The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (16 page)

One day Peredur saw a herd of goats that belonged to his mother, and two hinds near the goats. The boy stood and marvelled to see those two without horns, while all the others had horns, and he assumed the two had been missing for a long time and because of that they had lost their horns. With strength and speed he drove the hinds along with the goats into a building for the goats at the far end of the forest. He returned home.

‘Mother,’ he said, ‘I saw a strange thing over there: two of your goats gone wild and they have lost their horns because they have been running wild for so long under the trees. And no one had more trouble than I had, driving them inside.’ Then everyone got up and went to look. And when they saw the hinds they were greatly amazed that anyone had the strength or speed to catch them.

One day they saw three knights coming along a bridle-path by the side of the forest. Who were they but Gwalchmai son of Gwyar and Gwair son of Gwystyl and Owain son of Urien, and Owain bringing
up the rear, pursuing the knight who had shared out the apples in Arthur’s court.
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‘Mother,’ he said, ‘what are those over there?’

‘Angels, my son,’ she said.

‘I will go and be an angel with them,’ said Peredur. And he went to the path to meet the knights.

‘Tell me, friend,’ said Owain, ‘did you see a knight passing here either today or yesterday?’

‘I don’t know what a knight is,’ he replied.

‘The same as myself,’ said Owain.

‘If you tell me what I ask you, then I’ll tell you what you want to know.’

‘I will, gladly,’ said Owain.

‘What is that?’ he said, pointing to the saddle.

‘A saddle,’ said Owain. Peredur asked what everything was, and what it was intended for, and how it was used. Owain told him in detail what everything was and how it was used.

‘Continue on your way,’ said Peredur. ‘I have seen what you are asking about. And I will follow you as a knight immediately.’ Then Peredur returned to his mother and the household.

‘Mother,’ he said, ‘those over there are not angels, but knights.’ Then she fell into a dead faint. But Peredur went over to where the horses were that carried firewood for them and brought food and drink from inhabited regions to the wilderness. And he took a bony, dapple-grey nag, the strongest in his opinion. And he pressed a pannier on it as a saddle, and went back to his mother. With that the countess recovered from her faint.

‘So,’ she said, ‘are you wanting to set off?’

‘I am,’ he said.

‘Wait for words of advice from me before you set off.’

‘Then speak quickly,’ he said. ‘I will wait.’

‘Go to Arthur’s court,’ she said, ‘where you will find the best men and most generous and most brave. Wherever you see a church, chant the Our Father to it. If you see food and drink, if you are in need of it and no one has the courtesy or goodness to offer it to you, help yourself. If you hear a scream, go towards it, and a woman’s scream above any other scream in the world. If you see a fair jewel, take it and give it to someone else, and because of that you will be praised. If you see a beautiful lady, make love to her even though she
does not want you—it will make you a better and braver man than before.’

Peredur imitated with twisted branches all the horse-trappings he had seen. He set off with a fistful of sharp-pointed darts in his hand. And for two nights and two days he travelled wasteland and wilderness, without food and without drink. Then he came to a great, desolate forest, and far into the forest he could see a clearing of open ground, and in the clearing he could see a pavilion, and under the impression that it was a church, he chanted the Our Father to the pavilion. And he approached the pavilion. The entrance to the pavilion was open and there was a golden chair near the door, and a beautiful, auburn-haired maiden sitting in the chair with a frontlet of gold on her forehead, and sparkling stones in the frontlet, and a thick gold ring on her hand. Peredur dismounted and went inside. The maiden made him welcome and greeted him. At the far end of the pavilion he could see a table and two flagons full of wine, and two loaves of white bread, and chops of the flesh of sucking-pigs.

‘My mother’, said Peredur, ‘told me that wherever I saw food and drink, to take it.’

‘Then go, lord, to the table,’ she said, ‘and God’s welcome to you.’ Peredur went to the table, and he took half the food and drink for himself, and left the other half for the maiden. And when he had finished eating, he got up and went to the maiden.

‘My mother’, he said, ‘told me to take a fair jewel wherever I saw one.’

‘Then take it, friend,’ she said. ‘I certainly won’t begrudge it to you.’ Peredur took the ring. And he went down on his knee and kissed the maiden. And he took his horse and set off.

After that, the knight who owned the pavilion arrived—he was the Proud One of the Clearing. And he saw the horse’s tracks.

‘Tell me,’ he said to the maiden, ‘who has been here since I left?’

‘An odd-looking man, lord,’ she said. And she described Peredur’s appearance and manner.

‘Tell me,’ he said, ‘has he been with you?’

‘No he has not, by my faith,’ she said.

‘By my faith, I don’t believe you. And until I find him to avenge my anger and shame, you shall not stay two nights in one and the same place.’ And the knight got up to go and look for Peredur.

Meanwhile Peredur continued his journey to Arthur’s court. And
before he arrived at Arthur’s court another knight came to the court and gave a thick gold ring to a man at the gate to hold his horse. And he himself proceeded into the hall where Arthur and his retinue were, and Gwenhwyfar and her maidens, and a chamberlain
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serving Gwenhwyfar from a goblet. And the knight grabbed the goblet from Gwenhwyfar’s hand and poured the drink that was in it over her face and breast, and gave Gwenhwyfar a great clout on the ear.
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‘If there is anyone’, he said, ‘who wants to fight with me for this goblet, and avenge this insult to Gwenhwyfar, let him follow me to the meadow and I’ll wait for him there.’ And the knight took his horse and made for the meadow. Then everyone hung his head for fear of being asked to avenge the insult to Gwenhwyfar. And they assumed that no one would commit such a crime as that unless he possessed strength and power or magic and enchantment so that no one could wreak vengeance on him.

With that Peredur comes into the hall on a bony, dapple-grey nag with its untidy, slovenly trappings.
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And Cai
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is standing in the middle of the hall floor.

‘Tell me, you tall man over there,’ said Peredur, ‘where is Arthur?’

‘What do you want with Arthur?’ said Cai.

‘My mother told me to come to Arthur to be ordained a knight.’

‘By my faith,’ said Cai, ‘your horse and weapons are too untidy.’ Then the retinue notices him, and they begin to make fun of him and throw sticks at him, and they are glad that someone like him has arrived so that the other incident can be forgotten.

Then the dwarf comes in, who had come a year earlier to Arthur’s court, he and his she-dwarf, to seek Arthur’s hospitality, which they received. But apart from that they had not spoken a word to anyone for the whole year. When the dwarf sees Peredur, ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘God’s welcome to you, fair Peredur son of Efrog, chief of warriors and flower of knights.’
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‘God knows, lad,’ said Cai, ‘that’s bad behaviour, to stay dumb for a year in Arthur’s court, with your choice of men with whom to talk and drink, and to call such a man as this, in the presence of the emperor and his retinue, chief of warriors and the flower of knights.’ And he gives him a clout on the ear until he falls headlong to the floor in a dead faint.

Then the she-dwarf comes. ‘Ah,’ she said, ‘God’s welcome to you, fair Peredur son of Efrog, flower of warriors and candle of knights.’

‘Well, girl,’ said Cai, ‘that’s bad behaviour, to stay dumb for a year in Arthur’s court, without saying a word to anyone, and today to call such a man as this, in the presence of Arthur and his warriors, flower of warriors and candle of knights.’ And he kicks her until she is in a dead faint.

‘Tall man,’ said Peredur then, ‘tell me, where is Arthur?’

‘Be quiet,’ said Cai. ‘Go after the knight who left here for the meadow, and take the goblet from him, and overthrow him, and take his horse and weapons. And after that you will be ordained a knight.’

‘Tall man,’ he said, ‘I will do just that.’ And he turns his horse’s head and goes out to the meadow. And when he arrives the knight is riding his horse in the meadow, great his pride in his power and prowess.

‘Tell me,’ said the knight, ‘did you see anyone from the court coming after me?’

‘The tall man who was there’, he said, ‘told me to overthrow you, and take the goblet and the horse and the weapons for myself.’

‘Quiet,’ said the knight. ‘Go back to the court, and in my name ask Arthur to come to fight with me, either he or someone else. And unless he comes quickly I will not wait for him.’

‘By my faith,’ said Peredur, ‘you choose. Whether it is with or without your consent, I will take the horse and the weapons and the goblet.’

And then the knight attacks him angrily, and strikes him a powerful and painful blow with the butt of his spear between shoulder and neck.

