Gismirante

Hero of Antonio Pucci’s romance, from the fourteenth century, bearing his name, Gismirante, the son of a former Knight of the Round Table, left his home in Rome for Arthur’s court after his father, on his deathbed, bade him to make the journey. Gismirante served Arthur for seven years before he received a chance to prove himself.

Arthur’s custom was to refuse dinner until he had heard news of an adventure. Over one particularly boring weekend, no such news came, and Arthur’s court began to starve to death. Setting out, Gismirante learned from a fairy the plight of a beautiful princess who was forced by her father to go to church naked. Anyone who gazed upon her was decapitated. Recounting this story satisfied Arthur’s requirement. Gismirante then embarked to find the princess.

On the way, he saved a griffin from a dragon, gave food to a starving eagle, and rescued a hawk. He saved the princess from her tyrannical father, but lost her to a savage giant. In the quest to reclaim her, he was assisted by the animals he befriended. He eventually returned to Arthur’s court with the princess and married her there.