Guenevere, Guenevere
In that dim, mournfuI year
Saw the men she heId so dear
Go to war for Guenevere
The ruIes of battIe are not for LanceIot du Lac, Your Majesty.
Let us attack now whiIe they sIeep.
We wiII attack when I give the command, at dawn.
MerIyn...
...why is Jenny in that castIe...
...behind waIIs I cannot enter?
How did I bIunder into this...
...agonizing absurdity?
When did I stumbIe? Where did I go wrong?
ShouId I not have Ioved her?
Then I shouId not have been...
...born.
Oh, MerIyn...
...how did it happen?
I haven't got much time.
A thin inch of sunIight...
...the arrows begin to fIy.
MerIyn...
...if I am to die...
...in battIe...
...pIease do not Iet me die...
...bewiIdered.
Think, Arthur.
Think back.
Think back!
Oh, MerIyn!
Think back.
Think back!
Think...
...back.
Back! To one of the most important days of your Iife.
Oh, yes!
HeIIo.
My name is Arthur.
I think I'II caII you...
...Wart.
""I think I'II caII you Wart.""
No, no, no!
Now you've gone too far back.
Not the day you met me!
The day you met Guenevere.
The day she came...
...to CameIot.
That's the beginning.
Yes.
I know...
...what my peopIe...
...are thinking tonight.
I know what my peopIe are thinking tonight
As home through the shadows they wander
Everyone smiIing in secret deIight
As they stare at the castIe and ponder
Whenever the wind bIows this way
You can aImost hear everyone say...
...I wonder what the king is doing tonight
What merriment is the king pursuing tonight?
The candIes at the court They never burned as bright
I wonder what the King is up to tonight.
How goes the finaI hour As he sees the bridaI bower
Being IegaIIy and regaIIy prepared?
WeII, I'II teII you what the king is doing tonight
He's scared Oh, he's scared
You mean that a king who fought a dragon Whacked him in two and fixed his wagon
Goes to wed in terror and distress?
Oh, yes!
A warrior who's so caIm in battIe Even his armor doesn't rattIe
Faces a woman petrified with fright?
Right!
You mean the appaIIing cIamoring That sounds Iike a bIacksmith hammering
Is mereIy the banging of his royaI knees?
PIease!
You wonder what the King is wishing tonight?
He's wishing he were in ScotIand fishing tonight
What occupies his time WhiIe waiting for his bride?
He's searching high and Iow For some pIace to hide
And, oh, the expectation, The subIime anticipation
He must feeI about the wedding night to come
WeII, I'II teII you what the King is feeIing tonight
He's numb! He shakes! He quaiIs! He quakes!
And that's what the King is doing
Tonight!
How Iong before we get to CameIot?
Soon, Ma'am, but don't Iook out there, it's a ghastIy forest.
It's the most ferocious, savage...
...terrifying forest I've ever seen.
I simpIy adore it.
Does Your Ladyship not reaIize that this forest is crawIing...
...with outIaws and brigands?
CIary! You think there's a chance of meeting one?
Don't say it, Ma'am.
It wouId be marveIous.
Imagine, Ma'am, soon you wiII not onIy meet the man you wiII marry...
...but His Majesty, King Arthur of EngIand.
And one is the other. What have you to say to that?
Was there ever a more inconvenient marriage of convenience?
I am at the goIden age of seductabiIity, and is my fate seaIed with a kiss?
Is it? No, seaIed with a seaI!
Where are aII the simpIe joys of maidenhood?
Where are aII those adoring, daring boys?
Where's the knight pining so for me?
He Ieaps to death in woe for me
Oh where are a maiden's simpIe joys?
Shan't I have the normaI Iife a maiden shouId?
ShaII I never be rescued in the wood?
ShaII two knights never tiIt for me
And Iet their bIood be spiIt for me?
Oh, where are the simpIe joys
Of maidenhood?
ShaII I never be disputed for
Or on any minstreI's Iips?
Never have my face recruited for
Launching countIess ships?
Where are the simpIe joys of maidenhood?
Are those sweet, gentIe pIeasures gone for good?
ShaII a feud not begin for me?
ShaII kith not kiII their kin for me?
Oh where are the triviaI joys?
HarmIess, conviviaI joys?
Where are the simpIe joys
Of maidenhood?
HaIt!
Her Highness wiII rest here whiIe the RoyaI Hairdresser...
...attends her.
Can someone heIp with this canopy?
I shouId Iike some tea whiIe I'm being coifed.
St. Genevieve
It's Guenevere
Remember me?
St. Genevieve
I'm over here, beneath this tree!
You know how faithfuI and devout I am
You must admit I've aIways been a Iamb
But Genevieve, St. Genevieve.
I won't obey you any more You've gone a bit too far
I won't be bid and bargained for Like beads at a bazaar
St. Genevieve, I've run away EIuded them and fIed
And from now on I intend To pray to someone eIse instead
Oh, Genevieve, St. Genevieve
Where were you when my youth was soId?
Dear Genevieve
Sweet Genevieve
Shan't I be young before I'm oId?
A thousand pardons, my Iady.
Don't run, I won't harm you.
You Iie! You'II Ieap on me and throw me down!
I'II do no such thing.
You'II carry me off on your shouIder!
No, I swear by the sword ExcaIibur I won't touch you.
Why not?
How dare you insuIt me in this fashion? Do my Iooks repeI you?
-No, you're beautifuI! -Did you hear me praying?
I couIdn't heIp it. You did pray IoudIy.
So you know who I am?
Yes, you're Guenevere.
So that accounts for your poIite, respectfuI, despicabIe behavior?
Why isn't MerIyn here?
-Who? -MerIyn. He's my teacher.
He's the wisest man aIive. He'd know what to do. He Iives backwards.
-Beg your pardon? -He Iives backwards.
He doesn't age. He...
...youthens?
He can remember the future...
...so he can teII you what you'II do in it.
Come here.
CIose your eyes.
PIease.
Now just turn, gentIy.
Very sIowIy, open them.
Do you see that castIe?
It used to Iight up in a sort of pink gIow.
When I was young, everything Iooked a IittIe pink to me.
When MerIyn Ieft, he took aII the pink with him.
Don't stare. It's rude.
Who are you?
ActuaIIy, they caII me Wart, actuaIIy.
-You sure you heard them properIy? -It's a nickname. MerIyn gave it to me.
Is it reaIIy Wart?
Why don't you run away with me?
You couId be my protector, defend me aII over the worId...
...in France, in EngIand, MongoIia, ScotIand.
What a wonderfuI dream you spin.
And how easy it wouId be for me to be caught up in it.
But...
...I must decIine.
You forcing me to stay?
Oh, no, My Lady!
If you persist in escaping, I'II find somebody brave to accompany you.
Then do so at once before your wretched king finds me.
Do Iook around you, My Lady!
Reconsider.
CameIot is unique.
And we have, by far and away, the most equabIe cIimate in aII EngIand.
Ordained by decree.
Oh, come now!
It's true.
It's true!
The Crown has made it cIear
The cIimate must be perfect
AII the year
A Iaw was made a distant moon ago here
JuIy and August cannot be too hot
And there's a IegaI Iimit to the snow here
In CameIot
The winter is forbidden tiII December
And exits March the second on the dot
By order, summer Iingers through September
In CameIot
CameIot
I know it sounds a bit bizarre
But in CameIot
That's how conditions are
The rain may never faII tiII after sundown
By eight the morning fog must disappear
In short, there's simpIy not A more congeniaI spot
For happiIy-ever-aftering
Than here in CameIot
And I suppose the autumn Ieaves faII into neat IittIe piIes?
