The Black Knight ( cy, Marchog Du, kw, Marghek Du, br, Marc'heg Du) appears in various forms in

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 ...

. * A supernatural Black Knight is summoned by Sir Calogrenant (

Cynon ap Clydno Cynon ap Clydno or in some translations KynonIn her translation of ''The Mabinogion'', Guest uses the spelling Kynon, but in the notes to her translation she acknowledges the character as Cynon ap Clydno or Cynan was an Arthurian hero from Welsh m ...

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...

) in the tale of ''

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 ...

''. The Black Knight bests Calogrenant, but the Black Knight is later killed by

Ywain Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...

(

Owain mab Urien Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends wh ...

) when he attempts to complete the quest that Calogrenant failed. * Perhaps the first mention of a Black Knight by name is in

Raoul de Houdenc Raoul de Houdenc (or Houdan; c. 1165–c. 1230) was the French author of the Arthurian romance ''Meraugis de Portlesguez'' and possibly ''La Vengeance Raguidel''. Modern scholarship suggests he is probably to be identified with one Radulfus from ...

's ''

La Vengeance Raguidel ''La Vengeance Raguidel'' is a 13th-century La vengeance Raguidel', ''Dictionnaire Étymologique de l'Ancien Français''. Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities poem written in Old French. It is widely, although not universally, attributed t ...

'' (early 13th century), where ''Noir Chevalier'' is first mentioned in line 633.''Messire Gauvain ou la vengeance de Raguidel'', edited by C. Hippeau, 1863
page 23
line 633 * The eponymous protagonist of ''

Morien ''Moriaen'' (also spelled ''Moriaan'', ''Morien'') is a 13th-century Arthurian romance in Middle Dutch. A 4,720-line version is preserved in the vast Lancelot Compilation, and a short fragment exists at the Royal Library at Brussels.Besamusca, B ...

'' wears black armour and bears a black shield, in addition to having black skin, and as such is occasionally referred to as "the black knight".Besamusca, Bart (1991), "Moriaen". In

Lacy, Norris J. Norris J. Lacy (born March 8, 1940 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky) is an American scholar focusing on France, French medieval literature. He was the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University ...

(ed.), ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', New York: Garland, pp. 329–330. . * In ''

Sir Perceval of Galles ''Sir Perceval of Galles'' is a Middle English Arthurian verse romance whose protagonist, Sir Perceval (Percival), first appeared in medieval literature in Chrétien de Troyes' final poem, the 12th-century Old French '' Conte del Graal'', well ov ...

'' (written in the early 14th century), the Black Knight jealously tied his wife to a tree after hearing she had exchanged rings with

Perceval Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the ...

. Perceval defeated the black knight and explained that it was an innocent exchange. * A black knight is also mentioned 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 ...

: The Tale of Sir Gareth'' (Book IV) as having been killed by

Gareth Sir Gareth (; Old French: ''Guerehet'', ''Guerrehet'') is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of King Lot and Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother ...

when he was traveling to rescue

Lyonesse Lyonesse is a kingdom which, according to legend, consisted of a long strand of land stretching from Land's End at the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, to what is now the Isles of Scilly in the Celtic Sea portion of the Atlantic Ocean. I ...

. * A black knight is the son of Tom a' Lincoln and Anglitora (the daughter of

Prester John Prester John ( la, Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian nation lost a ...

) in

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

's Arthurian

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, ''

Tom a Lincoln ''Tom a Lincoln'' is a romance by the English writer Richard Johnson, published in two parts in 1599 and 1607. The principal character, Tom, is a bastard son of King Arthur and a girl named Angelica. He is the father of two other important chara ...

''. Through Tom, he is a grandson 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, though his proper name is never given. He killed his mother after hearing from his father's ghost that she had murdered him. He later joined the Faerie Knight, his half-brother, in adventures. * Brunor the Black, the father and son bearing the same name in the Prose ''Tristan'' and some other works. * An alias of

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' ...

in which Sir Galehaut first knows him by during the

Lancelot-Grail The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown authors ...

cycle.

References

Arthurian characters Fictional knights King Arthur's family {{fantasy-char-stub

See also

References