Mackenzee Cooper
Mrs. Saverance
English 2322
27 October 2014
Sir Mordred, a Different Kind of Knight
Many Arthurian knights could be described as chivalric, but there was one who did not follow this behavior. Sir Mordred contains many flaws, but he is a strong willed knight. He does not follow the noble qualities of his mentors, instead he goes in a complete different direction. Sir Thomas Malory represents Mordred in Morte Darthur as a lying thief and rapist who will do anything to claim the throne of his father, King Arthur. Early British Kingdoms website tells the tale of a poor soul who is sent away but then returns to raise havoc over many people, including his own family.
King Lot and Queen Morguase raise Sir Mordred. Due to unfortunate events, Sir Mordred finds out that his uncle, King Arthur is actually his father. When people discover the truth about him, King Arthur tries to dispose of this unwanted child. He sails Mordred away, along with many other children. During their sea journey the boat
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sinks, but Mordred survives. After the shipwreck Lord Nabur takes Mordred in. After growing up, he travels back to the Court of Arthur only to reunite with his true parents. Along with his brother Sir Garwain, he becomes a knight at the round table. Sir Lancelot takes Mordred under his wing to teach him the qualities of a knight, but Mordred does not pick up on these chivalric qualities.
He becomes known as a thief, a rapist, and man who sleep with married women. During the affairs with the women, he would beat up the husbands. After raping the women he would sometimes murder them. Cleverness ran through Sir Mordred’s blood. While Arthur journeys, Mordred writes a letter revealing the death of King Arthur. Mordred also portrays characteristics of heartlessness. When battle arises between father and son, Sir Mordred presents no humanity towards his father. He explains to his troops that if an opponent draws a sword they shall kill them all. Mordred knows King Arthur is his father, and instead of loving him he wants King Arthur’s wife and head. When it comes down to the two of them in battle, he shows no mercy and sends a sword right through the side of his father’s head. Sir Mordred shows no
compassion. The website opens new windows into the background of Mordred and also the things Mordred deals with throughout his life. Readers do not know exactly what happens to Sir Mordred before he becomes older. The website lays out chronologically the events that happen in his life. Early British Kingdoms contains some visually appealing aspects. The artwork of Sir Mordred contains beautiful elements such as the picture of Sir Mordred. The picture contains black and white lines, which form an image of Sir Mordred in the woods on horseback. This artwork brings an image to the reader’s heads. The white background allows the words to be read easily without having to really focus on the screen. The website includes a publishing company called Nash Ford, which makes the articles scholarly. Early British Kingdoms contains true informative information that allows readers to understand the truth behind Sir Mordred. Work Cited Ford, David N. "EBK: Arthurian Literature: Sir Mordred." EBK: Arthurian Literature: Sir Mordred. David Nash Ford's Publisher, Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
The book “The Natural” is a very interesting book that talks mostly about the heroic act of Roy Hobbs of not giving it up. The book basically is about the characters flaws that lead him to his fate. Hobbs wish was him to become one of the popular baseball player ever existed in history. He wants to break any record that was ever existed in the books, he want to be a history that will be remembered forever. Hobbs meets Harriet Bird in the train who did not like his notion of becoming popular and shoots him in his upper body. Hobbs one of the biggest flaws was fallen in love with Harriet. But his flaws lead him toward his fate in the sense that he did not quit what he had planned for his life to become a best baseball player. At age 34, he came back to the baseball game and tries to make things right for himself. Hobbs character in the book gives a same role as it was given by the Greek tragedy characters; hubris like characters. Hobbs character was brought to suffer extreme sorrow like the Greek tragedy characters. Hobbs did not seems to learn from his mistakes, one of the biggest mistakes was him fallen in love with Harriet and in the second time he was fallen in love with Pop's niece Memo which is a clear example to show he does not learn from his mistakes.
Life during the Middle Ages was full of social change, division, and classism. This feudal society of Britain was divided into three estates. (social classes) Within the second estate was the the knight who was a soldier for the king who fought in many battles. Even though the knight is expected to have the strength and the skills to fight in battle, all knights during the Medieval period additionally had a chivalrous aspect to them. Chivalry was the honor code of a knight which included bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. Within the stories of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “Le Morte d’Arthur”, the code of chivalry was broken by knights which show the corruption of England’s feudal society.
In the movie A Knight’s Tale the two main knights were William Thatcher and Count Adhemar. They both showed chivalry and courtly love, but not correctly. More of chivalry was followed more and the right way. The movie is very loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s book Canterbury Tales. His father always wanted him the change his stars so he would not live in poor life forever. Even though both knights were good, William was better because he followed chivalry, courtly love, and prowess in battle.
Malory reworks many of his sources to bring attention to the grand fellowship of Arthur’s Round Table and the chivalry that holds the knights together. Malory idealizes the power of chivalry and gives a great importance to it throughout his text. Unlike Malory, White does not idealize chivalry, but he does see the good and honorable aspects of chivalry. From Sprague Kurth’s article, “Conclusion,” it is clear to see that White gives his text an anti-war stance and shows chivalry and the controlling moral compass of Arthur’s knights. Chivalry is once again idealized in George Romero’s Knightriders the situations within the film are modernized but the emotions and illusions remain the same.
