Summary, Chapters 52 to 57

Beltenebros is rescued by the Damsel of Denmark, wins glory and esteem, and secretly joins Oriana at her castle. 

[The Castillo de Buen Amor near Salamanca, now a hotel and restaurant.] 
 
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Chapter 52

The Damsel of Denmark goes to Scotland and searches unsuccessfully for Amadis. As she returns, her ship is blown by a storm to Poor Rock. There she meets Beltenebros, who has been so destroyed by grief that she does not recognize him, but finally a scar on his face tells her who he is. She gives him a letter from Oriana confessing her guilt. He immediately leaves with the Damsel for shore and, in a pleasant village, begins to recover. Enil, Gandales's nephew, becomes his squire, but Enil does not know that Beltenebros is Amadis.

Chapter 53

Galaor, Florestan, and Agrajes have searched for a year for Amadis, and having found nothing, they go to King Lisuarte's court in London to see if they can learn anything there, but what little news they find is bad. Oriana decides to go to rest at her castle, Miraflores, near London, for her sorrow over Amadis has made her quite ill.

At Miraflores, Gandalin tries to comfort her, and she has him make copies of the keys to the garden gates so that if Amadis arrives, she can help him enter surreptitiously over the garden wall.

Meanwhile, King Lisuarte has been challenged to a battle by King Cildadan of Ireland, and he begins to recruit one hundred knights to fight with him, including Galaor, Florestan, and Agrajes.

Chapter 54

Lisuarte receives a challenge for the war from the giants Cartadaque, Famongomadan and Madanfabul; and Sir Cuadragante; and the sorcerer Arcalaus: they will all for King Cildadan. But they offer to cancel the battle if he gives Oriana as a bride to Basagante, Famongomadan's son. The King refuses.

The Damsel of Denmark arrives at Miraflores Castle and gives Oriana a letter from Beltenebros. They arrange to send word to have him come to Miraflores.

Chapter 55

Beltenebros, who has recovered his health and strength, gets Oriana's orders and leaves for Miraflores, but on the route defeats Sir Cuadragante and sends him, injured, to King Lisuarte. Then he passes an encampment of Lisuarte's daughter, Leonoreta, and ten of the knights there challenge him to a joust. He defeats them and continues on his way.

But soon afterwards, while Beltenebros has paused at a spring, he sees Famongomadan pass with prisoners: Leonoreta and knights! Beltenebros challenges the giants and kills first Basagante and then Famongomadan and sends their corpses and the freed prisoners to King Lisuarte. Beltenebros's esteem grows in London.

Chapter 56

On his way to Miraflores, he pauses to ponder God and humility, and arrives under the cover of darkness and climbs to garden wall to be welcomed into Oriana's arms. He spends the next week there with her, out of their minds with pleasure.

Back in London, an elderly squire arrives with a magic sword and half-withered wreath of flowers. He tells the King that only a knight who truly loves his lady can remove the sword from its scabbard, which is made from dragon bones; and if a lady who truly loves her beloved puts on the wreath, all the flowers will be come fresh. The King agrees to have everyone in his court take the test. When Beltenebros hears this, he proposes that he and Oriana go there, disguised, for if they win, they need never doubt each other's love again.

Chapter 57

They arrive at the court but no one recognizes them: Beltenebros wears his helmet and Oriana wears veils over her face. They win the sword and wreath, and after a brief celebration, they leave. On the way back to Miraflores, they are challenged by Arcalaus. Beltenebros kills his nephew and chops off half of Arcalaus's hand as he flees. Beltenebros sends these to Lisuarte.

All this praise for Beltenebros has angered Galaor, Florestan, and Agrajes, who take it as an affront to Amadis and decide that they will fight Beltenebros after the battle with Cildadan.

The King and Galaor receive letters from Urganda the Unrecognized which prophecies that they will be in great danger of death, but Beltenebros will strike three blows to win the battle. However, Beltenebros will also draw the blood of the King, and all his great deeds will be forgotten, and he will gain power over Galaor's life. The King and Galaor are greatly troubled.

