The poem begins with a prayer, praising God and his creation. He then tells his readers how he will write about the story of the Knights of the Round Table and about their victories. The narrator mentions the lands King Arthur conquered and how he made kings those from his family. He then held a Great Christmas feast where he invited every new King from the newly conquered countries.
On New Year’s, a convoy sent by the Emperor of Rome arrived at the castle. The convoy was sent by Lucius Iberius and asked that King Arthur and the members of the Round Table go to Rome in front of the Emperor to answer for their deeds and also to ask for tribute. After hearing what the Emperor wants, Arthur talks in front of the whole court and agrees to go.
Arthur tells the convoy his decision to consult the rest of the court and offers them good rooms and a place to stay during that time. The senator is surprised to hear this but also glad when he is offered such commodities. King Arthur called the members of the round table after the senator left and assigns certain people to tend to the needs of the Roman convoy. He then asked for the advice of his court on the matter and the first to speak was Sir Cador of Cromweall who was glad to be involved in another battle, this time against the Roman Empire.
King Arthur reveals that he was affected by what was told to him and that he considered that he had the right to rule as well especially when taking into consideration how his ancestors were kings once. Other Kings spoke as well of the way Italy treated Britain and Scotland and expressed their desire to fight alongside Arthur and against the Roman Emperor.
After analyzing these words, the King sent word to the Emperor convoy that he wants to fight them in a country which they will chose in a month. The King waited seven days and then called the senator before him to tell him what he decided. King Arthur tells the senator that he does not plan to give over his lands and rather that he would like to meet with the Emperor in a country of his choosing on the first of February and fight for the lands.
The senator returns to Rome and tells the Emperor what Arthur told him to say. The Emperor is enraged so he sends letters to his subjects and to the other countries from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, asking for help.
In England, Arthur gets prepared as well but he is more selective with the people he takes in battle. When he reaches France, he is told by the people that his wife’s cousin was taken by a giant into the mountains and raped. Arthur decides to avenge her so he goes after the giant and kills him quickly.
When he returns to his camp, he finds that the Roman Emperor is close so he goes into battle. The Roman Emperor is killed after two battles and King Arthur becomes even more convinced that he must conquer Rome. He thus marches towards Rome with his men and he conquers every land in his path until he reaches Rome. When the Pope surrenders, Arthur plans to reconquer every Christian land.
King Arthur has a dream in which Lady Fortune appears before him and tells him that he will not be the one to conquer the holy lands but rather one of his successors.
When he wakes up, King Arthur is told that he was betrayed by the man he left in charge in his absence who also took Arthur’s wife as his own. Arthur returns home and the poem ends with the battle between the two. Both Arthur and his enemy dies and Arthur passes his crown to Constantine before passing away.
