第 二十 章 · How King Arthur rode to Carlion, and of his dream, and how

. How King Arthur rode to Carlion, and of his dream, and how

he saw the questing beast.

Then after the departing of King Ban and of King Bors, King Arthur rode

into Carlion. And thither came to him, King Lot’s wife, of Orkney, in

manner of a message, but she was sent thither to espy the court of King

Arthur; and she came richly beseen, with her four sons, Gawaine,

Gaheris, Agravine, and Gareth, with many other knights and ladies. For

she was a passing fair lady, therefore the king cast great love unto

her, and desired to lie by her; so they were agreed, and he begat upon

her Mordred, and she was his sister, on his mother’s side, Igraine. So

there she rested her a month, and at the last departed. Then the king

dreamed a marvellous dream whereof he was sore adread. But all this

time King Arthur knew not that King Lot’s wife was his sister. Thus was

the dream of Arthur: Him thought there was come into this land griffins

and serpents, and him thought they burnt and slew all the people in the

land, and then him thought he fought with them, and they did him

passing great harm, and wounded him full sore, but at the last he slew

them. When the king awaked, he was passing heavy of his dream, and so

to put it out of thoughts, he made him ready with many knights to ride

a-hunting. As soon as he was in the forest the king saw a great hart

afore him. This hart will I chase, said King Arthur, and so he spurred

the horse, and rode after long, and so by fine force oft he was like to

have smitten the hart; whereas the king had chased the hart so long,

that his horse lost his breath, and fell down dead. Then a yeoman

fetched the king another horse.

So the king saw the hart enbushed, and his horse dead, he set him down

by a fountain, and there he fell in great thoughts. And as he sat so,

him thought he heard a noise of hounds, to the sum of thirty. And with

that the king saw coming toward him the strangest beast that ever he

saw or heard of; so the beast went to the well and drank, and the noise

was in the beast’s belly like unto the questing of thirty couple

hounds; but all the while the beast drank there was no noise in the

beast’s belly: and there with the beast departed with a great noise,

whereof the king had great marvel. And so he was in a great thought,

and therewith he fell asleep. Right so there came a knight afoot unto

Arthur and said, Knight full of thought and sleepy, tell me if thou

sawest a strange beast pass this way. Such one saw I, said King Arthur,

that is past two mile; what would ye with the beast? said Arthur. Sir,

I have followed that beast long time, and killed mine horse, so would

God I had another to follow my quest. Right so came one with the king’s

horse, and when the knight saw the horse, he prayed the king to give

him the horse: for I have followed this quest this twelvemonth, and

either I shall achieve him, or bleed of the best blood of my body.

Pellinore, that time king, followed the Questing Beast, and after his

death Sir Palamides followed it.