Belliance
Belliance, an Arthurian knight praised by Lamorak for his extraordinary chivalric restraint, attested in 1 source.
Belliance appears in Le Morte d'Arthur in a single chapter devoted to his combat with Sir Lamorak. After fighting, Belliance asks his opponent's name (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book VIII, Chapter XLI). The encounter is notable for Belliance's chivalric restraint: when Lamorak acknowledges himself, Belliance's conduct earns remarkable praise from his adversary. Lamorak declares: "thou art a fool, for an I had had thee at such advantage as thou hast done me, I should slay thee; but thy gentleness is so good and so large, that I must needs forgive thee mine evil will" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book VIII, Chapter XLI).
All three citations come from a single chapter. The exchange between Belliance and Lamorak illustrates the Morte's interest in chivalric courtesy as a form of combat virtue. Belliance apparently has Lamorak at his mercy but declines to press the advantage -- an act that Lamorak calls both foolish and generous. The scene functions as a portrait of knightly magnanimity, with Belliance's "gentleness" proving more disarming than his sword.
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition