T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The reign of King Arthur begins at the pivotal moment when, as a young boy, he pulls the enchanted sword from a stone where it has been waiting for the true and rightful King of England to come along and take it out. When he removes the sword and a crowd begins cheering around him, he takes the sword over to his foster brother, Kay, and does what?

Answer: Hands the sword to Kay

Having only been seeking a weapon for Kay to use, the young Arthur (who appears to be the only one who does not know what has just happened) simply goes over and hands the sword to Kay. Kay is tempted to pass the removal of the sword from the stone as his own deed, but has an attack of conscience. Arthur, who had thought his destiny was to be Kay's squire, weeps when Kay kneels before him along with Sir Ector, who is Arthur's foster father and Kay's father.

As Arthur is still coming to terms with the reality of the situation, he grants Ector's wish to make Kay the seneschal of all Arthur's lands.

2. What is Lancelot's initial reaction to Queen Guenever? (Remember, this is based on the book ONLY.)

Answer: He resented her

The book's portrayal of Lancelot when he first comes to Camelot is as a young man deeply devoted to the idea of serving King Arthur and becoming his unswervingly faithful knight. He looks forward to a close companionship with the King, and expects the King's full attention to be on chivalry and the Knights of the Round Table. The distracting presence of a Queen disgruntles Lancelot, and he realizes how unfair he is being only after he has snapped at her irritably while she is trying to help him with his falconry.

3. Poetry, literature and art show many varying physical depictions of Queen Guenever (not to mention many spellings; T. H. White uses "Guenever" and nicknames her "Jenny"). What is the description of her hair colour in the book?

Answer: It was so black that it was startling

Other descriptions of the Queen in the book call her rose-petalled, dashing and having hair that reminds Lancelot of the sea.

4. Who is the mother of Mordred in the book?

Answer: Morgause

Various versions of Arthur's story present Mordred as the son of Morgause or Morgan le Fay, but the basic story is that Arthur was tricked into conceiving him with one of his sisters. In "The Once and Future King" Morgause deliberately seduces Arthur, Mordred is born of the union and a young Arthur is persuaded to attempt Mordred's death in a Herod-like slaughter of innocents.

When Mordred arrives in Camelot as a grown man, he is bent on revenge.

5. Guenever is led to believe that Lancelot sacrificed his purity and his ability to perform miracles in order to have a love affair with her. She is infuriated when she discovers that Lancelot has an illegitimate son, Galahad, by Elaine of Corbin. Lancelot tries to give her an explanation, which infuriates her even more (although he is telling the truth). How was Galahad conceived?

Answer: Lancelot was tricked into believing that Elaine was Guenever

With the help of her lady-in-waiting, the enchantress Brisen, not to mention the use of copious goblets of wine and a completely darkened room, Elaine led Lancelot to believe that he was losing his virginity to Guenever, not herself. Galahad was the result of the deception.

6. Lancelot finally snaps under the pressure of his divided loyalty to Arthur and romantic love for Guenever, not to mention the added pressure of an unexpected son and the devotion of a woman he does not love. He goes mad and disappears from the court for some time. Who rescues him and nurses him back to health?

Answer: Elaine of Corbin

Somehow, Lancelot lands up at the castle of Elaine's father, King Pelles. He finally gives in and takes up residence with Elaine and Galahad until some knights from Camelot turn up and persuade him to come home. Lancelot gives all of his money to Elaine to keep up their castle and raise their son. He returns to Camelot and to Guenever. The stage is now irrevocably set for the ruin of Camelot.

7. Arthur's lifelong friend, King Pellinore, is a comic relief of sorts throughout the book. The name, or at least pet name, of his lady love is not the sort of moniker one would expect to find in Camelot. What does Pellinore call his sweetheart?

Answer: Piggy

King Pellinore is devoted to his "Piggy", who is the daughter of the Queen of Flanders. Another name in the book that you wouldn't find in heraldic engravings or medieval poetry: Wart. This is Arthur's childhood nickname in both "The Sword in the Stone" portion of the book, and in the Disney movie of the same name--it is also alluded to in the first scene of the musical "Camelot", in which Guenevere (note the spelling change for the play script) asks Arthur, "Are you sure you heard them properly?"

8. How is Arthur's cousin Gawaine portrayed in the book? He's not quite the "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" version.

Answer: Gruff and earthy, with a thick Scottish accent

The Gawaine of the book is a burly, temperamental, overall likeable Scotsman who sometimes finds himself in untoward situations with his impetuous brothers. He is not a fan of the Queen, because of all the trouble she causes, but has no particular wish to see her come to harm. As in many interpretations of the Arthurian saga, he falls out with Arthur over the death of his (Gawaine's) brother Gareth at Lancelot's hands.

9. In what situation did Lancelot unintentionally kill Gareth?

Answer: Lancelot was rescuing Guenever from execution

This is one of the most terribly tragic scenes in the book, with most of the characters doing what they do not wish to do out of a sense of duty, and the results being disastrous. Arthur has painted himself into a corner with his establishment of trial by jury, and feels duty-bound to sentence Queen Guenever to death for treason when she and Lancelot are caught in her chamber by Mordred. Lancelot, of course, honours the code of chivalry and comes to rescue her. Gareth, who wishes no harm on the Queen, is following his duty by guarding the door. Lancelot has no idea whom he is slicing down with his sword as he rides up to rescue Guenever from death by burning at the stake.

10. Guenever escapes, but she is not free and clear yet...Mordred tracks her down. What does he plan to do with the Queen?

Answer: Marry her

Mordred does take up arms in the Tower of London (which hadn't been built in the time of the supposedly historical Arthur/Artorius, but then full armour hadn't been invented yet either). Mordred's plan is to take over the throne while Arthur is fighting and distracted.

While he's at it, he decides to add insult to injury by marrying Guenever. That doesn't come to pass, but the Round Table of chivalry is no more. Guenever find her destiny elsewhere, and Arthur leaves an unexpected person to pass on his story at the end of the book.

Source: Author marymagdalena

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

There have been many fascinating interpretations of the King Arthur story. "The Once and Future King" is certainly one of the more unique ones. Enter into Camelot and play this quiz!

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