Arthur, King, was a legendary king of medieval Britain. He became the main character in some of the most popular stories in world literature. For almost 1,000 years, writers have told of Arthur’s brave deeds and the adventures of his knights of the Round Table.
A real Arthur probably existed, but historians know little about him. Storytellers passed on the earliest tales about Arthur by word of mouth. These storytellers may have based the tales on an actual British leader who won minor victories over German invaders in the early A.D. 500’s.
The earliest accounts of Arthur were from Celtic, Latin, and French sources. In Latin sources, Arthur’s father was King Uther Pendragon, who fell in love with Igrayne, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. With the aid of Merlin, a Celtic magician, Uther took the form of the duke and so conceived Arthur. Arthur was raised without knowledge of his royal ancestry. But when he pulled the magic sword Excalibur from a block of stone, he proved himself the rightful heir to the throne of Britain and became king. Later, Arthur married Princess Guenevere. Arthur had several residences. His favorite was Camelot, a castle in southern England (see Camelot ).
There are two versions of the events that led to Arthur’s death. Both say he fought a war against the Roman emperor Lucius and conquered much of western Europe. Latin chronicles said he was called home before completing his conquest. He had heard that Modred, a knight who was either his nephew or his son, had seized his kingdom and queen. Arthur killed Modred but died from wounds received in the fight.
Later authors wrote that Arthur had completed his victory over the Romans. After he returned to Britain, Arthur and his court began the quest for the Holy Grail, sometimes depicted as the cup or dish that Jesus used at the Last Supper. After the quest ended, a love affair developed between Queen Guenevere and Sir Lancelot, the greatest knight of the Round Table. While fighting a war of revenge against Lancelot, Arthur learned of Modred’s treachery. Then followed the battle that resulted in the death of Arthur and Modred. Many people believed that Arthur had gone to the otherworldly island of Avalon to be healed and that someday he would return to help his country.
Sir Thomas Malory compiled his famous prose romance Le Morte Darthur (about 1470) from much earlier French and English romances about Arthur. Many authors have based their novels or poems on Malory’s work. See Malory, Sir Thomas .
