Old Celtic tales by E. M. Wilmot-Buxton

Old Celtic tales, by E M Wilmot-Buxton.

The Story of King Lud.

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Old Celtic tales, by E M Wilmot-Buxton.

The Lady of the Fountain.

Part 3, The further Adventures of Owain.

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This is Old Celtic tales by E M Wilmot-Buxton.

Part two of the lady of the fountain.

The Tale of Owain.

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Old Celtic tales

by E M Wilmot-Buxton

The Lady of the Fountain, part 1

The Tale of Kynon.

The Quest of the Seven Champions.

Part 5.

How Prince Kilhugh won his Bride.

Old Celtic tales by E M Wilmot-Buxton.

(continued)

Two of the Impossible Tasks are fulfilled.

Old Celtic tales by E M Wilmot-Buxton.

The Impossible Tasks set by Thornogre Thistlehair.

Part two of The Quest of the Seven Champions.

How the Seven Champions found Olwen of the White Footprints.

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Old Celtic tales.

The Quest of the Seven Champions, part1: The Seven Champions of Arthur.

These stories were told in old days to British boys and girls as they

sat round the fireside and heard the wind outside skirling among the

wild Welsh hills. But, no doubt, in time they crossed the border,

and were told also to English children, such as most of you, who knew

and loved the charming tales of Arthur and his knights.

In the days of King Arthur there lived a noble young prince named

Kilhugh, to whom it had been foretold that he should never marry

until he could win for his wife the maiden Olwen, daughter of

Thornogre Thistlehair, the Chief of the Giants. But, though he was

full of love towards the very name of the unknown maid, he could not

find out where she lived, nor could anyone tell him anything about

her.

He was not cast down, however, but set off upon his steed of dappled

grey to seek help from his kinsman Arthur. A fine sight he was,

indeed, as he rode along on his prancing horse. His bridle was made

of golden chains, his saddle-cloth of fine purple, from the corners

of which hung four golden apples of great value.

His slung war horn was of ivory, his sword of gold, inlaid with a

cross that shone like the lightning of heaven; his stirrups also were

of pure gold. Two spears with silver shafts were in his hand, and

two beautiful greyhounds, wearing collars set with rubies, sprang

before him "like two sea-swallows sporting." So lightly did his

charger step that the blades of grass did not bend beneath his tread.

At length he came to Arthur's castle, and having with much difficulty

satisfied the Chief of the Porters of the Gate, a sturdy warrior

known as the Dusky Hero with the Mighty Grasp, he made his way into

Arthur's presence, and told the King his story.

"This one boon I crave of thee, O King," he ended, "that thou wilt

obtain for me Olwen, the daughter of Thornogre Thistlehair, Chief of

the Giants, to be my bride. I ask it of thee and of all thy valiant

knights, for the sake of all the fair ladies who have ever lived in

this land."

Then Arthur said: "My Prince, I have never heard of this maiden, nor

of her kindred, but messengers shall at once set forth to seek her if

thou wilt give them time."

So it was agreed that, this being New Year's Day, they should be

given until the last day of the year for their quest.

The messengers of Arthur set forth in haste, each taking a different

way. They travelled throughout all the land of Britain, the "Island

of the Mighty," and then to foreign lands, asking as they went: "Dost

thou know aught of Olwen, the daughter of Thornogre Thistlehair,

Chief of the Giants?"

But everyone said "No."

At length came the end of the year, and on the appointed day the

messengers appeared in the wide White Hall of Arthur's castle, and

all alike declared that they had no news whatever to declare

concerning the maiden Olwen.

Then Kilhugh was very angry, and said in hasty words: "I alone am

denied by my lord the gift I ask. I will depart from hence at once,

and take with me the honour of Arthur, whom men call the most

honourable King." But Kai, one of the knights, reproved him for his

angry speech, and offered to go forth with him and any others who

would accompany them, saying:

"We will not part till we have found the maiden, or till thou art

forced to own she is not among those who dwell on this earth."

So Arthur chose six of his knights to go forth with Prince Kilhugh

upon his quest.

First came Kai, whose offer had but just been spoken. An excellent

spy and sentinel was he, for he could make himself as tall as the

tallest tree in the forest, and so scan all the country round. He

could hide himself under water, and lie hidden in lake or river for

nine days and nights if need be. Such fire was in his nature that

when they needed warmth his companions had but to kindle the piled

wood at his finger; he could walk through torrents of rain as dry as

on a summer's day; he could go for nine days and nights without

sleep, and no doctor could heal the wound made by his sword.

