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King Arthur/Characters: Difference between revisions
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* [[Badass Family]]
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: Not always, but pretty frequently.
* [[Depending
* [[Odd Name Out]]: The children of King Lot and Morgause are Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth, and Agravaine. Guess which one is evil.
* [[One Steve Limit]]: Averted. There are several women named Elaine, and there are several different women who occassionally share the title "Lady of the Lake". There are also two Ectors, Arthur's foster-father Ector and Lancelot's half-brother Ector de Maris, and two men named Bors, King Bors and his son Bors of the Round Table.
* [[Sir Not
* [[Spell My Name
== King Arthur's Court ==
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* [[The Captain]]
* [[Character Title]]
* [[Characterization Marches On]]: Although he was always a warrior hero, early traditions depict him as less of a [[Big Good|clean-cut]] [[Lawful Good|good guy]] than later interpretations, being quite lustful, jealous, prideful and greedy. He quarrels with churchmen, tries to steal Tristan's pigs, kills a rival over a woman, and fathers several sons, none of whom is linked to his wife Guinevere.
* [[The Chosen One]]
* [[Cool Sword]]: Excalibur
* [[The Good King]]
* [[Gray Eyes]]: according to Sir Thomas Malory's ''[[Le Morte
* [[Happily Adopted]]: Arthur actually had quite a happy life with Sir Ector and was extremely upset to learn that he wasn't actually his son.
* [[The Hero]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Heroes Prefer Swords]]
* [[Historical Hero Upgrade]] / [[Historical Badass Upgrade]]: Historians have debated for generations whether Arthur was truly historical at all. But if we accept that the "original Arthur" was a British leader who temporarily stopped the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, he has been [[Memetic Badass|greatly transformed and magnified]] into the [[The Good King|Arthur]] [[The Chosen One|of legend]].
** The original Arthur may not have even been a king himself, since he is called ''dux bellorum'' or "leader of battles", who fought "''together'' with the kings of the Britons" in twelve great battles against the Anglo-Saxons. He is also called "Arthur the Soldier" in early material. In later works he is called the High King of all Britain and even Emperor, and he even conquers Rome.
* [[King in
* [[The Messiah]]: His eventual return during Britain's greatest need.
* [[Mutual Kill]]: With Mordred.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Herod]]: Arthur decides to round up all of the babies born on May Day and send them out on a rickety boat because Merlin prophesied that a child born on this day would destroy him. One baby (Mordred) survived.
* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]: Spouts off several in the "Lucius" section of ''[[Le Morte
* [[To Be Lawful or Good]]: Modern writers tend to make him quite conflicted over his decision to burn Guinevere at the stake in order to show that the queen isn't above the law, with some even depicting him as secretly hoping Lancelot will save her. Originally, this was very much ''not'' the case.
=== Merlin ===
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: Medieval romancers occasionally note that, though an ally to Arthur, Merlin is actually evil, treacherous and disloyal by nature. He does take several questionable actions over the course of the story.
* [[Composite Character]]: Originally based on the wandering mystic Myrddin Wyllt, he became merged with Romano-British warlord Ambrosius Aurelianus by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Remnants of this remain today with some modern fiction referring to him as "Merlin Ambrosius."
* [[Dirty Old Man]]: [[Depending
* [[Eccentric Mentor]]
* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: In most versions he is the son of a nun who was raped by a demon. This explains why he has magical powers but can only use them for good.
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* [[Omniscient Morality License]]: Merlin gives Uther the appearance of Gorlois so he can father Arthur upon Igraine, then has Arthur snatched away at birth and given to Ector, arranging the "sword in the stone" test as well, presumably so that events would happen as he prophesied. Not revealing Arthur's true parentage led to many rebellions during the early years of his reign, as well as the conception of Mordred and the May Day massacre.
