Alyssander’s tournament victory at King Carados’s gathering becomes a test of what knightly prowess is for: after winning the prize and imposing a year-and-a-day restriction on those he unhorses, he accepts a castle damsel’s appeal to fight Mallegrin, a powerful knight who has obstructed her marriage. Their encounter ends with Alyssander killing Mallegrin, but victory leaves him unable to stand and gravely wounded. The episode thus joins tournament renown to a more consequential duty: using force to answer an individual’s plea and end a threat to her future.

Tournament and Reputation

Alyssander is travelling toward London to seek Sir Launcelot, carrying his father’s bloodstained shirt as a reminder of his father’s death. By chance, he rides astray along the coast and reaches the tournament held by King Carados. There he wins the prize, unhorsing Carados and twenty of his knights, as well as Sir Safere, Sir Palamides’s brother. His performance makes a striking impression on a watching damsel, who regards him as the finest jouster she has seen.

The tournament’s outcome is not simply a tally of victories. Alyssander requires each knight he unhorses to swear that he will wear no armour for a year and a day. This turns his success into a temporary restriction on the defeated men’s ability to take up arms, while establishing the newcomer’s authority before the castle episode begins. The account does not identify the tournament as Morgan le Fay’s castle tournament: Morgan hears reports of Alyssander’s prowess and says she wishes to meet him, while the damsel’s later appeal places Mallegrin’s challenge at her castle.

The Damsel’s Appeal

After Alyssander has unhorsed four more knights, the damsel calls him aside and asks him to joust and fight for her against Mallegrin, an unwelcome neighbour who will not allow her to marry. Alyssander agrees to put his own body at risk for her sake. The conflict is presented as a concrete plea for aid, not as a tournament contest for a prize: the damsel identifies the obstacle to her marriage, and Alyssander undertakes to confront the man responsible.

Mallegrin is summoned at the damsel’s command. The two knights meet and prepare to joust. Mallegrin’s spear strikes Alyssander, but Alyssander’s counterblow knocks Mallegrin from his saddle. Mallegrin rises, draws his sword, and insists that the fight continue on foot, claiming that he can endure as a knight even if he has lost the mounted encounter. Alyssander accepts, handing his horse to his attendant before joining the fight on foot.

The Fight and Mallegrin’s Confession

The combat continues for three hours. The narrative stresses that neither man is plainly the better knight throughout: they strike at one another’s helmets and shields, and at times collide and fall to the ground. Mallegrin has a formidable reputation in foot combat, though the account distinguishes this from his lesser standing on horseback. Alyssander, meanwhile, fights fiercely but without good judgment, and Mallegrin wounds him severely. His persistence carries a steep cost even before the final blow.

During a pause, Mallegrin asks Alyssander to hold his hand and reveal who he is. Alyssander refuses unless Mallegrin first explains his own name and why he holds the country. Mallegrin then admits that, because of his attachment to the castle damsel, he has killed ten good knights by misadventure; he also confesses that pride and outrageous conduct led him to kill ten others. Alyssander condemns this as a shameful confession and says that allowing Mallegrin to live would itself be a source of shame. The admission turns the fight into more than a contest over the damsel’s marriage: Mallegrin’s own account establishes a wider pattern of lethal misconduct.

They resume fighting. Alyssander eventually strikes Mallegrin down, removes his helmet, and kills him. The outcome resolves the immediate threat to the damsel and ends the career of a knight who has acknowledged responsibility for the deaths of twenty men. The episode gives Mallegrin a chance to state his guilt, but his confession does not stop the combat or secure his pardon.

Victory and Its Cost

After the fight, Alyssander calls for his attendant and tries to mount his horse. He is not strong enough to do so: he has sixteen major wounds and cannot stand on the ground. The damsel therefore places him in a litter and has him carried into the castle. His victory is decisive, but the scene refuses to equate winning with emerging unharmed. The knight who accepted danger on the damsel’s behalf survives the encounter only in a condition that requires others to care for him.

Morgan le Fay has watched the battle with the damsel and is present as its consequences unfold. The next chapter turns to Morgan having Alyssander in her castle and healing his wounds. The episode therefore links his public reputation, the damsel’s request, Mallegrin’s confession and death, and Alyssander’s dependence on care after combat. Its movement from tournament display to a private appeal, prolonged combat, and recovery makes prowess answerable to a purpose—and shows that even a successful act of protection can leave its champion at the mercy of others.