Next came Sir Bedivere, close brother-in-arms to Kai, the swiftest

runner, save Arthur himself and one other, in all the land.

One-handed was he, yet he could give more wounds in battle than any

three warriors together.

Then followed Uriel, who understood the speech of all men and all

beasts; and Gawain, who was called the "Hawk of May," because he

never returned from any undertaking until it had been performed by

him.

The fifth to answer Arthur's call was Merlin, a master of magic, who

knew how to put a spell upon the knights that would render them

invisible.

Last came Peregrine the Guide, who knew how to find the way as well

in a strange country as in his own.

"Go forth, O Chieftains," said the King, "and follow the Prince upon

this quest; and great shall be the fame of your adventure."

So the Seven Champions rode forth through the great gates of the

palace, and set out with high hearts to seek for Olwen, daughter of

Thornogre Thistlehair, Chief of the Giants.

The Children of Lir.

Lir, a powerful Irish chieftain, had married the eldest of three

beautiful maidens, and in course of time they had four fair

children--a daughter and three sons. Sad to say, the mother died

when they were still very young; and Lir married again. His new

wife, who was named Eva, was also very beautiful, but, though no one

knew it, she was a very wicked sorceress. She could not bear to see

her husband go to fondle and play with his children, and at last she

determined to do away with them altogether. So one day she enticed

them to a lonely spot among the mountains, near a smooth lake, and,

leaving them to play together, she tried to bribe her servants to put

them to death. But they would not, and so she returned to them

determined to do the deed herself. Now, when she reached the spot,

and saw how fair they looked as they ran races about the valley, her

heart failed her, and she could not do this wicked thing. But she

was determined that they should not return to their father Lir, so

she called to her an ancient Druid who lived in a cave near that

spot, and persuaded him to use his enchantment to obtain her wish.

When the Druid had advised her what to do, she called the little ones

to her, and said to them: "Children dear, how warm you are with your

running! Come and let me bathe you in Lake Dairbreak, that you may

be cool and refreshed."

The children were delighted to do so, and were soon splashing about

in the clear water, but no sooner had the water covered them than by

the magic spells of Eva and the Druid they were all four changed into

swans.

"Birds shall ye be," chanted the Druid from the bank as the change

took place, "until, long ages hence, ye hear the voice of a Christian

bell."

So the four beautiful milk-white swans swam sadly away over the

smooth water; and when the cruel Eva saw what she had done, she

feared to face her husband, and repented bitterly of her evil deed.

But it was too late. All she could do was to grant to the birds the

use of their native speech, their human reason, and the power of

singing plaintive fairy music, so sweet that those who heard it

should be soothed and calmed, however sad and angry they had been

before.

A terrible punishment overtook their wicked persecutor. When the

King of that country heard of her cruel deed, he sent for her, and

asked: "What shape of all others on the earth, or below the earth, or

over the earth, do you most abhor?" She replied: "A demon of the

air."

Then the King pronounced judgment on her: "A demon of the air shalt

thou be till the end of time."

Meantime hundreds of years passed away, and still the beautiful swans

swam up and down their lake and looked for deliverance. Sometimes

they took flight, and entered the Western Sea, and sailed around the

coast; but all Ireland was in heathen darkness, and never the sound

of a Christian bell was heard.

The dwellers of those coast lands used to visit the shore in crowds

to hear their sweet music and watch their graceful movements. But

after a time they were caught by the strong current of Mull, and this

drove the fair birds into the stormy seas between Erin and Alba.

Here they endured many a woe; for sometimes they were separated from

one another by the storm and darkness, and sometimes they were almost

frozen to death in the icy floods. And so, tormented by the restless

waves and the chill winds of winter, they waited for three hundred

years. But one soft spring morning, when the ice-floes had drifted

away and the wind sang gently over the mountains, as they floated

along their own Lake Dairbreak, they heard the sound of a Christian

bell. For St Patrick had come to Ireland with the glad Gospel news,

and everywhere men were building churches, and hastening to fill them

with worshippers.

So when the sound of the distant bell floated over the water, the

spell was broken, and the Children of Lir returned to their own

shapes. But they had lived so long that, after they had learnt the

Christian faith, they were glad to lie down and rest for ever. They

were all buried in the self-same tomb, and after their death men made

songs about them; and every Irish boy and girl to this day loves to

hear the story of the Swan-Children of Lir.