King Arthur

Legendary king of the Britons

"Arthur Pendragon" redirects here. For other uses, see Arthur Pendragon (disambiguation) and King Arthur (disambiguation).

Tapestry showing Arthur as one of the Nine Worthies, wearing a coat of arms often attributed to him.[1] c. 1385

King Arthur (Welsh: Brenin Arthur; Cornish: Arthur Gernow; Breton: Roue Arzhur; French: Roi Arthur) was a legendary king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.

In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Roman Britons in battles against the Anglo-Saxons in the late-5th and early-6th centuries. He first appears in two early medieval historical sources, the Annales Cambriae and the Historia Brittonum, but these date to 300 years after he is supposed to have lived, and most historians who study the period do not consider him a historical figure.[2][3] His name also occurs in early Welsh poetic sources, such as Y Gododdin.[4][5][6] The character developed through Welsh mythology, appearing either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, and was sometimes associated with the Welsh otherworld Annwn.[7]

The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain).[8] Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established a vast empire. Many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the magician Merlin, Arthur's wife Guinevere, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's conception at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann, and his final rest in Avalon. Chrétien de Troyes, the 12th-century French writer who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance, which in turn became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. The themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend vary widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the following centuries until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century the legend continues to have prominence, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.

## Historicity

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Main article: Historicity of King Arthur

"Arthur Leading the Charge at Mount Badon" 1898

King Arthur was traditionally accepted as a historic person. He was originally thought to have been an ancient British war commander and, at least from the early 12th century, a king. There was, however, much discussion regarding his various deeds, and contemporary scholars and clerics generally refuted the popular medieval belief in his extreme longevity and future return. From the eighteenth century onwards, there has been academic debate about the historicity of Arthur.[9] Details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of Welsh mythology, English folklore and literary invention, and most modern historians writing about the period do not think that he was a historical figure.[2][10][11]

One school of thought, citing entries in the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) and Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals), saw Arthur as a genuine historical Romano-British leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons sometime in the late-5th to early-6th century.

The Historia Brittonum, a 9th-century Latin historical compilation attributed in some late manuscripts to a Welsh cleric called Nennius, contains the first datable mention of King Arthur, listing twelve battles that Arthur fought. These culminate in the Battle of Badon, where he is said to have single-handedly killed 960 men. Recent studies question the reliability of the Historia Brittonum.[12]

Archaeological evidence in the Low Countries and what was to become England shows that early Anglo-Saxon migration to Great Britain reversed between 500 and 550, concurring with Frankish chronicles. John Davies notes this as consistent with the British victory at Badon Hill, attributed to Arthur by Nennius.[13] The monks of Glastonbury are also said to have discovered the grave of Arthur in 1180.[11][14]

The other text that seems to support the case for Arthur's historical existence is the 10th-century Annales Cambriae, which also links Arthur with the Battle of Badon. The Annales date this battle to 516–518 and also mention the Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut (Mordred) were both killed, dated to 537–539. These details have often been used to bolster confidence in the Historia's account and confirm that Arthur fought at Badon.

King Arthur returning from the Battle of Mons Badonis (or Mount Badon). First reference to Arthur, found in early Welsh literature. Stained glass in Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff.

Problems have been identified, however, with using this source to support the Historia Brittonum's account. The latest research shows that the Annales Cambriae was based on a chronicle begun in the late 8th century in Wales. Additionally, the complex textual history of the Annales Cambriae precludes any certainty that the Arthurian annals were added to it even that early. They were more likely added at some point in the 10th century and may never have existed in any earlier set of annals. The Badon entry probably derived from the Historia Brittonum.[15]

This lack of convincing early evidence is the reason many recent historians exclude Arthur from their accounts of sub-Roman Britain. In the view of the historian Thomas Charles-Edwards, "At this stage of the enquiry, one can only say that there may well have been an historical Arthur [but ...] the historian can as yet say nothing of value about him".[16] These modern admissions of ignorance are a relatively recent trend; earlier generations of historians were less sceptical. The historian John Morris made the putative reign of Arthur the organising principle of his history of sub-Roman Britain and Ireland, The Age of Arthur (1973). Even so, he found little to say about a historical Arthur.[17]

Partly in reaction to such theories, another school of thought emerged, arguing that Arthur had no historical existence. Morris's Age of Arthur prompted the archaeologist Nowell Myres to observe that "no figure on the borderline of history and mythology has wasted more of the historian's time".[18] Gildas's 6th-century polemic De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), written within living memory of Badon, mentions the battle but does not mention Arthur.[19] Arthur is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle or named in any surviving manuscript written between 400 and 820.[20] He is absent from Bede's early-8th-century Ecclesiastical History of the English People, another major early source for post-Roman history that mentions Badon; instead, Bede refers to Ambrosius Aurelianus as the leader of the Britons at that battle, whose parents had perished 'in the storm' and who was 'of the royal race'.[21] The historian David Dumville wrote: "I think we can dispose of him [Arthur] quite briefly. He owes his place in our history books to a 'no smoke without fire' school of thought ... The fact of the matter is that there is no historical evidence about Arthur; we must reject him from our histories and, above all, from the titles of our books."[22]

Some scholars argue that Arthur was originally a fictional hero of folklore—or even a half-forgotten Celtic deity—who became credited with real deeds in the distant past. They cite parallels with figures such as the Kentish Hengist and Horsa, who may be totemic horse-gods that later became historicised. Bede ascribed to these legendary figures a historical role in the 5th-century Anglo-Saxon conquest of eastern Britain.[23] It is not even certain that Arthur was considered a king in the early texts. Neither the Historia nor the Annales calls him "rex": the former calls him instead "dux bellorum" (leader of wars) and "miles" (soldier).[24]

Supposed former gravesite of Arthur at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset

Andrew Breeze argues that Arthur was a historical character who fought other Britons in the area of the future border between England and Scotland and claims to have identified the locations of his battles as well as the place and date of his death (in the context of the extreme weather events of 535–536),[25] but his conclusions are disputed.[26] Other scholars have questioned his findings, which they consider are based on coincidental resemblances between place-names.[27] Nicholas Higham comments that it is difficult to justify identifying Arthur as the leader in northern battles listed in the Historia Brittonum while rejecting the implication in the same work that they were fought against Anglo-Saxons and that there is no textual justification for separating Badon from the other battles.[28]

Several historical figures have been proposed as the basis for Arthur, ranging from Lucius Artorius Castus, a Roman officer who served in Britain in the 2nd or 3rd century,[29] to sub-Roman British rulers such as Riotamus,[30] Ambrosius Aurelianus,[31] and the Welsh kings Owain Ddantgwyn,[32] Enniaun Girt[33] and Athrwys ap Meurig.[34] However, no convincing evidence for these identifications has emerged.[2][35]

## Name

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Main article: Arthur

"Arturus rex" (King Arthur), a 1493 illustration from an early printed book, the Nuremberg Chronicle

The origin of the Welsh name "Arthur" remains a matter of debate. The most widely accepted etymology derives it from the Roman nomen gentile (family name) Artorius.[36] Artorius itself is of obscure and contested etymology.[37] Linguist Stephan Zimmer suggests Artorius possibly had a Celtic origin, being a Latinization of a hypothetical name *Artorījos, in turn derived from an older patronym *Arto-rīg-ios, meaning "son of the bear/warrior-king". This patronym is unattested, but the root, *arto-rīg, "bear/warrior-king", is the source of the Old Irish personal name Artrí.[38] Some scholars have suggested it is relevant to this debate that the legendary King Arthur's name only appears as Arthur or Arturus in early Latin Arthurian texts, never as Artōrius (though Classical Latin Artōrius became Arturius in some Vulgar Latin dialects). Others believe the origin of the name Arthur, as Artōrius would regularly become Art(h)ur when borrowed into Welsh.[39]

Another commonly proposed derivation of Arthur from Welsh arth "bear" + (g)wr "man" (earlier *Arto-uiros in Brittonic) is not accepted by modern scholars for phonological and orthographic reasons. Notably, a Brittonic compound name *Arto-uiros should produce Old Welsh *Artgur (where u represents the short vowel /u/) and Middle/Modern Welsh *Arthwr, rather than Arthur (where u is a long vowel /ʉː/). In Welsh poetry the name is always spelled Arthur and is exclusively rhymed with words ending in -ur—never words ending in -wr—which confirms that the second element cannot be [g]wr "man".[40]

An alternative theory, which has gained only limited acceptance among professional scholars, derives the name Arthur from Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near Ursa Major or the Great Bear.[41] Classical Latin Arcturus would also have become Art(h)ur when borrowed into Welsh, and its brightness and position in the sky led people to regard it as the "guardian of the bear" (which is the meaning of the name in Ancient Greek) and the "leader" of the other stars in Boötes.[42]

Many other theories exist, for example that the name has Messapian[43] or Etruscan[44] origins.

## Legends concerning the return of Arthur

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Main article: King Arthur's messianic return

Detail of The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (completed 1898), by Edward Burne-Jones. Arthur sleeping in Avalon, awaiting his return.

