BLACK IN CAMELOT (ver.3.

5)1
Mythcon 46, Mythopoeic Society, Colorado Springs, CO, August 1, 2015
by Kris Swank, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona (kswank@pima.edu)

Detail from The Abbreviatio Domesday Book of 1241.2

When the television program Merlin debuted on BBC One in September 2008, viewers quickly
noted that a number of key roles were played by actors of African, Middle Eastern and Latin
American heritage, including the lead roles of Guinevere and Lancelot. The reaction to this
multi-ethnic casting was mixed. The following two quotations are typical.

On the one hand was the reaction of Internet blogger, Eurasian Sensation:

It seems like a blatantly PC move which flouts any notion of historical accuracy. Well,
maybe not historical accuracy per se, since Merlin is pure fantasy, but you know what I
mean. You wouldn't throw random European actors into Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon to play Chinese noblemen, so why do the equivalent here? Since it is apparently

1
An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the Tales After Tolkien: Medievalism and Twenty-First
Century Fantasy Literature Panel II, 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, 12 May
2013.
2
The Abbreviatio Domesday Book of 1241 includes an illustration of a black man from an account for Derby.
Africans in Medieval Britain. The Decrypters (television program). National Geographic Channel.
video.nationalgeographic.com. [2012?] Video.
 2

set in Britain circa the 5th Century AD, surely they should try and capture the feel of the
era. Back then, ethnic diversity meant the Angles and the Saxons (Eurasian Sensation).

On the other hand, New York Times reviewer Alessandra Stanley commented that Arthurian
legend
is eternally reworked to suit the sensibilities of the age and that the BBCs Merlin is
tailored to the age of Obama[where] Merry Olde England looks a little like a White
House cabinet meeting: there is a lot more diversity to the realm than just Britons and
Saxons (C1).

However, both detractors and supporters, alike, failed to recognize that an all-white Camelot
is, itself, a fiction of the modern age. The presence of Africans in early Britain and continental
Europe is attested in both archeological and historical records. While Saracens and Moors
are featured in several medieval Arthurian romances. Whether intentionally or coincidentally,
the BBCs Merlin, and other 21st century Arthurian adaptations which include non-white or at
least non-English characters, are participating in centuries-old tradition.

This presentation will explore the tradition of racial and ethnic diversity in Arthurian legend by
examining three major topics:
First, the historical evidence
Second, the medieval Arthurian texts
and Third, 21st century Arthurian-themed television and film

An outline and a lesson plan based on a much shorter version of this paper is available for free
download at my Academia.edu website. But todays presentation is almost 3-times longer
than those versions, with more theory and more examples from both the medieval and
contemporary eras.
 3

I. Historical and Archeological Evidence.

I.A. Historical Moors

Paul Edwards, the inaugural Chair in English and African Literature at Edinburgh University
wrote, There is clear evidence of Africans resident in Britain from the Romano-British period
(1). For instance, stone inscriptions from around 200 A.D. at Hadrians Wall record the
presence an auxiliary unit of Moors stationed near Carlisle (Edwards 1); and a tombstone
found on the Wall records the death of one Victor, aged 20, of the Moorish nation (Edwards
1). The biography of Roman Emperor Septimus Severus (146-211 A.D) includes the description
of an encounter with an Ethiopian soldier who was famous among buffoons and always a
notable jester; and the emperor was troubled [] by the mans ominous color (Edwards 1).
Upon discharge, many soldiers simply continued to live where they had served (Leach 131);
and theres evidence of an early Afro-Romano-British community in York [the Roman
Eboracum] (Edwards 1-2). In fact, in 2010, researchers from the University of Reading studying
skeletal remains from the 4th century Roman legionary fortress at York determined the
remains were possibly those of a black or mixed-race woman from North Africa. I was in York
earlier this month and viewed her skeleton and grave goods myself. She was buried with
luxury items: jet and elephant ivory bracelets, a blue glass-jar for cosmetics or perfumes, a
glass mirror, and a possibly Christian inscription, all indicating that she was very affluent and
possibly have been a Christian (Leach, 134-5).

Maghan Keita noted that The African in medieval Europe is [also] referenced extensively in
the primary sources (Saracens 66). 9th century Irish annals and a 13th century history of the
Earls of Orkney both record the presence of Black slaves arriving from Islamic Spain. Medieval
Irish scribes refer to these as blamanna (literally blue men) (Keita Race 134; Edwards 4).

