Primary Sources: Le Morte D’Arthur, Book XVIII Chapters 7 and 8
You can tell where this is going. Arthur checks with this mystery knight, and may or may not recognize him as Launcelot. Either way, he gives the knight the go-ahead.
“You guys are all jerks!” shouts Launcelot at the assembled Knights of the Round Table. “I cannot believe that none of you were willing to fight on your queen’s behalf!”
“It is kind of scandalous,” agrees Bors.
Mador is tired of all this bullshit. “Less talk more joust!”
Mador and Launcelot joust! Spears brake and horses keel over, it’s a whole thing, and long story short Launcelot makes Mador look like an idiot.
“All right, fine. Guenever didn’t murder Patrice,” says Mador, at sword-point.
“Huzzah!” All the knights cheer because finally this ugly scene is over. The royal tomb-engraver scratches out the MURDERED BY GUENEVER line on Sir Patrice’s tomb.
Guenever is so excited not to be put to death, she kisses Arthur! Afterwards Launcelot and Guenever and Arthur have some wine together. Arthur thanks Launcelot for stepping up, and Launcelot assures him that he’s always there for Guenever. Hint hint.
Then Launcelot reminisces for a bit. Apparently this one time Launcelot lost his sword, and Guenever happened to have a spare sword that had somehow become tangled up in her gown, as though it had fallen off Launcelot during a moment of passion with Guenever (Malory doesn’t say this explicitly but leaves it to us to connect the dots); Guenever came to Launcelot’s rescue at that jousting tournament, supplying a sword. Launcelot’s happy to rescue her. “And ever since, I’ve been her knight in right outher in wrong,” he concludes.
Then Mador and Launcelot both get some leeches and some bedrest and are as good as new!
The end! No moral.
Wait, no, Malory just remembered that Sir Pinel has apparently gotten away with murder. It was supposed to be murder of Sir Gawaine, not Sir Patrice, but still, can’t let that go. So his designated clean-up gal, Nimue, shows up with her husband Pellas. Nimue announces to everyone that Sir Pinel did it, and how Pinel was trying to kill Gawaine. Pinel runs off into the countryside! Gawaine laughs it off! Patrice’s tomb gets a new line added, MURDERED BY SIR PINEL WHO WANTED TO KILL SIR GAWAINE BUT THEN HE GAVE THE POISON APPLE TO PATRICE INSTEAD AND PATRICE EXPLODED, AND SIR MADOR ACCUSED QUEEN GUENEVER OF IT BUT THEN SIR LAUNCELOT DEFEATED SIR MADOR IN COMBAT SO SHE WAS EXONERATED. That may be several lines, actually.
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Primary Sources: Le Morte D’Arthur, Book XVIII Chapters 7 and 8 — No Comments
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