Accolon
Knight of Gaul who fought Arthur with the stolen Excalibur at Morgan's behest.
Accolon of Gaul is a knight in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, attested across seven chapters of Book IV with 25 citations. He serves as the unwitting instrument of Morgan le Fay's plot against King Arthur, wielding the stolen Excalibur in a trial by combat against his own king. His story arc -- from enchanted sleep to armed combat to confession and death -- forms the central episode in Morgan's first major conspiracy against Arthur.
Accolon's narrative begins with a hunting party gone wrong. Arthur, King Uriens, and "Sir Accolon of Gaul, followed a great hart" until they were separated from the court and lured aboard an enchanted ship (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. VI). When Accolon awoke, "he found himself by a deep well-side, within half a foot, in great peril of death" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. VIII), a disorientation that marks him as a victim of Morgan's sorcery from the outset.
The pivotal detail is the sword. A dwarf arrived from Morgan le Fay bearing Excalibur itself, and Accolon understood: "she hath made all these crafts and enchantments for this battle" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. VIII). He took the commission willingly, pledging "all shall be done that I have promised her, and else I will die for it" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. VIII). This makes Accolon both dupe and accomplice -- deceived about his opponent's identity but fully aware he served Morgan's designs.
In combat, the advantage was entirely his. Armed with the true Excalibur and its enchanted sheath, "Sir Accolon lost not a deal of blood, therefore he waxed passing light" while Arthur grew feeble (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. IX). He "was so bold because of Excalibur that he waxed passing hardy" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. IX), pressing Arthur to the brink. When Arthur's counterfeit sword broke, Accolon demanded surrender: "Knight, thou art overcome, and mayst not endure" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. X).
The reversal came through divine intervention. When Excalibur "fell out of Accolon's hand to the earth" by enchantment (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. X), and Arthur recovered his own sword, Accolon's doom was sealed. Yet he maintained his honour: "I promised to do this battle to the uttermost, and never to be recreant while I lived, therefore shall I never yield me with my mouth, but God do with my body what he will" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. X).
His confession reveals genuine remorse. Learning he had fought Arthur himself, "Accolon heard that he cried aloud, Fair, sweet lord, have mercy on me, for I knew not you" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. XI). He cursed the sword: "Woe worth this sword, for by it have I got my death" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. XI). Arthur granted mercy, recognising that "at this time thou knewest not my person" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. XI), but the injuries proved fatal. At the abbey, "Sir Accolon died within four days, for he had bled so much blood that he might not live" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. XII).
Morgan's final word on Accolon comes when she rescues a knight "not for the love of him but for the love of Accolon" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. XV), confirming that their relationship was the personal motive behind the political conspiracy.
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition