The legend of King Arthur is ingrained into our culture and holds timeless appeal. The information here is more of a synthesis paper rather than a full-fledged argument on who King Arthur really is. In any case, the amount of information I gleaned from a mere two-day workshop over the course of two Saturdays made attending well worth it. If you’ve more than a passing interest in the topic, please give this a read. If not, still feel free to chime in regarding the discussion question at the end of this post.
The Legend of King Arthur: When Fiction is the Greater Truth
The mere mention of King Arthur conjures the medieval imagery society has come to associate with tales of Arthurian Lore: Camelot, Excalibur, Knights in Shining Armor, The Round Table, The Holy Grail, and Damsels in Distress. This menagerie of fleeting impressions occupies a permanent spot in popular culture. As a legend, the existence of a real King Arthur cannot be verified. The imaginative re-telling of history better speaks to universal truths only made possible by the power of literature. Arthur’s legend changes and grows with the times in order to reflect the needs of the people.
A paper such as this can only paint broad strokes. The historical era which begat the origins of these stories springs from a Britain struggling to find power and peace amidst invading forces and religious upheaval. Historical records at this time were often cobbled together from documents written years apart and told in a more narrative-driven than factual manner. It’s most likely that the King Arthur of literature is a composite of twelve different men who mostly lived during the fifth and sixth centuries (Wadley). By tracing such mentions, it’s possible to better appreciate how the legend was born.
The earliest source to refer to a King Arthur figure is Gildas’ 525 AD three-part sermon On the Ruin of Britain. He condemns Britain’s “might is right” mentality and its many sins against God and man (6). Battles ensued with the Picts and Scots to the North, as well as with the invading Romans. King Vortigern then invited the Saxons to help Britain find relief from invasions (7). Gildas mentions “that they [the Britons] might not be brought to utter destruction, took arms under the conduct of Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man.” He goes on to note Ambrosius is of Roman ancestry and high birth (8). Thus Ambrosius would have been Christian in a time when pagan Celtic beliefs still held sway over many. This early reference rooted in a Gildas’ passionate accusations plants the seeds for the way coming to terms with change eventually becomes a key theme in Arthurian Lore. After all, even the mighty kingdom of Camelot fell because good times can never last.
Following Gildas’ scathing sermon, the first document to portray King Arthur as a historical figure was Nennius’ 828 AD History of the Britons. Arthur’s prowess as a military leader and warrior, not as a king, are highlighted. Nennius details a boy named Ambrose, “a child born without a father” (5). Once this child’s blood has been spilled on the ground, King Vortigern’s citadel can supposedly be built. Ambrose is smarter than the King’s wise men. He tells of an underground pool containing dragons in vases. He interprets the imagery for Vortigern and reveals the red dragon represents Vortigern and the white dragon the invading Saxons (5-6). The not entirely chronological events present issues with clarity. However, Nennius’ account further sets the stage for the coming of an Arthur who can restore hope to a broken people.
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After Vortigern’s fiery death, his son is granted two provinces “by Ambrosius, who was the great king among the kings of Britain” (8). It comes to pass “that the magnanimous Arthur, with all of the kings and military force of Britain, fought against the Saxons. And though there were many more noble than himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander, and was as often conqueror” (8). It’s then stated how Arthur single-handedly killed 940 men during his twelfth and biggest fight, the Battle of Badon. The introduction of Ambrose versus Ambrosius leaves room for later renditions to further subdivide characters and create more complex interactions amongst them. Even at this early stage, the origins of the story have the making for grand soap-opera-style entertainment.
Nennius’ document makes way for Geoffrey’s Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain which appeared circa 1136 AD. It’s a pseudohistorical document full of inaccuracies that makes it hard to differentiate historical fact from the makings of a legend. In any case, Monmouth further gives shape to the complex stories by introducing yet more characters and upping the element of magic. This provides a transition for the prior versions of Arthur to transform into the explosion of tales that soon commenced.
The wise men who advised Vortigern in Nennius are now referred to as wizards. Ambrosius Merlin, also a wizard, advises the king that using a fatherless boy’s blood to make his kingdom stable is nonsense. The young Merlin then proceeds to interpret the meaning of the dragons and give sage advice (135). Vortigern’s wizard foresees two deaths for him. One from the Saxons and the other from the sons of the Roman Emperor Constantine: Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon. To add to the confusion, we now have another Ambrosius on the scene. He brings peace and settles religious matters, but meets his end from poison. His brother Uther then takes over. Vortigern flees and then gets burned up (153-55). Once again, the stage is set for a country in turmoil in need of a great and fearless leader.
