Le Chevalier Soleie is one the most famous plays by Pierre-Paul Pint, a puppeteer from Liège. It is typical of the chivalric repertory of traditional shows from Wallonia (Belgium) and the North of France. The theme could be remotely inspired by Pedro Hernández de Villaumbrales’ Cabellero del Sol (1552), which Pinet may have known from the French adaption by the Comte de Tressan. However, it is handled on the mode of parody here. In his presentation, the author explains that the play “where nothing offenses morals, can be played on a chair or a table, in houses or cabarets, with handkerchiefs of different colours. Tie a knot at the top of a handkerchief, leaving a bit of tissue to hold it by.”

The printed booklet is kept in the Museum of Walloon Life in Liège.

The Knight Soleie has lost his horse and weapons. He believes he has landed on a desert island. Tchantchet shows him he has not. The Knight wants to find his father and, once he arrives at his family’s castle, asks his mother about his whereabouts. She tells him that his father has gone to war. The Knight believes he can see his wounded father – a fact which alarms his mother. But it is only a passing vision. Tchantchet brings a letter announcing the return of the father, the Bon Ténébreux. The latter arrives at the castle, reunites with his family and relates his achievements, especially his duel against Don Quixote, whom he has killed. The Knight Soleie also relates his fights, one of which ended with Malbrouke’s death. The Knight Mastique, one of Soleie’s cousins, introduces himself. He asks for the permission to bring Soleie with him, on a boat, to free the woman he loves. The Queen Rosemonde worries about this journey and has them promise to ring her or send a telegram if the boat sinks.

Mastique and Soleie have landed on a new shore. The Géant Bras d’Acier (the Giant with the Steel Arm) appears suddenly and wants them to pay for the right of way. He wounds Soleie but the latter kills him. Mastique tends to Soleie. They both decide to leave the island and are flung in the air by an Enchanter, who brings them back home.