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The Library
of Alexandria

Le Morte Darthur, Chapter 401 summary

Chapter 401 of 503 · 3 min to read the chapter

In Chapter 401, Sir Bors refuses a lady’s demand for love despite threats that she and twelve gentlewomen must die, and their apparent fall gives way to a vanished scene. He thanks God for his escape and reaches an abbey, where the abbot hears his account but postpones counsel until tomorrow.

What happens

  1. Sir Bors refuses the lady’s demand for love and says his brother lies dead.
  2. The lady climbs a battlement with twelve gentlewomen, who threaten to jump unless Bors grants her wish.
  3. Bors pities them but chooses to protect his own soul, and all thirteen fall.
  4. He crosses himself, hears a terrible cry, and finds that the women, tower, and chapel disappear.
  5. Bors thanks God, rides toward a clock’s sound, and receives shelter from monks at an abbey.
  6. The abbot hears his account, praises his strength in grace, and delays advice until tomorrow.

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What to notice

Bors understands the vanished scene as a danger he escapes through God. His response shifts from astonishment to gratitude.

Quick check

Why does the abbot postpone advising Bors?

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