The Legend of King Arthur (Very Abridged)

Long long ago…in a galaxy far far away… Or in the Middle Ages in England, King Uther Pendragon ruled England, but he longed for the wife of another – the wife of one of his lords, Lord Tintagel. Lady Igraine of Tintagel rejects King Uther’s advances, and so battle ensues between the armies of the King and those of Lord Tintagel.

Getting With Lady Igraine In comes a wizard by the name of Merlin. Merlin offers to assist King Uther in “getting with” Lady Igraine of Tintagel. His price? The ability to take and raise their first-born son.

Getting With Lady Igraine And so, Merlin transforms King Uther with a spell, causing him to look like Lord Tintagel himself. He sleeps with the Lady Igraine while the real Lord Tintagel is killed in battle. Later, King Uther marries Lady Igraine, and a son is born to them, who they give to Merlin. That child is name Arthur.

Old King / New King Merlin whisks Arthur away to be raised by a good knight, Sir Ector. Meanwhile, King Uther goes mad. Eventually he dies. Upon Uther’s death, Merlin reveals the fact that Uther has a son / heir. However, before he can become king, he must prove himself to the other lords.

The Sword in the Stone In a stone outside Canterbury Cathedral, a magical sword awaits the true king of England. In some stories, this is Excalibur, though often times it is a separate sword entirely. It was placed there by Merlin long ago for this very purpose. When Arthur goes to Canterbury, he succeeds in removing the sword, proving himself the true king and heir to the throne of England.

Yay, War! Not all are convinced by this magnificent deed, however. Those loyal to Arthur and those opposed wage war. Inevitably, Arthur wins and brings the entirety of England under his rule. However, this is not the end of his troubles…

The Lady of the Lake In some stories, Arthur obtains Excalibur not from a stone, but from the Lady of the Lake – a magical entity who resides beneath a lake. Merlin guides him there, and she hands Arthur the sword and scabbard. The sword is quite powerful, but the scabbard prevents all wounds so long as you have it on you.

Morgan le Fay As it turns out, Arthur had half sisters. These were the children of Lord Tintagel and Lady Igraine, before her marriage to King Uther. As King Uther wronged their mother, Igraine, the daughters held a grudge against Uther and his son, Arthur. One, Morgan la Fey, became a skilled sorceress, and plotted to take the throne from Arthur any way she could.

Keeping It in the Family Half-sister Morgan le Fay enlists another of Arthur’s half-sisters, Morgawse, to sleep with Arthur. Arthur does not know she is his sister. The child that rises from this…interaction…will later become one of Arthur’s arch- enemies, Mordred. When Arthur finds out about the plot against him, he tries to obtain Mordred, but is unsuccessful. The child Mordred is spirited away on a ship to be raised elsewhere until he is needed for the plot against King Arthur.

All Wounds Heal with Time In time, many of Morgan le Fay’s efforts fail to gain her the throne. She eventually makes peace with Arthur and gives up. However, through her efforts, the scabbard to Excalibur is lost (and thus, Arthur’s ability to go unwounded). Furthermore, Mordred is still being raised elsewhere, still waiting to make his move against his father.

A Wedding and a Dowry In time, Arthur marries Guinevere, daughter of a lesser king / lord, Leodegrance. As dowry, he gives to Arthur the round table and 100 knights. Arthur goes about filling the remaining seats with the best knights in the land.

Poor Merlin Furthermore, Arthur loses the guidance of his wise mentor, Merlin. Merlin’s frequent attempts to romance the Lady of the Lake result in her blocking him into a cave with a large boulder, killing him.

The Quest for the Holy Grail In time, Arthur aims to go on a holy mission – to obtain the Holy Grail. The grail is supposedly the chalice or cup that Christ drank from at the last supper, and has healing powers. He undertakes this quest with many notable knights, including the purest of all knights, Galahad.

Lancelot and Guinevere While Arthur’s busy doing this or that or the other thing, he often leaves Queen Guinevere under the protection of the most skilled knight in all the land – Lancelot. Lancelot, at first, maintains a pure relationship of courtly love with Queen Guinevere. However, as time progresses, Lancelot and Guinevere become closer. Eventually, they sleep together. This act is not only the sin of adultery, but since it is against a king, treason. Lancelot and Guinevere

Along Comes Mordred This is the time when Mordred chooses to make his appearance. He and his half-siblings expose Lancelot and Guinevere’s sin publically, forcing Arthur to act. As Arthur puts Guinevere to death, Lancelot rescues her and rebels against Arthur. The kingdom is split in two, and civil war ensues. Some follow Arthur; some follow Lancelot. This is just what Mordred had planned all along. Furthermore, Lancelot managed to accidentally kill Gawain’s two brothers in the rescue mission – while they were completely unarmed.

Divide and Conquer As Arthur busies himself fighting Lancelot, Mordred remains at home to protect the kingdom. He attempts to steal his father’s wife, Guinevere, to marry her himself, but fails. She locks herself in the Tower of London and refuses his advances. However, when Arthur is done fighting Lancelot, his army is much weakened. When it comes time to return home to find Mordred’s treachery, Arthur’s forces are not strong enough.

A Bitter Victory In the end, Arthur’s forces are near-equally matched to Mordred’s. In the final battle, Arthur wins, with only a few people left on his side after the fight (out of hundreds). Arthur, dying of mortal wounds dealt by Mordred himself, asks his knights to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. In the end, he is carried away by boat by Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake into the mists, and places unknown.

Guinevere and Lancelot Lancelot and Guinevere survive the whole series of wars. Only now, at the end, do they realize that their adultery helped propell the downfall of Camelot and King Arthur. They spend the rest of their lives seeking redemption and forgiveness in their own ways.