The Greatest Figures of Chivalry in Literary History - The Nine Worthies of Fiction & Literature/Mythology/Folklore

The Nine Worthies…

I made a promise to someone a few days to write up a ‘The 9 Great Worthies of Mythology/Literature’ and have had to spend several days researching and racking my brain for this one. That being said if people will recall I once wrote an article on the topic of the Nine Worthies before, but that was more pertaining to a historical idea of them.

This time, the discussion will veer towards a decidedly more Fictional angle on the topic, but before proceeding here’s the old essay.

In this essay I removed a few characters on the basis that there was little basis for considering them ‘Historic’ figures in the context of which they appear in most stories. That being said they’re too great to ignore, with the two notable figures being the likes of Hektor of Troy and King Arthur of Camelot.

Now that we’re discussing a Fictional hero list, we shall have to tackle it with an open mind and to recall that the figures must be wholly ‘Mortal’ and must be icons of Chivalry.

So this will eliminate a great many characters and stories, these figures must also be well known as to do otherwise would make no sense.

So to start with the ancient period let’s go with Hektor of Troy.

Hektor of Troy - The First Worthy - The Trojan/Roman Worthy

Hektor is an obvious choice, because he’s Heroic, Noble and Chivalrous. He embodies every positive virtue a man could ever embody.

What is more is that had he become King he would doubtlessly have ruled as ably and in as just a manner as his father Priam would have. Likely the capricious Greek Olympians would have come after him but this would hardly have subtracted from his glory or his innate goodness, as Hektor is a character that could never be anything less than heroic and noble.

His desire to protect his family is unparalleled and he does his utmost though he is doomed to failure.

As a fighter and chivalric icon he is without parallel as already stated trouble is he’s up against Achilles who is half-divine and so can’t be beaten by a normal human without some measure of divine aid or resorting to cunning tricks.

Odysseus King of Ithaka - The Second Worthy - The Greek Worthy

The King of Ithaka pays a dear price for his part in the destruction of Troy, and yet he proves himself a redemptive figure who has to do all in his power to dispel from himself the grief weighing him down.

Insanely clever and innovative he is resourceful and brave and loyal to his men so that the loss of them serves to break him, as surely as the loss of his dog and the fear of never returning home does.

Loyalty is a treat he really does embody, just as surely as he does the Roman virtue in some ways of Pietas, just as Aeneas does. Only reason that Aeneas can’t make the list is he’s half-divine. Pietas is the Roman virtue of Filial & Religious Piety and Loyalty all rolled into one, and though he’s prone to mocking some of the gods Odysseus is genuinely devoted to Athena among others, it is only Poseidon that he somehow manages to tee off.

Medieval Worthies

There’s a couple of Worthies in this period, perhaps more than any other, on the simple basis that this was a very long period in human history with a lot of great mythological and folkloric heroes that should be mentioned. Naturally it’d be too easy to slate all those from the Arthurian myths so only one (and a half of sorts) have been permitted on this list.

Sigurdr - The Third Worthy - The Norse/Germanic Worthy

The Greatest of the Volsungs, Sigurdr is a figure like no other, 1/4th god or so he’s however pretty firmly mortal. As the ‘Achilles’ and ‘Herakles’ of Nordic Mythology he’s a natural choice, as he was the Original ‘Dragonslayer’ and was responsible for slaying the Dragon Fafnir.

It happens that you can find his stories in the Ring of the Nibelungenlied along with some Nordic retelling sites and books (I’d recommend checking out the website Baldwin Project, they’ve some resources on this topic).

Conchobar MacNessa - The Fourth Worthy - Eire/Ireland’s Worthy

The image was taken from

Irish Mythology Stories

’ newsletter do check his account out.

The Irish hero is a King who fights to defend his rights and his lands in the Irish ‘Iliad’ known as the ‘Tain’ and is a great character. Kingly, firm and mighty he is a decent King and one who has no interest in Medb’s schemes.

He also ends up dying a Christian according to some stories (they’re a little humorous as he has a dried brain that’s embedded into his skull that bursts due to his rage at the news of Christ’s death). Conchobar though is something of a defiant figure who combines the wisdom of Priam with the passionate nationalistic manly warrior nature of Hektor.

King Arthur - The Fifth Worthy - The Worthy of Wales/Scotland/Great Britain

The Worthy who is perhaps the most well known, with Arthur being one of the greatest out there. Deeply flawed, he is an idealistic man who seeks to protect his realm, and to keep it together by every means imaginable.

He is however also a man who clings to morality, to loyalty and to friends and love. Wed to justice as no other man in Mythology could ever be, he is however sadly undone by the likes of Lancelot & Mordred, with the former falling into a passionate affair with Guinevere only to elope with her, Arthur however gets her back, sends her home where Mordred weds Guinwevere, fathers a few kids on her and prepares to destroy Arthur who races back to undo Mordred’s usurpation only for the two to slay each other.

