Malory - Birth, Kingship and Death of Arthur

I'll try and keep just to anything Arthur related in this section. All of this is related to Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, gloriously repetitive text that it is. I know that this text provides the basis for all following English versions of anything Arthurian, but it seems as though all Malory really does is provide a rich (if repetitive) outline of all the Arthurian legends he knew, which leaves lovely gaps for others to fill later. This is probably why people like him so much. He's a big influence on future writers (channelling Bloom here, apologies).

So: Arthur. It seems almost like one must needs go through Malory with bullet points, since Malory seems to be writing full sentence bullet points and calling it a narrative. So, to begin with:
-Merlin sets Uther up with Igraine after Uther falls in love with Igraine during a feast he held in honor of finally declaring peace with Igraine's husband, Gorlois. She figures this out, and in a scene which parallels one in Erec and Enide, tells her husband of Uther's intentions. They leave, so Merlin aids Uther in sleeping with Igraine on the night her husband is killed in battle. Arthur is conceived. Merlin's requested fee for these services are no less than the child they conceive - Uther has no problem granting him this request. Arthur is taken from Igraine the moment he's born, which provides a nice exemplum of how little mothers are taken into account in this text. The important family structure seems to be entirely patriarchal - father to son, and father to daughter - daughters have far more importance to their fathers than wives do to their husbands; it must be noted, however, that unwed women seem to enjoy quite a bit of freedom to roam about the country when they wish. Anyway, Arthur is taken at the moment of his birth and given to Sir Ector, whose wife suckles him. Uther dies, promising the throne to his son, when Arthur is two. Merlin creates the sword in the stone and says that the rightful ruler of Britain will be the only one able to withdraw the sword from the stone.

- Arthur, while quite young, goes to a New Year's tournament with Sir Ector and his foster brother, Sir Kay. Arthur fetches the sword from the stone and gives it to Kay, who proves his admirable character by lying to his father and claiming to have gotten the sword himself, claiming thus to be king. It is only when they go back to the site and Kay is asked to replace the sword that he admits Arthur got it. Arthur then replaces and re-removes the sword. People immediately begin to swear allegiance to him, though he then has to repeat the performance at Easter and at Candlemas before finally getting crowned at Pentacost, which seems to be why this particular festival is such a big deal for him. Arthur swears to rule justly. Justice is thus established as being one of the controlling themes of the text, and it's interesting to follow through and establish where justice happens v. where it doesn't.

-The early part of Arthur's reign is filled with battle after battle after battle against the seven kings who oppose his reign. Arthur, aided significantly by Merlin, wins most of the battles and manages to subdue the kings long enough for them to have to go and deal with troubles at home. Arthur is called a brilliant fighter, but most of the actual strategy that goes along with his military prowess - the leadership that allows him to win - comes from Merlin (who, it should be mentioned, is the son of the devil). Merlin seems to be more of the true leader/king than is Arthur - Merlin is forever giving Arthur advice, telling Arthur the future, helping him strategize in military battles, etc. Significantly, it is Merlin who tells Arthur of Arthur's fatal error - that of sleeping with his aunt Morgawse - and that the issue of said "union," Modred, would cause the downfall of the realm. I gather this is why this story is always called the death of Arthur - one of Arthur's first exploits upon becoming a king and a military success is to accidentally commit incest - and that incest is what returns to haunt him in the end. Significantly, also, coming from the incest is seeming infertility on Arthur's part - he has one son with some unnamed woman early on, and produces Modred with Morgawse, but then eventually marries Gwynevere and never produces a child from his marriage. This probably has as much to do with Arthur's incest as it dos with Gwynevere's love for Launcelot and vice versa. After this and after a run-in with King Pellinore and the Questing Beast, Arthur is given the sword from the Lady of the Lake, and seems more or less able to rule on his own. Arthur is given the sword right after fighting, and almost losing, to King Pellinore.

-Arthur is given Gwynevere by Merlin after Merlin warns him that she is destined to love Launcelot, rather than him. Arthur doesn't seem to care, and Gwynevere comes to court accompanied by the Round Table. This links Gwynevere up with the fate of the fellowship of the table - her illicit love of Launcelot is what finally brings about the destruction of the realm through Modred's doing - and it shows that Arthur is willing to marry her despite knowing her to be destined for another - he fails as a husband to choose a wife who will be loyal, and as a king to choose a queen who will protect his interests (and by extension, the interests of the realm). The oath that goes along with becoming a knight of the round table (and being given sufficient land to make sure that said knights can be rich and prosperous and look nice and lordly and dignified) is to "only fight in just causes, at all times to be merciful, and at all times to put the service of ladies foremost." (69) Merlin is imprisoned by Nyneve immediately following the setup of the round table.

-At this point, it seems best to think about any particular adventures in terms of how well the knights in question fulfill their oaths for justice, mercy, and the service of ladies. Most of the time, failure to uphold these oaths results in some sort of narratively-driven punishment for the offending knights, whereas knights who patiently uphold these oaths, like Sir Gareth, are rewarded by love and honor.

-As a king, Arthur isn't exactly an autocrat. He prefers to rule mostly by counsel, first following the dictates of Merlin, and later listening to a combination of Gwynevere, Gawain, Launcelot (when Launcelot isn't in trouble for some reason or another) and anyone else who seems fit or whom Arthur loves (in the non-sexual, non-homoerotic, platonic way, naturally). This seems to work fine quite often until his downfall, which is precipitated by Arthur and then encouraged by Gawain, whom Arthur relies on for good counsel but who, by the end of the book, shows himself to be so overwhelmed by the desire for revenge rather than mercy or justice (these being common problems with Gawain, who is involved in quite the ever-recurring blood feud) often overshadows his ability to maintain any sort of objectivity. Arthur fails as a king and a leader in these moments, as he is unable to put aside personal feelings for Gawain and Gawain's desires for the good of the kingdom, even when he realizes that Gawain's desires are unjust or unfair. It is this oversight that allows Modred the opportunity to take over Britain (because Arthur and forces are in France busily trying to destroy Launcelot and his lands) and leads to the eventual fateful battle wherein Arthur and his bastard son/nephew kill each other. Upon Arthur's death, Bedivere is given the responsibility to give the sword back to the Lady of the Lake, which he does unwillingly - the sword symbolizes Arthur's reign over Britain (and perhaps something more Freudian - hee hee!), and must leave the land when he does.