Reading Notes: King Arthur Part B

The End of Arthur

Arthur's nephew, Sir Mordred, plotted against him. Arthur is then struck in battle by Mordred and lies wounded in the battlefield, attended by Sir Bedivere. Arthur knows his tie has come and asks Sir Bedivere to take his sword and throw it in the water. Sir Bedivere told Arthur that he would do as told, but instead hid the sword under a tree. When he returned, Arthur asked what he had seen to which he responded that only the winds and waves, thus Arthur knew he had not truly thrown the sword into the water and instructed him again to do so. Again, Sir Bedivere ignored the commands, so Arthur called him a traitor and said that if he did not do as he was told, he would slay Sir Bedivere himself. Sir Bedivere then threw the sword into the water, and as it flew, an arm and hand lifted itself out of the water and caught the sword by its hilt. Sir Bedivered returned and told King Arthur, who then asked him to carry him to the water. A small barge containing fair ladies and a Queen approached, and Arthur instructed Sir Bedivere to place him in it. Sir Bedivere was scared of what would become of him, but Arthur comforted him and said he was being taken to the valley of Avillion where he would be healed, but if they never heard more of him, they should pray for his soul. Once Queen Guenevere heard of the battle and King Arthur's death, she rode to Amesbury and became a nun. 

Story source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

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