The Blank Hero: Arthurian Reflections of Societies throughout History
When people invoke the name of Arthur, the hero of legend and myth, they often associate the name with King Arthur of Camelot, sitting around the round table along with his noble knights, Queen Guinevere, and mentor Merlin. However, Arthur was not always a King, nor did he have a round table or a magical druid that could see into the future to guide him. Instead, the Britain-hero Arthur is an example of an adaptation of a character with enough historical ambiguity for Britain to adopt him as their own. Indeed, many different cultures have adopted Arthur as their own hero many times by assigning their values into him, and because of this, he becomes an interesting case study into what aspects …show more content…
It is clear, based on the poem, that the English still desired England to be the utopian Camelot. However, instead of dealing with themes of conquest, the hero begins to take on aspects of moral codes—codes of chivalry. King Arthur is not in this poem for long. In the text, King Arthur is young and his court is fairly new, and regardless of not having a lot of lines in the poem, Arthur shows characteristics of selflessness when he refuses to eat until all were served. Readers may see this action as simple table etiquette, but as an act from the king of Camelot (or England), Arthur is showing that he truly does place his lords as equals. When the Green Knight, an odd-looking, green, giant of a man, interrupts their Christmas feast, instead of turning him away, King Arthur invites him to sit and join them in their merriment. The poem, then, is giving us signposts to understanding that a desirable king of England is one that shows selflessness and absolute hospitality, certainly a different appropriation of the Blank Hero than the previous warlord and conqueror version of
When people invoke the name of Arthur, the hero of legend and myth, they often associate the name with King Arthur of Camelot, sitting around the round table along with his noble knights, Queen Guinevere, and mentor Merlin. However, Arthur was not always a King, nor did he have a round table or a magical druid that could see into the future to guide him. Instead, the Britain-hero Arthur is an example of an adaptation of a character with enough historical ambiguity for Britain to adopt him as their own. Indeed, many different cultures have adopted Arthur as their own hero many times by assigning their values into him, and because of this, he becomes an interesting case study into what aspects …show more content…
It is clear, based on the poem, that the English still desired England to be the utopian Camelot. However, instead of dealing with themes of conquest, the hero begins to take on aspects of moral codes—codes of chivalry. King Arthur is not in this poem for long. In the text, King Arthur is young and his court is fairly new, and regardless of not having a lot of lines in the poem, Arthur shows characteristics of selflessness when he refuses to eat until all were served. Readers may see this action as simple table etiquette, but as an act from the king of Camelot (or England), Arthur is showing that he truly does place his lords as equals. When the Green Knight, an odd-looking, green, giant of a man, interrupts their Christmas feast, instead of turning him away, King Arthur invites him to sit and join them in their merriment. The poem, then, is giving us signposts to understanding that a desirable king of England is one that shows selflessness and absolute hospitality, certainly a different appropriation of the Blank Hero than the previous warlord and conqueror version of