#Sir Kay

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

Siedlęcin Tower fresco: Kay and Lancelot

[taliesin-the-bored]

A few things which are “canon” somewhere for people who are worried they’re stretching it too far

Arthur was killed by a giant cat. 

Arthur killed the cat.

Arthur didn’t fight the cat. Kay did.

Kay and Bedivere use salmon as taxis. 

Lucan is half giant, half lion. (This Lucan, Lucano in the original Italian, is evil and not related to Bedivere). 

King Arthur raided the land of the dead.

The human knight Caradoc Briefbras has three half siblings: a dog, a horse, and a pig.

A large portion of Arthur’s troops was killed a while before Camlann by his nephew’s attack ravens in self-defense. Arthur and said nephew were playing chess at the time and neither did much to stop it.

Merlin retired peacefully and went to live in the countryside with Taliesin.

Wherever Arthur walks, plants die. They don’t grow back for years.

Arthur had a spunky (half?) brother who died in battle after making a mysterious oath.

Dagonet is more or less able to run the kingdom when Arthur is gone. His biggest error is overspending on mercenaries.

Guinevere has an evil almost identical twin half-sister.

Hector beat up all the best knights except for Galahad while possessed by a demon.

Gawain plays tennis.

Gawain has used a chessboard as a weapon.

Near the start of his reign, Arthur left Lot in charge of the kingdom and went on a quest with a sassy parrot.

Gawain or Galahad succeeded Arthur as king. 

[false-guinevere]

[katabay]

There was a strange thing about Cei: nine nights and nine days could he hold his breath under water; nine nights and nine days could he go without sleep. No doctor could heal a wound from Cei’s sword. Cei couldn’t be beaten. He could be as tall as the tallest tree in the forest when he wanted. There was another strange thing about him: when the rain was heaviest, a hand’s breadth in front of his hand and a hand’s breadth behind would be as dry as what was in his hand itself, so great was his body-heat; and when the cold was heaviest on his companions, he would be their kindling to light a fire.

Culhwch and Olwen, trans. Craig Davis

guess who finally got to read Linda Gowans' Cei and the Arthurian Legend! new thoughts have been unlocked, ideas are coming together! I also got my hands on some scans from medieval armor reference books, which is also essential to the ideas

the 'unless god etc' quote is from Pa Gur/What Man Guards The Gate

When he drank from a horn, he would drink for four; when he came into battle, he would kill like a hundred. Unless God himself should perform it, Cei could not be killed.

(trans. Craig Davis)

ko-fi⭐ bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost ⭐ cara.app

[the-evil-clergyman]

Sir Kay breaketh his sword at ye Tournament, from The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle (1922)

[queer-ragnelle]

Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973) | Under Camelot's Banner by Sarah Zettel | Excalibur (1981) | The Great Captains by Henry Treece | The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions by Howard Pyle | Sword of Lancelot (1963) | Exiled From Camelot by Cherith Baldry | The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949) | Two Bits of Embroidery by Phyllis Ann Karr | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-1957) | The Sword and The Circle by Rosemary Sutcliff

[noughticalcrossings]

Knights of the Round Table

A selection of my random faves, ft. Kay and Bedivere gossiping about the new recruits, Dinadan and Palomides debating the point of courtly love, the Orkney brothers (Gareth, Gaheris, Agravaine mid-curse, and Gawain) and Lancelot and Galehaut putting the ro in bromance

[transfigurationsgonnacome]

Sir Kay gets the short straw so badly, imagine you were winning multiple events in the Olympics and earning great honor for your country and then they interrupt the medal ceremony to crown your scrawny little brother the new king

[saintsonnet]

lament for sir kay by me. thinking about him always. i can't imagine having my younger brother become king and. like. just. what the fuck. i love him. no one understands him like i do.

[mortiscausa]

cei for @queer-ragnelle's may day parade

[enjoyerofstories]

[turquoisemagpie]

Perilous Time.

(Version 2: with colour gradient.)

[kulttuurinkurittama]

Kei is one of my favourite knights and I want to draw him more, but good lord is it hard to nail the "I'm surrounded by idiots" aura I like to portray him running around the kitchens with. Also bro like 20 in this and Is already getting grey hairs, dealing with everyone's shit while trying to keep the castle running is stressful.

[katabay]

king arthur and the body of sir (cei)

god kay makes me so sad. idk!! it's something about how his character becomes transformed in later narratives to the point of unrecognizability. it's lonely to read about!!! it's like you've buried someone, and then you turn around and someone who looks like them is standing right there, but it's also Not Them.

Caitlin R. Green, Concepts of Arthur

Sir Kay, Seneschal of King Arthur's Court, Harold J Herman

[sickfreaksirkay]

Sir Kay, Seneschal of King Arthur's Court, Harold J. Herman / Illustration from the Mabinogion / The Quest for Olwen, trans. Gwyn Thomas and Kevin Crossley-Holland / The Story of Merlin, trans. Rupert T. Pickens / Illustration from The Quest for Olwen, Margaret Jones / Wace's Roman de Brut, trans. Eugene Mason / The Mabinogion, trans. Lady Charlotte Guest

a collection of sir kay and sir bedivere: companions/lovers/worse, for @queer-ragnelle's may day parade