The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur

by Howard Pyle

Chapter Sixth

How Sir Bors confessed himself to the Hermit of the Forest. How he overthrew a knight, and how he came to the seashore and of what befell him there.

Sir Bors confesses to the Hermit of the Forest.

UPON a certain day Sir Bors rode into the forest, and by and by he came to the chapel of the Hermit of the Forest. And the Hermit welcomed Sir Bors, saying, “God save thee,” and Sir Bors greeted the Hermit, saying, “God save thee and keep thee, Sir Hermit.” So Sir Bors abided that night with the Hermit of the Forest, and when the next morning had come he besought the Hermit to confess him. And the Hermit of the Forest shrived Sir Bors, and he beheld that the soul of Sir Bors was very white and clean and that he was extraordinarily free from sin. And the Hermit said to him, “Sir, if valor and if purity of life may so recommend a man that he may win the Grail, then will you certainly behold it with the eyes of your body and touch it with the hand of your flesh. For you are both very brave and very pure of life.”

To this Sir Bors said, “Sir, that which you tell me is exceedingly comforting to me, for so would I rather achieve a sight of the Grail and touch that sacred vessel than anything else in all the world. Now, I pray you, tell me if there is anything else that I may do that may better fit me to find that holy chalice.”

Sir Bors vows a fast.

Quoth the Hermit, “There is but one thing, and that thing is that you finally purify yourself by refraining from eating any manner of meat, and that you fast upon bread and water until you have beheld and have touched the Grail.” Said Sir Bors, “Holy Father, so will I fast from meat and wine.” And the Hermit said, “And this also shall you do. You shall lay aside your armor and shall ride forth in leathern doublet and hose and shall wrap yourself in your red cloak against the inclemencies of the weather.” Said Sir Bors, “That also will I do.”

So Sir Bors laid aside his armor of defence, and he wrapped himself in his red cloak, and thus he rode forth into the world.

After that Sir Bors travelled for an entire day, and whensoever he came to a roadside cross, he kneeled down before it and recited a prayer. So against early eventide he came to a part of the country that was altogether strange and new to him, for here were bogs and marshes, and many pools and ponds of water where were heron and other water-fowl. So Sir Bors wist not where he should lodge that night. But anon he beheld in the distance before him a single tower standing upright upon that flat expanse, and the tower was like a finger of stone pointing up into the sky. So Sir Bors made his way toward the castle, and by and by he came to where the castle was.

Sir Bors cometh to a castle.

Coming to that place Sir Bors smote upon the doorway of the castle, and he smote again and again. By and by one came and opened the door, and that one was a very aged porter clad all in buckram, and the buckram was stained and blotched, as with the stain of many years.

The porter said to Sir Bors, “Sir, who are you, and whence come you?” And to this Sir Bors made reply, “I am one seeking lodging and shelter for the night.” The porter said, “Sir, I pray you enter, for you are exceedingly welcome, and the lady of this castle, though just now in very great sorrow, is about to sit at supper.”

So Sir Bors entered the courtyard, and he tied his horse to an iron ring that was in the side wall of the castle in the courtyard. Then the aged porter led Sir Bors to his room and there left him to wash and to refresh himself, whilst he returned to the horse to put it into the stable and to feed it.

After Sir Bors had washed and refreshed himself he descended from his room again, and there he found the aged porter awaiting him. The porter said, “Sir, come with me,” and Sir Bors followed him. And the porter led the way from that place into a hall, where there was a table set out for refreshment.

Here Sir Bors beheld a young and very beautiful lady, and she was the chatelaine of the castle. The face of this lady was very white and exceedingly sorrowful, and her eyelids were red as with continual weeping. And she was clad in a long, straight black robe, without ornament or adornment of any sort. She received Sir Bors with great civility, albeit she did not smile at all; and anon they sat down at table together.

Sir Bors sups with a beautiful lady.

