Le
Morte d'Artur (The Death of Arthur)
Thomas
Mallory
Brief
Background
The legendary Arthur (not the historical
one) was the son of
Uther Pendragon (High King of England) but was raised by the magician Merlin.
When Uther died, England was leaderless, but under Merlin’s
guardianship. A stone appeared in a
forest with a sword stuck in it and the inscription that whoever pulled the
sword from the stone would be rightful ruler of England.
Arthur pulled it from the stone, even though many strong men had tried
before him. As King, Arthur became
a legend and many of his innovations have entered English & International
culture.
"The Death of Arthur" from your
textbook was originally written by
Thomas Mallory, but translated into modern English by Rosemary Sutcliffe.
However, she
used poetic and archaic words, among other techniques, to give the translation
the romantic and adventurous atmosphere of the Age of Chivalry, of Knights in
shining armour and Damsels in distress.
The Round Table
Arthur created a council of the knights (brave and honourable warriors).
However, to prevent arguments and to show how they were all equal, Arthur
seated them at a round table (cf Round Table organisation, United Nations, Oval
Office, etc)
at his court in Camelot.
Excalibur
One day Arthur and Merlin were riding by
a lake. Suddenly an arm clothed in
white silk holding a richly decorated sword appeared. A woman came over the water and promised the sword,
Excalibur, to him if he would return it on his death.
The sword was obviously a magical sword and made Arthur (not others)
invincible.
The Holy Grail
This was the cup used by Jesus and his
disciples at the Last Supper. According
to legend, the cup was brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea.
It appeared in a vision when the knights were seated at their table.
They were commanded to search for it, but had to endure extreme hardships
and only the absolutely pure would ever find it.
The Death of Arthur
Arthur eventually married Guinevere.
However, a very handsome and brave French knight, Launcelot, had an
affair with her, even though they both loved Arthur.
Mordred, Arthur’s evil nephew (or son), and some other knights trapped
the two and Launcelot had to kill them to escape; however, Mordred escaped.
Arthur had to avenge his knights and a battle with Launcelot arose.
While Arthur was away, Mordred planned to marry Guinevere (some stories
make him Arthur's son, but not hers) and take over
Arthur’s kingdom. Arthur returned to fight Mordred at his last battle.
The story starts here.
Some links
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4186/Arthur/htmlpages/kingarthur.html
http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html
Summary
Arthur, high King of Britain, has
ruled for many years. He has been a wise and just monarch. Yet civil
war has come to his realm. His illegitimate son, Mordred, has raised an
army and challenged the throne. Arthur has met him in battle twice.
Each time, the king has defeated the usurper, but neither victory was
decisive. The opponents are destined to meet a third and final time.
The night before the battle Arthur
has a vision. The ghost of Gawain, one of his greatest knights,
appears. Gawain tells Arthur to postpone the battle. If he fights
the next day, both he and Mordred will die. He tells Arthur to keep the
peace for 30 days, after which Lancelot will arrive from France with an
army. Lancelot is the greatest of Arthur's knights. Against their
combined might, Mordred has no chance. The kingdom will be saved from
darkness.
Arthur heeds the warning. The
next day he arranges a parley. knowing Mordred's treacherous nature,
however, he takes no chances. He tells his knights that, at the first sign
of betrayal they are to attack. On the other side of the field, Mordred,
who trusts no one, gives similar orders to his army.
Arthur and Mordred meet; a deal is
struck. Peace is at hand. At that moment a knight in Mordred's army
is bitten in the foot by an adder. reflexively he raises his sword to
strike the snake. Seeing the glint of steel in the morning sun, both
armies, remembering their orders, attack.
It is a long and bloody day.
By sunset, only four men remain standing. Arthur, two of his knights, and
Mordred. The knights urge Arthur to leave punishment of the cursed Mordred
to another day. The king, instead, attacks the man who has brought such
destruction to the realm. Using a spear, Arthur slays the traitor.
Feeling his death wound, Mordred summons his strength for one last blow.
He deals the king a fatal wound.
The two knights carry the dying
Arthur from the field. The effort is too much for Sir Lucan. Only
Arthur and Sir Bedivere remain alive of all those who rode into battle that
morning.
Arthur tells Bedivere to take his
sword, Excalibur, and hurl it into the nearby lake. Twice, Bedivere tries
to carry out this last order, but he is unable to do so. Each time Arthur
what the knight saw. The king knows by the response that the knight has
lied. The third time, Bedivere does as Arthur wishes. As the sword
descends through the air, a hand and an arm appear. Catching the sword by
the hilt, the hand brandishes the magical weapon and descends beneath the water.
Returning, Bedivere tells the king
what he has seen. Arthur, with Bedivere's help, walks to the edge of the
water. Three ladies in a boat await the High King. Arthur leaves for
the vale of Avalon, where his wounds will be healed. Parting, he tells
Bedivere that he will return at the time of Britain's greatest need.
Pointers
A legend is a distortion of history. The setting of
Arthur is changed from Scotland to England, ordinary objects like the Round
Table become symbols of unity and equality, the characters change roles when
Mordred and Morgana become evil, ordinary men like Arthur and Lancelot are
turned into heroes and their actions become larger than life. What has
been distorted (added and changed) in this story is that Arthur and his knights
become brave, honourable, loyal, religious protectors of the weak and innocent
(Chivalric values). What we end up with is a world-renowned epic of love, loyalty,
duty, honesty and respect facing up to jealousy, betrayal, and
treachery.
The solution isn't a fairy-tale ending since neither side wins
and England is plunged into darkness at the passing of Arthur and not even the
knights' love for Arthur can save him. But Morgana
loses her wickedness, Mordred's evil is ended, and a legend is created with the
promise that Arthur will return again.
