SCENE I. London. The cloisters of St. Paul's. In the midst of the garth is a great runic cross, in the base of which the Sword is buried to the hilt. Merlin is standing beside it. Without is heard the chanting of the Miserere.
Enter: the funeral procession of Uther Pendragon, the body of the king borne in the midst upon a bier. Before walk many monks, priests, and acolytes. Following comes the Archbishop of Canterbury, attended, and behind him King Nentres, King Uriens, Duke Lucas, Duke Brastias, Sir Launcelot, Sir Breuse, and other Knights and Barons.
Men's Voices.
Benigne fac Domine in bona voluntate tua Sion,
Ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem.
Merlin.
Pendragon pa**es, now Pendragon's seed
Shall reign, Pendragon, on Pendragon's throne.
Men's Voices.
Justificeris Domine in sermonibus tuis,
Ut vincas cum judicaris.
(The procession crosses the front of the stage: as the bier comes in the centre it is set down and the Archbishop raises his crosier and speaks.)
Archbishop.
Lords of the realm and gentlemen at arms,
From all the farthest borders of the land
I summoned ye to answer, under pain
Of ban and interdict of Holy Church.
Uther is dead, and 'gainst his heritage
The ravening kings are leagued. In jeopardy
Lies England, kingless, prey to whoso comes.
Pendragon dies, and dies the last of them
That ruled England by the grace of God.
The House is fallen, and there is no heir.
Nor law nor custom meets this woful plight
Wherein we sink: yet needs must that a king
Rule over us, lest England be disrupt
And parcelled out in shameful va**alage.
To-day is Easter: on this blessed morning
Lord Jesu rose, wherefore of His great mercy
Perchance this day He may give certain sign
Who by His will shall reign. The love of God
Pa**eth our wisdom. For a miracle
Fall on your knees, besiege the King of kings
With lusty prayer.
Sir Launcelot.
Dear God, a miracle!
Omnes.
O Jesu, hear us!
Archbishop.
By thy Mother's love,
Lord Jesu, answer!
Omnes.
For thy Mother's love!
Merlin.
God hears His children, and the word is said.
Archbishop.
Now speak, magician, if thou hast a tongue,
For in thy words is somewhat ominous
Of welfare to Pendragon's kingdom. Speak!
Where is the sign of God?
Merlin.
Beneath the cross.
Gather, ye barons and ye knights at arms,
Gather, ye commons from the farthest fields,
And look upon the mercy of the Lord!
(He mounts the steps of the cross.)
See ye the Sword that grows in living rock,
Thrust to the hilt within the closing stone?
See ye the scripture writ around it? Read!
Read ye the rune, and reading, rise and do.
This very night, ere yet was day conceived,
Whilst grimly darkness gripped the cringing earth,
I heard a Voice that cleft the sombre night,
And thus it spake, and speaking died away.
"Pendragon pa**es, now Pendragon's seed
Shall reign, Pendragon, on Pendragon's throne."
And all the night grew white with leaping light
As down the heavenly glory flashed a star,
A streaming fire that thundered to the earth
Riving the rock. Excalibur is come.
Omnes.
Excalibur is come!
Archbishop.
Now unto God
Be laud and honour, that has shown a sign.
Duke Lucas.
Pendragon's seed shall reign? What word is this?
Pendragon's seed is ended. Uther died
Void of all heir, and helpless of his House;
How then shall reign his seed?
Duke Brastias.
How reign his seed
When barren lies his field? Shame shows her head:
No ba*tard reigns in England!
Merlin.
Peace, ye fools!
A rune is written 'round the rigid hilt,
The which I gain, and straightly give it thee,
Most holy father. Read! and reading, rest.
Archbishop.
"Whoso shall pull this Sword forth of the stone
Is rightwise king, born of all England."
Merlin.
Hear!
Barons and knights and commons; come, essay!
Hale the steel forth, for England lies enwrapped
Around the blade of great Excalibur.
King Nentres.
By right I claim the Sword. Have I to wife
Queen Igraine's daughter? Then to her, Elaine,
And so to me, comes England!
King Uriens.
Traitor king,
Morgan le Fay is mine! From Queen Igraine
I gain the daughter's dowry. Give me place,
For so to me comes England.
Sir Breuse.
Hold your hand!
How runs the rune? Pendragon's seed shall reign,
And not Duke Cornwall's daughter, gotten first
On Igraine ere she lay with Uther. Hold!
Nor look to gain a kingdom with a wife.
I win the Sword that am King Uther's son.
Duke Brastias.
No ba*tard reigns in England!
Sir Breuse.
