King Arthur's Death : * An Arthurian Miscellany On Trinitye Mondaye in the morne, &This sore battayle was doom'd to bee, Where manye a knighte cry'd, Well-awaye! &Alacke, it was the more pitte. Ere the first crowinge of the cocke, &When as the kinge in his bed laye, He thoughte Sir Gawaine to him came...
Launcelot : * An Arthurian Miscellany Blow, weary wind, The golden rod scarce chiding; Sir Launcelot is riding By shady wood-paths pleasant To fields of yellow corn. He starts a whirring pheasant, And clearly winds his horn. The Queen's Tower gleams mid distant hills; A thought like joyous sunshine thrills...
The March Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany [M. de la Villemarqu, to whom we owe the Breton original of " The March of Arthur" , which he obtained from the recitation of an old mountaineer of Leuhan, called Mikel Floc'h, informs us that these triplets were sung in chorus, as late as the Chouan war, by the Bret...
Geraint The Son Of Erbin : * An Arthurian Miscellany Arthur was accustomed to hold his Court at Caerlleon upon Usk. And there he held it seven Easters and five Christmases. And once upon a time he held his Court there at Whitsuntide. For Caerlleon was the place most easy of access in his dominions, both by sea and by l...
The Boy Apprenticed To An Enchanter : * An Arthurian Miscellany CONTENTS PROLOGUE " The Horses of King Manus" PART ONE " The Story of Eean the Fisherman's Son" PART TWO " The Story of Bird-of-Gold who was the Bramble Gatherer's Daughter" PART THREE " The Two Enchanters" As for the youth who had tried to steal the white horse th...
Six Ballads About King Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany MY DEAR CHILDREN I strung the following lines together hoping to give you pleasure. The stories are taken from a book called 'Morte d'Arthur' which you will read when you are older, and will see that I have often used the very words of the translator ...
The Old Legend Of King Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Thou knewest nor fear nor faltering; thy life-vow Of patriotic service thou didst well maintain: Therefore, though Death may hide thy valour now, while he, sad of soul, Ponder'd Sir Lukyn's story wonder-fraught: How when Excalibar, at Arthur's hest Flung in the stream...
Tristram : * An Arthurian Miscellany Ah, my heart! my heart! It is weary without her. I would that I were as the winds which play about her! For here I waste and I sicken, and nought is fair To mine eyes: nor night with stars in her clouded hair, Nor all the whitening ways of the stormy seas, Nor the leafy...
The Wisdom Of Merlyn : * An Arthurian Miscellany THESE are the time-words of Merlyn, the voice of his age recorded, All his wisdom of life, the fruit of tears in his youth, of joy in his manhood hoarded, All the wit of his years unsealed, to the witless alms awarded. * * * These are his time-gifts of song, his help...
Merlin And Vivien. Part 02 : * An Arthurian Miscellany A storm was coming, but the winds were still, And in the wild woods of Broceliande, Before an oak, so hollow, huge and old It looked a tower of ivied masonwork, At Merlin's feet the wily Vivien lay. For he that always bare in bitter grudge The slights of Arthur and his...
Isolt : * An Arthurian Miscellany " But when the queen, La beale Isoude heard these tidings shee made such sorrow that shee was full nigh out of her minde, and so upon a day she thought to slay herselfe, and never for to live after Sir Tristram's death. --Le Morte d'Arthure. I The wild dawn flares o'er...
The Ballad Of Glastonbury : * An Arthurian Miscellany Glastonbury, anciently called Avalon, is a place much celebrated both in tradition and history. It was here, according to old legends, when the neighboring moors were covered by the sea, that St. Joseph of Arimathea landed, and built the first church in England. It w...
Excalibur. An Arthurian Drama : * An Arthurian Miscellany Advertisement: Excalibur is the introductory drama of a contemplated trilogy founded on the Arthurian legends as the perfect embodiment of the spirit and impulse of that great Christian epoch we call Medivalism. The attempt is again made - however inadequately - to do...
The Last Ballad : * An Arthurian Miscellany By coasts where scalding deserts reek, The apanages of despair; In outland wilds, by firth and creek, O'er icy bournes of silver air; In storm or calm delaying not, To every noble task addressed, Year after year, Sir Lancelot Fulfilled King Arthur's high behest. He helped...
The Quest Of The Grail. On The Eve. Part 02 : * An Arthurian Miscellany "And then the king and all estates went home unto Camelot, and so went to evensong to the great minster. And so after upon that to supper." I "Before you take this Quest," (he said), "in order set,-- Each knight around the Table, --come, sup with me yet; Come, keep...
The Sword Of Kingship : * An Arthurian Miscellany At Christmas-tide, while wassail mirth ran high, To royal Uther, by his queen Igrayne, Was born a son; whom, wrapp'd in swaddling clothes Of cloth of gold, the monarch took, and charged Two knights and two fair maids to bear away, Adown the castle stair and through...
The Birth Of Merlin. Or, The Childe Hath : * An Arthurian Miscellany AURELIUS, KING OF BRITTAIN VORTIGER, KING OF (WELSH) BRITTAIN UTER PENDRAGON THE PRINCE, BROTHER TO AURELIUS DONOBERT, A NOBLEMAN, AND FATHER TO CONSTANTIA AND MODESTIA THE EARL OF GLOSTER, AND FATHER TO EDWIN EDOL, EARL OF CHESTER, AND GENERAL TO KING AURELIUS CAD...
The Return From The Quest : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. Hark! hark! The dogs do bark; Beggars are coming to town. Some in rags, And some in tags, And some in velvet gown. The summer brooded and the winds were husht, And on the palace walls the sunshine slept, And all within King Arthur's court withdrew To where...
The Love Drink : * An Arthurian Miscellany King Marke of Cornwall sent Sir Tristan forth, With goodly company in grand array, On embassy to Anguish, Ireland's king; That there his nephew's eloquence might move The father's heart to give his daughter's hand; For Marke had heard the minstrels sing of her, La Belle...
The Marriage Of Sir Gawaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany King Arthur lives in merry Carleile, And seemely is to see; And there with him queene Guenever, That bride soe bright of blee. And there with him queene Guenever, That bride so bright in bowre: And all his barons about him stoode, That were both stiffe and stowre...
From The Diary Of Iseult Of Brittany : * An Arthurian Miscellany " May" 1. - Mamma sent me up a message early this morning to say that I was to put on my best white gown with my coral necklace, as guests were expected. She didn't say who. Nurse was in a fuss and pulled my hair when she did it, and made my face very sore by scrubbing it...
The City Of Sarras : * An Arthurian Miscellany "I require you that ye bury me not in this country, but as soon as I am dead put me in a boat at the next haven,... and as soon as ye three come to the city of Sarras, there to achieve the Holy Grail,... there bury me in the spiritual place." I OH, have you not heard...
King Ban : * An Arthurian Miscellany These three held flight upon the leaning lands At undern, past the skirt of misty camps Sewn thick from Benwick to the outer march-- King Ban, and, riding wrist by wrist, Ellayne, And caught up with his coloured swathing-bands Across her arm, a hindrance in the reins...
Of Palomide : * An Arthurian Miscellany Yes, I am minstrel for this evening hour Sweet Esther. Seat thee there, my heart, beneath Those liberal golden showers, which Spring suspends, Laburnum's bloom, close by the garden gate. And with that glory we have purple, too-- The lilac hedge--indisputable gleams...
Merlin. A Poem. Humbly Inscrib'd To Her Majesty : * An Arthurian Miscellany ILLUSTRIOUS QUEEN ! The loyal Zeal excuse, The fond Ambition, of a " British Muse" , Who wou'd, in " Merlin's" Praise, attempt to soar; And in his " Cave," Your Patronage implore: Protection seek, beneath Your " Royal Name" ; And borrow Strength to rise, from " Merlin's"...
King Arthur's Waes Hael : * An Arthurian Miscellany When the brown bowl is filled for yule, let the dome or upper half be set on; then let the waes-haelers kneel one by one and draw up the wine with their reeds through the two bosses at the rim. Let one breath only be drawn by each of the morice for his waes-hael. I...