Monmouth recounts Arthur’s origin story by detailing how Uther lusts after The Duke of Cornwall’s wife Igraine. Uther does this by enlisting Merlin’s magic to make him look like Gorlois so he can bed his wife. Gorlois is later killed in battle, making it easier for Uther to marry Igraine. Arthur and his sister Anna are the result of this marriage (174-178). The introduction of these characters makes way for all sorts of tangled plots to ensue in future stories.
Arthur comes to power and is depicted as being pleased “that he was a terror unto them all, and he set his desire upon subduing the whole of Europe unto himself” (195). Guinevere receives the briefest of mentions as her husband is off making a name for himself and protecting Britain for years. This semi-historical Arthur is one that still reflects the unease of the time as Monmouth gives us a conqueror whose kingdom suffers in his absence. Ultimately, Arthur can’t regain his glory days and he gives up his kingdom and retires to the island of Avalon (236). Later versions see Arthur come to even more severe reckonings as his kingdom of Camelot slips away.
Thus a legend is born. Between 1138 and 1470, over 130 stories were created taking inspiration from the Arthurian details that took shape in Monmouth’s works. The dating of The Mabinogion, a collection of Celtic stories, may or may not have been written before Monmouth’s document. In any case, the Celtic stories also show Arthur as a warlord and not the chivalrous knight people tend to envision him as today. Representation as a fearless conqueror drew from the unrest of the times in order to give people the type of hero they needed.
An important transition in Arthurian Lore takes place in Chretien DeTroyes’ early twelfth century romances which contain “Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart.” The shift from a focus on conquering enemies to upholding courtly love and chivalry can be seen as now becoming another central layer to the stories. DeTroyes’ work is widely acknowledged as one of the precursors to the modern novel in that he wrote stories that contained three clear movements—a beginning, middle, and an end. The addition of Lancelot’s character and his love affair with Guinevere deepened the significance of the abduction of Arthur’s wife glossed over in Gildas.
The story, originally written in French as eight-syllable rhyming couplets, was commissioned by Marie de Champagne. DeTroyes begins, “the material and the treatment of it are given and furnished to him by the Countess, and he is simply trying to carry out her concern and attention” (1). Marie’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, had divorced Louis VII in order to marry Henry, Duke of Normandy who would become King Henry II. Eleanor institutes the Court of Love. Her variety of courtly love focused on “adulterous situations between knights and ladies.” Her daughter then spread those ideals to her court by requesting such elements be written into DeTroyes’s poem (Wadley). At least women got more page time, even if too often relegated to being in need of saving or conjuring spells.
Numerous stories made their way into the Arthurian canon over the course of some 350 years. Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur was published in 1485. Malory compiled the existing stories in French and English and added original material as well (Wadley). Malory’s collection provides the main source of inspiration for many of the tales that later followed. The tone remains elevated and serious, but today’s readers are most likely more familiar with the modernized version first published by Keith Banes in 1962. Reader-friendly versions of classics are yet another way the legend of King Arthur continues to have timeless appeal.
Malory’s work was vetted by the Tudors who wanted to lay claim to their Arthurian heritage. With the discovery of America and the shift from a feudalistic world, the tales surrounding King Arthur’s legend fell out of favor. Shakespeare and his contemporaries didn’t write about Arthur (Wadley). Malory’s version includes Guinevere being sentenced to burn at the stake and Lancelot swooping in to save her. A cuckolded Arthur does not intervene in the face of their true love, though he does later forgive them. After Arthur’s death, a measure of redemption is possible because Guinevere seeks repentance in a nunnery and Lancelot becomes a monk. In this sense, the cycle shows hope remains even after all hope is lost.
Not until the 1850s did Alfred Lord Tennyson revive the stories in serial form, with the final collection being released in 1872. His rendition reflected the morality of 19th century Victorian England. Idylls of the King is written in lines of blank verse, and Tennyson maintains the serious tone of Malory’s work. In keeping with the times, Tennyson’s treatment of courtly love centers more on ultimate spiritual fulfillment rather than matters of the flesh.
