AUTHUR

He was a legendary king of Britain during the Dark Ages of the A.D. 600's. The story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table was popular in several western European countries in the early Middle Ages. It inspired some of the greatest literature of the period. In this literature Arthur and his knights represented the

medieval  ideal of knightly chivalry- that is bravery and courtesy.

According to legend, Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon, king of Britain. He was brought up secretly, and after his father's death, nobody knew who the king should be. Arthur won recognition as king of Britain when he pulled a sword out of a stone where it had been embedded. Merlin the court magician, then revealed Arthurs true identity.

Reigning in his court as Camelot, Arthur proved himself to be a noble king and a great warrior. He owned a miraculous sword named Excalibur, given to him by the mysterious Lady of the Lake. Together with his knights, Arthur held court at the Round Table. He chose a round table rather than a long one so that his knights could not quarrel about who should sit at the head of the table.

Arthur had several enemies. Among them were his half-sister, Morgan le Fay, and Mordred, his nephew. Morgan le Fay was an evil sorceress and schemed to win Arthur's throne for herself and her lover. Modred seized Arthurs throne while the king was absent. Later, in a battle, Arthur killed him but was fatally wounded himself. Arthur's body was then carried away to the magical island of Avalon. His people expected him to recover from his wounds. They thought that one day he would return to rule over them again.

Two of Arthur's greatest knights were Sir Tristram and Sir Lancelot. Both of them were involved in tragic love affairs. Tristram fell in love with Isolde, who was betrothed to his uncle, King Mark and Sir Lancelot fell in love with Arthur's queen, Guinevere. Other important knights were Sir Gawain, Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, Sir Percival, Sir Bevedere and the simple Sir Pelleas. Sir Pelleas fell hopelessly in love with Ettare, a heartless maid. Sir Gawain, another of Arthur's nephews, represented the height of knightly courtesy. He became Lancelot's bittter enemy. Sir Galahad, Lancelot's son, was the hero of the search for the Holy Grail, a cup used at the last supper by Jesus Christ that Arthur's knights had sworn to find. Sir Kay was Arthur's evil foster-brother.

The legends about King Arthur are believed to have originated among the Celtic peoples of Wales and Ireland. By the 1100's the legends had developed into a varied literature. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia, written in this period, Arthur is said to have conquered western Europe. Chretien de Troyes, a French poet, wrote five romances (stories) about Arthur's knights. One of the greatest medieval works about Arthur was Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d' Arthur (Death of Arthur) written in the 1400's. Modern authors, such as the American peot, Edwin Arlington Robinson and the British novelist T.H.White have also written about Arthur.