Bloodlines

Though I missed Kate's Monday talk because of work, her answer to a question during class Wednesday really struck me. As I was reading Morte Darthur, Arthur's basic indifference to Lancelot and Guenivere's affair seemed a a little odd. I believe he knew, but the fact that he did nothing to stop it or punish his wife or knight was definitely not a normal reaction of the time. It's possible that Arthur loved either his wife or the knight so much he just wanted to turn a blind eye or, as other posts have asserted, he didn't love her enough and didn't really care. Whatever the reason, one might expect the issue of children to be on his mind. As Kate pointed out, not only was it adultery, it was treason because it was a possibility that Lancelot could beget a child off the Queen. 

Kate's assertion that Arthur might be more interested in the brotherhood (family, bloodline) of knighthood fits why Arthur might not have been as concerned as the reader would expect. Arthur's relationship to bloodlines was muddled and convoluted at an early age, so it only makes sense that he would look elsewhere than biological reproduction to find loyalty and a chivalric lineage. On the other hand, his nephews and son/nephew are already carrying on his blood lineage in a way that was technically purer than any child Guenivere might conceive. Because of this, it is likely that Arthur felt as though his bloodline was secure and could focus on the chivalric brotherhood found with his knights rather than worry about his wife.