Chapter 5
Sad and desolate, Arthur returned to his country. After reaching his country, he rested for a few days. He didn’t go hunting or shooting wild animals for pleasure. He remained at home all through these days. His wounds had healed up. He was up and doing as before. He turned hale and hearty once again.
One morning Merlin the great magician came over to him. He stated, “O Arthur! I thank God that you have fully recovered from your wounds which were very deep. None in this world can harm you till you have the Excalibur. Never part with the sword even for a second. I think you are fully active to launch an attack.”
Hearing the words of Merlin Arthur was amazed. He asked him in wonder, “What attack are you talking about?”
Thereupon Merlin observed, “The Saxons and the rebel knights in the north are raising their heads. It is high time that they should be crushed completely, otherwise they will launch an attack on us.”
Arthur nodded in the affirmative. He called out his minister and said to him, “Prepare the army for an attack on the Saxons and the rebel knights. They are raising their ugly heads in the north. Before long, they should be taught a bitter lesson.”
Next day, at the head of a large army of his brave knights, Arthur waged a war on the Saxons and the rebel knights. After a gruelling fight against them, he could manage to win over them. He returned to his kingdom with full of joy. His subjects greeted him warmly. Many people garlanded him and congratulated him on his great success.
Days rolled by followed by weeks and months. One day, Arthur was sitting in his court. He called out to his minister and stated, “Dear! We have achieved victory over the Saxons and the rebel knights by dint of hard work and perseverance. Why not hold a joust to celebrate this victory? What do you say in this regard?”
The minister thought for a while. Then, he uttered, “Your Highness! It is a great idea. The celebration should be grand. Everybody should know that we have come out victorious in this bloody battle. You are absolutely right in thinking so.”
Thereupon Arthur observed, “Then send out invitation cards to each and every ruler, ruling in and around Britain. Remember this will be a grand celebration. No prominent ruler should be left out. After all, it is the celebration of our victory over the Saxons and the rebel knights.”
The very next day, the minister started sending out invitation-cards in hordes. The messengers fanned out in all the direction to distribute the invitation-cards. Soon, the day of the tournament came. Rulers from far and near came to the tournament field. It was a bright sunny afternoon. The tournament field had been bedecked with flags all around. People in hordes came to the field to witness the joust which was a major attraction for young and old alike.
First of all, athletics took place, followed by wrestling and archery contests. These contests were admired by all the people as no foul play was observed. Arthur himself presented the awards to the winners of these contests. There was one more contest to be conducted before jousting. It was a javelin-throw contest. Many mighty knights participated in this contest. Each performed better than the other.
It was quite difficult for Arthur to declare the winner. After many ifs and buts the winner was declared at last. Later on, Arthur gave him position in his army. The jousting contest was to be conducted now. Everybody present there was eagerly waiting for the contest as the knight who would win was to be announced the queen’s champion. Bugles were sounded. Thereafter, a fanfare of trumpets proclaimed that King Arthur would open the contest. One interesting thing in the contest was that King Arthur himself took part in this contest. He was there to give a challenge to each and every knight. This way, he would be able to assess his strength and physical power. In no other contest did Arthur participate. Jousting was very dear to him. He was quite skilled in playing the game of joust. The jousting contest began on a high note.
Arthur wearing his new silver armour sat on his white horse at one end of the field. He had his helmet on. He had a joust in the right hand. Several knights came there to fight against him. But he kept on crushing knight after knight. No knight dared to stand before him even for five minutes. The people cheered their king loudly. They had full faith in their king’s valour. They knew it was next to impossible for anyone to defeat their King in jousting. In the pavilion of the distinguished guests, Sir Kay and Sir Bedivere were also sitting. After Arthur had defeated each and every knight in jousting. Sir Kay said to Sir Bedivere, “I bet you none other that Arthur will be the queen’s champion. It is next to impossible to make him lick dust. He is very agile, active and alert. He has mastered this form of fighting.”
Arthur kept on defeating knight after knight. None of the knight dared to stand before him even for a minute. All of a sudden, a queer silence spread over the tournament field. An extraordinary knight had arrived on the tournament field. All present there were amazed. They had never seen such a knight before in their life. People began to whisper. Seeing the knight Sir Kay said to Sir Bedivere, “Isn’t he a strange knight? His armour is plain, and his shield and helmet don’t bear a crest. I doubt he is a knight in the real sense. He can’t defeat Arthur the mighty.”
Hearing the words of Sir Kay Sir Bedivere observed, “Still waters run deep, O dear. Barking dogs seldom bite. Who knows he can defeat Arthur and make him lick dust? If I am not mistaken, he had come here to give a tough fight to Arthur. It won’t be easy for Arthur to crush him down like he crushed other knights. Things don’t seem easy this time.”
