Le Morte Darthur, Chapter 40 summary

What happens

1. The knights rise against Balin, but King Pellam insists on fighting him alone to avenge his brother.
2. Pellam strikes Balin’s raised sword and shatters it, forcing Balin to flee in search of another weapon.
3. Pursued through the chambers, Balin finds a strange spear on a golden table beside an occupied bed.
4. Balin strikes Pellam unconscious with the spear, and the castle’s roof and walls collapse.
5. Balin cannot move, and both men lie beneath much of the ruined castle for three days.

What to notice

The collapse changes a fight between two men into a disaster that traps both beneath the ruins.

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