Gioisa
In La Tavola Ritonda, the Sword with the Strange Hangings survives the fall of Camelot, hanging before Galahad's statue until Charlemagne claims it and renames it Gioisa.
Introduction#
In the Italian Arthurian compilation La Tavola Ritonda, the legendary “Sword with the Strange Hangings” does not appear after the age of Arthur. Instead, it survives as a relic of chivalry, suspended before the statue of Galahad, and centuries later passes into the hands of Charlemagne, who renames it Gioisa. In this way, the romance bridges the world of Arthur with that of the Carolingian emperors.
Epithets | —
Alternative Names | The Sword with the Strange Hangings
The Account in La Tavola Ritonda#
In La Tavola Ritonda (c. 1325-1350), an Italian prose reworking of French Arthurian materials, the sword known as the Sword with the Strange Hangings is preserved as a sacred object. It hangs around the statue of Galahad before the castle of Leverzep, remaining untouched long after the fall of Arthur’s court.
The “strange hangings” refer to the sword’s richly adorned belts or pendants – ornamental straps that mark it as an object of wonder.
Centuries later, Charlemagne takes the sword and renames it Gioisa (Italian form of Joyeuse), linking the Arthurian cycle to the Carolingian epic tradition. This identification symbolically transfers the legacy of Arthurian knighthood to the emperor of a later heroic age.
In other sources, however, the ultimate fate of the Sword with the Strange Hangings is left unrecorded. It is only in the Italian tradition that this deliberate connection between Arthur and Charlemagne is made explicit.
Sources#
La Tavola Ritonda | c. 1325-1350