So the supper was brought in and set before them, and it was the old porter who served them with their meal. But Sir Bors ate no meat, neither did he drink any wine; otherwise, he ate of the bread and drank of the water that was set before them. Anon the chatelaine of the castle said to him, “Sir, you do not eat of the food of the castle that is set before you. How doth that happen?” Quoth he, “Lady, I do not eat the food because I have assumed a vow to eat no meat of any sort until I have accomplished a certain purpose, and I drink the water because I have made the same vow concerning wine.” And the lady said, “To what purpose is that, Messire?” Quoth he, “I am in quest of the Grail, and to that end I travel, fasting and mortifying myself.”

The lady tells her story.

Then, after a little while, he said to her, “Lady, you are sad, will you not tell me the cause of your sorrow?” To the which she said, “Sir, that will I gladly do. It is thus: my father was the king of all this land as far as you can see to the westward of this. For this castle standeth upon the marches of my father’s country, and is very near to the lands of another king who is neighbor to this place. My mother died, and my father married another lady who was both wicked and cruel. So when my father died this lady seized upon my inheritance, and cast me out into the world upon mine own dependence. After that she drove me from castle to castle until this is my last refuge and defence. For now I dwell herein with only this ancient porter and his wife in attendance upon me. Nor is she satisfied to leave even this poor house in my possession, for to-morrow she cometh with several knights to drive me forth from this my last refuge.”

Sir Bors offereth himself for her defence.

So said the Lady Chatelaine of that place, and when she had ceased speaking she wept with a passion of tears. Then the heart of Sir Bors was greatly moved with sympathy, and he said to her, “Lady, I am greatly grieved at thy sorrow and at its cause.” And he said, “What is thy name?” She said, “It is Leisette.” Then said Sir Bors, “Lady Leisette, let me tell thee that had I but a suit of armor to wear, I would stand as thy defender upon this occasion, and that to-morrow I would stand between thy father’s wife and thee, even though the knights that follow her be several and I be but one.” “Sir,” said the lady, “It may hardly be that one knight could withstand the assault of several; but I may tell you that in this castle there is a suit of armor (though of a bygone date), that might serve your purpose. But to what end would you use it? For the knights attendant upon this lady are all well-tried knights of battle, and you are maybe not accustomed to wearing armor, seeing that you travel through the world without armor of any sort upon your body.” Then Sir Bors smiled, and he said, “Let that be as it may; nevertheless, I have worn armor more than once in my life; so I pray you to send that suit of armor to my room to-night, that I may look at it, and perhaps try it on.” And the lady said, “It shall be done as you ask.”

So that night the old porter brought the armor to the room of Sir Bors, and he assisted Sir Bors to clothe himself in the armor, and Sir Bors found that the armor fitted him very exactly, and he was glad.

Now when the next day was come Sir Bors walked with the Lady Leisette in the gardens of the castle. And Sir Bors beheld that she was exceedingly beautiful and his heart went out to her, and he said to her, “Lady, meseems your trouble lyeth in this, that you have no knight for your husband who may defend your rights and claims. Were you wedded to such a knight, then, you would not suffer these wrongs.” Quoth she, “What knight would take me for his wife, who am a dowerless lady, with only one castle left of all her inheritance?”

Sir Bors talketh at length with the lady.

He said to her, “I say naught concerning myself and mine own strength and valor. But this I will say, that if I have such fortune as may lead me to overcome your enemies to-day, I would offer myself to you as your husband.” She said, “Sir, thou doest me great courtesy. Were I owner of those three considerable towns that were once my father’s then I would take thee for my suitor. But as I am now the puppet of so sad a fate, what shall I say to thee?” Quoth he, “Say aye.” And she said, “Who art thou, sir?” Quoth he, “I am called Sir Bors de Ganis.” Then she said, “Aye,” speaking with downcast eyes, and so low a voice that he could hardly hear her. For the name of Sir Bors was very well known throughout the entire world, both because of his strength and his valor. Wherefore she was very much pleased to have him with her.

Just then there came to them the old porter of the castle and he said to them, “Prepare yourselves, for hither cometh the Queen of this country, together with a court of lords and ladies, and with several knights champion for her escort.” Then Sir Bors said, “Now I will go and arm myself for battle.” And she said, “Go!”

