Original subtitles

Across the ledge to the back of the village.

Then through the forest! Now.

Let�s see who�ll be first man.

Everybody ready? Now!

Go and tell the village.

Tell the world.

Arthur is dead.

With Arthur dead, who will now lead his men?

They are not great in size, but by all that�s holy, they can fight!

And with Arthur dead, now that rabble will follow me!

Arthur�s encampment lies in a key position.

With that, I could make myself secure.

We leave within the hour!

The man who adds Arthur�s strength to his own will be unbeatable!

Let it be Herward the Holy.

Attack and conquer Arthur�s camp?

John, John, that�s what all the others will be plotting.

All those crude thieves, Mark and Dirk and Herward.

No, we�re the only ones who remember the old ways.

Roman ways!

Strength of the lion, cunning of the fox.

No-no-no.

We offer those poor frightened people of Arthur our protection,

and if they refuse, then we attack.

With Arthur dead, the others�ll have no stomach for a fight.

Child? Out of my way, I am Herward the Holy!

And I am Cabot the Crafty.

We�re coming to Arthur�s encampment.

We don�t want to slouch in like a lot of old half-women.

March like the legions of Rome!

They got you too, eh?

Dirk the Crafty, Dirk with the extra eye. Hah!

In his bellybutton.

You�ve got us all now.

Well?..

What are you waiting for? Kill us.

We�re not women that we have to prepare.

I thought too little of you, Kai. I should�ve known.

I watch you breathing down Arthur�s neck often enough.

You tricked us!

You tricked yourselves, by your own greed.

How many times have I asked you for this meeting?

How many times have you refused?

We had better things to do!

Like plundering each other?

Ripping and warring amongst yourselves like brainless wolves?!

Tearing apart our people, leaving them helpless before any Saxon war party?

You�ve done your share.

When I�m attacked, I defend myself and my people.

But there is a greater enemy now.

Cerdig the Saxon moves forward year by year.

Cutting down our forests, taking more of our land!

None of us is strong enough to beat him on our own.

We must make a pact. � A pact?!

With a moon-blasted priest, an imitation Roman, and a weasel?!

A moon-blasted priest?

Outside is a stone.

Beneath the stone is a sword!

The man who can lift that sword above his head will be our leader.

I am the destined one. � Ha!

Nodens! Meponas! Barli!

Help me now.

Meponas, Nodens, Barli! What gods are they?

There�s only one god. Mithras!

God of the legions! God of the sun!

Symbol of the bull.

You prattle of your gods and your bulls.

There is only one bull!

And it is I, Mark of Cornwall.

Stand aside!

Alright, Squint Eye.

It�s your turn. Let�s see how you�ll get on!

The muscles of a girl-child.

So you look pleased with yourself, maybe you think you can move it!

No. But I know how it can be moved!

All I want is one hand from each man.

Here! Here! Here! And here!

Now. Push!

Ha!

That proves nothing! You did it with our help.

Exactly.

And that�s how I�ll beat Cerdig.

With your help.

None of us can do it alone.

Together we will roll him into the sea as easily as we shifted that rock.

He�s right.

The Romans had a saying for it: divide and rule.

That�s why Cerdig wins.

I ask each of you to put half his army at my disposal!

What?! � No!

Then I can fight Cerdig on equal terms! � Never. Never. Never.

D�you hear what he�s saying?

Then there�ll be nothing to stop you attacking us, marching on us, one by one, and slaughtering us!

There�s nothing to stop him slaughtering you now!

If that�s what he wanted, why hasn�t he done it already?

He still could! We are unarmed and defenceless.

Give us back our arms, and then we will talk.

Kai. Their swords.

I�d as soon as give a snake back his fangs.

Let�s kill them now and make an end of it.

You�ve seen and heard them!

You can�t argue with jackals! � No, Kai.

If you need swords to make you feel like men,

very well.

You are men again.

Now think like men and give me your answer!

We must speak together. � Speak quickly!

Cerdig was at Ilchester last night, not a day�s march from here.

I must speak to Cerdig!

Ambrose, you say? Mark of Cornwall?

And Herward the Holy, and Dirk.

They�re meeting in council to join forces against you.

Whose idea was this brotherhood of wolves?

Arthur�s.

Oh. Dangerous man, Arthur of the West.

He thinks before he fights.

They have few men.

Strike now and you get them all, Arthur among them!

Why should a Celt deliver Arthur into my hands?

I went before him at the seat of judgement!