Researchers from the University of Dundee have determined that a 13th century skeleton
buried on the grounds of a former Carmelite priory in Ipswitch belonged to a man originally
from Tunisia. Researcher Xanthe Mallett said, he "would have had to have been of some note
to be buried in the friary" (Medieval African Discovered).
 4

And from the late 15th and 16th century, several Blackamoors lived at the English and
Scottish courts. The Scottish kings of the period had several African servants with names like
Petir the Moryen or Pete the More and Elen More (the analog of the character from
Susanna Clarkes novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, an orphaned slave boy who was
dubbed Stephen Black). Edwards argues that the kings gifts to these servants Oriental
cloth, a pension, the freedom of movement give the impression of honored retainers,
treated no differently than other people at court in the early 16th century (Edwards 8-9, 12).

A study published in 2007 revealed a rare genetic marker of West African origin in eight
Yorkshire men who shared the same rare Yorkshire surname, and whose most recent common
ancestors lived in the late 18th century. This was the first genetic evidence of a long-lived
(though tiny) enduring African presence within the indigenous British population (King). So,
while not shown to be present in large numbers, these representative cases demonstrate that
there were Africans and their descendants living in the British Isles during both the Roman and
Medieval periods, and they occupied various social positions, including some of considerable
standing.

I.B. Imagined Moors

At the same time, a few Moorish characters were part of the popular culture: one of the three
Magi who visited Christ at his nativity; Prester John, the legendary Eastern Christian king; and
Saint Maurice, (or Mauritius) remembered as a 3rd century Christian Roman soldier from Egypt
who chose martyrdom rather than attack fellow Christians. The Latin word Mauritius meant
black African or Moor, which might suggest that Mauritius was a composite person of
legend rather than a single individual (Christian Warrior Saints, 2011). There was also the
black-masked devil, a stock character in popular medieval English theater, who, with his little
demon boyes blo and blake, would goad sinners into hell with their pitchforks (Edwards 7).
 5

I.C. Historical Saracens

As for Saracens, the kingdoms of Islamic Iberia had contact with France and England at least
as early as the time of Charlemagne. 10th 13th century Arabic accounts make it clear that
Iberian Muslim merchants, envoys, and raiders ventured into the Atlantic at least as far as the
British Isles (see Metlitzki 121-24). In one example, 13th century chronicler Ibn Dihyah wrote of
a curious account of [a 9th century] embassy to a great island in the Encircling Ocean . . .
three days sailing, or 300 miles, from the mainland. According to the account, the arrival of
the Saracen ambassadors caused a stir among the people who came running to stare at them
(Metlitzki 20-21). Then, of course, there was the cross-cultural contact brought about by the
Christian crusades to the Holy Land, in the 11th thru 13th centuries.

I.D. Imagined Saracens

Saracens also appear in the stories of the era, but, as Donald Hoffman wrote, Exactly who
the Saracens were thought to have been differs widely [], they could be Syrians, Arabs,
Sicilian or Iberian Muslims (43). Cohen writes that Saracen was a mobile category which
could be made to encompass almost any non-Latin Christian [especially Arab Christians, 137].
Jews, for example, were always in danger of being conflated with Muslims (134). And,
Dorothee Metlitzki writes, By the twelfth century Saracen was a generic name for any
attacker (126). For example, in the Chanson de Roland, the Saracens are attackers from
Islamic Iberia. For Laamon, a Christian monk writing in 12th century England, heathen Saxons
worshipped Saracen gods (Metlitzki 119, 121). And, King Horn, an early 13th century Middle
English chivalric romance describes Sarazin raids in which the Saracens have often been
interpreted to actually have been inspired by Viking raiders (Metlitzki 120). As Hoffman wrote,
Whoever the Saracens were, they were always someone else [] E. Jane Burns defines the
problem with admirable clarity: In addition to its more common meaning as pagan or
Muslim, the term Saracen in many Old French literary texts simply means not French
[] to which Malory might add not English (43),3 and we might also add not Christian

3
E. Jane Burns, Saracen Silk and the Virgins Chemise: Cultural Crossings in Cloth. Speculum 81 (April 2006): 376,
as quoted in Hoffman.
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(especially Latin Christian). The Sultan of Babylon (a Charlemagne text from around 1400),
captures the dilemma succinctly; it says some Saracens are bloo, some yolowe, some blake as
More.

