The Wee Archive: The Seventh Knight

Well, here we are at last – the seventh knight rises, just as the others thought the battle was over. My final choice may not be entirely surprising to those that have followed this blog series from the start, but it is the one I’m sticking with.

Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy

Telling the story of the enchanter Merlin, from his early childhood as the bastard (and seemingly fatherless) son of a Welsh Princess, to his final years as a man grown old before his time – Mary Stewart’s Merlin series may just be the phenomenal writer’s magnum opus.

Filled with the kind of beautiful pros anyone familiar with Stewart’s work has come to expect, this series gives us a look into a far more grounded Arthurian world than is normally portrayed. And most amazing of all, it manages to do so without making its subject boring, cynical , or depressing.

For anyone looking into why people are still drawn to tales of Merlin, Arthur and his knights of the round table – I would recommend this series above anything else.

If you’ve enjoyed the final instalment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media: Knight the Sixth

What Ho Wee Readers, and let us all welcome the second to the last post in this blog series. Remember if you want to see the very last knight of the Arthurian round table of Media – remember to sign up to the Wee Mailing List before the 31st of May.

Quest for Camelot

Thinking honestly this was really my true introduction to the idea of King Arthur. Because it was the first film I ever saw in the cinema, or at least according to my parents. However, staring as it does a young farm girl, a blind hermit, and a two headed dragon as they try to recover a stolen Excalibur from the clutches of a deranged Gary Oldman – it’s not your traditional King Arthur story. Still I’d recommend it if for nothing else but for the sheer joy of seeing a two headed fire breather argue themselves into stagnation.

If you’ve enjoyed the sixth installment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. And sign up to the Wee Mailing List to find out what the Seventh Knight of Arthurian Media is. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media: The Fifth Knight

Let,s pull those swords out of those stones for the fifth knight of Arthurian Media

Sword in the Stone (Disney)

What I love about his film, although it’s quite a famous piece of Arthurian Media is it actually has very little do with a lot of the extra stuff we consider important in the great king’s mythology. There are no knights of the round table, no Lancelot, no Morgan Le Fey and her shenanigans. There is a Sword in the Stone, but despite it being the title of the film it really doesn’t play a part in the majority of the plot – which is primary focused on Merlin changing the young Arthur into various different animals to teach him lessons.

Which I think just goes to show that sometimes to have a good Arthurian story all you need is just…Arthur himself.

If you’ve enjoyed the fifth installment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. And sign up to the Wee Mailing List to find out what the Seventh Knight of Arthurian Media is. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media: The Fourth Knight

What Ho Wee Readers, let’s raise our goblets and welcome our fourth knight to the round table.

King Arthur (2004)

Hey do you love the fantastical world of King Arthur and his knights of the round table? Well what if that was a lie, and the truth was both much more boring, and much more depressing. What if Arthur wasn’t a king at all but a Roman General, and his faithful knights were basically indentured against their will to serve him? And as for Merlin…okay he’s still pretty cool, but I think my point still stands. You wouldn’t think this was anything you’d pay good money to watch but to the film’s credit it still manages to produce a fun and entertaining story, with a cast filled with faces you might find ever so slightly familiar.

I would recommend it if nothing else than for the fun of seeing Hannibal, Uncle Owen, and Mister Fantastic as knights of the round table.

If you’ve enjoyed the fourth instalment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. And sign up to the Wee Mailing List to find out what the Seventh Knight of Arthurian Media is. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media: The Second Kinght

Let’s pull our swords out of our stones, for the second knight or rather knights (since I couldn’t really make a choice on this one) of this round table of ours….

Shrek the Third

Perhaps this might seem a strange thing to include on a list such of this, especially considering some of the contenders that just didn’t make it onto the list at all.

However I like to think that showing up as a bunch of high school students in a animated comedy focusing on the weird and bizarre adventures of an ogre doing a very poor impression of a Scottish accents – speaks to the true malubility of Arthurian lore. They are no longer stuck in the grand adventures, and high fantasy tales that the creator of Lancelot tried to force them into.

