The Book of King Arthur Prologue.
In ancient days there lived a king named Uther Pendragon who ruled over all of Britain.
In beating his enemies, Uther Pendragon relied strongly on two men in his court.
One, Merlin the Wise was a powerful wizard who was able to see the future.
The other, Sir Ulfius, was a noble knight who had led many great wars.
King Uther Pendragon's wife, the gentle Igraine, had two daughters from another marriage.
One of the daughters, Morgana Le Fay, was a famous witch.
Soon Igraine had a baby boy.
When Merlin came to meet the child, he stood over the baby's cradle and shut his eyes.
Lord, he told Uther Pendragon, I am sorry to tell you that I see bad things in the future.
You will soon become sick with a fever and die.
I see your kingdom falling into great confusion.
Your baby's life will be in great danger from enemies that would try to take what is rightfully his.
I beg you, let Ophias and me take the baby away.
We will hide him in a safe place until he is grown.
Uther Pendragon had great faith both in Merlin's advice and in the gifts he thought his son would someday bring to the world.
And so he let Merlin and Ulfius take the child and hide him.
Shortly after that, Uther Pendragon indeed became sick and died.
Just as Merlin had seen, the kingdom fell into a state of confusion.
A thousand lesser kings wanted to rule.
A thousand other knights and barons hid by the sides of highways.
From there, they attacked and robbed helpless travelers.
Almost eighteen long years passed like this.
The land positively groaned with the trouble that lay upon it.
Finally, the Archbishop of Canterbury called Merlin to him.
Merlin, he begged, some say you are the smartest man in the world.
Surely you can use your gifts to find us a new king, so that we may enjoy happiness, as we did in the days of Uther Pendragon.
Merlin shut his magical eyes again.
After a while, he spoke.
"'My lord,' he said, "'I am happy to tell you that I see great things in the future.
This country shall soon have a new king, and he shall be even wiser and greater than was our old friend Uther Pendragon'.
He shall bring order and peace where there is now confusion and war.
And best of all, this new king shall be Uther Pendragon's own flesh and blood.
The archbishop was very happy, but he was confused.
Merlin, he asked, when will this new king come and how will we know him when he arrives?
How will we tell him apart from all of the others who would do anything to rule in his place?
Merlin had a twinkle in his eye.
Do you trust me? he asked.
The archbishop nodded.
With your permission, Merlin continued.
I will set into motion a grand adventure.
By the time it is over, the court will know its rightful king.
Merlin waved his hands, and there appeared before him a huge marble stone.
When he waved his hands once more, an anvil of solid steel appeared on the block of marble.
Merlin then pushed away. a large blue sword into the anvil.
The sword was bright and shiny.
Its gold handle was carved carefully and held many precious stones, and on the blade itself were carved the following words in letters of gold
Whoever shall pull this sword out from the anvil shall be the rightful king of Britain.
At Merlin's request, the archbishop announced a contest to everyone in the land.
At Christmas, any man who wanted to could try to pull the sword from the anvil.
Whoever was able to do so would be the new king of Britain.
The kingdom buzzed with excitement.
Many people thought King Lot would become king.
Some people thought that King Urian of Gore would be the king.
Others believed King Leodogrance of Camilliard would be the one to free the sword.
Still, others said that it would be King Ryans of North Wales.
When Christmas came, it seemed like the entire world had found its way to London for the contest.
The highways and inns and castles were bursting with travellers.
Kings and lords, knights and ladies, esquires, pages, and men at arms all came to watch history being made.
Looking out at the crowd, the Archbishop of Canterbury confessed his excitement.
Merlin.
He said I would be very surprised if we could not find one person worthy of being king amongst all of these well-known kings and noble lords.
Merlin only smiled.
My lord, he said, you may very well be surprised.
The one truly worthy person may very well be still unknown.
The archbishop thought about Merlin's words, and so starts this magical story.