Added to that, the Saracen was also often depicted as a churlish giant (White 194), for
example, the Ethiopian giant Estragote, a footsoldier in the [Sowdone of Babylon]s army,
[]is barely human with its dark skin, boars head, and monstrous strength (Cohen 126).4
Vernagu, in Rouland and Vernagu, was forty feet tall, fifteen feet broad, measured four feet
across the face, and had a formidable nose: he looked lothliche, and was swart as pitch.5

Moors and Saracens, then, were present, in both reality and imagination, in the very countries
and time periods where Arthurian legends and romances developed. It should be no surprise
that both Moors and Saracens appeared in the medieval legends of King Arthur.

II. Arthurian Examples

II.A. The Turke and Sir Gawain (The Celtic Other)

In The Art of Fiction, John Gardner set a (now famous) exercise for the aspiring writer: begin a
novel with either a trip or the arrival of a stranger (some disruption of order) (203). The
Turke and Sir Gawain, a Middle English romance explores a motif that Gardner would have
recognized well: the arrival of a stranger who disrupts the order of Arthurs banquet hall. In
this story, the stranger is described as

. . .not hye, but he was broad,

And like a Turke he was made
Both legg and thye
(Hahn, Turke, lines 12-15, emphasis added).

4
Sowdone of Babylon, late 14th or early 15th century, East Midlands
5
Rouland and Vernagu, before 1330, East Midlands.
 7

He is like a Turke short, broad, strong of leg and thigh. No other physical description is
given. Thomas Hahn, the poems modern-day editor, argues that the categorical term Turk
operates as an indeterminate Orientalist stereotype of difference and exoticism; like
Saracen, the term Turk defines otherness, but not necessarily an Oriental otherness.

The stranger proposes an exchange of blows, which Gawain accepts. Gawain strikes his blow,
but the Turke defers his, charging Gawain to follow him out into the world, out into the wild

He led Sir Gawaine to a hill soe plaine.

The earth opened and closed againe -
Then Gawaine was adread.
(lines 66-68)

The pair enters the hill, and comes upon a deserted castle, where a sumptuous meal has been
laid out in the hall. These are decidedly Celtic Otherworld Journey motifs. Next, Gawain and
the Turke take a boat to the Isle of Man, traditionally, a Celtic territory. Aisling Byrne writes
that Medieval English writers typically depict [] territories of the Celtic world either as areas
of wildness and threat, or as realms of magical and otherworldly significance (42). Gawain
and the Turke battle the King of Mana heathen soldan [sultan] who is protected by a
company of giants strong and stout (lines 130 & 132). Gawain defeats the Sultan but only
with the help of the Turke, who has super-human strength, agility, and (conveniently), a cloak
of invisibility. Then, instead of delivering his blow to Gawain, as is his right, the Turke begs
Gawain to behead him with a magical sword. In doing so, Gawain releases the Turke from an
enchantment, because, as it turns out, the Turke was really the English (and Christian) knight,
Sir Gromer, suffering under a Fe enchantment. The two return to Arthurs court, and Arthur
appoints Sir Gromer as the new King of the Isle of Man.

The plot of The Turke and Sir Gawain, as you might have noticed, has quite a bit in common
with another Middle English romance, Gawain and the Green Knight: the Beheading Game,
 8

the journey to a Celtic Otherworld, super-strong giants, and a Christian knight under a fairy
enchantment. The Turkish element has simply been laid on top of, what is at heart, a Celtic
fairytale. In his article, The Intruder at the Feast, Byrne writes that in these two Middle
English romances (and other similar tales), [Arthurs] court embodies civilization, rationality,
order, peace [] intruded on by forces of wildness, conflict, churlishness and the unknown
(34). With Arthurs appointment of the Turke/Sir Gromer as the new king of the Isle of Man,
the outlying Celtic territory which the poem has portrayed as a land of savagery and magic is
absorbed into a single British identity under Arthurs control (Byrne 46). Arthurs lands are
the civilized center; traditionally Celtic lands are the uncivilized wild (not French, not English,
and not Christian). By civilizing and assimilating the Turkish (or Giant Green) Other (the
surrogate of the Celtic Otherworld), the entire Celtic realm is thereby civilized and assimilated
into Arthurs realm.

II.B. Malory. Le Morte Darthur.

The Arthurian legends derived from French sources have a similar imperial ambition: to civilize
and assimilate the dangerous Other but their worldview extends far beyond the British
Isles.

