#le morte d’ arthur

[tiodolma]

Morgause who is the Queen of King Lot has 5 sons here

Gawain, Gaheris, Agravaine, Gareth

For she was a passing fair lady, therefore the king cast great love unto her, and desired to lie by her; so they were agreed, and he begat upon her Mordred, and she was his sister, on his mother’s side, Igraine.

Just like that?! Morgause let King Arthur lay with her just like that?! Why?!

But all this time King Arthur knew not that King Lot’s wife was his sister.

Why was he even having sex with the wife of another king?!

And Morgause just allowed him?!

And Gawain and bros just let it happen?!

Am i missing something...

[roimargot]

trans arf i mean trans arthur. I have so many reasons to headcanon him as trans but I'm shy uwu ^^ feel free to ask

[martianmuckraker]

Western Mythological Cinematic Universe

A lesson for Christian artists from King Arthur In American culture, for the longest time action / super heroic entertainment consisted of characters that were neither religious or nor not religious, but just safety secular. Meanwhile religious entertainment has God-believing characters but had to always have a moral, not be too violent or too ridiculous, with the result that religious…

[keepthemacramesecret]

one thing that IS funny abt the continued decade long reaction to merlin’s finale actually, is that everyone still acts like it was such a crazy move to kill arthur at the end as if ‘le morte d’arthur’ (and other stories with the same title translated/transliterated slightly differently) is not basically Thee foremost piece of arthurian literature in terms of overall story arc. u literally cannot do a king arthur adaptation and NOT end it with arthur dying in the battle of camlann like. thats part of the established legend. that is not the surprising part here.

[joncronshawauthor]

15 Early Fantasy Reads that Defined the Genre (Before Tolkien)

As a fantasy reader, you understand the allure of otherworldly realms, magical creatures, and grand adventures. The genre has evolved over the years, with contemporary authors captivating us with their unique worlds and unforgettable characters. But it’s also valuable to recognise and explore the roots of fantasy literature to appreciate the genre fully. This blog post will take you on a…

[katabay]

PERCEVAL THE UNHAPPY, THE MISERABLE, THE UNFORTUNATE, THE FISHER KING!

Perceval, de Troyes (trans. Burton Raffel)

ALRIGHT alright. so previously I did an illustration that explained the premise of all this, that it's inspired by the narrative choices that Bresson made in his film Lancelot du Lac etc

to dive in more into it (because this is something like derivative fiction. I'm putting concepts into a blender and seeing what comes out of it): the setting is haunted by the previously existing narratives that started cannibalizing each other until it regurgitates itself into the more well known narrative beats, and something else about the invasive rot of christianity and empire mythmaking into settings. it's an intertextual haunting, if you will! and this scene takes place during the grail quest narrative, but the temptation of Perceval plays out differently.

in both Chretien (and Wolfram's) Perceval narratives, what 'wakes' Perceval up (in more ways than one. desire and self actualization in one go!) is seeing knights, something his mother tried hard to keep him from. so instead of the temptation of lust & etc in the Morte narrative taking the form of a lady, it takes the form of a knight. the temptation to renounce one's faith to serve something else remains.

so Perceval still stabs himself, but instead of continuing on the grail quest in the shadow of Galahad, he becomes the narrative's Fisher King because his earlier state of being as a the grail quest hero is creeping back into his marrow. it was waiting for an opening, and stabbing yourself in the thigh is one hell of a parallel!!!

that wound isn't going to heal buddy, and the state of the setting will now be reflected on your body. sure hope that Arthur hasn't like. corrupted the justice of the land or anything. that sure would suck for your overall health.

all the red in this sequence is because in de Troyes' Perceval, Perceval takes the armor of the Red Knight and becomes known as the Knight in Red.

and now for the citations, which I will try to order in a way that makes sense!

Seeing Knights For The First Time

Perceval, de Troyes (trans. Burton Raffel)

The Temptation of Perceval

Le Morte Darthur, Mallory (modernized by Baines)

The Fisher King, and Perceval The Unfortunate

Perceval, de Troyes (trans. Burton Raffel)

On Perceval and Gender, etc.

