ing Vortigern the usurper1 sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud—
“Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come; even Ambrosius and Uther, upon whose throne thou sittest—and full twenty thousand with them—and they have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay2 thee, ere this year be done; and even now they march towards thee as the north wind of winter for bitterness and haste.”
At those words Vortigern’s face grew white as ashes, and, rising in confusion and disorder3, he sent for all the best artificers and craftsmen4 and mechanics, and commanded them vehemently5 to go and build him straightway in the furthest west of his lands a great and strong castle, where he might fly for refuge and escape the vengeance6 of his master’s sons—“and, moreover,” cried he, “let the work be done within a hundred days from now, or I will surely spare no life amongst you all.”
Then all the host of craftsmen, fearing for their lives, found out a proper site whereon to build the tower, and eagerly began to lay in the foundations. But no sooner were the walls raised up above the ground than all their work was overwhelmed and broken down by night invisibly, no man perceiving how, or by whom, or what. And the same thing happening again, and yet again, all the workmen, full of terror, sought out the king, and threw themselves upon their faces before him, beseeching7 him to interfere8 and help them or to deliver them from their dreadful work.
Filled with mixed rage and fear, the king called for the astrologers and wizards, and took counsel with them what these things might be, and how to overcome them. The wizards worked their spells and incantations, and in the end declared that nothing but the blood of a youth born without mortal father, smeared10 on the foundations of the castle, could avail to make it stand. Messengers were therefore sent forthwith through all the land to find, if it were possible, such a child. And, as some of them went down a certain village street, they saw a band of lads fighting and quarrelling, and heard them shout at one—“Avaunt, thou imp12!—avaunt! Son of no mortal man! go, find thy father, and leave us in peace.”
At that the messengers looked steadfastly13 on the lad, and asked who he was. One said his name was Merlin; another, that his birth and parentage were known by no man; a third, that the foul14 fiend alone was his father. Hearing the things, the officers seized Merlin, and carried him before the king by force.
But no sooner was he brought to him than he asked in a loud voice, for what cause he was thus dragged there?
“My magicians,” answered Vortigern, “told me to seek out a man that had no human father, and to sprinkle my castle with his blood, that it may stand.”
“Order those magicians,” said Merlin, “to come before me, and I will convict them of a lie.”
The king was astonished at his words, but commanded the magicians to come and sit down before Merlin, who cried to them—
“Because ye know not what it is that hinders the foundation of the castle, ye have advised my blood for a cement to it, as if that would avail; but tell me now rather what there is below that ground, for something there is surely underneath15 that will not suffer the tower to stand?”
The wizards at these words began to fear, and made no answer. Then said Merlin to the king—
“I pray, Lord, that workmen may be ordered to dig deep down into the ground till they shall come to a great pool of water.”
This then was done, and the pool discovered far beneath the surface of the ground.
Then, turning again to the magicians, Merlin said, “Tell me now, false sycophants16, what there is underneath that pool?”—but they were silent. Then said he to the king, “Command this pool to be drained, and at the bottom shall be found two dragons, great and huge, which now are sleeping, but which at night awake and fight and tear each other. At their great struggle all the ground shakes and trembles, and so casts down thy towers, which, therefore, never yet could find secure foundations.”
The king was amazed at these words, but commanded the pool to be forthwith drained; and surely at the bottom of it did they presently discover the two dragons, fast asleep, as Merlin had declared.
Then those two dragons, one of which was white, the other red, rose up and came near one another, and began a sore fight, and cast forth11 fire with their breath. But the white dragon had the advantage, and chased the other to the end of the lake. And he, for grief at his flight, turned back upon his foe18, and renewed the combat, and forced him to retire in turn. But in the end the red dragon was worsted, and the white dragon disappeared no man knew where.
When their battle was done, the king desired Merlin to tell him what it meant. Whereat he, bursting into tears, cried out this prophecy, which first foretold19 the coming of King Arthur.
“Woe to the red dragon, which figureth the British nation, for his banishment20 cometh quickly; his lurkingholes shall be seized by the white dragon—the Saxon whom thou, O king, hast called to the land. The mountains shall be levelled as the valleys, and the rivers of the valleys shall run blood; cities shall be burned, and churches laid in ruins; till at length the oppressed shall turn for a season and prevail against the strangers. For a Boar of Cornwall shall arise and rend21 them, and trample22 their necks beneath his feet. The island shall be subject to his power, and he shall take the forests of Gaul. The house of Romulus shall dread9 him—all the world shall fear him—and his end shall no man know; he shall be immortal23 in the mouths of the people, and his works shall be food to those that tell them.
“But as for thee, O Vortigern, flee thou the sons of Constantine, for they shall burn thee in thy tower. For thine own ruin wast thou traitor24 to their father, and didst bring the Saxon heathens to the land. Aurelius and Uther are even now upon thee to revenge their father’s murder; and the brood of the white dragon shall waste thy country, and shall lick thy blood. Find out some refuge, if thou wilt25! but who may escape the doom26 of God?”
The king heard all this, trembling greatly; and, convicted of his sins, said nothing in reply. Only he hasted the builders of his tower by day and night, and rested not till he had fled thereto.