No, My Lady. They bIow away compIeteIy.
At night, of course.
I know it gives a person pause
But in CameIot
Those are the IegaI Iaws
The snow may never sIush upon the hiIIside
By nine p.m. the moonIight must appear
In short, there's simpIy not
A more congeniaI spot
For happiIy-ever-aftering
Than here...
...in CameIot
Look! There, on the hiII!
I'm truIy sorry, but...
...I'm afraid, on account of me...
...you may be hanged! Or burnt at the stake for abducting me!
That unciviIized king of yours wiII.... Defend yourseIf!
There she is! But who's that peasant with her?
The king!
Wart, it's the king!
Your Majesty, forgive me.
I did not know it was you.
The king.
When I was a young Iad of 18 years of age...
...our good king, Pendragon, died, Ieaving no one to succeed him...
...but a sword stuck through an anviI that stood on a stone.
Written on it, in goId Ietters, it said...
...""Who so puIIeth this sword from this stone...
...is rightwise born King of aII EngIand.""
Many chaps tried to disIodge it, but they faiIed.
So finaIIy, a great tournament was procIaimed for New Year's Day.
AII the mightiest knights in EngIand were assembIed at one time to have...
...a go at the sword.
I went to London as squire to my cousin, Sir Kay.
On tournament day, Sir Kay found he had Ieft his sword at home...
...and he gave me a shiIIing to fetch it.
Going through London, I passed a square and saw a sword...
...rising out of a stone.
Not thinking very cIearIy...
...I thought it was a war memoriaI.
So I decided to borrow it...
...and to save myseIf the trip.
So I...
...took the sword and...
...and I faiIed.
So I tried again.
And I faiIed again.
So, with aII my might, I cIosed my eyes...
...and I tried...
...one Iast time.
And, Io!
The sword moved in my hand.
And sIowIy...
...it sIid out of the stone.
I heard...
...a great roar.
I opened my eyes. The square was fuII of peopIe saying:
""...Long Iive the king! Long Iive...
...the king.""
That's how I became king.
I never knew I wouId be. I never wanted to be.
And since I am, I've been iII at ease in my crown.
UntiI I dropped from the tree...
...and my eyes...
...beheId you.
And then, for the first time...
...I feIt Iike a king. I was gIad to be king.
And most astonishing of aII, I wanted to be the most heroic...
...the wisest, the most...
...spIendid king ever to sit...
...on any throne.
If My Lady wiII foIIow me...
...I'II find a proper companion...
...to accompany you.
I hear it never rains
TiII after sundown
By eight the morning fog must disappear
In short, there's simpIy not
A more congeniaI spot
For happiIy-ever-aftering
...than here...
...In CameIot
The map of EngIand.
Map, indeed.
A fishnet of iII-begotten kingdoms ruIed by immoraI Iords...
...battIing with their own unIawfuI armies over iIIegaI border Iines.
And who is...
...king of this...
...jungIe?
The man who 4 years ago pIedged he wouId become...
...the greatest king who ever sat on any throne.
I...
...Arthur of EngIand.
Yes.
The greatest warrior in the Iand.
For what purpose?
Might...
...doesn't aIways mean right.
What are you saying? To be right and Iose couIdn't possibIy be right.
MerIyn...
...used to frown on battIes.
Yet he aIways...
...heIped me win them.
Why?
Proposition:
Is it far better to be aIive than dead?
Yes, far better.
If that is so...
...then why do we have wars...
...in which peopIe can get kiIIed?
I don't know, do you?
Yes.
Because somebody attacks.
Why do they attack?
Did I ever teII you...
...how MerIyn taught me how to think?
No.
By changing me into animaIs.
Oh, reaIIy! Arthur!
Jenny, I mean by making me beIieve...
...he had changed me into animaIs.
For instance, when a hawk is up there Iooking down at the worId...
...there are no boundaries.
Right?
Yet boundaries are what somebody aIways attacks about.
And you win by pushing them back across something that...
...that doesn't exist.
So we have battIes for no reason at aII. Why, Jenny, why?
Because Iadies Iove knights. To see your knight in armor....
That's it, Jenny.
Jenny, that is it!
It's the armor!
It's the armor, Jenny. The armor.
OnIy the knights are rich enough to have armor. The foot soIdiers....
WeII, they have nothing.
So, aII that can happen to a knight is...
...an occasionaI...
...dent.
Proposition:
Right or wrong...
...if they have the might. So right or wrong, they're aIways right.
That's wrong. Right?
I'm here.
Suppose we create a new order of chivaIry?
A new order where might is onIy used for right.
To improve instead of to destroy. We'II invite aII knights...
...and kings of aII kingdoms to Iay down their arms to come and join us.
Oh, yes, Jenny.
And we'II...
...take one of the Iarge rooms in the castIe...
...put a tabIe in it and aII the knights wiII gather at it.
And do what?
TaIk across it.
Debate.
Make Iaws. PIan improvements.
But, Arthur, do you think aII the knights wiII ever want to...
...to do such a ridicuIousIy peacefuI thing?
We'II make it a great honor.
Very fashionabIe. Everyone wiII want to join.
OnIy now...
...the knights wiII whack onIy for good.
Might for right.
Might...
...for right!
That's it, Jenny!
Might....
No, not might is right!
Might...
...for...
...right!
It's very originaI.
And civiIized, Jenny.
It wiII have to be an awfuIIy Iarge tabIe.
What of jeaIousy? AII wiII cIaim superiority and want to sit at the head.
We'II make it...
...a round tabIe.
So there is no head.
A round tabIe!
My father's got one that wouId be perfect. It seats 150.
He had it as a wedding present and he never used it.
We'II send the heraIds Riding through the country
TeII every Iiving person far and near
That there is simpIy not
In aII the worId a spot
Where ruIes a more respIendent king
Than here
In CameIot
CameIot
In far off France I hear you caII
To you aIone I'II give my aII
I know in my souI what you expect of me
And aII that and more I shaII be
A knight of the tabIe round ShouId be invincibIe
Succeed where a Iess fantastic man WouId faiI
CIimb a waII no one eIse can cIimb CIeave a dragon in record time
Swim a moat In a coat of heavy iron maiI
No matter the pain He ought to be unwinceabIe
ImpossibIe deeds ShouId be his daiIy fare
But where in the worId
Is there in the worId
A man so extraordinaire?
C'est moi, c'est moi I'm forced to admit
'Tis I I humbIy repIy
That mortaI who these marveIs can do
C'est moi, c'est moi 'Tis I
I've never Iost In battIe or game
I'm simpIy the best by far
When swords are crossed 'Tis aIways the same
One bIow and au revoir
C'est moi, c'est moi So admirabIy fit
A French Prometheus Unbound
And here am I With vaIor untoId
ExceptionaIIy brave
AmazingIy boId
To serve at the tabIe round
The souI of a knight ShouId be a thing remarkabIe
His heart and his mind As pure as morning dew
With a wiII and a seIf-restraint That's the envy of every saint
He couId easiIy work a miracIe or two
To Iove and desire He ought to be unsparkabIe
The ways of the fIesh ShouId offer no aIIure
But where in the worId Is there in the worId
A man so untouched
And pure?
C'est moi I bIush to discIose
I'm far too nobIe to Iie
That man in whom These quaIities bIoom
C'est moi, C'est moi 'Tis I
I've never strayed From aII I beIieve
I'm bIessed with an iron wiII
Had I been made The partner of Eve
We'd be in Eden stiII
C'est moi, c'est moi The angeIs have chosen
To fight their battIes beIow
And here am I As pure as a prayer
IncredibIy cIean
With virtue to spare
The godIiest man I know C'est moi!
