Friday Knights - Mordred - a good knight or a villainous traitor?

The traitor who brought down the greatest Kingdom and the greatest King of all times.

Okay, so most of us have heard of Mordred. He did, along with Lancelot, play a pinnacle part in the fall of Arthur at the Battle of Camlann.

Mordred was the son of Morgause - Arthur's sister -  but there is debate as to who his father was. Some say his father was Morgauses' husband, King Lot of Orkney, which would make Gawain his brother. While others say he was Arthur's illegitimate son, begot with his sister. Poor kid, no wonder he was so messed up

 

Alexander Vlahos - played Mordred in Merlin

But what else do we know of him?

Firstly, Mordred is mentioned really early on in the tales of Arthur and his knights.

"Gueith Camlann in qua Arthur et Medraut corruerunt."

   ("The strife of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut fell.")

This was what was written in Annales Cambriae for the year 537.

The Annales Camriae was written between the years 960 - 970. Although they cannot be counted as a primary source, they do however draw on older stories - probably verbal - of the telling of this great battle. If you have not already noticed, the quote above says nothing about Arthur fighting Mordred at Camlann. It states that both men fell (died) at Camlann - has Mordred therefore been wronged in the later telling of the tale? 

So let's assume that Mordred was a knight, who fought bravely by Arthur's side and died next to him in battle. This begs the question..who is responsible for turning Mordred into a villain?

Come on, can't you guess??!!

Yes, that's right. Geoffrey of Monmouth strikes again.

It is Monmouth who suggests that it was Mordred, who was left in charge of Camelot while Arthur crossed the channel to rage war on Emperor Lucius of Rome. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred saw this as an opportunity to take Arthur's throne. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred not only took the kingdom, but also forced Guinevere to marry him. It is Monmouth who states that Mordred and Arthur met at Camlann. 

And we believed him.

 Sir Mordred  H.R Ford (1902)

In the ancient Welsh texts Mordred is associated with Camlann. The two seem to go hand in hand. But Monmouth's casting of Mordred as the villain was soon accepted as the truth and others  expanded upon this story making Mordred something of an Anti-Christ - or an Anti-Arthur. 

Time passes and the story changes. Lancelot enters the tale and some of Mordred's villainous activities are passed on to Lancelot - such as the affair with Guinevere. Malory goes as far as saying that Guinevere fled from Mordred's disgusting proposal and hid in the Tower of London, which I always found considerably clever of her, considering the Tower was not built until after the Norman invasion! But hey, anything is possible in Arthur's Britain.

In the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, Mordred was succeeded by his sons. The sons, like their father, have treachery running through their veins. In older text it is Constantine who tracks the brothers down and kills them. In later versions it is Lancelot and Bors.

But the extent of Mordred's treachery does not end there.

"...him who, at one blow, had chest and shadow / shattered by Arthur's hand..."
                                 (Canto XXXII)

 
This quote is from Dante's Inferno. If you seek Mordred you would find him in the lowest circle of Hell - a place set aside for traitors.

Mordred is cast as a magically Druid boy in the BBC show Merlin (2008 - 2012). He becomes a Knight of Camelot and has no notion of treachery until his beloved is sentenced to death. Ironically, if Merlin had accepted Mordred as a source of good, then Arthur would never have died - but hey, what kind of story would that have made?

Merlin 5x02 "Arthur's Bane Part 2" Mordred is knighted

 So there we have it. Of all the knights, I think Mordred is probably the least understood and the most wronged. Monmouth needed a villain and Mordred was it. I like to think that Mordred did not turn against Arthur, but fought by his side at Camlann - sacrificing his life, for his King. What do you think? Be sure to leave a comment below.

A Red knight, A Green Knight, A Black Knight and Sir Gareth!

  "the goodlyest yonge man and the fayreste" Malory

Sir Gareth was the youngest brother of Sir Gawain and the son of King Lot of Orkeny, and Morgause - which makes him King Arthur's nephew. 

To understand where Sir Gareth fits into the legend we will need to take a look at  Malory's Le Morte d' Arthur.

 In particular we need to study...

  Book IV: “The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney"

Let me set the scene....

