Friday Knights - Sir Agravain

 "Finally, you will get all that you deserve, old friend."

 Merlin

There is always one bad apple in every family - unfortunate for Arthur, the rot seems to run rather deep in his.

Sir Agravain, is yet another son of King Lot of Orkeny and Morgause (Arthur's sister), which makes him the brother of Sir Gawain, Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth as well as being a half-brother to Mordred. He is, therefore, Arthur's nephew.

Sir Agravain is a complicated character, in the early works he is described as a handsome, tall man, who was a reasonable fighter and sometimes, when the mood took him, partook in heroic deeds. He is generally considered a respectable knight from a noble family.

However...

His portrayal isn't always very flattering. In the Vulgate Cycle he is portrayed in a darker light. He has a "somewhat misshapen" body - which always reminds me of the portrayal of Ricahrd III in Shakespeare's play of the same name.  Sir Agaravin may be "...a fine knight..." but he is "...arrogant and full of evil words..." It is not surprising then, that he and Mordred get on so well.

Despite his brother, Sir Gawain's, warning - Agravain, along with Mordred, is responsible for exposing Guinevere's affair with Lancelot. Which kind of implies that Gawain probably had a good idea about what was going on, but he chose to turn a blind eye to what was, High Treason. Why? Maybe it was because he and Lancelot were such good friends.

In some versions of the story, Lancelot kills Agravain when he rescues Guinevere from the pyre at her execution. Strangely, Gawain does not seem to be to aggrieved by Agravain's death - it is only because Lancelot kills Gaheris and Gareth that Gawain seeks revenge.

In T.H.White's The once and Future King (1938), as well as the Pre-Raphaelite poem, The Defence of Guinevere, Agravain is portrayed as a murderer - he killed his own mother.

In the BBC drama, Merlin (2008 -2012) , Agravaine (a variant spelling of Agravain) is portrayed as Arthur's uncle who is secretly working with Morgana to overthrow the Pendragon's. He is manipulative, sly and cruel.

Merlin - Final confrontation with Agravaine

What hope did Arthur have, when those to closest to him were determined to see him and his kingdom...fall?

Sir Gaheris - Knight of the Round Table

I have always been rather intrigued by Sir Gaheris. He was the brother of Sir Gawain and was one of the unfortunate souls who lost his life when Lancelot saved Guinevere from the burning pyre.

Apart from his unfortunate end, what do we know about him?

Firstly, he is the nephew of King Arthur. His mother was Arthur's half-sister, Morgause, and his father was King Lot. Lot was the king of Orkney and Lothian. The family boasted of five boys altogether -- Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, Gareth and there was a half-brother called Mordred...you may have heard of him??!

In Prose Lancelot he is described as;
Handsome,
Agile,
Valiant,
Shy - not one for making speeches,
Had a temper (although not as bad as Gawain's),
His right arm was longer than the left.
 
He isn't portrayed in the best of lights in the work of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur -- there is that terrible incident where he was involved in the revenge killing of King Pellinore (Pellinore murdered Gaheris's father).  He beheads his own mother when he discovers her in a very comprimising postion with Pellinore's son, Sir Lamorak. To make matters worse, Gaheris blames his mother murder on Lamorak who is then hunted down and killed, by Gaheris's brothers.
 
This 'act of revenge' goes against the knightly code and when it is discovered that Gaheris murdered his mother, he is banished from court.


For some reason he reappears later on in Malory's story. Guinevere is to be executed for her affair with Lancelot. Arthur expects that Lancelot will try and rescue her. He asks Gaheris, Garath and Gawain to protect the pyre. Guinevere must died. Gaheris and Garath reluctantly agree to, but Gawain refuses.

As expected Lancelot attempts a rescue and is sucessful, but because Gaheris and Garath are not wearing their armour, Lancelot does not recognise them and cuts them down.

When Gawain learns of his brothers death, his grief and rage are great.

The death of Gaheris and his brother marks the begging of the end of Cameot and her knights and the rest, as they say, is history or legend, or whatever else you want to call it...!