Castle Orgulous is a stronghold where a knight cannot pass without jousting, risking imprisonment, or surrendering his horse and armor. In the episode of La Cote Male Taile, its challenge exposes the gap between his uncertain horsemanship and his formidable ability with a sword; his escape, aided by a lady within the castle, establishes his prowess despite the scorn he has faced.

The Castle’s Challenge

The castle’s custom makes passage conditional on a contest of arms. When La Cote Male Taile and his companions arrive, two knights come out to enforce it. Sir Mordred takes on the first and is unhorsed. La Cote Male Taile jousts with the second, and both riders fall. After they exchange horses, La Cote Male Taile turns against the knight who had defeated Mordred, wounds him badly, and drives him from his horse. He then pursues the other opponent into Castle Orgulous and kills him there.

The Hundred Knights

The fight at the gate leads to a more severe ordeal inside. A hundred knights surround La Cote Male Taile, and, seeing that his horse is in danger, he dismounts and sends it out of the gate. He stands with his back to a chamber wall, prepared to die rather than endure further rebukes from Maledisant. A lady whose chamber opens onto the scene secretly retrieves his horse and ties it by a postern. From her window she tells him where it is and urges him to make his way through the press if he would preserve his honor.

Escape and Recognition

La Cote Male Taile follows her direction, forcing a way through the assembled knights. At the postern, four more knights block him; he defeats two at the first strokes, while the others flee, and he escapes on his horse. The account of the encounter later reaches Arthur’s court, where it is said that La Cote Male Taile slew twelve knights within the castle. When Maledisant disputes his account, her courier returns from Castle Orgulous with confirmation: the knights there say that La Cote Male Taile killed twelve of their best men and escaped despite them.

Narrative Significance

Castle Orgulous makes reputation a question tested in action rather than settled by appearance. La Cote Male Taile has already been mocked for his falls from horseback, but the castle’s successive challenges reveal his resolve and strength in combat. The episode also distinguishes skill in different forms of fighting: Mordred observes that experienced knights can unhorse a young rider without proving themselves willing to fight him on foot. The lady’s intervention gives La Cote Male Taile a route out, but he must win it through his own effort; the castle’s testimony then reverses the judgment made against him.