‘Young man,’ said Peredur, ‘that is not how my mother’s servants would play with me. I will play with you like this.’ And he aims a sharp-pointed dart at him, and hits him in the eye so that the dart comes out through the nape of his neck, and he falls stone-dead to the ground.

‘God knows,’ said Owain son of Urien to Cai, ‘you behaved badly towards that foolish man you sent after the knight. And one of two things has happened, either he has been overthrown or killed. If he has been overthrown, the knight will consider him a nobleman, and Arthur and his warriors will be eternally disgraced. If he has been killed, they will still be disgraced, but more than that, it will have been your fault. And I will lose all face unless I go and find out what has happened to him.’

Then Owain made his way to the meadow. And when he arrived Peredur was dragging the man behind him along the meadow.

‘Lord,’ said Owain, ‘wait. I will remove the armour.’

‘This iron tunic will never come off,’ said Peredur. ‘It is part of him.’ Then Owain removed the armour and the clothing.

‘Here you are, friend,’ he said, ‘now you have a horse and armour that are better than those you had. Take them gladly and come with me to Arthur, and you will be ordained a knight.’

‘May I lose all face if I go,’ said Peredur. ‘But take the goblet from me to Gwenhwyfar, and tell Arthur that wherever I go I will be his man. And if I can be of use to him, and serve him, I will do so. And tell him that I will never set foot in his court until I confront the tall man who is there, and avenge the insult to the dwarf and she-dwarf.’

Then Owain made his way to the court and told the story to Arthur and Gwenhwyfar and each one of the retinue, and of the threat to Cai.

Peredur went on his way. And as he was travelling, he met a knight.

‘Where do you come from?’ said the knight.

‘I come from Arthur’s court,’ he said.

‘Are you Arthur’s man?’

‘I am, by my faith,’ he said.

‘A fine place to acknowledge Arthur.’

‘Why?’ said Peredur.

‘I will tell you why,’ he said. ‘I have always pillaged and plundered from Arthur, and I have killed every one of his men whom I have met.’

Without further delay they attacked each other. It was not long before Peredur struck him so that he was over his horse’s crupper to the ground. The knight asked for mercy.

‘You shall have mercy,’ said Peredur, ‘if you swear that you will go to Arthur’s court and tell Arthur that it was I who overthrew you, in service and honour to him. And tell him that I will never set foot in his court until I confront the tall man who is there, and avenge the insult to the dwarf and she-dwarf.’ The knight, having promised that, set off for Arthur’s court. He told his story in full, and of the threat to Cai.

Peredur went on his way. And that same week he met sixteen knights, and he overthrew each one, and they made their way to
Arthur’s court with the same tale as the first knight he overthrew, and the same threat to Cai. And Cai was reprimanded by Arthur and the retinue. And he was worried on account of that.

Peredur set off. And finally he came to a great, desolate forest, and at the edge of the forest was a lake, and on the other side of the lake was a large court and a fine fortress around it. And on the shore of the lake there was a grey-haired man sitting on a cushion of brocaded silk and wearing a garment of brocaded silk, and young lads fishing in a small boat on the lake.
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As the grey-haired man saw Peredur approaching, he got up and made for the court, and the man was lame. Peredur, too, made for the court, and the gate was open and he came into the hall. And when he entered, the grey-haired man was sitting on a cushion of brocaded silk, and there was a big, blazing fire starting to burn. And a number of the retinue got up to meet Peredur, and helped him to dismount and took off his armour. And the man patted the end of the cushion with his hand and asked the squire
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to come and sit on the cushion. And they sat together and talked. And when it was time, they set up tables and went to eat. And he was put to sit and eat next to the man. When they had finished eating, the man asked Peredur if he knew how to strike well with a sword.

‘I suppose’, said Peredur, ‘that if I were taught, then I would know.’

‘If you know how to play with a stick and a shield,’ he replied, ‘you would know how to strike with a sword.’

The grey-haired man had two sons, a yellow-haired lad and an auburn-haired lad.

‘Get up, lads,’ he said, ‘to play with the sticks and the shields.’ The lads went to play.

‘Tell me, friend,’ said the man, ‘which of the lads plays better?’

‘I suspect’, said Peredur, ‘that the yellow-haired lad could have drawn blood long ago from the auburn-haired lad if he had wanted to.’

‘Friend, take the stick and shield from the auburn-haired lad and draw blood from the yellow-haired lad if you can.’