At times, Sir Kay was unpredictable and had a cruel and violent temper, but he was Arthur’s guardian and one of his most faithful companions. Sir Kay married Andrivete, daughter of King Cador of Northumberland, and he is credited with two sons (Garanwyn and Gronosis) and a daughter named Kelemon. Some sources say that Sir Kay was a Saxon, but was unlike the heathen Saxons because he was a Christian.
There are different accounts of Sir Kay’s death and throughout Welsh literature it is claimed that he was killed by Gwyddawg who was, in turn, killed by Arthur; but he is also said to have been killed by the Romans or in the war against Mordred.
Though mentioned in several of the Welsh legends, Sir Kay really plays an important role in the Arthurian legends in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain, where he and Sir Bedivere help King Arthur defeat and kill the giant of Mont Saint-Michel. In the works of Geoffrey, Kay is Arthur’s steward and holds that title in many of the later works as well.
In the works of French poet Chrétien de Troyes, Sir Kay takes on the characteristics of both the Welsh stories as well as Geoffrey’s writing: known for his brash, fiery demeanor but also somewhat of an arrogant man who boast of his accomplishments and prowess. de Troyes also portrays him as a troublemaker in the kingdom, stirring up strife and antagonizing some of the more noble knights such as Sir Lancelot or Sir Gawain. According to Sir Thomas Malory’s, Sir Kay did not die in the Roman War, but was part of a party sent to try and retrieve Excalibur’s sacred scabbard right before the Final Battle: the Battle of Camlann. Tradition tells us that he was one of the few survivors of the Battle of Camlann, though other stories state that he was never involved in the battle to begin with.
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