book 20
The Treachery of Sir Launcelot
Agravaine Makes his Move
The next May at Carlisle Sir Agravaine and Sir Mordred made their move and with King Arthur's reluctant permission plotted to catch Launcelot and Guenever at it the next night while Arthur was away hunting. (Arthur had pointed out that a simple accusation was useless because Launcelot would just kill in Trial by Combat anybody who spoke the truth thus "proving" his innocence.)
The other Orkney Knights Gawaine, Gareth and Gaheris wanted nothing to do with the affair, so Agravaine and Mordred recruited a dozen Scottish knights to help, including Sir Florence and Sir Lovel, two sons of Gawaine.
In Flagrante Delecto
That evening Launcelot turned up as usual for a royal shag, with no armour but his sword, and in no time was disturbed by Agravaine's gang outside the queen's door shouting traitor loud enough to wake the entire castle. He managed to drag Sir Colgrevance of Gore inside on his own, kill him and "with the help of the queen and her ladies" (!?!) pinch his armour. He then strode out and killed Agravaine and the dozen Scottish knights and wounded Mordred, who barely escaped.
Launcelot's Rebellion
Launcelot returned to his lodging, and, realising that the game was up and that this could mean civil war, from amongst his own kin and the knights of Wales and Cornwall he treacherously recruited over a hundred knights to his side, including Bors, Ector, Lionel, Lavaine, Urre, Palomides and Bellangere le Beuse.
At Stake
Meanwhile Mordred rode to tell Arthur everything and under the law of treason he had no choice but to regretfully sentence Guenever to death at the stake. Gawaine tried to dissuade him, in spite of just losing a brother and two sons to Launcelot, and refused to be present at the burning, and his brothers Gareth (whom Launcelot himself had dubbed long ago) and Gaheris attended only under protest and refused to wear armour.
As Guenever was tied to the stake outside Carlisle one of Launcelot's spies raised the alarm and he rode down from the hill where he and his band of traitors had been waiting, rescued her from the flames (for the third and last time) and killed everyone else in sight.
He then took her to his castle Joyous Gard, and raised an army from Arthur's enemies.
The Battle of Joyous Gard
Over two dozen more knights had died at Launcelot's hands, including King Pellinore's sons Sir Aglovale and Sir Tor, and Gawaine's last two full brothers, Gareth and Gaheris, who had been unarmed, and when he found out Gawaine went psycho.
With Arthur he raised a huge army from all over Britain and laid seige to Launcelot's castle. Arthur was still minded to make peace but Gawaine was totally embittered, and Launcelot was loath to leave his castle and attack "that most noble king that made me knight".
After fifteen weeks of taunting eventually Launcelot came out to fight, and in the ensuing battle (Arthur's eighth) Launcelot actually saved Arthur from Bors, and then Gawaine and Bors injured each other.
The battle only ended after two days because the Bishop of Rochester arrived with a papal bull (a kind of injunction, not an animal) in which the pope ordered Arthur to take Guenever back and make peace with Launcelot. Arthur returned to Carlisle and eight days later Launcelot duly delivered her there.
After a long, whingeing excuse session in which he pathetically denied everything and threatened to kill anyone who said any different Launcelot eventually pissed off back to France taking one hundred knights with him, including all his kin.
The Siege of Benwick
Even though Arthur now had Guenever "back" he still pursued Launcelot, sailing for France from Cardiff with a host of sixty thousand, leaving Mordred in charge.
Although Launcelot's kin advised immediate revenge for their French lands just ravaged by Arthur, Launcelot sent a maiden and a dwarf to sue for peace, but Gawaine refused and beseiged them inside the city of Benwick.
Every day Gawaine taunted Launcelot and challenged and defeated his knights at joust, including Bors and Lionel, until after six months Launcelot was forced to meet him in single combat.
Gawaine vs Launcelot
The battle began at 9 a.m. and on the first clash their horses fell, but only Arthur and Gawaine knew how Gawaine's strength waxed triple from that hour until noon, and for three hours a perplexed Launcelot was forced to cover himself and retreat before the berzerk Orkney Knight. But at noon Gawaine weakened and Launcelot knocked him down and left him there, refusing to kill a stricken knight.
After three weeks Gawaine was sufficiently recovered to repeat the challenge, and again he battered Launcelot viciously for three hours until his strength failed, and Launcelot struck him on the old head wound and left him fallen.
This time Gawaine was convalescing for a month, but three days before he was ready to go for it a third time, Arthur heard news from England that forced him to lift the seige and begin the return home...
Retreat to book 19
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