# Gareth — Idylls of the King character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sir Gareth

**First appearance:** 0003-gareth-and-lynette

## Snapshot

A young knight who arrives at court asking only for a year's service and a kitchen's worth of obscurity, then earns his name through a damsel's scorn.

## Who they are

Gareth comes to Arthur's hall as the youngest son of a king, but asks to be fed and kept in the kitchen rather than honored at the table, hiding his birth until his deeds can speak. He attaches himself to Lynette, who mocks him as a kitchen-knave even as he fights her sister's battles. His arc is the Idylls' clearest study in patience and self-proving: a knight who must be thought nothing before he can be known as something.

## In the story

### [Gareth and Lynette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/idylls_of_the_king_se/chapters/gareth-and-lynette)

Disguises himself as a kitchen knave, serves for a year, then undertakes the quest to rescue Lady Lyonors, showing bravery and skill.

## Links

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