The Mabinogion (Oxford World's Classics) (24 page)

T
HE
emperor Arthur was at Caerllion ar Wysg.
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He was sitting one day in his chamber, and with him Owain son of Urien, and Cynon son of Clydno, and Cai son of Cynyr,
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and Gwenhwyfar and her handmaidens sewing at a window. And although it was said that there was a gatekeeper at Arthur’s court, there was none. However, Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr
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was there in the role of gatekeeper, to welcome guests and travellers, to begin honouring them, and let them know the court’s conventions and customs; to inform those who might be allowed to enter the hall or the chamber, and those who might be entitled to lodgings. And in the middle of the chamber sat the emperor Arthur on a pile of fresh rushes, and a mantle of yellow-red brocaded silk beneath him, and a cushion with its cover of red brocaded silk under his elbow.

Then Arthur said, ‘Men, as long as you do not make fun of me,’ he said, ‘I would like to sleep while I wait for my food; and you can tell each other stories, and Cai will bring you a jugful of mead and some chops.’ And the emperor slept. And Cynon son of Clydno asked Cai for what Arthur had promised them.

‘But I want the good story
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that
I
was promised,’ said Cai.

‘Sir,’ said Cynon, ‘it is better for you to fulfil Arthur’s promise first, and afterwards we shall tell you the best story we know.’

Cai went to the kitchen and the mead cellar,
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and came back with a jugful of mead and a goblet of gold, and his fist full of skewers with chops on them. And they took the chops and began to drink the mead.

‘Now,’ said Cai, ‘you owe me my story.’

‘Cynon,’ said Owain, ‘give Cai his story.’

‘God knows,’ said Cynon, ‘you are an older man and a better storyteller than me, and you have seen stranger things;
you
give Cai his story.’

‘
You
begin,’ said Owain, ‘with the strangest story that you know.’

‘Very well,’ said Cynon. ‘I was my mother and father’s one and
only son, and I was high-spirited, and extremely arrogant. And I didn’t think there was anyone in the world who could perform brave deeds better than I. And when I had overcome every challenge in my own country, I got ready and travelled to the remote and uninhabited regions of the world. Eventually I came across the most beautiful valley in the world, with trees all the same height; and there was a river flowing swiftly along the valley, and a path alongside the river. And I travelled along the path until midday, and travelled on the other side until late afternoon. Then I came to a great plain, and at the far end of the plain I could see a great, shining castle and an ocean close to the castle. I approached the castle, and behold, two lads with curly yellow hair, and a band of gold on their foreheads, and each wearing a tunic of yellow brocaded silk, and boots of new Cordovan leather on their feet with golden buckles fastening them around the ankle. And each had a bow of elephant ivory in his hand, with strings of deer sinew, and arrows with shafts of walrus ivory, peacock-feathered, and golden tips on the shafts; and knives with blades of gold and hilts of walrus ivory as targets, and they were aiming at their knives.

‘And a short distance from them I could see a man with curly yellow hair in the prime of life, his beard newly trimmed, and wearing a tunic and mantle of yellow brocaded silk, and a ribbon of gold thread in his mantle, and buskins of speckled Cordovan leather about his feet and two golden buttons fastening them. When I saw him I approached and greeted him. But he was so courteous that he greeted me before I could greet him, and he accompanied me to the castle. There was no sign of life in the castle apart from in the hall, where there were twenty-four maidens embroidering silk at a window. And I tell you this, Cai, I am sure that the ugliest one of them was fairer than the fairest maiden that you ever saw in the Island of Britain; the least beautiful was more beautiful than Gwenhwyfar, the wife of Arthur, when she is at her most beautiful ever at the Christmas Day or Easter Day Mass. And they rose to meet me; and six of them took my horse and removed my boots; and another six took my weapons and polished them in a burnisher until they were as bright as bright could be; and the third six of them laid a cloth on the table and set out food; and the fourth six removed my travel-stained clothes and dressed me in other garments, namely a shirt and breeches of fine linen, and a tunic and surcoat and cloak of yellow brocaded silk
with a wide border. And they gathered underneath me and around me many cushions with covers of fine red linen. Then I sat down. The six who had taken my horse groomed him perfectly, as well as the best grooms in the Island of Britain.

