Mador
Knight who accused Queen Guinevere of treason and was defeated by Launcelot in trial by combat.
Sir Mador de la Porte is a Knight of the Round Table attested extensively in Le Morte d'Arthur with 27 citations across eight chapters. He is best known for his role in the poisoned-apple episode of Book XVIII, where he accuses Queen Guinevere of treason after his cousin Sir Patrise is killed by a poisoned fruit at her dinner. The resulting trial by combat, in which Sir Launcelot ultimately defeats Mador to clear the queen, is one of the pivotal legal dramas of the Arthurian narrative.
Le Morte d'Arthur presents Mador in two phases: a minor tournament knight in the early books and a central figure in the poisoning crisis of Book XVIII.
In the earlier appearances, Mador serves as a capable opponent. King Bagdemagus identifies him alongside Mordred and Gahalantine as the knights who "all for-fared my knights" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book VI, Chapter VI). In tournament, he is willing to engage unknown opponents — "Yonder is a shrewd guest, said Sir Mador de la Porte, therefore have here once at him" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book VI, Chapter VII) — though he suffers a "sore fall" that forces Mordred to take his place (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book VI, Chapter VII).
The poisoned-apple episode reveals a more complex figure. When his cousin Patrise dies from a "poisoned apple" at the queen's dinner, Mador's response is immediate and absolute: "This shall not so be ended, for here have I lost a full noble knight of my blood; and therefore upon this shame and despite I will be revenged to the utterance" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter III). He openly "appealed the queen of the death of his cousin, Sir Patrise" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter III).
Mador's exchange with Arthur during the legal proceedings is remarkable for its assertion of knightly equality. When Arthur urges patience, Mador responds: "ye must hold me excused, for though ye be our king in that degree, ye are but a knight as we are, and ye are sworn unto knighthood as well as we" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter IV). This insistence that even the king is bound by the same code elevates the scene beyond personal grievance into constitutional argument.
At the trial, Mador takes his oath "that the queen did this treason" and challenges any who would say otherwise to prove it "hand for hand" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter VI). He is recognized as "a good knight" by Bors, and the narrative describes him as "a strong knight, and mightily proved in many strong battles" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter VII). The combat against Launcelot (who arrives anonymously) is hard-fought — "they were fighting nigh an hour" — and even after being struck down, Mador rises and wounds his opponent "through the thick of the thighs" before finally yielding (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter VII).
The resolution shows Mador's capacity for reconciliation. He "clearly discharged my quarrel for ever" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter VII) and afterward "sued daily and long, to have the queen's good grace; and so by the means of Sir Launcelot he caused him to stand in the queen's good grace, and all was forgiven" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter VIII).
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition