THE HOST AND GUEST

The host and guest follows the story of Daru, who is a schoolteacher in a remote plateau
region. The area has gone through a draught, but recently a blizzard has passed through, leaving
everything covered in snow. This has kept away Daru's pupils.

The narrative opens as Daru watches two men approach his schoolhouse. He watches
them climb the hill. One of the men, a gendarme named Balducci, is very familiar to Daru. He
leads an Arab prisoner who has been accused of murdering his cousin in a family squabble.
Balducci has been ordered to bring the Arab to Daru, and then return immediately to his post.
Likewise, Daru has orders to turn in the prisoner to police headquarters at a town approximately
twenty kilometers away. Daru refuses this task, considering it dishonorable. Balducci agrees with
the schoolmaster, but insists that in war men must be prepared to do many different jobs. The
gendarme is insulted by Daru's stubborn refusal, and leaves in anger.

Daru feeds the Arab and spends the night sleeping in the same room as the prisoner.
During the night the Arab gets up for water, and Daru mistakenly thinks he has escaped. The next
day Daru leads the Arab to a point on the plateau, and equips him with money and food supplies.
He points him in the direction of imprisonment, and then also points him in the direction away
from police headquarters, where he will find shelter with the native people. He leaves the Arab
with the choice, but when he looks back, he is upset to see the Arab ultimately chooses the
direction leading towards imprisonment. The story ends with Daru looking out the window of his
schoolhouse.
The Idylls
The Coming
of Arthur
The Lady of the Lake taking the infant
Lancelot, in the Idylls of the King
The first of the Idylls covers the period
following Arthur's coronation, his accession,
and marriage. The besieged Leodogran, King
of Cameliard, appeals to Arthur for help
against the beasts and heathen hordes. Arthur
vanquishes these and then the Barons who challenge his legitimacy. Afterwards he requests the
hand of Leodogran's daughter, Guinevere, whom he loves. Leodogran, grateful but also
doubtful of Arthur's lineage, questions his chamberlain, Arthur's emissaries, and Arthur's half-
sister Bellicent (the character known as Anna or Morgause in other versions), receiving a
different account from each. He is persuaded at last by a dream of Arthur crowned in heaven.
Lancelot is sent to bring Guinevere, and she and Arthur wed in May. At the wedding feast,
Arthur refuses to pay the customary tribute to the Lords from Rome, declaring, “The old order
changeth, yielding place to new.” This phrase is repeated by Arthur throughout the work.
Tennyson's use of the phrase in both the first and last Idyll, and throughout the work, is
indicative of the change in Britain's, and Arthur's, fortunes. At this point, the phrase indicates
the passing of Rome and the Heathens; In The Passing of Arthur, it indicates the downfall of
Arthur's kingdom.
Gareth and Lynette
Tennyson based "Gareth and Lynette" on the fourth (Caxton edition: seventh) book of Malory's
Le Morte d'Arthur. No version of the story earlier than Malory's is known; it is possible that
Malory created the tale himself, though he may have relied on an older work that is now lost.
Of all the Idylls, “Gareth and Lynette” is sweetest and most innocent. Gareth, Bellicent and Lot's
last son, dreams of knighthood but is frustrated by his mother. After a lengthy argument she
clinches the matter, or so she thinks, by ordering him to serve as an anonymous scullion in
Arthur's kitchens for a year and a day. To her disappointment, he agrees. Upon his arrival
incognito at Camelot, Gareth is greeted by a disguised Merlin, who tells him the city is never
built at all, and therefore built forever, and warns him that Arthur will bind him by vows no man
can keep. Gareth is angered by his apparent tomfoolery, but is himself rebuked for going
disguised to the truthful Arthur.
Arthur consents to the boy's petition for kitchen service. After Gareth has served nobly and well
for a month, Bellicent repents and frees him from his vow. Gareth is secretly knighted by
Arthur, who orders Lancelot to keep a discreet eye on him. Gareth's first quest comes in the
form of the cantankerous Lynette, who begs Arthur for Lancelot's help in freeing her sister
Lyonors. Rather than Lancelot, she is given Gareth, still seemingly a kitchen servant. Indignant,
she flees, and abuses Gareth sorely when he catches up. On their journey he proves himself
again and again, but she continues to call him knave and scullion. Gareth remains courteous
and gentle throughout. Throughout the journey to the Castle Perilous, he overthrows the soi-
disant knight of the Morning Star, knight of the Noonday Sun, knight of the Evening Star, and
finally the most terrible knight of Death, who is revealed as a boy coerced into his role by his
older brothers. Tennyson concludes: “And he [Malory] that told the tale in older times / Says
that Sir Gareth wedded Lyonors, / But he, that told it later [Tennyson], says Lynette.”
Enid
Doré's illustration "Geraint and Enid Ride Away"
"Enid" was initially written as a single poem but was later divided into two parts: "The Marriage
of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid". It is based on one of the Welsh Romances, Geraint and
Enid, of the Mabinogion.
The Marriage of Geraint
Geraint, tributary prince of Devon and one of Arthur's bravest knights, is married to Enid, the
only daughter of Yniol. He loves his wife deeply and she responds with equal affection; her only
wish is to please him. At this time, the first rumours about Lancelot and Guinevere begin to
spread throughout the court, but as yet there is no proof that any romance really exists. Geraint
believes the stories and begins to fear that Enid will follow the bad example of her friend, the
queen. His worries begin to plague him and he finally asks Arthur's permission to return to
Devon.
After they arrive home, Geraint is very affectionate and attentive to his wife. He totally neglects
his duties as a ruler and a knight, for he is obsessed with the idea that Enid has left a lover
behind at the palace. Made suspicious by his jealousy, he stays at Enid's side at all times. Before
long, Geraint's reputation begins to suffer. His people secretly scoff at him and jeer that his
manliness is gone. Enid also is upset by his new and disgraceful way of life, but she is afraid to
criticise him since she does not want to cause him any pain.
One morning as they lie in bed, she muses out loud about her sad dilemma and berates herself
as a bad wife for remaining silent. Geraint awakens and overhears her last few words. He jumps
to the conclusion that she is confessing her infidelity and is infuriated. He angrily shouts that he
is still a warrior, despite all rumours, and that he will at once go on a quest to prove his
prowess. She alone is to accompany him, taking no baggage and wearing her oldest and most
shabby dress.
Geraint and Enid
Geraint and Enid set out on their journey that very morning. Geraint orders Enid to ride in front
of him and not to speak, whatever the provocation. Perhaps, Tennyson hints, this command is
because he still loves her and is afraid that in some outburst of his brooding jealousy he will
harm her. The two ride on slowly into the bandit-infested wilderness adjoining Devon. Neither
speaks, and both look pale and unhappy.
After a while, Enid notices three knights and overhears them planning to attack Geraint. He is
riding so listlessly that he inspires no fear in them. She does not wish to disobey his order to
her, but is afraid that he might be harmed. Finally she rides back and warns him. Rather than
show any gratitude, Geraint criticises Enid for her disobedience and needles her about his
suspicion that she really wants him to be defeated. Geraint engages the knights and is
victorious. He piles the armour of the dead knights on their horses and makes Enid lead them as
she rides.
The same episode is repeated again with three other knights, and once more Geraint chastises
Enid for her disobedience. He is triumphant in each fight. Now Enid is forced to lead six
captured horses. Geraint has some sympathy for her difficulty handling them, but does not
offer to help.
In the afternoon, Geraint and Enid dine with some farm workers and are then guided to an inn
for the night. After arranging for accommodations, Geraint continues to be sullen and nasty.
Later that evening, they are visited at the inn by the local ruler, Earl Limours, who, by chance,
happens to have once been a suitor of Enid's. Limours is a crude drunkard, and Geraint callously
allows him to make all sorts of coarse jokes, much to the distress and embarrassment of Enid.
Before leaving for the night, Limours informs Enid that he still loves her and plans the next
morning to rescue her from her cruel husband.
When day breaks, Enid warns Geraint of the plot. He, of course, suspects her of having
encouraged the earl and is angry. They leave the inn immediately but are pursued by Limours
and his followers. In a running fight, Geraint is able to drive them off.
Soon the unhappy couple enters the lawless territory of Earl Doorm the Bull. Suddenly Geraint