* [[Robe and Wizard Hat]]: Probably the [[Trope Codifier]]
* [[Sealed Good in
* [[The Smart Guy]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Trickster Mentor]]
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=== Guinevere ===
* [[The Chick]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[
* [[Evil Twin|Evil Identical Half-Sister]]: On the same night Leodegrance fathered Guinevere, he also begat another girl on the wife of his seneschal. This "False Guinevere" was born on the same day, looked exactly like her half-sister and even had the same name (Leodegrance had strong genes, but it looks like he wasn't very imaginative). She managed to trick Arthur into thinking the was the real deal, and tried to have Guinevere mutilated and banished (with Lancelot's help, she escaped). "False Guinevere" kept the charade up for ''years'' until the Pope himself stepped in and demanded Arthur take the real Guinevere back. He refused, and the Pope interdicted Britain for twenty-one months. After ten, "False Guinevere" had a stroke, lost every sense but sight and hearing, then began to rot alive, until she finally confessed and perished.
* [[Gray Eyes]]: according to ''Sir Gawaine And The Green Knight''.
* [[The High Queen]]
* [[Smart People Play Chess]]: Apparently one of the most skilled players in the court.
* [[Spell My Name
* [[Tsundere]]
* [[
* [[Your Cheating Heart]]: Her affair with Lancelot is usually kind of a "bad move" for the round table's morale.
== Knights of the Round Table ==
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=== Lancelot ===
* [[The Ace]]
* [[Adaptational Attractiveness]]: The more recent the depiction, the more of a pretty boy Lancelot tends to be. But in his initial appearances he was a stout, heavily-muscled barrel of a man who was decidedly unattractive. (T.H. White acknowledges this by making him distinctly ''ugly'', to the point that he's compared to a gorilla.)
* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: After the Grail Quest, he forgets everything he learned about purity and all that and starts sleeping with Guinevere again.
* [[The Atoner]]: Most of his quest for the Holy Grail is him atoning for his sins.
* [[The Berserker]]: Something [[Monty Python and
* [[Blood Knight]]
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: More than once, Lancelot, while he was out wandering, would wander into other knights' pavilions and make himself at home. When confronted by the understandably upset owners, well, [[Foregone Conclusion|he's Lancelot and they're generally nameless.]]
* [[Fatal Flaw]]: His illicit affair with Guinevere proves to be the undoing of the Round Table itself.
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]
* [[Hot
* [[The Lancer]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Sailor Earth]]: He wasn't introduced into the myths until the twelfth century, with [[
* [[Sixth Ranger]]: He doesn't show up at the Round Table until long after it's assembled.
* [[Spell My Name
=== Gawain ===
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* [[The Big Guy]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Clear My Name]]: One of his adventures in ''Parzival'' has him doing this.
* [[Family Honor]]: Gawain's main motivation, at least in ''[[Le Morte
* [[Henpecked Husband]]: he plays this role to Lady Orgeleuse in ''Parzival''.
* [[Indy Ploy]]: One episode in [[
** Of course, the chess pieces are described as being ten times as large as normal ones, and are also used as impromptu missile weapons at one point, so (assuming a board of equivalent size) that's actually not too impractical.
* [[The Power of the Sun]]: Some versions of the legends have him gain strength as the sun rises in the sky and lose it when it sets.
* [[Spell My Name
* [[You Killed My Father|You Killed My Brothers]]: The cause of his feud with Lancelot that brings down the Round Table.
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* [[No Social Skills]]: After the death of his father, Percival's mother takes him to the Welsh forests where she raises him ignorant to the ways of men until the age of 15.
* [[Power Trio]]: With Galahad and Bors.
* [[Spell My Name
=== Galahad ===
* [[The Ace]]
* [[Ascend to
* [[Chaste Hero]]
* [[Gary Stu]]
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=== Bors ===
* [[Overshadowed
* [[Power Trio]]: With Percival and Galahad
* [[The Smart Guy]]
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* [[Butt Monkey]]: In later versions where he merely exists to get beaten up.
* [[Demoted to Extra]]: His role in later stories is severely reduced.
* [[Hot
* [[Magic Knight]]: In his earliest incarnations.
