The Unreliable Narrator

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The reading from Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of The Kings of Britain (Romance of Arthur), describes King Arthur with qualities that are commonly associated with him. He is labeled as a person who has "valor, natural goodness, grace, generosity, and merciful"(610). He is strategic war, and he listens to the counsel of others (65). That is the expectation of King Arthur, and that is the character that Geoffrey of Monmouth gives to audiences. Through his descriptions and his "historical accounts", Geoffrey of Monmouth produces a King that people want to have, and who they will admire and follow.

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If looking at Geoffrey of Monmouth as a storyteller/historian, I do not think he can be considered trustworthy. In Senior Seminar, we are focusing on the "unreliable narrator", and that is what I felt about him. Clearly, there were parts in his accounts that were fiction or legend, but the parts that could be seen as history seemed to be weighed down with his own biases. Why would Geoffrey of Monmouth be biased? The main reason would be because he is from Britain. The accomplishments Arthur achieves, benefits his people and decedents, and Geoffrey of Monmouth falls under this category. However, the people who Arthur conquers or battles might not be as willing to call a just and merciful king. 

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When taking away all the compliments and praises that Geoffrey of Monmouth gives to King Arthur, it is easy to see how in situations the King is not compassionate and kind, but rather tyrannical. In one description, after Arthur had conquered a land, and the people were trying to repair their homes, he was reported to feel "exalted that he was a source of dread to everyone, and he longed to win all of Europe for himself" (Romance of Arthur, 69). King Arthur is ruling in a dictatorship, leaving me to ask, what happened to the "natural goodness" that Geoffrey of Monmouth describes (Romance of Arthur, 65)?

After seeing this side of King Arthur, I question the reliability of Geoffrey of Monmouth's word. He might not be trying to mislead people, but his perspective of Arthur is weighted, based on the group that Geoffrey of Monmouth identifies with in this case Britain. His perspective is understandable, but it buries some of the ideas that King Arthur was not the perfect ideal king that he was glorified to be.