Sir Nabon le Noire

Sir Nabon le Noire is the giant lord of the Isle of Servage, an implacable enemy of King Arthur’s knights whose rule is marked by the destruction of visiting knights. His defeat by Sir Tristram ends his hold over the island, but the outcome is not a simple transfer of power to the victor: Sir Tristram and Sir Lamorak decline lordship, and the country passes to Sir Segwarides, who releases the prisoners and establishes good governance.

Identity and Rule

Sir Nabon is identified as the lord of the Isle of Servage and as a great and mighty giant. The island’s fishers describe a settled pattern of hostility: no knight belonging to King Arthur has come there without Nabon destroying him. His opposition is political as well as personal, since the account connects his violence to contempt for King Arthur and recalls that he had Sir Nanowne le Petite drawn limb from limb in a shameful death, in defiance of the king.

The island’s people live under the threat of Nabon’s power. When they rescue the shipwrecked Sir Lamorak, they warn him not to speak openly about Nabon, because the lord must learn that a knight of King Arthur has arrived or the fishers themselves may die for sheltering him. Their warning gives Nabon’s reputation immediate practical force: even before he appears, fear of what he will do governs what the people dare say.

Encounter with Sir Lamorak

Sir Lamorak reaches the island after his ship strikes a rock and is wrecked. He and his squire are the only survivors of the shipwreck; the squire drowns, while the fishers labor to save Lamorak. When they explain Nabon’s record, Lamorak recognizes Sir Nanowne le Petite as his cousin and says that, if he were restored to his former strength, he would avenge his death. He nevertheless insists that, once recovered from the illness he has taken at sea, the fishers may tell Nabon that he is one of King Arthur’s knights: he has never been afraid to deny his lord.

Nabon’s hostility to Arthur’s knights therefore confronts Lamorak at a moment when Lamorak is still recovering from shipwreck and loss. At the gathering called by Nabon, however, he is given a horse and armor at his own request and proves himself in the jousts. Five hundred knights have assembled for the occasion, which includes the knighting of Nabon’s son. Lamorak unhorses nearly all those who joust against him, and the crowd praises his feats. Nabon then challenges him to fight personally. He kills Lamorak’s horse rather than meeting him with a spear, forcing the bruised and short-breathed knight to continue on foot. Impressed by Lamorak’s prowess, Nabon calls a halt and offers him a courtesy he says he has never shown another knight, then turns to challenge Lamorak’s companions.

Fight with Sir Tristram

Sir Tristram steps forward after Nabon asks whether any of Lamorak’s companions will fight him. He requests a horse and sound armor, and Nabon directs him to arm himself from the pavilion with the best equipment there. Tristram understands that Nabon will not remain to meet a spear but will instead attack his opponents’ horses, so he chooses to fight on foot. Their combat lasts a long time, with both men moving, striking, and thrusting without rest.

During the fight, Nabon asks his opponent’s name. Tristram identifies himself as Sir Tristram de Liones, a knight of Cornwall under King Mark. Nabon welcomes the disclosure and says that, of all knights, he has most desired to fight Tristram or Sir Launcelot. The recognition makes the encounter more than a fight against an unknown challenger: Tristram is precisely one of the famous knights Nabon has sought to meet. The combat ends when Tristram kills him. He then goes straight to Nabon’s son and strikes off his head, removing both the lord and his immediate heir in the same violent reversal.

The Island after Nabon

The assembled people declare that they will hold of Sir Tristram, but he refuses to take the lordship for himself. Instead, he proposes Sir Lamorak, whose feats at the gathering merit, in his view, the reward. Lamorak also refuses, saying he has not deserved the country as much as Tristram and will not have it. Tristram then proposes giving the island to someone who has not deserved it as well as either of them; with Lamorak consenting, they grant it to Sir Segwarides.

Segwarides thanks them, governs the country, releases all the prisoners, and establishes good governance in the valley. He later returns to Cornwall and tells King Mark and La Beale Isoud how Tristram advanced him to lordship on the Isle of Servage. The settlement thus contrasts Nabon’s destructive rule with a new order secured through restraint and delegation: Tristram’s victory makes change possible, but the victor does not claim the territory, and its prisoners are freed under its new lord.

Narrative Role

Nabon’s part in the story links the aftermath of Lamorak’s shipwreck and his family grievance to Tristram’s martial reputation. His past violence supplies the stakes before the public contest begins; his conduct toward Lamorak establishes that he can acknowledge exceptional prowess even while remaining a lethal opponent; and his death gives Tristram the chance to reshape the island’s leadership. The episode’s resolution places governance, rather than possession by the strongest knight, at the center of the aftermath: the country passes to Segwarides, and his first recorded acts include freeing prisoners and restoring order.