THE WHITE HART

 The White Hart (Otherworldly Deer Totem) in Arthurian Legends says:

The white hart races through the kingdom, leaving chaos in its wake.

 The white hart was believed to be a messenger of the ds. Matters of great importance were thought to follow a sighting of the graceful creature.

 On the wedding day of Arthur and Guenevere, the all-knowing Merlin insisted that all of the knights remain i n their seats for teh duration of the feast. Without warning, a white hart raced through the hall, pursued by a brachet and a company of hounds. Chaos erupted within the room. Amidst all the excitement a knight grabbed teh brachet and stole it away from the court. As the knight disappeared, a young woman upon a winded horse entered the hall, and cried out for the return of her dog. As the bewildered crowd looked on, a strange knight rode in, grabbed the damsel and made off with her.

 The inexplicable events stunned the crowd, who then looked to Merlin. The sage singled out Gawain, Tors and Pellinore. He told all present that this was a test, and if the court were to retain its honour the three knight must seek out and return to the court the hart, the brachet and the knight who stole it, and the woman and her abductor.

 And so began the Quest of the White Hart. From Ferguson, Anna-Marie. Keeper of Words. 1995 Llewellyn Publications. St. Paul, Minnesota. (165)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DRESSING OF THE SACRED SPRING

  Homage is paid to the benevolent spirit of the spring. Nature worship was at the heart of the celtic Pagan religion. The Celts believed the Divine to be inherent in the landscape, with every feature inhabited by the spirits of nature. To the early celts, springs, rivers and lakes of the Isle of the Mighty were the dwelling places of the spirits of water. For this reason many streams (especially springs) were considered sacred sites, each with its guardian spirit. The fresh waters that spring from the earth were thought to carry gifts from the underworld--cures for the sick, and in some instances, knowledge, inspiration, and future sight. Some wells were said to restore life; if offended, teh spirit would also take life, rising up and drowning the culprit. Given that the spirits of water were generally considered feminine, the dressing rites, and offerings to the goddess of the spring are thought to hve been performed by women. This traidtion, though somewhat modifie...
Read more

CASTLE PERILOUS

  Eager to fight the most famous of Arthur's knights, Ironside the Red Knight of the Red Launde embattled himself in Castle Perilous, where he held the lovely Lady Lyones hostage. Confident that her plight would draw out the knights, Ironside patiently awaited their rescue attempts. In the two years that passed, many a brave knight tried and failed to free teh Lady Lyones. But still the famous opponents Ironside longed to face--Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristram had not come. Linet, sister toLyones, travelled Arthur's court and requested that the king send a Knight of the Round Table to save her sister. Arthur assigned Gareth to the task. Linet (like most of the court) was unaware of Gareth's true identity and knew him only as Beaumains, a lowly kitchen knave. Linet was furious and left the court immediately Gareth raced after her, deterrmined to prove himself both to her and the rest of the court. Despite her constant insults, Gareth remained courteous. While passing...
Read more

SWORD OF STRANGE HANGINGS

  The Sacred Sword awaits its master. The mAgical or sacred sword is a common motif in Celtic legends. Excalibur is perhaps the most widely known sword of the Arthurian world, but it is not alone. A number of idfferent but erelated swords figure in the stories, and as Galahad nears the end of his quest he is honoured with the awesome Sword of Strange Hangings. During the Quest for the Holy Grail, Galahad, Percivale and Bors were guided to a "miraculous Ship" by Percivale's enlightened sister Dindrane. Within the ship they found a beautiful bed, and upon it rested a crown of gold and silk. Across its foot lay a mangificant sword, partly drawn from its scabbard. The pommel was adorned with the rarest and most brilliant of gems. The scabbard was made of a material never seen before, but which had the look of snake skin. Most curious of all were its strange hangings, which were of such poor quality as compared with the richness of the sword and scabbard, that it was...
Read more