1. Morte D’Arthur
Sir Thomas Malory
Page 171

2. Reading Quiz Write TRUE or FALSE for each of the following
Sir Gawain is alive at the beginning of this story.
The battle with Mordred begins by accident.
The battle has no decisive winner.
Sir Bedivere keeps Excalibur for himself.
At the end of the selection, Arthur is dead and buried.

3. Answers
FALSE
TRUE

4. Review – The Characters
As a young boy, Arthur pulled the dead king’s sword out of the stone, proving that he was the true king of England. Merlin, a wise magician, became the young king’s advisor.
Lancelot was Arthur’s best, most loyal knight. He fell in love with Guinevere, Arthur's wife. She, too, fell in love with Lancelot. Their love devastated Arthur.

5. Review – The Characters
Mordred is Arthur’s illegitimate son, who was conceived with his half sister, Morgause.
Mordred has been raised to hate Arthur and seek vengeance on him for abandoning baby Mordred.

6. Review – Medieval Romance
Kings
Knights
Battles between good and evil
Honor
Love
Supernatural Aids
Chivalry
Honor, honest, brave, generous, virtuous Christians, selflessly fight for justice, loyal to the king

7. Review - Chivalry
The main idea behind the code of chivalry was self-denial. A chivalrous knight could be brave in battle because he denied his self-preservation; loyal to the king because he cared for the king’s affairs more than his own; chaste with women because he thought of their good, not his own desires; holy because he did what God wanted, not what he wanted.

8. Review – The Romantic Hero
A larger-than-life figure who usually has mysterious origins and in the course of his life performs extraordinary deeds with the aid of magic forces

9. Re-Reading & Analyzing

10. The Dreams
Page 171
What animals does the king imagines are attacking him in his first dream? (the first paragraph)
What are the three key points of Sir Gawain’s speech in the second dream?
What characteristic of medieval romance is illustrated by the second dream and Arthur’s response to it?

11. The Battle & A Legend What causes the two armies to start fighting?
Listen to my reading of the paragraph beginning “And thus they fought…” ( ).
What features of this account seem more typical of a legend than of written forms of storytelling?
What is the relationship between Arthur and Mordred?
How does the conflict between them emphasize the theme of betrayal in the tale?
Finish the sequence
(1) Everyone on Mordred’s side is dead; (2) ____ (3) ____ (4) As Mordred dies, he ____ (5) Mordred dies

12. The Loyal Knights Sir Lucan
What does Sir Lucan urge King Arthur to do prior to the battle with Mordred?
Is Sir Lucan’s advice good and wise?
Reread the paragraph beginning with “So Sir Lucan departed…” What note of realism does this paragraph strike?
How do Sir Lucan’s actions contrast with the ignoble robbers?
How does the description of Sir Lucan’s death contrast with the speech in which Arthur bemoans his passing?
The Loyal Knights Sir Lucan

13. The Loyal Knights Sir Bedivere
What does Arthur ask Sir Bedivere to do with Excalibur?
Like Sir Gawain in The Green Knight, there are three “trials” for Bedivere. What are they?
How many “trials” did he fail?
What elements of the chivalric code has Bedivere failed to uphold?
Identify the specific elements of Bedivere’s reaction to the events (at the end). How they fit into the ideals of chivalry?
What happens to Sir Bedivere after Arthur departs on the barge?

14. Supernatural Aid
What element does the appearance of the hand add to the tale?
What mysterious details surround Arthur’s last hours?
What possibility do these details and the inscription on Arthur’s tomb suggest?

15. Romance Motifs Romance Motif Arthur Story Faithful Follower
Wise old man
Dreams
Number 3
The hand that comes out of the lake to shake the sword three times. Bedivere’s three trials
Magic/Supernatural
Tests of followers
Betrayal
Mordred’s killing of his father