Then, they get a letter from King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus telling how they are being held and tortured by Famongomadan's widow. The King urges his knights to leave for the battle, for it will be the best means to free those two fine knights.
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Chapter 57 [final part]

[Of the letters Urganda the Unrecognized sent to King Lisuarte and Sir Galaor, and of the letter King Arban of North Wales and Sir Angriote de Estravaus sent to Lisuarte, written in their own blood.] 

[A Spanish text from the late 1300s: a manuscript of El Libro de Buen Amor.]

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King Lisuarte and Sir Galaor turned back toward town after leaving Beltenebros, and a damsel came to them and gave the King a letter, telling him it was from Urganda the Unrecognized, and gave another to Sir Galaor, and without another word returned by the road on which she had come.

The King took the letter and read it, and it said:

"I send thee my greetings, Lisuarte, King of Great Britain. I would have thee know that in thy cruel and dangerous battle with King Cildadan, although Beltenebros gives thee great strength, he shall lose his name and fame. By one great blow that he shall strike, all his great deeds shall be placed in oblivion. At that time thou shalt be in thy greatest affliction and danger ever, and when the sharp sword of Beltenebros sheds thy blood, thou shalt be at the point of death. It shall be a cruel and painful battle, where many brave and valiant knights shall lose their lives. It shall see great fury and great cruelty without mercy. But at the end, by those three blows that Beltenebros shall strike, those on his side shall be the victors. King, beware of what thou doest, for it shall happen as I have told thee without any doubt."

Having read the letter, although the King was given to great deeds and had a stout heart in the face of all danger, he knew that Urganda was so wise that the greatest part of her prophecies came true, so he was rather frightened, and he believed that Beltenebros, whom he greatly loved, would lose his life there, and his own would not escape great danger. But with a happy semblance he went to Sir Galaor, who had already read his letter and stood thinking, and told him:

"My good friend, I want your advice without anyone else knowing about what Urganda wrote me in this letter."

Then he showed him the letter, and Sir Galaor said:

"My lord, according to what came in mine, I would be better to get advice than to give it, but in all, if by some means ye were to find a way to avoid this battle with honor, I would hold that good. And if this cannot be, at least ye should not be in it, because I see two very grave things here: first, that by Beltenebros's arm and sword your blood will be shed, and second, by the three blows that he will give, those on his side shall be the victors. I do not know how to understand this, because he is now on your side, and according to the letter, he shall be on the other."

The King told him:

"My good friend, the great love that ye have for me may mean that ye might not give the best advice. But if I were to lose the hope in the Lord Who put me at this height, believing that anyone's knowledge could prevent His will, then rightly and for good cause, and with His permission, I ought to be brought down, because the heart and discretion of kings must conform to their great estates. They must do their duty both to their subjects and in defense of them, and they should leave to the Lord, in Whom all power is, to remedy those things that cause fear and dread. And so, my good friend, I shall be in that battle, and the fate that God may give to my men I wish that He shall give to me."

Sir Galaor changed his mind at seeing the great courage of the King, and told him:

"Not without cause are ye praised as the greatest and most honorable prince of the world. And if all kings were to avoid weak advice from their subjects, no one would dare to say anything except what was truly in their service."

Then he showed the King his letter, which said:

"To you, Sir Galaor of Gaul, strong and courageous, I, Urganda, salute you as he whom I value and love, and I want you to know from me what shall happen to you in the painful battle, if ye are in it: after the great cruelties and death that thy shalt see in its fast and final moments, thy valiant body and mighty limbs shall fail thy strong and burning heart, and after the battle, thy head shall be in the power of he who shall give three blows by which it shall be won."

When the King saw this, he said:

"Friend, if what is in this letter comes true, it is clear that if ye enter that battle, your death shall come. And, given the great deeds in arms that ye have achieved, ye would be held at little fault if ye were to avoid that battle. So I shall order you to be excused from it, having complied with my service and your honor."

Sir Galaor told him:

"It seems, my lord, that my advice has angered you, for while I am healthy and in my own free will, ye order me to that which will cause my honor to fall into great error and disgrace. May it please God not to put me in a situation in which I must obey you in such a thing."