That Arthur never died but is awaiting his return in some remote spot, often sleeping, is a central motif connected to the Arthurian legends. Before the twelfth century there are, as in the Englynion y Beddau, references to the absence of a grave for Arthur suggesting that he was considered immortal and not dead, but in this poem there is no indication that he was expected to return.[45] From the early twelfth century onwards several sources report a popular belief in the return of King Arthur, although most often critically and mockingly presented.[46] His future return is first mentioned by William of Malmesbury in 1125: "But Arthur's grave is nowhere seen, whence antiquity of fables still claims that he will return."[47] The "Miracles of St. Mary of Laon" (De miraculis sanctae Mariae Laudunensis), written by a French cleric and chronicler named Hériman of Tournai about 1145, but referring to events occurring in 1113, mentions the Breton and Cornish belief that Arthur still lived.[48]

In 1191 the alleged tomb of Arthur was identified in an orchestrated discovery at Glastonbury Abbey. Whereas numerous scholars have argued that this could have been due to the Abbey wanting to stand out with an illustrious tomb,[49] or to a desire of the Plantagenet regime to put an end to a legendary rival figure who inspired tenacious Celtic opposition to their rule,[50] it may also have been motivated by how the Arthurian expectations were highly problematic to contemporary Christianity. The longing of the return of a mighty immortal figure returning before the end of time to re-establish his perfect rule, not only ran against basic Catholic tenets but could even threaten the quintessential focus on the longing for the return of Jesus.[51] This was further aggravated by how the stories about Arthur sometimes invoked more emotions than biblical tales.[52] Decades of elite critique of the popular conviction among otherwise pious Catholic Celts in Britain and Brittany had done nothing to suppress these beliefs, whereas the orchestration of Arthur's physical remains effectively eliminated the possibility of his return without overtly criticizing anyone's beliefs.[53] After the 1191 discovery of his alleged tomb, Arthur became more of a figure of folk legends, found sleeping in various remote caves all over Britain and some other places, and at times, roaming the night as a spectre, like in the Wild Hunt.[54]

## Medieval literary traditions

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The familiar literary persona of Arthur began with Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in the 1130s. The textual sources for Arthur are usually divided into those written before Geoffrey's Historia (known as pre-Galfridian texts, from the Latin form of Geoffrey, Galfridus) and those written afterwards, which could not avoid his influence (Galfridian, or post-Galfridian, texts).

### Pre-Galfridian traditions

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The earliest literary references to Arthur come from Welsh and Breton sources. There have been few attempts to define the nature and character of Arthur in the pre-Galfridian tradition as a whole, rather than in a single text or text/story-type. A 2007 academic survey led by Caitlin Green has identified three key strands to the portrayal of Arthur in this earliest material.[55] The first is that he was a peerless warrior who functioned as the monster-hunting protector of Britain from all internal and external threats. Some of these are human threats, such as the Saxons he fights in the Historia Brittonum, but the majority are supernatural, including giant cat-monsters, destructive divine boars, dragons, dogheads, giants, and witches.[56] The second is that the pre-Galfridian Arthur was a figure of folklore (particularly topographic or onomastic folklore) and localised magical wonder-tales, the leader of a band of superhuman heroes who live in the wilds of the landscape.[57] The third and final strand is that the early Welsh Arthur had a close connection with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. On the one hand, he launches assaults on Otherworldly fortresses in search of treasure and frees their prisoners. On the other, his warband in the earliest sources includes former pagan gods, and his wife and his possessions are clearly Otherworldly in origin.[58]

A page of Y Gododdin, one of the most famous early Welsh texts featuring Arthur (c. 1275)

One of the most famous Welsh poetic references to Arthur comes in the collection of heroic death-songs known as Y Gododdin (The Gododdin), attributed to the 6th-century poet Aneirin. One stanza from the oldest surviving manuscript[4] praises the bravery of a warrior who slew 300 enemies, but says that despite this, "he was no Arthur," i.e., his feats cannot compare to Arthur.[59] Y Gododdin is known only from a 13th-century manuscript,[6] so it is impossible to determine whether this passage is original or a later interpolation, but John Koch's view that the passage dates from a 7th-century or earlier version is regarded as unproven; 9th- or 10th-century dates are often proposed for it.[60][61] Several poems attributed to Taliesin, a poet said to have lived in the 6th century, also refer to Arthur, although these all probably date from between the 8th and 12th centuries.[62] They include "Kadeir Teyrnon" ("The Chair of the Prince"),[63] which refers to "Arthur the Blessed"; "Preiddeu Annwn" ("The Spoils of Annwn"),[64] which recounts an expedition of Arthur to the Otherworld; and "Marwnat vthyr pen[dragon]" ("The Elegy of Uther Pen[dragon]"),[65] which refers to Arthur's valour and is suggestive of a father-son relationship for Arthur and Uther that pre-dates Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Culhwch entering Arthur's court in the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen. An illustration by Alfred Fredericks for an 1881 edition of the Mabinogion[66]

Other early Welsh Arthurian texts include a poem found in the Black Book of Carmarthen, "Pa gur yv y porthaur?" ("What man is the gatekeeper?").[67] This takes the form of a dialogue between Arthur and the gatekeeper of a fortress he wishes to enter, in which Arthur recounts the names and deeds of himself and his men, notably Cei (Kay) and Bedwyr (Bedivere).

In addition to these pre-Galfridian Welsh poems and tales, Arthur appears in some other early Latin texts besides the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae. In particular, Arthur features in a number of well-known vitae ("Lives") of post-Roman saints, none of which are now generally considered to be reliable historical sources (the earliest probably dates from the 11th century).[68] According to the Life of Saint Gildas, written in the early-12th century by Caradoc of Llancarfan, Arthur is said to have killed Gildas's brother Hueil and to have rescued his wife Gwenhwyfar from Glastonbury.[69] In the Life of Saint Cadoc, written around 1100 or a little before by Lifris of Llancarfan, the saint gives protection to a man who killed three of Arthur's soldiers, and Arthur demands a herd of cattle as wergeld for his men. Cadoc delivers them as demanded, but when Arthur takes possession of the animals, they turn into bundles of ferns.[70] Similar incidents are described in the medieval biographies of Carantoc, Padarn and Efflamn, probably written around the 12th century. A less legendary account of Arthur appears in the Legenda Sancti Goeznovii, which is often claimed to date from the early-11th century (although the earliest manuscript of this text dates from the 15th century and the text is now dated to the late-12th to early-13th century).[71] Also important are the references to Arthur in William of Malmesbury's De Gestis Regum Anglorum and Herman's De Miraculis Sanctae Mariae Laudunensis, which together provide the first certain evidence for a belief that Arthur was not actually dead and would at some point return, a theme that is often revisited in post-Galfridian folklore.[72]

### Geoffrey of Monmouth

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King Arthur in a 15th-century Welsh version of the Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, completed c. 1138, contains the first narrative account of Arthur's life.[73] This work is an imaginative and fanciful account of British kings from the legendary Trojan exile Brutus to the 7th-century Welsh king Cadwallader. Geoffrey places Arthur in the same post-Roman period as do Historia Brittonum and Annales Cambriae. According to Geoffrey's tale, Arthur was a descendant of Constantine the Great.[74] He incorporates Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, his magician advisor Merlin, and the story of Arthur's conception, in which Uther, disguised as his enemy Gorlois by Merlin's magic, sleeps with Gorlois's wife Igerna (Igraine) at Tintagel, and she conceives Arthur. On Uther's death, the fifteen-year-old Arthur succeeds him as King of Britain and fights a series of battles, similar to those in the Historia Brittonum, culminating in the Battle of Bath. He then defeats the Picts and Scots before creating an Arthurian empire through his conquests of Ireland, Iceland and the Orkney Islands. After twelve years of peace, Arthur sets out to expand his empire once more, taking control of Norway, Denmark and Gaul. Gaul is still held by the Roman Empire when it is conquered, and Arthur's victory leads to a further confrontation with Rome. Arthur and his warriors, including Kaius (Kay), Beduerus (Bedivere) and Gualguanus (Gawain), defeat the Roman emperor Lucius Tiberius in Gaul but, as he prepares to march on Rome, Arthur hears that his nephew Modredus (Mordred)—whom he had left in charge of Britain—has married his wife Guenhuuara (Guinevere) and seized the throne. Arthur returns to Britain and defeats and kills Modredus on the river Camblam in Cornwall, but he is mortally wounded. He hands the crown to his kinsman Constantine and is taken to the isle of Avalon to be healed of his wounds, never to be seen again.[75]

How much of this narrative was Geoffrey's own invention is open to debate. He seems to have made use of the list of Arthur's twelve battles against the Saxons found in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, along with the battle of Camlann from the Annales Cambriae and the idea that Arthur was still alive.[76] Arthur's status as the king of all Britain seems to be borrowed from pre-Galfridian tradition, being found in Culhwch and Olwen, the Welsh Triads, and the saints' lives.[77] Finally, Geoffrey borrowed many of the names for Arthur's possessions, close family, and companions from the pre-Galfridian Welsh tradition, including Kaius (Cei), Beduerus (Bedwyr), Guenhuuara (Gwenhwyfar), Uther (Uthyr) and perhaps also Caliburnus (Caledfwlch), the latter becoming Excalibur in subsequent Arthurian tales.[78] However, while names, key events, and titles may have been borrowed, Brynley Roberts has argued that "the Arthurian section is Geoffrey's literary creation and it owes nothing to prior narrative."[79] Geoffrey makes the Welsh Medraut into the villainous Modredus, but there is no trace of such a negative character for this figure in Welsh sources until the 16th century.[80] There have been relatively few modern attempts to challenge the notion that the Historia Regum Britanniae is primarily Geoffrey's own work, with scholarly opinion often echoing William of Newburgh's late-12th-century comment that Geoffrey "made up" his narrative, perhaps through an "inordinate love of lying".[81] Geoffrey Ashe is one dissenter from this view, believing that Geoffrey's narrative is partially derived from a lost source telling of the deeds of a 5th-century British king named Riotamus, this figure being the original Arthur, although historians and Celticists have been reluctant to follow Ashe in his conclusions.[82]

Whatever his sources may have been, the immense popularity of Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae cannot be denied. Well over 200 manuscript copies of Geoffrey's Latin work are known to have survived, as well as translations into other languages.[83] For example, 60 manuscripts are extant containing the Brut y Brenhinedd, Welsh-language versions of the Historia, the earliest of which were created in the 13th century. The old notion that some of these Welsh versions actually underlie Geoffrey's Historia, advanced by antiquarians such as the 18th-century Lewis Morris, has long since been discounted in academic circles.[84] As a result of this popularity, Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae was enormously influential on the later medieval development of the Arthurian legend. While it was not the only creative force behind Arthurian romance, many of its elements were borrowed and developed (e.g., Merlin and the final fate of Arthur), and it provided the historical framework into which the romancers' tales of magical and wonderful adventures were inserted.[85]

