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King Arthur

King Arthuran important figure inmythologyBritain. He iscentral characterArthurian legends (known asMatterBritain), although theredisagreement about whether Arthur, ormodelhim, ever actually existedinearliest mentionsWelsh texts henever giventitle "king". High medieval Welsh texts often call him amerauder "emperor".

King Arthurarmorvisor raisedwith jousting shield
King Arthur

Tablecontents
1 The ArthurHistory
2 Earliest TraditionsArthur
3 The Arthurian Romance
4 ArthurModern Literature, Film,Television
5 External links

The ArthurHistory

One schoolthought believes Arthurhave lived some time inlate 5th centuryearly 6th century,have beenRomano-British origin, andhave fought againstSaxons. His power base was probablyeither Wales orwestEngland, but controversy overcentrehis power andextentkindpower he wielded continuesrage.

Some membersthis school, most notably Geoffrey AsheFleuriot, have arguedidentifying Arthurone Riothamus, "King ofBrettones", who was active duringreign ofRoman Emperor Anthemius. Unfortunately, Riothamus isshadowy figurewhom we know little,scholarsnot certain whether"Brettones" he led were Britons or Bretons.

Another schoolthought believes that Arthurat besthalf-forgotten Celtic deity devolved intopersonage (citing sometimessupposed change ofsea-god Lir into King Lear) orfictive person like Beowulf. Subscribersthis schoolthought argue that another Roman Britonthis period,example Ambrosius Aurelianus, ledforces battlingSaxons atbattleMons Badonicus.

Earliest TraditionsArthur

Arthur first appearsWelsh literature. Inearliest surviving Welsh poem,Gododdin,poet Aneirin (c. 575 - 600) writesonehis subjects that 'he fed black ravens onramparts, although he was not Arthur' -- but this poem ascurrently existsfullinterpolations,it not possibledecide if this passagean interpolation fromlater period.

Another early referenceArthurinHistoria Brittonum, attributed toWelsh monk Nennius, whosaidhave written this compilationearly Welsh history aroundyear AD 830. In this work Arthurreferredas'leaderbattles' rather than asking.

Arthur also appears inWelsh tale CulhwchOlwen,narrative thatusually associated withMabinogion.

Later parts ofTrioedd Ynys Prydein, or Welsh Triads, mention Arthurlocate his courtCelliwig, whichlocatedCornwall. Celliwig was identified by older Cornish antiquariesCallington, but Rachel Bromwich,latest editor ofWelsh Triads, matched itKelly Rounds,hill fort inCornish parishEgloshayle.

King Arthursometimes depicted asleader ofWild Huntnot onlyBritish Isles, butBrittany, FranceGermany.

The Arthurian Romance

In AD 1133, GeoffreyMonmouth producedmanuscript calledHistoria Regum Britanniae. This work wasmedieval equivalent of'best seller'helped drawattentionother writers, such as Robert WaceLayamonthese stories, who then expanded on these talesArthur.

In 1191, monksGlastonbury Abbey announced thathad foundburial siteArthurGuinevere. Their grave was shownmany people, andreputed remains were moved tonew tomb1278. The tomb was destroyed duringReformation, andbones lost. The antiquary John Leland reports that he sawcross found withremains,transcribed its inscription as

Hic iacet sepvltvs inclytvs rex artvrivsinsvla avalonia -- "Hereburiedfamous king Arthur inIslandAvalon"

While many scholars believe that Geoffrey issourcemedieval interestArthur, at least one scholar, Roger S. Loomis, has argued that many oftales surrounding Arthur actually come from Breton oral traditions, which were spread throughroyalnoble courtsEurope by professional storytellers known as jongleurs. The French medieval writer, Chrétien de Troyes, recounted tales frommythos duringmid-12th century, as did Marie de Franceher narrative poems called lais. In any case,later stories told by these two writersby many, many others, appearbe independentwhat GeoffreyMonmouth wrote.

In these versions, which gained popularity beginning in12th century, Arthur gatheredKnights ofRound Table (Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad,others). At his court, most often held at Camelot inlater prose romances, could sometimes be foundwizard Merlin. Arthur's knights engagedfabulous quests asexampleHoly Grail. Other stories fromCeltic world camebe associatedArthur, such astaleTristanIsolde. Inlate prose romanceslove affair between Arthur's champion, Lancelot, andQueen, Guinevere, becomescentral reason forfall ofArthurian world.

In Robert de Boron's Merlin, later followed by Thomas Malory, Arthur obtainedthrone by pullingsword fromstoneanvil. In this account, this act could not be performed except by "the true king," meaningdivinely appointed king or true heirUther Pendragon. This sword was presumablyfamous Excalibur andidentitymade explicit inlater so-called Vulgate Merlin Continuation. Howeverwhatsometimes calledPost-Vulgate Merlin Excalibur was taken fromhand rising fromlakegivenArthur sometime after he beganreign bysorcerous damsel (confused by post-medieval writersThe Lady ofLake). In this Post-Vulgate versionsword's blade could slice through anythingits sheath madewearer invincible.

Arthur wascasualtyhis last battle,BattleCamlann, which he fought againstforcesMordred. The Prose Lancelot andlater prose cyclic romances state that Mordred was alsoKnight ofRound Table andchildan incestuous union between Arthurhis sister Morgause. In almost all accounts Arthur was saidbe mortally wounded, but afterbattle he was taken awayAvalon (sometimes identifiedGlastonburySomerset, England), where his wounds were healed or his body was buried inchapel. Some texts referreturnArthur infuture.

The Arthurian mythos spread far acrosscontinent. An imageArthurhis Knights attackingcastle was carved into an archivolt overnorth doorwayModena CathedralItaly sometime between 10991120. A mosaic pavement incathedralOtranto, near Bari alsoItaly was made1165 withpuzzling depictionArturus Rex bearingsceptreridinggoat. 15th century merchants set up an Arthurian hallhis honourDanzig, Poland.

Retellings ofArthurian cycle includeworksGottfried von Strassburg, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Sir Gawain andGreen Knight,Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

ArthurModern Literature, Film,Television

Theremany numberbooks written about King Arthur andcourtCamelot. A numberpopular films have been made as well. Some ofmore notable include: The late 1960s Australian animated cartoon series Arthur! andSquare Knights ofRound Table wastypically wacky take on Arthurian legend.

The 1970's British television series, Arthur ofBritons, starring Oliver Tobias, soughtcreatemore "realistic" portrait ofperiod andexplainoriginssome ofmyths aboutCeltic leader.

In 1937,newspaper comic strip by Hal Foster, Prince Valiant was first published, withbyline "InDaysKing Arthur". SincedeathFoster1982, John Cullen Murphy has continued producing this comic strip.

The Arthurian myth makes an appearancemany stories, including Susan Cooper's The DarkRising sequence.

Jerry Bruckheimercreating"demystified" movie versionthis legend called simply King Arthur. In this version, Arthur isRoman, Lancelot one ofSamaritan soldiers that make up Arthur's troops. MerlinGuinevereWoad warriors who fight against Arthur.

See also: Sitesplaces associatedArthurian legend

External links


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