* [[Never Live It Down]]: When Percival first showed up to Camelot, a woman who had previously sworn never to laugh unless she saw the man who would be the best knight in the world. When Percival arrives, she laughs. Kay is so insulted that he slaps her. Throughout the rest of the story, Percival's defeated foes keep coming back to Camelot to tell of how Percival was still trying to avenge her honor (basically to rub in how much of a douche Kay was).
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=== Bedivere ===
* [[Bash Brothers]]: Often paired with Kay in the oldest Welsh material.
* [[Battle Butler]]: Arthur's cup-bearer in later versions. Sometimes has a brother, Lucan, who is Arthur's designated butler.
* [[Composite Character]] / [[Expy]]: In several modern Arthurian retellings favoring the older traditions as opposed to Malory et al, Lancelot does not appear. Instead, Bedivere is often made Guinevere's lover. It helps that many of Lancelot's usual traits apply to Bedivere also. This was first done in Rosemary Sutcliff's ''Sword at Sunset'' (1963) and a number of other works have followed suit.
* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Just like Kay, his role was much reduced as the mythos grew and developed.
* [[Handicapped Badass]]: In the oldest Welsh material, he is one-handed.
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* [[Antagonistic Offspring]]: To Arthur, in the versions where he's his son and not just his nephew. One of the alternate names for the trope is [[Arthur and Mordred]].
* [[Bastard Bastard]]
* [[Child
* [[Evil Uncle]]: Inverted. In the early versions of the story, Arthur is his uncle and he's the Evil Nephew.
* [[Face Heel Turn]]: Actually seemed quite promising during the first two years of his knighthood, earning praise from Lancelot himself.
* [[Fake King]]: Yes and no. Arthur leaves him in charge of the kingdom when he goes to fight Lancelot in France, and he does officially have himself declared king, but he isn't the rightful ruler.
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=== Palomides ===
* [[Green-Eyed Monster]]: Most of the reason he alternates between seeing Tristram as a brother-in-arms and wanting to gut him is because they are both in love with La Beale Isoud. [[Spell My Name
* [[Humans Are White]]: Not the only ex-Saracen knight, but certainly the most prominent.
* [[Kick the Dog]]: On the receiving end of one. After she convinces Tristram to spare his life following on of their clashes, Isolde makes Palomides deliver a message to Guinevere stating that there were but four true lovers within the land: Guinevere and Lancelot and Tristram and Isolde. ''Ouch.''
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* [[Historical Villain Upgrade]]: Modern writers tend to make her a scheming villainess, often by making her aware of her relationship with Arthur when she sleeps with him, or by combining her with Morgan Le Fay. Originally, she seems to have been a generous and friendly person. ''[[Really Gets Around|Very]]'' friendly.
* [[Honey Trap]]: Malory states that Lot sent her over to Arthur's court in this capacity.
* [[Out
* [[Spell My Name
* [[Your Cheating Heart]]
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* [[Legion of Doom]]: At one point King Mark appeals to her to get a bunch of evil sorcerers and known evil knights together in order to ravage Arthur's kingdom.
* [[Murder Is the Best Solution]]: Tried to kill her husband King Uriens, but was stopped by their son Ywain.
* [[Spell My Name
* [[Your Cheating Heart]]: Cheated on Uriens with Guinevere's cousin Guiomar. When Guinevere found out she had Guiomar banished. (Understandably, Morgan was rather peeved when [[Hypocrite|Guinevere started her affair with Lancelot.]]) She then proceeded to take on several lovers without actually getting a divorce.
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* [[Hot Witch]]
* [[Merlin and Nimue]]: [[Trope Namer]]
* [[Spell My Name
* Trickster
== Other Kings ==
=== Uther Pendragon ===
* [[Death
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: ''Pendragon'' is a Welsh epithet (sometimes treated as a surname or dynastic name by later authors) which translates to "Chief Dragon" in English, "dragon" being a figurative term for warrior. "Uther" itself may come from a Welsh word meaning "awesome" and/or "horrible/terrible" (in the original sense of "fearsome" rather than "bad").
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