Английские легенды / The English Legends
Шрифт:
“I will tell you the truth,” said Igraine. “The same night my lord was killed, a man came to me at the castle of Tintagil, and he looked exactly like my lord, and with him were two men looking like my lord’s knights Sir Brastias and Sir Jordanus. So I went into bed with him, as I should have with my lord, and that night we conceived a child.”
“You’re telling me the truth,” said Uther, “Because it was I who came to lay with you that night. And I am the father of the child.” And he told her how all of that happened as Merlin planned. She was happy to know that Uther was the father.
Soon Merlin came to the king.
“Sir,” he said, “You swore that you would give the child to me to nourish.”
“As you wish,” Uther said.
“I know a lord of yours in this land,” said Merlin, “his name is Sir Ector, and he is a true and faithful knight, and he owns many parts in England and Wales. Send for him, and tell him that in the name of his love to you, he should put his own child to nourishing of another woman, and that your child should be nourished by Sir Ector’s wife. And when the child is born, have him secretly brought to me unchristened, through the back door of the castle.”
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.
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 cannot win a war lying here sick; you should go to the field of battle. Even if you have to ride in a horselitter, but you must be there in person [9] , and then will you have your victory.”
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.
9
in person – лично