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King Arthur
Mail David
At that time Cato and Arthur were reigning in
that country, dwelling in Dindrarthou; and Arthur came wandering round to
find a serpent, most fierce, huge and terrible, which had laid waste
twelve parts of the land of Carrum, and Carantoc came and saluted Arthur,
who rejoiced and received a blessing from him. And Carantoc asked Arthur
whether he had heard where his altar had come to shore; and Arthur
replied, "If I am paid for it, I will tell you;" and he said,
"What do you ask to be done?" He answered, "That you should
take away the serpent that is close to you, if you are a servant of God,
that we may see." Then the blessed Carantoc went and prayed to the
Lord; and straightaway the serpent came with great noise, like a calf
running to its mother. And it bent its head before the servant of God,
like a servant obeying its master, with humble heart and downcast eyes.
And he put his stole around its neck and led it like a lamb, it lifting
neither wings or claws; and its neck was like the neck of a seven-year-old
bull, so that the stole could scarcely go round it. Then they led it
together to the citadel and saluted Cato, and were well received by him.
And he led that serpent to the middle of the hall to feed it before the
people, and they tried to kill it. He did not suffer it to be killed,
because he said that it came by the word of God to destroy the sinners
that were in Carrum, and that he might show the power of God through it.
And, afterwards, it went outside the gate of the citadel and Carantoc set
it free and commanded it to depart and to hurt no-one, nor return again;
and it went out and [missing], as the appointment of God said. And he took up the altar, which Arthur had
thought of making into a table - but whatever was placed upon it was
thrown to a distance. And the King asked him to receive Carrum as a
possession for evermore, by a written deed, and, afterwards, he built a
church there. Afterwards there came to him a voice from
Heaven calling him to cast his altar into the sea. Then he sent Cato and
Arthur to ask about the altar, and they were informed that it had come to
land at the mouth of the Guellit; and the King said, "Give him again
twelve pieces of land where the altar was found." Afterwards,
Carantoc came and built a church there, and the town was called Carrou.
LIFE OF ST. CARANTOC
Extract from an early
12th Century hagiographic manuscript