Another important addition to the legend occurred with the release of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King in 1958. The book brought together four previously released tales, the first of which released in 1938. The overall tone of White’s book is less serious and incorporates more elements of humor. The anti-war subject matter of Arthur’s earnest pursuit of chivalry is in direct correlation to an author who had witnessed the horrors of major world wars. In the end, the code of conduct put in place reveals that even it must be kept in place by force.
With a sound body of literature in place, parodies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail caught the attention of audiences as well as the Broadway musical spinoff Spamalot (in which Lancelot comes out of the closet and lets his rainbow flag fly). Other versions like Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon retell the legend from the perspective of the primary female characters.
It will be interesting to see where the legend of King Arthur goes next. On the one hand, emerging stories of King Arthur will be driven by the market. In some ways, Arthur vs. Zombies has already manifested itself in the medieval fantasy world of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice fantasy book series. In other ways, the bloody warlord version portrayed in movies like King Arthur seem to reflect the political unease of our times and a return to “might is right.” Soon enough, we shall see a resurgence of a King Arthur that harkens back to the magic of Camelot. So who is Arthur? He is the culmination of all that came before him. As a tragic hero, he is at once of the time and timeless. Readers can trace in him the evolution of the bloody warlord who eventually uses his head.
*The list of works cited and consulted appears at the end of this post.
What appeal do any of the books and movies based on the legend of King Arthur hold for you?
Permission must be granted by JeriWB to use the jousting image in this post
The Last Sleep of Arthur appears courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Works Cited
Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Mists of Avalon. 1982. New York: Ballantine, 2000. Print.
DeTroyes, Chretien. “Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart.” Four Arthurian Romances. Compiled by Douglas B. Killings. Eds. W.W. Comfort, Prof. Foerster (footnotes), and Karen Wadley. Gutenberg.org. 2014. Print.
Gildas. On the Ruin of Britain. Trans. J. A. Giles. Ed. Karen Wadley. Gutenberg.org, 2013. Print.
Guest, Lady Charlotte E., trans. The Mabinogion. Mineola, New York: Dover, 1997. Print.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d’Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table.1962.Adapted by Keith Banes. New York: Signet, 2010. Print.
Monmouth, Geoffrey of. History of the Kings of Britain. 1958. Trans. Sebastian Evans. Revised by Charles W. Dunn. London: Everyman’s Library, 1963.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Dirs. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. Perf. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle. Michael White Productions, 1975. DVD.
Nennius. History of the Britons. Trans. J. A. Giles. Ed. Karen Wadley. Gutenberg.org, 2013. Print.
Spamalot. Dir. Unknown. Perf. Unknown. Velma W. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, Boise, ID. 3 Nov. 2007. 2007. Performance.
Tennyson, Lord Alfred. 1983. Idylls of the King. Ed. J. M. Gray. London: Penguin, 2004. Print.
Wadley, Karen. Fact-Fiction Arthurian Legends. Boise State University. Interactive Learning Center, Boise, ID. 2014 Feb. 22 and May 1. Lecture.
White, T. H. 1958. The Once and Future King. New York: Ace Books, 2011. eBook.
***
Works Consulted
Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain. 1971. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print.
Camelot. Dir. Joshua Logan. Perf. Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, and Franco Nero. Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, 1967. DVD.
Excalibur. Dir. John Boorman. Perf. Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, and Nicholas Clay. Orion Pictures Corporation, 1981. DVD.
First Knight. Dir. Jerry Zucker. Perf. Sean Connery, Richard Gere, and Julia Ormond. Colombia Pictures, 1995. DVD.
King Arthur. Dir. Antoine Fuqua. Perf. Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, and Keira Knightley. Touchstone Pictures, 2004. DVD.
The Lion in Winter. Dir. Anthony Harvey. Perf. Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, and Anthony Hopkins. AVCO Embassy, 1968. DVD.
The Mists of Avalon. Dir. Uli Edel. Perf. Angelica Huston, Julianna Margulies, and Joan Allen. Turner Network Television (TNT), 2001. DVD.
Tennyson, Lord Alfred. “The Lady of Shalott.” 1842. Wikisource. Wikimedia Foundation. 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Mar 2014.