### Romance traditions

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The Welsh prose tale Culhwch and Olwen (latter half of the 12th century[86]), included in the modern Mabinogion collection, has a much longer list of more than 200 of Arthur's men, though Cei and Bedwyr again take a central place. The story as a whole tells of Arthur helping his kinsman Culhwch win the hand of Olwen, daughter of Ysbaddaden Chief-Giant, by completing a series of apparently impossible tasks, including the hunt for the great semi-divine boar Twrch Trwyth. The 9th-century Historia Brittonum also refers to this tale, with the boar there named Troy(n)t.[87] Finally, Arthur is mentioned numerous times in the Welsh Triads, a collection of short summaries of Welsh tradition and legend which are classified into groups of three linked characters or episodes to assist recall. The later manuscripts of the Triads are partly derivative from Geoffrey of Monmouth and later continental traditions, but the earliest ones show no such influence and are usually agreed to refer to pre-existing Welsh traditions. Even in these, however, Arthur's court has started to embody legendary Britain as a whole, with "Arthur's Court" sometimes substituted for "The Island of Britain" in the formula "Three XXX of the Island of Britain".[88] While it is not clear from the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae that Arthur was even considered a king, by the time Culhwch and Olwen and the Triads were written he had become Penteyrnedd yr Ynys hon, "Chief of the Lords of this Island", the overlord of Wales, Cornwall and the North.[89]

During the 12th century, Arthur's character began to be marginalised by the accretion of "Arthurian" side-stories such as that of Tristan and Iseult, here pictured in a painting by John William Waterhouse (1916)

During the ongoing conquest of Wales by Edward I of England, he attempted to make King Arthur a fundamentally English character and hero.[90] The completion of the conquest was one of the factors that shifted storytellers away from the Welsh roots of the original tales.[90]

The popularity of Geoffrey's Historia and its other derivative works (such as Wace's Roman de Brut) gave rise to a significant numbers of new Arthurian works in continental Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in France.[91] It was not, however, the only Arthurian influence on the developing "Matter of Britain". There is clear evidence that Arthur and Arthurian tales were familiar on the Continent before Geoffrey's work became widely known (see for example, the Modena Archivolt),[92] and "Celtic" names and stories not found in Geoffrey's Historia appear in the Arthurian romances.[93] From the perspective of Arthur, perhaps the most significant effect of this great outpouring of new Arthurian story was on the role of the king himself: much of this 12th-century and later Arthurian literature centres less on Arthur himself than on characters such as Lancelot and Guinevere, Percival, Galahad, Gawain, Ywain, and Tristan and Iseult. Whereas Arthur is very much at the centre of the pre-Galfridian material and Geoffrey's Historia itself, in the romances he is rapidly sidelined.[94] His character also alters significantly. In both the earliest materials and Geoffrey he is a great and ferocious warrior, who laughs as he personally slaughters witches and giants and takes a leading role in all military campaigns,[95] whereas in the continental romances he becomes the roi fainéant, the "do-nothing king", whose "inactivity and acquiescence constituted a central flaw in his otherwise ideal society".[96] Arthur's role in these works is frequently that of a wise, dignified, even-tempered, somewhat bland, and occasionally feeble monarch. So, he simply turns pale and silent when he learns of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere in the Mort Artu, whilst in Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, he is unable to stay awake after a feast and has to retire for a nap.[97] Nonetheless, as Norris J. Lacy has observed, whatever his faults and frailties may be in these Arthurian romances, "his prestige is never—or almost never—compromised by his personal weaknesses ... his authority and glory remain intact."[98]

The story of Arthur drawing the sword from a stone appeared in Robert de Boron's 13th-century Merlin. By Howard Pyle (1903)[99]

Arthur and his retinue appear in some of the Lais of Marie de France,[100] but it was the work of another French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, that had the greatest influence with regard to the development of Arthur's character and legend.[101] Chrétien wrote five Arthurian romances between c. 1170 and 1190. Erec and Enide and Cligès are tales of courtly love with Arthur's court as their backdrop, demonstrating the shift away from the heroic world of the Welsh and Galfridian Arthur, while Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, features Yvain and Gawain in a supernatural adventure, with Arthur very much on the sidelines and weakened. However, the most significant for the development of the Arthurian legend are Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, which introduces Lancelot and his adulterous relationship with Arthur's queen Guinevere, extending and popularising the recurring theme of Arthur as a cuckold, and Perceval, the Story of the Grail, which introduces the Holy Grail and the Fisher King and which again sees Arthur having a much reduced role.[102] Chrétien was thus "instrumental both in the elaboration of the Arthurian legend and in the establishment of the ideal form for the diffusion of that legend",[103] and much of what came after him in terms of the portrayal of Arthur and his world built upon the foundations he had laid. Perceval, although unfinished, was particularly popular: four separate continuations of the poem appeared over the next half century, with the notion of the Grail and its quest being developed by other writers such as Robert de Boron, a fact that helped accelerate the decline of Arthur in continental romance.[104] Similarly, Lancelot and his cuckolding of Arthur with Guinevere became one of the classic motifs of the Arthurian legend, although the Lancelot of the prose Lancelot (c. 1225) and later texts was a combination of Chrétien's character and that of Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's Lanzelet.[105] Chrétien's work even appears to feed back into Welsh Arthurian literature, with the result that the romance Arthur began to replace the heroic, active Arthur in Welsh literary tradition.[106] Particularly significant in this development were the three Welsh Arthurian romances, which are closely similar to those of Chrétien, albeit with some significant differences: Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain is related to Chrétien's Yvain; Geraint and Enid, to Erec and Enide; and Peredur son of Efrawg, to Perceval.[107]

The Round Table experiences a vision of the Holy Grail, an illumination by Évrard d'Espinques (c. 1475)[108]

Up to c. 1210, continental Arthurian romance was expressed primarily through poetry; after this date the tales began to be told in prose. The most significant of these 13th-century prose romances was the Vulgate Cycle (also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle), a series of five Middle French prose works written in the first half of that century.[109] These works were the Estoire del Saint Grail, the Estoire de Merlin, the Lancelot propre (or Prose Lancelot, which made up half the entire Vulgate Cycle on its own), the Queste del Saint Graal and the Mort Artu, which combine to form the first coherent version of the entire Arthurian legend. The cycle continued the trend towards reducing the role played by Arthur in his own legend, partly through the introduction of the character of Galahad and an expansion of the role of Merlin. It also made Mordred the result of an incestuous relationship between Arthur and his sister Morgause, and established the role of Camelot, first mentioned in passing in Chrétien's Lancelot, as Arthur's primary court.[110] This series of texts was quickly followed by the Post-Vulgate Cycle (c. 1230–40), of which the Suite du Merlin is a part, which greatly reduced the importance of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere but continued to sideline Arthur, and to focus more on the Grail quest.[109] As such, Arthur became even more of a relatively minor character in these French prose romances; in the Vulgate itself he only figures significantly in the Estoire de Merlin and the Mort Artu. During this period, Arthur was made one of the Nine Worthies, a group of three pagan, three Jewish and three Christian exemplars of chivalry. The Worthies were first listed in Jacques de Longuyon's Voeux du Paon in 1312, and subsequently became a common subject in literature and art.[111]

Arthur receiving the later tradition's sword Excalibur in N. C. Wyeth's illustration for The Boy's King Arthur (1922), a modern edition of Thomas Malory's 1485 Le Morte d'Arthur

The development of the medieval Arthurian cycle and the character of the "Arthur of romance" culminated in Le Morte d'Arthur (lit. 'The Death of Arthur'), Thomas Malory's retelling of the entire legend in a single work in English in the late-15th century. Malory based his book—originally titled The Whole Book of King Arthur and of His Noble Knights of the Round Table—on the various previous romance versions, in particular the Vulgate Cycle, and appears to have aimed at creating a comprehensive and authoritative collection of Arthurian stories.[112] Perhaps as a result of this, and the fact that Le Morte D'Arthur was one of the earliest printed books in England, published by William Caxton in 1485, most later Arthurian works are derivative of Malory's.[113]

## Decline, revival, and the modern legend

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### Post-medieval literature

[edit]

The end of the Middle Ages brought with it a waning of interest in King Arthur. Although Malory's English version of the great French romances was popular, there were increasing attacks upon the truthfulness of the historical framework of the Arthurian romances – established since Geoffrey of Monmouth's time – and thus the legitimacy of the whole Matter of Britain. So, for example, the 16th-century humanist scholar Polydore Vergil famously rejected the claim that Arthur was the ruler of a post-Roman empire, found throughout the post-Galfridian medieval "chronicle tradition", to the horror of Welsh and English antiquarians.[114] Social changes associated with the end of the medieval period and the Renaissance also conspired to rob the character of Arthur and his associated legend of some of their power to enthrall audiences, with the result that 1634 saw the last printing of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur for nearly 200 years.[115] King Arthur and the Arthurian legend were not entirely abandoned, but until the early 19th century the material was taken less seriously and was often used simply as a vehicle for allegories of 17th- and 18th-century politics.[116] Thus Richard Blackmore's epics Prince Arthur (1695) and King Arthur (1697) feature Arthur as an allegory for the struggles of William III against James II.[116] Similarly, the most popular Arthurian tale throughout this period seems to have been that of Tom Thumb, which was told first through chapbooks and later through the political plays of Henry Fielding; although the action is clearly set in Arthurian Britain, the treatment is humorous and Arthur appears as a primarily comedic version of his romance character.[117] John Dryden's masque King Arthur is still performed, largely thanks to Henry Purcell's music, though seldom unabridged.

### Tennyson and the revival

[edit]

In the early-19th century medievalism, Romanticism and the Gothic Revival reawakened interest in Arthur and the medieval romances. A new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the chivalric ideals embodied in the "Arthur of romance". This renewed interest first made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur was reprinted for the first time since 1634.[118] Initially, the medieval Arthurian legends were of particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, William Wordsworth to write "The Egyptian Maid" (1835), an allegory of the Holy Grail.[119] Pre-eminent among these was Alfred Tennyson, whose first Arthurian poem "The Lady of Shalott" was published in 1832.[120] Arthur himself played a minor role in some of these works, following in the medieval romance tradition. Tennyson's Arthurian work reached its peak of popularity with Idylls of the King, however, which reworked the entire narrative of Arthur's life for the Victorian era. It was first published in 1859 and sold 10,000 copies within the first week.[121] In the Idylls, Arthur became a symbol of ideal manhood who ultimately failed, through human weakness, to establish a perfect kingdom on earth.[122] Tennyson's works prompted a large number of imitators, generated considerable public interest in the legends of Arthur and the character himself, and brought Malory's tales to a wider audience.[123] Indeed, the first modernisation of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was published in 1862, shortly after Idylls appeared, and there were six further editions and five competitors before the century ended.[124]

This interest in the "Arthur of romance" and his associated stories continued through the 19th century and into the 20th, and influenced poets such as William Morris and Pre-Raphaelite artists including Edward Burne-Jones.[125] Even the humorous tale of Tom Thumb, which had been the primary manifestation of Arthur's legend in the 18th century, was rewritten after the publication of Idylls. While Tom maintained his small stature and remained a figure of comic relief, his story now included more elements from the medieval Arthurian romances and Arthur is treated more seriously and historically in these new versions.[126] The revived Arthurian romance also proved influential in the United States, with such books as Sidney Lanier's The Boy's King Arthur (1880) reaching wide audiences and providing inspiration for Mark Twain's satire A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889).[127][128] Although the 'Arthur of romance' was sometimes central to these new Arthurian works (as he was in Burne-Jones's "The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon", 1881–1898), on other occasions he reverted to his medieval status and is either marginalised or even missing entirely, with Richard Wagner's Arthurian opera Parsifal providing a notable instance of the latter.[129] Furthermore, the revival of interest in Arthur and the Arthurian tales did not continue unabated. By the end of the 19th century, it was confined mainly to Pre-Raphaelite imitators,[130] and it could not avoid being affected by the First World War, which damaged the reputation of chivalry and thus interest in its medieval manifestations and Arthur as chivalric role model.[131] The romance tradition did, however, remain sufficiently powerful to persuade Thomas Hardy, Laurence Binyon and John Masefield to compose Arthurian plays,[132] and T. S. Eliot alludes to the Arthur myth (but not Arthur) in his poem The Waste Land, which mentions the Fisher King.[133]

* Merlin and Viviane in Gustave Doré's 1868 illustration for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King

* King Arthur by Charles Ernest Butler (1903)

* N. C. Wyeth's title page illustration for The Boy's King Arthur (1922)

### Modern legend

[edit]

See also: List of works based on Arthurian legends

King Arthur (holding Excalibur) and Patsy in Spamalot, a stage musical adaptation of the 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail

In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as T. H. White's The Once and Future King (1958), Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave (1970) and its four sequels, Thomas Berger's tragicomic Arthur Rex and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1982), in addition to comic strips such as Prince Valiant (from 1937 onward).[134] Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Mary Stewart's first three Arthurian novels present the wizard Merlin as the central character, rather than Arthur, and The Crystal Cave is narrated by Merlin in the first person, whereas Bradley's tale takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials.[135] American authors often rework the story of Arthur to be more consistent with values such as equality and democracy.[136] In John Cowper Powys's Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages (1951), set in Wales in 499, just prior to the Saxon invasion, Arthur, the Emperor of Britain, is only a minor character, whereas Myrddin (Merlin) and Nineue, Tennyson's Vivien, are major figures.[137] Myrddin's disappearance at the end of the novel is, "in the tradition of magical hibernation when the king or mage leaves his people for some island or cave to return either at a more propitious or more dangerous time", (see King Arthur's messianic return).[138] Powys's earlier novel A Glastonbury Romance (1932) is concerned with both the Holy Grail and the legend that Arthur is buried at Glastonbury.[139]

The romance Arthur has become popular in film and theatre as well. T. H. White's novel was adapted into the Lerner and Loewe stage musical Camelot (1960) and Walt Disney's animated film The Sword in the Stone (1963); Camelot, with its focus on the love of Lancelot and Guinevere and the cuckolding of Arthur, was itself made into a film of the same name in 1967. The romance tradition of Arthur is particularly evident and in critically respected films like Robert Bresson's Lancelot du Lac (1974), Éric Rohmer's Perceval le Gallois (1978) and John Boorman's Excalibur (1981); it is also the main source of the material used in the Arthurian spoof Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).[140]

Retellings and reimaginings of the romance tradition are not the only important aspect of the modern legend of King Arthur. Attempts to portray Arthur as a genuine historical figure of c. 500, stripping away the "romance", have also emerged. As Taylor and Brewer have noted, this return to the medieval "chronicle tradition" of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Historia Brittonum is a recent trend which became dominant in Arthurian literature in the years following the outbreak of the Second World War, when Arthur's legendary resistance to Germanic enemies struck a chord in Britain.[141] Clemence Dane's series of radio plays, The Saviours (1942), used a historical Arthur to embody the spirit of heroic resistance against desperate odds, and Robert Sherriff's play The Long Sunset (1955) saw Arthur rallying Romano-British resistance against the Germanic invaders.[142] This trend towards placing Arthur in a historical setting is also apparent in historical and fantasy novels published during this period.[143]

Arthur has also been used as a model for modern-day behaviour. In the 1930s, the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table was formed in Britain to promote Christian ideals and Arthurian notions of medieval chivalry.[144] In the United States, hundreds of thousands of boys and girls joined Arthurian youth groups, such as the Knights of King Arthur, in which Arthur and his legends were promoted as wholesome exemplars.[145] However, Arthur's diffusion within modern culture goes beyond such Arthurian endeavours, with Arthurian names being regularly attached to objects, buildings, and places. As Norris J. Lacy has observed, "The popular notion of Arthur appears to be limited, not surprisingly, to a few motifs and names, but there can be no doubt of the extent to which a legend born many centuries ago is profoundly embedded in modern culture at every level."[146]

## See also

[edit]

* Wales portal
* History portal
* Cornwall portal

* Arthur's O'on
* Artus Court
* Bibliography of King Arthur
* King Arthur's family
* King Arthur's messianic return
* List of Arthurian characters
* List of legendary kings of Britain
* List of works based on Arthurian legends
* Galgano Guidotti

