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							Colegiul Naţional “Emanuil Gojdu”

LUCRARE DE ATESTAT LIMBA ENGLEZĂ
A Living Legend: Arthurian Tales

Prof. coordonator Mădălina POP Absolvent: Andreea-Teodora POPOVICI

Oradea – MAI 2009

Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION 2. HISTORICAL ARTHUR 3. LITERARY ARTHUR  EARLY REFERENCES TO A REAL ARTHUR  KING ARTHUR IN LITERATURE 4. LEGENDARY ARTHUR a) MERLIN’S CONTRIBUTION b) ARTHUR’S REIGN  GUINEVERE  MORGAN LE FEY  LADY OF THE LAKE  CAMELOT  EXCALIBUR 5. THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE  SIR LANCELOT DU LAC  SIR GAWAIN  SIR GERAINT  SIR BEDIVERE  SIR GALAHAD  SIR PERCIVALE  SIR TRISTAN 6. 7. 8. 9. THE BATTLES THE HOLY GRAIL (SANGREAL) CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

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1.

INTRODUCTION

During the years there have been many various sides of King Arthur’s story. Many saw him as a Roman emperor, or at least a Roman general, others said that he was Celtic or Britain, while some never accepted the idea that King Arthur actually existed. In this research project I will try to unveil (as well as I can) the truth behind King Arthur’s legend. As you probably know, even the legend has many sides, so I “collected” the most probable of them. I have always considered this legend to be one of great value in the British and even the world’s history. It speaks of a king that gets his throne not through wars and bloodshed or by installing fear into his subjects, but by showing virtues only a king could possess. From that early point in history he tried to install equality among his subjects. All the knights were regarded alike when they sat at the Round Table: they all had the same statute in the king’s eyes (that’s what the table, when regarded as a symbol, means). The research project is structured in 7 different chapters, some divided into several sub-chapters. In the beginning, the historical part of the story is presented. I have gathered as much information about the “truth” behind the legend as I could. King Arthur’s legend was made known by many writers during the decades: the most famous of them was Sir Thomas Mallory, but the legend’s modern popularity was brought in the Victorian Age by Lord Alfred Tennyson in some of his work. The main part of the research project refers to the actual legend: to Merlin’s contribution, Arthur’s origins and reign, his wife Guinevere, The Lady of the Lake, two important symbols of his reign (The Round Table and his sword, Excalibur), his battles and most importantly, his Knights. The last chapter of the research project makes reference to one of humanity’s most well hidden mysteries: The Holy Grail or the Sangreal. Since the beginning of days, many kings have searched without success for this mystical coup. Some thought that having the challis would empower them and would attest their divine origin. In the Grail story, the important role is played not by the king, but by the knights (especially one of them, Galahad). In the following pages, I will try to shed some light on the legend of a great king that I hope will impress you as much as it did me. And now, the question remains, “Did King Arthur actually exist?” Well, that remains to be seen.

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2.

HISTORICAL ARTHUR

The 6th century certainly saw many men named Arthur born into the Celtic Royal families of Britain but, despite attempts to identify the great man himself amongst them, there can be little doubt that most of these people were only named in his honor. King Arthur is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian legends. He is said to be the son of Uther Pendragon and Igraine of Cornwall. Arthur is a near mythic figure in Celtic stories such as “Culhwch and Olwen”. In early Latin chronicles he is presented as a military leader, the “dux bellorum”. In later romance he is presented as a king and emperor. One of the questions that has occupied those interested in King Arthur is whether or not he is a historical figure. The debate has raged since the Renaissance when Arthur's historicity was vigorously defended, partly because the Tudor monarchs traced their lineage to Arthur and used that connection as a justification for their reign. Modern scholarship has generally assumed that there was some actual person at the heart of the legends, though not of course a king with a band of knights in shining armor - though O.J. Padel in "The Nature of Arthur" argues that "historical attributes of just the kind that we find attached to Arthur can be associated with a figure who was not historical to start with." . If there is a historical basis to the character, it is clear that he would have gained fame as a warrior battling the Germanic invaders of the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Since there is no conclusive evidence for or against Arthur's historicity, the debate will continue. But what can not be denied is the influence of the figure of Arthur on literature, art, music, and society from the Middle Ages to the present. Though there have been numerous historical novels that try to put Arthur into a sixth-century setting, it is the legendary figure of the late Middle Ages who has most captured the imagination. Some of the most important historical figures thought to had been the actual king are mentioned below.

A Breton King (this is the most well known side of the story) Geoffrey of Monmouth recorded Arthur as a High-King of Britain. He was the son of his predecessor, Uther Pendragon and nephew of King Ambrosius. As a descendant of High-King Eudaf Hen's nephew, Conan Meriadoc, Arthur's grandfather, had crossed the Channel from Brittany and established the dynasty at the beginning of the 5th century. The Breton King Aldrien had been asked to rescue Britain from the turmoil in which it found itself after the Roman administration had departed. He sent his brother, Constantine, to help. Constantine appears to have been the historical self-proclaimed British Emperor who took the last Roman troops from Britain in a vain attempt to assert his claims on the Continent in 407. Chronologically speaking, it is just

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possible he was King Arthur's grandfather. Arthur's Breton Ancestry was recorded by Gallet. .

Cumbrian King The Clan Campbell trace their tribal pedigree back to one Arthur ic Uibar, the Arthur son of Uther of tradition. Norma Lorre Goodrich uses this fact to argue that Arthur was a "Man of the North". This idea was first proposed by the Victorian Antiquary, W.F.Skene, and there is some evidence to recommend it, especially the possible northern location of Nennius' twelve battles. Goodrich places Arthur's Court at Carlisle. As the capital of the Northern British Kingdom of Rheged, this seems an unlikely home for Arthur, who was not of this dynasty. Prof. Goodrich relies heavily on late medieval literary sources and draws imaginative conclusions. .