collapses from his wounds. Enid is powerless to aid him and she sits by his side, weeping while
he lies unconscious. After a while, Doorm and his soldiers ride past, returning from a raid. The
outlaw earl's curiosity is aroused by the lovely maiden and he questions her. Doorm insists that
the wounded knight is dead, but Enid refuses to believe him. The outlaw chieftain has his
soldiers bring Geraint's body and Enid to his stronghold.
As they gallop off together on one horse, they meet Edyrn, son of Nudd. He informs them that
he is an advance scout for an army led by Arthur to rid this province of thieves and outlaws. He
offers to guide them to the king's camp where Geraint reports to Arthur. After Geraint is
shamed by the praise Arthur gives him, he and Enid are reconciled in their tent. When Geraint is
well again they all return to Caerleon. Later on, the happy couple returns to Devon. Geraint's
chivalrous and commendable behaviour as ruler and knight ends all rumours about him.
Balin and Balan
"Balin and Balan" is based on the tale of Sir Balin in Book II of Le Morte d'Arthur. Malory's
source was the Old French Post-Vulgate Cycle, specifically the text known as the Suite du
Merlin.
The brothers Sir Balin "the Savage" and Balan return to Arthur's hall after three years of exile,
and are welcomed warmly. When Arthur's envoys return, they report the death of one of
Arthur's knights from a demon in the woods. Balan offers to hunt the demon, and before he
departs warns Balin against his terrible rages, which were the cause of their exile. Balin tries to
learn gentleness from Lancelot, but despairs and concludes that Lancelot's perfect courtesy is
beyond his reach. Instead, he takes the Queen's crown for his shield. Several times it reminds
him to restrain his temper.
Then, one summer morning, Balin beholds an ambiguous exchange between Lancelot and the
Queen that fills him with confusion. He leaves Camelot and eventually arrives at the castle of
Pellam and Garlon. When Garlon casts aspersions on the Queen, Balin kills him and flees.
Ashamed of his temper, he hangs his crowned shield in a tree, where Vivien and her squire
discover it, and then Balin himself. She spins lies to Balin that confirm his suspicions about
Guinevere. He shrieks, tears down his shield, and tramples it. In that same wood, Balan hears
the cry and believes he has found his demon. The brothers clash and only too late recognise
each other. Dying, Balan assures Balin that their Queen is pure and good.
Merlin and Vivien
Having boasted to King Mark that she will return with the hearts of Arthur's knights in her hand,
Vivien begs and receives shelter in Guinevere's retinue. While in Camelot, she sows rumours of
the Queen's affair. She fails to seduce the King, for which she is ridiculed, and turns her
attentions to Merlin. She follows him when he wanders out of Arthur's court, troubled by
visions of impending doom. She intends to coax out of Merlin a spell that will trap him forever,
believing his defeat would be her glory. She protests her love to Merlin, declaring he cannot
love her if he doubts her. When he mentions Arthur's knights' gossip about her, she slanders
every one of them. Merlin meets every accusation but one: that of Lancelot's illicit love, which
he admits is true. Worn down, he allows himself to be seduced, and tells Vivien how to work
the charm. She immediately uses it on him, and so he is imprisoned forever, as if dead to
anyone but her, in a hollow, nearby oak tree.
Lancelot and Elaine
"Lancelot and Elaine" is based upon the story of Elaine of Astolat, found in Le Morte d'Arthur,
the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, and the Post-Vulgate Cycle. Tennyson had previously treated a similar
subject in "The Lady of Shalott", published in 1833 and revised in 1842; however, that poem
was based on the thirteenth-century Italian novella Donna di Scalotta, and thus has little in
common with Malory's version.
Long ago, Arthur happened upon the skeletons of two warring brothers, one wearing a crown
of nine diamonds. Arthur retrieved the crown and removed the diamonds. At eight annual
tourneys, he awarded a diamond to the tournament winner. The winner has always been
Lancelot, who plans to win once more and give all nine diamonds to his secret love Queen
Guinevere. Guinevere chooses to stay back from the ninth tournament, and Lancelot then tells
Arthur he too will not attend. Once they are alone, she berates Lancelot for giving grounds for
slander from court and reminds Lancelot that she cannot love her too-perfect king, Arthur.
Lancelot then agrees to go to the tournament, but in disguise. He borrows armour, arms and
