The Isle of Avilion appears as the home of Sir Gringamore and a place of recovery for Sir Gareth, linking Dame Liones’s household to King Arthur’s court. Its importance in the episode is practical and political: there, Gareth recovers from his wounds while Liones arranges a tournament intended to bring him back into the company of Arthur and his knights.

Setting and associations

The account identifies the Isle of Avilion as the island where Sir Gringamore dwells. Dame Liones travels there after meeting King Arthur, who has questioned her about Gareth’s whereabouts. She has told the king that she cannot say where Gareth is, though she offers to arrange a tournament before her castle for the Feast of the Assumption. The island thus connects Liones’s dealings with the court to the place where Gareth and Gringamore are together.

Gareth’s recovery

At the island, Gareth explains that he has been wounded since arriving at the castle and has not fully recovered. The injury threatens to keep him from the tournament, where Liones’s plan is to have Arthur and his knights meet the knights assembled against them. Linet undertakes to restore Gareth within fifteen days and applies an ointment and salve; the narrative says that he becomes as vigorous as before. His recovery makes it possible for him to take part in the coming contest.

The tournament and the return to court

Liones’s tournament is designed to prompt news of Gareth’s whereabouts: she tells Arthur that his knights will be matched against hers and expects that Gareth will be heard of there. At Avilion, Linet urges Gareth to summon Sir Persant of Inde and his knights, as well as Sir Ironside, to prepare for the encounter. Sir Ironside reports that he and Persant’s company have already done homage at Arthur’s court and have agreed to oppose Sir Launcelot and the court’s knights out of love for Liones and Gareth. The call goes out across many countries, giving the island episode a wider reach than a private recovery: Avilion becomes a staging point for a tournament that will bring Gareth’s concealed presence into contact with Arthur’s court.