70 pages • 2 hours read
John SteinbeckThe Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1976A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Damsels Initiating Quests
In chronicles that celebrate the exploits of warriors, the novel features a surprising number of damsels. Many of these young women remain unnamed, but they all fulfill the same role—initiators of quests. Some are good, some evil, some simply decorative, but they all further the plot by drawing some hapless knight into an adventure.
Balin only retrieves his second sword because a damsel has brought it to Camelot at the request of the lady Lyle of Avalon. The damsel warns of dire consequences if the sword is not returned to her, but Balin fails to heed her warning. His subsequent quest for redemption is the result of his initial interaction with the sword-bearing girl. Arthur’s wedding feast is disrupted by a damsel on horseback who demands the return of her hunting dog just before being abducted by an unknown knight. This event leads to no less than three separate quests by banquet attendees. The damsel is revealed to be the formidable Nyneve, who later captivates Merlin.
In the tale of Gawain, Ewain, and Marhalt, three damsels offer to lead the knights on separate quests. They give valuable guidance and instruction along the way. Damsels also abound in Lancelot’s story to such a degree that he complains about the number of distressed females he meets: “It appears that there is no damsel in the world without a problem whose solution requires the jeopardy of my life” (257-58).
Magical Armor and Weaponry
Given the martial nature of the court at Camelot, it makes sense that armor and weaponry would be a prominent motif. Many pages are devoted to discussions of the best way to couch a lance, thrust a sword, and prevent armor from rusting. However, some of these implements of warfare also possess magical properties that are specifically associated with their owners.
Arthur’s initial claim to the throne rests entirely on his ability to pull an enchanted sword from a stone. Because his royal lineage isn’t revealed until much later, his coronation depends on the sword alone. Balin gambles his entire future on his desire to keep the sword he takes from the damsel emissary. He is known afterward as the knight with two swords and uses his cursed weapon to unknowingly kill his own brother.
After the young knight Ewain is schooled in battle tactics by the lady Lyne, he is given a suit of armor so lightweight that it renders its wearer impervious to harm. She also gives him a lance that will never shatter. The most famous weapon of all is Arthur’s Excalibur. He receives it from the Lady of the Lake on the understanding that he will grant her a gift someday in exchange for it. The sword’s scabbard is even more magical than the weapon itself because Arthur cannot be wounded as long as he wears it. Morgan le Fay creates a copy of Arthur’s sword so that her henchman can use the real sword to kill the king.
Water and Witchcraft
Bodies of water in the narrative always symbolize the presence of magic. They are frequently associated with female witches, and their appearance in a story often presages some evil enchantment about to take place. Arthur must take a little boat to the middle of the body of water that is the domain of the Lady of the Lake. That is the place where he will find Excalibur. While his initial contact with the lady is benign, she is later revealed to be an evil enchantress. Nyneve, another sorceress, is also associated with the Lady of the Lake. When Nyneve plans to rid herself of Merlin, she leads him to cliffs in Cornwall overlooking the sea. After Merlin creates a chamber of delights in a cavern there, Nyneve seals him inside.
Morgan le Fay sends magical damsels to lure Arthur, Uryens, and Accolon to a little boat floating on a river: “On the smooth dark water they saw a little ship covered with silken cloth that hung over the sides and dipped into the water, and the boat moved silently toward the bank and grounded itself in the sandy shallows nearby” (110). In addition to lakes, rivers, and seas, mist and fog are also associated with female magic. Alone at night, Lancelot encounters a young sorceress: “He shivered all over at once with that chill everyone knows as the signal that a witch is walking with waves of spells going out ahead” (281).
Related Titles
By John Steinbeck
