Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Investiture (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

King Uther understood exactly what Kay had said, yet like many parents, he harbored a stubborn resistance to backing down before his own children. Such behavior is far from uncommon. Often, even when parents know they are in the wrong, they prefer to cloak themselves in a facade of severity rather than offer a sincere, heartfelt apology, as if doing so might diminish their parental authority.

Uther was even more prone to this. His immense pride made it difficult for him to yield to anyone, particularly since he did not truly believe he was at fault. Instead, he felt that Morgana and Arthur simply failed to grasp the depth of his good intentions.

Thus, it fell to Kay to act as the peacemaker. Morgana and Arthur were not unreasonable people; once Kay laid bare Uther’s underlying motives, they came to realize the true impact their self-righteousness had inflicted upon the King. They had been desperate to protect the King and the kingdom from danger, yet in their pursuit of their own version of justice, they had felt justified in deceiving and hurting Uther, even going so far as to blame him for everything. Such a mindset was not only irresponsible but bordered on ingratitude.

Having understood this, while Morgana still did not believe there was any inherent wrong in letting a child go, she realized they had indeed wronged Uther. They should not have treated their father in such a manner. Under Kay’s mediation, the strained relations between father and daughter, and father and son, began to thaw significantly.

...

While the royal family enjoyed this newfound harmony, enemies of Camelot who had long been silent began to stir, returning once more to these lands. Under the cover of night, a sorceress arrived in Camelot. Looking upon the still-prosperous city, her long-simmering rage could no longer be contained.

"The time has come to pay the price, Uther!"

...

With Kay’s return, a long-awaited and vital ceremony could finally take place: the Prince’s investiture.

Investiture? For whom? For Kay? Was Kay not an adopted son? Certainly not.

In the kingdoms of the Celts, "Prince" is merely a title of address, not a formal official rank. Therefore, a prince would inevitably receive a formal title upon reaching adulthood. Kay was a prince, as he had been since Uther adopted him, and Arthur was one as well, which required no formal investiture.

What truly required investiture was a peerage. Kay, for instance, was a prince, but his formal title was that of a knight, which signified that he possessed his own lands. Princes needed a peerage to hold official status; it provided the heir to the throne the opportunity to begin building their own base of power, and it served as a formal confirmation of the line of succession.

Much like the British monarchs of later centuries, where the eldest son is created Duke of Cornwall and the second son Duke of York, the heir to the throne holds a specific title—in the British tradition, the Prince of Wales. Aside from this, monarchs rarely had only one son, so other princes required their own titles.

Arthur had long since come of age and should have been invested years ago. At the time, however, he was Uther’s only male heir, so there was no urgency, and the matter was repeatedly delayed. Now, things were different. Kay’s return made it imperative that the heir to the throne be officially established.

One must not forget that Kay also held a claim to the throne. Coupled with his impeccable reputation and capabilities, if Uther continued to delay Arthur’s investiture, the very foundations of the kingdom would become unstable. In a feudal society, the clarity of succession transcends all else. The knights needed to know to whom they would owe their allegiance; otherwise, an ambiguous succession could easily lead to internal division.

Although Uther trusted Kay implicitly, this was not a matter to be handled based on personal sentiment. It was not even entirely up to Uther’s own will. In the two months since Kay’s return, many nobles had already approached the King with veiled suggestions, urging him to confirm the heir as soon as possible. In short, the investiture of Arthur concerned the stability of the entire kingdom, and Uther could not afford to let his personal feelings dictate the outcome.

...

On the third night after Kay’s return, the investiture ceremony was held.

On this day, nearly every noble in Camelot gathered at the palace. Their attendance was far more than a mere social occasion for food and drink; it was a critical political event. Here, they would first pledge their loyalty to the undisputed heir of Camelot, and it served as a major social gathering for the kingdom’s elite.

In an era of low productivity, gathering all the nobles of the kingdom was no small feat. Although they resided within the same realm, the distances between them were vast. There were no highways or automobiles, and the roads were fraught with barbarians, bandits, wild beasts, and monsters, making the cost of communication prohibitively high. Such gatherings generally occurred only for monumental events: royal weddings, coronations, the death of a king, or the investiture of a prince.

Kay’s elder brother and sister-in-law had arrived, having traveled from their family estate. Kay had received a messenger from Morgana and had departed from his main party to reach Camelot early, while they arrived the following day. Ordinarily, Kay’s father should have attended such an occasion, but unfortunately, Sir Ector’s aging back could no longer withstand the long journey to Camelot. Sir Ector was slightly older than Uther, and having suffered grave injuries on the battlefield in his youth, his physical condition was far worse than the King’s.

Facing the absence of his old friend, Uther felt a lingering disappointment; he had not seen Ector for two years. He understood that as time passed, the chances of them meeting again grew increasingly slim. Still, Uther greeted Kay’s brother, Eric, with great warmth. As Ector’s heir, Eric’s presence signaled Ector’s clear intent.

Thinking of Ector’s actions, Uther felt a sense of joy, yet he also reflected upon his own situation. He believed that choosing this moment to invest Arthur was absolutely the right decision, especially as he himself was not much younger than Ector.

That evening, with the entire court gathered in the Great Hall, Arthur knelt on one knee before King Uther, witnessed by all the nobles of the realm.

"Do you swear to lead the lands of this kingdom and its people, and to uphold the customs and laws handed down by your ancestors?"

Arthur pledged solemnly, "I do, sire."

"Do you swear to strive for justice and mercy in your words and deeds?"

"I do, sire."

At this, Uther placed a golden scepter horizontally before Arthur.

"Do you swear to fulfill your duties to Camelot for the rest of your life?"

Arthur grasped the scepter and declared in a ringing voice, "I, Arthur Pendragon, swear with my life to serve and protect this kingdom and its people for as long as I live!"

Uther smiled and released the scepter, allowing Arthur to hold it firmly, before taking a crown from Kay’s hands.

"From this moment forth, you shall forge your own era."

Uther placed the crown upon Arthur’s head, formally declaring his title.

"In the name of the kingdom and our ancestors, I proclaim you Prince of Camelot."