Clothes Make The Man: Parzival Dressed and Undressed, Michael D. Amey

On Wounds

Wounded Masculinity: Injury and Gender in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Kenneth Hodges

The Red Knight

Perceval, de Troyes (trans. Burton Raffel)

On Arthur and the Corruption of Justice

The Failure of Justice, the Failure of Arthur, L.K. Bedwell

[oneshoulderangel]

I was rereading the beginning section of le Morte d’ Arthur and it’s once again strikes me how terrifying this must be for a fifteen year old. He basically has an armed guard surrounding him day and night, probably cause lots of people want him dead. Like this poor kid just wanted to make sure his big brother had a sword for the tournament and now he’s under constant watch and being forced to perform a miracle every couple of weeks in front of what is probably hundreds of people.

[aziraphales-library]

I adore your page! I'm looking for some good jealousy or over protective fics ❤️❤️

We have LOADS of fics on the tags featured in the masterpost: #jealous aziraphale, #jealous crowley, #protective aziraphale, and #protective crowley. Remember to check those first!! Here are more to add to the collections...

Mine by Zakani_Donovan (T)

Crowley is a bit protective. And jealous. Always has been, always will be. Aziraphale had liked it, to a certain extent. This time, however, she found it a bit ridiculous. Once she caught on, that is.

House of Horrors by Sivan325 (T)

Crowley will not admit it, but it was Anathema fault in a way, she dared him. He took Aziraphale with him.

Occult and Ethereal Pine Trees by NebulaEyes (T)

Aziraphale thought that perhaps things would change after the Apocalypse, and he so desperately wanted to tell Crowley his feelings, but didn't know how. Just when he was about to simply speak, a woman came in, and it appeared that she and Crowley had a history. Crowley goes off to help her, and Aziraphale misunderstands. How does his bookshop help him understand just how much he had misunderstood the situation?

Le Morte D’Aziraphale by Ultramarine316 (T)

During his time with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Aziraphale winds up in an awkward situation and asks for Crowley’s help extricating himself, but the other Knights don’t respond well to The Black Knight suddenly appearing and carrying off their (Fair Damsel) Sir Aziraphale. Hijinks ensue.

Curious about the unknown by IneffableCliche (G)

Aziraphale finds some interesting books and Crowley insists a lot that he must read them. Erotic literature will be the key that leads the angel to sin.

Like Sleep To The Freezing by WaitingToBeBroken (T)

A decade after their fight, Crowley wakes up to a new world and a different angel. What is he to do but don his human disguise and follow him to a certain discreet gentlemen's club? And if Aziraphale doesn't seem to recognise him, well, that's all for the better, isn't it?

He was going to leave after ensuring his angel was fine.

- Mod D

[veniimorgan]

I know that Merlin from BBC is one heck of a manipulator/gaslighter (hilariously). But Merlin from Le Morte d' Arthur book?? Oh my freaking bit-

[oneknightstand-if]

hi! i love the demo so far, and i'm super excited to see where it goes! do you have any favorites in Arthurian media that you'd suggest watching or reading for a newbie?

Hmm... well, most of the original stuff is written in a very archaic style, even those with more modernized translations. I've never been as crazy about Le Morte d' Arthur as general opinion (too many plot holes for me), but as one of the last entries in the Matter of Britain, it's writing style is easier to digest than earlier stuff.

If that style is still too archaic for you, there's the modern classic The Once and Future King (from the 1950s) which covers the same ground.

