Morte dArthur

1
Morte dArthur
The Stanzaic Version
2

• o keep with this tradition
• Of everything told in rhyme
• Our summary is a poem
• And it took a lot of time

3

• e start our story with a battle
• Between Gawain and Sir Lancelot
• But Gawain is called back to England
• To stop Mordreds evil plot

4

• More people support the new king
• After he stated Arthur was dead
• Mordred tries to marry the Queen
• But she hides in London Tower instead

5

• Mordred tries to break in but cant.
• Into the woods the Archbishop runs.
• Arthur battles at Dover, Gawain is killed
• And Mordred rushes to join in the fun

6

• Arthur in grief travels to Wales
• And learns on Sunday he goes to war
• Gawain saying delay battle a month
• In a dream is what he saw

7

• Sir Lucan visits the traitor Mordred
• And advices him to hold a meeting
• Mordred demands promise of the crown
• To grant the truce that Arthur is seeking

8

• Arthur not trustful of Mordred
• Says ATTACK if a weapon is drawn
• But a knight draws his sword at an adder
• And all this brings about war.

9

• Arthur fights well and Mordred he spears,
• In the chest leaving him for dead
• As he falls down, Mordred spins around
• And hits Arthur upside the head

Arthur RackhamCombat of Arthur and Mordred
10

• Arthur instructs his knight Bedivere
• To return Excalibur to where it belongs
• When he finally does, a ship appears
• Carrying Arthur off to Avalon

Aubrey Beardsley, 1894. How Sir Bedivere Cast
the Sword Excalibur into the Water.
11
Bedwyr (Bedivere) and Dying ArthurJohn
DuncanIllustration, 1862
12

• Bedievere travels through the woods alone
• And sees a chapel and coffin far away
• He talks to the Bishop to find out whos dead,
• Hears its Arthur and chooses to stay

13

• Lancelot seeks revenge for his king
• Guinevere turns into a nun
• His soldiers travel to Dover
• But after the queen Lancelot runs

Eleanor Fortescue- Brickdale. 1911 Guinevere in
the Nunnery
14

• Guinevere renounces Lancelot
• His last kiss she does refuse
• He travels to the forest chapel
• And there Arthurs tomb he views

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Arthur's Tomb The Last
Meeting of Lancelot and Guinevere. 1854
15

• For seven years Lance is a priest
• Soon Ill die he said
• Bishop, in sleep sees him in heaven
• And the knights find Lancelot dead

16

• They bury Lancelot in Joyous Guard
• His brother Ector at his side
• After much grieving at his brothers death
• With the knights Ector resides.
• The queen Guinevere dies and her they bring
• To lie alongside Arthur, the rightful king.

Arthur and Guinevere first burial place
17

Whos to Blame???

• Lancelot and Guinevere
• Discovering the betrayal by his wife and one of
  his favourite knights, weakens Arthur in body and
  in spirit.
• Guinevere seems to acknowledge this when she
  repents the sin she has made against her husband
  and God. She realises that knights have lost
  their lives because of her affair with Lancelot
  and believes that they also cause the war.

18
Whos to Blame???

• Arthurs Weakness
• Arthur seems somewhat weaker in this story than
  other Arthurian tales. This may be due to the
  betrayal by Lancelot and Guinevere.
• In Monmouths tale Arthur is described as killing
  hundreds of men in one go- an almost magical
  accomplishment, but here he is mortally wounded
  by a knight with no magical skill and who surely
  is not supported by Gods will.
• Also Arthur is shown to listen to Gawains advice
  at any cost- is this just because Gawain is a
  dear friend or is Arthur no longer sure of his
  own decisions and strength?

19
Whos to Blame???

• Fate
• Gawain live through his fight with Lancelot, only
  to die at the hands of the enemy in front of
  Arthur
• Arthur tries to delay the war, and a snake starts
  the war
• Arthur manages to kill Mordred but Mordred
  fatally injures Arthur.
• Lancelot is being buried and his brother appears
  at the chapel
• In some ways it seems as if King Arthur and his
  Knights of the Round Table was meant to fall
  apart.
• Celestial knights having displaced Earthly
  knights?

20
Differences between Arthurian texts

• Stanzaic version Gawains spirit warns Arthur
  that he must delay war, in Vulgate Cycle Gawain
  is still alive and writes him a letter.
• Vulgate cycle shows Arthur as much more proud, he
  rejects Gawain and the bishops advice Stanzaic
  shows Arthur as more blameless
• Arthurs dreams are different between versions,
  some include being pushed off a large wheel,
  others include dragons trying to drag him off a
  revolving wheel.
• Stanzaic version also shows Arthur as stronger-
  describes Mordred as having 12 men to Arthurs 1,
  in Vulgate cycle its only 2-1.

21
Differences between texts (continued)

• Arthur accidentally kills Lucan in Vulgate Cycle,
  while in Stanzaic he dies caring for Arthur
  blameless.
• In Vulgate cycle its is actually Girflet who must
  return Excalibur, in stanzaic its Bedivere.
• Malorys version of queen and Lancelots death
  Lancelot hears of her death and buries her
  himself. In Stanzaic its implies he died first
  and his fellow knights move Guineveres body.