Essay: Nobility or No Ability?

I find it very interesting that in the Arthurian legends there is such high value placed on the "noblest" of all the people, or at least whoever the crowd of people designates the "best man." What is crazy to me, though, is that most of the time these people aren't even anything special at the beginning. Arthur was a foster-brother of a friend of a knight, a nobody in the kingdom. He had no special abilities, yet, as the saying goes, 'greatness was thrust upon him.' (Although not literally, because if he were literally thrust by a sword then none of these stories would even exist.) He became a great king whenever he was chosen. He became the best man of all whenever he was chosen. He became noble when he was chosen.

This quote from the end of the story The Drawing of the Sword it states:

"Then rich and poor fell on their knees before him, and Arthur took the sword and offered it upon the altar where the Archbishop stood, and the best man that was there made him Knight. After that the crown was put on his head, and he swore to his lords and commons that he would be a true King and would do them justice all the days of his life."

I think it is crazy how at the beginning of this short story he was not confident in his ability to be king, in fact he says, "'But why am I the king?'" But whenever someone is chosen, they live up to their new identity. Arthur lived up to be the king that he was now suddenly revered as.

The same for Sir Galahad in Sir Galahad and the White Knight. There was a shield that would only allow the best knight in the world to carry it:

"Sirs," said the monk, "this shield can be hung round no Knight's neck unless he be the worthiest Knight in the world, and therefore I counsel you to be well advised!"

If a knight who was not the worthiest in the world tried to use it, then ill would befall him every time. Sir Galahad did not believe he was the best knight in the world, but the shield soon made it clear that it was made for him. So he took it and used it, later becoming (arguably) the best knight in the world. He was the one who eventually succeeded in his quest for the holy grail!

These are two instances where there is distinction made between those who are the best or the most noble. I think it is very cool to see, though, that you don't have to be the obvious choice or have been raised in a certain way to be chosen for greatness! I have a theory that every person on this planet longs to change the world, longs to be a hero. Deep down, we all want to partake in greatness. These instances in literature tell us that we CAN be a part of greatness even if we have no obvious ability to do so!

Image Credit: Lisa Congdon Blog