King Ardus of Aragon and his wife, Margaret, have no children, so he pledges to go on crusade in the hope that God will grant him an heir.
The king exiles the pregnant queen without explanation, and she leaves court accompanied by an old knight, Sir Roger, and his dog, True-Love.
As they pass through the woods, Marrok and a company of his retainers attack the queen and Sir Roger who, despite his lack of armor, fights valiantly with the aid of True-Love but is killed.
The dog tries to heal him and then buries him, refusing to leave his grave except for brief trips to the king's court in search of his master's killer.
She gives birth to a son, Tryamour,[6] in the woods, and they are found by Sir Barnard, who takes them to his home where they are cared for and live for years.
In his youth, Tryamour wins his first joust; the prize is Helen, the seven-year-old heiress of the king of Hungary, her lands and her people.
Immediately after her father's death civil war breaks out, and upon advice of her counselors a tournament is held to find a husband for Helen.
After recovering from his wounds, Tryamour asks his mother about his father's identity; she tells him he must first fulfill his responsibility to Helen, and he sets off seeking adventures.
The poem is composed of a number of literary and folktale themes and motifs common to Middle English romance, including separation and reunion, the knight in search of his unknown father, the need for an heir, the wrongly accused queen, the traitorous steward, the winning of a bride through combat, the seeking of knightly adventures and renown, and the display of prowess.
The seeming prevalence of combat may be attributed to the perceived lack of development of romantic relationships, causing an imbalance compared to other romances, and to the number of opponents faced by the hero, which is perhaps notable because they are individualized.
Based on generic expectations, critics and readers familiar with romance may observe an underdevelopment of love in Sir Tryamour.
"[12] Hanning and Ferrante note that the "portrayal of love as a means for exploring the interaction of self and society, appearance and reality" passes continuously from the twelfth-century courtly narrative to the twentieth-century novel.
As noted by Hudson, Sir Tryamour differs from the pattern in the characters' lack of spiritual growth through adventure,[14] but it conforms by offering the audience the opportunity for edification.
Sir Tryamour features didactic themes of moral and cultural relevance found in romance and other genres such as complaint and protest literature,[15] particularly trouthe, which includes the interrelated concepts of loyalty, fidelity, honesty, integrity, the keeping of promises and oaths, and justness and innocence.
[14] In addition to the TEAMS printed and online editions, there are a number of standard scholarly anthologies of Middle English romances, a few of which are listed below.