Countless people have had their hearts broken due to cheating and deception. However, in the Arthurian legend, these disastrous love triangles have much more devastating consequences. One story in the Arthurian legend is of Iseult, King Mark, and the knight Tristan, and their eventual demise as a result of their love triangle. Then, before King Arthur was even conceived, his father Uther and the Duke Gorlois fought over over Igraine, and waged a war over her, costing many lives. Finally, Lancelot’s affair with Arthur and Queen Guinevere set off a chain of actions that destroy the kingdom of Camelot. In the Arthurian legend, love triangles always have fatal consequences and never end well between its constituents.
Firstly, the ancient tale of Tristan, Iseult of Ireland, and King Mark of Cornwall demonstrate how dangerous love can be. For example, Tristan’s and Iseult’s affair, discovered by King Mark, causes Tristan to flee in exile. Due to
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Because of Arthur’s denial of Guinevere's affair with Lancelot, Mordred seizes his opportunity to accuse Guinevere, which causes Arthur to stage her “execution” and her rescue. Because of this, Gaheris and Gareth are placed in danger, and killed by Lancelot in his rampage, as well as many other soldiers who were only doing their duty. “” (White #) However, this has wider repercussions, and Mordred and Agravaine use Lancelot’s crime of “treason” to persuade some of the knights of the Round Table to follow his ideas. This culminates in a battle between his followers and Arthur’s, and ultimately ends in Arthur’s death, marking the end of his kingdom. “” (White #) All of Mordred’s actions would never have occurred if not for Guinevere’s affair. The chain of events causing Camelot’s collapse would never have happened if Guinevere had not loved both Arthur and