Aglovale Aglovale or
Agloval is an
Arthurian legend character introduced in the
Vulgate Lancelot as
Agloval de Galis (
Aglovan, Aglovaus; -
de Galles), that is "of
Wales". He is the eldest legitimate son of
King Pellinore of
Listenois. Like his father and his brothers, who may prominently include
Drian,
Lamorak,
Perceval, and
Tor, he is a Knight of the
Round Table. In the Vulgate and
Post-Vulgate cycles (as Agloval), and
Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur (as Aglovale but also Agglovale
or Aglovayle
; a modern rendering Aglaval
was popularised by Howard Pyle in his adaptation of Malory), he is the one who brings his long lost brother Perceval to Camelot in order to be knighted, having met him by chance in the woods of Wales. In an alternative account in the Livre d'Artus
version of the Vulgate Merlin'', the young Agloval has almost all (except the baby Perceval) of his fifteen brothers killed during the Saxon wars by the forces of King
Rions' relative King Agrippa in their attack on his mother's domain. He accompanies
Gawain and
Sagramore in leading a massive army that defeats the invaders, personally slaying Agrippa but suffering severe wounds that take a long time to heal. As
Acglavael, he features prominently as the father of the hero of the Dutch romance
Moriaen, in which he visits
Moorish lands in Africa and meets a black Christian princess whom he conceives a child with. He returns home and, thirteen years later, his son Morien comes to find him after which they both return to Morien's lands. His own youth in the work is similar as in the ''Livre d'Artus''. In the Vulgate Cycle, Agloval dies accidentally at Gawain's hand during the Quest for the
Holy Grail. However, the rewrite in the Post-Vulgate
Queste turns it into a deliberate murder, a part of the Orkney clan's long vendetta for the death of
King Lot. In Malory, Aglovale is among the knights charged by
King Arthur with defending the execution of
Guinevere, and is killed by unknown hand during the bloody melee when
Lancelot and his men rescue the queen. In modern works, Aglovale is the eponymous protagonist of
Clemence Housman's 1905 novel
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis, expanding on Malory's account, where he ie depicted as a deeply troubled and tragic anti-hero figure. He also appears in other media, such as the video game
Granblue Fantasy. A character named after Agloval appears in the novel
Sword of Destiny and the animated adaptation
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep.
Arthur the Less -themed arms of Arthur le Petit
Arthur the Less or
Arthur the Little (
Arthur le Petit) is an illegitimate son of
King Arthur ("Arthur the Great") found only in the
Post-Vulgate Cycle. After Arthur forces himself on a daughter of a knight named Tanas, he orders the child to be named either Guenevere or Arthur the Less. Having been abandoned and raised by a foster mother, the boy appears at Arthur's court on the eve of the
Grail Quest when his arrival is miraculously prophesied at the
Round Table. He is knighted by
Tristan and soon proves to be superior to even
Gawain and
Perceval, defeating both of them. However, he is publicly known only as the
Unknown Knight, keeping his lineage secret as to not shame his father with the story of his mother's rape. Loyal to King Arthur (who is eventually informed about his son's identity by
Morgan), he fights in the late wars against domestic and foreign enemies, and is one of
Galahad's companions during the Grail Quest. After his father's death
at Salisbury, Arthur the Less is a candidate for the heir of throne of
Logres, however, he obsessively hates
Lancelot's renegade faction, blaming them for the disaster. When soon defeated by
Bleoberis in a duel to the death, he curses the entire kingdom in his dying breath. His curse manifests itself through
King Mark's devastating invasion which destroys almost all remnants of King Arthur's rule.
Bleoberis Bleoberis de Ganis is a Knight of the
Round Table from the land of Ganis (variants
Gan[n]es,
Gannis,
Gaun[n]es,
Gan[n]ys), the place name regarded to mean
Vannes in
Brittany but translated as
Gaul by
Thomas Malory in his version. His given name may have been derived from that of the 12th-century Welsh storyteller known in French as Bledhericus, Bleheris or Blihis (
Blihos) Bliheris (possibly
Bledri ap Cydifor), who is mentioned in several texts, including being credited by both
Thomas of Britain and
Wauchier de Denain as the original source of their early Arthurian poems. References to the narrative authority of one Master Blihis (
Maistre Blihis) repeat throughout the
Elucidation, wherein the character named
Blihos Bliheris also appears as knight. He was first mentioned by
Chrétien de Troyes in
Erec and Enide as
Bliobleheris (
Wendelin Foerster's choice rendering; other manuscript variants
Bleob[l]eris,
Bleosblieris,
Blioberis,
Bliobeheri,
Blios Blieris). He has since appeared by a large number of variations of his name and character in many works, including as
Bleobleheris (
Bliobliheri) and
Bleheris in respectively the First and the Second Continuation of Chrétien's
Perceval; as two different characters named Bleheris and
Blidoblidas in '
; as split between Bleherris
and Bleoberiis'
in Of Arthour and of Merlin''; as
Bleoris in
Henry Lovelich's
Merlin; as
Bleos von Bliriers in
Diu Crône; as
Bleriz in '
; as Bliobleherin'
in the German Chrétien translation Erec; as Bliobleeris in La Vengeance Raguidel; as Blioblieris in Le Bel Inconnu and Wigalois; as Bréri in Tristan
by Thomas of Britain; as Briobris in La Tavola Ritonda; as Pleherin in Tristrant; and as Plihopliherî (Plihophiheri
, Plihopliheri
) in Parzival''. As
Bliobleris de Gannes (
Biblioberis,
Bla[h]aris,
Bleob[l]eris,
Bleobleheris,
Bleosblieris,
Bliaires,
Blihoble[h]eris,
Bliobeheri,
Blioberis,
Blyob[l]eris; -
de Ga[u]n[n]es), he features as a major character in the romances from the French prose cycles and their adaptations, in which he is portrayed as one of the cousins of the hero
Lancelot. There he is son of Nestor de Gaunes and godson of Lancelot's father
King Bors, as well as brother of his fellow Round Table companion, Blamour[e] (
Blamor[e],
Blanor[e]). In the
Vulgate Merlin, the ''
Livre d'Artus, and Arthour and Merlin
, Bleoberis fights alongside his brother in the wars against the rebel kings at Bedegraine, against the Saxons at Cameliard, and against King Claudas in the Wasteland; the latter earns him his nickname "of the Wasteland" (de la Deserte). In both the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate versions of the Queste
, as well as in the Prose Tristan'', he participates in the
Grail Quest. In Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, Bleoberys de Ganis (Bleoberis
, Bleoboris
, Bleoheris
; -de Gaynys
) is described as the lord of the Castle of Ganis (Ganys''), apparently in Britain. In the Vulgate Cycle and the works based on it, Lancelot eventually makes him the Duke of
Poitiers for his part in saving
Guinevere, after which Bleoberis becomes an important leader in Lancelot's war against Arthur and Gawain. In the Post-Vulgate
Mort, he returns to Britain and arrives at
Salisbury after
the battle to destroy the corpse of
Mordred and build the Tower of the Dead. While searching for Lancelot, he meets Arthur's vengeful son
Arthur the Less (himself a member of the Round Table as the Unknown Knight), whom he kills in self-defence. Finding Lancelot at a hermitage with the former
Archbishop of Canterbury, he joins them together with his brother. After Lancelot's death, Bleoberis buries his body at
Joyous Gard and then, along with the other knights turned monks, he undertakes a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land. In Malory's ending, following the presumed death of Arthur, Bleoberys and his brother Blamo[u]re (
Blamor) live as monks together with Lancelot and the rest of their kinsmen at
Glastonbury Tor, before eventually (after Lancelot's death) leaving on a crusade where they all die in a battle against the Turks at
Jerusalem. He also appears in some tales as an opponent whom the story's hero must overcome during the course of a quest or an adventure. In the Prose
Tristan, Bleoberis abducts
Segwarides' wife from
King Mark's court, and fights for her against first Segwarides and later the protagonist
Tristan. In
Wigalois, one of the challenges faced by the protagonist Wigalois (Gawain's son,
Gingalain) is to defeat Bleoberis, the fierce guardian of the Perilous Ford. He is similarly the first adversary conquered by Gawain's son Guinglan in
Le Bel Inconnu. In
Parzival,
Orgeluse's suitor boasts of having him either slain or defeated but spared (depending on interpretation of the text). In
Tristrant, he is one of King Mark's vassals and an enemy of Tristan, who brutally kills him during his escape from Mark's court.
