The Greatest
Sir Gareth of Orkney centers around the title hero’s intrepid feats of chivalry and heroism, as the knight-errant moves from one perilous quest to another, never flinching nor failing in any of his heroic attempts to prove himself. He is praised, adored, admired, and even followed by all people that come into his presence. Gareth never fails in anything he attempts to accomplish throughout the story, no matter how insurmountable a task it may seem to be, tasks where all other knights have failed that have come before him. Sir Thomas Malory has created a character that is faultless and invincible, with no depth of character or human flaw, and, as Malory was not one of the original authors, wrote him into existence in the 15th century, hundreds of years after the Arthurian legends had come into existence. Malory has created the character Gareth, a knight who outperforms all other knights in all tasks and reigns victorious in every endeavor he attempts, to be his own hero, for his own personal sake, and has inserted him into the larger Arthurian world in an effort to have some personal claim to the legends. Malory wants a hero to call his own, and wants that knight to be greater than any knight that had previously existed in the stories, so that Malory can claim for himself the greatest of all knights in the Arthurian world.
Malory opens the story as Gareth enters the court of King Arthur, and elicits unwarranted praise from the council before acquiring approval through word or deed, or worthiness of lineage. Malory portrays a king’s court enamored by an unknown man’s request for a year’s supply of food and shelter (170), with King Arthur, Sirs Gawain and Lancelot in admiration of the man’s supposedly noble heritage, a judgment made solely on the basis that Gareth has requested that King Arthur give him free food for a year. This is a dishonest reaction, as, granted, giving and receiving gifts were considered chivalrous at the time, but requesting them certainly was not. The knights are unjustly predisposed to affection, treating him with far more reverence than his deeds thus far deserve. For the court to believe he is a man of noble blood as a direct result of his making such a request is not a believable opening, and exists in the story as simply a plot device to portray this man in a more worthy light. The only dissenting opinion is that of Sir Kay, who, despite his role in the story as purely an antagonist, is the one man who comes to a rational conclusion, believing Gareth to be nothing more than he appears to be, for he has yet done nothing worthy of the praise given to him by the higher ranks.
This praise continues throughout the story, albeit more deservedly as Gareth quickly earns this respect through noble and courageous actions. As he takes up Lynet’s quest, Sir Gareth is faultless in his endeavors, both in battle and in his interactions with people. He conducts himself to the highest standards of chivalry throughout the story. He is a worthy guest during his stay at Sir Persuant’s castle, choosing not to disrespect his host by defiling his daughter’s maidenhood (185). He takes up all requests to save innocents from danger, including a knight from the thieves (175), as well as a castle full of widows held prisoner (214), as well as Lynet’s quest itself. Sir Gareth takes on all challenges, and is faultless throughout. As he continues to defeat ever more dangerous foes, they fall at his mercy and pledge wholeheartedly their services to him. Such a gesture is, granted, one that defeated foes in chivalrous times would no doubt have performed; however, for them to do so is also a highly effective method of portraying the main character as brilliantly heroic and wonderful. For Sir Gareth to receive the approval and service of Sir Lancelot likewise serves the same purpose. Gareth is knighted by Sir Lancelot, and, as Sir Tristram claims, perhaps to vocalize the intentions of the author, “Therefore is he much the better” (210). The best knights of the world, including King Arthur himself, hold this unknown soldier in high regard, and thus must he be worthy of approval from the audience as well.
The only nay-sayer to follow in Sir Kay’s footsteps is Lynet, who continuously chastises Sir Gareth for his odor and poor heritage, stubbornly claiming that all his deeds occur because of luck and not ability. Lynet, despite, like Sir Kay, having the most on-the-mark opinion of Gareth upon his introduction, is ultimately irrational in her beratement of her servant, showing him nothing but dissatisfaction and revulsion at his heroic deeds. For such a character to be so pessimistic of his achievements is unrealistic; Lynet exists therefore as nothing but a foil for Sir Gareth, garnering for him more sympathy and making him appear even more virtuous and infallible. She is, after all, mistaken at his abilities, and her erroneous comments therefore only accentuate the virtues of Sir Gareth.
These virtues, had they not been thoroughly reiterated already, receive increasingly audacious treatment as Gareth defeats progressively more powerful foes at every turn. Sir Gareth defeats all enemies, often with a struggle, but always with victory. Malory throws larger and fiercer opponents at Sir Gareth, opponents that have defeated many brave knights, including, among others, the Red Knight of the Red Lands, who has defeated even the renowned Sir Gawain: “I know him well, for he is one of the most perilous knights of the world; men say that he hath seven men’s strength. And from him I once escaped full hard with my life” (172). Sir Gareth, of course, defeats the Red Knight, at the time of day, by his own decision, during which the knight is at his full strength (190). Gawain could not defeat this opponent, one of the most perilous knights of the world, but Sir Gareth does, thus instantly proving to be superior to Sir Gawain. He has become, as Sir Persuant puts it, “the fourth knight of the world” (187), trailing none but the three best knights that live. This has already been rectified, however, as a similar incident has already occurred with Sir Lancelot, when for no apparent reason he and Sir Gareth decide to joust, and continue to do battle “to the extent of an hour” (173). Sir Lancelot, expectedly, gives up first; Sir Gareth has proved himself Sir Lancelot’s equal. Until, however, Sir Gareth declares, “As yet, my lord, I showed not my utmost” (173). Sir Gareth is a match for Sir Lancelot, but only when he is going easy on him. Sir Gareth is now in third place.
