King Arthur Research Paper

Luigi Vittatoe

Professor Anne Marie Fowler

HUM1015 Section 2 - Mythology

April 25, 2015

The Characters of the Legend of King Arthur “As people mature, they can change. Sometimes they become better human beings: self-confident, sensitive, thoughtful, and kind. Sometimes their experiences make them weak, callous, or cruel”. The main characters in the myth of King Arthur each have their own unique story. Some of these characters grow up really fast for their age, while others lust for adventure. There is a great deal of trust, loyalty, magic and betrayal as well in this story. The character of King Arthur changes greatly throughout the myth. It starts out with a young naive Arthur probably about fifteen years old. He goes to look for

Lancelot loves Guinevere madly and tries to keep his mind and body occupied so he doesn’t think of her. He would save random damsels in distress and compete in jousting tournaments. Lancelot loved the honor and glory of battle but even more how everyone would remember his name. “Sir Lancelot loved to earn glory, honor, and praise. He decided to increase his honor by seeking adventures in which he could excel in other, equally noble ways” (Rosenberg 439). This makes Guinevere jealous and she tells Lancelot that she never wants to see him again. Lancelot and Guinevere were like magnets attracted to one another. They were caught together in the queen’s room. Lancelot kills the knights and knows Arthur will be upset enough to have the queen burned. He believes he can fight for her and defend their innocence. Lancelot ends up rescuing the queen from the fire and takes her to the castle of Joyous Gard. King Arthur, Gawain, and his army arrive at Lancelot’s castle seeking revenge for the loss of the killed knights. Lancelot still professes his love and loyalty to King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere. Next was the forced duel between Lancelot and Gawain. Lancelot didn’t want to fight his fellow knight and

He is the offspring of King Arthur and Queen Margawse. Arthur didn’t know until Merlin had revealed it to him that she was his half-sister. Merlin tells him, “God is angry with you, for you have slept with your sister, and she has given birth to your son, who will destroy you and all of the knights of your kingdom” (Rosenberg 431). Arthur placed a number of male infants on a boat, to include Mordred, and hoped they would be killed at sea. He was rescued and cared for without the knowledge of Arthur. Mordred would soon be made into a knight. During this time period it is unknown what Mordred went through. He isn’t even mentioned again until towards the end of the story. Mordred had a hatred of Lancelot and Guinevere. Mordred was one of the knights that had gone to the queen’s quarters to find her with Lancelot. He was the only one to escape while the others were killed by Lancelot. Immediately he went to Arthur telling him of Lancelot’s betrayal. I believe he made a mountain out of a mole hill and corroborated his story with only some facts. In my opinion, he just wanted to see Lancelot and Guinevere suffer. Mordred had lied to everyone about Arthur being killed at Lancelot’s castle resulting in the Dukes making him the next heir to the throne. The final scene Arthur goes into battle with Mordred. Arthur strikes him fatally below the waste and Mordred was able to pierce Arthur’s helmet with his