II.B.1. Priamus.
Sir Thomas Malory, wrote his Morte Darthur in the 15th century. In one of the stories, Of King
Arthur and the Emperor Lucius, Arthurs chieftains hale from Western Europe, including
Celtic lands, while on the side of the Roman Emperor are the Saracen rulers of the East, as
well as traditionally Jewish Nazareth & Galilee, and the Eastern Orthodox Christian Greece and
Macedonia (Malory 116-117). Hoffman writes, The alliances in Malory and the Morte seem to
reflect a prejudice against the South, the Mediterranean countries, in addition to the expected
prejudice against Asian and African nations (44), [for] the schism [between Latin West and
Orthodox East] hardly made the Christian East much more acceptable than the Mohammedan
alternative (Hoffman 45-46). Lucius may be the Emperor of Rome, but it is the wrong
Rome: Constantinople. And Lucius is the wrong kind of Christian: Eastern Orthodoxin other
words, not French, not English, and not (Latin) Christian.
 9

In Malorys story, Gawain (again) is riding in the wild where he encounters a mounted knight:
Priamus, a prince of Tuscany, from the noble bloodlines of Alexander the Great, Hector of
Troy, Judas Maccabeus and Joshua, he says, I am of Alysaundir and of Aufryke and of all the
Oute Iles (Malory 137), in other words, he is the surrogate of the entire Mediterranean.
Arthur agrees to baptize Priamus as a (Latin) Christian and make him a knight of the Round
Table, if he will help Arthur defeat the Emperor Lucius and his allies. This, Priamus does.

Peter Goodrich writes, It has been the habit of some commentators to refer to Priamus as a
Saracen, but nowhere does Malory identify him as such, nor does Priamus show any sympathy
for his supposed fellow Saracens (14). Hoffman calls Priamus a quasi-Saracen, a
representative of all that is noble about the East (48), while Keita argues that Priamus,
declares himself to be an African (70). But in the end, that he is not French, not English, and
not (Latin) Christian is all that matters. Like the Green Knight and the Turke Priamus is
subsumed in the Arthurian orbit and the supremacy of the West is once again established,
thus neutralizing the threat of [] the Other (Hoffman 48). By assimilating this one guy,
Malory subsumes the entire Mediterranean basinMuslim, pagan, Jewish, and Orthox
Christianall under Arthurs control.

II.B.2 Palomides.
Sir Palomides, the Saracen Prince and son of the Sultan of Babylon, first appears in the 13th
century French Prose Tristan (Lupack, 3878), where he is a knight at the court of Isoldes
father, the King of Ireland. He is referred to as the Black Knight (Keita Race 134) for his
appearance at a tournament as wearing a black shield and two swords (Keita Saracens 68).
Keita argues that this sobriquet refers not only to his noeres armes (black armaments), but
also his Africanness (Keita Race 134).

But it is from Malorys 15th century Morte DArthur that Palomides is best known to readers of
English (Lupack, 388). We know this 15th century image is Palomides because in Malory he
bears a checky shield of whyte and blacke.
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(Image source: Evrard dEspingues. Le Rommans de Tristan et de la Royne Yseult la blone royne de
Cornoaille, MS illuminations. 1463, http://classes.bnf.fr/echecs/feuille/palamede/)

But is Malorys Palomides black? Scholars do not agree. Hoffman states that Skin color is
never mentioned [in Malory] (49). In these 15th century manuscript illuminations, Palomides
appears to have the same skin color as everyone else from Arthurs court.

(Images source: Evrard dEspingues. Le Rommans de Tristan et de la Royne Yseult la blone royne de
Cornoaille, MS illuminations. 1463, http://classes.bnf.fr/echecs/feuille/palamede/)

But Keita claims that the Saracen [in medieval literature] can be characterized as African
(68). And indeed, there are many medieval illustrations of Saracens with skin color that is dark
 11

brown, or blue, which is, according to Clark, a color often substituted for dark gray, brown or
black in medieval art (65).

(Image source: Chess game between a [brown] Saracen and a white man. Book of Chess of
Alfonso X the Wise. 13thc. In Bindman, David, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Karen C. C. Dalton.
The Image of the Black in Western Art: From the Early Christian Era to the "Age of Discovery":
From the Demonic Threat to the Incarnation of Sainthood. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 2010. Reprinted in ARTstor. 23 Apr. 2013)

(Image source: Gratian. White soldier armed with a lance, fighting a black Saracen on
horseback. Decretum Gratiani . 14th c. In Bindman, David, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Karen C.
C. Dalton. The Image of the Black in Western Art: From the Early Christian Era to the "Age of
 12

Discovery": From the Demonic Threat to the Incarnation of Sainthood. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 2010. Reprinted in ARTstor. 23 Apr. 2013)

(Images source: Imaginary encounter between Richard I and [a blue] Saladin, 13thc.
Wikimedia Commons. 06 October 2008. Image. 23 Apr 2013.)