The man also, rather interestingly, defeats two other foes who may have appeared previously in other Arthurian legends, the Knights Green and Black; if these be the same as challenged Sir Gawain or defended the bridge against King Arthur, then Sir Malory is doing nothing more than appropriating these intriguing characters and including them for the express purpose of displaying his own champion as superior to others of the Round Table. If not, they are simply two more in a long string of victories meant to exemplify the magnitude of the man’s prowess.
The author soon provides Sir Gareth with grounds to prove himself further by having King Arthur host a tournament in which Sir Gareth promptly proceeds to defeat any and all challengers that come his way. Perhaps it is simply that Sir Gareth happens to be a great knight of great strength and virtue and courage; but on the other hand, there is no better way for an author to show that his character is superior than to host a tournament in which he defeats everyone in the world amidst incessant declarations of their virtue. Sir Persuant has already described the greatness of many knights (186), several of whom Sir Gareth defeats, and many others of whom are matched or defeated by either the Red Knight of the Red Lands or Sir Lancelot, against whom Sir Gareth has already proved himself superior. No one can defeat Sir Gareth, who “rode here and there and smote on the right hand and on the left hand” (210), defeating all challengers with poise and ease.
At the point that the author literally declares that his hero is smiting his enemies left and right, his achievements quickly become rather inauthentic. It is quite unchallenging to portray a character who can defeat all enemies, whom the author has declared are strong and perilous, whom other knights of the land have fought and failed to defeat, knights who have the strength of seven men, or can fight twenty men at once and win (213), and finally to hold a tournament for him to prove himself superior to whoever is left. Malory could have just as easily written a story where Sir Gareth defeats an opponent with the strength of eight men, or ten men, or a hundred men. One simply need move the pen in the correct pattern over the page. For Malory to create such a faultless hero, who effortlessly rises to every insurmountable challenge with which he is faced, to defeat all other knights of the world with ease when all others have failed, amidst endless praise of his infinite chivalric heroism, is purely an exercise in his own desire to create for himself the best knight of all Arthurian legend, so that his character can be the best hero in his favorite story.
Malory inserted Gareth into the world of King Arthur hundreds of years after the stories were written, and quite deliberately wrote him as the greatest hero ever, vastly superior to all others. Creating new characters is not a problem in itself, but for such a character to exist is unrealistic, and, with the existence of the infinitely pure and noble Sir Galahad, is also redundant. There is no point to be made by the inclusion of an infallible hero, as the character teaches no lesson that has not already been learned from the triumphs or failures of the other knights, and, as he is faultless, becomes rather uncompelling. For Malory to insert Sir Gareth into the story, hundreds of years after the legends were written, is unnecessary. He exists here for the first time, and plays only a small role in the rest of the story, and is therefore superfluous. Inserting a character that adds depth and meaning or is interesting and complex would be understandable, even beneficial; perhaps the allure of the Round Table was too strong, and Malory wished it could be his own; it is a story that has captivated and inspired for centuries, and was too much for Malory to resist. Sir Gareth exists so that Malory can associate himself with the story, and claim that his knight is the best one. The story of Sir Gareth exists purely as an exercise in one author’s desire to indulge himself in his own creation, to give his hero a place in Arthurian legend, so that Malory can lay claim to the magic.
At no point does the knight fail to live up to the loftiest standards of chivalry or virtue. Where King Arthur, Sir Gawain, and Sir Lancelot fail, Sir Gareth succeeds. The King and his knights all had flaws, some of them severe; Sir Gareth, in his infinite invincibility and bravery, cannot be faulted. Malory has written him as such. He has created this character to be superior, and has written a story to unequivocally prove his greatness. Malory even goes so far as to have thirty ladies come into the court who “all kneeled down at once unto King Arthur and unto Sir Gareth” (219). The women bow to both men as equals. Malory in this moment has made his character as worthy as King Arthur. Blasphemy. Malory also, quite cunningly, in the last moments of the story ties up the loose ends of the other two knights who, along with Lancelot, are the greatest three knights of the world (186). While Sir Gareth does not duel with them in the tournament, Malory makes it quite definitively clear that “Sir Lamorak and Sir Tristram departed suddenly...and all the court were sorely displeased” (219). Malory surreptitiously declares his own hero their superior by quite immediately informing the reader that while they were ungrateful, “Sir Gareth was a noble knight, well-controlled and fair-spoken” (219). And thus did Sir Gareth ascend to the rank of number one in the world.
“Thus endeth this tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney” (219), Malory writes, not coincidentally, immediately after this last bit of praise. Malory has gotten the last word, and has closed the book on the subject. His knight is the greatest, and let no one forget it.
Works Cited
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte D’Arthur. R. M. Lumiansky, Ed. NY: Seribner, 1982.
To my satisfaction, I received an A- on the paper.
