P is for Sir Palomides...or Palamedes... or Palamede... Like other characters in Arthurian literature he has a number of name spellings. It doesn’t matter. He is the same character. I’ll call him Palomides.
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| Palomides saves Iseult’s lady. Public Domain. |
Palomides is a knight of the Round Table, and proof that Arthur is okay with diversity in his hiring policy, since Palomides is a Saracen, presumably a Muslim(though everyone kind of hopes he will convert to Christianity). He has a couple of brothers who are also Arthur’s knights, Sir Safir and Sir Segwarides, so he isn’t the only Muslim in the village - er, in Camelot.They are sons of the King of Babylon.
He even has his own mediaeval romance, though I haven’t read it yet.
He appears in modern fiction, most notably in The Once And Future King - of which more later - but also in Persia Woolley’s Child Of The Northern Spring, a Guinevere novel, in which he introduces stirrups to Britain, giving Arthur’s cavalry a big boost.
Mostly, Palomides appears in the story of Tristram and Iseult. In Malory, he gets a brief mention as the new pursuer of the Questing Beast after the death of Pellinore(more of this tomorrow, in the Questing Beast post), but he appears properly as one of the many knights competing for Iseult’s hand in marriage at the tournament in Ireland. This is important, because it leads into the rivalry of himself and Tristram, one which lasts a very long time.
At that first tournament Palomides defeats ten of Arthur’s top knights - presumably not Lancelot, who later becomes his friend and who automatically wins every tournament he enters. Iseult panics and insists the still-recuperating Tristram go and fight in the tournament or she will end up with Palomides. So, because the likes of Tristram and Lancelot have to win, Tristram wins, ordering Palomides to stay out of armour for a year and stay away from Iseult. I don’t know about the armour, but he certainly doesn’t follow orders about staying away from Iseult. Given that, after all this, Tristram goes away without marrying her and then returns to win her for his uncle, I can’t say I blame Palomides, except that Iseult doesn’t want him and he can’t seem to get that into his head.
Several times in the course of the Morte, he and Tristram end up fighting over the woman they both love. Somehow they never do end up fighting to the death. They keep being interrupted. And Palomides befriends Lancelot, so that’s okay. Whatever I think of Lancelot, he at least isn’t a racist.
Palomides does eventually convert to Christianity, in time for the Quest of the Holy Grail. That was an important issue when the story was written. Whatever she thinks of him, Iseult does at one stage stop Tristram from killing her other suitor, because she doesn’t want him to die unbaptised.
In the Malory-inspired Once And Future King, Palomides is a humorous character. He is described as a black man, a “learned paynim”. He speaks like an Indian, though, using words like “maharajah sahib”.
The reason he inherits the Questing Beast is because King Pellinore is missing her after she disappears. He and a knight called Sir Grummore decide to dress up as the Beast to cheer him up... then the real Beast comes along and falls in love with what she thinks is a male Beast. They have to hole up in Queen Morgause’s castle, which the lovesick Beast besieges.
Merlin, passing through the area with Nimue, suggests the two of them psycho-analyse her.
“Well, you see,” Sir Grummore was shouting, “when a hen lays an egg...”
Late in the novel, Lancelot tells the Queen that Tristram was a lout, who was foul to his wife and having a go at poor Palomides for being black. (He uses the n word).
Anyway, Palomides follows the Questing Beast. More of her tomorrow.
I just find it interesting that way back in the 15th century, European Christian authors were capable of doing a bit of the diversity thing and creating a diverse character who was not a villain, even if he does keep pestering a woman who doesn’t want him. Merlin does that too, to the point of sexual harassment, and he is considered wonderful.
What do you think?
14 comments:
I think it is a much underrated fact that Arthur had a Muslim knight at his court. It also happens in the Charlemagne legends and Orlando Furioso.
The Multicolored Diary
I do know a bit about the Charlemagne legends, but have only read The Song Of Roland. Must get a copy of Orlando Furioso, and make some time to read it - as I recall, a VERY thick book!
I did know about Palomides, but only recently realised that Sir Bedivere was disabled, with one hand. There is a lot to learn, isn’t there?
Hi Sue - I'm about to do a very quick run through - but better go back to A ... you're being very thorough. I know very little about these writings - let alone Palomides - or the Charlemagne legends ... live and learn ... now back to A. Take care - all the best - Hilary
Hi Hilary! I do recommend The a Once And Future King, if you can get hold of it with all the libraries closed. It is the Arthurian novel based on Malory, the one which shows the characters as we imagine them. Well, more or less.
Hi Stuart! Dear me, I’d better write a very good Questing Beast post. Glad you are enjoying.
There is absolutely a strain in medieval culture and literature of respecting the Saracens as noble, learned, worthy opponents (unlike the Jewish people, sadly). Orlando Furioso not only has the noble Muslim character, but also a fabulous warrior woman, so it's got its pretty cool moments!
I, too, look forward to the Questing Beast. =)
Black and White (Words and Pictures)
Questing Beast tomorrow, Anne, see what you think. Yeah, well, the Muslim Saracens considered Jesus as a prophet, plus they were not hanging around in European ghettos where they could be blamed for the Black Death and where you could have a pogrom every Easter... Notice, though, that the noble Saracen Palomides is never going to get the (Christian) girl.
I had no idea about this character!
Glad to have been able to tell you about him, then. Cheers!
The Muslim hero in Orlando Furioso does get his girl -- but he has to convert first, if I recall correctly.
My point is made! 🙂
As a Roland named after La Chanson de Roland, I've been interested in the role of Saracens in Medieval literature for decades - incidentally Orlando Furioso is Roland. Saracens seemed to have been portrayed as more honourable than some modern depictions of Muslims. Although Roland was fighting them, the betrayer was another Christian knight. And don't get me going on the flowering of Andalucia. Anyway, a pity Palomides was expected to convert.
Yes, I think “Orlando Furioso” means “Roland Goes Crazy”. I have just downloaded it from Gutenberg and mean to finally start reading it.
The whole point of having honourable Muslims in mediaeval literature is that they will, eventually convert. Palomides does. His brothers convert before he does.
Interesting that these authors were open to diversity...
An A-Z of Faerie: Moon
Seems they were, though the noble Muslims had to convert to Christianity to be fully accepted, if not to become Round Table knights, it seems.
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