As Gawain begins his journey, he first meets a group of knights who tell him about a tournament happening nearby, part of a challenge issued by Meliant de Lis against Sir Tiebaut of Tintagel. Meliant was a squire in Tiebaut’s household and fell in love with Tiebaut’s oldest daughter, who demanded that he become a knight and win in tournament against her father before she could consent to be his. The nobles attached to Tiebaut, however, feared that the tournament could usher in the fall of the castle’s entire power structure, and urged Tiebaut not to undertake the tournament himself, but to send out other knights willing to ride for the defense of the household.

At first Gawain encamps nearby, not intending to get caught up in the affair, but he is soon noticed by the inhabitants of the town, who reproach him for not riding in Tiebaut’s defense. He is also noticed by Tiebaut’s younger daughter, who publicly compares him favorably against Meliant. Her older sister takes this as an affront and beats her. Meanwhile, Gawain resists all attempts to persuade him to enter the fray in defense of the household against Meliant, feeling that his quest to address Guinganbresil’s charge of treason takes priority.