Views of Arthur through the Ages
It's not surprising that the Legend of Arthur lives on - it's a human story, as old as our history, moving, inspiring and a classic tear-jerker.
A man who dreamed of peace and order, who fought a powerful enemy against great odds and won years of respite for his community. A man whose life was marked with tragedy and wild misunderstanding, with a wife who didn't love him, a best friend who betrayed him and a son who killed him. A man who yet managed to be an ideal king.
You find the same story in great literature and in any television soap opera.
Arthur the War Chieftain
Arthur was needed for a Time of War
It told of wars, battles, and the manner in which men should behave. This was indeed a turbulent century. Since 410, Roman troops had been continually withdrawn from Britain to help with conflicts elsewhere in the empire.
Angles (from Schleswig-Holstein), Saxons, and Jutes (from Jutland) invaded and settled extensively in southern and central Britain. Germanic peoples continued to arrive throughout the fifth and sixth centuries, forming the South Saxon Kingdom of Sussex, the West Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and the East Saxon kingdom of Essex.
A war chief was needed to hold back the invading horde.
Arthur the Fashionable Courtier
Arthur was a Device in Literary Romance
In France, the legend took on a new twist with extra additions being composed for circulation at court. These new romances appealed to a new market, and that market was women.The ethos of courtly love and chivalry took precedence over battlefields, especially when the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter, Marie de Champaigne, became patrons of the romances.
Chrétien de Troyes began to write embellishments on the legend, portraying Arthur as a fashionable courtier. Thomas Mallory wrote Le Morte D'Arthur, the last definitive interpretation of the Arthurian myth before the dawn of the English Renaissance.
Arthur and the Victorian Capitalists
Another Makeover for Arthur to suit Imperialism
Queen Victoria brought in another image for the English.Her court reinvented Arthur to suit themselves. The ideals of chivalry were embraced and celebrated and the idyllic Kingdom of Camelot seemed to most Victorians a perfect metaphor for their own times in an ever-expanding empire.
Alfred Tennyson wrote his epic, Idylls of the King, from his early twenties until a few months before his death, popularising what became an avid Victorian interest in Arthuriana.
Despite references to a variety of medieval sources, it's obvious that, in the Idylls, Tennyson reflected his contemporary times.
Idylls is in part a hypothetical portrait of Victorian England with its high idealism, hypocritical morality, misogynism, militarism and warring extremism.
Modern Views of Arthur : T. H. White
Modern generations are more familiar with T. H. White, who used his novel The Once and Future King to explore the nature of power and violence, and to throw up ideas about its legitimate and illegitimate use.In White's re-telling of the story, Arthur's career consists of a series of failed attempts to control the violence in the hearts of his knights.
In the end, Arthur creates a civil law, in an effort to clarify what is the "right" use of power and to eliminate the need for using violence to force people to do what is "right".
White derived his source material from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), but creates a personal reinterpretation of the epic events, filling them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the Second World War.
Get the Once and Future King : T.H.White
The Once and Future King
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Modern Views of Arthur : Marian Zimmer Bradley
Marian Zimmer Bradley turns the legend of Arthur on its head.In her classic The Mists of Avalon, the story is not celebrating the fellowship of men, but the fellowship of women.
It isn't the betrayal by men against men that brings the destruction of Arthur and Camelot -- it is the betrayal by men of the women and the religion.
Zimmer Bradley's classic was a best seller when first published in 1982 as a ground-breaking feminist interpretation of male-centred myth. It expresses womens' experience at a time of great change. The typical battles, quests and feuds of King Arthur's reign are described as supporting elements to the lives of the women.
In the Mists of Avalon, patriarchy was the downfall of Camelot.
Get the Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon
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Used Price: $0.01
Song from Mists of Avalon
Footage and Song from the 2001 miniseries based on Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel, produced by an American cable channel.
It's an entertaining series, with good actors and gorgeous scenery, but a remarkably poor adaptation of the novel.
Living Legend
Arthur, be he Celtic Warrior, Romano-British General, Scottish Nationalist or Christian King is still the most widely known figure from the semi-mythical past.
How many leaders of today will be celebrated in story and song 1500 years in the future ?
More on the Legend
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Tristan and Isolde : Legendary Love Stories
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The story of Tristan and Isolde is often held up as an example of true and perfect love. All the ingredients for a satisfactory narrative are present; the lightning bolt of desire, the inevitable tragedy, ritual sacrifice, the denial of satisfaction...
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Where was Camelot? : Tales of King Arthur
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At Camelot, it is said, Arthur established a brilliant court with the greatest and most chivalrous warriors in Europe, the Knights of the Round Table. Camelot, the starting point of the Quest for the Holy Grail, is at the very centre of the Arthuria...
Pendragon Cycle : Stephen R. Lawhead
The Legend of Arthur is part of the All About Arthur Collection where you will find many more pages on the legendary King Arthur of Britain.
Feedback for Arthur
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- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 1, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
- Excellent overview of the many incarnations of Arthur! Please join the new Squidoo group Rulers and Royalty!
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- drifter0658 drifter0658 Mar 15, 2009 @ 9:17 pm
- Very interesting read. I had no idea there were so many incarnations of Arthur. I've only recently exposed myself to the Celtic King Version.
This reminds me of so many tales, legends, and teachings. We often change the story to suit our needs. This is most likely the reason I have a general disdain for most organized religions.
Once again; splendid.
Thanks!
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- tdove tdove Aug 26, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
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