He gave judgement to my enemy!

Wisely, I�d say.

You�re a rogue if ever I saw one.

You see what a thing it is, Hengist, to be a leader.

You give justice, and you make a knife for your back.

Prepare for battle!

At least when I slay Arthur, I�ll do it from the front!

You�re agreed? � Yes, it makes sense.

We forget our quarrels and join together against Cerdig.

It is the way of Rome. � It is counselled by the gods.

The gods are wiser than I thought.

Very well, what I propose... � One point!

Why you?

We�ve agreed to combine our forces, yes.

But why should you command them?

Only he can.

By whose word? Not mine.

No! We go by the law.

Not an hour ago I spared all your lives.

I had you all at my mercy!

I gave you back your swords!

A sign of your weakness!

Let us see if your sword arm shows the same flow.

Unless any of the others wants to try his chance against you.

Who wins, leads! That�s the law.

Small boys decide things so. We are grown men!

Small boys are not afraid to fight!

You can beat him! He�s slow on his feet.

He drops his shield arm to the left, he moves his head forward before he strikes...

Kai! I�m trying to build an alliance based on sense and reason.

If I fight now to prove myself, reason will�ve flown.

I won�t be a leader, just a fighting stag!

Llud knows I�m right.

No, Arthur, you are wrong.

You fight with your mind as a leader should.

But there�s a time to fight with the mind, and a time to fight with the belly.

And these men understand only the belly!

You must fight!

Enough! � Cerdig!

The enemy! � Cerdig! The Saxons!

Retreat! We must retreat!

Follow me. Attack!

That�s just what they want! They�ll be waiting for you!

They�ll be back, what�s left of them.

With Cerdig biting at their heels!

Nodens!

I don�t care what everybody thinks! Arthur was right!

Arthur was a milksop!

Meponas!

Barli!

Where is Arthur? Show me Arthur!

They were waiting for us!

They got us through the trees!

Where were you when the battle was at its hottest?

Skulking in the camp like a handmaiden!

I told you not to go. � You were afraid to go!

Your men could�ve made the difference.

They could�ve made no difference.

The gods were against us!

It wasn�t the gods, it was your own stupidity, attacking Cerdig on his terms!

Well, now we fight on my terms!

Your terms?

Listen to me, men of the Celts! The day is not lost!

Nobody listens to you! Friend of the old men, clinger to the hearth!

Gather to me! There is a way! When did Arthur lose a battle?

When did he ever fight a battle?

Celts! This is I, Mark of Cornwall, slayer of many.

We attack again, and this time we scatter them like chaff before the wind!

If boasting could kill Cerdig, this oaf would have talked him to death years ago!

Nobody talks to me like that! � Today the Celts fight back! I have a battle plan!

Herward! You with Llud. Take your forces and hurry!

The rest with Kai over the hill.

Ah. All alone, eh?

No doubt your brave allies have found urgent duties back at the home fires.

Have you come to fight, or talk all day like an old woman?

Fight!

Attack!

Back!

Big words before a fight, but when the fighting begins, it�s �Back! Back!�

Follow me!

Back!

Now!

Again!

Again!

Arthur! I�ll be back!

You�re a man of fate.

I will put at your disposal half my men.

And you, Ambrose? � Rome always loved a winner.

You may have a quarter of mine.

I too have dogs biting at my heels.

I had not thought of that.

On second thoughts, a quarter.

Dirk?

I shall have to think about it very carefully. There are many things to be considered.

Anyway, after that day you may not need so many.

You did well.

Almost too well.

They were on us sooner than I expected.

Well, at least the action got us some men.

Without that, we would�ve still been talking when the snow came.

You should have seen that Saxon�s face when his foot went into the marsh.

You should have seen my face. I nearly went in after him!

That�s enough! Men cannot feast for ever.

You, take the cliff path. You, take the creek.

Get to the bridge.

Now!

Arthur, let them rest.

They won a great victory today.

Great victories are more dangerous than great defeats.

Men get soft and sleepy.

Our danger remains as great as ever it was.

And now Mark is an open enemy.

Then strode bold Arthur up to Cerdig...

Hey, what rhymes with Cerdig?

He fights the battles. You write the songs.

The Saxons fell upon us, like the rain upon the ground;

But the great Lord of the Forest bade the quagmire suck them down.

When Arthur fought the foe.

Same route as before?

First man into the village.

This one�s for real.

I�ll have the mead poured ready for you when you get back.

Kai!