In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" (1958), Thomas Berger's tragicomic "Arthur Rex" and Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" (1982) in addition to comic strips such as "Prince Valiant" (from 1937 onward). Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Bradley's tale, for example, takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials, and American authors often rework the story of Arthur to be more consistent with values such as equality and democracy.
Modern legend
King Arthur
King Arthur | Modern legend
"The Once and Future King", "Arthur Rex", and "The Mists of Avalon". Yes, through "The Once and Future King", "Arthur Rex", "The Mists of Avalon" etc. Novels such as T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" (1958), Thomas Berger's tragicomic "Arthur Rex" and Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" (1982) in addition to comic strips such as "Prince Valiant". "Arthur of romance"
when did the arthurian legends reach their height of popularity
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With the outbreak of the Second World War.
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who was he?
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He was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
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who was he married to?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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any novel in which his romance tradition is continuing in 20th century?
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In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as T. H. White's "The Once and Future King" (1958), Thomas Berger's tragicomic "Arthur Rex" and Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" (1982) in addition to comic strips such as "Prince Valiant" (from 1937 onward). Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Bradley's tale, for example, takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials, and American authors often rework the story of Arthur to be more consistent with values such as equality and democracy.
King Arthur | Modern legend
This trend towards placing Arthur in a historical setting is also apparent in historical and fantasy novels published during this period.
King Arthur | Modern legend
Retellings and reimaginings of the romance tradition are not the only important aspect of the modern legend of King Arthur. Attempts to portray Arthur as a genuine historical figure of , stripping away the "romance", have also emerged. As Taylor and Brewer have noted, this return to the medieval "chronicle tradition" of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the "Historia Brittonum" is a recent trend which became dominant in Arthurian literature in the years following the outbreak of the Second World War, when Arthur's legendary resistance to Germanic enemies struck a chord in Britain. Clemence Dane's series of radio plays, "The Saviours" (1942), used a historical Arthur to embody the spirit of heroic resistance against desperate odds, and Robert Sherriff's play "The Long Sunset" (1955) saw Arthur rallying Romano-British resistance against the Germanic invaders.
King Arthur | Modern legend
Chrétien wrote five Arthurian romances between and 1190. "Erec and Enide" and "Cligès" are tales of courtly love with Arthur's court as their backdrop, demonstrating the shift away from the heroic world of the Welsh and Galfridian Arthur, while "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion", features Yvain and Gawain in a supernatural adventure, with Arthur very much on the sidelines and weakened. However, the most significant for the development of the Arthurian legend are "Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart", which introduces Lancelot and his adulterous relationship with Arthur's queen Guinevere, extending and popularising the recurring theme of Arthur as a cuckold, and "Perceval, the Story of the Grail", which introduces the Holy Grail and the Fisher King and which again sees Arthur having a much reduced role.
King Arthur | Romance traditions
The romance Arthur has become popular in film and theatre as well. T. H. White's novel was adapted into the Lerner and Loewe stage musical "Camelot" (1960) and Walt Disney's animated film "The Sword in the Stone" (1963); "Camelot", with its focus on the love of Lancelot and Guinevere and the cuckolding of Arthur, was itself made into a film of the same name in 1967. The romance tradition of Arthur is particularly evident and in critically respected films like Robert Bresson's "Lancelot du Lac" (1974), Éric Rohmer's "Perceval le Gallois" (1978) and John Boorman's "Excalibur" (1981); it is also the main source of the material used in the Arthurian spoof "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975).
King Arthur | Modern legend
The division at this point is arbitrary and does not correspond to thematic or narrative logic; and despite giving his name to the section, Agravain plays only a minor part in most of its stories. In Jean Froissart's "Méliador", Agravain courts and marries Florée, a cousin of Princess Hermondine of Scotland, after winning her tournament at Camelot. In Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", Arthur marries him with Laurel, a niece of Lynette and Lyonesse.
Agravain | Arthurian legend
Chrétien's work even appears to feed back into Welsh Arthurian literature, with the result that the romance Arthur began to replace the heroic, active Arthur in Welsh literary tradition. Particularly significant in this development were the three Welsh Arthurian romances, which are closely similar to those of Chrétien, albeit with some significant differences: "Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain" is related to Chrétien's "Yvain"; "Geraint and Enid", to "Erec and Enide"; and "Peredur son of Efrawg", to "Perceval". Up to , continental Arthurian romance was expressed primarily through poetry; after this date the tales began to be told in prose.
King Arthur | Romance traditions
Modern adaptations of Arthurian legend vary greatly in their depiction of Guinevere, largely because certain aspects of her story must be fleshed out by the modern author. In spite of her iconic doomed romance with Lancelot, a number of modern reinterpretations portray her as being manipulated into her affair with Lancelot, with Arthur being her rightful true love. Others present her love for Lancelot as stemming from a relationship that existed prior to her arranged marriage to Arthur.
Guinevere | In modern culture
Modern authors of Arthurian fiction adapt the Lady of the Lake legend in various ways, often using two or more bearers of the title. Versions of the Lady (or Ladies) of the Lake appear in many other works of Arthurian fiction, including novels, films, television series, stage musicals, comics, and games. Though her identity may change, her role as a significant figure in the lives of both Arthur and Merlin remains consistent. Some examples of such 20th and 21st century works are listed below.
Lady of the Lake | 20th–21st century
By the end of the 19th century, it was confined mainly to Pre-Raphaelite imitators, and it could not avoid being affected by World War I, which damaged the reputation of chivalry and thus interest in its medieval manifestations and Arthur as chivalric role model. The romance tradition did, however, remain sufficiently powerful to persuade Thomas Hardy, Laurence Binyon and John Masefield to compose Arthurian plays, and T. S. Eliot alludes to the Arthur myth (but not Arthur) in his poem "The Waste Land", which mentions the Fisher King.
King Arthur | Tennyson and the revival
Yvain defeats the knight, Esclados, and falls in love with his widow Laudine. With the aid of Laudine's servant Lunete, Yvain wins his lady and marries her, but his cousin Gawain convinces him to embark on chivalric adventure. Yvain's wife assents but demands he return after a set period of time, but he becomes so enthralled in his knightly exploits that he forgets his lady, and she bars him from returning. Yvain goes mad with grief and lives naked in the woods (probably the earliest instance of a hero's mental illness in French literature, which later became a popular motif), but eventually is cured and decides to win back his love.
