Ablamor (also spelled Ablamore and Ablamar), was a knight who possessed a White Hart that was given to him by his beautiful lady. He also has a tragic story.
The Story of Ablamor of the Marsh
When Ablamor’s hart left, it was pursued by the hounds of Gawain and Caheris. Ablamor, rightly upset that these hounds were attacking his hart, slew two of them, and chased the rest away.
Sadly, the hart had died. Ablamor mourned for the White Hart, and vowed vengeance (I’m getting a strong John Wick vibe here).
He engaged in combat with Gawain, and their combat went on for some time. However, eventually Gawain knocked him down, forced him to yield, and had him at his mercy. But sadly, Gawain was upset that Ablamor had killed his hounds, so he went to kill Ablamor by beheading him.
The Fate of Ablamor
Even though Ablamor begged for forgiveness, and promised to make things right, Gawain still undid his helmet and prepared to decapitate the man.
At that moment, Ablamor’s lady fell across him, and Gawain accidentally killed her by mistake.
Gaheris scolded Gawain for this, which caused Gawain to show Ablamor mercy. But the damage had been done, and Ablamor was a complete wreck. Gawain eventually told him to go to King Arthur’s court, tell him of his adventures, and what happened. Ablamor left bursting with sorrow.
Ablamor first appeared in Le Morte d’Arthur, and his name is often spelled Ablamore or Ablamar.
See our complete list of Arthurian characters for more entries like this one.
Arthurian Bibliography
- Norris Lacy, Geoffrey Ashe, Debra Mancoff – The Arthurian Handbook (Second Edition)
- Alan Lupack – The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend
- Ronan Coghlan – The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends
- Anonymous – Lancelot-Grail, the French Vulgate
- Sir Thomas Malory – Le Morte d’Arthur
See also my ever-expanding list of primary and secondary sources.