Brandelis Brandelis (or similar) is the name of a number of Arthurian romance characters, including multiple Knights of the
Round Table from the French prose tradition. As in the case of several other Arthurian characters, such as
King Ban, they might have been derived from the Welsh mythology's figure of
Brân. The best known of these characters was originally known as
Bran de Lis (
Brans,
Bras,
Brun; -
de Lys), a character related to one of the mothers of the illegitimate sons of
Gawain. Bran first appears in the First Continuation of Chrétien's
Perceval as one of the brothers of the Tent Maiden (Guilorete) of the Castle Lis, the mother of Gawain's son Lionel (
Lioniaus). After Gawain had slain Bran's father Norroiz (
Norrois, also
Yder de Lis) and two of his brothers in the previous duels in a long feud, Bran is about to fight him as well, but they are stopped by Arthur and later become friends. This story, which also exists in an alternative version where Gawain rapes the sister of Bran de Lis (see
Melian), is retold in
The Jeaste of Sir Gawain, where he appears as
Brandles (the name also used for one of Arthur's knights in
Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle), and in the Scottish
Golagros and Gawane, where he is called
Spinagros. In the
Vulgate Cycle,
Brandelis de Gales (of Wales) is the father of Floree, mother of Gawain's son
Guinglain. In Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, Brandiles (Brandyles'') is brother of the mother of Gawain's three sons (and later his companions at the Round Table): Gingalin, Lovel, and Florence. In the prose cycles, he dies while fighting either against
Lancelot during the latter's rescue of the condemned
Guinevere or against
Mordred in the final battle. Priot to that, he appears in multiple episodes through the Vulgate Cycle (some of which are included in ''Le Morte d'Arthur
) as Sir Brandelis (Brandaliz
, Brandalus
, Brandalis
, Brandeliz
, Braudaliz
; also Brandellis
uniquely in the Scottish Vulgate Lancelot
version Lancelot of the Laik''), participating in quests and adventures, including the Quest for the Grail, and in the wars against
Claudas and
Galahaut. In the
Prose Tristan,
Brandeliz (
Brandelis) is a Knight of the Round Table from Cornwall, not Wales. In the standalone romance
Claris et Laris,
Brandaliz is one of the eleven protagonists other than the eponymous duo. Here, he is a friend of Claris who, with the help of
Merlin, rescues Laris from the prison of the Danish king Tallas among his other acts. He is repeatedly freed from enemy captivity by the other heroes, including Gawain and Lancelot, and in
Claris et Laris by Claris. The Vulgate
Lancelot story of
Gaheriet's rescue of Brandelis and his lady might have been rewritten by Malory as an early episode of his "Tale of Sir Gareth", the fourth book of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. The Vulgate Cycle also features a different Brandelis knight of the Round Table other than Sir Brandelis de Wales: a minor character of
Duke Brandelis de Taningues (
Brandeban, Brandeharz,
Brandelz,
-de Tranurgor). Yet another Knight of the Round Table named
Brandelis le fils Lac, that is "son of
Lac", appears as brother of
Erec in
Palamedes and
I Due Tristani. In addition, Tristan's son romance
Ysaïe le Triste features Brandor de Gaunes (of Wales), son of the Round Table knight Brandalis. A few other Brandalis characters are clearly unrelated to the Round Table, such as that of the Saxon king known as either Brandalis or Mandalis (
Brandalus,
Braundalis,
Maundalis), or that of Arthur's sworn eternal enemy Brandelis (
Brandalis), both appearing in the Vulgate
Merlin. In the Welsh Vulgate
Queste translation
Y Seint Greal, two of
Peredur's deceased uncles are named as Brwns Brandalis and Brendalis of Wales (
Brendalis o Gymry). In
Perlesvaus, Bruns [de] Brandalis is a long-dead uncle of Perceval in addition to his brother (another of Perceval's uncles) Brandalus de Gales. However, some scholars have connected Bran de Lis with the villains Brian (
Brien) des Isles (of the Isles) from
Perlesvaus and Brandin des Isles (
Brandis,
Brandus,
Branduz, -
des Ylles) from the Vulgate
Lancelot (his character was expanded with an account of his earlier life as an invader in the ''Livre d'Artus
), as well as to King Brandelidelin from an early German Arthurian romance Parzival'', as possibly identical in origin. (In the case of Brian des Isles, he may also have been modeled after the historical
Bryan FitzAlan, also known as Brian de l'Isle or Brian de Insula.)
Calogrenant Calogrenant, sometimes known in English as
Colgrevance of Gore and in German as
Kalogrenant, among many other variants (including
Calogreant,
Calogrenan[s/z],
Calogrevant,
Calogrinans,
Calogrinant,
Collegrevaunce,
Colgrevaunce de Gorre,
Galogrinans,
Kalebrant,
Kalocreant,
Kalogreant,
Qualogrenans), is a knight of the
Round Table and cousin to
Yvain. He first appears in
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion by
Chrétien de Troyes. In
Yvain, Calogrenant tells a story to a group of knights and
Queen Guinevere about an adventure he had in the forest of
Brocéliande, where here was a magic spring that could summon a large storm. Calogrenant reached the spring and summoned the storm, after which a knight named
Esclados attacked and defeated him. Yvain is upset that Calogrenant never told him of this defeat, and sets out to avenge him, embarking on the adventure that sets up the remainder of events in the romance. His character has been derived from the
Welsh mythological hero
Cynon ap Clydno, usually the lover of
Owain mab Urien's sister
Morvydd; although in
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain, Cynon is stated to be the son of Clydno, possibly connected to
Clyddno Eiddin.
Roger Sherman Loomis and some other scholars speculated that Calogrenant was used specifically as a foil for
Kay in some lost early version of Yvain's story. Chrétien characterized him as everything Kay is not: polite, respectful, eloquent, and well-mannered. By this theory, his name can be deconstructed to "Cai lo grenant", or "Cai the grumbler", which would represent another opposite characteristic of Kay, who was famous for his bitter sarcasm. (1857) His later appearance in
Diu Crône has Kalogrenant and
Lancelot, who both fail, accompany the
Grail-achiever
Gawain on the Grail Quest. Calogrenant features as one of relatively minor knights in the
Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) cycle, where his kinship to Yvain is not as clear as in Chrétien. There, he dies during the Grail Quest while trying to keep the furious
Lionel from killing his own brother,
Bors (this scene is described in more detail in their articles).
Thomas Malory calls him Colgrevance and recounts his death at Lionel's hands from the Vulgate
Queste in his ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''. However, despite having died on the Grail Quest, Colgrevance (or a different knight by the same name) reappears in Malory as one of the twelve knights who help
Agravaine and
Mordred trap Lancelot and Guinevere together in the queen's chambers. Lancelot has neither armour nor weapons, but manages to pull Colgrevance into the room and kills him, and then uses Colgrevance's sword to defeat the rest of Mordred's companions.
Claudin Claudin (
Claudine,
Claudins,
Claudino, Claudyne) is the son of the
Frankish King
Claudas of the Wasteland (
de la Deserte) who appears in several works including the
Lancelot-Grail prose cycle, the
Prose Tristan, the
Post-Vulgate Cycle, and ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''. His father, who he fights for, is a major villain during
King Arthur's early reign. However, when Claudas eventually loses the war and flees to Rome, Prince Claudin surrenders and defects to Arthur, who makes him a member of the
Round Table. During the
Grail Quest, Claudin is one of the companions of
Bors the Younger,
Galahad and
Perceval in
Corbenic.
Cligès Cligès is the title hero of
Chrétien de Troyes' French poem
Cligès (and its foreign versions). There, he is an offspring of Arthur's niece Soredamors and Alexander, a son of the Greek (
Byzantine) Emperor. Following his adventures, Cliges eventually marries Fenice, a daughter of the German Emperor, and becomes the Greek Emperor himself. As Cligés (
Clicés,
Clies,
Clygés), he also appears in some other French Arthurian romances, including in the First Continuation of Chrétien's
Perceval (where his father is
King Lac) and in
Claris et Laris. In the
Romanz du reis Yder, he serves Queen Guenloie (
Guinevere) until he is expelled from her court after he criticizes her love for
Yder (who later promises to reconcile them). In '''', he hails from Greece and participates in the quest to conquer Rigomer Castle as one of
Gawain's many companions; he also defeats the undead knight in his own episode. As
Clias the Greek (
der Grieche Clîas), he has a role in the German
Parzival.
Thomas Malory's Urry list in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'' calls him Sir
Clegis. Despite a similar name, Malory's characters completely unrelated to the eponymous hero of the English verse romance
Sir Cleges that features a completely different story set in the times of Arthur's father,
Uther Pendragon.
