The Red City is a kingdom whose story turns on a public appeal for justice after its ruler, King Hermance, is betrayed by two knights he had raised and trusted. Its people mourn him, his letter seeks a champion from Arthur’s court, and Palamides undertakes the revenge. After defeating one of the traitors, he is welcomed as lord by the city, yet declines to remain: his prior promise to return to the tournament at Lonazep takes precedence over the offered settlement.

The King and His Realm

King Hermance is remembered by his people as a generous ruler who loved the knights of Arthur’s court and welcomed the activities of errant knights, including jousting and hunting. The account presents his virtues alongside a political failure: he favored two men of his own upbringing, trusted them above his blood relatives, and allowed them to govern around him. As those favorites excluded his kin from influence, Hermance’s family withdrew from his court. His people’s explanation is that the king’s generosity and misplaced trust left him exposed to the very men he had advanced.

Hermance’s death occurs during a hunt. He rides armed into the nearby forest, dismounts to drink at a well, and is betrayed by the two knights: Helius strikes him, after which the pair leave him there. The narrative makes the setting and circumstances central to the charge against them: this is not a death in open combat, but the treacherous killing of a ruler by men whom he had brought up and empowered.

The Appeal for Vengeance

Hermance arranges for his case to reach Arthur’s court. Before his death, he commands Sir Ebel to write a letter asking the knights errant to avenge him. The king instructs that the letter be placed in his hand after he dies and sent aboard a vessel down the Humber toward Logris, where knights are expected to assemble. The letter promises Hermance’s lands and rents to whichever knight will face the two betrayers in a single battle. It frames vengeance as repayment for the king’s former goodwill toward Arthur’s court, and places the Red City and its holdings behind the challenge.

The request first reaches Sir Tristram through the letter held by a dead knight aboard a richly appointed vessel on the Humber. The mariners explain that only a worthy knight who promises to avenge the dead may read it. Tristram accepts the obligation in principle, but he has already promised to attend a tournament and fears that taking the quest himself would make him fail that commitment. He therefore entrusts the enterprise to Palamides, who promises both to pursue the killers and, if he survives, to rejoin Tristram at the tournament.

Palamides and the City’s Grief

When Palamides arrives at a castle associated with Hermance’s lands, the people’s continuing sorrow prompts him to ask what has happened. Sir Ebel tells him how Hermance favored the two fostered knights, how the king’s relatives were driven away, and how the pair ultimately betrayed their patron. The account is not only an accusation against the killers: Ebel turns it into a warning about rulers who entrust authority to unworthy dependants and neglect their own kin. He then confirms that the letter was written at Hermance’s command and explains how it was sent on its journey.

Palamides says that the letter has already brought him to avenge Hermance and that he will not be at ease until he confronts the traitors. Ebel directs him toward the Delectable Isle, near the Red City, and asks that he keep the castle safe. Palamides answers that the defenders should hold it even if he is killed. He expects that one of Arthur’s foremost knights—Sir Tristram or Sir Launcelot—would come to avenge him in turn. His commitment thus makes the quest part of a continuing chain of knightly obligation, not merely a bid for the lands offered in the letter.

The Challenge and Its Outcome

The Red City learns that Palamides has come to fight both brothers. When Sir Hermind, King Hermance’s brother, meets him, Palamides recounts the killing of Sir Lamorak by Sir Gawaine and his brothers, identifying the deed as treachery. Hermind then carries word to the city, where the people rejoice at the arrival of a renowned knight. The two accused brothers, however, are less concerned by Palamides’ reputation than by his connections: they say they would have feared a member of Sir Launcelot’s blood, and threaten that an unbaptized Palamides will never be baptized. The episode establishes the danger around the challenge while emphasizing that Palamides proceeds despite it.

In the fight with Helius, Palamides grows weary while his opponent appears to gain strength. The people of the city weep as they fear that their champion will be defeated. Palamides sees their grief, raises his shield, and renews his attack; he finally brings Helius down and kills him. The victory changes the city’s response from mourning to celebration. Its people become Palamides’ men, recognizing him as their protector and lord after the successful vengeance.

A Realm Won but Not Held

The city offers Palamides a share—one third—of its goods if he will stay. He refuses, explaining that he must return promptly to Arthur at Lonazep because he has promised to do so. He asks the people instead to care for Hermance’s lordship and departs, first returning to the castle and then continuing toward Lonazep. The Red City is therefore presented as a realm whose succession is briefly opened by its king’s murder and whose people are ready to accept the avenger, but the story does not show Palamides establishing a lasting reign there. His departure sets the claims of knightly fidelity and a pledged tournament attendance against the material reward and political authority offered by the city.