Contemporary Influences on the Arthurian Legends

Many adaptations and interpretations exist of the Arthurian legends, and each has its own particular flavor, depending on the author. But another influence, this one external, on each rendition of the King Arthur tales is the time period in which it was written. These stories were not told and retold in a vacuum, thus each particular retelling of the classic tales incorporated pieces of the contemporary times. These influences can be seen in what aspects the author chooses to make important. It can also be seen in additions that are unique to the interpretations, that are not found in other versions.

In examining Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, Tennyson's Idyll's of the King, and Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, one can definitely notice the influence of the times in which each was written. This discussion will focus on the part in each work that tells of the death of King Arthur. This aspect is common to all three of these versions, yet a little bit different in each version, depending on the time period of the particular story.

The first interpretation to be written was Malory's, who translated his Le Morte D'Arthur to English in the fifteenth century from earlier manuscripts written in French. Overall, Malory's translation has an almost overwhelming focus on warfare and violence. Much of the book revolves around the various and assorted adventures between knights, and little attention is paid to the romantic side of the Arthurian legends. Malory puts hardly any emotion whatsoever into his version when he does make mention of any romantic or lofty parts of the tale. Perhaps this is because the audience at the time was used to such violence and death, and was used to it, thus incorporating bloodshed was nothing to be alarmed about.

This desensitization existed because during the 1400s, England was involved in a long, drawn-out war with France, and soon after that, in the War of the Roses, a civil war involving the nobility of England in a feud over the throne. War was a part of life for the people of the time. Malory was in England during this time and was even placed in prison. Also, the manuscripts that Malory translated from had a certain familiarity to death, due to the fact that the French people had just experienced the bubonic plague, which devastated the European population. Their life spans were also much shorter than they are today due to the amount of disease that was present, and the lack of sanitation or good medical practices. Thus Malory's version is characterized by a lack of emotion regarding death, and a focus on adventure over romance.

The lack of emotion and the desensitization surrounding death are evident in the story of the death of Arthur when Malory describes the battles that take place. Mordred sends his ships to attack Arthur's ships, and Malory describes the bloodshed and violence in detail, yet without emotion. He says "without stint, they battled through the burning ships, the screaming wounded, and the corpses floating on the bloodstained waters." Then he says that they put Mordred's army to flight. No emotion about the tragedy of the screaming wounded or the bloodstained waters, only a mention of the fact. Later, when the two armies meet again and everyone is killed except the four survivors, Malory only spares a few sentences to describe the tragedy. This is the epic battle of the Arthurian legends, and it marks the tragic finale of the glory days of Camelot, yet Malory merely mentions that the two armies fight and that everyone dies.

Bedivere and Lucas try to move the mortally injured Arthur, but as they are doing so, "Sir Lucas fainted as part of his intestines broke through a wound in the stomach. When the king came to, he saw Sir Lucas lying dead with foam at his mouth." Obviously an audience would have to be used to violence and death for that sentence not to alarm them. And when Arthur dies, little emotion to accompanies even this event. When Arthur leaves Sir Bedivere behind on the shore, Malory simply says that "Sir Bedivere wept to see them go." And that was that. This chapter in the book contains much dying and violence and bloodshed, yet Malory conveys no sense of tragedy at all these terrible things. He states them quite frankly, as if they are little more than everyday occurrences, which they were for his audience.

Also, Malory focuses more on adventure than he does on romance. Little chance exists in this last part of the book for anything romantic to happen, but at the same time, as characteristic throughout the rest of the book, Malory describes in detail the fighting and the swordplay. He describes the epic fight between Mordred and Arthur very carefully and provides many details of the deadly stroke, devoting a whole paragraph to the encounter, whereas he set aside only a sentence or two for the other huge battles that had already taken place. But when he tells of the death of Arthur, he does not leave the possibility that maybe Arthur does not really die after all. Malory even states frankly that "but for myself, I do not believe (that he will return to us), and would leave him buried peacefully in his tomb at Glastonbury." A true romantic, which Malory clearly was not, would not flatly state that Arthur is, in fact, dead. This shows how he places more emphasis on battles fought than on anything vaguely romantic.

