King Arthur Essay

            The story of King Arthur would be nothing if it did not have the sorcerer Merlin.  Being an extremely influential character throughout Arthur’s life, Merlin was also around before Arthur was born. Arthur was brought to Sir Ector by Merlin to be raised as a normal boy, but fate had much bigger plans for future king. Merlin served as Arthur’s advisor and relied on him for help in dire situations along quests. Arthur turned to Merlin for advice before battles and tough situations. This led King Arthur to acquire the legendary sword Excalibur. With help from Merlin King Arthur was able to slay many beasts and kings throughout England.  Lang gives the reader a direct message that Arthur relies on Merlin in the quote: "…Arthur had many battles to fight and many Kings to conquer before he was acknowledged lord of them all, and often he would have failed had he not listened to the wisdom of Merlin..."

            The number three is a recurring motif on King Arthurs many stories. Sir Gareth encounters the three brothers on his quest with the Lady Linet. He meets a knight in black armor, a knight in green armor, and a knight in red armor, all of which Sir Gareth slay. Another example in which the number three is seen is when Arthur asks Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur back into the lake. Arthur received Excaliber from the Lady of the Lake while he was with Merlin, but towards the end of the story he no longer wants it. In the first of three instances, Sir Bedivere hides the sword and plans on retrieving it later for his self but Arthur becomes suspicious when Sir Bedivere replies with nothing after King Arthur asks what happened. On the second of three instances, Arthur then sends Sir Bedivere back to dispose of Excaliber but he returns with the same story that nothing happened. Arthur then threatens Sir Bediveres's life and sends him for the third time and when he returns he explains that a hand rose from the water and caught the sword as he threw it in.

            Characters in Romance literature usually have visions or dreams that lead them or give them information relevant to their quest throughout the story. In the story of “The Questing Beast” King Arthur has a strange dream where "he thought the land was over-run with gryphons and serpents which burnt and slew his people, and he made war on the monsters, and was sorely wounded, though he still killed them all." Arthurs dream came true when later in that same story Arthur and his knights encounter a strange beast that is a combination of a serpent and gryphon. Another example is when a squire has a dream that a king went on a pilgrimage and his squire was slain. The squire had a dream that he found a gold candle and was stabbed. When the squire woke up, he shouted for help because he had actually been stabbed and he was holding a gold candle.

Magical/supernatural events occur often in the book King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table. One example is when King Arthur and all of his are at the round table during the story of “The Coming of the Holy Graal.” Enjoying a Pentecost supper, the knights at the round table suddenly heard a clash of thunder and then a bright light shone into the room. Everyone gazed at each other dumbfounded, then the Holy Graal floated into the room and food appeared before them all as if by magic. Sir Gawaine along with several other nights was astonished at what they saw, so they devoted themselves to search for the Graal.

In the story of “The End of it All,” King Arthur is betrayed by his nephew Sir Mordred. Arthur entrusted Sir Mordred to govern the land while he was gone from England to fight Sir Lancelot. Sir Mordred accepted the responsibility but his intents of what to do with Arthur’s kingdom were evil. Sir Mordred betrayed King Arthur trust by sending letters announcing Arthur had died in battle and Sir Mordred was now crowned king. Sir Mordred also betrayed Queen Guenevere forcing her to marry him even when he that her husband King Arthur was still alive. King Arthur then retured only to be denied landing by Sir Mordred and faced a great resistance forcing Arthur to retreat. Sir Mordred also betrayed Arthur by turning his own people against him. King Arthur eventually killed Sir Mordred but at a great cost: only three of Arthurs Knights survived the battles.

A test of honor confirms a hero’s morals and what they believe to be is right and also his or her pledges. In the story of “What Beaumains Asked Of The King”, Beaumains, known as Sir Gareth, is tested of honor when Lady Linet asks King Arthur to recruit knights to help rescue her sister. Seeing this as an opportunity to prove himself to everyone, Sir Gareth asks Arthur to let him go on Linet’s quest. Arthur complies with Sir Gareth’s request but only to make Linet furious because Sir Gareth is a kitchen boy. Sir Gareth encounters many knights that he must defeat in order to keep his promise and fulfill his test of honor. After slaying the knights, Lady Linet realizes that Sir Gareth is an honorable man and will keep a promise to a total stranger. Sir Gareth fulfills his promise in the end of the story by conquering the Red Knight and rescues Lady Lyonesse.

King Arthur is the ideal example of a nearly perfect yet flawed hero. Throughout the stories, King Arthur proves to be a powerful, fair, and openhanded ruler. King Arthur hardly ever commits a mistake and has the respect of almost all of his fellow knights. Although Arthur may seem like the perfect hero, there is one thing about him that could be called a flaw: he is too reliant on the people around him. The downfall of King Arthur was the fact that he put too much trust into the people close to him. A prime example of this is when King Arthur left Sir Mordred the position of King. Sir Mordred betrayed King Arthur which led to vicious battles with many casualties.

Morgan Le Fay is a prime example of the evil enemy. Arthur's sister, Morgan Le Fay, disliked her brother and had a strong skill in magic which caused trouble for Arthur. Later in the story Morgan Le Fay steals Arthur’s scabbard while he was resting. Arthur pursued her but she tossed the scabbard into a lake and escaped afterwards. The next morning Morgan Le Fay sent Arthur a mantle that was decked in jewels in hope the he would forgive her but Arthur was suspicious. The Lady of the Lake appeared to him and warned him to let the messenger put it on first. She fell down and burned to ashes instantly and King Arthur was outraged. Morgan Le Fay had become Arthur's evil enemy because she let her hate control her actions.

An archetypal female figure in the book is The Fair Maid Of Astolat. The Fair Maid is the daughter of Sir Bernard, the Baron that helped Sir Lancelot to prepare for the tourney. The Fair Maid falls into the category of an archetypal female figure because she is just an innocent maiden who falls in love with Sir Lancelot. Instantly falling in love with Sir Lancelot, the Fair Maid asks him to wear her token to the tourney. Hoping the token will disguise him, Lancelot accepts. The Fair Maid later asks Sir Lancelot if he would be her husband but he declines. Because the Fair Maid was naïve and illogical from her heartache, she killed herself because she swore to herself she would never love anybody but Sir Lancelot.

The story of King Arthur would be nothing without his many quests he and his fellow knights undertake. Although King Arthur: Tales From the Round Table is a collection of many famous stories about King Arthur and his companions, the most famous is the quest for the Holy Graal. Known by many, the story of the quest for the Holy Graal has been passed on for hundreds of years. Not only does the book tell the quest of the Holy Graal, but it also tells famous stories such as “The Drawing of the Sword”, “The Sword Excalibur”, “The Passing of Merlin”, “How Morgan Le Fay tried to kill King Arthur”, “Lancelot and Guinevere”, and may more.