Arthurian Medievalism in Disney Channel's "Avalon High"

The characters of Avalon High. Left to right is Miles, Will, Marco, Allie, Mr. Moore, Lance, and Jen.

Arthurian Medievalism in Disney

Plenty of modern day media is inspired by King Arthur and The Middle Ages. These stories have been told time after time with plenty of adaptions that vary in authenticity. Disney, as a company, offers several examples of Arthurian Medievalism. There is the film, The Sword In The Stone (1963), episode 11 of the series, The Legend of the Three Caballeros (2018), entitled Thanks a Camelot, and the film, Avalon High (2010), among other representations. Avalon High is a modern revival of the story of King Arthur, specifically regarding the love triangle between him, Guinevere, and Lancelot. Elements that were borrowed from Arthurian literature include the Sword in the Stone, Excalibur, and the characters of the Lady of the Lake, Merlin, Guinevere, King Arthur, Lancelot, and Mordred. The characters that parallel the Arthurian characters are Jen as Guinevere, Lance as Lancelot, Miles as Merlin, Mr. Moore as Mordred, and Allie as Arthur (a new take on Arthur as a female adaption). The characters of Avalon High, loosely resemble the characters of Arthurian literature by some shared characteristics. Miles has psychic abilities and a powerful staff like Merlin, Lance and Jen are accountable for infidelity the same way Lancelot and Guinevere are, Allie pulls Excalibur like King Arthur has, and Mr. Moore is seeking vengeance on Arthur, like Mordred.

Will and Allie in knightly armor.

Medievalism in Avalon High

Traits and pieces from Arthurian literature are used in Avalon High in a semi-authentic way such as the poem that Allie's parents identified was about Arthur becoming the leader Britain needed: "His broad clear brow in sunlight glowed; On burnished hooves his war-horse trode; From underneath his helmet flow'd his coal black curls as on he rode down to Camelot." This piece actually comes from stanza 12 of Alfred Tennyson's "The Lady of Shallot." However, Poemanalysis.com identifies Tennyson's poem as one that describes the greatness of Sir Lancelot rather than that of King Arthur. Another inspiration of Arthurian culture was the mascots for the rival football teams being dragons and knights. Often in Arthurian literature knights must face dragons like in The Book of Sir Tristram de Lyonesse, in the section entitled, "Of Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot’s son, how he was begotten." In this book, Malory writes, "Sir Lancelot drew his sword and fought with that dragon long, and at the last with great pain Sir Lancelot slew that dragon" (Section XI.I). 

Avalon High's Knights of the Round Table.

Another reference to Arthurian literature is the Knights of the Round table, which is referred to throughout the film. At the end of the film, all of the characters are sat at the "round table" in knightly armor tapping their swords. Even the name of the high school, Avalon High, is reminiscent of Arthurian literature. The legendary island of Avalon, as explained by Wikipedia, is identified in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 "Historia Regum Britanniae," as the place in which Excalibur was made and also where Arthur was treated after being wounded in the Battle of Camlann (para. 1).

Avalon High School.

Reincarnation of King Arthur

Avalon High introduces a fictional group into the story of King Arthur called "The Order of the Bear" which refers to a secret society of Arthurian literature fans that believe King Arthur will be reincarnated. The obstacle the characters must watch out for in King Arthur's reincarnation is Mordred's attempt to prevent it from happening, therefore ruining the kingdom (or school, in their case) as he did Camelot. While the title of the group is not authentic to the Arthurian legend, the set of beliefs is not too far off. There are some Britons that believe King Arthur is a messiah and will be returning to save his people, as he is identified as "The Once and Future King." While there are elements of authenticity to the Arthurian legend in the film, Avalon High, through my analysis and comparison to works of Arthurian literature, it is ultimately an example of a parodical piece inspired by the Middle Ages. The trailer to Avalon High can be viewed here:

Reference List

Avalon. (2002, October). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon

Avalon High Wiki. (2010). Knights of the Round Table. Avalonhigh.fandom.com. https://avalonhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Knights_of_the_Round_Table

Gillard, S. (Director). (2010). Avalon High [Film]. Ranger Productions.

Malory, T. (1998). The book of Sir Tristram de lyonesse. In Cooper, H. Editor, Le morte Darthur (pp. 84-137). Oxford University Press Inc.

PheonixKnight13. Ah avalon highschool. Photograph. https://avalonhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Avalon_High_(location)?file=Ah_avalon_highschool.png

PheonixKnight13. Ah round table 02. Photograph. https://avalonhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Knights_of_the_Round_Table?file=Ah_round_table_02.jpg

PhoenixKnight13. Avalon High Characters. Photograph. https://avalonhigh.fandom.com/wiki/Avalon_High_Wiki?file=Avalon+high+characters.jpg

Rehman, N. (2017, Oct. 13). The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Poem Analysis. https://poemanalysis.com/alfred-tennyson/the-lady-of-shalott/

The Disney Wiki. (2018). Thanks a Camelot. Disney.fandom.com. https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Thanks_a_Camelot

TrendFlicks. Avalon High. Photograph. https://www.trendflicks.com/movies/avalon-high-vid-368376.html

[WaltDisneydotCom]. (2010, Nov 10). Avalon High Trailer - Disney Channel [Video]. YouTube.