Pedivere

Role: knight · First appears: Book VI, Chapter XVII

Life events

Pedivere deceives Sir Launcelot and murders his wife by beheading her.(Book VI, Chapter XVII)
- With: Sir Launcelot
- “and suddenly he swapped off his lady’s head.”
Sir Launcelot orders Pedivere to carry the corpse and head to Queen Guenever as penance.(Book VI, Chapter XVII)
- With: Sir Launcelot
- “take this lady and the head, and bear it upon thee, and here shalt thou swear upon my sword, to bear it always upon thy back, and never to rest till thou come to Queen Guenever.”
Pedivere confesses the murder and his wrongdoing before Queen Guenever and King Arthur.(Book VI, Chapter XVII · 📍 Winchester)
- With: Queen Guenever King Arthur
- “and there he told all the truth.”
Queen Guenever imposes a further penance requiring Pedivere to carry the body to Rome.(Book VI, Chapter XVII · 📍 Winchester)
- With: Queen Guenever
- “ye shall bear this lady with you on horseback unto the Pope of Rome, and of him receive your penance for your foul deeds”
The Pope buries the lady and orders Pedivere to return to Queen Guenever.(Book VI, Chapter XVII · 📍 Rome)
- With: Pope Queen Guenever
- “when he came to Rome, the Pope bade him go again unto Queen Guenever, and in Rome was his lady buried by the Pope’s commandment.”
Pedivere reforms, becomes holy, and lives as an hermit.(Book VI, Chapter XVII)
- “And after this Sir Pedivere fell to great goodness, and was an holy man and an hermit.”

with Sir Launcelot (Launcelot imposes a penitential obligation on Pedivere.) “Well, said Sir Launcelot, take this lady and the head, and bear it upon thee, and here shalt thou swear upon my sword, to bear it always upon thy back, and never to rest till thou come to Queen Guenever. Sir, said he, that will I do, by the faith of my body.”
with Queen Guenever (Guenever assigns Pedivere a penance.) “Sir knight, said the queen, this is an horrible deed and a shameful, and a great rebuke unto Sir Launcelot; but notwithstanding his worship is not known in many divers countries; but this shall I give you in penance, make ye as good shift as ye can, ye shall bear this lady with you on horseback unto the Pope of Rome, and of him receive your penance for your foul deeds; and ye shall never rest one night whereas ye do another; an ye go to any bed the dead body shall lie with you.”
with Queen Guenever (Pedivere comes before Queen Guenever and confesses his deed.) “So Pedivere departed with the dead lady and the head, and found the queen with King Arthur at Winchester, and there he told all the truth.”

Extracted from the original text of Le Morte d'Arthur. Made with Rho MD.