85 pages • 2 hours read
Roger Lancelyn GreenKing Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1953A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Book 2, Chapters 6-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 2: “The Knights of the Round Table”
Book 2, Chapter 6 Summary: “Sir Gawain and the Lady Ragnell”
Arthur and his knights travel south after battling the Saxons in Scotland, resting at Castle Carlisle. A woman seeks Arthur to personally rescue her husband from the evil knight of Tarn Wathelyne, who abducts passersby. Arthur takes up the quest, though his men offer themselves instead. The woman leads Arthur to Castle Tarn Wathelyne where Gromer Somer Joure meets and mocks him. In a fury, Arthur charges the knight, but he and his horse are stopped in their tracks by an enchantment, and it is revealed that the castle belongs to Morgana and the woman is one of her servants. Arthur asks for pity and Gromer Somer Joure proposes a quest for Arthur: In one year, Arthur will return to the castle alone with the answer to Gromer Somer Joure’s riddle about what women want most. If Arthur returns with the correct answer, he will be set free, but if he is wrong, he will be slain. Arthur returns to Carlisle with his tale, asking Gawain to help him find the riddle’s answer.
After a year, Gawain and Arthur return to Tarn Wathelyne with books full of answers. Along the way, they come across “the loathliest lady that ever the eye of man rested upon” (219), Lady Ragnell. The “monstrous” lady offers them the true answer in exchange for a knight’s hand in marriage. Arthur refuses but Gawain valiantly agrees to the exchange. Arthur rides alone to the castle and successfully solves the riddle with Ragnell’s answer that women want power. Gromer Somer Joure, true to his word, allows Arthur to leave, lamenting how Morgana’s charms bind him to the castle. Arthur leads Ragnell and Gawain back to Carlisle where he prepares their wedding.
The people attend Gawain and Ragnell’s wedding with confusion, as Gawain presents his lady with great honor. That night, Gawain hesitantly kisses Ragnell and breaks into anguished sobs, but when he turns around, he sees the true, beautiful Ragnell. Morgana cursed Ragnell and Gromer Somer Joure, but Gawain’s sacrifice breaks the enchantment for part of each day. Gawain lets Ragnell decide whether she wants to be beautiful for the 12 hours of day or night, and this further sacrifice breaks the curse entirely. The couple lives happily until destiny has Ragnell leave Gawain to have their child, Percivale, in the forests.
Book 2, Chapter 7 Summary: “Sir Percivale of Wales”
Percivale grows up in the forests of North Wales with his mother, never seeing another person. One day, five Knights of the Round Table cross his path, and Launcelot invites the youth to Arthur’s court to prove he is worthy—in deeds and virtue—of becoming a knight. Percivale’s mother gives him parting lessons on the ways of the world and proper conduct. On his journey to Caerleon, Percivale enters a pavilion to find a sleeping lady. Misunderstanding his mother’s words about marriage, Percivale exchanges rings with the sleeping lady and kisses her. At Caerleon, he sees a rude Red Knight steal Arthur’s golden goblet. Percivale volunteers to retrieve the goblet and the armor, much to the contempt of Kay. Kay slaps a lady who heralds Percivale’s greatness, and Percivale vows revenge.
Percivale overtakes the Red Knight, battling and killing him with a long dart. He retrieves the goblet, but he doesn’t know how to remove the knight’s armor. An older knight, Sir Gonemans, helps the boy, inviting him to his manor to learn the ways of battle and personal conduct. Percivale leaves in the fall, seeking more adventures. He comes to the mysterious Castle Carbonek, which appears deserted, where he plays chess with an invisible entity. The Lady Blanchefleur enters, and to Percivale’s surprise, she is the lady from the pavilion. She reciprocates his feelings of love, and they sit down to a meal at the empty table.
The Procession of the Grail begins, causing Percivale and Blanchefleur to fall in reverence as the Holy Grail, the golden platter, and the Spear Longinus pass by. In the future, the worthiest knights of the Round Table will seek the Holy Grail when Sir Galahad arrives. Percivale, in eagerness, leaves the castle to chase the Grail, but realizes his foolishness too late when he cannot again find Carbonek. Percivale stops on the road back to Caerleon, contemplating his lost love and the Grail, when Arthur and his men see him. Arthur sends Kay to speak with the boy, not recognizing Percivale in his new armor. Percivale, lost in thought, doesn’t respond to Kay, which makes him want to fight. Percivale easily beats Kay. Gawain approaches with courtesy, recognizing Percivale’s voice, and Arthur knights him for completing the quest. Percivale performs many great deeds in the following years, always searching for Blanchefleur.
Book 2, Chapter 8 Summary: “The Story of Launcelot and Elaine”
As Logres becomes increasingly peaceful, there are fewer opportunities for great adventures. Launcelot, now often at Camelot, spends more time with Guinevere and falls more in love. On Easter, a hermit prophesizes that Sir Galahad—destined to sit at Siege Perilous—will be born this year. The hermit asks Launcelot to save a woman from the Dolorous Tower and to slay a dragon, both of which he does easily. Launcelot finds Castle Carbonek, and the wounded King Pelles invites him to dinner. As they sit, Launcelot watches the Grail Procession and Pelles tells him the history of the holy objects.
