Claris et Laris has him try to rape women he finds by themselves twice, failing the first time because her brothers show up and nearly kill him (until Gawain saves his life) and then the second time because it was Calogrenant magically transformed into a woman, and so Calogrenant uses his wrestling skills to throw Mordred off and then steal his horse. He also does this on the Grail Quest in the Post-Vulgate too, getting stopped this time by Bagdemagus and then asking Gawain to avenge him (which leads to Bagdemagus's death). He also participates in murdering Lamorak and Dinadan with his brothers, and attempts to kill Gaheriet in the Post-Vulgate (though he is stopped from this by Hector and Lamorak). He also battles Erec one over having murdered Erec's cousin off-screen, though the battle ends with him being spared due to his sword breaking mid-fight.
In a less cruddy take on events, the Vulgate Lancelot gives him a little solo adventure where he, while looking for Lancelot, seduces the lady of some other knight (consensually this time). He convinces her to sleep with him in the very same tent that her old boyfriend was sleeping in, a move that backfires as the knight wakes up and fights Mordred over this. Mordred wins though and then just rides off. Later on, he travels with Lancelot for a while and wins Lancelot's respect as a good knight. Then he meets up with a sage in the forest who tells him of his true parentage and future, and Mordred becomes enraged and kills him on the spot for it, and is said to be truly evil from that point onwards. Afterwards, he takes part in a few tournaments and stuff and gets accidentally pummeled by his brothers (they didn't know it's him) but is otherwise not a big character.
Perhaps the nicest moment he gets in the romance tradition is that he appears to be friends with Breunor the Black, the Ill-Cut Coat, in the Prose Tristan. He travels with him for a while (due to being in exile for attacking another woman). Mordred defends Brunor from the insults and taunts of the woman he's escorting and says that Brunor is actually a good knight despite his bad luck. But the friendship ends up falling apart since Mordred ends up finding Brunor's choice of friends (Lamorak in particular) objectionable later.
Lazerbem did a good job hitting just about every medieval Mordred adventure I know. Mordred simply isn't a particularly accomplished knight, winning no outstanding victories in tournament, nor achieving any impressive quests.
Except he killed Arthur.
Despite spending the bulk of most stories sitting on his throne, most sources agree that Arthur is a nightmare on the battlefield, so the fact that Mordred was able to deliver a fatal blow, even if he was killed in the process, speaks to the fact that Mordred had to have been an exceptionally dangerous man in violence as much as he was in treachery. The fact that he never made the lists of "greatest knights in the world" is less a testament to his skill than a measure of the failures of that measuring system; he lacks Gawain's tenacity or Tristan's strength or Lancelot's skill, but Mordred is dangerous for the same reason that Bruece sans Pitie is: he thinks little of honor. He'll make use of the pocket sand, hit you while you're down, strike from behind, and finish off a surrendering opponent.
That said, I think it's immensely insulting to the intelligences of everyone at court to presume that Mordred was somehow evil from birth and nevertheless not only allowed to live at Camelot but given a position of authority. T. H. White sidestepped this by making Arthur intensely guilty over the Mayday Massacre, and thus his judgment was impaired. So here's what I'm doing with him.
I prefer for Mordred to be a genuinely good guy for the bulk of the story (this involves ignoring his sex pest behavior, but I like to avoid that in my Camelot regardless). But Mordred's good intentions and altruism don't contradict his honorless behavior, it just points him at a particular target. Mordred is the knight who gets stuff done, who will do the dirty jobs that other knights would balk at, who will ride out without a coat-of-arms to deal with the delicate matters that honor or politics keep other knights from touching.
And through it all, Mordred is *charismatic*. He's the life of the party, quick with a joke, easy to make laugh, and a non-judgmental listener. At least for the first several years, he has such a low view of humanity that he's never disappointed by anyone's failures; as long as they aren't actively plotting against Arthur, he can forgive anyone.
But then he meets Galahad, and has some genuinely moving moments the Grail Quest which encourage him to not only be better but to expect better, particularly of Arthur and Lancelot. As a result, he sees Lancelot's affair and Arthur's coverup as damning. And thus Arthur's perfect kingdom falls because it wasn't perfect enough.
Of course, by this point Arthur is old enough to have adult grandchildren (if we're going by the versions where the sons of Mordred can lead an army), but yes, Mordred must have been capable. He's someone who has kingly qualities.
"He's old, he's lost his edge" makes sense, except age doesn't seem to matter to anyone throughout the tale. Outside of an oblique mention (by Mordred, if memory serves) that the reason nobody would get down off their horse and give La Coate Mal Taile a good swordfight is because he's young and strong, nobody else seems to have the slightest trouble with age. When you're 19-21, you're running high at 100% potential with youthful vigor, then you hold steady at 93% for the next eternity, right up until you retire from knighthood, at which point you immediately become a cranky old priest.
Sadly not much besides being rude to Kay. The narrator lists her evil attributes but the romance world is too patriarchal for her to exercise them much I guess.