Glamorgan King Baram Blackett & Alan Wilson have theorised that the legendary King Arthur was an amalgam of two historical characters: Anwn (alias Arthun), the British King who conquered Greece and Athrwys (alias Arthwys) the King of Glywyssing and Gwent. Arthun was a son of the British Emperor Magnus Maximus, who lived in the late 4th century. He is better known as Anwn (alias Dynod) and his title of King of Greece is generally thought to be a misreading of his Latin name, Antonius Gregorius. He actually ruled much of South Wales. Arthwys of Glwyssing & Gwent is widely accepted as a seventh century King who lived in South-East Wales. His home in the traditional Arthurian region around Caerleon is part of this man's attraction. Blackett & Wilson argue, not unconvincingly, that he really lived in the early 6th century and that his father, King Meurig was called "Uther Pendragon", a title meaning Wonderful Commander. They also make the important assertion that Arthur lived, not in Cerniw. Roman King It has been suggested, many times over the years, that King Arthur may have been a descendant of one Lucius Artorius Castus: a theme most recently taken up by P.J.F. Turner. Castus was an historical 2nd century Dalmatian general stationed in Britain who commanded the Roman auxiliary troops, known as Sarmations, on an expedition to crush an uprising in Armorica. It is highly unlikely that the two had any connection with each other.

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3.

LITERARY ARTHUR
 Early references to a real Arthur

There is only one contemporary Arthurian source that can be examined today. "Concerning the Ruin of Britain", or "De Excidio British History Clube" was written by the Northern British monk, St. Gildas, in the mid-6th century. Unfortunately, Gildas was not a historian. He was only interested in lamenting the loss of the Roman way of life and reproaching the British leaders (Constantine, Aurelius Caninus, Vortepor, Cuneglasus & Maglocunus) who had usurped Imperial power and degraded Christian values. There is no reference to Arthur, but Gildas does make reference to a character called "The Bear", the meaning of the Celtic word, “Art“. He praises Ambrosius Aurelianus and also mentions the Siege of Mount Badon, though not the name of the victor. Gildas' writings are dated immediately prior to 549 (the death of Maglocunus, one of his usurpers). The passage telling of Badon places the siege forty-four years before this. This places Arthur firmly around the turn of the 6th century. The Welsh “Easter Annals” or “Annales Cambriae”, supposedly written over the years that they cover, AD 447 to 957 (though very early entries were probably written some time after the events), are amongst the earliest sources to mention Arthur. Used to calculate Easter dates, this document also records historical events alongside many of its yearly entries. Two of these tell of Arthur. AD 516 refers to "The Battle of Badon, in which Arthur carried the

Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ for three days and three nights on his shoulders and the Britons were the victors". .
The entry for AD 537 records "The Strife of Camlann in which Arthur and Medraut perished". All characters included elsewhere in these, otherwise

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reliable, annals appear to have been real historical people. There is no reason to suppose, therefore, that Arthur and Mordred were not likewise. It has been suggested that stylistically speaking, Arthur's appearance in the Badon entry may have been an interpolation. Criticisms of the length of the battle are unfounded though, for Gildas, more correctly, calls the battle a siege. The statement that Arthur carried "the cross of Our Lord on his shoulders" may refer to an amulet containing a chip of the true cross. Or more likely it is a transcriptual error of Welsh "shoulder" for "shield", indicating the cross was merely an armorial bearing. Arthur does warrant a passing comment in the early 7th century poem “Y Gododdin” by Aneirin, the famous bard from the Royal House of the North Pennines. This work praises the efforts of the Northern British armies, headed by those of Din-Eityn and Gododdin, at the battle of Catraeth around AD 600 and one warrior is described as having "glutted black ravens on the ramparts of the fort, although he was no Arthur". . It has been argued that this shows the early spread of Arthur's fame. Unfortunately, considering the northern overtones, this may refer to the Arthur's Northern contemporary, King Arthwys of the Pennines. The last major Arthurian reference occurs in the 8th century "Historia Brittonum" or "History of the Britons", apparently written by a Welsh historian called Nennius, possibly a monk from Bangor Fawr (Gwynedd). Nennius used numerous chronicles to put together this compilation history of the British peoples, followed by genealogies and a list of the 28 Towns of Britain. The work is particularly noted for its chapter concerning the Campaigns of Arthur, telling of his twelve battles. . These latter may be a Latin summary of an ancient Welsh battle list, possibly pre-dating the unmentioned Battle of Camlann. Was this sung at Arthur's Court? Each battle is named in turn, but the enemy is not specific and the places are difficult to identify. Nennius states that at all the battles, Arthur fought them, implying the previously mentioned Kentish Saxons, though this seems unlikely.

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 King Arthur in Literature
The earliest full stories concerning King Arthur and his exploits appear to be the little known Welsh tales of "Culhwch and Olwen" and the "Dream of Rhonabwy". Though dating from before the 11th century, these two stories became a late attachment to a collection of Welsh mythological tales taken from the 14th century White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest. Together, they are known as the "Mabinogion": an introduction for aspiring poets. Though the stories have a mythological slant, a certain amount of bardic poetic license is to be expected. Their background, however, is clearly an unfamiliar Dark Age society that gives us some idea of what the real Arthur was probably like. . The much-maligned Geoffrey of Monmouth, Archdeacon of Monmouth and later Bishop of St. Asaphs, first popularised King Arthur's story, around 1136, in his "History of the Kings of Britain". Though he was writing some six hundred years after Arthur's death, there is no reason to suppose that Geoffrey's history was "made up...from an inordinate love of lying" as both contemporary and modern historians almost universally insist. Geoffrey claimed he had taken most of his information from an earlier British source (he referred to it as "a certain, very ancient book written in the British language"), unknown to us today. . The early portion of his history clearly relates the mythology of the Celtic peoples and the stories of their gods, whom his source had turned into early Kings: Bladud, Leir, Belenus, Brennius and so on. Later in his account, however, he turns to real history. From the time of Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55 bc, which both Geoffrey and the great man (Caesar), himself, relate at great length, we can no longer be sure that the Archdeacon is reciting mere legend. Much of his information has corroborative historical sources like this. Who is to say that everything he tells us, from then on, is not pure fact? Furthermore, Geoffrey was the only source to hail the existence of King Tenvantius of Britain, until modern archaeologists began finding Iron Age coins bearing his name: "Tasciovantus". What other gems of Geoffrey's history have been dismissed by today's historians?! . It was the French medieval poet, Chrétien de Troyes, however who, not long after Geoffrey, introduced us to most of the characters and tales that we now think of as an integral part of the Arthurian story. He specialized in tales of Arthurian courtly love and thus brought us: “Erec & Enid” (1160), “Lancelot” (1162), “Cligés” (1164), “Yvain” (1170) and the “Count of the Grail” (also known as Perceval) (1180). He transformed the names of Geoffrey's characters from Welsh to the medieval French used today. . It was Chrétien and those who followed him who distorted the Arthurian story, so that the true historical Arthur became lost in an amalgam of Celtic myth and literary fantasy. For example, neither Lancelot nor the Holy Grail were

