Part 1
The Knight of
The Sparrow Hawk

Part 2
Sir Geraint
& The Knight
of the
Sparrow Hawk

Part 3
Sir Geraint
& Lady Enid

Part 4
Geraint & Enid
In the
Land of the
Evil Earl

Part 5
Encounter
with the
Little King

Part 6
The Three
Giants

Only Love Counts: Part 4

Sir Geraint and Lady Enid in the Land of an Evil Earl

In the often cruel activities of life that can take us so far afield of the spiritual, that take us away from the castle and into the dark woods where we must struggle to survive, there is recognition of the divine. Enid and Geraint acquire three, then four, then five horses, and this totals twelve, the number of the Knights of the Round Table and the Apostles at the Last Supper. During the Middle Ages, the mysticism of numbers was widely popular. Twelve by natural addition is three, the number of the Holy Trinity. But there is not much holiness to be found by Geraint as well as by others living solely on the levels of the first three chakras. For them, life is a competition and all about fighting and winning in the popular world that honors the divinities of wealth, lust and power.

When we engage in the daily activities of life, giving little thought to spiritual matters, the kundalini energy can become blocked, often at chakra 5, the throat chakra, and sometimes at chakra 4, the heart chakra. Then like Enid we cannot speak in our natural spiritual voice, or like Geraint we do not act from the heart as we otherwise might. Instead, we may live out part of our lives fueled by the energy of chakra 2, experiencing the frustrations of sex, and fueled by the energy of chakra 3, acting upon those experiences. A karmic pattern of action/reaction is established from which, like wandering in a dark forest, it is very difficult to emerge. This karmic pattern is often magnetic for negative energy, and for Sir Geraint and Lady Enid the negative energy comes in the form of an Earl.

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Sir Geraint and Lady Enid in the Land of an Evil Earl

Morning comes and Geraint awakens Enid from her sleep. She is very hungry but makes no complaint. She mounts her horse, takes the reins of the twelve horses and rides forth, Geraint following at a distance. After awhile the trees of the dark forest become thinner and sunlight finds its way through the leaves and onto the ground. Enid and Geraint ride out of the woods and into the open fields of hedgerows, meadows and mowers mowing. They come to a river to ford it, and all the horses bow their heads and drink of the water. They ride up a steep bank on the other side of the river. At the top of the bank stands a youth carrying a leather satchel and a crock of milk.

Geraint asks the youth, "Where did you come from?" He replies, "From the Earl's town on the other side of that hill yonder. Where did you come from?" Geraint responds, "From the forest there. We traveled all day yesterday through the forest and slept there last night." "You must be hungry," says the youth. "I have bread and cheese to offer you that I was taking to the mowers for their breakfast. I also have milk." "Well, thanks, friend," says Geraint. "We will accept your kind offer of food." The youth helps Enid down from her horse, and she and Geraint sit under a crab-apple tree and eat breakfast. When they are finished, the youth bids goodbye but Geraint tells him, "Go to the town yonder and get us a room at the best inn. And for your kindness in helping us, pick out one of these horses and a suit of armor that you like and keep them for yourself." The youth says he has done nothing as great as that to deserve a horse and armor, but Geraint insists. Joyfully, the youth chooses among the horses and then leaves for town to make reservations at the inn for the knight and his lady.

As the youth rides into town, one of the Earl's servants stops him to discover how he has come by such a grand suit of armor and stalwart horse. "A noble knight has given them to me, " he tells the servent. "He has eleven other horses and eleven other suits of armor." "This is strange," says the servant. "Come and tell your story to the Earl." The youth goes to the Earl and tells him about the knight and the lady and the twelve horses and the twelve suits of armor. The Earl tells the youth to return to the knight and invite him and his lady to his castle for lodgings. So the youth rides back to Geraint and tells him what the Earl has said, but Geraint is displeased, saying, "I told you to find us lodgings at the inn, not at an Earl's castle. I will not stay with the Earl but will stay at the inn." The youth leads Geraint and Enid to the inn.

The landlord of the inn comes out to meet the knight and his lady, and Geraint tells him, "Show us your best room," and the landlord does so. In the room Geraint tells Enid, "Keep to that side of the room and I will keep to my side, for I am tired and I want to sleep." Enid says, "I will do as you say." He tells the youth, "Come back after I awake and wait on me." The youth says he will, but first he must go see the Earl as he has promised. So while Geraint sleeps, the youth goes to see the Earl and tells him, "Sir, this man is a prince or a knight-royal, because he commands everyone." The Earl asks, "Where is he lodged?" The youth tells him at the inn and that he is to return to wait on the knight when he awakens. "Give him my regards, "says the Earl.

Geraint sleeps all afternoon and awakens because he is hungry. He summons the landlord and tells him to lay on a feast and asks the landlord if he has some friends he would like to invite to dine. The landlord has many friends, he says, and Geraint tells him to invite them all to eat and drink. He tells the landlord, "Although I am unhappy myself, I love see people who are happy and having fun." Everyone comes to Geraint's feast and the entire inn is taken over with laughing and eating and drinking and merrymaking.

That evening the Earl comes and brings with him twelve knights of his court. Geraint arises and welcomes them, and the Earl sits down to talk with Geraint. He asks him what is the purpose of his journey, and Geraint responds his journey has no purpose, that he is seeking adventure as a knight-errant. The Earl casts his eyes upon Enid, who is sitting far from Geraint, and he studies her, thinking how fair and beautiful she is. His heart fills with sudden love, and the fire of lust ignites. He asks Geraint, "Have I your permission to speak with that lady? I notice she is not with you." Geraint says, "By all means, go ahead."

