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Good day, Sir Knight.
Good day. I seek King Arthur's court.
You have not much farther to travel.
Thank you. What's your name, old man?
I am known as Leonidas the Hermit.
My cave is on the crest above the rocks.
From it you can see the spires and towers of Camelot.
Then my journey is almost over.
Which road, Leonidas?
That one.
But why go you to King Arthur's court?
I seek to join the Knights of the Round Table.
I thought as much.
Well, if you hurry, you can dine at the castle.
There will be birds and joints of flesh and pasties by the score,
all stuffed with horse meat and flavored with herbs of the richest kind.
Please stop.
Did I perhaps arouse in you a sinful and fleshly appetite?
No, but my horse is hungry and the talk about food might upset him.
But who comes here?
They are Knights of King Arthur's court.
Good day, Sir Knight. You travel to Camelot?
I do.
Who are you?
I am Sir Lancelot of the Lake.
I seek to join the Knights of the Round Table.
I am Sir Kay.
Sir Christopher Sir Lionel of the Round Table.
I don't know your name or your shield.
I come from afar.
You seem somewhat shabby to a better King Arthur's court.
My armor was battered in honorable combat.
Yet your shield is not scratched.
This was not the shield I carried into battle.
Exactly.
What are you hinting at, Sir Lionel?
That perhaps you changed your shield in order to change your identity
after having fled from a battle.
Or worse.
Worse?
What on earth could be worse than that?
I ask you to take back your suggestion. It casts a doubt on my honor.
I'll take back nothing until you explain why you changed your shield.
This Knight seems most anxious to avoid a fight.
I wish that our paths had not crossed on this pleasant morning.
I don't doubt that.
I came in peace to join the Round Table.
I sought no fight.
Explain about your shield.
I have already explained. You force my hand.
You needn't fight, you know.
You could always use the excuse that you're wounded.
Your armor.
I would just make one request.
I would fight on foot for my horse is weary.
We're challenged.
I suppose one of us has to fight him.
Our squires are not far away.
When they come along, we'll pitch a pavilion and prepare for combat.
I'm ready now.
Which one of us do you wish to fight?
All three of you?
Very well.
Which one of us do you wish to fight first?
All three of you at once?
I have no wish to dally over this affair.
I might miss the midday meal at Camelot.
You should not have said that about the midday meal.
They are very angry.
Exactly, Leonides.
And angry men fight like fools.
I yield.
I yield.
I yield.
Sir.
Good King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table, I have a prediction.
Before the sands will have fallen to the bottom of the glass,
there will appear at this court seeking a place at the Round Table
a knight so powerful that he fights with the strength of three men.
Be more tidy with your magic.
How do you know this, Merlin?
Fathoming the secrets of the stars, I fell into a trance and in a vision
I saw this knight approaching Camelot.
Does my news disturb you?
Forgive Sir Gawain.
His brother lies upstairs sorely wounded.
None of us has yet recovered from the terrible battle last week
against King Gwyle of Lotham.
Perhaps I should withdraw and take my glass with me.
No.
If your prediction is accurate, this knight will arrive most fortunately
so many empty seats, so many noble knights gone from us forever.
The war against King Gwyle was a just one and our victory glorious.
We are plagued with the unkingly thought that neither side emerges victorious
from such a bloody battle.
My Lord, Queen Guinevere.
Our heart is heavy, Gawain.
Your brother, Sideris, is dead.
Sire, I know who cut my brother down.
How so?
This piece of steel was found in his wound.
It comes from the sword of the most formidable of King Gwyle's knights,
he who wore the red plume.
I remember him well.
The red plume was everywhere in the battle
and its owner inflicted grievous losses upon us.
Sir King, I ask a boon.
Speak, Gawain.
To go on a quest, to seek out this knight of the red plume,
fight him to the death, and thus avenge my brother.
This boon we grant you, Gawain.
The sand's run out, Merlin.
Where is this champion knight who fights with the strength of three men?
He will arrive.
Why do you return so soon, Sir Kay?
We have been overcome in combat, Sire.
We return as prisoners.
Were all three of you overcome by one man?
By one formidable knight.
Honest fight, only fair to mention.
Our captor requests an audience, Sir King.
Send him in.
Sire, observe the glass.
My Lord King, I am Sir Lancelot of the Lake.
We were expecting you.
Your coming was predicted by Merlin, the magician.
You hold three of my knights prisoners by combat.
What ransom must I pay for them?
If you will accept me as a knight of the round table,
and judge me only by the deeds I do henceforth,
then I will gladly yield the prisoners.
Our ranks are thin, Sir Lancelot.
A man of your prowess would be welcome indeed,
but there is much about you yet to be proved.
Prowess in combat means nothing,
unless that prowess is used to uphold the laws of chivalry.
It was to uphold those laws that I came here, Sir.
We rule that you will be given a fair trial.
Come.
Will you swear to revere our royal person?
Will you ride abroad, redressing human wrongs?
Will you be valiant, courteous, and merciful?
Will you serve and defend women of all ranks in every kind of need?
I will.
Then prove yourself worthy,
and you shall take a place at the round table
among these most noble knights.
BELL RINGS
Master Armourer.
Another challenge for your art, Master Mark.
This is Sir Lancelot of the Lake.
His equipment is badly in need of repair.
Who mended this last, an apprentice?
No, I did. It was in the midst of a battle.
Don't worry. He growls and complains, but he's the best armourer in the land.
What concerns me most is my sword.
