Bakuryu Island Battle

The Battle of the Isle of Servage turns a forced gathering into a transfer of power: Sir Tristram and Sir Lamorak overcome Sir Nabon, but neither claims the island for himself. Their refusal to keep the lordship makes the victory a test of how prowess should serve others, and leaves Sir Segwarides to govern the country and release its prisoners.

Background and Assembly

Sir Nabon announces that the people of the island must come to his castle five days later. The occasion is to include the knighting of his son and a joust bringing together knights from the surrounding valley and country. The gathering draws five hundred knights. Among those brought there are Sir Lamorak, Sir Tristram, Sir Kehydius, and Sir Segwarides; the account says they were brought because they dared not refuse. The assembly is thus not simply a tournament: it takes place under Nabon’s authority and gathers knights whose presence is compelled.

Nabon lends Sir Lamorak a horse and armor at Lamorak’s request. Lamorak then rides against the assembled knights and unhorses most of the five hundred. The scale of this feat establishes his standing before the central fight: Nabon himself praises the performance and asks to fight him. Yet Lamorak is weary and bruised. When they take up spears, Nabon avoids meeting him directly and strikes Lamorak’s horse, killing it. Lamorak continues on foot, but his exhaustion leaves him retreating as they fight. Nabon then halts the encounter and offers him unusual courtesy, explaining that Lamorak’s prowess has earned it.

Tristram Takes the Challenge

Sir Tristram steps forward when Nabon asks whether any of Lamorak’s companions will fight him. He asks Nabon for a horse and reliable armor; Nabon directs him to a pavilion where he can arm himself. Tristram understands that Nabon has been killing knights’ horses rather than meeting them in a spear charge, so he chooses to fight on foot. This decision answers Nabon’s established method rather than repeating Lamorak’s contest on the same terms.

The two fight on foot for a long time, striking and feinting without a rest. Nabon eventually asks his opponent’s name. Tristram identifies himself as Sir Tristram de Liones, a knight of Cornwall serving under King Mark. Nabon welcomes the disclosure and says he had most desired to fight either Tristram or Sir Launcelot. The exchange turns the contest into a deliberately sought encounter, not an accidental clash between unknown opponents. They resume eagerly, and Tristram kills Nabon. He then goes to Nabon’s son and kills him as well.

The Lordship and Its Settlement

After Nabon’s death, the people of the country say that they will hold of Tristram. He refuses the offer and names Sir Lamorak as the more fitting lord, citing the great deeds Lamorak has performed there. Lamorak, however, says he has not earned the country as well as Tristram has and refuses it in turn. The two knights therefore do not treat victory as an automatic title to rule: each declines the reward on grounds of what the other has done.

Tristram proposes that, since neither of them will accept the lordship, they should give it to someone who has not earned it as much as they have. Lamorak agrees that the decision is Tristram’s. Tristram awards the country to Sir Segwarides, who thanks them. The settlement separates military achievement from political possession: Tristram and Lamorak determine who should govern, while the newly appointed lord assumes responsibility for the country.

Aftermath and Significance

Sir Segwarides governs the valley well, releases all the prisoners, and establishes good order there. His first recorded acts show what the victory changes for people beyond the fighters: captivity ends, and the island receives a ruler credited with sound governance. The episode’s conclusion consequently measures the outcome not only by Nabon’s defeat but by the arrangements made afterward.

The account then says that Sir Segwarides returns to Cornwall and tells King Mark and La Beale Isoud how Tristram advanced him to the lordship of the Isle of Servage. He proclaims the adventures of the two knights throughout Cornwall, making their deeds publicly known. The news also carries a personal cost: La Beale Isoud is deeply distressed when she hears that Sir Tristram has married Isoud la Blanche Mains. Thus the consequences of the island episode extend beyond its political settlement, linking Tristram’s public renown to news of his marriage and to Isoud’s sorrow.