Whereas Malory is influenced by a lack of emotion surrounding death, and a focus on warfare over romance, Tennyson is clearly Christian, romantic, and idealistic about Camelot in general. The British people of seventeenth century England were generally Christian, as a population, so Tennyson includes many references to God. Also, the popular writing style of the time, characterized by the romantic poets, always included some sort of poetic justice at the end, thus Tennyson also manipulates the classic story such that a romantic, poetic ending occurs, despite the tragedy. The public expected an emotional, happy ending, and Tennyson gives this to them.

Also characteristic of the British people, whom Tennyson wrote for, is that they saw their kingdom as the greatest that the world had ever seen. British colonies existed in India, Ireland, Canada, and even South Africa. And their monarchy was the symbol of this power, thus they glorified their monarchy. However, the British nation was also spread quite thin around the world, and an eventual downfall was inevitable. Tennyson conveys this sense of doom in his work as well. He creates the ideal kingdom, in Camelot, yet at the same time allows the mood of the fleeting nature of glory to hang over the story. This sense of doom is the idea that the ideal nation-state will never last. In the story of the death of Arthur, Tennyson includes many Christian references and downplays the mysticism that is prevalent in Malory's version. He also climaxes the inevitable fall of the ideal kingdom, Camelot, and writes his own beautiful ending to the tale, an ending that is clearly romantic and has poetic justice.

Many references to paganism and mysticism exist in Malory, and in the novel by Bradley. However, Tennyson cleans his version up a bit and downplays the mysticism. In the story of the Passing of Arthur, Tennyson mentions Christ and God, as well the death of Christ. He also mentions Christians in reference to the people of Camelot, when he says "but no man was moving there; nor any cry of Christian heard thereon, Nor yet of heathen." Obviously, if he is writing for a Christian population, he will make his main characters Christian.

In Malory's version, the ghost of Gawain comes to Arthur in a dream to warn him about Mordred, and Arthur also sees many mystical beasts, such as serpents and dragons in the dream. Tennyson also describes this dream, but he omits the dragons and serpents, and just includes the ghost of Gawain. This makes his version is a little more realistic to a Christian audience, and less controversial than dragons or serpents.

In addition to the references to Christianity, Tennyson also incorporates the sense of doom that hangs over Camelot, and thus, Great Britain, since Camelot symbolizes England as the ideal kingdom, with the ideal monarch. "The Passing of Arthur" opens with Arthur moaning about death, and soon after, the ghost of Sir Gawain visits Arthur and warns him about Mordred's imminent attack. These actions set the mood for the rest of the chapter, and show the oncoming fall.

After Arthur has been mortally injured and is about to die, the book becomes wrapped in sorrow. This is because the end has come, and the inevitable conclusion has been reached; the perfect kingdom is gone forever. Also, when all the knights associated with either Arthur or Mordred fight the final battle that leaves only a few people alive, Tennyson makes this event extremely sad, for now the era of the round table is certainly over. The round table itself could be a symbol of Britain as well, thus the end of its existence symbolizes the passing of the legacy of Great Britain. The story surrounding the death of Arthur is the climax of the rest of the novel, and Tennyson built up throughout the other stories the sense of doom, which is prevalent throughout the book.

Tennyson also includes much romance and poetic justice into his Idylls of the King, to suit the literary desires of the people of his day. First of all, the story of the death of Arthur is titled "The Passing of Arthur," and makes no reference to death at all, rather, it implies a change, or a new beginning, not a tragic ending.

Also, when Tennyson describes the battles that take place, he uses much emotion, to convey the tragedy and pain. He uses descriptive words to make the audience know the emotion of the characters. Tennyson writes, "and ev'n on Arthur fell confusion, since he saw not whom he fought. For friend and foe were shadows in the mist, and friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew," to describe the battle in which all the members of the round table kill each other. Arthur has feelings, when he says to Bedivere, "for on my heart hath fall'n confusion, till I know not what I am, nor whence I am, nor whether I be king. Behold. I seem but king among the dead."

