"My king, my lord, and my uncle," he sternly said, "I vow by my knighthood that I shall never forgive Lancelot for this murderous deed, but from this day forth shall remain his deadly foe, till one of us has slain the other. War to the death it shall be, and if you aid me not I shall seek Sir Lancelot alone, if it be through seven kings' realms, till I hold him to answer for this deed of blood."
"You shall not need to seek him so far," said the king. "They say that Lancelot awaits us in Joyous Gard, and that many knights have joined him."
"Well is it so," said Gawaine fiercely. "Then my lord Arthur, gather your friends, and I will gather mine. Say not that deeds like this shall go unpunished in England's realm. Your justice defied! My unarmed brothers murdered! Shall this be done, and we basely submit?"
"You speak to the point," said the king. "We must strike for honor and revenge. Strong as Lancelot's castle is, and bold as are his friends, I fancy I can gain strength enough to draw him out of the strongest tower in it."
Then King Arthur sent orders far and wide through the land, and in brief time there came to Carlisle many knights, dukes, and earls, so that he had a great host. These the king informed of what had happened, and of his purpose to force Lancelot to yield up his queen, and to punish him for his trespass.
Lancelot meanwhile, was not idle, but drew to himself, many more knights, and provisioned his castle fully, for he well knew that he must abide behind walls, as he was far too weak to meet the king's host in the field.
Not many days had elapsed when King Arthur and Gawaine with a great host of men, laid siege about Joyous Gard, both the town and the castle, and war replaced the peace that had reigned so long in the land.
But Lancelot lay secure in his castle, and for a long time would not go out himself, nor suffer any of his knights to pass the gates of town or castle. And so fifteen weeks of the siege passed away.
It befell upon a day in harvest-time that Lancelot looked over the walls of Joyous Gard, and seeing below him the king and Gawaine, thus spoke to them,--
"My lords both, you besiege this castle in vain. You will gain more dishonor than worship here. If I chose to come out, with my knights, I should soon bring this war to an end."