"The magic ring, Vol. 2 (of 3)" by La Motte-Fouqué is a romantic chivalric novel written in the early 19th century. It blends courtly adventure with Germanic and Norse enchantment, following the young knight Sir Otto von Trautwangen as honour, love, and sorcery collide around a fateful ring. Key figures include the sea-monarch Arinbiorn, Otto’s beloved Gabrielle, his gentle cousin Bertha, the stern Sir Heerdegen, the famed Sir Folko de Montfaucon and
Blanchefleur, and the enigmatic sorceress Gerda. Expect trials of reputation and faith, visionary lore, and a quest that turns from French halls to northern seas. The opening of this volume begins at a triumphal banquet where Otto, newly betrothed to Gabrielle, drinks—by mistake—the enchanted draught meant for Arinbiorn and is driven into a violent frenzy, wounding Bertha before Arinbiorn fells him. Awakening to shame and abandonment, Otto learns his honour is doubted, slips away into the forest in despair, and is found by Arinbiorn, who explains Gerda’s potion, clears his name among the principals, and proposes a redemptive campaign against pagan foes in the north; Otto, seeking to earn glory before facing Gabrielle again, agrees. After a brief interlude at Trautwangen where news of Otto’s vindication reaches his father, Otto and Arinbiorn reach the coast, find the Lady Minnatrost’s castle desolate, embark with Norsemen, and sail to Norway—stopping for a fiery sea skirmish, a confession of Arinbiorn’s vision of Blanchefleur, and Otto’s dazzling feats in northern war-games. By night, the master armourer Asmandur forges Otto’s broken sword while singing old lays and telling a grim tale of Hugur and the vulture-helmed avenger—the narrative breaking off mid-scene, with the promise of further trials and revelations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Tom Trussel, Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
