Sir Gareth (;
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...
: ''Guerehet'', ''Guerrehet'') is a
Knight of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of
King Lot and
Queen Morgause,
King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
,
Agravain
Sir Agravain () is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Mor ...
and
Gaheris
Gaheris (Old French: ''Gaheriet'', ''Gaheriés'', ''Guerrehes'') is a knight of the Round Table in the chivalric romance tradition of Arthurian legend. A nephew of King Arthur, Gaheris is the third son of Arthur's sister or half-sister Morgau ...
, and either a brother or half-brother of
Mordred. Gareth is particularly notable in ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'' in which he is also known by his nickname Beaumains.
Arthurian legend
French literature
The earliest role of Gareth, appearing as Guerrehet, is found in the First Continuation of
Chrétien de Troyes's ''
Perceval ou le Conte du Graal
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = between 1182 and 1190
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, for ...
''. As the protagonist of the story's final episode, he slays the giant known as "Little Knight", thus avenging the death of fairy king Brangemuer, son of
Guingamuer and the fay Brangepart.
Several of his adventures are narrated in the Vulgate Cycle (''
Lancelot-Grail
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown author ...
''). In the Vulgate ''Merlin'', Gareth and his brothers defect from their father
King Lot and take service with
King Arthur, participating in the early battles against the
Saxon invaders of Britain and in the war against
King Claudas on the continent. As the youngest and often most
chivalrous
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed by ...
of the
Orkney princes, Gareth later prevents his brothers
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
and
Agravain
Sir Agravain () is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Mor ...
from killing their other sibling
Gaheris
Gaheris (Old French: ''Gaheriet'', ''Gaheriés'', ''Guerrehes'') is a knight of the Round Table in the chivalric romance tradition of Arthurian legend. A nephew of King Arthur, Gaheris is the third son of Arthur's sister or half-sister Morgau ...
in revenge for the murder of their mother the
Queen of Orkney, condemns his brothers for their killing of
Lamorak
Sir Lamorak (or Lamerak, Lamorac(k), Lamorat, Lamerocke, and other spellings) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. Introduced in the Prose ''Tristan'', Lamorak reappears in later works including the ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'' and T ...
, and attempts to dissuade Agravain and Mordred from exposing the secret love affair between
Lancelot and Arthur's wife
Queen Guinevere
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
. His death at the hands of
Bors
Bors (; french: link=no, Bohort) is the name of two knights in Arthurian legend, an elder and a younger. The two first appear in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail romance prose cycle. Bors the Elder is the King of Gaunnes (Gannes/Gaunes/Ganis) du ...
during Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere from being burned at the stake is related in the ''Mort Artu'' (''Death of Arthur''), the final volume of the Vulgate Cycle. The Vulgate ''Lancelot'' and the Vulgate ''Mort Artu'' differ in their characterisation of Gareth: in the ''Lancelot'', he is portrayed as Gawain's most cherished brother; in the ''Mort Artu'', it is rather his older brother, Gaheris.
''Le Morte d'Arthur''
![Arthur Hughes - Overthrowing of the Rusty Knight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Arthur_Hughes_-_Overthrowing_of_the_Rusty_Knight.jpg)
Gareth is the subject of Book IV (Caxton VII) in Sir
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'', "The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney", which tells how he became a knight. In Malory's retelling of an episode from the
Prose ''Tristan'', Gareth seeks to prove himself worthy of
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
through his deeds instead of just his lineage. For this reason, he arrives at
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
in disguise as a kitchen boy as ''le bel inconnu'', or the
Fair Unknown, who comes without a name and therefore without a past. He is set to work by
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay ( cy, Cai, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; la, Caius; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. ...
, who always gives him difficult work, teases him as a lowly kitchen boy and nicknames him "''Beaumains''" or "Good Hands" (alternatively "Beautiful Hands" or "Fair Hands"). Gareth receives much better attention from Sir Lancelot, who gives him gifts of clothes and gold for spending money.
After a year passes, Gareth finally embarks on a knightly quest. He goes to the aid of an unknown woman, later revealed to be the Dame
Lynette, to save her sister
Lyonesse
Lyonesse is a kingdom which, according to legend, consisted of a long strand of land stretching from Land's End at the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, to what is now the Isles of Scilly in the Celtic Sea portion of the Atlantic Ocean. I ...
(both also appearing under various alternate spellings) from the
Red Knight
Red Knight ( cy, Marchog Coch, kw, Marghek Rudh, br, Marc'heg Ruz) is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend.
In legends Tales of Perceval
The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his ...
of the Red Lands. Gareth is accompanied by the dwarf Melot, who knows his true identity. However, Lynette takes Gareth as a mere kitchen boy and constantly derides him. On the way, he slays the impressive Sir Perarde, the
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...
, and takes his armour and horse. He then meets Sir Pertolope, the
Green Knight
The Green Knight ( cy, Marchog Gwyrdd, kw, Marghek Gwyrdh, br, Marc'heg Gwer) is a character from the 14th-century Arthurian poem ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' and the related medieval work ''The Greene Knight''. His true name is revea ...
, who mistakes him for his brother, the Black Knight. Lynette tells the Green Knight that he is a kitchen boy and begs him to rid her of him. Gareth overcomes the Green Knight, but spares his life in return for the knight's swearing to serve King Arthur. He then in much the same fashion defeats Sir Perymones, the Puce Knight (sometimes the Red Knight, but not to be confused with the one of the Red Lands), and Sir Persaunte (Persant of Inde), the Indigo Knight, both of whom also swear loyalty to Arthur. He arrives at Lyonesse's castle, where she is besieged by Sir Ironside, the Red Knight of the Red Lands. Gareth fights him all day and finally prevails, although the Red Knight has the strength of seven men. Gareth intends to kill him as he himself had slaughtered all the other knights who came to save the lady Lyonesse, but the Red Knight explains that he did so because the lady he loved made him swear to kill Lancelot, and the only way to get his attention was to kill the knights, so Gareth spares the Red Knight, making him swear to serve Arthur and also go to Camelot and apologise to Lancelot. Lustily in love with Lyonesse, Gareth conspires to consummate their relationship before marrying. Only by the magical intervention of Lynette is their tryst unsuccessful, thus preserving Gareth's virginity and, presumably, his standing with God. Gareth later counsels Lyonesse to report to King Arthur and pretend she does not know where he is; instead, he tells her to announce a tournament of his knights against the Round Table. This allows Gareth to disguise himself and win honour by defeating his brother knights. The heralds eventually acknowledge that he is Sir Gareth right as he strikes down Sir Gawain, his brother.
In Malory's telling, there are only two knights that have ever successfully held against Lancelot: Sir
Tristan
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to we ...
and Gareth. This was always under conditions where one or both parties were unknown by the other, for these knights loved each other "passingly well". Gareth was knighted by Lancelot himself when he took upon him the adventure on behalf of Lynette. Later, Gareth tells Tristan he had parted ways with his brothers Gaheris and Agravain due to their dislike of him and their murderous ways.
In Book VII (Caxton XVIII), "The Death of Arthur", the unarmed Gareth and his brother Gaheris (who both did not intend to resist) are killed accidentally by the battle-mad Lancelot during the rescue of Guinevere. This leads to the final tragedy of Arthur's
Round Table; Gawain refuses to allow King Arthur to accept Lancelot's sincere apology for the deaths of his two brothers. Lancelot genuinely mourns the death of Gareth, whom he loved closely like a son or younger brother. King Arthur is forced by Gawain and Mordred's insistence to go to war against Lancelot. Mordred's grief is largely faked, driven by his desire to become king. This leads to the splitting of the Round Table, Mordred's treachery in trying to seize Guinevere and the throne, Gawain's death from an old unhealed wound, and finally, Arthur and Mordred slaying each other in
the final battle.
