THE XIIJ. CHAPTER.
King Arthur at his returne into Britaine, found that Mordred had caused Rather Cerdicke as Leland thinketh. himselfe to be made king, & hauing alied himselfe with Cheldrike a Saxon (not him whome Galfride, as ye haue heard, supposeth to haue béene wounded & slaine before) was readie to resist his landing, so that before he could come on land, he lost manie of his men: but yet at length he repelled the enimies, and so tooke land at Sandwich, where he first arriued, and ioining in battell with his enimies, he discomfited them, but not without great losse of his people: speciallie he sore lamented the death of Gawaine the brother of Mordred, which like a faithfull gentleman, regarding more his honour and loiall truth than néerenesse of bloud and coosenage, chose rather to fight in the quarrell of his liege king and louing maister, than to take part with his naturall brother in an vniust cause, and so there in the battell was slaine, togither also with Angusseli, to whom Arthur afore time had committed the gouernment of Scotland. Mordred fled from this battell, and getting ships sailed westward, and finallie landed in Cornwall. Gawaine buried at Douer. King Arthur caused the corps of Gawaine to be buried at Douer (as some hold opinion:) but William Malmesburie supposeth, he was buried in Wales, as after shall be shewed. The dead bodie of Angussell was conueied into Scotland, and was there buried. When that Arthur had put his enimies to flight, and had knowledge into what parts Mordred was withdrawne, with all spéed he reinforced his armie with new supplies of souldiers called out of diuerse parties, and with his whole puissance hasted forward, not resting till he came néere to the place where Mordred was incamped, with such an armie as he could assemble togither out of all parties where he had anie friends. ¶ Héere (as it appéereth by Iohn Leland, in his booke intituled, "The assertion of Arthur") it may be douted in what place Mordred was incamped: but Geffrey of Monmouth sheweth, that after Arthur had discomfited Mordred in Kent at the first landing, it chanced so that Mordred escaped and fled to Winchester, whither Arthur followed him, and there giuing him battell the second time, did also put him to flight. And following him from thence, fought eftsoones with him at a place called Camblane, or Kemelene in Cornwall, or (as some authors haue) néere vnto Glastenburie.
Richard Turner. This battell was fought to such proofe, that finallie Mordred was slaine, with the more part of his whole armie, and Arthur receiuing diuers mortall wounds died of the same shortlie after, when he had reigned ouer the Britains by the tearme of 26 yéeres. His corps was buried at Glastenburie aforesaid, in the churchyard, betwixt two pillers: where it was found in the daies of king Henrie the second, about the yeere of our Lord 1191, which was in the last yéere of the reigne of the same Henrie, more than six hundred yéeres after the buriall thereof. He was laid 16 foot déepe vnder ground, for doubt that his enimies the Saxons should haue found him. But those that digged the ground there to find his bodie, after they had entered about seuen foot déepe into the earth, they found a mightie broad stone with a leaden crosse fastened to that part which laie downewards toward the corps, conteining this inscription:
"Hîc iacet sepultus inclytus rex Arthurius in insula Aualoniæ."
This inscription was grauen on that side of the crosse which was next to the stone: so that till the crosse was taken from the stone, it was vnséene. His bodie was found, not inclosed within a toome of marble or other stone curiouslie wrought, but within a great trée made hollowe for the nonce like a trunke, the which being found and digged vp, was opened, and therein were found the kings bones, of such maruellous bignesse, that the shinbone of his leg being set on the ground, reached vp to the middle thigh of a verie tall man: as a moonke of that abbeie hath written, which did liue in those daies, and saw it. ¶ But Gyraldus Cambrensis (who also liued in those daies, and spake with the abbat of the place, by whom the bones of this Arthur were then found) affirmeth, that by report of the same abbat, he learned, that the shinbone of the said Arthur being set vp by the leg of a verie tall man (the which the abbat shewed to the same Gyraldus) came aboue the knée of the same man the length of three fingers breadth, which is a great deale more likelie than the other. Furthermore the skull of his head was of a woonderfull largenesse, so that the space of his forehead betwixt his two eies was a span broad. There appéered in his head the signes and prints of ten wounds or more: all the which were growne into one wem, except onelie that whereof it should séeme he died, which being greater than the residue, appéered verie plaine. Also in opening the toome of his wife quéene Gueneuer, that was buried with him, they found the tresses of hir haire whole and perfect, and finelie platted, of colour like to the burnished gold, which being touched, immediatlie fell to dust. The abbat, which then was gouernour of the house, was named Henricus Blecensis seu Soliacensis.
