Gareth (;

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

Knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of King Lot and Morgause, Queen Morgause,

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'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 Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

, Agravain and Gaheris, and either a brother or half-brother of

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

. Gareth is particularly notable in ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

'', where one of its eight books is named after and largely dedicated to him, and 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 Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

's '' Perceval ou le Conte du Graal'' (in the original ''Perceval'', Chrétien himself had only mentioned

's brothers named Agrevain, Gaherriez and Guerrehés). 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 Post-Vulgate Cycle, and the Prose ''Tristan''. In the Vulgate ''Merlin'', Gareth and his brothers defect from their father King Lot and take service with

, participating in the early battles against the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

invaders of Britain and in the war against King Claudas on the continent. His death at the hands of Bors (aided by Hector de Maris) during

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

'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'', as well as variants of the other prose cycles, differ in their characterisation of Gareth. For instance, he is portrayed as Gawain's most cherished brother in the Vulgate ''Lancelot'', but not in the Vulgate ''Mort Artu''.

''Le Morte d'Arthur''

In Thomas Malory's Arthurian compilation ''

'', Gareth (the form of his name invented by Malory) is a composite character combining the explicitly good aspects of the two similarly named younger brothers of Gawain from the work's French sources (i.e. the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles and different versions of the Prose ''Tristan''), the other of whom became Malory's Gaheris. As the youngest and often most chivalrous of the

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

princes, Gareth prevents his brothers Gawain and Agravain from killing Gaheris in revenge for the murder of their mother Morgause, condemns his brothers for their killing of Lamorak, and attempts to dissuade Agravain and

(the youngest of the Orkney brothers) from exposing the secret love affair between Lancelot and Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere. Gareth is notably the hero of Book IV (Caxton VII), "The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney", Malory's own original story of the Fair Unknown type, which tells how the young Gareth became a knight. It is partially a creative retelling of an episode from the Post-Vulgate ''Suite de Merlin'', which featured a considerably older Gaheriet on his quest to defeat the Red Knights, ending with his knighting. Arthur Hughes - Overthrowing of the Rusty Knight

Arthur Hughes - Overthrowing of the Rusty Knight

In the "Tale of Gareth", the teenage hero seeks to prove himself worthy of knighthood through his deeds instead of just his lineage. For this reason, he arrives at Camelot 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, who always gives him difficult work, teases him as a lowly kitchen boy, and mockingly 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 (both also appearing under various alternate spellings) from the Red Knight 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 defeats Sir Perarde, the horrible Black Knight, and takes his armour and horse. He then meets Sir Pertolope, the Green Knight, 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 Knight 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, and intends to slay him just like Ironside had slaughtered all the other knights who came to save the lady Lyonesse. However, 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 Lancelot's attention was to first kill these knights. Hearing this, Gareth decides to spare 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 defeats his brother Gawain. In Malory, there are only two knights that have ever successfully held against Lancelot: Sir Tristan and Gareth. This was always under conditions where one or both parties were unknown to 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. Eventually, Lancelot's unintended and brutal killing of his young friend and hero worship follower makes the central event of the final grand tragedy at the end of Malory's tale. In this scene (based on the English Stanzaic ''Morte Arthur'' rather than on the French original) in Book VII (Caxton XVIII), "The Death of Arthur", Gareth arrives unarmed in protest after he is ordered by King Arthur to help guard the execution of Queen Guinevere. Nevertheless, he ends up accidentally killed by the battle-mad Lancelot during the rescue of the queen, along with his brother Gaheris. Gawain refuses to allow Arthur to accept Lancelot's sincere apology for the deaths of his brothers. Lancelot genuinely mourns the death of Gareth, whom he loved closely like a son or younger brother, but Arthur is forced by Gawain's insistence to go to war against Lancelot. This leads to the splitting of the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

, Mordred's treachery in trying to seize Guinevere and the throne, Gawain's own death from an unhealed wound he suffered in his duel with Lancelot, and 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 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 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 ''

Fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

'' 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''. * In the film '' Knights of the Round Table'' (1953), he was played by Anthony Forwood. * Richard Thorp played him in the British film '' Lancelot and Guinevere'' (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- ...

's novel '' The King's Damosel'' (1976) gives a complete version of Lynette's life. * Gareth was portrayed by Jonathan Cake in the film '' First Knight'' (1995). * In the video game '' Mega Man Xtreme 2'' (2001), Gareth is a knight-like android who serves his creator, the witch Berkana. * In the novel '' Queen of Camelot'' (2002) by Nancy McKenzie, Gareth and Lynette formally became betrothed when he first came to Arthur.

Notes

References

External links

Gareth and Lynette
at the Camelot Project {{Arthurian Legend Fictional characters introduced in the 12th century Fictional princes Family of King Arthur Knights of the Round Table