Modern versions
The legend of Gareth and Lynette has been reinterpreted by many writers and poets, the most renowned being
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
in ''
Idylls of the King'' (1859–1888). In this version the "colored" knights are replaced by knights associated with various times of day: the final knight is known as Night or Death and is the most feared of the three, though ultimately the weakest; eventually, Gareth marries Lynette. In some other retellings, Gareth marries Lynette's sister, whom he rescues, and Gaheris marries Lynette.
Theodore Goodridge Roberts
George Edwards Theodore Goodridge Roberts (July 7, 1877 – February 24, 1953) was a Canadian novelist and poet. He was the author of thirty-four novels and over one hundred published stories and poems.
He was the brother of poet Charles G. D. R ...
authored the short story "For to Achieve Your Adventure", in which Lynette knows she is sending Gareth into an ambush in an attempt to make him give up for his own protection.
* In the film ''
Knights of the Round Table'' (1953), he was played by
Anthony Forwood
Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor.
Early life
Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, England. The Forwood family were lande ...
.
*
Richard Thorp
Richard Stanley Thorp (2 January 1932 – 22 May 2013) was an English actor. He was best known for his 30-year tenure portraying Alan Turner in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1982 to 2013. He also appeared in films such as '' The Dam Bu ...
played him in the British film ''
Lancelot and Guinevere
''Lancelot and Guinevere'' (known as ''Sword of Lancelot'' in the U.S.) is a British 1963 film starring Cornel Wilde, his real-life wife at the time, Jean Wallace, and Brian Aherne. This lesser-known version of the Camelot legend is a work shap ...
'' (1963).
*
Vera Chapman
Vera Chapman (8 May 1898 – 14 May 1996), also known as Vera Ivy May Fogerty, and within the Tolkien Society as Belladonna Took, was a British author and founder of the Tolkien Society in the United Kingdom, and also wrote a number of pseudo-h ...
's novel ''
The King's Damosel'' (1976) gives a complete version of Lynette's life.
* Gareth was portrayed by
Jonathan Cake
Jonathan James Cake (born 31 August 1967) is an English actor who has worked on various TV programmes and films. His notable screen roles include Jack Favell in '' Rebecca'' (1997), Oswald Mosley in '' Mosley'' (1997), Japheth in the NBC telev ...
in the film ''
First Knight
''First Knight'' is a 1995 medieval film based on Arthurian legend, directed by Jerry Zucker. It stars Sean Connery as King Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot, Julia Ormond as Guinevere and Ben Cross as Malagant.
The film follows the rogue La ...
'' (1995).
* In the game ''
Mega Man Xtreme 2
''Mega Man Xtreme 2'' is an action-platform video game that was developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color. It is a spin-off title in the ''Mega Man X'' series and a follow-up to ''Mega Man Xtreme'', which was released the previous y ...
'', Gareth is a knight-like android who serves his master and creator, Berkana.
* In the novel ''
Queen of Camelot
''Queen of Camelot'' is an Arthurian-legend based novel shown through the viewpoint of Queen Guinevere. It is a combination of two of Nancy McKenzie's previous books ''The Child Queen'' and ''The High Queen''. She states in the foreword that she o ...
'' (2002) by
Nancy McKenzie
Nancy Affleck McKenzie (February 19, 1948) is an American author of historical fiction. Her primary focus is Arthurian legend.
Publishing career
McKenzie published ''The Child Queen'' in 1994, and its sequel, ''The High Queen'', a year later. ' ...
, Gareth and Lynette formally became betrothed when he first came to Arthur.
* In the ''Fate'' franchise, Gareth is depicted as a female knight, while keeping much of the legend's original family traits and story; she ends up brutally killed by the mad Lancelot. An alternative Gareth also appears in a faery world in the "Lostbelt 6: Avalon le Fae" scenario of the mobile game ''
Fate/Grand Order
is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's ''Fate/stay night'' franchise, and w ...
''.
Notes
References
External links
Gareth and Lynetteat the Camelot Project
{{Arthurian Legend
Arthurian characters
Fictional princes
King Arthur's family
Knights of the Round Table