Am'adis of Gaul, the mythical hero of one of the early romances of chivalry; a model knight-errant, of whom Don Quixote is the caricature. The romance was written by a Portuguese courtier, Vasco de Lobeira (who died in 1403), and has been translated into various languages. Amadis, the son of a king of Gaul, had a number of adventures in a great many countries, and crowned his exploits by marrying Oriana, daughter of Lisuarte, an early king of England. The period of the story is about the beginning of the Christian era.
