Dinadan is a
Cornish Knight of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...
in the
Arthurian legend
The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...
's
chivalric romance
As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...
tradition. In the
Prose ''Tristan'' and its adaptations, Dinadan is a close friend of the protagonist
Tristan
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; ; ), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of ...
, known for his cynical humor and pragmatism, and also for his severe anti-
chivalric
Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chival ...
attitudes. In
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...
's English compilation ''
Le Morte d'Arthur
' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...
'', Dinadan serves as a
foil
Foil may refer to:
Materials
* Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
* Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
* Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
* Tin foil, metal foil ma ...
to Tristan in his softened portrayal, appearing in several often comedic episodes until his murder by
Mordred
Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...
and
Agravain
Agravain or Agravaine ( ) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna ...
. Despite his relatively minor role, he has become a major subject of Malorian scholarship.
[
]
Medieval Arthuriana
Like Palamedes and Lamorak
Lamorak (or ''Lamorake'', ''Lamorac ', ''Lamerak'', ''Lamero e'', '' maratto'', ''Amorotto'', and other spellings) de Galis (of Wales) is a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. Originally known as Lamorat le Gallois (''Lamourat' ...
, Dinadan was introduced in the 13th-century Prose ''Tristan'' (''Tristan en prose''), an Old French reimagination of the legend of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...
. Here, Dinadan is a knight from Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
and the son of Bruenor senior, also known as the Good Knight Without Fear. His brothers include fellow Round Table
The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...
knights Breunor le Noir and Daniel
Daniel commonly refers to:
* Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname
* List of people named Daniel
* List of people with surname Daniel
* Daniel (biblical figure)
* Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...
.
Dinadan is introduced to the story to replace the dead Kahedin Sir Kahedin (variantly spelled Kahadin, Kahedrin, Kaherdin, Kehenis, Kehidius; possibly the Welsh character Kae Hir) is brother to Iseult of Brittany and the son of King Hoel of Brittany in Arthurian legend. The story of his affair with Brangaine ...
as the hero Tristan
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; ; ), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of ...
's new close friend and companion, also functioning as a more reasonable part of Tristan. Unlike many other knights in Arthurian romance, the pragmatic Dinadan tends to avoid fights and views courtly love
Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...
as a futile pursuit, though he displays bravery in battle when necessary. As described by Norris J. Lacy, who called him "one of his most delightful creations" of the Prose ''Tristan'',
Early parts of the Prose ''Tristan'' initially feature Dinadan as a more of a typical knight errant
A knight-errant (or knight errant) is a figure of medieval Chivalric romance, chivalric romance literature. The adjective '':wikt:errant, errant'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adv ...
character of Arthurian romance, less sensible and with limited sarcasm as compared to his characterization in other French tellings, such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle
The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at wh ...
—but not to the one in Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...
's iconic English Arthurian compilation ''Le Morte d'Arthur
' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...
'', where his character is both already fully established and markedly toned down compared to the corresponding episodes from Malory's French text sources. Dinadan also appears in some other works, such as ''Escanor'' and variants of ''Les Prophéties de Merlin''. In the former, Dinadan's deep skepticism towards women serves as a comedic theme. Conversely, there are versions when his attitudes regarding females are portrayed as unsavoury. These include the Prose ''Tristan'' manuscript BnF fr. 12599, which depicts Dinadan as a rapist of a young lady, and Micheau Gonnot's ''Compilation'', where he is a would-be rapist, stopped (and punished) by peasants.
In the Prose ''Tristan'', Dinadan outlives the protagonist. A manuscript known as the ''Suite du Tristan en prose'' (BnF fr. 24400) is a continuation of the Prose ''Tristan'' that contains Dinadan's further story and his own death. It was translated to modern French by Richard Trachsler and published as ''Les Dernières Aventures de Dinadan'' (''The Last Adventures of Dinadan'') in 2025.
''Le Morte d'Arthur''
Based on some variants of the Prose ''Tristan'' in a highly abridged form, or perhaps a lost English intermediate source, Malory's portrayal of Dinadan (''Dynadan'') remains a comedic character as he retains some of his French version's cynical humor and inclination towards mocking chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of ...
, albeit without much of his original ironic commentaries. Dinadan is often depicted as the most witty among Arthur's knights, both the source and target of practical joke
A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...
s. He is one of the only few able to recognize his fellow knights even when they are wearing full helmets and do not have marked shields, which Helen Cooper interpreted as a female characteristic.
During his visit to the court of Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
in search of his friend, the young hero Tristan (''Tristram''), Dinadan shares supper with Queen Iseult
Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...
(''La Beale Isoud''), revealing his deliberate choice to have no lady-love or paramour to inspire his noble deeds. In one escapade, he is caught off guard and defeated in a joust
Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism.
The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...
by Lancelot
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...
, who cleverly wears a dress over his armor and later dresses his unconscious opponent in it, a cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...
episode corresponding go the one in the Version IV of the Prose ''Tristan'' (and the ''Prophecies de Merlin'') in which men sent by Lancelot and Galehaut
Galehaut (or Galaha ''l/u''t, Galeho ''l/u''t, Gallehau ''l''t, Galhault, Galeotto, et al.) is a half-giant knight and sovereign prince in Arthurian legend. He is most prominent within the Lancelot-Grail prose cycle where he is a noble enemy ...
forcibly dress Dinadan in a lady's gown as a joke for Queen Guinevere
Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cent ...
. Albeit reluctantly, Dinadan is also still capable of heroic deeds on an occasion, such as when he helps Tristan to fight off 30 knights of Queen Morgan all at once.
In ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', his end after returning from Cornwall, hoping to persuade King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
to reverse his ruling that had reinstated the villainous King Mark
Mark of Cornwall (, , , ) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. As Mark or Marc (''Marc'h''), he is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husband of Ise ...
on the throne. However, while wounded from his encounter with the evil knight Brehu the Merciless, Dinadan is ambushed and murdered by two other Knights of the Round Table, the treacherous half-brothers Mordred
Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...
and Agravain
Agravain or Agravaine ( ) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna ...
, who hate him for his association with their enemy Lamorak from the rival clan of King Pellinore
King Pellinore (alternatively ''Pellinor'', ''Pellynore'' and other variants) is the king of Listenoise (possibly the Lake District) or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) in Arthurian legend. ...
. Lancelot's half-brother Hector de Maris
The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...
discovers Dinadan mortally wounded and brings him to Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
, where he dies in Lancelot's arms and is buried by Palamedes in Camelot.
According to Joyce Coleman, " Margaret Schlauch praises the 'courtly realism' depicted in Sir Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', especially highlighting 'the comically realistic Sir Dinadan', whose humorous remarks about his fear of jousting leave his audience laughing so hard they can barely stay seated. 'Sir Dinadan, the realist' lizabeth Edwards Lisabeth or Lizabeth is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
;Given name
* Lisabeth Hughes Abramson (born 1955), American justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court
* Lisabeth H. Muhrer, Norwegian handball player
* Lizabeth ...
described as the 'rational moralist' governed by a 'pragmatic creed' onald Hoffman remains a central figure in Malorian analysis." Conversely, other scholars such as Eugène Vinaver
Eugène Vinaver ( ''Yevgeniĭ Maksimovich Vinaver'', 18 June 1899 – 21 July 1979) was a Russian-born British literary scholar who is best known today for his edition of the works of Sir Thomas Malory.
Early life
Vinaver was born in Saint Pet ...
and Harold Livermore view the humor of Malory's Dinadan as inferior to that found in his French source material, where Dinadan's jokes are seen as more offensive and subversive, even addressing taboo subjects like religion.
''Tavola Ritonda''
In ''La Tavola Ritonda
''La Tavola Ritonda'' (''The Round Table'') is a 15th-century Italian Arthurian romance written in the medieval Tuscan language. It is preserved in a 1446 manuscript at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence (''Codex Palatinus 556''). It ...
'', a late medieval Italian rewrite of the Prose ''Tristan'', the villain Brehu/Bruce the Merciless (''Breus sanz Pietà'') is uniquely turned into Dinadan's cousin.[ Compared to the Prose ''Tristan'', the author expanded on Dinadan's character, giving him a wider range of attitudes, some perhaps reflecting his own perceptions.
Unlike his more usual portrayals, this version of Dinadan (''Dinadano'') is depicted as a violent misogynist who harbors deep animosity towards women, including his dear friend Tristan's beloved, whom he openly insults as a "whore". Tristan, unsuccessfully, tries to trick him into loving a woman twice.][ The only time Dinadan does fall in love with a woman is during his brief affair with the evil Losanna of the Ancient Tower (''Losanna della Torre Antica'') in an episode based on the Short Version of the Prose ''Tristan''. This affair causes him to turn against Tristan, who fights to save Losanna's rival Tessina (whom Dinadan also disparagingly calls a "whore"). His typically-hostile attitude towards women earns him friendly mockery from Tristan, including a comical episode where Tristan, after Dinadan refuses to marry a daughter of Espinogres (here portrayed as a king; in Malory's version he is a knight companion of Tristan and Dinadan), enters Dinadan's room at night pretending to be the daughter, madly in love with him. Late in the book, Dinadan attempts to murder the captured King Mark in revenge for the death of Tristan.
]
Modern Arthuriana
Dinadan has appeared in a number of modern works, including the musical ''Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...
'' in which he was portrayed by John Cullum
John Cullum (born March 2, 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in ...
in the original 1960 Broadway production while Anthony Rogers played the role in the 1967 film version. He is the main character in Gerald Morris
Gerald Morris (born October 29, 1963
Excerpt from '' Something About the Author'' at highbeam.com) is an American ...
' 2003 novel ''The Ballad of Sir Dinadan'', and is featured in the chapter "Sir Dinadan the Humorist" in Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
's 1890 novel ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 historical novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court ...
''. In Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolo ...
's 2024 novel ''The Bright Sword
The Bright Sword is a fantasy novel written by American author Lev Grossman, published in 2024 by Viking Press. The novel takes place within the King Arthur mythology, and follows a talented young knight named Collum who travels from his backwate ...
'', Dinadan is portrayed as a transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
man who uses knight armor to hide his breasts and female genitals, acclaimed by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reviewer (and fellow modern Arthurian author) Kiersten White
Kiersten White is an American author of fiction for children, young adults, and adults. Her first book, '' Paranormalcy'', was published by HarperCollins in 2010.
Early life
White graduated in 2004 from Brigham Young University, where she stud ...
as "one of the best knights to come out of modern Arthurian tales".
See also
*Cross-dressing in literature
Cross-dressing as a literary motif is well attested in older literature but is becoming increasingly popular in modern literature as well. It is often associated with character nonconformity and sexuality rather than gender identity.
Analysis an ...
*Dagonet
Dagonet (also known as ''Daguenet'', ''Daguenes'', ''Daguenez'', ''Danguenes'', and other spellings) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. His depictions and characterisations variously portray a foolish and cowardly knight, a ...
, the court jester of King Arthur
*Sancho Panza
Sancho Panza (; ) is a fictional character in the novel ''Don Quixote'' written by Spain, Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote and provides comments throughout the novel, ...
Notes
References
External links
Dinadan
at The Camelot Project
at Nighbringer.se
{{Arthurian Legend
Fictional characters introduced in the 13th century
Fictional pranksters
Knights of the Round Table
Knights-errant