The Story of King Arthur and his Knights

by Howard Pyle

A damsel cometh to King Arthur.

King Arthur consents to do battle for Sir Domas.

Now a little while after this the door of that prison-house was opened by the porter, and there entered a very fair young damsel. And this damsel came to King Arthur and she said to him, “What cheer?” “I cannot tell,” quoth King Arthur, “but meseems I am in a very sorry pass in this place.” “Sir,” said the damsel, “I am grieved to see so noble-appearing a knight in so dolorous a case. But if you will undertake to defend the cause of the lord of this castle with your person against his enemy, then you shall have leave to go whithersoever you please.” To this King Arthur made reply, “Lady, this is a very hard case, that either I must fight a battle I care not for, or else remain a prisoner here without ransom for all of my days. But I would liever fight than live here all my life, and so I will undertake that adventure as thou wouldst have me do. But if I do battle for the lord of this castle, and if I should have Grace of Heaven to win that battle, then it must be that all these, my companions in imprisonment, shall also go forth with me into freedom.”

To this the damsel said, “Very well, be it so, for that shall content the master of this castle.”

Then King Arthur looked more closely at the maiden, and he said, “Damsel, meseems I should know thy face, for I think I have seen thee somewhere before this.” “Nay, sir,” said she, “that can hardly be, for I am the daughter of the lord of this castle.”

But in this she was false, for she was one of the damsels of Morgana le Fay; and she was one of those who had beguiled King Arthur into the ship the night before; and it was she who had brought him to that castle and had delivered him into the hands of Sir Domas. And all these things she had done upon command of Queen Morgana le Fay.

Then King Arthur said, “But if I do this battle, thou must carry a message for me unto the Court of King Arthur, and that message must be delivered unto Queen Morgana le Fay into her own hands. Then, when that is done, I will do this battle for the cause of Sir Domas.” And the damsel said, “It shall be done so.”

Queen Morgana sendeth a false sword to King Arthur.

So King Arthur wrote a sealed letter to Queen Morgana le Fay that she should send to him his sword Excalibur; and he sent that message to her. And when Queen Morgana received that letter she laughed and said, “Very well, he shall have a sword that shall please his eye as well as Excalibur.” And therewith she sent him that other sword that she had had made exactly like Excalibur.

So Sir Domas sent word unto his brother Sir Ontzlake, that he had now a champion for to do battle in his behalf to recover all that portion of their patrimony which Sir Ontzlake still withheld from him.