In the meantime, Aurelius, the rightful king, was hailed with joy by the Britons, who flocked to his standard, and prayed to be led against the Saxons. But he, till he had first killed Vortigern, would begin no other war. He marched therefore to Cambria, and came before the tower which the usurper had built. Then, crying out to all his knights27, “Avenge ye on him who hath ruined Britain and slain29 my father and your king!” he rushed with many thousands at the castle walls. But, being driven back again and yet again, at length he thought of fire, and ordered blazing brands to be cast into the building from all sides. These finding soon a proper fuel, ceased not to rage, till spreading to a mighty30 conflagration31, they burned down the tower and Vortigern within it.
Then did Aurelius turn his strength against Hengist and the Saxons, and, defeating them in many places, weakened their power for a long season, so that the land had peace.
Anon the king, making many journeys to and fro, restoring ruined churches and, creating order, came to the monastery32 near Salisbury, where all those British knights lay buried who had been slain there by the treachery of Hengist. For when in former times Hengist had made a solemn truce33 with Vortigern, to meet in peace and settle terms, whereby himself and all his Saxons should depart from Britain, the Saxon soldiers carried every one of them beneath his garment a long dagger34, and, at a given signal, fell upon the Britons, and slew35 them, to the number of nearly five hundred.
The sight of the place where the dead lay moved Aurelius to great sorrow, and he cast about in his mind how to make a worthy36 tomb over so many noble martyrs37, who had died there for their country.
When he had in vain consulted many craftsmen and builders, he sent, by the advice of the archbishop, for Merlin, and asked him what to do. “If you would honour the burying-place of these men,” said Merlin, “with an everlasting38 monument, send for the Giants’ Dance which is in Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland; for there is a structure of stone there which none of this age could raise without a perfect knowledge of the arts. They are stones of a vast size and wondrous39 nature, and if they can be placed here as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand for ever.”
At these words of Merlin, Aurelius burst into laughter, and said, “How is it possible to remove such vast stones from so great a distance, as if Britain, also, had no stones fit for the work?”
“I pray the king,” said Merlin, “to forbear vain laughter; what I have said is true, for those stones are mystical and have healing virtues40. The giants of old brought them from the furthest coast of Africa, and placed them in Ireland while they lived in that country: and their design was to make baths in them, for use in time of grievous illness. For if they washed the stones and put the sick into the water, it certainly healed them, as also it did them that were wounded in battle; and there is no stone among them but hath the same virtue41 still.”
When the Britons heard this, they resolved to send for the stones, and to make war upon the people of Ireland if they offered to withhold42 them. So, when they had chosen Uther the king’s brother for their chief, they set sail, to the number of 15,000 men, and came to Ireland. There Gillomanius, the king, withstood them fiercely, and not till after a great battle could they approach the Giants’ Dance, the sight of which filled them with joy and admiration43. But when they sought to move the stones, the strength of all the army was in vain, until Merlin, laughing at their failures, contrived44 machines of wondrous cunning, which took them down with ease, and placed them in the ships.
When they had brought the whole to Salisbury, Aurelius, with the crown upon his head, kept for four days the feast of Pentecost with royal pomp; and in the midst of all the clergy45 and the people, Merlin raised up the stones, and set them round the sepulchre of the knights and barons46, as they stood in the mountains of Ireland.
Then was the monument called “Stonehenge,” which stands, as all men know, upon the plain of Salisbury to this very day.
Soon thereafter it befell that Aurelius was slain by poison at Winchester, and was himself buried within the Giants’ Dance.
At the same time came forth a comet of amazing size and brightness, darting47 out a beam, at the end whereof was a cloud of fire shaped like a dragon, from whose mouth went out two rays, one stretching over Gaul, the other ending in seven lesser48 rays over the Irish sea.
At the appearance of this star a great dread fell upon the people, and Uther, marching into Cambria against the son of Vortigern, himself was very troubled to learn what it might mean. Then Merlin, being called before him, cried with a loud voice: “O mighty loss! O stricken Britain! Alas49! the great prince is gone from us. Aurelius Ambrosius is dead, whose death will be ours also, unless God help us. Haste, therefore, noble Uther, to destroy the enemy; the victory shall be thine, and thou shalt be king of all Britain. For the star with the fiery50 dragon signifies thyself; and the ray over Gaul portends51 that thou shalt have a son, most mighty, whom all those kingdoms shall obey which the ray covers.”
Thus, for the second time, did Merlin foretell52 the coming of King Arthur. And Uther, when he was made king, remembered Merlin’s words, and caused two dragons to be made in gold, in likeness53 of the dragon he had seen in the star. One of these he gave to Winchester Cathedral, and had the other carried into all his wars before him, whence he was ever after called Uther Pendragon, or the dragon’s head.
