The Bridal of Triermain

The Bridal of Triermain, or The Vale of St. John is an 1813 Narrative Poem by Sir Walter Scott. It was initially published anonymously. It's set in Cumberland in the Middle Ages.

Gyneth, King Arthur's illegitimate daughter, is doomed to sleep in the valley of St. John until a knight wakes her. Five hundred years later, Sir Roland de Vaux of Triermain comes along.

The poem is available on the Internet Archive.

Contains examples of:

• Fan-Created Offspring: Various legends do say Arthur had at least one daughter, though her name (and mother, and legitimacy) varies wildly Depending on the Writer. No legend gives Arthur a daughter named Gyneth, however.
• Framing Device: Arthur is telling Lucy the story many years later, with occasional digressions on things that are happening around him.
• Have a Gay Old Time: Roland is introduced as having been "pricking against the Scot" — meaning he was fighting the Scottish.
• Heroic Bastard: Gyneth is the illegitimate daughter of Arthur and Guendolen.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. There are two Arthurs: the narrator, and the king.
• Rip Van Winkle: Merlin curses Gyneth to sleep until a knight finds and wakes her. It takes five hundred years before Roland finds her.
• Story Within a Story: Lyulph's story about Gyneth's past is a poem within a poem.

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