The Knights of the Round Table: Stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail

by William Henry Frost

"A pasture where a hundred and fifty bulls were feeding"

CHAPTER X

GAWAIN

All that day the knights of the Round Table rode together, and in the evening they came to a city where they all lodged for the night. The next morning they parted and rode different ways. In the days and the weeks and the months that followed some of them had many and strange adventures and some of them had but few. I could not possibly tell you, or even remember for myself, all the wonderful things that happened to all of them, but I can tell you a part of the things that happened to a part of them.

Gawain rode for a long time alone, till at last, at an abbey where he stopped to spend the night, he found his brother Gareth and his cousin Uwain. The next day they went on their way together, and as they rode so they met seven knights, who called to them to stop and to tell who they were.

"We are knights of King Arthur's court," they answered, "and we are seeking for the Holy Grail."

"Then it is well that we have met you," said one of the seven knights. "We are from the Castle of Maidens. A knight of King Arthur's court drove us out of our castle and we have sworn to kill all of King Arthur's knights whom we meet. We will begin with you."

Then all seven of them put their spears in rest and charged against Gawain and Uwain and Gareth. But the three knights of the Round Table fought so well that they soon beat their seven enemies and wounded them and drove them away. The three knights parted then and rode different ways. And in the evening Gawain came to the cell of a hermit and asked him to let him stay for the night. They talked together and Gawain told the hermit who he was and that he was seeking the Holy Grail. The hermit knew, as everybody knew, all that Arthur's famous knights had done, and he said: "It is useless for you, Sir Gawain, to seek the Holy Grail. You will never find it. It shows itself only to the purest and the best. You have not been good enough and sound enough and true enough in your life ever to see the Holy Grail. Ah, Gawain, Gawain, do not think that you did such a great thing to-day, you and your two fellows, when you beat those seven knights from the Castle of Maidens. For one knight alone had beaten them all only a little while before. They had taken the Castle of Maidens from the old lord who owned it, and they had killed him and had held the castle for a long time. They were tyrants and murderers, and Galahad came and drove them all out and gave the castle to the daughter of its old lord. Galahad did it alone, and now you three are proud because you beat the seven cowards. Knights like Galahad will see the Holy Grail, not knights like you, Gawain."

In the morning the hermit told Gawain that if he hoped ever to come near the Holy Grail he ought to do some penance for all the evils of his life. But Gawain answered: "No; we knights make long journeys and we fight dangerous battles. Our lives are hard enough without doing any other penance, and I will do no other." So he rode on his way.