Mordred When King Arthur left to fight in a war, he ordered his nephew Sir Mordred to act as the King in his until he got back. However, Mordred had been waiting for the perfect chance to hatch a devious plan. After a few weeks, Mordred caused some letters to be written that claimed that Arthur had been killed in battle. People believe the letters and so Mordred had himself crowned as King quickly. He organized a feast that lasted 15 days, which was very popular with the people. After his coronation and the feast, he set the next part of his plan in motion. He summoned Queen Guenevere from her castle where she had been grieving her husband King Arthur. As she stood before his throne wearing a black gown and a black veil hiding her face, he told her, “You and I will wed in two days. This Kingdom needs a Queen and you are the closest one! Then everyone will believe that I am the true king of Britain!” Queen Guenevere bowed her head and thought hard. She knew that Mordred was evil and her blood was running cold in her veins. She knew that this was a possibility because even before Arthur went to war, her nephew had often looked at her with lust in his eyes. Since she was old enough to be his mother, she knew that Mordred was more attracted to wealth and power than anything else. Guenevere was a gentle soul but could think quickly on her feet. Keeping her head bowed, she murmured, “It shall be my honour to marry you, but you must give me time to travel to London for items for my trousseau. We shall wed immediately upon my return.” Sir Mordred thought to himself, “She has been a queen for many years. Doesn’t she have enough already?” However, he didn’t understand women very well since he had been a knight for all of his adult life and he didn’t suspect that she would reject him. He was fooled by her modest manner so he let her go. Queen Guenevere left for London early the next morning after pretending to be excited about the wedding. Upon arriving in London, the Queen went directly to the Tower and surrounded by her guards, refused to come out to marry Mordred, no matter how much he threatened her. The Tower of London had been designed to keep invaders out for months. The Queen had lots of food and guards with her so she waited for Arthur to come home. Word got to Arthur that Mordred had betrayed him and so he began to hurry home across the sea to take his revenge. To prepare, Mordred had put out many letters trying to convince the people of Britain that Arthur’s return would bring sorrow and hardship whereas he would bring prosperity. So, Mordred was able to gather a huge army to wait for Arthur’s arrival back in Britain. Before Arthur was able to get out of the boats with his men, Mordred’s forces swept over them and many were slaughtered. But, he and his men were eventually driven back by Arthur’s forces and he fled. Arthur gave the order that the dead were to be buried. He was very upset that so many of his knights and followers had been slain. The next day the King followed Mordred and his forces and had another fierce battle and again Arthur was the winner. Mordred’s army fled to Canterbury. Arthur followed him there to settle the matter once and for all. They agreed to meet one more time to settle the conflict. The night before the final battle was to happen, Arthur had a dream from one of his dead knights, Sir Gawain. The ghost told Arthur that unless he postponed the match with Mordred scheduled for the next day, Arthur and many of his knights would be killed. As soon as he woke up, Arthur met with his knights and advisers and told them about the dream. Arthur tried to negotiate and Mordred agreed as long as Arthur gave him several territories right away and all of England when he died. In addition, they were to finalize the deal later that day by meeting with fourteen of their men, all unarmed. Arthur told his men that they were not to draw their swords unless they saw Mordred’s men do it first. If Mordred or his men pulled out their weapons, Arthur’s knights were to start fighting. The meeting happened the next day. Arthur and Mordred agreed to the terms of the truce and then they drank wine together. During this time one of Arthur’s men had sat down to drink and had been bitten by a snake. Driven mad with pain, knight drew his sword to kill the snake, forgetting that he was supposed to keep his weapon away unless Mordred’s side started to fight first. Both armies jumped up with their swords out and began to fight, each side thinking that the other had started it. All day long there was rushing and riding, spearing and striking, and many a deadly stroke was given. At the end of the day, a full one hundred thousand men lay dead upon the field and King Arthur had only two knights left living. “Oh, I wish I knew where Mordred is in this mess so that I may punish him for all of his treachery!” said Arthur to his knights. Suddenly he saw Sir Mordred leaning upon his sword amid a great heap of dead men. “Give me my spear,” said King Arthur. “He shall not escape”. He took his spear in both hands and ran toward Sir Mordred, crying “Traitor!!!” and stabbed him in the abdomen. With Mordred’s last burst of strength, he struck Arthur through the helmet so that his sword stuck in it. Mordred fell dead and Arthur’s feet. Arthur was carried by his remaining knights who threw Excalibur deep into the water of a nearby lake. Seeing that his wish was granted, Arthur died. Mordred Vocabulary Match the bolded words in the story with the meanings in the chart.
Word
From Story
Synomym or Phrase that Means the
Same Thing
a time of wealth and well-being
An agreement to stop fighting
Killed in a violent, bloody fashion
To be betrayed
To delay something
quiet
To get back at someone
Good at fooling people
A bunch of item necessary for setting up a house
and running it (eg. pots, pans, sheets)
To formally crown someone
Uncontrollable desire
The process of working out a deal
Something happening quickly
Summarize the Mordred Story events in 10 points:
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1.
Think of two characteristics that best describe Mordred. Provide a specific example from the story that proves that your characteristics best describe Mordred. Characteristic Evidence from Story 1. Specific Example: 2. Specific Example: