Le Morte d'Arthur - Malory (modern idiom rendition by Baines)
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2024 4:14 pm
I'm not that far into the book yet but yeesh! All of the kings and knights seem so immoral.
It happens regularly where one of the knights will see someone distressed. They go and try to help that person only making the situation significantly worse. Sir Balin sees a distressed knight who's lamenting his woman who failed to keep their tryst. He tells the knight he'll provide help in finding his lover. Only to find her in the arms of some ugly knight, informs the distressed knight... who chops off both of their heads and kills himself. Balin essentially says, "golly, I thought this would have helped make him care less about her.... that's what I would have done".
King Arthur sees a distressed knight ride past him and asks him what is troubling him. The knight replies that it's nothing that King Arthur can mend and he rides on. Arthur sees Balin and tells him to find out what is troubling that knight. Balin said to Arthur that he will bring him willingly or as a prisoner (hmmm, sounds reasonable). Balin finds him and says "come with me or we'll battle". Won over by the empathy the knight rides back with Balin to Arthur only to get "transfixed" by an invisible knight.
You start hoping for no more innocent and distressed knight lest King Arthur and crew want to provide their help which will only lead to their deaths.
King Arthur has a child (Mordred) with a woman who turned out to be his half-sister. He decides to 'King Herod" all children of that age on a boat so that it will founder only for all of the other children to die but Mordred. He did this after conferring with Merlin that this, offing all of those children, would be the most reasonable course of action.
Still quite a bit to go... curious when they'll seem a bit more heroic in the tale.
It happens regularly where one of the knights will see someone distressed. They go and try to help that person only making the situation significantly worse. Sir Balin sees a distressed knight who's lamenting his woman who failed to keep their tryst. He tells the knight he'll provide help in finding his lover. Only to find her in the arms of some ugly knight, informs the distressed knight... who chops off both of their heads and kills himself. Balin essentially says, "golly, I thought this would have helped make him care less about her.... that's what I would have done".
King Arthur sees a distressed knight ride past him and asks him what is troubling him. The knight replies that it's nothing that King Arthur can mend and he rides on. Arthur sees Balin and tells him to find out what is troubling that knight. Balin said to Arthur that he will bring him willingly or as a prisoner (hmmm, sounds reasonable). Balin finds him and says "come with me or we'll battle". Won over by the empathy the knight rides back with Balin to Arthur only to get "transfixed" by an invisible knight.
You start hoping for no more innocent and distressed knight lest King Arthur and crew want to provide their help which will only lead to their deaths.
King Arthur has a child (Mordred) with a woman who turned out to be his half-sister. He decides to 'King Herod" all children of that age on a boat so that it will founder only for all of the other children to die but Mordred. He did this after conferring with Merlin that this, offing all of those children, would be the most reasonable course of action.
Still quite a bit to go... curious when they'll seem a bit more heroic in the tale.