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part of the Arthurian legend before Chrétien came along. Both do have origins in early Celtic myth, but there is little justification for including them in Arthur's story. During the early 13th century, the anonymous “Vulgate Cycle” further embellished the Arthurian stories. This collection of romantic prose was apparently put together by Cistercian clerics between 1215 and 1235, some say at the instigation of their founder, St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The vast work consists of the “Prose Lancelot”, “Queste del Sainte Graal”, “Estoire del Sainte Graal”, “Mort Artu” and “Vulgate Merlin”. It is particularly noted for introducing the idea that Mordred was the incestuous son of King Arthur. . Sir Thomas Malory's 15th century work, "Le Morte d'Arthur" is, perhaps, better known than Geoffrey or Chrétien. He took their stories and retold them with an epic unity, creating the Romantic Age of Chivalry. With one stroke of his pen, he transformed Arthur's Court from Dark Age obscurity to the height of medieval pageantry. Being written in English and printed by William Caxton, "Le Morte d'Arthur" was instantly available to the masses, and it remains highly popular, even today, as a classic work of literature. Malory's work, however, is just that: a work of literature. There is little history left amongst his pages. Arthur's modern popularity owes much to his re-emergence during the Victorian Age at the hands of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. His huge poetic elegy entitled "Idylls of the King" led to a resurgence in interest in this early monarch, as reflected in much of the pre-Raphaelite art of the time. The fascination is still going strong today. However, modern Arthurian students have become much more critical of the romantic picture woven by many of these literary greats. Nowadays, we tend to be much more interested in the real Arthur, drawing upon the Mabinogion, Geoffrey and beyond, to examine historical sources that may just show us a glimpse of the truth behind this strangely compelling character.

Tennyson’s “Idylls of the king”
“Idylls of the King”, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, following the rise and fall of Arthur and his kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred. Individual poems detail the deeds of various knights, including Lancelot, Geraint, Galahad, Balin and Balan, and also Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. There is little transition between Idylls, but the central figure of Arthur links all the stories. The poems were dedicated to the late Albert, Prince Consort. Tennyson based his retelling primarily on Sir Thomas Malory's “Le Morte d'Arthur” but with many expansions, additions, and several adaptations, a

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notable example of which is the fate of Guinevere. In Malory’s work, she is sentenced to be burnt on the stake but is rescued by Lancelot; in the “Idylls” Guinevere flees to a convent, is forgiven by Arthur, repents, and serves in the convent until she dies. Tennyson amended the traditional spellings of several names to fit the meter. The “Idylls” are written in blank verse (except for the last verse of the last idyll, which happens to be an alexandrine). Tennyson's descriptions of nature are derived from observations of his own surroundings, collected over the course of many years. Part of the work was written in the Hanbury Arms in Caerleon, where a plaque commemorates the event. The dramatic narratives are not an epic either in structure or tone, but derive elegiac sadness from the “Idylls of Theocritus”. “Idylls of the King” is often read as an allegory of the societal conflicts in Britain during the mid-Victorian era.

“The Passing of Arthur” This section of the “Idylls” is a much expanded and altered version of Tennyson's earlier poem “Morte d'Arthur”. In the disastrous last battle, Arthur kills Modred and in turn receives a mortal wound. The entire Round Table has been killed with the exception of Sir Bedivere, who carries the King to a lake on the borders of Avalon where Arthur first received Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Arthur orders Bedivere to throw the sword into the lake in order to fulfill a prophecy written on the blade. Sir Bedivere resists twice, but on the third time obeys and is rewarded by the sight of an arm "Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful" rising from the water to catch the sword. The wounded Arthur is finally carried away on a magical ship with three queens and sails away to Avalon, with Sir Bedivere watching, as the new sun rises on a new year.

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4. LEGENDARY ARTHUR
a) Merlin’s contribution

Merlin first appears in extant records from the early 10th century as a mere prophet, but his role gradually evolved into that of magician, prophet and advisor, active in all phases of the administration of King Arthur's kingdom. He was apparently given the name Emrys (or Ambrosius) at his birth in Caer-Fyrddin (Carmarthen). He only later became known as Merlin, a Latinized version of the Welsh word, Myrddin, taken from the place of his birth. Merlin was the illegitimate son of a monastic Royal Princess of Dyfed. The lady's father, however, King Meurig ap Maredydd ap Rhain, is not found in the traditional pedigrees of this kingdom and was probably a sub-King of the region bordering on Ceredigion. Merlin's father, it is said, was an angel who had visited the Royal nun and left her with child. Merlin's enemies claimed his father was really an incubus, an evil spirit that takes advantage of sleeping women. The evil child was supposed to provide a counterweight to the good influence of Jesus Christ on earth. Merlin, fortunately, was baptized early on in his life, an event which is said to have negated the evil in his nature, but left his powers intact. Legend then tells us that after the Roman withdrawal from Britain and the usurpation of the throne from the rightful heirs, Vortigern (the king of Britannia, at that time) was in flight from the Saxon breakout and went to Snowdonia, in Wales, in hopes of constructing a mountain fortress at Dinas Emrys where he might be safe. Unfortunately, the building kept collapsing and Vortigern's wizards told him that a human sacrifice of a fatherless child would solve the problem. One small difficulty was that such children are rather hard to find. Fortunately for Vortigern's fortress, Merlin was known to have no human father. Before the sacrifice could take place, Merlin used his great visionary powers and attributed the structural problem to a subterranean pool in which lived a red and a white dragon. The meaning of this, according to Merlin, was that the red dragon represented the Britons, and the white dragon, the Saxons. The dragons fought, with the victory of the white one. The meaning was clear.

