10212007mordredoutline

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Jennifer Sun Salmon 10/21/07 Thesis: Though Mordred is portrayed first as the traitor whose betrayal upturns the whole Round table in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “Historia regum Britanniae,” he often takes the part of satan, the snake, or the shadow of Arthur. I.

Mordred’s extreme hate for Arthur and knighthood sprouts from early life events. a. In Mallory’s “Morte D’Arthur,” he is the bastard child of King Arthur and his half sister Morgause. i. Merlin prophesizes Mordred’s birth. ii. King Arthur attempts to send all May Day children out to sea and hope that his illegitimate son dies. b. Mallory portrays Mordred as a nasty-tempered knight. i. He is often defeated in jousting tournaments. ii. He plays nasty and backhanded tricks on other knights.

II.

Mordred betrays Arthur and the whole roundtable. a. In every portrayal of betrayal, Mordred uses the adultery of Guinevere to betray Arthur. i. He either tries to seduce the queen himself or to uncover Lancelot and Guinevere’s affair to the kingdom.

ii. Mordred is after King Arthur’s throne. b. Mordred is the one destined to kill Arthur. i. Before the battle, Arthur dreams of “serpents, worms, and beasts in a well”, all which symbolize Mordred’s role in regards to Arthur. ii. In the final battle, Mordred kills Arthur and dies himself. III.

Mordred, though the quintessential traitor, is important to the tale of Arthur. a. In some portrayals, Mordred shows responsibility and ability. i. Arthur’s men choose Mordred to be the custodian of Britain on the basis of his trustworthiness in the stanzaic Morte Arthur. ii. Also in Morte Arthur, Mordred shows remorse for Gawain. b. Mordred’s life shadowed the aspects of Arthur’s life, including his downfall. i. In “The Company of Camelot,” written by Staples and Spivack, Merlin stands as Arthur’s repressed “dark side”, as the animalistic side of Arthur’s humanity. ii. The stanzaic Morte Arthur shows both Arthur and Mordred as flawed, shown by the parallels in their downfalls.

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