The King said:

"Sir Galaor, ye spoke better than I. And now let us cease to speak more of this and put our hopes in the Lord as we ought, and let us guard these letters, because if the frightful words in them were to be known, they could give people reason to be afraid."

With that they went to the town, but before they entered it they saw two armed knights whose horses were tired and exhausted, and their armor cut in several places, so they seemed to have been in some great confrontation. They were named Sir Bruneo of Bonamar and Sir Branfil, his brother, and they had come to be in the battle if the King would have them.

Sir Bruneo knew about the test of the sword and had hurried to arrive in time for it, since he had already passed beneath the Arch of the Loyal Lovers, as ye have heard, due to the great and true love he had for Amadis's sister Melicia. So he thought that due to his great love he could win the sword or anything else, no matter how difficult, and he was very sorry that the test was over.

When they saw the King, they went to him with great humility. He received them with great good will. And Sir Bruneo told him:

"My lord, we have heard that ye have a great battle scheduled, and since the number of people in it will be few, we would gladly serve you if what ye know of our valor makes us worthy and ye were to select us."

The King, who had already been informed of the skill of these two brothers by Sir Galaor, especially that of Sir Bruneo, who although young was one of the most outstanding knights who could be found in a large area, was greatly pleased by them and their service and thanked them deeply. Then Sir Galaor made himself known and urged them to stay with him in his lodgings until the battle, and told him that his brother Florestan and Agrajes and Sir Galvanes, who always accompanied each other, would be there.

Sir Bruneo took that highly, and told Galaor that he was the knight he loved most in the world after his brother Amadis, whom he had put much effort into searching for after he had learned how he had left Firm Island, and would not cease his search except to be in the battle. He accepted Galaor's proposal, so Sir Bruneo and his brother Branfil remained in the company of Sir Galaor and the service of King Lisuarte, as ye have heard.

When the King was in his palace, Beltenebros's squire Enil arrived with the head of Lindoraque hanging by its hair from the breast strap of his horse, and with the shield and half the hand of Arcalaus the Sorcerer. Before he could enter in the palace, many people of the town began to follow him to find out what it was about. When he reached the King, he told him what Beltenebros had ordered, and the King was very happy and amazed by the great deed of this brave and courageous knight, and praised him highly, as did everyone.

But this made the anger of Sir Galaor and Sir Florestan grow even greater, and they could not wait for the hour of combat with him in which they could die or make it known to everyone that all his deeds could not equal those of their brother Amadis.

At this time Filispel arrived, the knight whom King Lisuarte had sent to challenge the giants on his behalf, as ye have already heard. Filispel named all the other knights who would fight in the battle for King Cildadan, including many brave giants and other knights of great feats who were already arriving in Ireland to join the King. Within four days they would disembark at the port of Vega, where the battle would be.

He also told how, at the Burning Lake, where the Island of Mogaza was, he had found King Arban of North Wales and Angriote de Estravaus in the power of Gromadaza, the brave giant and wife of Famongomadan. She held them in a very cruel prison, where they suffered whippings and other great torments every day so that blood flowed continually from the many wounds in their flesh. And Filispel brought a letter written for the King, which said:

"To the great lord Lisuarte, King of Great Britain, and to all our friends in his reign: I, Arban, captive King of North Wales, and Angriote de Estravaus, in painful prison, wish to make ye know that our great misfortune has placed us in the power of the fierce Gromadaza, wife of Famongomadan. To avenge the death of her husband and son she causes us be given torments and cruel punishments beyond all imagination, so that often we ask for death, which would be a great relief. But she, wishing that every day be living death, keeps us alive, and were it not for the loss of our souls, we would have ended our lives ourselves. But because we have reached a point beyond which we cannot survive, we wish to send this letter written in our own blood, and with it to say goodbye, praying to our Lord to give you victory in the battle against these traitors who have done us such harm."

