The Knight Templar, who appears to tell Arthur about the Giant, is a member of a military order of knights whose duty was to conduct civilian 'pilgrims' or colonists to Jerusalem. The manuscript, which draws from other earlier medieval sources such as the Vulgate Cycle, contains several references to the Crusades. This is an interesting piece of political propaganda that reinforces Constantine as a legitimate ruler. The text presents Arthur as a cousin of Constantine but also a descendant of Hector. The dying Arthur passes his crown to Constantine, who becomes Emperor of Rome. Crown as symbol of rulershipДЄrthur dreams of the crowning of Godfrey de Bouillon as King and ruler of Jerusalem. Unlike some other Arthurian legends, such as Mallory's 1485 'Le Mort Darthur' (or in modern spelling 'Le Mort d'Arthur'), the wound Arthur receives is not presented as a consequence of anything Arthur did, so much as an arbitrary decision by higher powers. The turning of the wheel is outside human control, however since Arthur is favored by God he is granted advance notice of what is to come: his days of glory are numbered. Wheels turn, of course, and from time to time a person who has had good luck is moved involuntarily to a different position while another person is elevated. A person might be high or low on the wheel, with a person high on the wheel enjoying good luck while a person low on the wheel enjoys bad luck.

He dreams of a large wheel, the wheel of Fortune or luck, which was a common medieval symbol. Wheel of Fortune symbolДЄrthur's second prophetic dream is more explicit than the first. The allegorical dream establishes that Arthur is prone to prophetic dreams, which becomes very important later in the story. His remaining campaign, despite the addition of the recently converted Priamus, is with a weakened force that attempts to live off the land but that is gradually deteriorating in power despite its victories in what is now Italy. His initial battle to defeat Lucius costs him some of his best knights including Cador (Kay) and Bedivere. But instead of being satisfied with defeating Lucius, Arthur moves in to conquer Rome and then sets his sights on the Holy Land. He therefore fights the giant, avenges (but obviously cannot rescue) the lady, and is victorious. Almost immediately afterwards, Arthur receives notice that a giant has raped and murdered one of Weynor's relatives and has taken over the castle. He consults his advisors and is told that it may represent an upcoming battle between either the Emperor Lucius and his army or a giant (the bear) and Arthur. Shortly after invading Europe, Arthur has a vivid but disturbing dream in which an dragon fights with, and defeats, a bear. Written by R A Williams and other people who wish to remainВ anonymous

We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourВ own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

The bear and the dragon synopsis