Palamides Slays Corsabryn

Palamides Slays Corsabryn is a tournament combat at Surluse in which Palamides fights for a damsel against Corsabryn, a fellow Paynim. Palamides wins the contest and kills his opponent, but the episode’s aftermath shifts attention from victory to faith: asked to receive baptism, he says he came to the land for that purpose and is already Christian in his heart, yet must first fulfill his vow of seven battles for Jesus.

Causes and Stakes

The damsel has heard that Palamides undertakes deeds for women’s sake. She sends him a pennon and asks him to fight Corsabryn for her love; the reward offered is the damsel herself and the lands she expects to inherit from her father. She also tells Corsabryn that she has sent Palamides the pennon, and says that if Corsabryn overcomes him, she will marry Corsabryn. When Corsabryn learns of the arrangement, he becomes angry and rides to Surluse, where Palamides is staying.

The match is therefore more than a contest of arms: its stated stakes are the damsel’s marriage and inheritance. Both combatants are Paynims, and the damsel’s appeal rests on Palamides’s reputation for acting on behalf of women. The episode places that reputation within the public, witnessed setting of a tournament, with Galahalt presiding over the combat.

The Combat at Surluse

Before the fight, the knights joust at Galahalt’s direction. Dinadan distinguishes himself by unhorsing Sir Gerin and four other knights, and Launcelot, at Galahalt’s request, knocks Dinadan down and brings him before the queen and Galahalt. The company laughs at Dinadan’s fall, and he insists that he has no shame in having been unhorsed by Launcelot. This lighter tournament scene precedes the more serious contest between Palamides and Corsabryn.

After dinner, Palamides sets the damsel’s pennon in the middle of the field. The two knights charge with spears and both fall from their horses; they then continue on foot with swords and shields. Palamides calls on Corsabryn to release the damsel and the pennon. Corsabryn refuses, strikes Palamides hard enough to bring him to one knee, but Palamides quickly rises and strikes Corsabryn’s helmet, knocking him to the ground. When Corsabryn will not yield, Palamides kills him.

Religious Meaning and Aftermath

After Corsabryn’s death, his body is taken away and buried in a wood because he is a Paynim. Galahalt treats the circumstances of the death as a religious sign and urges Palamides to accept baptism, telling him that the knights will value him more and speak more honorably of him if he does. The episode thus connects tournament victory and knightly reputation to a question of religious belonging.

Palamides replies that he came to the land to be baptized and is Christian in his heart, but has made a vow not to be baptized until he has fought seven true battles for Jesus. He trusts that God will accept his intention and says that he means sincerely. His response makes the killing of Corsabryn one battle in a longer religious undertaking, rather than the end of that undertaking. Palamides then invites the queen, Galahalt, Launcelot, Lamorak, and other knights to supper; the next morning they hear Mass before the tournament resumes.