The Mabinogion Vol. 1 | Page 9

there,
he overthrew him, and sold him for his full worth. And what he thus
gained, he divided among his Barons, and his Knights; and no man in
the whole world could be more beloved than he was by his subjects.
And it was thus for the space of three years.
It befell that as Gwalchmai went forth one day with King Arthur, he
perceived him to be very sad and sorrowful. And Gwalchmai was much
grieved to see Arthur in this state; and he questioned him, saying, "Oh
my Lord! what has befallen thee?" "In sooth, Gwalchmai," said Arthur,
"I am grieved concerning Owain, whom I have lost these three years;
and I shall certainly die, if the fourth year passes without my seeing
him. Now I am sure, that it is through the tale which Kynon the son of
Clydno related, that I have lost Owain." "There is no need for thee,"
said Gwalchmai, "to summon to arms thy whole dominions, on that
account; for thou thyself, and the men of thy household, will be able to
avenge Owain, if he be slain; or to set him free, if he be in prison; and
if alive, to bring him back with thee." And it was settled, according to
what Gwalchmai had said.
Then Arthur and the men of his household prepared to go and seek
Owain; and their number was three thousand, beside their attendants.
And Kynon the son of Clydno acted as their guide. And Arthur came to
the Castle, where Kynon had been before. And when he came there the
youths were shooting in the same place, and the yellow man was
standing hard by. When the yellow man saw Arthur, he greeted him,
and invited him to the Castle. And Arthur accepted his invitation, and
they entered the Castle together. And great as was the number of his
retinue, their presence was scarcely observed in the Castle, so vast was
its extent. And the maidens rose up to wait on them. And the service of
the maidens appeared to them all to excel any attendance they had ever
met with; and even the pages who had charge of the horses, were no
worse served, that night, than Arthur himself would have been, in his
own Palace.

The next morning, Arthur set out thence, with Kynon for his guide, and
came to the place where the black man was. And the stature of the
black man was more surprising to Arthur, than it had been represented
to him. And they came to the top of the wooded steep, and traversed the
valley, till they reached the green tree; where they saw the fountain,
and the bowl and the slab. And upon that, Kai came to Arthur, and
spoke to him. "My Lord," said he, "I know the meaning of all this, and
my request is, that thou wilt permit me to throw the water on the slab,
and to receive the first advantage that may befall." And Arthur gave
him leave.
Then Kai threw a bowlful of water upon the slab, and immediately
there came the thunder, and after the thunder the shower. And such a
thunderstorm they had never known before. And many of the attendants
who were in Arthur's train were killed by the shower. After the shower
had ceased, the sky became clear. And on looking at the tree, they
beheld it completely leafless. Then the birds descended upon the tree.
And the song of the birds was far sweeter than any strain they had ever
heard before. Then they beheld a Knight, on a coal-black horse, clothed
in black satin, coming rapidly towards them. And Kai met him and
encountered him, and it was not long before Kai was overthrown. And
the Knight withdrew. {36} And Arthur and his host encamped for the
night.
And when they arose in the morning, they perceived the signal of
combat upon the lance of the Knight; and Kai came to Arthur, and
spoke to him. "My Lord," said he, "though I was overthrown yesterday,
if it seem good to thee, I would gladly meet the Knight again to-day."
"Thou mayst do so," said Arthur. And Kai went towards the Knight.
And on the spot he overthrew Kai, {37a} and struck him with the head
of his lance in the forehead, so that it broke his helmet and the
headpiece, and pierced the skin, and the flesh, the breadth of the
spearhead, even to the bone. And Kai returned to his companions.
After this, all the household of Arthur went forth, one after the other, to
combat the Knight, until there was not one that was not overthrown by
him, except Arthur and Gwalchmai. And Arthur armed himself to

encounter the Knight. "Oh, my lord," said Gwalchmai, "permit