A fortress visited by Perceval in the Second Continuation and the Didot-Perceval. Inside, he found a magic chessboard, against which he played three games and lost each time. He became so angry that he was on the verge of hurling the board out the window, but a maiden came along and dissuaded him.
Perceval became infatuated with the maiden and agreed to hunt down a white stag for her. He got distracted with other adventures and had to plead for forgiveness when he returned. The maiden wanted to make him lord of the castle, but Perceval had sworn to pursue the Grail Quest and was forced to depart. The chessboard itself was given to the lady by Morgan le Fay.
A similar sequence of events takes place at the Fortress of Marvels in the Welsh story of Peredur. Magic chessboards make frequent appearances in Arthurian legends. Gawain plays with one in Perlesvaus.
See also
Amoraen | The Legend of King Arthur
Assentin | The Legend of King Arthur
Chessboard | The Legend of King Arthur
Floating Chessboard | The Legend of King Arthur
Gawaine’s Chessboard Shield and Ivory Pieces | The Legend of King Arthur
Guinebal | The Legend of King Arthur
Gwyddbwyll | The Legend of King Arthur
Inhospitable Land Sustained | The Legend of King Arthur
Knight of the Tomb | The Legend of King Arthur
Thirteen Treasures of Britain | The Legend of King Arthur
Sources
Second Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval | Attributed to Wauchier of Denain, c. 1200
Didot-Perceval | c. 1220-1230