nd flew in splinters about the field. When the
spear was broken they turned to the sword, and plucked the brand from
its sheath. Right marvellous was the melley, and wondrously hideous
and grim. Never did men hew more mightily with the glaive. Not a man
who failed at need; not a man of them all who flinched in the press;
not one who took thought for his life. The sword smote upon the
buckler as on an anvil. The earth shuddered beneath the weight of the
fighting men, and the valley rang and clanged like a smithy with the
tumult. Here a host rushed furiously against a legion which met it
with unbroken front. There a great company of horsemen crashed with
spears upon a company as valiant as itself. Horse and rider went down
before the adversary, arrows flew and darts were hurled; lances were
splintered and the sword shattered upon the covering shield. The
strong prevailed against the weak, and the living brought sorrow to
the dead. Horses ran madly about the field, with voided saddles,
broken girths, and streaming mane. The wounded pitied their grievous
hurts, choosing death before life; but the prayer of their anguish was
lost in the tumult and the cries. Thus for a great while the two hosts
contended mightily together, doing marvellous damage, one to the
other. Neither Roman nor Briton could gain ground, so that no man knew
who would triumph in the end. Bedevere and Kay considered the battle.
They saw that the Romans held themselves closely. They were filled
with anger at the malice of the Romans, and led their company to that
place where the press was the most perilous. Ah, God, but Arthur had
men for his seneschal and cupbearer. Knights of a truth were these
who sat at his table. Kay and Bedevere smote like paladins with their
brands of steel. Many fair deeds had they done, but none so fair as
they did that day. They divided the forefront of the battle, and
cleaving a passage with the sword, opened a road for their fellows.
The Britons followed after, taking and rendering many strokes, so
that divers were wounded and many slain. Blood ran in that place like
water, and the dead they lay in heaps. Bedevere adventured deeper into
the melley, giving himself neither pause nor rest. Kay came but a
stride behind, beating down and laying low, that it was marvellous to
see. The two companions halted for a breathing space, turning them
about to encourage their men. Great was the praise and worship they
had won, but they were yet