mantle!

And shame me not for naught; I'll freely own whate'er amiss Or blameful I have wrought.

"'Once I kissed Sir Cradock Beneath the greenwood tree; Once I kissed Sir Cradock's mouth, Before he married me.'

"When she had thus her shriven, And her worst fault had told, The mantle soon became her, Right comely as it should.

"Most rich and fair of color, Like gold it glittering shone, And much the knights in Arthur's court Admired her every one."

[Footnote 1: New-fangled--fond of novelty.]

The ballad goes on to tell of two more trials of a similar kind, made by means of a boar's head and a drinking horn, in both of which the result was equally favorable with the first to Sir Cradock and his lady. It then concludes as follows:

"Thus boar's head, horn, and mantle Were this fair couple's meed; And all such constant lovers, G.o.d send them well to speed"

--Percy's Reliques.

CHAPTER VIII

LAUNCELOT OF THE LAKE

King Ban, of Brittany, the faithful ally of Arthur was attacked by his enemy Claudas, and after a long war saw himself reduced to the possession of a single fortress, where he was besieged by his enemy. In this extremity he determined to solicit the a.s.sistance of Arthur, and escaped in a dark night, with his wife Helen and his infant son Launcelot, leaving his castle in the hands of his seneschal, who immediately surrendered the place to Claudas. The flames of his burning citadel reached the eyes of the unfortunate monarch during his flight and he expired with grief. The wretched Helen, leaving her child on the brink of a lake, flew to receive the last sighs of her husband, and on returning perceived the little Launcelot in the arms of a nymph, who, on the approach of the queen, threw herself into the lake with the child. This nymph was Viviane, mistress of the enchanter Merlin, better known by the name of the Lady of the Lake. Launcelot received his appellation from having been educated at the court of this enchantress, whose palace was situated in the midst, not of a real, but, like the appearance which deceives the African traveller, of an imaginary lake, whose deluding resemblance served as a barrier to her residence. Here she dwelt not alone, but in the midst of a numerous retinue, and a splendid court of knights and damsels.