One day, after having
fought many battles, my master and I were riding with Merlin and Todd
on our way back to London. Arthur was talking with Merlin about
how his Barons were constantly telling him that he needed to take a
wife. I did not think that he needed a wife. I liked having
my master all to myself!
"I always tell them, 'I will not marry anyone without consulting with Merlin first!'" said Arthur.
"I understand their desire for you to be married," said Merlin, "but is there a woman you love more than any other woman in the world?"
"Well, there is one lady whom I love. Her name his Guenevere, and she is the daughter of Leodegrance, King of Cameliard. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever or will ever see," said Arthur. After hearing my master describe this woman that he loved so much, I came to the realization that taking a wife would be a good thing for him.
"What you say of her beauty is true, but are you sure of your choice? I could find you another woman as beautiful as she, and possibly more so. But if your mind is set, it would be a waste of my time to try," replied Merlin.
So Merlin asked my master if he could take a company of Knights and squires and go to Cameliard to see King Leodegrance to tell the king that Arthur wanted to marry his daughter. My master gladly sent Merlin with the Knights.
Now the rest of this is what I heard from Todd, Merlin's horse, and the horses of the knights who went with Merlin, for I was not amongst the group that got to make this journey. I stayed with my master. He was very anxious and paced around a lot while awaiting the news from Cameliard.
Merlin rode as fast as he could til he got to Cameliard and told Leodegrance why he had come. Todd, still to this day, says that he has never run as fast as he did on that journey. Todd told me that King Leodegrance was overjoyed at the news of Arthur's wishes to marry is daughter!
"This is the best news I've ever heard!" said Leodegrance. "I would give Guenevere lands to endow her with, but Arthur has plenty of lands of his own. I know what I will give him that will make him much happier! I will give him the Round Table which his father, Uther Pendragon, gave me. A hundred and fifty knights can sit at that table at one time. I will also send him with a hundred of my own knights, for that is all I can spare." And with that, King Leodegrance gave his consent that Guenevere should marry Arthur. Merlin gathered the knights and the Round Table and journeyed back near London.
When my master heard that Merlin, the Knights, and the Round Table were coming, he was so happy and told everyone, "I am extremely pleased to hear the news that Merlin has brought me. I have loved this beautiful woman for so very long, and the Round Table of my father is more precious to me than any riches."
He then sent Lancelot to get the Queen and to make sure preparations for the marriage were made.
"Merlin," said Arthur, "go around my kingdom and bring me fifty of the bravest and most famous Knights that you can find!" Todd was not at all thrilled about having to take Merlin around the entire kingdom to find FIFTY Knights!
However, Merlin could only find twenty-eight Knights to bring back with him to the king. My master was content with this number and he sent for the Bishop of Canterbury who blessed the seats and the Knights at the Round Table. They all rose and paid homage to the King at the request of Merlin.
On the day of most happiness for my master, his wedding day, young Gawaine came to the King to ask something. Gawaine had asked Arthur if, on this day, if he would make him a Knight.
"I will do this for you gladly," said Arthur, "for you are my nephew."
Suddenly, a poor man entered the Court with a young boy riding on a horse. "Where is King Arthur?" asked the old man.
"He is over there," said the Knights. "Do you have something to talk to him about?"
"I do," said the old man. "I have heard that when the King is to be married, he will give a man anything he asks for."
"That is true," said Arthur, "as long as I do not hurt another man or my kingdom."
"What I ask of you, my king, is that you would make my son a Knight," said the old man.
"That is a great favor to ask of me. What is your name?" replied Arthur.
The old man's name was Aries, and he was a cowherder. My master asked if the idea for his son to be a knight was his idea or his son's.
"It is my son's dream to be a knight, but not mine. I have thirteen sons who all work for me, but this son does nothing but go watch battles and dream of being a Knight," the old man explained.
Arthur asked the boy his name. "My name is Tor, sir," said the boy.
"Where is your sword? Take it from its sheath so I may knight you," said the King.
The boy jumped off his horse and knelt before the king. "I make you a Knight, and if you are worthy I will make you a Knight of the Round Table."
The crowd was stunned, as was I, for I did not think that my master would grant this wish that seemed so worrisome. The boy was so young. But as time went on, I soon learned that the young boy Tor was a great addition to the Round Table!
The next story I will tell you is one of extreme sadness. Our next story is the story of "The Coming of the Holy Graal."
-------
Author's Note: I retold the story of "How The Round Table Began." I told this story in the horse's point of view again. I kept the characters names the same from the original story and I followed the same story line as the original also. I had some difficulty in trying to incorporate the horse into the areas of the story in which he actually wasn't a part of. For example, when all the knights of The Round Table were in their round table room, it was hard to figure out a way to get Meaty in the action. I had to use the narrator telling the story as how he heard it from other horses and from the knights who went with Merlin to ask Leodegrance if Arthur could marry his daughter. A lot of the story was dialogue and it was hard to try and retell the dialogue using modern day words and still get the original story across. I tried to cut down the amount of dialogue that was in the story, but most of it was important to the story, so I had to leave it in. I felt that the story originally could have explained more about how Arthur knew Guenevere, so it seems a little lacking in where the background story of the relationship started.
