Referat The Legend Of King Arthur
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rom the very beginnings of the English language there have been legends
of great heroes. From the first settlements of Britain come stories
rooted in ancient Celtic and Germanic imagination. Out of these stories,
certain figures enjoy pre-eminence as the strongest, the bravest and the
best. King Arthur is one such hero, known perhaps over all other
mythical medieval figures as a chivalrous knight, a powerful warrior and
a just and intelligent leader.
In an age of treachery and darkness, one king brought peace and
prosperity to his land, defended it from every danger, and expanded it
to an empire that would rival Rome itself. His wise counselor taught him
the ways of justice and to value truth. At his command a loyal band of
fearless, gentle knights protected the helpless, struggled against evil,
and faced unimagined peril in the search for the holiest of relics.
Though his queen and his best knight would betray him, though his own
son would defeat him, though the shining kingdom he had forged would
fall into ruin, still he set the standard by which all other leaders
would be judged for centuries.
King Uther Pendragon loved Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. So
he made war on Cornwall and in that war Igraine s husband was killed,
though not until after King Uther slept with Igraine by means of magic.
Arthur was conceived, and later Uther and Igraine were married. The
child was raised by a knight called Sir Ector. Britain did not have a
king and was divided. The future king was to draw a magnificent sword
from a stone to prove himself the heir to the throne (the sword Caliburn
or Excalibur is sometimes said to have been given to Arthur by the lady
of the lake).
After he became king, Arthur began to try to mend this country in
ruins. He did this under the watchful eye of Merlin, his trusted aid and
court magician. Arthur went on to build Camelot and, here, he founded
the Knights of the Round Table, the most honourable of warriors. King
Arthur married Guinevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance, who gave
Arthur as a wedding gift a hundred knights. With Guinevere as his wife,
Arthur continued to aid the country in its prosperity. He went on a
quest to discover
the infamous precious chalice, the Holy Grail.
Morgan Le Fay, the enchantress half-sister of Arthur, used black magic
to steal Excalibur. Her paramour, Sir Accolon fought Arthur using
Excalibur and nearly won the fight when the swords were accidentally
exchanged and Arthur won. King Lucius of Rome demanded tribute payments
from Arthur, but Arthur refused to pay. All the knights of the realm
promised him aid, and in the war that followed Arthur conquered Germany
and Italy and was crowned Emperor of Rome. An old hermit prophesied that
a vacant seat at the Round Table would be filled by a knight who would
win the Holy Grail. This knight turned out to be Sir Galahad, actually
Sir Lancelot s son (he was tricked into sleeping with the maid Elaine).
On the quest for the Holy Grail Lancelot was stricken when he tried to
enter the chamber where the grail was kept. He was laid low for 24 days
as penance for his years of sin, sins like, for instance, sleeping with
the King s wife.Galahad, however, saw the miracle of the Grail and
became king of some middle-eastern city, where he died in holiness.
When the questing knights returned to Camelot, Lancelot forgot the
lesson he learned in the Grail chamber and began consorting again with
Guinevere. One spring, while traveling with her attendant, Queen
Guinevere was captured by a traitorous knight, Sir Meliagrance. Lancelot
rescued her. Enemies of Lancelot told the King of Lancelot s love for
Guinevere. A party championing the king s cause fought with Lancelot.
All those he fought died except the king s illegitimate son, Mordred.
Guinevere was sentenced to be burned, but Lancelot rescued her and they
went of to the Castle Joyous Guard to be together. Arthur then besieged
the castle, but the Pope intervened and commanded a truce. Lancelot and
his followers went to France where he held lands. Arthur then invaded
France, but while he was away, his son Mordred mounted an uprising with
the aid of the dark sorceress Morganna. He seized the throne of Britain
and tried to force Guinevere to become his queen. She escaped to the
Tower of London. Arthur heard about Mordred s usurpation and returned to
England.
Battles ensued; it was a great civil war. During a temporary truce, a
snake caused a knight to draw his sword and this action brought on
another battle in which Mordred was killed and Arthur mortally wounded.
On his deathbed Arthur told Sir Bedivere to cast Excalibur back into the
lake from which the sword had come, but he twice pretended to have done
it. Arthur insisted, and when Bedivere finally complied, a hand reached
up out of the water and caught the sword. King Arthur died and was
carried on a barge to the fabled land of Avalon. (Some writers say
Arthur never actually died and he will come again.) Guinevere became a
nun, and Lancelot became a hermit. Sir Constantine of Cornwall was
chosen to succeed Arthur.
The spectre of King Arthur haunts the middle ages so completely that he
cannot, and should not, be ignored. For hundreds of knights and kings,
for thousands of writers, artists, for millions of ordinary people,
Arthur was--and is-- what a king should be. For more than 1500 years,
King Arthur enjoyed a respected, even exalted place in history. In this
way Arthur becomes more than a literary figure, a myth, or the object of
an impossible historical quest. He becomes our ally in the search for
the past.
As king he has free-will to act on situations. Some may lead others to
death; however, King Arthur’s wise character takes precautions. King
Arthur dreams that Sir Gawain comes to tell him to delay the battle
scheduled for the next day. Sir Gawain warns that otherwise he will be
killed. Instead of putting lives at risk, King Arthur, decides to make a
treaty with Sir Mordred. After the treaty is finalized and both sides
agreed not to fight, they meet in a field. King Arthur knows that Sir
Mordred still could be planning to fight and makes a wise decision to
warn his men. The men agreed that if a sword is drawn that they fight
till the end of the battle.
King Arthur is a loyal character who is always watching out to protect
his knights and his people. During the meeting with Sir Mordred a snake
bites one of Sir Mordred’s knights. When that knight draws his sword
to kill the snake the fighting begins; it continues until all men are
dead except two of King Arthur’s men and Sir Mordred. King Arthur was
upset to see all of his men dead and knew now that he could die because
of his dream.King Arthur takes his sword and kills Sir Mordred for his
knights. Respect is a characteristic
of King Arthur that was earned by his loyalty and wise actions. King
Arthur does get hurt, falls to his side and can not move, so, Sir Lucan,
another knight that survived, picks him up with deathly wounds to his
stomach. Then Sir Lucan tries to help King Arthur, Sir Lucan falls and
dies from his battle wounds. King Arthur realizes how respected he was
by Sir Lucan trying to save King Arthur before himself. This also shows
the respect that King Arthur’s men had for him. The loyalty and wise
decisions that King Arthur portrayed to his men also reflected back to
King Arthur as being a respected King by his entire kingdom
King Arthur was a man with great power and he believed in himself. Not
only did he believe in himself but he also believed in his knights. King
Arthur was able to show his knights his admiration for them by the
loyalty and wise decisions he made on their behalf. In return the
knights and King Arthur’s Kingdom respected this gracious leader.
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