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Uther did as Merlin said. He called Sir Ector, and granted him great rewards. Sir Ector swore to do as the king told him. When the child was born, Uther commanded two knights and two ladies to bring the child, bound in a cloth of gold, through the back door of the castle and give him to the poor man they meet outside. So the child was brought to Merlin, and Merlin took him to Sir Ector and brought a priest to christen the child, and he called him Arthur.
And Sir Ector’s wife nourished the child as her own.
Excercises
I. Выберите верный вариант:
a) Why did the duke of Tintagil and Igraine leave king Uther’s keep?
1. Because they didn’t like the food.
2. Because they didn’t want Uther to dishonour Igraine.
3. Because they didn’t want to stay for too long.
4. Because they were afraid of the war.
b) What was the lords’ advice to king Uther?
1. To send messengers to ask the duke to come back to Uther.
2. To declare a war to the duke and lay siege to his castles.
3. To send knights to catch the duke and Igraine midway and bring them back by force.
4. To come to the castle of Tintagil at night, dressed as the duke.
c) Where did the Duke of Tintagil put his wife for the time of war, and where did he go himself?
1. He put Igraine to the castle of Tintagil, and himself to the castle of Terrabil.
2. He put Igraine to the castle of Terrabil, and himself to the castle of Tintagil.
3. He stayed with Igraine in the castle of Tintagil.
4. He stayed with Igraine in the castle of Terrabil.
d) How did the Duke of Tintagil die?
1. He fought with King Uther and was killed by him.
2. He went out to fight the siege while Uther was away and got killed.
3. He died from sickness after a peasant shot him with a crossbow.
4. He was killed by a spell that Merlin put on him.
e) When Merlin made a deal with Uther during the siege, what did he ask to do with the future child of Uther and Igraine?
1. He asked that the child be given out to a poor man outside the back door of the castle.
2. He asked that the child be christened and named Arthur, and then named the prince of England.
3. He asked that the child be killed as soon as it was born.
4. He asked that the child be given to him to nourish.
f) How did Merlin make Uther have what he wanted?
1. He made him look like the Duke of Tintagil and brought him to the castle of Tintagil at night.
2. He put a spell on the Duke of Tintagil that killed him, and then arranged a marriage between the King and Igraine.
3. He put the guards at the castle of Tintagil to sleep with his magic and sneaked Uther in.
4. He made Igraine come out of the castle of Tintagil to Uther’s pavilion.
g) What instructions did Merlin give Uther shortly before his son was born?
1. To send the child to Merlin so that Merlin nourished him himself.
2. To make the child his rightful heir and raise him as his son.
3. To send the child to Sir Ector, and take Sir Ector’s child in exchange.
4. To make a deal with Sir Ector, and then to take the child to Merlin unchristened so that he could pass him to Sir Ector.
Chapter 2,
Two years after Arthur was born, king Uther Pendragon fell gravely sick. Meanwhile a great deal of his enemies gathered forces against him, and started a great battle, and slain many of his people.
“Sir,” said Merlin, “You ca
Uther did like Merlin told him. He gathered his men and, travelling in a horse-litter, led them to battle. And that day Sir Ulfius and Sir Brastias did many great deeds of arms, and king Uther’s men won the battle and slain many of his enemies. And then Uther returned to London and made great joy of his victory.
But then he was even more sick. For three days and three nights he couldn’t talk, so his lords and barons were in great sorrow and asked for Merlin’s counsel.
“There is no cure for that,” said Merlin, “It is in the hands of God. But come to Uther tomorrow morning, and God and I will make him speak.”
The next morning all the lords and barons came with Merlin to Uther’s chamber.
“Sir,” said Merlin, “Is it your will that after your death your son Arthur will become king of this realm?”
Then Uther Pendragon turned so that everybody could see him and spoke.
“I give him God’s blessing and mine”, he said, “and bid him pray for my soul, and righteously and worshipfully claim the crown, or he will lose my blessing.”
Having said that, he yielded up the ghost[10], and then he was buried as a king should be. The queen Igraine made great sorrow, and with her all the barons.
Then a troubled time came to the kingdom. No one knew about Arthur, and everybody was thinking that they could start a war and claim the crown for their own. Then Merlin went to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and counseled him to send for all the lords of the realm, and all the knights, so that they would come to London by Christmas. And since Jesus was born on that night, as a merciful king of mankind, he would show some miracle to reveal who should be the rightful king of this realm.
So the Archbishop, by the advice of Merlin, sent for all the lords and knights, asking them to come to London by Christmas. So on Christmas, in the greatest church of London, everybody came to pray. And when matins and the first mass[11] were done, everybody could see in the churchyard across the altar a great stone, and in the middle of it stood an anvil of steel a foot on high[12], and there was a sword between the stone and the anvil. And letters that were written in gold about the sword said this: “Who pulls this sword out of this stone and anvil, is the rightful king of all England.”
The people told it to the Archbishop, but he forbade trying to take the sword out before the Christmas high mass was finished. After that, a great many knights and lords tried to get the sword, but no one could move it. “He who could pull the sword is not here,” finally said the Archbishop, “but God will make him known. But this is my counsel that we let ten honourable knights guard the stone at all times.”
So they put ten knights to guard the stone at all times, and sent criers all over the realm to say that everyone is welcome to come to the church on New Year’s Eve to try and take the sword. On that day, a big jousting tournament was held, so all the barons and knights went there. Sir Ector decided to come as well, bringing with him his son Sir Kay that was made knight shortly before that, and his nourished brother[13] Arthur. When they were riding to the jousts-ward, Sir Kay noticed that he had forgotten his sword at home. He asked young Arthur to go and bring this sword to him, because he wanted to fight in the tournament.
Arthur went back, but everybody left home, so he could not get in and bring Sir Kay’s sword. He didn’t want to come back with empty hands, because he didn’t want his brother to miss the tournament.
9
in person – лично
10
yielded up the ghost – испустил дух (устар.)
11
matins and the first mass – заутреня и первая месса
12
a foot on high – в фут вышиной (1 фут примерно равен 30 см))
13
nourished brother – молочный брат