King Arthur

King Arthur is a mysterious figure thought to be from the sixth century AD. He was the King of Britain for thirty years and during that time consolidated all the smaller kingdoms into the one country today known as England. He also founded The Order of the Round Table, a collection of knights that helped rule the kingdom. The help they provided was as counselors to the King, and as the military defense for the country. He was best known for his repelling the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons. This is ironic because much of England today is descendent from the Anglo-Saxons.

Arthur was the illegitimate son for the King Uther Pendragon, Arthur's predecessor, and Igraine of Cornwall, Gorlois' wife, one of Uther's generals. When he was born, he was taken away and raised by Sir Hector, in the Forest Sauvage(White 50). When he was a but a teen, he went to London with Hector and his son Kay. While they were there Arthur pulled a magical sword from an anvil in a churchyard. The sword had appeared many years before to mark the new king. Whoever pulled it out would take the throne. During his reign, Britain became a very prosperous nation. The knights of the Table achieved many wonderful new things, as did the general population. Arthur's rule ended because of the power of corruption that hiding things has. Lancelot, a knight, and Guenevere, Arthur's wife, were having an affair. The affair was not publicly admitted, and everything was going okay. Then some knights confronted Lancelot and a fight ensued. Lancelot slayed his attackers, but Arthur was forces to expel him from Camelot, and to chase him back to his castle in Brittany. While Arthur was overseas, Mordred, his illegitimate son by Arthur's half sister, took the throne by convincing the knights that Arthur had perished. Arthur went back to Britain and met to talk with Mordred. During the talks fighting broke out, and Arthur killed Mordred, but was mortally wounded in the process. When he died he was taken to the magical island of Avalon to recover and wait until Britain needed him again.

This is the basic story of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur from the late 1400s. Almost all works since that date have been based on Malory's version. Some of the most notable are T.H. White's The Once and Future King, the movie Excalibur, the play Camelot, and Disney's The Sword in the Stone, which is taken from the first volume of White's book.

Before Malory's work there were many significant works on Arthur, many from foreign areas. Surprisingly, Germany and France turned out nearly as many versions of legend as England. Some of the earliest were: de Troyes, a series of poems from the 12th century; Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae, from the 11th century; Y Gododdin, a Welsh poem, circa 600; and von Eschenbach, Parzival, an opera from the 12th century. The legend was also told as far away as Italy and the Middle East. (Encarta "Arthurian Legend")

There are three major points of the legend that have had profound effect on the world. There is also a fourth point that has had a lesser effect, but is still worthy of mention: When Arthur died he was supposedly taken to Avalon to heal and wait for Britain's need to call him forth again. To this day there are many that still believe he will return. During World War II there was a part of the English population that believed that Winston Churchill was Arthur reborn(Andronik 94). The belief that Arthur had come back gave people hope. If Arthur was with them, then how could they lose?

During Uther Pendragon's reign, knights followed the lesser king that ruled their homeland, with a loose association with the High King. Uther and Gorlois of Cornwall had a falling out and they, with their respective knights, went to war. Uther won, killing Gorlois and most of his knightsin the process. After his victory he went to Gorlois' castle, Tintagel, where he and Igraine of Cornwall conceived Arthur.

When Arthur learned of this battle from Merlin, he was appalled. Probably because of this, he set up the Round Table for all the knights of the land. This eliminated all association by the knights to the rulers of the land. This separation extended to even Arthur, although Arthur was a knight of the Table.

This points to the discussion of chivalry. Chivalry literally means: men in arms(armor) on horses, and is derived from the French chevalier, knight. This is a rather different description of chivalry as we know it today. Chivalry has become a code of honor and conduct, reaching far beyond the military. Arthur established the code for the knights, chivalry, that served the Table, and through the years the definition has changed to represent that code.

Unlike the definition, Arthur's concept of chivalry has remained constant through the years. Even now, people refer to actions as being chivalrous, referring to the conduct expected of the knights. More of the legend than just the concept of chivalry has survived, the legend itself has permeated through the ages. This is the second point of discussion.

Most children and told bits and pieces of the legend as they are growing up. These pieces are often bedtime stories of adventures Arthur had as a child, or things the Knights of the Table did. This passing on of the story implies that it has value, whether it is purely entertainment, or moral as well. As for another series of stories that keeps being passed on through generations, nothing comes close.

Another interesting point about the legend, it is far from being purely from the western culture. The Sarmatians, from Siberia, have a legend so similar to the western King Arthur, that the basis has to be the same(O'Neal 24,39). History shows that there were migrations from eastern Russia to and from England around 600AD and 750AD. This would point to the Sarmatian legends of Artorius, a version of Arthur, being based on the same person.

There are several sites in Britain that have also become "tourist towns" because of there supposed Arthurian connections. Glastonbury Abbey is by far the most significant. During the late 1100s, monks there supposedly found a tomb labeled to be King Arthur's on Avalon. This may seem a little preposterous, Glastonbury is on a small hill in the middle of the countryside. However, the countryside that now surrounds the hill used to be a swamplike lake. That would have make the hill appear to be an island rising from the middle of a lake(O'Neal 111).