And now for the next “second” knight of the media round table…

Spamalot

And speaking of unconventional adaptations of Arthurian lore. Based simultaneously off the film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and heavily parodying the musical Camelot, Monty Python’s Spamalot is weird. Not bad weird, very, very good weird – but weird none the less. Featuring the King himself (played by Tim Curry on the original cast recording), a gay Lancelot , Sir Robin the not quite as Brave as Lancelot, and who can forget the ever loveable Sir Not Appearing in this play. This musical is a fun, satirical look at figures that sometimes can take themselves a little too seriously, which only serves to make it all the funnier.

If you’ve enjoyed the second installment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. And sign up to the Wee Mailing List to find out what the Seventh Knight of Arthurian Media is. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media: Knight the First

What Ho Wee Readers and welcome to my third consecutive blog series. As previously revealed in my newsletter this new blog series will feature words based in the world, and featuring the main players of Arthurian lore.

But enough of lengthy introductions and the like, you all know how this goes now – so just sit back, grab your holy grails, and let’s begin with the first knight in our Arthurian media round table.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

I did not enjoy this book, in fact I hated it so much I didn’t even finish it – but why hear me beat that horse dead why not have a glance down at a review I posted on my GoodReads page.

“I was first introduced to the myth of King Arthur by Mary Stewart’s Merlin Series – check it out, it’s fantastic – thus Merlin is a character that’s fairly close to my heart. In fact, he’s my favorite Arthurian character, second only to Mordred and Morgouse. And this is not the book for fans of Merlin; full disclosure, I couldn’t even finish it. In fact, by the time “Hank” blows up Merlin’s tower I was so angry by the treatment of my magical favorite that I was kind of glad I was listening to an audiobook instead of a hard copy, so I wouldn’t be tempted to throw it in the fire. However, if you don’t mind seeing Merlin turned into a butt monkey and the rest of the court made to look like idiots, you will find a well written book, with at least a mildly interesting plot. I hated it, but I will freely admit that I am a very biased party.”

You might think it rather strange of me to choose a piece of Arthurian literature that I couldn’t even finish to start off my little list here, but to that I say that to truly appreciate the highs that this legend can achieve we must first first delve into its depths. Truthfully it’s not a bad book by any accounts, I admit in my review that I’m a very bias party in regards to its quality. If you can get past the blatant Merlin bashing, then you should find a very well written book, with a unique premise. However I admit I would shudder at the idea of this particular book being anyone’s introduction to the Arthurian Mythos.

If you’ve enjoyed the first installment of “The Seven Knights of Arthurian Media” why not follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. And sign up to the Wee Mailing List to find out what the Seventh Knight of Arthurian Media is. Until next time Wee Reader, keep safe and have a very bonny day.

The Wee Archive: The Once and Future King

What Ho, Wee Readers and may your Coronation Day be bearable – it’s 2023, that’s all we can really ask of our monarch’s now. Anyway, because today is the first coronation we’ve had since sometime in the 50’s, I would like to break tradition and upload this post from the Wee Mailing List, announcing my next blog series, far sooner than expected.

And my next blog series shall be about…

King Arthur!!!!

Yes the next Wee Writing Blog Series shall be about the mythical king of Britain himself, or at least adaptions of him. With each post naming a different Arthurian work of fiction I have read/ watched or listened to over the course. Since there are so many out there, we’ll keep it short this time and stick to just seven of them – listed in order of enjoyment, with the final one being released as a mailing list post.

Although just a heads up for anyone that might have been expecting it to appear on this list of mine – the one piece of Arthurian Media that absolutely won’t be appearing is…

Merlin the BBC Series

Nothing against the show it’s self, I just could never get into it – thus I’ve only watched a couple of episodes. While I will have at least one entry I didn’t really enjoy or finish, I feel like I’ve just not consumed enough of this one to have any kind of opinion of it. Sorry internet who has become obsessed with this show, this one just wasn’t for me.

If you’ve enjoyed this little tidbit of what’s to (on May 19th if I can keep to my schedule) come , why not check some of my previous blog series now? Also check me out on Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, Facebook, Goodreads and Kofi. Until next time Wee Subscribers, keep safe and have a very Bonny day.

And for everyone reading this now, let’s just hope this king has better luck than the last two kings named Charles did.