But regardless of whether or not Palomides skin was dark, he is clearly labelled a Saracen,
and treated as an alien Other. In fact, he is doubly othered, being not only Saracen but also
a member of the Celtic Irish court. Armstrong points out that Palomides great friend and rival,
Tristram, is himself a Celtic Other. She writes, Malory's text tells us constantly [] that the
court of Cornwall is far inferior to that of Arthur, repeatedly, knights of the Round Table scoff
at the abilities of Cornish knights (199). "For I wyste nevir good knyght com oute of Cornwayle
hut yf hit were sir Trystram" (Malory 555.20-22). There is a continuum of Otherness [] based
upon the idea of [Arthurs court, King Arthur himself] (Armstrong 182), at the center, Celtic
knights further out, Palomides and his Saracen-born father and brothers even further out.

Despite Palomides prowess at armshe ranks just behind Lancelot and Lamerok at the
Tournament of SurlusePalomides is never counted among Arthurs best knights. In fact,
Arthur bursts out, A Jesu!...this is a grete dispite that such a Saryson shall smyte downe my
blood! (Malory 2.663).
 13

Palomides is not always an honorable character, though, acting out several Orientalist
stereotypes: he lusts after Isolde and abducts her; he is sometimes effeminate; and he
behaves in an unchivalrous manner at a tournament (Hoffman 50). Palomides duality is
manifest in that checky shield of whyght and blacke (Malory, 330) . Lani Visaisouk studied
the heraldry in the Morte and concluded that Malory used shield colors as a form of
symbolism (23): white for purity, black for impurity, evil or death (25-26). Visaisouk writes,
Palomides usual checky brings to mind a paradox, or perhaps a checkered character, a knight
with both good and bad qualities [a] dual nature (Visaisouk, 27-28).

Palomides is, however, eventually invited to join the Round Table but only after he agrees to
Christian baptism. But almost the same moment Palomides is baptized, Galahad arrives and
initiates the Quest for the Grail. Palomides does not join that quest, but instead leaves court
to pursue the Questing Beast (a notably fruitless endeavor). He then largely disappears from
the rest of Malorys text. Hoffman says Thus he is no sooner assimilated into Camelot then he
is erased, an outsider and an alien once again, praised and neglected, Christian and forgotten
(58). And Lupack remarks that Palomides remains someone who is on the fringes of Arthurian
society, if not totally alien to it (389).

II.C. Parzival

Parzival is an earlier text, written in the first fifteen years of the 13th century by the Bavarian
poet-knight Wolfram von Eschenbach. Basically corresponding to the late 12th century French
Conte du Graal by Chrtien de Troyes, Wolfram adds two prequel chapters focusing on the
life and death of Percevals father, as well as three chapters that conclude the action left
unfinished by Chrtien. Wolframs poem also deals with several black or ethnically Other
characters. Parzivals first English translator, Jesse Weston, wrote The German poem is,
throughout, remarkable for the wide spirit of tolerance displayed towards those outside the
Christian pale (Vol. I, Bk. IX, note for line 259).
 14

According to this story, the Angevin prince Gamuret marries the Moorish Queen Belakan
after defending her African kingdom from invaders. Her skin and hair color, and that of her
people, are repeatedly emphasizeddusky, black as the night, raven headedas is the
difference in their religionsheathen and Christian. Gamuret eventually abandons her, not
knowing she is pregnant with his son. Gamuret returns to Europe, marries a Christian princess
and fathers Parzival. Belakans son, Feirefis, grows up and travels to Europe to seek his
father. Eventually, he meets Parzival is invited to meet Arthur.