The Marriage Of Genevere. A Tragedy : * An Arthurian Miscellany PERSONS: ARTHUR, King of Britain. MERLIN, his Counsellor. " Knights of the Round Table" : GODMAR, the Lord Marshal, LAUNCELOT DU LAC, ECTOR DE MARIS, Brother of Launcelot, LIONEL, and BORS DE GANYS, Cousins of Launcelot GALAHAULT, LADINAS DE LA ROUSE, KAYE, Lord Seneschal...
On King Arthur's Round Table At Winchester : * An Arthurian Miscellany Where Venta's Norman castle still uprears Its rafter'd hall, that o'er the grassy foss, And scatter'd flinty fragments, clad in moss, On yonder steep in naked state appears; High hung remains, the pride of warlike years, Old Arthur's Board: on the capacious round Some...
Merlin's Song : * An Arthurian Miscellany Of Merlin wise I learned a song,-- Sing it low, or sing it loud, It is mightier than the strong, And punishes the proud. I sing it to the surging crowd,-- Good men it will calm and cheer, Bad men it will chain and cage. In the heart of the music peals a strain Which only...
Gawayne's Revenge : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. With goodly lands and lordships In Bearn and Britany, Hath Launcelot freely dowered his knights Had passed with him the sea; A threescore knights had brothers been All of the Table Round -- Were left no threescore braver, I wot, on British ground. Their wars an end...
Arthur's Knighting : * An Arthurian Miscellany I mind me of Toraise in Carmelide:-- Plenary court with show and festival Held King Leodegan that Whitsuntide. By noon the busy cooks had served in hall Pottage of herbs with spiceries and wine, Boars' heads in aigredouce and therewithal Herons and egrets in sauce...
Thomas And Vivien : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. Tom, Tom, the piper's son, Stole a pig and away he ran. The pig was eat, and Tom was beat And Tom went crying down the street. Thomas the young, Thomas the mischievous, Thomas the dark-brow'd lad of Camelot, After a day of mirth and reveling At court, in which...
Tristram And Isolt : * An Arthurian Miscellany Night, and vast caverns of rock and of iron: Voices like water, and voices like wind: Horror, and tempests of hail that environ Shapes and the shadows of two who have sinned. Wan on the whirlwind, in loathing uplifting Faces that loved once, forever they go, Tristram...
Prince Arthur. An Heroick Poem In Ten Books : * An Arthurian Miscellany THE PREFACE " To what ill purposes soever Poetry has been abus'd, its true and genuine End is by universal Confession, the Instruction of our Minds, and Regulation of our Manners; for which 'tis furnish'd with so many excellent Advantages. The Delicacy of its Strains...
The Secret Of Sir Dinadan : * An Arthurian Miscellany "For he was a good knight, but he was a a scoffer and a jester, and the merriest knight among fellowship that was that time living. "And he had such a custom that he loved every good knight, and every good knight loved him again. "And so he (Dinadan) rode into the castle...
A Ballad Of Cornwall : * An Arthurian Miscellany I Sir Tristram lay by a well, Making sad moan; Fast his tears tell, For wild the wood through, Stricken with shrewd Sorrow, he ran, When he deemed her untrue -- La Beale Isoud! For he loved her alone. II So as he lay, Wasted and wan, Scarce like a man, Pricking that way...
Gawayne And The Green Knight. A Fairy Tale : * An Arthurian Miscellany PREFACE. Arms and the man I sing,--not as of old The Mantuan bard his mighty verse unrolled, But in such humbler strains as may beseem Light changes rung on a fantastic theme. My tale is ancient, but the sense is new,-- Replete with monstrous fictions, yet half true;...
Pastoral Of Lancelot : * An Arthurian Miscellany The field was green, and green the elder-bough; The land all burnished with unopened bud Let the large light and wholesome wind blow through Its airy glades and ragged underwood, Where now with boisterous breath the early year Like a young child in lusty hardihood...
The Death Of Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany I.--THE SEA-RUMOUR. I. Three sailors pass, by the Water-gate, And sing of Merlin, as it grows late. Last night they sailed the Irish Sea, The bitter sea, in a wild twilight, Where its tide swims north to Enlli strait. From the Water-gate to Merlin's Tree,-- They sing...
The Last Tournament : * An Arthurian Miscellany Dagonet, the fool, whom Gawain in his mood Had made mock-knight of Arthur's Table Round, At Camelot, high above the yellowing woods, Danced like a withered leaf before the hall. And toward him from the hall, with harp in hand, And from the crown ther a carcanet Of ruby...
The Vision Of The Holy Grail : * An Arthurian Miscellany Deere Chryste, let not the cheere of earth, To fill our hearts with heedless mirth This holy Christmasse time; But give us of thy heavenly cheere That we may hold thy love most deere And know thy peace sublime. Full merry waxed King Pelles court With Yuletide cheere...
Next. Tristram And Isolt : * An Arthurian Miscellany Yea, there are some who always seek The love that lasts an hour; And some who in love's language speak, Yet never know his power. Of such was I, who knew not what Sweet mysteries can rise Within the heart when 't is its lot To love and realize. Of such was I, Isolt! till...
The Quest Of Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany " Interior of a cavern in the bowels of the earth, beneath Mount Hecla. Huge rock-fragments, amid which twists tortuously a great root of the tree Yggdrasil. A flickering flame, by the light of which are seen the" NORNS , " colossal but shadowy shapes, about a gigantic...
Launcelot And Gawaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany Two women loved a poet. One was dark, Luxuriant with the beauty of the south, A heart of fire--and this one he forsook. The other slender, tall, with wide gray eyes, Who loved him with a still intensity That made her heart a shrine--to her he clave, And he was faithful...
Guinevere To Lancelot : * An Arthurian Miscellany The night is here, and thou art with me still, Loved one, although beyond the reach of hands Eager to clasp thee; and I long to fill Again this soul more dry than desert sands Now thou art gone, with the deep-flowing streams Of thy most gracious prescence. Soon it will...
The Marriage Of Geraint : * An Arthurian Miscellany The brave Geraint, a knight of Arthur's court, A tributary prince of Devon, one Of that great Order of the Table Round, Had married Enid, Yniol's only child, And loved her, as he loved the light of Heaven. And as the light of Heaven varies, now At sunrise, now at sunset...
Mordred, A Tragedy. Part 1 : * An Arthurian Miscellany Of Guinevere from Arthur separate, And separate from Launcelot and the world, And shielded in the convent with her sin, As one draws fast a veil upon a face That 's marred, but only holds the scar more close Against the burning brain--I read to-day This legend; and if...
At The Palace Of King Lot : * An Arthurian Miscellany " ARGUMENT." The King was in the parlor, counting out his money: The Queen was in the kitchen, eating bread and honey: The Maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes: There came a little Blackbird and snipp'd off her nose. Lot, King of Orkney in the Northern se...
The Dream Of Rhonabwy : * An Arthurian Miscellany Madawc the son of Maredudd possessed Powys within its boundaries, from Porfoed to Gwauan in the uplands of Arwystli. And at that time he had a brother, Iorwerth the son of Maredudd, in rank not equal to himself. And Iorwerth had great sorrow and heaviness because...
Samor, Lord Of The Bright City : * An Arthurian Miscellany PREFACE. The Historians [Note 1] of the Empire near the period of time, at which this Poem commences, make mention of a Constantine, who assumed the purple of the western empire, gained possession of Gaul and Spain, but was defeated and slain at the battle of Arles. He...
Sir Galahad : * An Arthurian Miscellany My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure, My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure. The shattering trumpet shrilleth high, The hard brands shiver on the steel, The splinter'd spear-shafts crack and fly, The horse...
The New Sangreal : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Show me the Sangreal, Lord! Show me Thy blood! Thy body and Thy blood! Give me the Quest! Lord, I am faint and tired; my soul is sick Of all the falseness, all the little aims, The weary vanities, the gasping joys, The slow procession of this satiate world! Dear Lord, I...
Sir Lancelot And Queen Guinevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany Like souls that balance joy and pain, With tears and smiles from heaven again The maiden Spring upon the plain Came in a sunlit fall of rain. In crystal vapor everywhere Blue isles of heaven laugh'd between, And far, in forest-deeps unseen, The topmost elm-tree gather'd...
The Christmas Of Sir Galahad : * An Arthurian Miscellany When a fancy, fashioned neither after the inductive nor the deductive methods, attributable neither to natural selection nor to protoplasm, definable by no law of contradiction nor of excluded middle, presents itself to the public acquaintance nowadays, it is apt, as we...
