Mantle of Fidelity
Preserved but no longer current.
The old ballad "The Boy and the Mantle," in Percy's Reliques, tells how a little boy showed King Arthur a curious mantle, "which would become no wife that was not leal." Queen Guinever tried it, but it changed from green to red, and red to black, and seemed rent into shreds. Sir Kay's lady tned it, but fared no better; others followed, but only Sir Cradock's wife could wear it.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Mantle of Fidelity” mean?
The old ballad "The Boy and the Mantle," in Percy's Reliques, tells how a little boy showed King Arthur a curious mantle, "which would become no wife that was not leal." Queen Guinever tried it, but it changed from green to red, and red to black, and seemed rent into shreds. Sir Kay's lady tned it, but fared no better; others followed, but only Sir Cradock's wife could wear it.
Is “Mantle of Fidelity” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.