In the realm of King Arthur there was
a knight called Garlon; a dangerous and murderous man who rode invisible. Many
a knight he slew as he rode with the thunder of unseen hooves approaching
furiously, his invisible lance piercing the body of his victim, and
occasionally leaving the broken spear, now fully visible, behind, as he rides
away unseen. The stories of Garlon appear briefly in Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le
Morte D’Arthur.
The knight Sir Balin rides from King
Arthur’s court in the company of a fair damosel whose only love has been slain
by Garlon, this despicable knight who rides invisibly. As they journey they are
joined by another knight. “As they came by an hermitage even by a churchyard,
there came this knight Garlon invisible, and smote this knight, Perin de
Mountbeliard, through the body with a spear. Alas, said the knight, I am slain
by this traitor knight that rideth invisible.”
Garlon rides off seeking another
victim. He is an example of deadly, arrogant and cowardly power. Some in
churches sit in the saddle in place of Garlon, riding invisibly, piercing their
victims with the lance of their tongue and thundering off unseen into the
knight seeking another victim; or perhaps, in repeated heinous acts they circle
around the same victim piercing them again and again. One of the
characteristics of Garlon is that he is oblivious of the pain that follows in
his wake. He is a law unto himself. Everything in his world circles around
himself and he takes pleasure in being the arbiter of life and death. He is
quick to take offense. His deadly invisible attacks are a manifestation of the
lie. He is the worst kind of backstabber in the most graphic kind of way.
Garlon has a severe form of narcissistic personality disorder, or to be quite
blunt, he is evil. Some who sit in the seat of Garlon ride side-saddle. Garlon,
and those like him, will continue to ride invisibly until they are clearly seen
in the cold light of day.
The death of Garlon is instructive. Sir
Balin encounters him at a great feast provided by King Pellam. Garlon, and
others like him, can always be found quite visible in the midst of our
celebrations. Where else are they going to select their victims? Garlon is
arrogant and seeing Balin’s sudden interest in him he smites Balin on the face
with the back of his hand and tells Balin to do what he came for and eat his
free meal. Balin replies, “this is not the first despite that thou hast done
me, and therefore I will do what I came for, and rose up fiercely and clave
Garlon’s head to his shoulders.”
Garlon was found enjoying himself at a
banquet and even though others know who he is, and what he does, no-one has the
courage to intervene until Balin comes on the scene. There are those who are in
thrall to Garlon and vicariously enjoy his exploits; and there are others who
participate in his evil by not resisting it. Those who support Garlon actively
or passively have made “self” the center of their lives and are afraid of
anything that will threaten the needs of the self. Give Garlon a chance and he
will continue to ride unseen, circling round again and again thrusting his
hapless victims through. For Garlon, each unconfronted secret attack is a power
trip that feeds his ego and reaffirms for him that he is the center of the
universe. He lives to control, and enjoys it best when he can do it unseen.
Why is Sir Balin successful? Balin has
not made self the center of his life. In fact his whole quest is a quest to
gain King Arthur’s favor. His power is drawn from his desire to please his
king. The most noble of the Knights of the Round Table live for another.
The lesson here is obvious. Once
Garlon is uncovered he is vulnerable. Thinking himself invulnerable he is even
arrogant enough to launch an attack on Balin in public. There is only one way
to deal with Garlon. If you fail to meet his attack when he is seen, he will
attempt to slay you when he is invisible. Turn your back and there will be the
thunder of unseen hooves approaching from the distance. Garlon cannot be
reasoned with and the only solution is a power encounter. Garlon must be
publicly identified, confronted, and vanquished, before he has a chance to
disappear and do his deadly work again.
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