The History Of The Kings Of Britain : * An Arthurian Miscellany But Gratian Municeps, hearing of the death of Maximian, seized the crown, and made himself king. After this he exercised such tyranny that the common people fell upon him in a tumultuous manner, and murdered him. When this news reached other countries, their former...
Gareth And Lynette : * An Arthurian Miscellany The last tall son of Lot and Bellicent, And tallest, Gareth, in a showerful spring Stared at the spate. A slender-shafted Pine Lost footing, fell, and so was whirled away. "How he went down," said Gareth, "as a false knight Or evil king before my lance if lance Were mine...
The Young Knight, Or How Gareth Won His Spurs : * An Arthurian Miscellany KING ARTHUR. GARETH, youngest son of King Lot and Queen Bellicent. LANCELOT. SIR KAY, the Seneschal. THE ANCIENT, a Seer. GAWAIN, brother of Gareth. BELLICENT, mother of Gareth. PRINCE LLWELLYN, a child. LYONORS, maiden held in Castle Perilous. LYNETTE, her sister...
The Eve Of Morte Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Beside the dripping copses fleeting low, The homeless cuckoo jeereth all the day, Even as he jeered a thousand years ago. May-morn itself is weary of the May. In wonted wise, the cheerless nightingale Carpeth her carol on the hawthorn spray: The daffodil and primrose are...
Sir Palamides : * An Arthurian Miscellany Sir Palamides, Saracen, Right worshipful among the men Of Arthur's days, rode thro' the fen. Till, past the skirts of fen and wood, On lonely Humber's bank he stood, Grateful for that sad solitude. And looking, aimless, east and west, Bemoaned his love and beat his breast...
Tom Thumb The Great : * An Arthurian Miscellany Though small in its subject, this "tragedy of tragedies" has engaged the attention of two dramatic writers: its original parent, HenryFielding, our celebrated novelist, brought it on the Haymarket stage, in the year 1730, when it met with great success. This burlesque may...
An Epigram : * An Arthurian Miscellany Merlin, the great King Arthur being slaine, Foretould that he should come to life againe, And long time after weild great Brittaines state More powerfull ten-fould, and more fortunate. Prophet, 'tis true, and well we find the same, Save onely that thou didst mistake...
The History Of That Holy Disciple Joseph Arimathea : * An Arthurian Miscellany The History of that Holy Disciple Joseph of Arimathea. Wherein is contained, The true Account of his Birth, his Parents, his Country, his Education, his Piety; and how he begged of PONTIUS PILATE the Body of Our Blessed Saviour, after his Crucifixion, which he buried...
Guenevere. A Play In Five Acts : * An Arthurian Miscellany DRAMATIS PERSONAE King Arthur. Guenevere, his wife. Sir Launcelot. nephews to the king, and brothers: Sir Gawain Sir Mordred Sir Agravaine Sir Gareth Sir Kay, the seneschal. Dagonet, the queen's page. Morwena, the abbess at Boscastle. Agatha, a sister. ladies to the queen...
Owain Or The Lady Of The Fountain : * An Arthurian Miscellany King Arthur was at Caerlleon upon Usk; and one day he sat in his chamber; and with him were Owain the son of Urien, and Kynon the son of Clydno, and Kai the son of Kyner; and Gwenhwyvar and her hand-maidens at needlework by the window. And if it should be said that there...
Arthur In Avalon : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. STRICKEN of man, and sore beset of Fate, He lies amid the groves of Avalon; What comfort mete ye unto Uther's son, O mournful Queens? What styptic to abate Life's eager stream? Alas, not theirs to sate His soul with earthly vision! he hath done With mortal life...
The Daughter Of Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany For the mountains' hoarse greetings came hollow From stormy wind-chasms and caves; And I heard their wild cataracts wallow; Like monsters, the white of their waves: And that shadow said, "Lo! You must follow! And our path is o'er myriads of graves." Then I felt th...
The Quest Of The Sancgreal : * An Arthurian Miscellany When Merlin's wisdom for the king ordain'd The Table Round in likeness of the world, He placed therein the sieges for each knight Should sit thereat, and prophesied that one Who there broke bread the Sancgreal should achieve, Should win the holy vessel that contain'd...
Trostan Made This : * An Arthurian Miscellany The hawk in the cliff of Ben Edair Knows that I am stricken. The otter knows In the pool by the hurdles. Love has a short blossoming- But the dead remember it.
Mordred, A Tragedy : * An Arthurian Miscellany Sir Bedivere, in silence, watched the barge That bore away King Arthur to the vale Of Avalon, till it was seen no more. Then, on the beach, alone amid the dead, He lifted up his voice and sorely wept. "Alas!" he cried, "gone are the pleasant days At Camelot, and the sweet...
The Tryste : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. Ah, lawless love -- Ah reinless lust, The evil ye have done! Ye laid proud Priam's domes in dust, And Priam's glorious son. The giant judge of Israel, By you the Ethnic's scorn, In blindness and in bondage fell, And ground Philistian corn. Through you nigh lost...
The Holy Grail : * An Arthurian Miscellany From noiseful arms, and acts of prowess done In tournament or tilt, Sir Percivale, Whom Arthur and his knighthood called The Pure, Had passed into the silent life of prayer Praise, fast, and alms; and leaving for the cowl The helmet in an abbey far away From Camelot...
Sir Tray. An Arthurian Idyl : * An Arthurian Miscellany The widowed Dame of Hubbard's ancient line Turned to her cupboard, cornered anglewise Betwixt this wall and that, in quest of aught To satisfy the craving of Sir Tray, Prick-eared companion of her solitude, Red-spotted, dirty-white, and bare of rib, Who followed at her...
A Famous Prediction Of Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany Last year was published a paper of predictions, pretended to be written by one Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq; but the true design of it was to ridicule the art of astrology, and expose its professors as ignorant, or impostors. Against this imputation, Dr. Partrige hath learnedly...
Palomyde's Quest : * An Arthurian Miscellany About the middle of the month of June Sir Palomydes rode upon his quest, Twixt sunrise and the setting of the moon: Beast Glatysaunt did give him little rest At midday, and at midnight must he sleep, And still the beast trailed on unceasingly Waking strange echoes...
Tristram And Iseult : * An Arthurian Miscellany Is she not come? The messenger was sure. Prop me upon the pillows once again-- Raise me, my page! this cannot long endure. --Christ, what a night! how the sleet whips the pane! What lights will those out to the northward be? The lanterns of the fishing-boats at se...
The Defence Of Guenevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany But, knowing now that they would have her speak, She threw her wet hair backward from her brow, Her hand close to her mouth touching her cheek, As though she had had there a shameful blow, And feeling it shameful to feel ought but shame All through her heart, yet felt her...
King Arthur. A Drama In A Prologue And Four Acts : * An Arthurian Miscellany DRAMATIS PERSONAE KING ARTHUR SIR LANCELOT SIR MORDRED SIR KAY SIR GAWAINE SIR BEDEVERE SIR AGRAVAINE SIR PERCIVAL SIR LAVAINE SIR DAGONET MERLIN MESSENGER GAOLER GUINEVERE ELAINE MORGAN LE FAY CLARISSANT SPIRIT OF THE LAKE KNIGHTS, SQUIRES, LADIES OF THE COURT, ETC., ETC...
The Egyptian Maid Or The Romance Of The Water Lily : * An Arthurian Miscellany [For the names and persons in the following poem, see the "History of the renowned Prince Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table;" for the rest the Author is answerable; only it may be proper to add, that the Lotus, with the bust of the goddess apppearing to rise out...
The Great Return : * An Arthurian Miscellany CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE RUMOUR OF THE MARVELLOUS 9 II. ODOURS OF PARADISE 19 III. A SECRET IN A SECRET PLACE 29 IV. THE RINGING OF THE BELL 40 V. THE ROSE OF FIRE 50 VI. OLWEN'S DREAM 61 VII. THE MASS OF THE SANGRAAL 71 THERE are strange things lost and forgotten...
Tom Thumb : * An Arthurian Miscellany In the days of King Arthur, Merlin, the most learned enchanter of his time, was on a journey; and being very weary, stopped one day at the cottage of an honest ploughman to ask for refreshment. The ploughman's wife, with great civility, immediately brought him some milk...
