Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Arthurian Thesis

Merlyn taught Arthur many lessons to help make Arthur a better king. Each of these lessons are used to make Arthur become a better ruler. The transformation into a fish teaches Arthur that all beings deserve help and that to avoid being a dictator, you have to treat your people with kindness. The badger teaches Arthur to love his kingdom while caring for his people and that war is the major flaw of man. Lastly, the transformations into different birds taught Arthur about proper etiquette among nobles and the proper way one should deal with territorial boundaries. With the help of magic, Merlyn was able to teach Arthur many important lessons that help him become a great king.

When Arthur was first transformed into a fish, he learned that even the meekest of creatures deserve help and that to obtain absolute power, sharp cruel nature accompany it. Merlyn transforms Arthur into a fish and they swim in the moat of the castle. Here, a weak fish approaches Merlyn and asks for help for his sick mother. Merlyn replies: “There, there, lead me to your dear mama, and we shall see what we can do.” (The Once and Future King, 44). Merlyn’s sympathy toward the fish shows Arthur that even the simplest creatures deserve help, no matter how strange their problems seem. Also Arthur learns an even more important lesson from his meeting with the old fish who runs the moat. Arthur learns that to obtain absolute power, cruel nature must accompany it. The fish Monarch said, “Power is of the individual mind, but the mind’s power is not enough. Power of the body decides everything in the end, and only Might is Right.” (The Once and Future King, 47-48) This quote is important because it was Arthur’s first exposure to the ...

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...g dedicated to their profession, like an order of knighthood or something of that sort.” (The Once and Future King, 171) This at first seems like Merlyn is just instructing Arthur on how to act when around the other birds, but what Merlyn is actually doing is showing Arthur proper etiquette among nobles and knights. This information will be very useful once Arthur becomes a king.

Arthur learned many valuable lessons from Merlyn, the great wizard. Through transformations into many different animals, Arthur slowly learned how to become a great king capable of ruling his great kingdom. Arthur learns about the evils of absolute power from a fish, to care for his people and love his kingdom, and the comparison boundaries with humans and etiquette of birds among others. All the lessons Merlyn taught Arthur are used to make Arthur into a very powerful king.