It is The Feast of Pentecost.

A handsome man, although very poorly dressed, enters Camelot, along with two other men and a dwarf. Sir Gawain announces them and the handsome man asks Arthur for three boons. Firstly, he would like, food and drink for a year.

Sir Kay - a knight renowned for his honour...or not - as the case may be - scorns this handsome young man and states "as he is, so he hath asked."  Being the polite and noble knight Sir Kay is, it is no surprise he makes up a nickname for Gareth. He calls him "Beaumains" - pretty hands. Kay states that the boy may work in the kitchens.

Gawain and Lancelot try to defend the boy, but Kay is having none of that and the boy seems more than happy to work in the kitchens.

1 year later - The Feast of Pentecost

Lynet is in a desperate situation, her sisters' castle is under siege by the cruel Red Knight of the Red Lands. She comes to Arthur for help, but because she refuses to give him her sisters name, Arthur refuses her his knights.

Beaumains decides now would be the time to tell Arthur of his other two boons. He asks that he be allowed to assist Lynet and he asks to be knighted by Lancelot. Arthur agrees.

Lynet is not best pleased when she is presented with this kitchen boy. But if that is all Arthur is willing to give her, then she will take him. The dwarf that travelled with Beaumain, produces - to the courts astonishment - beautiful armour and an equally beautiful horse. Beaumain gallantly rides away without a shield or a spear.

Kay, not one to miss an opportunity, rides after him. Gawain and Lancelot follow. But Beaumain is a knight himself now - he and Kay joust. Beaumain is the better warrior, he beats Kay and wins his shield and spear! Lancelot watches the event unfold and is impressed. Beaumain then admits to Lancelot that he is really Gawain's youngest brother. I can imagine Lancelot raising his eyebrows and giving Gawain a quizzical look!

So the adventure begins...

Gareth bests...
Six thieves,

Two knights,

The Black Knight,

The Green Knight,

Sir Persaunt of Inde,

and of course, not forgetting, The Red Knight of the Red Lands.

At the same time he wins Lynet's approval! (It takes a great deal of effort to impress these Dark Age women.)

Gareth falls in love with Lyonesse, the lady of the castle, and she with him - so she send him away for another year?? (Like you do when you love someone?) Meanwhile Lyonesse sends her brother, Sir Gryngamour, to capture the dwarf - the dwarf reveals Gareth's true identity!

Meanwhile, Gareth is searching for the lost dwarf. He arrives at Grungamour's castle. Here, Lyonesse seduces him, although she is in disguise. She then tells him who she is and they almost make love, but they are interrupted. Gareth is not in a forgiving mood and cuts off the intruders head!

Back at Camelot, Lady Morgause turns up looking for her son. Arthur learns the true identity of the boy and to cut a long story short, there is a joust, a magic ring, 30 weeping widows, enough colourful knights that you can lay them along side each other and create a rainbow - and lets not forget, a wedding!

Unfortunately Gareth and his brother, Gaheris, perish by Lancelot's hands, when he fights desperately to save his love, Guinevere, from the burning pyre. Lancelot is deeply grieved by the deaths of Gawain's brothers, but Gawain will not accept his apology. The grievance demands blood.

You can also read about Gareth in Tennyson's  Idylls of the King.

I think Sir Gareth was pretty cool - what do you think?

Chrétien de Troyes

 "I am a writer, I give the truth, scope!"

Chaucer, A Knights Tale (movie quote).   

I have often mentioned, in my blogs, the French poets of the 12th Century and how they came to influence the Arthurian Legend.

Chrétien de Troyes was one of these poets.

Troyes is often credited with being the inventor of the modern novel - although it would take many centuries before the first proper novel was published.

What made the work of Troyes so different to the norm of the 12th Century?

His stories had a beginning a middle and an end. He was the first to write such literature. Before this, the Celtic bards may have told tales of a battle or a particular time in history, but there was never anything coherent to their tales - there was no order. Troyes was the first to make sense of the muddle.

Little is known about Troyes's life. He may have been at the court of Marie of France the Countess of Champagne, employed as a writer and he has also been linked to Philip, the Count of Flanders.

