# Balin — Idylls of the King character guide

> Balin in Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sir Balin

**First appearance:** 0006-balin-and-balan

## Snapshot

A knight of violent temper who takes the Queen's crown upon his shield as a vow toward gentleness, and finds the vow harder than any battle.

## Who they are

Balin comes to Camelot with a reputation for sudden wrath, and when Arthur asks what cognizance he will bear, he asks for Guinevere's own crown-royal, calling it not a shadow but a golden earnest of a gentler life. He fights hard against his own nature, but the memory of that shield weighs on his arm even when rage rises. His presence in the early-middle Idylls gives the Round Table a mirror of the ungovernable knight, and a warning of what the Order cannot always tame.

## In the story

### [Balin and Balan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/chapters/balin-and-balan)

A violent knight exiled for striking a thrall; returns to court, receives the crown shield, but is driven mad by Vivien's lies and kills his brother Balan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/characters/balin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/characters