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Saturday, April 23, 2011

A-Z: Tristan

On the day fixed, Morholt was first to arrive on the island, where he moored his small boat. Tristan soon followed him, but when he came to the shore and disembarked, he pushed his boat out ot sea instead of mooring it.

"Why do you do that?" asked Morholt.

"Only one of us will need a boat when this combat is ended," said Tristan.

Then began the long and fierce combat, watched from the mainland by Mark and his courtiers. Both knights were wounded many times in the struggle, until finally Tristan struck Morholt so hard that the blade of his sword pierced Morholt's helmet and split his skull.

–– Béroul, The Romance of Tristan (Translated by Alan S. Fedrick, London: Penguin, 1970)

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