ARTHUR
If this is you trying to leave your job...
MERLIN
No. I'm happy to be your servant. Till the day I die.
ARTHUR
Sometimes I think I know you, Merlin. Other times... [shakes head]
MERLIN
Well, I know you. And you're a great warrior. One day, you'll be a great king.
ARTHUR
That's very kind of you.
MERLIN
But you must learn to listen as well as you fight.
ARTHUR
Any other pointers?
MERLIN
No. That's it. Just...don't be a prat.
this whole interaction just breaks my heart because arthur is just so confused and merlin is almost to the point of making a love confession while he's about to go ride to what he believes is his death
this interaction must baffle arthur for years to come, he probably remembers it as he lays dying in merlin's arms after the battle of camalann and he finally realizes what merlin was intending to say
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Do you have a guide/a recommended reading list for getting into Arthurian legends? I’ve been really getting into it in the past few months but I feel like I’m missing out on a lot of the foundations of it. (If you don’t and this is too big of an ask totally feel free to ignore this lol)
hello, anon.
i don't currently although i have plans to add another page to my blog listing medieval texts as well as links to download pdfs of them. i have english translations of texts originating in belarussian, dutch, french, german, hebrew, italian, latin, middle english, and last but not least, welsh.
in the mean time, i've collected for you some key texts that are readily available to read for free online!
le morte d'arthur by sir thomas malory [part 1] [part 2]
the history of the britons by nennius [here]
the mabinogion translated by lady charlotte guest [here]
four romances by chrétien de troyes [here]
parzival by wolfram von eschenbach [part 1] [part 2]
the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle translated by thomas hahn [here]
sir gawain and the green knight translated by j. r. r. tolkien [here]
better translations/formatting forthcoming! enjoy. :^)
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Google Docs vs. Thomas Malory
I'm working on the Malory chapter of my dissertation, and at one point Google Docs' spellcheck red-underlined a word but failed to provide a suggestion.
I thought it was odd that Google Docs was unable to spot the fact that I'd dropped an R, and then I recalled hearing recently that Google had started using a machine-learning-powered spellcheck that was, frankly, terrible.
Incidentally, clicking "Why am I not seeing a suggestion?" takes you to a section of their Support page that reads as follows:
Words where spelling is not recognized are underlined in red to warn you of a possible misspelling. When you click on the word, you'll see a "Spelling" label. If there is no spelling suggestion available, you can choose to edit the word, add the word to your personal dictionary, or ignore the suggestion.
Note that this does not answer the question, which to me implies that the real answer is "because it's crap". (Quick aside: I'm not one who is generally inclined to trust spellcheck anyway, as I am in my 30s and remember when "blindly taking spellcheck's suggestions" was something one would get mocked for, but I am annoyed that it's actively getting worse.)
So I decided to play with Google Docs a bit and see what it had to say about all the words it was underlining in the Malory quotations. (This may be a bit unfair, since "modernize 15th-century spelling" is not a function spellcheck is meant to have, but I also think that ruining a perfectly adequate spellcheck system with machine learning isn't fair to its users, so they started it.
Some of my favorite results below the cut.
Okay, that's also not a Modern English word. It's still Middle English, just a different variant spelling. Google Docs, you are out of your lane here.
This is not in the OED, and Googling it reveals that it's a surname. Weird guess here, Google Docs. At least capitalize it if you want me to lump Mx. DeVellis in with the fiends.
Buddy (derogatory), I don't think that one's correct either.
I thought this was just nonsense guessing, but apparently there's a company called "Bonwyke" that sells window films. You know, I'm somehow not surprised that the machine knows the names of corporations.
Google Docs failed to even come up with a suggestion for about half the words it underlined, which is fair, but the ones that stumped it include the following off-by-one-letter spellings:
calle ("call")
mayden ("maiden")
nyght ("night")
It's also continuing with this malarkey:
Google Docs, worstie -- you have got to learn what an abbreviation is. This isn't even an uncommon one. Why do they confuse you every time? If you're really using machine learning, surely you should eventually figure out that periods are used for purposes other than ending a sentence.
Anyway, I'm only three pages into writing this chapter, so I may well come back with more of these, but in the meantime allow me to leave you with a spelling suggestion that I just think is funny.
The Strongest Wayne. And Percival did what to him?
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So you know that scene in Season 1, Episode 13 Le Morte d’Arthur?
The one where Merlin is effectively telling Arthur goodbye because he’s not sure if he’ll make it back from fighting Nimueh?
You know, this scene-
Well, we all know that this episode was basically the epitome of Merlin stating his love for Arthur (see, “I willingly give my life for Arthur’s” and “I’m happy to be your servant until the day I die”).
But what if instead of Merlin just walking away to Arthur’s silence, the scene goes a little like this.
~~~~~~~~
“Any other pointers?” Arthur asked, glancing into his goblet again.
“No, that’s it. Just…don’t be a prat,” Merlin said softly, his gaze never leaving Arthur.
The prince stared at him at this, a curious expression on his face as he contemplated his servant.
Merlin turned to go then but before he reached the door, Arthur’s words stopped him.
“Why does this sound like a goodbye?”
Merlin stopped, not turning back, head bent. “Every moment is a goodbye, sire.”
“Wait. Come back here Merlin. What are you talking about?”
Merlin opened the door, still not glancing back for he knew if he did, he would tell Arthur everything. “I have to be going. I’m sorry. And- thank you. For everything.”
And then he was gone before Arthur could question him further. But Arthur being Arthur couldn’t let the feeling go that something was terribly wrong…
~~~~~~
And then of course, Arthur being Arthur, would have no choice but to follow him and after realizing what was wrong, do everything he could to help him.
Idk just thoughts. Merlin rewatch has me thinking….
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