NIGHTBRINGER | The Arthurian Encyclopedia

Astrigis


This treacherous lady tried to trick Gawaine, through her lies, into killing her husband. Gawaine fought the husband; when the husband told his side, Gawaine did not know whom to believe. He tried to take them both to find someone who could tell him which was in the right.

On the way, the woman gave him the slip. Her husband remarked,

You knights of the Round Table are compelled by your oath to help any woman without knowing whether she deserves it or not. Would it not be more reasonable and honorable to inquire before you act if you are espousing a good cause?

The lord of the castle La Tour Quarrée, where they repaired, agreed with the husband. Both the woman and the husband are unnamed in the account, and I have kept Phyllis Ann Karr’s name for her, which is a minor place name.