The King had deep sorrow to lose these two knights and felt great pain in his heart, but seeing how it would do little good for them, he put on a good semblance to console his men, and reminded them of many other serious matters, and of the honors and great deeds they might wish to gain, and he thus gave them courage for the battle. If they won, it would be the best means to get those knights out of prison.

And then he ordered all those who were going to be with him in the battle to get ready to leave with him the next day to meet his enemies. And he succeeded: with the great courage that he always displayed in all conflicts, he moved his knights to be ready to fight.
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Chapter 57 [middle part]

[How Oriana won the prize of the wreath, and Macandon was knighted, and she and Beltenebros left London, and what happened to them on the way to Miraflores Castle.] 

[Illustration for Bernger von Horheim's songs in the Codex Manesse.] 
 
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Once the test of the sword had been finished by Beltenebros, as ye have heard, the King ordered the Queen and all the other ladies in the palace take the test of the wreath of flowers without any fear about what might happen. If a lady were to win, she would be more loved and desired by her husband, and if a damsel, the glory would be hers for being the most loyal of all.

Then the Queen came and put it on her head, but the flowers did not change from the way they had been. Macandon told her:

"My lady and Queen, if your husband the King won little with the sword, it seems ye have repaid him well."

She turned around ashamed with nothing to say, and next the very beautiful Briolanja came, Queen of Sobradisa, but she won no more than the Queen. Macandon told her:

"My very beautiful damsel, ye ought to be loved more than ye love, according to what ye have shown."

And then four princesses came forward, daughters of kings: Elvida and Estrelleta, her sister, who were very lively and beautiful, and Aldeva and Olinda the Discrete, on whose head the dry flowers began to become green, and so everyone thought she might win, but although they waited, they did nothing more. When she took it off, they became as dry as they had been.

After Olinda, more than a hundred ladies and damsels tried it, but none of them achieved what Olinda had, and to all of them Macandon said things of jest and amusement.

Oriana, as she watched it, had been very afraid that Queen Briolanja would win. And when she saw her fail, she felt great pleasure because her beloved would not think that Briolanja's love would be worthy, for she seemed extremely beautiful, more than any other lady or damsel she had seen in her life, and if she would not lose Beltenebros to her, then she would lose him to no one.

When she saw that now no one remained for the test, she gestured to Beltenebros to bring her forward, and when they came to the wreath, she put it on her head, and the dry flowers turned so fresh and beautiful that there was no way to know one side from the other.

And Macandon said:

"Oh good damsel! Ye are the one whom I have been seeking for forty years, even before ye were born."

Then he told Beltenebros to make him a knight and asked the damsel to give him his sword by her own hand.

"Do it now," he said, "for I can wait no longer."

Macandon dressed in white clothing that he had brought with him and donned the white arms of a new knight, and Beltenebros made him a knight according to custom and put on his right spur, and Oriana gave him an especially fine sword that he had brought.

When the ladies and damsels saw him, they all began to laugh, and everyone heard Aldeva say:

"Oh God, what an extraordinary young man and how extraordinarily well he looks, more than any other new knight! He must be very happy to be able to be a new knight for the rest of his life."

"Why do ye say that?" Estrelleta said.

"Because of those clothes," she said. "By their looks, they ought to last as long as he will."

"May God make it so," the damsels answered, "and keep him as handsome as he is now."

"My good ladies," he said, "I would not exchange my pleasure for any measure of yours, for I am more measured and youthful than ye are measured and modest."

The King was pleased by what he had said, for what they had said had not seemed proper.

When this was done, Beltenebros took his lady and said goodbye to the Queen. She said to her daughter, whom she did not recognize:

"Good damsel, since it is your will not to have us know you, I beg you to ask favors of me from wherever ye may go, which shall be gladly given to you."

"My lady," Beltenebros said, "I know her as much as ye do, although I have traveled with her for seven days, but from what I have seen, I tell you she is beautiful and has such hair that it has no reason to be covered."

Briolanja told her:

"Damsel, I do not know who ye are, but from what ye have shown of your love, if your beloved loves you as ye love him, this would be the most beautiful thing that love has ever brought together, and if he is wise, it shall be so."