Regardless of his life and who and where he may or many not have been, his romantic poems have had a major influence on the Arthurian Legend as we know it today. His work is considered one of the best in medieval literature - he would have ranked number one on the Amazon charts, if Amazon had been around back then! And his stories...well, lets just say that you have more than likely heard of them, even if you did not know who they were written by.

I want to look at just one of his great masterpieces today and to explore how he shaped our future opinion of Arthur and his knights.

Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

 

We all know the story of Lancelot - even those who do not take much interest in Arthurian Legend could probably tell you something about him.

"Lancelot was the knight who had an affair with Guinevere, Arthur's Queen."

It is interesting to note, that until Troyes work, Lancelot had been but a minor figure in the Celtic myths of Arthur's court - hardly worth a mention, and it is even suggested that there was no such knight until Troyes invented him.

It is said that Troyes patroness, Countess Maria was rather passionate about the idea of courtly love, and you can not get more romantic than the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. Ironically, it is rumored that Troyes felt so disgusted by the adulterous nature of the story that he could not finish the work himself, but handed it over to his clerk. I wonder what he would think now, if he knew that after Arthur, Lancelot was the knight that everyone remembered?

Tell me the story.

Queen Guinevere had been abducted by the cruel and vicious knight, Meleagant. Sir Gawain embarks on a heroic rescue mission. On the road he meets a young knight, Lancelot, who has ridden his horse so hard, that the animal has died of exhaustion. Lancelot persuades Gawain to lend him a horse and then he gallops away, leaving Gawain staring after him. Gawain finally catches up with Lancelot, only to find that he has run his new horse to death as well.

Both knights realise that they are trying to rescue the same woman, Guinevere.

Lancelot encounters a dwarf with a cart - like you do!

 This dwarf tells Lancelot that he knows where Meleagant has taken Guinevere. He kindly offers for Lancelot to ride on the cart. Lancelot is reluctant, for it is dishonorable for a knight to ride upon a cart. Eventually he relents, and climbs on board. Gawain decides to follow on horseback - there is no way he is going to take a ride in a cart.

The journey is not an easy one and it is made harder by Lancelot's lowly form of transport. The pair encounter incredibly rude knights and beautiful women intent on mischief. But their progress is slow, so the two of them decide to split up, that way they would be able to cover more ground.

It is Lancelot that finds the Queen in the castle of Gorre. But Guinevere sends him away - there is no way she is getting on to the cart (what was the matter with this woman? - get on the cart).

Lancelot's only option is to find Gawain, as he has a horse, but although the Queen is proving to be stubborn and ungracious, he finds he cannot leave her alone. Guinevere, obviously realising how completely off her trolley she sounds, apologises to Lancelot and they spend a passionate night together. However, when Lancelot broke into Guinevere's chambers he hurt his hand and leaves the sheets of Guinevere's bed covered in blood. Meleagant, seeing the blood, accuses Guinevere of adultery ( because abduction is all right?) and the only knight with such an injury in the vicinity at the time is Sir Kay.

To cut a long poem short...

Lancelot challenges Meleagant to a duel, but Meleagant's father interferes and in the end the two men agree to fight each other in a years time.

Guinevere makes it home, but Lancelot does not for he is tricked by another dwarf and ends up in prison, although he is kindly let out to for the duel, as long as he comes back again afterwards.

Lancelot sees Guinevere before the fight. She tells him that if he loves her then he should lose to prove to her that his love is true. Which he does. But then, halfway through the fight, Guinevere changes her mind and tells him if he loves her then he must win. First the cart and now this - I would have walked away if I was him.

Lancelot wins and then being honorable, or incredibly stupid, returns to his captors. And here Troyes story ends. He entrusts Godefroi de Leigni to finish his work for him.

Troyes also wrote Perceval, the Story of the Grail, again he did not complete this work - maybe because he died - how inconsiderate is that?!  

No one knows if Troyes had access to any original sources to which he based his works on. He vaguely said something about Celtic myths, but unlike Monmouth he had not secret manuscript that conveniently got lost after he had finished with it. Dare I suggest that he was using something called his imagination?

His work was very popular, evident by the number of manuscripts that still survive to this day. There is, it seems, nothing better than a good story.

Sir Bors

GALANT    BRAVE     NOBLE

Who was Sir Bors and wherefore did he come?

Family history time. Bors was the son of King Bors - who was the brother of King Ban of Brittany - who was the father of Lancelot. I hope you are keeping up. I could draw a family tree I suppose, which would probably explain it a great deal more clearly...

One hour later...

...I think I am asking far too much of myself...I shall keep persevering thought for I am not one to give up...

Five minutes later...on second thoughts, perhaps I will ask my eldest to draw the tree...

Twenty minutes later....Why can't I do that??

Well that didn't take long now, did it? Me and my great ideas.

So now we know where Bors is in the family tree -- I am sure you all very much relieved and will be able to sleep easy tonight because of It? But, just to confuse the issue, in my book The Du Lac Chronicles which is out early 2016 ( I shamelessly plug ) Bors is not a member of the Du Lac family and he actually waged war on Lancelot during the Du Lac wars...and that is all I am going to tell you about my book today, so if you want to find out more, guess what you are going to have to do???!

Bors childhood.

We need to have a quick look at King Bors life so I can put Bors junior, who I am talking about today, in context. King Bors and King Ban were allies to Arthur and helped him in the struggle against the uprising of the eleven kingdoms. Unfortunately, both Bors and Ban died battling Claudas. Lancelot got lucky and was raised by the Lady of the Lake, whereas Bors junior and his brother, Lionel, were taken captive by Claudas where they had a particularly unpleasant childhood. Thankfully, they finally managed to escape - although they did kill Claudas's son, Dorin, before they left - but they say he had it coming. Claudas, for obvious reasons, was not pleased and he retaliated, but the boys were rescued by a servant of the Lady of the Lake and they spent what little remained of their childhood with their cousin, Lancelot.

To cut a long story short, all three boys end up as knights of Camelot.

Bors father's a child - but remember this is the time of sorcery and magic rings. Bors is tricked into carnal relations with King Brandegoris daughter and a son comes from the union. Bors recognises the child as his own, despite the magic ring, and he later introduces Elyan to court. In T. H. White's book, The Once and Future King, Bors is describe as an "Almost virgin." How can you be an almost virgin? The mind boggles. He is also described as being incredibly bad tempered. Maybe it was because of his "almost virgin" status? 

Ignoring White....  

Bors is very chivalrous and becomes one of the Grail Knights and, along with Percival and Galahad, he witnesses the mysteries of the Grail with his own eyes. Sadly, he is the only one to return to court after seeing the Grail.

However, believing in chivalry and honour can have it's drawbacks. I can remember, many years ago, during my school days, one particular teacher who taught us philosophy. This teacher had a thing for impossible situations where no matter what you did, someone died. She did this every single lesson, I jest not. I could give you lots of examples but, I will save you that torture and tell you about just one. Here goes...Two men are drowning in the sea, one of them was supposedly your father and other had the cure for cancer...we were told we could save only one. I pointed out that I couldn't swim, so there would be three people drowning instead of two... the teacher wasn't impressed with my answer -- personally I thought I made a valid point and I still stand by it. Nevertheless, if you were in that situation, who would you choose?

But what has this got to do with Bors? I hear you yell.

Well, Bors found himself in this situation. His brother, Lionel needed rescuing - the poor bloke was being whipped with thorns by some terrible villains, but down the road Bors witnessed the abduction of a pretty, young girl by a rogue knight...Oh my days, it is beginning to sound like an episode from that Australian soap-opera, Neighbours.

Bors decides to rescue the girl, whilst praying desperately for his brother to be delivered by the Lord. Lionel manages to escape, but he isn't too happy with his brother's choice - in fact, Lionel is so angry that he tries to kill Bors. Bors drops his weapons and says "If you want to kill me, kill me - I'll not defend myself." Maybe he was trying to call Lionels bluff, but it didn't work. Lionel said "If that is what you want, prepare to die." They probably didn't say those exact words to each other, please don't quote me on that! Sir Calogrenant and a local village hermit, try to to intervene, more fool them...Lionel kills them both. There is nothing stopping Lionel now from murdering his brother..apart from a lightening fork that is sent down from the heavens -- which I don't think actually kills him, because Lionel pops up again later on in the story -- unless Bors had two brothers called Lionel? I am assuming that he did not.

