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King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. He is the central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain. There is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed. In the earliest mentions and in Welsh texts, he is never given the title "King." Early texts refer to him as a dux bellorum ("war leader"), and High Medieval Welsh texts often call him an ameraudur ("emperor"; the word is borrowed from the Latin imperator, which could also mean "war leader").
A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield is one of the chivalrous mourners at the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I (died 1519), in Innsbruck
The possible historicity of the Arthur of legend has long been debated by scholars. One school of thought believes Arthur to have lived sometime in the late 5th century to early 6th century, to have been of Romano-British origin, and to have fought against the paganSaxons. His power base was probably in either Wales, Cornwall, or the west of what would become England. However, controversy over the centre of his power and the extent and kind of power he wielded continues to this day.
Some members of this school, most notably Geoffrey Ashe and Leon Fleuriot, have argued for identifying Arthur with a certain Riothamus, "King of the Brettones," who was active during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Anthemius. Unfortunately, Riothamus is a shadowy figure of whom we know little, and scholars are not certain whether the "Brettones" he led were Britons or Bretons.
Other writers suggest that King Arthur should be identified as one Lucius Artorius Castus, a Roman dux of the 2nd century, whose military exploits in Britain may have been remembered for centuries afterwards. This is linked to a theory by C. Scott Littleton and Linda Malcor suggesting a Sarmatian Arthur, which was the basis of the film King Arthur. The obscurity surrounding Artorius makes this identification unlikely, as there seems to be little reason for him to have become a major legendary figure.
Less usual theories include one identifying Arthur with Owain Ddantgwyn ap Yrthr, King of Rhôs, and that of John Darrah and Arthur Cummins, who propose an Early Bronze Age Arthur, circa 2300 BC. They argue that pulling a sword from a stone and an anvil is a metaphor for making a sword from ore and hammering it into shape on an anvil.
Another theory proposes that the real Arthur was Artur Mac Aidan, a war leader of the Scots and Britons. By this theory, Artur was predominately active in the region between the Roman walls—the Gododdin. Artur was never "king" per se, but rather the son of the Scottish king Aidan Mac Gabran, who ruled from about 574 AD. As claims this website (), Artur led a loose coalition of the ChristianCelts against their pagan invaders—effectively holding them off for about one hundred more years. However, his generation also included other people named Artur or some variant of the name, suggesting that it was first popularized by another—namely, our Arthur. In modern times, Mac Aidan's name is spelled Artuir.
The late historian John Morris made the alleged reign of Arthur at the turn of the 5th century the organising principle of his history of sub-Roman Britain and Ireland under the rubric The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350–650' (1974), even though he found little to say of a historic Arthur, save as an example of the idea of kingship, one among such contemporaries as Vortigen and Cunedda, Hengest and Coel.
Another school of thought believes that Arthur had no historical existence, explaining that he originally was a half-forgotten Celtic deity that devolved into a personage (citing sometimes a supposed change of the sea-god Lir into King Lear) or a possibly fictive person like Beowulf.
However, the Arthur of legend may simply be a composite of these figures; at the least, tales of the real Arthur's exploits may have been confused and merged with that of other war leaders of the time.
Also, all these theories fail to mention that artur, arturus and arcturos, which mean "bear-man" in Welsh and Latin respectively (according to some) and "bear" in Greek (ancient and modern), could have been a nom de guerre used by the leader who fought against the Saxons, whose true name is lost to us (if he wasn't any of the above).
Earliest traditions of Arthur
Arthur first appears in Welsh literature. In a surviving early Welsh poem, The Gododdin (ca. 594 AD), the poet Aneirin (ca. 535-600 AD) writes of one of his subjects that "he fed black ravens on the ramparts, although he was no Arthur." However, this poem (as it currently exists) is full of interpolations, and it is not possible to decide if this passage is an interpolation from a later period. The following poems attributed to Taliesin are possibly from a similarly early date: The Chair of the Sovereign, which refers to "Arthur the Blessed"; Preiddeu Annwn ("The Treasures of Annwn"), mentions "the valour of Arthur" and states "we went with Arthur in his splendid labours"; and the poem Journey to Deganwy, which contains the passage "as at the battle of Badon with Arthur, chief giver of feasts, with his tall blades red from the battle which all men remember."
Another early reference to Arthur is in the Historia Britonum, attributed to the Welsh monkNennius, who is said to have written this compilation of early Welsh history around the year 830 AD. In this work, Arthur is referred to as a "leader of battles" rather than as a king. Two separate sources within this compilation list twelve battles that he fought, culminating in the battle of Mons Badonicus, where he is said to have single-handedly killed 960 men. According to the Annales Cambriae, Arthur was killed at the Battle of Camlann in 537 AD.
