Английские легенды / The English Legends

“Sir,” said Merlin, “This is what I want from you: the first night that you will lie with Igraine, you will conceive a child. When this child is born, he will be delivered to me to nourish. This will bring great glory to you and your child, if he proves worth it[7 - if he proves worth it – если он окажется достойным].”

“Let it be so[8 - Let it be so – да будет так],” said Uther. “You will have the child.”

“Get ready,” said Merlin, “Tonight you will lie with Igraine in the castle of Tintagil. You will look like her husband the duke, Sir Ulfius will look like Sir Brastias, one of the duke’s knights, and I will look like Sir Jordanus, another of the duke’s knights.

Do not talk a lot with her nor her men, just say that you are sick. Go to bed, and rise in the early morning, and I will come to bring you back.”

They rode to the castle of Tintagil. The duke saw them depart from the siege of Terrabil, so came out to fight with the king’s men. That night he was killed even before Uther came to Tintagil.

After the death of the duke, king Uther laid with Igraine, looking like the duke three hours after the duke was dead. In the early morning Merlin came to Uther to take him back. Uther kissed lady Igraine and departed in all haste.

When the lady heard that her husband the duke was killed that night, she wondered, who came to her chambers looking like the duke. She mourned privately, but didn’t tell anybody. Soon, the lords of king Uther asked him to end the war between him and Igraine.

He was happy to do that, and he made Sir Ulfius to be the messenger.

“Now we will do well,” said Ulfius. “Our king is a strong man, and he doesn’t have a wife, and my lady Igraine is a fair lady. It would be great joy for us all and it might please the king to make her his queen.”

So king Uther took Igraine as a wife and made her his queen.

But the queen was pregnant, and soon everyone could see that. So the king came to her and asked who the father of the child was.

She didn’t want to tell him.

“Tell me the truth,” said the king, “And I promise I will love you even more after that.”

“I will tell you the truth,” said Igraine. “The same night my lord was killed, a man came to me at the castle of Tintagil, and he looked exactly like my lord, and with him were two men looking like my lord’s knights Sir Brastias and Sir Jordanus. So I went into bed with him, as I should have with my lord, and that night we conceived a child.