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(#14) Arthur's Nephew Gets His Start Because Of His Really Nice Hands
It's clear that Arthur's family causes him no end of trouble. But once in a while, his relatives are actually nice folks. Once upon a time, a handsome young man shows up at Camelot on a holy day, asking for three favors from Arthur. But he'll only name one: food for a year. He doesn't utter his name, so he's given the nickname "Beaumains," or "beautiful hands" in French, for his lovely hands and is given work in the kitchens.
A year later, a lovely lady named Lynette seeks help from a knight for her sister; Beaumains winds up getting a nice horse and rides off to assist her. She's annoyed that a dishwasher is dispatched for this emergency. But after earning his knighthood for fighting Arthur's foster brother, Beaumains reveals his name - he's Gawain's little brother/Arthur's nephew, Gareth!
He then goes to rescue Lynette's sister, Lyonesse, and falls head-over-armor for her. He has to serve her for a year before marrying her, but finally, after endless adventures, Lyonesse and Gareth wed - and Lynette ties the knot with his brother Gaheris.
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(#1) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
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It's Christmas at King Arthur's court and the royals are all gettin' down around the Round Table as they do when, suddenly, a giant knight with green skin busts into the Great Hall. For totally inexplicable reasons, he offers up the chance for one knight to give him an ax-blow to the neck in exchange for the same treatment being given to the knight one year and a day later. Arthur's nephew Gawain accepts the challenge, removing the head of the Green Knight, who then promises to meet Gawain in a year's time.
In the year that follows, Gawain sets off to find the Knight at his Green Chapel, hoping to reach some sort of... compromise. On the way, he gets involved in all kinds of trials and tribulations and ends up playing a kissing game with a lovely woman whose husband he has promised to give any gifts he receives from her. Gawain doesn't do this, however, and he keeps a magical girdle that she gives him for his quest. Whatever, Gawain has bigger fish to fry than husband-wife dishonesty.
When he finally makes it to the Green Knight, Gawain flinches at the prospect of having his head cut off, and the Knight only breaks the skin - he doesn't chop all the way through. Turns out, though, he's the husband of the lady Gawain kissed; the almost-beheading was punishment for not fulfilling his bargain of giving him the girdle. Embarrassed, Gawain wears the girdle forevermore as a sign of his failings and desire to seek honor.
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(#4) Twin Brothers Accidentally Slay Each Other
When a lady wearing a sword shows up at Arthur's court, everyone is stunned. As with many of the craziest stories of Arthurian legend, she also issues a challenge upon her arrival - let the knight who is without blemish draw the sword from its scabbard. Many knights try and fail at the task. That is, until a poor, shabbily dressed knight named Balyn amazes everyone with his success. After he draws the sword, however, he doesn't want to give it back. The Lady warns him, though, that if he keeps it, he'll slay the person he loves. Yikes. But then the Lady of the Lake shows up, demanding either the swordswoman's demise or Balin's. Quick-thinking Balyn solves the problem by slaying the swordswoman. Later banished, Balyn winds up wounding the eventual Fisher King in a fight (that's an important moment for the Grail Quest, FYI).
But his most awful moment really comes when he decides to challenge a stranger knight - actually his brother Balan - who's wearing armor he's never seen before. The two knights slay one another in combat, but not before each realizes the one he's slain is his sibling.
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(#8) Every Single One Of Arthur And Guinevere's Children Perishes
Many Arthurian stories portray Guinevere as being barren (in stark contrast to Arthur's twisted romance with one of his sisters that produces Mordred). But not every version leaves the royal pair childless. However, any tales that do result in kids also result in the subsequent passings of those children.
Welsh romances (which differ from, and predate, most of the English, French, and German versions) mention Arthur having sons named Amr or Amhar, Llacheu, and Gwydre, presumably by Guinevere. Legend has it that Arthur accidentally slays Amr. Llacheu fights for his father, and poets remember his passing as being particularly bloody; one account has him slain by his dad's own foster brother, Sir Kay.
And Gwydre? He dies during a hunt for a magic boar, although mythographers think this Gwydre might have been confused with another hero of the same name.
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(#15) Arthur's Cousin Wins His Wife By Taking A Magical Razor From A Boar
Welsh traditions that include King Arthur in their stories are quite a bit different from the more familiar French and British versions of the Arthur stories. Take the tale of Arthur's cousin Culhwch and Olwen. Cursed by his stepmother to marry a giant's daughter named Olwen, Culhwch has to undergo a seemingly endless number of tasks to win her. He even has to enlist the help of Cousin Arthur and his court to get all the stuff done.
One of these impossible tasks? Tracking down a magical boar named Twrch Trwyth, who somehow wears a magical pair of scissors and a razor. With the assistance of Arthur, his knights, and a magician named Mabon, Culhwch manages this, along with a bunch of other unusual jobs, and wins Olwen, whom he ends up falling madly in love with.
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(#13) Lancelot Is Almost Seduced By A Witch Who Likes Her Lovers Deceased
On one of his journeys, Sir Lancelot meets a sorceress named Hellawes, who built a chapel housing a sword he has to retrieve. In exchange for the blade, she wants just one thing from him: a single lip-lock.
Lancelot says no, which turns out to be a pretty good idea. Had he kissed her, he would have kicked the bucket. Lancelot leaves Hellawes, who likes her lovers nice and deceased, pining away behind him. She perishes not long after of love for him.
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The story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is well-known in the world. According to ancient legends, King Arthur was the son of King Uther Pendragon. Arthur has not only talented divine power but also lofty ambitions. When he saw the chaotic state of the country, he vowed to get the entire British Isles out of the chaotic war situation.
King Arthur was brave and wise, he led various tribes to defeat the Anglo-Saxons who invaded Britain, and became a legend in medieval Britain. However, the image of King Arthur is constantly changing along with the legends. The random tool also shares 15 amazing and bizarre stories about King Arthur that you did not know.
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