The Welsh Boy

Summary

Now Begins the Holy Tale About a Good Knight was born of Joseph’s line. A good knight he was indeed, for he was chaste and pure in body, bold of heart and strong, and in him there was no wickedness. But his face did not suggest such courage, and he had no way with words; indeed, through just a few words which he failed to say, such great misfortunes befell Britain that all the isles and all the lands fell into great sorrow; but he then restored them to happiness by the valour of his fine chivalry. And a good knight he should have been, being descended from Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was his grandmother’s brother, and had asked no reward for his service to Pilate but permission to take Christ’s body from the Cross. Pilate had supposed that he would drag it shamefully through the city of Jerusalem and leave it in some foul place outside; but the good soldier had no such intention: rather did he honour the body as highly as he could, laying it to rest in the holy tomb; and he kept the lance with which Christ’s side had been pierced and the holy vessel in which he gathered the blood that flowed from Our Saviour’s wounds.

Descended from this line was the Good Knight: Joseph was his grandmother’s brother, and the Fisher King was his grandfather; his mother’s name was Yglais, by whom he had an uncle, the King of Castle Mortal, in whom there was as much evil as there was good in her; by his father, Alain li Gros, he had eleven uncles, but those eleven – Gosgallian, Brun Brandalis, Bertolet the Bald, Brandalus of Wales, Elinant of Escavalon, Calobrutus, Meralis, Fortimet of the Crimson Heath, Meliarman of Albanie, Galerian of the White Tower and Aliban of the Waste City – all died in battle in the service of the Holy Prophet who renewed the Law by His crucifixion, as they strove to check His enemies as much as they could. From such a line was the Good Knight descended, of whose name and ways you soon will hear.