colours from a remote noble, the Lord of Astolat, and as a finishing touch, agrees to wear
Astolat's daughter Elaine's token favour, which he has never done "for any woman". Lancelot's
flattering chivalry wins over the impressionable young Elaine's heart. Here the Idyll repeats
Malory's account of the tournament and its aftermath.
Elaine has thus fallen in love with Lancelot. When he tells her that their love can never be, she
wishes for death. She later becomes weak and dies. As per her request, her father and brothers
put her on a barge with a note to Lancelot and Guinevere. Lancelot has returned to Camelot to
present the nine diamonds to Guinevere. In an unwarranted jealous fury, the Queen hurls the
diamonds out the window into the river, just as Elaine's funeral barge passes below. This is
fulfilling of a dream Elaine spoke of in which she held the ninth diamond, but it was too slippery
to hold and fell into a body of water. Elaine's body is brought into the hall and her letter read,
at which the lords and ladies weep. Guinevere privately asks Lancelot's forgiveness. The knight
muses that Elaine loved him more than the Queen, wonders if all the Queen's love has rotted to
jealousy, and wishes he was never born.
The Holy Grail
This Idyll is told in flashback by Sir Percivale, who had become a monk and died one summer
before the account, to his fellow monk Ambrosius. His pious sister had beheld the Grail and
named Galahad her "knight of heaven", declaring that he, too, would behold it. One summer
night in Arthur's absence, Galahad sits in the Siege Perilous. The hall is shaken with thunder,
and a vision of the covered Grail
passes the knights. Percivale swears that he will quest for it a year and a day, a vow echoed by
all the knights. When Arthur returns, he hears the news with horror. Galahad, he says, will see
the Grail, and perhaps Percivale and Lancelot also, but the other knights are better suited to
physical service than spiritual. The Round Table disperses. Percivale travels through a surreal,
allegorical landscape until he meets Galahad in a hermitage. They continue together until
Percivale can no longer follow, and he watches Galahad depart to a heavenly city in a boat like
a silver star. Percival sees the grail, far away, not as close or real an image as Galahad saw,
above Galahad's head. After the period of questing, only a remnant of the Round Table returns
to Camelot. Some tell stories of their quests. Gawain decided to give up and spent pleasant
times relaxing with women, until they were all blown over by a great wind, and he figured it
was time to go home. Lancelot found a great, winding staircase, and climbed it until he found a
room which was hot as fire and very surreal, and saw a veiled version of the grail wrapped in
samite, a heavy silk popular in the Middle Ages, which is mentioned several times throughout
the Idylls. "The Holy Grail" is symbolic of the Round Table being broken apart, a key reason for
the doom of Camelot.
Pelleas and Ettare
Tennyson's source for "Pelleas and Ettare" was again Malory, who had himself adapted the
story from the Post-Vulgate Cycle.
In an ironic echo of "Gareth and Lynette", the young, idealistic Pelleas meets and falls in love
with the lady Ettare. She thinks him a fool, but treats him well at first because she wishes to
hear herself proclaimed the "Queen of Beauty" at the tournament. For Pelleas' sake, Arthur
declares it a "Tournament of Youth", barring his veteran warriors. Pelleas wins the title and
circlet for Ettare, who immediately ends her kindness to him. He follows her to her castle,
where for a sight of her he docilely allows himself to be bound and maltreated by her knights,
although he can and does overthrow them all. Gawain observes this one day with outrage. He
offers to court Ettare for Pelleas, and for this purpose borrows his arms and shield. When
admitted to the castle, he announces that he has killed Pelleas.
Three nights later, Pelleas enters the castle in search of Gawain. He passes a pavilion of Ettare's
knights, asleep, and then a pavilion of her maidens, and then comes to a pavilion where he
finds Ettare in Gawain's arms. He leaves his sword across their throats to show that, if not for
Chivalry, he could have killed them. When Ettare wakes, she curses Gawain. Her love turns to
Pelleas, and she pines away. Disillusioned with Arthur's court, Pelleas leaves Camelot to
become the Red Knight in the North.
The Last Tournament
Guinevere had once fostered an infant found in an eagle's nest, who had a ruby necklace
wrapped around its neck. After the child died, Guinevere gave the jewels to Arthur to make a