Oriana took great pleasure in what Briolanja had said. With that, they said goodbye to the Queen and rode off as they had come, and the King and Sir Galaor left with them. Beltenebros said to the King:

"My lord, take this damsel and honor her, who well deserves it, for she has honored your court."

The King took her horse by the reins, and Beltenebros spoke with Sir Galaor, who had no desire to hear anything about friendship with him, for he had already sworn to fight with him. When they had ridden a while, Beltenebros took Oriana and told the King:

"My lord, remain here with God, and if ye would have me be one of the hundred in your battle, I shall gladly serve you."

The King was very pleased by that, and embraced him and thanked him, saying that he would lose much of his fear to have him at his aid. And so he and Galaor turned back.

Beltenebros entered the forest with his beloved and Enil, who carried his arms, very happy that their venture had ended so well, with him bearing the green sword around his neck and she wearing the wreath of flowers on her head. So they arrived at the Fountain of the Three Streams, where they saw a squire on horseback come down a nearby mountain. When the squire arrived, he said:

"Knight, Arcalaus orders ye to bring this damsel before him, and if ye tarry and make him ride and get you, he shall cut off both your heads."

"Where is Arcalaus the Sorcerer?" Beltenebros said.

The man showed him beneath some trees, and another man was with him, and they were in armor with their horses beside them. When Oriana heard this, she felt so frightened that she could barely remain on her palfrey. Beltenebros came to her and said:

"My damsel, do not fear, for if this sword does not fail me, I shall protect you."

Then he took his arms and told the squire:

"Tell Arcalaus that I am a foreign knight and do not know him and have no reason to obey him."

When Arcalaus heard this, he was irate, and he said to the knight who was with him:

"My nephew Lindoraque, take the wreath that the damsel wears, and it shall be for your beloved Madasima, and if the knight defends her, cut off his head and hang her from her hair in a tree."

Lindoraque immediately mounted and left to do so, but Beltenebros, who had heard him, rode forward. Although he saw that the other knight was very big, for he was the son of Cartadaque, the giant of the Forbidden Mountain, and of a sister of Arcalaus, he held him as nothing for the great arrogance with which he came. Beltenebros told him:

"Knight, ye shall not pass further."

"Ye shall not make me fail to do what my uncle Arcalaus has ordered me to do."

"Now," Beltenebros said, "though ye are as arrogant as he is evil, try to do what ye can."

Then they met and struck each other so hard that their lances were broken. Lindoraque was thrown from his saddle, and he carried a piece of the lance in his flesh, but he got up promptly with great courage. He saw that Beltenebros was approaching to attack, so he tried to protect himself from the blow, but he tripped and fell on the ground, and the iron of the lance came out his back, and he died immediately.

When Arcalaus saw that, he quickly mounted to help him, but Beltenebros came at him and made him miss with his lance when they met, and as they passed, he struck such a blow with his sword that Arcalaus's lance and half his hand fell to the ground, and only his thumb remained. Seeing himself thus, he began to flee, with Beltenebros behind him, but Arcalaus threw off the shield from his neck, and with the great speed of his horse, got so far ahead that Beltenebros could not catch him.

So he returned to his lady, and ordered Enil to take the head of Lindoraque and the hand and shield of Arcalaus, and to go to King Lisuarte and tell him what had happened.

That done, he took his lady and went on his way, and rested a little at the spring. When night came, they went to Miraflores, where they found Gandalin and Durin, who took their beasts. Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark met them at the wall at the entrance to the garden with great joy in their spirits, as those who, if some misfortune were to have happened, expected nothing but death.

Mabilia told them:

"Ye bring beautiful gifts, but I tell you that they were purchased with the great anguish of our spirits and many tears from our hearts. Thanks be to God for the good He did you."

And so they entered the castle, where they supped and rested with great joy and happiness.
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Chapter 57 [first part]

How Beltenebros and Oriana sent the Damsel of Denmark to the court to learn about the guarantee they had asked of the King, and how they went to the test and won honor above all others. 

