Arthurian Medievalism in King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

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 A 90's Original

On September 13th, 1992, a film studio you probably never heard of called Golden Films aired the first episode of an animated series that you also probably never heard of called King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. Resembling the classic early 90's style with a cool electric guitar and rock and roll lyrics for the opening theme, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice resembled shows many of us still remember, like Captain Planet and the Planeteers and X-Men: The Animated Series. Although we often think of King Arthur and his world in the past during medieval times, like most shows in the 90s, this Arthurian world resembles more of what we would think the future to be like, including the armor of all the knights resembles robots rather than medal cover and the villains of the stories voices even sound robotic or even alien.



(2) Opening Theme for the show

A New Arthurian Story

(3) The Complete Series DVD Art
In this story of Camelot, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been captured and trapped in the Cave of Glass by Arthur's evil sister, Queen Morgana. After the capture of Arthur and the knights, Merlin takes center stage, and realizing that he cannot save them himself, he looks through timelines Dr. Strange style to find replacement Arthurs to save the original Knights of the Round Table. While searching different timelines, Merlin finds Arthur King, a modern-day professional football player for the New York Knights, and his fellow players to be suitable replacements for the King and the Knights of the Round Table. After transporting Arthur and his teammates to the kingdom of Camelot and tasking them with retrieving twelve keys corresponding to each of them to release the original knights from their entrapment. Like all stories within the Arthurian World, there are a lot of characters, both new and old, included in this series, and to help learn and keep track of all of them, I have provided a link to all the characters here. Since Merlin acquired these new knights from America, they all have different accents around the country, such as Jersey, New York, and Southern accents, and each character has qualities that resemble American culture, which is different than most adaptations of the Arthurian World. Although each character seems willing to help Merlin in his cause, they all talk about what they are waiting for when they return home. Each character is trying to return to modern-day America for things such as women, burgers, and fries. You know, the American "essentials." At the beginning of most episodes, Arthur and his Knights huddle at the round table to discuss their next mission. Before leaving, the knights put their fists in and resight their oath to pledge "fairness to all, and to protect the weak and vanquish the evil." After reciting the oath, the knights power up and generate their brightly colored metal suits with symbols of weapons or animals on their chests while a 90s electronic fanfare plays. Each knight has respected animals and weapons that they project from their chests at will. (1)


(4) The Scene of the Knights Reciting the Oath



Traditional Medievalism

Although King Arthur and the Knights of Justice seems to take place in a "futuristic visioned" form of Camelot, there are plenty of examples of traditional medievalism throughout the show. For example, Merlin has a Falcon that spies on the story's villains and gives information to the knights during battle to help them. Arthur is also given Excalibur as his trust weapon from Merlin. A big focus in the Arthurian World is housing knights for hospitality and respect. In Episode 4: Even Knights Have To Eat, one of the villains, Viper, sends his men out to defeat the Knights and instructs his forces to tell the people of the town that they will suffer harsh consequences if they provide lodging to any of the knights. As stated earlier, the knights always discuss their plans and power up for their next mission at the round table. The round table is where they also recite their oath and remember to never forget what they are fighting for.

Work Cited

(1) “King Arthur & the Knights of Justice.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/KingArthurAndTheKnightsOfJustice.

(2) YouTube, YouTube, 7 Feb. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjbWDjzTM0A.

(3) “King Arthur and the Knights of Justice.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur_and_the_Knights_of_Justice.

(4) YouTube, YouTube, 23 June 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3W1kuz76ow.

Comments

  1. Dan DamasoOctober 12, 2023 at 12:07 PM

    This blog post took me on a nostalgic trip back to the 90s! I remember watching "King Arthur and the Knights of Justice" when I was a kid, and this article brought back some fond memories. It's great to see someone shedding light on a lesser-known animated series from that era. The comparison to oher 90s shows like "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" and "X-Men: The Animated Series" is apt. The electric guitar and rock and roll theme song really do evoke that era's unique style, and I appreciate how you highlighted that in your post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chelcea MorganOctober 12, 2023 at 2:45 PM

    Hey Colin, I'm a big fan of 90's cheese so I'm glad you brought this to our attention. I don't know what else I was expecting out of the big tv show/toy marketing craze of the nineties- I mean, why not try the story of King Arthur as well? And the set-up is absolutely hilarious too; I'm glad I live in the same reality as a knight of The Round Table with a NYC accent. I can't help but appreciate Merlin's falcon companion either. Considering how fellowship is such a crucial aspect of the Arthurian legend, it genuinely does function well as a great base to teach children lessons about respecting and caring for one another.

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