HERE'S THE FOURTH PART OF THE KNIGHT'S TALE.
Well, there was a magnificent festival on Monday to celebrate the beginning of the tournament
and the arrival of spring.
All of Athens danced and jousted and feasted that day.
And when night fell, everyone went to bed early so that they could get up early on Tuesday
morning to watch the tournament.
By sunrise the next morning, the whole city was already up and about.
The noise was tremendous as knights rode to and fro, horses stamped their feet, and blacksmiths
fine-tuned weapons and armor.
You could see all sorts of interesting armor, helmets, chain mail, shields, swords, spears,
and other weapons lying about, some of them very fancy and expensive, others just plain
bizarre.
Squires, servants, and other men were running here and there as they gathered their knights'
weapons and gear, while the horses chomped at their bits, anxious from all the commotion.
The commonfolk crowded in with every kind of noisemaker you can imagine, from trumpets
and horns to drums and pipes and pots.
And, of course, everyone was talking about Arcite and Palamon, and which of them would
win.
Some people said Palamon didn't stand a chance, while others thought that Arcite wouldn't
live to see tomorrow.
Others favored the knight with the black beard, or the one with the bald head, or the one
with bushy hair.
You could hear people saying things such as, "Well, that guy has a mace that weighs a good
twenty pounds, so he's sure to win."
All that noise and clatter from the streets below woke up Theseus, who decided to remain
inside his bedroom in the palace until Arcite and Palamon arrived at the palace to begin
the tournament.
He sat on a chair that looked out a window upon the chaotic scene below as if he were
one of the gods on high sitting in his throne.
The crowds surged forward beneath his window so that people could get a look at him and
pay their respects, and to hear the announcement that he was about to make.
When the time was right, a palace servant shouted, "Listen, listen, everyone!"
to shush the crowd.
When everyone had quieted down, he said: "Our lord, Theseus, has been thinking things
over and has come to the conclusion that it would be an awful waste if so many honorable
knights died in the tournament today.
Therefore, he's decided to change the terms of the original agreement he struck between
Palamon and Arcite by declaring that the participants can't kill each other in the fight.
That means knights are only allowed to bring non-lethal weapons with them, such as broad
swords and maces.
Deadly weapons, including short swords made for stabbing, battleaxes, daggers, or arrows
are prohibited.
And knights can use their spears only one time against each opponent so as not to kill
them when they're down.
The official referees, meanwhile, will take fallen knights—by force, if it comes to
that—to their respective penalty boxes, where they'll wait out the rest of the tournament.
If either Arcite or Palamon is taken to a penalty box, however, then the tournament
will be finished immediately.
Now, fight hard, good luck, and God be with you."
The crowd below shouted for joy at hearing that no one would die in the tournament.
People said things such as, "God bless Theseus, who's so wise and kind!"
Then the trumpets and the music began, which signaled the beginning of the parade of knights
marching through the banner-filled city toward the stadium.
Theseus rode in the parade looking very noble.
Palamon and Arcite rode next to him, one on either side.
Behind him rode Queen Hippolyta and then her sister Emily, followed by a large group of
noble Athenians.
They rode all the way through Athens until they arrived at the stadium Theseus had constructed
for just this occasion just before nine in the morning.
After Theseus, Hippolyta, Emily, and other noble ladies had seated themselves in the
seats with the best views, the crowd surged forward and rushed to find their seats.
Then Arcite and his hundred knights flying a red flag strode into the stadium through
the western gate of Mars, while Palamon and his hundred knights simultaneously entered
through the eastern gate of Venus flying a white flag.
The knights formed single-file lines on each side of the stadium.
Both sides were so equally matched in honor, nobility, age, and skill that no one could
really say which side would win.
After each knight's name had been read aloud—so that everyone knew that both sides had a hundred
men each—the gates to the stadium grounds were closed, and the announcer said, "Let
the battle begin!"
And with that, the trumpets blared, and the battle began!
Knights galloped on their horses left and right, spears went flying into the air and
clattering against the shields as they flew back down.
You could hear the sounds of metal clashing against metal and the sound of crunching bones.
You could see the glimmer of the steel as swords swung to and fro, bits of metal flying
everywhere, and red blood spurting into the air.
Men fell down and horses rolled to the ground in a heap as if they were standing on balls
instead of the earth.
One knight shoves another's spear away with his foot.
Another is wounded in the abdomen and pulled away by the referees to the penalty box as
he struggles to get back into the fight.
They all know the rules, but none of them wants to give up so easily.
Every now and then Theseus calls for a break so that the knights still fighting can rest
and get something to drink if they want.
Arcite and Palamon have found each other in the melee a few times, and both of them have
wounded the other and knocked each other off their horses twice.