Ywain | Arthurian legend
So, he simply turns pale and silent when he learns of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere in the "Mort Artu", whilst in "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion", he is unable to stay awake after a feast and has to retire for a nap. Nonetheless, as Norris J. Lacy has observed, whatever his faults and frailties may be in these Arthurian romances, "his prestige is never—or almost never—compromised by his personal weaknesses ... his authority and glory remain intact." Arthur and his retinue appear in some of the "Lais" of Marie de France, but it was the work of another French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, that had the greatest influence with regard to the development of Arthur's character and legend.
King Arthur | Romance traditions
In John Cowper Powys's "" (1951), set in Wales in 499, just prior to the Saxon invasion, Arthur, the Emperor of Britain, is only a minor character, whereas Myrddin (Merlin) and Nineue, Tennyson's Vivien, are major figures. Myrddin's disappearance at the end of the novel is "in the tradition of magical hibernation when the king or mage leaves his people for some island or cave to return either at a more propitious or more dangerous time" (see King Arthur's messianic return). Powys's earlier novel, "A Glastonbury Romance" (1932) is concerned with both the Holy Grail and the legend that Arthur is buried at Glastonbury.
King Arthur | Modern legend
Marie de France's lai was composed at a time when the story of King Arthur was not fully developed, and probably before the story of the love between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere had been added to it by Chrétien de Troyes in his "Knight of the Cart". Thomas Chestre describes a 10-year period during which Launfal prospers at Arthur's bachelor court, followed by Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. In the 13th-century French Arthurian romances, Merlin warns against this marriage; in Chestre's poem, he arranges it, betraying Chestre's willingness to adapt an established legend in his own way. Such adaptation is further evident in Guinevere's blinding.
Sir Launfal | Evolution
Arthur has been featured in several historical fiction novels, such as "The King's Pleasure", by Norah Lofts, "Three Sisters, Three Queens" by Philippa Gregory and "Katherine, The Virgin Widow", by Jean Plaidy. In "The Constant Princess", by Philippa Gregory, Catherine promises Arthur to marry his brother, thus fulfilling not only her own destiny of becoming Queen of England, but also the couple's plans for the future of the kingdom. "The Alteration", by Kingsley Amis, is an alternate history novel centred on the "War of the English Succession", during which Henry VIII attempts to usurp the throne of his nephew, Stephen II, Arthur and Catherine's son.
Arthur, Prince of Wales | Popular culture
And when he has offered to marry a hideous hag in "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle", in order to save King Arthur's life, it is through courtesy that he lets his new wife decide the terms of their marital relationship, so breaking the magic spell and turning her into a beautiful young lady. In a late romance – "The Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain", printed in 1508 in Edinburgh, Scotland – he even walks off a field of combat pretending to have been defeated, when in fact he has already had his opponent at his mercy, before magnanimously agreeing to a strange bargain in order to save Gologras's honour.
Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle | English Sir Gawain
In French cyclical chivalric romances and the later works based on them, including the influential "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Thomas Malory, Guinevere is the daughter of King Leodegrance, who had served Arthur's father Uther Pendragon and was entrusted with the Round Table after Uther's death. In these stories, Leodegrance's kingdom typically lies near the Breton city of Carhaise (the modern Carhaix-Plouguer). In the fields to the south and east of Carhaise, Arthur defends Leodegrance by defeating King Rience, which leads to his meeting and marriage with Guinevere. This version of the legend has Guinevere betrothed to Arthur early in his career, while he was garnering support.
Guinevere | French-inspired popular tradition
At the same time, he became troubled by what became known as the King's "great matter", that is, finding an appropriate solution for his lack of male descendants. It soon became the King's wish to dissolve his marriage and marry Anne, who was more likely to bear children. Henry believed that his marriage was cursed and found confirmation in the Bible, in . Although in the morning following his wedding, Arthur had claimed that he was thirsty ""for I have been in the midst of Spain last night"" and that ""having a wife is a good pastime"", these claims are generally dismissed by modern historians as mere boasts of a boy who did not want others to know of his failure.
Arthur, Prince of Wales | Legacy
In addition, new family members enter the Arthurian tradition from this point onwards. Uther is given a new family, including two brothers and a father, while Arthur gains a sister or half-sister, Morgan, first named as his relative by Chrétien de Troyes in "Yvain." A new son of Arthur, named Loholt, is introduced in Chrétien's "Erec and Enide". Another significant new family-member is Arthur's other sister or half-sister initially known as Orcades (Morgause), the daughter of Gorlois and Igerna (Igraine) and mother of Gawain and Mordred in the romances (replacing Anna in this role). A third half-sister, Elaine, is also added at this time.
King Arthur's family | Other medieval literature
In the early 19th century, medievalism, Romanticism, and the Gothic Revival reawakened interest in Arthur and the medieval romances. A new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the chivalric ideals embodied in the "Arthur of romance". This renewed interest first made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" was reprinted for the first time since 1634. Initially, the medieval Arthurian legends were of particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, William Wordsworth to write "The Egyptian Maid" (1835), an allegory of the Holy Grail. Pre-eminent among these was Alfred Tennyson, whose first Arthurian poem "The Lady of Shalott" was published in 1832.
King Arthur | Tennyson and the revival
Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early 20th century reconstructed versions. The work of Jessie Weston, in particular "From Ritual to Romance", traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable. Additionally, it is possible to read the Arthurian literature in general, and that concerned with the Grail tradition in particular, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth (a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others).
Matter of Britain | Arthurian cycle
"King Arthur and King Cornwall" may be a version of a lost medieval story, but it is also possible that it is a product of the 17th century, taking hints from older chivalric romance. The character of Bredbeddle makes the author's knowledge of "The Greene Knight" obvious; whether made in the 16th century or before, the ballad relies on the audience's knowledge of the Gawain romances popular since the 12th century. Gawain's promise to have his way with Cornwall's daughter is in accordance with his womanizing portrayal in certain Old French works. The magician-king of Cornwall does not appear in other Arthurian romance.
King Arthur and King Cornwall | Analysis
Indeed, the first modernisation of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was published in 1862, shortly after "Idylls" appeared, and there were six further editions and five competitors before the century ended. This interest in the "Arthur of romance" and his associated stories continued through the 19th century and into the 20th, and influenced poets such as William Morris and Pre-Raphaelite artists including Edward Burne-Jones. Even the humorous tale of Tom Thumb, which had been the primary manifestation of Arthur's legend in the 18th century, was rewritten after the publication of "Idylls". While Tom maintained his small stature and remained a figure of comic relief, his story now included more elements from the medieval Arthurian romances and Arthur is treated more seriously and historically in these new versions.