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ Neubecker 1998–2002
2. ^ a b c Tom Shippey, "So Much Smoke", review of Higham 2002, London Review of Books, 40:24:23 (20 December 2018)
3. ^ Higham 2002, pp. 11–37, has a summary of the debate on this point.
4. ^ a b Aneirin (1250). Llyfr Aneirin [Book of Aneirin] (Parchment.) (in Welsh). p. 37, line 21. NLW Llyfr Aneirin (Cardiff MS 2.81).
5. ^ Charles-Edwards 1991, p. 15; Sims-Williams 1991. Y Gododdin cannot be dated precisely: it describes 6th-century events and contains 9th- or 10th-century spelling, but the surviving copy is 13th-century.
6. ^ a b D'Amato, Raffaele; Salimbeti, Andrea (2023). Windrow, Martin; Reynolds, Nick (eds.). Post-Roman Kingdoms: 'Dark Ages' Gaul and Britain, AD 450-800. Illustrated by Andrei Negin. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 6\. ISBN 978-1-4728-5091-1. "although the earliest surviving manuscript of the poem (Cardiff MS 2.81) is usually dated to the mid-13th century, Y Gododdin mentions 'Arthur' (YG XXXIII, in the archaic version). This source is believed to date from the 590s, being transmitted orally before its transcription perhaps in the 9th–10th century."
7. ^ See Padel 1994; Sims-Williams 1991; Green 2007b; and Roberts 1991a
8. ^ Thorpe 1966, but see also Loomis 1956
9. ^ Higham 2002, pp. 241–264
10. ^ Higham 2002, pp. 11–37, has a summary of the debate on this point.
11. ^ a b Davies 1993, p. 133.
12. ^ Dumville 1986; Higham 2002, pp. 116–169; Green 2007b, pp. 15–26, 30–38.
13. ^ Davies 1993, p. 56.
14. ^ "Arthur's Tomb". Glastonbury Abbey Archaeology. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
15. ^ Green 2007b, pp. 26–30; Koch 1996, pp. 251–253.
16. ^ Charles-Edwards 1991, p. 29
17. ^ Morris 1973
18. ^ Myres 1986, p. 16
19. ^ , De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, chapter 26.
20. ^ Pryor 2004, pp. 22–27
21. ^ Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, Book 1.16.
22. ^ Dumville 1977, pp. 187–188
23. ^ Green 2009; Padel 1994; Green 2007b, chapters five and seven.
24. ^ Historia Brittonum 56, 73; Annales Cambriae 516, 537.
25. ^ Breeze, Andrew (2015). "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland". Northern History. 52 (2): 158–181\. doi:10.1179/0078172X15Z.00000000085. S2CID 161217897.; Breeze, Andrew (2020). British Battles 493-937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh. London: Anthem Press. pp. 13–24\. doi:10.2307/j.ctvv4187r. ISBN 9781785272233. JSTOR j.ctvv4187r. S2CID 243164764.
26. ^ Gallagher, Paul (3 September 2015). "King Arthur 'was real, wasn't a king... and lived in Strathclyde'". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2015.; Higham, Nicholas J. (2018). King Arthur: The Making of the Legend. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 262–63\. ISBN 978-0-300-21092-7.; "537 and Camlann (Flint Johnson, University of Wisconsin - River Falls)". researchgate.net. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
27. ^ "Academia up in arms over King Arthur's Glasgow roots". www.thenational.scot. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
28. ^ Higham, Nicholas J. (2018). King Arthur: The Making of the Legend. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. pp. 262–63\. ISBN 978-0-300-21092-7.
29. ^ Littleton & Malcor 1994
30. ^ Ashe 1985
31. ^ Reno 1996
32. ^ Phillips & Keatman 1992
33. ^ Phillips, Graham (2016). The Lost Tomb of King Arthur: The Search for Camelot and the Isle of Avalon. Bear & Company.
34. ^ Bartrum, Peter Clement (1993). A Welsh Classical Dictionary, people in History and Legend up to about A.D. 1000 (PDF). National Library of Wales. p. 35\. "William Owen Pughe in his Cambrian Biography, 1803, ... put forward the suggestion that Arthur was the same person as Athrwys ap Meurig. It was discussed and rejected by Sharon Turner (History of the Anglo-Saxons, Bk.3, Ch.3, 1805) and Rice Rees (Welsh Saints, 1836, pp.185-6), but accepted by Robert Owen (The Kymry, 1891, p.77)"
35. ^ David, Brian, Review of Nicholas J. Higham, King Arthur: The Making of the Legend in Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 50:221-222 (2019) doi:10.1353/cjm.2019.0021 Project MUSE 734087
36. ^ Koch 2006, p. 121.
37. ^ Malone 1925.
38. ^ Zimmer 2009.
39. ^ Koch 1996, p. 253.
40. ^ See Higham 2002, p. 74; Higham 2002, p. 80.
41. ^ Chambers 1964, p. 170; Bromwich 1978, p. 544; Johnson 2002, pp. 38–39; Walter 2005, p. 74; Zimmer 2006, p. 37.
42. ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 28–29; Green 2007b, pp. 191–194.
43. ^ Marcella Chelotti, Vincenza Morizio, Marina Silvestrini, Le epigrafi romane di Canosa, Volume 1, Edipuglia srl, 1990, pp. 261, 264.; Ciro Santoro, "Per la nuova iscrizione messapica di Oria", La Zagaglia, A. VII, n. 27, 1965, pp. 271–293.; Ciro Santoro, "La Nuova Epigrafe Messapica "IM 4. 16, I-III" di Ostuni ed nomi" in Art-, Ricerche e Studi, Volume 12, 1979, pp. 45–60.
44. ^ Wilhelm Schulze, "Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen" (Volume 5, Issue 2 of Abhandlungen der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse, Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften Göttingen Philologisch-Historische Klasse), 2nd edition, Weidmann, 1966, p. 72, pp. 333–338; Olli Salomies, Die römischen Vornamen. Studien zur römischen Namengebung. Helsinki 1987, p. 68; Herbig, Gust., "Falisca", Glotta, Band II, Göttingen, 1910, p. 98.
45. ^ A. O. Jarman (ed.), Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin (University of Wales Press, 1982), p. lix. Anoeth bit bed y arthur: the stanza can be found in poem 18.133-135. ISBN 0-7083-0629-2.
46. ^ Bullock-Davies 1982, pp. 432–40; Green 2007b, pp. 72–75
47. ^ Padel 1994, pp. 10
48. ^ Berard 2016, pp. 91–119; Coe & Young 1995, pp. 44–47.
49. ^ Gransden 1976, pp. 349–52; Wood 1991, pp. 275–277; Gilchrist & Green 2015, pp. 60–62.
50. ^ Gransden 1976, pp. 354–55; Crick 1999, pp. 73; Carley 2001, pp. 1; Hutton 2003, pp. 68; Gilchrist & Green 2015, pp. 123–24.
51. ^ Endsjø 2024, pp. 19–25.
52. ^ Aelred of Rievaulx, Speculum caritatis 2.17 (2.51), ed. J-P. Migne (Paris, 1855), p. 565d; Peter of Blois, De confessione 1088D, ed. I.A. Giles (Opera omnia, 2, Oxford, 1847), p. xlviii; Caesarius of Heisterbach, Dialogus miracolorum 4.36, ed. J. Strange (Cologne, 1851), p. 205.
53. ^ Endsjø 2024, pp. 25–28.
54. ^ Peyton 1973, pp. 61.
55. ^ Green 2007b, pp. 45–176
56. ^ Green 2007b, pp. 93–130
57. ^ Padel 1994 has a thorough discussion of this aspect of Arthur's character.
58. ^ Green 2007b, pp. 135–176. On his possessions and wife, see also Ford 1983.
59. ^ Williams 1937, p. 64, line 1242
60. ^ Charles-Edwards 1991, p. 15; Koch 1996, pp. 242–245; Green 2007b, pp. 13–15, 50–52.
61. ^ Bromwich, Rachel; Jarman, A. O. H.; Roberts, Brynley Francis, eds. (2008). The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature (2nd ed.). Cardiff: Univ. of Wales Press. p. 4\. ISBN 978-0-7083-1307-7. "it could quite probably be as old as the ninth-century redaction of the Historia Brittonum, even if it formed no part of the original Gododdin poem."
62. ^ See, for example, Haycock 1983–1984 and Koch 1996, pp. 264–265.
63. ^ Online translations of this poem are out-dated and inaccurate. See Haycock 2007, pp. 293–311 for a full translation, and Green 2007b, p. 197 for a discussion of its Arthurian aspects.
64. ^ See, for example, Green 2007b, pp. 54–67 and Budgey 1992, who includes a translation.
65. ^ Koch & Carey 1994, pp. 314–15
66. ^ Lanier 1881
67. ^ Sims-Williams 1991, pp. 38–46 has a full translation and analysis of this poem.
68. ^ Roberts 1991a
69. ^ Translated in Coe & Young 1995, pp. 22–27. On the Glastonbury tale and its Otherworldly antecedents, see Sims-Williams 1991, pp. 58–61.
70. ^ Coe & Young 1995, pp. 26–37
71. ^ Bourgès, André-Yves, "Guillaume le Breton et l'hagiographie bretonne aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles", in: Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest, 1995, 102–1, pp. 35–45.; See Ashe 1985 for an attempt to use this vita as a historical source.
72. ^ Padel 1994, pp. 8–12; Green 2007b, pp. 72–75, 259, 261–262; Bullock-Davies 1982.
73. ^ Wright 1985; Thorpe 1966
74. ^ Mulligan, p. 262–4.
75. ^ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae Book 8.19–24, Book 9, Book 10, Book 11.1–2
76. ^ Roberts 1991b, p. 106; Padel 1994, pp. 11–12
77. ^ Green 2007b, pp. 217–219
78. ^ Roberts 1991b, pp. 109–110, 112; Bromwich & Evans 1992, pp. 64–65
79. ^ Roberts 1991b, p. 108
80. ^ Bromwich 1978, pp. 454–455
81. ^ See, for example, Brooke 1986, p. 95.
82. ^ Ashe 1985, p. 6; Padel 1995, p. 110; Higham 2002, p. 76.
83. ^ Crick 1989
84. ^ Sweet 2004, p. 140\. See further, Roberts 1991b and Roberts 1980.
85. ^ As noted by, for example, Ashe 1996.
86. ^ Rodway, Simon, “The date and authorship of Culhwch ac Olwen: a reassessment”, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 49 (Summer, 2005), pp. 21–44
87. ^ For a discussion of the tale, see Bromwich & Evans 1992; see also Padel 1994, pp. 2–4; Roberts 1991a; and Green 2007b, pp. 67–72 and chapter three.
88. ^ Barber 1986, pp. 17–18, 49; Bromwich 1978
89. ^ Roberts 1991a, pp. 78, 81
90. ^ a b Schama, Simon (2003). A History of Britain 1: 3000 BC-AD 1603 At the Edge of the World? (Paperback 2003 ed.). London: BBC Worldwide. p. 168\. ISBN 978-0-563-48714-2.
91. ^ For example, Thorpe 1966, p. 29
92. ^ Stokstad 1996
93. ^ Loomis 1956; Bromwich 1983; Bromwich 1991.
94. ^ Lacy 1996a, p. 16; Morris 1982, p. 2.
95. ^ For example, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae Book 10.3.
96. ^ Padel 2000, p. 81
97. ^ Morris 1982, pp. 99–102; Lacy 1996a, p. 17.
98. ^ Lacy 1996a, p. 17
99. ^ Pyle 1903
100. ^ Burgess & Busby 1999
101. ^ Lacy 1996b
102. ^ Kibler & Carroll 1991, p. 1
103. ^ Lacy 1996b, p. 88
104. ^ Roach 1949–1983
105. ^ Ulrich von Zatzikhoven 2005
106. ^ Padel 2000, pp. 77–82
107. ^ See Jones & Jones 1949 for accurate translations of all three texts. It is not entirely certain what, exactly, the relationship is between these Welsh romances and Chrétien's works, however: see Koch 1996, pp. 280–288 for a survey of opinions
108. ^ BNF c. 1475, fol. 610v
109. ^ a b Lacy 1992–1996
110. ^ For a study of this cycle, see Burns 1985.
111. ^ Lacy 1996c, p. 344
112. ^ On Malory and his work, see Field 1993 and Field 1998.
113. ^ Vinaver 1990
114. ^ Carley 1984
115. ^ Parins 1995, p. 5
116. ^ a b Ashe 1968, pp. 20–21; Merriman 1973
117. ^ Green 2007a
118. ^ Parins 1995, pp. 8–10
119. ^ Wordsworth 1835
120. ^ See Potwin 1902 for the sources that Tennyson used when writing this poem
121. ^ Taylor & Brewer 1983, p. 127
122. ^ See Rosenberg 1973 and Taylor & Brewer 1983, pp. 89–128 for analyses of The Idylls of the King.
123. ^ See, for example, Simpson 1990.
124. ^ Staines 1996, p. 449
125. ^ Taylor & Brewer 1983, pp. 127–161; Mancoff 1990.
126. ^ Green 2007a, p. 127; Gamerschlag 1983
127. ^ Lanier 1880.
128. ^ Twain 1889; Smith & Thompson 1996.
129. ^ Watson 2002
130. ^ Mancoff 1990
131. ^ Workman 1994
132. ^ Hardy 1923; Binyon 1923; and Masefield 1927
133. ^ Eliot 1949; Barber 2004, pp. 327–328
134. ^ White 1958; Bradley 1982; Tondro 2002, p. 170
135. ^ Lagorio 1996
136. ^ Lupack & Lupack 1991
137. ^ Porius. New York: Overlook Duckworth 2007. pp. 8–19.
138. ^ C. A. Coates, John Cowper Powys in Search of a Landscape. Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble, 1982, p. 139.
139. ^ New York: Simon and Schuster. C. A. Coates, John Cowper Powys in Search of a Landscape. pp. 92–97.
140. ^ Harty 1996; Harty 1997
141. ^ Taylor & Brewer 1983, chapter nine; see also Higham 2002, pp. 21–22, 30.
142. ^ Thompson 1996, p. 141
143. ^ For example: Rosemary Sutcliff's The Lantern Bearers (1959) and Sword at Sunset (1963); Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave (1970) and its sequels; Parke Godwin's Firelord (1980) and its sequels; Stephen Lawhead's The Pendragon Cycle (1987–99); Nikolai Tolstoy's The Coming of the King (1988); Jack Whyte's The Camulod Chronicles (1992–97); and Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles (1995–97). See List of books about King Arthur.
144. ^ Thomas 1993, pp. 128–131
145. ^ Lupack 2002, p. 2; Forbush & Forbush 1915
146. ^ Lacy 1996d, p. 364

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[edit]

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* Dumville, D. N. (1986), "The Historical Value of the Historia Brittonum", Arthurian Literature (6): 1–26.
* Eliot, Thomas Stearns (1949), The Waste Land and Other Poems, London: Faber and Faber, OCLC 56866661.
* Endsjø, Dag Øistein (2024), "Immortality, Space, and the Subtle Heresy of Arthurian Expectations", The Journal of Religious History, Literature and History, 10 (1): 1–36, doi:10.16922/jrhlc.10.1.1.
* Field, P. J. C. (1993), The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-585-16570-7.
* Field, P. J. C. (1998), Malory: Texts and Sources, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-85991-536-6.
* Ford, P. K. (1983), "On the Significance of some Arthurian Names in Welsh", Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies (30): 268–273.
* Forbush, William Byron; Forbush, Dascomb (1915), The Knights of King Arthur: How To Begin and What To Do, The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester, archived from the original on 10 May 2008, retrieved 22 May 2008.
* Gamerschlag, K. (1983), "Tom Thumb und König Arthur; oder: Der Däumling als Maßstab der Welt. Beobachtungen zu dreihundertfünfzig Jahren gemeinsamer Geschichte", Anglia (in German), 101 (101): 361–391, doi:10.1515/angl.1983.1983.101.361, S2CID 163284336.
* Gilchrist, Roberta; Green, Cheryl (2015), Glastonbury Abbey: Archeological Investigations 1904–79, London: Society of Antiquaries of London, ISBN 978-0854313006.
* Gransden, Antonia (1976), "The Growth of the Glastonbury Legends and Traditions in the Twelfth Century'", The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 27: 337–358, doi:10.1017/S0022046900052131.
* Green, Caitlin (2009), "The Historicity and Historicisation of Arthur", Arthuriana, retrieved 9 July 2018.
* Green, Thomas (August 2007a), "Tom Thumb and Jack the Giant Killer: Two Arthurian Fairytales?", Folklore, 118 (2): 123–140, doi:10.1080/00155870701337296, S2CID 161588264. (EBSCO subscription required.)
* Green, Thomas (2007b), Concepts of Arthur, Stroud: Tempus, ISBN 978-0-7524-4461-1.
* Hardy, Thomas (1923), The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall at Tintagel in Lyonnesse: A New Version of an Old Story Arranged as a Play for Mummers, in One Act, Requiring No Theatre or Scenery, London: Macmillan, OCLC 1124753.
* Harty, Kevin J. (1996), "Films", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 152–155, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Harty, Kevin J. (1997), "Arthurian Film", Arthuriana/Camelot Project Bibliography, archived from the original on 24 May 2008, retrieved 22 May 2008.
* Haycock, M. (1983–1984), "Preiddeu Annwn and the Figure of Taliesin", Studia Celtica' (18/19): 52–78.
* Haycock, M. (2007), Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin, Aberystwyth: CMCS, ISBN 978-0-9527478-9-5.
* Higham, N. J. (2002), King Arthur, Myth-Making and History, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-21305-9.
* Hutton, Ronald (2003), Witches, Druids and King Arthur, London: Hambledon, ISBN 978-1852853976.
* Jones, Gwyn; Jones, Thomas, eds. (1949), The Mabinogion, London: Dent, OCLC 17884380.
* Johnson, Flint (2002), The British Sources of the Abduction and Grail Romances, University Press of America.
* Kibler, William; Carroll, Carleton W., eds. (1991), Chrétien de Troyes: Arthurian Romances, London: Penguin, ISBN 978-0-14-044521-3.
* Koch, John T. (1996), "The Celtic Lands", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), Medieval Arthurian Literature: A Guide to Recent Research, New York: Garland, pp. 239–322, ISBN 978-0-8153-2160-6.
* Koch, John T.; Carey, John (1994), The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales, Malden, MA: Celtic Studies Publications, ISBN 978-0-9642446-2-7.
* Koch, John T. (2006), Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, ISBN 1851094407.
* Lacy, Norris J. (1992–1996), Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation, New York: Garland, ISBN 978-0-8153-0757-0. 5 vols.
* Lacy, Norris J. (1996a), "Character of Arthur", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Lacy, Norris J. (1996b), "Chrétien de Troyes", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 88–91, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Lacy, Norris J. (1996c), "Nine Worthies", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, p. 344, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Lacy, Norris J. (1996d), "Popular Culture", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 363–364, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Lagorio, V. M. (1996), "Bradley, Marion Zimmer", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, p. 57, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Lanier, Sidney, ed. (1881), The Boy's Mabinogion: being the earliest Welsh tales of King Arthur in the famous Red Book of Hergest, Illustrated by Alfred Fredericks, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
* Lanier, Sidney, ed. (1880), The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Illustrated by N.C. Wyeth, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
* Littleton, C. Scott; Malcor, Linda A. (1994), From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail, New York: Garland, ISBN 978-0-8153-1496-7.
* Loomis, Roger Sherman (1956), "The Arthurian Legend before 1139", in Loomis, Roger Sherman (ed.), Wales and the Arthurian Legend, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 179–220, OCLC 2792376.
* Lupack, Alan; Lupack, Barbara (1991), King Arthur in America, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, ISBN 978-0-85991-543-4.
* Lupack, Alan (2002), "Preface", in Sklar, Elizabeth Sherr; Hoffman, Donald L. (eds.), King Arthur in Popular Culture, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, pp. 1–3, ISBN 978-0-7864-1257-0.
* Malone, Kemp (May 1925), "Artorius", Modern Philology, 22 (4): 367–374, doi:10.1086/387553, JSTOR 433555, S2CID 224832996. (JSTOR subscription required.)
* Mancoff, Debra N. (1990), The Arthurian Revival in Victorian Art, New York: Garland, ISBN 978-0-8240-7040-3.
* Masefield, John (1927), Tristan and Isolt: A Play in Verse, London: Heinemann, OCLC 4787138.
* Merriman, James Douglas (1973), The Flower of Kings: A Study of the Arthurian Legend in England Between 1485 and 1835, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, ISBN 978-0-7006-0102-8.
* Morris, John (1973), The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650, New York: Scribner, ISBN 978-0-684-13313-3.
* Morris, Rosemary (1982), The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-8476-7118-2.
* Myres, J. N. L. (1986), The English Settlements, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-282235-2.
* Neubecker, Ottfried (1998–2002), Wappenkunde (in German), Munich: Orbis Verlag, p. 170, ISBN 3-572-01336-4.
* Padel, O. J. (1994), "The Nature of Arthur", Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies (27): 1–31.
* Padel, O. J. (Fall 1995), "Recent Work on the Origins of the Arthurian Legend: A Comment", Arthuriana, 5 (3): 103–14, doi:10.1353/art.1995.0040, S2CID 32369325.
* Padel, O. J. (2000), Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, ISBN 978-0-7083-1682-5.
* Parins, Marylyn Jackson (1995), Sir Thomas Malory: The Critical Heritage, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-13400-2.
* Peyton, H.H. (1973), "The Myth of King Arthur's Immortality", Interpretations, 5 (1): 55–71.
* Phillips, Graham; Keatman, Martin (1992), King Arthur: The True Story, London: Century, ISBN 978-0-7126-5580-4.
* Potwin, L. S. (1902), "The Source of Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott'", Modern Language Notes, 17 (8), Modern Language Notes, Vol. 17, No. 8: 237–239, doi:10.2307/2917812, JSTOR 2917812.
* Pryor, Francis (2004), Britain AD: A Quest for England, Arthur, and the Anglo-Saxons, London: HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-00-718186-5.
* Pyle, Howard (1903), The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Illustrated by Howard Pyle, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
* Reno, Frank D. (1996), The Historic King Arthur: Authenticating the Celtic Hero of Post-Roman Britain, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-0266-3.
* Roach, William, ed. (1949–1983), The Continuations of the Old French 'Perceval' of Chrétien de Troyes, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, OCLC 67476613. 5 vols.
* Roberts, Brynley F. (1980), Brut Tysilio: darlith agoriadol gan Athro y Gymraeg a'i Llenyddiaeth (in Welsh), Abertawe: Coleg Prifysgol Abertawe, ISBN 978-0-86076-020-7.
* Roberts, Brynley F. (1991a), "Culhwch ac Olwen, The Triads, Saints' Lives", in Bromwich, Rachel; Jarman, A. O. H.; Roberts, Brynley F. (eds.), The Arthur of the Welsh, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 73–95, ISBN 978-0-7083-1107-3.
* Roberts, Brynley F. (1991b), "Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae and Brut Y Brenhinedd", in Bromwich, Rachel; Jarman, A. O. H.; Roberts, Brynley F. (eds.), The Arthur of the Welsh, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 98–116, ISBN 978-0-7083-1107-3.
* Rosenberg, John D. (1973), The Fall of Camelot: A Study of Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King', Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-29175-1.
* Simpson, Roger (1990), Camelot Regained: The Arthurian Revival and Tennyson, 1800–1849, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-85991-300-3.
* Sims-Williams, Patrick (1991), "The Early Welsh Arthurian Poems", in Bromwich, Rachel; Jarman, A. O. H.; Roberts, Brynley F. (eds.), The Arthur of the Welsh, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 33–71, ISBN 978-0-7083-1107-3.
* Smith, C.; Thompson, R. H. (1996), "Twain, Mark", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, p. 478, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Staines, D. (1996), "Tennyson, Alfred Lord", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 446–449, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Stokstad, M. (1996), "Modena Archivolt", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 324–326, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Sweet, Rosemary (2004), "Antiquaries: The Discovery of the Past in Eighteenth-century Britain", Continuum, London, ISBN 1-85285-309-3.
* Taylor, Beverly; Brewer, Elisabeth (1983), The Return of King Arthur: British and American Arthurian Literature Since 1800, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-389-20278-3.
* Thomas, Charles (1993), Book of Tintagel: Arthur and Archaeology, London: Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-6689-8.
* Thompson, R. H. (1996), "English, Arthurian Literature in (Modern)", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp. 136–144, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4.
* Thorpe, Lewis, ed. (1966), Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, Harmondsworth: Penguin, OCLC 3370598.
* Tondro, Jason (2002), "Camelot in Comics", in Sklar, Elizabeth Sherr; Hoffman, Donald L. (eds.), King Arthur in Popular Culture, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, pp. 169–181, ISBN 978-0-7864-1257-0.
* Twain, Mark (1889), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, New York: Webster, OCLC 11267671.
* Ulrich von Zatzikhoven (2005) [c. 1194], Lanzelet, Translated by Thomas Kerth, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-12869-8.
* Vinaver, Sir Eugène, ed. (1990), The Works of Sir Thomas Malory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-812346-0. 3rd ed., revised.
* Watson, Derek (2002), "Wagner: Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal", in Barber, Richard (ed.), King Arthur in Music, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, pp. 23–34, ISBN 978-0-85991-767-4.
* Walter, Philippe (2005) [2002], Artù. L'orso e il re [Original French title: Arthur: l'ours et le roi; English: Arthur: The Bear and the King] (in Italian), Translated by M. Faccia, Edizioni Arkeios (Original French publisher: Imago).
* White, Terence Hanbury (1958), The Once and Future King, London: Collins, OCLC 547840.
* Williams, Sir Ifor, ed. (1937), Canu Aneirin (in Welsh), Caerdydd [Cardiff]: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru [University of Wales Press], OCLC 13163081.
* Wood, Charles T. (1991), "Fraud and Its Consequences: Savaric of Bath and the Reform of Glastonbury", in Abrams, Lesley; Carley, James P. (eds.), The Archaeology and History of Glastonbury Abbey: Essays in Honour of the Ninetieth Birthday of C.A. Ralegh Radford, Boydell & Brewer, pp. 273–283, ISBN 978-0851152844.
* Wordsworth, William (1835), "The Egyptian Maid, or, The Romance of the Water-Lily", The Camelot Project, The University of Rochester, archived from the original on 5 July 2008, retrieved 22 May 2008.
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* Wright, Neil, ed. (1985), The Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth, 1: Bern, Burgerbibliothek, MS. 568, Cambridge: Brewer, ISBN 978-0-85991-211-2.
* Zimmer, Stefan (2006), Die keltischen Wurzeln der Artussage: mit einer vollständigen Übersetzung der ältesten Artuserzählung Culhwch und Olwen.
* Zimmer, Stefan (2009), "The Name of Arthur – A New Etymology", Journal of Celtic Linguistics, 13 (1), University of Wales Press: 131–136.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Breeze, Andrew (September 2015). "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland". Northern History. LII (2): 158–181\. doi:10.1179/0078172x15z.00000000085. S2CID 161217897.
* Breeze, Andrew (September 2016). "Arthur's Battles and the Volcanic Winter of 536-7". Northern History. LIII (2): 161–172\. doi:10.1080/0078172x.2016.1195600. S2CID 164111727.
* Carey, John (1999). "The Finding of Arthur's Grave: A Story from Clonmacnoise?". In Carey, John; Koch, John T.; Lambert, Pierre-Yves (eds.). Ildánach Ildírech. A Festschrift for Proinsias Mac Cana. Andover: Celtic Studies Publications. pp. 1–14\. ISBN 978-1-891271-01-4.
* Halsall, Guy (2013). Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of the Dark Ages. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-870084-5.
* Higham, Nicholas J. (2018). King Arthur: the making of the legend. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-21092-7.

