What can the fall of the Round Table teach us about Malory's view of 15th-century English society and politics? Malory sees the nature of the knight's loyalty as a destructive force in itself. Malory's version of the legend of King Arthur differs greatly from previous entries. The story of the Round Table is told in a more realistic and realistic manner. There is betrayal, adultery, blood feuds, among many other violent events depicted in visceral detail. The characters also have complex motivations. There is greed, lust and vengeance. Friends fight friends, brothers kill brothers, and lovers kill lovers. It gives off an eerie atmosphere well suited to the tragedies that occur in the tale. All these themes reflect the misfortune that England experienced during the War of the Roses. The civil war between the English House of Lancaster and the House of York marred the society and politics of 15th century England. It is a time of great uncertainty where loyalties are strained and betrayal is common among lords in their desperate quests for power and prestige. The role of the knight in this chaotic period is also strongly questioned and redefined. Knights are forced to contradict their chivalric values ​​due to the turbulent political landscape as alliances are built and destroyed. The presence of these disturbing events is reflected in Arthur's own court in Malory's works. In fact, Malory's tales could be described as an allegory of the Wars of the Roses itself. The Knights of the Round Table face the same loyalty issues in The Book of Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere and The Most Pitiful Tale of Dead Arthur Saunz Guerdon with distressing results. The chivalric virtues of loyalty to love, the king, and knightly brotherhood become a source of great tension for knights. Often loyalties conflict with each other. In many ways, the fall of the Round Table is used to comment on the destructive force of knights' loyalty during the Wars of the Roses. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Loyalty to love is particularly disruptive for Lancelot in the Book of Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere. In the first chapter of the book, Poisoned Apple, Lancelot has just returned from the quest for the Holy Grail in this part of Malory's tales. After the many tribulations of this quest and the many near deaths, Lancelot returns to Arthur's castle. He realizes that his affair with Queen Guinevere has slowed him down in his quest for the Holy Grail. "And if I had not had the previous idea of ​​returning to your love as I do, I would have felt the greatest mysteries that I have ever seen my son, sir Galahad, Percivale, and other sir Bors" (Malory, book 1, lines 36-39). Aggravayne and Mordred are of particular concern to Lancelot. He tells Queen Guinevere that he fears dishonor, shame, and punishment for her if they continue the affair. Of course, Guinevere decides to throw him out of court. Here, Lancelot is forced to contradict his chivalrous values. Lancelot truly loves Guinevere and is loyal to her, but in this case he is forced to leave Guinevere for the sake of his and Guinevere's honor. He must give up his loyalty to Guinevere to maintain his loyalty to his own chivalry. As a result of this choice, Lancelot compromises his position as a knight in the court of King Arthur.Lancelot is the ideal knight in this tale. The greatest knight in the world and he always gets thrown out of court. Lancelot's loyalty to the chivalric code (and perhaps fear of dishonor) and disloyalty to love cause him to lose his place at the Round Table. In previous tales, such as Chrétien de Troyes Knight in the Cart, Lancelot chose to openly disgrace himself by riding in a cart because of his great love for Guinevere. Lancelot was entirely guided by his love for Guinevere. Now Lancelot possesses a different attitude, focused on preserving honor and pursuing further honor. Lancelot clearly mentions that if he hadn't been so concerned about thinking about Guinevere, he might have succeeded in finding the Holy Grail. The tension between Lancelot's defense of his love for Guinevere and Lancelot's defense of his own honor is an important contrast to earlier Arthurian tales where love and honor are united. The tension between loyalty to love and the pursuit of honor is complicated in Malory's works to resemble real life. Not all quests for honor always bring love, and love does not always bring prestige to the knight involved. Another example of tension in loyalty is loyalty to the king. This is one of the major virtues of the knight which dates back to the beginnings of Arthurian legends. All knights are completely loyal to King Arthur. This idea changes significantly in Malory's tales. King Arthur is treated on the same level as the knights. Of course, the Round Table is supposed to be a place where knights are equal to their king, but in this tale, the knights are able to accuse Guinevere, King Arthur's wife, of crimes, and King Arthur has to follow. This is the case in Poisoned Apple. After banishing Lancelot, Queen Guinevere hosts a dinner for the Knights of the Round Table. At dinner, one of the knights, Sir Pynell, decides to take revenge on Sir Gawain for the murder of Sir Lamerock. He pursues this goal by poisoning the fruit prepared for Gawain. Patrise eats pieces of fruit and dies. As a result, the entire Round Table accuses Guinevere of being responsible for his death. They also come to believe that Guinevere is trying to kill Gawain. Sir Mador, Sir Patrice's cousin, files a complaint against Queen Guinevere and demands justice. Arthur does not absolve the accusation, nor does he kill Mador. He says he would defend Guinevere but must remain impartial as king and thus grants his cause to Mador. It is a trial by battle and if Guinevere cannot find a knight to fight alongside her, she will “burn” to the stake. King Arthur tells Guinevere to speak to Sir Bors when it is revealed that Sir Lancelot, the knight who would have fought for her, has been banished. Sir Bors is reluctant at first but concedes when King Arthur tells him to defend Guinevere. What's interesting about this exchange is that King Arthur has to flat out ask Sir Bors to defend his wife. This is different from previous entries. The knights were clamoring to defend the queen in previous tales, but now they act as if they don't want to touch her with a ten-foot pole. Indeed Sir Bors tells King Arthur that if he defends Queen Guinevere, his brother knights will be angry. At this point, loyalty to the knightly brotherhood takes direct precedence over any loyalty to the king. This situation illustrates how loyalty to brother knights often contradicted or superseded loyalty to the king and queen. The knights are all angry with Guinevere and hold her responsible for Patrise's death. They even go so far as to describe it as “.