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bearing a mighty iron club. He was wood-ward of that forest, and would have thousands of wild animals,
stags, serpents, and what not, feeding around him. He would show Kymon what he was in quest of.
Kymon followed the instructions, and the black man directed him to where he should find a fountain under a
great tree ; by the side of it would be a silver bowl on a slab of marble. Kymon was to take the bowl and
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throw a bowlful of water on the slab, when a terrific storm of hail and thunder would follow - then there
would break forth an enchanting music of singing birds - then would appear a knight in black armour riding
on a coal-black horse, with a black pennon upon his lance. "And if thou dost not find trouble in that
adventure, thou needst not seek it during the rest of thy life."
The Character of Welsh Romance
Here let us pause for a moment to point out how clearly we are in the region of medieval romance, and how
far from that of Celtic mythology. Perhaps the Celtic "Land of Youth" may have remotely suggested those
regions of beauty and mystery into which the Arthurian knight rides in quest of adventure. But the scenery,
the motives, the incidents, are altogether different. And how beautiful they are-how steeped in the magic
light of romance The colours live and glow, the forest murmurs in our ears, the breath of that springtime of
our modern world is about us, as we follow the lonely rider down the grassy track into an unknown world of
peril and delight. While in some respects the Continental tales are greater than the Welsh, more thoughtful,
more profound, they do not approach them in the exquisite artistry with which the exterior aspect of things is
rendered, the atmosphere of enchantment maintained, and the reader led, with ever-quickening interest, from
point to point in the development of the tale. Nor are these Welsh tales a whit behind in the noble and
chivalrous spirit which breathes through them. A finer school of character and of manners could hardly be
found in literature. How strange that for many centuries this treasure beyond all price should have lain
unnoticed in
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Chapter VIII: Myths and Tales of the Cymry 197
 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race
our midst ! And how deep must be our gratitude to the nameless bards whose thought created it, and to the
nobly inspired hand which first made it a possession for all the English-speaking world !
Defeat of Kymon
But to resume our story. Kymon did as he was bidden, the Black Knight appeared, silently they set lance in
rest and charged. Kymon was flung to earth, while his enemy, not bestowing one glance upon him, passed the
shaft of his lance through the rein of Kymon's horse and rode off with it in the direction whence he had come.
Kymon went back afoot to the castle, where none asked him how he had sped, but they gave him a new
horse, "a dark bay palfrey with nostrils as red as scarlet," on which he rode home to Caerleon.
Owain and the Black Knight
Owain was, of course, fired by the tale of Kymon, and next morning at the dawn of day he rode forth to seek
for the same adventure. All passed as it had done in Kymon's case, but Owain wounded the Black Knight so
sorely that he turned his horse and fled, Owain pursuing him hotly. They came to a "vast and resplendent
castle." Across the drawbridge they rode, the outer portcullis of which fell as the Black Knight passed it. But
so close at his heels was Owain that the portcullis fell behind him, cutting his horse in two behind the saddle,
and he himself remained imprisoned between the outer gate of the drawbridge and the inner. While he was in
this predicament a maiden came to him and gave him a ring. When he wore it with the stone reversed and
clenched in his hand he would become invisible, and when the servants of the lord of the castle came for him
he was to elude them and follow her.
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This she did knowing apparently who he was, "for as a friend thou art the most sincere, and as a lover the
most devoted."
Owain did as he was bidden, and the maiden concealed him. In that night a great lamentation was heard in the
castle - its lord had died of the wound which Owain had given him. Soon afterwards Owain got sight of the
mistress of the castle, and love of her took entire possession of him. Luned, the maiden who had rescued him,
wooed her for him, and he became her husband, and lord of the Castle of the Fountain and all the dominions
of the Black Knight. And he then defended the fountain with lance and sword as his forerunner had done, and
made his defeated antagonists ransom themselves for great sums, which he bestowed among his barons and
knights. Thus he abode for three years.
The Search for Owain
After this time Arthur, with his nephew Gwalchmai and with Kymon for guide, rode forth at the head of a
host to search for tidings of Owain. They came to the fountain, and here they met Owain, neither knowing the
other as their helms were down. And first Kai was overthrown, and then Gwalchmai and Owain fought, and
after a while Gwalchmai was unhelmed. Owain said, "My lord Gwalchmai, I did not know thee; take
my sword and my arms." Said Gwalchmai, "Thou, Owain, art the victor; take thou my sword." Arthur ended [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]