The Winchester tournament becomes both a triumph and a near-disaster for Sir Launcelot. Entering secretly with Sir Lavaine and wearing a red sleeve as his token, he wins the prize by force of arms, yet his disguise turns fellow knights against him, and Sir Bors wounds him in the mêlée. Launcelot leaves before his identity is disclosed, choosing urgent care over public honour.

Setting and Entry into the Tournament

King Arthur and his company had remained at the tournament site for three days to await his knights. The gathering brought together rulers and noblemen in opposing parties, while the king watched from a high scaffold. The account identifies the place as Camelot, then called Winchester, and says the combat began when trumpets sounded before the feast of the Assumption.

Sir Launcelot and Sir Lavaine travelled to the tournament with white shields. Sir Launcelot also carried the red sleeve given to him by Elaine of Astolat, and wore it on his head when he entered the field. He and Sir Lavaine lodged secretly in Winchester through Lavaine’s arrangements, so that their presence and identities were not generally known. Once the king had departed, they rode out privately and waited in a small wood behind the party opposed to Arthur.

The Contest and the Disguise

The tournament’s sides were unevenly matched. King Anguish of Ireland and the King of Scotland joined Arthur’s party, while the King of Northgalis, the King with the Hundred Knights, the King of Northumberland, and Sir Galahalt opposed it. The narrative describes Arthur’s side as having the world’s noblest knights and its opponents as too weak to withstand them.

As fighting spread across the field, Sir Launcelot watched the opposing company press Arthur’s men. He then entered with Sir Lavaine, saying that they could drive those pursuers back. Launcelot unhorsed Sir Brandiles, Sir Sagramor, Sir Dodinas, Sir Kay, and Sir Griflet with one spear. Taking another, he brought down Sir Agravaine, Sir Gaheris, Sir Mordred, and Sir Meliot de Logres. He then drew his sword and unhorsed Sir Safere, Sir Epinogris, and Sir Galleron. Sir Lavaine also fought beside him, bringing down Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere, among others.

King Arthur recognized that the unknown knight’s manner of riding and striking resembled Sir Launcelot’s, and Sir Gawaine suspected the same. The red sleeve, however, gave Gawaine reason to doubt, since he had never known Launcelot to wear a lady’s token in a tournament. Arthur declined to name the knight, saying he would be recognized before he left. The disguise therefore concealed Launcelot even as his exceptional performance made his identity a subject of speculation.

The Wound and the Cost of Victory

The contest’s danger sharpened when Sir Bors, Sir Ector de Maris, and Sir Lionel, accompanied by knights of their kin, entered the field. Not knowing the identity of the red-sleeved knight, they meant to challenge him. The three struck Launcelot together and brought his horse down. In the encounter Sir Bors’s spear pierced Launcelot’s shield and wounded his side; the broken spearhead remained there.

Sir Lavaine helped Launcelot back onto a horse, and Launcelot continued fighting despite his wound. He brought Sir Bors, Sir Ector, and Sir Lionel down, as well as several of their companions. When he had the chance to kill his three kinsmen, however, he recognized their faces and could not bring himself to do so. The account then says that he and Sir Lavaine continued in the press, where Launcelot brought down more than thirty knights, most of them of the Round Table, and Lavaine ten.

At the close of the fighting, the heralds awarded the prize to the knight with the white shield and red sleeve. The King with the Hundred Knights, the King of Northgalis, the King of Northumberland, and Sir Galahalt praised his service and asked him to receive the honour. Launcelot answered that he had paid dearly for any thanks he had earned; he wanted rest, not the prize or dominion over the world. He rode away before the king could disclose who he was.

The Hermitage and Aftermath

Once he was out of sight of the field, Launcelot asked Sir Lavaine to remove the broken spear shaft from his side. Lavaine feared that doing so might put him in mortal danger, but Launcelot insisted. After it was removed, Launcelot lost consciousness. He revived and directed Lavaine to a nearby hermitage, where Sir Baudwin of Brittany lived. Launcelot described Baudwin as a former noble knight and landholder who had chosen voluntary poverty, and as a skilled surgeon and healer.

Sir Lavaine brought the wounded knight to the hermitage, reporting only that he had fought marvellously against Arthur’s party and won the prize; he did not know his name. Sir Baudwin, who had once belonged to the Round Table, agreed to help. The tournament thus ends not with Launcelot’s public recognition but with his withdrawal for treatment: his prowess earns the prize, while secrecy, divided loyalties, and the wound incurred among his own kin make that honour unusable in the moment.