Chapter 2
Arthur had become King Arthur. He had pledged to bring place and honour to the kingdom. Arthur’s path was beset with several obstacles. After the death of Uther, the Saxon pirates had raised their ugly heads and were becoming stronger and stronger. They were very cruel. They started raiding the coastal cities and plundered them completely. They had no fear of anybody. Their ships started sailing up the rivers deep in the countryside. Added to this they came over there to settle down, constructing their own dwellings and making them like fortresses. They were very crafty people.
On the other hand in the kingdom of King Arthur many of the knights and the barons were not happy with Arthur being the king. They hated him very much. Somehow, they wanted to dethrone their new king. So, they joined together and discussed this grave issue deeply. At last, they planned to usurp the throne by hook or by crook. After consulting his loyal ministers and other prominent associates King Arthur decided to shift his court to the fortress town of Camelot. This town had been built by the Romans. From there, it was quite easy for King Arthur to do administrative functions. Riding on straight and plain Roman roads it was two days march to the new Saxon settlements. Moreover, these Roman roads also led to the lands and the castles of the rebel lords. King Arthur had stationed himself there for quite some time. One day, a spy reached king Arthur and informed him thus, “Your Majesty! The Saxons are planning to wage war on us. We are being attacked from all sides. Do act quickly or it will be late.”
King Arthur grew worried having listened to the words of the spy. But he was not cowardly. He was a brave man. He contacted King Leodegrance who ruled over the kingdom of Cameliard. King Leodegrance was a best friend of late King Uther. It so happened that the rebel army was marching through the kingdom of Cameliard. So, King Leodegrance pleaded King Arthur to hold off the rebels. Though his army was small yet he was determined. Now King Arthur was a little bit relieved. But he had a lot of work to do. He approached Sir Bedivere and asked him to ride south and attack the Saxons. Thereafter, he asked Sir Kay and Magician Merlin to stay behind and stand guard at Camelot. After entrusting the task to them King Arthur himself at the head of a large army marched towards the kingdom of Cameliard.
King Arthur on his white horse was looking majestic. The subjects of Camelot waved and cheered their King. They wished for his long life. After late King Uther, it was King Arthur who had won the hearts of his subjects by his deed and thought. King Arthur along with his large army rode on and on, day in and day out. At the eleventh hour they reached Cameliard where the Saxons had an upper hand over the forces of King Leodegrance. Seeing this King Arthur ordered his army to wage war on the Saxons. A fierce battle ensued between the forces of the Saxons on one side and the combined forces of King Arthur and King Leodegrance. The battle went on till evening. Many a knight on either side fell. As the evening was approaching, King Arthur had a face-to-face encounter with the rebel leader of the Saxons.
Seeing him in front of him King Arthur’s blood boiled with rage. He got very much furious. With one single stroke of his sword he did away with the rebel leader. Seeing his leader dead the Saxon forces raised a hue and cry. They started running helter-skelter in order to save their lives. But none could escape from there. At last, all of them surrendered to King Arthur. They laid down their weapons and sought King Arthur’s mercy. King Arthur, as benevolent he was, showed mercy to the knights and the barons who had turned against him. The knights and the barons hung their heads in shame. They were all praise for King Arthur. They said to King Arthur, “We all swear in the name of Jesus Christ that we shall be ever loyal to you in the future. None can dare attack you in our presence.”
Hearing their words King Arthur was beside himself with joy. Now it was party time. A grand feast was organized in the court of king Leodegrance. All the members wined and dined together throughout the night. King Arthur was pleased on two counts. Firstly, the knights and the barons who had turned against him had come over to his side. Secondly, Sir Bedivere who had gone to the south to stall the advance of the Saxons had defeated them completely. Added to this, he along with his army burnt down their houses and pushed them back into the sea. The celebration went on throughout the night. Everybody present there was under the influence of liquor. King Arthur had proved his mettle. In the feast, the daughter of King Leodegrance made her presence felt. King Arthur fell in love with her. It was love at first sight. He had never seen before such a beautiful lass. She too found King Arthur to be brave and intelligent.
As soon as King Arthur returned to his kingdom after the mission was over, he at once sent for Merlin. When Merlin presented himself in front of King Arthur, the latter observed, “Dear Merlin you have been serving us for quite a long time. You are the most loyal person I have in my kingdom. Right now, I am entrusting you with an important task. Do it carefully. Go to the kingdom of king Leodegrance and seek his permission so that I may marry his beautiful daughter.”
Hearing the words Merlin observed, “Dear son! It is not appropriate. This marriage won’t bring you any reward. If I am not mistaken, it will bring in misery only. So, don’t go in for this marriage.”
But King Arthur was bent upon marrying the daughter of King Leodegrance. Merlin had no alternative but to go to King Leodegrance.
Merlin was welcomed with great warmth. King Leodegrance himself received him with great respect. After the formal refreshment Merlin told king Leodegrance the purpose of his visit.
Hearing the words of Merlin the King was on cloud nine. He was beside himself with joy. He said to Merlin, “What a piece of happy news you have brought! Long live King Arthur! I feel relaxed and relieved that the worthy king of Camelot is going to marry my only daughter Guinevere.”
“Will your daughter marry our king?” asked Merlin in surprise. King Leodegrance observed, “Yes, why not. She can’t find a match better than King Arthur. Moreover, she never refuses to do what I say to her. Rest assured, she will marry the King without any doubt.”
