Helin le Blank

Helin le Blank is the son of Sir Bors de Ganis and King Brandegore’s daughter. His brief appearance joins a private family bond to the public world of King Arthur’s court: Sir Bors claims him, brings him to Camelot, and sees him admitted to the Round Table, where he grows into a good and adventurous knight.

Family and Background

Helin’s parentage is disclosed when Sir Bors and Sir Lionel arrive at King Brandegore’s house. Sir Bors had fathered a child by the king’s daughter fifteen years earlier, and the boy is named Helin le Blank. Although his paternity is introduced as something reported, Sir Bors recognizes the relationship and declares that he will take Helin with him to Arthur’s court.

Departure for Camelot

King Brandegore warns Sir Bors that Helin is still very young. Sir Bors nevertheless insists on taking his son, explaining that he intends to bring him to what he calls the most honorable household in the world. The departure is emotional: Brandegore’s household grieves and weeps as Helin leaves with Sir Bors and Sir Lionel. The account marks this separation as the cost of transferring the boy from his maternal grandfather’s household into his father’s care and the orbit of Arthur’s court.

Knighthood and Later Reputation

At Camelot, King Arthur learns that Helin is Sir Bors’s son and King Brandegore’s nephew. He has Helin made a Knight of the Round Table. The narrative then gives a compact measure of the outcome: Helin proves to be a good knight and an adventurous one. His introduction thus moves from a family connection and a contested departure to recognition within the fellowship of Arthur’s knights, while leaving his later exploits undescribed.