Sir Bedivere, in Le Morte d’Arthur, remains the least moral Knight within the Medieval literature. King Arthur orders Sir Bedivere to accomplish a commandment and in earnest word he responds “My lord your commandment shall be done and I shall lightly bring you word again” (160). However, when
Morte d'Arthur". He wished to inspire people to return to the basic ideals of the chivalric
Morte d Arthur In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples of chivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve the world in which he lived. Respect for women and courtesy were two major characteristics that knights longed to develop, and King Arthur was able to demonstrate them in two specific instances.
Le’ Morte d’ Arthur is a medieval romaunce by Sir Thomas Malory about King Arthur, Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table, violence plays a very crucial part in the story. Many different kinds of violence occur in this set of stories, some of which are very ordered and fine, like jousting, and also disordered violence like war. The worst type of violence though is when people use violence to get vengeance, which is a major theme, because many of these knights are mad at others. While many of the knights in the book are concerned with getting revenge, these actions and the search for vengeance are often futile and almost always end badly.
The theme of betrayal is far more than knight’s betraying their kings and wives their husbands but family betraying family. It was especially tragic when it came to Mordred’s betrayal. He not only betrayed his father but died by his father hands because he did so. In the end, betrayal was present in both the relationship between Lancelot, Gwenyvere and Arthur and Trystrames, Isoud and King Mark. Although the adultery that was committed between Isoud and Trystrames was in some way justifiable it still was a betrayal for King Mark. In many ways the story added the way it started-with deception. Just like Morgan Le Fey, Mordred wanted Arthur out of the picture. Therefore presence of betrayal is what
In the ""Death of Arthur"" included a detailing of the events preceding Arthur's fatal injury. The "Death of Arthur" started out telling about lancelot and King Arthur's relationship and how it was broken apart by Queen Guynevere. The Queen broke up there relationship because Sir Modred told Arthur about Lancelot's love for Guynevere. "The
Closely associated to the romance tradition are two idealized standards of behavior, especially for knights: courage and chivalry. The protagonist within many medieval romances proved their worth by going on quests, as many a knights went in those times, thus returning with great tales of their travels and deeds. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man's gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry could be seen as more than that. Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honorable-sent to protect the weak, be noble to...
Chivalry dealt with loyalty honor, and service to women on and off the battle field’ (“The Medieval Period: 1066-1485” 76). The Knight in The Canterbury Tales is the perfect example of someone who follows the code of chivalry. Chaucer describes him with much admiration as “a most distinguishable man, who from the day on which he first began to ride abroad had followed chivalry, truth, honor generousness and courtesy” (Chaucer, "The Prologue." 117). While Chaucer praises the knight for ... ... middle of paper ... ...
“Morte Darthur” by Sir Thomas Malory is an example of a ‘Medieval Romance’ and it regards to a series of events about the story of the great legend King Arthur and his knights. The most repetitive theme in the text is about the journey, or quest. Knights within Morte Darthur have a strong desire to seek adventure, to do noble deeds, and to find glory within the most difficult situations. However, in my opinion, I don’t think King Arthur can be portrayed as an ‘epic hero’ like Beowulf. However, King Arthur is a ‘Romance hero’ - as he is a knight of superhuman strength, intelligence and follows the code of chivalry. Whenever I hear about King Arthur, the other word that pops up to my mind is Excalibur sword. I have seen movies and cartoons about
One of Geoffrey's less believable main characters is the Knight, for reasons of chivalry. The knight displays many traits which make him seem almost too good to be true, and a true gentleman that rarely exists in reality. The narrator sums up the knights character by stating that "Though he were worthy, he was wys,/And of his port as meeke as is a mayde." (pg. 5, The Canterbury Tales) The knight holds four main admirable traits, making him the most liked traveler in "The Canterbury Tales," and also amplying the doubt of his realism. The reader is prepared to learn of each of his noble accomplishments and importance when the narrator remarks that" A knight ther was, and that a worthy man,/That fro the tyme that he first bigan/To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,/Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye." (pg. 4, The Canterbury Tales) From the characters impressive introduction, it is clear that this man is the most valued and honorable traveler among the group. This perfect gentleman holds a love of ideals that are often not displayed by people. First and foremost, he believes in the ideals of chivalry, and always stays true to its principles. He also feels that one should be honest, truthful and faithful, which many people are not all of these ideals. The knight thinks one should only do what is right, and what will gain him honor and reputation. This character also believes in freedom and generosity towards all, and displays this ideal repeatedly throughout the novel. And lastly, the knight also strongly feels that any proper person should display courtesy and elegance at all times. Another aspect of this character's life which makes him seem too prestigious to be truthful is his impressive military career. He fought in the holy war, known as the Crusades and was involved in 15 "mortal battles." In the prologue, the narrator informs the reader that "Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,/And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,/As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,/And ever honoured for his worthinesse.
How would you describe Sir Lancelot? Most people would say he is the strongest, bravest, and kindest knight of the round table. Some might say he is the biggest Benedict Arnold of all time because of the adultery he committed with Queen Guinevere. However, his chivalry and code of honor make him the epitome of a true gentleman. These contrasting qualities set Sir Lancelot apart from all the other knights and characters in the “Morte D’Arthur.” Lancelot’s gallant, courageous, and conflicting personality make him a complex character in this dramatic tale of love and betrayal.