# Sir Bohort explained — Bulfinch’s Mythology

> Chapter companion for Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

## What happens

Sir Bohort departs from Camelot on the quest for the Sangreal, confesses to a religious hermit, and faces a moral dilemma when he must choose between rescuing his brother Sir Lionel from two knights or saving a distressed gentlewoman. He chooses to help the maid, but later believes his brother has been killed. After burying a body he thinks is Sir Lionel's, he discovers his brother alive but wrathful. Sir Lionel attacks him, and Sir Colgrevance intervenes, only to be slain. A divine voice prevents fratricide, and Sir Bohort is directed to the sea, where he meets Sir Perceval and learns they await Sir Galahad.

## Themes in this chapter

### Heroism and the Quest

Sir Bohort's journey is part of the Sangreal quest, and his actions—choosing to rescue a maiden over his own brother—demonstrate the heroic ideals of self-sacrifice and duty.

### Fate and Free Will

Bohort's moral dilemma and the divine intervention that prevents him from killing his brother highlight the tension between human choice and providential guidance.

## Character check-ins

### Sir Bohort

The protagonist of the chapter; a knight of the Round Table on the Sangreal quest who faces a painful choice between rescuing his brother and a maiden.

### Sir Lionel

Sir Bohort's elder brother, who is beaten by two knights and later becomes enraged, seeking to kill Bohort for abandoning him.

### Sir Colgrevance

A knight of the Round Table who intervenes to save Sir Bohort from Sir Lionel's wrath and is slain in the process.

### Sir Perceval

Appears at the end of the chapter; Sir Bohort meets him aboard a ship, and they await Sir Galahad.

## Key lines

> For if I let my brother be he must be slain, and that would I not for all the earth; and if I help not the maid I am shamed forever.

If I abandon my brother, he will surely be killed, which I cannot bear; but if I do not aid the maiden, I will be dishonored forever.

_Sir Bohort articulates the central moral conflict of the chapter._

> Fair brother, have mercy upon me and slay me not.

Dear brother, please show mercy and do not kill me.

_Sir Bohort pleads with his enraged brother, Sir Lionel, for forgiveness and mercy._

> Flee, Sir Bohort, and touch him not.

Run away, Sir Bohort, and do not strike him.

_A divine voice commands Sir Bohort to refrain from attacking his brother, preventing fratricide._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/sir-bohort
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters