King Arthur, The Looking Glass of Knighthood

In The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle, King Arthur is the looking glass of knighthood. He is generous, good at arms, and loyal to his word.

First of all, King Arthur is generous. King Arthur displays this when King Pellinore wounds him very badly, but he does not retaliate. Instead, he is generous and gives mercy. For instance, King Arthur says, “I will spare thee and I will do more than that. For now that thou hast yielded thyself unto me, lo! I will restore unto thee thy power and estate. For I bear no ill toward thee…” (pg 57). He not only shows King Pellinore mercy, but he invites him to his court. He is more generous than he needs to be.

King Arthur is good at arms. He shows this when one day he overthrows four knights. After he overthrows them all, he tells them to serve Queen Guinevere for seven days. For example, “And when these four beheld one another, they were abashed so that one scarce dared to look the other in the face. And when come before the Lady Guinevere…they told how that the knight who wore her necklace overthrew them all.” (pg 86). It is very extraordinary for one man to overthrow four knights in one day.

Last of all, King Arthur is loyal to his word. He promises an old lady (who helps him under this condition) that she may have whichever knight she’d like for her husband. Here is the scene: “’Promise that I shall become wife unto one of the knights of thy court…’ ‘…Very well, I will make that promise.’” (pg 236). She marries Sir Gawain (and becomes a beautiful lady when she does), which shows that King Arthur is loyal to his word.

In The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle, the reader learns that King Arthur is generous, good at arms, and loyal to his word. Through this we learn that King Arthur is the looking glass of knighthood and an excellent king.