A QUEEN WILL ALWAYS TURN PAIN INTO POWER

The Queen's perspective:

Finally, I have received the opportunity to try on the “Mantle of Truth”. Being extremely confident that the mantle will fit I quickly ran to the room to try it on. Saying confidently to myself that there is no way this mantle will not fit and exposed me. I am the Queen I am faithful, powerful and extremely loyal to my beloved. Unfortunately, the mantle did not fit. I yelled OMG why is it so little? I am about to be exposed. Suddenly, everyone burst out in laughter. I tore the mantle off, sat on the floor and began to cry while asking myself: Did they hear all my deepest secret? Why wouldn’t the mantle fit and why are they laughing? Did all my secret that I have been hiding from my husband all these years have been exposed. Lord have mercy how can my husband and the people at the court find out about all the naughty activities I have been partaking in.  This is very problematic I am about to lose my title as a queen. What am I going to do?  Confidently, I got up off the floor, walked out of the room as if I was walking on the runway, kiss my husband and gave the mantle to the maiden. Thinking anyone that defeat the QUEEN WILL DIE !!

The Lens of Truth

As the final maiden put on the mantle, the room got silent. All the women were shocked when the outfit fit the girl. When the messenger left the castle, the court went to celebrate. When the messenger returned to the elf woman he looked very nervous. The woman greeted him and asked if King Arthur followed her demands. The messenger replied and said that the king did follow his orders but was distraught to see all of the women in his court humiliated. She then gave the messenger a small mirror and told him to take it to King Arthur. This mirror, known as the lens of truth, was an artifact that revealed the nature of someone's heart. The lens looked to be in the shape of an eye with spikes sticking out from the top. It was purple and red and covered in strange messages. The messenger went back to King Arthur and gave him the mirror. When the messenger left weird things began to happen at the castle. The events started small like the flickering of lights and odd noises in the halls. After about six months of a series of strange and unfortunate events, the king decided to investigate the artifact. His court found that the lens was cursed by the elf woman. One of the messages on the lens was Valar morghulis, which translates to "All men must die." A few days later a Plague hit the kingdom, killing at least a third of the men in the country. Arthur believed that it was the work of evil spirits that came upon the land and the lens was where they were coming from. Arthur and his court took the lens into the forest to hide it in the one place they believed no one could find it, at the bottom of a well. As time passed, the knowledge of the lens faded into legend, The area surrounding the well eventually became a village. No one knows why but the village is still haunted to this day. Hopefully, someone will find and destroy the lens of truth. 

It wasn't me

when the women put on the mantle, and it gets really short, "it wasn't me."

It was just a foot rub.

The Queen's thoughts:

Try on this mantle? Well, it is quite beautiful. Yes, I shall wear it. I go for long walks in the garden often. My legs will look fantastic in this.

Ah, yes. A very nice fabric. Wonder what its made of. Wait, what's it doing? Did it just shrink? I could have sworn it was a little longer. It still kind of fits. But, is that a draft I feel on my ankles? Dear God, I hope no one's looking. A queen's got to stay modest.

Give it back? No, of course it fits. It means what? What sorcery is this? So, I let another man play with my feet. If Arthur was more willing to give me a foot rub every now and then, I never would've gone to another man.

You know what? Fine. I didn't want the damned thing anyway.

Look at all these women. So unfaithful. They got much farther than I did. Valven's beloved took it in the butt and thinks that means she's still faithful. Ha! King Urien's daughter hiked up her skirt for anyone who looked her way. You should be a little more grateful, Arthur. At least I didn't let the guy suck on my toes. He was rather odd, that servant.

You should really count your blessings, my love.

That---that woman isn't human. Or, her beloved gives damned good foot rubs.

At the end of the tale, the following quote appears:

"Now let no one say anything but good about women, because it is more fitting to conceal than to reveal something, even though one may know the true state of affairs."

                 -Kalinke, in Wilhelm, p. 223

This quote curiously seems to encourage deceit and secrecy, despite the theme of the rest of the saga which appeared to encourage honesty and purity. The comedic aspects of the tale perhaps use these final words as a last attempt to mock Arthurian romance, making clear the ridiculous ideals of the past.

It takes two...

It takes two to tango..

In this tale there is a certain scene that describes the choice of being unfaithful only to the women. It makes it seem that if a man is unfaithful; it is at no fault of his. For surely he was tricked into by the woman by agreeing to take part in her "follies". This quote explains how a man is not reprehensible for his action. "we shall never admit that a good, valiant man is reprehensible because his beloved besmirches herself with another man; rather, she herself is as evil because of her deeds and vices as is he who consented to her follies." (pg 221). When the cloak shows how the women in the court have been unfaithful, the men are shocked. They are ashamed of their wives and disappointed in them. Yet no husband is upset that another man has slept with his wife. It is like the husbands are forgetting that it takes two people to be unfaithful, and that there is another person is at blame. Shouldn't the husbands be more upset that a fellow  knight, and friend has betrayed them by sleeping with their wife? Rather than only putting the blame and betrayal on their betrothed? The tale makes it seem that women are the only ones who are unfaithful and who are into sex.Yet it takes two to tango.. 

                                             

There's more than one

Sir Karadín's lover puts on the cloak and to his delight, he sees that she has indeed been faithful to him. Surely she must be the only maiden in the land who has been completely faithful to her knight. Wrong.
A quiet, young maid who was serving the king and his subjects their meal was persuaded to put on the cloak as a joke from the drunken knights (too many drinks for dinner). She was shy and slightly hesitant but put on the cloak at long last. To everyone's surprise, it fit perfectly. There was no such unfaithfulness found in her. Now the deal was whoever the cloak fit perfectly should have it for themselves, but here there was a problem. Both of the maidens who had the cloak fit perfectly did not care who kept it, but the men being the pigs they were wanted to see a winner. Basically they just wanted to see who could get in the goody goody's pants.
King Arthur, seeing the knights longing for a decision, decided that the two young ladies would fight for it. Normally the knights entertained others with their clashes and fights, but now the knights were in for a little dinner and a show. Sir Karadín gave his sword and gear to his maiden to protect her, the young waitress, not having her man there, was forced to fight without armor and a borrowed sword. The knights moved the tables out of the center of the room and cleared an area for the fight to go down. The two maidens took their respective sides very uneasily and waited for the word from King Arthur to begin their duel. The knights eagerly leaned in and waited, King Arthur took a quick glance around the room and then yelled, "FIGHT".