Fate/Zero: King Arthur, and What it Means to be King

The influence of the Middle Ages is not only still being seen today in Western media, it is also reaching a broader, international audience. The stories and their characters (both historic and fictional) of chivalry and knightly conduct are taking hold in the minds of non-Western authors. What more iconic representation of the Middle Ages is there than the legacy of King Arthur and his pursuit of the Holy Grail?

Also, (minor) spoilers ahead.

Fate/Zero (aired 2011-2012) is a Japanese animated series (or anime) that takes place in modern day Japan and details the events of the Third Holy Grail War. The fantastical elements come from the existence of 7 mages and their summoning of 7 heroic figures from history in a fight to the death for an all-powerful Holy Grail. The goal for everyone involved is to attain the Holy Grail and have it grant the winner of the battle royale a limitless wish.

Victory and access to unlimited power, or death. Suffice to say, Fate/Zero is a dark fantasy

In terms of relating this to medieval history and the themes of chivalry and knighthood, this 26 episode show is rife with examples, far too much for this small blog post. Instead, there is a single scene that best encapsulates the position King Arthur has in the story for the majority of its run. It begins in our introduction to King Arthur in this scene:

The summoning of heroes is rather reminiscent of the oaths vassals and lords would make with each other to establish their relationship. In this case, it is the master (Lord) paying homage to their vassal (Servant) in order to request their help. Each hero is summoned on a summoning circle while making an oath on a relic deeply attached to their legends, or even their physical corpse. One of the rituals even takes place in a church, which I will point out in a minute perfectly matches which hero is summoned there. The curious inversion expectation is this: Masters are making vassals out of some of the greatest kings and knights of history.

The heroes we see summoned in this scene, in order of appearance: Alexander the Great, Lancelot, Gilgamesh, and, finally, 

King Arthur (seen in this picture with Excalibur). Yes, King Arthur is a woman in this story, with the justification that she hid her gender after pulling the sword from the stone in order to be King of Britain. To differentiate this King Arthur from the traditional version., I will use the show's name for her, Saber.

Also, yes, you did read correctly: Lancelot is another hero fighting in this war for the Holy Grail. Saber and Lancelot (referred to as Berserker in the show) have entire subplot dense with themes and references to the legends of King Arthur that also builds and develops Saber's character. Unfortunately, you're going to have to watch the show to find that out, because I want to hone in on one scene in particular. 

This scene is called the Banquet of Kings, and it takes place in episode 11 of season 1. It is a conversation Gilgamesh (Archer in this scene), Alexander the Great (called Iskander), and Saber have concerning who should possess the Holy Grail and, by extension, what it means to be king. Here we have the ancient world and its ancient, mythical kings talking with a medieval king steeped in the ideals of chivalry. Unfortunately there is not a clip of just this scene on youtube with English subtitles, so if you would like to view it, go to this link and watch from 1:55-13:45. 

Saber questioning Alexander's right to conquer

What we have here are three arguments on what it means to be king, with the focus being on who is worthy to possess the Holy Grail. Gilgamesh's argument is the simplest: He does not want the Holy Grail for its power. Instead, because he claims that all treasures of humanity can be traced to him and his treasury, the fact that the Holy Grail is a treasure makes it his. This is due to a law he made as king, and by kingly right he can punish all those looking to claim the Holy Grail and use its power as thieves that have stolen from his hoard. Basically, a king is who has the might and wealth to both make and enforce the laws of their choosing.

The conflict between medieval and ancient sensibilities comes to a head between Alexander the Great and Saber. For Alexander, kings should be beyond all extremes, beyond good and evil, act out their desires and emotions to a level far surpassing that of a normal person. Kings should be larger than life in every possible way, and should make his followers long to both be like the king and to serve him. Kings are tyrants, he argues, and thus are heroes for their conquest and tyranny.

Saber represents the chivalric knight, a king who acts to bring salvation to Britain. She blames herself for her mistakes and the tragedy that led to the rebellion of her knights, and she pursues the Grail to erase herself from history. Not only is she willing to sacrifice her life for her kingdom, to give up living for one's self in order to alleviate the pains for her suffering people, she sees this as the honorable and essential aspect of being a King. 

Alexander and Gilgamesh both disagree, and Alexander tackles the idea of chivalry with this sentiment: Saber is trapped in an ideal that kings exist for others, not himself. The ideal that knights serve the people, serve their lords, serve their kingdoms, when in reality every king became king through their selfishness and greed. It is Saber's failure to lead her people, to show them how to act like a king and give them the desire to serve her, that created the lack of faith in her that led to her kingdom's destruction. 

In short: Saber's ideals were her downfall and made her a failure as a king. By extension, she is not worthy of possessing the Holy Grail. In the eyes of the ancients, a medieval king inspired by ideas of honor and chivalry is a naive fool. 

Naive, yet brutal and violent.

This inferiority of medieval kings in comparison to the ancients is both a modern medievalism as well as an insecurity realized during the era. Kings would appeal to the authority of the ancients (particularly Rome) to strengthen their own claims to power. The Church would claim that they were the new protectors of Rome and the descendents of the old Roman Emperors in authority. So for a pair of kings seen as even greater than the emperors of Rome, the first true king in Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great, for them to denounce Saber's chivalric ideals is telling. 

Again we have a piece of media implying that the Middle Ages is inferior to the ancient world, that for all its ideals it is but a naive child trying to imitate the power of ancient kings. The fact that this perspective is reaching an international understanding shows how influential this idea has become. Looking at the Middle Ages get examined and reinterpreted through the use of its characters in media is fascinating, and if you want more of this introspective look on King Arthur, then the rest of Fate/Zero is right for you!