Dodinel Dodinel (
Dodinas,
Dodine[i]s,
Dôdînes,
Dodinia[u]s,
Dodin[s],
Dodinal,
Dodynas,
Dodynel[l],
Didonel,
Didones,
Dydonel), originally known as
Lionel (
Lioniaus, not to be confused with
the other Lionel but possibly originally connected with the character of Lionel/Lioniaus the son of
Gawain), is a Knight of the Round Table found in a great many works of Arthurian romance. In these, he is typically featured as a well-known knight yet merely a
figurant type of a character, and without a common role. He is nevertheless important in several of such works, including the Third Continuation of
Perceval, the
Vulgate Lancelot, the
Post-Vulgate Merlin, the ''Livre d'Artus
, the Prose Tristan
, and Claris et Laris''. He often bears the epithet
le Sauvage (
le Savage,
le Salvage,
li Sauvages,
li Salvages,
el Salvaje,
der Wilde, etc.), variously translated to English as
the Wild,
the Wildman, or
the Savage (sometimes also as the descriptive "impetuous" or "fierce"). He might have been originally identical with
Perceval, which would explain his characteristic epithet as meaning a man from the woods (wilderness). However, the only possible trace of such motif can be found in the German
Lanzelet, in which Dodines lives a double life: as an enchanter owning a magic horse and dwelling near the dangerous Shrieking Marsh (
Schreiende Moos) in the summer, and as a knight in Arthur's lands in the winter. He is briefly introduced in
Chrétien de Troyes'
Erec and Enide, being named there as Lionel (called Dodinas in the German translation
Erec) and described as the ninth best of
King Arthur's knights, albeit noted as a rude one. He is also listed among the top knights of Arthur in Chrétien's
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion as well as in
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, while the later romance
The Knight of the Two Swords describes him as a "truly exceptional ... man of many virtues." In the Third Continuation of Chrétien's
Perceval, the Story of the Grail, one of the six episodes of Gawain's adventures relate his rescue of the "handsome and valiant" Dodinel (
Dodinal) from a prison and his lover from a pyre, the latter then also again saved by Perceval. As with his other characteristics, Dodinel's family relations are variably told. In the Vulgate
Merlin Continuation and the Vulgate
Lancelot, Dodinel the Wildman is an illegitimate son of King Bélinant (
Balinant,
Belinans,
Belynans,
Belyna[u]nt; possibly on of many Arthurian characters based on the Celtic god
Belinus) de Sorgales ("of
South Wales"; Norgales / North Wales in the Vulgate
Lancelot) and his own niece, but raised by King Arthur's relative Queen Eglantine (
Eglante,
Eglente). In the Post-Vulgate Huth-
Merlin, he is son of
Balin's brother Balan (
Balaan le Sauvage). In the Didot-
Perceval, he is son of the Lady of Malehaut (
Dame de Malohaut). In
Parzival, he has a brother called Taurian the Wild (
der Wilde). Dodinel is prominent in
Claris and Laris, portrayed there as a comical side story character, a
Dinadan-like humorously anti-chivalric knight, one who avoids dangerous combat in his wanderings and once escapes from a captivity by posing as a minstrel. He and Dinadan are themselves friends in
Meliadus; in the
Marvels of Rigomer, Dodinel is one of Gawain's quest companions.
Thomas Malory in his ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, following some of the Dodinel material from the Vulgate Lancelot
as well as his portrayal in the Prose Tristan'', has him (named as Dodinas le Savage in the
Winchester Manuscript) as a recurring companion of
Sagramore and, early in his career, as one of the
Guinevere's own ten knights. A complete story of Dodinel (in different versions, including different origins and families as described earlier) is presented in the French prose cycles. In the Vulgate
Merlin and the ''Livre d'Artus'', the young teenage Dodinel defects to Arthur early in the king's reign, opposing his own family. In the
Livre, he kills the Saxon king Mathmas at the Battle of Clarence (
Badon). Having been knighted by Arthur, he joins the Queen's Knights and eventually the Round Table. The Vulgate
Lancelot, besides telling the stories of
Lancelot's rescues of the captive Dodinel on multiple occasions, has him as one of the only five knights who cross the perilous bridge into Sorelois alive (besides Gawain,
Meliant,
Yder and Arthur). In the Vulgate
Queste, he is one of the Grail knights in
Galahad's company. In the Post-Vulgate,
Lamorak is slain by Gawain and his brothers when he is injured following an earlier fight with Dodinel. In the end, Dodinel dies fighting against
Mordred's forces at the Battle of Salisbury Plain (
Camlann). In Italy, he is called
Dondinello and its variants, usually with no epithet (except in the case of
Oddinello le Salvaggio in the
Tristano Riccardiano). In his unusual characterization in
Chantari di Lancelotto, Dodinel (
Dudinello) is a villain who joins up with Mordred to conspire against Lancelot.
Cantari di Carduino, a
Fair Unknown type epic poem possibly based on a lost Dodinel romance, tells the story of his eponymous son Carduino's vengeance against the clan of Gawain for having his father fatally poisoned by the jealous lords including Mordred and Augerisse (probably
Gaheris), as well as of Carduino's other adventures.
Drian Drian (
Doryan,
Driant,
Durnor) is one of
King Pellinore's sons out of wedlock. He is most prominent in the
Prose Tristan which describes him as one of the very best of the Knights, alongside
Galahad,
Lancelot,
Palamedes, and his own brother
Lamorak. There, Drian and Lamorak are hated by
Gawain for being sons of Pellinore and for being superior knights to Gawain. Drian dies when he fights three of
King Lot's sons, unhorsing
Agravain and
Mordred before being mortally wounded and left for dead by Gawain; Lamorak dies soon afterwards while trying to avenge him. Drian is called
Dornar (
Durnor[e]) by
Thomas Malory in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, where he is also killed by Gawain. He appears alongside two knights named Darnarde and Dryaun (Dryaunt
, Tryan''), both of them also derived from the French Drian. Malory splits Drian's adventures from the Prose
Tristan between the latter two: Dryaun guards a bridge with his brother Alain (one of Drian's other brothers), jousting the passing knights; Darnarde visits
King Mark's court with Lamorak, where they defeat Mark and all of his knights but
Tristan. Darnarde is eventually killed alongside his brothers,
Aglovale and
Tor, when Lancelot rescues
Queen Guinevere from the stake.
Elyan Elyan the White or
Helyan le Blanc (also
Elain,
Elayn,
Helain,
Hellaine,
Helin; -
le Blank, -
the Pale) is son of
Bors the Younger in the prose romance tradition of
Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate Cycle). His mother, Claire, has tricked Bors into sleeping with her using a magic ring (the only time Bors broke his vow of chastity). Claire is daughter of British king Brandegorre (
Brandegoris) and also half-sister of
Sagramore, and their shared mother is daughter of the
Eastern Roman Emperor. At the age of 15, Elyan is brought to Arthur's court by Bors. He then becomes known as an excellent knight and is accepted as a member to the
Round Table. True to his lineage, Elyan eventually becomes Emperor of
Constantinople himself. Elyan's adventures are different the
Post-Vulgate Queste, as well as the expanded version of the
Prose Tristan, where he takes a vacant Round Table seat that had belonged to Dragan (
Dagarius) after the latter knight's death by
Tristan. He later helps his cousin
Lancelot rescue
Guinevere after their affair is exposed, and then joins him in exile during their war with Arthur. Elyan should not be confused with Elians (
Eliant,
Elianz), a knight from Ireland who occupied the vacant seat of Lancelot after his expulsion from the Round Table in both the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate versions of the
Mort Artu. A modern character inspired by Elyan the White was portrayed by Nigerian actor
Adetomiwa Edun as Guinevere's brother in the 2008 television series
Merlin.
Erec Erec (French
Erech,
Eric,
Herec,
Heret; German
Eres; Italian
Arecco; Middle English
Errake; Norse
Erex), the son of
King Lac, is most famous as the protagonist in
Chrétien de Troyes' first romance,
Erec and Enide, later retold in
Erec and other versions. Because of
Erec and Enides connection to the Welsh
Geraint and Enid, Erec and
Geraint are often conflated or confused. Erec's name itself may be derived from
Guerec, the Breton version of Gweir, the name of several of Arthur's warriors and relatives in the different early Welsh tales (possibly the prototype of
Gaheris and consequently also of
Gareth). In Chrétien's story, Erec meets his future wife
Enide while on a quest to defeat a knight who had mistreated one of Queen
Guinevere's servants. The two fall in love and marry, but rumours spread that Erec no longer cares for knighthood or anything else besides his domestic life. Enide cries about these rumours, causing Erec to prove his abilities, both to himself and to his wife, through a test of Enide's love for him. Erec has her accompany him on a long, tortuous trip where she is forbidden to speak to him, after which they reconcile. When Erec's father Lac dies, Erec inherits his kingdom. The Norse
Erex saga gives him two sons, named Llac and Odus, who later both become kings. The story of Erec and Enide is also retold within the
Prose Tristan. Enide is entirely absent from the Prose
Erec segment of the
Post-Vulgate Cycle (beginning in
La Folie Lancelot and concluded in the P-V
Queste), in which Erec's mother's enchantment makes him immune to magic. His acts include saving
Bors from the enchanter
Mabon; he also has a cousin named Driadam, whose death begins Erec's feud with the young
Mordred. In the Post-Vulgate
Quest of the Holy Grail, Erec unwillingly murders his sister and is later slain by
Gawain in revenge for the death of
Yvain of the White Hands, and does not regain his father's kingdom; his seat at the Round Table is taken by his friend Meraugis, who had buried him. In the
Alliterative Morte Arthure, Erec dies during the final battle between the forces of Arthur and Mordred. In
Lanzelet, Erec and Gawain agree to be delivered as prisoners to the great wizard Malduc (whose father was killed by Erec), so that Guinevere can be rescued from King Valerin's castle; they are then tortured and almost starved to death in Malduc's dungeon, until they are eventually themselves rescued. In ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, Harry le Fyse Lake (or Garry le Fitz Lake'', Malory's corruption of the French
Herec le Fils Lac) participates in Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere from the stake.
Esclabor Esclabor the Unknown (
Astlabor,
Esclabort,
Scalabrone; -
le Mescogneu, -
li Mesconneü, -
li Mesconneuz) is a wandering
Saracen king from a vaguely Middle Eastern land, usually either
Babylon (in today's Iraq) or
Galilee (in today's Israel). He is the father of
Palamedes,
Safir, and
Segwarides, among others. During his long stay in Britain, Esclabor initially hides his faith, trying to pass as a Christian, but soon becomes widely known as a valiant pagan knight. While visiting
Rome, he saves the life of the
Roman Emperor; he later travels to Arthur's
Logres at the time of Arthur's coronation, where he rescues
King Pellinore as well. Esclabor eventually settles at
Camelot, later adventuring with Palamedes and
Galahad during the
Grail Quest. In the Post-Vulgate
Queste, eleven of his sons are killed during their encounter with the
Questing Beast. Shortly after finally agreeing to convert to Christianity, an act necessary for the full admission into the brotherhood of
Round Table, and which also allows his participation in the Grail Quest, Esclabor commits suicide from grief upon learning of his favorite son Palamedes' death at the hands of
Gawain.
Gaheris de Karaheu 's illustration for
Andrew Lang's
The Book of Romance (1902)
Gaheris de Karaheu (
Gaharis,
Gaheran,
Gahetis,
Gaherys,
Gaheus,
Gains,
Gareis,
Ghaheris; -''d'Escareu
, -de Carahan
/Car[a/e]heu
, -de Gaheran
/Gahereu
, -de Karahau
/Karehan
), also known as the White (li Blans''), is one of the minor Knights of the Round Table and brother of
Mador de la Porte in the
Vulgate Cycle and the derived works. He should not be confused with
Gaheris of Orkney, one of
King Arthur's nephews and another Knight of the Round Table. His most prominent role, including the manner of his death, might have been inspired by the purportedly historical account of the fatal poisoning of the
Gawain-prototype Walwen as told in the chronicle
Gesta Regum Anglorum. In the Vulgate
Lancelot, Gaheris of Karaheu appears in minor roles, mostly as a prisoner, prior to his accidental death. Gawain saves him from
Galehaut, while the mysterious White Knight (
Lancelot incognito) rescues him from the Dolorous Prison near
Dolorous Gard and then again from the
Vale of No Return. Later, in the Vulgate
Mort Artu, he dies from eating a poisoned apple, which was made by the knight Avarlan and was meant to kill Gawain. The apple is offered to Gaheris unknowingly by
Guinevere; the queen is accused of his murder, until she is cleared of the charge in the
trial by combat between Mador and Lancelot. This story is retold in the
Stanzaic Morte Arthur and in Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur, where the victim is, respectively, either an unnamed visiting Scottish knight or Sir Patrise of Ireland (the poisoner is also renamed by Malory as Sir Pionel). The Italian Tristano Panciaticchiano'', in which he remains Mador's brother, calls him
Giafredi.
Galehodin Galehodin le Gallois (
Galeh[a/o]udin, also
Gal[l]ides,
Gallind[r]es, etc.) is
Galehaut's nephew and godson, and his designated successor as the King of Sorelois. Galehodin is introduced in the Prose
Lancelot as the young grandson of the King of Norgales (
North Wales). There he is the lord of the town and castle of Pennin (
Peningue), and desires to follow the great hero
Lancelot so he can learn from him. He is described as one of the tallest knights in the world, using a plain white shield with no identification symbols. Together with
Mordred and
Mador, he easily triumphs over the men of Gorre in a tournament against King
Bagdemagus. In the Italian
Tavola Ritonda, Galehaut's heir is his son named
Abastunagio, a character corresponding with that of Galehodin as he appears in the Prose
Tristan. Both appear in their respective texts in the role of the host of the great tournament in Sorelois. The Hebrew
King Artus includes one
Galaodin de Gaulis (of
Gaul) among Lancelot's followers. Galehaut's cousin and fellow Knight of the Round Table named
Galahodin (
Galihodin,
Galyhodin, sometimes with 'yn' at the end) appears as one of closest companions of Lancelot in Thomas Malory's telling, in which Galahodin is given some of Galehaut's traits from the French tradition. Galahodin, described as a sub-king in Sorelois, serves Lancelot as one of his chief knights during the war against Arthur, later joining him in the hermitage at the end of his life. Before that, one of the episodes borrowed from the Prose
Tristan tell of Galahodin's attempted kidnapping of
Isolde, foiled by
Palamedes. Malory's Galahodin should not be confused with two of his original characters from ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', Lancelot's own relatives
Galyhod (
Galihud,
Galyhud) and
Gahalantyne (
Gahalantin), who are also close companions of Lancelot. After taking over the lands in France, Malory's Lancelot appoints Galahodin as the duke of
Saintonge, Galyhod as the earl of
Périgord, and Gahalantyne as the duke of
Auvergne. They eventually stay together with Lancelot and Galahodin as their fellow monks at the end.
Galeschin Galeschin (
Galaas,
Galachin,
Galathin,
Galescalain,
Galeschalains,
Galescin[s],
Galeshin,
Galessin, etc.) is the son of
King Arthur's half-sister
Queen Elaine and
King Nentres of Garlot. He first appears in the story of the Dolorous Tower in the
Vulgate Cycle, in which he and his cousin
Yvain attempt to rescue their other cousin
Gawain from the wicked lord Carados; both are taken captive as well, but the trio are eventually rescued by
Lancelot. (Galeschin is later additionally rescued by Lancelot from the
Vale of No Return.) Though mentioned in a few other stories, his role is ultimately minor. He loosely inspired the character of Duke
Chaleins (
Cha[u]lance) the Duke of Clarence, a Knight of the Round Table appearing in different episodes of ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''. 's scene of Galvagin (presumed
Gawain) being followed by the mysterious Galvariun
Roger Sherman Loomis derives the name Galeschin from the name
Galvariun, found on an Arthurian relief on the Italian
Modena Archivolt, considered the first known Arthurian illustration (c. 1120–1240). He theorizes that the name was altered to make it sound more like , the Old French word for
Gaul, and derives the name Galvariun from the epithet
Gwallt Euryn, found in
Culhwch and Olwen, which he translates as "Golden Hair".
Gingalain '
(, , , , etc.) is the eponymous hero of the Fair Unknown literary cycle of French, English, and German romances in verse. There, the young knight, initially known only as the Fair Unknown, is eventually revealed as son of Gawain and a fairy. His name is rendered ' in the Middle English version
Libeaus Desconus. The prose romance
Hystoire de Giglan et de Geoffroy de Maience mixes his story with that of
Griflet as told in
Jaufre. He also appears as a minor character in the prose compilation ''
Le Morte d'Arthur. There, Sir Gingalin (Gyngalyn'') is killed by
Lancelot along with his brothers Florence and Lovell after
Mordred and
Agravain expose Lancelot's affair with
Guinevere. In
Renaut de Beaujeu's
Le Bel Inconnu, his heraldic device is described as
lion of
ermine on
field of
azure colour. This is observed to be an appropriation of the author's own Beaujeu (Bâgé) family coat of arms.
