A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Chapter 2 Summary

King Arthur's Court

  • The Yankee asks a pair of commoners where he is, assuming that they are members of a lunatic asylum.
  • The second commoner points him to a boy in page's clothing, who tells him he is in King Arthur's Court in the year 528, on the 19th of June.
  • In an amazingly convenient bit of recall, the Yankee remembers reading that an eclipse of the sun took place on the 21st of June that same year, just after noon.
  • He asks the boy (Clarence) who brought him here, and the boy tells him that it was Sir Kay, Arthur's foster brother… and that Hank is his prisoner. Gulp.
  • Clarence tells him that he will be exhibited to King Arthur and then thrown in the dungeon.
  • The Yankee observes the trappings of the court and the Knights of the Round Table. He also notices the prisoners being held captive, and notes the contrast between their pain and filth, and the shining features of the knights. It kind of bothers him since the knights are supposed to be moral.