‘And with that there came silver bowls and water in them for washing, and towels of fine white linen, and some of green; and we went to wash, and the man I mentioned just now went to sit at the table, and I sat next to him, and all the women sat below me, apart from those who were serving. And the table was of silver, and the tablecloth of fine linen. And there was not a single vessel served at table except ones of gold or silver or buffalo horn. And our food came to us, and I can assure you, Cai, that I have never seen nor tasted food or drink that I did not see there, and the service I saw there was better than anywhere else.

‘And we ate until we were halfway through the meal, and neither the man nor any of the maidens spoke a single word to me until then. But when the man thought that I would prefer to talk rather than eat, he asked me where I was going and who I was. And I said it was high time I had someone to talk with, and that the greatest fault of the court was that they were such poor conversationalists. “Sir,” said the man, “we would have talked with you a long time ago except it would have interfered with your eating. But now we’ll talk.” And then I told the man who I was, and the journey I was making; and that I was looking for someone to get the better of me, otherwise I would have got the better of everyone.

‘And then the man looked at me, and smiled gently, and said to me, “If I didn’t think that you would get into too much trouble, I would tell you what you are looking for.” And I felt sad and anxious because of that; and the man realized this, and said to me, “Since you would prefer me to tell you what is bad for you rather than what is good for you,” he said, “I will tell you. Sleep here tonight,” he said, “and get up early, and take the road over there, along the valley you came by, until you reach the forest which you passed through. A short distance into the forest, on your right, you will come across a side road. And travel along that until you come to a large clearing of level ground, with a mound in the middle of the clearing, and you will see on top of the mound an enormous blackhaired man no smaller than two men of this world. And he has one foot, and he has one eye in the middle of his forehead; and he has
an iron club which I assure you would take two men of this world to lift. He is not a violent man, but he is ugly. And he is keeper of that forest.
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You will see a thousand wild animals grazing around him. Ask him the way out of the clearing. He will be rude to you, and yet he will tell you the way so that you will find what you want.”

‘And that was a long night for me. The next morning I got up and dressed, and mounted my horse and went on my way through the valley and the forest, and came to the side road the man had spoken of, and reached the clearing. And when I got there, the wild animals I saw were three times as remarkable as the man had described. And the black-haired man was there, sitting on top of the mound. The man had told me he was big, but he was far bigger than that. And the iron club which the man had said would take two men to lift, I was sure, Cai, that it would take four warriors. Yet he held it in one hand!

‘And I greeted the black-haired man, but he replied discourteously. I asked him what power he had over those animals. “I will show you, little man,” he said. And he took the club in his hand, and with it he struck a deer a great blow so that it gave a great bellow. And at his bellow wild animals came up until they were as numerous as the stars in the sky, so that there was scarcely room for me to stand in the clearing with them, what with all the serpents and lions and vipers and other kinds of animals. He looked at them, and ordered them to go and graze. And they bowed their heads and did homage to him as obedient men would do to their lord. And he said to me, “Do you see now, little man, the power I have over these animals?”

‘And then I asked him the way. And he was rude to me, but nevertheless he asked me where I wanted to go. And I told him who I was and what I was looking for. And he showed me. “Take the road to the end of the clearing,” he said, “and climb up the hill over there until you come to the top. And from there you will see a broad river valley, like a wide vale, and in the middle of the valley you will see a great tree, its branches greener than the greenest fir trees. And under that tree there is a well, and near the well there is a marble slab, and on the slab there is a silver bowl fastened to a silver chain so they cannot be separated. Take the bowl and throw a bowlful of water over the slab. And then you will hear a tumultuous noise, and think
that heaven and earth are trembling with the noise. And after the noise there will be a very cold shower—a shower of hailstones—and it will be difficult for you to survive it. And after the shower there will be fine weather. And there will not be one leaf on the tree that the shower will not have carried away. And then a flock of birds will alight on the tree, and you have never heard in your own country such singing as theirs.
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And when you are enjoying the song most, you will hear a great groaning and moaning coming towards you along the valley. And with that you will see a knight on a pure black horse, dressed in brocaded silk of pure black, with a banner of pure black linen on his spear. And he will attack you as quickly as he can. If you flee, he will catch up with you; if you wait for him on horseback, he will leave you on foot. And if you do not find trouble there, you will not need to look for it as long as you live.”