During the Lancelot and Guinevere scandle, which rocked the court of Camelot, Bors helps Lancelot rescue the Queen. He sides with Lancelot and follows him into exile from court. Eventually Bors gains the lands of Claudas. Sir Gawain writes to Lancelot asking for his help against Mordred. Lancelot does not go, but Bors and Lionel do. Lionel dies in the skirmishes immediately after the Battle of Camlann. Bors avenges him and so the story ends.

My favourite portrayal of Bors?

I think my favourite portray of Bors was played by Ray Winston in the 2004 film, King Arthur - the film is worth watching just for the banter between Bors and Lancelot ( Ioan Gruffudd ). And I also love the portrayal of the Saxons, especially Cerdic and Cynric -- I promise you, you will definitely be meeting those two in The Du Lac Chronicles, did I tell you it is out early 2016?!

  "Rus"

The Legendary King Arthur.

I have just realised that I seem to be quite happy to tell you all about Arthur's legendary knights, but I have forgotten to tell you about Arthur's legendary life. Although, I am sure you probably know a great deal about it already.

So, lets for a minute, forget about Nennius, Gildas, and my hunt for the real Arthur, and instead look at the stories.

Geoffrey of Monmouth really paved the way when it came to the stories of Arthur, but it would be the work of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, which would come to influence the 'history' of the Once and Future King.

Bradley James played Arthur Pendragon in the BBC adaptation of Merlin

See if you recognise any of these themes.

King Uther Pendragon holds court, and there he meets Igrain, the wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. Uther is driven almost out of his mind with lust for Igrain. He cannot help but make his attraction known. But Igrain loves her husband and tells him of Uther's pursuit. Gorlois whisks his wife away from court and they head back home to the safety of Tintagle Castle.

So great is Uther's lust that he follows her home, and while Gorlois is out fighting in a noble battle, Uther asks the great sorcerer, Merlin, to disguise him as Gorlois. Thinking Uther is Gorlois, Igrain makes love to him. That very night, Gorlois dies.

After this there is a great deal of confusion as to what happened next. Did Igrain have two daughters by Gorlois and a son by Uther, or were all her children Uthers? Did she marry Uther? Did she die? -- I am guessing at some point she died, because that tends to happen, but no one seems to know when.

We need to look at Robert de Boron and Thomas Malory's work to find out what happened next.

Arthur is giving to Sir Ector to be raised in secret.

In the meantime, Uther dies and as there is seemingly no heir to take his place, Merlin decides to place a sword in a stone - saying that whoever can draw the sword out of the stone is the rightful king.

Many try. No one succeeds. Except for Sir Ector ward, Arthur.

Arthur is crowned king. Hurrah! But not everyone is happy about it. Merlin takes Arthur to Avalon, here he meets with the Lady of the Lake who gives Arthur his magic sword, Excalibur. There is a rebellion of the eleven kingdoms, which Arthur brutally puts down. He is the King and he will have respect.

Arthur meets and falls in love with Guinevere. Her father gives Arthur a magnificent Round Table as part of his daughter's dowery. There is no head to a round table, so all those who sit around it are equal. And so begins a memorable reign. It is all going splendidly well, until his wife falls in love with one of his knights.

Lancelot and Guinevere keep their affair a secret. But as with all secrets, at some point the truth will out.

Guinevere begs Lancelot to flee the castle, fearing for his life. He is reluctant to leave her, but he sees no other option. He leaves, but then he hears the shocking news that Arthur has sentenced Guinevere to death for High Treason. Lancelot cannot leave her to such a fate, so he embarks on a bold rescue, in which he is successful. Lancelot takes Guinevere to the relatively safety of his own kingdom in Brittany.

Arthur cannot allow such an insult to go unpunished. He crosses the channel to Brittany and lays siege to Lancelot's castle. There are several version as to what happens next...did Lancelot make peace with Arthur? Did Guinevere return to her husband? Was there a bloody battle?