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Merlin prophesied that Vortigern would be slain and followed on the throne by Ambrosius Aurelianus, then Uther, then a greater leader, Arthur. True to the prophecy, Vortigern was slain and Ambrosius took the throne. After 460 British nobles were massacred at a peace conference, as a result of Saxon trickery, Ambrosius consulted Merlin about erecting a suitable memorial to them. Merlin, along with Uther (Ambrosius’ brother), led an expedition to Ireland to procure the stones of the Chorea Gigantum, the Giant's Ring. Merlin, by the use of his extraordinary powers, brought the stones back to a site, just west of Amesbury, and re-erected them around the mass grave of the British nobles. We now call this place Stonehenge. After his death, Ambrosius was succeeded by his brother, Uther, who, during his pursuit of Gorlois and his irresistible wife, Ygerna (Igraine or Eigr in some texts), back to their lands in Cornwall, was aided by Merlin. As a result of a deception made possible by Merlin's powers, Uther was transformed into the image of Gorlois. He entered their castle, managed to fool Ygraine into thinking he was her husband. The result of this deception was Arthur. Poor Gorlois, not knowing what was going on, went out to meet Uther in combat, but instead, was slain by Uther's troops. After Arthur's birth, Merlin became the young boy's tutor. In the defining moment of Arthur's life, Merlin arranged for the sword-in-the-stone contest by which the lad became king. The legend said that the one who managed to pull the sword from the stone was the rightful king of Britannia. And from this moment forward Arthur’s reign begins.

b) Arthur’s reign
Arthur’s coronation led to a rebellion by eleven rulers which Arthur put down. He married Guinevere whose father gave him the Round Table as a dowry; it became the place where his knights sat, to avoid quarrels over precedence. A magnificent reign followed, Arthur's court becoming the focus for many heroes. In the war against the Romans, Arthur defeated the Emperor Lucius and became emperor himself. However, his most illustrious knight, Lancelot, became enamoured of Guinevere. The Quest for the Holy Grial began and Lancelot's intrigue with the Queen came to light. .

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Queen Guinevere
Chapter 18, Book 1 of “Le Morte d'Arthur” is titled “How King Arthur, King Ban, and King Bors rescued King Leodegrance, and other incidents”. This comes at the conclusion of King Arthur's wars against the eleven kings. King Arthur and his two companion kings arrived at Camelerd (Leodegrance's castle) with twenty thousand men, where they slew ten thousand of King Rience's men and put him to flight, and rescued King Leodegrance. During the celebrations "... and there had Arthur the first sight of Guenever, the king's daughter of Camelerd, and ever after he loved her. After, they were wedded, as it telleth in the book..." This mid-paragraph sentence is all that Malory has to say about the initial attraction between Arthur and Guinevere, and nothing is said about Guinevere's feelings towards Arthur. The first chapter of Book 3 is more expansive: “How King Arthur took a wife, and wedded Guenever, daughter to Leodegrance, king of the land of Camelerd, with whom he had the Round Table”. The role of Merlin the Wizard comes into play: Arthur says to Merlin "My barons will let me have no rest, but needs I must take a wife, and I will none take but by thy counsel and by thine advice." "Is there any that ye love more than another?" enquires Merlin, to which Arthur replies "Yea, I love Guenever the King's daughter Leodegrance, of the land of Camelerd, the which holdeth in his house the Table Round that ye told he had of my father Uther. And this damosel is the most valiant and fairest lady that I know living, or yet that ever I could find." At that point Merlin warns Arthur that Guinevere is not wholesome enough to be his wife, and that Lancelot would love her (and she him). But Arthur's heart is set, and Merlin agrees to go to Camelerd to act as a link between the two. Leodegrance is overjoyed and delivers his daughter, through Merlin, to London with the Round Table and "a hundred good knights". The occasion of the marriage between King Arthur and Guinevere is interwoven with the ordination of the Knights of the Round Table by the Bishop of Canterbury. The marriage ceremony itself is a strange affair, marked by the appearance of a white hart that came running into the hall with a white brachet chasing after it, closely followed by sixty black hounds. As the hart ran around the tables, the brachet bit a piece out of its buttock, and it

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leaped into the air, unseating a knight from his chair in the process. The knight got up, grabbed the brachet, and went out of the hall and rode away with it. Three quests immediately follow, by the knights Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, and King Pellinor. When they returned to Camelot - with the marriage celebrations seemingly still under way - each reports to the king and queen, after which "all the knights were sworn to the Round Table, and every year thereafter they would be so sworn at the high feast of Pentecost."

