The Puce Knight - Sir Perimones

Sir Perimones was the third son of the noble house that held the four perilous passages to Castle Dangerous, the stronghold where Dame Lionesse was besieged by the Red Knight of the Red Lands, the tyrant Sir Ironside who had hanged nearly forty knights from the trees around her walls. His elder brothers, Percard the Black Knight and Pertolepe the Green Knight, had already fallen before Beaumains, the kitchen knave who was in truth Gareth of Orkney, Arthur's nephew. Perimones held the Puce Launds, the meadows and tournament grounds that were the third barrier, and he wore puce-red harness, a puce shield, and puce trappings for his horse, a colour that distinguished him from the blood-red of Ironside and marked him as a knight of sport rather than siege. He was a lord of tournaments, a knight who kept a white tower where warriors gathered to joust, and his reputation was known at Camelot as one of the most formidable champions on the road.

When Lynette, the sharp-tongued damsel who was sister to the besieged lady, rode with Beaumains through the Puce Launds, Perimones was waiting at his white tower. He had heard of the kitchen knave's victories over Percard and Pertolepe, and he was determined that the road to Castle Dangerous would end with him. He rode out to meet them, his puce armour gleaming in the sun, and demanded to know whether this was the knight who had defeated his brothers. Lynette answered with her usual scorn, declaring that her champion was indeed the kitchen knave called Beaumains, and that he would overcome Perimones as he had overcome the rest. Perimones laughed at the name but was not deceived, for he knew that any man who could defeat two such knights was no scullion. He told Beaumains that he would prove whether a kitchen boy could truly stand against a knight of the tournament field, and the two prepared to joust.

The duel was fierce and skilful. They came together with spears, and the shock of their meeting was so great that both horses were brought to their knees. They fought on foot with swords, and Perimones struck Gareth such blows that the young knight's armour was dented and his shield was split. But Gareth, who had fought two battles already and who had the blood of the house of Orkney in his veins, pressed forward with a fury that would not be broken. At last Gareth struck Perimones a blow that brought him down, and stood over him with sword raised, ready to kill him as he had killed Percard.

But Perimones was not Percard. He looked up at Gareth and yielded with honour, asking for mercy and swearing that he would become a knight of King Arthur's court and serve the fellowship of the Round Table. And then he offered what none of his brothers had offered: fifty men, a greater host than Pertolepe's pledge and second only to Persant's hundred. Gareth, whose heart was gentler than his arm, spared him and made him swear upon his sword that he would ride to Camelot and tell the king of Beaumains' deeds. Perimones kept his oath. He rode to Arthur's court, told the story of his defeat and his brothers' victories and losses, and was received into the fellowship.

Perimones' redemption was swift and complete. He became a loyal knight of the Round Table, and his friendship with Gareth grew so deep that when Gareth married Lionesse, Perimones served as one of the chief carvers at the wedding feast, the knight who had once barred the road now cutting meat for the celebration of love. He fought beside Gareth at the tournament of Kink Kenadon, where Gareth proved his worth before the whole court, and he was present at the small dinner party that Queen Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur, held for her favourite knights. In the broader Arthurian tradition, the name Puce distinguishes Perimones from the other Red Knights who crowd the legend, from Ironside the tyrant to the mysterious challengers of the Grail quests. He is the Puce Knight, the third brother, the tournament lord who learned that the greatest victory is the one that ends in fellowship rather than death.