Meanwhile, back in Britain, Mordred, whom Arthur had left in charge of the kingdom, comes to the conclusion that he actually quite likes having all this power and he could easily do what Arthur does - no problem whatsoever. He rebells against Arthur and claims the throne of Camelot for himself. Enraged, Arthur leaves Brittany and heads home.

There is a vicious battle on Salisbury Plain - The Battle of Camlann - in which Arthur slays Mordred. Unfortunately, Arthur is also gravely wounded. He needs to journey to Avalon where the magic of the waters will heal him. He is placed in a barge - the quickest way to get to Avalon is by boat. But, Arthur knows he will not make it. He commands that his sword be thrown back into the lake. He dies...well, maybe he died, for his death is surrounded in mystery.

The end...or is it?

King Arthur's Sister in Washington Court - Book Review

This blog is going to be a little bit different, although still in keeping with the Arthurian theme. Today I am going to talk about a rather wonderful book called King Arthur's Sister in Washington Court by Kim Iverson Headlee.

Those of you who read a lot of Arthurian literature may well have come across Kim's work before, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, perhaps?

King Arthur's Sister in Washington Court ( I am going to call it KASIWC from now on ), caught my eye because it sounded really intriguing. Arthurian legend meets baseball - what a concept!

Kim, I think, set herself quite a challenge when she wrote it, because this is a sequel to Mark Twain's  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - so hats off to her for that.

The story is about Morgan le Fay, Queen of Gore, and is set in the year AD 600, (Morgan was lucky enough to survive the purge in Mark Twain's book). We all know of Morgan's magical prowess and she has vowed revenge upon the Yankee, Hank Morgan - who in Mark Twain's book caused a great deal of trouble for Arthur and his court.

Morgan casts a spell which is supposed to take her to 1879 Connecticut - she wants to stop Sir Boss (Hank) from ever traveling back to her time and destroying her world, but her spell goes drastically wrong and she finds herself in Washington DC In the year 2079.

She adapts remarkably quickly to modern life - she survives her first encounter with a flying limousine - which she is convinced is some sort of magical dragon. And thank goodness for magic, for she would never have been able to walk in stilettos without it!

Morgan lands on her feet and becomes the Campaign Manager for the American President, Malory Beckham Hinton - whose ambitions are so great that Morgan believes that one day the President will rule absolutely and elections will be a thing of the past.

Somehow, Morgan ends up being the owner of the London Knights - the world-champion baseball team and after that things really get interesting...

Morgan's stormy relationship with Sandy, the general manager of the Knights, is hysterical - I have lost count how many times she fired him! The story is packed with action and you never quite know what Morgan is going to do next ...will she throw the game by using magic or will she refrain herself this one time?

She also tells some incredibly amusing anecdotes about the Knights of her brother's Round Table.

To be absolutely honest, although the title and synopsis intrigued me, I was a little bit wary to start with, simply because baseball is not a national sport where I come from. The only encounter I have ever had with baseball is on my children's Nintendo Wii and I must admit, it wasn't my finest of moments. Oh, and of course, there was that Kevin Costner film, however all I learnt from Field of Dreams was "If you build it, he will come," but apart from that, I know nothing! However, my lack of knowledge did not in any way hamper the enjoyment of the book. So please do not be put off if you are not a baseball fan.

Likewise, you do not have to read Mark Twain's book to understand what is going on in this one. KASIWC stands firmly on its own two feet.

KASIWC is an incredibly well crafted piece of work, of that there is no doubt. The story is told in the first person by Morgan herself, and boy, does she have strong opinions on just about everything - some of which may be a little controversial - but hey, she is from a different era, what can you do?

It is laugh out loud funny, but at the same time some of topics that Kim explores really made me think about how little things have actually changed between Morgan's world and our own. It gave me pause for thought.

There is humour, romance, drama, magic, King Arthur and his Knights, and baseball - what more can you ask for?

I read this book in a day - and I haven't done something like that in a long time - I simply could not put it down. Which I think, in itself, says a lot about the book.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely.

So, if you are looking for something to read that is a little bit different, then what are you waiting for? Click on the links and check out Kim Iverson Headlee, King Arthur's Sister in Washington Court, today!

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