King Hermance of the Red City

King Hermance of the Red City is remembered as a generous ruler and devoted supporter of errant knights, but his trust in two men he had raised leaves him vulnerable to betrayal. After his murder, a letter sent with his body summons a champion to avenge him; the appeal draws Sir Palamides into a quest that makes justice for Hermance inseparable from the succession to his lands and city.

Identity and Reputation

Hermance rules the Red City and is described by his people as a noble knight, liberal in his spending, and exceptionally kind to his subjects. He especially loves errant knights from King Arthur’s court, as well as jousting, hunting, and other knightly games. His hospitality and affection for the Arthurian fellowship give his death a public significance: the people grieve not only for a ruler, but for a patron whose courtly generosity had connected their kingdom to the wider world of knightly adventure.

The account also turns Hermance’s history into a warning about rule and trust. His subjects say that he relied on the two men he had raised, while neglecting his own blood and allowing its lords to be excluded from influence. Those lords withdrew to their own estates; the favorites, having consolidated their position, sought still greater power. Hermance’s liberality is not presented as evil, but his misplaced confidence leaves him exposed to the very men he had brought into his household.

Betrayal and Death

The account of the murder is delivered to Sir Palamides by Sir Ebel, a member of Hermance’s household. According to Ebel, the king rode into a nearby forest at the advice of the two treacherous knights, fully armed and pursuing a red deer. After laboring, Hermance dismounted to drink at a well. Helius then attacked him by prior agreement with his accomplice, and the two left the king there. The narrative thus makes the murder a betrayal by trusted dependents, not a defeat in an open contest between knights.

Hermance’s death is encountered first through a letter and the vessel carrying his body. At Humber bank, Sir Tristram enters the richly appointed vessel and finds a dead, armed knight on a bed, with the dead man’s hand holding a letter. The mariners explain that the letter may be opened only by a good knight who faithfully promises to avenge the death. Tristram accepts the obligation in principle, but cannot take up the quest himself: he has already promised to attend a tournament arranged for his sake. He therefore entrusts the enterprise to Sir Palamides, who promises to return for the tournament if he survives and is not disabled.

The Appeal for Vengeance

The letter identifies Hermance as king of the Red City and states that two knights of his own making killed him through felony and treason. It asks King Arthur and his errant knights to find a champion willing to risk his life against the pair in a single battle. In return, Hermance freely grants that champion all the lands and rents he held in life. The letter had been written at Hermance’s command; as he was dying, he ordered Ebel to place it in his hand and have the vessel sent down the Humber toward Logris, where the noble knights would assemble.

The appeal makes the dead king an active force in the story. Unable to seek redress himself, Hermance has arranged for his complaint to travel to the very court whose knights he admired. Its terms join personal vengeance to political inheritance: the champion is asked to punish treachery, but victory also carries the authority and property of the murdered king. The people of the Red City expect that, if the traitors are defeated, they and their city will accept the avenger as their lord.

Palamides and Hermance’s Legacy

When Sir Palamides reaches the castle, he hears mourning and asks its cause. Sir Ebel recounts Hermance’s character, the exclusion of his relatives, and the murder, then confirms the letter’s account. Palamides says he has come because Sir Tristram showed him the letter and directed him to avenge the king. He refuses to treat the death as a distant grievance: he says he will not be at ease until he has confronted the traitors. Ebel directs him by ship to the Delectable Isle, near the Red City, where they are to be found.

Palamides also tells Ebel to keep the castle, which Hermance had built in connection with the two men who became his killers. He recognizes that the quest may cost him his life and says that, if he is slain, Sir Tristram or Sir Launcelot will come to avenge him. Hermance’s legacy therefore passes into a chain of promised acts: his letter brings Palamides to the Red City, and Palamides in turn anticipates that other knights will continue the cause if he falls. The episode presents remembrance and redress as obligations sustained by the fellowship of errant knights, while the promised lands make the outcome a matter of rule as well as honor.