Feirefis mixed-race is manifested on his very skin. The embodiment of Palomides checky
shield, Feirefis is born as a magpie the hue of his face and hair (Vol. I, Bk. I, line 906), born
at once dark and light, black and white (Vol. I, Bk. I, line 901 & 902). He is described as
having spots in his skin (Vol. II, Bk. XVI, line 400), so perhaps we are meant to think of a
person with vitiligo (pic of Sembene McFarland), the skin condition that causes dark-skin to
have light patches.
By the time of his meeting with Parzival, Feirefiz, though a heathen, is possibly the most
powerful man in the world (Keita, Race, 186), for he has inherited Africa from his mother,
India from his first wife, and has conquered by his own hand much of the East. He is also
fabulously wealthy: his armor is encrusted with precious jewels. Arthur invites Feirefis to join
the Round Table. Not long thereafter, Feirefis falls in love with the Grail Maiden, Rpanse de
Schoie, and converts to Christianity in order to be with her. Note the order here: Feirefis is
invited to join the Round Table first, while still a pagan. This, I believe, is a unique case in
Arthurian literature. As weve seen, the Round Table happily colonizes outsidersbut only
after they are baptized or disenchanted back into Christians. But Feirefis is invited to the
Round Table while still a pagan! That he is Gamurets son, and already half-French, may have
been a factor, but Arthurs preoccupation with Feirefis jewels doesnt seem to hurt either.

Keita writes, The union of Feirefiz and Repanse [] is representative of the union of East and
West (Race, 136). The Grail charges Feirefis to return to the East and convert the people
there. The supremacy of the West (and Christianity) is once again established, and the threat
of the alien Other is neutralized once again by subsuming a representative Other into the
 15

Arthurian orbit, this time to encompass all the lands under Feirefis rule, which include Africa,
India and the East. The German poem may display tolerance towards those outside the
Christian pale, but, by the end, even they have been brought inside of it.

II.D. The Romance of Morien

I will conclude this second section of the presentation with the protagonist of a little-known
Arthurian poem. The Romance of Morien is extant in 5,000-lines of a single early 14th century
Dutch MS of the Lancelot. It was possibly translated from an earlier French original, and none
of the adventures it relates are preserved in any English text (Weston). However, Moriens
story is so similar to that of Feirefis in Wolframs Parzival that one must have influenced the
other, or they were both derived from a common source (again, possibly French). In this
story, Percevals brother, Sir Agloval, has a liaison with a Moorish princess while questing in
the Land of the Moors. Agloval returns to Europe, unaware he has left the princess pregnant
with a son, Morien, who, unlike Feirefis, is born all black, even as I tell ye: his head, his body,
and his hands were all black, saving only his teeth. His shield and his armour were even those
of a Moor, and black as a raven (Weston 8). Thirteen years later, Morien, now a self-made
knight, seeks his father in Europe to ask his aid in restoring his usurped mother to her throne.
There he meets Gawain and Lancelot in the wilderness.

Like Saint Maurice, the name Morien is derived from the word Moor. And as Belakans
blackness is recurrently emphasized in Parzival, so is Moriens, but here, blackness is much
more explicitly linked to the devil, at least in the minds of the people who encounter Morien
for the first time. He is variously described as:
o black as a raven (Weston, 8).
o black as pitch and black as burnt brands (Weston, 10).
o Gawain, at first, deemed that [he] was a devil (Weston, 8).
o And, the common folk who see him, deemed they had seen the Foul Fiend
himself (Weston, 23), despite the fact that Morien has been raised as a
Christian.
 16

Morien is also noted for his size and strength, in terms that equate him with Saracen giants:
He was taller even than Sir Lancelot, and black withal (Weston)
He seemed to them so huge, and black withal (Weston)
He was taller by half a foot than any knight who stood beside him, and as yet he was
scarce more than a child (Weston).
he was so huge, and had shipped his steed [i.e. carried his horse aboard a boat], which
was in seeming over-strong (Weston).

Morien is presented as uncouth, savage even. When he first encounters Gawain and Lancelot,
he challenges them to fight. A common practice in medieval Arthurian tales, but here, one
which Gawain criticizes: Tis an ill custom this to which ye are given [] Had ye but asked in
courteous wise that which ye have a mind to know, this knight had [] answered ye right
goodwill (Weston 17%). Cathy Darrup writes, Moriens blackness (like his aggressive
behavior and menacing speech) is fearsome to the other characters [] he is perceived as
bestial and violent [] the sexual, aggressive, pugnacious savage on the one hand and the
delicate, fragile and exotic oriental on the other (Darrup 20). Notice that it is Gawain who
instructs Morien how to behave courteously; once again, Gawain is the conduit by which the
wild and churlish Other is civilized.

After a few minor adventures, the father and son are united, and Agloval agrees to return with
Morien to the Land of the Moors, marry Moriens mother, and help her regain her throne.
Darrup writes, Even though the Mariaen treats the black-skinned foreigner with some
compassion, he is ultimately shown the door, never, presumably, to return (22).

