Sir Balin Le Savage

Sir Balin Le Savage was also known as The knight with two swords. He was the twin brother to Balan. Though there are no direct references to this effect, an event that might allude to this fact is that they were buried together in one tomb by Merlin. This is in accordance with what is recorded in most Celtic legends.

In these legends…… Sir Balin Le Savage was also known as The knight with two swords. He was the twin brother to Balan.Though there are no direct references to this effect, an event that might allude to this fact is that they were buried together in one tomb by Merlin. This is in accordance with what is recorded in most Celtic legends.

In these legends, twins were considered single individuals who by fate of the gods were split into two and in most stories they are directly opposite each other in character (Scudder, 1917). Balin was native to Northumberland in north eastern England. In Le Morte de Arthur (the death of Arthur), Sir Balin is portrayed in the best of lights.First he is given the best ever description by the damosel “this is a passing good knight, and the best that ever I found”, he also shows himself to be the noble by the way he speaks and acts. He for example beseeches the lady to let him try himself also at the sword.

The purity of the heart of Sir Balin coupled with his pride and the desire to prove himself among other more valiant knights is what leads him to the many troubles he has to undergo and even finally to his death at the hands of his brother. All the undertakings that he does he does them not for selfish gains but to help others.Balin’s arrogance also plays a role in his strings of misfortunes, though probably to a lesser extent. He believes so much in his innocence that when Merlin tells him that he will strike the most dolorous” stroke … that ever man struck”, refuses and says that were it true that what Merlin is saying will occur, he would rather kill himself and prevent the occurrence from happening (Lumiansky, 1979).

Sir Balin is one of the poorest of the knights in King Arthur’s company, he has a brother Balan whom King Arthur is not in favor with.He himself has also been at disfavor of the king for “half a year and more for slaying of a knight, who was cousin unto King Arthur” and so probably he is pleased to note that he has at least succeeded where King Arthur and the other Knights have failed. It is thus understandable that he refuses to hand over the sword as doing that would have reduced him to where he was with nothing to show for his success over other knights. This is probably why he was referred to as the knight with two swords probably because he was carrying both his sword and the enchanted sword, for fighting and for show respectively (Scudder, 1917).In his endeavors to prove himself as valuable, he starts by killing the Lady of the Lake in Arthur’s presence, he kills the Knight Launceor and watch as his “damsel” Colombe commit suicide, he succeeds in taking King Rience and brings him to King Arthur, at the bidding of the king, he goes and fetches the sorrowful knight but on their way to meet the king, the Knight Garlon kill the sorrowful knight Balin then accepts to avenge the knight and pursue the damosel, another knight Perin de Mountbeliard is also slain by Garlon in his, Balin, sight.

Balin also manages to kill the Knight Garlon and lets his host bleed him to get cure for his son whom Garlon had wounded. He then fights king Pellam and kills him with “a marvellous spear strangely wrought “which happened to be the spear that was used on Jesus. This makes the castle roof and walls to crumble and fall; the dolorous strike. Balin justifies killing the Lady of the Lake because she caused the burning of Balin’s mother.

Even though he knows that this will affect his relationship with King Arthur.He however vows to gain back Arthur’s trust by capturing his arch enemy King Rience. In his endeavor to gain confidence of the king, he accepts also to follow and bring back the sorrowful Knight, by force or on his free will. He says “I will do more for your lordship than that. ” Balin is also helps King Arthur fight and kill the twelve kings and utterly destroy them leaving King Arthur to burry them. Another motivation that led Balin to move and act in such ways was his pride and honor.

For honor challenges and kills the Knight Garlon, whom he reasons that “If I slay him here I shall not escape, and if I leave him now, peradventure I shall never meet with him again at such a steven, and much harm he will do an he live. ”(Goodrich, 1989). Even though he knows that killing Garlon will cause him harm he goes on and kills him because he believes that Garlon will cause more harm if he is left to live. Thus Balin comes out as “passing good man of in hands and of deeds.

He is not conceited but strives to do all he can to assist each and every person he meets and those to whom he has given a promise. This even more evident when after travelling for eight days after he parts from Merlin just after being saved from the crumbles of the castle of Pellam, he meets a knight, Garnish of the Mount, sitting down in sorrows over his Lady who has left him for a another foul knight. He tells him “God save you, why be ye so heavy? Tell me and I will amend it, an I may, to my power” (Goodrich, 1989).He later goes on and helps this knight to track the lady and they go into the castle and searched all the chambers and found her lying in the arms of the foul knight both of them fast asleep. Balin goes on and helps this knight.

But the Knight in anger kills both his lady and the knight. Garnish of the Mount however so overcome by sorrow of having caught his lady in such a position and killing her, cannot live on and commits suicide by running his sword through himself.