Segurant, the Knight of the Dragon

Segurant, the Knight of the Dragon (French: Ségurant ou le Chevalier au Dragon) is a medieval Arthurian romance written in French during the 13th century. As no complete manuscript has survived, the novel had been largely forgotten until its rediscovery by paleographer Emanuele Arioli.

Discovery of the novel
After discovering a part of the novel in a manuscript of Prophecies of Merlin kept at the bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Arioli searched for other fragments of the story in libraries and archives across Europe. A ten-year search revealed twenty-eight manuscripts found in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the United States. Arioli then reconstructed the forgotten work based on the collected fragments.

The oldest known version of the novel, written in French, was produced in Italy between 1240 and 1273. The other manuscripts, as well as several continuation novels or rewrites of the story were dated between the end of the 13th and the end of the 15th century and were made in several regions of France, Italy and in Flanders, some copies richly illustrated. It is thus likely that the novel was very popular during this time period.

The character of Ségurant
Mentions of Segurant start to appear at the end of the Middle Ages on Armorials of the Round Table which are lists of the fictional knights attending King Arthur's court "at the time where they swore on taking the quest of the Holy Grail on the day of Pentecost". "Séguran the Brown, son of Hector the Brown" is described as very tall, almost a giant, with dark brown hair, shapely and pleasant of face. Of a gentle and solitary character, his strength is said to be disproportionate, and with an appetite to match that of ten men. Segurant slew a "hideous and terrible" dragon just before being knighted. His coat of arms bear a dragon sable on a field or.

The story of Ségurant includes many characters and places of Arthurian legend, and seems to be particularly inspired by the Lancelot-Grail and Prose Tristan novels.

His name may be related to Latin word securus, meaning safe or secure, but also to Germanic legendary characters Sigurd or Siegfried, who are also dragon slayers.

Adventures of Segurant in the novel
The uncovered novel describes the adventures of Segurant, son of Hector the Young born on the island of "Not-Knowing" (Non-Sachante). Segurant's grandfather Galehaut, and Galehaut's brother Hector arrived as castaways on the island while fleeing Vortigern, usurper of the throne of Logres. The young Segurant proves himself during a lion hunt. After being knighted by his grandfather, he leaves the island to challenge his uncle in a joust. Due to his growing renown, King Arthur invites Segurant to Winchester where he organizes a tournament in his honor. Segurant's prowess is admired by all knights of the Round Table. But Morgan le Fay, fearing that the knight may foil her plan to seize the kingdom of Logres, summons a dragon during the tournament —an incarnation of the Devil himself. The heroic knight is compelled to abandon the tournament to ride after the dragon.

During the chase, the knight must overcome a series of challenges, including traversing a wall of fire. Later versions have added different adventures, and conclude the story with the slaying of the dragon.

In other versions, the court awaits the return of Ségurant, but a messenger from Morgan persuades Arthur that the knight was but an illusion created by Morgan and another enchanter named Sybille. When the court later learns that an army of two hundred knights of the Island of Not-Knowing started a quest to find their hero, Arthur and his knights are again persuaded by Morgan's envoy that they are an army of wizards and must not be joined, leaving Ségurant to join other legendary and magical characters.

Even though the main elements of Arthurian legend are present, Segurant's story is singular as there is no mention made of the quest for the Grail and with his disdain for the strict rules of courtly love. The novel also introduces some comical elements which may prefigure later satirical works such as Don Quixote.

Disappearance of the novel
Before falling into obscurity, the adventures of Segurant were certainly popular, as shown by the many versions found until the 15th century. They were associated with the Prophecies of Merlin, a series of political prophecies accompanied with other narrative episodes of Arthurian legend. The Prophecies were widely distributed in Europe, but were later banned by the Catholic Church after being added to the Index Librorum Prohibitorum during the Counter-Reformation. This prohibition banned the reading but also the study and reproduction of these manuscripts and may have precipitated the accompanying stories into obscurity.