Arthur makes an appearance in a number of well-known Welsh vitae ("Lives") of 6th century saints. For example, in the Life of Saint Illtud, from internal evidence apparently written around 1140 AD, Arthur is said to be a cousin of that churchman. Many of these appearances portray Arthur as a fierce warrior, and not necessarily as morally impeccable as in later Romances. According to the Life of Saint Gildas (died ca. 570 AD), written in the 11th century by Caradoc of Llancarfan, Arthur killed Gildas' brother Hueil, a pirate on the Isle of Man.
In around 1100 AD, Lifris of Llancarfan writes in his Life of Saint Cadoc that Arthur was bettered by Cadoc. Cadoc gave protection to a man who killed three of Arthur's soldiers, and Arthur was awarded a herd of cattle from Cadoc as wergeld for his men. Cadoc delivered them as demanded, but when Arthur took possession of the animals, they were transformed into bundles of ferns. The likely original purpose of this story would be to promote popular acceptance of the new Christian faith by "demonstrating" that Cadoc, the Christian leader, had magical powers traditionally ascribed to Druids and of sufficient intensity to outsmart the temporal ruler, Arthur. Similar incidents are described in the late medieval biographies of Carannog, Padern, and Goeznovius.
Arthur also appears in the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen, a narrative that is usually associated with the Mabinogion. In that work, Culhwch visits Arthur's court to seek his help in winning the hand of Olwen. Arthur, who is described as his kinsman, agrees to the request and fulfils the demands of Olwen's giant father Ysbaddaden, which includes his hunt for the great boarTwrch Trwyth described at length by the author.
This may be related to legends where Arthur is depicted as the leader of the Wild Hunt, a folk motif that is also recorded in Brittany, France, and Germany. Roger S. Loomis has listed a number of these instances (Loomis 1972). Gervase of Tilbury in the 13th century and two 15th century writers assign this role to Arthur. Gervase states that Arthur and his knights regularly hunt along an ancient trackway between Cadbury Castle and Glastonbury (which is still known as King Arthur's Causeway), and that he with his company of riders may be seen by moonlight in the forests of Britain or Brittany or Savoy. Loomis alludes to a Scottish mention in the 16th century, and that many of these beliefs were still current in the 19th century at Cadbury Castle, and in several parts of France.
The first major popularization of Arthurian legend was Geoffrey of Monmouth's fictional Historia Regum Britanniae, a medieval equivalent of a bestseller that helped draw the attention of other writers, such as Robert Wace and Layamon, who then expanded on the tales of Arthur. The date of the Historia is given as 1133 by a small proportion of experts; however, the date is more normally given as 1138, as the following quote indicates:
Geoffrey stayed at Oxford at least until 1151 and during this period wrote his two extant works, Historia regum Britanniae (1136–1138; "History of the Kings of Britain") and Vita Merlini (ca. 1148; "The Life of Merlin").
During a period of five hundred years the tradition of his exploits was preserved, and rudely embellished, by the obscure bards of Wales and Armorica (otherwise known as Britany), who were odious to the Saxons, and unknown to the rest of mankind. The pride and curiosity of the Norman conquerors prompted them to inquire into the ancient history of Britain; they listened with fond credulity to the tale of Arthur, and eagerly applauded the merit of a prince who had triumphed over the Saxons, their common enemies.
Thus, according to Gibbon, the once obscure 500-year-old Welsh legend became more widely known (through the works of the Anglo-Norman poet Wace and others), creating a unified cultural icon under which the Norman rulers and the native Welsh could rally against their common enemy: the Saxons.
One influencing factor may have been that William the Conqueror was one-quarter Breton, and the Bretons had kept alive the legends of King Arthur brought with them when they fled Britain during the Saxon invasions five centuries earlier. Geoffrey of Monmouth was also of Breton stock. The Bretons and other British émigrés had supported William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, providing a large proportion of the knights in the battle. Since the ethnic British nobility fought against the Saxons at Hastings it was inevitable that their mythology would experience a resurgence when the crown was won.
While many scholars believe that Geoffrey of Monmouth is the source for medieval interest in Arthur, at least one scholar, Roger S. Loomis, has argued that many of the tales surrounding Arthur were independently adapted from Bretonoral traditions, spread through the royal and noble courts of Europe by professional storytellers known as jongleurs. The French medieval writer Chrétien de Troyes recounted tales from the Matter of Britain during the mid-12th century, as did Marie de France in her narrative poems called lais. In any case, the later stories told by these two writers and by many others appear to be independent of what Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote.
