Fascinating Hero
(King Arthur Intriguing Characteristics)
The legend of King Arthur is one that is known worldwide. It is steeped in chivalry and romance. To most people it is just that. A romantic story of a king and his exploits involving magic, magicians in an age where good conquered evil. Some would argue that Arthur was not real, but in fact imaginary and a made up character to just be an inspiration to others. King Arthur had very many heroic personal characteristics. He was brave, loyal and most importantly he was always willing to do what was best for him people, and his country. Intriguing can be defined as arousing one’s curiosity or interest; fascinating. That is a perfect way to explain King Arthur in one word. King Arthur is intriguing because he was always an outstanding fighter, brave, and loyal to his country and people.
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Not only was King Arthur loyal to his people, but his vassals returned the loyalty to their lord. “In this, Arthur proves himself to be an exceptionally great feudal lord. Feudalism, a system in which a lord protects the men who swears loyalty to him (his vassals), in exchange for these vassals’ agreement to go to battle for that lord,” stated by Richard Cavendish in King Arthur and The Grail. For someone wanting to go to battle for you, you have to be an extraordinary person; they’re going to go risk their life essentially for you and the kingdom. “For vassals to have confidence in their lord, they have to know that he’ll keep his word. Lucky for his knights, Arthur is really good at keeping his word, perhaps more than any other character in the story,” explained Elisabeth Brew in The Return of King Arthur. With him keeping his word, it shows that he is honest and loyal to this people. Clearly, King Arthur show loyalty to his people by always keeping his words and making it easy for his knights to also stay
We have chosen to define the classic hero with nine distinct traits, all apply to Arthur and his journey. Based on what we know about Arthur from the legends surrounding him, including the movie we know that he starts life with his unusual birth of half Roman and half Britain. This is trait one of nine, an unusual birth. The second and third traits, leaving their family and traumatic event leading to an adventure, are shown when
While Arthur had charismatic qualities and benevolent morals, Beowulf, in a modern society, would be most likeable because he was a more sufficient leader. Every hero desires to be remembered for more than one heroic inclination. To protect mankind from evil, to use his powers to rescue his family and friends from evil circumstances, and to earn immortality through his heroic tendencies are three important propensities. Three of
Loyalty is very necessary for a knight, and Lancelot shows it vividly. Lancelot is not in a position that he is proud of when the problem comes, but he still works for what he believes in. Lancelot is facing a public trial in Camelot. Suddenly, Camelot is surrounded by the army of Malagant. He threated King Arthur to give him the city, or everybody will die. King Arthur starts the battle with Malagant’s army, and he gets shoots in his chest four times by crossbow. Lancelot goes into the crown, and he fights with Malagant who is also really good at sword. It is a really tough fight, so both of them gets injured. He does not give up, and he kills Malagant eventually. Lancelot is not trusted by King Arthur at the time when Camelot is invaded, because he is caught kissing Guinevere. He may be killed by King Arthur, and he can just run away due to the enormous chaos in the city at that tie. But he remembers that he is a knight, and he cannot fail the people in Camelot. So he picks up a sword, and helps people to defend their city. When he is fighting with Malagant, he tries to save an old man under the brutal broadsword of a knight of Malagant. He gets injured because of this action. All Lancelot has done shows everyone that he has loyalty to the city, Camelot, and his lord, King Arthur.
When meticulously analyzing the antiquated tale of King Arthur, one can conclude the inhabitants of this primeval society had many discrete values paired with different individuals. However, one common value associated with every individual in the community by all the townsfolk was Loyalty. The idolized value of loyalty is delineated throughout the story by the different characters in various scenarios. The three most firmly exemplified include: the vow made by the townsfolk of keeping the newly announced King safe and in power and to go to the extent of assassinating anyone who opposed him, the comment made by King Arthur when in Gaul about sacrificing his own life for the safety of his people, and finally the time when Sir Lancelot liberates
Loyalty can also come without fight or bravery. When Arthur went to the lake to seek the sword Excalibur, he swore to grant Avalon?s Lady whatever gift she someday desired. Also, Merlin was known for telling Arthur about the future and what could happen if Arthur did not listen to him, and because of that, Arthur was loyal enough to Merlin to follow his wishes. Aside from being told what to do and what not to do, when Arthur was wounded and in the process of dying, Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere were not going to leave Arthur unattended. They carried him to the next town. Also, when Queen Guinevere heard of the death of King Arthur, she ran off to Amesbury and became a nun, where she cursed herself for all her wrongdoing. Despite how it sounds, she expressed loyalty to the death of Arthur, by cleansing her soul so that she may join him again, one day in the after-life.
