The text starts off with a prologue (verses 1 through 666). King Ban, Lanzelet’s father, reigns as a tyrant over Genewis, which René Pérennec equates to the Kingdom of Gaunnes. He treats the noblemen in the hierarchy as he would the common people, and his vassals cannot accept this. They rise against King Ban, destroying the kingdom and killing everyone in the castle. They nonetheless allow Elaine, King Ban's wife, to live as she is known for her kindness. She escapes, while the queen of the sea-fairies, takes Lanzelet away to raise him on an island inhabited by women. There, he learns how to use weapons just as well as he learns music and song. Lanzelet yearns to know his own name but the fairy refuses to reveal it to him until he has defeated her worst enemy, Iweret. On his journey, Lanzelet meets a dwarf, who whips him, and then a knight named Johfrit de Liez, who teaches him the rudiments of chivalry. In verses 667 to 1356, Lanzelet meets two knights named Kuraus and Orphilet; they enter the house of a woodsman named Galagandreiz. The following night, Lanzelet sleeps with Galandreiz's daughter. Galandreiz, upon finding her in Lanzelet’s bed becomes enraged. He and Lanzelet engage in a battle ending in Galandreiz's death. Lanzelet then marries the woodsman’s daughter and becomes a lord.