The Nonexistent Knight

Sister Theodora reflects on her writing process as a penance then returns to the story. Agilulf sets off in search of proof of Torrismund’s story. Gurduloo is also on the journey, though his winding path only occasionally overlaps with Agilulf. During his adventures, Agilulf fights his way through the guards in a town who will not let him pass because they fear that he is a bandit. Agilulf then comes across the actual bandit in the woods and marches him back to the town. As he sets off again on his journey, Bradamante follows behind him, then Raimbaut follows behind her.

Agilulf is stopped by a damsel, who seeks his help because a “flock of wild bears” (88) has besieged a local castle. The castle is exclusively occupied by women, so she needs a knight to help them. Agilulf orders Gurduloo to share his horse with the damsel as they ride to the castle. As they travel, Gurduloo gropes at the damsel. The group is stopped by a passing hermit. Agilulf gives money to the man, who repays him with information: the bears are, in fact, a ruse. They have been raised by Priscilla, the lady of the castle, and they are used to trap any passing knights who agree to help so as to “feed her insatiable lust” (89). The hermit was once one such knight, he says, who helped Priscilla with her bear problem. Agilulf continues regardless of the warning.

Outside the castle, Agilulf sees the bears. Agilulf defeats the bears and is then greeted by Priscilla and her entourage of ladies and servants. She invites Agilulf and his squire to stay the night in the castle. As the servants lead Gurduloo away to be bathed, Priscilla invites Agilulf to dine with her. They eat together as maids sing behind them. Agilulf praises their singing and dancing. In the next room, semi-clothed maids play a game with Gurduloo, who hurls himself at the half-naked women whenever he can to “merge into the general fragrance” (93). Occasionally, he leads one of the maids away to a private room and they return with ripped clothing and flushed expressions.

At night, Priscilla reveals that Agilulf is to stay in her room. He seems unaware that she is flirting with him. When she says the word love, however, Agilulf launches into a long “dissertation of the passion of love” (95). Priscilla flirts further, hinting that she is cold. Agilulf builds them a fire. When she suggests that he help to warm her sheets, he points to the improperly made bed and insists on making it again, properly. The sound of Gurduloo’s laughter can be heard from the hallway. Priscilla loosens her robe and stands naked before Agilulf. He then helps her to unfurl her hair, only to decide that her hair was more properly arranged before. For the next hour, Agilulf insists on helping her to put her hair back in place “with firm delicate movements of his iron hands” (98). Priscilla cannot help but be impressed by the results. Then, he suggests that they share an evening walk along the battlements of the castle. After, Priscilla announces that she is tired. She takes to bed while Agilulf stands watch.

As dawn approaches, Agilulf is still in Priscilla’s bedroom. To prevent the sun from shining on her face, he moves her bed around the room. He prepares to leave so seeks out Gurduloo, who he finds in a dog kennel. They resume their journey while, back at the castle, the women discuss their strange visitors. None of them can think of what to say about the nonexistent knight and his squire, though Priscilla gushes about her experience the previous night.

Sister Theodora comes to the realization that she has only just started the story. To her, the story is already interesting enough and there is no possible way in which she can fit all the details of what happened into the confines of the page. Writing the words out amounts to almost nothing, especially as she must also describe the journeys of Bradamante, Raimbaut, and Torrismund. Rather than words, she could etch the page into a 3D map but to do so would almost be like torturing the paper. She returns, instead to Agilulf’s story.

Agilulf reaches the convent where Sophronia was sequestered, only to find the building “a mass of ruins” (103). Agilulf discovers that pirates attacked and kidnapped the women inside, planning to sell them into slavery in Morocco. Sophronia, he is told, is said to be “the holiest and most chaste in the entire diocese” (104). With Gurduloo, Agilulf sets off for the port to sail to Morocco. At this point, Sister Theodora stops the story to explain that she is adding in drawings of symbols and maps. Agilulf’s ship was attacked by a whale, she says, and she hopes these illustrations will tell that story.

Agilulf does battle against the whale but the ship sinks. Agilulf is cast into the sea and the nonexistent knight must walk along the seabed to Morocco. Gurduloo, meanwhile, jumps onto the whale itself, then seizes hold of a passing turtle and rides the creature to the Moroccan coast. Just off the coast, he is caught by a boat of fishermen who try to enlist him into their crew. Gurduloo fishes with them until, one day, an empty suit of armor emerges from the sea. Gurduloo joins up again with Agilulf and they resume their journey.

Agilulf and Gurduloo travel through Morocco. The Sultan of Morocco is said to have 365 wives. Each night, according to legend, he visits a different wife and presents her with an expensive pearl. The fishermen who found Gurduloo are tasked with finding pearls for the Sultan’s gifts. On this particular night, the Sultan is visiting a new wife: Sophronia. The fishermen want Agilulf to help them find pearls, but he has another suggestion, wondering whether the Sultan should present his new wife with a gift “to soothe her homesickness: the complete armor of a Christian warrior” (107), by which he means himself. The plan is agreed and Agilulf is delivered to Sophronia. He does battle with the palace guards and saves Sophronia from “the horror of pagan nuptials” (108), taking her to a waiting ship.

Sister Theodora again uses illustrations to tell the story of the journey home. The ship docks, at last, in Brittany and Agilulf hides Sophronia in a cave (which is drawn by Sister Theodora). With Sophronia waiting in the cave, Agilulf leaves to announce his return to Charlemagne. While he is away, Torrismund finds the cave with Sophronia inside.