Arthurian Legends
King Arthur is a mixture of Celtic and Germanic lore and also
embodies
some Mediterranean qualities. The Frenchman Chrétien de Troyes
was
the first to put a romantic veneer on Arthur and probably
developed
his version of the tales from oral tradition. Manuscript copies of his
tales are the earliest written records of Arthurian romance, but Arthur
and other Arthurian characters appear in several other works:
- Gildas, 6th c. Latin cleric writing after the departure of the
Romans;
"The Ruin of Britain" (ca. 540) mentions Ambrosius Aurelianus, whose
slain
parents were rulers before him. The tie to the Arthur legend is the
battle
of Baden incident.
- Nennius, 9th c. Welsh monk; "The Annals of the Britons" was
written in
76 sections; in sec. 56, 'Arthur' details his single-handed slaying of
960 men of the enemy, Mordred, and tells of carrying the image of Mary
into battle.
- William of Malmesbury, 12th c. monk; "Gesta Regum Anglorum"
(Stories of
the Kings of England) was made up of 5 books; Books 1 & 3 talk
about
Arthur (as Ambrosius) and Walwen (Gawain).
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, 12th c. (1137) Welsh monk; "History of the
Kings
of Britain" is the first to mention some of the prophecies; mentions
Merlin;
has both Arthur and Ambrosius Aurelianus; comes close to identifying a
"tribe" of ancestry for Arthur; is the first to give Guinevere's
infidelity,
but with Mordred, not Lancelot; gives Uther & Igraine's sleeping
together.
- Wace (Was) of Lyman, 12th c. (1155); "The Legend of Brut"
mentions
Merlin
& translation of Nennius mentions the Round Table for the first
time.
The Round Table seated 1600 men and was shaped like a donut. Elaborates
on Arthur's return from Avalon.
- Giraldis Cambrinsus, 12th c. (1195) monk; "Principals of
Instruction"
adds
to lore by giving us Guinevere; details the discovery of Arthur's grave.
- Layman (Leohman), 12th-13th c.; "Brut" is the first English
treatment
of
the Arthurian story in verse in English; makes Arthur an actual English
monarch.
- Ralph Higdon, 14th c.; "Polychronicon" moves Arthur around
through
history.
- "Alliterative Morte D'Arthur," 14th c.; vivid account of Arthur's
siege
against the Romans.
Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur,
though not technically the original version of the
Arthur
legend (since the legend is an evolution that grew up around Celtic
myths
via Wales and French romances), is the authoritative
version
and the basis for the modern fantasy authors' uses of the legend
because
Malory first unified all of the stories into one big story (even though
they don't always fit together properly).
Commonplace Characteristics of the
Romance
Knights of the Round Table
Britain's Thirteen Treasures
Return to Middle Ages Page