Sir Breunor

Sir Breunor le Noir (/ˈbruːnor lə nojr/ or /ˈbʁœ̃nɔʁ lə nwaʁ/) (also spelled Brunor), nicknamed La Cote Male Tayle (Modern French: La Cote Mal Taillée = "the badly-cut coat") by Sir Kay after his arrival in his murdered father's mangled armor and surcoat at King Arthur's court, is a character mentioned in Arthurian legend. He receives his knighthood after saving Guinevere from an escaped lion. His story is told, partially in the Tristram sections of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and in the Prose Tristan, though it is in effect an independent romance.

After Sir Breunor is granted knighthood, a damosel arrives at court bearing a black shield emblazoned with a white hand with a sword, along with a mission. She tells her audience the previous knight who carried the shield died while on the quest, and that she is searching for a knight of similar courage to continue the mission. La Cote Male Tayle decides he would be fit enough to take up the quest and volunteers to go with the damosel. She, disliking that this is to be her chosen knight, continuously taunts him regarding his clothing and appearance, earning her the nickname Maledisant ("Ill Speaker").

After the pair leaves the castle, Breunor le Noir encounters Dagonet, the court jester, who has been sent by Arthur to joust with the new knight. Sir Breunor quickly defeats Dagonet, but Maledisant's taunts increase because the court had sent a fool to challenge Breunor rather than a true knight. Breunor later encounters two other knights, Sir Bleoberis and Sir Palomides. He is challenged by both, and unhorsed by both. They each refuse to fight him on foot and walk away, drawing more criticism from Maledisant. Breunor later travels with Mordred to Castle Orgulous. The knights must fight their way into the castle; after Mordred is injured by one of two knights guarding the castle gates, Breunor le Noir kills them and continues into the castle on his opponent's horse. There, he meets a hundred knights in a lady's chamber. When he gets off his horse to challenge them, the chamber's owner ties his horse to a postern so he cannot escape. Breunor somehow wins his way through the knights with the aid of the black shield, mounts his horse, and escapes from the castle.

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Wikipedia