The queen’s abductions
In “Le Morte d'Arthur” (Book 19) Queen Guinevere happened to go in the woods behind Westminster, with her usual retinue of ladies-in-waiting and page-boys, plus ten of the Queen's Knights (arrayed in green). Sir Meliagrance (Méléagant), inspired by many long years of lust - and aware of Lancelot's absence from the party, attacked with 160 men-at-arms. To avoid her noble knights being killed, Guinevere surrendered herself to Meliagrance, secretly dispatching a young messenger to bear her ring to Westminster with a plea that her lover come to her rescue. Lancelot rushed to her aid on his horse, but the animal was wounded on the way by archers so he stole a chariot and was soon at the gates of the kidnapper's castle, at which point Meliagrance immediately surrendered. Guinevere and the Queen's Knights were saved and Sir Lancelot became known as 'Le Chevalier du Chariot'. As in Chrétien de Troyes, that night, Lancelot climbed into Guinevere's bedroom by forcing the window bars and injuring his hand in the process (also in the bedroom, incidentally, were the Queen's Knights still recovering from their wounds and presumably still dressed in May-green). Malory continues: "Sir Launcelot went unto bed with the queen, and he took no force of his hurt hand, but took his pleasance and his liking until it was in the dawning of the day ... and when he saw his time that he might tarry no longer he took his leave and departed at the window, and put it together as well as he might again." [one imagines Malory was aware of his own joke ] In the morning Meliagrance saw the blood and claimed Queen Guinevere had been dishonoured by one of her wounded knights. Lancelot answered for the Queen, denying the charge but not admitting the blood was his. Meliagrance threw the gauntlet, Lancelot accepted, and the duel was set for eight days later at Westminster. But Meliagrance tricked Lancelot into falling ten fathoms through a trap door down into a cave, then made it look as if Launcelot had gone off adventuring. Sir Lavaine stepped in to represent him but Lancelot was able to escape, and at the last moment appeared at the duel, and with one arm tied behind his back (and shieldless) he cut Meliagrance's head in two.

Guinevere's final abduction, by Mordred Technically, this wasn't an abduction. In “Le Morte d'Arthur” Book 21 Mordred, both son and nephew of King Arthur, was ruler of all England, having been left in charge whilst Arthur had gone to France to wage war with the now treacherous Sir Lancelot. After claiming the King had died at Lancelot's hands 14

he made himself king and tried to marry Queen Guinevere (his father's wife). Guinevere beguiled Mordred into letting her go to London, ostensibly to buy "all manner of things that longed unto the wedding" but she locked herself and her entourage away in the well-stocked Tower of London. Mordred laid siege on the Queen and by fair means or foul tried to persuade her to come out, but she stayed hidden and eventually he departed with his army to Dover to repel a returning King Arthur. MORE about Malory’s Guinevere Guinevere's origins seem firmly Welsh. The name Guinevere may be directly from the Welsh 'Gwynhwyfer', or from 'Gwenhwy' (Gwen the Great) in contrast to 'Gwenhwy-vach' (Gwen the Lesser). A Celtic queen was equal in status to her husband and was able to conduct affairs unhindered. Queen Guinevere's involvement with other men, willingly or otherwise, is a recurring theme throughout Arthurian legend. Although the early circumstances of her character may have defined her from the beginning, the later medieval writers, with their Christian-based social perceptions, would have found it hard to treat Guinevere as anything other than a morally dubious, unfaithful woman. Significantly perhaps, Guinevere stays childless, and loves a man with which she can never bear children because of the circumstances of her husband. To this extent, her life is tragic, but she also represents an ideal - that of courtly romance. Obviously too, she remains both desirable and well-protected by the males of the species, and avoids execution at the stake several times. In the end, Guinevere's enduring love of her equally devoted Lancelot, and the resultant betrayal of King Arthur, brought about the end of the Round Table and the fall of Camelot. But as Sir Thomas Malory says, "She was a true lover and therefore she had a good end."

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Morgan le Fey
Morgan le Fay is, in Malory's “Le Morte d'Arthur”, Arthur's half sister, the daughter of Arthur's mother Igraine and her first husband, the Duke of Cornwall. She is also presented as an adversary of Arthur: she gives Excalibur to her lover Accolon so he can use it against Arthur (a story retold in Madison J. Cawein's poem Accolon of Gaul) and, when that plot fails, she steals the scabbard of Excalibur which protects Arthur and throws it into a lake. . In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” she is presented as the instigator of the Green Knight's visit to Arthur's court, partly motivated by her desire to frighten Guinevere. Her enmity towards Guinevere has its origin in the “Vulgate Lancelot”, where Morgan is having an affair with Guiomar, Guinevere's cousin, and Guinevere puts an end to it. to Despite the motif of Morgan's enmity towards Arthur According and Guinevere, she is also presented as one of the legend, Morgan le women who takes Arthur in a barge to Avalon to be Fay was able to fly transform healed. This view of Morgan as healer has its roots and into in the earliest accounts of her and perhaps to her herself origin in Celtic mythology. In the “Vita Merlini” (1150) shapes. Morgan is said to be the first of nine sisters who rule “The Fortunate Isle” or the “Isle of Apples” and is presented as a healer as well as a shape-changer. It is to this island that Arthur is brought.

Morgan proclaims that she can heal Arthur if he stays with her for a long time. Morgan is also said to be the wife of King Uriens and the mother of Yvain or Ywain. Morgan rarely appears in post-medieval works - until the 20th century when there is a renewed interest in her character. Sometimes she is conflated with Morgause and made to be the mother of Mordred, as is the case in John Boorman's movie “Excalibur” and a number of modern novels. Fay Sampson has made her the central figure in five novels. One of the most interesting modern portrayals of Morgan appears in Thomas Berger's “Arthur Rex” where, after a life devoted to evil, she decides to become a nun because of her belief that "corruption were sooner brought amongst humankind by the forces of virtue". Morgan actually does become a defender of good in modern stories like Roger Zelazny's "The Last Defender of Camelot" and Sanders Anne Laubenthal's “Excalibur”

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Lady of the Lake
“The fire of Heaven is lord of all things good, And starve not thou this fire within thy blood, But follow Vivien through the fiery flood! The fire of Heaven is not the flame of Hell!”
(from “Idylls of the king”, Vivien’s song, by A.

Tennyson)

This mysterious female gave Arthur his sword, Excalibur. She stole Lancelot when he was a child and cured him when he went mad. She may be a Celtic lake divinity in origin, perhaps of the same kind as the Gwagged Annwn - lake fairies in modern Welsh folklore. In Ulrich, the fairy who raised Lancelot is the mother of Mabuz. As Mabuz is probably identical with the Celtic god Mabon, it would seem that the fairy must be Morgan le Fay who was, earlier, Mabon's mother. Matrona, a lady of the lake, perhaps a different one, was killed by Balin.

Vivien, the probable Lady of the Lake enchanted Merlin and imprisoned him forever.

