In the 1975 film *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*, the main character is **King Arthur**, portrayed by **Graham Chapman**.
As the central figure of the film, Arthur serves as the "straight man" to the absurdity around him. While the other members of the Monty Python troupe play multiple eccentric roles, Chapman’s Arthur remains relatively earnest and noble, which makes his eventual frustration with the nonsensical world he inhabits a core driver of the film's comedy.
### **Most Memorable Lines by King Arthur**
#### **1. "On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place."**
* **Context:** After a musical number featuring the Knights of the Round Table dancing and singing at Camelot, the film cuts back to Arthur and his knights looking at the castle from a distance. Arthur makes this abrupt decision to skip their destination entirely, perfectly undercutting the grandeur usually associated with the Arthurian legend.
#### **2. "What do you mean? An African or European swallow?"**
* **Context:** During the climax at the **Bridge of Death**, the Bridgekeeper asks Arthur the final question: "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Instead of answering, Arthur counters with a technical question about the bird's species. The Bridgekeeper’s inability to answer his own logic leads to his own demise, and Arthur simply remarks, *"You have to know these things when you're a king, you know."*
#### **3. "A scratch? Your arm's off!"**
* **Context:** This line is delivered during the famous duel with the **Black Knight**. After Arthur severs the Knight's arm, the Knight dismisses the injury as "just a flesh wound." Arthur’s incredulous response highlights the contrast between his grounded reality and the Black Knight's delusional bravado.
#### **4. "I am Arthur, King of the Britons!"**
* **Context:** Arthur frequently uses this line to introduce himself, usually to people who either don't know who the "Britons" are or don't recognize his authority. His most famous use of this line is during the "Constitutional Peasants" scene, where he is lectured by Dennis (a peasant) on anarcho-syndicalism and the illegitimacy of the monarchy.
#### **5. "The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water..."**
* **Context:** In the same debate with the peasants, Arthur attempts to justify his divine right to rule by describing the mystical origin of his sword. He is immediately shut down by Dennis, who famously retorts that "strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
#### **6. "This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes."**
* **Context:** This line showcases Arthur’s gullibility and the "pseudo-science" of the Middle Ages. He is genuinely impressed by Sir Bedevere’s nonsensical theories, establishing Arthur as a leader who is as confused by the world as everyone else, despite his title.