Le Morte Darthur Research Paper

The Downfall of Men in Le Morte Darthur: Lust A woman can either make or brake a man. In this case let’s just say the women of the Middle Ages and Le Morte Darthur do a lot of braking. Powerful men throughout medieval history and in Sir Thomas Malory’s, Le Morte Darthur, all fall under the rule of lust which causes nothing but turmoil for themselves and their country. Malory writes about three influential and authoritative men that all fall to lust: King Arthur of England, Merlin the Wizard, and Sir Lancelot Du Lake. Each man brakes in some form or fashion because of the lust for a women; Arthur’s lover, Morgouse, gives birth to a son, who is destined to destroy him and camelot, Merlin’s lover, The Lady of the Lake, traps him in a cave, and Lancelot’s lover, Guinever, literally drives him mad into the woods and keeps him from The Holy Grail. First, Arthur’s love affair with Morgouse, his own sister, results in a son, Mordred, who is destined to destroy him. “But ye have done a thing late that God is displeased with you, for ye have lain by your sister, and ye have begotten a child that shall destroy you and all the knights of your realm” (23). Merlin gives this prophecy disguised as an old man to Arthur early on in the book to warn him. This prophecy, that Merlin tells, does in fact come true by the end of the book. And

“So by her subtle working she made Merlin to go under that stone to let her wit of the marvels there, but she wrought so there for him that he came never out for all the craft that he could do. And so she departed and left Merlin” (59). The Lady of the Lake, Nenive, undoes this compelling and influential wizard, that could even see the future, because of his lust for her. Because of Merlin’s lust, he stays trapped in the cave for eternity unable to escape and powerless. Even wizards in the middle ages cannot escape the power of lust for a