What determines a legendary character? Why are they so special? Why are they still talked about to this day? These are the many questions people ask when reading about Arthurian legends in literature. There are many legendary characters that stand out throughout Great Britain's history; however, King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Sir Percivale show what it truly means to be a noble knight in English literature. All of these legendary characters have different legends and characteristics that stand for something that has a purpose or reason to why classes still find them important to learn about today. In particular, the Arthurian legends in literature gave great examples of loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness, and more. It is essential …show more content…
He had many knights that were underneath him that were very significant as well; however, if King Arthur’s legendary character had not pulled Excalibur—the magical sword—from the stone, most his noble knights working for him would not have been remembered for their courageous deeds. Everything revolves around Arthur himself (Barber, 1999). Furthermore, a little background on the Excalibur sword, it was not just an ordinary sword, it had magical powers. King Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, had Excalibur in his possession for quite some time. However, Uther was a ruthless, malicious man who wanted absolute power and would stop at nothing to get it. Soon, his malicious ways caught up to him, and he ended up passing away. Right before he dwindled away to his death, he stuck the sword in the stone. The legend says the next person to pull the sword from the stone would be king. Obviously, of course everyone wanted a chance (Muir, …show more content…
3). Merlin, the sorcerer during this time period, was the one who casted this spell in order for Excalibur to return to its’ rightful owner. Whoever removed the sword from the stone was the next reigning king of the kingdom. Subsequently, Merlin knew who was to be king, but no one else did. He knew Arthur would be next in line, so he watched over him as he grew up with his adopted dad, Ector, and Ector’s biological son, Kay. Both Ector and Kay did not know of Arthur’s royal blood to King Uther. Before they knew it, Arthur was 15 years old. Then, one day Kay, Ector’s biological son, tried to pull the sword from the stone, but did not succeed. Later on, Arthur took his chance at drawing the sword from the stone; thus, changing his life for forever. Arthur soon came to the realization that he was now King Arther (Muir,