![Balan, full of fear, crawled on his hands and knees to his brother](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Balan%2C_full_of_fear%2C_crawled_on_his_hands_and_knees_to_his_brother.jpg)
Sir Balin le Savage , also known as the Knight with the Two Swords, is a character in the
Arthurian legend
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
. Like
Sir Galahad
Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Si ...
, Sir Balin is a late addition to the medieval Arthurian world. His story, as told by
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of '' Le Morte d' ...
in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur
' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...
'', is based upon that told in the continuation of the second book of the
Post-Vulgate
The ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'', also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from the ...
cycle of legend, the ''Suite du Merlin''.
A knight before the
Round Table
The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...
was formed, Sir Balin lives only for a few weeks following his release from
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's prison and his subsequent slaying of a
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
. Just prior to his departure, his destiny is sealed by the arrival of a mysterious damsel bearing a sword that only the "most virtuous" knight in Arthur's court will be able to draw; Balin draws this sword easily. His adventures end when Balin and his brother Balan destroy each other in single combat, fulfilling an earlier prophecy about the destiny of the bearer of the damsel's sword.
Prior to his tragic end, this ill-fated knight contrives to inflict a "
Dolorous Stroke
The Dolorous Stroke is a trope in Arthurian legend and some other stories of Celtic origin. In its fullest form, it concerns the Fisher King ( King Pellehan or Anfortas), the guardian of the Holy Grail, who falls into sin and consequently suffe ...
" with the spear that pierced Christ upon the Cross, thus setting the scene for the Post-Vulgate version of the search for the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
. Merlin tells Arthur Balin would have been his best and bravest knight.
Medieval sources
The story of Sir Balin (or Balyn) the Savage and his brother Balan is best known from the version found in
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of '' Le Morte d' ...
's epic retelling of the Arthurian legend, ''
Le Morte d'Arthur
' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...
'', in the long section titled the "Booke of Balyne le Saveage", a part of Malory's Book II. Malory based his tale on the continuation of the second book of the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
Post-Vulgate
The ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'', also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from the ...
cycle of Arthurian Grail legend, the ''
Suite du Merlin'', dating to the mid-13th century. The ''Suite du Merlin'' survives in only two copies: British Museum Add. 38117 and Cambridge Add. 7071, both dating to the 14th century.
Knight with the Two Swords
This account of the life and adventures of Sir Balin is taken from the story of "Balin, or the Knight with the Two Swords" as told by Malory in ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. Perhaps uniquely among the significant knights of
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's court, Balin never joins the
Round Table
The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...
, dying before that institution is founded. Despite Sir Balin being proven, by his drawing of the sword, to be a "good man of his hands and of his deeds, and without villainy or trechery and without treason," his distinguishing characteristic, as portrayed by Malory, is impetuosity.
King Arthur's court
King Arthur is virile and strong, near the beginning of his reign. Balin is a poor knight who hails from
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
and has been in Arthur's prison for six months. Having been imprisoned for "half a year" for the death of a cousin of Arthur's, Balin is released at about the same time that a damsel sent from the lady Lile of
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
comes to court with a sword that she reveals she is wearing when she lets her fur mantle fall to the floor. This sword can only be drawn from its scabbard by a truly virtuous knight, or so she claims. After many, including Arthur himself, have attempted to pull this sword out, Balin asks for a chance to try. However, this proves to be a trap, by which Sir Balin ultimately kills his own brother Sir Balan.
![The Damsel Warns Sir Balin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/The_Damsel_Warns_Sir_Balin.png)
The damsel is at first reluctant to allow a knight who has just been released from prison to attempt the trial. But she does and Balin succeeds in drawing the sword and claiming it as his own. The damsel regrets her initial presumptuousness, but then further chastises Balin when he refuses to return the sword to her. She is not angry but concerned for him, because if he does not return the sword to her, he will suffer for it. The damsel leaves, but not before warning Balin that he will kill, with this sword, his greatest friend, the one whom he loves the best, and it will cause his own destruction.
Shortly thereafter, the
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
, in pursuit of a feud between her family and Balin's, arrives to ask King Arthur for Balin's head. She demands it as payment for
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
, the sword that she has given to Arthur. King Arthur agrees to pay her for the sword, but not to her demand for the head of Balin, whom she claims has killed her brother, or the head of the damsel, whom she claims caused her father's death. Balin, upon hearing that the woman who was the cause of his mother's wrongful execution is in court, impetuously strikes off the lady's head with the cry: "You wanted my head and so I shall take yours!" Balin validates his swift action by making known his claim that the lady caused his own mother to be burned to death. Arthur is unimpressed by this plea, however, and insists that even were the claim true, Balin ought to have withheld his sword in the royal court, and against such a lady. Arthur then banishes Balin from his court.
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
arrives and explains that the damsel with the sword was actually a false traitor, who was angry with her own brother, a good knight who slew her lover. With the help of the lady Lily of Avalon, this damsel had sought revenge for her lover's death through that sword, whose holder is destined to slay his own brother. Although logic may suggest that Balin and this damsel might therefore share a brother, there is no indication from Malory that this is the case. Merlin explains this all to the court; he explains how the sword came to be where it was and its intended purpose. This explanation that Merlin gives may have evolved through re-tellings of the story and through inconsistencies in the legend, but it is clear from Merlin that this sword that Balin has taken from the damsel bears a curse of some kind. The sword seemed to have been based on
Tyrfing
Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving (the name is of uncertain origin, possibly connected to the Terwingi) was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the '' Poetic Edda'' called '' Hervarar ...
of
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
.
King Rience
Tragedy soon begins to haunt Balin. One of Arthur's knights, Sir Lanceor of Ireland, jealous that he was not the one to pull the accursed sword free of its scabbard, and with the approval of King Arthur, sets out in pursuit of Balin to slay him. Sir Balin kills him. This knight's damsel Colombe, however, appears suddenly and, overcome with grief, commits suicide by falling upon her lover's own sword.
Balin then meets his brother Balan, also in disfavour of King Arthur, who has come to Arthur's country looking for him. They agree to set off together to do battle with
King Rience, who has refused to acknowledge King Arthur as his sovereign and is making war against him. Balin wants to do this as a way of winning back King Arthur's love, but before they can leave on this mission, a dwarf appears, lamenting the death of the knight whom Balin has just killed and the woman who committed suicide beside him. The dwarf declares that this knight's brother will seek revenge on Balin. King
Mark of Cornwall
Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...
appears and builds a tomb for the fallen knight and his damsel. Then Merlin appears and prophesies that Sir
Lancelot
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
and Sir
Tristram will do battle on this very same site and that because of the death of the damsel, Balin will strike the most
Dolorous Stroke
The Dolorous Stroke is a trope in Arthurian legend and some other stories of Celtic origin. In its fullest form, it concerns the Fisher King ( King Pellehan or Anfortas), the guardian of the Holy Grail, who falls into sin and consequently suffe ...
ever committed by man, except for the Stroke which pierced Christ's Side on the Cross. Merlin then vanishes. King Mark asks Balin his name before he departs and Balan answers that, because he wears two swords, his brother should be known as the ''Knight with the Two Swords''.
With Merlin's help, Balin and Balan capture King Rience and take him to King Arthur in order to regain their lost honour for Arthur. The brothers succeeded in ambushing Rience en route to sleep with the Lady de Vance and brought the king before Arthur. Rience's capture resulted in the forming of an alliance of twelve rebel kings, including King Rience's brother, King Nero. Nero brings up an army and a great battle takes place beside Castle Terrabil. King Arthur kills Nero while Balin and Balan do great deeds of arms fighting on Arthur's side. At last
King Lot
King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' that portrayed him as King Arthur's brother- ...
of
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, who has been prevented until now from joining in the engagement by a prescient Merlin, advances with eleven other rebel kings, thinking that Arthur's forces are now spent. King Lot is killed by
King Pellinore
King Pellinore (alternatively ''Pellinor'', ''Pellynore'' and other variants) is the king of Listenoise (possibly the Lake District) or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) in Arthurian legend. In ...
and the other rebel kings are killed as well. King Arthur kills twenty knights that day and maims forty, and the battle is won.