In these Arthurian romances, which gained popularity in the 12th century, Arthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table (Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad, and others). At his court, most often held at Camelot in the later prose romances, could sometimes be found the wizard Merlin. Arthur's knights engaged in fabulous quests, the quest for the Holy Grail being perhaps the best known. Other stories from the Celtic world came to be associated with Arthur, such as the tale of Tristan and Isolde. In the late prose romances the love affair between Arthur's champion, Lancelot, and the Queen, Guinevere, becomes the central reason for the collapse of the Arthurian realm.
In the romances, Arthur is killed in his last battle, the Battle of Camlann, in which he fought against the forces of Mordred. The Prose Lancelot and the later prose cyclic romances state that Mordred was also a knight of the Round Table and the child of an incestuous union between Arthur and his sister Morgause. In almost all accounts Arthur is said to have been mortally wounded, but to have been taken after the battle to Avalon (sometimes identified with Glastonbury in Somerset, England), where his wounds were healed or his body buried in a chapel. Some texts refer to a return of Arthur in the future.
The Arthurian mythos spread far across the European continent. An image of Arthur and his knights attacking a castle was carved into an archivolt over the north doorway of Modena Cathedral in Italy sometime between 1099 and 1120. The surprising fact that these Italian images seem to have been carved more than a decade before the appearance of Geoffrey's "Historia" indicates how limited is our knowledge of the spread of Arthurian legend in the early Middle Ages. Also in Italy, a mosaic pavement in the cathedral of Otranto, near Bari, was made in 1165 with the unexplained depiction of Arturus Rex bearing a sceptre and riding a goat. 15th century merchants set up an Arthurian hall in his honour in Gdańsk, Poland.
In 1191, monks of Glastonbury Abbey announced that they had found the burial site of Arthur and Guinevere. Their grave was shown to many people, and the reputed remains were moved to a new tomb in 1278. The tomb was destroyed during the Reformation, and the bones lost. The antiquary John Leland reports that he saw the cross found with the remains, and transcribed its inscription as
Hic iacet sepvltvs inclytvs rex artvrivs in insvla avalonia — "Here is buried the famous King Arthur in the Island of Avalon".
If Leland accurately reproduced the script of this inscription, then it can be dated to the 10th century. At least one scholar has suggested that the cross was added when Arthur's remains were transferred to the abbey.
In Robert de Boron's Merlin, later followed by Thomas Malory, Arthur obtained the throne by pulling a sword from a stone and anvil. In this account, this act could not be performed except by "the true king," meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. This sword was presumably the famous Excalibur and the identity is made explicit in the later so-called Vulgate Merlin Continuation.
However, in what is sometimes called the Post-Vulgate Merlin, Excalibur was taken from a hand rising from a lake and given to Arthur by The Lady of the Lake sometime after he began to reign. According to many sources, Arthur broke the sword pulled from the stone whilst fighting King Pellinore, and thus Merlin took him to achieve Excalibur from the lake (as cited in many novels including Howard Pyle's King Arthur and His Knights, King Arthur and the legend of Camelot, and indeed most modern Arthurian literature). In this Post-Vulgate version, the sword's blade could slice through anything and its sheath made the wearer invincible. Some stories say that Arthur did indeed pull the sword from the stone (Excalibur), giving him the right to be king, but accidentally killed a fellow knight with it and cast it away. Merlin told him to undertake a quest to find another blade, and it was then that Arthur received his sword from the hand in the water, and named it Excalibur, after his original sword. The first appearance of the sword named Caliburn is in Geoffrey of Monmouth, who asserted that in battle against Arthur "nought might armour avail, but that Caliburn would carve their souls from out them with their blood." ().
The several books by Norma Lorre Goodrich are very popular, but are based on a poorly received analysis of Arthurian legend and medieval history. She asserts he was a borderlands king whose activity centred around the Roman walls and wall forts. This is so at odds with entrenched beliefs that she is dismissed by many scholars despite some well founded conclusions.
Mary Stewart's Merlin books: The Crystal Cave sets up the background for the Arthurian legend. The Hollow Hills encompasses most of Arthur's lifespan, including his childhood with Merlin as his tutor. The Last Enchantment deals with Merlin's later life, against the continued background of Arthur's rule. A later book, The Wicked Day, was written from the point of view of Mordred in the latter period of Arthur's rule, and provides an interesting counterpoint to the original three novels.
Dragon Lord, David Drake's somewhat unconventional story involving a "King Arthur" who is more great military general than quasi-enchanted king, takes place shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire and long before the Age of Chivalry.