Gornemant Gornemant de Gohort (
Gorneman[s/z]: -
de Goort,
de Gorhaut) is the knight best known as
Perceval's old mentor. He is mentioned in a few early romances and is prominent in
Chrétien de Troyes's
Perceval, the Story of the Grail, in which he instructs the young hero in the ways of knighthood. There, Gornemant is also an uncle of
Blanchefleur, whom Perceval later marries after successfully defending her city against attackers. Medieval German author
Wolfram von Eschenbach gives
Gurnemans three sons named Gurzgi, Lascoyt and Schentefleurs, as well as a daughter named Liaze who falls in love with Perceval but he declines to marry her. ' illustration for
Joseph Bédier's
Le Roman de Tristan et Iseut (1900) In the
Prose Tristan romances, a character with a corresponding function, named Governal[e], is entrusted by
Merlin to care for and edecate the young Cornish prince
Tristan. In
Richard Wagner's opera
Parsifal,
Gurnemanz is depicted as a Grail Knight.
Griflet Griflet ()
the son of Do is a ubiquitous character in Arthurian legend, where he was one of the first Knights of the Round Table. He is first found in Chrétien de Troyes'
Erec et Enide, named there as
Girflez li filz Do. Like many other Arthurian romance characters, his origins lie in
Welsh mythology; in this instance, it is the minor deity
Gilfaethwy fab
Dôn. He is notably the eponymous hero of his own, early chivalric romance,
Jaufre. He also appears as
Gerflet in Beroul's
Tristan and in the Norse
Parcevals Saga;
Gerflet li fius Do in
Mériadeuc;
Gifflet in
Escanor;
Gifflet (
Girfles)
li fieus Do in the ''Livre d'Artus
; Giflés (Gifles
) li fius Do in Perceval ou le Conte du Graal, Li Biaus Descouneüs
, and Libeaus Desconus; Giflet le fils de Do in Le Bel Inconnu; Giflet fis Do in Sir Gawain and the Lady of Lys
; Girflet (Giflet
, Giflez
, Giftet
, Girfles
, Gyfles
, Gyflet
, Gyrflet
) le (li
) fils (filz
) Do (Doon
, Dos
) in the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate prose cycles; Girfles (Girlflet
, Girflez
) li filz Do in the Prose Tristan
; Girflez le fils Do in Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette; Girflez in La Mule sans Frein
; Griflet (Gifles
, Gifflès
, Gifflet
, Gryflet
, Gryfflet
) li fieus Do (Dou
) in Le Morte d'Arthur'';
Grifles in Henry Lovelich's
Merlin;
Grimfles in the English
Prose Merlin;
Gyffroun in
Ywain and Gawain; and
Iofreit (
Jofreit)
fils Idol in
Parzival. Further texts featuring him include
Hunbaut,
La Vengeance Raguidel, and the First and Fourth Continuations of
Perceval. into the lake (here a river) in a 1470 illustration for the 13th-century romance
La Mort du roi Arthur In French chivalric romance prose cycles, he is a cousin to
Lucan and
Bedivere who first appears as a loyal and valiant young
squire at the beginning of
King Arthur's rule. According to the French
Mort Artu, he was one of the few survivors of
Arthur's final battle and was asked by the dying king to return his sword
Excalibur to the
Lady of the Lake. In ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', however, Sir Griflet is one of the knights killed by
Lancelot's rescue party at the execution of Guinevere, making Griflet's cousin Bedivere the knight who casts away Excalibur, the role that has been given to Bedivere also in the earlier English adaptations of the
Mort Artu.
Hector de Maris Hector de Maris (
Ector de Maris,
Estor de Mareis,
Hector de Marais,
Hestor des Mares, etc.) is the younger half-brother of
Lancelot;
Bors and
Lionel are his cousins. His name means
Hector of the Fens (the form used in
Norris J. Lacy's translation of the Vulgate Cycle); he should not be mistaken with
Sir Ector (
Hector), the father of
Kay and foster father of
Arthur. Hector's adventures are many and wide-ranging, especially within the Vulgate and the Post-Vulgate prose cycles. As
Astore, he is also the eponymous protagonist of the Italian
Cantare di Astore e Morgana in which he becomes
Morgan's seemingly invincible demon-knight minion known as Estorre after being first cured by her of his wounds and then falling under her evil spell, until he is defeated and saved by
Galahad. in
King Arthur Unhorsed, Spared by Sir Launcelot (1852) As told in the Vulgate
Merlin, Hector is an illegitimate son of
King Ban of Benoic (in today's France), who, magically helped by
Merlin, fathered him with the Lady de Maris. He is raised by his maternal grandfather Agravadain the Black, lord of the Castle of the Fens. In the Vulgate
Lancelot, Hector fights against the Saxons and saves his relative
Elaine the Peerless. He is successful at tournaments, prevailing against such esteemed knights as
Palomedes and
Perceval. Hector is, however, one of the knights defeated and imprisoned by Turquine before being rescued by his brother Lancelot; he later returns the favour by finding the lost Knight of the Lake after Lancelot's period of insanity and returning him to the court. During the time when Lancelot is missing, Hector is one of the best knights of Arthur, second only to
Bors, as ranked by King
Bagdemagus asked by Arthur. Hector has a long relationship with Lady Perse of the Narrow Borderland after saving her from a forced marriage; he also has an affair with a cousin of the Lady of Roestoc prior to reuniting with Perse. In the Post-Vulgate
Queste, his friendship with
Gawain turns into the hatred following Gawain's killing of Erec. Hector participates in the great
Grail Quest, during which his companions besides Gawain include Arthur the Less and Meraugis. Like most others, Hector is proven unworthy of achieving the sacred relic. Nevertheless, he helps the Grail hero
Galahad to destroy the Castle of Treachery, and the appearance of the Grail revives him and Perceval after the two mortally wounded each other. In the
Mort Artu (and ''Le Morte d'Arthur''), when Lancelot is caught in his affair with
Guinevere, Hector stands by his half-brother and leaves court with him. He becomes one of the top leaders of Lancelot's faction, participating in the battle to rescue the queen at her would-be execution and the subsequent defence of Lancelot's castle
Joyous Guard. Hector accompanies Lancelot in France when they are expelled from Arthur's kingdom, before later returning to Britain to help defeat the Saxon army aided by
Mordred's sons after the
Battle of Camlann (Salisbury). He then joins his brother at the
Archbishop of Canterbury's hermitage, and later dies on a crusade in the
Holy Land.
Ernest Rhys wrote "The Lament of Sir Ector de Maris", an eulogy for Lancelot, included in
Lays of the Round Table and Other Lyric Romances (1905). Destrigales in
Hartmann von Aue's version, Greater
Orkney (
Orcanie la Grant) in the
Vulgate Cycle, and Black Isles in
Palamedes. In his redefinition in the
Post-Vulgate Cycle, King Lac is son of Canan, a commoner-born Greek king. The Post-Vulgate
Quest of the Holy Grail tells of Lac's poisoning by the sons of his brother, King Dirac, and the young Erec's exile from their kingdom of Saloliqui to Britain following Lac's murder. Here, King Lac's wife (Erec's mother) was the sorceress Crisea (
Ocise), the sister of Pelles the
Fisher King. Besides Erec, King Lac's children include a daughter, who appears unnamed in Chrétien's
Perceval but is called Jeschute in
Parzival. Lac's other sons include
Brandelis in
Palamedes and in
I Due Tristani, and
Cligés in the First Continuation of
Perceval, who both become Knights of the Round Table in their respective stories. He is, however, entirely unrelated to neither
Lancelot du Lac (meaning "of the Lake") nor to
King Lot whose name is written as "Lac" in some Portuguese texts.
Lohot Lohot or
Loholt (
Hoot,
Loholz,
Lohoot,
Lohoth,
Lohoz) is a character loosely based on the mysterious figure of
Llacheu, one of the sons of
King Arthur in the original Welsh tradition. Depending on the text, he is either Arthur's legitimate son or an illegitimate one. His story also varies greatly, as does his prominence. He appears as son of Arthur and his wife
Queen Guinevere in some early continental romances. In
Perlesvaus, the sleeping Loholt is treacherously murdered by
Kay so that the latter can take credit for the slaying of Logrin the giant, and his murder causes Guinevere to die of sorrow. In
Lanzelet,
Loüt is said to be the most renowned young knight who eventually accompanied Arthur "into a country whence the Bretons
still expect both of them evermore" (i.e.
