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
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 Since 410, Roman troops had been continually withdrawn from Britain to help with conflicts elsewhere in the empire.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 : 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.
Bridging the Past to the Present
Modern Views : T. H. White
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".
More on Arthur
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The Passing of Arthur : Tales of King Arthur
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Did Arthur die or did he disappear? The question of his mysterious departure is one of the most intriguing of Arthurian legends, either King Arthur is still alive in Avalon and awaiting his moment to return, or he was killed in battle. What happene...
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Arthur's Women : Tales of King Arthur
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The stirring tales of King Arthur are legendary. His achievements of courage and endeavour are exciting stories passed down through generations, and songs are still sung of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. But when the feats are recounted...
The Once and Future King : T.H.White
The Once and Future King
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/03/2008) 
Modern Views : Marian Zimmer Bradley
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 12/03/2008)
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 ?
The Magical Merlin
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The Progress of Merlin : Tales of King Arthur
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Merlin, the wise and mighty wizard and prophet, is the most prominent Celtic element in Arthurian Legend. He has the powers of a great Druid, for he originates deep in the mythic past of the Welsh. In later literature Merlin's most prominent gift is...
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Vortigern, worst King of the Britons : Historical Tales
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Vortigern is remembered in legend as one of the worst Kings of the Britons. He has been called the man responsible for the demise of the Britons in the 5th century by inviting the Saxons to settle in Britain as mercenaries. We hear about Vortigern...
The Search for Arthur
The Search for King Arthur
Was King Arthur a real person? Join the hunt for the man behind the world's greatest legend. The National Geographic Channel: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/?source=4003
Runtime: 3:28
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Arthurian Collection
- All About Arthur
- The 'All About Arthur' Group features the Matter of Britain and all Lenses on the Legend.
More on the Legend
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Tristan and Isolde : Romantic Tales
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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
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
