Maleagant (alternately
Meliagant,
Meligaunt,
Meliagaunt,
Meliaganz,
Meliagrance, Mellyagraunce,
Mellegrans, etc.) is a villain from
Arthurian legend. In a number of versions of a popular episode, Maleagant abducts
Queen Guinevere, necessitating her rescue by
King Arthur and his knights. The earliest surviving version of this episode names the abductor
Melwas.
Maleagant debuts in
Chrétien de Troyes' French romance
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, where he is said to be the son of King
Bagdemagus, ruler of the otherworldly land of Gorre. However, all surviving versions seem to be later adaptations of a stock narrative of significantly earlier provenance.