The Sword in the Stone. Dir. Wolfgang Reitherman. Perf. Rickie Sorensen, Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson. Walt Disney Productions, 1963. Film.
Jeri, thanks for an excellent tour of the Legend of King Arthur and the insight it provides regarding the way in which “history” is recorded and evolves to suit the purposes of the time. Today, with increasing audiences for period films and television we see many further examples of the morality play element taking precedence over what are believed to be facts. This article is a great reminder to enjoy the entertainment but at all times to also “consider the source”.
Paul, even though the workshop threw a ton of material my way, I really did have a good time comparing the different historical documents. I have total respect for scholars who devote themselves to such endeavors.
Very thoroughly researched topic and interesting that at the end of the day, the question still remains…. who was Arthur? So it proves that “facts” are always presented through the lens of the story teller and some sort of an amalgamation most closely represents things as they really happened. Great read Jeri! Thanks!
Jacquie, all the “facts” that surround Arthurian Lore have only made me more determined to continue reading as many of the stories as I can.
Wow! This is a lot of compiled information, Jeri. I love English history. I’m ashamed to say that I never did try to find the true behind the legend of King Arthur. The Picts look interesting to try to make a story about.
What appeals to me about the legend? I wonder about the idea of the round table. It’s hard to picture equality for those days.
Glynis, chivalry and the round table was a good idea which Arthur strove for, but in man of the later tales, he realized that it was also a system held in place by force despite giving the appearance of equality.
Nice job. I sometimes wonder if the original Superman stories, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, don’t owe some debt to the character of Lancelot – if not to courtly love (which they inverted). That said, perhaps Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin were aliens from another planet.
Al, exploring how superhero stories are indebted to the classic hero cycle can provide hours of entertainment… okay entertainment might be a strong word, but the way I got interested in Marvel and DC comics on any level at all was because I had students compare the journey of major superheroes to that of Odysseus and the series of challenges he faced on his journey, not to mention various archetypes are always present as well.
I’m often surprised by how many comic book fans get drawn to classics when they start to see the real deal source material. I missed out on the superhero versions and went straight to Arthur, Odysseus, Hercules, etc. Everything and anything can be source material, but I always enjoy the hunt for the original version of a story!
Candy, I can definitely relate to your comment. Because so many high school boys are comic books fans, I developed a culminating activity on my hero unit for high school sophomore that involved a team presentation on a Marvel or DC superhero of their choice. It was great to see how they could then apply their background knowledge of the classics to how modern day superheroes and associated fit certain archetypes, etc.
Very indepth, reminds me of why I never liked college papers. There was quite a bit of good onformation in here, while still just scratching the surface. In the past there have been people who devoted their doctorate to this and still not touched it all.
Jon, haha! Amazing that I put so much effort into a Pass/Fail paper. I guess that must how that I do indeed like writing of an academic nature. Even though this is basically just a summary, the act of pulling all the info together meant I learned more about Arthur than I ever just would taking notes or watching a video.
Wait…How come there weren’t any mentions about him turning into a squirrel?
Loni, my apologies 😉
Hi Jeri,
That was certainly a thorough and scholarly review.
I enjoyed learning more about King Arthur’ s legend, as the only sources I learnt about years ago were Chretien De Troyes, Malory and Lord Tennyson.
Particularly as regard to Chretien de Troyes, I knew about the courtly love topic as it appears in “The Knight of the Cart”.
The list of movies is huge… And It also includes the classic cartoon by Disney “The sword in the stone” (1963), which is quite faithful to the original story… I think that’ s remarkable considering It might not be easy to make the plot accesible it to children…
Very interesting post. Thank you very much for sharing.
Best regards, Aquileana 🙂
Aquileana, the translation provided of De Troyes in the workshop I took was really hard to get through since it was written in extremely long paragraphs that did little justice to the original poetic form. I browsed Amazon a bit, but still haven’t decided which version to try to read at a future date. The more I read stories about King Arthur, the more I want to all the various versions in. It’s going to take a like time, but I suppose I will get to them eventually.
Wow, even as a summary, this provides a wealth of information. I appreciate how you bring out the the connection between the times in which the different his”stories” are written. That is one of the roles of the arts, methinks, to give us either bare-naked truth to awaken us or hope that’s hard to come by in real life.
The Mysts of Avalon was written at a time when women were (finally) coming into their public power. Must be why I like it so much.
