The Progress of Arthur : Tales of King Arthur

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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.

War Chieftain 

The legend was mainly political for sixth century Britain.

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 Since 410, Roman troops had been continually withdrawn from Britain to help with conflicts elsewhere in the empire.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.

Fashionable Courtier 

Knight

Knight : Buy at AllPosters.com

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.

Victorian Capitalists 

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.

The Search for King Arthur 

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Bridging the Past to the Present

Modern Views : 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".

The Once and Future King : T.H.White 

The Once and Future King

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 07/12/2009) Buy Now

Modern Views : 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.

Patriarchy was the downfall of Camelot.

Mists of Avalon : Marian Zimmer Bradley 

The Mists of Avalon

Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 07/12/2009) Buy Now

Living Legend 

The Legend of Arthur is used by each generation to reflect changing views on how the world works. The Legend changes and grows as each society changes and grows.

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 

 

All Info About Arthur is a collection of lenses on the legend of Arthur and the Matter of Britain.

 

Feedback for Arthur 

tandemonimom wrote...

Excellent overview of the many incarnations of Arthur! Please join the new Squidoo group Rulers and Royalty!

ReplyPosted April 01, 2009

drifter0658 wrote...

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!

ReplyPosted March 15, 2009

tdove wrote...

Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!

ReplyPosted August 26, 2008

Thanks for dropping by .... 

Thanks very much for dropping by this lens. You're more than welcome to leave a note in the guest book above and, if you're a member of Squidoo, you can also rate this lens :)

It's all much appreciated, Susanna

For more pages like this, my lens collection is at Susanna's Lensography

The Feral Squid 

Through a lens darkly

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