Wrap-up. There are a few other minor characters whose names intriguingly point to
blackness, or at least, ethnic othernessSir Klias the Greek and the Turkowit, both in
Wolframs Parzival, and the brothers Sir Maurel and Sir Mores mentioned only once and
 17

posthumously in Malorys Morte, both of whose names, like Moriens, are derived from the
word Moor.

In medieval Arthurian romanceswhether of Middle English, French, German or Dutch

originthe function of the racially and ethnically different characters isto put it plainlyto
be colonized, assimilated, along with the territories they represent, under Arthurs dominion.
The black knights, once integrated, then slip quietly into oblivion: Priamus is sent off to France
to govern on behalf of Arthur; Palomides disappears in pursuit of the Questing Beast, only to
return briefly in Malorys final battle to die unceremoniously, on the losing side; Feirefis and
Morien return from whence they came, taking Arthurs (and Christianitys) standard with
them.

The two dark queens, the mothers of Morien & Feirifis, are always geographically remote.
Neither one ever comes to Camelot, or even steps foot in Europe. But their African kingdoms
are both secured by the intervention of white, European Arthurian knights, Gamuret and
Agloval.

If medieval Arthurian romances were a television series, the black characters would be
guest stars of the week rather than playing leading, or even recurring roles like Gawain and
Lancelot. The black or foreign characters come onto screen for a single adventure each,
and then disappear once those adventures are completed.

III. Contemporary Depictions.

Whether they realize it or not, contemporary Arthurian TV & film which cast dark-skinned, or
othered characters are largely re-enacting these same roles:

Kira Knightly, Ben Kingsleys Ambrosius: The Celtic Other

 18

Iowen Gryffds, Santiago Cabreras, and Once Upon a Times Lancelots as The
Pagan/Saracen Other
Gwens Brother &, Whoopie Goldberg, Martin Lawrence, & Once Upon a Times
Lancelot as The Black Knight
Batiatus & Ulfius as Maurel & Mores: The Expendable Other
Gwen, Guinevere & Aiysa as Queen of the Moors
Ben Kingsleys Ambrosius, Djaimon Honsus Bedevere in King Arthur, and Once Upon a
Times Merlin as Magical Other

Of the dozen or so 21st-Century, English-language films and TV series based on medieval

Arthurian legend only a handful have significant casting of People of Color (PoCs).

III.A. The Last Legion (2007) is an Arthurian prequel set in the 5th century, at the end of the
Western Roman Empire.
Nonso Anozie portrays the Roman legionary, Batiatus. He stands in the background,
speaks little, excels in battle, however while much-less experienced white warriors
survive the films climactic battle, Batiatus is killed. Silent Giant trope. Like Sinbad
movies, Nasir in Robin of Sherwood, and early Dr. Who. Black men without a voice.
Anglo-Indian actor Ben Kingsley plays the Merlin-figure, Ambrosius. Though British, he
is well-traveled and lived in late Roman Italy where he was tutor to boy-emperor.
Exotic. Mysterious. Dark.
Aishwarya Rai plays the romantic lead, Mira, a woman warrior from India. Like the
Moorish queens of mediaeval romance, she is exotic, an object of desire but she is
actually the only Person of Color who survives the events of the film and becomes
fully-integrated into British society.
Saracen giant (incorporated), Enamoured Muslim princess, Defeated Sultan
 19

III.B. Camelot (2011) was a 10-episode series on the Starz network.

Jamie Downey plays Arthurs knight, Ulfius. [Slide: You can see him here standing
behind Arthur, where he stays throughout the series.] Like Batiatus from The Last
Legion, Ulfius remains in the background, speaks little, has no featured storyline, and is
killed in the climactic battle at the end of the series. (Saracen giant)
Chipo Chung, an actress from Tanzania & Zimbabwe, plays Morgans servant Vivian.
Vivian tells Morgan that her family was brought to England by the Romans hundreds of
years ago as slaves, and remained when the Romans left. But instead of making her
Romanized, or even Anglicized, the producers of Camelot decided to emphasize her
African otherness including facial tattooing & speaking with an African accent,
despite the fact that her ancestors have lived in Britain for hundreds of years.

III.C. Merlin is a series on BBC television which lasted 5 seasons (2008-2013).

