Monty Python Knights Who Say Ni Said It Again
The Knights Who Say "Ni!", also chosen the Knights of Ni, are a band of knights encountered by King Arthur and his followers in the 1975 flick Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They demonstrate their power by shouting "Ni!" (pronounced "nee"), terrifying the party, whom they refuse to allow passage through their forest unless appeased through the souvenir of a shrubbery.
Description [edit]
The knights appear silhouetted in a misty wood, wearing robes and horned helmets; their full number is never credible, only there are at least six. The leader of the knights, played by Michael Palin, is the only ane who speaks to the party. He is nearly double Arthur's height, and wears a nifty captain decorated with long antlers. The other knights are big, merely of human proportions, and wear visored sallet helmets decorated with moo-cow horns. The knight explains that they are the "keepers of the sacred words 'Ni', 'Peng', and 'Neee-Wom'". Arthur confides to Sir Bedivere, "those who hear them seldom live to tell the tale!"[1]
Tasks [edit]
The knights demand a sacrifice, and when Arthur states that he merely wishes to pass through the woods, the knights begin shouting "Ni!", forcing the party to shrink back in fear. After this demonstration of their ability, the head knight threatens to say "Ni!" again unless the travellers appease them with a shrubbery; otherwise they shall never pass through the wood live. When Arthur questions the demand, the knights again shout "Ni!" until the travellers agree to bring them a shrubbery, which the head knight specifies must be "i that looks dainty. And not too expensive."[1] [ii]
In order to fulfill their hope to the Knights of Ni, the political party visits a minor village, where Arthur and Bedivere ask an old crone where they can obtain a shrubbery. The woman questions them, and Arthur admits that it is for the Knights who say "Ni!", whereupon she refuses to cooperate. Arthur and so threatens to say "Ni!" to the sometime adult female unless she helps them, and when she yet refuses, begins shouting "Ni!". Bedivere has problem saying the sacred word, which he pronounces "Nu!" until Arthur demonstrates the correct technique. As the crone shrinks back from their combined assault, they are interrupted by Roger the Shrubber, who laments the lack of police and guild that allows ruffians to say "Ni!" to an quondam woman. Arthur obtains a shrubbery from Roger, and brings it to the Knights of Ni.[1]
The head knight acknowledges that "it is a good shrubbery", only asserts that the knights cannot permit Arthur and his followers to laissez passer through the wood considering they are no longer the Knights who say "Ni!" They are now the Knights who say "Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing!"[i] and must therefore give Arthur a test. Unable to pronounce the new proper name, Arthur addresses them as "Knights who until recently said 'Ni!'", inquiring every bit to the nature of the test.
The head knight demands another shrubbery, to be placed next to but slightly higher than the first; so Arthur "must cutting down the mightiest tree in the woods—with a herring!" The knight presents a herring to exist used. Arthur objects, asserting that "it can't be done!" upon which the knights recoil equally though in fright and pain. It before long emerges that the knights are unable to withstand the word "it", which Arthur's party is unable to avoid saying. The knights are shortly incapacitated by the give-and-take, which even the head knight cannot finish repeating, assuasive Arthur and his followers to make their escape.[1]
Film notes [edit]
In the original screenplay, it was suggested that the head knight be played past "Mike standing on John's shoulders". In the DVD commentary for the film, Michael Palin states that their use of the discussion "Ni!" was derived from The Goon Show. Later, Palin gave another inspiration – his history instructor at Shrewsbury Schoolhouse, Laurence Le Quesne, who had the addiction of saying "Ni" while searching for books.[iii] Upon Arthur'south render, the knights were to have said, "Neeeow...wum...ping!"[iv]
Contemporary scholarship [edit]
The Knights who say "Ni!" have been cited as an example of intentional disregard for historical accuracy in neo-medievalism, which may be contrasted with the casual disregard for historical accuracy inherent in more traditional works of the fantasy genre.[v] However, in Medievalisms: Making the Past in the Present, the authors suggest that the original characters of Monty Python and the Holy Grail actually represent medievalism, rather than neomedievalism, as many of the film's details are in fact based on authentic medieval texts and ideas. With respect to the Knights who say "Ni!", the authors suggest that Sir Bedivere's difficulty pronouncing "Ni!", despite its levity, "carries a very learned joke about the difficulties of pronouncing Middle English", alluding to the Great Vowel Shift, which occurred in English during the late medieval menstruum.[6]
Footnotes [edit]
- ^ There are several slight variations in spelling based on different sources; this spelling is based on the movie subtitles, which give "Zoo" rather than "Zoom"; the stop of this discussion is indistinctly pronounced in the motion-picture show. The subtitles only include iii "Ekkes", but four can definitely be heard in the dialogue. This line appears to have been semi-improvisational, and may differ from the original script and later versions, with "Ni!" sometimes being added at the end. Despite the head knight's pronouncement of the new proper noun, some of the other knights still chatter "Ni!" in the background.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones (Directors) (1975). Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Move picture). EMI Films.
- ^ Kevin J. Harty (2002). Cinema Arthuriana. McFarland. ISBN0-7864-1344-ane.
- ^ "'Ni!' - Erstwhile Shrewsbury schoolmaster the inspiration for famous Monty Python sketch", Shropshire Star, 17 Dec 2015
- ^ Parker, Alan; O'Shea, Mick (2006). And At present For Something Completely Digital: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company. p. 62. ISBN9781932857313.
- ^ Carol Robertson and Pamela Clements (editors), "Neomedievalism in the Media: Essays on Film, Television set and Electronic Games", in Parergon, vol. xxx, no. 1, pp. 313–315 (2013), Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval and Early Modernistic Studies.
- ^ Tison Pugh and Angela Jane Weisl, Medievalisms: Making the Past in the Present, Routledge (2013), p. 4.
Further reading [edit]
- Larsen, Darl (2003). Monty Python, Shakespeare, and English Renaissance drama. ISBN978-0-7864-1504-5 . Retrieved 21 Baronial 2011.
External links [edit]
- The Knights Who Say "Ni!" – Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Official Monty Python Aqueduct
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Who_Say_%22Ni!%22
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