King Arthur | Tennyson and the revival
The novel is a comedy set in 6th-century England and its medieval culture through Hank Morgan's view; he is a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut, who, after a blow to the head, awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England where he meets King Arthur himself. Hank, who had an image of that time that had been colored over the years by romantic myths, takes on the task of analyzing the problems and sharing his knowledge from 1300 years in the future to try to modernize, Americanize, and improve the lives of the people. Many passages are quoted directly from Sir Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", a late medieval collection of Arthurian legends that constitutes one of the main sources on the myth of King Arthur and Camelot.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court | Plot
Some modern writers associate Gwenhwyfach with Mordred, presumably due to her association with Camlann; she appears as the traitor's wife in Thomas Love Peacock's novel "The Misfortunes of Elphin" (1829), for example. In Bernard Cornwell's "Enemy of God" (1996), she is Guinevere's delusional and dim-witted fat sister who aids Arthur in his supposed "rescue" of Guinevere from Lancelot's castle, and later goes completely insane while living alone waiting for Lancelot to arrive.
Gwenhwyfach | Modern stories
The most significant of these 13th-century prose romances was the Vulgate Cycle (also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle), a series of five Middle French prose works written in the first half of that century. These works were the "Estoire del Saint Grail", the "Estoire de Merlin", the "Lancelot propre" (or Prose "Lancelot", which made up half the entire Vulgate Cycle on its own), the "Queste del Saint Graal" and the "Mort Artu", which combine to form the first coherent version of the entire Arthurian legend. The cycle continued the trend towards reducing the role played by Arthur in his own legend, partly through the introduction of the character of Galahad and an expansion of the role of Merlin.
King Arthur | Romance traditions
Brown, Arthur Charles Lewis: The Round Table before Wace. pp. 183–205 of "Studies and Notes in Philology", Vol. VII. Boston:, 1900. (See The Round Table.) ---. Iwain; a Study in the Origins of Arthurian Romance., 1903. Brown, A. C. L: "Balin and the Dolorous Stroke." Modern Philology 7.2 (1909): 203-6. Brown, Arthur C. L. ---. "Welsh Traditions in Layamon's "Brut"." Modern Philology 1.1 (1903): 95-103. ---. "Gulliver's Travels and an Irish Folk-Tale." Modern Language Notes 19.2 (1904): 45-6. ---. "The Knight of the Lion." PMLA 20.4 (1905): 673-706. ---. "The Bleeding Lance." PMLA 25.1 (1910): 1-59. ---. "Chrétien's "Yvain"." Modern Philology 9.1 (1911): 109-28.
Arthur Charles Lewis Brown | Bibliography
King Arthur explains to his nephew what happened to him in the forest and Sir Gawain, optimistically upbeat, suggests that they both ride about the country collecting answers to this tricky question. So they both do this, riding separately about the kingdom and writing down the answers they receive. When they return, they compare notes. Sir Gawain is still willing, but King Arthur senses the hopelessness of it all and decides to go once more into Inglewood Forest to look for inspiration. In the forest he encounters an ugly hag on a fine horse, a loathly lady who claims to know the king's problem and offers to give him the answer to this question that will save his life, on one condition.
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | Plot summary
Geraint, tributary prince of Devon and one of Arthur's bravest knights, is married to Enid, the only daughter of Yniol. He loves his wife deeply and she responds with equal affection; her only wish is to please him. At this time, the first rumours about Lancelot and Guinevere begin to spread throughout the court, but as yet there is no proof that any romance really exists. Geraint believes the stories and begins to fear that Enid will follow the bad example of her friend, the queen. His worries begin to plague him and he finally asks Arthur's permission to return to Devon.
Idylls of the King | The Marriage of Geraint
Other examples include Stephen R. Lawhead's novel "Avalon: The Return of King Arthur" (1999), featuring a reincarnated Arthur who rises to restore the British monarchy as it is about to be abolished. In "Vinland Saga", a manga on the Viking invasion and rule of England, the character Askeladd, a Norwegian-Welsh half-blood, recounts the tale of his true king and ancestor, Lucius Artorius Castus and his glorious return from Avalon to save Britannia.
King Arthur's messianic return | Modern adaptations
The popularity of Geoffrey's "Historia" and its other derivative works (such as Wace's "Roman de Brut") gave rise to a significant numbers of new Arthurian works in continental Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in France. It was not, however, the only Arthurian influence on the developing "Matter of Britain". There is clear evidence that Arthur and Arthurian tales were familiar on the Continent before Geoffrey's work became widely known (see for example, the Modena Archivolt), and "Celtic" names and stories not found in Geoffrey's "Historia" appear in the Arthurian romances. From the perspective of Arthur, perhaps the most significant effect of this great outpouring of new Arthurian story was on the role of the king himself: much of this 12th-century and later Arthurian literature centres less on Arthur himself than on characters such as Lancelot and Guinevere, Percival, Galahad, Gawain, Ywain, and Tristan and Iseult.
King Arthur | Romance traditions
In the Vulgate version, the lovers spend their first night together just as Arthur sleeps with the beautiful Saxon princess named Camille or Gamille (an evil enchantress whom he later continues to love even after she betrays and imprisons him, though it was suggested that he was enchanted). Arthur is also further unfaithful during the episode of the "False Guinevere" (who had Arthur drink a love potion to betray Guinevere), her own twin half-sister (born on the same day but from a different mother) whom Arthur takes as his second wife in a very unpopular bigamous move, even refusing to obey the Pope's order for him not to do it, as Guinevere escapes to live with Lancelot in Galehaut's kingdom.
Guinevere | French-inspired popular tradition
King Arthur and the Arthurian legend were not entirely abandoned, but until the early 19th century the material was taken less seriously and was often used simply as a vehicle for allegories of 17th- and 18th-century politics. Thus Richard Blackmore's epics "Prince Arthur" (1695) and "King Arthur" (1697) feature Arthur as an allegory for the struggles of William III against James II. Similarly, the most popular Arthurian tale throughout this period seems to have been that of Tom Thumb, which was told first through chapbooks and later through the political plays of Henry Fielding; although the action is clearly set in Arthurian Britain, the treatment is humorous and Arthur appears as a primarily comedic version of his romance character.
King Arthur | Post-medieval literature
"Patience, Princess Catherine", first published in 2004, tells the story of Catherine of Aragon from her arrival in 1501 to marry Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of England, until her marriage to Henry VIII in 1509. She is uncertain about the marriage and fakes having intercourse by using goat's blood. Arthur dies shortly after the wedding, and the novel deals mainly with Catherine's uncertainty about her future between Arthur's death and her marriage to Henry. In the book she is constantly beset with money troubles, as the English king takes away her small allowance. At the end she marries King Henry and becomes his queen, even though people in court give conflicting accounts of whether or not Arthur and Catherine consummated their marriage, which would later lead to one of the arguments Henry had about their marriage being a contradiction to church rules.
