King Arthur As A Christ Figure Analysis

In many literary stories, the protagonist is portrayed as a Christ figure. Such is the case in Idylls of the King, written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. The protagonist, Arthur, is portrayed as a Christ figure in three ways: as a king who desires law and order, as a king with questioned paternity, and as a king who was betrayed.
Throughout Arthur's life, he exemplified characteristics that are very similar to Christ, one of these being the desire for law and order. Arthur established order by defeating the barbarians in the country. Through this act, Arthur "… drew in the petty princedoms under him, fought, and in twelve great battles overcame the heathen hordes and made a realm and reigned" (Idylls of the King, "The Coming of Arthur," pg. 19,
Guinevere told Lancelot that she could not love Arthur because he was "too perfect" and she could not "gaze upon the sun in heaven" (The Idylls of the King, "Lancelot and Elaine," pg. 155, line123). Arthur loved her with an unending love, proven when he said on his wedding day "Behold, thy doom is mine. Let chance what will, I love thee to the death!" (Idylls of the King, "The Coming of Arthur," pg. 17, line 466-467). The second person who betrayed Arthur was Lancelot, who had the affair with Guinevere. Lancelot was Arthur's best friend and most beloved knight. Unlike Guinevere, Lancelot felt guilty throughout his life because of the love affair, proven by his saying, "I needs must break these bonds that so defame me" (Idylls of the King, "Lancelot and Elaine," pg.189, line 1409-1410). He does not actually end their relationship there, but it shows that he had a guilty conscience for betraying his best friend and king. The last betrayal King Arthur faced was the betrayal of his nephew, Modred, and the majority of his knights. Modred led a revolt to take the throne from King Arthur and many of Arthur's knights followed Modred. Most of the knights that did not take Modred's side were family of Lancelot, and they fought with Lancelot, leaving Arthur with very few loyal knights to fight two wars at one time. Christ faced betrayal by those closest to Him also. Two of the twelve disciples deserted Christ when He needed them most. The first was Judas, who actually turned Christ over to the authorities for thirty silver coins. The second disciple to betray Christ was Peter. Christ told Peter that by the time the rooster crowed he would betray Christ three times. Peter swore to Christ that he would never do anything like that, that he would even die for him. But, when the rooster crowed, Peter ran and hid because he knew he had