Wasteland
Soon after the funeral of the rebel kings, Balin sets out to avenge a man slain by an invisible knight while travelling under his protection. The villain is the brother of the
Grail
The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraf ...
king
Pellam
The Fisher King is a figure in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, the last in a long line of British kings tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. The Fisher King is both the protector and physical embodiment of his lands, but a wound renders h ...
, and Balin kills him at a feast in Pellam's castle. Pellam immediately seeks revenge for this act, breaking the weapon Balin used. Searching for a weapon with which to defend himself, Balin unknowingly grabs the
Spear of Longinus
The Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion.
Biblical references
The l ...
and stabs Pellam with it: this is the Dolorous Stroke that
maims Pellam, turns the Grail kingdom into the
Wasteland
Wasteland or waste land may refer to:
* Desert or barren area
* an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not
Art, entertainment, and media Comics
* ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror/ ...
, and brings the castle down on Balin's and Pellam's heads. Three days pass, then Merlin digs Balin out of the rubble.
![The Death of Balin and Balan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/The_Death_of_Balin_and_Balan.png)
Balin rides through the Wasteland, receiving rebukes for causing such death and devastation; but as the days pass he finds himself in fairer countryside and at last arrives at a castle where he is compelled to fight with its resident defender. This defender is his brother Balan, who has earned this role against his will by killing the previous occupier of the position, in a situation that is reminiscent of that at the
Sacred Grove of Nemi, as described by Sir
James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion.
Personal life
He was born on 1 Janua ...
in ''
The Golden Bough
''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
''. It recalls, also, the duty that Sir Yvain acquires after defeating the Knight of the Fountain in
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
' ''
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = between 1178 and 1181
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, fo ...
'', and one that Sir Tristram briefly assumes in Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. Neither brother recognises that his opponent is his brother: Balan being in unfamiliar and disguising red armour with an unrecognisable shield; Balin having been persuaded just before the battle to swap his own shield for a better one immediately before the duel. The brothers mortally wound each other, Balin outliving Balan only by a few hours. They are "buryed bothe in one tombe."
Merlin secures this sword that Balin got from the damsel in a block of stone, from which it is drawn by
Galahad
Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of S ...
at the start of the
Grail Quest
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
years later. After Galahad's death, this sword passes to his father Lancelot, who uses it to give
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
the wound that eventually kills him.
In modern works
*''
Idylls of the King
''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a Literature cycle, cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knig ...
'' by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, were written over a period of twenty-five years. The final idyll of the epic twelve to be published, in ''Tiresias, and Other Poems'' in 1885, was entitled by Tennyson "Balin and Balan". In this poem, King Arthur is concerned to help Balin to "control his violent tendencies".
*
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
, in his ''Tale of Balen'', published in 1896, "did not have to alter Malory's version of Balin's story very much to show how destiny governs human life."
*The story of Sir Balin is recast in Douglas Carmichael's novel ''Pendragon'', published in 1977.
[Lupack, Alan, 2005, reprinted in paperback, 2007. ''Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend''. Oxford University Press. 1. ''Early Accounts of Arthur, Chronicles, and Historical Literature'', p 70.]
* In
T. H. White's ''
The Sword in the Stone'', Balin and Balan are the names of two hawks that the Wart meets in the mews. Balan is helpful and kindly, while Balin is more eager to see the Wart have a hard time.
* In the 1991 film ''
The Fisher King
''The Fisher King'' is a 1991 American fantasy comedy-drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter in supporting roles, ...
'', they are represented by a duo of punks who attack homeless people for fun, beating Parry into a catatonic state.
*Edward M. Erdelac's 2018 novel ''The Knight With Two Swords'' is an expanded retelling of The Ballad of Balin and Balan from ''Le Morte d'Arthur''.
References
External links
Balin and Balanat The Camelot Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balin, Sir
Arthurian characters
Fictional fratricides
Fictional knights
Mythological swordfighters