The Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Fantastic elements in the chivalric novel

They were also influenced by courtly love, based on themes of heroism and loyalty, in fact the legends tell about a timeless world in which women were considered untouchable object of adoration, in fact courtly love is linked to the Christian idea of passion as suffering.

The characters involved in these stories are knights, ladies, queens, nobles and so on.

Main themes in the chivalric novel

- Origin of the magician Merlin, Arthur and Excalibur, the Round Table

- Exploits of Lancelot, Lancelot and Ginevra fall in love

- The research of the Holy Graal

- Love of Lancelot and Ginevra, Arthur's death.

What are the characters and peculiarities of Arthurian legends?

Specifically, an Arthurian romance is a tale about the legends of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. King Arthur was a very important figure in English literature. Legends tell that he became king when he was very young. From then, under the tutelage of Merlin, he became a great king. His wish was to have an Utopian society.

The legends of king Arthur are dated from the 5th century, when Britain was been invaded by the Anglo Saxons.

Lancelot and Ginevra

Lancelot is a knight of the Round Table while Ginevra is King Arthur’s daughter.

She was kidnapped by Meleagant, the rebel knight par excellence. For this reason, king Arthur send Lancelot, his best knight, to rescue Ginevra but he fell in love with her instantly.
So, if in the first part of the novel the vassalage is honoured, in the second part is completely abandoned.
As a matter of fact, the authority cannot stop the love and the passion so that Lancelot cede to it and he is imprisoned. Then, he is obliged to go away.
It means that love is a sacrifice because trials need to be overcome to be fulfilled.

The research of the Holy Graal

The Holy Graal was considered the wine glassed used during the Last Dinner of Christ and the Disciples, so it is one of the most sacred objects in this world. It also represents the Divine grace, the salvation and the esoteric knowledge.

As a consequence, the voyage to the Holy Graal is a spiritual, moral and metaphysical one.
For this reason an initiation is required and not all the knight succeeded in the quest or not all of them acquire the same religious depth.
For example, Perceval and Boort reached to win the challenges but only Galahad managed to be in a so profonde state of divine ecstasy that he died at Sarraz.