Cast

So I decided that it was important for me to research my main cast, so here I'll make a list with short descriptions of the characters.

My Source

King Arthur:

   Probably born around 465 AD
A highly capable General and Knight, Arthur is most known for his "Kingly leadership, his loving rule, and even his ruthless judgment of Lancelot and Guinevere."

"he conquered a wide empire and eventually went to war with the Romans. He returned home on learning that his nephew Mordred had raised the standard of rebellion and taken Guinevere, the Queen."

"Tradition has it that after King Uther's death there was no king ruling all of England. Merlin had placed a sword in a stone, saying that whoever drew it out would be king. Arthur did not know his true status but had grown up living with Sir Ector and Sir Kay, his son. The young Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and Merlin had him crowned the King of Britain. This led to a rebellion by eleven rulers which Arthur put down. He married Guinevere, whose father gave him the round table as a dowry."

"Arthur delivered the fatal blow to Mordred in the battle, but in the process Arthur was struck a mortal blow, himself. It was then that he commanded Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur back into the Lake."

Sir Lancelot du Lac:

    "Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine. He was the First Knight of the Round Table, and he never failed in gentleness, courtesy, or courage. Launcelot was also a knight who was very willing to serve others.

It has been said that Lancelot was the greatest fighter and swordsman of all the knights of the Round Table."

"Legend also says that Lancelot was the father of Galahad by Elaine."

" Lancelot was a favorite of the Queen's, and he rescued her from the stake on two different occasions. It was at one of these rescues that Lancelot mistakenly killed Sir Gareth, which led to the disbandment of the Round Table. After the Queen repented to an abbey as a nun, Lancelot lived the rest of his life as a hermit in penitence."

Sir Gawain:

    "Gawain is generally said to be the nephew of Arthur."

"...  the exemplar of courtesy and chivalry, as he is in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"

"The accidental death of Gawain's brothers at Sir Lancelot's hands caused Gawain, one of the mightiest warriors at court, to become the bitter enemy of his once greatest friend. He was mortally wounded in a fight with Lancelot who, it is said, lay for two nights weeping at Gawain's tomb. Before his death, Gawain repented of his bitterness towards Lancelot and forgave him."

Sir Geraint:

    "After the death of his his wife, Prince Geraint spent much time at King Arthur's Court, looking for action and adventure."

"Sir Geraint restored Sir Yniol all of his possessions and then married his beautiful daughter, Lady Enid. Later Geraint heard Enid bewailing his sloth as a knight; he was stung with shame and mistakenly believed Enid to be unfaithful to him. He took her on a journey through a series of trials until she convinced him of her constancy. They returned and lived in happiness for the remainder of their lives."

"He died fighting the Saxons with King Arthur at the Battle of Llongborth (Langport, Somerset) around 480/510."

 Sir Gareth:

    "Gareth was the youngest brother of Sir Gawain"

"It presents Gareth as an exemplar of chivalry who is knighted by and devoted to Sir Lancelot and who acts chivalrously towards Lynette despite her abuse of him."

" Lancelot blindly slayed Gareth in his rescue of Guinevere from the stake. When Gawain heared of this, he turned against Lancelot and demanded that Arthur pursue him to punish him, thus setting the stage for Mordred's takeover."

Sir Gaheris:

    "before being knighted he was squire to his elder brother Gawaine. Sir Gaheris married Lynette on the day his brother Gareth married hersister, Dame Lionesse, of the Castle Perilous."

"The two brothers were slain in the struggle following the rescue of Queen Guinevere from the fire, though this was by accident as Sir Lancelot did not recognise them in the crowd."

 "Gaheris, like his other brothers, first visited Arthur's court when Morgawse arrived following the Battle of Bedegraine. When Gawaine returned to be made a knight at Arthur's wedding to Guinevere, Gaheris was by his side to act as his page. In a way, he acted as Gawaine's conscience, cooling his hot temper"

Sir Bedivere:

    "Sir Bedivere was a trusty supporter of King Arthur from the beginning of his reign, and one of the first knights to join the fellowship of the Round Table."

 "Bedivere had only one hand later in life, having lost one of his hands in a battle."

"Bedivere was present at the Last Battle, the fateful Battle of Camlan. He and Arthur alone survived the battle, and he was given the command by Arthur to throw Excalibur back into the Lake. After lying twice to Arthur, he finally tossed the precious sword out into the lake, and the hand of the Lady of the Lake came up and retrieved the sword to its watery home."

Sir Galahad:

    "Galahad was the natural son of Launcelot."

"Galahad was one of the three knights chosen to undertake the Quest for the Holy Grail. He was given a white shield, made by Evelake, with a red cross which Joseph of Arimathea had drawn in blood."

"After beholding the Holy Grail, Galahad requested of Joseph of Arimathea that he die, which request was granted unto him. Galahad was always known as the "Perfect Knight". He was "perfect" in courage, gentleness, courtesy, and chivalry."

Also, I believe Galahad was the youngest of the knights.

Sir Kay:

    "Sir Kay was the son of Ector (Ectorious) and the foster brother of King Arthur."

"... as being a very tall man, as shown by his epithet, the Tall."

"as the foremost warrior at the Court of the King Arthur, and apparently had mystical powers and was called one of the "Three Enchanter Knights of Britain""

"Sir Kay at times had a volatile and cruel nature, but he was Arthur's senechal and one of his most faithful companions."

"Some sources say that Kay was a Saxon, but was unlike the heathen Saxons because he was a Christian."

"There are different accounts of his death: throughout Welsh literature it is claimed that he was killed by Gwyddawg who was, in turn, killed by Arthur; but he is also said to have been killed by the Romans or in the war against Mordred."

Sir Bors de Ganis:

    "Sir Bors was the only knight to survive the Quest for the Holy Grail and return to court."

" Bors was a chaste knight, but the daughter of King Brandegoris fell in love with him, and with the aid of a magic ring forced Bors into loving her."

"Bors was the cousin of Sir Lancelot, and he steadfastly supported him against Arthur during the conflict between the two. After the death of Lancelot, Bors returned to the Holy Land where he died fighting in the Crusades."

Sir Lamorak:

    "He was one of the strongest Knights of the Round Table."

"Lamorak was one of three knights most noted for their deeds of prowess. At an early age he received a degree for jousting, at which he excelled. There were several different occasions in which Lamorak fought over thirty knights by himself. "

"Some sources say Lamorak was killed by Mordred who crept in behind him and stabbed him in the back, but most stories refer to Lamorak as being killed by Gawaine in retaliation for Lamorak's relationship to Morgause, Gawaine's mother."

Sir Tristan:

     "Tristan became the champion of his uncle after defeating and killing Marhaus of Ireland in a duel. That defeat led to a truce with King Anguish of Ireland and he arranged for his daughter, Iseult to be married to King Mark. It was Tristan who was sent to Ireland to fetch the would be Queen. While in the process of bringing her back to Cornwall, Tristan and Iseult fell helplessly in love with one another. Therefore, they fled from Mark and lived the rest of their days on the run."

"Legend has it that while Tristan was playing his harp for Iseult, Mark snuck in behind him and killed him with a dagger or a lance in the back."

Sir Percivale:

    "Percivale was raised by his mother in ignorance of arms and courtesy. Percivale's natural prowess, however, led him to Arthur's court where he immediately set off in pursuit of a knight who had offended Guinevere."

Merlin:

     Also known as Emrys and Sparrowhawk.

"MERLIN, Arthur's adviser, prophet and magician"

The Lady of the Lake:

    Also called Vivien or Nimue. [I like Nimue]

Sometimes portrayed as the lover of Merlin.

"This mysterious female gave Arthur his sword, Excalibur. She stole Lancelot when he was a child and cured him when he went mad."

"Vivien may very well have been the Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian Legends and stories. Vivien, sometimes called Nineve, Nimue, Niniane, etc., is best known as the woman who sealed Merlin in a cave or a tree."

"Vivien is an ambiguous character. In Malory, for example, even though Nyneve, who is one of the Ladies of the Lake, deprives Arthur of Merlin's service, she rescues him twice, first by saving him from Accolon who has been given Excalibur by Morgan le Fay to use against Arthur, and then by preventing him from donning the destructive cloak sent to him by Morgan."

"The character is ambiguous even in her earliest appearances... she loves the enchanter and seals him in a beautiful tower, magically constructed, so that she can keep him always for herself. She visits him regularly and grants her love to him."

"When Merlin shows her a tomb of two lovers, magically sealed, she enchants him and has him cast into the tomb on top of the two lovers, whereupon she reseals the tomb and Merlin dies a slow death."

"Merlin's "captivity" voluntary, and his Vivian is less of an enchantress than an interesting woman whom Merlin truly loves."

Guinevere:

    "In all cases, she is surpassingly beautiful and desirable. She is either forced into or conceives and engineers an extra-marital relationship with Lancelot and is condemned, according to law."

" Early mentions of Guinevere, in the Triads of the Island of Britain, give tantalising glimpses of her original relationship with Mordred: he is shown forcing his way into Arthur's Court, dragging the Queen from her throne and striking her, but the reasons why are unknown. The incident may have been related to quarrels between Guinevere and her sister, Mordred's wife, Gwenhwyfach, which are said to have been the eventual cause of the Battle of Camlan."

 "the story of the False Guinevere of French Romance: an identical half-sister of the Queen fathered on the same night who persuaded Arthur that she was his true wife. For two and a half years, the King was separated from the real Guinevere until the deception was uncovered."

Mordred:

    "The incest motif in the story of Mordred's birth appears only latterly. The earliest occurence is in the Mort Artu. In Malory's version, Arthur slept with his half-sister Morgause, not knowing they were related and, as a result, Mordred was born. When Arthur discovered the whole truth, in an attempt to kill Mordred he had all children born on the day of Mordred's birth set adrift. The ship carrying Mordred was wrecked, but he survived and was fostered by Nabur."

"As an adult, Mordred became one of Arthur's knights and was for a time a companion of Lancelot."

"When Arthur went to fight Lancelot, Mordred was left as regent in his absence. He proclaimed that Arthur was dead and then laid siege to Guinevere, so Arthur's return became necessary."

Morgan le Fay:

    "Morgan le Fay is, in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Arthur's half sister"

"According to legend, Morgan le Fay was able to fly and transform herself into shapes."

"She is also presented as an adversary of Arthur's: she gives Excalibur to her lover

Accolon so he can use it against Arthur (a story retold in Madison J. Cawein's poem Accolon of Gaul) and, when that plot fails, she steals the scabbard of Excalibur which protects Arthur and throws it into a lake."

"Despite the motif of Morgan's enmity towards Arthur and Guinevere, she is also presented as one of the women who takes Arthur in a barge to Avalon to be healed."

 

Morgause:

    "Morgause was the half-sister of Arthur"

"She was the mother of Gawain, Gaheris, Agravain, Gareth, and Mordred."

"as the result of an amatory encounter with Arthur (who did not know they were related), gave birth to Mordred."

I may buy the 1998 movie Merlin for research purposes... and I remember really liking that movie when I was younger, though I always caught it late on TV.