Avalon). As son of Arthur named
Elinot, he is also referenced as Guinevere's deceased son in
Garel by
Der Pleier, where he has been killed in the service of his beloved who then herself died of grief. As
Illinot, he similarly dies in
Parzival, where she is named Florie. His background is markedly different in the cyclical prose tradition. In the
Vulgate Cycle's variant ''Livre d'Artus'', Lohot is Arthur's bastard son by Lady Lyzianor, daughter of Earl Sevain, from the tryst magically arranged by
Merlin. He dies in a tower fire as a baby while in Guinevere's care. In the mainstream Vulgate
Lancelot, Lohot is a son of Arthur and Lisanor (
Lisianor,
Lionor) who dies from illness as a young knight, shortly after having been rescued from his captivity in the Dolorous Prison by
Lancelot. ''
Le Morte d'Arthur has the Vulgate Lancelot
version of Lohot renamed as Borre (Boarte
, Bohart
, Bohort
) le Cure Hardy ("the Strong Heart") and his mother mentioned as Dame Lionors, daughter of Earl Sanam. The Livre de Lancelot del Lac'' part of Micheau Gonnot's
Arthurian Compilation instead suggests that he was the son of the sorceress Camille who abducted and seduced Arthur. The standalone romance
Sagramor not only conflates Lisanor's son from the Vulgate with
Sagramor but even has him ascend the throne of Britain after the demise of Arthur.
Newman Howard's "A Ballad of Sir Kay" (in
Collected Poems, 1913) tells of "Kay's cowardly attack on Lohot, and the consequences of that deed." One of the main storylines in Dorothy Roberts' novel
Kinsmen of the Grail (1963) follows Gawain trying to discover what happened to Loholt. Lucan as a survivor of Camlann is a major character in
Roderick MacLeish's 1983 novel
Prince Ombra. smote him to the earth, and gave him such a buffet on the helm as well-nigh killed him."
Lancelot Speed's illustration for
The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights, abridged from Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by
James Knowles (1912) Mador's best known role is in an episode of the Vulgate
Mort Artu (and consequently in the Stanzaic
Morte Arthur and Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'') that tells the story of his trial by combat against the incognito
Lancelot, Queen
Guinevere's champion for her innocence following the poisoning of Mador's brother
Gaheris de Karahau. Mador loses the duel to Lancelot (without losing his life in the process), saving Guinevere from the accusation that almost led her being burnt at the stake. Besides the Vulgate
Mort Artu and the English works based on it, Mador also appears or is referenced in several other works, including in the Prose
Lancelot, in the "Tournament of Sorelois" episode found in some versions of the Prose
Tristan and the
Prophecies de Mérlin (as well as in ''Le Morte d'Arthur
), in the Post-Vulgate Cycle, in the Guiron le Courtois
part of Palemedes
, in Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight
, in the Sicilian romance Floriant et Florette
, and in the Compilation
of Rustichello da Pisa. The Vulgate Mort Artu'' notes him as exceptionally tall and says there was hardly a knight in Arthur's court who was stronger. This is repeated in the Version I of the Prose
Tristan, in which
Tristan considers him second only to the half-giant
Galehault in size and strength. In ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', he is also a companion of the young
Mordred. The ''Livre d'Artus
version of the Vulgate Merlin Continuation
mentions Madoc li Noirs de la Porte (Madoc the Black of the Gate) among the knights who come to the aid of Aglovale to fight against the forces of Agrippe. He may be further identical with the knight Mado, who is twice briefly mentioned in the First Continuation'' of Chrétien's
Perceval. Mado also appears as antagonist in the 16th-century Irish Arthurian tale
Eachtra Mhelóra agus Orlando (
The Adventures of Melora and Orlando), wherein he is the villainous son of the King of the Hesperides in love with Arthur's daughter Melora, who disguises herself as a man and fights incognito as a knight to defeat Mado and his ally
Merlin. In David Gareth's short story "Sir Mador Seeks the Grail" (1987), Mador is portrayed as fanatic who "refuses to believe any other vision of the Grail but his own, and he insists that all around him act according to his beliefs. (...) Mordred joins Mador and gains power from that association." In Chrétien's story, Melian is injured by
Gawain in the tournament in which Gawain fights for the daughter of Melian's foster-father Tiebaut, the ruler of
Tintagel in Cornwall. The
First Continuation gives him a niece named Pucel[l]e de Lis (also known as the Tent Maiden) and her brother Bran de Lis seeking revenge on Gawain for Melian's death from his injuries; she becomes Gawain's lover after he rapes her (there is no rape but just seduction in an alternative version, see
Brandelis), and eventually King Arthur intervenes to stop Bran and makes him join his Knights. In
Parzival,
Meliant de Lis (
Melianz,
Meljanz) is the king of Lis who (along with
Bagdemagus and his son Meleagant) declares war on his foster-father, Lyppaut, having been rejected by the latter's daughter, Obie. Gawain, fighting for Obie's sister Obilot, captures Meliant, who then reconciles with Obie in her captivity. Another version of this story, as told in
Diu Crône, names a corresponding character as
Fiers von Arramis, whom Gawain forces to surrender to a young lady who is a sister of his beloved, Flursenesephin. In the
Livre de Artus, Meliant de Lis wins over and marries Gawain's own lover, Floree. As either Melian de Lis or just Melian (or forms of these), he also appears or is mentioned in many other romances, including
Le Chevalier aux deux épées,
Jaufré,
Meraugis,
La Vengeance Raguidel,
Wigalois (uniquely as
Miljanz), and the Didot
Perceval (uniquely as
Mellianz de Liz). '' In the
Vulgate Cycle's
Queste and derived works (Post-Vulgate,
Prose Tristan, Malory), a different Melian (
Meliagante,
Melians,
Meliant,
Melyan[s/t],
Melien) is the son of King of either Denmark (
Danemarc[h]e), Lyle, or Dianarca. He initially serves as a squire to
Galahad, who knights him during the
Grail Quest. Later, Melian joins
Bors and
Perceval at Castle
Corbenic at the end of the quest. King Arthur appoints him to the Round Table, but he later sides with
Lancelot in the civil war in the Vulgate
Mort. In reward for his support, including his role in the rescue of
Guinevere, Lancelot makes him an earl ruling one of Lancelot's domains on the continent. Malory calls him
Melias de Lile (
de Lisle) in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''. He should not be confused with
Tristan's father
Meliadus, who is sometimes known as Melias. There are also multiple other Arthurian characters by this name. For instance, one Meliant (
Brano in the Italian compilation
La Tavola Ritonda) is a relative of King Faramon's daughter Belide when she falsely accuses Tristan of rape in the
Prose Tristan. In
Perlesvaus, an explicitly villainous Meliant is an enemy lord of Arthur, allied with the traitorous
Kay; he is eventually killed by Lancelot who had previously also slain his evil father. In the Vulgate
Lancelot, Carados of the Dolorous Tower takes one Melyans le Gai's wife as his mistress. Another Meliant from the same cycle is an ancestor of Gawain (and himself is descended from Peter, an early Christian follower of
Joseph of Arimathea) in the Vulgate
Estoire del Saint Graal.
Morholt Morholt of Ireland (
Marha[u]lt,
Marhaus,
Morold,
Amoroldo) is an Irish warrior who demands tribute from
King Mark of
Cornwall until he is slain by Mark's nephew
Tristan. In many versions, Morholt's name is prefaced with a
definite article (i.e.
The Morholt) as if it were a rank or a title, but scholars have found no reason for this. (c. 1863) He appears in almost all versions of the legend of
Tristan and Iseult, beginning with the verse works of
Thomas of Britain and
Béroul. In the early material, Morholt is the brother of the Queen of Ireland and the uncle of Tristan's future love (both mother and daughter are named
Iseult). He comes to Cornwall to collect tribute owed to his country; instead, however, Tristan challenges him to battle on the remote
Saint Samson's Isle in order to release his people from the debt. Tristan mortally wounds Morholt, leaving a piece of his sword in the Irishman's skull, but Morholt stabs him with a poisoned spear and escapes to Ireland to die. The injured Tristan eventually travels to Ireland incognito to receive healing from Iseult the Younger, but is found out when the queen discovers the piece of metal found in her brother's head fits perfectly into a chink in Tristan's blade. The authors of later romances expanded Morholt's role. In works like the
Prose Tristan, the
Post-Vulgate Cycle, and
Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'', he is a Knight of the
Round Table before his fateful encounter with Tristan, who then takes his seat. The prose romances add many further details to Morholt's career; the Post-Vulgate and Malory record his adventures with the young
Gawain,
Gaheris and
Yvain early in
King Arthur's reign. In the later versions, Tristan takes Morholt's place at the Round Table when he joins the company himself. Furthermore, Morholt's father named Norhot appears in
Perceforest.
