Ancient Mythology and Modern Interpretations - Essay Example

Ancient Mythology and Modern Interpretations The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has followed the Western European civilizations throughout the centuries beginning sometime prior to 1100 A.D. Although the legend changed and developed throughout time, the text that most represents the Arthur legend as it exists today is that brought together in book form by Sir Thomas Malory in 1485 under the title Le Morte D’Arthur. This story itself was developed utilizing many sources existing in Malory’s day including numerous Norman-French romances and an English alliterative epic entitled “Morte Arthur” (Baines, xi). However, the legend didn’t stop developing with Malory. Even as recently as 1982, authors were developing their own perspective of the Arthur legend in stories such as Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. Movies such as “King Arthur” have been made as recently as 2004, also attempting to demystify the ancient reality from romanticized, heavily Christian-influenced myth. From Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur to Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, the story of King Arthur transforms itself from a heroic, male-centric, Christian-oriented tale of great deeds to a female-oriented retelling of a decidedly non-Christian era and the rise and fall of the man who would bridge the dividing faiths. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Arthur is the son of Igraine of Tintagel and King Uther Pendragon, but is separated from his parents at his birth by the magician Merlin. He lives a relatively normal childhood in the home of his uncle and Aunt, King Lot and Queen Margawse, who is the sister of Igraine, while his half-sister, Morgan Le Fay remains to grow up with her mother in the court of King Uther. When he becomes a youth, Arthur pulls the magic sword, Excaliber, from where it is embedded in a stone, thereby signifying his destiny as the king of Britain. Counseled by Merlin, Arthur rules wisely, marries Guinevere and establishes the Round Table – a brotherhood of knights who consistently fight for good causes as defined by their Christian values, but whose personal lives are often fraught with personal crisis in which their romantic indiscretions figure prominently. Morgan Le Fay emerges as Arthur’s greatest rival and is representative of the Druidic tradition prevalent in the area prior to the coming of Christianity. Eventually, Arthur has an illicit child, Mordred, with his Aunt Margawse. This child grows up to expose the love affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, steal the English throne and finally deal Arthur a fatal blow in battle even while dying himself. Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon agree with Le Morte D’Arthur in that Arthur is the son of Igraine and King Uther and that Morgan Le Fay (here known as Morgaine) is the daughter of Igraine and the Duke of Tintagel, but told from a feminist position, the perspective of Arthur’s life is told as it is witnessed by his half-sister. Rather than pulling Excaliber from a stone, Arthur is presented with Excaliber by the priestesses of the Isle of Avalon (of whom Morgaine is one) as a defender of the land’s pagan traditions rather than to identify him as the true king of the land. Torn between his wife Gwenhwyfar’s Christian beliefs and the pagan beliefs he has sworn to defend, Arthur is shown as a good king to his people, but still capable of human mistakes. Because the story is presented by Morgaine, it is hard to see her as the direct rival of Arthur, but instead an individual caught between trying to help her brother and honoring her own faith against increasing resistance. Rather than a conscious, completely informed union with his aunt producing Mordred, Arthur’s son in this story is born by his half-sister following a pagan ceremony in which neither knew each other until after the initial damage had been done. However, Bradley remains true to the idea that it is Mordred who brings about the destruction of his father and therefore, Camelot. Where Bradley’s version of the legend differs from the legend as presented by Malory has a lot to do with the changes in readership as well as an attempt to tell the story from a unique perspective, that of a non-Christian woman. When Malory put together the various stories surrounding the Round Table, he had a largely unsophisticated audience who placed value on the romanticized notion of knights in armor saving damsels in distress. These characters lived in an entirely different reality from Malory’s contemporaries and such mundane things as actual battle scenes, interaction with the average populace and daily living were unnecessary to the enjoyment of the story for these readers. Bradley’s readership, on the other hand, requires more accurate detail, well-rounded characters and a touch of realism within the fantasy. Because of this, it was necessary to Bradley to conduct extensive research into what might have been true almost two millennia ago in relation to the old religions of the British Isles, methods of doing battle and various aspects of everyday life as well as to know intimately what had been written about Arthur previously. Approaching the story from a decidedly un-Christian and feminist perspective, Bradley very obviously included her own biases within her version of the myth. Also during the time period in which Malory wrote, a misogynistic Christian perspective was prevalent in all areas of life. This is reflected in the work through the condemnation of Guinevere for being caught in a relationship with Lancelot while it is expected that Sir Tristram will soon grow tired of his new wife and return to the arms of Iseult. Also, while Merlin is given to represent all the good to be found in the old religions, it is Morgan Le Fay who is left to fulfill the evil inherent in the tale. In Bradley’s version, the battle between pagan and Christian faiths remains evident, but is placed in a more conciliatory light from the simple fact that it is told from that other perspective. Morgaine provides the reader with an understanding of the old traditions that allows the reader to judge for themselves whether it is evil or not. Rather than condemning the beliefs of another group of people, The Mists of Avalon seems to be merely explaining the differences and leaving the reader free to evaluate whether characters are good or bad based on their actions in relation to their own beliefs. Although Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur and Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon relate the same essential story of a mythical heroic figure, the differing perspectives and the lapse of time between their writings presents two completely different stories. Nonetheless, both address the same classic themes of chivalry, religious faith, the clash between conflicting faiths, romance and heroism. Although one is told from an early Christian perspective to an audience who placed great store on romanticism and not so much on realism and the other is told from a new age pagan and female perspective to a well-educated audience who expects as much realism as is possible to obtain, both share key commonalities that serve to provide credence to each other. Works Cited Baines, Keith. Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. New York: Penguin Books, 1962. Bradley, Marion Zimmer. Mists of Avalon. New York: Random House, 1982. Read More