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Knightly Travel in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur

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Knightly Travel in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis No 3296 Anglica Wratislaviensia XLIX Wrocław 2011 Milica Spremić University of Belgrade From Victory and Fame to Defeat and Salvation: Knightly Travel in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur 1. Introduction Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur was completed in 1469 or 1470, and Wil- liam Caxton first published it in London in 1485. Caxton gave Malory’s work its title, and divided it into twenty-one books and five hundred and seven chapters. As Malory’s original manuscript has not survived, Caxton’s edition is one of the two extant versions of the text. Another version of Malory’s work is Professor Eu- gene Vinaver’s edition, based on the Winchester Manuscript, which was discovered in 1934. When discovered, the Winchester Manuscript had already been divided into eight Tales. It was published in 1947. The whole of Malory’s work can be read and interpreted in terms of knightly travel, since knightly quests are both the plot incentives and the raison d’être of King Arthur’s knights. This paper analyses knightly quests throughout Malory’s work with the assumption that while the travel action in Malory persists, it has dif- ferent forms and aims.1 The knightly quests in the first two Tales are undertaken in order to establish King Arthur’s authority and enlarge his empire, and their climax is Arthur’s Roman campaign. Knightly quests in the central part of Malory’s work, in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tales, are peaceful pursuits of adventure, the aims of which are achievement of fame, reputation and worship by certain knights. The last joint quest of King Arthur’s knights is the quest for the Holy Grail, described in the Sixth Tale. The aim of the Grail quest is not earthly fame, but the attainment of divine grace. Its fatal outcome was a painful admonition to King Arthur and his knights that they had neglected knightly ideals. Finally, 1 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 17th International Medieval Congress in Leeds, Great Britain, in July 2010. The 2010 thematic strand was Travel and Exploration. Anglica Wratislaviensia 49, 2011 © for this edition by CNS Ang.49-Ikor.wyd.indb 49 2011-08-16 13:25:50 50 Milica Spremić in the Seventh and Eighth Tales, knightly quests almost cease to exist. The deg- radation of knightly ideals inevitably brings Arthur’s empire to its end, while his tragic, last wars against Lancelot and Mordred, are mere slaughters which destroy the knightly code of behaviour. Logically enough, they also end Malory’s work. 2. Travel to victory Knightly quests in the first two of Malory’s Tales present us with the picture of the rise of King Arthur’s newly established kingdom. After Arthur’s successful com- pletion of the sword in the stone test, he is accepted as a new king by his people, but not by all of his late father’s vassals. Against them Arthur wages several wars out of which he comes victorious and strengthened in power, while his subjects are bestowed with longed-for peace. The climax of the formative phase of King Arthur’s state is his triumphant Roman campaign, described in the Second Tale. The Second Tale begins in a way typical of a medieval Arthurian romance — the kingly feast in Camelot is interrupted by the arrival of foreigners: When King Arthur had after long war rested, and held a royal feast and Table Round with his allies of kings, princes and noble knights all of the Round Table, there came into his hall, he sitting on his throne royal, twelve ancient men, bearing each of them a branch of olive, in token that they came as ambassadors and messengers from the Emperor Lucius, which was called at that time, Dictator or Procuror of the Public Weal of Rome. (Malory 1986, vol. I: 67) The ambassadors of the Roman Emperor Lucius bring Arthur Lucius’ require- ment for a tribute and his accusation that Arthur is a rebel since he has been neg- lecting this duty. The shameful challenge is bravely received by King Arthur and his knights; the proud and decisive expressions on their faces frighten Emperor Lucius’ men. Arthur replies that he, being the ancestor of the Roman emperor and defender of Christianity, Constantine, is the legal ruler and claimant to the Roman throne, while Lucius himself is a usurper against whom he and his knights are ready to wage war, supported by the best knights from fifteen neighbouring kingdoms. Having received Arthur’s answer to his challenge, Lucius begins to gather his own forces to confront Arthur, but instead of Christian, worthy and