So they rode on through the Valle Scura, and when they had gone three leagus, they saw a strong fortress and a great castle called Derudicanoro, whose lord was the knight Fellone, a man who knew the seven arts and had the strength of five knights as great as the knight with whom he had been fighting, and be they many or few who fought with him he had five times their combined strength, however many they were.

As Tristano and Lancilotto came near that castle they heard a horn sound two times, as if to say there were two knights, and a little later out of the castle came an armed knight who was very short, but who had thick arms and legs. He rode a black horse, short, thick, and very sturdy. When he met Tristano, who rode in front, without a word he struck him on the helmet with the iron mace he was carrying, which weighed 300 pounds. That blow was so heavy it sent Tristano to the earth, horse and all, and because of that blow he fell unconscious, and one could feel neither pulse nor vein.

La Tavola Ritonda