Bardelys the Magnificent

Comte Châtellerault offers to stake his estate that Bardelys cannot win Roxalanne's hand within three months. The wager shocks Roxalanne’s family and reaches the king, who sternly forbids Bardelys from pursuing a marriage with a rebel family. The challenge is framed as a test of honor and social standing, setting the plot in motion.

Despite not desiring marriage, Bardelys accepts the bet, feeling his honor is at stake. He resolves to pursue Roxalanne despite the king's prohibition. The decision commits him to a perilous course that will drive the rest of the plot.

On the road, Bardelys finds a fatally wounded man, Lesperon, who asks him to tell his beloved farewell. Before dying, Lesperon entrusts Bardelys with his papers. Bardelys, challenged by soldiers, takes Lesperon’s identity to conceal his own.

Bardelys escapes after a fight and seeks shelter at Roxalanne's family estate. Roxalanne tends to him and hides his true identity. The growing tension between Bardelys’ disguise and Roxalanne's feelings sets up their romance and the central conflict.

Under the guise of Lesperon, Bardelys becomes increasingly close to Roxalanne and the two privately confess their love. The public wager looms as a dark backdrop while they pursue a forbidden romance. The deception complicates trust and foreshadows future betrayals.

Roxalanne learns that Lesperon was engaged, not sincere in his protestations, and she grows furious. Believing Bardelys deceived her, she denounces him to soldiers. The veil of romance shatters as the consequences of Bardelys’ impersonation come to light.

Bardelys, still in Lesperon’s identity, is tried for treason. Comte Châtellerault, the chief judge, refuses to reveal Bardelys’ true identity and sentences him to death. The legal trap forces Bardelys to face execution while his romance with Roxalanne hangs in the balance.

To seek clemency for Bardelys, Roxalanne marries Châtellerault, but he breaks his promise to remit the sentence. The betrayal deepens Roxalanne’s distress while leaving Bardelys in peril on the eve of execution.

At the last moment, Bardelys’ execution is delayed and the king arrives to intervene, sparing him from the gallows. This dramatic rescue shifts the power dynamics and solidifies Bardelys’ freedom to pursue Roxalanne openly. The delay also marks a turning point in the lovers’ fate.

Bardelys forfeits the wager and his estate so he can propose to Roxalanne with a clear conscience. The victory is moral rather than material, signaling his readiness to marry and abandon deceit. He seeks a fair, honest union rather than a victory won by subterfuge.

Bardelys and Châtellerault duel; Bardelys repeatedly defeats him. Soldiers arrive to arrest Châtellerault, who then kills himself rather than face a trial. The duel serves as the climactic moment resolving the central feud.

The king enters and extols Bardelys’ prowess with women, much to Roxalanne’s annoyance. He then clarifies that this is the first time Bardelys has sought to marry, reframing Bardelys’ actions as honorable. The couple’s union is finally legitimized.