Pop Culture References of Wizard101: Avalon – The Black Knight

The Black Knight – The Black Knight (Monty Python) & The Black Knight (Arthurian Legend)
https://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/Creature:Black_Knight
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Knight_(Monty_Python)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Knight_(Arthurian_legend)

Queen Gwendolyn has sent to you to procure a Silver Rose from the Garden of Belle Regard. The Black Knight is a former Knight that guards the Tower of Belle Regard, and the Silver Roses in its garden. You must defeat the Black Knight.

However, he deifies your entreaties by telling you that, “None shall pass.”

Once defeated he dismisses his injuries with, “‘Tis but a scratch! I’ve had worse! No I haven’t.”

The Black Knight is a fictional character who appears in a scene of the feature film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He is a knight dressed in black and is based on the black knight of Arthurian Legends. He guards a “bridge” over a small stream. Although supremely skilled in swordplay, the Black Knight suffers from unchecked overconfidence and a staunch refusal ever to give up.

The Black Knight blocks King Arthur’s attempts to cross the “bridge” saying, “None shall pass!”

After having his left arm severed, the Knight refuses to admit defeat and states, “‘Tis but a scratch.” The Black Knight is played by John Cleese in the film.

Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) was a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 and consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for creating and performing the sketch comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969–1974). Their work then evolved from the series into a larger and more influential collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music. Regarded as an enduring icon of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being “an important moment in the evolution of television comedy”.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) and directed by Gilliam and Jones in their feature directorial debuts. It was conceived during the hiatus between the third and fourth series of their BBC Television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Although the Black Knight of Avalon has definitive roots in the Pythonesque version, both would seem to be based on The Black Knight from Arthurian legend. The Black Knight appears in various forms in Arthurian legend. Some of the more notable ones include:

A supernatural Black Knight is summoned by Sir Calogrenant (Cynon ap Clydno in Welsh mythology) in the tale of Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. The Black Knight bests Calogrenant, but the Black Knight is later killed by Ywain (Owain mab Urien) when he attempts to complete the quest that Calogrenant failed.

A black knight is also mentioned in Le Morte d’Arthur: The Tale of Sir Gareth (Book IV) as having been killed by Gareth when he was traveling to rescue Lyonesse.

A black knight is the son of Tom a’ Lincoln and Anglitora (the daughter of Prester John) in Richard Johnson’s Arthurian romance, Tom a Lincoln. Through Tom, he is a grandson of King Arthur’s, though his proper name is never given. He killed his mother after hearing from his father’s ghost that she had murdered him. He later joined the Faerie Knight, his half-brother, in adventures.

And what is my favorite considering the fact that John Cleese played both Lancelot and the Black Knight in MPatHG, The Black Knight is an alias of Sir Lancelot in which Sir Galehaut first knows him by during the Lancelot-Grail cycle.

The current list of all the (known) Avalon references are located here.

Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references, I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages

The Black Knight image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail images (c) EMI and Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd.

The Black Knight image is borrowed from issuu.com no attribution given at site

Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.