Being kind was one of King Arthur's strong suits. He practiced being kind daily. An example of this is found on page six, “‘Riding to the jousts, Sir Kay found suddenly that he had left his sword in his lodgings, and he asked Arthur to ride back and fetch it for him. ‘Certainly I will,’ said Arthur, who is always ready to do anything for other people, and back he rode to the town.’”. This proves that he is kind because he was willing to ride all the
Heros have been an influential topic throughout all different time periods; however, many of them have a different definition of a hero. The one thing they all share in common is the fact that how they display their heroes is a strong reflection of their culture during the time. Many of these “heroes” were displayed in similar ways, mostly based on the legend of King Arthur. In Le Morte D’Arthur, various qualities of heroes and villains are displayed throughout the tale; consequently, having an influence on many other characters throughout history.
During the years that King Arthur ruled over England, his reign is always remembered as a time of peace, a golden age, a great era, and a glorious time. However, this all comes to a halt, when two of Arthur’s most noble knights bring an affair into the open, causing his round table and kingdom to fall and bringing Arthur to his death. Written by Sir Thomas Malory in the latter half of the 15th century, books 20 and 21 of Morte D’Arthur (Death of Arthur) describe how over time, the tragic hero, King Arthur slowly loses control over his kingdom due to his ignorance, leading to a few errors in judgement that inevitably lead him to his own demise and to the passing of the great era that was the reign of the legendary King Arthur. King Arthur is a tragic hero due to his ignorance, overly trusting manner, and the careless mistakes that he makes during his time as king.
The early childhood of King Arthur seems to be the foundation of the epic journey of his life. Even though his achievements as a child were brief, they were extremely important to King Arthur’s outlook on life, as well as character. As an optimistic squire, King Arthur had hopes of one day overcoming his social standing. He received his wish when he unknowingly pulled the magical sword out of the stone.
If the name of King Arthur is mentioned, I suppose what comes to mind is not so much one person as a whole array of characters and themes, a montage so to speak. Of course we do think first of the King, the magnificent monarch of a glorified or idealized medieval realm. But we think also of his Queen, of the fair and wayward Guinevere, we think of his enchanter, Merlin, who presided over his birth, who set him on the throne, who established him there in the early and traveled days of his reign. There were the knights of the Round Table, vowed to the highest ideals of chivalry, and the greatest of them, Sir Lancelot, who, of course, has a tragic love affair with the Queen. There is another great love story, that of Tristan
Who was King Arthur? Most people would tell of a great King; a devoted circle of heroic knights; mighty castles and mightier deeds; a time of chivalry and courtly love; of Lancelot and Guinevere; of triumph and death. Historians and archaeologists, especially Leslie Alcock, point to shadowy evidence of a man who is not a king, but a commander of an army, who lived during the late fifth to early sixth century who may perhaps be the basis for Arthur. By looking at the context in which the stories of King Arthur survived, and the evidence pertaining to his castle Camelot and the Battle of Badon Hill, we can begin to see that Arthur is probably not a king as the legend holds.
Yet another point to prove himself is his epic, as well as revolutionary, battles as a warrior. As one of the most capable knights in the kingdom, Arthur was always on the front line of major battles or smaller battles of great importance. His ability to quickly decide whether or not to kill his enemy or simply make them give up and restrain them was of his greatest qualities as a leader. This proved that he had morals that he kept and also proved that every decision he had made was for the greater good of his kingdom and the people residing within. His ability to work as a group showed that he was willing to work with others and that he believed in others as well as himself. What he fought for was also important. The little he did fight was only to protect his honor and country as well as the people he loved, proving that he only harmed when he needed to.
Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.
Sir Thomas Malory wrote about a king with both good and bad traits named King Arthur. For the most part, King Arthur was good, he would have rather helped people than harm them. He was a courteous and kind gentlemen, but he was also weak-minded. He listened to what others told him to do instead of him doing what he knows is right. By listening to Sir Gawain made him unloyal to his favorite and most trusted knight. King Arthur was the type of king that would have rather had peace than war, which helped but also hurt him in some situations.
When directly looking at King Arthur stories, one can see a theme of redemption which makes these legends so enjoyable. The idea that a peasant boy with next to nothing can rise up in status and become a king of an entire nation is what makes this legend so appealing. After Sir Kay failed to pull out the sword Arthur, "put out his right hand softly and drew it out as gently as from a scabbard"