Morte D'Arthur explores chivalric ideals in the late Middle Ages through the actions of King Arthur and the rest of his knights. Through his exploration of chivalry, however, he also explores the problems that arise from having such a strict code of conduct based on honor and unswerving loyalty to oaths. Morte D'Arthur does this by addressing the removal of autonomy and the damage of interpersonal relationships, and instead of presenting solutions to these problems, explains that the best way to solve the problems caused by chivalry is to forgive the infractions caused by the code of chivalry.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Death Darthur addresses the removal of personal choice and the toxic obligation to authority that comes from codes of chivalry. The codes of chivalry of Malory's time created unbreakable oaths between men and their rulers, and between individual knights, that could result in unspeakable violence. When the armies of Mordred and Arthur met on the battlefield, the two sides could have reached a truce and walked away unscathed. While the two sides swear that "say any kind of sword drawn, see that you advance fiercely, and so slay all that stand before you" (492), however, countless men are murdered simply because one man "pulled out his sword" sword to kill the viper” (492) that bit him, because no one stops to ask why a sword was drawn or to try to better understand the situation: the oaths provoked by chivalry they force men into blind and bloody obedience. A similar situation occurs when Lancelot accidentally kills two unarmed men in Guinevere's tournament for life; although Gawain regards Lancelot as his friend and "may never believe that Sir Launcelot slew my brothers" (489), the codes of chivalry that bring about revenge and feuds drive him to "seek Sir Launcelot in seven kingdoms, but I will slay him" ( 490). This will cause further violence to the people Gawain cares about and ultimately end in his own death, but any choice Gawain may have had is taken away because his actions are dictated by the vengeance-soaked code of honor of chivalry. Arthur laments that the deaths of Gaheris and Gareth will cause "the greatest deadly war that ever was" (489), for war will be waged against Lancelot by Gawain and, by obligation, Arthur, until "I have destroyed himself and kinsmen of Sir Lancelot." both of us, otherwise he will destroy me” (489). Arthur has no desire to kill his friend and begin this horrific cycle of violence, but chivalry binds him to a rigid set of codes that dictate his actions and prevent him from choosing. This system of unshakable oaths leads to unspeakable violence. The final battle between Arthur and Mordred is described as "sadler [than all others] in Christian land" (492), and the fighting does not stop until "a hundred thousand dead were laid upon the ground" (492), and Arthur is too angry to continue. Rather than stopping the battle once it became clear that neither side would win, or even stopping to wonder why a sword was drawn in the first place, the oaths caused by chivalry force the two armies to fight until continuing is physically impossible . Arthur is also bound by honor to harshly punish Lancelot and Guinevere after learning of the affair: while Lancelot is his friend and says that "my heart was never so heavy as now" (489) at the thought of having to punish him. , chivalry dictates how to act in the lightof the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere. Arthur's feelings mean nothing; he must instead act on a set of toxic rules established for knights and rulers. Chivalry distorts interpersonal relationships because of honor and duty. There is still friendship between Lancelot and Arthur, as Arthur laments that he is "more grieved at the loss of my good knights than at the loss of my fair queen" (489), and Arthur ultimately blames Agravain and Mordred for what he is happened and says that "if they had caused all this pain to Sir Lancelot" (489). He himself has little personal hatred for Lancelot, but his obligation to chivalry destroys their friendship by dictating Arthur's actions. The codes of honor also repel Guinevere from Lancelot: after Arthur's death, the guilt Guinevere feels for having been unfaithful to her husband prevents her from seeking Lancelot again. She “enters a convent in Amesbury” and “commands him never to see her again” (496), and also pushes him to live in a monastery. The two are separated for the rest of their lives although they could have happily reconciled. Arthur is also forced to make his personal life public due to the codes of honor that his society dictates. After Lancelot and Guinevere are revealed to have been having an affair, he is forced to publicly address the scandal, and in doing so damages his relationships with both of them. While the question of a relationship is one that could have been calmly addressed between three people, Morte D'Arthur addresses the implications of codes of chivalry that turn personal matters into public ones and force people to feel that their interpersonal relationships are dictated by codes of honor. Chivalry creates a hierarchy that forces people to feel inferior to those society deems superior. After the deaths of Arthur and Guinevere, Lancelot feels that he cannot properly mourn them as his friends and as people he cared about, and the hermit in the church tells him that "you displease God by this way of grieving" (497). Lancelot sees himself as inferior and sinful and hates himself for his sin in relation to them. When he recalls "how by my defection, by my order, and by my pride, they were both utterly humiliated, that they were peerless that ever lived among Christians" (497), he becomes extremely troubled; he sees himself as the ruin of two exceptional people, despite the fact that both Arthur and Guinevere were ordinary people whose actions caused them as much trouble as his actions, and that Guinevere participated in exactly the same affair as he did. Ultimately, Lancelot's incredible grief and self-hatred drives him to the grave because "thereafter he never ate but a little meat, nor drank... for then he grew sicker and sicker and withered and blazed " (492). Not only does he consider himself extremely inferior to Guinevere and Arthur due to his sinful actions; he considers himself unworthy of living longer because his sins have negatively impacted the two of them. Malory proposes resolution of problems caused by chivalry by promoting forgiveness for behavioral infractions caused by the strict codes of chivalry and acceptance that problems will resolve themselves arise from codes of chivalry. Despite his anger towards Lancelot, Gawain ultimately "[writes] to Lancelot to come to the aid of his former lord" (491) before dying. He realizes that Lancelot is needed to help in the fighting and that he must forgive Lancelot for accidental murders committed in the midst of a confusing fight instigated by codes of honor and obligation. While chivalry can force individuals to make decisions they otherwise would not have made, thus causing violence, suffering and breakdown.