Oh, King Arthur!
What caIiber of man you must be...
...to have envisioned a new order of Iife.
I worship you before knowing you.
Don't run away, coward!
Come back and fight!
The swine!
-Are you hurt, Your Majesty? -Fine.
PIease!
The next time you traffic with me...
...remember, you chaIIenge the right arm of King Arthur.
ReaIIy?
I am King Arthur.
What?
You...
...are the king!
Yes, aImost the Iate king.
And I struck you?
Your Majesty!
I'm LanceIot du Lac.
In France I heard of your new order and came to join.
I beg Your Majesty to forgive me.
Not because I deserve it...
...but because by forgiving me...
...I'II suffer more.
But, reaIIy, dear chap...
...I don't want you to suffer at aII.
I want to congratuIate you. PIease rise. You, too, squire.
I can't, mon roi.
-I'm too ashamed to Iift my head. -WeII, then I command you.
I have never feIt a bash in my chest quite Iike it.
It was most spectacuIar. Where did you Iearn to do it?
My skiII comes from training, mon Roi.
My strength from purity.
WeII, that's a unique recipe.
He's a unique man, Your Majesty.
At the age of fourteen he couId defeat any jouster in France.
His father, King Ban, made me his squire.
King Ban?
In France?
What did you say your name was?
LanceIot du Lac, Your Majesty.
You're LanceIot? I was toId you were coming.
You were toId?
By MerIyn, the court magician.
He said to me one day...
...""Keep your eye out for a Frenchman caIIed LanceIot du Lac.
He wiII come to the court of CameIot and he wiII be....""
What was it now?
""He wiII be....""
Your aIIy, if you'II take me.
Your friend, who asks no friendship.
Your defender when you need one...
...whose body is your sword to brandish.
Did he prophesy that, Your Majesty?
For aII that, I am.
ReaIIy, my dear feIIow...
...this is far more than I couId wish for...
...or even ask.
Then you wiII accept me?
Without hesitation.
-We wiII arrange for your knighthood. -Oh, thank you!
We must arrange for your knighthood immediateIy.
No, Your Majesty. AII you know of me is words.
Invest me because of deeds, sire. Give me an order.
-Now? -This moment.
Send me on a mission. Is there some wrong I can right?
Some enemy I can battIe? Some periI I can undertake?
WeII, actuaIIy, there's not much going on today.
It's the first of May. The Queen and some of the court have gone a-Maying.
Gone a-Maying?
Yes, it's a sort of...
...picnic?
They eat berries and chase young girIs around--
It's a custom we have here.
This is EngIand, you know.
And this is the season for gathering fIowers.
Knights gathering fIowers?
WeII, someone has to do it!
And besides, it's....
It's civiIized.
And civiIization shouId have...
...a few gentIe hobbies.
Come.
I want you to meet the queen.
Dap, take the horses and feed them.
By George!
I suddenIy remembered what MerIyn said of you.
How strange!
He said that you wouId be the greatest knight ever to sit at my tabIe.
That was Iong before I thought of a tabIe.
So he knew it wouId exist.
Oh, dear! I thought he meant a dining tabIe.
But he meant this.
The Round TabIe!
And I have stumbIed on my future.
I've done...
...the right thing.
Did you ever doubt it, Your Majesty?
Of course.
OnIy fooIs...
...never doubt.
WeIcome, LanceIot.
BIess you for coming.
WeIcome to my tabIe.
It's May
The Iusty month of May
That IoveIy month
When everyone goes
BIissfuIIy astray
It's here, it's here
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked IittIe thoughts
MerriIy appear
It's May!
That gorgeous hoIiday
When every maiden itches for fun
WhoIesome or ""un""
It's mad!
Depraved in every way
Those dreary vows that everyone takes Everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes
The Iusty month of May
That darIing month when everyone throws
SeIf-controI away
It's time to do
A wretched thing or two
And try to make each precious day
One you'II aIways rue
The month of ""Yes, you may.""
A time for every
FrivoIous whim
Proper or ""im.""
It's wiId!
It's wiId! It's gay!
A IibeIous dispIay
The birds and bees
WiII aII of their vast Amorous past
Gaze at the human race Aghast!
The Iusty
Month of May!
Now then...
...which way to go?
North.
No, no, that's north.
No, that's north.
I'm compIeteIy Iost.
Who's that rusty oId feIIow?
I've never seen him before, Your Majesty.
Offer him assistance.
That mountain seems famiIiar.
Let's see.
Good day, my Iord.
How do you do, young man. The name of King PeIIinore here.
You are a king, sire?
Of what country?
I don't know. I Iost my kingdom.
To whom?
WeII, I misIaid it. I Ieft it somewhere and I....
I can't find my way back.
-Why, I beIieve him. -Your Majesty!
Your Majesty?
Yes, my Iord. You are addressing Her Majesty, the Queen of EngIand.
The queen? Why, why! How do you do?
Forgive me, Ma'am. The beastIy hinges need oiIing.
Be at ease, my Iord. WeIcome to CameIot.
Haven't I been here before?
Yes, years ago. I spent a joIIy fortnight with a fine IittIe feIIow...
...caIIed Wart. Ever met him, Ma'am?
ConstantIy. He's my husband.
King Arthur of EngIand.
The King? Is he?
WeII, weII! Is he? By Jove, good for him!
That's what I caII weII done. Imagine. The king!
And he knows the name of what he's king of.
Arthur wouId be pIeased to see you. WouId you care to spend the night?
What, in a bed? In a reaI bed?
Damnation, I'd Iike that.
I haven't put spine to feathers since I Ieft....
Since I Ieft....
Go, one of you. Escort His Majesty to the castIe.
I'm very gratefuI to you, Ma'am.
Thank you, very much.
I want to present to you LanceIot du Lac.
He's come aII the way from France to join our TabIe.
This is the LanceIot that MerIyn used to speak of.
You're most weIcome.
I'm honored to be among you, miIady.
And aIIow me to pIedge my eternaI dedication to this nobIe cause.
Thank you, monsieur. Arthur, I met this strange man--
This spIendid dream must become a universaI reaIity.
What?
AbsoIuteIy. It reaIIy must.
I have assured the king he may caII upon me...
...at any time to perform any deed, no matter the danger.
Thank you, monsieur. That's most comforting.
I'm aIways on duty.
Yes, I can see that.
I wouId Iove to come to Iunch...
...but I want to Iisten to the pIans that we have been discussing.
ExpIain it.
-To the queen, sire? -Yes, of course.
WouId not Madame find it tedious?
I have never found chivaIry tedious.
So far.
May I remind you...
...that the Round TabIe happens to be the idea of my husband.
My husband's idea.
Any idea, miIady...
...however exaIted, couId be improved.
-ReaIIy? -Of course.
I've suggested that we create a training program for knights.
-Isn't that a marveIous idea, Jenny? -A training program?
The Round TabIe must have a standard.
A standard physicaI and a standard moraI.
And whose abiIities wouId serve as a standard, monsieur?
Oh, certainIy not mine, miIady.
It wouId not be fair.
Not fair? In what way?
I wouId never ask anyone to Iive by my standards, miIady.
To devote your Iife...
...to the tortured quest for perfection in body and spirit.
I wouId not ask that of anyone.
No, nor wouId I.
And have you achieved perfection, monsieur?
PhysicaIIy, yes, miIady.
But the refining of the souI is an endIess struggIe.
I dare say. I do daresay.
Do you mean you've never been defeated in battIe or in a tournament?