Young Royals | Patience, Princess Catherine
King Arthur is alone and unarmed and Sir Gromer's arrival poses a real threat to him. Sir Gromer tells the king that he must return in exactly one year's time, alone and dressed as he is now, and give him the answer to a question he will ask. If the king fails to give a satisfactory answer, Sir Gromer will cut off his head. The question is this: what is it that women most desire? King Arthur returns to Carlisle with his knights and it is not long before Sir Gawain pries from his uncle the reason for his sudden melancholy.
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | Plot summary
Enough late manuscripts of "Arthur and Merlin" survive to show that it was in the late middle ages and beyond one of the most popular English chivalric romances. It is therefore not surprising that there was a chapbook version of it, "A Lytel Treatyse of þe Byrth and Prophecye of Marlyn", printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1510, which was in turn the main source of a Dutch chapbook, the "Historie van Merlijn" (c. 1540). In the mid-18th century Thomas Percy became aware of "Arthur and Merlin" through his ownership of the 17th-century folio manuscript that now bears his name, in which a copy of the second recension appears; he wrote in the manuscript itself that it was "more correct and perfect than any in this book".
Of Arthour and of Merlin | Legacy
Along with his brothers, Cador was known to have a sister named Gurguint who was married to Caradoc Vreichfas who was a legend in Welsh history and was alive during the same time period as Arthur. According to writings from Geoffrey, Cador was married to a woman named Ygerna, who was courted and tricked by Arthur's father Uther Pendragon while Cador was away in battle. Cador is also thought to have been related to Arthur because he is addressed as so in different texts. Layamon, an English poet, writes that Arthur said, “Cador, thou art mine own kin”(King Arthur's Children: A Study in Fiction and Tradition, pg.98).
Cador | Origins and relations
Set during World War II, the plot involves the undersized Arthur joining the army to prove himself to his girlfriend Susan (Evelyn Dall), who is in the same unit as him. Here, his idealistic notions about King Arthur prompt his messmates to trick him into believing that a sword they have dug up is the fabled Excalibur. Armed with this talisman Arthur strides forth to deal with the Wehrmacht.
King Arthur Was a Gentleman | Synopsis
The story begins when the mystical knight Sir Gromer Somer Joure challenges King Arthur to discover what women desire the most, or face dire consequences. This encounter takes place following the stalking of a deer by the king in Inglewood Forest, a setting that in other Middle English Arthurian poems such as "The Awntyrs off Arthure" and "Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle", is a haunted forest and a place where the Otherworld is near at hand. The king, on his own instructions, becomes separated from the rest of his hunting party, follows the deer, kills it and is then surprised by the arrival of an armed knight, Sir Gromer Somer Joure, whose lands, this knight claims, have been seized from him by Sir Gawain.
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | Plot summary
He has been, however, also given wives in the course of Arthurian literature. In "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle", he marries the cursed Ragnelle, and in giving her "sovereignty" in the relationship, lifts the spell laid upon her that had given her a hag-like appearance. In "Parzival", Gawain marries Orguelleuse, the widow of the Duke of Logres. (In "Perlesvaus", Orguelleuse instead unsuccessfully plots to kill Gawain and then to entomb herself with him; she is called the Maiden of the Narrow Wood in "Hunbaut".) He is also associated with a vague supernatural figure in various tales, sometimes the princess/queen of the Otherworld.
Gawain | Children and relationships
King Arthur is captivated by Lady Guinevere, the daughter of Arthur's friend King Leodegrance. In an attempt to win her love, Arthur visits Cameliard, the castle where Lady Guinevere lives. With Merlin's help, Arthur disguises himself as a peasant and works as a gardener below Lady Guinevere's tower. King Ryence threatens Leodegrance and demands that the Duke of North Umber be allowed to marry Guinevere. The Duke torments the people of Cameliard by parading in front of the castle, calling for someone to challenge him. Arthur accepts the challenge and defeats the Duke. After his victory, Arthur travels through the country and encounters Sir Geraint, Sir Gawaine, Sir Ewaine, and Sir Pellias.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights | The Winning of a Queen
Further traditions about Arthur's final battle are developed in the Arthurian chivalric romances. These often follow Geoffrey's blueprint, but alter many of the details. The legend shifts to the 'character of individuals' and the proposed adultery between Guinevere and Lancelot is first mentioned. In the Vulgate "Mort Artu", part of the French Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) cycle, Arthur goes to France not to fight the Romans, but to pursue his former prime knight Lancelot, who had engaged in an affair with Guinevere and killed Arthur's nephews (Mordred's siblings) Agravain, Gaheris and Gareth. He leaves Mordred in charge of Britain when he departs, only for Mordred to betray him and seize the throne.
Battle of Camlann | Romance tradition
The poem is significant as a retelling of the loathly lady episode, which hearken back to a common motif in earlier literature, attested earliest in Irish. The closest analogue is the medieval "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle". A similar bride is found in "King Henry", Child Ballad 32. The positive view it expresses of Gawain, who is willing to marry the woman who saved King Arthur despite her hideous looks, is not a common feature of Arthurian literature at the time. It is often noted that Sir Gawain breaks the spell by giving her her own way, as in the riddle.
The Marriage of Sir Gawain | Commentary
Relatively few members of Arthur's family in the Welsh materials are carried over to the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth and chivalric romancers. His grandfather Anlawd Wledic and his maternal uncles, aunts and cousins do not appear there, and neither do any of his sons or his paternal relatives. Only the core family seem to have made the transition: his wife Gwenhwyfar (who became Guinevere), his father Uther, his mother (Igerna) and his sister-son Gwalchmei (Gawain). Gwalchmei's mother – Arthur's sister – failed to make the journey, Gwyar's place being taken by Anna, the wife of Loth, in Geoffrey's account, whilst Medraut (Mordred) is made into a second sister-son for Arthur (a status he does not have in the Welsh material).
King Arthur's family | Other medieval literature
One Christmas, at Tarn Wadling near Carlisle, King Arthur is challenged by a menacing 'baron.' To avoid a fight, Arthur agrees to return the following New Year, on pain of forfeit of his land and liberty, and tell the baron 'what thing it is / That a woman most desire.' Arthur returns to Carlisle. The following New Year, still without an answer, he is riding across a moor on his way to meet the baron, when he meets a hideous hag, to whom he offers Sir Gawain as a husband in return for the answer to the baron's riddle. The bargain is made.