So the Earl goes over to Enid and says to her, "Lady, your hands are so beautiful and soft and your body is so fragile and gentle, it cannot be pleasant to travel the cruel world with that man." Enid says, "I enjoy his company." The Earl says, "You should have servants waiting on you day and night." Enid says, "I would rather travel with that man that have servants serving me." The Earl says, "Take my advice. Give up that man and come with me. Everything I own will be yours and you shall be mistress of it and of me."

Enid is getting very angry and she says, "I will not go with you! That man is dearer to me than all the earth, all its kingdoms, its principalities, its dukedoms and its earldoms. He was the first man I plighted my faith, and never have I withdrawn it from his keeping. Do you think I would leave him now for the little piece of ground you offer me, and do him such dishonor and let him go forth into the world alone?" The Earl responds, "Lady, you are wrong in this, because I will kill that man and take you by force. And when I am tired of you I will throw you away. But if you come willingly, then I will not throw you away but I will keep you as my most precious treasure as long as I live. Come with me and I will let that man live, but do not come with me and I will kill him."

Enid is greatly disturbed by this and she sees the Earl's twelve knights standing by to do his bidding. So at last she says to the Earl, "Listen to what I say to you. Everything I just said, I said for the sake of my honor. But you have made me want to go with you. Come tomorrow morning with twelve armed knights and take me away as if by force, so that it appears I did not go willingly. " The Earl agrees to this and leaves. But Enid says nothing of this to Geraint, knowing he would go into a rage and go after the Earl. She keeps everything secret and to herself. That night as they lie on different sides of the room, Geraint sleeps but Enid does not. When she hears his deep breathing of sleep, she arises quietly and gathers his armor and piles it softly where he can easily get it. Then she lies down and sleeps.

Before dawn Enid arises and goes to where Geraint sleeps, touches her finger to his chest and he awakens. "Do you know what the Earl said to me last night?" she asks Geraint. "Tell me," says Geraint. Enid tells him everything and Geraint is very angry and says to her, "Your beauty brings out evil wherever you go. Now I will kill this Earl before I leave here for what dishonor he has suggested." "Not so," says Enid. "Let the Earl alone. He has too many men. Let us leave now before they come." In this respect, Geraint is no fool and agrees to leave. He arises, puts on his armor and summons the landlord, asking him, "How much do I owe you?" The landlord replies, "Not much. You were only here one night." Geraint says, "Take eleven horses and eleven suits of armor in payment. Will that cover it?" "Heaven bless me," says the landlord, "that is far to much. You don't owe me the value of even one horse, much less eleven with suits of armor." "In that case," says Geraint, "you are a richer man, now. Is there a back way out of here? We need to leave in a hurry." The landlord shows them the back way and they leave before the Earl arrives.

As Enid and Geraint ride onward, Enid looks back many times. Finally, she sees a cloud of dust coming nearer and nearer, and in that cloud of dust are the Earl and his twelve knights. She cries out to Geraint, "Sir Knight, get ready to fight! Here they come!" Geraint has been sunk in thought, but now he closes his visor, latches it and prepares himself for battle. He turns his horse in the middle of the road and stands waiting for his enemies. Soon they reach him and stop a little away from him. Then the Earl comes forward and says, "Sir Knight, give up that lady and we will not harm you. She told me she wanted to stay with me." Geraint calls out to Enid, "Is this true? Do you want to go with this man? If you do, you have my permission to leave." Enid calls back, "No! I don't want to go with him. I would rather go with you to your death than with him to his joy." Geraint says to the Earl, "The lady says you are mistaken. She does not want to go with you." "She said she did yesterday, " the Earl says. He calls out to Enid, "What did you tell me yesterday? You said you wanted to stay with me!" Enid calls back, "I told you what I had to tell you, because you put me in a bad situation."

Then the Earl goes back to his knights and speaks with them. He calls out to Geraint, "Sir Knight, I will not let you go until you have jousted some of my knights for the lady yonder, for her bright eyes and her slender body." "Well," says Geraint, "Let's begin." The Earl responds, "And if you lose the lady is mine." "You shouldn't have said that," replies Geraint. The strongest of the Earl's knights rides forward, and he and Geraint make a violent charge at each other. Three times they charge and the Earl's knight lies on the ground as though dead. Then one after another the knights take turns charging Geraint, and each is violently thrown upon the ground. Then the Earl says, "Sir Knight, you have fought gallantly and have won. Leave in peace." "Not so," says Geraint, "For you are remaining for me to fight before I leave."

"So be it," says the Earl, and rides forward. They set spurs to their horses and ride forward in such a fury and crash like thunder in the middle of the field. The Earl's spear is shattered against Geraint's shield, while Geraint's spear pierces the shield of the Earl, lifting him out of his saddle and hurling him behind his horse, where he lies as though dead. Geraint runs to the Earl and snatches off his helmet, grabbing him by the hair and drawing his neck forward to chop off his head. Just before Geraint swings his sword, the Earl comes to and cries out, "Sir Knight, spare my life!" "Why should I?" says Geraint. "You tried to kill me, you tried to destroy my honor, you tried to steal my lady, and this while we were guests in your town!" He whirls his sword to strike, but Enid comes running, saying, "Spare the Earl's life. What do you gain by killing him?" Geraint says, "This lady has asked for your life. I will spare it." The Earl cries, "Thank you, thank you!" "Get out of here," says Geraint. "Go in peace," says Enid.

Enid and Geraint mount their horses and travel on their way, Enid leading and Geraint following far behind. The twelve knights all require medical attention, and many weeks pass before they are well enough to go outside the castle. This is the second day of their journey.