Another relatively short addition also from the 14th century is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There's a more modern translation that's pretty popular by Simon Armitage, but that version has to be bought, same for a version done by J.R.R. Tolkein (of Lords of the Rings fame)

Other Literary Classics (Mostly Modern-ish)

Idylls of the King (19th century, by Lord Tennyson)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (19th century, by Mark Twain, more a deconstruction)

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights (1970s, by John Steinbeck, a bunch of short stories focusing on different characters)

The Merlin Trilogy (1970s, from Merlin's POV)

The Mists of Avalon (1980s - Arthurian lore from the female perspective)

I've also always had a fondness for what's now called the Queen of Camelot trilogy (1990s, from Guinevere's POV)

Most of the movies and TV series only have a vague passing resemblance to the actual Arthurian lore. Excalibur (1981, movie) is probably the closest.

Otherwise, what's your interest?

Love triangle soap opera? (First Knight)

More historical than magical? (King Arthur, 2004)

Dancing & singing musical? (Camelot the Musical)

Can't be arsed to read the book? (Mists of Avalon, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court)

Parody of the-- uh, you should probably watch the original first to get the jokes (Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail)

There's also a Merlin mini-series from the 1990s that wasn't too bad.

[tiodolma]

Then he said to Merlin, I will that my mother be sent for that I may speak with her; and if she say so herself then will I believe it. In all haste, the queen was sent for, and she came and brought with her Morgan le Fay, her daughter, that was as fair a lady as any might be, and the king welcomed Igraine in the best manner.

Morgan is here! And also she’s staying with Lady Igraine! Maybe because Uriens was waging war against Arthur?

[katiajewelbox]

Dynamic artwork from 100 years ago. I wonder if anyone has written an Escaflowne fanfic that involves jousting? Jousting with Guymelefs or the other exotic beast people ride on Gaea would be quite thrilling to behold.

Illustration from the book "The Boy's King Arthur", a retelling for young readers of Thomas Malory's Le Morte D' Arthur. Art by N. C. Wyeth , 1922.

[merymoonbeam]

Spear?

CC3 spoilers

This is just a manifesting post and more connections I found from cc3 🫡

In my wild hunt post I talked about narben being a spear for... reasons.

I think Gwydion and Truth-Teller are inspired by King Arthur's weapons. In myths it is talked about how he has a sword, a knife and a spear...

Other weapons have been associated with Arthur. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("little white-hilt") first appears in Culhwch and Olwen, where Arthur uses it to slice the witch Orddu in half. Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also mentioned in Culhwch, although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's Historia. Geoffrey also names Arthur's shield as Pridwen; in Culhwch, however, Prydwen ("fair face") is the name of Arthur's ship while his shield is named Wynebgwrthucher ("face of evening").

So other than excalibur Arthur has a dagger and a spear.

To me it looks like

Excalibur= Gwydion

Carnwennan= Truth-Teller

Rhongomyniad= Narben

So why? Lemme explain.

With Excalibur it is about who is worthy to pull it out of the stone.

Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Traditionally, the sword in the stone that is the proof of Arthur's lineage and the sword given him by a Lady of the Lake are not the same weapon, even as in some versions of the legend both of them share the name of Excalibur.

Romance tradition elaborates on how Arthur came into possession of Excalibur. In Robert de Boron's c. 1200 French poem Merlin, the first known tale to mention the "sword in the stone" motif, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve.[18] In this account, as foretold by Merlin, the act could not be performed except by "the true king", meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. (As Thomas Malory related in his English-language Arthurian compilation, the 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur, "whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England."[19][d])

And we have Gwydion/Starsword

That your son, not you, retrieved the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in Avallen’s dark heart. That your son, not you, stood among the long-dead Starborn Princes asleep in their sarcophagi and was deemed worthy to pull the sword from its sheath. How many times did you try to draw the sword when you were young? How much research did you do in this very study to find ways to wield it without being chosen? (Hoeab)

So it matches even though at the end it is Bryce who can access the real power of the sword not Ruhn bc it is sarah and we have the females as a main character.

And now the dagger—Carnwennan and Truth-Teller.

In myths the dagger is described like this.

