THE SCENE: In fighting against the Anglo-Saxon Edwin, King Cadwallo found his plans continuously foiled by the working of a court magician. In response, Cadwallo tasked his nephew Brian with undertaking a dangerous mission of assassination. Fortunately for Brian, an unexpected – and emotional – encounter proved decisive in helping him his carry out his task.
THE TEXT: [Cadwallo] plotted together that Brian should cross over to Britain and find some way or other of killing King Edwin’s magician, to prevent him from warning the [Edwin] of Cadwallo’s coming, as he had been doing so regularly.
Brian landed in Southampton and disguised himself as a beggar by putting on the clothes of some poor wretch. He forged an iron rod for himself, with a point at the end. With this he intended to kill the magician, if only he should change to meet him. Then he set out for York, where Edwin was living at that time.
Once Brian entered the city, he joined a throng of beggars who were waiting for alms outside the King’s door. As he was walking up and down, his own sister came out of the hall, holding a basin in her hand, for she was fetching water for the Queen. Edwin had carried this girl off from the city of Worcester, when he was raging through the lands held by the Britons. As she passed in front of Brian, he immediately recognized her. He called to her in a low voice, bursting into tears as he did so. The girl turned her face as he spoke, not being sure who he was. As she came nearer she recognized her brother and almost fainted away, for she was terrified that he would be recognized by some mischance and so be seized by the enemy. They dispensed with kisses and words of endearment for the time being, while she explained to her brother as briefly as she could the lay-out of the court, just as if she were speaking of something else, and then pointed out the magician whom her brother was looking for, for at that very moment by some coincidence he was walking about among the beggars, while alms were being distributed to them.
As soon as Brian had made a note of the man’s appearance, he told his sister to steal secretly out of the Queen’s apartment the very next night and so come to join him outside the town near a certain old church, where he would await her coming in the crypts under the building.
Brian then went off to mingle with the crowd of beggars, moving towards the spot where Pellitus [the magician] was marshalling them. As soon as he had a chance of dealing Pellitus a blow, he did not waste a moment. He lifted up the pilgrim’s staff which I have described above, and stabbed Pellitus in the chest with a blow which killed him on the spot. He immediately dropped his rod, slipped away through the crowd without anyone’s suspecting him, and by God’s grace made his way to the hiding-place which I have described.
– De Gestis Britonum, Geoffrey of Monmouth, 12th Century AD
