Le Morte d’Arthur · Chapter
How King Arthur, King Ban, and King Bors rescued King Leodegrance, and other incidents explained
King Arthur, King Ban, and King Bors rescue King Leodegrance from King Rience, slaying ten thousand men and putting Rience to flight.
What happens
King Arthur, King Ban, and King Bors rescue King Leodegrance from King Rience, slaying ten thousand men and putting Rience to flight. Arthur first sees Guenever, King Leodegrance's daughter, and falls in love with her. The three kings then part ways, with Merlin prophesying that the eleven kings will die in a single day by the hands of Balin and Balan. The eleven kings regroup at Sorhaute, receive news of a Saracen invasion, and fortify their marches for three years, allying with King Rience and Nero to prepare for revenge.
Themes in this chapter
Kingship and Governance
Arthur, Ban, and Bors form an alliance to rescue King Leodegrance, demonstrating the responsibilities and bonds of kingship. The eleven kings also organize defenses and alliances, showing the political and military strategies of medieval rulers.
Love and Adultery
Arthur's first sight of Guenever and his immediate love for her sets the stage for their future marriage and the tragic love triangle with Launcelot.
Fate and Tragedy
Merlin's prophecy that the eleven kings will die in a single day by Balin and Balan foreshadows inevitable doom and the role of fate in the Arthurian legend.
Characters to notice
- King Arthur
Leads the rescue of King Leodegrance, first sees and loves Guenever, and declines to accompany King Ban and King Bors back to their lands.
- King Ban
Joins Arthur and King Bors in rescuing King Leodegrance, then returns to his own country to resist King Claudas.
- King Bors of Gaul
Participates in the rescue and returns home with King Ban to defend against King Claudas.
- King Leodegrance of Cameliard
Rescued by Arthur and the two kings, he thanks them and his daughter Guenever is seen by Arthur.
- Queen Guenever
First seen by Arthur at this time, and he loves her ever after.
- Merlin
Prophesies that the eleven kings will die in a day by Balin and Balan, and that Arthur will later aid King Ban and King Bors.
- King Rience
Defeated and put to flight by Arthur and the kings, later allies with the eleven kings.
- Balin le Savage
Prophesied by Merlin to be one of the two knights who will slay the eleven kings.
- Balan
Prophesied by Merlin to be the other knight who will slay the eleven kings alongside his brother Balin.
Key passages
“And there had Arthur the first sight of Guenever, the king’s daughter of Cameliard, and ever after he loved her.”
Arthur saw Guenever for the first time and fell in love with her permanently.
This moment marks the beginning of Arthur's love for Guenever, a key romantic and tragic element in the legend.
“For these eleven kings shall die all in a day, by the great might and prowess of arms of two valiant knights (as it telleth after); their names be Balin le Savage, and Balan, his brother, that be marvellous good knights as be any living.”
Merlin prophesies that the eleven kings will all be killed in a single day by the two brothers Balin and Balan, who are among the best knights alive.
This prophecy sets up the future fate of the eleven kings and introduces the heroic brothers Balin and Balan.
