Plot summary
While camping in the woods on her way back to Corus from an errand, Alanna's campsite, set up under a willow tree, is discovered by a small black cat whom she names Faithful. It does not escape Alanna's notice that his eyes are as purple as her own; she also finds out that Faithful can talk to her, although to others it sounds as if he is meowing. Soon after, the Great Mother Goddess, Alanna's patron, shows up at her campfire. She gives Alanna an amulet that allows the young woman to see magic being worked around her.
As she progresses into knighthood, Alanna's feminine side is nurtured as well. After a few visits with Eleni, George Cooper's mother, Alanna realizes that part of her wants to act like the ladies she sees in the Court. Eleni takes Alanna under her wing and secretly teaches her how to dress and behave like a woman. The change does not go unnoticed by George or Prince Jonathan, the only two friends with whom she has shared her secret about her sex. Jon and Alanna share their first kiss after he rescues her when she is kidnapped by nobles from Tusaine, and they become lovers soon after, although George made it clear to Alanna that he loved her before they went to war.
Alanna withstands the Ordeal of Knighthood and becomes a knight. Her twin brother, Thom, presents her with a shield featuring the crest of their home estate, Trebond. When he and Alanna are alone after the ceremony, he shows her that when she is ready to reveal to everyone that she is a woman, the Trebond crest will disappear, and in its place will be the picture of a golden Lioness rearing on a field of red.
Alanna discovers her long-time nemesis, Duke Roger of Conte, her prince's cousin, has a plan to kill the king, queen, Jonathan, and even Alanna herself in order to take the throne. After her knighthood, Alanna accuses Roger publicly and he demands a duel. During the duel, he accidentally slices through the special corset Alanna wears to keep her breasts flat, revealing to everyone that she is very much a woman. Her friends, including Jonathan and Myles, step up and tell the king that they knew beforehand that she was a female. Driven to rage at being challenged by a woman, Roger attacks and attempts to use an illusion to confuse Alanna. She uses the amulet given to her by the Goddess in the beginning of the novel and, spotting the deception, is able to defeat and kill Roger.
After her battle, Alanna decides not to stick around to deal with the initial uproar over her sex. With Faithful, her longtime manservant Coram, and her horse Moonlight, she has a tearful goodbye with Jonathan and sets off for the desert in the South, in search of more adventure.
Typing errors
In this book, Gareth "Gary" of Naxen the Younger's squire differs from chapter to chapter.
In the first chapter of this book, after Alanna returns from the errand she had run for her friend Sir Myles, she is having a quiet day with her other noble friends, Gary and his squire Geoffrey of Meron, Raoul and his squire Douglass of Veldine, Prince Jonathan and Alex (Alex's squire is not mentioned here):
"...Gary and Raoul, with the afternoon off, had given their squires Geoffrey and Douglass free time as well..."
In the following chapter, it is mentioned that Gary's Squire is Sacherell of Wellam, and Raoul's squire is Douglass of Veldine (Alex's squire is again not mentioned):
"...Alanna, Gary's squire, Sacherell of Wellam, and Raoul's squire, Douglass of Veldine, served wine..."
In the third chapter, it is said that Alex's squire is Geoffrey of Meron:
"...Only Alex and his Squire, Geoffery of Meron, seemed unaffected by Delia..."
A Knight's Tale is a 2001 American quasi-medieval adventure comedy-romance film. It was written, produced, and directed by Brian Helgeland; it stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Laura Fraser, Paul Bettany, and James Purefoy.
Gawain, also known as Gawaine or Gauwaine, among various other forms and spellings, is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. Under the name Gwalchmei, he is introduced very early in the legend's literature, being mentioned in some of the earliest Welsh Arthurian sources. As Gawain and related variants, he appears in Latin, French, English, Dutch, German, Spanish and Italian texts, notably as the protagonist of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Other tales of Gawain include Historia Regum Britanniae, Roman de Brut, De Ortu Waluuanii, Diu Crône, The Awntyrs off Arthure, Ywain and Gawain, Golagros and Gawane, L'âtre périlleux, Le Chevalier à l'épée, and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, as well as the works of Chrétien de Troyes and the prose cycle Lancelot-Grail.
Sir Gareth is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was the youngest son of King Lot and Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain, and Gaheris, and either a brother or half-brother of Mordred. He is particularly notable in Le Morte d'Arthur where he is also known by his nickname Beaumains.
The Song of the Lioness is a young adult series of fantasy novels published in the 1980s by Tamora Pierce. The series consists of four books: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983), In the Hand of the Goddess (1984), The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986) and Lioness Rampant (1988).
The Immortals quartet, by Tamora Pierce, is the story of Veralidaine Sarrasri, an orphan with an unusual talent: she can speak with animals.
The Legend of Prince Valiant is a 1991–1993 American animated television series based on the Prince Valiant comic strip created by Hal Foster. Set in the time of King Arthur, it is a family-oriented adventure show about an exiled prince who goes on a quest to become one of the Knights of the Round Table. He begins his quest after having a dream about Camelot and its idealistic New Order. This television series originally aired on The Family Channel for a total run of 65 episodes.
The Protector of the Small quartet is a series of books written by Tamora Pierce that tells the story of Keladry of Mindelan, a heroine in the fictional kingdom of Tortall.
The Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce is a series of two novels set in the Tortall universe. It is centered on Alianne of Pirate's Swoop, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Tortall's legendary lady knight, Alanna the Lioness, who was the subject of The Song of the Lioness quartet. The novels take place approximately 24 years after the last book in the quartet, Lioness Rampant.
Wild Magic is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the emergence of the powers of Veralidaine Sarrasri as a wild mage and her coming to Tortall.
Alanna: The First Adventure is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce. Originally published in 1983, it is the first in a series of four books, The Song of the Lioness. Set at a time and place where girls are forbidden from becoming knights, the novel details the beginning of Alanna of Trebond's training as a knight as she hides her real gender from teachers and fellow pages.
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the third in a series of four books, The Song of the Lioness. It details the knighthood of Alanna of Trebond as she lives in the Bazhir desert after becoming a knight.
Lioness Rampant is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the fourth and last in a series of books, The Song of the Lioness. It details an adventure of the knight Alanna of Trebond, and her final battle between with her archenemy, Duke Roger of Conte.
Emperor Mage is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the third in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the peace delegation sent by Tortall to Carthak which Daine joins, to save the emperor's birds.
First Test, is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the series Protector of the Small. It details the first year of Keladry of Mindelan's training as a page of Tortall.
Squire is the third book in the series Protector of the Small by fantasy author Tamora Pierce. It details Keladry of Mindelan's (Kel's) continuing quest for knighthood.
The Provost's Dog trilogy is a series of young adult fantasy novels by best-selling author Tamora Pierce. The series is a prequel to Pierce's first quartet, The Song of the Lioness, and is set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall two hundred years earlier. It details the adventures of Beka Cooper, a sixteen-year-old recruit of the Lord Provost, originally from a lower city family and now in service to the Provost's Guard.
Lady Knight is the fourth book in the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. This book is Kel's first appearance as a Knight of the Realm.
Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce, is the second novel in a fictional trilogy, Provost's Dog, about a young Provost guard-woman in a fantasy kingdom called Tortall. The first book was called Terrier, and the third is called Mastiff.
Raoul of Goldenlake is a fictional character in many of author Tamora Pierce's writings. He first appears in her Song of the Lioness quartet and is also a major character in the Protector of the Small series.
