Not a man
who failed at need; not a man of them all who flinched in the press;
not one who took thought for his life. The sword smote upon the
buckler as on an anvil. The earth shuddered beneath the weight of the
fighting men, and the valley rang and clanged like a smithy with the
tumult. Here a host rushed furiously against a legion which met it
with unbroken front. There a great company of horsemen crashed with
spears upon a company as valiant as itself. Horse and rider went down
before the adversary, arrows flew and darts were hurled; lances were
splintered and the sword shattered upon the covering shield. The
strong prevailed against the weak, and the living brought sorrow to
the dead. Horses ran madly about the field, with voided saddles,
broken girths, and streaming mane. The wounded pitied their grievous
hurts, choosing death before life; but the prayer of their anguish was
lost in the tumult and the cries. Thus for a great while the two hosts
contended mightily together, doing marvellous damage, one to the
other. Neither Roman nor Briton could gain ground, so that no man knew
who would triumph in the end. Bedevere and Kay considered the battle.
They saw that the Romans held themselves closely.
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