[This sword, known as the Ainkhürn-Shwert or the Unicorn Sword, at one time belonged to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1390-1467). It is made from a narwhal tooth, which in the Middle Ages was often believed to be a unicorn horn. Philip founded the chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece, and the sword became part of the order's treasure. It is now held in the Secular Treasury at Kunsthistorisches Museum in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.] 
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The next day they send the Damsel of Denmark to London to learn the answer the King had given to Enil, and to tell the Queen and all the ladies and damsels that Oriana felt ill and would stay in bed. The Damsel left immediately on her errand and did not return until quite late.

She was delayed because the King had gone to receive Queen Briolanja, who had arrived in London, and who brought a hundred knights to search for Amadis wherever his brothers would want to send them. She also brought twenty damsels dressed in black, just as she was and would be until she learned news about Amadis, for she had been dressed that way when he returned her realm to her. She wished to stay in London with the Queen until her knights returned or she had news about Amadis.

Then Oriana said:

"Did she seem as beautiful as they say?"

"So help me God," she said, "besides yourself, my lady, the most beautiful and gentile woman of all those whom I have seen. And she told me to tell you that she will see you when ye find it best for her to visit."

"I would be very pleased to see her," Oriana said, "for she is the person in the world I would like most to see."

"Honor her," Beltenebros said, "for she is worthy, despite anything that ye, my lady, may have thought."

"My beloved," she said, "let us leave this, for I am sure my thoughts were not true."

"Well, I believe that as a result of this test," he said, "soon your thoughts shall be much relieved of that and much more subject to me."

"If that can happen, it is because of the excessive love I have for you," Oriana said. "I have faith in God that the wreath of flowers will give testimony to it."

The Damsel also told them how the King had granted Enil all the guarantees that he had asked for.

In these and other things that gave them pleasure, they passed that day and the following days until it was time for the test. On the night before, they arose at midnight and dressed Oriana in the cape ye have heard about and put veils in front of her face. Beltenebros wore the strong new armor that Enil brought him. They went over the wall in the garden, and she mounted the palfrey that Gandalin brought and Beltenebros mounted his horse, and they went alone through the forest to the Spring of the Three Streams.

Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark had no little fear that the two would be recognized and their splendor of joy would be changed into great gloom. And when Oriana found herself alone in the night with her beloved, she had such terror that her body trembled and she could not speak. She feared that if she failed the test of the wreath, her beloved, in whom her love surely was, might come to doubt her. She wished she had not set out on that road.

Beltenebros, seeing how she was upset, told her:

"So help me God, my lady, if I had thought that ye would be so worried by this trip, and I would rather die than put you in it. It would be good for us to turn back."

Then he turned his horse and her palfrey around toward where they had come from, but when Oriana saw that because of her, a great venture would be abandoned, her heart changed, and she told him:

"My beloved, do not pay attention to the fear that I as a woman have at being in such a strange place, and instead be concerned with what ye must do as a good knight."

"My good lady," he said, "forgive me if your discretion overcomes my madness, for I ought not dare to say or do anything except what ye willingly order me to do."

Then they went on as before and arrived at the Spring of the Three Streams an hour before dawn. When the day grew light, Enil arrived, which pleased them greatly, and Beltenebros said:

"My lady, this is the squire who I told you would go before the King for me. Let us learn what news he has brought."

Enil told them that everything Beltenebros had wanted had been ordered by the King, and that after Mass, the test would begin. Beltenebros gave him his shield and lance, but he did not take off his helmet, and they took the road to London. They rode until they entered the town gate.

Everyone looked at them and said:

"This is the good knight Beltenebros who sent Sir Cuadragante and the giants here. Truly, this is the use of arms at its highest. The damsel who comes under his protection must be very blessed."

Oriana, who heard all this, felt proud to find herself the lady of he who with his great valor was lord over so many others.

Thus they arrived at the palace of the King, where he and all his knights and the Queen and all her ladies and damsels had gathered in a hall for the test. When their arrival became known, the King came to received them at the entrance to the hall, and when they were before him, they knelt to kiss his hands, but the King did not offer them and said:

"My good friend, know that I would happily do all that ye may ask, for in the little time ye have served me, ye have done more than any knight has done for any king."

