Reading Notes King Arthur Part A

King Uther died and there was no king. Every knight in the kingdom wanted the crown for himself. The country was in bad shape without a king. Merlin and counsel decided all the lords and gentlemen should meet in London on Christmas Day. There was a sword in a stone. "Whoso pulleth out this sword is by right of birth the king of England" was written on the stone.

No one could pull the sword from the stone. Two knights were chosen to keep guard over the sword. The counsel decided that on New Years Day a tournament should be held. Any knight who wanted could try to remove the sword.

Sir Ector brought his son Kay and his foster son Arthur. Kay asked Arthur to return home and grab his sword because he forgot it. Arthur goes to get it, but the door is locked. Arthur doesn't know what to do so he decides he will grab the stone in the courtyard and give it to his brother. He grabbed the handle of the sword and drew it out easily. He delivered it to Kay.

Kay told his father he was now the rightful king becasue he had the sword in his possession. Ector made Kay swear where he got the sword from, and Kay told him his brother brought it to him. Ector then tells Arthur that he is the rightful king. He tells Arthur to put the sword back so there can be a witness this time. Kay and Ector try to remove the sword, but they cannot. Arthur tries and removes the sword as easily as he did the first time.

Ector and Kay kneel. Arthur asks "Why do you, my father and brother, kneel to me?"

Ector tells Arthur that he is not really his father. Ector told Arthur "You are the son of Uther Pendragon, and you were brought to me when you were born by Merlin himself, who promised that when the time came I should know from whom you sprang."

The sword in the stone from Pixabay

Bibliography:
King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).