Views of Arthur through the Ages
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 Since 410, Roman troops had been continually withdrawn from Britain to help with conflicts elsewhere in the empire.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.
The Search for King Arthur
More on Arthur
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Arthur and Britain : Lensography of Legends
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Who was King Arthur? Well, to begin with, there was not one Arthur, but many. There was an historical Arthur, or, if you prefer, a folkloric or mythological Arthur who came to be mistaken for a living person. Christopher Snyder : The World of King A...
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".
The Once and Future King : T.H.White
The Once and Future King
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 07/12/2009) 
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 07/12/2009)
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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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...
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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...
Pendragon Cycle : Stephen R. Lawhead
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!
Posted 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!
Posted March 15, 2009
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
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