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau ("Little White Hilt"), was the dagger of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends

In Culhwch and Olwen, Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he will not give to Culhwch. Later, he uses it to slay the witch Orddu, the daughter of the witch Orwen, by slicing her in half.[1] In the Welsh Triads, Carnwennan is listed alongside Arthur's spear Rhongomyniad and Arthur's sword Caledfwlch as sacred weapons given to him by God: "the sacred weapons that God had given him: Rhongomiant his spear, Caledfwlch a sword, and Carnwennan his dagger" (Bromwich's translation).[2]

The fact that Arthur would not give the weapons to Culhwch when we know Fionn didn't give the Gwydion and TT to Theia? Kinda similar.

My father had never shown himself to be giving—long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.

We learned in cc2 that Gwydion and TT are twin blades.(I went into detail about this and how it connects to elriel in several posts > light and dark, sing me, alpha and omega)

The male drew it, and Bryce flinched. Flinched, but—“What the fuck?” The knife could have been the twin of the Starsword: black hilted and bladed. It was its twin. The Starsword began to hum within its sheath, glittering white light leaking from where leather met the dark hilt. The dagger—.The male dropped the dagger to the plush carpet. All of them retreated as it flared with dark light, as if in answer. Alpha and Omega. “Gwydion,” the dark-haired female whispered, indicating the Starsword.(hosab)

And in cc3 we learn that when you use Truth-Teller...there are shadows.

Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart— She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed—

Seems...weird that Truth-teller has "shadow powers" and in acowar we have Elain literally stepping out of a shadow. And we never learned the reason why???

But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

So how these connect to Arthur's dagger? (Just gonna add here that @riddlecrux told me about this before so credit goes to her 🫡)

In addition to his other magical items, Arthur had the invisibility granting Carnwennan. The dagger was providing a kind of presence concealment to Arthur or to its wielder. In European folklore, invisibility-granting items are rather prevalent. These are often recognized as caps or invisibility cloaks. The invisibility attribute of Carnwennan was probably the main reason Arthur named his dagger among the things he could never give up for any reason:

Invisibility? Shadows? @silverlinedeyes made a post before how elain could get a cloak made of void? And we know with Gwydion and TT you can make a portal to nowhere—the void.

“The Starsword is Made, as you called it.” He waved an idle hand, sparks at his fingertips. “The knife can Unmake things. Made and Unmade. Matter and antimatter. With the right influx of power—a command from the one destined to wield them—they can be merged. And they can create a place where no life, no light exists. A place that is nothing. Nowhere.”

It had been a gamble. But she’d seen what the Starsword and Truth-Teller had done to Polaris. They had created a void that had sucked the Asteri in—the only sort of prison that might destroy a being of light. The only force in the universe that ate light, so strong no light could ever escape it. A portal to nowhere. To a black hole. Wasn’t that the unholy power that Apollion possessed? The power of the Void. The antithesis of light.

So maybe we are gonna see elain and the void connected?

Also more about the dagger in Arthurian legends:

Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau, meaning "white hilt" was the dagger belonging to the great King Arthur. It is attributed with the magical power to shroud its user in shadow. This dagger, it is said, was one of three sacred weapons given to King Arthur by God. Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he would not give to his cousin Culhwch. King Arthur used this very dagger it to slay the witch Orddu ,daughter of Orwen. by slicing her in half. It is also possible that this is the dagger he once used to kill a giant.

So there is that.

And lastly we have the spear—Rhongomyniad.

There is not much we can use from the myths because the only things we have are its name and it was given to Arthur by god.

Rhongomyniad, or Rhongomiant (variously translated as "Slaying Spear," "Cutting Spear" or "Striking Spear"), was the spear of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends. Unlike Arthur’s two other weapons, his sword Caledfwlch and his dagger Carnwennan, Rhongomyniad has no apparent magical powers.

In the Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Arthur's lance Ron,[2] presumably an abbreviation of the original Welsh name. Layamon also calls it this in his Brut. Geoffrey states that Arthur carried this lance with him at the Battle of Mount Badon. Layamon states in a passage (without naming the weapon) that Arthur's spear was forged in Carmarthen by a smith called Griffin. He also adds that it formerly belonged to Uther Pendragon.

