Tyolet - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Tyolet tells the story of a young man who lives in the forest with his widowed mother. Thanks to powers granted to him by a fairy when he was a child, he can summon animals only by whistling. This ability is very useful, as it enables him to put food on the table.

One day out in the forest, Tyolet sees a stag and whistles so that it will approach. However, it does not come, so he follows it. They come to a river where Tyolet sees another deer. The stag crosses the water, so instead Tyolet summons the second deer and kills it. Meanwhile, the stag across the river has transformed into a knight on horseback.

Astounded, Tyolet begins to ask the knight rather naïve questions regarding his weapons and armor. Having been sheltered his entire life, Tyolet has never seen a knight and thinks it is a wild animal. He addresses the knight as "knight beast" (Old French chevalier beste)), a name which he later applies to himself. The knight answers all of Tyolet's questions and tells him to return to his mother who will present him with his father's armor. This happens exactly as the knight says, and Tyolet sets out for King Arthur's castle.

Once there, Arthur invites Tyolet to dinner, but a maiden dressed in white enters into the hall. She announces that she is the daughter of the king of Logres, and she has come to court to find a husband. She is followed by a white hound. She tells the court that whoever chooses to follow the white hound will find a white stag guarded by seven lions. If the knight is able to bring back the stag's foot, she will marry him.

Many knights attempt this feat, but they are all stopped at a perilous river that they fear to cross in spite ot the hound. Unlike the others, however, Tyolet follows the hound all the way to the stag. He whistles, and when the stag approaches, he cuts off its foot. The lions then attack Tyolet, but he fends them off. At this point, a knight arrives on the scene. Tyolet tells his story to the stranger who then duels Tyolet. Exhausted from fighting the lions, Tyolet is unable to defeat the knight; and the knight leaves him for dead, taking the foot of the stag with him back to court.

Back at court, the knights and the maiden are suspicious of the newcomer and wait a week for the hound to return. He eventually does, and it leads Sir Gauvain back to the body of Tyolet. Gauvain calls for a doctor and returns to court. Healed, Tyolet arrives shortly afterwards. When asked, the knight continues to declare that he is the rightful claimant, but he is eventually forced to reveal the truth when he admits that he did not kill the lions or cut off the stag's foot. He begs forgiveness of Tyolet, who grants it. Tyolet and the maiden marry and live happily ever after.