The Knights And Squires Were Silent

Everything had began magnificently the day I attended the renaissance fair. It was the first time I’d ever been to any festival of the sort, and the air was full of magic. At exactly 10:30 in the morning, the ceremony began. The King and Queen presented themselves atop the castle’s balcony to address their people. As the beautiful royals welcomed us into their kingdom, my heart beat erratically, and I crossed the threshold with my breath held. There were so many events that I wanted to see, and activities I wanted to try; I couldn’t wait to get inside. I wasn’t just an ordinary guest, however, I had a job to do. Carrying my instrument lightly with one hand, dressed as a princess and feeling important, I walked proudly through the bustling

Elizabeth’s character was a mystery to most people at the time she inherited the throne. She had learned to keep her own council, control her emotions, and always behaved cautiously, thus being able to disprove all rumors about her. Always dignified and stately, she could be vain, willful, dictatorial, temperamental, and imperious. She had courage, both in her decisions, and in the face of danger. Possessing an innate of humanity, she was not normally cruel, unlike most rulers of her day. Most regarded her to be unusually tolerant in that age of religious conflict. She saw herself as one who was always honest and honorable, who

A successful monarchy relies upon a stable leader who is concerned with the satisfaction of those he rules over. Henry Bolingbroke the IV in Shakespeare's Henry the IV Part I follows a trend set by his predecessor in Richard II of self-indulgence and neglect of his kingdom. These leaders worry about the possibility of losing their kingdom or their soldiers to other nobles who were also concerned more with obtaining a higher position rather than governing. The king must also be wary of his own life, something that was once revered and guarded closely by other nobles. Wars once fought for gaining or protecting land are overshadowed by personal battles fighting for the position of king.

In Shakespeare’s play, King John, there is a clear theme of legitimacy and power among monarchal and noble members. The play begins with King John defending his legitimacy to his throne as the King of England. His young nephew, Arthur claims that he is the rightful heir due to his hereditary legitimacy. With the help of King Philip from France, Arthur has the support and army to overthrow King John. After this confrontation King John is met with two men that need his guidance and power to settle their dispute over inheritance and property.

Richard I reigned over England during the Middle Ages from 1189 to 1199 with great bravery and immense courage. Richard was born as the third legitimate son of King Henry II of England and never assumed that he would ever ascend to become the king. After leading his country in the Third Crusade, he gained the nicknames “the lionhearted” and “the absent king.” Through many heroic deeds while away at war, he deserved the nickname of “The Lionhearted” the most.

From the beginning of his life as a warrior to the end as a king, he gains and develops glory, responsibility and courage, all vital to his reign as a successful king.

When Edward came into power in 1042, England was in a poor state financially and also because of threats of an invasion and this made the first few years of his rule difficult. Edward was faced with many problems which he had to overcome. These problems involved; powerful Earls, (especially the Godwine’s), the foreign policy and the domestic policy. Edward both failed and succeeded in these problems due to a number of factors. These include a lack of knowledge about his kingdom and some may argue that he was naïve in his decisions. With some evaluation, we will be able to judge if Edward was a successful King or not.

There were three kings named Clovis, Charlemagne, and Alfred. They were all successful during their reigns within Europe. However, King Charles was the best ruler according to the model of early medieval kingship. One may ask what the model of early medieval kingship is. Well, a ruler to be considered the best would have to be a great conqueror, warrior, and defender of Christianity. King Charles during his rule was able to ascertain all three of these prerequisites for being a great ruler. Therefore, I will compare and contrast him, and his reign, to Clovis and Alfred to support my statement. I will also touch on how audience’s perceptions may be misguided due to the king’s biographers. I will begin the next paragraph examining King Charles exploits and why he fits the criteria of the best ruler.

     Both men had a common ability to see the goodness in other men as royal

the traits of a “good king”. He was a warrior with extraordinary abilities which made him seem

"…His Majesty, High King of Briton, Aurelius Ambrosius in the Great Marriage Rite with a druid priestess begat a son, Balinor Emrys of the Dragon Lord line, Earl of Snowdonia…"

indicated the coronation of him after the demise of the King. After a series of

Geoffrey of Monmouth’s writing, History of the Kings of Britain, relies the lineage of the crown in Great Britain in the twelfth century. Among the many rulers, we learn about the legendary British leader, King Arthur. When using Niccolò Machiavelli’s, The Prince, as a standard of assessment of King Arthur, the King’s strengths and weaknesses of ruler ship becomes apparent. I argue that King Arthur exemplified Machiavelli’s, precept of military leadership, in addition to public image, and patronage. King Arthur is portrayed to have mastered Machiavelli’s statutes on how to be a prosperous king.

He is brave and a thoughtful king.

Just over the pond a young boy named Tristan lived with his cruel father and mother. Of course, they were no ordinary family, they were the Worthingtons. When asked about the Worthington family, any british citizen would’ve respond with a boorish comment or a look of distress, but when Tristan Worthington was mentioned, everyone’s eyes would light up and their hearts were at awe. Sir Chester Worthington was the King of Britain, a man who looked put together on television across the country, but behind closed doors he was a mischievous man. Tristan had grown up keeping secrets about his father that he knew were wrong, but he had been threatened and could not even imagine the physical pain his father would put him through if he ever told anyone about the money Chester stole and the way he treated innocent citizens. Tristan knew his mother had a good heart, but she could not see beyond the King’s wealth, she would lie for the King in any given situation. Every night, Sir Chester passed by Tristan’s room and told him the same thing, “Everything was fine before you messed up this entire family, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have to keep so many secrets from this country. I have given you everything you want and yet you are still a worthless son.” A comment like this was almost always told with a tight grip around his arm, or a slap across the face if he tried to respond. This was life for the innocent boy, the only love he got was from folks in town.