tournament prize. However, before the tournament, a mutilated peasant stumbles into the
hall. He was tortured by the Red Knight in the North, who has set up a parody of the Round
Table with lawless knights and harlots. Arthur delegates the judging of the Tournament to
Lancelot and takes a company to purge the evil. "The Tournament of the Dead Innocence"
becomes a farce, full of discourtesies, broken rules, and insults. Sir Tristram wins the rubies.
Breaking tradition, he rudely declares to the ladies that the "Queen of Beauty" is not present.
Arthur's fool, Dagonet, mocks Tristram. In the north, meanwhile, Arthur's knights, too full of
rage and disgust to heed their King, trample the Red Knight, massacre his men and women, and
set his tower ablaze.
Tristram gives the rubies to Queen Isolt, Mark's wife, who is furious that he has married Isolt of
Brittany. They taunt each other, but at the last he puts the necklace about her neck and bends
to kiss her. At that moment Mark rises up behind him and splits his skull.
Guinevere
Guinevere has fled to the convent at Almesbury. On the night that she and Lancelot had
determined to part forever, Mordred, tipped off by Vivien, watched and listened with witnesses
to their farewells. Guinevere rejects Lancelot's offer of sanctuary in his castle overseas,
choosing instead to take anonymous shelter in the convent. She is befriended by a little novice.
But when rumours of war between Arthur and Lancelot and Mordred's usurpation reach the
convent, the novice's careless chatter pricks the Queen's conscience. She describes to
Guinevere the glorious kingdom in her father's day, "before the coming of the sinful Queen."
The King comes. She hears his steps and falls on her face. He stands over her and grieves over
her, himself, and his kingdom, reproaches her, and forgives her. She watches him leave and
repents, hoping they will be reunited in heaven. She serves in the abbey, is later chosen Abbess,
and dies three years later.
The Passing of Arthur
This section of the Idylls is a much expanded and altered version of Thomas Malory's Morte
d'Arthur.
In the disastrous last battle, Arthur kills Mordred, and, in turn, receives a mortal wound. The
entire Round Table has been killed with the exception of Sir Bedivere, who carries the King to a
church (Avalon), where Arthur first received Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Arthur orders
Bedivere to throw the sword into the lake to fulfill a prophecy written on the blade. Sir
Bedivere resists twice, but on the third time obeys and is rewarded by the sight of an arm
"clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful" rising from the water to catch the sword. This was
the Lady of the Lake. Sir Bedivere returns to Arthur in the church and tells him what he saw.
Arthur believes him and passes with Sir Bedivere watching, as the new sun rises on a new year.
To the Queen
In the very brief final section, poet laureate Tennyson praises Queen Victoria and the recently
deceased Albert, Prince Consort, whom Arthur was supposedly modelled after, and prays that
she, like Arthur, is remembered as a great ruler long after her reign is over.
Allegory for Victorian society
Tennyson sought to encapsulate the past and the present in the Idylls. Arthur in the story is
often seen as an embodiment of Victorian ideals; he is said to be "ideal manhood closed in real
man" and the "stainless gentleman." Arthur often has unrealistic expectations for the Knights of
the Round Table and for Camelot itself, and despite his best efforts he is unable to uphold the
Victorian ideal in his Camelot. Idylls also contains explicit references to Gothic interiors,
Romantic appreciations of nature, and anxiety over gender role reversals—all pointing to the
work as a specifically Victorian one.
In the Victorian age there was a renewed interest in the idea of courtly love, or the finding of
spiritual fulfilment in the purest form of romantic love. This idea is embodied in the relationship
between Guinevere and Arthur in the poem especially; the health of the state is blamed on
Guinevere when she does not live up to the purity expected of her by Arthur as she does not
sufficiently serve him spiritually. Tennyson's position as poet laureate during this time and the
popularity of the Idylls served to further propagate this view of women in the Victorian age.
 Dymer
‘She said, for this land only did men love
The shadow-lands of earth. All our disease
Of longing, all hopes we fabled of,
Fortunate islands or Hesperian seas
Or woods beyond the West, were but the breeze
That blew from off those shores: one far, spent
breath
That reached even to the world of change and
death.

