r beautiful she appeared to him, and because he saw her
come thus in arms, so different from the style in which a woman should
have come. For he considered it as very dishonorable that she should
attempt anything so different from what the word of God commanded her,
that the woman should be in subjection to the man, but rather should
prefer to be the ruler of all men, not by her courtesy, but by force of
arms, and, above all, because he hated to place himself in relations
with her, because she was one of the infidels, whom he mortally despised
and had taken a vow to destroy."

The romance then goes into an account of the preparations for the
contest on both sides.

After all the preliminaries were arranged, "they separated for a little
and rode together furiously in full career. The Sultan struck Esplandian
in the shield with so hard a blow that a part of the lance passed
through it for as much as an ell, so that all who saw it thought that it
had passed through the body. But it was not so, but the lance passed
under the arm next the body, and went out on the other side without
touching him. But Esplandian, who knew that his much-loved lady was
looking on, [Leonorina, the daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople,]
so struck the Sultan's shield, that the iron passed through it and
struck him on some of the strongest plates of his armor, upon which the
spear turned. But, with the force of the encounter, it shook him so
roughly from the saddle that it rolled him upon the ground, and so
shook the helmet as to tear it off from his head, and thus Esplandian
passed by him very handsomely, without receiving any stroke himself. The
Queen rushed upon Amadis, and he upon her, and, before they met, each
pointed lance at the other, and they received the blows upon their
shields in such guise, that her spear flew in pieces, while that of
Amadis slipped off and was thrown on one side. Then they both met,
shield to shield, with such force that the Queen was thrown upon the
ground, and the horse of Amadis was so wounded that he fell with his
head cut in two, and held Amadis with one leg under him. When Esplandian
saw this, he leaped from his horse and saved him from that peril.
Meanwhile, the Queen, being put to her defence, put hand to her sword,
and joined herself to the Sultan, who had raised himself with great
difficulty, because his fall was very heavy, and stood there with his
sword and helmet in his hand. They came on to fight