The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

Merlin is an old sage who has become supremely adept at using magic. He enjoys teaching the lesson that appearances can be deceiving, often assuming the guise of a beggar when he accosts one of Arthur’s knights: “Merlin knew the winding channels of the human mind, and also he was aware that a simple open man is most receptive when he is mystified, and Merlin delighted in mystery” (4).

Merlin uses magic to enable Arthur’s conception and later acts as the young king’s mentor and advisor. Despite his considerable gift of prophecy, Merlin is unable to escape the doom that he foresees for himself. The old wizard becomes infatuated with a young damsel. When she has learned all his secrets of sorcery, she seals him up in a cave. The chronicle suggests that Merlin is still alive though unable to escape his prison.

Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fay, is an evil enchantress. She is described as a beauty with black hair and dark eyes. As a child, she is sent to a convent where she becomes proficient in the dark arts: “It was her pleasure to use men against men, fashioning from their weaknesses weapons for their strength” (109).

Morgan’s prime motivator is jealousy, and she directs that emotion toward Arthur because he possesses the crown, and she doesn’t. She attempts to kill her brother on multiple occasions. Sometimes she takes direct action but, more often, uses others to commit her crimes for her. Morgan would also like to destroy Lancelot simply because he is Arthur’s perfect knight. She views him as a plaything to be ripped apart and then discarded.

Just as Arthur is viewed as the ideal king, Guinevere is viewed as the ideal queen. Though not described in much physical detail, she is golden-haired and very beautiful. When Arthur first glimpses her at her father’s court, he falls instantly in love. After their marriage, Guinevere functions as the king’s chief advisor. She is a skilled observer of human behavior and often points out subtleties that Arthur misses.

Guinevere accepts her passive role as the inspiration for all the knights at Camelot. They view her as a goddess, though she points out that she doesn’t feel the impact of her actions until one knight sends his hostages to her as living proof that he seeks her blessing: “It seemed to me that through that knight I became valuable in the world. I feel myself to be a little precious because of him” (212). Her comment reveals just how much she chafes under the restrictions of her queenly station. Later, she will rebel against it overtly by engaging in a love affair with Lancelot.  

Lancelot is the paragon by which all other knights are measured in Arthur’s court. He illustrates the ideals of the code of chivalry. Lancelot is described as physically handsome and brave. He is a man of action, not given to introspection. By his own admission, he never experiences doubt or fear because he believes his cause is just.

Lancelot dislikes examining his own motives to such a degree that he nearly kills his nephew when the latter asks him if perfection is enough: “Then, in one man he saw a combat more savage than ever he had seen between two, saw wounds given and received and a heart riven to bursting” (221). Because Lancelot has actually achieved perfection as defined by the code of chivalry, he soon feels jaded and without purpose. Although he quests for greater glory, his victories are effortless and meaningless. His sense of disillusionment ultimately drives him into Guinevere’s arms.