The Tournament at Lonazep is a public contest turned test of loyalty: called by King Arthur to mark Sir Tristram’s return with La Beale Isoud, it brings rival kingdoms and Round Table companions into the same field. Across several days, Tristram’s prowess wins recognition even from his opponents, while Sir Palamides’s rivalry and eventual refusal to change sides expose the strain between private honour and allegiance to Arthur.

Background and Stakes

Arthur announces the jousts after learning that Tristram has escaped King Mark and brought La Beale Isoud with him, despite Mark’s opposition. The castle of Lonazep stands close to Joyous Gard, and the proposed gathering is broad in scope: knights from Arthur’s lands and Cornwall are to joust against those from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Gore, Surluse, Listinoise, and Northumberland. The event therefore makes Tristram’s return the occasion for a contest among a wide assembly of kingdoms and territories.

Sir Launcelot warns Arthur that the proclamation places the knights around him in danger. Many, he says, envy them, and the gathering may produce fierce encounters. Arthur accepts that risk, saying that the jousts will prove who is strongest. Launcelot, meanwhile, arranges for La Beale Isoud to watch from a private place suited to her rank. Her presence is kept discreet, but the tournament is also a scene in which Tristram’s return and standing will be witnessed.

Before the contest, Tristram and Sir Dinadan ride to Lonazep to learn what is happening. They hear a horn summon the kings and knights who intend to oppose Arthur. The King of Ireland, Marhalt, father of Sir Marhaus, speaks at their council. When Tristram asks which side his company should join, Palamides advises fighting against Arthur: Launcelot and many accomplished knights of his kin will be on the king’s side, and facing such opponents will bring greater honour. Tristram accepts this counsel, and the company chooses its initial position against Arthur.

The First Day: Disguises and Recognition

On the morning of the jousts, Tristram’s party appears in green equipment, and La Beale Isoud and her three damsels wear the same colour. She watches from a bay window with her face covered. Arthur notices the unfamiliar knights and asks Launcelot who they are. Launcelot cannot identify them with certainty, but suspects Tristram and Palamides are among them, with Isoud. Arthur then has Sir Kay check the vacant places at the Round Table. Ten knights are absent, including Tristram, Palamides, Sir Gareth, and Sir Dinadan, confirming Arthur’s suspicion that some missing companions may be fighting against him.

The opening encounters establish the day’s forceful pace. Sir Edward of Orkney unhorses the King of Scotland, while Sir Sadok knocks down the King of North Wales. Palamides responds by unhorsing Edward and then Sadok. Sir Gawaine recognizes Palamides as the knight who had defeated him and seven other companions in an earlier encounter. Tristram then arrives on a black horse and unhorses four knights of Orkney in a single charge; Gareth and Dinadan also defeat opponents.

Tristram and Palamides continue to dominate the field. Tristram rides into the press, knocks knights down, and strips away helmets and shields; Palamides performs with comparable distinction on the other side. Arthur compares Tristram on the black horse to a lion and Palamides on the white horse to a leopard, while Gareth and Dinadan are likened to wolves. The imagery emphasizes not just individual success but a compact fellowship moving together through the contest.

The heralds count twenty knights unhorsed by Tristram and twenty by Palamides, with many of the defeated men belonging to Arthur’s household. Arthur regards this as a challenge to his party and prepares to enter the contest with Launcelot, Sir Bleoberis, and Sir Ector. Launcelot cautions that the two leading opponents have already laboured hard, but Arthur insists on answering their success. The matchups are arranged: Launcelot chooses Tristram, Bleoberis is set against Palamides, Ector against Gareth, and Arthur against Dinadan.

Launcelot strikes Tristram so forcefully that horse and rider are carried down. Yet the encounter turns from straightforward opposition into a display of mutual respect. Seeing Tristram’s achievement, an unnamed knight dismounts and offers him his own horse, judging Tristram more worthy of it. Tristram accepts and promises to repay the kindness if he can. He then meets Arthur and knocks the king from his saddle. When Isoud sees Tristram unhorsed and loses sight of him, she weeps; Tristram soon returns to the field, where she can see him again.

Launcelot recognizes Tristram and regrets having struck him down. Tristram continues fighting, helps Palamides, Gareth, and Dinadan back onto their horses, and supports them without their knowing who has assisted them. The day’s honours go to Palamides, who has remained in the field and fought persistently. Once Tristram’s identity is known to his companions, Dinadan brings Isoud to the pavilions beside the well, where Tristram receives her.

The Second Day: Rivalry and Reversal

A chapter heading announces that on the second day Palamides forsakes Tristram and joins the opposing side. The rivalry between them becomes especially visible as the crowd’s acclaim shifts. Tristram fights with such force that observers say he does twice as much as Palamides did earlier. The praise turns toward Tristram, who defeats the Orkney knights and draws the crowd’s attention with both spear and sword. Arthur agrees that Tristram is an exceptional knight; Launcelot explains that the celebrated fighter is Tristram himself.

Palamides watches Tristram’s success and weeps in distress, knowing that he is unlikely to win the same honour while Tristram is displaying his full strength. Their contest is thus not merely against outside opponents: public recognition separates the two men even while they remain connected through their shared party and their competition for honour. On the field, Launcelot and three of his kinsmen fight the Kings of Wales and Scotland, but by Launcelot’s command they spare Tristram. Tristram and Gareth continue to endure the fighting.

The next day, Tristram and his company again appear in red, with Isoud dressed to match. In the renewed fighting, Tristram unknowingly knocks Arthur down. When the opposing kings try to take Arthur and Launcelot prisoner, Launcelot resists; Sir Ector also intervenes against Palamides, knocking him down. The scene pushes the tournament beyond a contest for individual renown: the king and his leading knight are at risk, and the divided field must decide whether its participants will maintain their chosen sides or defend their fellowship.

Tristram then tells Palamides, Gareth, and Dinadan that he will join Arthur’s party. He cannot accept seeing so few men perform so well while their own lord, Arthur, and the noble Launcelot are dishonoured. Gareth and Dinadan agree. Palamides refuses to change sides, saying that he will remain with the party he joined; Tristram answers that this refusal is for his sake and lets him depart. Tristram, Gareth, and Dinadan turn to Launcelot. Arthur defeats Palamides, while Launcelot unhorses the Kings of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and Tristram fights against all whom he meets. The opposing party flees, and Palamides rides away lamenting the loss of the honour he had won.

Recognition and the Shared Prize

At the close, opinion is divided over whether Tristram or Launcelot deserves the prize. Tristram asks the assembly to give its voice to Launcelot, offering his own support; Launcelot refuses to take the honour solely for himself. The prize is therefore shared between them. Their exchange reverses the tournament’s earlier rivalry: each knight publicly recognizes the other’s worth rather than claiming precedence.

Sir Bleoberis and Sir Ector ride with Tristram and Isoud to her pavilions. Palamides remains at the well, grieving over his defeat, until the fleeing Kings of Wales and Scotland find him. They restore his horse, help him arm, and invite him to ride with them. The tournament ends not with a single, uncontested victor, but with honour distributed between Tristram and Launcelot, while Palamides’s departure leaves the costs of rivalry in view. The repeated shifts in sides make the contest a measure of knightly reputation and fellowship: prowess can earn an opponent’s respect, but the choice of whom to defend ultimately defines allegiance.