Le Morte Darthur, Chapter 273 summary

What happens

1. Alisander carries his father’s bloody shirt and, following Sir Tristram’s advice, sets out toward London but loses his way.
2. He wins King Carados’s tournament and makes defeated knights promise to avoid armor for a year and a day.
3. Morgan le Fay seeks the remarkable young knight after hearing reports of his victories.
4. A castle maiden asks Alisander to fight Malgrin, who prevents her from marrying another man.
5. After three hours of fighting, Malgrin admits killing twenty knights, and Alisander declares that one of them must die.
6. Alisander beheads Malgrin but cannot mount his horse; he enters the castle in a litter with sixteen serious wounds.

In this chapter

What to notice

Alisander turns Malgrin’s confession into a reason for a fight to the death. His pledge makes survival depend on killing his opponent.

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