Tor
Tor is a knight of the Round Table attested in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the son of Aries le Vaysher, though distinguished from birth by his bearing: "Tor was not like none of them all in shape nor in countenance, for he was much more than any of them" .
Tor is a knight of the Round Table attested in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the son of Aries le Vaysher, though distinguished from birth by his bearing: "Tor was not like none of them all in shape nor in countenance, for he was much more than any of them" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. III). His first quest -- to retrieve a stolen brachet -- serves as the proving ground for his knighthood, and it is through this adventure that his character emerges as both capable and decisive.
The quest begins at Arthur's wedding feast, where Tor is charged with pursuing the knight who stole a brachet from the hall (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. V). His pursuit takes him through a series of combats: he defeats two knights at their pavilions, sends them as prisoners to Arthur, and presses on with the help of a dwarf guide (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. IX). When he finds the brachet with a sleeping lady, he takes it by force and returns it to the dwarf (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. X). A pursuing knight challenges him for the brachet, and Tor bests him as well, though this victory leads to a harder choice -- a damsel arrives demanding the defeated knight's head as a promised gift, and Tor reluctantly complies (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. XI).
His return to Camelot on the third day is met with celebration (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book III, Ch. XI), and he is subsequently made a knight of the Round Table (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. V). His father Pellinore's assessment is characteristically restrained: "because Sir Tor is my son I may not praise him, but else, an he were not my son, I durst say that of his age there is not in this land a better knight than he is" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Ch. V).
Tor's entire narrative arc is contained within a single source, Le Morte d'Arthur, but the text reveals a figure who grows from an unlikely candidate for knighthood into a respected member of Arthur's court. The early emphasis on his difference from his supposed brothers -- he is physically unlike them and drawn to martial rather than pastoral pursuits -- foreshadows a lineage that sets him apart. His quest narrative is structured as a progression of escalating moral complexity: the initial combats are straightforward, but the beheading episode forces Tor into a position where keeping his word as a knight requires an act he finds distasteful.
Later appearances in the text are less prominent but confirm his standing. In Book X, a castle's knights welcome travellers "for the love of my lord, Sir Tor" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X, Ch. IX), and his identity is explained as "Sir Tor, the son of Aries le Vaysher" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X, Ch. XI). These references place Tor as a landed knight of sufficient reputation that his name alone commands hospitality.
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, British Tradition