In thy teeth,
Thou damnèd duke, I cast thy scornful word!
ba*tard or no, I reign, Pendragon's seed:
Heave up thy sword, for Breuse shall send thee hence!
Duke Brastias.
Have at thee, boaster, that would fain be king!
Archbishop.
Now by authority of Holy Church,
I bid ye cease, else underneath the ban
I cast ye, traitors. Who shall win the Sword
Is rightwise King of England, and none else.
Strike back your swords! What! dare ye hesitate?
Then so I damn ye! -
Good: Now hold your peace!
Merlin, guard thou the Sword: my lords, essay!
King Nentres.
England is mine, and thus, -
What craft is here?
The brand is frozen in the iron rock,
Cursèd magician, by what evil spell -
Merlin.
Give place, King Nentres, England is not thine.
Duke Brastias.
But mine, and so I lightly win the crown, -
Hell and hell's angels hold thee!
Duke Lucas.
For my hand.
Excalibur and England!
Merlin.
Are not thine.
Sir Breuse.
Pendragon's seed shall reign. Said so the rune?
Here to me, Sword! What, firmer than the hills?
By God I'll rive the ground up from the rock,
The rock from nether hell, but thou shalt come.
What demons hold thy blade? Unsheathe thyself!
Know'st thou not me? It is Pendragon's seed
That grips thee! Devils rend ye Merlin -
Archbishop.
Peace!
Fall back, Sir Breuse, the Sword is not for thee.
(Enter: unperceived, Morgan le Fay.)
Sir Breuse.
Now now, but after: Merlin, mark me well,
I seize the Sword and England, maugre thy spell.
King Uriens.
Then ask me for them, fair Sir Breuse, for now
I claim them. Morgan, aid me, that I gain
Thy dowry and a kingdom.
Merlin.
Stand thou back,
Morgan le Fay, thy gods are helpless here.
Morgan.
Wait for the proof! King, grasp Excalibur
And cry: "Here to me from the Magic Mere
Gods of the sunken sea! Queen Morgan calls,
Win her Excalibur!"
Merlin.
The charm is void.
Morgan.
Wait for the proof!
Merlin.
The charm is void, for so
I shield the Sword and England from thy spell.
(He makes over Excalibur the sign of the cross.)
King Uriens.
So now thou'dst prop thy magic with the sign
Of thy Redeemer when the magic fails;
As men deny their Lord to win the cast
And failing, fall on Him for final aid.
So, I defy thee, black blasphemer, so,
I seize my kingdom. From the Magic Mere
Here to me, demons of the sunken sea!
Queen Morgan calls! Win her Excalibur,
Yield me a kingdom!
Omnes.
See, the Sword is fast!
Merlin.
Morgan le Fay, thy magic lacks the prop
Of righteousness. God gives to whom He will
Knowledge of laws, dominion of unseen,
Unfathomed powers that yet are His alone.
Fools mutter "Magic!" cross themselves aghast,
Granting to God no wisdom save their own,
The which to Him is lisping of a babe,
To Him who made the world, and fixed the laws
Of its endurance. Of His sovereign will,
From time to time, that men may have the light
Wherewith to guide their footsteps through the dark,
He grants some glimpsing vision of that Truth
That in His Being, unto us who stand
As His amba**adors; but know ye well
That whoso wields this wisdom without God
Falls to the nethermost hell.
Morgan.
Where thou art summoned
A little while, mayhap, thou dost prevail,
But swell not with conceit and orgulite,
For thou shalt play the fool. The Sword returns!
(Tumult and confusion without. Enter: Sir Kay and Sir Ector, followed by many people in great disorder.)
Sir Kay.
Lord Bishop, barons, noble knights, to arms!
King Lot of Orkney and King Carados,
The King of Scotland and a myriad knights
Beat down the gates of London. Like a flood
They surge against the ramparts, cresting high
A breaking wave of d**h. The people quail
Cowering, kingless, in a kingless land,
With none to lead them. Who is chosen?
Merlin.
None.
Sir Kay.
Christ help us! for King Lot is at the gates
Claiming the kingdom for Queen Margawse.
Choose!
For God's love, choose!
Sir Launcelot.
Stand not upon the form
While dolorous peril menaces the land.
Beat back the tide of treason! Follow Gore,
Or Nentres, Brastias, or any knight
That dares to lead us.
Duke Brastias.
Follow me afield,
The crown may rest with Uther.
King Nentres.
Follow me!
While Merlin keeps the Sword, I gain the crown.
Duke Lucas.
Is England won upon the field to-day?
Stand by me, lords, for I will lead the fight.
Omnes.
Who heads us, Merlin?
Merlin.
He who hails the Sword:
None other.
Sir Launcelot.
Merlin, art thou leagued with them
That shatter England?
Merlin.
No, Sir Launcelot.
The king shall come.
Sir Launcelot.
Must we abide thy jest
And stand here waiting while the city falls?
I hear the kings hale down the grinding gates,
And traitor knights prick through the screaming streets
To bait us in this trap.
Sir Kay.
Black traitors all,
For God's love choose!
Archbishop.
We may not. He has sent
Excalibur to England, Joseph's Sword
Left long in Avalon, lost ages since,
And held unransomed in the Magic Mere
While Uther lived. Whoso shall draw the Sword
Is rightwise king of England, and none else.
Sir Kay.
So England falls, for Lot is king anon!
Merlin.
So England falls not, for the king shall come.
Sir Kay.
To rule a desert waste!
Archbishop.
God give us aid
As He has given sign. Fall on the Sword,
Barons and knights, who hales him forth is king.
(The Knights cast themselves about the cross, striving for the Sword. Enter, Arthur.)
Merlin.
"Pendragon pa**es, now Pendragon's seed
Shall reign, Pendragon, on Pendragon's throne."
Arthur.
Lords of the realm, King Lot is on the walls!
Our knights fall from him like the mangled dogs
That roll before a foaming boar at bay.
Sound thou the onset, herald; lords, to arms!
Sir Kay.
They may not answer, for there is no king.
Merlin.
Their eyes are blinded, Arthur, by the hilt
Of some fair Sword that holds within the rock
And comes not forth.
Arthur.
Contend they, sir, for that,
While England falls?
Sir Kay.
Aye, boy, while England falls.
Arthur.
What shame is this? Shall men dispute a sword
Nor use their own to save a kingdom? Fools!
Sir Kay, I pray thee leave, these women folk
Have softened into children, that a sword
Should blind them, baffle them. Sir, give me leave,
I am Sir Ector's squire, I lack a sword.
But give me leave and I shall lightly win
Knighthood, and fight beside thee: give me leave!
Sir Kay.
And blessing, boy.
Merlin.
The hour is on the stroke.
Arthur.
Stand back, ye puling sluggards, is your brawn
Grown fat and futile with your wantonness?
The devil makes men women, now may God
Make men of boys, England is fallen else!
Merlin.
"Pendragon pa**es, now Pendragon's seed
Shall reign, Pendragon on Pendragon's throne!"
(The Knights about the cross fall back.)
Arthur.
Good Jesu, help me! Come, reluctant Sword!
(He hales the Sword forth, and brandishes it in air.)
Omnes.
The Sword is won, and by a beardless boy!
King Nentres.
The Sword is won! Elaine, thy dowry falls.
Morgan.
The Sword is won! Magician, guard thy craft.
Duke Brastias.
The Sword is won! What ba*tard gains the goal?
Arthur.
The Sword is won, and lightly, by this arm.
Why stare ye all astonied, good my lords?
Is it so hard to hale a biting blade
From rock that grips it with but half a hand?
Your arms are women's arms, that like your hearts
Halt quaking! Holy father, cry them on,
The toy is mine and I can heave it well.
Now let these whining children draw their swords,
Full heavy for their futile hands. A king
Baleful, black-hearted, hammers at our gates.
I call a challenge, shall I fight alone?
The Commons.
Hail to the King of England!
Arthur.
Where's the king,
Save Uther's corpse? Nathless a rotting king
Best leads dead warriors.
The Commons.
Hail to England's king!
Excalibur is won! Lead us to war!
Arthur.
Who wins Excalibur?
Merlin.
Look in thy hand.
Arthur.
What Sword is this?
The Commons.
Excalibur!
Arthur.
Ye lie!
Lie in your teeth: magician, name this Sword.
Merlin.
Excalibur.
Archbishop.
Who art thou?
Arthur.
Arthur.
The Commons.
Hail,
Arthur of England, rightwise king and lord!
Arthur.
Call ye me king?
The Commons.
Aye, King of England.
Sir Breuse.
No!
I challenge thee!
King Nentres.
I challenge thee!
King Uriens.
And I!
The Barons.
King Uther's seed shall reign, no lowborn knave
Propped with the magic of a sorcerer.
The Knights.
A squire for England's king? What shame is this?
Duke Brastias.
No ba*tard reigns in England!
Arthur.
Hold thy cry,
Thou foul-mouthed carrion crow! My blood is clean
And with this Sword I'll prove it. Fair Sir Kay,
Thou art my father: tell him, ere I cleave
His mocking mouth and feed my hungry blade.