Io. Leland. Stephan, or Henrie de Blois, otherwise de Sullie, nephue to king Henrie the second (by whose commandement he had serched for the graue of Arthur) translated the bones as well of him as of quéene Gueneuer, being so found, into the great church, and there buried them in a faire double toome of marble, laieng the bodie of the king at the head of the toome, and the bodie of the quéene at his féet towards the west part. Dauid Pow. pag. 238, 239. ¶ The writer of the historie of Cambria now called Wales saith, that the bones of the said Arthur, and Gueneuer his wife were found in the Ile of Aualon (that is, the Ile of Alpes) without the abbeie of Glastenbury, fiftéene féet within the ground, & that his graue was found by the meanes of a Bardh, whome the king heard at Penbroke singing the acts of prince Arthur, and the place of his buriall.
Iohn Leland in his booke intituled Assertio Arthuri, hath for the woorthie memorie of so
noble a prince, honored him with a learned epitaph, as heere followeth.
Saxonicas toties qui fudit Marte cruento
Who vanquisht Saxon troops so oft, with battels bloudie broiles,
Turmas, & peperit spolijs sibi nomen opimis,
And purchast to himselfe a name with warlike wealthie spoiles,
Fulmineo toties Pictos qui contudit ense,
Who hath with shiuering shining swoord, the Picts so oft dismaid,
Imposuítque iugum Scoti ceruicibus ingens:
And eke vnweldie seruile yoke on necke of Scots hath laid:
Qui tumidos Gallos, Germanos quíque feroces
Who Frenchmen puft with pride, and who the Germans fierce in fight
Perculit, & Dacos bello confregit aperto:
Discomfited, and danted Danes with maine and martiall might:
Denique Mordredum è medio qui sustulit illud
Who of that murdring Mordred did the vitall breath expell,
Monstrum, horrendum, ingens, dirum, sæuúmque tyrannum,
That monster grislie, lothsome, huge, that diresome tyrant fell,
Hoc iacet extinctus monumento Arthurius alto,
Heere liuelesse Arthur lies intoomd, within this statelie hearse,
Militiæ clarum decus, & virtutis alumnus:
Of chiualrie the bright renowme, and vertues nursling fearse:
Gloria nunc cuius terram circumuolat omnem,
Whose glorie great now ouer all the world dooth compasse flie,
Aetherijque petit sublimia tecta Tonantis.
And of the airie thunder skales the loftie building hie.
Vos igitur gentis proles generosa Britannæ,
Therefore you noble progenie of Britaine line and race,
Induperatori ter magno assurgite vestro,
Arise vnto your emperour great, of thrice renowmed grace,
Et tumulo sacro roseas inferte corollas,
And cast vpon his sacred toome the roseall garlands gaie,
Officij testes redolentia munera vestri.
That fragrant smell may witnesse well, your duties you displaie.
¶ These verses I haue the more willinglie inserted, for that I had the same deliuered to me turned into English by maister Nicholas Roscarocke, both right aptlie yeelding the sense, and also properlie answering the Latine, verse for verse.
Vpon what occasion the graue of king Arthur was sought for, the follie of such discouered as beleeued that he should returne and reigne againe as king in Britaine, whether it be a fiction or a veritie that there was such an Arthur or no; discordance among writers about the place of Gawains buriall and Arthurs death; of queene Gueneuer the wife of king Arthur, hir beautie and dishonest life, great disagreement among writers touching Arthur and his wiues to the impeachment of the historie, of his life and death.