2020/058: The Serpent Rose -- Kari Sperring

The candle-light is merciless. There’s blood staining the rushes and the hangings of the bed. The coverlet is torn, and hangs mostly onto the floor. The air is heavy with blood and scent. Nothing looks quite real. [loc. 1065]

This novella explores the story, told in Malory's Morte d'Arthur, of Gaheris, who beheaded his mother Morgause after finding her in bed with Sir Lamorak. I didn't recall the original story while reading The Serpent Rose, which let me experience the events with a fresh mind.

Gaheris is an accomplished knight, but his humility and pleasant nature -- and the shadows cast by his illustrious brothers, especially Gawain -- mean he's often overlooked. Except by his protege Lamorak, whose father may have been responsible for the death of Gaheris' father Lot. Gaheris's brothers don't much care for Lamorak, but Gaheris is fond of him, if frequently exasperated by his emotional outbursts. Lamorak looks up to Gaheris, who seems to him to illustrate the knightly virtues: honour, loyalty, civility, kindness.

But then Gaheris' mother takes an interest in Lamorak, and Gaheris is forced to choose between his own honour and Lamorak's life. Loyalty or honour: which will take precedence?

This is beautifully written, full of subtlety (it rewards a second reading, not only for the interactions between Gaheris and Lamorak but for the relationships between Gaheris and his brothers) and sympathy for both first-person narrator Gaheris, not always the most perceptive of men, and Lamorak, who may be a knight but is also a teenager.

I also admired the lightly-sketched world in which these characters live. There are few place-names, and no attempt to anchor this Arthurian tale in historical fact: it's a secondary-world fantasia of chivalry, etiquette, blood-feuds, pavilions by the roadside, knights-errant and powerful queens. The Serpent Rose reminded me that there is beauty and virtue in the Arthurian mythos, though these aspects have been downplayed by many modern retellings. Kari Sperring's Arthuriana is a delight, and I'd like to read more.