Arthur impales mordred

He grasped a thick and strong lance and spurred as
fast as his horse could carry him; and Mordred, who saw
that the king sought only to kill him, did not retreat, but
instead turned toward him. The king, bearing down on
him with all his force, struck him so hard that he ripped
apart the links of Mordred’s hauberk and thrust the steel of
his lance through his body. And the story says that when
the lance was withdrawn, a ray of sunlight shone through
the wound, so clearly that Girflet saw it; and the people of
that country say that it was a sign of Our Lord’s wrath.
When Mordred saw the seriousness of his wound, he
realized that it would be fatal; and he struck King Arthur so
powerfully on the helmet that nothing could protect his
head, and the sword cut away part of his skull. This blow so
stunned King Arthur that he fell from his horse, just as
Mordred did. They were both so seriously wounded that
neither had the strength to rise, and they both lay there,
one beside the other.

-

When those who were left saw how the battle had
ended, they began to weep bitterly, and they said, “Oh,
God, [246] did any mortal man ever witness such great
sorrow? Oh, cursed be this battle, which has created so
many orphans and widows in this country and others! Oh,
cursed be this day, which dawned only to reduce to poverty
the kingdom of Great Britain, whose heirs, famed for their
prowess, lie here dead and grievously slaughtered! Oh,
God, what more can You take from us? We see here all our
friends dead.”
When they had grieved for a long while, they came to
where King Arthur lay and asked him, “Sir, how are you
faring?” He said to them, “There’s nothing to do but
mount and leave this place, for it’s clear that my end is
near, and I don’t want to die among my enemies.”
Then he gingerly mounted a horse, and all three of
them left the field and rode toward the sea until they came
to a chapel called the Black Chapel. A hermit, who had his
lodging nearby in a grove, sang Mass there every day. The
king dismounted, and the others did so as well, and they
removed the bridles and saddles from their horses. The
king entered and knelt before the altar and began to recite
his prayers.

-

When the king heard these words, he raised himself
up slowly, for he was weighed down by his armor. He seized
Lucan, who was wearing no armor, and embraced and
clutched him so strongly that he crushed his heart within
his chest. And Lucan had no time to say anything as his
soul left his body.
And when the king had remained in that position for a
long while, he released Lucan, not realizing that he was
dead. When Girflet looked at him intently and saw that he
was not moving, he knew that he was dead and that the
king had killed him. He began to grieve again and said,
“Oh, sir, what a horrible thing you’ve done: you have killed
Lucan.”

The Vulgate Cycle