Am'adis of Gaul, a love-child of king Per'ion and the princess Elize'na. He is the hero of a famous prose romance of chivalry, the first four books of which are attributed to Lobeira, of Portugal (died 1403). These books were translated into Spanish in 1460 by Montal'vo, who added the fifth book. The five were rendered into French by Herberay, who increased the series to twenty-four books. Lastly, Gilbert Saunier added seven more volumes, and called the entire series Le Roman des Romans.
Whether Amadis was French or British is disputed. Some maintain that "Gaul" means Wales, not France; that Elizena was princess of Brittany (Bretagne), and that Perion was king of Gaul (Wales), not Gaul (France).
Amadis de Gaul was a tall man, of a fair complexion,
his aspect something between mild and
austere, and had a handsome black beard. He
was a person of very few words, was not easily
provoked, and was soon appeased.—Cervantes,
Don Quixote
, II. i. 1 (1615).
As Arthur is the central figure of British romance, Charlemagne of French, and Diderick of German, so Amadis is the central figure of Spanish and Portuguese romance; but there is this difference—the tale of Amadis is a connected whole, terminating with his marriage with Oria'na, the intervening parts being only the obstacles he encountered and overcame in obtaining this consummation. In the Arthurian romances, and those of the Charlemagne series, we have a number of adventures of different heroes, but there is no unity of purpose; each set of adventures is complete in itself.