70 pages • 2 hours read
John SteinbeckThe Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1976A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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The Code of Chivalry
The legend of Arthur and his knights is as much a description of feats of arms as it is an examination of the essence of virtuous knighthood. Malory’s version of the story was written during the War of the Roses, a particularly volatile time in Britain’s history. Pretenders to the throne attacked from every direction, much as Arthur’s treasonous barons do. During periods of social upheaval, there is always a great danger that the warrior class might take advantage of the chaotic situation and use force of arms to further selfish agendas.
The mythology of Camelot is meant to illustrate the proper way in which warriors ought to conduct themselves in a civilized society. The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights and Malory’s Morte d’Arthur explicitly describe this code of conduct:
They swore never to use violence without good purpose, never to fall to murder or treason. They swore on their honor to be merciful when mercy was asked and to protect damsels, ladies, gentlewomen and widows, to enforce their rights and never enforce lust on them. And they promised never to fight in an unjust cause or to fight for personal gain. All the knights of the Round Table took this oath (98).
Each of the quests undertaken by knights in the story demonstrates some aspect of this code. Their opponents in battle often illustrate a negative principle and are punished for their selfish or barbaric actions. Lancelot defeats a knight who specifically preys upon women travelers. He also kills another who only lives to exact revenge for the murder of his brother. Gawain exemplifies a lack of humility that loses him his questing guide. Balin’s selfish determination to keep a cursed sword costs him his life and that of his brother.
Dark and Light Magic
Magic is a double-edged sword in the story that can be used either for good or evil, sometimes by the very same practitioner. Though Merlin is generally considered a positive figure in Arthurian legend, he creates a morally questionable enchantment so that Uther can bed another man’s wife. The wizard also likes to play the role of trickster for his own amusement by assuming different disguises when he appears to various knights in the story. Nyneve initially uses magic for evil purposes but then reforms her behavior later. She flirts with Merlin to learn all his magic secrets and then seals him inside a cave forever. At a later point, she saves Arthur twice from Morgan’s spells and ends by saving Pelleas from his self-destructive pursuit of Ettarde.
The Lady of the Lake is initially viewed as good when she gives Excalibur and its scabbard to Arthur. In another story, she is perceived as evil when she demands the heads of two enemies as compensation for her gift to the king. She is also accused of orchestrating the death of Balin’s mother. The only magical practitioner in the narrative who is viewed as purely evil is Morgan le Fay. Her agenda is consistently destructive. During Lancelot’s encounter with the four queens, he says, “There lies the fear, for wizards and witches are children, living in a world they made without the leavening of pity or the mathematics of organization. And what could be more frightening than a child with total power?” (242).
The narrative takes an ambivalent attitude toward magical power. While it can be a useful tool at times, its practitioners cannot always be trusted to do the right thing.
Destiny Is Inescapable
The narrative contains multiple examples of the workings of destiny in the lives of Arthur and his knights. Despite the Christian context in which these legends are seated, the characters in the story all ascribe to the pagan notion of fate. Balin scoffs at the curse predicting that he will kill his own brother. He goes out of his way to contradict what destiny has in store, yet his foretold end is the same. When Arthur selects Guinevere as his queen, he chooses to ignore Merlin’s prediction that she will be unfaithful. He also tries to subvert a prophecy by having the infant Mordred drowned before his illegitimate son can grow up to kill him. As might be expected, Mordred survives to fulfill his murderous destiny.
Merlin frequently foretells the future of others but is powerless to prevent his own demise at Nyneve’s hands. In fact, he makes no attempt to resist. When Arthur questions this passivity, Merlin articulates the basis for his belief in destiny:
Because I am wise. In the combat between wisdom and feeling, wisdom never wins. I have told you your certain future, my lord, but knowing will not change it by a hair. When the time comes, your feeling will conduct you to your fate (99).
Merlin implies that reason, duty, and self-interest are no match for passion. He defines destiny as nothing more than the actualization of a person’s deepest desires, not as an unseen hand dictating future events. In this respect, all the characters are free agents who choose to follow their impulses at the expense of their lives. In Camelot, heads never rule hearts.
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By John Steinbeck