The wiki says it has no magical power but...if sarah took inspo from Excalibur for Gwydion and the dagger for TT...I wouldn't put it past her to use the spear as an inspo for Narben... especially with her love for 3s.

Also like the spear we dont have much to go on for Narben either. We have so little information.

“Amarantha destroyed one,” Amren said. Cassian started. “I never heard that.” Amren amended, “Rumor claimed she dumped one into the sea. It would not come to Amarantha’s hand, nor the hands of any of her commanders, and rather than let the King of Hybern attain it, she disposed of it.” Azriel asked, “Which sword?” “Narben.” (Acosf)

"Narben was even older than Gwydion,” Rhys said. “Where the hell was it?” (Acosf)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker. (Acosf)

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

So that's all we know.

Another point...Fionn connection.

In myths there is a HUGE part about Fionn using a spear to defeat a giant.

Also known as the Spear of Fiacha (or Fiacail), Birgha was an enchanted, venomous spear. The warrior Fiacha, a follower of Cumal (a leader of the Fianna), gave the spear to Cumal’s son Fionn mac Cumhail so that he might defeat Aillén, an evil creature/former member of the Tuath Dé Danann who resided, three-hundred-and-sixty-four days a year, in the Otherworld. Each and every Samhain the monster—nicknamed “the burner”—would wreak havoc on the royal residence of Tara (also: Teamhair) with his fire-breath after lulling its defenders to sleep with enchanted music. Specifically, Aillén plays—or weaponizes, I should say—the suantraí (lullaby) strain of ancient Irish music, which is frequently deployed by gods, druids, and other musicians in the myths in order to incapacitate opponents. That’s where Birgha comes into play. In Lady Gregory’s version of events, Fiacha teaches Fionn how to unlock the power of the spear, instructing his pupil as follows: “When you will hear the music of the Sidhe, let you strip the covering off the head of the spear and put it to your forehead, and the power of the spear will not let sleep come upon you.”

Just saying...with all of a new character singing...having some effects on others...IDK. WEIRD. 🫣

Another point is Four treasures of Tuatha de danaan. ( @offtorivendell made a post about them before )

Dagda's Cauldron

pretty self explanatory...cauldron.

Claiomh Solais (the sword of light)

Gwydion.

The sword may be rendered in English as the "Sword of Light", or "Shining Sword".

The Sword of Light or Claidheamh Soluisis a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.

The Starsword sang with light, her power flowing into it. Activating it. And nothing had ever felt so right, so easy, as plunging the blade into the bony chest of the wounded Reaper. It arced, bellowing, black blood spurting from its withered lips. (Hosab)

Narben’s powers had not been the holy, savior’s light of Gwydion, but ones far darker.(acosf)

Lia Fail Stone

My whole wild hunt post is about this. You can read it there. Basically I think this is the inspo for the stone on top of Ramiel.

The Spear of Lugh

And here is the reason I think Narben might be a spear.

Lugh's spear (sleg), according to the text of The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was said to be impossible to overcome.

Interesting that Amren said this about Narben in acosf:

“I don’t know, but she found it, and when it would not bend to her, she destroyed it. As she did all good things.” It was as much as Amren would say about that terrible time. “It was perhaps in our favor. Had the King of Hybern possessed Narben, I fear we would have lost the war.”

More info for Spear of Lugh.

In a full narrative version called [A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann (The Fate of the Children of Tuireann),[51] from copies no earlier than the 17th century,[52] Lugh demands the spear named Ar-éadbair or Areadbhair (Early Modern Irish: Aꞃéadḃaiꞃ) which belonged to Pisear, king of Persia. Areadbhair's tip had to be kept immersed in a pot of water to keep it from igniting, a property similar to the Lúin of Celtchar. This spear is also called "Slaughterer"[53] in translation.

Narben is a death "sword"

Rhys studied her blade. “Narben is a death-sword. It’s lost, possibly destroyed, but stories say it can slay even monsters like Lanthys.” (Acosf)

Also the spear of Lugh is connected with lightning.