fearless knights, Lucius’ forces are made of the Saracens and giants. Upon leaving Britain to go to war, King Arthur appoints loyal regents, Sir Baudwin and Sir Constantine, to rule his kingdom while he is away. On his way to Rome, Arthur fights the giant of St. Michel’s Mount and kills it, putting an end to a seven-year chain of crimes and destruction of the region the giant has inhabited. In the most important battle, Lancelot wounds, and Arthur kills Lucius. In his victorious march to Rome, Arthur invades Flanders, Lorraine, Germany, Lombardy and Tuscany. In Rome, the Pope grants him the emperor’s crown, which is the culmination of Arthur’s power, glory, political and military career. Anglica Wratislaviensia 49, 2011 © for this edition by CNS Ang.49-Ikor.wyd.indb 50 2011-08-16 13:25:50 51 Knightly Travel in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur On this knightly travel, King Arthur and his knights won their greatest victory. Edmund Reiss claims that, having been given the emperor’s crown by the Pope, “Arthur and his Order receive the blessing of the Church and the crown of the Western world” (Reiss 1966: 90). According to Reiss, this means that the way of life and the ideals of the Round Table have become universal and, more importantly, in accordance with Christianity. There is nothing else in this world that the king and his knightly order can achieve. They can only strive to turn from the mundane and get closer to God. But before the adventures in the quest of the Holy Grail, adds Reiss, Malory wants to describe the brightest and most glorious days of Arthur’s knights. 3. Travel to glory and esteem The days described in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Tales abound in knightly quests, the aims of which are achievement of fame, esteem and worship by certain knights. The most notable in these peaceful pursuits of adventure are Arthur’s best known knights — Lancelot, Gareth, Tristan and Lamorak. They undertake such quests for two reasons: either to help those who come to King Arthur’s court in search of help, or to check and confirm their own knightly skills and efficiency. As soon as they leave Camelot, King Arthur’s knights enter what Malory calls the perilous forest. At the very beginning of the Third Tale Lancelot is fed up with leisurely days and feasting at Camelot and longs for new challenges: Thus sir Launcelot rested hym longe with play and game; and than he thought hymslef to preve in straunge adventures, and bade his nevew, Sir Lyonell, for to make hym redy, ‘for we muste go seke adventures’. So they mounted on their horses, armed at all ryghtes, and rode into a depe foreste and so into a playne. So the wedir was hote aboute noone, and sir Launcelot had grete luste to slepe. Than sir Lyonell aspyed a grete appyll-tre that stoode by an hedge, and sayde, ‘Sir, yondir is a fayre shadow, there may we reste us and oure horsys.’ (Malory 1971: 149) In the forest knights get the opportunity to show prowess and increase their glory by overcoming various obstacles. Malory’s forest is an enchanted space, a limitless and uncultivated area of omnipresent hazards, a place inhabited by knights, ladies, animals, giants and dwarfs. The perilous forest is also a dwelling- place of fairies, tall and slim, more beautiful and more powerful than the mortals, whom they invariably want as lovers. By the use of magic, they can seduce knights and take them to their Otherworld lodgings, famous as the places of rich feasts, love-making and healing (Whitaker 1984: 57). Knightly travel in the perilous forest is cyclical in nature. Each travel be- gins in Camelot, upon a knight’s leaving it, and ends only when he returns to King Arthur’s court. This major cycle comprises numerous smaller ones. Each day of knightly travel is cyclical: in the morning the knight rides to the Anglica Wratislaviensia 49, 2011 © for this edition by CNS Ang.49-Ikor.wyd.indb 51 2011-08-16 13:25:50 52 Milica Spremić forest in which he faces many challenges, and before the nightfall he arrives at a castle, a manor or a hermit’s abode, where he finds food and lodging. Although such places are invariably hospitable and reaching them suggests finalization of a certain phase of the quest, a successfully completed knightly travel is only the one which brings the knight back to Camelot whence he initially set forth (Whitaker, 109–110). An integral part of knightly travel to glory and reputation is taking part in tournaments, whose most notable participants are Lancelot, Tristan, Lamorak and Palomides. Lancelot wins the first prize in all three great tournaments in the Fifth Tale — the tournament at the Castell of Maydyns, the tournament at Surluse and the tournament at Lonazep.
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