King Arthur

Lancelot: [voiceover] By 300 AD, the Roman Empire extended from Arabia to Britain. But they wanted more. More land. More peoples loyal and subservient to Rome. But no people so important as the powerful Sarmatians to the east. Thousands died on that field. And when the smoke cleared on the fourth day, the only Sarmatian soldiers left alive were members of the decimated but legendary cavalry. The Romans, impressed by their bravery and horsemanship, spared their lives. In exchange, these warriors were incorporated into the Roman military. Better they had died that day. Young Lancelot: Father. They are here. Lancelot: For the second part of the bargain they struck indebted not only themselves... Lancelot's Father: The day has come. Lancelot: ...but also their sons, and their sons, and so on, to serve the empire as knights. I was such a son.

King Arthur (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Arthur: Knights... Brothers and arms... Your courage has been tested beyond all limits. Bors: Yes. Arthur: But I must ask you now for one further trial. Bors: Drink. Arthur: We must leave on a final mission for Rome before our freedom can be granted. Above the wall, far north, there is a Roman family in need of rescue. They are trapped by Saxons. Our orders is to secure their safety. Bors: Let the Romans take care of their own. Gawain: Above the wall is Woad territory. Galahad: Our duty to Rome, if it ever was a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done. Bors: Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you. And instead of freedom you want more blood? Our blood? You think more of Roman blood than you do of ours? Arthur: Bors! These are our orders. We leave at first light, and when we return your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with honour. Bors: I'm a free man! I will choose my own fate! Tristan: Yeah, yeah, we're all going to die someday. If

King Arthur (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Merlin: So Rome is leaving. The Saxon is come. The world we have known and fought for is ended. Now we must make a new world. Arthur: Your world, Merlin, not mine. I shall be in Rome. Merlin: To find peace? The Saxon will come to Rome. Arthur: My knights trust me not to betray them to their enemy! Merlin: Rome was my enemy. Not Arthur. We have no fight between us now. Arthur: You tell that to the knights you've killed before my eyes, whose bones are buried in this earth. Merlin: We have all lost brothers- Arthur: [furious] YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE LOSS I SPEAK! Shall I help you remember? An attack on a village. The screams of an innocent woman [Arthur sees a flashback of his mother's death]...I ran to the burial mound of my father to free her, to kill you. [Arthur hold his sword to Merlin's throat] I feel the heat of that fire on my face even now. Merlin: I did not wish her dead. She was of our blood...as are you. Guinevere: If you were so determined to leave us to slaughter, why did yo

King Arthur (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Cerdic: Arthur. Wherever I go on this wretched island, I hear your name. Always half-whispered, as if you were a god. All I see is flesh and blood, no more god than the creature you're sitting on. Arthur: Speak your terms, Saxon. Cerdic: The Romans have left you. Who are you fighting for? Arthur: I fight for a cause beyond Rome's or your understanding. Cerdic: You come to beg a truce. You should be on your knees. [Arthur levels his sword at Cerdic's face] Arthur: I came to see your face, so that I alone may find you on the battlefield. And it would be good for you to mark my face, Saxon, for the next time you see it, it will be the last thing you see on this earth! [Arthur rides off] Cerdic: Ah... Ah, finally. A man worth killing.

King Arthur (film), CC BY-SA 4.0