Many tales have been told about the legendary King Arthur in various texts and poems. Some portray Arthur as an omnipresent hero while others depict a hands-on action war-hero. Sir Thomas Malory's tale of the king in Morte D’arthur focuses more on the history and rise of Arthur's family as well as the many adventures of the Knights of the Round Table. Generally, discussions of King Arthur are of a serious nature.any discussion of Arthur is more serious. In the movie adaption Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur is more comical, less serious, and driven to obtain the highly coveted Holy Grail. Between these two stories, there are a few discrepancies that add confusion to Arthurian Literatureliterature,. tThese include Arthur’s activity in the Holy Grail quest, the role and prevalence of women, and the importance of hermits. The movie takes an unconventional route to describing describe the quest of for the Holy Grail. Arthur becomes the one to take center stage in the plot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail by taking the initiative of seeking the Holy Grail. In Malory's rendition, Arthur makes several brief appearances throughout the majority of the story, but is not directly involved in the quest for the Holy Grail.
Despite the title being Morte Darthur, the text itself focuses much more on the Knights of the Round Table and their respective quests. Arthur is behind the scenes throughout the bulk of Malory's rendition. Much is told of his lineage, how his family came into power, and Arthur's rise to kingship by pulling the sword out of the stone. The few scenes Arthur makes an appearance in are mostly at his castle at in Camelot. Malory allocates some time to Arthur indirectly when the adventures of Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, and King Pellinore are illustrated. Here, Merlin advises Arthur to allow their adventures as they “must be brought to an end, or else it will be a disgrace” to both King Arthur and the round table (Malory 58). Although...