Jagoda, in addition to getting into Arthurian Lore once I had to teach it to high school students, I would definitely credit The Mists of Avalon with fully drawing me into the allure of the tales.
This reminds of the Renaissance festival. I love it because people dress up in medieval time and there are sword fights and jousting!I never read about King Arthur or saw the movie Mists of Avalon. However, now I want to watch the movie and read more about King Arthur. Great post!
Crystal, the jousting picture here is from the North Carolina Renaissance festival that I attended in 2011. It was my first one and I really loved it. The Mists of Avalon is a long book, but one that can really draw a reader in, even more so if you give a whirl after reading up a bit about the main characters from the tales. A re-telling from the perspectives of the female characters left me all the more intrigued by all the other stories related to Arthur’s legend.
Excellent article. Medieval Arthurian literature is near and dear to my heart! I wrote about the metamorphosis of the literary Arthur over the course of the Middle Ages in my Bachelor’s thesis. There is a real correlation between how his character goes from being a warrior-king (centered on might on the battlefield) to a philosopher-king (centered on chivalry and moral code of conduct) based on societal changes and historical events in the Middle Ages.
I was glad to see you used Alcock’s book, which is an excellent source! Also, I think my favorite Arthurian movie is “King Arthur” with Clive Owen which really concentrated on more of a historical aspect.
I really enjoyed this article. It IS a lot of information, and you put it together beautifully. I will be passing it on to other medievalists!
Lori, that means a lot that you feel I put so much together information well since you are certainly more of an authority on the topic than me. The workshop was structured to give the participants a lot of material to work worth, and I knew I couldn’t rest until I pieced it all together in the condensed version that became my paper.
So many stories and so little time. I do find them very interesting though. Well done Jeri! You and I both know why you put in so much work for a Pass/Fail grade. 🙂
Cheryl, I brought a handful of Arthurian tales as a result of taking this workshop. Now I’ve added them to the never-ending TBR pile, but I really do want to get to many of them so I can continue to compare and contrast the various versions of the stories.
That was an excellent background on the origins of the story. I enjoyed that far more than I have ever enjoyed the stories themselves.
I’ve never loved the tales of King Arthur. Perhaps my earliest encounter with the story was the wrong one, but I think my challenge comes from the fact that the characters all seem to have such fatal personality flaws. It could be that’s also what makes them so appealing to others, but for me I’m waiting for the iteration of the story where I actually like someone. 🙂
Debra, the flaws in the characters are quite marked. You might really like The Mists of Avalon because the author does away with the notion that good and evil are always clear. Zimmerman gives such depth to characters that before appeared mostly one-sided.
Loved this post! The King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table are one of my favorite stories. One movie on the myth is Excalibur from 1981 and based on the book Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory. I can always watch it when it pops up on TV.
Phil, I used to show the final death scene from Excalibur when my students would read Tennyson’s version that was in the the literature textbook. Needless to say, all that lance stabbing was a big hit with tenth grade boys.
Jeri – this was such a thoroughly researched post and I appreciated your citations. My last name is a variation on “paladin,” which is often equated to King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. I was often teased about it when “Paladin” was a long-running western TV show. Friends called me “have gun, will travel.” That was a long time ago!
Jeannette, thanks for noting the citations. So many other great sources can always be found by perusing an article’s works cited list.
Thanks for the history lesson! I love the stories surrounding King Arthur. My husband and I used to watch the TV show Merlin that shows Arthur before and after he became king. It’s fun to watch.
Krystle, stories of King Arthur will never get old. It’s fun to see how many different ways the tales have been and will continue to be reinvented. It’s safe to say it’s one subject that will never get old.
I studied the Arthurian legends in college but not as compressively as you! Wow. I was lucky enough to see the musical Camelot on stage in SF – starring Richard Burton as Arthur. Something I will never forget. Even from high in the balconies his blue eyes electrified the audience and his voice and acting blow the other actors off the stage. I don’t even remember who played Lancelot!
Jan, how lucky you got to see a production of Camelot starring Burton. One of my friends absolutely loves that musical. He even bought a house on Camelot street that he lived on for many years such was his fervor for that play. The Arthurian Lore workshop was great. It really helped flesh out the odds and ends I learned on my own over the years when I had to teach a unit on heroes where Arthur figured in prominently. Students really love any and all things medieval.