There are countless adaptations of the myths of King Arthur, but needless to say if you want purely human, chivalry and honour and also goodness you can find no better example than Arthur himself.

Robin Hood - The Sixth Worthy/England’s Worthy

This might seem like a strange addition but Robin Hood is truly a magnificent English character, sure he grew out of Hereward the Wake but he’s also become something of his own character.

Clever, long-suffering and heroic he’s a former Crusader and self-sacrificing fellow who just wants to spend the rest of his days with his kinsmen and wife. He however is forced into the life of an outlaw by the local Earl and the Sheriff of Nottingham and other dastardly villains, with the likes of Prince John or some other royal sometimes serving as a major villain.

Robin Hood is a hero who represents someone who has to struggle against the law to defend the people, as the law can be taken too far a lot of the time.

Roland le Paladin - The Seventh Worthy - France’s Worthy

This is technically cheating as Roland was an actual historic figure but he’s so noble, so heroic and so famous in his epic tale that it could not be helped. Like with Hereward the literary figure has outgrown the Original inspiration.

That said Roland is someone who defends his King with a resolve, loyalty and devotion that makes him the embodiment of Knightly Virtue. He’s an icon that all children should hear about and should be raised admiring.

At times foolish he is however perceptive about human nature, and is so heroic his uncle is broken by his death, with Roland like with Conchobar on his death directly escorted to Heaven by angels.

Modern Mythical Worthies…

This is a little more difficult than what people might realize as we now move from the Medieval period and those stories that pertain to it directly. The likes of Hektor, Arthur and others are important and it must be said that they are incomparable, but in the modern age there’s been at least 2 new Worthies who earned their place by dint of fame and glory and chivalry.

They are characters who frankly evoke such sentiments and amazement and shine with a light that cannot be compared to. They are indomitable, they are for lack of a better term ‘iconic’.

These three are all pulled from our ‘Modern Mythic’ Fiction, which is our answer to the Great Myths of the ancient era and the Medieval Epics and so they should be given no less respect with many of them being no less impressive than those who came before them in some ways.

It has been proposed that Aslan be on the list by someone who follows me on Twitter and honestly he should absolutely not be included for the same reason Merlin and Herakles can’t be included; NO Half-Gods or Demi-Gods. Only Mortals like with the actual 9 Worthies.

Conan the Cimmerian - The Eighth Worthy - Ireland’s (Second) USA/Texas’ Worthy

Conan is the modern ‘Conn of the 100 Battles’ and is a legendary figure like no other in ‘popular literature’, no other character to-day has the number of accomplishments, won as many battles or had to suffer half as much as him in his myriad stories (save for perhaps the likes of Frodo Baggins).

He’s not only a character that feels utterly Irish but is someone who is grander, and more magnificent in a lot of ways than even Aragorn. This is due to there being dozens upon dozens of short-stories and novellas of Conan and also one grand novel.

Robert E. Howard did well in creating his magnificent hero, whom embodies not only the virtue of Valour but also the ideals of Chivalry’s more masculine, and undiminished savage side or ‘Barbaric’ as Howard would have preferred to call it.

Aragorn Elessar II - The Ninth Worthy - England/Great Britain’s Second Worthy

Aragorn was honestly a ‘re-imagining’ of King Arthur. Quite frankly I kind of think of them as the same character, though I think Aragorn is greater as he was never cuckholded nor has he been as subverted and deconstructed as King Arthur (pray that that day never comes).

But this isn’t to remove from the lustre and glory of Arthur, or to badmouth him just that Lancelot as a character has had a bit of a negative impact on the great King’s stories with his strange dalliance with Guinevere whereas the Aragorn/Arwen match-up remains mostly pure (and should remain so).

Aragorn is one of the best possible icons to include on this list as he’s gargantuan, larger than life and goes from ‘steet-bum’ to King pretty quickly but also successfully. He also is the leader of the Fellowship of sorts and manages to ensure that half the Hobbits live, takes down the enemy armies at the Pelennor fields, and does a whole host of other deeds.

Also he is a great icon of chivalry, honour and that most difficult of virtues to master ‘humility’ combining it with confidence, dignity and vision.

Conclusion

So there you have my Fiction listing of the 9 Worthies:

1. Hektor of Troy

2. Odysseus of Ithaka

3. Sigurdr Sigmundrsson of the Volsungs

4. King Conchobar of Ulster

5. King Arthur son of Uther

6. Robin Hood (Hereward the Wake) of Locksley

7. Comte Roland

8. Conan the Cimmerian

9. Aragorn Elessar II

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Also Crown of Blood has a new edition, with maps, character bios and more!