King Arthur was very fond of one Knight of the Round Table in particular, and this was because the knight was his very own nephew. His name was Guingamor, and he was a bit younger than the other knights, but no less brave and valiant.
Usually, Guingamor joined in enthusiastically with everything the other knights did, but at the beginning of this story he wasn't feeling very well. He had come down with a very bad cold, which effects even the boldest of knights from time to time. So, when King Arthur and all the other knights decided to go hunting together, Guingamor said that he would give it a miss this time, and went to bed instead.
Later in the day, Guingamor started to feel a bit better, and he came downstairs to find something to eat. The ladies in the castle were all good friends with Guingamor, and one of them made him a sandwich and offered him a game of chess, which cheered him up.
However, while he was sitting with the lady, eating his sandwich and playing chess, Queen Guinevere came into the room; and when she saw Guingamor, she started to laugh.
"What's the matter, Guingamor?" she teased him. "Has your courage failed you? Didn't you want to go hunting the big nasty animals - were you scared?"
"I had a cold," explained Guingamor.
"Man flu," muttered the Queen, and rolled her eyes. "I've heard that one before." No matter what Guingamor said, Queen Guinevere wouldn't stop making fun of him for being too scared to go on the hunt.
That evening, King Arthur and all the knights came back and they had a big banquet together with all the ladies in the hall. After the banquet, they sat around the table telling stories. When it was Queen Guinevere's turn, she lowered her voice.
"I have a very scary story," she said, glancing sideways at Guingamor. "Not for the faint of heart. In the forest around this castle lives a huge white boar. Ten knights have gone to hunt it - and none of them have ever been seen again. What do you think has happened to them? Perhaps they've been gnawed and eaten by wild dogs and vultures. Or perhaps the boar has kept them all as slaves. Or perhaps they've been enchanted and turned into forest creatures! We could have just eaten one of them for dinner!"
King Arthur held up his hand. "That's enough, Guinevere," he said sternly, "you know I have forbidden anybody to talk about that boar. I can't afford to lose any more knights chasing after it."
"Oh, I don't think there would be any knights brave enough," replied Guinevere innocently, looking teasingly at Guingamor.
Guingamor had had enough. He was determined to prove to Queen Guinevere, and everybody else, that he was not a coward, and he was as good a hunter as any of them! "I'll go," he announced, standing up. "Uncle Arthur, will you lend me a horse and a hunting dog? I want to catch the white boar."
King Arthur looked appalled. "You can't go! Ten knights have disappeared into thin air chasing that boar! I don't want to lose my nephew too!" But the more he protested, the more Guingamor was determined, and at last King Arthur agreed to let him go. He lent Guingamor his best horse and his best dog, and waved goodbye to him the very next morning.
Guingamor rode off into the forest by himself. Nobody else had dared to come with him. Before very long, he caught sight of the huge white boar snuffling around the bottom of a tree. "This should be easy," thought Guingamor, and gave chase.
The boar was fast. It crashed through the undergrowth and ran deep into the forest with Guingamor galloping after it, carrying King Arthur's dog under his arm. His plan was to tire the boar out, then release the dog for the final kill; and after a couple of miles, it looked as if his plan was working. The boar was starting to slow down. Guingamor released the dog, which ran barking after the tired boar.
Just then, Guingamor noticed that he had been riding along the edge of a river which wound through the forest. On the other side of the river was a magnificent palace, made of ivory and gold with precious stones glinting in the sunlight. It was surrounded by stunning gardens full of flowers that led all the way down to the river bank. It was beautiful. Guingamor stopped and stared. He wondered who could possibly live in such a palace. He even tried shouting a couple of times to see if anyone would answer from one of the windows, but there was no movement and nobody in the gardens.
The horse snorted, and Guingamor snapped out of his musing and realised that he had stopped following the white boar and the dog. Listening carefully, he thought he heard the barking of the dog coming from a little way ahead of him, so he carried on riding along the river; but around the next bend, he saw another amazing sight. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was having a bath next to the riverbank on the other side. Once again, Guingamor stopped and stared as the woman washed her long hair and rinsed it in the clear, flowing water. After a while, the woman looked up.
"Hello," she said.
"Hello," said Guingamor. "Fair lady, tell me, what is your name?"
"I am lady Tryamor."
"And is that your palace that I have just passed?"
The lady nodded. "Fair knight, what are you doing in these parts?"
"I'm chasing a...oh, bother, the white boar!" exclaimed Guingamor. "I've forgotten it again. Would you mind waiting here while I go and catch it, and get my dog back?"
Lady Tryamor laughed. "You will never catch the white boar," she said, "no-one can, without my help. Would you like me to help you?"
"Yes, please," replied Guingamor, and with that the lady started to sing. Her voice was extraordinarily beautiful: it sounded like a whole orchestra of instruments. Before long, the white boar came trotting out of the trees in time to the music, the dog still snapping at its heels.
Guingamor was concentrating now. He leapt down from his horse and flung his lance at the boar, pinning it to the ground. Then he strode over, drew his sword and cut off its head.
Lady Tryamor smiled a dazzling smile. "Why not bring your catch home to my palace, brave knight?" she said. Guingamor eagerly accepted the invitation, and the lady sang again. This time, an empty boat arrived, large enough for Guingamor, his horse and the dead boar to ride across the river.
The palace was twice as beautiful inside as it had been outside. Guingamor had never seen such riches, or ever been made so comfortable. Lady Tryamor stabled his horse in a luxurious stable as big as a small house; she gave him a bedroom of his own to rest in, with a huge bed covered in furs; she helped him to carry the boar to the enormous kitchens. All the time, Guingamor felt himself falling more and more in love with the lovely and generous lady.
That evening, Tryamor led Guingamor into a magnificent banqueting hall with golden chairs and a long silver table, and Guingamor was astonished to see, seated around the table, all ten of the knights that had gone missing from the Round Table! He was so overjoyed that they were all alive that he didn't ask any questions, just greeted them all with hugs and laughter. Together, they ate a banquet of all the tastiest food you can imagine.
Guingamor spent three days in the company of beautiful Tryamor and his ten old friends. After that, he began to think about King Arthur, the Round Table and the way that Guinevere had laughed at him. It wouldn't do to let her think that he, too, had been unable to defeat the white boar. He wanted to see her face when he rode in with its head. Besides, he still had King Arthur's favourite horse and dog, and he ought to return them.
So on the third night, Guingamor said to everyone at the table, "Tomorrow I'm going to ride back to King Arthur with the boar's head and return his horse and dog. Then I will come back and join you all, because I would like to stay here!"
When she heard this, Tryamor's face fell. "My love, please don't go. Stay here with me," she pleaded.
"I'll come back, I promise!" said Guingamor.
But the other ten knights shook their heads. "Guingamor, we've tried to keep it a secret, but we have to tell you now," they said sadly. "This place is enchanted - surely you've noticed? Every day here is worth a hundred years everywhere else. If you cross the river now, it will be three hundred years in the future since you left. King Arthur, Guinevere and all the knights you knew will be dead now."
Guingamor didn't believe a word of it. "How can they be dead? They were alive just three days ago!" he shouted, and the more the knights and Tryamor tried to explain, the more Guingamor insisted on leaving.
At last, Tryamor said, "Very well, my love, go and see for yourself. But be very careful not to eat anything while you are there. If you do, terrible things will happen."
Guingamor promised, and early the next day he set off carrying the boar's head and King Arthur's dog. The magical boat ferried him back across the river.
As soon as he was on the other side, Guingamor knew that something was wrong. He didn't recognise any of the forest. There were clearings where there had been trees, and every now and then a little cottage in a place where no-one had lived. He rode on and on, becoming more and more confused, until he was relieved to see a woodcutter just settling down with a packed lunch. Guingamor approached him.
"Woodcutter, can you tell me the way to King Arthur's palace?"
"King Arthur?" The woodcutter looked astonished. "Are you pulling my leg?"
"No!" said Guingamor. "I'm looking for King Arthur, and Queen Guinevere, and the knights of the Round Table, to give them this boar's head."
"You're loopy," said the woodcutter. "King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and the round table are just stories. If they ever did exist, why, it must have been over three hundred years ago."
"That can't be right!" exclaimed Guingamor. "I left to chase the white boar just three days ago."
"The white boar? You mean the one that made 11 knights disappear without trace? That's just an old folk tale too," said the woodcutter.
"No, it's not! I'm one of the knights!" cried Guingamor, and he told the woodcutter about the enchanted palace where one day is a hundred years. "I'd better go back there, I suppose," he said miserably.
"No, hang on," said the woodcutter, "you've just made me interested. Here, have a bit of bread and cheese and tell me more."
Guingamor was tired and distressed, and he gratefully slid from his horse and sat down by the woodcutter. He took the bit of bread and cheese he was being offered and took a bite. "Well, it all started when Guinevere..."
But he got no further. As soon as the food entered his mouth, Guingamor started to change. His back bent double, and his skin shrivelled. His muscles wasted and his beard and hair turned white and grew down to the floor. His hands shook and his legs gave way. He had become an ancient man - three hundred years old, in fact, and barely alive.
The woodcutter, amazed, realised at once that everything Guingamor had said must have been true. He picked the old man up gently, set him back on his horse and led it towards the river, the dog trotting along behind them.
On the other side of the river, the woodcutter saw a beautiful lady who, the moment she saw them coming, burst into tears. She started to sing a mournful song, and her voice sounded like a whole orchestra of instruments playing a sad tune. A boat arrived and the lady, still singing, stepped onto it and sailed across the river; still singing, she took the bridle from the woodcutter and led the horse onto the boat, with the dog following. The boat floated back over the river - and disappeared.
The woodcutter marvelled, rubbed his eyes, and turned to go back to his tree. By the time he was half-way there, he was telling himself that he must have been sleepwalking, and that he should learn not to eat strong cheese before having a nap. But when he reached the tree, he found underneath it the huge white head of a boar.
I don't know any more of the story. I suppose that the only reason we know about Guingamor and why the knights all disappeared when they chased the white boar is that the woodcutter told everyone the story. I believe you can still see the boar's head, stuffed, in a castle somewhere. Nobody ever saw Guingamor or any of the knights again, but then it's only been about a week for them since it all happened. Who knows - perhaps another one will try to cross the river soon?
As for Guingamor, whether he is still 300 years old as he lives in that palace with his young and beautiful lady Tryamor, or whether she had a magical way of returning him to his youth, I don't know. Anybody who has an idea, can carry on telling the story.