Now, when Uther Pendragon had passed through all the land, and settled it—and even voyaged into all the countries of the Scots, and tamed the fierceness of that rebel people—he came to London, and ministered justice there. And it befell at a certain great banquet and high feast which the king made at Easter-tide, there came, with many other earls and barons, Gorloïs, Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Igerna, who was the most famous beauty in all Britain. And soon thereafter, Gorloïs being slain in battle, Uther determined54 to make Igerna his own wife. But in order to do this, and enable him to come to her—for she was shut up in the high castle of Tintagil, on the furthest coast of Cornwall—the king sent for Merlin, to take counsel with him and to pray his help. This, therefore, Merlin promised him on one condition—namely, that the king should give him up the first son born of the marriage. For Merlin by his arts foreknew that this firstborn should be the long-wished prince, King Arthur.
When Uther, therefore, was at length happily wedded55, Merlin came to the castle on a certain day, and said, “Sir, thou must now provide thee for the nourishing of thy child.”
And the king, nothing doubting, said, “Be it as thou wilt.”
“I know a lord of thine in this land,” said Merlin, “who is a man both true and faithful; let him have the nourishing of the child. His name is Sir Ector, and he hath fair possessions both in England and in Wales. When, therefore, the child is born, let him be delivered unto me, unchristened, at yonder postern-gate, and I will bestow56 him in the care of this good knight28.”
So when the child was born, the king bid two knights and two ladies to take it, bound in rich cloth of gold, and deliver it to a poor man whom they should discover at the postern-gate. And the child being delivered thus to Merlin, who himself took the guise57 of a poor man, was carried by him to a holy priest and christened by the name of Arthur, and then was taken to Sir Ector’s house, and nourished at Sir Ector’s wife’s own breasts. And in the same house he remained privily58 for many years, no man soever knowing where he was, save Merlin and the king.
Anon it befell that the king was seized by a lingering distemper, and the Saxon heathens, taking their occasion, came back from over sea, and swarmed59 upon the land, wasting it with fire and sword. When Uther heard thereof, he fell into a greater rage than his weakness could bear, and commanded all his nobles to come before him, that he might upbraid60 them for their cowardice61. And when he had sharply and hotly rebuked62 them, he swore that he himself, nigh unto death although he lay, would lead them forth against the enemy. Then causing a horse-litter to be made, in which he might be carried—for he was too faint and weak to ride—he went up with all his army swiftly against the Saxons.
But they, when they heard that Uther was coming in a litter, disdained63 to fight with him, saying it would be shame for brave men to fight with one half dead. So they retired64 into their city; and, as it were in scorn of danger, left the gates wide open. But Uther straightway commanding his men to assault the town, they did so without loss of time, and had already reached the gates, when the Saxons, repenting65 too late of their haughty66 pride, rushed forth to the defence. The battle raged till night, and was begun again next day; but at last, their leaders, Octa and Eosa, being slain, the Saxons turned their backs and fled, leaving the Britons a full triumph.
The king at this felt so great joy, that, whereas before he could scarce raise himself without help, he now sat upright in his litter by himself, and said, with a laughing and merry face, “They called me the half-dead king, and so indeed I was; but victory to me half dead is better than defeat and the best health. For to die with honour is far better than to live disgraced.”
But the Saxons, although thus defeated, were ready still for war. Uther would have pursued them; but his illness had by now so grown, that his knights and barons kept him from the adventure. Whereat the enemy took courage, and left nothing undone67 to destroy the land; until, descending68 to the vilest69 treachery, they resolved to kill the king by poison.
To this end, as he lay sick at Verulam, they sent and poisoned stealthily a spring of clear water, whence he was wont70 to drink daily; and so, on the very next day, he was taken with the pains of death, as were also a hundred others after him, before the villainy was discovered, and heaps of earth thrown over the well.
The knights and barons, full of sorrow, now took counsel together, and came to Merlin for his help to learn the king’s will before he died, for he was by this time speechless. “Sirs, there is no remedy,” said Merlin, “and God’s will must be done; but be ye all to-morrow before him, for God will make him speak before he die.”
So on the morrow all the barons, with Merlin, stood round the bedside of the king; and Merlin said aloud to Uther, “Lord, shall thy son Arthur be the king of all this realm after thy days?”
Then Uther Pendragon turned him about, and said, in the hearing of them all, “God’s blessing71 and mine be upon him. I bid him pray for my soul, and also that he claim my crown, or forfeit72 all my blessing;” and with those words he died.
Then came together all the bishops73 and the clergy, and great multitudes of people, and bewailed the king; and carrying his body to the convent of Ambrius, they buried it close by his brother’s grave, within the “Giants’ Dance.”
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1
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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craftsmen
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| n. 技工 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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8
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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sycophants
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| n.谄媚者，拍马屁者( sycophant的名词复数 ) | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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45
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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49
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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51
portends
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| v.预示( portend的第三人称单数 )；预兆；给…以警告；预告 | |
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52
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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53
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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54
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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55
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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57
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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privily
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| adv.暗中，秘密地 | |
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59
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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60
upbraid
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| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
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61
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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62
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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64
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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65
repenting
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的现在分词 ) | |
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66
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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67
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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68
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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69
vilest
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| adj.卑鄙的( vile的最高级 )；可耻的；极坏的；非常讨厌的 | |
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70
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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71
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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72
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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73
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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