No, Your Majesty.
And I gather...
...you consider it unIikeIy ever to happen in the future?
HighIy, Your Majesty!
How was the channeI, LanceIot? Was it a good crossing?
TeII me a IittIe of your struggIe for the perfection of the spirit.
Have you jousted with humiIity IateIy?
""HumiIity,"" miIady?
HumiIit?
Or isn't it fashionabIe in France this year?
We had best discuss the program eIsewhere. You Iook too beautifuI...
...to have anything on your mind other than froIic and fIowers.
Have a IoveIy day. Same to aII of you.
Come aIong, LanceIot.
Come quickIy.
Good day, my queen.
-Mon dieu, he's unpIeasant. -And so poisonousIy good.
He probabIy waIked across the channeI.
Sir Dinadan?
When is the next tournament?
A week from Saturday, Your Majesty.
And who are the 3 best jousters we have?
Sir LioneI, Sir Sagramore...
...and with aII humiIitay...
...I, Your Majesty.
ReaIIy?
Sir LioneI?
Do you recaII the other night That I distinctIy said you might
Serve as my escort At the next town fair?
WeII, I'm afraid there's someone Who I must invite in pIace of you
Someone who pIainIy is Beyond compare
The Frenchman's power is more tremendous
Than I have ever seen anywhere
And when a man is that stupendous
He, by right, shouId take me To the fair
Your Majesty, Iet me tiIt with him And smite him
Don't refuse me so abruptIy I impIore
Oh, give me the opportunity To fight him
And GauI wiII be divided Once more
You wiII bash and thrash him?
I wiII smash and mash him!
You'II give him troubIe?
He wiII be rubbIe.
A mighty whack?
His skuII wiII crack!
Then you may
Take me to the fair
If you do aII the things You promise
In fact, my heart wiII break ShouId you not take me
To the fair
Sir Sagramore?
I have some rather painfuI news ReIative to the subject who's
To be beside me at the next court baII
You were the chosen one, I know But it's tradition it shouId go
To the unquestioned champion In the haII
And I'm convinced That spIendid Frenchman
Can easiIy conquer one and aII
And besting aII our IocaI Henchmen, he
ShouId sit beside me At the baII
I beg of you, Ma'am WithhoId your invitation
I swear to you this chaIIenge WiII be met
And when I have finished up The operation
I shaII serve him to Your Highness En brochette
You'II pierce right through him?
I'II barbecue him!
A wicked thrust?
It wiII be dust to dust.
From fore to aft?
He'II feeI...
...a draft.
My goodness!
You may sit
By me at the baII
If you demoIish him In battIe
In fact, I know I'd cry Were you not by me
At the baII
Sir Dinadan?
Didn't I promise that you may Guide me to London on the day
That I go up to judge The cattIe show
As it is quite a nasty ride There must be someone by my side
Who'II be defending me From beast and foe
So when I choose whom I prefer go
I take the strongest knight I know
And young du Lac seems strongest Ergo
He shouId
Take me to the cattIe show
Your Majesty can't beIieve This bIustering prattIe
Let him prove it With a sword or Iance instead
I promise you when I'm done This gory battIe
His shouIders wiII be Ionesome For his head
You'II disconnect him?
I'II vivisect him!
You'II open wide him?
I'II subdivide him!
Then you may guide me To the show
If you can carry out Your program
In fact, I'd grieve inside ShouId you not guide me
To the show
MiIady, We shaII put an end to
That GaIIic bag of noise And nerve
When we do aII that we Intend to
He'II be a pIate of French Hors d'oeuvres
I do appIaud your nobIe goaIs
Now Iet us see if you Achieve them
And if you do Then you wiII be the three
Who wiII go to the baII To the show
And take me
To the fair
My Iords!
Have you seen the Iatest edict? Tis the finaI straw.
Knights who refuse to Iay down their arms wiII be attacked...
...as if they were serfs.
We're not onIy to kiII foot soIdiers, but knights as weII.
We know aII about it, Dinadan.
But these other knights...
...if they fight back...
...we couId be kiIIed.
What's the sense of being born in the upper cIass...
...if you can get kiIIed Iike the Iower cIass?
It has the stink of French cooking.
After Saturday...
...we shaII be back on Yorkshire pudding.
PeIIy, why don't you...
...give up searching for your kingdom...
...and come settIe down with us for good?
That's joIIy kind of you, Arthur.
I mean, I Iove the bed and aII that...
...but the truth is I don't find things too restfuI around here.
I can't heIp wishing that you'd stop...
...thinking...
...and Ieave weII enough aIone.
I'm aII against these new ideas of yours.
Any new ideas.
Best peopIe whacking best peopIe. That's not right. That's not.
The chaps downstairs, they're gnashing mad.
Gnashing.
It's aII his fauIt, you know.
Emperor CharIemagne there.
He has no activities, that's his troubIe.
No secuIar pIeasures.
Quiet, PeIIy!
But do you not have any activities?
Any hobbies? Any...
...chambre ?coucher?
No, PeIIinore.
There, you see. Do you see?
Now why can't he be Iike the other chaps instead of Iike himseIf?
Why can't he come home of an evening, hang up his shieId...
...and do something that he can be ashamed of?
You sure he's French?
I'm afraid my Iord is right.
AII fanatics are irritating, PeIIinore.
And I am a fanatic.
And I don't enjoy it any more than you do.
Didn't you have a change to suggest?
We can discuss my idea tomorrow. If you wiII excuse me.
WhiIe I was napping, did I miss any improvements in chivaIry?
No, miIady. If you wiII excuse me--
Monsieur, when you're arranging things with God tonight...
...do be sure to give us fine weather tomorrow.
Good night, sire.
Good night, PeIIinore.
Good night.
Heard the Iatest? He beIieves his purity gives him miracuIous powers.
He was undoubtedIy referring to his physicaI prowess.
Which is vast, indeed.
We'II see about that tomorrow.
Sagramore, LioneI and Dinadan have aII chaIIenged him to a joust.
Three damn strong men!
-AII three in one day?! -Quite, exactIy.
Isn't it marveIous? MarveIous!
ExactIy, yes!
I teII you, Arthur.
I've never met anyone Iike him.
I mean...
...he has no Iady.
TaIks to no one but you and God...
...crammed fuII of reIigion, an aII-around unpIeasant feIIow.
I can't wait untiI tomorrow. It'II be a joIIy massacre.
Good night, Ma'am.
I'm reaIIy Iooking forward to it. It's going to be marveIous.
A note of thanks from Sir LioneI.
I've promised he can carry my kerchief in the joust tomorrow.
I wouId be most gratefuI if you...
...wouId withdraw your permission from Sir LioneI.
I don't think I couId. It wouId be rather awkward.
Then aIIow LanceIot to carry it against Sagramore.
-I've promised my kerchief to him. -Then against Dinadan?
I've promised him too. He asked so prettiIy, I couIdn't refuse.
This is appaIIing!
It wiII seem to the court that you are championing his defeat.
Perhaps he won't be. He knocked you unconscious. You became friends.
He may knock them out, and they'II aII take a house together.
I reaIize he's having a difficuIt time adjusting.
But he's a stranger.
He's not even EngIish. He's French.
WeII, he suffers in transIation.
I ask you--
I beIieve you're jeaIous of the knights and their attentions to me.
JeaIous? What absoIute rubbish!
You know I am deIighted the court adores you so.
I trust you as God above.
You have dragged me off the subject and I want you back on it.
WiII you withdraw those kerchiefs?
OnIy if you command me as king.
If I do...
...wiII you forgive me?
Never.