The Marriage of Sir Gawain | Synopsis
A fast forward finds Arthur marrying Guinevere and making her his queen. Soon after, Merlin has Guinevere kidnapped and Arthur leaves the castle with Lancelot to rescue her. After they rescue Guinevere, the queen secretly visits Lancelot and they have an affair. Merlin catches Guinevere in the act of adultery and magically summons her treachery, guilt, and betrayal as the Lady Morgana.
Unholy Grail (comic) | Synopsis
It also made Mordred the result of an incestuous relationship between Arthur and his sister Morgause and established the role of Camelot, first mentioned in passing in Chrétien's "Lancelot", as Arthur's primary court. This series of texts was quickly followed by the Post-Vulgate Cycle (), of which the "Suite du Merlin" is a part, which greatly reduced the importance of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere but continued to sideline Arthur, and to focus more on the Grail quest. As such, Arthur became even more of a relatively minor character in these French prose romances; in the Vulgate itself he only figures significantly in the "Estoire de Merlin" and the "Mort Artu".
King Arthur | Romance traditions
He is, however, restored to health by two learned Irish knights who chance that way. He goes eventually back to court, claims Guinloie, thereby dissipating Arthur's jealousy, and is crowned king by him so that Queen Guinloie shall not marry beneath her. Southward's summary omits the detail that, near the beginning of the romance as it survives, 'a queen on her husband's instructions tests Yder's virtue by making outspoken advances to him in the hall where he has fallen asleep (ll. 185-510). He emphasizes his rejection of her by knocking her down with a kick in the stomach, to the amusement and satisfaction of the courtiers who are present'.
Romanz du reis Yder | Summary
King Arthur goes to see what is the matter on his own, on foot. The bird lifts King Arthur in its talons and flies around, in sight of the knights and ladies, who tear their clothes to shreds in their desperation. The knights talk of slaughtering cattle to lure the bird down to earth. The bird, however, takes Arthur back to the castle and metamorphoses into the magician knight. The king pardons, and sends for all the master tailors to come to his court and make lavish clothes to replace those torn to shreds. Eventually, they all retire to bed.
Jaufre | Wedding at Cardeuil: 9427–10248
This narrative corresponds to Chrétien's "Erec and Enide", in which the hero is Erec. The romance concerns the love of Geraint, one of King Arthur's men, and the beautiful Enid. The couple marry and settle down together, but rumors spread that Geraint has gone soft. Upset about this, Enid cries to herself that she is not a true wife for keeping her husband from his chivalric duties, but Geraint misunderstands her comment to mean she has been unfaithful to him. He makes her join him on a long and dangerous trip and commands her not to speak to him. Enid disregards this command several times to warn her husband of danger.
Welsh mythology | Geraint son of Erbin
The film's storyline is not taken from the traditional sources, but is a work of creative fiction. The only notable exception to this is the inclusion of the Saxons as Arthur's adversaries and the Battle of Badon Hill. Most traditional elements of Arthurian legend are dropped, such as the Holy Grail and Tristan's lover Iseult. The film barely includes the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere; whilst Guinevere and Arthur are romantically involved, only a few sequences depict a possible relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere. The film does not feature Kay and Bedivere. Along with Gawain, they already appear as Arthur's companions in very early Welsh sources, like "Culhwch and Olwen" in the "Mabinogion".
King Arthur (2004 film) | Cinematic versus traditional portrayal
Hereward the Wake's early life appeared in chronicles as the embellished, romantic adventures of an exile, complete with rescuing princesses and wrestling with bears. Fulk Fitzwarin, an outlaw in King John's day, has his historical background a minor thread in the episodic stream of romantic adventures.
Chivalric romance | Contemporary society
Catalina of Aragon's initially loveless arranged marriage to the crown prince Arthur secretly develops into an intimate relationship where they share their plans to rule England together once Arthur is king. But Arthur succumbs to the sweating sickness three months into their marriage and, in his deathbed, convinces Catalina to deny consummating their marriage so she can be considered a virgin and still eligible to marry his younger brother Harry and carry out their plans. She begins negotiations with King Henry VII to marry Harry, but Henry secretly lusts for her and refuses. After Queen Elizabeth dies, Henry offers his own hand in marriage and Catalina accepts.
The Constant Princess | Plot summary
Literary works in English that derive from this medieval Arthurian world include plays, poems and novels, mostly from the 19th century onwards, and modern fantasy novels. Sir Gawain is under-represented in these stories, and although some modern works have found inspiration in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", no modern published adaptations of "Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle" exist. There is, however, an English fairytale, the story of "Jack the Giant-killer". As related by Flora Annie Steel, in her "English Fairy-tales" published in 1918, it tells the tale of a boy, a farmer's son named Jack who, by using the same ingenuity that Sigurd used to slay the dragon Fafnir, kills a giant that had been plaguing Cornwall and takes all his gold.
Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle | Later derivatives
In the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", it is Morgan le Fay who becomes the wife of King Urien and mother of Ywain (and Malory adds this information). In other accounts Ywain is not Arthur's nephew, although sometimes he is Gawain's cousin when their respective fathers are presented as brothers.
Igraine | Other medieval accounts
Most of the book takes place in "Gramarye", the name White gives to Britain, and chronicles the youth and education of King Arthur, his rule as a king, and the romance between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. Though Arthur, if he existed at all, would have ruled some time around the 6th century, the book is set around the 14th century (and Arthur is portrayed as an Anglo-Norman rather than a Briton), and the actual monarchs of that period are referred to as "mythical". The book ends immediately before Arthur's final battle against his illegitimate son Mordred. Though White admits his book's source material is loosely derived from "Le Morte d'Arthur", he reinterprets the epic events, filling them with renewed meaning for a world recovering from World War II.
The Once and Future King | Summary
That she is allowed to marry Sir Gawain. The king returns to Carlisle and reluctantly confronts Sir Gawain with this dilemma; for he is sure that his nephew will be willing to sacrifice himself in order to save him. Gawain selflessly consents in order to save his uncle. Soon, King Arthur rides alone into the forest to fulfill his promise to Sir Gromer Somer Joure and quickly meets with Dame Ragnelle, who is, in fact, Sir Gromer's sister and who reminds King Arthur of the hopelessness of his task:
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | Plot summary
The end of the Middle Ages brought with it a waning of interest in King Arthur. Although Malory's English version of the great French romances was popular, there were increasing attacks upon the truthfulness of the historical framework of the Arthurian romances – established since Geoffrey of Monmouth's time – and thus the legitimacy of the whole Matter of Britain. So, for example, the 16th-century humanist scholar Polydore Vergil famously rejected the claim that Arthur was the ruler of a post-Roman empire, found throughout the post-Galfridian medieval "chronicle tradition", to the horror of Welsh and English antiquarians. Social changes associated with the end of the medieval period and the Renaissance also conspired to rob the character of Arthur and his associated legend of some of their power to enthrall audiences, with the result that 1634 saw the last printing of Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" for nearly 200 years.
