The Supernatural in Thomas Malorys Morte DArthur Essays

The Supernatural in Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur Sir Thomas Malory, although there isn't mu ch information about his life and death one knows that he is the author of "Le Morte D'Arthur". "Le Morte D'Arthur" is " the first prose account in English of the rise and fall of the legendary king Arthur and the fellowship of the Round Table. " 1 In "Le Morte D'Arthur" Malory incorporates previous poems and stories about the legendary king Arthur. But there is also a hint of supernatural forces and beings in the story. For example, the sword in the scabbard that could only be withdrawn by a man with "pure heart" or the episodes where people, who were sick, had to drink blood from "a fair maiden" or the man who was wounded had to drink the blood of his attacker and all of this in order to get better. This paper will focus on the supernatural aspect of Sir Thomas Malory's work "Le Morte D'Arthur" . The Arthurian legend is a legend who gave life to various interpretations throughout time; from medieval to modern prose and poems. In its essence the Arthurian legend is supernatural. The Excalibur which could only be pulled out of its stone by the knight who has never sinned nor betrayed anyone, only the knight with the purest heart and soul could pull out and deal with Excalibur's power. Excalibur is an integral part of King Arthur's legend . In the excerpt from the "English Medieval Literature: A Reader", Excalibur is still there, despite the fact that it is not named or the fact that it is not Arthur who actually pulls it out, but a knight who was imprisoned for slaying a knight. Balin, the knight who pulls out the sword of the scabbard, is warned that this sword would lead Balin to " ye sha ll slay with the sword the best friend that ye have, and the man that ye most love in the wor ld, and the sword shall be your destruction. " 2 Eventually, this is what happens. Balin, during his last fight, slays his brother, Balan, and Balan slays Balin. They can't recognize each other, because Balin left his shield and took a new one. Balin can't recognize his brother because he asked him since Balin never met " no knight that matched me " 3 . Although Balin, had many victories with this sword, in the end the sword led the knight to his destr uction, because Balin thought he could handle the sword. Personally, this reminds of an episode of the TV series "Charmed", where one of the three sisters pull out Excalibur out of its stone and the power of the sword went straight to her head and she almost, unlike Balin, killed her loved ones. The lady of the Lake is yet another supernatural element in "Le Morte D'Arthur". In the legend, the Lady of the Lake plays a pivotal role, because she gives king Arthur his Excalibur. However, there are two Ladies of the Lake in Sir Thomas Malory's "interpretation" of the legend. Nimue, one of the two Ladies of the Lake, is more important than the other. Even after Balin slays the second Lady of the Lake, Nimue continues to play that pivotal role as the original Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian legend. In "Le Morte D'Arthur" Nimue is presented as a "good, positive" character, whereas in the TV series "Once Upon a Time" Nimue is the first Dark One. As in the legend Nimue and Merlin are lovers and Merlin is the one who shows Nimue how to acquire powers, which she abuses and use them for dark magic. However, in the Arthurian Legend, Nimue or the Lady of the Lake, after becoming Merlin's apprentice, surpassing him and imprisoning him she leads king Arthur to his downfall . On the other hand, Merlin is another example for supernatural forces in Sir Thomas Malory's work . Merlin, just as Excalibur is an integral part of the Arthurian legend. Merlin is the good warlock, the one who helps Arthur in his battles. Merlin is the king's advisor. King Arthur unconditionally trusts Merlin because Merlin could see glimpses