So Sir Bors withdrew to his room and the porter of the castle went with him, and the porter put upon him the pieces of armor and buckled them very tightly together so that they joined and fitted. And they buckled a great sword upon one side of him and a misericordia upon the other. Then when he was in all wise prepared, he took a mighty lance into his hand and went down into the courtyard and mounted upon his horse. Then came the Lady Leisette to him and saluted him and he said to her, “Give me, I pray you, some favor for to wear.” And she said, “I will do so,” and therewith gave him the scarf from about her throat. And she tied the scarf about his arm. Then the porter of the castle opened the gate, and Sir Bors rode forth from the castle and took his stand in the high-road in front of the castle, and awaited the coming of those others who were now drawing near to that place.

Sir Bors offereth himself as champion.

Anon the Queen of that country perceived Sir Bors where he stood and she cried out to him, “Sir, who are you who stand there, and why do you confront us so?” To the which Sir Bors made reply, “Lady, I am the champion of the lady of this castle, and as her knight I stand here to await your coming.”

She said to him, “Know you to whom you speak?” and he said, “Yea, I know very well; therefore I am here.”

Then the Queen was very angry, and she cried out to one of her knights, of whom there were seven in all, “Remove this man from our path so that we may enter the castle and turn out of it that lady who now holdest it.”

Thereupon, with that saying, the knight to whom she spoke rode forth from the others, and he said to Sir Bors, “Sir, will you do battle with me?” Quoth Sir Bors, “Very gladly, and for that purpose am I here.”

Sir Bors overthroweth the knight.

So each knight prepared himself in all wise for battle, and when each had assumed his proper place, the word of command was given and they rushed together, thundering and with great violence. So they met in the midst of the course, and in that encounter the spear of the knight who assaulted Sir Bors was broken into as many as twenty or thirty pieces, but the spear of Sir Bors held, so that the knight was hurled out of his saddle and down to the earth with such violence that his neck was broken, and he died.

Then the Queen was astonished that her chiefest knight should be so overthrown, and therewith she cried out to her other six knights, “Hey, Messires! Assault him all at once so that he may be overthrown, and so that we may enter this castle!” So, upon that word of command, all six of those knights drew their swords and rushed upon Sir Bors. He, beholding them coming thus, threw aside his spear and drew his brightly shining sword, and so they all met together, Sir Bors in the midst of them.

In that battle he well proved his right to be a knight of the Round Table, for he wheeled his horse to this side and to that, and ever as he wheeled it about he smote from right to left and from left to right. Two knights fell before those strokes, and then another fell, so that there were but three left standing against him.

These, seeing how he dealt with them, presently bore back before his fierce assaults, and so he sat for awhile, panting for breath, and with the crimson flowing from several wounds he had received.

Then the Queen chided the three knights, crying out upon them, “How now! How now! Are you, three knights, afraid of that one knight who is already wounded in several places? Go ye against him and overthrow him!”

But ere these three could bring themselves to assail him again, he, not waiting for their assault, rushed upon them shouting and in that sudden assault he smote down another of them with his sword. Then the two who were left, beholding their comrade fall, were filled with terror and dismay. Their hearts melted like wax within them, and they drew rein and turned and immediately fled from that place.

Sir Bors chases the fleeing knights.

So Sir Bors pursued them thence shouting, and the two fled straight through the midst of the court of the Queen, and the court dissolved away to right and left from before them, shrieking with terror. Just beyond the purlieus of that court Sir Bors overtook the first of those two who fled, and he smote him so that he fell like a sack from his horse, and rolled over and over upon the ground. Then anon he reached the last of those knights, and coming to him he rose up in his stirrups and smote him with all his might and main. And the blade of that sword shore through the helmet of that knight and it shore through the iron cap beneath the helmet, and it shore through his skull to the throat. Then that knight emitted a dreadful groan, and fell dead to the earth, and his horse galloped on without him.

Then Sir Bors rode back again to that court, and he rode up to the Queen with a threatening countenance, and at his coming she was struck as white as an ash of wood. And Sir Bors said to her, “Lady, what do you here at this place?” Then the Queen trembled before him, and anon she said, “Sir, I come hither seeking my rights.” He said, “Those rights you seek are not yours, they are another’s. Come with me.”