That'll have to be eaten and beaten out.
I can't believe there's anything dishonourable about him.
If he is an enemy, then we must know it.
Will you help me?
Yes. I should like to know the truth.
Then I must have that sword before it is reforged.
Do you mind if I watch while you do it?
The proper balance of my sword is important to me.
Sir Lancelot.
My lady.
I thought it only courteous to show you something of your new surroundings.
My lady, I should be most honoured.
It's only a sword. Do as you think fit.
Give me that!
The king brought me up here on the day I came to Camelot.
The day of our marriage.
It's very beautiful.
It had long been my dream to kneel and pay homage to King Arthur.
He is a great man.
Yes, he is.
I think the reason is that he inspires loyalty.
That is true.
Once having known him, it becomes unthinkable that one could be disloyal to him in any way.
It would be quite impossible.
Sir Lancelot, are you pledged to the service of any young damsel?
I came to Camelot with the intention of serving the king.
I came to Camelot with a free heart.
There are many fair ladies in Camelot.
It would be your privilege to champion one.
You shall meet them soon.
I'd rather not.
But why?
Well, I may never be a knight of the round table.
Is there any reason why you should not be?
Anything you have not told us that would disqualify you?
Nothing that I know of, Lady Guinevere.
My lord!
Here is proof, sir.
Sir Lancelot is the knight with the red plume.
He is responsible for many of those empty seats.
He and he alone slew my brother.
I intend to kill him.
Hold, Sir Gawain.
He is hardly rested from his travels.
I count each minute lost at my brother's death stands, unavenged.
You granted me a boon, sir.
It is true I gave you my word.
The battle then will be this afternoon.
May I intrude, Master Merlin? I see you're at work.
Part of my work is to consult with knights who seek my aid.
They often come up here asking for prophecies.
I'm not interested in any new prophecies just now.
I'd like to know how you reached your last one about my arrival.
My destination was known only to myself.
May I ask how you reached your decision that I was coming?
I have a reputation as a magician.
I know, but I would still like...
Something else disturbs you, Sir Lancelot?
Yes.
You were writing as I entered.
True.
This parchment is completely blank. There's nothing written on it.
An excellent precaution against inquisitive visitors, wouldn't you say?
I've never seen a fruit like this before.
It was brought to me from the Iberian Peninsula.
It is called lemon.
Any other questions?
A few.
Do you believe in magicians?
I believe in myself. A man's peace of mind demands that.
I won't gain much enlightenment if I have to depend on your answers to my questions.
This mirror is most inconveniently located for looking at oneself.
I am long past the age of such vanities.
But it is ideally placed for, shall we say...
What?
Receiving light signals from some distant point.
Merlin, are you acquainted with one Leonides, the hermit at the crossroads?
Lancelot, it is not only your skill at arms that makes you a most unusual knight,
but I hope you have one other virtue.
Discretion.
Enough not to make the enemy of a master magician.
I won't say a word.
Lancelot!
To the death.
Why do you challenge me, Gawain?
You are the knight in the red plume.
I have proof that you killed my brother.
It grieves me to decree a fight unto the death.
Yet, I cannot deny Segawain's right of challenge,
if you are indeed the red plume knight who slew his brother.
Do you deny the charge?
I do not deny it.
Then let the battle begin.
Sir, with your permission I would spare the life of this great knight.
Segawain and I have no real reason to be enemies.
But did you not kill Segawain's brother?
Sir Darius and I fought as honest knights, each defending his king.
Sir, I must explain.
I am the son of King Ban of Benwick.
When I was twelve years old, my father lost a war.
Before he charged into that last hopeless battle, he made me swear an oath.
I swore to seek my father's friend, King Gwyle, and serve him as a true son.
Thus, when you, King Arthur, fought King Gwyle,
I found myself arrayed in battle against the knights of the Round Table.
But when you come here seeking to join the Round Table,
are you not betraying your sacred vows to King Gwyle?
During the battle, King Gwyle was badly wounded.
On his deathbed, he released me from my oath.
Then I came here, free at last,
to serve the cause that has for so long been closest to my heart.
Hurray!
Quickly, bring the leech to tend to the wounds of Segawain.
Knights of the Round Table,
we order you to assemble in the Great Hall within the hour.
Can anyone offer reason why Sir Lancelot should not be accepted as a Knight of the Round Table?
My Lord, I feel that forces powerful and mysterious are about to show us her side.
Observe.
Kneel.
I proclaim you, Sir Lancelot of the Lake, a Knight of the Round Table.
By custom, you are entitled now to ask one boon, which I will grant if it be in my power.
Sire, a knight is not yet fully armed until he wears the favor of a lady fair.
Certainly, you have the right to champion a lady and dedicate your deeds to her.
When you have chosen. I have already chosen, Sire. I would champion Queen Guinevere.
I am sure that Queen Guinevere will take great pride in being championed by so noble a knight.
Now listen to my story, yes listen while I sing, of days of old in England when Arthur was the King,
of Merlin the Magician and Guinevere the Queen, and Lancelot the bravest knight the world has ever seen.
In days of old, when nights were cold, his story's told of Lancelot.
He rode the wilds of England, adventures for to seek, to rescue maidens in distress and help the poor and weak.
If anyone oppressed you, he'd be your champion. He fought a million battles and he never lost a one.
In days of old, when nights were bold, his story's told of Lancelot.
His story's told of Lancelot. In days of old, when nights were bold, his story's told of Lancelot.