Canto VII 22

Somewhere about his seventeenth year the story arrived complete in the mind of Clive Staples
Lewis. A young man murders his lecturer, escapes a totalitarian state, undertakes an odyssey
through a chimeric land, makes love to an apparition, then must rise to face a monster born of
the union.

This narrative poem, composed in the style of Homer, Milton and Spenser, was one of the first
things Lewis ever wrote and the second of his works to be published. He wrote under the
pseudonym, Clive Hamilton, a conjunction of his own first name and his mother’s maiden
name.

2013 will make the passing of 50 years since Lewis’ death in 1963. Lord willing, I plan to attend
a conference on Lewis in November. In preparation, I am attempting to read the Lewis canon in
the order in which it was published. So far, I have only completed A Pilgrim’s Regress and Out of
the Silent Planet.

I wonder how many seventeen year old boys still have such stories arrive complete in their
minds these days. Venturing with Lewis is to travel through the nexus of an extraordinary
imagination and a nearly incomparable command of the English language.

In Dymer we have a different Lewis, a work conceived only two years after his teenage
profession of atheism and published five years before his conversion to Christianity. Even still,
the poem exposes Lewis’ appreciation of the transcendent and glorious, if even through a
classicist’s lens.

Like many narrative poems of the style, a deeper appreciation of classical allusion undoubtedly
permits the reader to draw more nourishment from the verse, but even encumbered by such
deficit, I found this early work of Lewis enchanting.
 The fall of Aurthur

Is the tale of King Arthur. It begins with the formation of the Knights of the Round Table and
follows the rise of King Arthur and his tragic fall. The story begins with Uther Pendragon, the
King of England who lusts after Igraine, who happens to be the wife of the Duke of Tintagil.
They conceive a child together and name him Arthur who is then sent to be raised by a
surrogate family. With the birth of Arthur, Merlin the sorcerer pronounces a prophecy that the
boy will one day become the High King of a United England.

Chaos ensues after the death of Uther with the various parties warring for the throne. Arthur
emerges as the rightful king after he pulls the sword from the stone as foretold by Merlin. With
this, Arthur learns of his true lineage and accepts his place as king. Unfortunately, Arthur has
gotten his half-sister pregnant who gives birth to Mordred, the one who is destined to kill
Arthur. However, Arthur takes the crown and established order in the realm with his Knights of
the Round Table.

It is in Book IV that witness the death of Merlin after he is buried alive by the Damosel of the
Lake, Nimue. Arthur fights a brief war with the five kings of the north. And we are introduced to
Morgan le Fay who is Arthur’s half-sister, mother of Mordred, and his arch-enemy.

In Book V the twelve delegates of the Roman Emperor Lucius arrive and demand that Arthur
pay taxes to Rome. Arthur faces war with Rome after he refuses. Against the mighty army of
the Romans, Arthur and his knights prevail, and they move on into Europe. They make their way
to Rome and Arthur is crowned Emperor of Rome. In this book we are also introduced to Sir
Launcelot, a central character in the Arthurian legend.

Although the bulk of Mallory’s text is taken directly from the Arthurian tradition, Book VII
emerges as fairly unique. In this book a mysterious young man arrives at court where he is
mocked by Sir Kay. He calls the young man “Baumains,” or fair-hands, an effeminate name.
Nonetheless, Baumain remains at court for one year, at which point he is finally knighted by Sir
Launcelot.