The Death Of Lanceor : * An Arthurian Miscellany The fight was over, and one shiver'd spear Had dash'd to splinters 'gainst a coat of mail; The other, crushing an opposing shield, Had pierced the hauberk of a valiant knight And let his brave life through a ghastly rent. Upon the green hill-side Sir Lanceor fell, No more...
A Song That Trostan Made : * An Arthurian Miscellany If I were a king's son I would give you a white hound In a leash of silver, I would give you a white stallion From over the sea. I would give you a cloak of purple Wrought with findruiny, And shoes of white bronze, If I were a king's son. You would talk with me...
Calidore. A Fragment Of A Romance : * An Arthurian Miscellany Notwithstanding the great improvements of machinery in this rapidly improving age, which is so much wiser, better, and happier than all that went before it, every gentleman is not yet accommodated with the convenience of a pocket boat. We may therefore readily imagine...
The Prophecy Of Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany For three long nights had King Arthur watch'd, The light from the turret shone! For three long nights had King Arthur wak'd, He pass'd them all alone! On the fourth, at the first hour's summon bell, As the warder walk'd his round, A figure cross'd at the postern gate...
Prince Arthur. Part Ii : * An Arthurian Miscellany BOOK VI Now in the East of Saffron Morn arose, And call'd the Lab'rer from his soft repose. Thro' all the Region flew Loquacious Fame; And the glad tydings spread, where'er she came. Prince " Arthur" 's Landed, is the general Cry, Straight to their Arms the chearful "...
The Last Love Of Gawaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany You will betray me--oh, deny it not! What right have I, alas, to say you nay? I, traitor of ten loves, what shall I say To plead with you that I be not forgot? My love has not been squandered jot by jot In little loves that perish with the day. My treason has been ever...
The Temptation Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Where to the sea the woodlands fair dropped down, So close, that ever when the moon was full Sea-fairies came and joined the wood-nymphs' dance, The king walked musing through the summer morn; For in the night strange dreams had vexed his sleep; And sad pathetic voices...
The Dream Of Sir Galahad : * An Arthurian Miscellany " With the knights Peredur and Gawain he sits, in a chapel in Lyonesse, speaking while the dawn slowly reddens on the sea, gray-seen through the open door." I Cast on sleep there came to me Three great angels, o'er the sea Moaning near the priory: Cloudy clad in awful...
An Iseult Idyll : * An Arthurian Miscellany Part I Throughout the ambiguous April day The skylark wings his singing way, And trills a rhapsody of May. The wind that sweetens earth with spring Falls on the ocean, wakening The rising waves beneath his wing. While swiftly from her native lea A Cornish bark...
Gawaine And Marjorie : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. "See, saw, Margery Daw: Sold her bed and lay on straw." The first born son of Lot and Bellicent, Gawain, in far-off days of striplinghood,-- Before men call'd him "false" or "light of love," And yet the same, for as the boy, the man,-- Half-aimless wandering...
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. A Play : * An Arthurian Miscellany ACT I. NEW YEAR'S DAY AT CAMELOT. Opening Chorus. "All Hail, All Hail! The Glad New Year!" Carol. "Pass the year into yesterdays." "Knights and Ladies dance and sing!" ACT II. GAWAIN'S CHAMBER, HALLOWE'EN. Chorus. "To morrow is All Hallows' Day!" Dagonet's Song,--"...
For All Ladies Of Shalott : * An Arthurian Miscellany The web flew out and floated wide. Poor lady! I was with her then. She gathered up her piteous pride, But she could never weave again. The mirror cracked from side to side; I saw its silver shadows go. "The curse has come on me!" she cried. Poor lady! I had told her so...
Geraint And Enid : * An Arthurian Miscellany O purblind race of miserable men, How many among us at this very hour Do forge a life-long trouble for ourselves, By taking true for false, or false for true; Here, through the feeble twilight of this world Groping, how many, until we pass and reach That other, where we...
Camlan : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. "I may not trust false Mordred," -- 'Twas thus did Arthur say, -- "He will not stint to treason do, His uncle-King to slay; So watch ye well when we are met, And but ye chance to see One sword unsheathed, upon them! Be sure 'tis treachery!" "I may not trust mine uncle...
Geraint Of Devon : * An Arthurian Miscellany FOREWORD Gentles, I will to tell you a fair tale, Echoing from the Lands of Long Ago, Resonant to the Towers of Brave Romance-- Romance, that stately region of old time, Wherein were truths in grand simplicities, Valiance and gentleness and constancy, And Beauty with...
Sonnet Xxiii : * An Arthurian Miscellany " Merlin" , they say, an English Prophet borne, When he was yong and gouern'd by his Mother, Took great delight to laugh such fooles to scorne, As thought, by Nature we might know a Brother. His Mother chid him oft, till on a day, They stood, and saw a Coarse to buriall...
The Vision Of Sir Lamoracke : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. As I was going to Saint Ives I met seven wives. Every wife had seven sacks; Every sack had seven cats; Every cat had seven kits; Kits, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to Saint Ives? King Pellinore of Wales, the same who slew Lot, King of Orkney...
Near Avalon : * An Arthurian Miscellany A ship with shields before the sun, Six maidens round the mast, A red-gold crown on every one, A green gown on the last. The fluttering green banners there Are wrought with ladies' heads most fair, And a portraiture of Guenevere The middle of each sail doth bear. A ship...
The Vision Of Sir Launfal : * An Arthurian Miscellany Author's Note: According to the mythology of the Romancers, the San Greal, or Holy Grail, was the cup out of which Jesus partook of the last supper with his disciples. It was brought into England by Joseph of descendants. It was incumbent upon those who had charge of it...
Beowulf And Arthur As English Ideals : * An Arthurian Miscellany This essay first appeared in " Poet-Lore: A Quarterly of World Literature" 6.2 (1894), 528-36. THE race-ideal is the product of race possibility, moulded into form by the shaping power which lies behind literature, and breathed into life by the divine spark of imaginati...
Tom Thumbe, His Life And Death : * An Arthurian Miscellany Of the Birth, Name, and bringing vp of " Tom" " Thumbe" , with the meery prankes that hee did in his Childehood. In Arthurs Court Tom Thumbe did liue a man of mickle might, The best of all the Table round, and eke a doughty knight: His stature but an inch in height...
Timor Mortis : * An Arthurian Miscellany "The thing that I feared is fallen upon me." When deadly flesh, oh knight, shall see The spiritual things, The samite cloth, the Mystery, The long street where the wings Of eagles are the minstrelsy, And winnow death, like dust away Upon a windy day. Then, if thine arm...
Merlin's Tomb : * An Arthurian Miscellany PART FIRST. Ah fatal thirst -- Ah fond aspire Forbidden things to know! Dis-Edener thou of our first sire! Well-spring of all our woe! The first device the tempter tried, Thou art his favourite still, Dost woo and win him, his witch-bride, Soul-pledged to work his will...
God's Graal : * An Arthurian Miscellany The ark of the Lord of Hosts Whose name is called by the name of Him Who dwelleth between the Cherubim. O Thou that in no house dost dwell, But walk'st in tent and tabernacle. For God of all strokes will have one In every battle that is done. Lancelot lay beside the well:...
The Mill : * An Arthurian Miscellany THE MILL BY HENRY VAN DYKE I HOW THE YOUNG MARTIMOR WOULD BECOME A KNIGHT " AND ASSAY GREAT ADVENTURE" WHEN Sir Lancelot was come out of the Red Launds where he did many deeds of arms, he rested him long with play and game in a land that is called Beausejour. For in th...
Balin And Balan : * An Arthurian Miscellany Pellam the King, who held and lost with Lot In that first war, and had his realm restored But rendered tributary, failed of late To send his tribute; wherefore Arthur called His treasurer, one of many years, and spake, "Go thou with him and him and bring it to us, Lest we...
The Farewell Of Ganore : * An Arthurian Miscellany Ganore was standing at the convent gate With Lancelot, and she held him by the hand, And in the fierce noon of a harvest day They both looked forth upon a wasted land; And Queen Ganore was in her royal state Of widowhood, as when she kept at bay The rabble, when they...
