She turned to face him and told him her heartfelt story from start to finish: how the Knight of the Dragon, brother of King Maragon, had built a city in the isles of the sea, superbly fortified with towers and walls, and filled it with people who refused to believe in God and had no fear of doing wrong. And this lord, the Knight of the Dragon, devoted himself to evil – and to the Devil, who’d endowed him in return with such power that no one could withstand him in battle or any combat.

‘The Devil brought him a terrible, ghastly shield, blacker than any berry: a dragon’s head is fixed in it, by such demonic art that it burns and engulfs in flame anyone who fights him! Any man who challenges him is condemning himself to an appalling death: by the Devil’s power the dragon will consume him in fire! He killed my beloved sweetheart with his blazing, scorching shield!

Gerbert's Continuation of Perceval