The abbey was also the site where Joseph of Arimathea supposedly brought and hid the Holy Grail. The spot where the grail is buried is now a crystal clear spring. And, every year around Easter, the water turns red in color. This supposedly points to the grail, the clear water being Jesus' purity and the red water being the blood he shed upon the crucifixion.

There were also other uses of the abbey finds. Richard Coer de Lion used the remains to try to frighten and disband a Welsh upheaval during his reign. Henry II used the legend and the finds at the abbey to glorify Britain's past, this probably is a significant reason the legend is still with us today.

The next facet is the religious side, especially the Holy Grail. The grail was the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper and later caught his blood at the crucifixion. It was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea and its location was never known again. There are many tales of the Holy Grail and the Round Table. Most of the Arthurian stories before Malory were about the grail. Percival and Galahad were the two knights that were able to find the grail, both in separate versions.

In the version about Percival, he is a country lad who wants to become a knight at the Round Table. He sets out to prove his worth and on his was is invited to spend the night at a fisherman's castle. He sits down for supper with the fisherman, and during the meal a knight armed in white with a white lance walks by. On the tip of the lance there was a single drop of red blood. After the knight there was a beautiful girl carrying an ornate cup through the hall. Percival, not wanting to barge into the fisherman's business, asked no questions about what he saw. After eventually becoming a knight, he found out that the fisherman was the Fisher King, the lance was the lance used to stab Jesus on the cross, and the cup the girl was carrying was the Holy Grail. Percival returns to the castle and is taken to eternal life(O'Neal 74-76).

The other version is about Galahad. During the great feast of Pentecost, a woman comes in and asks for Lancelot. He goes with her to a small abbey out in the forest and there meets a fine young man, whom the nuns want him to knight. Lancelot obliges and then returns to the Camelot, not knowing exactly what the purpose of the exercise was. The next day an old man comes in leading a knight armed in red. The Table rises to greet the stranger and the old man unarms him for all to see. It is Galahad, the man Lancelot had knighted the day before. Galahad walks over to Siege Perilous, the seat at the Table where only the knight who can find the grail can sit. He sits down and nothing happens. The Table is finally full and the quest for the grail can begin. The next day Arthur dispatched the knights on the quest for the Holy Grail. Many of them have grand adventures, but only Sirs Galahad, Bors, and Percival find the location of the grail, and of them, Galahad is the only one that sees it. He is immediately consumed and brought heaven to live life eternal. Percival and Bors went back to the Table and told of their adventure and of Galahad(O'Neal 81-83).

The grail stories have more than entertainment value. They are a challenge to all Christians: Galahad was pure enough to attain the grail, are you? There is also another benefit to presenting the challenge this way, kids can grasp the idea better in story form, over a priest or religious education teacher telling them. Other religions also have similar goals. For instance, Islamic people have the goal of going to Mecca at least once in their life to worship. The payoff is also similar, a more complete journey into the faith and life after death.

There is one final aspect of history that the grail has influenced. Many groups have tried to find the grail in the hope that it's qualities of empowerment and healing would help them attain their goals. One of the most notable was Hitler in W.W.II. Originally the SS was organized to find the grail. They eventually became secret police, but their mission was still to find the grail. According to captured Nazi records, the SS had an unnamed source in Britain that was feeding them information, but nothing came of it(O'Neal 102).

Arthur had many other effects on history, but all were far less significant. His search for the grail and the sudden destruction of his kingdom probably had some influence on the crusades to Jerusalem. Through that, and a childhood adventure, he is linked to Robin Hood, another highly influential figure in history. Finally, the search for facts about Arthur continues to this day, and has been increasing in intensity over the past decade or so.

Throughout history Arthur, and the stories surrounding him, have made a rather large impact on humanity as a whole. The mystery of his existence has fascinated people for the entire life of his saga and, until it is completely lifted, will intrigue for many more generations. This is partly because of the entertainment that telling stories gives us, but also for the morals that they can teach us. The moral aspect is the least thought of side, but I believe is it the real reason the legend has been a permanent fixture in our culture for the past thousand years.

Works Consulted

Andronik, Catherine M. Quest for a King. New York: Athenaeum, 1989.

"Arthur." Encarta. Computer Software. Microsoft Corporation, 1994; Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994.

"Arthurian Legend." Compton's Encyclopedia. 1993 ed.

---. Encarta. Computer Software. Microsoft Corporation, 1994; Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994.

"Grail, Holy." Encarta. Computer Software. Microsoft Corporation, 1994; Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994.

"King Arthur." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1986 ed.

Neufeldt, Victoria, ed. Webster's new World Dictionary of American English. 3rd ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 1994.

O'Neal, Michael. King Arthur. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1993.

Malory, Sir Thomas. The Romance of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Abridged. Alfred W. Pollard. New York: Weathervane Books, 1917.

White, T.H. The Once and Future King. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958.