The Lady Of Shalott : * An Arthurian Miscellany It is not generally known that the Lady of Shalott lived last summer in an attic, at the east end of South Street. The wee-est, thinnest, whitest little lady! And yet the brightest, stillest, and ah, such a smiling little lady! If you had held her up by the window...
Illustrations Of The Fulfillment Of The Predicti : * An Arthurian Miscellany To Richard E. Lee, Esq. Mayor of the borough of Norfolk, " Virginia" , and all other the Citizens of the United States of America, who are influenced by the genuine principles of Anno 1775 & '76, -- and more particularly the citizens of " Norfolk" , " Portsmouth"...
Rosenthal's Elaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany I stood and gazed far out into the waste; No dip of oar broke on the listening ear; But the quick rippling of the inward flood Gave warning of approaching argosy. Adown the west, the day's last fleeting gleam Faded and died, and left the world in gloom. Hope hung no star...
Tristram Of The Wood : * An Arthurian Miscellany Once, when the autumn fields were dim and wet, The trumpets rang; the tide of battle set Toward gray Broceliande, by the western sea. In the fore-front of conflict grimly stood, Clothed in dark armor, Tristam of the Wood, And round him ranged his knights of Brittany...
Merlin. A Drama In Three Acts : * An Arthurian Miscellany " Dramatis Personae" -- MERLIN, " an Enchanter". ALPHONSO, " lover of Elmira". MARCUS, " his friend". ELMIRA. " Spirits, Furies, All the elves that flit in air, Or skim the wave, my livery wear-- The spirits of the misty deep, Come at my call, my mandates keep; I c...
King Arthur. Part Ii : * An Arthurian Miscellany BOOK VII " These" things befel the King since " Gallia" 's Soil He left to calm " Brittannia" 's troubled Isle. Mean time in " Gallia" when their Monarch found Himself recover'd from his painful Wound, He with his greatest Lords in Council sate About the Means to save...
Merlin Ii : * An Arthurian Miscellany The rhyme of the poet Modulates the king's affairs; Balance-loving Nature Made all things in pairs. To every foot its antipode; Each color with its counter glowed; To every tone beat answering tones, Higher or graver; Flavor gladly blends with flavor; Leaf answers leaf...
The Coming Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Leodogran, the King of Cameliard, Had one fair daughter, and none other child; And she was fairest of all flesh on earth, Guinevere, and in her his one delight. For many a petty king ere Arthur came Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war Each upon other, wasted all...
Merlin : * An Arthurian Miscellany MERLIN BY EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON "Gawaine, Gawaine, what look ye for to see, So far beyond the faint edge of the world? D'ye look to see the lady Vivian, Pursued by divers ominous vile demons That have another king more fierce than ours? Or think ye that if ye look far...
The San Grail : * An Arthurian Miscellany Sir Lancelot rode between the trees, The evening sun was red: He thought upon Queen Guinevere With hair outspread. He thought upon the Holy Grail That he had come to win, And knew his love of Guinevere Was deadly sin. Then from his horse he lighted down Beneath the treen...
The Opera Of Operas Or Tom Thumb The Great : * An Arthurian Miscellany TOM THUMB was the Son of " Gaffer Thumb" , tho' some Authors assert, " Thumb" was not the Father's Name, but a Sirname given the Son from the Diminitiveness of his Stature, agreeable to a Wish his Parents made, that they might have a Son and Heir, tho' he were no bigger...
Palomydes : * An Arthurian Miscellany Him best in all the dim Arthuriad, Of lovers of fair women, him I prize,-- The Pagan Palomydes. Never glad Was he with sweetness of his lady's eyes, Nor joy he had. But, unloved ever, still must love the same, And riding ever through a lonely world, Whene'er on adverse...
When Tristan Sailed : * An Arthurian Miscellany When Tristan sailed from Ireland Across the summer sea, How young he was, how debonnaire, How glad he was and free. Why should he know the gales would blow, The skies be black above, How should he dream his port was Death, And Doom, whose name is Love? The Lady Iseult...
The Misfortunes Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany THE NAMES OF THE SPEAKERS GORLOIS, " Duke of Cornwall's Ghost." GUENEVERA, " the Queen." FRONIA, " a Lady of her train." ANGHARAD, " Sister to the Queen." MORDRED, " the Usurper." CONAN, " a faithful Councillor" " Nuntius of Arthur's landing." " The Herald from Arthur."...
The Romaunt Of Sir Floris : * An Arthurian Miscellany THE ROMAUNT OF SIR FLORIS In this sweet world and fair to see, There is full many a mystery, That toil and misery have wrought To banish from the sight and thought Of striving men in this our air Of pain and doubt, and many a fair Sweet wonder that doth live and move...
King Arthur In Avalon : * An Arthurian Miscellany Part I. "The hymn of the conquered, who fell in the battle of life, The hymn of the wounded, the beaten, who died overwhelmed in the strife, The weary, the broken in heart, Who strove and who failed, acting bravely a silent and desperate part; Whose hopes burned in ashes...
King Ryence's Challenge : * An Arthurian Miscellany As it fell out on a Pentecost day, King Arthur at Camelot kept his court royall, With his faire queene dame Guenever the gay, And many bold barons sitting in hall, With ladies attired in purple and pall, And heraults in hewkes, hooting on high, Cryed, " Largesse" , "...
The Day Before The Trial : * An Arthurian Miscellany King Arthur says being alone. Now the day comes near and near I feel its hot breath, and see it clear, How strange it is and full of fear; And I grow old waiting here, Grow sick with pain of Guenevere, My wife, that loves not me. So strange it seems to me, so new To have...
The Tragedy Of Etarre : * An Arthurian Miscellany CHARACTERS OF THE POEM PELLEAS GAWAINE, " knight of the Table Round" FERGUS, " attendant on" PELLEAS ETARRE AILEEN, " maid to" ETARRE AVRAN BALARIN } " knights" of ETARRE MARIS " The scene is laid in the" COUNTRY OF ETARRE THE TRAGEDY OF ETARRE PROLOGUE SCENE: The curt...
Merlin And Vivien. Part 1 : * An Arthurian Miscellany The Merlin of this poem is Merlin Caledonius, known also as Merlin Wylt and Silvestris. He ought not to be identified with Myrdin Emrys, or Merlin Ambrosius, who was the " vates" of Vortigern, and also apparently of Aurelius Ambrosianus,--the man of Roman descent who...
Merlin And Vivian. A Lyric Drama For Chorus : * An Arthurian Miscellany MORGAN-LE-FAY, " enchantress, queen of Avalon; soprano" VIVIAN, " sorceress; mezzo-soprano" KING ARTHUR, " tenor" MERLIN, " the enchanter, Arthur's councilor; tenor" ADRIHIM, " the Spirit of the architect of King Sueliman; bass" ARIEL, " the Spirit of music and light;...
The Love Song Of Tristram And Iseult : * An Arthurian Miscellany In crimson light the ocean shone Beneath the heavens sublime; Far-spent, the day was passing on To the great deep of time; And half-way hid behind the west, The dying sun immense and bright Touched with red fire the foamy crest Of endless waves, and bathed in light A ship...
King Arthur. Part I : * An Arthurian Miscellany THE PREFACE " When I had written Prince " Arthur" , a Poem that came abroad two years ago, I was so diffident of the Performance, that I continu'd unresolv'd for many Weeks, whether I should let it appear, or wholly suppress it, till the Judgment of others, for which I...
The Passing Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany That story which the bold Sir Bedivere, First made and latest left of all the knights, Told, when the man was no more than a voice In the white winter of his age, to those With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds. For on their march to westward, Bedivere, Who slowly...
Guenevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany I was a queen, and I have lost my crown; A wife, and I have broken all my vows; A lover, and I ruined him I loved:-- There is no other havoc left to do. A little month ago I was a queen, And mothers held their babies up to see When I came riding out of Camelot. The women...
Queen Yseult : * An Arthurian Miscellany CANTO 1 " Of the birth of Sir Tristram, and how he voyaged into Ireland" In the noble days were shown Deeds of good knights many one, Many worthy wars were done. It was time of scath and scorn When at breaking of the morn Tristram the good knight was born. He was fair...
Vivien : * An Arthurian Miscellany Her eyes under their lashes were blue pools Fringed round with lilies; her bright hair unfurled Clothed her as sunshine clothes the summer world. Her robes were gauzes--gold and green and gules, All furry things flocked round her, from her hand Nibbling their foods...
The Rescue : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. The sun shines fair on holm and hill, On wood and waving corn, But there is wail in Carleil On that fair summer's morn. The noblest lady in the land Is doomed, ah, wo the while! To shameful death, with lighted brand, At yonder fatal pile. II. And hark, the dede-bell's...
The Doom Well Of St. Madron : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. "Plunge thy right hand in St. Madron's spring, If true to its troth be the palm you bring: But if a false sigil thy fingers bear, Lay them rather on the burning share." II. Loud laughed King Arthur when-as he heard That solemn friar his boding word: And blithely he...
Sir Launcelot And The Sancgreal : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Car il 1 n'or nul pech'eour Ne compaignie ne amour." He found a chamber where the door was shut, And thereto set his hand to open it; And mightily he tried, and still might not: And then he heard a voice which sang so sweet, It seemed none earthly thing that he heard...
The Lament Of Sir Ector De Maris : * An Arthurian Miscellany I Thro' waste and steep, this seven year Sir Ector seeks Sir Launcelot, His flower of knights, his brother dear. From Calabre to Gwent, he sought; Last home to Joyous Garde, he hight By roads that once Sir Launcelot brought. II What lights are they that burn all night...
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight : * An Arthurian Miscellany The poem of which the following pages offer a prose rendering is contained in a MS., believed to be unique, of the Cottonian Collection, Nero A.X., preserved in the British Museum. The MS. is of the end of the fourteenth century, but it is possible that the compositi...
The Quest Of The Grail. On The Eve. Part 1 : * An Arthurian Miscellany Part I. On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The isl...
The Last Sleep Of Sir Launcelot : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Behold also this mighty champion, Launcelot, peerless of knighthood,... that sometime was so terrible." Still asleep, and fast asleep, The hermit-bishop lay, And fell upon a great laughter An hour before the day. Therewith his fellowship arose, And asked what ailed him...
The Quest Of The Grail. On The Eve : * An Arthurian Miscellany Queen Guinevere had fled the court, and sat There in the holy house at Almesbury Weeping, none with her save a little maid, A novice: one low light betwixt them burned Blurred by the creeping mist, for all abroad, Beneath a moon unseen albeit at full, The white mist, like...
How Lancelot Came To The Nunnery In Search : * An Arthurian Miscellany Three days on Gawain's tomb Sir Lancelot wept, Then drew about him baron, knight, and earl, And cried, "Alack, fair lords, too late we came, For now heaven hath its own, and woe is mine: But 'gainst the black knight Death may none avail. I will that ye no longer stay...
A Legend Of Tintagel Castle : * An Arthurian Miscellany Alone in the forest, Sir Lancelot rode, O'er the neck of his courser the reins lightly flowed, And beside hung his helmet, for bare was his brow To meet the soft breeze that was fanning him now. And "the flowers of the forest" were many and sweet, Which, crushed at each...
La Mort D'arthur Not : * An Arthurian Miscellany Slowly, as one who bears a mortal hurt, Through which the fountain of his life runs dry, Crept good King Arthur down unto the lake. A roughening wind was bringing in the waves With cold dull plash and plunging to the shore, And a great bank of clouds came sailing up...
Tom Thumb, A Tragedy : * An Arthurian Miscellany Dramatis Person MEN. KING ARTHUR, (Mr. " Mullart." ) TOM THUMB, (Miss " Jones." ) Lord GRIZZLE, (Mr. " Jones." ) Mr. NOODLE, (Mr. " Marshall." ) Mr. DOODLE, (Mr. " Reynolds" ). 1 PHYSICIAN, (Mr. " Hallam" ). 2 PHYSICIAN, (Mr. " Dove" ). WOMEN. QUEEN DOLLALOLLA, (Mrs. "...
Gawain And The Lady Of Avalon : * An Arthurian Miscellany Came tidings unto Caerleon, Where Arthur kept Shrovetide, How, far away in Avalon, A scaly dragon's pride, With visage like a woman's, wan, Wasted the country-side. Arthur let cry through all his land, "Who curses me for wrong?" Then flowed there in on every h...
Ballade Of Tristram's Last Harping : * An Arthurian Miscellany The end that Love doth seek, what bard can say, In that fair season when the tender green Of opening leaves doth roof the woods of May, And sweet wild buds from out their places lean To touch the dainty feet that heedless stray Among them, with a youth in knight's attire...
Cian Of The Chariots : * An Arthurian Miscellany CIAN OF THE CHARIOTS: A ROMANCE OF THE DAYS OF ARTHUR EMPEROR OF BRITAIN AND HIS KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE HOW THEY DELIVERED LONDON AND OVERTHREW THE SAXONS AFTER THE DOWNFALL OF ROMAN BRITAIN [Note to the text] Page 3 THE most romantic period of English history is...
Sir Lancelot Du Lake : * An Arthurian Miscellany When Arthur first in court began, And was approvd king, By force of armes great victorys wonne, And conquest home did bring; Then into England straight he came With fifty good and able Knights that resorted unto him, And were of the Round Table. And many justs...
Of Joyous Gard : * An Arthurian Miscellany In the Volume OF PALOMIDE, the author has chosen Bamborough Castle, Northumberland, as the best authenticated site of the Keep of Joyous Gard and the country up to the Cheviots as its Province. To this he had adhered in the following pages. Upon the arrival in Logris...
When Tristram To Tintagel Came : * An Arthurian Miscellany When Tristram with his fifty knights On a midnight hour Back to long Tintagel came, Queen Iseult sate watching them In the glare of the cresset-lights, From her royal tower. Hurry and hum of hoofs she had heard, (Who sooner than she?) And the chains in the gateway groaned...
The Speeches At Prince Henries Barriers : * An Arthurian Miscellany The Lady of the Lake, first " discouered". A Silence, calme as are my waters, meet Your raysd attentions, whilst my siluer feet Touch on the richer shore; and to this seat Vow my new duties and mine old repeat. Lest any yet should doubt, or might mistake What " Nymph" I...
Merlin's Prophecy. Humbly Inscrib'd To His : * An Arthurian Miscellany ROYAL " FREDERICK! Britain'" s Pride! " Prince" , for future Safety giv'n; For Thee 's decree'd a Virtuous " Bride," Choicest " Gift" of bounteous Heav'n. To reward thy filial Duty, To perpetuate " Brunswick'" s Race, Wit, and Learning, Youth, and Beauty, Heav'n prepares...
Lancelot And Elaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany Elaine the fair, Elaine the loveable, Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat, High in her chamber up a tower to the east Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot; Which first she placed where morning's earliest ray Might strike it, and awake her with the gleam; Then fearing rust...
Knights Of King Arthur's Court : * An Arthurian Miscellany The scent of the may is in the air, And its stars on each bough are hung, With largesse of blossom and perfume rare To the wandering breezes flung, And the fairies tread a measure fair To the chime by the blue-bells rung. And the wood-birds carol unafraid, For no man hath...
Arteloise : * An Arthurian Miscellany Beau De Main is by King Arthur Declared Victor; is Crowned with a Wreath by Clotilda. A Description of that Maid. Her Birth and Education. An Old Man Enters at the Feast with a Sword. Hands the same to the King. All Endeavor to Draw it from the Sheath, and all Fail...
The True Story Of Guenever : * An Arthurian Miscellany In all the wide, dead, old world of story, there is to me no wraith more piteously pursuant than the wraith of Guenever. No other voice has in it the ring of sweet harmonies so intricately bejangled; no other face turns to us eyes of such luminous entreaty from slow...
The Round Table. Or King Arthur's Feast : * An Arthurian Miscellany King Arthur is said to have disappeared after the battle of Camlan, and to have never been seen again; which gave rise to a tradition that he had been carried away by Merlin, a famous prophet and magician of his time, and would return to his kingdom at some future period...
The Grave Of King Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Stately the feast, and high the cheer: Girt with many an armed peer, Cilgarran, in thy castle hall, And canopied with golden pall, Sublime in formidable state, And warlike splendour, Henry sate; Prepar'd to stain the briny flood Of Shannon's lakes with rebel blood...
The Legend Of King Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Of Brutus' blood, in Brittaine borne, King Arthur I am to name; Through Christendome and Heathynesse Well knowne is my worthy fame. In Jesus Christ I doe beleeve; I am a Christyan bore; The Father, Sone, and Holy Gost, One God, I doe adore. In the four hundred ninetieth...
The Rendering : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. Our lord the Pope bears Peter's key, And sits in Peter's chair, It vexed him in his Christendie Such sinful doings were: A learned clerk to Garde Joyeuse, He's bid with haste repair, Should warn Sir Launcelot, on his curse, Restore Queen Guinevere: And charge her lord...
Joyous Garde : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. 'Mid fragrant flowers and fairest The scorpion oft will bide, And ripest fruits and rarest The vengeful hornet hide. O'er Sodom's lake in beauty The tempting clusters hung; But plucked, like soot that baleful fruit It mocked the loathing tongue! The summer cloud rains...
The Bridal Of Triermain : * An Arthurian Miscellany INTRODUCTION. I. Come Lucy! while 'tis morning hour The woodland brook we needs must pass; So, ere the sun assume his power, We shelter in our poplar bower, Where dew lies long upon the flower, Though vanish'd from the velvet grass. Curbing the stream, this stony ridge...
Sir Galahad, A Call To The Heroic : * An Arthurian Miscellany "My strength is as the strength of ten Because my heart is pure" Dedicated BY SPECIAL PERMISSION TO FIELD-MARSHAL SIR JOHN D.P. FRENCH, G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G. AND THE GALLANT SOLDIERS OF THE KING The Vow "I made them lay their hands in mine and swear...
Ballad Of Sir Launcelot : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Riding the quest of the Grail alone, Guinevere, Guinevere, pity me! All thro' the day and the night I moan, Yearning to catch but a glimpse of thee. Tho' I make halt by the wan west sea, Seeking a sign in the high God's name, Lo, as I tremble and bow the knee, Gleameth...
The Quest Of The Sangraal : * An Arthurian Miscellany The name Sangraal is derived from " San" , the breviate of " Sanctus" or Saint, " Holy" , and " Graal" , the Keltic word for Vessel or Vase. All that is known of the Origin and History of this mysterious Relique will be rehearsed in the Poem itself. As in the title, so...
Kathanal : * An Arthurian Miscellany The sky was one unbroken pall of gray, Casting a gloom upon the restless sea, Dulling her sapphire splendour to a dark And minor beauty. All the rock-bound shore Was silent, save a widowed song-bird sang Far off at intervals a mournful note, And on the broken crags...
The Tale Of Balen : * An Arthurian Miscellany I In hawthorn-time the heart grows light, The world is sweet in sound and sight, Glad thoughts and birds take flower and flight, The heather kindles toward the light, The whin is frankincense and flame. And be it for strife or be it for love The falcon quickens...
Peredur The Son Of Evrawc : * An Arthurian Miscellany Earl Evrawc owned the Earldom of the North. And he had seven sons. And Evrawc maintained himself not so much by his own possessions as by attending tournaments, and wars, and combats. And, as it often befalls those who join in encounters and wars, he was slain, and six...
Excalibur : * An Arthurian Miscellany For months it rested in the stone, The sword Excalibur; The noblest knights of England's realm Strove hard the steel to stir; For word had gone through all the land That he who drew the blade Should fill the sovereign's empty throne, The rightful king be made. The flower...
Waste Land : * An Arthurian Miscellany Briar and fennel and chincapin, And rue and ragweed everywhere; The field seemed sick as a soul with sin, Or dead of an old despair, Born of an ancient care. The cricket's cry and the locust's whirr, And the note of a bird's distress, With the rasping sound...
Merlin I : * An Arthurian Miscellany Thy trivial harp will never please Or fill my craving ear; Its chords should ring as blows the breeze, Free, peremptory, clear. No jingling serenader's art, Nor tinkle of piano strings, Can make the wild blood start In its mystic springs. The kingly bard Must smite...
The Fairy Of The Lake : * An Arthurian Miscellany A DRAMATIC ROMANCE IN THREE ACTS Characters. ROWENNA, " Queen of Britain; a Sorceress." EDELTHRED, " and" Agga, " Her attendants" ALWIN, " a Saxon Chief". SENESCHAL. SEWER. A BRITISH NOBLE, " attendant on the Court of Vortigern". SAXON NOBLES, Soldiers, and other...
The New King Arthur. An Opera Without Music : * An Arthurian Miscellany Take, Alfred, this mellifluous verse of mine, Nor rank too high the honor I bestow, Howe'er it thrill thy soul with grateful pride. For thou hast sung of Arthur and his knights, And thou hast told of deeds that they have done, And thou hast told of loves that they have...
Time And The Witch Vivien : * An Arthurian Miscellany " A marble-flagged, pillared room. Magical instruments in one corner. A fountain in the centre." " Vivien" (" looking down into the fountain" ). Where moves there any beautiful as I, Save, with the little golden greedy carp, Gold unto gold, a gleam in its long hair, My...
The Water Carriers : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. Jack and Gill went up the hill To draw a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown And Gill came tumbling after. "So all day long the noise of battle roll'd Among the mountains by the winter sea," But young Lavaine, the knight of Astolat, And brother...
Merlin And Vivien : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Thou art here, the Lord's Anointed, King of men and knight of heaven, To the trust thou art appointed, Unto thee the sword is given; As a sign for thee, a token That the light again is breaking Thro' the gloom of time unspoken To the dawn and to the waking. "When...
The Waking Of King Arthur, Brechva's Harp Song : * An Arthurian Miscellany Little harp, at the cry He shall come in his time; And thy sword-song on high, High shall chime. Little harp, in his heart Is the fire; in his hand Are the sword, and the Art, To command. Little harp, like the wind Is his strength; like thy sound Are his words, to unbind...
Queen Guennivar's Round : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. Naid for Grecian waters! Nymph for the fountain-side! But old Cornwall's bounding daughters For gay Dundagel's tide. II. The wild wind proudly gathers Round the ladies of the land; And the blue wave of their fathers Is joyful where they stand. III. Naiad for Greci...
Merlin's Youth : * An Arthurian Miscellany PREFACE The name Yberha is pronounced nearly to rhyme with the Italian word " guerra". G. P. B. FIRST PART 1 A lad I was, dark-haired and dark of eye, Ever the first to court a danger shown, Ever the last to lay my courage down In face of man or sprite. Strife then r...
Pastoral Of Galahad : * An Arthurian Miscellany The blackthorn-flower hath fallen away-- The blackthorn-flower that wise men say Keeps wild and variable skies As long as it may stay: But here's the gorse, and here's the whin, And here the pearld may appears, And poison-weeds of satin skin Through every bank prick long...
To Nimue : * An Arthurian Miscellany I had clean forgotten all, her face who had caused my trouble. Gone was she as a cloud, as a bird which passed in the wind, as a glittering stream-borne bubble, As a shadow set by a ship on the sea, where the sail looks down on its double. I had laid her face to the wall...
The Maid's Alarm : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey. There came a black spider, Which sat down beside her, And frightened Miss Muffet away. Queen Guinevere at Almesbury abode Unknown, after her shameful flight from court, And there the long days came...
Isolt At The Tomb Of Tristram : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Here, with my arms curled round the sacred cross That in white warning stands above his bones, I crouch, with hot limbs pressed against the stones, And moan his name, and wail and weep his loss. "Stand back, good sirs -- ye shall not drag me hence; But, pray ye, keep...
Merlin's Last Prophecy : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Come ye from far, wild Ocean Daughters! Shell-borne on the dangerous sea, With pearly oars that ply the waters, Say, bright Strangers, whence ye be?" From a far Isle in unknown waters Fleeting like mist the windswept sea, We come--wise Merlin's potent Daughters...
A Good Knight In Prison : * An Arthurian Miscellany SIR GUY " being in the court of a Pagan castle". This castle where I dwell, it stands A long way off from Christian lands, A long way off my lady's hands, A long way off the aspen trees, And murmur of the lime-tree bees. But down the Valley of the Rose My lady often...
