Project Gutenberg 2000-04-01 Public domain in the USA. 247 Swinburne, Algernon Charles 1837 1909 Maitland, Thomas Maitland, A. C. (Algernon Charles) Swinburne, Algernon C. The Tale of Balen Transcribed from the 1896 Chatto & Windus edition by David Price "The Tale of Balen" by Algernon Charles Swinburne is a lyrical narrative poem written in the late 19th century, reflecting the styles and themes common in the Victorian era. It follows the tragic story of Sir Balen, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, who becomes embroiled in fate's cruel intricacies and the themes of chivalry, honor, and familial bonds. The poem explores the consequences of actions driven by pride, jealousy, and love, all set against the backdrop of Arthurian legend. In the poem, Balen becomes a highly regarded knight at Camelot but soon finds himself cursed by a mysterious oracle after a chance encounter leads him to inadvertently slay a wronged knight. Encouraged by noble intentions, he embarks on a journey fraught with peril. Along the way, he meets his brother Balan, yet, due to tragic circumstances and misidentifications, the two ultimately face each other in battle, unaware of their familial ties. Their tragic deaths fulfill the ominous prophecy, leaving a legacy that intertwines heroism with sorrow, illustrating the inevitable tragedy of noble knights caught in the web of fate. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en English poetry -- 19th century PR Text Category: Poetry Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore Category: British Literature 125212 2025-07-01T11:56:55.873103 text/html 129304 2008-12-24T17:31:29 text/html 44324 2008-12-24T17:33:37 text/html application/zip 111604 2025-07-01T11:57:00.887144 application/epub+zip 111809 2025-07-01T11:56:57.669129 application/epub+zip 111810 2025-07-01T11:56:56.474114 application/epub+zip 211287 2025-07-01T11:57:02.878057 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 195879 2025-07-01T11:57:00.226132 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 171055 2022-09-01T13:55:21.014676 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 109058 2025-07-01T11:56:55.265104 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 108839 2008-12-24T17:25:56 text/plain; charset=utf-8 41532 2008-12-24T17:33:37 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 107473 2008-12-24T17:33:37 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 41376 2008-12-24T17:33:37 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20119 2025-07-01T11:57:03.002060 application/rdf+xml 11254 2025-07-01T11:56:57.101240 image/jpeg 3016 2025-07-01T11:56:56.852170 image/jpeg 108539 2025-07-01T11:56:55.885134 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia