goddess glaze

The book says that he wasborn in May, and we are to under-
stand by this that, free ofworldly guilt, he was as blameless as
the season in which he was born, a time when grass springs
up, flowers bloom, and joyless, troubled hearts awake to
desire and are given happiness. May is a symbol of the kind-
ness that Arthur showedonall occasions, for it brings us more
joy than other months and takes awaythe distress ofthe hard
winter: it renews and adorns everything on the heath that is
withered.
Arthur's life is like May because he knew how to give in
such a manneras to makemanyhappy. Clotho endowed him
with this talent so that he would have greater earthly renown
than anyone else, and Lachesis was also very kind in this
respect, for she spun a long thread for him. Yet I must lament
that Atropos did not overlook it, thus causing the world to
suffer irreparable loss. Fortuna now sits alone on the wheel
without an heir; and Luna, who brought him good luck and
protected him from evil, bewails his passing. Philosophers say
that children born while the sun is in Geminiare always mild-
tempered, noble, happy, wealthy, faithful, kind, and friendly;
Arthur therefore deserved his good luck.
He was not yet six when God took the father who was to
have raised him. In his owntime the father's bravery hadwon
himsuch praise as is nowgiven to the son. Although today he
is not mentioned as often as Arthur—indeed, he is quite
forgotten—the high praise of his virtue and the sovereign
powerthat he passed on to his son showthat he had spent his
life and wealth in the pursuit ofexcellence. While heworethe
crownhe was so powerful that he was sole master of Brittany,
Wales, Normandy, Rinal, Scotland, Ireland, Valois, and En-
gland, with forests, lakes, heaths, and manywilderness areas.
The banners of his victorious armies also waved unopposed
over all the neighboring realms, which he conquered right up
to the great sea.

Diu Crone