Chivalry In Thomas Malory's Morte D Arthur

Is Morte d' Arthur just a pointless story not worth reading? What lesson can someone learn from

it to apply to their lives? This novel gives more than someone would expect. It is not just an old

legend people read in literature books and see plays on. What Arthur teaches today's generation and

generations to come are qualities and concepts many in society lack: chivalry, the concept of showing

decency to those underneath the wealth, and humility.

In Thomas Malory's Morte d' Arthur Beaumin displays chivalry better than any one of the

nobleman portrayed in the story. The ironic part is that Beaumin was not even a knight. How come

Beaumin shows more chivalry than Sir Kay? The problem with Sir Kay was he only

behaved chivalrously and
courteously to those with a high status. No one else seemed to be work his

time. How Sir Kay treats and talks about Beaumin behind his back is not chivalrous or biblical

at all. The lesson to be learned here is not to dismiss someone for how he appears to look or what

you hear about him from others.

Morte d' Arthur also teaches, if a person does not come from nobility, that does not mean

anyone above him, money or job wise, should get treated better. When Sir Kay assumed Beaumin was

poor, because Beaumin asked fro food instead of armor and weapons, he started making fun of

Beaumin. On the other hand, Sir Lancelot chose to do the right thing and discouraged Sir Kay from

mocking Beaumin. The Bible says even if a person stayed quiet and committed no sin in his own eyes

but was with the crowd doing the sin, he is in the same boat with the crowd. Therefore, Sir Lancelot

made the right decision to confront Sir Kay for wrongfully judging Beaumin.
For some reason

people forget or choose to ignore the fact that every man was made in God's image.

Whether they like it or not, people need to understand that everything is not about them. Nobody is

better than another man even if he is mentally disabled, a hobo on the street, or a mass murderer.

Out of the many life lessons found in Morte d' Arthur, humility outshines them all. C.S. Lewis

states, “ True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less”. Demonstrating

humility can take a person a long way in life and it is pleasing to God. For example, everything

that Beaumin asked king Arthur for, he received; the reason being, he did not demand to have any of

the items he requested. Beaumin as well never complained about the slop Sir Kay fed him and on top

of that Beaumin lowered himself by sitting with the servant boys in the kitchen. In Ephesians 4:2 it

says, “ Be completely humble and gentle: be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Like in

Ephesians 4:2, everybody needs to learn how to humble and lower himself.

All in all, the main focal point of Morte d' Arthur is to display chivalry, to tell everyone to
show

kindness to those that are under him, and of course it tells everyone to display humility. Beaumin

received all he asked for from the king because he was kind and humble about it. He never

complained, he was not rude, like Sir Kay, and he lowered himself throughout the novel. Beaumin

and Sir Lancelot both showed chivalry but Sir Kay was hopelessly lost in the matter. Like the Bible

says, everyone needs to completely humble themselves, and patiently wait and love on one another.