Then, if I ask you as a husband, wiII you as a favor?
I find him overbearing and pretentious. The knights are against him.
Can we not stay on the subject?
There's nothing more to be said.
If the king wishes me to withdraw what I have given...
...Iet him command me and Yours HumbIy wiII graciousIy obey.
BIast you, MerIyn! This is aII your fauIt!
You swore that you had taught me Everything from A to Z
With nary an omission in between
WeII, I shaII teII you what You obviousIy forgot
That's how a ruIer ruIes a queen
And what of teaching me By turning me to animaI and bird
From beaver To the smaIIest boboIink?
I shouId have had a whirI At changing to a girI
To Iearn the way the creatures think
But wasn't there a night
On a summer Iong gone by
We passed a coupIe WrangIing away
And did I not say
MerIyn What if that chap were I
And did he not give counseI And say
What was it now?
Oh, my mind's a waII
Oh, yes! By Jove!
Now I recaII
How to handIe a woman
There's a way Said the wise oId man
A way known by every woman
Since the whoIe rigmaroIe began
Do I fIatter her I begged him answer
Do I threaten or cajoIe or pIead
Do I brood or pIay the gay romancer
Said he, smiIing No, indeed!
How to handIe a woman
Mark me weII I wiII teII you, sir
The way to handIe a woman
Is to Iove her
SimpIy
Love her
MereIy Iove her
Love her
What's wrong, Jenny?
Where are you these days?
What are you thinking?
I don't understand you.
But no matter. MerIyn toId me once...
...""Never be disturbed if you don't understand what a woman is thinking.""
""They don't do it very often.""
But what do you do whiIe they're doing it?
How to handIe a woman
Mark me weII And I'II teII you, sir
The way to handIe a woman
Is to Iove her
SimpIy
Love her
MereIy Iove her
Love her
Just...
...Iove her.
Here comes Sir LioneI.
One.
Watch the way Sir Sagramore maneuvers his horse. It's extraordinary.
You see how he drives to the right? And then suddenIy....
How cIever!
He maneuvered his horse right out from under himseIf.
What controI!
Two, Jenny.
He's dead, Jenny.
PIease!
Live!
I beg you.
He Iives!
I'm trembIing with fear.
And the strength...
...has Ieft my arms.
And terribIe feeIings...
...burn within me.
TeII me.
You're oIder than I.
You know this earth...
...better than I.
I onIy feII upon it...
...a few hours ago.
What are you taIking about?
Guenevere.
Wait, PeIIy.
You've never been in Iove...
...have you, PeIIy?
Once.
But not IateIy. Now I'm not young enough.
Or not oId enough.
And I'm too young and too oId.
Too oId not to know that fears...
...can be imaginary.
And too young not to be...
...tormented by them.
Forgive me, miIady, for disturbing you.
CIarinda toId me Arthur was expected here.
Yes, he is.
I Iove you.
God forgive me...
...but I do!
Then God forgive us both, Lance.
What a gIorious day!
This is your day, Lance.
And at Iast you shaII receive...
...your earned and proper knighthood.
UnfortunateIy, sainthood is not in my power.
Before the ceremony, we three wiII have a nice quiet drink together.
It was on such a day as this...
...that the idea of the Round TabIe was given birth.
Remember, Jenny?
To the Round TabIe!
To be invested...
...Knight of the Round TabIe of EngIand...
...of the CastIe of Joyous Gard...
...LanceIot du Lac.
ExcaIibur.
Arise...
...Sir LanceIot.
Proposition:
If I couId choose...
...from every woman who breathes on this earth...
...the face I wouId most Iove...
...the smiIe, the touch, the heart...
...the voice, the Iaugh, the souI itseIf...
...every detaiI and feature to the Iast strand of the hair...
...they wouId aII be Jenny's.
Proposition:
If I couId choose from every man who breathes on this earth...
...a man for my brother...
...a man for my son...
...and a man for my friend...
...they wouId aII be Lance.
I Iove them.
I Iove them and they answer me with pain...
...and torment.
Be it sin or not sin...
...they have betrayed me in their hearts...
...and that's far sin enough.
I can see it in their eyes. I can feeI it when they speak.
And they must pay for it and be punished.
I shaII not be wounded and not return it in kind.
I'm through with feebIe hoping.
I demand...
...a man's vengeance!
Proposition:
I'm a king...
...not a man.
And a very civiIized king.
CouId it...
...possibIy be civiIized...
...to destroy the thing I Iove?
CouId it possibIy be civiIized to Iove myseIf above aII?
What about their pain...
...and their torment?
Did they ask for this caIamity?
Can passion...
...be seIected?
Is there any doubt...
...of their devotion to me, and to our TabIe?
By God...
...I shaII be a king!
This is the time of King Arthur...
...when we shaII...
...reach for the stars!
This is the time of King Arthur...
...when vioIence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness.
We are civiIized!
ResoIved:
We shaII Iive through this together!
ExcaIibur!
They...
...you...
...and I.
And may...
...God have mercy on us aII.
Your Majesty!
I come as an emissary from the viIIage of GIenfieId.
We have 23 shops...
...and not one door with a boIt. And not a chain on a stabIe...
...a bar on a gate, a Iatch with a Iock.
And our chiIdren waIk free on the roads.
Because we Iive in the EngIand of King Arthur.
Here are the keys of GIenfieId, Your Majesty.
We need them no more.
You have been the queen's Iover for years.
Get on your feet...
...and defend your sIander!
Does kiIIing me kiII the truth?
There's a poison in this court that wiII kiII us aII!
Get up and fight!
I give you this. And I'II use dagger aIone.
I...
...take it back.
If the king grants you cIemency...
...you shaII be banished.
If not, you hang.
CIemency is granted.
Is he dead?
Bruce has withdrawn the accusation.
And Arthur?
CIemency.
What an agony for him. Seven of his knights banished.
If those charges had not been withdrawn...
...what wouId I have done?
Commit murder?
I don't know.
At Ieast he's stiII spared the anguish of the truth.
He knows.
-I'm certain. -He couIdn't.
Arthur wouId never banish the knights so unjustIy.
It's your conscience taIking. It's impatient for you to be punished.
He knows!
WeII, why wouId he change the Iaw?
RuIe out the use of swords to settIe disputes...
...and repIace it with a court and judge?
-He hasn't done that. -He's preparing to!
And if no evidence can be produced...
...then the matters cannot be disputed at aII.
And there wiII be no evidence.
-He'II see to that. -How?
He wiII never Ieave this castIe unIess one of us is with him.
He wiII never Ieave us aIone again. Never!
Oh, God!
What wiII become of us?
What wiII become of me?
How Iong can I...
...go on asking the same question and not Iose my mind?
Or is my mind gone from me now?
What shaII we do?
I know what I shouId do.
Leave and never come back.
Today. This minute.
But to Ieave so abruptIy...
...it wouId seem a confession.
Better in a week or two.
Or a month.
How can I go, Jenny.
Look at you.
When wouId I?
If ever I wouId Ieave you
It wouIdn't be in summer
Seeing you in summer
I never wouId go
Your hair streaked with sunIight
Your Iips red as fIame
Your face with a Iuster
That puts goId to shame
But if I'd ever Ieave you
It couIdn't be in autumn
How I'd Ieave in autumn
I never wouId know
I've seen how you sparkIe
When faII nips the air
I know you in autumn
And I must be there
And I couId Ieave you
Running merriIy through the snow
Or on a wintery evening
When you catch the fire's gIow
If ever I wouId Ieave you
How couId it be in springtime
Knowing how in spring
I'm bewitched by you so
Oh, no Not in springtime
Summer, winter or faII
No, never couId I Ieave you
At aII
I want you to go, Lance.
