Anime Relevance: Arthurian Lore in Nanatsu no Taizai

The Kingdom of Liones is the central location of Nanatsu no Taizai. It is the homebase of the Holy Knights and it is where most of the backstory has taken place:
 The previous Great Holy Knight was murdered there.
 The Seven Deadly Sins committed their treason there.
 Hendrickson has been conducting his secret experiments on demons there.

Also, this is where the Seven Deadly Sins and King Arthur have currently gathered to save Elizabeth and fight Hendrickson.

In Arthurian legend, Liones is more commonly referred to as Lyonesse. It’s not mentioned heavily in the lore. But, it is described as a sunken kingdom. I’ll talk a bit more about this in the Speculation section.

Camelot is a kingdom that is briefly mentioned in the show. It is the kingdom where King Arthur rules. He traveled from there, with Merlin, and came all the way to Liones because he knew Baltra was in trouble.

Of course, Camelot is the most important location in Arthurian lore. Besides being under Arthur’s rule, it is the base for the Knights of the Round Table and where Arthur married Guinevere. It is also the setting for where Arthur was trained, as a young boy, by Merlin.

Meliodas is the main character in Nanatsu no Taizai. In the lore he is described as the king of a land near Camelot. There is a little more information about him, but I will get to it in the speculation section.

Our favorite masochist, Ban, is known as the King of Benoic. He is one of King Arthur’s earliest allies. Ban’s wife is Elaine and he has two children with her: Lancelot and Sir Hector.

Interestingly enough, there is another version of Elaine in the lore. She is also known by the title Elaine of Corbanic. This Elain is responsible for showing the Holy Grail to Lancelot. The Holy Grail has a multitude of meanings and functions. One of which is the ability to grant immortality. So, it seems to me that the Holy Grail is in fact the cup from the Fountain of Youth. The same cup that Ban drank from and received immortality.

Another character in Arthurian lore is Escanor. He is probably the least mentioned out of all the Nanatsu no Taizai characters. He is portrayed as powerful but evil man. The ability to increase his power during the day is prevalent in the lore. He also fought and was defeated by Sir Gawain (one of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table).

Keep in mind that I have not read the manga. So, my predictions may be completely false. But it’s fun to speculate about the future of a series. More so, when you have complementary material to draw from. So, let’s see what we can extrapolate from Arthurian lore.

As I mentioned above, the Kingdom of Lyonesse is indeed referred to as a sunken land. It was the setting for the final battle between King Arthur and his nemesis, Mordred. After the result of the battle, Merlin cast a spell to flood the land.

Though it’s doubtful that the central location to Nanatsu will be sunk beneath the waves, it could very well be the battleground for a final war between King Arthur and the forces of evil.

Back to Meliodas, he is not a very prominent figure in Arthurian lore. But, his title could be a huge spoiler for the Nanatsu no Taizai anime. According to the lore, he is known as Meliodas the 2nd King of Lyonesse.

This is grounds to speculate that he will become the new king of Liones. Considering the age of Baltra and his relationship to Elizabeth (princess of Liones) it’s not too far-fetched to think he will one day marry Elizabeth and be given the crown. He may also be given the title of the new Great Holy Knight. Personally, I feel that the Great Holy Knight title should be given to Gilthunder. He’s not currently worthy of that title, but I think he will eventually grow into that position.

In case some of you forgot, Elaine is King’s sister and the fairy guardian of the Fountain of Youth. She was killed by the Red Demon. Though she has a childlike appearance she is actually several hundred years old. If the series were to skip forward in time, we could possibly see her revived and ending up together with Ban. Their children, Lancelot and Hector, would be two extremely strong knights. Lancelot is known as King Arthur’s greatest champion. So, it would be amazing to see an anime version of Lancelot tearing down demons and enemies. Though, that may just be wishful thinking.