Vivien may very well have been the Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian Legends and stories. Vivien, sometimes called Nineve, Nimue, Niniane etc., is best known as the woman who sealed Merlin in a cave. Despite foreseeing his fate, Merlin was unable to prevent being captivated and captured by the woman Richard Wilbur has called "a creature to bewitch a sorcerer." Vivien is an ambiguous character. In Malory, for example, even though Nyneve, who is one of the Ladies of the Lake, deprives Arthur of Merlin's service, she rescues him twice, first by saving him from Accolon who has been given Excalibur by Morgan le Fay to use against Arthur, and then by preventing him from donning the destructive cloak sent to him by Morgan. She also uses her enchantments to punish Ettarde for her mistreatment of Pelleas. In the end she and Pelleas "lovede togedyrs duryng their lyfe".

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Camelot
The place named “Camelot” does not occur in early versions of the story of Arthur. However, Geoffrey of Monmouth (1133AD) tells how Arthur held court at “The City of The Legions” and leaves us in little doubt that this was Caerleon. Certainly Caerleon would have been a most impressive location for Arthur to hold court for important rulers, with its splendid roman remains. Equally, we can be sure that only a professional army could defend the Roman fortress ruins. If Caerleon was more than just a meeting place for Arthur we must look to the surrounding hill tops for the location of his “castle'”. Sure enough such a site exists less than a mile north of the village a fortification known as 'Belinstocke'. Caxton, in his preface to one of the first printed books (“Le Morte d'Arthur”), refers to Camelot being in Wales and describes the ruins of a city which sounds very much like Caerleon, "in Camelot, the great stones and the marvelous works of iron lying underground, and the royal vaults which many now living have seen." The author of this book (Mallory 1485) however locates Camelot at Winchester. He does though make many references to Caerleon, including stating that this is where Arthur's coronation took place. Another place associated with the legend of Arthur is the Cadbury Castle in Somerset. Coins minted on the site in the 11th century are marked “CADANBYRIC” which does sound much like 'Cadbury'. Excavations by Leslie Alcock revealed that the ancient site was massively refortified around the year 500AD by a leader of great wealth and power - Arthur maybe?!

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Excalibur
“There drew he forth the brand Excalibur, And o’er him, drawing it, the winter moon, Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt: For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks, Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth-work Of subtlest jewellery.”
(from “Le Morte d’Arthur”, by A. Tennyson)

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Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called Caledfwlch. In Arthurian romance a number of explanations are given for Arthur's possession of Excalibur. In Robert de Boron's “Merlin”, Arthur obtained the throne by pulling a sword from a stone. In this account, the act could not be performed except by "the true king," meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of Uther Pendragon. This sword is thought by many to be the famous Excalibur and the identity is made explicit in the later so-called “Vulgate Merlin Continuation”, part of the “Lancelot-Grail” cycle. However, in what is sometimes called the “Post-Vulgate Merlin”, Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake sometime after he began to reign. Worried that Arthur would fall in battle, Merlin took the King to a magical lake where a mysterious hand thrust itself up from the water, holding aloft a magnificent sword. It was the Lady of the Lake offering Arthur a magical, unbreakable blade, fashioned by an Avalonian elf smith, along with a scabbard which would protect him as long as he wore it. She calls the sword "Excalibur, that is as to say as Cut-steel." Towards the end of his reign, during the troubled times of Mordred’s rebellion, Excalibur was stolen by Arthur's wicked half-sister, Morgan le Fay. Though it was recovered, the scabbard was lost forever. Thus Arthur was mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann. The King then instructed Bedwyr (or Girflet, or Bedivere in Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”) to return Excalibur to the lake from where it came. However, when questioned about the circumstances of its return, Bedwyr claimed to have seen nothing unusual. Arthur therefore knew that Bedwyr had kept Excalibur for himself and sent him back to the Lake once more. Hurling the sword into the misty waters this time, Bedwyr saw the mystic hand appear to catch Excalibur and draw it beneath the rippling waters for the last time. This was mentioned in the “Vulgate Morte d’Arthur”. Malory records both versions of the legend in his “Le Morte d'Arthur”, and confusingly calls both swords Excalibur. The film “Excalibur” attempts to rectify this by having only one sword, which Arthur draws from the stone and later breaks; the Lady of the Lake then repairs it.

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5.

THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

Everyone has heard of the Knights of the Round Table, but many people are not familiar with any of the Noble Knights apart from Lancelot. The Knights were men of courage, honor, dignity, courtesy, and nobleness. They protected ladies and damsels, honored and fought for kings, and undertook dangerous quests. The oath the knights had to keep was:

“God make you a good man and fail not of beauty. The Round Table was founded in patience, humility, and meekness. Thou art never to do outrageousity, nor murder, and always to flee treason, by no means to be cruel, and always to do ladies, damsels, and gentle women succour. Also, to take no battles in a wrongful quarrel for no law nor for no world's goods. Thou shouldst be for all ladies and fight for their quarrels, and ever be courteous and never refuse mercy to him that asketh mercy, for a knight that is courteous and kind and gentle has favor in every place. Thou shouldst never hold a lady or gentle woman against her will. Thou must keep thy word to all and not be feeble of good believeth and faith. Right must be defended against might and distress must be protected. Thou must know good from evil and the vain glory of the world, because great pride and bobauce maketh great sorrow. Should anyone require ye of any quest so that it is not to thy shame, thou shouldst fulfill the desire. . Ever it is a worshipful knights deed to help another worshipful knight when he seeth him a great danger, for ever a worshipful man should loath to see a worshipful man shamed, for it is only he that is of no worship and who faireth with cowardice that shall never show gentelness or no manner of goodness where he seeth a man in any danger, but always a good man will do another man as he would have done to himself. . It should never be said that a small brother has injured or slain another brother. Thou shouldst not fail in these things: charity, abstinence and
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truth. No knight shall win worship but if he be of worship himself and of good living and that loveth God and dreadeth God then else he geteth no worship here be ever so hardly. . An envious knight shall never win worship for and envious man wants to win worship he shall be dishonoured twice therefore without any, and for this cause all men of worship hate an envious man and will show him no favor. Do not, nor slay not, anything that will in any way dishonour the fair name of Christian knighthood for only by stainless and honourable lives and not by prowess and courage shall the final goal be reached. Therefore be a good knight and so I pray to God so ye may be, and if ye be of prowess and of worthiness then ye shall be a Knight of the Table Round.”

