第 三 章 · How Uther Pendragon made war on the duke of Cornwall, and

. How Uther Pendragon made war on the duke of Cornwall, and

how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.

Then Ulfius was glad, and rode on more than a pace till that he came to

King Uther Pendragon, and told him he had met with Merlin. Where is he?

said the king. Sir, said Ulfius, he will not dwell long. Therewithal

Ulfius was ware where Merlin stood at the porch of the pavilion’s door.

And then Merlin was bound to come to the king. When King Uther saw him,

he said he was welcome. Sir, said Merlin, I know all your heart every

deal; so ye will be sworn unto me as ye be a true king anointed, to

fulfil my desire, ye shall have your desire. Then the king was sworn

upon the Four Evangelists. Sir, said Merlin, this is my desire: the

first night that ye shall lie by Igraine ye shall get a child on her,

and when that is born, that it shall be delivered to me for to nourish

there as I will have it; for it shall be your worship, and the child’s

avail, as mickle as the child is worth. I will well, said the king, as

thou wilt have it. Now make you ready, said Merlin, this night ye shall

lie with Igraine in the castle of Tintagil; and ye shall be like the

duke her husband, Ulfius shall be like Sir Brastias, a knight of the

duke’s, and I will be like a knight that hight Sir Jordanus, a knight

of the duke’s. But wait ye make not many questions with her nor her

men, but say ye are diseased, and so hie you to bed, and rise not on

the morn till I come to you, for the castle of Tintagil is but ten

miles hence; so this was done as they devised. But the duke of Tintagil

espied how the king rode from the siege of Terrabil, and therefore that

night he issued out of the castle at a postern for to have distressed

the king’s host. And so, through his own issue, the duke himself was

slain or ever the king came at the castle of Tintagil.

So after the death of the duke, King Uther lay with Igraine more than

three hours after his death, and begat on her that night Arthur, and on

day came Merlin to the king, and bade him make him ready, and so he

kissed the lady Igraine and departed in all haste. But when the lady

heard tell of the duke her husband, and by all record he was dead or

ever King Uther came to her, then she marvelled who that might be that

lay with her in likeness of her lord; so she mourned privily and held

her peace. Then all the barons by one assent prayed the king of accord

betwixt the lady Igraine and him; the king gave them leave, for fain

would he have been accorded with her. So the king put all the trust in

Ulfius to entreat between them, so by the entreaty at the last the king

and she met together. Now will we do well, said Ulfius, our king is a

lusty knight and wifeless, and my lady Igraine is a passing fair lady;

it were great joy unto us all, an it might please the king to make her

his queen. Unto that they all well accorded and moved it to the king.

And anon, like a lusty knight, he assented thereto with good will, and

so in all haste they were married in a morning with great mirth and

joy.

And King Lot of Lothian and of Orkney then wedded Margawse that was

Gawaine’s mother, and King Nentres of the land of Garlot wedded Elaine.

All this was done at the request of King Uther. And the third sister

Morgan le Fay was put to school in a nunnery, and there she learned so

much that she was a great clerk of necromancy. And after she was wedded

to King Uriens of the land of Gore, that was Sir Ewain’s le

Blanchemain’s father.