The Authurian Legend and How it Has Endured

Mrs. White I did my blog!!!! :D



The Legend of King Arthur has withstood the test of time through many centuries. People through out the years have been drawn to several aspects of the Authurian Legend. With its compelling sense of chivalry, loose structure and randomness, the continuous struggle between good and evil, and the equality between the king and his knights, King Arthur has remained the focal point of Medieval romances, and has remained a favorite by all.
Many women are addicted to stories of chivalry, romance, and love. King Arthur's legend has all of these. For example, in the story Sir Gawain and the Lady Ragnell, Gawain is given the choice of whether he would like his new wife to look beautiful in public during the day or at night at home when he had her all to herself. Gawain choose to let the Lady Ragnell decide because he said he didn't really care how she looked. Because Gawain let her choose, the Lady Ragnell looked beautiful and radiant all the time. People thrive on these sweet wonderful stories. What girl wouldn't love for a boy to say that to her? And because women (and some men!) thrive on these types of stories, King Aurthur's legend has held a soft spot in many people's hearts throughout the years. Another good example of the romance and love found within the Arthurian legend is in Malory's piece, Le Morte D'Arthur. The piece addresses that fate has decided that "Gwynevere is destined to love Sir Launcelot" (Malory, 57) Hearing these adorable stories of fate makes people question what fate has planned in their lives, and oftentimes, they feel like continuing reading these stories will help them figure it out.
Like most mideval romances, The Arthurian Legend lacks unity, and has a very loose structure with no rigid plot, making it very random and sometimes quite humorous. The movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail makes fun of this aspect that has kept readers interested in King Aurtur for so many centuries. For example, when King Arthur is searching for knights for his round table, he stops at a castle where they catapult various farm animals at him.
The constant struggle between good and evil has compelled people for many years. In all of the stories of King Arthur's legend there is always one definite hero (usually his knights) that always come out victorious. King Arthur's knights want what is best for the people of Camelot, and therefore, defend Camelot fullheartedly. For example, in the movie, The First Knight when intruders enter King Arthur's castle, the knights, and the townspeople defend Camelot, even without their weapons. These compelling stories make people continue reading because they want to see the good guy win, because that is what they would like to always see in their own lives.
Lastly, the idea of King Aurthur's round table has intrigued people for many years. Also in the movie The First Knight, when King Arthur is explaining the idea of the round table to Launcealot he says "And this is the Round Table. There is no head o the table, nor an end. Everyone is equal here, even the king." This concept has fascinated people throughout their lives and have at times tried to apply it to their lives. From my own experiences, I was judging a karate test once and after the test, the judges all got together and discussed how the people who tested did. Because the judges were all of different ranks, the highest rank said "Lets pretend this is the round table, all our votes and all our ideas are equal. Rank does not matter right now." King Arthur's ability to be so humble and put his rank aside for the betterment of his kingdom has inspired many people to do the same.
King Arthur is perhaps, the star of all medieval romances. With the legend's chivalry, and romance, loose structure and comical randomness, the constant battle between good and evil, and lastly, the humbling idea of the round table has held the interest of people throughout the centuries, and will continue to do so as it withstands the test of time.