What the heck you guys?!

This was a strange reading to say the least. It's very odd that the King would just allow the maidens of the court be tested in the area of their sexual purity. The whole thing was an uncomfortable read to say the least, but there's one bigger question that I have: Why did Arthur take pleasure in the public humiliation of the ladies in his court? Would this not be an embarrassing thing for him?

It was also strange that the story ended the way it did. "Now the Saga of the Mantle ends here; may you live happily for many years to come. Amen." Like what is this?! We jumped from Elven magic to the Bible and it's so weird.

Who wants frozen food

"Then the food was ready for the king and all his court. But it was King Arthur's custom not to go to table or to be truly content on any day until he had first received news about some event or other that had happened near or far from and from which he might derive enjoyment and pleasure" (Pg 226)

"Thereupon the young man took leave of the king. by no means did he want to stay there any longer and eat the food" (Pg 235)

That's not right

After reading the Saga of The Mantle, people can most certainly be frustrated with the unfaithful women. So for this blog post, I decided to share a song by Atlantic Starr, a. song that I've never heard before, but is clearly relatable to the reading.

Who does that?

I thought the concept of this story was interesting, not necessarily good but interesting. There was a couple of similarities between the descriptions of King Author and his court from this story to the first one we read. His court was described as lavish and filled with expensive clothes, weapons and horses. King Arthur himself was described as the most noble, kind, wise, valiant and merciful. His queen was described as the most generous beautiful lady who lives. Another similarity I found interesting was that again the men and women were separated, with the queen allowing the maidens to stay in her chambers, implying that King Arther and the men stayed somewhere else. This is again reinforced on page 228, the stranger approaches the king while they are waiting for dinner. Of course due to the nature of the favor the woman need to be summoned, “The king now sent sir Valve. And Kay the steward and Meon the page for the queen,” (Kalinke 228)  implying that until the dinner started the men and women were again kept separate. I still think that the concept of this story is a little weird. This man allegedly went to multiple courts, had thousands of women try on this mantle that reveals how faithful and true they are. I mean honestly, who does that?

WTH, Hero?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/05/96/980596a34ffa3ab00060874b59ba1b5a.jpg

  I have so many issues with The Saga of the Mantle that it is difficult to decide where I should begin.

I suppose the most egregious point is the double standard presented, since only the women are subjected to this "test", yet the question "if they're sleeping around, who with?" is never asked (we know, of course, that Guinevere has been with Lancelot), and it is almost certain that those shaming their wives for infidelity wouldn't think twice about sleeping with another woman, given the opportunity. The second and last point I want to address here is why would anyone in their right mind trust an artifact of explicitly fae origin? Then never cause anything but trouble.

The Saga of the Mantle in distress

 As I read “The Saga of the Mantle”, I was surprised when the mantle shrunk on the queen and showed her unfaithfulness. I did not expect that from her since she is a high figure and Arthur’s her king. I do understand the disappointment the knights and men felt for their ladies after seeing the truth.  I also felt like the men were being hypocrites for making all their beloveds try on the mantle but not one dared the men to try it on. I do not understand why they were so focused on exposing women when all the men know they are not innocent or as faithful as anyone else. I thought it was really funny to see the men get upset at each other for remaining hopeful every time the mantle ended failing them. 

Rags to Riches

I think the story could have had a different overall theme by changing the ending in a small way.  The story I am telling starts when Arthur calls in all of the women to try on the mantle.

“Now every single lady shall try on the mantle.”

All the fairest and most beautiful women in the world try on the mantle, but it does not fit well on any of them.  One after another the men are confident that their beloved will be the first to be true and faithful to him, but one after the other, each woman and man is ashamed of the result.

Behind the scenes while everyone was distracted by all the women trying on the mantle, a rather poor and unattractive woman wanders into the King’s court after hearing all the commotion from outside.

After all of the fair maidens, dressed in the queens most elegant clothing, fail to fit the mantle, Arthur realizes that there is still one woman left to try on the mantle.

“Excuse me miss, all the women have tried on the mantle so you will too.”

Many of the men object to this because she is not a fair maiden and think she does not deserve to wear the mantle.  However, Arthur brushes their wishes aside and she puts on the mantle.

