Annoville Incident

The Annowre episode turns an enchantress’s failed attempt to win King Arthur into an ambush, and makes Sir Tristram the rescuer whose identity remains hidden. Its sequence is shaped by danger recognized in advance: Nimue knows Arthur is at risk, finds Tristram, and brings him to the forest in time to intervene.

The Lure into the Forest

Annowre, a sorceress who had long loved Arthur, comes to him at Cardiff and persuades him, through promises, to ride with her into the Forest Perilous in North Wales. Once he is at her tower, she asks him to return her love. Arthur remembers his lady and refuses, despite Annowre’s craft. Her desire therefore changes the journey’s purpose: she repeatedly sends Arthur riding in the forest with his own knights, intending that he be killed when she cannot have him as she wishes.

Arthur’s disappearance prompts a search by his knights, including Sir Launcelot and Sir Brandiles. The rescue, however, depends on Nimue’s foreknowledge. Friendly to Arthur, the Lady of the Lake understands through her arts that he is in danger and rides into the forest seeking either Launcelot or Tristram. She knows that Arthur will be slain that day unless one of these two knights helps him.

Tristram Intervenes

Nimue meets Tristram and tells him that a noble knight is in dire distress. When she identifies that knight as Arthur, Tristram readily agrees to help. They ride in haste to a small tower or castle, where Arthur is on foot, fighting two knights. The two attackers bring him down; as one removes his helmet to kill him, Annowre takes Arthur’s sword and prepares to strike.

Tristram arrives before she can do so. He calls Annowre a traitor, kills one knight and defeats the other. At Nimue’s urging, Arthur pursues Annowre and kills her with the sword she had taken from him. Nimue takes Annowre’s head and hangs it by the hair from her saddle bow. The sorceress’s plan is thus stopped by the very intervention her foresight anticipated: Tristram prevents the killing, while Arthur himself delivers the final blow against Annowre.

The Rescue and Its Aftermath

After the attack, Tristram helps Arthur back onto his horse and rides with him, but asks Nimue not to disclose his name. Arthur thanks his rescuer and asks who he is; Tristram gives no name, describing himself only as a poor knight adventurous. He remains in Arthur’s company until they meet Sir Ector de Maris, who does not recognize either man and challenges one of them to joust. Tristram unhorses him, then tells Arthur that this deed may one day show his willingness to serve. He again refuses to identify himself and departs, leaving Arthur and Sir Ector together. The episode therefore ends not with public recognition or reward but with concealed service: Arthur is saved, yet the rescuer’s identity remains undisclosed.

Rescue, Recognition, and Concealed Service

After the attack, Tristram helps Arthur onto his horse and rides with him, but asks Nimue not to reveal his name. Arthur thanks the knight and asks who he is; Tristram answers only that he is a poor knight adventurous. His restraint keeps the rescue from becoming a scene of formal recognition. He remains with Arthur until they meet Sir Ector de Maris, who recognizes neither man and challenges one of them to joust. Tristram unhorses him, then tells Arthur that this deed may show, on another day, his willingness to serve. He again withholds his identity and leaves Arthur with Sir Ector. The episode closes on service without acknowledgment: Arthur has been saved, but the rescuer’s name remains concealed.

Narrative Function and Significance

The episode turns a private refusal into a public danger: Arthur’s loyalty to his lady defeats Annowre’s effort to win his love, and that refusal becomes the reason she seeks his death. The rescue depends not on a search reaching him in time, but on Nimue’s knowledge that the danger is imminent and her choice to find Tristram. Her warning sets the action in motion, while Tristram’s intervention and Arthur’s pursuit divide the rescue between them: Tristram defeats the two attackers, and Arthur kills Annowre with the sword she had taken from him. The concealed name at the close leaves the service without immediate recognition, even as Tristram’s conduct signals his willingness to serve Arthur.