The world of king arthur and his court pdf

He beheld a pathetic family dying of smallpox. A young, broken-hearted girl with a baby was hanged because she had stolen some cloth. They met men confined to prison for thirty, forty, or fifty years, no one knowing why they were there in the first place. Near the final stage of their quest, Hank and the King were forced into the horrors of slavery and taken, shackled, to London.

King Arthur showed himself to be a stately man; never once did he lose his kingly demeanor or his virtuous approach to life. However, due to some slight misbehaviors, both he and his councilor were condemned to die by hanging.

At this point, Hank made an ingenious escape, found a telephone, informed Camelot of what was happening, and received the reassurance that five hundred knights would hasten forthwith to London. But before he could rendezvous with the royal army, Hank found himself recaptured. Time was running out. The King was blindfolded and his head placed in the noose. Then, just at the last moment, Morgan spied Lancelot with his five hundred knights rushing toward the city square on bicycles!

By means of a modern invention, Hank and the King had been saved. With no armor, Hank easily dodged the cumbersome knight until he was able to lasso him and pull him from his horse. But when the combatants returned for another round to the field of battle, the Yankee found that Merlin had stolen his lasso.

He had no alternative except to shoot Sagramor with his gun. King Arthur had seen enough of a decayed, immoral Camelot. Slavery was abolished. Knights gave up the deadly art of chivalry — though they still insisted on wearing their armor. Instead they became engineers or conductors on the railway between London and Camelot.

They played baseball, sold sewing machines and soap, and played the stock market. Camelot had become a modern American town in the midst of ancient Great Britain.

In the meantime, Hank had married Sandy and the had a little girl. As the years passed and things continued to run smoothly, Hank took his family to tour in France. Four weeks later, when they returned to England, the land had been laid desolate by invading forces.

Moreover, King Arthur had finally been forced to admit that Queen Guinevere and Lancelot were embroiled in an affair. In the resulting wars and battles, the King, Lancelot, and most of the major knights of the kingdom were killed.

The church declared an Interdict against Hank Morgan and his work, and gathered all the remaining knights to uncover and execute the Yankee intruder. That evening Sir Lancelot remained at the abbey with the boy, that he might keep his vigil there, and on the morrow's dawn he was made a knight.

Sir Lancelot put on one of his spurs, and Bors, Lancelot's cousin, the other, and then Sir Lancelot said to the boy, "Fair son, attend me to the court of the king;" but the abbess said, "Sir, not now, but we will send him when it shall be time. Then there came news. Then they went back to their seats around the table. Then when all the seats but the "Siege Perilous" were full, the hall was suddenly darkened; and an old man clad in white, whom nobody knew, came in, with a young knight in red armor, wearing an empty scabbard at his side, who said, "Peace be with you, fair knights.

Upon this, all the knights of the Round Table marvelled greatly at Sir Galahad, that he dared to sit in that seat, and he so tender of age. Then King Arthur took him by the hand and led him down to the river to see the adventure of the stone. It was not until long after, and when they both had had many adventures, that Sir Lancelot discovered Galahad to be his son. Sir Lancelot once came to the sea-strand and found a ship without sails or oars, and sailed away upon it. Once, when he touched at an island, a young knight came on board to whom Lancelot said, "Sir, you are welcome," and when the young.

So dwelt Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad together within that ship for half a year, and often they arrived at islands far from men where there were but wild beasts, and they found many adventures strange and perilous which they brought to an end. When Sir Lancelot at last died, his body was taken to Joyous-Gard, his home, and there it lay in state in the choir, with a hundred torches blazing above it; and while it was there, came his brother Sir Ector de Maris, who had long been seeking Lancelot.

When he heard such noise and saw such lights in the choir, he alighted and came in; and Sir Bors went towards him and told him that his brother Lancelot was lying dead. Then Sir Ector threw his shield and sword and helm from him, and when he looked. And now I dare say, that, Sir Lancelot, there thou liest, thou wert never matched of none earthly knight's hands; and thou wert the curtiest knight that ever beare shield; and thou wert the truest friend to thy lover that ever bestrood horse, and thou wert the truest lover of a sinful man that ever loved woman; and thou wert the kindest man that ever strooke with sword; and thou wert the goodliest person that ever came among presse of knights; and thou wert the meekest man and the gentlest that ever eate in hall among ladies; and thou wert the sternest knight to thy mortall foe that ever put speare in the rest.

Instead of following his professional vows and keeping his knights together and orderly, he is now aiding Gawain in revenge against Lancelot. The long-term outcome of this decision means war, and these rivalries King Arthur has built up eventually lead to the downfall.

With his knights now at war, King Arthur agrees to leave his kingdom in order to aid Gawain in his fight against Lancelot. King Arthur is now making many mistakes: not only is he leaving his kingdom in the hands of his bastard son whom he tried to have killed as a baby, he is also leaving his kingdom in order to fight in a war where his beloved knights are battling against each other.

While this war may or may not have been completely avoided had Arthur not agreed to choose sides, his kingdom would certainly not have fallen because he would not have needed to leave in order to fight. After returning to find that his kingdom has been taken over by Mordred, King Arthur is devastated.

The king they once desired and chose to take over the throne after witnessing him pull the sword from the stone is now the same one they diminish as king. While trying to fix everything and gain his kingdom back, King Arthur and Mordred decide to reunite and make a deal. An agreement would have been sealed and war between the king and his son could have been avoided, had an adder not bitten the foot of a knight at the ceremony, thus leading the knight to pull out his sword on the adder.

Alas, that ever I should see this doleful day! While it is definitely true that many characters were the reason for the fall of the Round Table, I believe that had he not ignored the signs and paid more attention to his kingdom, Arthur would have led a successful reign. It is unfortunate how his personal life worked out, with Lancelot and Guinevere having an affair and Mordred never being killed.

However, had he dealt with his professional life choices better, his personal issues may have worked themselves out for the best as well. I argue that Arthur should have taken responsibility for his son upon finding out about him. These are all major faults of Arthur, who seemed to blur the lines between his wishes for his personal and professional life as the king.

As a ruler, his kingdom and his knights should have come first, instead of his personal desires. Rulers, such as King Arthur, have a lot of responsibility to uphold for their kingdoms to run properly and smoothly.

Indeed, other characters take a little fault for the fall of the Round Table, but I place most of the blame solely on the one and only King Arthur. Benson, D.

The ending of the Morte Darthur. The Art of the Morte Darthur , Malory, T. Helen Cooper.