Sir Bors takes the Queen into the castle.

So saying, he suddenly catched her horse by the bridle and drew her thence, and no one of all that court dared to prevent him. And Sir Bors led the horse of the Queen toward that solitary tower of stone, and when he reached the gate he cried out aloud, “Open to me!” Then the porter of that castle opened the gate thereof, and Sir Bors led the Queen into the castle. Then the porter shut the gate of the castle again, and the Queen was within the walls of the castle and her court of lords and ladies was without the walls thereof.

All this the lady of the castle had beheld from the battlements, and her heart was filled with joy and triumph thereat. So anon when Sir Bors appeared upon the roof of the turret where she was, she ran to him and catched him and embraced him with great passion, wounded as he was.

But Sir Bors put her aside, and he went to the edge of the wall, and he spake to the court of the Queen, saying, “Why wait ye there? Your Queen is here with us, and here she shall remain our prisoner until justice is done to the lady of this castle. So return ye to your towns and tell them this word of mine to you: that justice must be done to this lady, or else she who called herself Queen cannot go free.”

After that he withdrew himself from their sight, and he went to his room where he might bathe himself and dress his hurts. Meantime the court of the Queen went away from that place, and they were left alone.

That same day in the afternoon there came three knights thitherward, and with them came three esquires, and each esquire led a horse, and upon each horse was a chest.

Of these three knights, one each was from one of the towns of that kingdom.

Of the three knights of the towns, their mission.

Then the knight from the chiefest of those three towns blew upon a bugle-horn, and anon Sir Bors appeared upon the battlement of the tower where there was a small turret. Then the knight from without greeted him, saying, “Sir, hail to you. We three come hither to tell you that we repent us that we have done wrong to the lady of this tower, wherefore we will accept her for our queen. Only this: that she shall marry some good, worthy knight such as yourself, and that he shall be our King as she is our Queen. For that which we need at this place is not a woman to rule us, but a man.”

Then Sir Bors laughed and he said, “Sir, I will take you at your word, and in a little while this lady shall marry some gentleman who shall rule over you.” For Sir Bors thought to himself, “Haply I shall be that man.”

So the gates of that castle were opened, and the three knights entered the courtyard thereof. Then they opened the three chests that their esquires had brought into the castle courtyard, and in those chests were all manner of raiment of silks and velvets, together with jewels, and golden ornaments of divers sorts and designs such as were fit for a queen to adorn herself withal.

These were conveyed to the rooms of the lady of the castle, and she arrayed herself in them, and when she was thus arrayed she shone with a wonderful beauty and splendor, even as the sun shines when the mists of heaven dissolve before his face.

Sir Bors and the lady ride away from the castle.

After that the lady of the castle and Sir Bors and the three knights and their esquires all mounted upon their horses and rode away from that castle, leaving behind them the lady who had been the Queen of that land. For there she should abide for awhile under guard of the old porter of that place.

So, at last, they reached the chief city of that kingdom where were great concourses of people assembled to welcome them. These shouted aloud with a tumult of applause as their new Queen rode up the stony street amongst them. And everywhere were banners and streamers of many colored silks, fluttering in the sunlight from the pinnacles of the houses. So that all the sunlight was gay with radiant tints of red and blue and yellow and green, and divers gaudy colors, and all the air was merry with the shouting of multitudinous voices.

Thus they reached the castle, and so the rightful queen became queen again.

Sir Bors hath a dream.

Now one night Sir Bors had a dream. He saw before him a tall and splendid knight, clad all in pure and shining white, and the knight said to him, “Sir Bors! Sir Bors! What is it you do?” And Sir Bors dreamed that he said to him in reply, “I would abide here and rule this kingdom justly.” The knight said, “Hast thou so soon forgot the quest of the Grail that in such a short time thou shouldst think only of this and not of that?”

