The Arthurian Legend
Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
Book Summary
Le Morte d'Arthur tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights at the Round Table. Arthur, who is son of King Uther Pendragon but was raised by another family, takes his rightful place as king when, as a boy, he is able to pull the sword called Excalibur from the stone. Although he rules wisely and is counseled by Merlin the magician, Arthur makes enemies of other kings and is often at war. When Arthur marries Genevere, her father gives Arthur the Round Table, at which 150 men can sit. Genevere, who is often present at the convening of the Round Table, acts as a moral compass for the knights, rewarding knights who behave well and chastising those who choose poorly. Malory specifically relates the stories of Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, and Sir Pellanor as a means of introducing the concept of chivalry. Arthur is nearly betrayed by his sister Morgan le Fay, but he is helped by Nineve, a sorceress who learned her magic powers from Merlin before killing him. Arthur then fights the Romans when Emperor Lucius of Rome demands that Arthur bow to him. Although the war requires several battles, Arthur and his knights win and return to Guinevere and the other wives. Soon after, Lancelot establishes himself as the greatest knight in all the world by his virtue, loyalty, and bravery. At the same time, Sir Gareth, Gawain's brother, proves valiant in his adventures. Tristam (also known as Tristan), who is son of King Melyodas de Lyones and the sister of King Mark of Cornwall, is then introduced, and his adventures unfold. He kills Sir Marhault to free his uncle from a debt owed to King Angwyssh of Ireland, and then falls in love with Isode (also known as Isolde), Angwyssh's daughter. Isode marries Tristam's uncle Mark, but Tristam and Isode remain lovers. Tristam is exiled by Mark, which means he can no longer use his true identity; thus, he fights as The Knight with the Black Shield. Tristam duels and beats many of Arthur's knights, but is eventually thrown in prison and becomes ill. He escapes and eventually meets and fights Lancelot in a duel predicted by Merlin. They become the best of friends. Lancelot, who is in love with and completely loyal to Guinevere, rides one day in search of adventure. He kills a dragon, sees the Grail, and is tricked into lying with Pellas' daughter Elayne, with whom he has a son, Galahad. Guinevere, upon hearing of the affair, has Lancelot banished from court; Lancelot then wanders from place to place in his grief. Elayne, through her father, heals Lancelot through the Grail, and he eventually returns joyously to Camelot and the Round Table. Lancelot introduces his son, Galahad, to the court, and Galahad takes the Sege Perilous, the seat at the Round Table that no knight has been worthy enough to fill. Galahad also draws the sword from the floating stone, establishing him as the best knight in the world, but also accepting the sword's curse — that it will later cause a grievous wound. Most of the knights then set out separately on Grail Quest. During the Quest, Lancelot, Percival, and Bors experience deep religious conversion, while Ector and Gawain are told by a hermit that they are not pure enough to achieve the Grail Quest. Galahad, Percival, and Bors meet up and continue the Grail Quest, but they are briefly parted. Lancelot and Galahad continue to the Grail at Castle Corbenic, where Lancelot is shown to be unworthy of the Quest. When Sir Evelake dies after his embrace with Galahad, Galahad is identified as the knight who will achieve the Grail Quest. Galahad is made a king who dies shortly thereafter, while Percival becomes a hermit. Bors returns to King Arthur's court. Lancelot also returns to the court and continues his love for Guinevere. After a series of trials, Guinevere is convinced of Lancelot's love for her. Although Arthur knows of the affair and overlooks it, he is prompted by Aggravain and Mordred (Arthur's son by Lot's wife) to take action; Guinevere is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Lancelot rescues her and takes her to his castle, Joyous Gard, but in the battle, Lancelot kills Gareth and Gaheris, who are at the execution but are unarmed. Launcelot returns Guinevere to Arthur, but Lancelot is banished, along with his followers. Gawain swears vengeance for the death of his brothers and insists that Arthur attack Lancelot. Arthur agrees, but while Arthur and Gawain are away, Mordred makes himself King of England, claims Guinevere as his wife, and attacks Arthur's army. Gawain is mortally wounded and warns Arthur in a dream not to continue the battle. Through a misunderstanding, however, the battle continues; Arthur kills Mordred but is mortally wounded by him, as Merlin has prophesied. Lancelot and Guinevere both die of illness soon after, and Constantine becomes king. The Round Table is disbursed. Malory, Thomas. "Le Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory CliffsNotes - Study Guide and Help." Get Homework Help with CliffsNotes Study Guides. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. <http://www.cliffsnotes.com /study_guide/literature/Le-Morte-d-Arthur-Book-Summary.id- 182.html>. |
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Reading a Legend
How to read a legend?
