Kay

Arthur’s seneschal and, in later legends, his foster-brother. He was transferred to romance from Welsh legend, where he appears as Cei, though the Welsh may have adopted the name from the Roman Caius. Almost all of the legends in which he appears—from the Welsh tales to the French and German romances to Malory—give him a rude, brash, and insulting temperament. In Welsh legend, he backs up his tongue with a number of unique abilities, but most stories portray him as an inferior warrior. A small number of texts depict him as a essentially noble knight who often falls victim to his own tongue and temper. With no romance of his own, he appears as a supporting—and generally antagonistic—character in the stories of other knights such as Perceval, Lancelot, and Yvain.
We first meet Cei in the Welsh Culhwch and Olwen and in several short poems. His father’s name was Cynyr, and he had a son named Garanwyn and a daughter named Celemon. Coldness and stubbornness were prophecized for Cei before his birth. Cei had a number of supernatural skills, including the ability to hold his breath underwater for nine days, to go without sleeping for the same period, to grow as tall as a tree, to generate enough heat to light a fire, and to deliver an incurable wound with his sword. In addition, he was the handsomest of Arthur’s warriors. “Vain was an army compared to Cei in battle,” says a Welsh poem, which describes his victories against nine witches and the fearsome Cath Palug. In Culhwch, he accompanies Culhwch on his quest to find Olwen, and he accomplishes several of Culhwch’s tasks, including the slaying of Wrnach the Giant, the rescuing of Mabon, and the theft of the beard of Dillus the Bearded. After Cei killed Dillus, Arthur made up an insulting rhyme about the incident, causing a rift between Arthur and Cei that lasted until Cei’s death. Cei was killed by another of Arthur’s warriors—Gwyddawg—whom Arthur killed in revenge.
Geoffrey of Monmouth brought his character, Latinized as Kay, into the Arthurian section of Historia Regum Britanniae, which was adapted by Wace and Layamon. After Arthur ascended the throne of Britain, he gave Anjou to Kay. Later, Kay and Bedivere helped him kill the giant of Saint Michael’s Mount. After distinguishing himself in the Roman war, Kay was killed by King Sertorius of Libya at the battle of Soissons. Arthur had him buried in the castle of Caen or Chinon, which Kay had built. According to Layamon, Arthur changed the name of the castle’s town to Caen.
Kay became known to Chrétien de Troyes probably through Wace’s Roman de Brut. Chrétien gave him roles in his Erec, Lancelot, Yvain, and Perceval. Hartmann von Aue, in turn, included him in his Erec and Iwein, as did Wolfram von Eschenbach in Parzival. Through Wolfram, he became known to other German authors such as Der Stricker (Daniel) and Der Pleier (Garel).
Kay’s role in these romances is rarely flattering. He goads other knights, abuses women and dwarves, wheedles his way into adventures (in which he fails), and maliciously sends young knights off on dangerous quests—only to be humiliated when they succeed. It became de rigueur in these French and German romances to include an episode in which Kay scorned or offended the hero, only to later be repaid for his insolence. In Chrétien’s Lancelot, he coerces Arthur into letting him try to rescue Guinevere from Meleagant, and then is defeated and imprisoned by Meleagant. In Yvain, he makes fun of Yvain for setting out on an adventure, and later is defeated in combat by Yvain, who has won the adventure. In Perceval and its adaptations, Kay’s abuse of a dwarf and a lady results in a broken arm and collar bone when Perceval avenges them. Malory notes how he bullied Gareth and Brunor only to be humiliated by their successes.
In a number of tales, however, Kay is described as a brave and valiant warrior who often falls victim to his brash tongue. Of Kay, Les Merveilles de Rigomer says: “The seneschal was very valiant, and had never been a coward or confused; but he did say a lot of stupid things. Some of the other knights were more laudable, although not more brave, than Kay, who often lost respect due to station because of his brash way of speaking.” Similarly, Heinrich von dem Türlin says, “Although Keii might be unpleasant and quite mannerless, he still had not lost the pride of nobility. Indeed, he was so brave that he wouldn’t avoid any monster.”
In several French romances, on the other hand, Kay is evil in earnest. In Perlesvaus, he murders Loholt, Arthur’s son, in his sleep, and then claims credit for a giant which Loholt had slain. When this crime is exposed, Kay flees Arthur’s court for Brittany and joins forces with Brian of the Isles, Arthur’s enemy. The two knights lead an army against Arthur, but are defeated at the battle of Cardueil. Kay is wounded, and he flees to Chinon to live out his days as a fugitive. In Yder, he tries twice to murder the noble Sir Yder by poison. The First Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval includes an episode (resolved in the Third Continuation) in which Kay murders Sir Silimac and is defeated in judicial combat by Gawain for this homicide. The Dutch Walewein ende Keye also portrays him in an extremely unflattering manner, and he is eventually run out of Arthur’s court after slandering Gawain.
In the Vulgate Cycle, we find the biography of Kay that will last through the remainder of the Arthurian legends, including the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. He was the son of Antor or Ector, Arthur’s foster-father. When the infant Arthur came to Antor’s household, he was suckled by Antor’s wife, while Kay was nursed by a peasant wet-nurse, which was responsible for his evil tongue. Arthur was originally intended as Kay’s squire. This all changed after Uther Pendragon’s death, when a certain Sword in a Stone appeared outside a church in Logres or London. Attending the tournament there, Kay lost his sword. Arthur, unable to find it, drew the sword from the stone and presented it to Kay. Kay, realizing the significance of the sword, originally claimed that he drew it, but revealed the truth under his father’s interrogation. Arthur then acquiesced to Ector’s request that Kay become his seneschal. Kay proved himself worthy—if still ill-mannered—during the following wars against the rebellious kings, the Saxons, King Claudas, King Rions, and the five kings who met with Arthur at the battle of the Humber. As in the chronicles, Kay accompanied Arthur to Mont St. Michel and to the Roman War, where—in an important variation from the chronicles—he survived the battle of Soissons. He then returned to Britain with Arthur and became the bullying, inferior knight described in the romances. If he was not particularly noble, however, neither was he particularly wicked. He acquitted himself well in several adventures and earned his place at the Round Table. He was eventually killed in the second Roman War, just after Arthur’s war with Lancelot.
Chrétien gives him a son named Gronosis, and Heinrich von dem Türlin names his sweetheart as Galida. In the First Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval, he is in love with Lady Lore of Branlant. In Girart D’Amiens’ Escanor, he wins a tournament at Banborc and falls in love with the lady Andrivete, whom he eventually marries.