"Guards, Knights, Squires; prepare for battle!" hollers one of the kings noble knights.
The rumbling thunder of horses trotting across the wooden mote bridge echoes throughout
the castle. Brave knights gallop their horses into the foggy mist where swords and
shields smash, the sounds of their armor and their striking metals echo across the land
they battle over. Blood oozes from severed bodies as limbs are sliced off men like
cheese. These barbaric and berserk behaviors were the everyday duties of men during the
Middle Ages. Becoming a knight was the ideal manhood during this time. Every aspect of
a mans life revolved around their desire to one day serve their king as a knight. The
yearning aspiration to become a knight is portrayed in several ways in John Boorman's
movie, Excalibur. Arthur's responsibility as a squire (before he was king), Lancelot's
challenge of worthiness and Perceval's ambition illustrate the urge that exists in men to
serve their king as a knight.
The responsibilities of a squire serving a knight is one way in which a man is
eventually knighted. In the early opening scenes of the movie Excalibur, young Arthur
serves as a squire to his brother Kay. Squires were the duties of young men who served
their knights by preparing their armor and weaponry. During some of the jousting scenes
squires retrieve jousts and pass them over to their knights, but never really assist in
combat. Just from the experience and duties as a squire, it is typical that a young
squire may eventually become a knight. However, in the movie during an Easter afternoon
the knights are jousting for the right to attempt to draw the sword from the stone, and
young Arthur forgets his brother's sword. So young Arthur runs back to the camp to
retrieve it and finds it has been stolen. He chases after the peasant thief into the
woods but the thief gets away. Arthur then turns and faces the sword in the stone and
unintentionally draws the sword from the stone and he becomes king. If Arthur had not
been the pre-chosen king, he probably would have grown up as an ordinary squire and then
eventually become knighted.
Later in the movie when Arthur is an admirable king, he and his knights come across a
bridge where they meet a knight by the name of Sir Lancelot of the Lake. Lancelot and
King Arthur's men joust to cross the bridge but Arthur's knights fail. Although Lancelot
is already a knight, he seeks a king worthy of his skill to serve under. So King Arthur
and Sir Lancelot joust each other; it is evident that Lancelot was supposed to win the
battle but Arthur's rage for power overcomes him and he calls upon the magical power of
Excalibur to win his battle with Lancelot. Since the sword's power was meant to unite
all men and Arthur uses it to defeat Lancelot, the sword snaps in half like a chocolate
bar. Arthur tosses the broken sword into the lake. After Arthur recognizes what he has
done, the lady of the lake returns Excalibur to King Arthur in perfect condition and
Lancelot is revived. Arthur then makes Lancelot his champion and Lancelot becomes
Arthur's noblest knight.
While Lancelot is resting in the forest, a peasant comes across Lancelot and attempts
to steal Lancelot's sword. But Lancelot is too keen to have his sword stolen by a
peasant boy. The boy, Perceval wants to become a knight and wants to follow Lancelot
back to Camelot to be knighted. Lancelot offers the boy upon the horse back to Camelot,
but the boy wishes to run behind Lancelot all the way to Camelot even though it is twenty
days away. The persistent boy who craves to become a knight follows behind Lancelot all
the way to Camelot, to prove his worthiness one might conclude. But he is not knighted
right away. Later on, Gawain accuses Lancelot for his betrayal to the Kings wife.
During the middle ages the process for settling disputes was not by any form of court,
but they choose to settle by jousting. Unfortunately, Lancelot does not show up in time
for the trial joust. Not one knight steps forward to take Lancelot's place , so Perceval
steps forward and chooses to champion the queen. Therefore Arthur has no other choice
but to knight Perceval in order for him to joust Gawain. Just in the nick of time
Lancelot shows up and Perceval is relieved from any danger. Although jousting was
extremely dangerous, Perceval saw it as his only chance to become a knight and serve King
Arthur.
During the Middle Ages it was important for men to have the honor to serve their king.
Honor, humility, faith, pride, purity and nobility were Medieval virtues that men
cherished. Men strived at the chance to become a knight and be member of the kings
aristocracy, the knights of the round table.
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