Priscilla Joy

This was actually supposed to be a history assignment but I thought it would be a great blog post too!

King Arthur was a partly “mythological” character probably based on a real British king who drove the barbarians out of Britain and so then became a hero and over time a character in the partly true/partly fictional story of Camelot. I was supposed to write something on what I can learn from King Arthur and after reading and studying him I saw so many good traits of a leader. Here are my findings:

Good Leaders Are Not Tyrants or Dictators

This is pretty simple. Look back at history. Was Adolf Hitler a good leader, loved by his people?… My point exactly. In the books I read, Arthur has a genuine love for his people, his knights and his queen. He ruled with a just but compassionate hand and he didn’t make his people slave away for him.

Always Show Compassion to Your Fellow Man

In “The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” by Mark Twain there was a point where the king and the yankee dress as peasants and go see what life is like for the more poor in the country. Along the way we see the King showing much compassion and learning quite a bit about another kind of life. See the next point for more details on this one….

Never Be Afraid to Stoop Down In the Dust to Care for Someone

At one point of the book as the king and yankee travel the countryside they come across a small hut. Inside they find a woman with the small pox very sick and about to die. Her dying wish is to see her daughter, who is also weak and dying, but she is in a hayloft and the woman is too weak to climb up to her. The king goes up the ladder, picks up the poor, sick, (CONTAGIOUS!!!) girl and brings her to her mother. The king in this chapter weeps when he sees this family, showing once again his compassion for his people. It was a very touching thing to read.

Be Humble

When Arthur first gets the sword he showed humility. He did not get puffed up with pride when he found he was the true king. As king he also admitted to mistakes. With his knights he taught humility too. The round table is an example of this. No one knight (not even the king) could sit at the head of the table with all the power.

When Power Comes Your Way, Don’t Misuse It

When Arthur heard that he was king, he thanked his foster father for all he had done and promised to give his half brother Sir Kay a seat at the round table. He successfully set up his court and ruled the land (he wasn’t even a knight yet when he pulled the sword from the stone!) at a young age. He didn’t take advantage of his new power.

As you can probably tell, the story of King Arthur isn’t entirely true. There probably wasn’t the sword in the stone or Excalibur. But historians believe that King Arthur was based on a true character. There is still good character traits that can be learned from him. From the stories we can see that his people and knights truly loved him and mourned when he died. He was the pillar of the country. Arthur will always live on not only in stories but in character too! Hope you enjoyed!

Priscilla

The books I read to study King Arthur:

The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
A few different retellings at our library