For me this was a very enlightening post as I haven’t read any stories about King Arthur! I know Jeri, you must be thinking…this is incredible! Lol! I can’t blame anyone! Probably I never had much interest in such stories! But its never too late!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Balroop, a great starting place would be Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. The feminist re-telling of Arthur casts the story through the eyes of the women while still providing a great overview of the entire saga and its main plot points.
I know very little about King Arthur. You have given us such a thorough overview of him. I do enjoy history and it was one of my favourite subject at school – after English Language and English Literature. I still recall the passion my history teacher had when she “transported” us back to the days of Stanin and Lenin. I was both intrigued and petrified at how these men rose to their fame.
Phoenicia, your comment reminds me of the English professor who taught the Early and Modern British Literature classes I took in college. She started off the course by coming into the classroom dressed as Mary Wollstonecraft and holding character all hour. She prattled on about a number of topics which served as the overview of the course. It was fantastic and a memorable way to make an impression and ensure the information would be retained. History is indeed a living thing 🙂
Thanks for the in depth post Jeri . I think yor love of academia really came through. I have to confess I’m not a big fan of all things Arthur but I’m sure it must have been presented to me in a way I didn’t like as a child- or perhaps the British obsession with medieval history. You certainly will capture lots of people’s imaginations with this post though.
Kathy, I’ve been won over to Arthurian Lore over the years the more I’ve learned about it. At first, I really gnashed my teeth over having to teach the tales, but little b little came around. Early on in teaching some of the stories I read Bradley’s book and that made a big difference in my perception. Re-telling the story from the women’s point of view made it easier for me to connect with and also understand the men’s perspective a bit better as well. And thank you for noting my love of academia comes through!
Jeri, thanks for this indepth researched account of King Arthur. I’ve always been fascinated by him and the Knights of the Round Table.
If you taught the way you write here you would have kept your students fascinated – I know I was.
Hope you find the time to get to that TBR pile soon – I can only imagine the interesting posts that will come from that.
Lenie, if I was still teaching high school students, it’s certain my introductory PowerPoint to Arthurian Lore would now be much more comprehensive. At first, the background on any topic like this can seem dry, but if the presenter has a passion for the material, that often makes all the difference. I remember students who would call me out on getting certain elements of the legend wrong, but it was usually because they didn’t have a full understanding of how the legend evolved over the years. Arthur’s story really does belong to everyone. He is both of an age and for an age. That will never cease to amaze me.
Fascinating Jeri and I’m not too proud to admit I just learned more about the legend of King Arthur than in all my years as an avid reader. Seriously, for whatever reason, other than a couple of visits to the Renaissance Faire before moving to Hawaii this is an era that’s never held much interest for me. But I found your account really enjoyable!
Marquita, I’m glad you found my post packed full of information. I mentioned a professor who dressed as Wollstonecraft in an earlier comment. She also had us prepare a medieval feast at one point during the class using authentic recipes. That’s one of the more difficult aspects of teaching literature because it’s also necessary to teach the historical context the stories came from, which can be daunting and difficult to find the right balance between the two.
Great background on the Arthurian legend. You did a lot of research. It shows how our views of history can be slanted or interpreted based on the thinking of a time. It also explains better why so many places in southwest England claim to have a connection to King Arthur and the Knights.
Donna, thankfully all of my research came pre-packaged with the workshop I took, but it was enlightening to string it all together to deepen my understanding. And it’s so true how history can be slanted.
Jeri, you have really done a fantastic job of compiling an abundance of information on the story of King Arthur. Reading your post inceased my knowledge a lot. Thank you for sharing.
Catarina, I’m glad to have increased your knowledge base of Arthurian Lore. Are the tales very popular in Sweden?
How interesting that it’s most likely that the King Arthur of literature is a composite of twelve different men who mostly lived during the fifth and sixth centuries. I’d never given any thought to how the legend came about and this article is really interesting.
Beth, all of this information really put the lore into perspective for me when I was sorting through it. I only wish I had access to all of it while I was still teaching English in a high school setting and could share the information with students.
