Garcia, Joyce Nicole T.

3 BSE-English 1
BSEE 36: Survey of English and American Literature

King Arthur and His Round Table

Presenter: Allyssa Marie Repuya

Observation

Background and Facts

Thomas Malory compiled the legend of King Arthur and His Round Table. He is an
English writer born around 1415. Aside from being a writer, he is also a knight and a
politician. Le Morte d'Arthur was one of his notable works. It is the classic English language
chronicle of Arthurian legend. He is described as a "knight prisoner", distinguishing him from
six other candidates also bearing the name Thomas Malory in the 15th century when Le
Morte d'Arthur was written.

The story of King Arthur was so famous that people invested time to discover more
about the story. One of the interesting pieces of information that I found was that King
Arthur's nickname was The One, True King of the Britons.

Characters:
Some of the characters mentioned in the story were the following:
● King Arthur - He is the legendary king of Britain.
● Igraine - She is the mother of King Arthur.
● Uther Pendragon - Father of King Arthur.
● Guinevere - A queen consort of King Arthur who has been said that had a love affair
with King Arthur’s Chief Knight, Lancelot.
● Morgan Le Fay - A powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend.
● Sir Ector - Foster father of King Arthur.
● Margause - Sister of Morgan Le Fay.
● Sir Lancelot - Chief knight of King Arthur.
● Sir Gawain - He is said to be the nephew of King Arthur. Gawain’s parents were King
Lot of Orkney and Morgause.
● Sir Galahad - He was the son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine. His name may be of Welsh
origin or come from the place name of Gilead in Palestine.
 ● Sir Geraint - He was the eldest son of King Erbin of Dumnonia was a Knight of
Devonshire.
● Sir Kay - He was the son of Sir Ector (Ectorious) and the foster brother of King
Arthur.
● Sir Gareth - He was the youngest son of King Lot and Morgause of Orkney, which
made him the youngest brother of Sir Gawain as well.
● Sir Gaheris - He was the son of King Lot of Orkney and his wife Morgause, sister of
King Arthur. Before being knighted he was squire to his elder brother Gawain.
● Sir Bedivere - He is truly a deep and fervent supporter of King Arthur from the very
start, Sir Bedivere never wained from that support.
● Sir Bors de Ganis - He was the only knight of the three Grail knights (Bors, Percivale,
and Galahad) to survive the Quest for the Holy Grail and return to King Arthur’s court.
● Sir Lamorak - The son of King Pellinore, a great knight in his own right, Sir Lamorak
was the brother of Percivale according to some legends. Lamorak was one of the
strongest, fiercest, and most brutal Knights of the Round Table.
● Sir Tristan - He was the nephew and champion of King Mark of Cornwall and the son
of Meliodas, King of Lyoness.
● Sir Percival was raised by his mother in ignorance of arms and courtesy. Yet because
of his upbringing, Percival was one of the most gracious and innocent of the Knights
of the Round Table.
● Sir Agravain was touted as being one of the most handsome knights of the Round
Table, Sir Agravain was also a skilled fighter and strategist. Legend has it, that in the
earliest of texts Agravain may have had a not so perfect reputation, but in later
manuscripts, he’s referred to as noble and chivalrous.

Plot
The story begins when the young Arthur travels to London with his step-father, Sir
Ector. Arthur then pulls the sword out of the stone, where he is proclaimed king. King Arthus
gathered the bravest knights in His kingdom. He also married Guinevere. Merlin enters the
story as he makes a round table for the knight of Camelot.

One day King Arthur came across Queen Annoure on a journey. The queen wanted
to marry King Arthur, but he escaped. Because of this, the queen asked Sir Pellinore to kill
Arthur. Fortunately, Arthur wasn't severely wounded, although his sword broke in their
encounter. Merlin then took Arthur to the Lady of the Lake. She gave Arthur a magic sword,
the Excalibur.
 A sorceress named Morgan Le Fayhated Arthur. So she tricked him and one of his
knights into a fight with each other without knowing their identity. Arthur was severely
wounded. He went to the nunnery for healing. Unfortunately, Morgan followed him, took his
magic scabbard, and threw it in the lake.

Sir Meligrance kidnaps Guinevere. Sir Lancelot rescued her. Guinevere forgave
Meligrance, but he tricked Guinevere and Lancelot. Meligrance locked up in a room and told
Arthur that she ran away with Lancelot. When Lancelot escaped, he killed Meligrance.

Sir Lancelot's son Galahad sat on the vacant place on the round table. He took a
journey in search of the holy grail. Many had happened along the journey. But they found the
holy grail on a ship which took them to the city. In the city, Galahad became a king. An old
man foretells the latter's imminent death. When Arthur returned, he sensed that the end of
the round table is near.

Many tried to betrayed Arthur. This caused chaos and unwanted battle. Because of
this Arthur died.

Interpretation

1. Who did King Arthur marry?

- King Arthur married Guinivere.
-
2. Where did Arthur travel when he was young?
- Young Arthur traveled to London.
3. When did King Arthur become king?
- Arthur became king when he draw the sword out of the stone.

4. What did the Lady in the Lake give Arthur?

- The lady in the lake gave Arthur Excalibur, a magic sword.

5. How did Morgan Le Fay express her hatred to Arthur?

- Morgan expressed her hatred to Arthur when she tricks Arthur to fight against
his own knight. She also took Arthur’s magic scabbard.

6. What is the main theme of the story? How was it portrayed?

 - The main theme of the story is betrayal. The round table was established for
the betterment of Arthur’s kingdom. Unfortunately, the knights he gathered
were brave yet greedy. Their greed caused chaos in the story.

7. What is your opinion about the attitude of the members of King Arthur’s round table?
- Most of the members of the round table were greedy. They were brave, yet so
much negative emotion in their heart. A warrior who serves the king should
have loyalty to the king, and not be greedy. They keep peace around the
kingdom, if they will start unending battle peace will be unattainable for the
kingdom.

8. What would happen if hate and betrayal were not present in the story?
- If hate and betrayal are not present in the story, the kingdom will be peaceful
and will flourish. The story will be filled with heroism and bravery. These men
were intelligent and brave, how beautiful will Arthur’s kingdom be if their
kingdom was peaceful.

9. What is the problem with the story?

- The biggest problem in the story is greed and hatred. These brought
problems after problems, chaos after chaos, blood after blood.

10. What does it take to be a king?

- To be a king is to trust no one but himself. Betrayal is easy, breaking free from
betrayal is hard. As a king, your people, and your kingdom’s state is your
responsibility. Trusting the wrong person can affect the whole kingdom.

Reflection

The main theme I saw here is greed. I can relate it to our society today. Our public
officials meant to serve the country and its people. But based on my observation, most
public officials today are greedy for money and power. It is the reason why corruption is the
biggest problem in the country. Imagine if our public servants were loyal to their people and
our country. By then, our country will be free from corruption. If corruption vanished from this
country, poverty can be resolved. Every Filipino will be given justice from the taxes they pay,
and everyone will have a decent job opportunity. Not just that, our country will be able to
provide better benefits for its citizen, and our countries' debt will be paid.
 Greed can make people do unreasonable things. It is so sad that this is our reality,
people are now thirsty for power. People are no longer content with what they have.
Everyone always seeks more.

REFERENCES:

King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table Summary. (n.d.). Super Summary.
Retrieved September 29, 2021, from
https://www.supersummary.com/king-arthur-and-the-legends-of-the-round-table/sum
mary/
King Arthur Facts. (n.d.). Soft Schools. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from
https://www.softschools.com/facts/fiction/king_arthur_facts/2351/
The Knights of Round Table. (n.d.). King Arthur and the Knights of Round Table.
Retrieved September 29, 2021, from
https://kingarthursknights.com/the-knights-of-the-round-table/
Thomas Malory. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malory