Reading Notes: King Arthur Part B

Light vs. Dark

Many stories in this reading had themes of light vs. dark, good vs. evil, day vs. night, etc. Images of candles appeared often, and mysterious dreams played important roles. Sinfulness and confession also influenced how much power certain knights had, with the most virtuous being the most powerful. 

How Sir Lancelot Saw a Vision: In this story, a luminous candle indicates holiness in the chapel and in the Holy Grail. One knight, arriving on white horses, is able to see the grail but can't walk into the chapel because of his sins. Lancelot is so weighed down by his sins that he can't even wake up when the grail is right in front of him.

Sir Lancelot and the Five Hundred Knights / An Adventure of Sir Lancelot: In this story, Sir Lancelot comes upon a battle of white horses and knights fighting black horses and knights. The white side is overpowering the other, so Lancelot choses to fight with the Black horses. He loses the battle and is dejected, because usually he's a great warrior. He finds a nun and tells her what happened, and she tells him that he was fighting alongside earthly sinners against knights who had chosen the path of holiness, and that's why he failed. She tells Lancelot he must reform his ways in the future, or he will suffer.

Story Source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

Image Source: Lancelot at the Chapel