Black Knight (Monty Python)
Encyclopedia
The Black Knight is a fictional character
who appears in a scene of the film
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
. As his name suggests, he is a black knight
who guards a "bridge" (in reality a short plank of wood) over a small stream, for unknown reasons. Although supremely skilled in swordplay, he suffers from unchecked overconfidence and a staunch refusal ever to give up.
), accompanied by his trusty serf
Patsy (Terry Gilliam
), is travelling through a forest when he enters a clearing and observes a fight taking place between a Black Knight
(John Cleese
) and a Green Knight
(also played by Gilliam) by a bridge over a small stream. As he watches, the Black Knight defeats the Green, throwing his sword straight through the eye slot of the Green Knight's helm
(during Arthur's battle with the Black Knight, the Green Knight's body can be seen in a ditch beside the area).
Arthur then congratulates the Black Knight and offers him a place at Arthur's court
on the Round Table
, but the Black Knight only stands still, holding his sword, and makes no response until Arthur moves to cross the bridge. The Black Knight then refuses to stand aside. Reluctantly, Arthur fights the Black Knight and, after a short battle, the Knight's left arm is severed.
Even at this the Knight refuses to stand aside, insisting "'Tis but a scratch", later insisting that he has "had worse", and fights on while holding his sword with his remaining arm. Next his right arm is cut off, but the knight still does not concede. As the Knight is literally disarmed, Arthur assumes the fight is over and kneels to offer a prayer to God. The Black Knight interrupts Arthur's prayer of thanks by kicking him in the side of the head and accusing him of cowardice. When Arthur points out the Black Knight's injuries, the Knight insists "It's just a flesh wound!" In response to the continued kicks and insults, Arthur chops off the Black Knight's right leg. At this point, the Knight still will not admit to defeat, instead he replies by saying, "Right, I’ll do you for that", and attempts to ram his body into Arthur's, by hopping on his left leg. Arthur is incredulous at the Black Knight's persistence, and angrily asks the Black Knight if he is going to "bleed on me" to win. The Black Knight replies by saying, "I'm invincible!" to which Arthur replies "You're a loony!" With an air of resignation, Arthur finally cuts off the left leg as well and sheathes his sword. With the Black Knight, now reduced to a mere stump of a man, Arthur finally concedes by saying, "All right, we'll call it a draw." He then summons Patsy and "rides" away, leaving the Black Knight's limbless torso screaming threats at him ("Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to ya! I'll bite your legs off!").
, and Idle
, the sequence originated in a story told to Cleese when he was attending an English class during his school days. Two Roman
wrestlers were engaged in a particularly intense match and had been fighting for such a substantial length of time that the match had degraded to the two combatants doing little more than leaning into one another with their body weight. When one wrestler finally tapped-out and pulled away from his opponent, it was only then that he and the crowd realised the other man was, in fact, dead and had effectively won the match posthumously. The moral of the tale, according to Cleese's teacher, was "if you never give up, you can't possibly lose" – a statement that, Cleese reflected, always struck him as being "philosophically unsound".
Cleese said that the scene would seem heartless and sadistic except for the fact that the Black Knight shows no pain and just keeps on fighting, or trying to, however badly he is wounded. Also, as the scene progresses and Arthur becomes increasingly annoyed, his dialogue lapses from medieval ("You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.") to modern ("Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left!"), and finally to just plain sarcastic ("What are you gonna do, bleed on me?!") while the Black Knight remains just as defiant ("I'm invincible!" he yells with only one leg left, to which Arthur simply replies "You're a looney").
This scene is undoubtedly one of the best-known of the entire film. Arguably the most famous line of the scene, "It's just a flesh wound!", has since become an expression used to comment on someone who ignores a fatal flaw or problem, either out of optimism or stubbornness. Although it is unknown where the phrase originates, it notably appeared in an early episode of The Goon Show
entitled "The Giant Bombardon", broadcast in 1954; the Monty Python group has previously confessed to being influenced by the Goons.
The Knight was, in fact, played by two actors: John Cleese is in the Knight's armour until he is down to one leg. The Knight is then played by a real one-legged man, a local by the name of Richard Burton, a blacksmith who lived near the film shoot (not to be confused with Richard Burton
, the Welsh actor of the same name), because, according to the DVD commentary, Cleese could not balance well on one leg. After the Knight's remaining leg is cut off, the quadruple-amputee that remains is again Cleese. Cleese still boasts that he had Richard Burton as his stunt double
.
In the musical
Spamalot
, the scene with the Black Knight was the most difficult to play on stage, according to Eric Idle. Penn & Teller
created the illusion for the musical.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
who appears in a scene of the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
. As his name suggests, he is a black knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
who guards a "bridge" (in reality a short plank of wood) over a small stream, for unknown reasons. Although supremely skilled in swordplay, he suffers from unchecked overconfidence and a staunch refusal ever to give up.
Overview
In the film, King Arthur (Graham ChapmanGraham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
), accompanied by his trusty serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
Patsy (Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
), is travelling through a forest when he enters a clearing and observes a fight taking place between a Black Knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
(John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
) and a Green Knight
Green Knight
The Green Knight is a character in the 14th-century Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the related work The Greene Knight. His true name is revealed to be Bercilak de Hautdesert in Sir Gawain, while The Greene Knight names him "Bredbeddle"...
(also played by Gilliam) by a bridge over a small stream. As he watches, the Black Knight defeats the Green, throwing his sword straight through the eye slot of the Green Knight's helm
Great helm
The great helm or heaume, also called pot helm, bucket helm and barrel helm, of the High Middle Ages arose in the late twelfth century in the context of the crusades and remained in use until the fourteenth century...
(during Arthur's battle with the Black Knight, the Green Knight's body can be seen in a ditch beside the area).
Arthur then congratulates the Black Knight and offers him a place at Arthur's court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
on the Round Table
Round Table
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
, but the Black Knight only stands still, holding his sword, and makes no response until Arthur moves to cross the bridge. The Black Knight then refuses to stand aside. Reluctantly, Arthur fights the Black Knight and, after a short battle, the Knight's left arm is severed.
Even at this the Knight refuses to stand aside, insisting "'Tis but a scratch", later insisting that he has "had worse", and fights on while holding his sword with his remaining arm. Next his right arm is cut off, but the knight still does not concede. As the Knight is literally disarmed, Arthur assumes the fight is over and kneels to offer a prayer to God. The Black Knight interrupts Arthur's prayer of thanks by kicking him in the side of the head and accusing him of cowardice. When Arthur points out the Black Knight's injuries, the Knight insists "It's just a flesh wound!" In response to the continued kicks and insults, Arthur chops off the Black Knight's right leg. At this point, the Knight still will not admit to defeat, instead he replies by saying, "Right, I’ll do you for that", and attempts to ram his body into Arthur's, by hopping on his left leg. Arthur is incredulous at the Black Knight's persistence, and angrily asks the Black Knight if he is going to "bleed on me" to win. The Black Knight replies by saying, "I'm invincible!" to which Arthur replies "You're a loony!" With an air of resignation, Arthur finally cuts off the left leg as well and sheathes his sword. With the Black Knight, now reduced to a mere stump of a man, Arthur finally concedes by saying, "All right, we'll call it a draw." He then summons Patsy and "rides" away, leaving the Black Knight's limbless torso screaming threats at him ("Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to ya! I'll bite your legs off!").
Behind the scenes
According to the DVD audio commentary by Cleese, PalinMichael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
, and Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, the sequence originated in a story told to Cleese when he was attending an English class during his school days. Two Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
wrestlers were engaged in a particularly intense match and had been fighting for such a substantial length of time that the match had degraded to the two combatants doing little more than leaning into one another with their body weight. When one wrestler finally tapped-out and pulled away from his opponent, it was only then that he and the crowd realised the other man was, in fact, dead and had effectively won the match posthumously. The moral of the tale, according to Cleese's teacher, was "if you never give up, you can't possibly lose" – a statement that, Cleese reflected, always struck him as being "philosophically unsound".
Cleese said that the scene would seem heartless and sadistic except for the fact that the Black Knight shows no pain and just keeps on fighting, or trying to, however badly he is wounded. Also, as the scene progresses and Arthur becomes increasingly annoyed, his dialogue lapses from medieval ("You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.") to modern ("Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left!"), and finally to just plain sarcastic ("What are you gonna do, bleed on me?!") while the Black Knight remains just as defiant ("I'm invincible!" he yells with only one leg left, to which Arthur simply replies "You're a looney").
This scene is undoubtedly one of the best-known of the entire film. Arguably the most famous line of the scene, "It's just a flesh wound!", has since become an expression used to comment on someone who ignores a fatal flaw or problem, either out of optimism or stubbornness. Although it is unknown where the phrase originates, it notably appeared in an early episode of The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
entitled "The Giant Bombardon", broadcast in 1954; the Monty Python group has previously confessed to being influenced by the Goons.
The Knight was, in fact, played by two actors: John Cleese is in the Knight's armour until he is down to one leg. The Knight is then played by a real one-legged man, a local by the name of Richard Burton, a blacksmith who lived near the film shoot (not to be confused with Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, the Welsh actor of the same name), because, according to the DVD commentary, Cleese could not balance well on one leg. After the Knight's remaining leg is cut off, the quadruple-amputee that remains is again Cleese. Cleese still boasts that he had Richard Burton as his stunt double
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
.
In the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Spamalot
Spamalot
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, the scene with the Black Knight was the most difficult to play on stage, according to Eric Idle. Penn & Teller
Penn & Teller
Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. Penn Jillette is a raconteur; Teller generally uses mime while performing, although his voice can occasionally be heard during their performance...
created the illusion for the musical.