Arthurian legend Summary
The Arthurian legend is a body of stories set in medieval Britain that tells of the glory and downfall of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This manga is based on Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), compiled by Sir Thomas Malory in the 15th century and printed in 1485.
Arthur grows up in the house of the knight Sir Ector, knowing nothing of his true birth. Sent back to fetch a sword for his foster brother Kay, he pulls a sword from a stone in a churchyard and becomes king. After defeating the kings who rise against him, he breaks his sword in single combat with King Pellinore and receives the holy sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. But the wizard Merlin foretells that Mordred, the son Arthur has unknowingly fathered with his half-sister Morgause, will one day destroy the kingdom.
Next comes the tragedy of Balin, a knight who refuses to give up a cursed sword and lays three kingdoms to waste with the "Dolorous Stroke"; Arthur's wedding to Queen Guinevere and the birth of the Round Table; and the knightly oath born from young Gawain's terrible blunder.
Later, Merlin is imprisoned by Nimue, the maiden he loves, and Arthur is tricked by his sister Morgan le Fay into fighting with a counterfeit Excalibur. Finally, Launcelot, the greatest of all knights, turns down the advances of four queens and the kiss of a sorceress, staying true to his devotion to the queen.
Story summary
Episode 1The Errand Boy Who Pulled the Sword — The Sword in the Stone
In the mangaEpisode 1 of the series. Young Arthur only wanted a spare sword for his brother, Sir Kay. So he pulls one from a stone in a churchyard, a sword that every lord in the land had failed to budge. When his foster father, Sir Ector, kneels before him, Arthur learns the truth about his family and must decide for himself whether to step toward the crown.
In the original mythThe best-known English telling of this legend is Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which William Caxton printed in 1485. It opens with King Uther Pendragon at war with the Duke of Tintagel, a powerful lord in Cornwall. Uther falls in love with the duke's wife, Igraine, whom Malory describes as beautiful and very wise. She sees what the king wants, warns her husband, and the two of them slip away from court.…
Episode 2The Day the Boy King's Sword Broke — Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake
In the mangaFresh from victory over the rebel kings, the boy king Arthur is riding high, until he learns of a terrible sin he committed without knowing it. Then, in a duel with the knight of the spring, King Pellinore, the sword from the stone shatters. The Lady of the Lake grants Arthur a new blade, Excalibur, and Merlin asks him one question: which matters more, the sword or the scabbard?
In the original mythThis episode is based on Book I of Le Morte Darthur, the great English retelling of the Arthurian legend by Sir Thomas Malory, printed by William Caxton in 1485. Arthur has just pulled the sword from the stone and been crowned, but many lords refuse to accept him. At a Pentecost feast in Caerleon, King Lot of Lothian and Orkney and other kings reject Arthur's gifts, saying they will answer a low-born boy with…
Episode 3The Sword Will Kill the One He Loves Most — Balin, the Knight with Two Swords
In the mangaBalin le Savage, a penniless knight fresh out of prison, draws a sword no one else could pull free and refuses to give it up, even after hearing it will make him kill the one he loves most. Every blow he strikes in the name of what's right costs him more: the king's forgiveness, three kingdoms, and finally his beloved brother Balan.
In the original mythThe tale of Balin comes from Book II of Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory's great collection of Arthurian legends, printed by William Caxton in 1485. While King Arthur is holding court at Camelot, a damsel arrives wearing a heavy sword she cannot take off. She was sent by the Lady Lile of Avelion, and she explains that only a knight of true skill, free of villainy and treason, can draw it from its sheath. Arthur…
Episode 4The Mistake That Wrote the Knights' Code — Gawain and the Pentecostal Oath
In the mangaKnighted on King Arthur's wedding day, young Gawain is desperate to win glory. When his hounds are killed, he flies into a rage, refuses a beaten knight's plea for mercy, and the lady who throws herself between them dies by his hand. He doesn't run. He carries his shame back to the court, and the vow he swears there becomes the oath of every Knight of the Round Table.
In the original mythThe story comes from Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory's great retelling of the Arthurian legends, printed by William Caxton in 1485. In Caxton's edition, chapters 1–15 of Book III tell how Arthur took a wife, how the Round Table came to be, and how its knights got their first rules.
Episode 5He Saw His Doom—and Loved Her Anyway — Merlin and Nimue
In the mangaSealed away by the maiden he loved, Merlin leaves one last warning: "The woman you trust most will steal your sword and scabbard." Armed with the "Excalibur" his kind sister sent him, young King Arthur rides into a duel to the death—only to find his opponent swinging the king's own true sword.
In the original mythThis part of the legend comes from Book IV of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur, which William Caxton printed in 1485. Merlin, King Arthur's adviser and prophet, falls hopelessly in love with Nimue. She is one of the Ladies of the Lake, a group of enchantresses, and she came to Arthur's court with King Pellinore. Merlin follows her everywhere. She stays pleasant with him, and meanwhile she learns from him…
Episode 6He Woke Up Surrounded by Four Queens — Sir Launcelot du Lake
In the mangaSir Launcelot du Lake, the knight without equal, turns down four queens, a duel he could have skipped by hiding his name, and a sorceress who asks for "just one kiss." He says no to all of them. Only one person ever hears him say "yes."
In the original mythThe adventures in this episode come from Book VI of Le Morte d'Arthur, the great English retelling of the King Arthur legends by Sir Thomas Malory, printed by William Caxton in 1485. After Arthur comes home from his war against Rome, one knight rises above all the rest: Sir Launcelot du Lake. No one beats him in battle or in tournaments, and Queen Guenever, Arthur's wife, honors him above every other knight.…
Episode 7She Mocked Him. He Kept Winning. — Beaumains, the Kitchen Knight
In the mangaMocked as "Fair Hands" and worked to the bone in the castle kitchen for a whole year, a nameless youth called Beaumains finally gets his quest. With his guide Lynette insulting him every step of the way, he quietly defeats the Black, Green, Red and Indigo knights, then faces the deadliest foe of all: the Red Knight of the Red Launds, who grows as strong as seven men at noon.
In the original mythThe tale of Sir Gareth is one of the best-loved stories in Le Morte d'Arthur, the great collection of Arthurian legend put together by Sir Thomas Malory and printed by William Caxton in 1485. In Caxton's edition it fills all of Book VII, and it begins at Pentecost (Whitsun), when King Arthur holds a feast at Kynke Kenadonne, a castle by the sea near Wales. By custom, Arthur will not eat at such a feast until he has…