Then it seemed to Sir Bors that he was stricken to the heart with remorse and he cried out aloud, “I will not forget! I will not forget!” And with that cry he awoke from his dream and found that it was a dream and that he was trembling as with an ague.

And all that day the thought of the dream haunted him, so that in the afternoon, whilst he and the Queen were walking in the garden of the castle, he spoke to her of it. And after he had told her what he had dreamed, he said to her, “Lady, ere I wed thee and settle in this place, there is a duty I must yet perform. For wit you I am in quest of the Grail and the Grail hath not yet been found. So bid me now to go forth and to continue my search of it, and when I have found it, then I shall return to thee and wed thee.” To this the Queen made reply, “Sir Bors, you have only been with me now for four days, and your wooing is not yet grown warm. Would you then leave me before that wooing groweth warm so that it may cool the quicker?” Quoth Sir Bors, “My wooing shall not grow cold, for I will hold it close to my heart in thy remembrance, and there I will keep it warm, so that when I return again it will be sprung into life.” The lady said, “Do not leave me, Sir Bors, for now that my rights are won, thou must remain near to me to help me to protect those rights. Else it may be that my enemies shall rise against me once more and overthrow me. It is well for thee to search for the Grail, but what peculiar virtue will there be in it, or in thee when thou hast found it?”

Sir Bors said, “Lady, I do not think that thine enemies can arise against thee. For thine enemy is thy father’s wife, and she is yet confined in that solitary castle in which I found thee. But come what may, I must now quit this place and go forth again upon my quest. For when a knight hath vowed to undertake a certain thing, that thing he must continue to pursue until he hath completed it—even though that thing may appear to be small unto others. Yet the recovery of this Grail is not a small thing; otherwise it is a very great and a very considerable thing for any knight to undertake.”

Then the Queen of that town began weeping, and she said, “Sir Bors, if thou quittest me now, I know that it must be that thou quittest me for aye. For in the recovery of the Grail thou wilt forget me, and wilt never again return to this place. What, then, shall I do without thee?” Then Sir Bors bowed his face full low and he said, “Lady, that is a hard saying that thou utterest. Yet even were it so, still should I be compelled to search for the Grail. For that is the crowning work of the Round Table, and if so be I shall be instrumental in its recovery, then shall I, indeed, have done a great work in the world and shall not have lived in it in vain.”

Sir Bors quitteth the lady.

After that Sir Bors withdrew from that place. And he went to his rooms and summoned three esquires. These assisted him to his armor, and when he was armed he descended to the stables and there he gave orders that his horse should be brought forth to him. And he mounted upon his horse, and so he rode forth upon his way once more. And he did not again speak to that Lady Queen; for he said to himself, “Of what avail can it be to bid her adieu? It will but cause pain to her and pain to me. So I will go without bidding her adieu.”

For thus it was whenever a knight of old made a vow, then that knight set behind him all that was of pleasure or of profit, and drave straight forward to fulfil that vow which he had made. Hence it was that those great knights of King Arthur’s Round Table achieved all their vows that it was possible for them to achieve. For thus is it better to do one’s duty at all hazards and no matter what may befall one in the doing thereof. For duty lyeth before all the pleasures and all the glories of the world, wherefore he who doeth his duty under all circumstances, that man cannot go astray in his performances.

So Sir Bors rode forward for all that day and for part of the next day, and toward evening of the second day he found himself in a strange, wild place. For he knew not where he was or what place it was to which he had come. For there was a wide stretch of dark and dismal land upon all sides of him. And very little grass grew upon that land, but many thorn bushes, most of them without leaves or foliage of any kind. And anon a carrion crow would spring from the earth and fly heavily away against the grey and dismal sky, but beyond such things there was no eye of any sort at that place, but only darkness without any soul alive within it.

Sir Bors meets a White Knight.

Here he came to a cross-road and as he approached that cross-road he was aware of a solitary knight who was there and waiting. And this knight was clad all in white armor, and he sat upon a white horse, and he was the knight whom Sir Bors had seen in his dream; and when Sir Bors drew nigh he saluted him, saying, “Greeting, Sir Bors, whither goest thou?”