Beltenebros thanked him with great humility and did not try to speak, and went with his damsel to the Queen. Oriana's flesh trembled in dread to find herself before her father and mother, fearing she would be recognized, but her lover never let go of her hand. They knelt before the Queen, and she raised them up by the hands and said:

"Damsel, I do not know who ye are, for I have never seen you, but for the great service that this knight who brings you has done, and for your own worth, he and ye shall receive every honor and mercy that ye ought."

Beltenebros thanked her, but Oriana made no response and held her head down in a sign of humility.

The King placed himself with all the knights on one side of the hall, and the Queen on the other with all the ladies and damsels. Beltenebros told the King that he wished to remain with his damsel apart to be the last to try the test. The King granted that.

Then the King went to take the sword, which was on a table, and took it a out the length of a hand and no more. Macandon, which was the name of the squire who had brought it, told him:

"King, if in your court no one is more in love than you, I shall not leave here with what I desire."

And he put back the sword, as he had to do each time. Next Galaor tried it, but he could not pull it out more than three fingers' width. And after him it was tested by Florestan, Galvanes, Grumedan, Brandoivas, and Ladasin, and none of them could take it out as much as Sir Florestan, who had pulled it out the width of a palm.

Then Sir Guilan the Pensive tried it and took it halfway out. Macandon told him:

"If ye loved twice as much, ye would win the sword, and I would win what I have been seeking for so long."

After him, more than a hundred knights of renown tested it, and none of them pulled out the sword all the way, and some could pull it out not at all. Macandon said that they were heretics of love.

Then Agrajes came to test it, and before he tried, he looked where his lady Olinda was, and thought that with the loyal and true love he had for her, the sword was his. He pulled it out so far that only a hands'-width remained inside, and he tried so hard to pull it out farther that the glowing side of the sword touched his clothing and burned part of it. He felt happy for having done more than anyone else had, and he left it and returned to where he had been, but first Macandon told him:

"My lord knight, so close ye came to achieving happiness for you and satisfaction for me!"

And then Palomir and Dragonis tried it, who had arrived at the court the day before, and they pulled out the sword as much as Sir Galaor had, and Macandon told them:

"Knights, if ye broke the sword where ye had taken it out, ye would have little with which to defend yourselves."

"Ye speak the truth," Dragonis said, "but if at the end of this test ye are made a knight, ye will not be too young to remember any of this."

Everyone laughed about what Dragonis said, but now there was no one left in the court to take that test, and Beltenebros rose and took his lady by the hand and went to where the sword was, and Macandon told him:

"My lord knight from far away, the sword ye hope to win may suit you better than the one you wear now, but it would be better not to give up yours yet, because this sword more by heartfelt loyalty than by force must to be won."

But Beltenebros grasped the sword and pulled it fully out of the sheath, and immediately the burning half became as bright as the other half, and it seemed to be all one piece. When Macandon saw this, he knelt before him and said:

"Oh good knight! May God honor thee as thou hast honored this court. Rightly thou should be loved and desired by she whom thou lovest, unless she is the most false and foolish woman in the world. I ask the honor of knighthood from thee. It must come from thy hand or no one, for I may not take it from anyone else, and with it thou shalt give me my lands and lordship over many noblemen."

"My good friend," Beltenebros said, "proceed with the test of the wreath, and then I shall do with you what by rights I must do."

Then he made the sign of the cross over the sword and left his for whoever might want it, put the new one around his neck, and, taking his lady by the hand, returned to where they had been.

But the praise from all those who were in the court for his prowess and love was so great that it inflamed the anger of Sir Galaor and Florestan, believing it a great dishonor that anyone in the world but their brother Amadis should be held in more esteem than them. So they decided that the first thing they would do after the battle between King Lisuarte and King Cildadan, if they were still alive, would be to fight with him and die or show everyone the difference between him and their brother Amadis.
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