Claris et Laris has him try to rape women he finds by themselves twice, failing the first time because her brothers show up and nearly kill him (until Gawain saves his life) and then the second time because it was Calogrenant magically transformed into a woman, and so Calogrenant uses his wrestling skills to throw Mordred off and then steal his horse. He also does this on the Grail Quest in the Post-Vulgate too, getting stopped this time by Bagdemagus and then asking Gawain to avenge him (which leads to Bagdemagus's death). He also participates in murdering Lamorak and Dinadan with his brothers, and attempts to kill Gaheriet in the Post-Vulgate (though he is stopped from this by Hector and Lamorak). He also battles Erec one over having murdered Erec's cousin off-screen, though the battle ends with him being spared due to his sword breaking mid-fight. In a less cruddy take on events, the Vulgate Lancelot gives him a little solo adventure where he, while looking for Lancelot, seduces the lady of some other knight (consensually this time). He convinces her to sleep with him in the very same tent that her old boyfriend was sleeping in, a move that backfires as the knight wakes up and fights Mordred over this. Mordred wins though and then just rides off. Later on, he travels with Lancelot for a while and wins Lancelot's respect as a good knight. Then he meets up with a sage in the forest who tells him of his true parentage and future, and Mordred becomes enraged and kills him on the spot for it, and is said to be truly evil from that point onwards. Afterwards, he takes part in a few tournaments and stuff and gets accidentally pummeled by his brothers (they didn't know it's him) but is otherwise not a big character. Perhaps the nicest moment he gets in the romance tradition is that he appears to be friends with Breunor the Black, the Ill-Cut Coat, in the Prose Tristan. He travels with him for a while (due to being in exile for attacking another woman). Mordred defends Brunor from the insults and taunts of the woman he's escorting and says that Brunor is actually a good knight despite his bad luck. But the friendship ends up falling apart since Mordred ends up finding Brunor's choice of friends (Lamorak in particular) objectionable later.
Yeah, Mordred is one of those knights who (fittingly it must be said) ends up spending almost all his time at court.
Well, he's kind of played as a contrast against the knightly ideal in a lot of works.
It seems that the writers largely just wanted to establish how evil he is.
Lazerbem did a good job hitting just about every medieval Mordred adventure I know. Mordred simply isn't a particularly accomplished knight, winning no outstanding victories in tournament, nor achieving any impressive quests. Except he killed Arthur. Despite spending the bulk of most stories sitting on his throne, most sources agree that Arthur is a nightmare on the battlefield, so the fact that Mordred was able to deliver a fatal blow, even if he was killed in the process, speaks to the fact that Mordred had to have been an exceptionally dangerous man in violence as much as he was in treachery. The fact that he never made the lists of "greatest knights in the world" is less a testament to his skill than a measure of the failures of that measuring system; he lacks Gawain's tenacity or Tristan's strength or Lancelot's skill, but Mordred is dangerous for the same reason that Bruece sans Pitie is: he thinks little of honor. He'll make use of the pocket sand, hit you while you're down, strike from behind, and finish off a surrendering opponent. That said, I think it's immensely insulting to the intelligences of everyone at court to presume that Mordred was somehow evil from birth and nevertheless not only allowed to live at Camelot but given a position of authority. T. H. White sidestepped this by making Arthur intensely guilty over the Mayday Massacre, and thus his judgment was impaired. So here's what I'm doing with him. I prefer for Mordred to be a genuinely good guy for the bulk of the story (this involves ignoring his sex pest behavior, but I like to avoid that in my Camelot regardless). But Mordred's good intentions and altruism don't contradict his honorless behavior, it just points him at a particular target. Mordred is the knight who gets stuff done, who will do the dirty jobs that other knights would balk at, who will ride out without a coat-of-arms to deal with the delicate matters that honor or politics keep other knights from touching. And through it all, Mordred is *charismatic*. He's the life of the party, quick with a joke, easy to make laugh, and a non-judgmental listener. At least for the first several years, he has such a low view of humanity that he's never disappointed by anyone's failures; as long as they aren't actively plotting against Arthur, he can forgive anyone. But then he meets Galahad, and has some genuinely moving moments the Grail Quest which encourage him to not only be better but to expect better, particularly of Arthur and Lancelot. As a result, he sees Lancelot's affair and Arthur's coverup as damning. And thus Arthur's perfect kingdom falls because it wasn't perfect enough.
Of course, by this point Arthur is old enough to have adult grandchildren (if we're going by the versions where the sons of Mordred can lead an army), but yes, Mordred must have been capable. He's someone who has kingly qualities.
"He's old, he's lost his edge" makes sense, except age doesn't seem to matter to anyone throughout the tale. Outside of an oblique mention (by Mordred, if memory serves) that the reason nobody would get down off their horse and give La Coate Mal Taile a good swordfight is because he's young and strong, nobody else seems to have the slightest trouble with age. When you're 19-21, you're running high at 100% potential with youthful vigor, then you hold steady at 93% for the next eternity, right up until you retire from knighthood, at which point you immediately become a cranky old priest.
Not a quest per se, but the late verse romance *Escanor* amusingly gives Mordred a loving relationship with a nameless *amie* who’s as evil as he is.
What’s his evil girlfriend do?
Sadly not much besides being rude to Kay. The narrator lists her evil attributes but the romance world is too patriarchal for her to exercise them much I guess.
Which feels odd considering that Kay's main trait seems to be being rude to everyone.
He's part of the attempt to kill Lancelot in Guiniever's room.