The mantle fits perfectly as the woman has always been truly faithful to her lovers.  Suddenly the men no longer worry about her looks and are very attracted that they have finally found a woman who is loyal.  They all wish for her to be their own beloved knowing that they will not have to worry about her being unfaithful.

The Modern Mantle Saga

If the Saga happened today, it would probably be a Miss America pageant:

The final five contestants stand in a line on the stage. Arthur, the night’s host, takes center stage with a big smile. “We have one question left to ask you, ladies, then we will decide who is our next Miss America.”

The audience applauds as the ladies grin and wave in nervous excitement.

“Contestant number one, please step forward.”

She does and the spotlight follows her to the standing mic.

Arthur takes the question card from his blazer pocket, does a double take at the card, and tries to keep a cheerful tone as he reads, “The final question for contestant number one is… um… ‘how many men have you slept with?’”

The audience gasps. The contestant’s smile falters. She gives a nervous laugh and says, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable answering that question, Arthur.”

“You know what, you’re right. Let’s ask our judges.”

Judges Meon, Kay, and Valven put their heads together and discuss for a moment. “Nope, we want to know the answer to this question,” says Kay. “We want to make sure that our new Miss America is not a disgrace to her beloved.”

“Well, okay then,” says Arthur. “Contestant, do you have an answer?”

The contestant smiles and leans toward the mic, “None but my beloved Paternas.”

In an instant, the spotlight turns red.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It seems you’ve lied,” says Arthur. “Next contestant?”

The remaining contestants try other answers to please the judges, but each one gets a red spotlight. The audience murmurs in disappointment. Kay, especially, is disapproving of the contestants.

“It would appear that none of our contestants can tell the truth about this matter,” says Arthur. “Therefore, we will have to search for a new Miss America. Tune in next week to find out who it is!”

Unfaithful Women!!!

After reading The Saga of the Mantle, one of the things that stuck out to me was that women cheating or being unfaithful was basically the main part of the story. The song that I picked today is the opposite of what happened in the story, but it is immediately what my mind jumped to. So, while listening to the song pretending that men singing are the "fair" maidens of the kingdom.

Antiquated and Over-The-Top Feelings for Significant Other

"So deep with pain of parting that rising was a true martyrdom, and he suffered a martyr's agony: his heart repeatedly turned back to the queen that it had no desire to quit her. His body left, but his heart stayed. Lancelot went straight towards the window, but he left enough body behind to stain and spot the sheets with the blood that dripped from his fingers." (Wilhelm, 157).


This quote also spoke to me because it is very much representative of old school depictions of love in media. In my opinion, Romeo and Juliet has a similar vibe since it has the same questionable take on what love really is or can be. The reactions to their significant others in general is also just really goofy and its surprising people took it seriously for so long.

Fabio Romance Novel

Lancelot kinda shady

"And I swear that you lie," said Lancelot, "and I further swear that he never slept with her or touched her. And if it please God, may He show His righteousness by taking vengeance on whichever of us has lied." (Troyes 160)

Illustrated by Alfred Lord Tennyson

The Role of Religion

In our readings thus far and most recently, a question that keeps occurring to me is "What role does religion play throughout the stories of King Arthur?"

"By the faith I owe St. Peter, I'll not listen to your advice in this affair. Indeed, I'd deserve to be torn apart by horses if I did as you suggest. If he is seeking his honor, so do I seek mine; if he is seeking his renown, so do I see mine; if he is eager for battle, I am a hundred times more so." (Troyes, 160).

"The foreign maidens from the kingdom of King Arthur had all fasted three days and had gone barefoot in hairshirts so that God might give strength and courage to their knight, who was to do battle against his enemy on behalf of the captives. In like manner, the natives of this land prayed that God might give honor and victory in the battle to their lord." (Troyes, 161).

The Only Real Knight

Kid ink featuring Dej Loaf- Be Real
In this song, Dej Loaf repeatedly tells everyone "Lets just be honest, lets just be real". Lancelot encounters many arrogant knights on his journey that are definitely not "keeping it real". He is always defending his character and sticking to his core values despite how hostile all the other knights in the story are.

Lancelot, face-to-face with the Queen

"Now Lancelot had his every wish: the queen willingly sought his company and affection, as he held her in his arms, and she held him in hers." (Kibler 157).

This quote grabbed my attention because Lancelot finally was fulfilled with his desires to be holding the queen in his arms.