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Anna Waxman

Professor Havens

English Literature

April 5, 2011

Extra Credit #2: King Arthur (2005)

Today, most stories and ideas today of the tale of Arthur and his knights are best known

for their romantic visions of chivalry, magic, handsome knights, and the fairest ladies of them

all. Although recently, there are various depictions of Arthurian stories, and the filmmakers' of

King Arthur, released in 2005 targets a modern audience by focusing on a harsher, political story

where the knights do not fight for a lady’s love, honor, or glory, but for their freedom. This

movie tries to depict a story about the historical stance of the middle ages, while choosing to

represent the story of Arthur without the magical, love, and sword wielding aspect that we all

know and imagine.

During the middle ages, text such as Parzival and Lais of Marie de France, were read

orally as a form of escapism. They were told about worthy knights, magic, adventure, love, and

the Grail, to get away from the harsh reality of darkness, filth, and persecution that the Middle

Age population was submerged in. The movie contrasts from original Arthurian text and does

not deal with love or seeking adventure of the past golden age, but replaces chivalry with more

modern values and concerns, such as war and fighting.

In stories the code of chivalry is to respect all other knights, but in contrast, films such as

King Arthur, this idea is not represented. In original text, Arthur would never go against chivalry

in challenging the other guards, knights, or higher leaders when they are without weapons, and
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would know his place in society when talking to someone in a leadership position. Although in

the film, from the first interaction with the Pope’s friend, Arthur treats him and his guards with

disrespect and fights them not in a duel fashion, but through the form or threats, slurs, and sword.

In the same scene, Arthur runs to save the peasants and pagans that are trapped to die in the tomb

because of their refusal to accept Christianity. While this seems historically inaccurate, Parzival

and Lais of Marie de France would never approach the idea of talking about pagans or peasants.

The film therefore does not accurately approach the chivalric code in the terms of dueling when a

knight that is without a weapon in his hand and running around trying to save peasants.

Another interesting variation from original text and the film is that peasants are never

mentioned, and only the high, respectable ladies are the girls that the knight falls in love with. In

the movie however, you don’t ever see noble, courtly, or beautifully fine clothed ladies in the

film, but is defined over and over again by Parzival and Lais of Marie de France. Even so the

film depicts King Arthur falling in love with a pagan, Guinevere, even though she does not

clothed herself, and is unfit for a Middle Age knight. In the tale of Marie de France, Guinevere

is described as beautiful lady that tries to seduce Laval. In fact, in most stories the women are

told to be the most magnificent and beautiful creatures with pale skin and red lips, who ask

knights to do deeds to win their hand in love or pleasure. Although, this definition of a lady is

not clearly defined in the movie, the film ignores original text and makes women seem strong

and fierce, as the movie tends to portray this the most through Guinevere. Guinevere is not

portrayed as a beautiful, magnificent, or clothed lady, but as a warrior queen that runs around the

battlefield in a leather belt across her chest. Historically we can prove that women did fight, but

hopefully they wore more than Guinevere. It is interesting thought that the text and historical

evidence portray women in two completely contrasting lights.

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Yet stories like Parzival and Lais of Marie de France were unrealistic even to the Middle

Age population, since that even in those times chivalry and marriage and love were romances

that did not exist in their lives. The film completely contradicts the romantic text and is more of a

historical film that depicts the Middle Age culture, and although people cannot aspire to be or

live like the characters in the film, viewers can find many things to love in this tale. We see that

the collapse of Roman political authority is not followed by the resurgence of the native Britons,

the elevation of their natural leaders – Arthur, Merlin, and the restoration of a natural social

order, based on ethno-cultural kinship and common consent.