Bedivere
Bedivere, last knight at Arthur's side, bearer of Excalibur to the water and lifelong hermit, attested in 1 source.
Bedivere is one of the last knights standing at Arthur's side in Le Morte d'Arthur, and his role in the final chapters is among the most memorable in the entire work. After the catastrophic Battle of Salisbury, where Mordred is slain and Arthur mortally wounded, Bedivere bids the king "God speed you well" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter IV). Arthur then charges Bedivere with returning Excalibur to the water -- a task Bedivere twice fails to complete, twice hiding the sword because "the pommel and the haft was all of precious stones" and he judges that throwing it away "thereof shall never come good, but harm and loss" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter V).
On the third attempt, Bedivere casts the sword into the water, witnesses a hand rise to catch it, and reports back to the dying king (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter V). He then carries Arthur on his back to the water's edge, where a barge waits with ladies aboard. As the barge rows away, Bedivere cries out: "Ah my lord Arthur, what shall become of me, now ye go from me and leave me here alone among mine enemies?" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter V).
What follows is a quiet aftermath. Bedivere wanders through the night and finds a chapel where a hermit -- the former Bishop of Canterbury -- lies praying beside a freshly dug tomb (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter VI). Learning that the buried figure may be Arthur, Bedivere swoops and begs to stay: "For from hence will I never go, said Sir Bedivere, by my will, but all the days of my life here to pray for my lord Arthur" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter VI). He takes up poor clothes and serves the hermit "full lowly in fasting and in prayers" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter VI).
When Launcelot later arrives at the hermitage, both the Bishop and Bedivere recognise him, and "when Sir Bedivere had told his tale all whole, Sir Launcelot's heart almost brast for sorrow" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter X). The text's final mention of Bedivere records that he "was there ever still hermit to his life's end" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter XIII).
All twenty-six citations come from Le Morte d'Arthur, concentrated in the final book. Bedivere's arc moves through three distinct phases in rapid succession: loyal warrior, reluctant executor of a sacred charge, and penitent hermit. The Excalibur episode is structured as a test of obedience -- Bedivere fails twice before succeeding, and his hesitation is motivated not by cowardice but by a practical judgment about the sword's value. Arthur's escalating anger at each false report sharpens the dramatic tension.
The transition from knight to hermit happens with startling abruptness. There is no period of deliberation: Bedivere simply wanders through the forest after the barge departs and arrives at a chapel where he commits himself permanently (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter VI). His declaration -- "from hence will I never go" -- has the quality of a vow made in grief rather than considered devotion. The hermitage then becomes the site of the book's final reunion, as Launcelot joins the same community.
Bedivere weeps at the barge's departure, swoons at the tomb, and tells his "tale all whole" to Launcelot -- he is consistently the figure through whom the emotional weight of Arthur's passing is registered (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XXI, Chapter V; Chapter VI; Chapter X).
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, Celtic Tradition