Fantastic job, Jeri. It’s interesting to see how fiction seems to have won over truth. I had no idea he was transformed out of so many people and through many cultures.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is funny. I’m a Once Upon a Time watcher, and they have worked in King Arther, Lancelot, Merlin, Guinevere and the Holy Grail turned sword. It’s interesting to see how creative fiction writers interpret literature and fiction.
Denise, I have to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail at least once a year. I wish Spamalot would come to town again because I’d see it again in a heartbeat.
What a fantastic piece you’ve written. You’ve really clarified the developing myth or the man who was King Arthur. I love Historical fiction and I’m always in awe of the authors of such books in how much research they must do. Thanks for the resources, too!
Lisa, I definitely give props to writers who can write historical fiction. I love the research aspect of any historical subject, but to be able to convincingly weave that research into a fictional tale is a step above and beyond.
I love Game of Thrones. There are dragons and John is the bastard child. There is all kinds of drama going on in that show. I didn’t know it took inspiration from king Arthur stories. I love the medieval England times. Great post Jeri ! 🙂
Crystal, GOT does have various Arthurian elements for sure. Stories of bastard children tend to make for such great conflict.
This was a wonderful walk through a concept that seems to be repeated throughout the world. Arthur has probably the most blatantly changed and rehashed image of all the heroes and notable figures that we learn about in school. I remember reading something and talking about this in class where the existence of castles during his time came up.
People seem to find a notable figure on build them up over time. Henry VIII and William Wallace are a couple that have had a few makeovers over time and one example I can think of from Korea was the famous admiral Yi Sun Shin. He’s gone from hero to hasbeen and back a few times, depending on whoever is in charge. It’s the former now and you can watch a movie (Roaring Currents) about his achievements.
You bring up a lot of great points here and I love the amount of research you did to craft this piece of brilliance, Jeri. It’s important to dig into the character of the legend that people blindly build up or else we lose sight of what the person was responsible for in his or her life.
Thank you for sharing and keep the literary history stuff coming!
Duke, thanks so much for the insightful comment. I’ll admit the Henry VIII I’m most familiar with is the very sleek and sexy version portrayed in Showtime’s series The Tudors. At least that was enough to pique my interest. Since then, I’ve read a few books about him and his many wives that really show those image makeovers historical figures such as him receive throughout the ages.
What a great post and up my alley.
The Arthurian Legend, as with many myths, follows the monomyth pattern of a hero described by Joseph Cambell in “Hero with a Thousand Faces”. Using this pattern, I have compared Star Wars to the legend of King Arthur; the light saber represents Excalibur etc. So maybe Luke Skywalker is the new King Author story for this generation.
I will admit, my novel “Legend of the Mystic Knights” also follows this monomyth pattern, including the humble hero who is given a special sword.
This is a wonderful post, and I thank you for sharing it with us.
William, it’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Joseph Cambell, but your comment serves as a reminder what a rich source of material he provides.
Although I recognize King Arthur as one of literatures greatest tales ,I’ve never understood the cultural fascination with it. It must be a personal bias because I don’t like stories about Knights, Kings, Queens and Castles. 🙂 After reading your research I can see that he’s one of the most malleable tragic heroes in literature. I’ve always related to and respected the story as a thematic work on the frailties of man,illusions of life and human condition. I never knew it had such an extensive history. This is great piece of research, Jeri. Thank you for sharing it
Pamela, you’re not alone in not liking stories about knight, etc. I’m still not a huge fan of fantasy, but Arthurian Lore has definitely grown on me over the years and I’ve learned more about the legend and the historical context.
I remember Arthurian lore being my favorite section of all my high school lit classes. It’s interesting how so much of our history and culture is influenced by a legend that can’t even be confirmed. Good stuff!
Meredith, the amount of information covered in the weekend workshop I took on King Arthur really bowled me over. Yet, at the same time just made me want to continue to learn more on my own.
Dear, Jeri,
you should be paid highly for your exquisiteness, research, and literary knowledge.
King Arthur would be proud.
xxx
Kim, I only wish I could be paid highly for doing this kind of writing, but alas… no.
I have always been a huge fan of King Arthur stories. Looks like you are too, that’s definitely a lot of research. And so much more on him than I’d ever heard before. It is a fascinating, seemingly neverending topic that I’m sure you will spend much more time on, trying to find out who the team King Arthur really was.
Wonderful to learn more about the legend, and I appreciate all the work taken to write this post!