There was an atmosphere of amazement in the crowd. Everybody wanted to know who the knight was, where from he had come, who his parents were. One person in the crowd said, “Look, this knight seems to be mighty and powerful like our own King Arthur. He seems to be an equal match for our king. It will be a very interesting tussle between the two. It is said when two bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers. If this knight is able to defeat our King, will he be declared our new King? Are we going to suffer on this count? No, this can’t happen. Let us cheer our King and pray to God that our King Arthur should come out victorious, come what may. Who knows how the new knight will rule over us in case he wins the tournament.”
In the meantime the new knight sitting on his white horse came to the battlefront. He raised his lance in order to salute King Arthur and other dignitaries present there. Thereafter, he spurred on his horse and rode towards King Arthur. On the other side, Arthur too was very excited to measure arms with that extraordinary knight. He got himself ready to attack the knight. From one end, the knight with a lance in his right hand rushed towards Arthur. From the other end, Arthur too rushed in the direction of the knight. He too had a sharp lance in his right hand.
As the two came close to each other, their lances struck with a loud crash. It broke their lances. But both of them were sitting firmly on their horses. Neither of them was rendered unhorsed. Both were equally powerful and mighty. Each was trying his level best to overcome the other. Now both the knights exchanged glances with each other. After their lances had come to the pieces, each of them picked up a new lance. They again rode back. Reaching the starting point from each end, both of them again took a start. Coming each other’s way their lances again clashed. It again resulted in a loud crash.
It yielded the same result. Again, their lances broke into two pieces. The crowd was amazed to see this strange sight. None was able to understand what was going on. Sir Kay said to Sir Bedivere, “Dear friend, what I told you before the start of the joust. This knight is not an ordinary knight. He is very much skilled in wielding a lance. He is equally powerful and agile. Let us see what takes place ahead.” Sir Bedivere saw eye to eye with Sir Kay.
Now, both Arthur and the knight got down from their respective horses and began fighting with their swords. King Arthur was good at sword-fighting. But the knight was equally good. It was rumoured that King Arthur would win the sword fighting. There ensued a bitter fight between the two. Both the warriors fought for long horse, with mighty blows dealt on either side. All of a sudden, King Arthur raised his sword above his head. He said to the unknown knight, “Enough is enough. I have now come to the conclusion that neither of us can be defeated. You are equally strong and agile. It is not fair that I should be selected champion at arms to my lady, the queen. You too deserve this honour. You are really worthy of it. Let me know who you are and where from you have come. I kindly request you to make yourself known to all of us. We are eagerly looking forward to your identity. Please reveal your identity. It is too much. Now, I declare that you are my equal in sword-fighting.”
Hearing the words of King Arthur the knight dismounted from his horse. With both palms joined in utter reverence he said to King Arthur, “Your Majesty, I am Lancelot of the Lake. I hail from France.” Saying these words the unknown knight took off his helmet.
Lo and behold! It was the handsome face of a young lad no longer older than King Arthur himself. Everybody present there was all praise for the knight. After all, he had given a tough battle to Arthur. The crowd cheered the new knight who felt elated and excited. King Arthur had now realized that there were knights still more powerful and agile than he himself was. He welcomed the new knight warmly. After the introduction King Arthur said to the knight, “What brought you to Camelot?”
Lancelot replied at once, “Your Majesty! I had heard of the Fellowship of Knights that you formed some time ago. I have come over here to become a knight of the Round Table. That is why I showed you my mettle and grit. What do you say now?”
King Arthur was all praise for Lancelot. He stated, “Dear, you have earned a place for yourself in the Fellowship of Knights by dint of hard work and perseverance. From today onwards you are appointed to the Fellowship of Knights.” Saying these words King Arthur embraced Lancelot to his bosom and proclaimed him Champion at arms of the queen. Lancelot felt extremely happy to get this rare honour.
Next day, Lancelot was presented Sash around his shoulders by Queen Guinevere. When Lancelot looked at the Queen, he fell in love with her as she looked the most beautiful woman on earth he had ever seen. He smiled a little other bit and both exchanged glances with each. From that very day, he swore to himself that he would serve the Queen for as long as he lived. On the other hand, Queen Guinevere too fell in love with Lancelot. It was love at first sight for each of them. Only Merlin was aware of the love between the fair Queen and Lancelot. The seeds of love had sprouted in each heart. But Merlin felt sad as he knew that their love would cause the rupture of the Fellowship of the Round Table many years later. It was against the ethics of the Round Table. But Merlin had no alternative but to keep mum. He did not let this thing reveal to anybody else. He kept the sorrow in his heart. He left everything to the fate.
