"Of King Arthur's Marriage"

Illustration by Arthur Rackham

This illustration from Rackham appears to be a variant on a published illustration from "Stories of King Arthur" (1910). It seems to be inspired

by the same scene depicted by the published version that is associated with the following text:

He had hardly spoken, before a white hart ran into the hall.

The broader context for the illustration is set within the following text:

In due course King Arthur was married, and there was great feasting and merry-making among

his people. On the wedding-day, while all the King's knights were seated at the Round Table, in

the great hall of the Palace, Merlin came in and bade them sit still, for something very

marvellous was about to happen. He had hardly spoken, before a white hart ran into the hall,

followed by a number of dogs. The frightened animal ran round the table, in and out amongst

the knights, who remembered Merlin's injunction and kept still.

Suddenly one of the dogs bit the hart, and the creature made a great leap that overthrew one

of the knights. The latter at once rose up and, taking the dog in his arms, strode out of the hall,

mounted upon his horse, and rode away. A little afterwards a lady, riding a white palfrey,

entered the hall and begged the King with many tears to restore her dog to her; but while she

was speaking a tall knight in armour rode in and carried her away on his horse.

King Arthur was not sorry to see the last of her, for such an interruption to the festivities was

unseemly. Merlin, however, declared that the adventure was more important than Arthur

thought, and when the clamour had subsided he said:

"You must call Sir Gawaine (another new knight), for it is he who must bring the white hart

back again; and you must call Sir Tor, for he must ride after the knight with the dog and bring

that back also."

To King Pellinore he decreed the quest of the knight who had carried off the lady; and all the

three, said Merlin, would do wondrous deed ere they met again at Arthur's court.