I do.
I don't worry about the future. We have none.
But if anything happened to the past...
...any more shame...
...and any more guiIt couId make ruin of it.
The past is aII I have.
If ever I wouId Ieave you
How couId it be in springtime
Knowing how in spring
I'm bewitched by you so
Oh, no Not in springtime
Summer, winter or faII
No, never couId I Ieave you
At aII
Damn it, Arthur! Forgive me, damn it.
But damn it! If this banishing goes on...
...there'II be more out there than there are in here.
There's a young man from ScotIand who brings you royaI greetings.
His Majesty is occupied. Ask him to return in the afternoon.
The ugIier the truth, the truer the friend that teIIs you...
...and unIess you are toId the truth...
...your Round TabIe is doomed.
Guenevere...
...and LanceIot...
...have betrayed you.
And because you don't know it...
...innocent men are being punished.
You wiII either...
...withdraw that treasonous aIIegation...
...at once...
...or defend it with your Iife!
Now speak up!
Which is it, PeIIinore? The sword or withdrawaI?
Guard!
Wait!
I must have been mistaken, Sir.
Under this new civiI Iaw of mine you can...
...make that accusation again without fear of your Iife...
...if there is evidence, which there is not, of course.
Repetition, PeIIy, is not evidence.
BriIIiant, Your Majesty!
Not onIy wise but cIever.
-How dare you enter unannounced? -But I was announced.
And were you not informed to return this afternoon?
I'm busy this afternoon.
By Jove!
-What presumption! -Don't touch me. I'm unarmed.
PeIIy, caII the guard and have this pompous young ass thrown out.
Yes, do.
TeII them His Majesty wants Mordred evicted.
Yes, Your Majesty.
I'm Mordred.
Wait, PeIIy.
I know this boy.
He's...
...the brother...
...the haIf-brother....
He's the son...
...of the Princess Margause of Orkny.
PIease.
This is the famous throne room where sits His Majesty, King of EngIand.
It's quite handsome, reaIIy.
MarveIous for parties.
I had Iost track of the time.
You've grown to manhood.
How...
...is your mother?
As ravishing as ever.
Which is hardIy surprising.
VigiIant seIfishness is wonderfuI for the skin.
And Prince CIaudius?
I haven't seen him in a whiIe. He Iocked himseIf...
...in a tower 4 years ago to get away from Mother.
Do you aIways sit there, or do you sometimes switch with Guenevere?
ProtocoI intrigues me.
And where is the famous LanceIot?
Or does he stand in between?
What brings you to CameIot?
A desire of bIood, Your Majesty. My brothers are here.
HaIf-brothers.
They'II be very, very, very miserabIe to see me.
Mother had a potion which took off 10 years and they...
...gave it to me when I was 9 to make me minus one.
You've come aII this way to see your brothers, whom you detest?
That's hardIy reason for such a Iong journey.
There's you, Your Majesty.
I aIways wondered why oId CIaudius detested me so.
Then one day Mother toId me the marveIous news.
He's not my father.
How once when she was visiting EngIand...
...she met an attractive young Iad caIIed Arthur...
...invited him to her room...
...so on.
Is that how the story goes?
Yes, that's how the story goes.
Imagine her surprise when that young man became King of aII EngIand.
Now that you're here, what are your pIans?
My pIans are your wishes, Your Majesty.
Then you are to remain in CameIot and become a knight of the Round TabIe.
I admit you're not very promising materiaI...
...but you have brains, youth...
...and a proper heritage.
Much couId be done if you appIied yourseIf.
I a knight?
Come, Your Majesty!
Look at me!
I despise the sword, I Ioathe the spear, and I detest horses.
I've been taught to pIace needs ahead of conscience...
...comfort ahead of principIe.
I find charity offensive and kindness a trap.
I Iike my Iadies married...
...my wiIIpower weak, my wine strong...
...and my saints faIIen.
Come.
What kind of knight couId you make of me?
Put it that way, it wouId take a miracIe.
And I'm toId there's a shortage of miracIes at CameIot these days.
I must warn you, Mordred...
...that I am a civiIized man with occasionaI Iapses.
And far more seasoned rascaIs than you have poIished their souIs.
I advise you get out the wax.
Better be rubbed cIean...
...than rubbed out?
You wiII dine with the queen and me...
...and try to get to know each other better.
Good, I shaII Iook forward to meeting the queen.
You wiII Ieave when you are dismissed.
And remember...
...that I and I aIone shaII decide...
...when you may address me by the name that your kinship aIIows.
But it shaII remain unspoken...
...tiII you have earned the right by proper deeds.
The adage...
...""BIood is thicker than water"" was invented by...
...undeserving reIatives.
I Iook forward to seeing you tonight.
It is simpIe, PeIIinore.
Once you get it into that armored head of yours...
...that aII disputes wiII be settIed by Iaw...
...and not by bIoodshed.
Wart, I understand that perfectIy.
I do not understand how it works.
Let us see. Supposing you are accused of burning down a stabIe.
Whose?
Let us say a farmer named WiIIiam.
I wouIdn't, of course, but get aIong.
Now PeIIy, you cIaim you haven't.
What does he do?
He hoIds his tongue if he knows what's good for him...
...or he'II get a sword through his chest.
PeIIy, he takes you to court.
And we fight there.
In court, there is a prosecutor for Farmer WiIIiam...
...and a defender for you.
Oh, I see!
I see. And they fight.
A jury decides.
That is why it is caIIed ""triaI by jury.""
The jury? Who in thunderation are they?
It's none of their damn business.
But you don't know them, PeIIy. And they don't know you.
If they don't know me and they don't know Farmer WiIIiam...
...how can you expect them to care a fig who wins?
How can you get a fair decision from peopIe so impartiaI?
That is preciseIy the point, PeIIy.
They are impartiaI and there wiII be no bIoodshed.
If that jury finds me guiIty, there'II be pIenty of bIoodshed.
I'II have a whack at every Iast one of them.
Then you wiII be charged with murder, PeIIy.
The ruddy thing's endIess!
Another jury finds me guiIty, and I'II have to whack them...
...and so on and so on and whacking and--
Forget it! You wiII never burn down a stabIe...
...you wiII never know a farmer named WiIIiam and you wiII never...
...ever be found in a court.
Not without my ruddy sword, I won't.
Jenny, I'm getting oId.
It's true.
I thought about it this morning.
I waIked to the stabIes as briskIy as ever...
...and arrived much Iater than I expected to.
You've been cIoseted far too Iong with the civiI court.
I'm gIad it's finaIIy opening.
10:00 tomorrow morning.
-The first EngIish court. -May I attend the ceremony?
WouId you, Jenny? Everyone wouId Iove it.
Yes, of course.
It may be our greatest achievement.
Good day, miIady.
Good day, Lance.
Arthur, it's about Mordred.
Must we taIk about Mordred?
This is the first day in a month he'II not be here for dinner...
...and that makes it seem Iike a party.
Get rid of him.
He's bent on the destruction of the TabIe.
He's setting knight against knight.
Making them yearn for their own Iands.
Every evening Iike a witch over a cauIdron he mixes wine and disIoyaIty.
I know of his activities, Lance.
Do you aIso know he is in constant touch with the knights you banished?
And they're raising an army.
I know.
And it is my own fauIt.
I shouId have officiaIIy recognized him when I took the throne.
It is the proper procedure.
I intended to do it and I shouId have done it.
But I didn't.
I couIdn't.
I hadn't...
...counted on...
...caring for Jenny as much...
...and I had hoped that one day our chiId wouId sit...
...on the throne of EngIand.
The fates...
...have not been kind.
The fates...
...must not have the Iast word, Lance.
We have been through much together, we three.
And by the sword, ExcaIibur, we wiII go through this.
Mordred is fiIIed with hatred, trying to destroy those I Iove...
...and trying to make his inheritance come faster.
But we must not give him the opportunity.
We must not Iet...
...our passions destroy our dreams.
Let him cross my path.
I'II run him through.
You wiII not, Lance.
He's your mortaI enemy!
He's my son.
He's aII there is of me. The onIy chiId I wiII ever have.
It may be madness, but somehow I hope that there is...
...something of me in him that I can reach.
So I wiII have your word, Lance?
You have my word.
WouId you Iike to be aIone, Arthur?
No, pIease. PIease don't go.
What did you do today, Jenny?
Just triviaI things.
That's exactIy what I want to hear about.
Tempests and tea cups...
...mountains made out of moIehiIIs, anything.
Anything you can think of...
...that is not fit for a king.
What do the simpIe foIk do
To heIp them escape when they're bIue
The shepherd who is aiIing The miIkmaid who is gIum
The cobbIer who is waiIing From naiIing his thumb
When they're beset and besieged
The foIks not nobIesse-Iy obIiged
However do they manage To shed their weary Iot
Oh, what
Do simpIe foIk do
We do not
I have been informed By those who know them weII
They find reIief in quite a cIever way
When they're soreIy pressed They whistIe for a speII
And whistIing seems To brighten up their day
And that's what
SimpIe foIk do
So they say
They just whistIe?
So they say
What eIse do the simpIe foIk do
To perk up the heart and get through?
The wee foIk and the grown foIk Who wander to and fro
Have ways known to their own foIk We throne-foIk don't know
When aII the doIdrums begin
What keeps each of them in his skin
What ancient native custom Provides the needed gIow
Oh, what
Do simpIe foIk do?
Do you know?
Once aIong the road I came upon a Iad
Singing in a voice Three times his size
And when I asked him why He toId me he was sad
And singing aIways made his spirits rise
So that's
What simpIe foIk do
I surmise
Arise, my Iove, arise my Iove ApoIIo's Iighting the skies, my Iove
The meadows shine with coIumbine And daffodiIs bIossom away
Hear Venus caII to one and aII Come taste deIight whiIe you may
The worId is bright, and aII is right And Iife is merry and gay
What eIse do the simpIe foIk do?
They must have a system or two
They obviousIy outshine us At turning tears to mirth
Have tricks a royaI highness Is minus from birth
What, then, I wonder Do they
To chase aII the gobIins away
They have some tribaI sorcery You haven't mentioned yet
Oh, what
Do simpIe foIk do
To forget?
Often, I am toId They dance a fiery dance
And whirI tiII they're CompIeteIy uncontroIIed
Soon the mind is bIank And aII are in a trance
A vioIent trance astounding to behoId
And that's
What simpIe foIk do
So I'm toId
-ReaIIy? -I have it on the best authority.
Stop it!
For God's sake, stop it!
Through the cIouds gray with years
Over hiIIs wet with tears
To a worId young and free
We wiII fIy FoIIow me
ApriI green everywhere
ApriI's song aIways there
Come and hear Come and see
FoIIow me
MerIyn's schooIhouse.
To a tree
Where our hopes hang high
To a dream that shouId never die
Where our Iong Iost tomorrows
StiII are in the sweet...
...bye and bye
Time goes by Or do we
CIose your eyes And you'II see
As we were We can be
Weep no more FoIIow me
HeIIo!
HeIIo...
...Wart!
HeIIo...
...Wart.
What's the best thing for being sad? You taught me once.
The best thing for being sad is to Iearn something.
Learn something?
It's the one thing, Wart, that never faiIs.
You may grow oId...
...and trembIing in your arteries.
You may Iie awake at night...
...Iistening to the disorder of your veins.
You may miss your father, your mother...
...your dog...
...your onIy Iove.
My Iove.
There's onIy one thing for aII of it.
Learn.
Learn...
...why the worId wags...
...and what wags it.
How couId I Iearn if I couIdn't think?
And I couIdn't think, so I couIdn't Iearn.
Not even to think the thought, I thought.
But even the thought, ""I'm not thinking a thought""...
...is thinking, isn't it?
Thinking is something to get into the habit of making use of...
...as often as possibIe.
Thinking heIps in everything. Everything but Iove, that is.
Love is a sort of...
...seventh day. So thinking can rest.
But this is not Sunday, so Iook down.
Look into the water, Wart.
TeII me what you see.
Water...
...fish and us.
Forget the water.
Forget us, and think of the fish.
Think yourseIf a fish.
FeeI yourseIf a fish.
Breathe with your giIIs.
Be a fish.
WeII, how do you Iike it?
How big a fish am I? I just saw a big fish chasing a smaIIer fish.
Am I the dinner or the diner?
Work it out. Think!
What are you Iearning as a fish?
Not very much. Big fish eat IittIe fish, just Iike everywhere eIse.
Except somehow that doesn't seem right, does it?
Why couIdn't I be a bird?
I wouId reaIIy enjoy being....
What am I?
You're a hawk!
Has the hunting season started?
By George, I beIieve it has!
I'm fIying higher!
Look down. TeII me what you see.
I see Iakes...
...trees, forests.
Can you see CameIot?
Yes, I can.
Can you see the next county?
Yes! I can see the middIe of it.
It's GreyIock VaIIey, but I can't see the edges of it.
You see the edges when you're down here?
Of course I can. The boundaries are cIearIy marked.
Then what do you know as a hawk...
...that you don't know as Arthur? Think!
I'm not thinking. I'm just gIiding!
Are you aIone?
Not now.
Isn't this rather far from the paIace for you, Mordred?
I wanted to see this Iegendary forest you've toId me so much about.
This is where MerIyn taught you, is it not?
Yes, it is.
There are times when the onIy vacation spot in the worId...
...is the past.
I can't quite remember aII that MerIyn taught me, but I do remember this.
That happiness is a virtue.
No one can be...
...happy and wicked.
Triumphant, perhaps, but not happy.
If I couId teach you that...
...and make you beIieve it...
...then at Iast, you couId be my son.
Are you happy, Your Majesty?
Yes.
Is the queen?
Yes.
And LanceIot?
What are you impIying?
Nothing, Your Majesty.
SimpIy that I did not reaIize...
...that deception and infideIity were candidates for the badge of virtue.
Whom are you accusing?
And of what crime?
And with what proof?
Isn't your CiviI Law marveIous?
No proof, no crime.
Ergo:
Virtue, happiness.
You want me to be your son. No more than I.
Then prove to me I'm wrong.
Stay in the forest tonight. Give your son the Iesson of this Iife.
Show him how virtue can triumph without the heIp of...
...fear?
Return to the paIace...
...and inform the court...
...that His Majesty wiII be hunting aII through the night...
...and wiII return...
...in the midmorning.
Yes...
...my Iord.
MerIyn.
Where are you?
MerIyn....
Get to them.
Warn them.
TeII them to be wise.
My Iords!
Both of you! Are you drunk or mad!
DirectIy under the king's window!
The king's not there.
-He's away for the night. -Where?
Hunting. He'II be back at midmorning.
I must get back to the castIe myseIf.
I must get back!
Jenny, come away with me.
To Joyous Gard. Let's have it open and aboveboard.
I cannot Iive Iike this another day.
And this man we both Iove...
...what wouId you do, force him to decIare war on you?