- Different Versions of a Tale Exist: It is true that a British Chieftain by the name of Arthur (Arturius) helped defend Britain against Saxon invaders, but the rest is up to the imagination. Legends become so because their stories are continually being passed on like a game of telephone that has been going on for centuries. The Legends of Arthur were originally passed down through oral traditions, and even when they were written down there were many variations. Not until the 1500s did Sir Thomas Malory manage to collect the various legends concerning Arthur and write them into the first complete English collection: Le Morte d' Arthur (The Death of Arthur). He wove together 8 strands of a French Romance in order to present the unified tale. That is over 5 centuries of telling and retelling the same tale, and his main source for the legendary and ideal English king was the French. And the tale did not stop being retold after Malory's comprehensive version. Writers like Alfred, Lord Tennyson, T. H. White, and Mary Stewart all have been inspired to dramatize the tale.
- Extraordinary Events are Ordinary: All of you realists will need a heavy dose of the suspension of disbelief. Enjoy the wonder and the mystery of the unbelievable plot. Spells, enchantments, magicians who see into the future: these are all daily occurrences. Knights can duel for hours with an apparent limitless supply of blood and energy. These are tall-tales. We have the giant Paul Bunyan with his huge blue ox and Johny Appleseed who planted all of the apple trees in NY. The supernatural element is just part of the anatomy of a legend. King Arthur was an ideal warrior King and hero, and our fictional heroes today have supernatural abilities as well. Think about Superman. Real people can't fly or see through buildings, but our hero can. The extraordinary provides excitement and entertainment, as well as characterizes the capabilities of characters.
- Heroes and Villains are Clear: King Arthur is the ideal good guy. All other knights and kings can look to Arthur as an example of what a warrior and king should be. Sir Mordred, on the other hand, is the quintessential bad guy. He demonstrates the dark side of human nature. This obvious difference is meant to be an educational tool in order to teach the right way to fight and rule from the wrong way. Of course good doesn't mean perfect. Even good characters make mistakes, including Arthur; but even when mistakes are made, it is always clear whether or not that character is essentially good or bad.
- The Action is Episodic: That means that the events of Arthur, although they connect to create an entire tale, each have their own setting, cast, and plot, like episodes of a television show.
- Different Versions of a Tale Exist: It is true that a British Chieftain by the name of Arthur (Arturius) helped defend Britain against Saxon invaders, but the rest is up to the imagination. Legends become so because their stories are continually being passed on like a game of telephone that has been going on for centuries. The Legends of Arthur were originally passed down through oral traditions, and even when they were written down there were many variations. Not until the 1500s did Sir Thomas Malory manage to collect the various legends concerning Arthur and write them into the first complete English collection: Le Morte d' Arthur (The Death of Arthur). He wove together 8 strands of a French Romance in order to present the unified tale. That is over 5 centuries of telling and retelling the same tale, and his main source for the legendary and ideal English king was the French. And the tale did not stop being retold after Malory's comprehensive version. Writers like Alfred, Lord Tennyson, T. H. White, and Mary Stewart all have been inspired to dramatize the tale.
- Extraordinary Events are Ordinary: All of you realists will need a heavy dose of the suspension of disbelief. Enjoy the wonder and the mystery of the unbelievable plot. Spells, enchantments, magicians who see into the future: these are all daily occurrences. Knights can duel for hours with an apparent limitless supply of blood and energy. These are tall-tales. We have the giant Paul Bunyan with his huge blue ox and Johny Appleseed who planted all of the apple trees in NY. The supernatural element is just part of the anatomy of a legend. King Arthur was an ideal warrior King and hero, and our fictional heroes today have supernatural abilities as well. Think about Superman. Real people can't fly or see through buildings, but our hero can. The extraordinary provides excitement and entertainment, as well as characterizes the capabilities of characters.
- Heroes and Villains are Clear: King Arthur is the ideal good guy. All other knights and kings can look to Arthur as an example of what a warrior and king should be. Sir Mordred, on the other hand, is the quintessential bad guy. He demonstrates the dark side of human nature. This obvious difference is meant to be an educational tool in order to teach the right way to fight and rule from the wrong way. Of course good doesn't mean perfect. Even good characters make mistakes, including Arthur; but even when mistakes are made, it is always clear whether or not that character is essentially good or bad.
- The Action is Episodic: That means that the events of Arthur, although they connect to create an entire tale, each have their own setting, cast, and plot, like episodes of a television show.
"The Day of Destiny" from Morte Darthur by: Sir Thomas Malory
This is the end of the the Arthurian Legend, and we will be looking at what brought about the downfall of this ideal king and ideal kingdom.
Extrordinary events as Ordinary:
- Dream: Arthur's dream is a premonition, and is symbolically warning him of the events to come. He is on a wheel, which symbolizes his rise to power; but just as a wheel turns to bring him to the height of his power, it continues to turn, bringing him down and symbolizing his fall from power and the end of his life. Notice also, the pit of snakes he falls into. Of course it is a snake that causes the knight to draw his sword and unwittingly start the battle; but the snake also symbolizes the deceptiveness of those who have betrayed him and thrown his kingdom into turmoil (Sir Mordred, Lancelot, and Gwenevere).
- Vision: Sir Gawain died in battle, but he returns to King Arthur in this vision. With him he has all the maidens he has helped throughout the years. He warns King Arthur to not fight Mordred that next day, but he advises to wait until Sir Lancelot can join him with his army. He warns that if they fight that day, many men will die, including King Arthur. Arthur accepts this vision as a normal warning and plans to follow the advice.
- Lady of the Lake: When Sir Bedivere is commanded to throw Excalibur into the lake, King Arthur knows that he has been disobeyed twice because of the ordinary false account of Sir Bedivere. Arthur expects the extraordinary to happen when Excalibur is returned to the lady of the lake.
Heroes and Villains are Clear:
Sir Mordred is the obvious villain here, and King Arthur the hero. Perhaps more than any other villain, Sir Mordred is the blackest because he has doubly betrayed King Arthur. According to the Divine Right and the Great Chain of being, a King is appointed by God to rule. The concept of the great chain of being is that God has created a natural hierarchy within the world, and chaos will ensue if one person endeavors to be higher than their natural place. The universes natural order is God, Angels, Man, Animals, Plants, and then Objects. When Lucifer decide that he wanted to be like the most high, he disrupted that order and sent heaven into chaos. Now if any one under the king
Extrordinary events as Ordinary:
- Dream: Arthur's dream is a premonition, and is symbolically warning him of the events to come. He is on a wheel, which symbolizes his rise to power; but just as a wheel turns to bring him to the height of his power, it continues to turn, bringing him down and symbolizing his fall from power and the end of his life. Notice also, the pit of snakes he falls into. Of course it is a snake that causes the knight to draw his sword and unwittingly start the battle; but the snake also symbolizes the deceptiveness of those who have betrayed him and thrown his kingdom into turmoil (Sir Mordred, Lancelot, and Gwenevere).
- Vision: Sir Gawain died in battle, but he returns to King Arthur in this vision. With him he has all the maidens he has helped throughout the years. He warns King Arthur to not fight Mordred that next day, but he advises to wait until Sir Lancelot can join him with his army. He warns that if they fight that day, many men will die, including King Arthur. Arthur accepts this vision as a normal warning and plans to follow the advice.
- Lady of the Lake: When Sir Bedivere is commanded to throw Excalibur into the lake, King Arthur knows that he has been disobeyed twice because of the ordinary false account of Sir Bedivere. Arthur expects the extraordinary to happen when Excalibur is returned to the lady of the lake.
Heroes and Villains are Clear:
Sir Mordred is the obvious villain here, and King Arthur the hero. Perhaps more than any other villain, Sir Mordred is the blackest because he has doubly betrayed King Arthur. According to the Divine Right and the Great Chain of being, a King is appointed by God to rule. The concept of the great chain of being is that God has created a natural hierarchy within the world, and chaos will ensue if one person endeavors to be higher than their natural place. The universes natural order is God, Angels, Man, Animals, Plants, and then Objects. When Lucifer decide that he wanted to be like the most high, he disrupted that order and sent heaven into chaos. Now if any one under the king