The Once and Future King: Book 3, Chapter 25 Summary & Analysis

Fifteen years pass. Everyone is much the same, except older. Most of the original knights are still at court, except there are a horde of new ones who know Arthur only as the accepted conqueror and Lancelot as the hero of a hundred victories. The two are now legends, idealized by common folk. Moreover, the land of England is changed radically: it is sophisticated and civilized. Before men ate with their bloodied hands in dark, musty halls, now men and women alike eat with hands clean from herb-scented soap in halls bright and airy. Young, ambitious knights flock to Arthur's courts. One of the young men who come is Gareth; another is Mordred.