## External links

[edit]

King Arthur at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Texts from Wikisource
* Data from Wikidata

* International Arthurian Society
* "Arthurian Gwent". Blaenau Gwent Borough County Council. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008. An excellent site detailing Welsh Arthurian folklore.
* Green, Caitlin. "Arthuriana: Studies in Early Medieval History and Legend". A detailed and comprehensive academic site, which includes numerous scholarly articles.
* Arthuriana: The Journal of Arthurian Studies, published by Scriptorium Press for Purdue University, US. The only academic journal solely concerned with the Arthurian Legend; a good selection of resources and links.
* "Celtic Literature Collective". Provides texts and translations (of varying quality) of Welsh medieval sources, many of which mention Arthur.
* Green, Thomas (October 2012). "John Dee, King Arthur, and the Conquest of the Arctic". The Heroic Age (15)..
* The Camelot Project, The University of Rochester. Provides valuable bibliographies and freely downloadable versions of Arthurian texts.
* The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe. An online peer-reviewed journal that includes regular Arthurian articles; see especially the first issue.
* Of Arthour and of Merlin Archived 6 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine translated and retold in modern English prose, the story from Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland MS Advocates 19.2.1 (the Auchinleck MS) (from the Middle English of the Early English Text Society edition: O D McCrae-Gibson, 1973, Of Arthour and of Merlin, 2 vols, EETS and Oxford University Press).
* Alliterative Morte Arthure Archived 30 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine translated and retold in modern English alliterative prose, from Lincoln Cathedral MS 91, the Lincoln Thornton Manuscript.

Legendary titles

Preceded by

Uther Pendragon

|  King of Britain | Succeeded by

Constantine

* v
* t
* e

King Arthur and the Matter of Britain

Family|

* Agravain
* Cador
* Constantine
* Culhwch
* Ector
* Elaine of Garlot
* Hoel
* Gaheris
* Gareth
* Gawain
* Gingalain
* Guinevere
* Igraine
* Kay
* Mordred
* Morgan le Fay
* Morgause
* Ambrosius Aurelianus
* Uther Pendragon
* Urien
* Yvain

Knights of the
Round Table|

* Agravain
* Bagdemagus
* Bedivere
* Bors the Younger
* Brunor
* Cligès
* Caradoc
* Dagonet
* Daniel
* Dinadan
* Galahad
* Galehaut
* Gaheris
* Gareth
* Gawain
* Geraint
* Griflet
* Kay
* Lamorak
* Lancelot
* Lanval
* Lionel
* Mordred
* Moriaen
* Palamedes
* Pelleas
* Pellinore
* Percival
* Sagramore
* Tristan
* Yvain

Other characters|

* Accolon
* Agrestes
* Angharad Golden-Hand
* Anguish of Ireland
* Annowre
* Balin and Balan
* Ban
* Lady Bertilak
* Black Knight(s)
* Blanchefleur
* Bors the Elder
* Brangaine
* Brunor(s)
* Catigern
* Claudas
* Elaine of Astolat
* Elaine of Benoic
* Elaine of Corbenic
* Enide
* Feirefiz
* Fisher King(s)
* Garel
* Gorlois
* Green Knight(s)
* Guiomar
* Guiron le Courtois
* Gwenhwyfach
* Hellawes
* Hengist
* Iseult
* Lady/Ladies of the Lake
* Laudine
* Leodegrance
* Lohengrin
* Lot
* Lucius
* Lunete
* Lynette and Lyonesse
* Maleagant
* Mark of Cornwall
* Meliodas
* Merlin
* Nentres
* Nine sorceresses
* Olwen
* Percival's sister
* Red Knight(s)
* Rience
* Sebile
* Taliesin
* Tegau Eurfron
* Vortigern
* Yniol

Animal characters|

* Cavall
* Gringolet
* Petitcrieu
* Questing Beast
* Twrch Trwyth

Objects|

* Carnwennan
* Excalibur
* Holy Grail
* Pridwen
* Prydwen
* Rhongomyniad
* Round Table
* Siege Perilous

Places|

* Astolat
* Avalon
* Glastonbury Tor
* Brocéliande
* Val sans retour
* Caerleon
* Camelot
* Celliwig
* Chapel perilous
* Corbenic
* Esplumoir Merlin
* Joyous Gard
* Land/Castle of Maidens
* Logres
* Lyonesse
* Sarras
* Tintagel
* Tintagel Castle
* Merlin's Cave

In media|

* Bibliography
* List of works
* comics

Topics|

* Battle of Badon
* Battle of Camlann
* Dolorous Stroke
* Loathly lady
* Historicity of King Arthur
* King Arthur's messianic return
* Pendragon
* Knight of the Swan
* Tristan and Iseult

* v
* t
* e

Celtic mythology series

Welsh mythology

Texts and tales|

| Four Branches of the Mabinogi|

* Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed
* Branwen ferch Llŷr
* Manawydan fab Llŷr
* Math fab Mathonwy

|

Arthurian|

* Culhwch and Olwen
* Preiddeu Annwfn
* Pa gur
* Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain
* Geraint and Enid
* Peredur son of Efrawg
* The Dream of Rhonabwy
* Geraint son of Erbin

Other|

* Taliesin
* Cad Goddeu
* Welsh Triads
* The Dream of Macsen Wledig
* Englynion y Beddau
* Giant tales
* Lludd and Llefelys