As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, its cast included several People of Color in
key roles, not just as background or supporting players.
We have seen Dark Queens and Black Knights as far back as medieval Arthurian romances
but they were all born to nobility. It is notable that in Merlin, these characters are
portrayed as commoners who must climb up the social ladder.
Lancelot (played by Chilean-born actor Santiago Cabrera) is not portrayed as the son of a
king, or of the Lady of the Lake, but as a village orphan. And he is killed before Guinevere
and Arthur even marry. Thus he is excised from the central role Lancelot has held in
Arthurian legend since the 12th century.
Guineveres brother Elyan (played by Nigerian-born Adetomiwa Edun) begins as an
itinerant blacksmith, eventually joins the Round Table knights, but when a prophecy
requires a sacrifice, like Batiatus & Ulfius, Elyan is killed off.
Guineveres and Elyans father is executed when he is wrongly accused of sorcery. And two
other black Round Table knights, Sir Ewan and Sir Pellinore, and killed after having just one
speaking line.
 20

And, it is noteworthy that televisions (and perhaps historys) first mixed-race Guinevere
(played by Anglo-Caribbean actress Angel Coulby) is also the first Guinevere not to be the
daughter of a chieftain or a king, but to start as a serving maid, the daughter of a
blacksmith.
This fact was not lost on Internet blogger Ankhesen Mi, who said
o Once again, it shows how white people see people of color [POC]. To them, when
telling a flattering story -well, what they consider a flattering story -of a POC, it has
to be one of rise and triumph, with the POC's initial state being servile status So
the Brits wanted to present us with a Gwen of color? Fine. But they're clearly doing
it for their benefit. Had they done it for our benefit, Gwen would've been introduced
as a princess, daughter of a king and queen, worthy of open wooing and proper
respect at all times from all characters.

III.D. Once Upon a Time is an American series on ABC television which has so far run 5 seasons
(2010-2015). Arthur, Merlin and other characters have been mentioned, which establishes
Camelot as one of the kingdoms in contact with The Enchanted Forest home of the shows
major characters. The first Camelot character presented was Lancelot, played by an African-
American actor (Season 2. Episode 1.). The casting call for Lancelot specified the producers
were looking for an actor of African descent, which was welcome to some viewers, as Once
Upon a Time has had an overwhelmingly white cast. His initial story-arc is a tragic throwaway
in service to the story arcs of the shows major (all-white) characters. All of Lancelots heroic
actions occur in flash-back and mostly off-screen. In a later season, more characters from
Camelot were introduced, including a black Merlin and Portuguese Guinevere; Lancelot was
resurrected. Throughout a half-season, their character arcs were completed and, like Morien
and Fierifis, sent forever off-stage.

III.E. Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur is the first entry in a proposed 6-film franchise
and set to be released in the summer of 2017. Whats notable about this film for the current
discussion is that initially it was reported that British-Black actor Idris Elba was being strongly
 21

considered for the Merlin role in the film, a character here called Bedivere, but a deal never
materialized. The role eventually went to French-Beninian actor Djimon Honsou, who is
physically remarkably similar to Elba. This suggests that producers were seeking actors of a
certain type for this role. Bedivere will train and mentor the young Arthur. In that, it appears
he will be playing a similar role to the Merlin-esque Ambrosius played by Ben Kingsley in The
Last Legion: a figure just bordering on the Orientalist stereotype of a mysterious, exotic
warrior-mage who possesses arcane wisdom and cunning a stranger who stands both within
and outside of the local culture. But until we see the movie, this is highly speculative.

Conclusion
So not only is the presence of black and brown characters in 21st century Arthurian media
consistent with medieval Arthurian literature, but their portrayal and treatment is also fairly
consistent. Just as Morien, Feirefis and Palomides are geographically removed from the court
of Camelot at the end of their stories, Batiatus, Ulfius, Elyan and Lancelot are removed by their
deaths.

It is the Dark Queens who have experienced the most change in their portrayal from medieval
legend. While the mothers of Morien & Feirefis remain geographically remote from Arthurs
court, Mira in The Last Legion and Guinevere in the BBCs Merlin begin as outsiders, but both
manage to integrate into British ruling-class society.

Hoffman said that Malorys Palomides the Saracen remains, whether assimilated or
ultimately erased, as a shining example of Camelots failure to embrace difference fully, but [it
is] an exceptional instance of its willingness to try (61). Likewise, the handful of 21st century
medieval Arthurian films and television programs which have chosen to incorporate black and
brown characters are also exceptional but they also fail to embrace difference fully. These
characters frequently remain liminal simultaneous insiders and outsiders, central yet
marginal, brothers and aliens with only a rare few fully integrating into Arthurian society.
Like Palomides, Morien and Feirefis before them, the knights and queens of 21st century
Arthurian media have discovered that to be Black in Camelot is still to be liminal.
 22

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