Nentres In Arthurian romance,
Nentres of Garlot (French:
Nentres de Garlot) is a British king of the land of Garlot (
Garloth,
Garlott), who had served
Arthur's father
Uther Pendragon. At first, he rebels against the young King Arthur, but soon he becomes Arthur's ally after his defeat and reconciliation, even marrying one of Arthur's sisters. In the Old French Vulgate
Merlin, he is also named
Uentres and
Ventre[s/ƺ], as well as
Nantes,
Neutre[s] and
Nextres de Garloc in the ''Estoire d'Merlin
and Neutre in the version Livre d'Artus''. In the Caxton print edition of Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur
, he appears as Nentres, Nayntres and Nauntres, while the original Winchester manuscript calls him Nentres, Nauntres and Newtrys. His other medieval English names include Nantres or Nanter[s] in Arthour and Merlin'', and
Newtres,
Newtris, Newtrys and
Newtre[s] in Lovelich's
Merlin. His first appearance could have been as Arthur's brother-in-law
Viautre de Galerot (
Guarlerot) in the Didot-
Perceval continuation of the Verse
Merlin. Malory makes Nentres the husband of Arthur's sister
Elaine (
Elayne), originally named Blasine in the Prose
Merlin, by whom he has the son
Galeschin and a daughter also named Elaine. In other texts, his wife is one of Arthur's different sisters: either
Morgause (
Belisent) or
Morgan le Fay (
Morgain la feé). In the
Merlin continuation texts, Nentres of Garlot is one of the kings who refuse to recognise the newly proclaimed King Arthur's claim to be the true heir of Uther, and he joins the others to fight against Arthur (and his own son Galescalain) at the
Battle of Bedegraine (where he is defeated by
Kay in Malory). After the rebel kings agree to join Arthur to repel the foreign (Saxon or Saracen) invasion, Nentres commands the defense of Windesan. During this time, his wife is kidnapped by the enemy but is rescued by Arthur's loyalist
Gawain, making Nentres firmly join Arthur's side and help him to decisively crush the foreigners at the
Battle of Clarence. He then becomes one of the original members of Arthur's Round Table and participates in Arthur's continental campaigns, slaying the Spanish Saracen king Alifatima during the war against Rome. According to
Roger Sherman Loomis, the name and character of King Nentres could have been derived from that of the historical British king
Urien who is most often cast as the husband of Morgan. The Huth
Merlin mentions Neutre only once as the king of Sorhaut married to Morgan, while presenting Garlot as the kingdom of Urien and Morgain (
Morgue), which further suggests the identity of Nentres with Urien. The name of his realm of Garlot may also come from that of
Caer Lot, an Old Welsh phrase meaning the Fortress of
Lot, another British former-rebel king often depicted in the legend as married to Arthur's sister. The lands belonging to Nentres, Urien and Lot (in Lot's case meaning the kingdom of
Lothian, not the northern Orkney) are also all commonly placed in today's southern (lowland) Scotland. Nevertheless, the three rebel-turned-ally kings, each later married to Arthur's sisters, regularly appear as separate characters within the same prose romances, including in Malory.
Osenain Osenain (one of many spelling variants), often appearing with the moniker translating either (depending on the French spelling) as 'Braveheart', 'the Hardhearted', 'the Bold' or 'Hard Body', is a character often appearing as one (or more) of the knights of the
Round Table in the works of Arthurian romance. In English, he is best known from
Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur as Ozanna le Cure Hardy (Ozanna le Coeur Hardi'' in the Winchester Manuscript; rendered as
Ozana of the hardy heart in
William Morris' 1856 poem "The Chapel in Lyonesse"); Middle English versions of the
Merlin Continuation feature names such as
Gosenain Hardy Body,
Gosnayn de Strangot,
Osenain Cors Hardy, or
Osoman Hardi of Hert. In many works he is associated with the often similarly named nephew of King Arthur,
Gawain of Orkney, while being cast as Gawain's either companion or opponent. Within the chivalric romance tradition, he is first found, without details, as '''Garravain[s] d'Estrangot''' (of Estrangot) among Arthur's knights in some manuscripts of
Chretien de Troyes' French poem
Erec et Enide (
Gasosin von Strangot in its German version
Erec).
Roger Sherman Loomis connected Garravain with
Agravain, one of Gawain's brothers (whom Chrétien himself calls Engrevain in the later
Perceval, the Story of the Grail). He is also listed by the name
Gasouains in the anonymous First Continuation of Chrétien's
Perceval. In a later, non-Chrétien verse romance
Les Merveilles de Rigomer, one
Garradains is named as the knight of Arthur traveling with Gawain on a quest to conquer the enchanted castle of the Irish queen Dionise. In the German poem
Diu Crône, the fairy knight
Gasozein de Dragoz arrives at King Arthur's court, where he single-handedly defeats three Knights of the Round Table while not wearing any armor and falsely claims to be the first lover and rightful husband of Queen
Guinevere, unsuccessfully demanding her to be "returned" to him. Gasozein later rescues the queen from her brother Gotegrin, who wants to kill Guinevere for her infidelity, but then he kidnaps her in turn and nearly rapes her, however Gawain arrives in time, defeats Gasozein in a duel, sends him back to Arthur to revoke his claim and join the Round Table, and even arranges Gasozein's marriage with his own sister-in-law, Sgoidamur. The Gosezein version of Garravain's character re-appears as
Gosangos de Tarmadoise, Guinevere's early romantic lover and Gawain's valiant enemy in the French prose romance ''Livre d'Artus''. French prose cycles and other works feature
Osenain[s] Cuer Hardi (
Gosenain,
Osanain,
Osevain,
Osoain,
Osuain,
Oswain, etc.; -
Cors Hardi[z],
Corsa Hardy,
Corps Hardi,
au Cœur-Hardi,
Chore Ardito) in the
Vulgate Cycle, and
Ossenain Cuer Hardi (
Oselain,
Osenaín,
Ossenain,
Ossenam, ''Ossenet d'Estrangot
) in the Prose Tristan
. In the Vulgate Estoire de Merlin
(and the English Of Arthour and of Merlin), the young 'Gasoain d'Estrango[r]t'
(Gaswain
, Gosenain[s]
, Gosnayn[s]
; -of / d'Estrangor[r]e
, de Strangot
, Destrangot
), here appearing separately from Osenain, fights alongside Gawain in the battles against the invading Saxons, his great feats earning him an early seat at the Round Table. When Gawain wrongly accuses him of treason, he gives Gawain a severe face wound in a trial by combat in front of King Arthur. In the Vulgate Lancelot'', he is noted as "very valorous and a good speaker", and is involved in the adventures of
Kay and others. He is with Gawain when they are both captured and imprisoned in the Dolorous Prison until their rescue by
Lancelot, who also later frees him from Turquine's captivity on another occasion. He assists
Maleagant of Gore in the abduction of Queen Guinevere and is imprisoned by King Arthur after Lancelot's rescue of her (in Malory's version, he is instead one the loyal Queen's Knights captured by Maleagant along with her). He is later forgiven and fights for Arthur against King
Rience and becomes a
knight errant, eventually participating in the
Grail Quest. The Guiron le Courtois section of
Palamedes describes him as son of King Quinados. Like Gawain's, his character is considered to be derived from the prototype of the warrior by the name Gwrvan and its variants, found in the early Welsh Arthurian tales
Culhwch ac Olwen,
Peredur fab Efrawg,
Preiddeu Annwn, and
Trioedd Ynys Prydein. According to Arthurian scholar
Ferdinand Lot, Gwrvan's name comes with synonymous Welsh adjectives
cadr and
cadrauc, "meaning 'mighty, powerful', corresponding therefore in meaning to 'au Cors Hardi'." The plot of the French poem
Meraugis de Portlesguez revolves around the protagonist Meraugis competing for the love of Queen Lidoine with his friend
Gorvain Cadrut. Here, Gorvain loses Lidoine to his rival, but ends up happily married to one of her maidens, Avice. However, Ferdinand Lot proposed that this Gorvain is just the story's Gawain himself (who earlier appears as
Golvain) by just a slightly different name. In another chivalric romance,
Hunbaut,
Gorvain Cadrus von Pantelion (Gorvain Cadrus of [Castle] Pantelion) takes Gawain's unnamed sister hostage, seeking vengeance against him for the death of one of his relatives. He is taken captive by Gawain, then sent as a prisoner to Arthur's court at
Caerleon where he eventually becomes a Knight of the Round Table. In the Vulgate
Merlin,
Gosnayns Cadrus (
Gornain[s],
Goruain[s]; -
Cadruc,
Cadruz,
Cardus;
Gornayns Karadus in
Henry Lovelich's
Merlin) and Osenain Cuer Hardi appear as two different knights who are Arthur's allies since the very first days (Battle of Carmelide), before Gasoain comes to Camelot. In the Italian
Tavola Ritonda,
Suziano of the Valiant Heart (
Cuore Ardito) is a young son of Lady Largina and uncertainly either King
Esclabor the Unknown or King Amorotto (that is,
Lamorak) of Listenois, as his promiscuous and power-hungry mother was a lover of both of them at the same time. He comes into service of the evil Lady Losanna of the Ancient Tower (
dela Torre Antica) after falling in love with her, and is slain by
Tristan protecting Losanna's enemy Tessina from his attempt on her life. He also appears under the name
Guengasoain[s] (
Gasouains,
Guengasouain,
Guingasoain) as the antagonist of the French poem
La Vengeance Raguidel, in which Gawain and
Yder attempt to avenge his murder of the knight Raguidel. Here, he is a nephew of King Aguissant (
King Lot's brother Angusel from the
Historia Regum Britanniae) and serves as the knight of the fay enchantress Lingrenote, the lady of the Nameless Castle (
Castiel sans Non), who has armed him with powerful enchanted weapons that made him near invincible. He is nevertheless defeated and killed by Gawain helped by Yder, the latter of whom then marries Guengasoain's daughter Trevilonete.
