Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- How Perceforest earned his name
- The Perilous Temple
- The Adventures of Claudius and Estonné
- The Wonders at Gadifer's Coronation
- King Gadifer's Wound
- Zephir the Trickster
- Troylus in love
- A New Order of Chivalry – the ‘Franc Palais’
- The God of the Sheer Mountain
- The Fish-Knights
- The Sleeping Beauty
- The Marvellous Child
- The Death of Caesar
- The Adventure of the Red Sword
The Adventure of the Red Sword
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- How Perceforest earned his name
- The Perilous Temple
- The Adventures of Claudius and Estonné
- The Wonders at Gadifer's Coronation
- King Gadifer's Wound
- Zephir the Trickster
- Troylus in love
- A New Order of Chivalry – the ‘Franc Palais’
- The God of the Sheer Mountain
- The Fish-Knights
- The Sleeping Beauty
- The Marvellous Child
- The Death of Caesar
- The Adventure of the Red Sword
Summary
Britain, recovering from its destruction by the Romans, needs a new king and queen. The destined ones are King Gadifer's grandson Gallafur and Alexandre, ‘the Maiden of the Dragons’. They are descendants not only of Perceforest and Gadifer but of Alexander, too, and their bloodline is to continue to one who will draw a sword that Gallafur has imbedded in a great stone: King Arthur himself. Arthur will thus have Greek blood, inherited from Alexander the Great. But, although the Maiden of the Dragons has captured Gallafur's heart, he is told that he will not be worthy of her – he will not even learn her name – unless he first achieves the Adventure of the Red Sword: he must carry the sword through the forest with its colour unchanged. This is destined to be accomplished by one of King Gadifer's line; but it is the test of true lovers, and three of Gallafur's kinsmen, Utran, Nero and Gadiforus, all fail in turn as each succumbs to the temptations of the alluring sisters Corsora, Canones and Carhaus: they consequently find the Red Sword turning black in their hands. Now it is Gallafur's turn. The test begins with the unhooking of the red sword from a pillar.
Gallafur rode to the pillar with all speed. But when confronted by the sword he was thrilled but also fearful of failure, very mindful that he would never be able to speak to the one he loved most in all the world until he'd achieved the adventure of the Red Sword.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Perceforest ReaderSelected Episodes from Perceforest: The Prehistory of Arthur's Britain, pp. 100 - 117Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2012