Arcite's jealousy of Palamon makes him fight harder than a mother tiger looking after her
threatened cubs, while Palamon's desire to kill Arcite makes him more ferocious than
the hungriest lion.
Both are after blood, which streams down both their faces.
Well, you know what they say: Everything eventually comes to an end.
Before sunset, King Emetreus of India slashed Palamon so badly that the referees came out
and dragged him away to a penalty box.
Palamon knew that he'd lose Emily if he left the battle, so he fought off the referees
as hard as he could—in fact, it took twenty of them to pull him off the field.
The referees knocked down King Lycurgas from Thrace in their struggle to grab Palamon,
who also managed to knock Emetreus off his horse and slug him as he was being dragged
in the dirt.
None of it made any difference, though, not even the burning in his heart because the
referees managed to drag him to the penalty box.
No one has ever been sadder than Palamon, who knew he'd lost the fight—and Emily—forever.
When Theseus saw Palamon enter the penalty box, he looked at the knights still fighting
below, and shouted, "Stop!
Stop immediately!
The tournament is over!
I have been an unbiased judge in this contest, and Arcite has won.
Therefore, Emily will marry Arcite, knight of Thebes, because he has won the tournament
fairly."
The crowd shouted and cheered so loudly that it seemed the stadium itself would collapse.
And what did Venus, the goddess of love, have to say about this as she watched the tournament
from the heavens?
She cried bitterly because Palamon had lost and she hadn't gotten her way.
She cried so hard, in fact, that her tears rained down on the crowd in the stadium below.
She said, "I am so ashamed that Palamon and I have lost."
The god Saturn said, "Stop crying, Venus.
Mars and his knight Arcite have won this battle, but I promise you that you'll feel better
soon enough.
Everyone is cheering in celebration of Arcite's victory, but take my advice and don't be too
sad just yet."
The victorious Arcite, meanwhile, had ripped off his helmet to show his face to Emily as
he galloped across the battlefield.
Emily looked down on him with admiration (because women, generally speaking, always favor the
winners), which filled his heart with happiness.
Suddenly, an earthquake caused by Saturn shook the ground, which caused Arcite's horse to
trip and collapse.
Before he had time to react, Arcite slammed into the horn of his saddle, breaking his
sternum.
He then flew forward so violently that he lay still on the ground just as if he were
dead, his face covered completely in blood.
Theseus's men immediately took Arcite to the palace, where they cut off his armor and put
him to bed.
He was barely alive, but conscious, and cried out continually for Emily.
Duke Theseus returned home to Athens amidst the cheering and celebrating throngs of happy
Athenians.
He didn't say anything about Arcite's accident because he didn't want to darken the cheerful
mood.
Besides, his servants had told him that Arcite's wounds weren't serious and that he would live.
The people were especially happy that none of the knights in the tournament had died,
even though a few had been badly injured, one guy in particular whose chest had been
punctured by a spear.
Others had suffered from bruises and broken bones, but they were being treated with ointments
and herbal medicines, prayers, and all sorts of other treatments.
Theseus personally visited and congratulated every wounded knight, and hosted a magnificent
banquet for all the foreign dignitaries as was the custom.
Everyone could celebrate because there were no real losers in this tournament since everyone
had lived.
Even those who'd been wounded were still winners because they'd all fought tooth and nail to
remain in the battle and not be dragged to the penalty box.
Not even Palamon's defeat was considered cowardly or dishonorable since he'd fought harder than
anyone to remain in the fight.
To make sure that everyone attending the festivities felt good about the results of the tournament,
Theseus announced that both sides had fought honorably and had won the tournament.
Then he gave gifts to all the participants on both sides and invited them to a feast
that lasted for three days.
And when it was time to leave, he helped pay for the journey home for all the visiting
kings.
And that's how the tournament ended, with warm goodbyes and farewells.
Even though Theseus's servants had told him that Arcite would live, poor Arcite was actually
getting worse.
His chest swelled up with blood from his wound, which caused more and more pain.
Theseus's doctors tried everything they could think of to save him, but they couldn't stop
the internal bleeding or prevent the blood poisoning.
None of their medicines would work, not the ones that made him throw up or the ones that
gave him diarrhea.
His breathing soon became affected from all the blood in his chest—his whole upper body
was a complete mess.
To put it simply, Arcite was dying, and there was nothing anyone could do to save him.
Arcite, still awake, asked to see Emily and his dear cousin Palamon so that he could talk
to them both before he died.
When they arrived, he said: "I can't tell you how sad I am, my Emily,
my love.
God, the hurt and the pain I felt because of you for so long...
And now that I have you, I'm going to die and go away from you.
Oh my beautiful Emily, my beautiful wife, love of my life!
Why?
Why does it have to be this way?
What does a guy have to do to be happy?
One moment he has everything he's ever wanted, and then the next moment he's dead and alone.