Lugh's projectile weapon, whether a dart or missile, was envisioned to be symbolic of lightning-weapon.

Also known as the Lightning Spear, or simply Lugh’s Spear, the Gae Assail was one of the Four Treasures or Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann

And to me it is interesting that Ramiel means "god has thundered" maybe there is a connection?

Lugh's sling rod, named "Lugh's Chain", was the rainbow and the Milky Way, according to popular writer Charles Squire.[57] Squire adds that Lugh's spear which needed no wielding was alive and thirsted so for blood that only by steeping its head in a sleeping-draught of pounded fresh poppy leaves could it be kept at rest. When a battle was near, it was drawn out; then it roared and struggled against its thongs, fire flashed from it, and it tore through the ranks of the enemy once slipped from the leash, never tired of slaying

So thanks for reading.

I NEED A SPEAR 😭😭

[polarisdelphi]

A little character study I did a while ago, trying to figure out new ways of painting, style changes while remaining more on the realistic side... And sword props, 'cause I LOVE drawing swords.

(And I made up the thing written on Excalibur, I know the Legend says it's "Take me Up/Cast me Away", but I wanted something more tied to Arthur's character and why he's the only one who can wield it)

King Arthur and his Knights are one of my favourite stories, so I wanted to work on some ~character designs~ for them (a little d&d-ish like...?)! Working as well on presentation and something I'd enjoy having on my portfolio/doing as a character comission/project/first draft.

Also, tried to test some different layers while colouring, ended up with a sort of vitral looking thing for him:

Which I also enjoyed a lot :3

Now, regarding character and clothes and all - and some of my takes on Arturian Legend, and just me being a big Arthur and his Knights fangirl overall, under the cut ^^

When it comes to King Arthur, I enjoy more the historical findings and more modern retellings that Arthur would have been a war general, not a king, around the 5th century - fighting saxons on the bloody fiedls of Britain while praying to pagan gods. So that's the direction I'm going for here - even if I took some ~historical liberties~ regarding how everything looks.

(alsooo BIG DISCLAIMER: I'm a product of catholic school and I have a personal beef with all the religion/God/catholic values of the ~legends~ hence why I prefer seeing all of them as a bunch of normal guys surviving the drenched in blood politics of the 5th century rather than chaste, virtuous knights of the 11th century - it's a personal stance, you are more than welcome to disagree in a civilized manner ^^)

Here we have him then: Arthur, uncrowned king of Britain, probably Uther's bastard son, one hell of a war general and politician dealing with the saxons and pulverized british kings fighting for the Great King crown - who just dreams of having a normal life in a nice place with Guinevere and watch his sons grow in a land with peace and justice.

Oh, Arthur, my sweet summer child, I've got news for you...

I Used red on him as a more ~regal colour~, even if usually purple are more the colours of kings and royalty (historically speaking, as far as I know, I'm not really a historian T-T).

Now, a lot of his armor - and looks - comes from Bernard Cornwell's The Winter King book series, that is about Arthur and his Knights. I remember reading Arthur's appearance in a field of war for the first time and my own imagination had me in awe of how stunning (heroic like, not beauty like) he was HAHAHAHA

Shiny dragonscale armor, white vests, white cape, bright sword, mounting on a white Shire Horse (one of the biggest horse breeds ever) that only he and his Knights mounted, making them famous for it... A vision, to say the least!

The white cape and clothes didn't work for this design though. I wanted to make a white cape, dirty with mud and blood, but overall, not good for the design. Went with red because it looks better, it's a royal looking colour for me and it has that blood thing. Arthur might have been fair and with great morals for his time, but he was a killer drenched in blood, head to toes, just like every other great war general.

I want to make a series of Arthurian Legend related illustrations and such, so this is the Arthur I picture and the one I've always had in mind: idealistic, fighting for peace and justice, suffering a lot in a world where blood and corruption is the accepted currency; but even so, he won't abandon his own values and will keep fighting for a better Britain, even if he has to coat himself in the blood of his enemies.