Launcelot stays at Carbonek, tended by Pelles’s daughter Elaine, who loves Launcelot at first sight. Launcelot courteously dismisses her advances. Pelles knows Elaine and Launcelot will bear a son together, but Elaine becomes impatient for their union. She seeks out a sorceress, Brysen, to entice Launcelot to her. Brysen disguises Elaine as Guinevere and invites Launcelot to the Castle of Case. The powerful magic makes Launcelot forget his honor, and he marries the false Guinevere, laying with her that night. In the morning, Elaine lies next to him, but he still feels disgraced. In shame, Launcelot jumps out the window and roams the forests.
Worried about Launcelot’s absence, Sir Bors de Gannis searches for him. He finds Castle Carbonek, where Elaine presents her and Launcelot’s son, Galahad. Bors too sees the Grail Procession, but the Spear Longinus is replaced by a candlestick. Pelles foretells that Launcelot will not enter the Grail Chapel due to his sins. Bors joins other knights on a fruitless search for Launcelot. At the Castle of Case, Elaine and the knights find Launcelot and bring him to a chapel where Naciens the Divine Hermit prays for him. The Holy Grail appears to heal Launcelot, and Elaine tends to him until he fully recovers. Launcelot returns to Camelot despite Elaine’s pleas; she dies of a broken heart. Elaine’s servants send her body to Camelot in a boat, and though Launcelot is sad, he won’t falsely pledge love to her. The knights bury Elaine, and Launcelot remains haunted by his shame.
Book 2, Chapters 6-8 Analysis
The second half of Book 2 expands the theme of British nationalism by reasserting Arthur’s divine right to rule and by displaying the extent of peace in Logres. Arthur and his followers drive the last of the Saxons “out of the whole Island of Britain” (213) and vanquish every large threat to Logres’s unity. The peace is so rampant in Logres that the knights find themselves bored with “less and less cause to prove their prowess” (250) because there is no one to fight. Instead, they hold tournaments amongst themselves and stop minor evildoers like robbers and bandits. In line with this societal change, Chapter 7 marks a shift from adventures in the name of earthly honor to adventures in the name of godly honor. The young Percivale mistakes the knights for angels, and the knights continue his metaphor by asserting Arthur was chosen by God as “His appointed Emperor” (230) on earth. As the quest for the Holy Grail approaches in the narrative, Arthur, Logres, and his knights gain more associations with piety and religion, re-emphasizing Britain’s Christian cultural landscape and the text’s associations of Christianity with peace and civility.
After having a minor role for most of Book 2, Arthur has a quest of his own in Chapter 6, where he shows how he has matured—and how he has stayed the same. He proves to his men why he is their leader by taking on the dangerous quest alone, but some of his boyhood flaws persist and endanger his life. Gromer Somer Joure taunts Arthur by calling him the “muling monarch of miserable Logres” (216). Arthur’s tendency to hastily defend himself and others makes him unaware of the simple trap, and he charges right into Morgana’s ambush, “wait[ing] for nothing” (216). When Arthur and Gawain meet Ragnell in her “monstrous” state, Arthur displays his long-held courtesy, but even he cannot endure her request of marriage without “turning aside, sick with horror” (220). This chapter shows that, although Arthur is the greatest British king, he still has his flaws like any other person.
This section develops three of the central figures who embark on the Grail Quest in Book 3, determining why they either will or will not obtain the Holy Grail. Gawain proves his immense virtue through his “noble and so unselfish” (227) act of accepting Ragnell, indicating he will be able to enter the Grail Chapel with ease. The text establishes Percivale as a successful Grail quester by having him grow up away from the temptations of society. Percivale is simple in his honor, but his naivety in Chapter 7 makes him too eager to win praise. Percivale pridefully declares, “None but I shall achieve the Quest of the Grail” (244), and for his momentary hubris he loses both Castle Carbonek and his love, Blanchefleur. Percivale will learn to rid himself of his recklessness in Book 3 to achieve the Grail with Galahad.
The third knight who will appear on the Grail Quest is Launcelot, but the events of Chapter 8 explain why he can’t obtain the Holy Grail, the symbol of perfect knighthood. Though he tries to be honorable and loyal to Arthur, Launcelot’s love for Guinevere grows, and his unholy thoughts allow evildoers to manipulate his weakness. Dark magic—associated with devilry—uses Launcelot’s secret love to snare him into betrayal; although the Guinevere he marries is only Elaine in disguise, Launcelot’s willingness to unquestioningly accept Guinevere and “[forget] his honor and his oath” (257) is considered a mortal sin. Launcelot is overcome with shame, but he cannot reveal his sin out of fear of creating chaos. Launcelot’s love for Guinevere grows “with a greater, fiercer passion” (262), illustrating the mysterious nature of love that is more powerful than honor. Launcelot sees the Holy Grail at Castle Carbonek, but the holy item remains out of reach for the rest of his life.
