Tales of king arthur

It is believed that Arthur was a great chief of tribes in Britain, sometimes after AD 500. He may have been part-Roman and part-British, for the Romans had ruled England and Wales for nearly 400 years. Arthur seems to have led a large army against the Saxon invaders. The first writer to mention him was Nennius, an early Welsh historian who lived about the 8th century.

The Saxons against whom Arthur fought came mostly from the Scandinavian countries and Germany. They sailed across the North Sea to England and attacked the native Britons and looted the countryside.

In Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany, Arthur was remembered and admired. Stories about him passed on from one generation to another. Each story was more wonderful than the last. Finally, Arthur became one of the greatest heroes who ever lived. He killed horrible monsters; had great magical powers and became a great and good king, looked up to by many brave knights who rode out of his castle to do good deeds. The place where Arthur’s castle is supposed to have stood remains a mystery. There are about six different sites that claim to be location of Camelot, his home.

Tales of King Arthur is an abridged version of Morte D’Arthur that was written around 1469 by Sir Thomas Malory and presents England in the Middle Ages. It is the first great prose work in the English language. The true identity of the writer is unknown, and no less than five historical identities have been proposed. As Malory himself wrote, his Morte D’Arthur is based on a “French book”, which contained the massive story of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Malory eliminated much of the religious and magical side of the story. Malory is the last authentic voice of English feudalism just before the rise of the powerful central state under the Tudors.

Tales of King Arthur are tragic chivalric mythology. The setting is the 6th century Britain. The principal characters are: Arthur, King of England and legendary leader of the Knights of the Round Table; Guinevere, Arthur’s queen; Merlin, magician and “devil’s son”; Lancelot, friend of Arthur, and Guinevere’s lover; Galahad, Lancelot’s son and finder of the Holy Grail; Mordred, Arthur’s illegitimate son.

The story revolves around those who would achieve knighthood and fame – at any cost. Malory depicts a group of honorable knights, dedicated to the chivalric code, who fall prey to corruption, savagery, incest, lust, intrigues, and, in the end, near annihilation. Though there is much good in most of the knights, even Arthur ultimately pays the price of incest by having to kill his own son and then losing his own life. Lancelot, the “noblest” of knights, is responsible for the deaths of those he most loves. In the end, it is abandonment of virtue and honour in favour of more desperate warfare that rescinds the Age of Chivalry.

Story overview: King Uther Pendragon lusted after Igraine, the Duke of Tintagel’s wife. One of Uther’s knights summoned Merlin who gave Uther the appearance of Igraine’s husband, the Duke. Uther laid with Igraine and she conceived. But Merlin had required a payment in return: “When [the child] is born … it shall be delivered to me to nourish”.

Soon the Duke died and Uther married Igraine. When the child, Arthur, was born, Merlin claimed him and gave him to Sir Ector’s wife to nurse. Seven years later, when Uther died, Arthur became next in line to the throne but the young man had yet to prove his worthiness. He was crowned King of England when he pulled out the sword of the anvil that no other knight could lift. One of the defeated kings, Lot, sent his wife Morgawse to spy on Arthur. Arthur, not knowing that she was his sister, seduced her, and she bore him an illegitimate son, Mordred. Merlin prophesied that Mordred one day would murder Arthur.

In a fight with Pellanor, a gallant knight, Arthur lost his sword. He went to a lake and the Lady of the Lake gave him another sword, Excalibur. While Arthur had it upon him he would never be “sore wounded”.

Merlin warned Arthur against marrying the lovely Guinevere, but Arthur ignored his advice. After his marriage, he received as dowry the Round Table. From that time on, Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table devoted themselves to the chivalry Code, defending the right and engaging themselves in many acts of valour and mercy.

On one occasion, King Arthur, having declined to pay Roman tribute, sent an army, led by Sir Lancelot, into the heart of Italy. In hand-to-hand combat Arthur killed the emperor. The Britons routed the Romans, winning glory for the Round Table and a crown for Arthur in Rome.

Lancelot, determined to gain even greater fame for himself, embarked on contests against all challengers. Queen Guinevere began to favour him above all the knights – and soon Lancelot began to love her more than he loved Arthur. But Dame Brisen, an enchantress, gave Lancelot a cup of wine that muddled his senses and made him mistake Elaine, daughter of a king, for Guinevere. Elaine conceived and bore him a son, Galahad, who later became the noblest knight of the land.

In due time, Galahad and the other knights of the Round Table set out on their quest of the Holy Grail. But the vain and worldly knights were unsuccessful; only humble, brave and merciful lieges, who did not seek their own fame but followed the teachings of Christ, deserved the honour. After many adventures, Galahad, Percival and Bors obtained the Grail. Galahad beheld a vision of Christ and prayed to be with him. He immediately died and his soul went to heaven, accompanied by a throng of angels.

Lancelot several times tried to forget Guinevere but then again rekindled his romance with her. When she was falsely accused of poisoning a knight and was sentenced to burn, Lancelot rescued her and carried her off to his castle. When the king besieged Lancelot the latter returned Guinevere but Arthur would not be appeased and began an assault on Lancelot’s domain, leaving England in Mordred’s power.

Mordred usurped his father’s throne and took Guinevere for wife. Arthur met Mordred in battle and impaled his son with a spear. In his last breath, however Mordred mortally wounded him.

Seeing the destruction his sword had caused, Arthur ordered to throw Excalibur back into the lake. Then he asked to be placed on a boat accompanied by three queens dressed in black.

Arthur was never heard from again. Some say he never died. But later somebody found a fresh grave that a hermit had dug for a corpse borne by three ladies dressed in black.

When Lancelot heard that Arthur was dead and that Guinevere had entered a convent as a nun, he became a priest. Both died soon afterwards. The remaining knights led by King Constantine, set off to fight the holy wars. The Round Table was no more.