Kahedin

Kahedrin

Son of King Hoel of Brittany.

In the questing fever which the Loathly Damsel set off at Arthur's court, a knight called Kahedin promised to go straight, without stopping for a rest, to Mount Dolorous and climb it. The situation seems to mark him as one of Arthur's knights, the way his name is dropped in without prelude or follow-up seems to mark him as a knight fairly well known to Chrétien's target audience.

Tristan (Tristram) was his bosom friend and married his sister, Iseult of the White Hands. Kahedrin, however, fell in love with Iseult of Ireland (La Beale Isoud) and wrote letters and poems to her. She replied innocently, but Tristan misunderstood and Kahedrin had to jump from a window to avoid his wrath, landing on a chess game which Mark was playing below. Kahedrin eventually died of love for Iseult. Some say that this story led to the belief that King Mark killed Tristan in jealousy, believing that it was he, and not Kahedrin, who had been corresponding with his wife.

As identification with Malory's Sir Kehydius might be possible, but the evidence is too scanty to make it more than a guess.