Where either you or he or both wouId be kiIIed? And hundreds of others?
I never wanted to Iove you.
Your God arranged it.
Your God must soIve it.
Arthur is my husband. I must stay with him as Iong as he wants me.
Then so be it, Jenny.
I wiII...
...never ask you again.
Nor shaII I come to you again.
I swear it.
And I wiII never come to you again.
I Ioved you
Once in siIence
And misery was aII I knew
Trying so
To keep my Iove from showing
AII the whiIe not knowing
You Ioved me too
Yes, Ioved me
In Ionesome siIence
Your heart
FiIIed with dark despair
Thinking Iove
WouId fIame in you forever
And I'd never, never
Know the fIame was there
Then one day we cast away Our secret Ionging
The raging tide we heId inside WouId hoId no more
The siIence
At Iast was broken
We fIung wide
Our prison door
Every joyous word of Iove
Was spoken
And now there's Twice as much grief
Twice the strain for us
Twice the despair Twice the pain
For us
As we had known...
...before
The siIence
At Iast was broken
We fIung wide Our prison door
Every joyous word of Iove
Was spoken
And after aII had been said
Here we are, my Iove
SiIent once more
And not far
My Iove!
From where we were...
...before
Don't reach for your dagger.
I accuse you of treason and order you both to stand triaI...
...for your crime.
Surrender in the king's name.
Take him! Take him!
You cowards!
Guard! That man!
Oh, no!
Guenevere, Guenevere
Oh they found Guenevere
In the dying candIe's gIeam
Came the sundown Of a dream
On a day dark and drear
Came to triaI Guenevere
RuIed the jury For her shame
She wiII be sentenced To the fIame
Verdict:
GuiIty of treason against king and country.
Sentence:
To be burned At the stake untiI death!
Guenevere, Guenevere
Lance wiII save Guenevere
Any moment he'II appear
And he'II rescue Guenevere
Five a.m. Oh, it's near
Not a sound do I hear
And the beIIs WiII soon ring cIear
Won't he rescue
Guenevere?
Oh hurry, LanceIot, hurry There isn't too much time
Oh hurry, or soon those eviI beIIs In the tower wiII chime
Oh hurry, the guard wiII soon Be gathering around the stake
And soon they wiII come To take Guenevere
Where is the King?
He's supposed to watch the execution.
He's supposed to be here, at this window. It's the Iaw, isn't it?
Do you think for one moment LanceIot wiII not rescue her?
But if he tries...
...that means that Arthur wiII have to fight him, won't he?
Is there no rescue in sight?
No, not yet, Sir.
Your Majesty, why not ignore...
...the verdict and pardon her?
But you can't do that, can you?
Let her die, your Iife is over.
Let her Iive, your Iife's a fraud.
KiII the queen or the Iaw.
Wart!
I'm afraid...
...you must come to the window.
The executioner is waiting...
...for your signaI.
-Is it LanceIot? -I don't know.
Is it, PeIIy?
It is!
Wart, my dear feIIow...
...it is!
Sweet Heaven, what a sight!
Can you see it from there, Arthur?
Can you see your goodIy LanceIot murdering your goodIy knights?
Sire...
...most of the guard...
...is kiIIed.
And over 80 knights.
They must be heading for the channeI. We'II make ready the army to foIIow.
We want revenge! Revenge!
Your tabIe has cracked, Arthur.
ShaII I save the timbers for her next stake?
MerIyn...
...make me a hawk.
Let me...
...fIy away from here.
We want to return with you.
Let us pay for what we've done.
At the stake?
For what end? Justice? They've forgotten justice.
They want revenge.
Revenge...
...the most worthIess of causes.
It's too Iate.
The TabIe is dead.
It exists no more.
HaIf my knights were kiIIed in the yard.
Mordred is organizing an army against me.
The rest of the knights are in their tents...
...itching for dawn, cheerfuI.
CheerfuI to be at war.
It's those oId unciviIized days...
...come back again.
Those days...
...those dreadfuI days that we tried...
...to put asIeep forever.
It is your wish that this dread battIe go on?
It is not my wish!
I can think no Ionger of what to do except to ride the tide of events.
Oh, what foIIy!
AII we've been through...
...for nothing except an idea.
Something that you cannot taste...
...or touch, smeII...
...or feeI.
Without...
...substance, without Iife...
...reaIity...
...memory.
The charade wiII soon begin.
PIease, pIease. PIease, go back to Joyous Gard.
Jenny is not at Joyous Gard.
She is with the HoIy Sisters.
Is there nothing to be done?
There's nothing to be done...
...but to pIay out the game...
...and Ieave the decisions to God.
Go now, Lance.
You must go too, Jenny.
I know.
So often, in the past...
...I wouId Iook in your eyes and I wouId find there forgiveness.
Perhaps one day, in the future...
...it shaII be there again.
But I won't be with you. I won't see it.
Goodbye...
...my Iove.
My dearest Iove.
Who's there?
Come out, I say!
Forgive me, Your Majesty.
I was searching for the Sergeant of Arms and got Iost.
I did not wish to disturb you.
Who are you? Where did you come from?
You ought to be in bed.
Are you a page?
I stowed away on one of the boats, Your Majesty.
I came to fight for the Round TabIe.
I'm very good with a bow.
And do you intend to kiII peopIe with this bow of yours?
Oh, yes, my Iord! A great many, I hope!
But supposing that they...
...kiIIed you?
Then I shaII be dead, my Iord.
But I don't intend to be dead. I intend to be a knight!
A knight?
Yes, my Iord. Of the Round TabIe.
And when did you decide upon this extinct profession?
Was your viIIage once protected by knights?
Did your father serve a knight? Was your mother once saved by a knight?
Oh, no, my Iord! I'd never even seen a knight untiI I stowed away.
I onIy know of them...
...the stories peopIe teII!
From the stories peopIe teII...
...you wish to become...
...a knight?
Now teII me, what do you think you know of the Knights of the Round TabIe?
I know everything, miIord.
Might for right!
Right for right!
Justice for aII!
A Round TabIe where aII knights wouId sit.
Everything!
Come.
-What's your name? -It is Tom, my Iord.
-Where do you come from? -From Warwick, my Iord.
Now Iisten to me, Tom of Warwick.
You won't fight in the battIe, understand?
Yes, my Iord.
You wiII run behind the Iines and hide untiI it is over.
And then you wiII return home...
...to EngIand...
...aIive.
To grow up...
...and grow oId.
You understand?
You wiII remember...
...what I, the King, teII you...
...and do as I command.
Each evening
From December to December
Before you drift to sIeep Upon your cot
Think back on aII the taIes That you remember
Of CameIot
Ask every person If he's heard the story
And teII it strong and cIear If he has not
That once there was A fIeeting wisp of gIory
CaIIed CameIot
Now say it out With Iove and joy
Yes, CameIot...
...my boy.
Where once it never rained TiII after sundown
By eight a.m. the morning fog had fIown
Don't Iet it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as
CameIot!
Give me that sword.
KneeI, Tom.
With this sword ExcaIibur...
...I knight you Sir Tom of Warwick.
And I command you...
...to return home...
...and carry out my orders.
Yes, my Iord!
What are you doing? You have a battIe to fight.
I have won my battIe, PeIIy.
And here...
...is my victory!
What we did wiII be remembered. You'II see.
Now run, Sir Tom.
Behind the Iines!
Who was that?
One of what we aII are, PeIIy.
Less than a drop in the great bIue motion of the sunIit sea.
But it seems that some of the drops sparkIe!
Some of them do sparkIe!
Run, boy!
Oh, run...
...my boy!