Tennyson even finds a way to romanticize Excalibur. The sword is so hypnotic and dazzling that Bedivere needs three tries to obey Arthur's dying wish and throw it into the lake. And instead of merely saying that it was, indeed, thrown into the lake, as Malory does, he describes in detail the hand reaching out to grab the sword and brandish it three times.

Finally, Tennyson makes the final passage of Arthur extremely emotional and tragic, and in this way, romantic. He describes the mourning, and Bedivere's devotion, as he watches the boat "till the hull look'd one black dot against the verge of dawn." The ending, however, is not completely tragic, in keeping with the tradition of poetic justice, for Arthur is not dead for certain. He has possibly only gone away to recover and return in triumph one day. Tennyson illustrates this using the sun as a symbol of rebirth and life, for as the black barge disappears into the light, "the new sun rose bringing the new year." The book ends with newness, not tragedy. To please his audience, Tennyson uses poetic justice, he incorporates Christian ideals, and he conveys the sense of doom of the inevitable fall following the glory days of any ideal kingdom.

Bradley's version of the Arthurian legend, The Mists of Avalon, was written most recently, as it was published in 1982. Although one does not have the advantage of retrospect to use in examining contemporary influences on her work, one can clearly point to the corresponding rise of feminism as a strong influence. Indeed, the overwhelming outside influence is that of the women's movement, and it can be seen through her characters and their actions, and her attention to issues of importance to feminists, such as abortion. In the part of the novel that deals with the death of Arthur, the feminist influence is clearly evident.

Also, like the audience of Tennyson's time expected poetic justice and romance, the audience of Bradley's time expects character development and credibility. She incorporates many of the elements of the original Arthurian legends, such as the main characters and their origins, but she also changes some of the stories slightly such that they could actually happen somehow in real life. The story of Balin and Balan, for example, is changed so that their actions are more believable and could somehow happen in real life.

The majority of the book is told from the perspective of Morgaine of the Fairies, that is, Morgan Le Fay. Bradley accomplishes this in the chapter where Arthur dies by allowing Morgaine to watch via the Sight. Thus, the fight is seen through her point of view, in keeping with the theme of female leadership concurrent with feminist beliefs. Throughout the book, the women have power and influence that none of the female characters in earlier versions have. Indeed, previous stories portray the women as pawns. Bradley portrays the women, especially the women of Avalon, as the force behind Camelot, and refers to the women who are used as pawns with disdain. In reference to Mordred, Morgaine remarks that she "had loosed this upon this world." Thus, it is her doing that brings about the fall of Camelot.

In the last fight between Mordred and Arthur, the two characters speak to each other to explain their actions, which is like all contemporary novels in that the motivation behind actions is provided. They also speak of Morgaine as they fight, suggesting that her influence is behind their fight. This shows again how women are the focus of the book, even as the men fight. The main god of this novel is not the Christian God, but the goddess. The men call upon her and mention her as they fight each other. Bradley incorporates this female influence to support feminism again.

Once Arthur has been mortally wounded, Morgaine comes to him. It is she, however, not Arthur, that decides that Excalibur must be thrown into the lake. She comes and takes charge, showing her superiority and wisdom above his. Arthur may be king, but he is not as sovereign as his title suggests. She acts motherly to the dying king and comforts him by saying that all is the will of the goddess, again showing that she is in charge.

Arthur definitely dies in this book, but that is not the end. Once he is gone, Morgaine seeks contentment, and ultimately finds it. Thus, the conclusion of the book is Morgaine's success at finding peace in her life, not the tragedy of the dead king. Bradley finds a way to change the focus of the book away from the male characters onto the female characters, particularly Morgaine.

Many adaptations have been made of the original Arthurian legends. Each version brings its own unique touch to the traditional stories, and each is influenced by the time period in which it was written. Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur is influenced by his society's familiarity with death and violence, and focus on warfare over romance. Tennyson's Idylls of the King symbolizes the British kingdom as Camelot and illustrates the inevitable fall, shows the Christian influence of the day, and incorporates poetic justice. The Mists of Avalon, by Bradley, is strongly influenced by the contemporary rise of feminism. Each version contains the story of the death of Arthur, but each author writes the story slightly differently, in keeping with the influences of the day.