EDYRN WITH HIS LADY AND DWARF JOURNEY TO ARTHUR’S COURT

THE FULL IMAGE TITLED “EDYRN WITH HIS LADY AND DWARF JOURNEY TO ARTHUR’S COURT”

The header image to this weblog is from Idylls of the King, first published by Edward Maxon & Company in 1859, which is a collection of 12 narrative poems by the English poet, Lord Alfred Tennyson. The image is by Gustave Dore and is titled “Edyrn with His Lady and Dwarf Journey to Arthur’s Court.” Lord Tennyson retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise of Arthur’s kingdom. The image from Plate III of the book. The castle is Camelot. The man on the horse is Geraint. To the right of Geraint is “His Lady” and “The Sparrow-Hawk: Sir Edyrn, son of Nudd.” “His Dwarf” is cropped out of the image.

Here our some lines from Lord Tennyson’s poem:

“Then, Edyrn, son of Nudd,” replied Geraint,
“These two things shalt thou do, or else thou diest.
First, thou myself, with damsel and with dwarf,
Shalt ride to Arthur’s court, and coming there,
Crave pardon for that insult done the Queen,
And shalt abide her judgment on it; next,
Thou shalt give back their earldom to thy kin.
These two things shalt you do, or thou shalt die.”
And Edyrn answered, “These things will I do,
For I have never yet been overthrown,
And thou hast overthrown me, and my pride
Is broken down, for Enid sees my fall!”
And rising up, he rode to Arthur’s court,
And there the Queen forgave him easily.
And being young, he changed and came to loathe
His crime of traitor, slowly drew himself
Bright from his old dark life, and fell at last
In the great battle fighting for the King.

The complete illustrations to Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King can be accessed at:

https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/tennyson/alfred/idylls/images/

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON (1809-1892)