Impressions of Knight Life

Wow what a reading! One second I was smiling at the secret meanings behind all of Arthur’s words and the next I was feeling slightly uncomfortable with Morgan and Lance. By the end I was surprised with myself, I wanted to read more. Despite the fact that I found Morgan’s lines quite cheesy and Gwen to be annoying all over again, I was draw to Arthur’s portrayal and interested in seeing how the story plays out. And of course Merlin was the best part. I really enjoyed the mental image I had when I pictured him speaking, a snarky little kid with the soul of an old man. He is already my favorite character. I pictured him looking kind of like this:

Of course I found a lot of story  impractical, i.e. Arthur running into a burning building and coming out reasonably unscathed, or the fact that Merlin was kidnapped and no one seemed to notice (at least as far as I know due to the section cuts). I found myself really curious about the castle that supposedly in Central park and also the fact that Excalibur was invisible. And there was definitely an added charm to the way Arthur planned to run his campaign. It made me think, what would it actually be like if a candidate ran a campaign like that? Most people in America want the average joe who is above politics to be president, but we found that actually doesn’t work out very well (i.e. Jimmy Carter). So I wonder if Arthur would even make a good mayor. He probably would reform the whole system so he doesn’t have to deal with the politics, but would the laws allow him to do so? And if he gets elected, does he realize he as to run again later? Can’t be mayor forever like you are king. Interesting food for thought, which I guess can only be answered by reading the book!

Anyway, The evil demons gave it an added plus, I’m always up for a bit of magic. I will say that I found their speech patterns, especial Gwen and Morgan, to be extremely cheesy and annoying, but maybe the author just can’t capture the female voice well. Either way I was still pleasantly surprised by Knight Life, and may even read it over the summer. Compared to all prior readings Knight Life seems to be filled with humor and is pretty light hearted (whether that was intentional or not, I am unsure). I think I could see myself reading it just to have a nice, comical escape from the real world. I enjoyed Mists of Avalon but this was different (in sooo many ways). It was just lighter and easy to read.  I enjoyed catching little tidbits of Camelot references.

In the end I definitely will be purchasing a cheap copy of this book, for the laughs at least. 

3 of 5

Why Merlin's Guinevere is the best Guinevere

During my Merlin presentation I repeatedly mentioned that it was my favorite and in my opinion the best representation of Guinevere I’ve encountered so far. Reading the excerpts from the Mist of Avalon has just reaffirmed that opinion. Gwenhwyfar is apparently the picture perfect beauty, so much so she causes the proud and strong Morgaine to become self-conscious, but all I see in her description is a wimp, a lost little girl who is pretty pathetic, especially in comparison to Morgaine. I hate that she fits snugly into the “damsel in distress” category.  I prefer a Guinevere with more bite to her.  I’d say I liked T.H. White’s Guinevere a tad more, but she tended to be too whiny and self-centered, much like the other Guineveres we have seen in our readings.

Movie wise I have yet to be impressed by a Gwen. With the exception of Keira Knightley’s Guinevere in the 2004 King Arthur movie, most other film depictions of Gwen make her meek and a very flat character, yet again a damsel in need of constant saving. And honestly the only reason I slightly like King Arthur’s Guinevere is because, well, it’s Keira Knightley and I think she is nice to look at and I’m not afraid to say so!

Anyway, Angel Coulby is by far the best Gwen recorded either by pen or film. (Also, I see it fit now to warn you all that spoilers of the show may follow in my rant about how great she is). 

First off, she is not the typical image of Queen Guinevere, which is one thing I truly love. I don't think I have to explain much in the way of how she is different, it's pretty obvious, but I will make the comment that part of her appeal as Gwen is that she isn't the traditional pale skinned beauty that most other adaptations described her as. BBC provides us with a unique and beautiful Gwen, which is truly refreshing. 

We don’t know much about Gwen’s background besides that she has a living father (for the first few episodes) and a brother who becomes one of Arthur’s knights of Camelot.  She serves as Morgana’s servant but their relationship is not so formal, they are best friends in truth, rather than mistress and servant girl. Not only is she mentioned to be a gifted seamstress, but she also knows a great deal about how to mend armor and work with weapons because her father is a black smith. In my opinion she gets major bonus points for such a skill. Merlin’s Gwen is not afraid to break social barriers that usually constrict women. And although she initially is timid and awkward, as the series goes on she begins to grown in self-confidence. Initially finding Arthur to be unapproachable and unlikable, as time passes she begins to open up to him. However, she never becomes doe eyed and enamored with him, or even Lancelot (with one exception, but she was under a spell so it doesn’t quite count). Gwen doesn’t fit the girly type. She’s brave and loyal and everything I want in a leading lady.