(Charge given by King Arthur to his knights)

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Sir Lancelot Du Lac (Launcelot)

.

Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine. He was the First Knight of the Round Table, and he never failed in gentleness, courtesy, or courage. Launcelot was also a knight who was very willing to serve others. It has been said that Lancelot was the greatest fighter and swordsman of all the knights of the Round Table. Legend tells us that as a child, Lancelot was left by the shore of the lake, where he was found by Vivien, the Lady of the Lake. She fostered and raised him, and in time Lancelot became one of history's greatest knights. .

Legend also says that Lancelot was the father of Galahad by Elaine. It was another Elaine, Elaine of Astolat, who died of a broken heart because Launcelot did not return her love and affection. . Many sources tell us of the love shared by Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. There may be some truth to this since Lancelot was a favorite of the Queen's, and he rescued her from the stake on two different occasions. It was at one of these rescues that Lancelot mistakenly killed Sir Gareth, which led to the disbandment of the Round Table. After the Queen repented to an abbey as a nun, Lancelot lived the rest of his life as a hermit in penitence. . Did Lancelot originate in Celtic mythology, was he a continental invention, or did he really live as a famous knight and hero? We may never know... but Launcelot will always live in our imaginations as one of the greatest knights in history.

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Sir Gawain

.

Gawain is generally said to be the nephew of Arthur. His parents were Lot of Orkney and Morgause (though his mother is said to be Anna by Geoffrey of Monmouth). Upon the death of Lot, he became the head of the Orkney clan, which includes in many sources his brothers Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth, and his half-brother Mordred. .

Gawain figures prominently in many romances. In France he is generally presented as one who has adventures paralleling in diptych fashion but not overshadowing the hero's, whether that hero was Lancelot or Percival. In the English tradition, however, it is much more common for Gawain to be the principal hero and the exemplar of courtesy and chivalry, as he is in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and the other Arthurian romances of the Alliterative Revival. In Malory's “Le Morte d'Arthur”, however, he has a role similar to that in the French romances, where Lancelot was the principal hero. The accidental death of Gawain's brothers at Sir Lancelot's hands caused Gawain, one of the mightiest warriors at court, to become the bitter enemy of his once greatest friend. He was mortally wounded in a fight with Lancelot who, it is said, lay for two nights weeping at Gawain's tomb. Before his death, Gawain repented of his bitterness towards Lancelot and forgave him.

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Sir Geraint

.

Sir Geraint was the eldest son of King Erbin of Dumnonia who was a Knight of Devon. After the death of his wife, Prince Geraint spent much time at King Arthur's Court, looking for action and adventure. It was during this period that he encountered the Sparrow Hawk Knight and came to marry Lady Enid of Caer-Teim (Cardiff), a story told in the ancient tales of "Erec (alias Geraint) & Enid" and "Geraint mab Erbin". . Sir Geraint restored Sir Yniol all of his possessions and then married his beautiful daughter, Lady Enid. Later Geraint heard Enid bewailing his sloth as a knight; he was stung with shame and mistakenly believed Enid to be unfaithful to him. He took her on a journey through a series of trials until she convinced him of her loyalty. They returned and lived in happiness for the remainder of their days. .

He inherited the Dumnonian throne in c.497 (or 480) and is recorded as one of the great "Fleet Owners" of post-Roman Britain. His castle was once called Caer-Gurrel or “Fort of the Ship”. He died fighting the Saxons with King Arthur at the Battle of Llongborth (Langport, Somerset) around 510. This was recorded in a long Welsh poem called the "Elegy for Geraint".

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Sir Bedivere
Sir Bedivere was a trusty supporter of King Arthur from the beginning of his reign and one of the first knights to join the fellowship of the Round Table. He helped Arthur fight the Giant of Mont St. Michel, and later he was made Duke of Neustria. . Bedivere had only one hand later in life, having lost one of his hands in a battle. He had a son called Amren and a daughter named Eneuavc. Bedivere was present at the Last Battle, the fateful Battle of Camlan. He and Arthur alone survived the battle, and he was given the command by Arthur to throw Excalibur back into the Lake. After lying twice to Arthur, he finally tossed the precious sword out into the lake, and the hand of the Lady of the Lake came up and retrieved the sword to its watery home. . The name Bedivere comes from the Welsh Bedwyr. His grandfather was also named Bedivere, and he founded the city of Bayeux. Bedivere was killed in the Roman Campaign.

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Sir Galahad

.

Sir Galahad was the natural son of Launcelot. His name may be of Welsh origin or come from the place name Gilead in Palestine. His mother was Elaine, and he was placed in a nunnery as a child, being that the abbess there was his great aunt. . One day a sword in a stone was seen in a river by Arthur's knights, and it was said that only the world's best knight could pull out the sword. Galahad was led into Arthur's court where he sat in the Siege Perilous and then drew the sword out. It was later on, that Galahad had a vision about being one of the three knights that will be part of the Quest for the Holy Grail. He was given a white shield, made by Evelake, with a red cross which Joseph of Arimathea had drawn in blood. In the course of the Quest he joined up with Percivale, Bors, and Percivale's sister. On board Solomon's ship, Galahad obtained the Sword of David and after the death of Percivale's sister the trio split up for a while and Galahad traveled with his father, Launcelot. .

When the three rejoined forces they came to Carbonek and achieved the Grail. Galahad mended the broken sword, and therefore, he was allowed to see the Grail. Galahad was always known as the "Perfect Knight". He was "perfect" in courage, gentleness, courtesy, and chivalry. .

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Sir Percivale

.