The Commons.
Arthur is king: we'll have none other!
Archbishop.
Peace!
Merlin, thou art the warder of the Sword,
Speak, if thou know'st an answer. Is this he
That reigns in England as Pendragon's son?
Merlin.
Sir Kay, give thou the answer.
Sir Kay.
King and liege,
Upon my knees I swear thee fealty.
Sir Ector.
And I, O King of England.
Arthur.
How, to me
Thou kneelest father, and thou, Ector? Speak!
Why yield ye homage to the youngest born?
Sir Kay.
For that thou art Pendragon's son, and lord.
The Commons.
King Uther's son!
The Barons.
The king's son!
Sir Launcelot.
How is this?
King Uther died, and pa**ed, devoid of heir.
Duke Brastias.
No ba*tard reigns in England!
Merlin.
Cease your clamour,
While from the misty caverns of the night
I raise a vision that shall wash your eyes
Of cloudy sleep. Arthur is rightwise king,
For by his hand Excalibur is drawn
To carve a nation from the wreck of worlds.
Son to King Uther, got on Queen Igraine
Ere yet the Church had blessed the king's great love,
Arthur Pendragon holds Pendragon's throne.
Duke Brastias.
So now I see two ba*tards in the field,
Arthur Pendragon, Breuse saunce Pité,
Choose, lords and commons, ba*tards have the day.
The Commons.
Arthur for England!
The Barons.
We'll no baseborn king!
The Commons.
Arthur for England!
The Knights.
Out upon his name!
Arthur.
Have I no word in this? I win the Sword.
Uther Pendragon was my father. Well,
England is mine. Will any meet my stroke?
Here stand I ready.
Sir Breuse.
If my father's lust
Sowed thine untimely seed in others' fields
Ere yet my day was come, his blood is mine.
"Pendragon's seed shall reign." 'Tis mine or thine,
Brother, I need thy life. Hurl up thy blade!
Archbishop.
Once more I charge ye under pain of ban
Strike home your swords! Merlin, is there no choice?
Merlin.
Aye, between son and ba*tard; Breuse, thy claim
Is null and void, Arthur is Uther's son.
Sir Breuse.
And I as well.
Merlin.
Born out of wedlock. Hear,
Ye men of England. When the king was hot
With fire of love for Igraine, Cornwall's duke
Lay far afield, and Uther had his will.
But ere befell the crowning of his love
The Duke of Cornwall died upon the field
And Uther knew it not. But when Igraine
Grew great with England's hope and gave him birth
Tintagail stood beleaguered of the gods
That Jesu Christ had prisoned in the Mere,
For well they read the rune that gave them word
How on a day should come Pendragon's seed,
The which would lightly cast them deep in hell
And ranson England. By their subtile hands
Was Igraine reft of Arthur, and the child
Hurled downward to the sea. The friendly waves
Softly received him, bore him to my feet
And laid him scathless in my shielding arms;
So then I lightly gave him to Sir Kay
To rear him as his son. Anon, the king
Wedded Igraine, and she was England's queen,
So Arthur stands, Pendragon's lawful son.
Arthur.
So stand I, men of England, Uther's son,
And rightwise king from sea to crawling sea.
Swear me allegiance! While we parley here
Like old wives chaffering scandal, Orkney's king
Leaguers the walls of London. When the waves
Rack the tough timbers of a sinking ship
And hell gapes wide where howling breakers yawn,
Do men contend who shall be master? On!
I cry you, On! Arthur for England, On!
King Nentres.
Better that England falls than Arthur reigns.
King Uriens.
Merlin, thy magic wins no men to-day.
Sir Breuse.
No ba*tard brother shall command my sword.
King Nentres.
Give us a true king, Bishop, or we fail.
Sir Kay.
Stand by me, Ector! King, our swords are thine.
Certain Knights.
And mine, and mine! King, marshal us for war.
The Commons.
Arthur for England!
A Citizen.
Bishop, give us word,
That we may arm us from these traitor knaves.
The Barons.
Treason!
King Uriens.
The churls lift hands against our lives!
Thou jester king, hale thou thy nobles home.
Arthur.
Shall I fight Lot alone, ye traitor brood?
Sir Kay.
No, for I fight beside thee!
Sir Ector.
Sir, and I!
Sir Launcelot.
And I, King Arthur: for that thou art king
My soul gives answer. But wert thou the last
Of villains with a barred and blotted shield
I'd fight beside thee, for thou art a man
Amongst black traitors.
The Commons.
Hail to Launcelot!
Merlin.
