Beaumains in King Arthur's Court
At the court of King Arthur, all the knights had gathered at
the round table for a feast when three strangers entered. The tallest of the
group, a handsome young man, stepped forward to speak. He asked the king for
three gifts, one to be given now and the other two in a year’s time. Arthur
agreed, whereupon the young man asked for nothing more than to be given food
and drink for the next twelve months.
Image Source: Wikimedia
The young man was given over to Sir Kay, the steward. Sir Kay
felt that the man was not worthy to be at the court. He aired his views so
openly that Sir Gawaine, Arthur’s favorite knight, and Sir Lancelot became furious
at his rude conduct.
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For the next year, the young man, named Beaumains by Sir
Kay, lived as a kitchen hand doing menial tasks, all the while enduring Sir Kay’s
insults. Whenever there was a joust or another set of games, however, Beaumains
was allowed to take part. None could surpass his feats of strength or skill.
Image Source: Wikimedia
The year passed quickly, and it was soon the feast of
Whitsuntide. During the feast, a young damsel appeared at the castle begging
for help for her lady, who was being terrorized by a knight.
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“The Red Knight, who has the strength of seven men and is
one of the most dangerous knights in the world, besieges my lady and destroys
her lands,” explained the damsel.
Image Source: Pixabay
In the back of the hall, Beaumains had been listening with
great interest to the damsel’s woeful tale. Boldly moving forward, he told the
king that he would now like to ask for his other two gifts. Arthur told him to
speak.
Video source: YouTube
Beaumains said that he would like to champion this young
damsel and her lady, but only after Sir Lancelot, and only Sir Lancelot, made
him a knight. Arthur nodded approval. The damsel, however, exploded in a fit of
fury.
“Fie on thee! Shall I have none but one that is your kitchen
page? With that, the damsel took her horse in great wrath, and departed.
Sir Kay was also upset at this turn of events. For the
entire year, he had been teasing and insulting this lowly kitchen page. Now he
was to be made a fellow knight. Sir Kay issued a challenge to Beaumains. After
a short battle, Beaumains was victorious. He raced off after the damsel, who
had gone to rejoin her lady. He was confident that his fight with Sir Kay would
prove to her his ability as a knight.
“What are you doing here? You smell of the kitchen! Turn
back, vile kitchen page!”
Beaumains, however, would not depart. As their journey
continued, he had many opportunities to prove his skill as a knight. He fought
and bested six thieves. He also challenged the Black Knight and met the Black Knight’s
brother, the Green Knight. Both times he stood victorious.
Through all these trials, however, the damsel continued to
have a mean spirit toward Beaumains. She was beside herself with anger every
time he bested another man. She said he had been lucky so far, but his luck
would run out when he reached her lady’s castle and encountered the Red Knight.
Check out my close read questions for this selection!
Check out my close read questions for this selection!
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