‘I followed the road until I came to the top of the hill, and from there I could see everything as the black-haired man had described to me. And I came to the tree, and I could see the well beneath the tree, and the marble slab beside it, and the silver bowl fastened to the chain. And I took the bowl and threw a bowlful of water over the slab. And at once the noise came, much louder than the black-haired man had said, and after the noise the shower. And I was sure, Cai, that neither man nor beast caught in the shower would escape alive, for not one hailstone would stop for skin or flesh, until it reached the bone. But I turned my horse’s crupper to the shower, and placed the point of my shield over my horse’s head and mane, and the visor over my own head, and so I weathered the shower.

‘And as my life was about to leave my body, the shower stopped. And when I look at the tree, there is not a single leaf on it. And then the weather clears. And then the birds alight on the tree and begin to sing. And I am sure, Cai, that never before nor since have I heard singing like that. And when listening to the birds is at its most enjoyable, a groaning comes along the valley towards me, saying, “Knight,” it says, “what do you want of me? What harm have I done to you, that you should do what you have done to me and to my kingdom today? Don’t you know that the shower today has left alive in my kingdom neither man nor beast that was out of doors?”

‘And with that there appeared a knight on a pure black horse, dressed in brocaded silk of pure black, and a banner of pure black linen on his spear. And I charged him, and though it was a fierce
assault it was not long before I was thrown to the ground. And then the knight passed the shaft of his spear through the reins of my horse’s bridle, and away he went with the two horses, leaving me there. The black man
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did not take me seriously enough even to imprison me; nor did he strip me of my armour.

‘I returned along the road I had travelled earlier. And when I came to the clearing, the black-haired man was there; and I confess to you, Cai, that it’s surprising I did not melt into a pool of liquid for shame, what with the ridiculing I got from the black-haired man. And that night I came to the castle where I had been the night before. And I received a warmer welcome that night than the night before, and was better fed, and had the conversation that I wanted from men and from women. But no one mentioned anything to me about my journey to the well; nor did I mention it to anyone. And I stayed there that night.

‘And when I got up the next morning I found a dark-brown palfrey with a bright red mane on him, as red as lichen, completely harnessed. And after putting on my armour and leaving my blessing there, I came to my own court. And I still have that horse in the stable over there, and between me and God, Cai, I would not exchange it for the best palfrey in the Island of Britain. And God knows, Cai, no one ever before confessed to a story that brought so much discredit on himself; and yet I find it so strange that I have not heard of anyone, before or since, who knows anything about this story, apart from what I have related, and strange that it should be located in the kingdom of the emperor Arthur without anyone else coming across it.’

‘Men,’ said Owain, ‘wouldn’t it be good to try and find that place?’

‘By the hand of my friend,’ said Cai, ‘you often say with your tongue what you would not perform in deed.’

‘God knows,’ said Gwenhwyfar, ‘you should be hanged, Cai, for speaking such insulting words to a man like Owain.’

‘By the hand of my friend, lady,’ said Cai, ‘you have given Owain no more praise than I myself.’ And with that Arthur woke up, and asked if he had slept at all.

‘Yes, lord,’ said Owain, ‘quite a while.’

‘Is it time to go and eat?’

‘It is, lord,’ said Owain. And then the horn called them to washing, and the emperor and all his retinue went to eat. And when they
had finished eating Owain slipped away unnoticed, and came to his lodging and got his horse and his armour ready.