Tim Powers' The Drawing of the Dark depicts an eternal King Arthur reincarnated to participate in the Siege of Vienna.
Persia Woolley's Child of the Northern Spring, Queen of the Summer Stars, and Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn.
Jack Whyte's The Camulod Chronicles, a series of books containing more historical fiction than fantasy beginning with Roman Britain and leading through Arthur's reign.
Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles consist of three novels, Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur, and reintroduce many old characters back into the tale. Told by Derfel after Arthur's death they are very realistic in nature even though they do have Merlin and Lancelot and magic. Well worth a read and the author's notes at the end are enlightening. "There is a sword and there is a stone, but one is not in the other", is Cornwell's own summary.
Rosalind Miles' Guenevere Trilogy is a fictional trilogy that follows Guenevere and King Arthur through their reign as High King & Queen
John Masefield' cycle of poetry concerning the Arthurian legend.
Janice Elliot's The King Awakes a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel for young teens. Arthur awakens and maintains a prescence as a sub-plot, leading to a fantastic finale complete with re-born Knights of the Round Table. An interesting re-interpretation of Celtic myth in a post atomic war milleu.
In 1960, a successful Broadway musical called "Camelot" was created by the team responsible for "My Fair Lady", Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe. It starred Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and introduced Robert Goulet as Lancelot. The original cast album of the show was a particular favorite of then-President John F. Kennedy, and the "Camelot" metaphor has been often associated with his presidency. A film based on the musical starring Richard Harris as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot, was made in 1967.
John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur; considered by many to be one of the more faithful modern retellings of the Arthurian legend.
King Arthur, a motion picture released on July 7, 2004, claiming (despite being heavily criticised for its historical inaccuracies) to be more historically accurate about the legend with respect to new archaeological findings; similar in story line to Jack Whyte's books.
The 1950s British television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, although based around the knight's exploits, featured Arthur and many other characters from the legends. This was the first British television series ever to be made in colour.
The 1970s British television series, Arthur of the Britons, starring Oliver Tobias, sought to create a more "realistic" portrait of the period and to explain the origins of some of the myths about the Celtic leader.
The television movie Merlin showing a tale of Arthur and his knights.
The animated series The Legend of Prince Valiant followed the adventures of three young warriors training to become Knights of the Round Table. Originally aired in the early 1990s, it featured Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and Gawain in its main cast and several other Arthurian characters in recurring roles.
The animated series Gargoyles featured several tales of Arthur (who was prematurely awakened in a time of need) and the magic and fairies of Avalon. A proposed spin-off for the character never materialized.
The animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited featuring related characters Morgan Le Fay, Mordred, and Merlin.
The animated series King Arthur and the Knights of Justice featured an American Football team called the Knights led by quarterback Arthur King. When the "real" Knights of the Round Table are captured, Merlin magically transports the Knights football team to Camelot to defend the kingdom and rescue the captured knights.
In Season Nine of the science-fiction television series Stargate SG-1, Arthur and Arthurian legend, particularly Merlin, are intrinsic to the plot of the season; specifically, Merlin is an Ancient who may have taught Arthur how to Ascend at Glastonbury Tor and hid the wealth of the Knights in an elaborate, puzzle-laden chamber.
Other media
In 1937, a newspaper comic strip by Hal Foster, Prince Valiant was first published, with the byline "In the Days of King Arthur". Since the death of Foster in 1982, John Cullen Murphy has continued producing this comic strip.
The comic bookDracula vs King Arthur from Silent Devil Productions takes the Arthur as he begins his quest for the Grail and pits him against a time-crossing Dracula.
Several comic book titles have explored the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend by bringing Arthur and his knights back from the dead at the time of Britain's greatest need including Camelot 3000 and Knights of Pendragon.
The video game Knights Of The Round by Capcom is a light-hearted take on the Arthurian legend in a sword fighting beat-em-up similar to the video game Final Fight.
A Guide to King Arthur's Forgotten Realm http://panther.bsc.edu/~arthur A detailed but digestible site containing the research materials and experiences of two college students' experiences while travelling Britain's sites associated with the Aurthurian legend.
Camelot in Four Colors : A Survey of the Arthurian Legend in Comics
The Taliesin Foundation: Understanding Celtic tradition in relation to today, in particular the Anglo-Celtic Inheritance of what Winston Churchill called "The English Speaking Peoples", inspired and informed by the mythos of King Arthur, the Round Table, the Quest for the Holy Grail.
Loomis, Roger S. 1972. "Arthur" in Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend (edited by Maria Leach) Funk and Wagnalls. New York.