And let’s not forget that she eventually becomes the queen of Camelot. Talk about climbing the social class ladder! 

I’m not saying it wasn’t a very challenging climb, the director of the show tried to make it as believable as possible (or as believable as any BBC show about magic can be), but she made it none the  less and stood up against the nay sayers, the principle one being Arthur’s own father. When she does become queen, she rules alongside Arthur, and in his absences she is strong willed ruler. we can also assume that after his death she continues to rule Camelot as Queen Regent, which shows how respected she is despite her "low" birth. She does not shirk away from the responsibility.  She also has a darker, manipulative side to her, which I absolutely LOVE. I want a Gwen who isn’t perfect, a Gwen who gets a little power hungry and creative with her royal liberties from time to time. That keeps things interesting!

Anyway, that is my rant about Merlin’s Guinevere. You should all give the show a try, if not for the best Gwen yet, then at least to hear Olivander’s voice come from a cheesy CGI dragon.

2 of 5

"Here comes the King....I mean Queen?"

Okay, so many people in our class have brought up the fact that Arthur is definitely not the amazing character we thought he was. Rarely the lead, usually pretty boring, and never really part of the adventure. Well, I am giving you all an opportunity to meet a version of Arthur who is both kick ass and an integral part of the story. Meet Saber, AKA Altria Pendragon AKA Arthur Pendragon.(she is quite majestic looking, isn't she?)
Now I know what the first two thoughts are going to be in everyone's head. First, "Arthur is a girl...?" and second, "that's anime". The answer both of those thoughts are yes. In this adaptation of the King Arthur tale, Arthur is indeed a girl. No matter your opinions on anime, for the sake of this class please do not dismiss my summary of this show, because it is pretty epic. The show is called Fate: Stay Night, and also there is a prequel, Fate Zero (which is the better of the two). The story gives a unique spin on Arthurian legend, as most anime does when it comes to western lore.

Unfortunately, its pretty important to watch Fate Stay Night before watching Fate Zero, or else you will completely miss amazing references and your whole experience of the show will suffer. Fate Stay Night was based on a visual novel, if you don't know what that is look it up. Needless to say that gives it a bit of a seedy start, but bear with me. After the production of Fate Stay Night created an exceeding amount of revenue, the producers of the show decided to make Fate Zero which is infinitely better the the "fan service" riddled Fate Stay Night.

Fate is all about magic. the basic premise of the shows is that there is a war every sixty years called the Holy Grail Wars. During the war, Magi, or those who practice Magecraft, battle to the death in order to obtain the Holy Grail, which can grant the winning Magus any wish they want. The Grail however does not only grant the Magi a wish, but also their Servant, who the magi Master summons. the Servants are the reincarnations of legendary souls throughout time (alas,this is where Saber comes in) and belong in seven different classes: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Caster . The Holy Grail is a spiritual artifact, so only astral entities, such as Servants, are capable of touching it; this restriction forces Master and Servant to cooperate with each other against rival pairs, even if a situation entails fighting to the death.

Saber ends up being the Servant to the main characters in the two series. She is the reincarnation of King Arthur, the King of Knights, and the Once and Future King. Throughout the show there are back stories to the characters, and Saber is no exception. We hear the familiar names of Merlin, Kay, and even Lancelot. I won't lie, Fate is a really strange adaptation of the Arthurian Legend, but anyone who doesn't mind anime and is interested in seeing a very different twist on everything we have been reading in class, I suggest Fate.

When I think of King Arthur, my mind instantly brings me to a really corny movie I owned when I was younger called the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Not the newer one with Nicholas Cage, but a 2002 version (wow that makes the movie 12 years old, yikes!) that barely even mentioned Arthur at all. It was mostly about a young boy that befriended his elderly neighbor, who turned out to be the sorcerer Merlin. There's a whole battle against good (Merlin) and evil (Morgana), of course, and in the end the evil sorceress is defeated. I put a picture from this movie on my influence map although this movie is a poor excuse for an Arthurian legend. It is still a fond childhood memory that I relate back to Merlin, magic, and King Arthur. Therefore it will always come to mind when asked about this topic.