Young King Arthur, Dawn of the Light, Part One
The film was shot in Ireland , England , and Wales. Arthur Clive Owen is a Roman cavalry officer, also known as Artorius Castus , the son of a Roman father and a Celtic mother, who commands a unit of Sarmatian auxiliary cavalry in Britain at the close of the Roman occupation in Arthur is loyal to Rome and a devout Christian , but follows the teachings of Pelagius , which many consider heretical. He and his men guard Hadrian's Wall against the Woads , a group of Britons who are rebels against Roman rule, led by the mysterious Merlin Stephen Dillane. However, on the night when they are to receive their freedom, Bishop Germanus Ivano Marescotti sends them on a final and possibly suicidal mission to rescue an important Roman family living north of Hadrian's Wall.
According to Germanus, Marius' son Alecto is the Pope's favourite godson and may be "destined to be Pope one day". Though angry, the knights follow Arthur once more, but only after he and Lancelot argue over Arthur's deeply held beliefs.
At the remote estate, Arthur discovers that Marius has immured pagans, including a Woad named Guinevere Keira Knightley and a small boy named Lucan. Arthur defies Marius and frees the captives before deciding to take everyone, along with Marius' family, back to Hadrian's Wall. One night, Guinevere takes Arthur to meet with Merlin, the leader of the Woads and her father. At first, Arthur thinks Guinevere has betrayed him, but Merlin has come in peace.
In a flashback, it is revealed that, when Arthur was a boy, his mother Igraine died in a Woad attack, and that, hoping to be able to rescue his mother from a burning building, Arthur ran to his father Uther Pendragon 's burial mound to pull from it the legendary sword that marked it, Excalibur. Merlin suggests an alliance between the Woads and the Sarmatian knights against the invading Saxons. Marius then betrays the group, takes Lucan hostage and attempts to kill Dagonet but is shot by Guinevere with an arrow. While moving on to the south, Alecto informs Arthur that Germanus executed Pelagius after being insulted by his teachings of equality.
Tristan returns from scouting the area and tells Arthur that a Saxon army is close behind them. The knights stay behind to delay the Saxons and allow the refugees to escape. They soon encounter the Saxons at an ice-covered lake bordered on each side by steep cliffs. Greatly outnumbered, Arthur, Guinevere and the knights attempt to repel them with arrows. The battle is won when Dagonet runs to the middle of the ice and breaks it with an axe at the cost of his life.
Many Saxons are also killed, and the rest are forced to turn back. Upon their return to the wall, Germanus awards the knights their discharge papers and Dagonet is buried. Guinevere attempts to persuade Arthur to remain in Britain and defend the people from the Saxons. The pair have sex in Arthur's room prior to the Saxon army's arrival. Despite Lancelot's pleas, Arthur decides to stay and defend the wall, sending his knights away to live the rest of their lives in freedom.
Now in command of the Woad forces, Arthur prepares to face the Saxon army. As the knights are leading the evacuation, they hear the Saxon drums and turn back to join Arthur. When the hosts meet, Guinevere engages in combat with Cynric. Cerdic fights and kills Tristan before facing off with Arthur.
Meanwhile, Cynric savagely mauls Guinevere overwhelming her but is then engaged by Lancelot. Cynric shoots Lancelot with a Saxon crossbow. Lancelot then throws his sword into Cynric and kills him. Lancelot dies with Guinevere at his side. Arthur kills Cerdic and the Saxons are defeated. While he realizes that his ideal Rome exists only in his dreams, Arthur despairs over the deaths of his men.
The film ends with the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere, after which Merlin proclaims him to be their king. United by their defeat of the Saxons and the retreat of the Romans, Arthur promises to lead the Britons against future invaders. Three horses that had belonged to Tristan, Dagonet and Lancelot run free across the landscape, as the closing narrative from Lancelot describes how fallen knights live on in tales passed from generation to generation.
The film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Antoine Fuqua ; David Franzoni, the writer of the original draft script for Gladiator , wrote the screenplay. The historical consultant for the film was John Matthews , an author known for his books on esoteric Celtic spirituality, some of which he co-wrote with his wife Caitlin Matthews.
The research consultant was Linda A. Malcor , co-author of From Scythia to Camelot: The film's main set, a replica of a section of Hadrian's Wall, was the largest film set ever built in Ireland, and was located in a field in County Kildare. The film's storyline is not taken from the traditional sources, but is a work of creative fiction. The only notable exception to this is the inclusion of the Saxons as Arthur's adversaries and the Battle of Badon Hill.
Most traditional elements of Arthurian legend are dropped, such as the Holy Grail and Tristan 's lover Iseult. The film barely includes the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere ; whilst Guinevere and Arthur are romantically involved, only a few sequences depict a possible relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere. The film does not feature Kay and Bedivere. Along with Gawain, they already appear as Arthur's companions in very early Welsh sources, like Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion.
The knights' characterisations in Arthurian legend are also dropped. For example, the film's portrayal of a boorish and lusty Bors, the father of many children, differs greatly from his namesake whose purity and celibacy allowed him to witness the Holy Grail according to legend. The cinematic portrayal of Bors is therefore much closer to the traditional depiction of Sir Kay than his legendary namesake. The cinematic portrayal of Guinevere as a Celtic warrior who joins Arthur's knights in battle is a drastic alteration from the demure " damsel in distress " of courtly romance.
Despite the film's alleged historical angle, Merlin was not originally part of the legends. It is generally agreed that he is based on two figures— Myrddin Wyllt Myrddin the Wild , and Aurelius Ambrosius, a highly fictionalised version of the historical war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus. The former had nothing to do with Arthur and flourished after the Arthurian period. The composite Merlin was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
In the film, Arthur's father is a Roman general from the Imperial Roman army and his mother is a Celtic woman. In the historical notes of the legend, Arthur's father is Uther Pendragon , a famous Romano-British commander and one of Britain's earlier kings, and his mother is Igraine , a beautiful young woman who was once the wife of Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall and one of Uther's loyal subjects.
Arthur's knights are described differently in the film and the legend. Dagonet, a self-sacrificing warrior in the film, has Arthur's court jester as his namesake. Also in the film, Lancelot fights using two swords. This may be a reference to the ill-fated Sir Balin , the "Knight with Two Swords", but this epithet refers to his cursed sword rather than his fighting style.
Tristan has a pet hawk. In Welsh legends, a figure named Gwalchmai is commonly considered identical with Gawain both are nephews of Arthur ; a popular though unlikely proposed meaning of his name is "hawk of May".
The role of traitor, typically ascribed to Mordred , is given a smaller part in the form of a young British scout, played by Alan Devine , who betrays his people to the Saxons. The character is unnamed, but called "British Scout" in the credits. Tristan kills the traitor with an arrow from the other side of Hadrian's Wall during the climactic battle.
Italian historian and novelist Valerio Massimo Manfredi claimed that the movie was almost a plagiarism of his novel The Last Legion , due to several similarities between the two works. Indeed, the events of the movie suggest a theory that is largely different from the one on which Manfredi's novel is based, in which Artorius Castus isn't even mentioned, and neither is the Sarmatian auxiliary army. According to Manfredi, King Arthur' s release and its commercial failure were among the main causes of the problems related to the movie adaptation of his novel, which was in development hell until its release in Despite the film's supposedly historically grounded approach, much artistic licence is taken regarding historical figures, peoples, events, religion, wardrobe, and weaponry.
The film places the story of Arthur not in its better-known medieval setting, but in the still plausible earlier times of antiquity , the early dawn of the Middle Ages — as did the earliest versions of the Arthur story. It would appear that the Arthur depicted in the film is based most closely upon Ambrosius Aurelianus , the Romano-Briton who fought against the Saxons in the 5th century, and was probably the leader of the Romano-British at the Battle of Mons Badonicus Mount Badon.
Nevertheless, Arthur's full name in the film is Artorius Castus , referring to Lucius Artorius Castus , a historical Roman active in Britain in the 2nd or 3rd century. The film is loosely based on the "Sarmatian hypothesis", formulated by C. Scott Littleton and Ann C. Thomas in , which holds that the Arthurian legend has a historical nucleus in the Sarmatian heavy cavalry troops stationed in Britain, [8] referencing the similarities between the legends of king Arthur and the older legends of Nartian king Batraz.
In the 2nd century, 5, Iazyges were transported there as auxiliaries during the Marcomannic Wars. In the film, the Roman legions withdraw from Britain in AD ; in reality, this was completed in the year , nearly 60 years before.
Similarly, the opening text dictates that " King Arthur and his Knights rose from a real hero who lived [ The film, however, is set in The current Roman Emperor in the film's time would have been Anthemius. The Roman family which Arthur rescues lives north of Hadrian's Wall.
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In this legend, a mysterious stranger kidnaps a married woman and takes her to his home; the husband of the woman then rescues her against insurmountable odds. For example, in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , the adulterous relationship is postponed for several years, and the rescue takes place after the adventures of the Holy Grail.
King Arthur's Knights by Henry Gilbert
Lancelot plays an important role in a war between Arthur and Galehaut Galahaut. Galahaut is Arthur's enemy and poised to become the victor, but he is taken by Lancelot's battlefield performance and offers him a boon in return for the privilege of one night's company in the bivouac. Lancelot accepts and uses his boon to demand that Galahaut surrender peacefully to Arthur. Initially, Lancelot continues to serve Galahaut, but eventually Arthur invites Lancelot to become a member of the Round Table, and Galahaut as well.
In spite of this happy outcome, Galahaut is the one who finally convinces Guinevere that she may return Lancelot's affection, an action that at least partially results in the fall of Camelot.
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Later, with the help of King Arthur, Lancelot defeats Claudas and recovers his father's kingdom. Lancelot became one of the most famous Knights of the Round Table and an object of desire by many ladies. Faithful to Queen Guinevere, he refuses the forceful advances of Queen Morgan le Fay , Arthur's enchantress sister constantly attempting to seduce Lancelot, whom she at once greatly loves and hates with the same intensity, and even kidnapping him on occasions including once when she does it together with her fellow magical queen, Sebile.
Another sorceress, Hellawes , wants him for herself so obsessively that, failing in having him either dead or alive, she soon herself dies from sorrow. Similarly, Elaine of Astolat too dies of heartbreak due to her unrequited love of Lancelot. Elaine of Corbenic , daughter of the Fisher King , also falls in love with him, and she is more successful than the others. With the help of magic, Elaine tricks Lancelot into believing that she is Guinevere and he sleeps with her, and the ensuing pregnancy results in the birth of his son, Galahad.
She criticizes Lancelot for his behavior and banishes him from Camelot.
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Broken by Guinevere's reaction, Lancelot goes mad and wanders the wilderness for years until he arrives at Corbenic where he is recognized by Elaine; Lancelot is shown the Holy Grail through a veil which cures his madness. Alternatively, he is found and healed by the Lady of the Lake. Upon his return to court, Lancelot takes part in the Grail Quest with Percival and Galahad, though he is only allowed a glimpse of the Grail itself because he is an adulterer and distracted by earthly honours that have come with his knightly prowess.
Ultimately, Lancelot's affair with Guinevere is a destructive force. Upon hearing the news of Arthur's death by Mordred at Camlann from the dying Gawain, Lancelot returns to Britain, where he kills a son of Mordred and finds that Guinevere has become a nun. She refuses to kiss Lancelot one last time, telling him to return to his lands and that he will never see her face again. Instead, Lancelot declares that, if she will take a life of penitence , then so will he. Lancelot then retires to a hermitage to seek redemption, with eight of his kin joining him, including Sir Bors.
The film also replaces the sword in the stone story with a more dark and tragic backstory of how Arthur got his sword Excalibur. Tristan returns from scouting the area and tells Arthur that a Saxon army is close behind them. The character is unnamed, but called "British Scout" in the credits. It came off kind of odd, for some reason, when they spoke it. In Welsh legends, a figure named Gwalchmai is commonly considered identical with Gawain both are nephews of Arthur ; a popular though unlikely proposed meaning of his name is "hawk of May". On the Rocks — The once and future king, in his dreariest picture yet".
Eventually, he becomes a priest, later conducting rites over the deceased body of Guinevere who had become an abbess. As she had indicated, he never saw her face again in life. He had a dream warning him that she was dying, so he set out to visit her. But Guinevere prayed that she might die before he arrived, and so she did, half an hour before his arrival.
After the queen's death, Lancelot and his fellow knights escort her body to be interred beside King Arthur it was in the same place that Gawain's skull was kept. Lancelot's health then begins to fail, as he is distraught for the loss of his beloved king and queen.
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In fact, even before this time, Le Morte d'Arthur states that he had lost a cubit of height due to his fastings and prayers. Lancelot dies six weeks after the death of the queen. It is implied that he wished to be buried beside the king and queen; however, he had made a vow some time before to be buried at Joyous Gard next to Galehaut, so he asks to be buried there so as not to break his word.
His eight companions return to France in order to take care of the affairs of their lands after his death. Then, acting on Lancelot's death-bed request, they go to the Holy Land and die fighting against the Muslims. Lancelot appeared as a character in many Arthurian films and television productions, sometimes even as the protagonistic titular character. The Last Knight , among others. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Lancelot disambiguation and Sir Lancelot disambiguation. For the film, see Lancelot du Lac film.
This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. Lancelot Archived at the Wayback Machine. The Arthurian name dictionary. A Collaborative History ed. Roger Sherman Loomis, pub. Lacy, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia , pp. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.