King Arthur | Post-medieval literature
Merlin reveals Arthur's true identity as the son of the last king, Uther Pendragon, but some, led by Maleagant, refuse to accept the rule of an illegitimate royal child and declare war. Merlin takes Arthur to the Forest of Brocéliande to train him. Here, Arthur is called to the aid of one of his loyal lords, whose castle is besieged by Maleagant. With Merlin's magic, Arthur successfully breaks the siege, but is wounded. He is nursed by the lord's daughter, Guinevere, whom Arthur falls in love with and pledges to marry. Merlin predicts that Guinevere will somehow be the cause of Arthur's downfall.
La Légende du roi Arthur | Synopsis
Eventually Igraine is convinced to marry Uther. Later treatments, such as the Vulgate Cycle and Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur". expand on this outline by having Gorlois's daughters married off to vassals of Uther's: Elaine to King Nentres of Garlot, Morgause to King Lot of Orkney, and (after she has received an education in a convent) Morgan to King Urien. Arthur is spared any knowledge of his halfsisters after he is whisked away by Merlin to be raised by Sir Ector.
Gorlois | Introduction
Brunissen says she would like to get married under the auspices of King Arthur.
Jaufre | Brunissen: 6924–7978
In 1900, Arthur married Ella Caroline Julius, the daughter of Churchill Julius who was the bishop of Christchurch.
Edward Elworthy | Introduction
The legend of Gareth and Lynette has been reinterpreted by many writers and poets, the most renowned being Alfred Lord Tennyson in "Idylls of the King" (1859–1888). In this version the "colored" knights are replaced by knights associated with various times of day: the final knight is known as Night or Death and is the most feared of the three, though ultimately the weakest. Gareth marries Lynette. In some other versions, Gareth marries Lynette's sister, whom he rescues, and Gaheris marries Lynette. Theodore Goodridge Roberts authored the short story "For to Achieve Your Adventure", in which Lynette knows she is sending Gareth into an ambush in an attempt to make him give up for his own protection.
Gareth | Modern versions
Sir Pellias accepts his help, and they devise a plan, but Sir Gawaine is charmed by Lady Ettard. Sir Pellias and Sir Gawaine fight, wherein Pellias, although victorious, is wounded by Gawaine. Pellias, near death, is brought to the chapel of a healing hermit. The Lady of the Lake comes, takes the charmed necklace, and revives Pellias with a potion. Although Pellias is revived, he is no longer fully mortal; the knight is half-mortal and half-fairy. The Lady of the Lake and Sir Pellias travel to their fairy city hidden on the lake where they are married.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights | The Story of Sir Pellias
Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written as Guenevere or Guenever, is the wife and queen of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. Guinevere has been portrayed as everything from a villainous and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady. She has first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae", a pseudo-historical chronicle of British history written in the early 12th century, and continues to be a popular character in the modern adaptations of the legend. In the later medieval romances, one of the most prominent story arcs is Queen Guinevere's tragic love affair with her husband's chief knight and friend, Lancelot, indirectly causing the death of Arthur and many others and the downfall of the kingdom.
Guinevere | Introduction
He suggested that the Sarmatians' descendants kept Castus' legacy alive over the centuries and mixed it with their ancestral myths involving magical cauldrons and swords.
Historicity of King Arthur | Lucius Artorius Castus and the Sarmatian connection
The story resembles Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Squire's Tale" from the "Canterbury Tales", the English romance "Sir Launfal" and especially the Carolingian romance "Pèlerinage de Charlemagne", in which Charlemagne and his paladins visit the Byzantine Emperor, superior to Charlemagne in looks according to Charlemagne's wife. They make a series of boasts about their abilities, and are called out on them by the emperor's spy, but are eventually able to fulfill them with help from God. Making chivalric vows is a central theme in the medieval English tale "The Avowing of Arthur", while the importance of keeping one's pledges is important to tales like "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle".
King Arthur and King Cornwall | Analysis
Such a composite character is then often turned into Mordred's mother or partner. An early instance of such simplifications used to "streamline the plot" was Henry Irving's 1895 stage production "King Arthur" originally written by W. G. Wills.
Morgan le Fay in modern culture | Overview
In the early 13th century, the Old French literature of the chivalric romance genre expanded on the history of Mordred prior to the civil war with Arthur. In the Prose "Merlin" part of Vulgate Cycle, Mordred's elder half-brother Gawain saves the infant Mordred and their mother Morgause from the Saxon king Taurus. In the revision known as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and consequently in Thomas Malory's English compilation "Le Morte d'Arthur" ("The Death of Arthur"), Arthur is told prophecy by Merlin about a just-born child that is to be his undoing, and so he tries to avert the fate by ordering the killing of all the May Day newborns.
Mordred | Life in romances
The narrative is mainly based on the Prose "Merlin" in the version from the Post-Vulgate "Suite du Merlin" (possibly on the manuscript Cambridge University Library, Additional 7071). Arthur is born to the High King of Britain (Malory's "England") Uther Pendragon and his new wife Igraine, and then taken by Sir Ector to be secretly fostered in the country after the death of Uther. Years later, the now teenage Arthur suddenly becomes the ruler of the leaderless Britain when he removes the fated sword from the stone in the contest set up by the wizard Merlin, which proves his birthright that he himself had not been aware of.
Le Morte d'Arthur | Book I (Caxton I–IV)
Stories about the Arthurian court were popular in medieval England, and the worn condition of some of the manuscripts suggests that they were well read. The Ragnelle narrative may have been intended for a festive or less than serious audience. Thomas Garbaty sees the poem as a humorous parody of the Arthurian legend, where Arthur is cowed by both the challenging knight and Ragnelle, "passing the buck" to Gawain. "The Wedding of Sir Gawain" survives in a poorly copied 16th-century manuscript located in the Bodleian Library (Bodleian 11951, formerly Rawlinson C.86) though it was probably written in the 15th century.
