OFK: The Sword in the Stone

Plot Synopsis

• The Wart is Sir Ector's adopted son. Kay is Sir Ector's real son. The boys go hawking and lose the hawk. Kay loses his patients and goes home. Wart stays with the hawk hoping to bring him home. While on his hawk finding journey he meets King Pellinore who is after the questing beast. It is King Pellinore's family tradition to quest after this beast. After a short conversation Wart is off on his way trying to find himself home again when he meets a magician by a water well named Merlyn.
• Merlyn is a very strange fellow as is his owl Archimedes. Merlyn lives backwards in time; as he gets younger every day. Merlyn comes home with Wart and becomes his tutor. Because of his magician ways Merlyn teaches Wart through life experiences. These life experiences are seen through the eyes of various types of animals, fish, hawk, goose, badger, ant, and many more.
• Kay being the older brother gets very jealous of his brother and his adventures. Merlyn sends them on an adventure, with the boys not knowing where they will end up. On their journey through the wood they meet Robin Wood (Hood) and their adventure begins.
• Robin Wood uses the boys to save their friends and family from the fairies. The fairies go by the names of animals and can be summoned up if you do not point with your finger when saying the name of an animal while in the forest. If they are summoned up they will take you away and you will simply vanish. There is no telling what they will do to you once you are in their castle so it is important to go and rescue the people. The problem is only innocent people (boys and girls) can enter their castle. But! there is good news. The fairies can't stand iron.
• The Wart and Kay go up to the castle with Robin Wood and his crew and rescue the people safely. On the way back Kay kills his first griffin and is very proud of it. The boys return home; Kay with his griffin head which will be mounted and hung on the wall.
• All is good with Sir Ector until one day he receives a letter from King Uther saying that he is sending his huntsman William Twyti to Sir Ectors land to boar hunt. This upsets Sir Ector because it is his land and he should be able to say who can hunt on it and who can't. I guess that's the government (or whatever it would have been back then) for ya. William Twyti makes a long and exciting boxing day out of the event.
• King Uther dies because of health issues and a tournament is being held to see who the new king of England will be. During this time Kay has become a knight and want to go to the tournament. After traveling the long distance to the tournament Kay discovers that he has left his sword at home and sends Wart to go and fetch it.
• Wart hurries home only to discover that there is no way of getting in to get Kay's sword. He goes back to a stone and anvil that he had passed on his way home remembering that there was a sword stuck in it. He takes the sword and returns to the tournament. Kay realizes the significance of this sword and tells his father that he had pulled it out of the stone and anvil.
• The significance is that engraved in the stone is this: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise King born of all England". Wart was the only one capable of pulling the sword out of the stone and anvil. Many people challenged him asking him to thrust it back into the stone; other people would try and pull it out unsuccessfully and Wart would succeed.
• Once he had proven his ability Sir Ector and Kay bowed down to him knowing the truth about his noble blood. Wart now known as Arthur or King Arthur was somewhat shocked and amazed as he was told the story of his birth and noble heritage.
  