Then Sir Bors said, “Messire, who art thou who knowest me and I know not thee? For I beheld thee last night, but in a dream.” The White Knight said, “It matters not who I am, but wit you this, that I know you very well, and I know that you seek the Holy Grail. Sir Galahad shall achieve that Grail, and you and Sir Percival, who am the next purest knight to him, shall find it with him. Here have I been waiting for you for some while, and at last you have come. So come now with me.” And Sir Bors said, “I will do so.”

So after that they two rode together side by side. And anon the sun sank and the moon arose, very still and bright, and ever they two rode on in that way side by side together.

And Sir Bors spoke no word to the White Knight and the White Knight spoke no word to Sir Bors, but ever they rode in silence all bathed by the white moonlight; their shadows, black and obscure, following them.

So at last they came to where there was a wide and stony waste without a blade of grass or a tree growing upon it, but only a great stretch of round hard stones of various sizes spread thick all over the earth before them. Then the White Knight said to Sir Bors, “Yonder is our road; let us go thither.”

So they two rode straight forward as that knight had directed they should do, and all about them lay the white and silent moonlight, like to a bath of pure and limpid silver. So anon and after a considerable while Sir Bors heard a great roaring, though far away from where they were. Then the White Knight drew rein and said, “Hearken, Sir Bors, hear ye that sound, and wit ye what it is?” Sir Bors said, “What is that sound?” The White Knight said, “That is the sea breaking upon the beach. Thither it is we go.”

They come to the sea.

So by and by they came to where there was a little cove of the sea, and beyond the cove the great waves burst upon the beach. So the White Knight rode down to the shores of that cove, and Sir Bors followed, and at that place there was a hard and level beach of pure white sand, and some rocks were beyond that sand.

Here Sir Bors beheld that there was a boat beside the rocks, and the boat rested against the shore, and it was hung within with pure white linen. And within the middle of the boat was a couch, and on the couch there was a knight lying asleep. And Sir Bors perceived that that knight was Sir Percival.

Then the White Knight said to Sir Bors, “Sir Bors, enter yonder boat, for so only shalt thou find the Grail.”

Sir Bors enters the boat.

So Sir Bors dismounted from his horse and he entered the boat, and with that Sir Percival awoke and sat up. And when Sir Percival perceived Sir Bors there in the boat he gave him greeting, and Sir Bors greeted Sir Percival.

Then the White Knight gave the boat a thrust from the shore, and the boat immediately sped away very swiftly into the night-time. And as Sir Bors and Sir Percival gazed back behind them they could yet see the figure of the White Knight seated upon his horse as still and motionless as though he were carved in marble stone. And though neither of them knew it, yet that knight was the spirit of Sir Balan who had returned to lead those knights champion to find the Grail.

Then anon that white figure faded into the dimness of the moonlight and was gone, and all about them lay the sea, very strange and mysterious and yet full of motion. And the bright whiteness of the moonlight lay moving upon the crests of the waves, and ever it wavered this way and that as though it were liquid silver poured upon the waves.

Such were the adventures of Sir Bors at this time.

Nor shall you think ill of him because he left that beautiful lady who was his betrothed wife to seek the Grail. For wit you that the Grail was thought by all the world to be the greatest and the most important thing in that world; and its recovery was adjudged to be the most splendid and the noblest deed that any knight could undertake. Wherefore it was that Sir Bors would surrender all his hope of love and of riches and of worldly honor to seek for that Grail.

This he did not for his own glory but for the glory of heaven, and not for his own honor, but for the honor of Paradise, where that Grail really belonged.

Wherefore he would turn aside from all that the world had to offer him and would direct his face and all his endeavor to the recovery of that sacred chalice, content, if he should recover it or aid in its recovery, to sacrifice all the world for the sake of that recovery.

For be it said at this place that the Lady Leisette did not wait the return of Sir Bors, but, finding him gone, she took for her husband a certain noble knight of that kingdom, and he ruled that land in her behalf with great benignity of judgment and with high honor of knightly wisdom.

Now pass we from the story of Sir Bors and turn we to the further adventures of Sir Galahad at that time, as followeth.