The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle | Text
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights is a 1903 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. The book contains a compilation of various stories, adapted by Pyle, regarding the legendary King Arthur of Britain and select Knights of the Round Table. Pyle's novel begins with King Arthur in his youth and continues through numerous tales of bravery, romance, battle, and knighthood. Pyle's writing was influenced by previous authors Arthurian writings, such as "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" and "Le Morte d'Arthur." "The Story of King Arthur and His Knights is" an American adaption of traditionally English stories that was written and illustrated for children.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights | Introduction
Since Henry Tudor's accession to the English throne as Henry VII, Margaret Plantagenet has had to distance herself from her connection to the former royal family to survive. Married to a minor Tudor knight, she now mourns her younger brother, Edward, a potential claimant to the throne who has been executed by Henry on false charges of treason after 14 years imprisoned in the Tower of London. Margaret and her husband, Sir Richard Pole, manage the household of teenage Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry's son and heir by his queen Elizabeth of York, Margaret's Plantagenet first cousin. Margaret makes fast friends with Arthur's new young bride, the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon, but Arthur's sudden death leaves both women on uncertain ground.
The King's Curse | Plot
There was a knight in King Arthur's time who raped a fair young maiden. King Arthur issues a decree that the knight must be brought to justice. When the knight is captured, he is condemned to death, but Queen Guinevere intercedes on his behalf and asks the King to allow her to pass judgment upon him. The Queen tells the knight that he will be spared his life if he can discover for her what it is that women most desire, and allots him a year and a day in which to roam wherever he pleases and return with an answer.
The Wife of Bath's Tale | Synopsis
Ywain, one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, while at Arthur's court hears from Sir Colgrevance about an encounter he had with a knight, who defeated him in a fight. Ywain sets out, kills the knight and marries the knight's widow Alundyne with the aid of her serving-lady Lunet (or Lunette), moving into the castle of Alundyne's late husband. However, when Arthur and his men visit them, Gawain encourages Ywain to go off adventuring, leaving his wife behind. During their adventures the two are separated, then find themselves fighting each other but recognise each other and are reunited.
Ywain and Gawain | Plot
"Thus the romance would trace back the model of ideal civilization that it proposes, a model also for the orders of chivalry created from the 14th century onwards, to a legendary origin where the glory of Alexander is united with the fame of Arthur." King Perceforest also abandons polytheism in favor of a monotheistic god and, under the influence of the hermit Dardanon, advances a new religion that will serve as a transition toward Arthurian Christianity. Meanwhile, Perceforest's knights, often with the help of a guardian spirit named Zephir, engage in heroic and romantic acts of derring-do in Britain as well as in the Low Countries.
Perceforest | Plot
He travels north to Powys, where he is formally betrothed to Ceinwyn. However, when King Leodegan's daughter Guinevere enters the feasting hall, Arthur is immediately stricken with love. He abandons Ceinwyn and marries Guinevere, destroying any hope of alliance and plunging Britain back into civil war.
The Winter King (novel) | Part Two: The Princess Bride
The revived Arthurian romance also proved influential in the United States, with such books as Sidney Lanier's "The Boy's King Arthur" (1880) reaching wide audiences and providing inspiration for Mark Twain's satire "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1889). Although the 'Arthur of romance' was sometimes central to these new Arthurian works (as he was in Burne-Jones's "The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon", 1881–1898), on other occasions he reverted to his medieval status and is either marginalised or even missing entirely, with Wagner's Arthurian operas providing a notable instance of the latter. Furthermore, the revival of interest in Arthur and the Arthurian tales did not continue unabated.
King Arthur | Tennyson and the revival
She is convinced that Gaheris will know that she is not a virgin, and she will be publicly shamed. However, when Gaheris finally enters the honeymoon suite, he merely comments that he does not want this, either. He sleeps next to her, without touching, and leaves before she wakes. In another flashback, Chapman summarises the events leading up to the wedding, essentially retelling the corresponding Arthurian legend. In short, the Red Knight, a knight who claims to owe no loyalty to King Arthur, attacks Lynette's home in the absence of any male figureheads, essentially holding the household hostage until her older sister, Leonie, consents to marry him and make him Lord.
The King's Damosel | Plot summary
Chrétien was thus "instrumental both in the elaboration of the Arthurian legend and in the establishment of the ideal form for the diffusion of that legend", and much of what came after him in terms of the portrayal of Arthur and his world built upon the foundations he had laid. "Perceval", although unfinished, was particularly popular: four separate continuations of the poem appeared over the next half century, with the notion of the Grail and its quest being developed by other writers such as Robert de Boron, a fact that helped accelerate the decline of Arthur in continental romance. Similarly, Lancelot and his cuckolding of Arthur with Guinevere became one of the classic motifs of the Arthurian legend, although the Lancelot of the prose "Lancelot" () and later texts was a combination of Chrétien's character and that of Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's "Lanzelet".
King Arthur | Romance traditions
A tie-in novel, "The Legend of King Arthur", authored by the screenwriter Andrew Davies, was published in London by Fontana/Armada in 1979.
The Legend of King Arthur | Novelisation
In Arthurian legend, Gorlois () of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, is the first husband of Igraine. whose second husband is Uther Pendragon. Gorlois is the father of Morgan le Fay, Morgause, and Elaine of Garlot. Gorlois's name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae" (), in which Uther falls in love with Igraine and wars with Gorlois to get to her. Uther asks for Merlin's aid in pursuing her, and Merlin concocts some drugs that disguise Uther in the form of Gorlois. In this form he approaches his love and they sleep together, conceiving Arthur. Unbeknownst to either of them, the real Gorlois has been killed in his castle that very night.
Gorlois | Introduction
Later, he walks in the garden with Enid. He asks her to be his bride, and she says yes. They are married happily, and Enid is gladly accepted into court. However, Geraint begins to feel jealous of Enid playing with a handsome young knight named Sir Peregrans. He feels that he has been a bad husband, and somewhat regrets marrying her because she can't marry the man who he believes she is suited for. Sir Geraint keeps his feelings to himself, and begins to treat Enid coldly. Geraint suddenly claims one evening that he wishes to return to his father's castle, and they go.
The Story of the Grail and the Passing of King Arthur | The Story of Sir Geraint
Of Arthour and of Merlin, or Arthur and Merlin, is an anonymous Middle English verse romance giving an account of the reigns of Vortigern and Uther Pendragon and the early years of King Arthur's reign, in which the magician Merlin plays a large part. It can claim to be the earliest English Arthurian romance. It exists in two recensions: the first, of nearly 10,000 lines, dates from the second half of the 13th century, and the much-abridged second recension, of about 2000 lines, from the 15th century. The first recension breaks off somewhat inconclusively, and many scholars believe this romance was never completed.
Of Arthour and of Merlin | Introduction
De Ortu Waluuanii Nepotis Arturi () is an anonymous Medieval Latin chivalric romance dating to the 12th or 13th century. It describes the birth, boyhood deeds, and early adventures of King Arthur's nephew, Gawain. The romance gives the most detailed account of Gawain's early years of any contemporary work, and is driven by the young man's quest to establish his identity. It is also notable for its early reference to Greek fire.
De Ortu Waluuanii | Introduction
Arthurian fiction is also categorised as fantasy fiction. Mary Stewart (1916 – 2014), was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children's books and poetry, but may be best known for her Merlin series, Arthurian novels which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and fantasy.
Historical romance | Arthurian fiction
However, on the cusp of a united peaceful Britain, Arthur's decision to marry Guinevere plunges the island into war again.
The Winter King (novel) | Introduction
Artos' seduction and the conception of Medraut is Ygerna's means of bringing ruin to Artos. Artos marries Guenhumara in order to bolster his forces with much needed troops. His relationship with her is difficult as a result of his previous involvement with Ygerna, and his best friend Bedwyr eventually betrays Artos by his involvement with Artos' wife. Sutcliff presents the Arthur legend in a realist manner, portraying Arthur as a historical figure, and excluding the grail quest, Merlin and many of the more fantastic elements of the legend. However many elements, such as the death of his daughter being linked to a Celtic 'curse', retain magical elements, but linked to Celtic religious practices.
Sword at Sunset | Plot
During his escape from the castle, Ywain sees Esclados' widow and falls in love with her. Ywain, with Lunete's help, wins Laudine's hand and marries her. Lunete grows to become a close friend and confidant to the Lady of the Fountain. Ywain and the Lady of the Fountain are married for many years; but one day, Gawain arrives and reminds Ywain of his absence from his chivalric duties and from King Arthur's court. The Lady of the Fountain agrees to let him go — only if he promises to return after one year. Ywain breaks his promise and delays his return; the Lady asks her husband to leave her and never return.
Lunete | Introduction
Like many another character in the Mabinogion, Gilfaethwy has given rise to a character or characters in Arthurian romance - in this instance Sir Griflet, who first appears as "Girflet ( or Giflet ) fils Do" in the romance "Erec et Enide " by the twelfth century Champénois master Chrétien de Troyes and appears later as the eponymous hero of the romance Jaufre, the only surviving romance written in the Occitan language. As Loomis points out, Dôn, goddess mother of Gilfaethwy, has been misconstrued to be a male character by at least as early as the time of composition of Chretien's "Erec et Enide" : The Arthurian "Do" or "Don", father of "Giflet" and "Lore", has undergone a strange metamorphosis, from an ancient Brythonic goddess into the castellan of Carlisle and the chief forester of "Uterpandragon".
Gilfaethwy | In Arthurian Romance
At a banquet celebrating their victories, Uther becomes obsessively enamoured of Gorlois' wife Igerna (Igraine), and a war ensues between Uther and his vassal. Gorlois sends Igerna to the impregnable castle of Tintagel for protection while he himself is besieged by Uther in another town. Uther consults with Merlin who uses his magic to transform the king into the likeness of Gorlois and thus gain access to Igerna at Tintagel. He spends the night with her and they conceive Arthur, but the next morning it is discovered that Gorlois had been killed. Uther marries Igerna and they have a daughter called Anna (in later romances she is called Morgause and is usually Igerna's daughter by her previous marriage).
Uther Pendragon | "Historia Regum Britanniae"
The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which diminished over time, though remaining a presence. Many early tales had the knight, such as Sir Launfal, meet with fairy ladies, and Huon of Bordeaux is aided by King Oberon, but these fairy characters were transformed, more and more often, into wizards and enchantresses. Morgan le Fay never loses her name, but in "Le Morte d'Arthur", she studies magic rather than being inherently magical. Similarly, knights lose magical abilities. Still, fairies never completely vanished from the tradition. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a late tale, but the Green Knight himself is an otherworldly being.
Chivalric romance | Folklore and folktales
King Arthur's wife is kidnapped by his evil sister Morgan Le Fay. Lancelot is sent out to try and retrieve the lost queen and ends up falling in love with her.
Merlin and the Sword | Plot
Of particular interest is that it features the oldest surviving account of the "Constance" tale-type. The king of York tries to marry his daughter; when she refuses, she is abandoned in the woods, where Offa finds her, and he marries her, but later, when he is at war, through a forged letter, she is again abandoned in the woods with her children, and she, Offa, and the children are reunited many years later. This tale was particular popular in chivalric romance such as "The Man of Law's Tale" and "Emaré" in England. Twenty variants are known, including those in French, Latin, German, and Spanish.
Vitae duorum Offarum | Account
She is married to a Scottish Laird, Gabriel MacBain, to escape England, but is harassed by both King John's barons and the English faction hoping to take down King John, each party unsure of how much she knows.
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany | In literature
King Arthur was first used in "New Comics" #3 ("The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney") and appears alongside his wife Guinevere, his friend Merlin, Sir Lancelot, and Gareth.
King Arthur in comics | "New Comics"
Near death, Vivien leads the men to a nunnery. Vivien is able to restore Arthur's health though he must rest for a while. When Arthur asks Vivien to treat Accalon, she lies, claiming she has no more of her concoction. Accalon dies from his wounds. Morgana steals the sheath of Excalibur while Arthur rests, and she drops the sheath back into the lake where it was found.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights | The Story of Merlin
Many medieval romances recount the marvellous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, who, abiding chivalry's strict codes of honor and demeanor, goes on a quest, and fights and defeats monsters and giants, thereby winning favor with a lady. The Matter of France, most popular early, did not lend itself to the subject of courtly love, but rather dealt with heroic adventure: in "The Song of Roland", Roland, though betrothed to Oliver's sister, does not think of her during the course of events. The themes of love were, however, to soon appear, particularly in the Matter of Britain, leading to even the French regarding King Arthur's court as the exemplar of true and noble love, so much so that even the earliest writers about courtly love would claim it had reached its true excellence there, and love was not what it was in King Arthur's day.
Chivalric romance | Early forms
By and large, modern works based on Arthurian legend continue to villainize Agravain.
Agravain | Modern adaptations
Until the late 20th century, there was academic debate about the historicity of Arthur among historians and archaeologists. In the 21st century, many academics have turned against it. However, there are modern historians, such as Geoffrey Asche, who assert the historicity of a 5th century warlord called Arthur. In 1936, R. G. Collingwood and J. N. L. Myres treated Arthur as a Roman "comes Britanniarum". They assert that "the historicity of [Arthur] can hardly be called into question", though they are careful to separate the historical Arthur from the legendary Arthur. In 1971, Leslie Alcock claimed to "demonstrate that there is acceptable historical evidence that Arthur was a genuine historical figure, not a mere figment of myth or romance".
Historicity of King Arthur | Historiography