Reactions/Reflection

• My first reaction to this book was, "Wow! They summed all of this up in that one little packet." I couldn't believe how many little details and adventures and people there were compared to the Le Morte d' Arthur Packet.
• I had to laugh when I read the part about King Uther sending his huntsman to come boar hunt on Sir Ector's land. If I was Sir Ector I would be mad to! I can understand his point of anger because it is his land and he should be able to say who can and cannot hunt on it. I think this relates to our government now because well, take state troopers for example. We all know that the speed limits that are posted are a law and that you can get a ticket if you pass that speed limit. State troopers know the same exact thing and they enforce those laws on regular citizens, but when it comes to themselves and the speed limits its like they are exempt from the law. These incidents say to me, "Because we are the government or the higher power we can do whatever we want!". I see this with Sir Ector and King Uther. Because King Uther is the higher power he takes advantage of people like Sir Ector and hunts on their property for his leisure.
• On a nicer note, I was amazed at how Merlyn taught the Wart. It reminds me of the old saying "Walk a mile in their shoes". What better way to learn something than to actually experience it! One of my favorite animals that Wart portrayed was the ant. I found the ants lifestyle very simple but yet confusing. The language and the songs baffled me. The fact that they take so few words and answered so many questions with them. I particularly liked the "Done" and "Not Done". Plus the fact that they were so organized. Almost like a big city. Where there were the different blocks and they all had their own numbers (kind of like our social security numbers!).
• The geese amused me with the whole fighting incident. The thought that, to Wart having humans fight against other humans was perfectly normal although not good, but to Lyo-lyok fighting against others of your own blood with intent of murder was just absurd. She couldn't think of any creature that "could be so low!".
• The Le Morte d' Arthur packet is definitely playing in. I have noticed that Sir Kay has been arrogant since he was a child. He plays the role of "I am the older and blood son of Sir Ector therefore you must be my squire and so on...". He was always bragging about how good of a knight he was just like in the packet, when the reality is he's not that great at all!
• I am glad that we had the packet to read because to me it was kind of like, okay so here is the outline of what is going to happen. Then as you read this book it's like you fill in the blanks. You get the inside scoop! To me it is kind of hard to predict anything because from reading the packet you really already know what is going to happen.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Villein - a free peasant of a feudal class higher in rank than a cotter.
• Wattle - a fabrication of poles interwoven with slender branches, withes, or reeds and used especially formerly in building.
• Portcullis - a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage.
• Taciturn - temperamentally disinclined to talk.
• Sciatica - pain in the lower back, buttocks, hips, or adjacent parts.
• Toadstool - mushroom.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Amo, Amas - if this is latin then I know that Amo is love but I'm not sure what Amas is.
• Malevolent - having, showing, or arising from intense often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred. I think it is kind of ironic that this word starts with MALE.
• Scombre - of a dismal or depressing character.
• Fiord - a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes.
• Gusto - enthusiastic and vigorous enjoyment or appreciation.
• Joie De Vivre - joy of living.
• Chirurgeon - surgeon.

Le Morte d' Arthur

Plot Synopsis

• Arthur is the son of King Uther. He is raised by Sir Ector. When King Uther died of sickness, Arthur took over. There was only one person who could pull the sword out of the stone and anvil and that person was by birth right the king of all of Britain. Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone and anvil, proving him the king of all Britain.
• King Arthur's first task was to re-establish the nobles who had lost their land in the troubled years after king Uther's death. He then settle at Camelot and gathered the knights of the round table. Out of these knights Sir Lancelot was the most supreme.
• Sir Lancelot and Sir Lyonel set out for adventure. While they were sleeping under a tree Sir Lyonel was taken away prisoner by Sir Tarquin. While still sleeping Sir Lancelot was taken prisoner by four women wanted him to marry them. While imprisoned Sir Lancelot is rescued by king Bagdemagus's daughter.
• Sir Lancelot once again sets out for adventure and is directed towards Sir Tarquin's castle. Sir Lancelot defeated Sir Tarquin who in previous times had taken many knights of the round table prisoner. Wandering through the woods Sir Lancelot defeats the two giants who guard the Tintagil Castle (King Arthur's Castle). Sir Lancelot became the most famous knight at king Arthur's court because of his success at battle.
• While king Arthur was absent from Britain Sir Modred announced Arthur's death and proceeded to overtake the throne. With king Arthur returning to Britain Sir Modred put together an army of 100 thousand to defeat king Arthur. King Arthur won, and with a smaller army!
  One night while Arthur was sleeping Sir Gawain came to him in his dreams and told him no to go to battle with Sir Modred again or surely he and his men would die.
• The battle was started by one of the knights drawing his sword to kill a snake who had bit his ankle. Arthur struck Sir Modred under the shield and then Sir Modred caught Arthur in the skull striking him almost dead.
• Before Arthur died he asked Sir Bedivere to take his sword and throw it into the water. Arthur was taken to the lake where many ladies sat in a barge. The ladies took Arthur and sailed away to Avalon.
  

Reactions/Reflection

• I liked this reading. I think it appealed to me more because i just recently had watched the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail and it was nice to know a little bit more about what was going on with the characters and so on.
• I thought it was funny after Sir Lancelot takes Sir Kay's armor and rides away with it and then Sir Gawtere says "Why there rides Sir Kay, the most overbearing King of all, in spite of his many defeats. I think I will challenge him and see if I cannot shake his pride a little." It reminds me of teenage boys who always are trying to look tough.
• I also found it funny that Sir Lancelot had to be saved by a little noblewoman. Here you have this big knight who can defeat Sir Tarquin, but yet he is imprisoned by four women who all want him to marry them!
• I believe that Arthur would have made a pretty good king. He seemed to have respect for the people that helped him, and he wanted to do good for others. For example, his first task as king was to re-establish the nobles who had lost their land during the troubled time after king Uther's death.
  Arthur was also a good battle commander. He defeated Sir Modred in their first battle and Arthur had fewer men!
• I think Arthur's weakness would have been listening to other people/advice. Although, for instance, Sir Gawain had come to Arthur in his dreams and told him not to go to battle again or he and his finest men would surely die. Arthur did go to battle but I think it was because of his hatred for Sir Modred because of what he had done to Arthur. In Arthur's own words, "My lords, I care nothing of my life now! And while Sir Modred is at large I must kill him: there may not be another chance."
• One character that puzzled me was Sir Tarquin. He was "the adventure", the "big tough guy". He had his special tree dedicated to the shields of the knights he held imprisoned, and he was afraid of nothing. He hated one knight and was determined to kill him. Yet, when that one knight came (Sir Lancelot), Sir Tarquin was defeated. It kind of portrays the message that no one is invincible (except God of course) and that you should never get to cocky or over confident because you never know whats coming!
• It amazed me how everything was settle by fighting or challenging. Allot of the time it was just for fun too! Like when Sir Gawtere challenged "Sir Kay" just to see if he could shake his pride a little! But i suppose it was just their was of living and they were used to it.

Vocabulary

Interesting Words

• Excalibur - the magic sword that Arthur uses. Is there any reference to like today's roller coasters?
• Medieval Romance - that it was a forerunner for modern fiction.
• Ninescore - 180. What origin or language is that?
• Pentecost - a Christian feast on the seventh Sunday after Easter commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. Was Christianity a practiced faith of the kingdom or was it just a religion that the king practiced?
• Threescore - being three times twenty : sixty. I'm wondering if the formula is that score equals like twenty and then you multiply your first number by twenty.
• Usurp - to seize and hold. This was one of our vocabulary words this past year!
• Alarums - a call to arms. Is this where we got alarms?
• Dauntless - fearless. This was also one of our vocabulary words this past year!
• Sweet Jesu, give him succor! - sweet Jesus, give him something that furnishes relief! King Arthur was a man of faith!
• HIC LACET ARTHURUS, REX QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS - Here lies Arthur, the once and future king. Latin is the "mother" of all languages.

Words I Did Not Understand Or Know

• Vehemently - bitterly, antagonistic.
• Lord Jesu - Lord Jesus. Why do they not say Lord Jesus? If that is what it means (I'm assuming).
• Hitherto - up to this or that time.
• Glade - an open space surrounded by woods.
• Christendom - the part of the world in which Christianity prevails. I got that definition from Merriam Webster but it does not make sense in the sentence: Was not King Arthur, the noblest sovereign Christendom had seen, ......
• Fickle - marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability.
• Vouchsafed - to grant or furnish often in a gracious or condescending manner.
• Barge - any of various boats.