On the identities of quest objects
-
If the Cup that Heals is the Holy Grail, then does that mean the Sword of Freedom is Excalibur? Julie did have to pull it out of a stone after all.
And if that’s the case, what are the counterparts of the Crowning Glory and the Shield (who’s title I cannot recall)? Crowns and shields scarcely take center stage in legends.
Then again I could have forgotten something obvious. Or maybe there isn’t any secret symbolism behind the quest objects. Either way, I’m curious to hear what you think.
-
The first team to be able to choose their quest object were Team 7 of Series 2. They were presented with the Cup that Heals, the Shield of Liberty and the Sword of Justice (and a Fire Exit). Interesting how the Sword and Shield swapped characteristics over time, later becoming known as the Sword of Freedom and Shield of Justice, almost as if someone wasn't keeping track...
I've always seen the Series 7's sword in the stone as a casual in-joke rather than anything significant. I much prefer the nod to Excalibur in Series 3 when a floating sword unexpectedly comes out of the pool.
In Series 6, Treguard referred to the Crown as having a "not at all ordinary" history, so I regard it as a historical artefact rather than a magical object.
In one of the Knightmare gamebooks, the object of the quest was the future King Arthur himself, so we could speculate that all the quest objects are Arthurian in some way (including the Series 2 talisman but excluding Gretel and Mellisandre). Maybe Merlin had a hand in that.
We could also speculate on whether there is more than one of each object. In Series 5, once the Shield was retrieved, the remaining teams couldn't quest for it; in Series 6, one team was allowed to quest for the Crown immediately after the previous team had retrieved it. In this clip, Treguard is holding the Crown one moment and it's gone the next.
-
I'd argue that the crown was possibly that of Charlemagne who held a mythical status in many European countries that resonates in some form to the present day.
-
I'd argue that the crown was possibly that of Charlemagne who held a mythical status in many European countries that resonates in some form to the present day.
I like this interpretation.
I assumed at the time (and continue to assume) that the name of the quest object was the "Crown in Glory" - a play on "crowning glory" in addition to naming the object as a crown (unless it's a "glory"!), ie. a glorious crown, but that is just conjecture.
There also could be a Biblical connection, as there are references throughout to a "Crown of Glory":
*She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.*
(Proverbs 4:9)
Biblical scholars have connected the "crown of glory" in Proverbs as a mark of wisdom and knowledge, coming from advanced age and experience (hence the white colour of the crown, from white hair) coupled with honouring God, eg.:
*The hoary head is a crown of glory,
If it be found in the way of righteousness.*
(Proverbs 16:31)
1 Peter 5:4 also references it as "a crown of glory that fades not away".
If this interpretation pertains to Knightmare at all, the Crown could not only be one of glory, but of wisdom, knowledge and honour.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login