Now do I know that I must work alone
To save this land and give it back to God.
There was a day when wives gave birth to babes
And nurtured them for heroes: not to rats
That waxed to bloated vermin. Fat with spleen,
Yellow with jealousy, ye barter life,
England and honour for your belching pride.
What would ye have?
The Barons.
A proof, foul Merlin, proof!
Arthur.
And ye shall have it, if the Lord will speak
In otherwise than by a thunderbolt
To hurl ye back to hell, whence came ye forth
To do disworship to your chivalry.
(He kneels before King Uther's bier.)
O thou, that gav'st me life, thou king of men,
My father, hear me! From that awful land
When thou art walking with the saints of God
Hear me and save thy kingdom. Speak to these
Thy liegemen; tell them that I am thy son,
Nor knave nor ba*tard, but great England's king.
Save thou thy people!
(The dead king lifts his hand, removes the crown from his brow, and with it crowns Arthur.)
Omnes.
Look! Christ Jesu! Look!
Archbishop.
To Thee, O Christ, and to Thee, Lord of Hosts,
Be praise forever!
Merlin.
Are ye satisfied,
That hounded God until He gave ye proof?
Duke Lucas.
It is enough. With all my men at arms
I yield thee, king, liege love and loyalty.
Arthur.
My honour take for guerdon. King of Gore,
Dost thou confess me rightwise overlord?
Morgan.
Deny him, king, and thou shalt wear the crown.
King Uriens.
Shall Gore be va**al to a changeling, crowned
By sorcery with England's coronet?
I solemnly deny thee.
Arthur.
Go thy ways;
Anon I'll meet thee in the reeking field,
And on thy body prove thy treason. Speak,
Nentres of Garlot!
King Nentres.
I have spoken, fool!
Now comes the deed. I join with Scotland's king,
With Gore and Carados. The stolen crown
Falls from thy head ere sunset.
Arthur.
Brastias,
Dost thou deny me?
Duke Brastias.
I am sworn to fight
For England, and I stand beside thee, king,
If that thou art. I tell thee to thy face
If, when the fight is won and England free,
I find thee but a crownèd ba*tard, then
By God, I'll hurl thee headlong from the throne
And ask no priest to shrive me of my sin!
Arthur.
Well spoken, Brastias: give me thy hand,
And if Pendragon's blood flows not to-day
From out my sundered veins, I give thee leave
To snatch the crown I reached no hand to win.
Garlot and Gore, lightly avoid our sight
Until we meet ye, traitors, in the field.
Now, herald, sound the onset. Knights, to arms!
Arthur for England!
(Flourish of trumpets. The Barons and Knights kneel before Arthur, swearing allegiance.)
Sir Breuse.
But not yet for me.
Queen Morgan, art thou helpless in the blaze
Of Merlin's mockery? Hast thou no spell
To blast this folly?
Morgan.
Wait a little, Breuse;
I know no spell to match with marching time
To wash men's minds of madness. Follow me,
Wait patiently. Thou know'st I love thee, knight,
And I do swear the crown shall clinch thy brow
When Arthur rots.
King Nentres.
My lord of Gore,
Why dally we among these daffish dupes?
The road is open for us. Follow, knights!
We fight with Orkney, Arthur fights alone.
(Exeunt King Nentres, King Uriens, Sir Breuse, and certain of the Knights.)
Merlin.
Bright in the blazing zenith flames the sun
Of England's dawn. King, cry the onset!
Arthur.
Come,
Liegemen of England's crown; for England's king,
And so for England, let your impatient swords
Menace the sun with lightnings; let the horns
In brazen clamour hurl the word abroad
That England's king brooks no disloyalty
Of prince or peasant, while his faithful knights
Die, if God wills, but suffer no disdain
To fall upon their lord who is their land.
War waits us; England watches; God has heard.
(Exeunt Arthur, the Barons, Knights, and Commons, singing the war song. The Archbishop and Monks re-enter the cathedral chanting, "Te Deum laudamus." Merlin remains standing on the steps of the cross, regarding Morgan, who remains by Uther's bier, gazing on him with defiance.)
WAR SONG
Sun, see us,
Wind, hear us,
Earth, feel us hurling on.
God, free us,
Who near us
brings foemen whirling on.
Christ, guide us,
saints, arm us,
Lady Mary, lead us now!
None abide us
hurt or harm us:
King and kindred need us now!
Merlin.
Pendragon pa**es, now Pendragon's seed
Shall reign, Pendragon, on Pendragon's throne.
A kingdom pa**es, now a kingdom's king
Shall raise a kingdom for the King of kings.
Curtain