This meanwhile came a messenger from King Rience of North Wales, and king he was of all Ireland, and of many isles. And this was his message, greeting well King Arthur in this manner wise, saying that King Rience had discomfited and overcome eleven kings, and every each of them did him homage, and that was this, they gave him their beards clean flayed off, as much as there was; wherefore the messenger came for King Arthur's beard. For King Rience had purfled a mantle with king's beards, and there lacked one place of the mantle; wherefore he sent for his beard, or else he would enter his lands, and burn and slay, and never leave till he have the head and the beard.
"Well," said Arthur, "thou hast said thy message, the which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent unto a king; also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet to make a purfle of it. But tell thou thy king this: I owe him none homage, nor none of mine elders, but or it be long to, he shall do me homage on both his knees, or else he shall lose his head, by the faith of my body, for this is the most shamefulest message that ever I heard speak of. I have espied thy king met never yet with worshipful man, but tell him I will have his head without he do me homage." Then the messenger departed.
"Now is there any here," said Arthur, "that knoweth King Rience?"
Then answered a knight that hight Naram, "Sir, I know the king well. He is a passing good man of his body, as few be living, and a passing proud man, and Sir, doubt ye not he will make war on you with a mighty puissance."
"Well," said Arthur, "I shall ordain for him in short time."
[404]
The story of "Arthur and Sir Accalon" is taken from Maude Radford Warren's King Arthur and His Knights. (By permission of the publishers, Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.) The stories in Malory are retold in a simple and direct style that can be read easily by children in the fifth grade. Most teachers will probably find themselves obliged to use some such book for any of these great cycles which they desire to teach, owing to the amount of time and energy required for working it up from the original source.
ARTHUR AND SIR ACCALON
MAUDE RADFORD WARREN
There was a woman in Arthur's Court named Morgan le Fay, who had learned a great deal about magic. She was a wicked woman, and hated the king because he was more powerful than she, and because he was so good.