top of page
Red Knight
This portal was curated by:
​

RED KNIGHT

The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his early enemy.

In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, the Red Knight of the Forest of Quinqeroi steals a cup from King Arthur. He is killed by Perceval, who wears his armour and comes to be known as the Red Knight himself.[1]
DATABASES
The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his early enemy. In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, the Red Knight of the Forest of Quinqeroi steals a cup from King Arthur. He is killed by Perceval, who wears his armour and comes to be known as the Red Knight himself.[1]
During the feast of Whitsuntide at Caerleon, a damsel arrived in his court with a petition. The young woman told King Arthur and his knights at the Round Table that a cruel knight, known as the Red Knight of the Red Launds has taken all of her lady’s land, and besieging her lady in her castle. When the damsel refused to reveal her lady’s name, Arthur told her that he had no obligation to send any knight to her aid. Beaumains hearing the damsel’s message to the king, the young man spoke out. The young man asked the king that the 12 months has passed and told the king that he would now reveal the last two gifts he wanted from the king. Beaumains wanted this adventure to rescue the damsel’s lady as one of the gifts; the other was that no other knights but Sir Lancelot of the Lake should knight him. The king agreed.
The Original Red Knight is from Arthurian Legend like the Black Knight and Green Knight. The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of Percival as his early enemy. In other tales he is brother to the Green Knight and the Blue Knight. Gawain and Galahad used the name in other legends. In comics there have been many different interpretations of this character with the earliest in comic being a series in Cyclone Comics in 1942.
Perceval goes to Arthur's court to be knighted and to obtain armor and weaponry. However, he does not want ordinary armor, but the armor of the Red Knight, Arthur's enemy. In a sarcastic tone, Sir Kay tells Perceval to go and take the armor from the knight. They are astounded when he returns with the armor, and he earns their respect and his knighthood. Perceval leaves the court to go adventuring, and he sends the knights he conquers back to Arthur so they can serve Arthur and boast about him.
The Red Knight is a repeated character with different identities across all manner of Arthurian and medieval tales. Sometimes he is an evil antagonist, and other times he is a hero. The Red Knight Sir Perimones, defeated by Sir Gareth. Ironside, the Red Knight of the Red Lands, besieged the castle of Dame Lyonors. In Perceval (romance) a Red Knight steals a cup from King Arthur and is slain by Perceval. Perceval wears the villain's armor and comes to be called The Red Knight himself for a time. Demonic figure from The Fisher King (film) The Red Knight named Esclados guards a magic fountain in The Knight with the Lion. A Red Knight, not directly identified but possiby a fallen Pelleas builds a wicked, mocking copy of the Round Table in The Idylls of the King. Wolfram von Eschenbach writes of a Red Knight named Ither in Parzival. The animated Quest for Camelot (1998) (film) has a thieving Red Knight named Sir Ruber. The Red Knight is a recurring hallucination to the protagonist of The Fisher King (film)
Visit our special guest curator
"Open Database..."
Related Portals:
 
Related Portals:
 
bottom of page