Beaumains embarks on adventures with lady Linet and he is revealed to be Sir Gareth. He is the
fourth son of King Lot and Queen Margawse and Sir Gawaine’s brother. This also makes him the
brother of Gaheris, Agravaine, and Mordred. Gareth proves his nobility by killing Arhtur’s
enemy, the Black Knight and the Black Knight’s brothers. Gareth also defeats Sir Ironside, the
Knight of Red Launds in order to stop the siege of the castle of Dame Lioness.

He later wins the hand of Dame Lioness after a tournament hosted by King Arthur. Gareth
eventually takes his place at the Round Table as the fourth most powerful knight following
Launcelot, Tristram, and Lamorak.

In Books VIII, IX, and X we follow the adventures of Sir Tristram. These tales largely trace the
tragic love between Tristram and Isoud of Ireland. Tristram defeats an Irish prince during his
travels in Ireland. During these adventures he falls in love with La Beale Isoud. After returning
to Cornwall, his uncle, King Mark, becomes jealous of this love affair and demands that Isoud be
bought to him.

King Mark marries Isoud, but Tristram and Isoud carry on their love affair. As Tristram rises in
greatness as one of the Knights of the Round Table, King Mark becomes worried and more
jealous of Tristram. Eventually, King Mark accuses Tristram of treason for carrying on the illicit
affair with the queen, Isoud, but he escapes. He marries another woman and continues his
chivalric adventures. Tristram repels an enemy invasion and he is eventually re-united with
Isoud.

At the end of the book, we find that King Mark kills Tristram by stabbing him in the back.
Throughout these adventures and misadventures, these books weave in the story of Le Cote
Male Taile and Sir Gareth in which he grapples with a mysterious man and a dangerous
damosel. We are introduced to Sir Lamorak, the son of King Pellimore and one of the most
powerful knights of the realm.

Books XI and XII focus on the tale of Sir Launcelot. After arriving at the city of Corbin, Launcelot
is seduced into sleeping with Elaine, the daughter of the king. She conceives Galahad who will
one day surpass his father. As one of the most powerful knights in the world, Galahad is
destined to discover the holy Sangreal. Launcelot returns to Camelot and Guenever discovers
his secret. She is jealous but forgives him. Soon after this, Elaine comes to Camelot and seduces
him again. Guenever is furious and banishes Launcelot which drives Launcelot insane.

We begin Book XII with Launcelot in a state of madness. He flees to the woods, living off fruit
and water until he is finally taken in by a knight. Guenever, in her despair, sends knights to
search for Launcelot. The search continues for two years to no avail. Launcelot finally makes his
way to Corbin, physically and mentally broken. He is healed by the holy Sangreal. After this, he
moves to the castle Joyous Gard with Elaine and Galahad. Eventually, Sir Percivale and Sir Ector
find Launcelot and inform him that Guenever has forgiven him, and he returns to Camelot.

Books XIII, XIV, and XV recount the search for the holy Sangreal, or the Holy Grail. This is the
most prized treasure throughout the entire Christian world at the time. All of the knights are
dispatched to find the Sangreal. Galahad comes to Camelot and we learn that he is the knight
destined to find the grail. Galahad and 150 kights set out to find the grail. This causes Arthur’s
concern. Book XIII is largely about Galahad as he searches for the Sangreal.

He encounters numerous trails and performs miracles along the way. Launcelot is also in search
of the Sangreal, but he knows that he lacks the faith for the task and struggles to redeem
himself. In Book XIV we see Sir Percivale’s attempt to find the Sangreal. He must wrestle with
temptation and purify himself along the way. This section concludes with Book XV in which
Launcelot continues to struggle with his faith.

The conclusion of the quest for the Sangreal comes in Books XVI and XVII as Galahad, Percivale,
and Bors unite in their quest. After numerous obstacles, they arrive at Castle Perilous where
they meet Joseph of Arimathea and Christ himself. Galahad meets what is called the Maimed
King who claims to have waited years for the most pure knights to claim the Sangreal. The
knights take the Sangreal to the city of Sarras. Following the death of the tyrant of Sarras,
Galahad is made king. He dies in the presence of the Sangreal. Percivale dies two years later.
Bors returns to Camelot with the Sangreal.

