Sir Isumbras - Millais, PRB

A Dream of the Past: Sir Isumbras at the Ford (1857) - John Everett Millais

According to the Cambridge History of English and American Literature the theme of Sir Isumbras is that of Christian humility, the story being an adaptation of the legend of Saint Eustace. Sir Isumbras is an over-proud knight who is offered the choice of happiness in his youth or his old age. He chooses the latter, and falls from his high estate by the will of Providence. He is severely stricken; his possessions, his children and, lastly, his wife, are taken away; and he himself becomes a wanderer. After much privation he trains as a blacksmith, learning to forge anew his armour, and he rides into battle against a sultan. Later, he arrives at the court of the sultan's queen, who proves to be his long-lost wife. He attempts to Christianise the Islamic lands over which he now rules, provoking a rebellion which is then defeated when his children miraculously return to turn the tide of battle. (Wikipedia)