Merlin returned to Camelot the same day and delivered the happy news to King Arthur. Hearing the happy news king Arthur’s joy knew no bounds. He patted the back of Merlin and hugged him to his bosom. As per the then tradition, the daughter of King Leodegrance left Cameliard for Camelot with her attendants. She was dressed in her best finery. She was wearing a lot of jewellery. She was looking really stunning. The subjects of Camelot were very excited to see a glimpse of their new queen. A lot of people gathered on either side of the road. As the queen entered the outskirts of Camelot, the subjects began to shout loudly, “Long live the Queen! Cheers to our Queen!”
Guinevere stayed at the palace of King Arthur. A priest was called to fix the date of the marriage. After all done, the city was decorated tastefully with the flowers and the branches of green trees. The great church was repainted from inside as well from outside. It was decorated with white and pink flowers. Soon, the day of wedding arrived. The entire city of Camelot was in high spirit. A saintly old priest was called in to solemnize the ceremony. After much fanfare and happiness the ceremony came to an end. The people who had gathered outside the church cheered their king and new queen. They raised slogans in their appreciation. King Arthur had received a lot of gifts from the neighbouring kings. King Leodegrance, father of the bride, gave him the gifts of gold and silver. Among the gifts was an enormous round table. It has been presented to him by late king Uther. One of the main features of this round table was that a hundred and fifty knights could sit around it at one time. Several knights were also sent in his service.
These knights had pledged to serve King Arthur. Days passed by followed by weeks and months. One morning, King Arthur was sitting at the round table. He looked at the table very carefully. He felt very elated when he realized that the table was really a special gift from his father-in-law. Since it was round, none of the knights could sit at a place higher than any other. This way, no one would think himself to be more superior to the other. It had other aspect as well. Nobody would be thought more in the King’s favour. Sitting at the round table all the knights would be treated as equals. Such was the quality of the round table. King Arthur sent for his prominent and loyal knights. When they all appeared there, he said to them, “Hello friends, how are you? I have called all of you to me on purpose. Let us see how many of you are determined to serve me till their last breath. He who serves me is required to take an oath of Fellowship—The Fellowship of the Round Table. This is no ordinary round table.”
“The seats on the round table are meant for the brave, wise and worthy knights who are ready to give up their all for the honour and integrity of their country. Those who take an oath here are required to dedicate their entire life to the honour of their country. They are to promise today that they will establish the reign of nobility, dedicate their life to the service of God and protect the downtrodden, the weak and the helpless.”
Hearing the words of King Arthur all the knights and the barons looked at one another. Sir Ector came forward and took the oath without any hesitation. He was the first knight to do so. While taking an oath he raised his glittering sword.
The moment he did so, the clouds thundered threateningly outside. There was a flash of lightning across the clouds. All of a sudden, the lights in the hall went out. The hall was completely plunged into utter darkness. After a minute or so, the lights came back. King Arthur noticed that there was a knight’s name written on every seat of the table. It was really very amazing. What amazed king Arthur sore was that there was a seat whereupon no name was written. Some words were written there which read as follows—‘None but the world’s truest knight deserves this seat.’
King Arthur could not figure out anything. He asked his wise knights and barons what it meant. But none gave a satisfactory response. Now, King Arthur turned to Merlin and asked in wonder, “Sir! Can you tell us what these words written on the seat mean? This thing is troubling me. Please say something about it.”
Merlin the magician thought for a while. Then he observed, “Kind attention, all noble knights and barons. Please listen to me carefully because what I am going to tell you all, is something very serious. This seat over there is known by the name—Seat Perilous. It holds a significant position. The seat is meant for the knight, who never did anything wrong or shall do nothing wrong in the future as well. One important point is there to note carefully. If a wicket knight happens to sit on the seat, he will surely die. So, keep in mind the points that I have told you all. To my mind, such knight hasn’t come as yet. But he is sure to reach here at an opportune time. I firmly believe in this supposition.”
Hearing the words of Merlin all the knights and the barons started looking sideways. None of the knights and the barons present there was capable of possessing the seat. After a while, Merlin took out a cloth-piece of gold silk from his pocket and placed it gently over Seat Perilous. He did so just to honour the knight who had yet to come to possess the seat.
Thereafter, all the knights and the barons—Sir Ector, Sir Kay, Sir Bedivere, Sir Owen, Sir Garvaine, Sir Bors, Sir Geraint, Sir Balin, to name a few—stepped forward to possess their respective seats. Before sitting on his seat, each of the knights and the barons took out his sword from the sheath and brandished it in the air. By doing so they showed their courage and loyalty to the kingdom. Each of them took the oath of fellowship and sat on the seat which had his name. As the round table was quite big in size, there remained several empty seats.
When everyone took his seat comfortably, King Arthur addressed them thus, “My dear friends, always remember—united we stand, divided we fall. Never quarrel among themselves. In the future, we shall meet on the three feast days on which I pulled out the sword from the steel anvil. During the three days, each of us will relate his adventure he has had and discuss something new he plans to undertake. I hope and am more than sure that these empty seats over there will be duly filled by brave and chivalric warriors in the time to come. Let the fame of the fellowship of the knights of the Round Table spread far and wide.”