Characters|

* Afaon fab Taliesin
* Amaethon
* Arawn
* Arianrhod
* Arthur
* Afallach
* Beli Mawr
* Bleiddwn
* Blodeuwedd
* Bedwyr
* Bendigeidfran
* Branwen
* Cai
* Caradog ap Bran
* Caswallawn
* Ceridwen
* Cigfa
* Creiddylad
* Culhwch
* Cyhyraeth
* Cyledr Wyllt
* Cymidei Cymeinfoll
* Cynon
* Dôn
* Drudwas
* Dylan ail Don
* Dywel fab Erbin
* Edern ap Nudd
* Efnysien
* Elen
* Elffin ap Gwyddno
* Eliwlod
* Eufydd
* Euroswydd
* Geraint
* Gilfaethwy
* Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr
* Goewin
* Gofannon
* Goreu fab Custennin
* Gronw Pebr
* Gwawl
* Gwern
* Gwrhyr
* Gwyddno Garanhir
* Gwydion
* Gwyn ap Nudd
* Gwythyr
* Gwalchmei
* Hafgan
* Hefeydd
* Hueil mab Caw
* Hychddwn
* Hyddwn
* Iddog ap Mynio
* Idris
* Llefelys
* Lleu
* Llŷr
* Lludd
* Llwyd
* Mabon
* Madoc ap Uthyr
* Macsen Wledig
* Mallt-y-Nos
* Manawydan
* Math
* Matholwch
* Menw
* Modron
* Morfydd
* Morfran
* Myrddin
* Nisien
* Olwen
* Penarddun
* Penpingion
* Peredur
* Pryderi
* Pwyll
* Rhiannon
* Saint Cyllin
* Saint Eigen
* Sanddef
* Seithenyn
* Taliesin
* Tegid Foel
* Teyrnon
* Ysbaddaden

Animals and
creatures|

* Adar Llwch Gwin
* Adar Rhiannon
* Aderyn y Corff
* Afanc
* Brenin Llwyd
* Cath Palug
* Cavall (Cafall, Cabal)
* Ceffyl Dŵr
* Cewri
* Coblyn
* Coraniaid
* Cŵn Annwn
* Cyhyraeth
* Dreigiau
* Red
* White
* Gwragedd Annwn
* Gwyllgi
* Gwyllion
* Llamhigyn y Dŵr
* Morgens
* Plentyn Newid
* Pwca
* Twrch Trwyth
* Tylwyth Teg

Locations|

* Annwn
* Cornwall (Celliwig)
* Caer Sidi
* Cantre'r Gwaelod
* Dyfed (Arberth, Gwales)
* Gwynedd (Aberffraw, Arfon, Ardudwy, Caer Dathyl)
* Ireland
* London (Ludgate)

Items|

* Cross of Neith
* Excalibur (Caledfwlch)
* Cauldron of rebirth
* Llech Ronw
* Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain

* v
* t
* e

Culture of Cornwall

Cornish: Gonisogeth Kernow

Symbols|

* Celtic cross
* Cornish chough
* Cornish heath
* Cornish kilts and tartans
* Jonathan Trelawny
* Michael An Gof
* Saint Piran
* Saint Piran's Flag
* Scillonian Cross

Festivals|

* AberFest
* Allantide
* Chewidden Thursday
* Furry Dance
* Golowan
* Guldize
* Kernewek Lowender
* Montol Festival
* Mummer's Day
* Nickanan Night
* Nos Lowen
* Noze looan
* 'Obby 'Oss
* Picrous Day
* St Piran's Day
* Tom Bawcock's Eve

Sports|

* Cornish hurling
* Cornish pilot-gig racing
* Cornish wrestling
* Rugby union in Cornwall

Cuisine|

* Cloam oven
* Clotted cream
* Cornish cheeses
* Cornish cream tea
* Cornish fairings
* Cornish Gilliflower
* Hevva cake
* Hog's pudding
* Pasty
* Saffron bun
* Stargazy pie
* Cornish Yarg

Arts|

* List of Cornish writers
* Tristan and Iseult
* Cornwall Film Festival
* Tate St Ives
* St Ives School
* W. J. Burley
* Charles Causley
* Newlyn School
* Barbara Hepworth
* Daphne du Maurier
* William Golding
* Alan Kent
* H. C. McNeile
* Rosamunde Pilcher
* Derek Tangye
* D. M. Thomas
* Minack Theatre
* The Pirates of Penzance

Music|

* Cornish bagpipes
* Brenda Wootton
* Dalla
* Fisherman's Friends
* Crowns

Folk songs|

* "Bro Goth agan Tasow"
* "Camborne Hill"
* "Come, all ye jolly tinner boys"
* "Delkiow Sivy"
* "Hail to the Homeland"
* "The Song of the Western Men"

Language|

* Anglo-Cornish
* Cornish literature
* Ordinalia
* Beunans Meriasek
* Bewnans Ke
* Prayer Book Rebellion
* Radyo an Gernewegva

Mythology|

* Beast of Bodmin
* Blunderbore
* Bucca
* Cormoran
* Cruel Coppinger
* Jack the Giant Killer
* Knocker
* King Arthur
* Lyonesse
* Mermaid of Zennor
* Owlman
* Piskie
* Spriggan

Organisations|

* Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
* Gorsedh Kernow
* Institute of Cornish Studies
* Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
* Royal Cornwall Show
* Royal Institution of Cornwall (Royal Cornwall Museum)
* Movyans Skolyow Meythrin
* Akademi Kernewek

* Cornwall portal

* v
* t
* e

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Works|

* Prophetiae Merlini (c. 1135)
* Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136)
* Vita Merlini (c. 1150)

Translations|

* Roman de Brut
* Layamon's Brut
* Brut y Brenhinedd
* Breta sögur
* Merlínússpá

Characters|

* Aeneas
* Saint Alban
* Albanactus
* Alhfrith of Deira
* Allectus
* Ambrosius Aurelianus
* Amphibalus
* Andragius
* Archgallo
* Archmail
* King Arthur
* Arvirargus
* Ascanius
* Augustine of Canterbury
* Aurelius Conanus
* Bedivere
* Beldgabred
* Beli Mawr
* Belinus
* Bladud
* Bledric ap Custennin
* Bledudo
* Brennius
* Brutus Greenshield
* Brutus of Troy
* Budic II of Brittany
* Cadfan ap Iago
* Cadoc
* Cador
* Cadwaladr
* Cadwallon ap Cadfan
* Camber (legendary king)
* Cap of Britain
* Capetus Silvius
* Capoir
* Caracalla
* Caradocus
* Carausius
* Cassivellaunus
* Catellus
* Catigern
* Cherin
* Claudius
* Cledaucus
* Clotenus
* Coel Hen
* Coilus
* Conan Meriadoc
* Constans II (son of Constantine III)
* Constantine the Great
* Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor)
* Constantine (Briton)
* Constantius Chlorus
* Cordelia of Britain
* Corineus
* Cunedagius
* Cunobeline
* Danius
* Saint David
* Digueillus
* Diocletian
* Dionotus
* Dunvallo Molmutius
* Ebraucus
* Edadus
* Edern ap Nudd
* Edwin of Northumbria
* Eldol
* Eldol, Consul of Gloucester
* Elidurus
* Eliud
* Enniaunus
* Estrildis
* Eudaf Hen
* Ferrex
* Fulgenius
* Gawain
* Gerennus
* Goffar the Pict
* Gogmagog (folklore)
* Goneril
* Gorboduc
* Gorbonianus
* Gorlois
* Gracianus Municeps
* Guiderius
* Guinevere
* Guithelin
* Gurgintius
* Gurguit Barbtruc
* Gurgustius
* Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio
* Gwenddydd
* Queen Gwendolen
* Helena (empress)
* Helenus
* Hengist and Horsa
* Hoel
* Humber the Hun
* Iago ap Beli
* Idvallo
* Igraine
* Ingenius of Britain
* Innogen
* Jago of Britain
* Julius and Aaron
* Julius Asclepiodotus
* Julius Caesar
* Sir Kay
* Keredic
* Kimarcus
* Kinarius
* Latinus
* Lavinia
* Leil
* Leir of Britain
* Locrinus
* King Lot
* Lucius of Britain
* Lucius Tiberius
* Lud son of Heli
* Maddan
* Maelgwn Gwynedd
* Magnus Maximus
* Mandubracius
* Queen Marcia
* Marganus
* Marganus II
* Marius of Britain
* Mempricius
* Merianus
* Merlin
* Millus
* Mordred
* Morgause
* Morvidus
* Myrddin Wyllt
* Nennius of Britain
* Octa of Kent
* Oenus
* Oswald of Northumbria
* Oswiu of Northumbria
* Owain mab Urien
* Pandrasus
* Penda of Mercia
* Peredur
* Peredurus
* Pir of the Britons
* Porrex I
* Porrex II
* Publius Septimius Geta
* Quintus Laberius Durus
* Redechius
* Redon of Britain
* Regan (King Lear)
* Rhydderch Hael
* Rience
* Rivallo
* Rud Hud Hudibras
* Runo
* Sawyl Penuchel
* Septimius Severus
* Silvius (mythology)
* Sisillius I
* Sisillius II
* Sisillius III
* Son of Gorbonianus
* Taliesin
* Tasciovanus
* Trahern
* Turnus
* Urianus
* Uther Pendragon
* Venissa
* Vespasian
* Vortigern
* Vortimer
* Vortiporius
* Wulfhere of Mercia
* Ywain
* Æthelberht of Kent
* Æthelfrith of Northumbria
* Œthelwald of Deira

Topics|

* Avalon
* Battle of Arfderydd
* Battle of Badon
* Battle of Camlann
* Battle of Guoloph
* Brut y Tywysogion
* Excalibur
* Gesta Regum Britanniae
* Lailoken
* List of legendary kings of Britain
* List of legendary rulers of Cornwall
* Logres
* Matter of Britain
* Molmutine Laws
* Nennius
* Pridwen
* Riothamus
* River Malvam
* Siege of Exeter (c. 630)
* Locations associated with Arthurian legend
* Treason of the Long Knives
* Trinovantum
* Trojan genealogy of Nennius
* Vera historia de morte Arthuri
* Walter of Oxford

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Israel
* Catalonia

Artists|

* FID

People|

* Trove
* DDB

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[c.]: circa
*[lit.]: literal translation
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