How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #7
‘For feel this arm of mine—the tide within
Red with free chase and heather-scented air,
Pulsing full man; can Arthur make me pure
As any maiden child? lock up my tongue
From uttering freely what I freely hear?
Bind me to one? The wide world laughs at it.’
(“The Last Tournament,” 685-690)
Tristram questions Arthur’s authority to bind a man to vows that are antithetical to his nature, which he describes as “pulsing full man.” Of course, Arthur believes his vows make people more fully human. So what’s at issue here is not just Arthur’s authority to hold people to vows, but also the definition of what it means to be human.
Quote #8
‘I made them lay their hands in mine and swear
To reverence the King, as if he were
Their conscience, and their conscience as their King,
To break the heathen and uphold the Christ,
To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
To honor his own word as if his God’s
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity.’
(“Guinevere,” 664-671)
Ironically, we only learn what the knights’ vows actually consisted of after they have all been broken. A lot of these seem pretty uncontroversial: of course you need to police your realm and make your knights swear to redress wrongs, obey their king as their conscience, and be honest. But the vow to neither speak nor listen to slander is interesting, especially since it’s the slander about Guinevere and Lancelot (whether true or not) that the Idylls show creeping throughout the knighthood and the realm and destroying it little by little. Earlier Tristram has questioned the fairness of a vow that prevents people from freely repeating what they’ve “freely heard.” In the end, the intention behind speech may be what makes it slander. Arthur’s vow may only seek to prevent maliciously inspired speech.
Quote #9
‘To love one maiden only, cleave to her,
And worship her by years of noble deed,
Until they won her; for indeed I knew
Of no more subtle master under heaven,
Than is the maiden passion for a maid,
Not only to keep down the base in man,
But teach high thought, and amiable words
And courtliness, and the desire of fame,
And love of truth, and all that makes a man.
(“Guinevere,” 472-480)
Arthur reveals the logic behind his whole monogamy requirement for his knights, which is founded on the way he idealizes women and a man's love for them. He believes that love for a woman inspires a man to tamp down his passions and embrace courteous behavior, honesty, and concern for his good reputation. Putting such a strong emphasis on the idealization of women is quite risky, of course. When Guinevere turns out to be flawed, the whole Round Table collapses around her.