Sir Morholt (Marhaus)

Morholt was considered to be best knight in Ireland. Morholt was a powerful and rich count in Ireland. His sister, Isolde the Elder, was married to the King of Ireland, whom Thomas called Gorman (Anguin in the Prose Tristan, while Malory called the king Agwisance). Morholt was therefore the uncle of Isolde the Younger, better known as Isolde the Fair.

Originally, Morholt did not belong in Arthurian legends, but he was associated with the Tristan and Isolde romances. In all of the tales of Tristan and Isolde, Tristan killed Morholt in single combat.

It was Isolde the Fair who recognised Tristan (Tristan was disguised as Tantris), as her uncle's killer. She threatened to kill Tristan while he was in the bath, but relented because she would have otherwise been married to the cowardly seneschal of her father, whom she despised. Eventually Gorman and Isolde the Elder pardoned Tristan for Morholt's death and allowed Tristan to escort their daughter to Cornwall to marry King Mark, Tristan's uncle. See Tristan and Isolde.

In Le Morte d'Arthur (written by Sir Thomas Malory), Morholt was called Marhaus. Marhaus was listed as one of the six knights who were better than Gawain. Marhaus was a companion of Gawain and Yvain (or Uwain), and undertook one of the adventures of the Three Damosels of the Fountain. He chose to follow damosel, who was 30 years old with a gold circlet on her head. Marhaus killed a Duke of the South March and his six sons. Marhaus also killed the giant, rescuing 24 maidens and 12 knights from imprisonment at the giant's castle. Marhaus later became one of the knights of the Round Table.

His death was similar to the original tale, where Tristan killed him in a duel.