Dorigen Part 6 The Wizard

The Wizard

They rode to where this wizard lived,

A stone’s throw from the cathedral spire.

A tall house with a gable high

That overhung the street below.

A massive door of wood there was

Studded with rusty nails of iron.

And on the wall, engraved in brass,

The names of all who there had lived

In previous years.

They climbed a spiral staircase all of stone

With steps well-worn and windows arched,

Which wound up to his rooms,

And when he opened the stout oaken door

They were amazed at the fine tapestries they saw.

They covered each and every wall.

The carpets were a deep red hue and so thick

Their feet sank down at every step.

Curtains rich, bunched in thick folds of purple and of gold,

Lined each side of two great windows tall.

A large round table with ten chairs or more

Stood in the centre of the lofty room  

And polished benches ran along the wall.

The wizard made them well at home.

He clapped his hands and all at once

Appeared two servants carrying trays

Who served them both with food and drink.

They sat and marvelled at the meal

Of venison and fowl of every kind

With sauces made from every spice and herb.

Oranges, melon, peach and pear

Were heaped upon the platters there

Though then it was mid-winter time

And outside there was no leaf or fruit

In any orchard or on any tree.

The sun came streaming through the coloured panes

Of the stained glass windows there

Though they remembered when they came

The skies were cloudy and with heavy scuds of rain.

The wizard took a jug of bubbling wine

And poured it into goblets fine

Which he handed to them both,

And then he raised his drink and made a toast

‘May each one gain the thing that he needs most.’

When they could eat and drink no more,

He took them to a room with one white wall.

There was a row of chairs before

And in these chairs he made them sit.

Then first some colours, then some shapes

And then some figures came to life

Upon the wall though there was nothing there at all.

They saw a park of great extent full of wild deer

With massive antlers running here

Among the leafy oaks and beech.

A hundred were caught by the baying hounds

In the frantic chase of the great hunt.

Then they saw falconers with their hawks

Upon the bank of a fair river which flowed past,

Hunting the heron flying there.

So wide this river was and with such trees

It might have been the River Wye 

That flows past Tintern and its wooded dales,

One side in England and one side in Wales.

And then he showed them scenes of Dorigen

Walking in the garden near her home,

And Tristan thought he saw himself there too,

Dancing with her hand in hand,

And as he looked it seemed to him she smiled.

How he made these scenes appear,

The wizard would not say,

But suddenly he clapped his hands

And all those sights just went away.

While they looked at these amazing things

They had never left the house

But the three of them stayed by themselves

In the wizard’s study where he kept his books

Row after row on the crowded shelves.

After supper and another glass of wine

The three sat down to business.

The wizard was no fool and well he knew

How to bargain and negotiate

And how the wisest men are generous

When they have eaten well and had a drink or two.

And speaking clear he then began,

‘What should I have to take away the rocks

From all the coast of Brittany and then,

From the Gironde to the mouth of the Seine?’

He threw this clause in for good measure

To show he did not stint his magic powers.

But he was firm and made it crystal clear

That for less than one thousand pounds of gold

He would not lift a finger.

Tristan was overjoyed at this.

‘What is a thousand pounds!’ he said.

‘I’d pay it twice over if I had to!’

His brother worried more.

‘How can you find so much unless you sell

Your house and home and your inheritance?

Between us we have nothing like so much to hand.’

But Tristan laughed and answered then,

‘The whole wide world would I give if I could

For just one hour with Dorigen.’

And dreaming of what he wanted most,

He then shook hands with his strange host,

And the deal was struck and all agreed.

‘Now set to work on this and keep us here no longer,’

Said Tristan, still unsure of the wizard's powers.

His host then smiled and quietly replied,

‘We start tomorrow, and for that you have my word.’

Then Tristan cheerfully went to bed

And no sooner had he laid his head

On the soft pillow than he was asleep.

He slept more soundly than he’d slept for years.

Anselm, though, lay hours awake,

And worried for his brother’s sake.