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.

The Attempt to Disillusion Me

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What characteristics come to mind when thinking of King Arthur? Who is he as not just a King, but as a man? For me, I envision someone who is courageous and brave, which he demonstrates through the different battles he fights. He believes in fairness and equality, which is represented through the idea of the Round Table, where no one sits at the head of the table making all the Knights equal. He's a protector of his people, and as a result he has earned their respect, loyalty, and love.

Arthur is the ideal King. He is symbolic of what other Monarchs should strive to be like. He is a King who does not just cares for his people in words, but serves them in action. I think that has a lot to do with King Arthur's appeal. He seems to base his decisions on what he truly believes is in the best interest of his people and his kingdom before anything else. His actions and behaviors makes him the type leader people wish they have.

Our text, from last week, tried to disillusion me, and, thanks to Dr. Mitchell-Buck's underlining, I noticed it.  In our Who Was Arthur reading from Snyder, there was a very brief description of Arthur as a "tyrannical monarch" (15). One of the OED definitions of a tyrant is "a ruler who exercises his power in an oppressive, unjust, or cruel manner", so I never imagined King Arthur in this role.  The description in the reading actually shocked me because it was so far from the ideas of what I have had about Arthur as a King.

The Most Menacing Picture of King Arthur I could Find
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Yes, I am aware that my ideas were naive. Most rulers will have someone, somewhere who has the perspective that they are an unfair, I just never pictured it with King Arthur. However, I guess on reflecting on it, Arthur, was a King and he was a ruler. Not everyone can be happy, and someone is going to be his enemy or someone in his kingdom is going to be suffering somehow like from hunger or poverty.

                                           My other favorite Monty Python Moment
                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8bqQ-C1PSE

Maybe King Arthur was not the perfect King in all his stories that I have imagined, but the idea of being a tyrant is not comforting one. I like the idea of Arthur being a model of a good king. Even if he makes mistake, I like the fact that that he considers the people around him, and I do not picture a tyrant doing that. There are big differences in the images I have of King Arthur and images of tyrants. I want to keep some of those ideas I have of Arthur being good because there is a big difference from the Arthur above, with a storm around him and blood dripping off his sword, and this…

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Original Thoughts of Arthur

I'm still working on my influence map, so I haven't included images from the assignment, but the assignment has made me think about who Arthur, what characteristics he has, and who influences him. I wanted to start this blog with listing my original thoughts of King Arthur, and hopefully see how they change over the semester.

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While Arthur is usually referred to as “King Arthur”, I realized that I rarely think of him in this role. My general impressions of Arthur is of a young boy or man coming of age or to power. He is learning who he is and the type of ruler he wants to be. My vision of Arthur is rooted from movies likes Disney's "The Sword and The Stone" where he becomes King at the end, and is wearing a crown and robe that are too big for him that he still needs to grow into, much like I

see him needing to do as King.

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Because I associate Arthur as someone who is young and becoming King, I consider him to be inexperienced and in need of guidance, and what character better fills this role then Merlin. In my mind, Merlin plays the role of a puppet master who usually is an old man, but has been portrayed as a young person. He pushes, manipulates, and counsels Arthur in his decisions, which Arthur sometimes listens to without conflict and other times challenges. Merlin plays a vital role in Arthur’s life because he develops and guides Arthur to become a king with the influence of magic. I have a difficult time thinking of Arthur without Merlin. On the BBC show Merlin, Merlin and Arthur are described as “ two-sides of the same coin”, which is a perfect interpretation of their relationship.

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From my exposure with King Arthur, he seems to always be on a journey to become King. The stories usually end with him being crowned and becoming King Arthur, but until then Arthur needs to prove himself worthy of being King. An image that sticks out to me, that shows Arthur is the real King, is the Sword in the Stone where he needs to pull the sword out of the stone in order to prove that he is the actual King. That story of Arthur is a good representation for me. He constantly needs to prove to himself and people that he is worthy enough to be King.

The last idea that I associate with King Arthur is his Knights of the Round Table. The concepts of Knights make me think of bravery, duty, and honor. I picture men going into battle fighting for a worthy cause. I think of Arthur's Knights as fighting for just causes, and dedicating their lives to quests. The video link is from "Monty Python and The Holy Grail" when Arthur and his Knights come across the French and ask about the Grail. While this is one of my favorite parts of the movie, it represents the quest that Arthur and his Knights supposedly went on in search of the Holy Grail.


                                       

                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yjNbcKkNY

These are not all the ideas I have about Arthur, but highlight the major contributors to who Arthur his. All of these ideas shape a concept of a young man learning how to be King, so I think it will be interesting to see a perspective of Arthur as older and already crowned and in a position of power.