ABSTRACT
Mort Artu, and an as yet unidentified source that the Tavola shares with the Tristano Riccardiano. Inventions of the Tavola include a number of original lyrics, the tale of Ferragunze and his four boasts, the attempted seduction of Dinadano, the adventures of Burletta della Diserta and Sir Lasancis, and additional combats serving to inflate the reputation and prowess of Tristano: combats against Sigurans 10 Bruno, a 170-year old knight of the Old Table, against the giant who had captured Sir Gabrionello, against Sir Fellone, and three times (instead of only once) against Lancilotto at Merlin's perron ("stone"), a sequence clearly deSigned to show Tristano's parity with the epitome of Anhurian chivalry, Messer Lancilotto. The most original invention, however, is the tale of the entrapment of the two pairs of lovers, Tristano and Isotta, and Lancilotto and Ginevra (Guenevere), in the magic casde of the Dama del Lago (Lady of the Lake), an episode that creates a unique celebration of secular love in the moments before Galasso (Galahad) and the Grail quest intervene to question the value of earthly love, or at least to provide an alternative.