The Birth Of Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany " THE LIBRETTO" THE BIRTH OF ARTHUR (UTHER AND IGRAINE ) CHORAL DRAMA BY R EGINALD R. B UCKLEY if thou be patient. Thou knowest Merlin? Uther. Him who was strangely born, half angel and half man? Ulfius. Or, so they say, begotten by a devil. Perchance the Mage will help...
A Guinevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany Sullen gold down all the sky; Roses and their sultry musk; Whipporwills deep in the dusk Yonder sob and sigh.-- You are here; and I could weep, Weep for joy and suffering.... "Where is he"?--He'd have me sing-- There he sits, asleep. Think not of him! he is dead...
Sir Dagonet's Quest : * An Arthurian Miscellany I King Mark came riding, in great despite, Seeking Sir Tristram to slay, And chanced on a merry and courteous knight, But knew him not for that jesting wight Sir Dinadan, brave and gay. II As saddle to saddle they paced along, Hoving afar they saw Horses and knights...
Merlin And The Gleam : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. O YOUNG Mariner, You from the haven Under the sea-cliff, You that are watching The gray Magician With eyes of wonder, " I" am Merlin, And " I" am dying, " I" am Merlin Who follow The Gleam. II. Mighty the Wizard Who found me at sunrise Sleeping, and woke me And learn'd...
The Tragedy Of Tragedies : * An Arthurian Miscellany The Town hath seldom been more divided in its Opinion, than concerning the Merit of the following Scenes. Whilst some publickly affirmed, That no Author could produce so fine a Piece but Mr. " P" , others have with as much Vehemence insistsed, That no one could write any...
The Rape Of The Tarts : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. The Queen of Hearts, She made some tarts All on a summer's day; The Knave of Hearts, He stole those tarts And carried them away! The Queen of Hearts, She missed those tarts And griev'd for them full sore; The Knave of Hearts Brought back those tarts, And vow'd...
The Dwarf's Quest. A Ballad : * An Arthurian Miscellany Sir Dagonet was sad of heart; Beneath the city gate He watched King Arthur's knights depart; He watched in love and hate. He saw great tears fall from the eyes Of Lancelot and the King; He thought: "Apart the sweet Queen lies, And knows no comforting." Sir Percivale...
The Terrible Test : * An Arthurian Miscellany Separate, upon the folded page Of myth or marvel, sad or glad, The test that gave the Lord to thee, And thee to us, O Galahad! "Found pure in deed, and word, and thought," The creature of our dream and guess, The vision of the brain thou art, The eidolon of holiness. M...
Camelford : * An Arthurian Miscellany CAMELFORD BY DOUGLAS B. W. SLADAN Camelford--Camelot I. Not Camelot the towered--the goodly town Upon the shining rive, whither passed The Lady of Shalott, when fallen at last A victim to her spell, slow-wafted down! Not Camelot the towered, the glittering crown Of all...
Sir Hornbook. Or, Childe Lancelot's Expediti : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. O'er bush and briar Childe Launcelot sprung With ardent hopes elate, And loudly blew the horn that hung Before Sir Hornbook's gate. The inner portals opened wide, And forward strode the chief, Arrayed in paper helmet's pride, And arms of golden leaf. --"What means,"...
Mordred, A Tragedy. Part 02 : * An Arthurian Miscellany "The fate of...is tragic in the essential sense, and not merely that superficial sense of the word according to which every misfortune is called 'tragic.'...In truth innocent suffering of that sort is merely pathetic, not tragic, inasmuch as it is not within the sphere...
King Arthur's Sleep : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. On the morn of sweet St. Martin Davie drew a hazel wand, And he singing came to Bala, With the hazel in his hand. What he sang, the cock-thrush echoed, Some wild rhyme of Merlin's doom, Or the sad refrain of Rhuddlan, Or the love of Hob and Twm. From the hill, he heard...
The Boy And The Mantle : * An Arthurian Miscellany In the third day of May, To Carleile did come A kind curteous child, That cold much of wisdome. A kirtle and a mantle This child had uppon, With brouches and ringes Full richelye bedone. He had a sute of silke About his middle drawne; Without he cold of curtesye, He...
Cerdic And Arthur : * An Arthurian Miscellany Hengist went off to All-Father's keeping, Wihtgils's son, to the Wielder's protection, Earl of the Anglians. From the east came, then, Cerdic the Saxon a seven-year thereafter; The excellent atheling, offspring of Woden Came into Albion. His own dear land Lay off...
The King And The Bard : * An Arthurian Miscellany "Come, sing us a lay!" quoth Arthur, "My Bard of the Table Round! Some ballad of lofty courage, That shall make our heart's-blood bound!" And the monarch drain'd his goblet, While the minstrel tuned his lyre, And fill'd it again, that the singer Might win from wine new...
King Arthur's Tomb : * An Arthurian Miscellany Hot August noon: already on that day Since sunrise through the Wiltshire downs, most sad Of mouth and eye, he had gone leagues of way; Ay and by night, till whether good or bad He was, he knew not, though he knew perchance That he was Launcelot, the bravest knight Of all...
Guinevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany GUINEVERE: A TRAGEDY IN THREE ACTS BY GRAHAM HILL We have hissed away Kingdoms and Provinces" SHAKESPEARE. "One life, one death, One heaven, one hell, one immortality, And one annihilation." -- SHELLEY. CHARACTERS ARTHUR.... " King of England" MORDRED... " Arthur's Nephew...
In Arthur's House : * An Arthurian Miscellany In Arthur's house whileome was I When happily the time went by In midmost glory of his days. He held his court then in a place Wher ye shall not find the name In any story of his fame: Caerliel good sooth men called it not, Nor London Town, nor Camelot; Yet therein had we...
Pleasuance Of Maid Marian : * An Arthurian Miscellany ARGUMENT. "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? Silver bells and cockle shells And fair maids all in a row." Isolt the White, the daughter of a king, Hoel of Brittany, the same who wed Sir Tristram of the Woods, who lov'd her not, Within a shadowy hall...
Galahad In The Castle Of The Maidens : * An Arthurian Miscellany (To the maiden with the hidden face in Abbey's painting) The other maidens raised their eyes to him Who stumbled in before them when the fight Had left him victor, with a victor's right. I think his eyes with quick hot tears grew dim; He scarcely saw her swaying white...
The Shriving Of Guinevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany Still she stood in the shunning crowd. "Is there none," she said, aloud, "None who knelt to me, great and proud, Will say one word for me, sad and bowed? Alas! it seems to me, if I Were one of you, who, standing by, Hear gathered in a woman's cry The years of such...
Elaine And Elaine : * An Arthurian Miscellany I. Dead, she drifted to his feet. Tell us, Love, is Death so sweet? Oh! the river floweth deep. Fathoms deeper is her sleep. Oh! the current driveth strong. Wilder tides drive souls along. Drifting, though he loved her not, To the heart of Launcelot, Let her pass; it is...
The Death Of Guinevere : * An Arthurian Miscellany At Almesbury the lights are low -- With muffled step the Sisters go, And come, and go, in tears, for lo. With crucifix held o'er her head, The Abbess-Queen lies on her bed, Soon to be gathered with the dead. They deem her holy; she hath taught How hope may come and faith...
Joyeuse Garde : * An Arthurian Miscellany The sun was heavy; no more shade at all Than you might cover with a hollow cup There was in the south chamber; wall by wall, Slowly the hot noon filled the castle up. One hand among the rushes, one let play Where the loose gold began to swerve and droop From his fair...
The Chapel In Lyoness : * An Arthurian Miscellany All day long and every day, From Christmas-Eve to Whit-Sunday, Within that Chapel-aisle I lay, And no man came a-near. Naked to the waist was I, And deep within my breast did lie, Though no man any blood could spy, The truncheon of a spear. No meat did ever pass my lips...
Sir Galahad, A Christmas Mystery : * An Arthurian Miscellany It is the longest night in all the year, Near on the day when the Lord Christ was born; Six hours ago I came and sat down here, And ponder'd sadly, wearied and forlorn. The winter wind that pass'd the chapel door, Sang out a moody tune, that went right well With mine own...
Gawayne's Ghost : * An Arthurian Miscellany [During the expedition to France, which forms the subject of the preceding Fragment, Sir Mordred, the nephew of Arthur, and brother of Gawayne, had been left in England governor of the kingdom. In his uncle's absence Mordred usurps the crown. Having caused a false report...
