Meliagaunce
Son of King Bagdemagus, devoted to Queen Guenever, attested in 1 source.
Sir Meliagaunce, son of King Bagdemagus, appears in Le Morte d'Arthur as a knight driven by his love for Queen Guenever and as a participant in several tournaments. His devotion to the queen is introduced when he makes "his moan of the love that he had to Queen Guenever, and there he made a woful complaint" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IX, Chapter XII). When challenged by Sir Lamorak about his love, Meliagaunce stands defiant: "I love Queen Guenever, what will ye with it?" and offers to prove his devotion "with my hands upon thy body" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IX, Chapter XIII).
In the tournament episodes of Book X, Meliagaunce marvels at Sir Launcelot's prowess and attempts to gain advantage by having a knight slay Launcelot's horse (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X, Chapter XLI). The contest then moves to foot combat, where Sauseise "had won Sir Meliagaunce, had there not come rescues" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X, Chapter XLI).
Le Morte d'Arthur presents Meliagaunce in two distinct modes. The Book IX passages establish him as a courtly lover, willing to fight over his devotion to Guenever -- a love that places him in direct competition with other knights of greater renown. The Book X tournament scenes, by contrast, show him as a pragmatic and somewhat underhanded competitor, willing to have an opponent's horse killed to gain advantage. The shift from lovesick complainant to tactical schemer within the same text suggests a character defined more by impulsive ambition than consistent principle. His parentage as King Bagdemagus's son (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X, Chapter XLI) places him within the higher nobility, making his resort to underhand tactics all the more notable.
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition