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Audiobook edition · 3 h 15 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What makes a worthy knight when strength alone is not enough, and love brings its own demands?
Jaufry enters the world of King Arthur, where deeds count for more than promises. The court offers him a model of honour, but he must venture beyond its walls to test it. His pursuit of adventure leads into danger, through challenges and marvels that ask more of him than strength.
Brunissende brings love into Jaufry’s search for knightly distinction, and she is more than a reward for courage. In Mary-Lafon’s Arthurian romance, courts and castles share a world with strange enchantments. Behind the adventure lies the troubadour culture of medieval southern France, with its close attention to love and noble conduct.
What you’ll discover
- Honour beyond the court Follow Jaufry where the court’s ideals must become deeds, not simply noble promises.
- More than physical strength Discover a knightly quest that asks what courage needs beyond the power to overcome challenges.
- Love with its own weight Meet Brunissende, whose place in the romance reaches beyond the rewards of adventure.
- A world open to enchantment Travel from familiar courtly customs into strange encounters, where ordinary obligations meet the marvellous.
- The troubadour tradition Explore a southern French Arthurian world where love and noble conduct receive close attention.
Who will love it
This is for anyone who loves knights, quests and enchanted castles, who enjoys a minstrel's voice, or who is curious about the troubadour world.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An insult calls Jaufry into action
- Jaufry finds strength beyond his sword
- Victory brings judgment as well as freedom
- A rescue becomes a magical trap
- Brunissende's grief changes the quest
- Strength is judged by its purpose
- Courtesy gives promises their lasting force
- A minstrel's voice connects the adventures
- A personal quest reaches a grieving land
Who’s who
- JaufrySon of Dovon, a newly made knight who rides alone to answer Taulat's insult to King Arthur and to protect the weak.
- King ArthurRuler of the Round Table, who will not eat until adventure comes and who longs to see Jaufry safe.
- Taulat of RugimonA proud, cruel knight who shames Arthur's court at Pentecost and swears to return every year.
- BrunissendeThe lady of Montbrun, beautiful and sorrowful, whose heart is touched by the knight who sleeps in her orchard.
- QuexArthur's sharp-tongued seneschal, brave but spiteful, whose jeer sends Jaufry out with something to prove.
- Sir GawainArthur's loyal nephew, who acts fast and weeps when he cannot save the king from the beast.
- Estout de VerfeilA fierce lord who kills by night and keeps knights as captives, and who wears armor no blow can break.
- Augier de CliartAn old knight who welcomes Jaufry warmly and tells him where to find Taulat and the cause of the weeping land.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende
by Mary-Lafon · 1856
A young squire rides from Arthur's hall to hunt a knight who insulted the king, and meets lepers, hags and fiends.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if a king swore not to eat until an adventure arrived, and then a monster dragged him off by the horns? That is how this romance opens, at Pentecost in Carlisle, with King Arthur hanging over a cliff and his knights piling up their clothes to cushion his fall.
Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 50 min1 h 25 min fast, 2 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 26,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1856by Mary-Lafon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A beast, a feast and a challenge at Carlisle
The story opens at Pentecost in Carlisle. King Arthur has gathered the Knights of the Round Table. The seneschal Quex, famous for his sharp tongue, announces that dinner is ready. Arthur answers that he will not eat until an adventure arrives.
So the king rides into the gloomy forest of Bressiland and finds a woman weeping at a mill, where a huge horned beast is eating her grain. Arthur grips its horns, and his hands stick fast. The beast climbs a high rock and holds him over an abyss. The knights can only watch, so they pile their cloaks beneath the rock. Only then does the beast leap down and free him. It turns into a smiling knight in scarlet, and the court laughs over a great banquet.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1856
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mary-Lafon. Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/jaufry-the-knight-and-the-fair-brunissende.
Mary-Lafon. (2026). Jaufry the knight and the fair Brunissende. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jaufry-the-knight-and-the-fair-brunissende (Original work published 1856)
Mary-Lafon. Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jaufry-the-knight-and-the-fair-brunissende.
@book{marylafon2026jaufry,
author = {Mary-Lafon},
title = {Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jaufry-the-knight-and-the-fair-brunissende},
note = {First published 1856}
}
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What is Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende about?
It follows a young squire made a knight at King Arthur's court who rides out alone to avenge an insult by Taulat. On the way he meets fierce knights, giants, enchanted places and a lady named Brunissende.
Who is Jaufry in the story?
Jaufry is the son of Dovon, a knight Arthur remembers fondly. He arrives at Carlisle as a squire, asks Arthur for knighthood and rides off on the first day to fight for the king's honor.
Who is Taulat of Rugimon?
Taulat is the proud knight who rides into Arthur's hall at Pentecost, strikes a lord and swears to return each year. Jaufry's whole quest is driven by the wish to meet him in combat.
The author
Mary-Lafon
1810–1884 · French writer and historian
Mary-Lafon was the pen name of Jean-Bernard-Marie Lafon, a French writer and historian. He was born in Lafrançaise in 1810 and died in Montauban in 1884. During the nineteenth century, he wrote about the history and literature of southern France. He also adapted the medieval Occitan romance Jaufry into French.
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