In Books XVII and XIX love affair between Launcelot and Guenever continues and the
consequences start to unravel. Upon his return from the Sangreal quest, Launcelot and
Guenever continue their affair. Fearing they will be discovered, Launcelot distances himself
from Guenever. She becomes angry and banishes him. Launcelot does return to save her from
being kidnapped. Later, Launcelot is wounded in a tournament. A young maiden named Elaine
falls in love with him and tries to heal his wound. She dies of a broken heart after being rejected
by Launcelot.

Books XX and XXI bring a conclusion to the cycle. Sir Agravaine and Sir Mordred accuse
Launcelot and Guenever of treason. With 12 other knights, they trap Launcelot and Guenever in
their chamber. Launcelot escapes after killing all of the 12 knights and wounding Mordred.
Though wounded, Mordred brings the news of all of this to Arthur.

The grounds for revenge are set. Sir Gawaine pleads on behalf of Guenever, but Arthur refuses
to grant mercy and sentences her to be burned at the stake. In his zeal to rescue her, Launcelot
kills forty Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Gawaine’s brothers. Sir Gawaine seeks his
revenge and begs Arthur to go to war. The war ensues. Launcelot finally manages to gain a
peace and is banished to France. Gawaine refuses to accept peace and encourages Arthur to
fight on.
During the ensuing battle, Gawaine is seriously wounded by Launcelot. At the same time,
Mordred has been left to rule in Arthur’s absence. Mordred forges a paper that claims Arthur
was killed in battle. He is declared king. On his way back from the war, Arthur encounters
Mordred’s army. Upon his death, Gawaine warns Arthur to avoid the battle on Salisbury Plain.
This is the prophecy that Mordred, Arthur’s son, will kill him. Arthur calls for a treaty to
postpone the battle. Mordred agrees. However, a miscommunication triggers the battle.

As the battle comes to a close, Arthur sees that only Sir Bedevere and his brother Sir Lucan have
survived. In a rage, Arthur kills Mordred, but Mordred fatally wounds Arthur. Arthur is taken to
the isle of Avelion. It remains a mystery as to whether or not Arthur lived. The narrator
intervenes to explain that Arthur may one day return. Bedivere claims that Arthur is buried at a
hermitage. Launcelot and Bedivere go to the hermitage to retire as hermits. Guenever’s body is
eventually entombed in the same place. Upon the death of Launcelot, Sir Constantine is made
King of England.
 Pasyon

A depiction of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his
crucifixion in Jerusalem. The story opens in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray
after the Last Supper. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the controversial Jesus--who has performed
'miracles' and has publicly announced that he is 'the Son of God'--is arrested and taken back
within the city walls of Jerusalem. There, the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with
accusations of blasphemy; subsequently, his trial results with the leaders condemning him to his
death. Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, for
his sentencing. Pilate listens to the accusations level at Jesus by the Pharisees.

Realizing that his own decision will cause him to become embroiled in a political conflict,
Pilate defers to King Herod in deciding the matter of how to persecute Jesus. However, Herod
returns Jesus to Pilate who, in tsurn, give the crowd a choice between which prisoner they would
rather to see set free--Jesus, or Barrabas. The crowd chooses to have Barrabas set free. Thus,
Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and is brutally flagellated. Bloody and unrecognizable,
he is brought back before Pilate who, once again, presents him to the thirsty crowd--assuming
they will see that Jesus has been punished enough. The crowd, however, is not satisfied. Thus,
Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes.
Whipped and weakened, Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the
streets of Jerusalem, all the way up to Golgotha. There, more corporal cruelty takes place as Jesus
is nailed to the cross--suffering, he hangs there, left to die. Initially, in his dazed suffering, Jesus
is alarmed that he has been abandoned by God his father. He then beseeches God. At the
moment of his death, nature itself over-turns