Priamus Priamus (
Pryamus) is an originally pagan Roman ally of
Emperor Lucius in the
Alliterative Morte Arthure (where his character was probably inspired by that of the Saracen
Ferumbras from the
Matter of France) and in Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur (where he is specifically described as a Muslim). Priamus is knight from Tuscany, a right inheritor to the lands of "Alexandria and Africa, and all outer isles", and a descendant of Alexander the Great and Hector of Troy (and also of Judas Maccabeus and Joshua in the Morte Arthure
). Upon meeting Gawain (peaceably in the Morte Arthure'', in battle in Malory's "The Tale of King Arthur and Emperor Lucius"), Priamus defects from Lucius to join forces with
King Arthur and also converts to Christianity. In return, Arthur appoints him as the Duke of
Lorraine. Malory's telling also gives him two brothers who too join the
Round Table. Priamus is eventually killed by
Lancelot at the fight for
Guinevere.
Safir Safir (
Safire,
Safere,
Saphar,
Saphir) is the youngest son of the
Saracen king
Esclabor in the
Arthurian legend. He appeared in several works of Arthurian literature, including the
Prose Tristan and ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''; his name was also included on the
Winchester Round Table. Two of his brothers,
Segwarides and
Palamedes, also belong to the Round Table. Safir usually appears alongside his brother Palamedes. In one story, Safir disguises himself as
Ector de Maris, fights with Helior le Preuse, defeats him, and wins Espinogres' lady. Vowing to defend the lady's honor, Palamedes arrives and locks swords with Safir, not realizing it is his brother. After fighting for an hour to a standstill, both are impressed with each other's prowess and skill, and decide to ask the other's identity. Safir is devastated to find that he was fighting with his own brother and asks Palamedes for forgiveness; together, they return the lady to Espinogres. Later, after the affair between
Lancelot and
Guinevere is exposed, Safir and Palamedes join Lancelot's side in the ensuing civil war between Lancelot and
King Arthur. When they are banished to Lancelot's homeland in
Gaul, Safir is made Duke of
Landok while Palamedes becomes Duke of
Provence.
Segwarides Segwarides (
Seguarades,
Seguradés,
Seguradez, etc.) is a son of the
Saracen king
Esclabor who becomes a
liegeman of
King Mark. His other brothers include the fellow
Round Table knights
Palamedes and
Safir. It is possible there have been originally two characters of this name, but the stories in which they appear fail to differentiate between them. 's illustration for
Henry Frith's
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (1912) He is cuckolded by
Tristan in the
Prose Tristan and Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur''. Tristan has a brief affair with Segwarides' wife, and wounds the knight after being found out. Tristan encounters Segwarides again on the Isle of Servage; Segwarides forgives him, saying he "will never hate a noble knight for a light lady," and the two team up to avoid the dangers of the isle. Soon afterwards, Tristan makes Segwarides the Lord of Servage. In Malory, Segwarides is eventually killed trying to repel
Lancelot's rescue of
Guinevere from the stake.
Tor Tor (
Thor,
Tors,
Torz, etc.) appears frequently in Arthurian literature but always in minor roles. In the list of Arthur's prominent knights in
Chrétien's
Erec and Enide, the father of Tor (called
Estorz in
Hartmann's Erec) is named as King Ar[e]s. The German
Lanzelet features Tor under the name
Torfilaret derived from the French "Tor son of Aret". Versions of the
Prose Tristan feature Tor variably as
Hestor le filz Erec (son of
Erec) and
Tor le filz Arès. In the
Post-Vulgate Cycle and
Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'', however, Ar[i]es is only Tor's adoptive father, while Tor's natural father is
King Pellinore. Tor's many half-siblings thus include
Aglovale,
Drian,
Lamorak,
Perceval, and
Dindrane. He is born when Pellinore sleeps with his peasant mother (Malory calls her Vayshoure) "half by force", and she marries Aries shortly afterward. Here, Aries is not a king, but a poor cowherd; the young Tor is also raised as a cowherd but dreams of becoming a knight. His parents take him to the teenage
King Arthur, who makes the boy one of his first knights in recognition of his qualities. Later,
Merlin reveals Tor's true parentage, and Pellinore embraces his son; neither Aries nor his wife seem offended. Tor distinguishes himself at the wedding feast of Arthur and
Guinevere when he takes up a quest to retrieve a mysterious white
brachet hound that had come into the court. According to Malory, Tor and his brother Aglovale are present among the knights charged by Arthur with guarding the execution of Guinevere and they both die when
Lancelot and his followers rescue the queen. He should not be confused with Tor the Strong, another of Chrétien's characters and a knight from
Constantinople.
Yvain the Bastard Yvain the Bastard (
Yvains,
Yvonet,
Uwaine,
Uwains; -
li/le[s] Avou[l]tres, -''l'Avo[u]ltre
, -li Batarz'') is a son of
King Urien of Gore, often confused with his half-brother
Yvain, after whom he was named. He is first mentioned as one of Arthur's best knights in Chrétien's
Erec and Enide. While the older Yvain is Urien's legitimate child from his fairy wife
Morgan, Yvain the Bastard was sired by Urien on the wife of his
seneschal. He is encountered frequently in Arthurian romance as a hearty and usually sensible knight, fighting in Arthur's wars and questing for the
Holy Grail with
Galahad and
Gareth. In the
Post-Vulgate Cycle, he is killed by his cousin
Gawain late during the Grail Quest when the two, disguised by their armour, randomly meet and decide to joust. It is not until Gawain takes him to a hermitage for his last rites that he realizes he has fought, and killed, his own cousin. In
Perlesvaus, Yvain the Bastard's own son named Cahus dies while serving as Arthur's own squire on a strange adventure, killed by a giant in a deadly dream. Thomas Malory in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'' split him into two characters: Uwaine les Avoutres, the son of Urien, and
Uwaine les Adventurous, an unrelated knight. Malory further splits
Morganor, the name of Urien's "good knight" bastard son in
Of Arthour and of Merlin, into a separate character he calls Sir Morganor[e] (first appearing as a senschal of the
King of the Hundred Knights, then as a king himself). Yvain the Bastard and Yvain les Avoutres are also separate characters in the Scottish romance
Lancelot of the Laik.
Yvain of the White Hands Yvain of the White Hands (
Yvain/Yvonet aux Blanches Mains) is another different Knight of the Round Table named Yvain in the Old French romances. There, and in the English
Arthour and Merlin, he is unrelated to
Iseult of the White Hands and to the "main"
Yvain (son of
Urien), although Thomas Malory later merged him with the latter. He serves Arthur in the Saxon wars, later participating in the quests to learn the fate of
Merlin and to find the missing
Lancelot. In
Palamedes, he is son of a knight named Darie. In the Prose
Tristan, he is injured by
King Mark and healed in a Cornish abbey. In the Post-Vulgate
Queste, he is mistakenly slain by
Erec, for which in turn Erec is killed by
Gawain, and his seat at the Round Table is then taken by the Unknown Knight (
Arthur the Less). ==Other Arthurian fellowships==