"I always tell them, 'I will not marry anyone without consulting with Merlin first!'" said Arthur.
"I understand their desire for you to be married," said Merlin, "but is there a woman you love more than any other woman in the world?"
"Well, there is one lady whom I love. Her name his Guenevere, and she is the daughter of Leodegrance, King of Cameliard. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever or will ever see," said Arthur. After hearing my master describe this woman that he loved so much, I came to the realization that taking a wife would be a good thing for him.
"What you say of her beauty is true, but are you sure of your choice? I could find you another woman as beautiful as she, and possibly more so. But if your mind is set, it would be a waste of my time to try," replied Merlin.
So Merlin asked my master if he could take a company of Knights and squires and go to Cameliard to see King Leodegrance to tell the king that Arthur wanted to marry his daughter. My master gladly sent Merlin with the Knights.
Now the rest of this is what I heard from Todd, Merlin's horse, and the horses of the knights who went with Merlin, for I was not amongst the group that got to make this journey. I stayed with my master. He was very anxious and paced around a lot while awaiting the news from Cameliard.
Merlin rode as fast as he could til he got to Cameliard and told Leodegrance why he had come. Todd, still to this day, says that he has never run as fast as he did on that journey. Todd told me that King Leodegrance was overjoyed at the news of Arthur's wishes to marry is daughter!
"This is the best news I've ever heard!" said Leodegrance. "I would give Guenevere lands to endow her with, but Arthur has plenty of lands of his own. I know what I will give him that will make him much happier! I will give him the Round Table which his father, Uther Pendragon, gave me. A hundred and fifty knights can sit at that table at one time. I will also send him with a hundred of my own knights, for that is all I can spare." And with that, King Leodegrance gave his consent that Guenevere should marry Arthur. Merlin gathered the knights and the Round Table and journeyed back near London.
When my master heard that Merlin, the Knights, and the Round Table were coming, he was so happy and told everyone, "I am extremely pleased to hear the news that Merlin has brought me. I have loved this beautiful woman for so very long, and the Round Table of my father is more precious to me than any riches."
He then sent Lancelot to get the Queen and to make sure preparations for the marriage were made.
"Merlin," said Arthur, "go around my kingdom and bring me fifty of the bravest and most famous Knights that you can find!" Todd was not at all thrilled about having to take Merlin around the entire kingdom to find FIFTY Knights!
However, Merlin could only find twenty-eight Knights to bring back with him to the king. My master was content with this number and he sent for the Bishop of Canterbury who blessed the seats and the Knights at the Round Table. They all rose and paid homage to the King at the request of Merlin.
On the day of most happiness for my master, his wedding day, young Gawaine came to the King to ask something. Gawaine had asked Arthur if, on this day, if he would make him a Knight.
"I will do this for you gladly," said Arthur, "for you are my nephew."
Suddenly, a poor man entered the Court with a young boy riding on a horse. "Where is King Arthur?" asked the old man.
"He is over there," said the Knights. "Do you have something to talk to him about?"
"I do," said the old man. "I have heard that when the King is to be married, he will give a man anything he asks for."
"That is true," said Arthur, "as long as I do not hurt another man or my kingdom."
"What I ask of you, my king, is that you would make my son a Knight," said the old man.
"That is a great favor to ask of me. What is your name?" replied Arthur.
The old man's name was Aries, and he was a cowherder. My master asked if the idea for his son to be a knight was his idea or his son's.
"It is my son's dream to be a knight, but not mine. I have thirteen sons who all work for me, but this son does nothing but go watch battles and dream of being a Knight," the old man explained.
Arthur asked the boy his name. "My name is Tor, sir," said the boy.
"Where is your sword? Take it from its sheath so I may knight you," said the King.
The boy jumped off his horse and knelt before the king. "I make you a Knight, and if you are worthy I will make you a Knight of the Round Table."
The crowd was stunned, as was I, for I did not think that my master would grant this wish that seemed so worrisome. The boy was so young. But as time went on, I soon learned that the young boy Tor was a great addition to the Round Table!
The next story I will tell you is one of extreme sadness. Our next story is the story of "The Coming of the Holy Graal."
-------
Author's Note: I retold the story of "How The Round Table Began." I told this story in the horse's point of view again. I kept the characters names the same from the original story and I followed the same story line as the original also. I had some difficulty in trying to incorporate the horse into the areas of the story in which he actually wasn't a part of. For example, when all the knights of The Round Table were in their round table room, it was hard to figure out a way to get Meaty in the action. I had to use the narrator telling the story as how he heard it from other horses and from the knights who went with Merlin to ask Leodegrance if Arthur could marry his daughter. A lot of the story was dialogue and it was hard to try and retell the dialogue using modern day words and still get the original story across. I tried to cut down the amount of dialogue that was in the story, but most of it was important to the story, so I had to leave it in. I felt that the story originally could have explained more about how Arthur knew Guenevere, so it seems a little lacking in where the background story of the relationship started.
Back to Coverpage
Bibliography Information-
Story Title: "How The Round Table Began"
Book Title: "King Arthur Tales of the Round Table"
Book Author: Andrew Lang
Year Published: 1902
Web Source: "How The Round Table Began"
Image Information:
Title: The Round Table
Web Source: "Arthur Of The Roundish Table"