Monty Python and the Holy Grail--Funny but Accurate

            There aren’t many historically accurate movies out there that can make you laugh. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of the few that will. This movie is full of slapstick humor and is a cult-humor classic. The movie is about the king Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and their quest to find the Holy Grail. The whole movie is accurate in terms of weapons, armor, castles, ceremonies, and legendary heroes. What this movie does is take these historical truths and poke fun at them.

           

            The movie is set in England in the year 932 A.D. From the start of the movie we run into our first issue with reality. King Arthur appears through the fog riding…nothing. He skips along on foot acting like he is riding a horse while his lackey (Patsy) jogs behind hitting coconut shells together to make the sound of horse hoofs (this is why Dr. Wolbrink had the coconuts in class). If anyone was traveling over long distances in those days, they would be on a horse (the no horse trend continues throughout the movie). In the movie, Patsy is holding a large trunk on his back along with a horn and other camping gear. 

           

            One thing that was historically accurate in the movie were the castles. The castles were in fact filmed from a single real castle. The castle used was Doune Castle located in central Scottland and Castle Stalker. These castles have very high, thick walls with plenty of defenses. In one scene, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table attack a French controlled castle. The attack was repulsed by the French throwing live animals and other objects over the walls at the Knights of the Round Table. Although none of the castles had a human-built moat to hinder troops from taking the castle, the Castle Stalker was small but built on a small island with a natural lake surrounding it. This would be a very good defense against attackers trying to take the castle.

           

            Another thing that was funny but still held some accuracy was the burning of a witch. In the movie the “witch” is actually a woman that the towns people dressed up to look like a witch. She has a carrot nose held on with string and a metal funnel for a hat. The towns people even admit to dressing her up that way but they test her anyway. The way they test her is they compare her weight to a duck on a large scale. The logic is witches burn because they’re made of wood, wood floats in water, ducks float in water, if she weighs the same as a duck she is made of wood, therefore she is a witch. She does not pass the test and she is taken away to be burned. This kind of logic was present back in medieval times when the understanding of how biology worked was not understood yet. If a bug crawled out from under a rock, the logic was that rock made a bug somehow.

           

            Another legend that was sacrificed on the altar of comedy was the legend of The Black Knight. In the movie The Black Knight is seen battling another knight trying to cross a very small wooden bridge over a small creek (the creek could be jumped across). His camp is seen on the other side. As the Black Knight battles the challenger, the fighting style is very slapstick-like. There is no real honor to style to it and The Black Knight kills the challenger by throwing his broadsword through the air and stabbing the challenger through the head, through the opening in his visor. This is not very likely to happen since the opening is very small but it was very funny.

            

When King Arthur attempts to cross the bridge he must defeat the Black Knight, and he does, with ease. The movie makes The Black Knight look like a weakling and has no skill in combat. In the movie an interesting point is made when The Black Knight says “The Black Knight always triumphs!” This I feel was intentional because in the legends The Black Knight is always the victor. Instead of sticking to the legend, the movie has its own spin on it. The Black Knight ends up loosing all his limbs but never bleeds out and says he will bite Arthur’s legs off (yes this is the kind of movie this is).

           

            Towards the middle of the movie, there is a scene involving Sir Lancelot and a medieval wedding ceremony. The ceremony is also accurate. It has a musical group playing instrauments such as the shawm, the racket (guitar like), a hand drum, and the reed pipe. In the court yard was prepared food including fruits, vegetables, and various meats. The marriage ceremony was held in the main hall of the castle. Friends and family of the bride were present at the party socializing and dancing. In the scene Sir Lancelot goes crazy and trashes the party by killing several wedding guests in order to rescue the “princess” in the tower from her father. It turns out that the prince was the one who sent the note asking for help, which nullifies the nobility of the quest.

           

            Another historically accurate object in the movie is the central main character, King Arthur. The real king Arthur is a larger than life character who wields Excalibur and is the defeater of the Saxons. The King Arthur in the film looks accurate for the time period and instead of a lion on his tunic he wears a sun with a mustache. This is also seen on his standard held by his lackey, Patsy. King Arthur in the film even alludes to his father Uther Pendragon. The film has made King Arthur has he should be but they put their own funny twist on his character.

           

            Although this film contains mystical or magical elements to it, the film is largely historically accurate. Nothing in the film that includes dress, weapons, environment, logic, or technology is inaccurate for that time period. The movie is a blend of modern touches, mythical legend, and historical accuracy. This movie is by far one of my favorites and makes me laugh every time I watch it. I can also just about quote the whole thing. This is a great film to watch and I would recommend everyone watch it.

           

Work Cited

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin,. England: EMI Films, 1975. Film.