After reading a LOT on Arthur and his Knights - be it classic Arthurian Legend tales, Le Mort D'Arthur, Mists of Avalon, all the Arthurian movies ever made, researches, university talks on Arthur as a character and who were the historical figures he was based on, Bernard Cornwell's books, and a bunch of other stuff told ya I'm an Arthur fangirl :') - I decided to work on my own take of the story, as a lot of people have done before.

Whenever you see any illustrations from me, it's going to be this idea I have in my mind of how his story was like - and what I would've liked to see in books/movies on Arthur and his Knights :)

just you wait for my Lancelot and my Guinevere

[firstofficerrose]

I just keep thinking about Camlann, and there are two scenarios that I come back to over and over.

Scenario the first: Lancelot. It's not a common name, but it's not totally unheard of either. Lancelot originates in the French romances, I believe, so he would have less power here than characters originating from the Welsh traditions. But Lancelot is genuinely one of my favorite characters in Arthuriana, he's such an absolute disaster mess of a man. He is constantly getting kidnapped and imprisoned, he is a dude in so much distress. He's an incredible fighter. He has (sometimes lengthy) periods of madness. He cannot achieve the grail. He has a thing with Guinevere, and I know that our Gwen is definitely falling for Morgan (which is excellent), but Lancelots are very well suited to pining as well... and there's versions of the story that could even be read as ace or demi, probably. He keeps getting tricked into sleeping with ladies he has no interest in, so you might even have space for Aro Lancelot. There would be power in a link to Guinevere, but I suspect that he could get away with leaning into fealty without romance, you know? Such a juicy space of stories to play with. Such a sopping wet guy. I want Perry and Gwaine having to team up to rescue this dude and having some excellent teeth-clenched teamwork. Do you see my vision here?

Corollary to Scenario the first: Galahad, for many of the same reasons. An even less common name, trickier to pull off, but Galahad being this even-more-incredible fighter might be neat. A lot of what Galahad does falls into the space of miracles, which might not work with Ella's stated intention to avoid living religious traditions, but Galahad is another really interesting character. Achieving the grail through the power of no fap. He's a late addition to the Arthurian stories, and therefore less powerful overall, but I think he would be interesting.

Corollary the second to Scenario the first: Elaine. There are *so* many Elaine's in the Arthurian stories, an Elaine could take almost any role she wanted and that versatility could be extremely useful.

Scenario the second: Robin Hood. This one is relatively easy, because a number of the names from the story (Robin, Marian/Marion, Alan, John, Will) are quite common. This story would be stronger in Nottingham, of course, but can you imagine having this little crew of archery anarchists on your side? It would be excellent. Robin is, in later versions, all about rebellion against a corrupt king or prince, which might give him and his Merry Men a fighting chance against Arthur and the Knights. I want to see it, it sounds great. Also, our group of main characters are casters, a Face, and close-quarters fighters, and in the interest of party composition, I would be happier if we had some longbowmen here. (I know about Perry's crossbow and the spear, but come on, Peredur is a knight in the Mabinogion. He - and therefore Perry - does swords and spears and lances really well, not crossbows.)

Bonus scenario: Pellinor and the Questing Beast. It's been a hot second since I've read Le Morte d' Arthur, but basically the first thing Arthur does after becoming king in that version of the story is run off and go on a quest chasing the Beast for a full year, relieving Pellinor of the quest. I have never heard of anyone named Pellinor outside of these stories, which tells me that he might work better as a monster. You have the Beast and the knight chasing him (Shūjūn mentioned things that looked like Knights and really, really weren't, it could work) as this monster that Arthur and maybe his Knights are all compelled to go chasing, and it gives our little group a break.

[caer-gai]

Le morte d'arrhur (penguin classics)

Le morte d Arthur (Keith Baines)

I'm normal about them I'm normal about them I'm -