Sir Percivale was raised by his mother in ignorance of arms and courtesy. Percivale's natural prowess, however, led him to Arthur's court where he immediately set off in pursuit of a knight who had offended Guinevere. Percivale is the Grail knight or one of the Grail knights in numerous medieval and modern stories of the Grail Quest. Percivale first appears in Chrétien de Troyes's unfinished “Percivale” or “Conte del Graal” (c.1190). The incomplete story prompted a series of "continuations", in the third of which (c. 1230), by an author named Manessier, Percivale achieves the Grail. (An analogue to Chrétien's tale is found in the thirteenth-century Welsh romance Peredur.) Chrétien's story was also the inspiration for one of the greatest romances of the Middle Ages, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (c. 1200-1210). As in Chrétien's story, Wolfram's Parzival is initially naive and foolish, having been sheltered from the dangers of the chivalric world by his mother. In both versions Percivale/Parzival is the guest of the wounded Fisher King (called Anfortas by Wolfram but unnamed by Chrétien) at whose castle he witnesses the Grail procession and fails to ask - because he has been advised of the impoliteness of asking too many questions - the significance of what he sees and, in Wolfram's romance, what causes Anfortas's pain. This failure is calamitous because asking the question would have cured the king. Other medieval versions of the story of Percivale can be found in the French texts known as the “Didot-Percivale and Perlesvaus” (also called “The High Book of the Grail” or “Le Haut Livre du Graal”). Percivale is the central character in the fourteenth-century Middle English romance Sir Percivale of Galles which is apparently based on Chrétien's tale but which omits the Grail motif entirely. Percivale is one of three Grail knights in Sir Thomas Malory's “Le Morte d'Arthur”, the others being Galahad and Bors. Percivale functions as the narrator of the dramatic monologue which comprises most of Tennyson's Idyll "The Holy Grail." In this Idyll, much of what Percivale tells focuses on Galahad as the central Grail knight. Richard Wagner, drawing his inspiration primarily from Wolfram von Eschenbach though greatly simplifying Wolfram's plot, wrote the opera “Parsifal” in 1882. . As in the medieval stories, Parsifal is presented initially as a fool, but is pure enough to heal the wounded Anfortas and to become himself the keeper of the Grail. Among the 20th century works to deal with Percivale/Parsifal are the poem "Parsifal" by Arthur Symons, several of Charles Williams's Arthurian poems, Robert Trevelyan's “The Birth of Parsival” (1905) and “The New Parsifal: An Operatic Fable” (1914), and the novels “Percival and the Presence of God” (1978) by Jim Hunter, “Parsifal” (1988) by Peter Vansittart, and Richard Monaco's tetralogy (containing “Parsival” [1977], “The Grail War” [1979], “The Final Quest” [1980], and “Blood and Dreams” [1985]). One of the most interesting Arthurian films is Eric Rohmer's “Percivale le Gallois” (1978), a fairly faithful rendition of Chrétien's “Conte del Graal”. The story of Percivale is recast in a modern setting in the film “The Fisher King” (1990).

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Sir Tristan (Tristram)

.

Tristan, or Tristram in Old English, was a contemporary of King Arthur and a Knight of the Round Table. He was the nephew and champion of King Mark of Cornwall and the son of Meliodas, King of Lyoness. Tristan's mother died when he was born, and as a young man he took service with his uncle, Mark. Tristan became the champion of his uncle after defeating and killing Marhaus of Ireland in a duel. That defeat led to a truce with King Anguish of Ireland and he arranged for his daughter, Iseult to be married to King Mark. It was Tristan who was sent to Ireland to fetch the would be Queen. While in the process of bringing her back to Cornwall, Tristan and Iseult fell helplessly in love with one another. Therefore, they fled from Mark and lived the rest of their days on the run. Legend has it that while Tristan was playing his harp for Iseult, Mark snuck in behind him and killed him with a dagger in the back. . The Fowey Stone in Cornwall is thought to bear an inscription about a Tristan, son of Cunomorus, to whom the tale may have been transferred. According to the Italian version of the story, Tristan and Iseult had two children, bearing their names, while the French view gives them one son, Ysaie, and a grandson, Marc. . The name Tristan may be Pictish in origin. It is interesting to note that the Pictish King Talorc III was succeeded by Drust V; were these the protagonists of the original Tristan story? No one may ever know. .

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6.

BATTLES

(as listed by Nennius)

The Welsh historian, Nennius, records twelve great victories in battle during Arthur's time as Dux Bellorum. Much of his material is mythical, however, and the magical number 12 does not sit well for historical evidence. Some historians have argued that this is too great a number for one man's lifetime, and their locations may well have been too widespread for a single leader to have fought in each. Counteracting this view, some believe Arthur to have headed up a warband of cavalrymen travelling around the country and championing the British cause: hence his widespread popularity. True or not, it seems likely that, as with stories attached to the real Arthur, several of these battles may have been properly associated with alternative Arthurs or just with other great Dark Age heroes. A tendency towards Northern locations may strengthen this theory. Unfortunately identifying the location of the battles is a highly controversial pass-time.


"The first battle was at the mouth of the river called Glein": This has been tentatively identified as one of the two Rivers Glen in Britain today, one in Lincolnshire and one in Northumberland. Unfortunately, Glen comes from the Celtic for "pure", so there were probably many rivers thus named in 6th century Britain. A battle at the former would have presumably been against the first Bernician settlers and at the latter against the northward moving East Anglians. Either could be attributed to King Arthuis of the Pennines. "The second, the third, the fourth and the fifth were on another river, called the Dubglas, which is in the region of Linnuis": The River Dubglas is modern Douglas, meaning "black water". If the Saxons translated this directly, it might be any one of the many Rivers Blackwater around the country today. So, we must first turn to identifying Linnuis. The 2nd century geographer, Ptolemy, recorded the associated name of Lindum at the Roman Fort of Drumquhassle in the Lennox area of Scotland. The River Douglas still runs into the nearby Loch Lomond, on the borders of Strathclyde. Could King Arthuis of the Pennines have fought the Scots or the Strathclyde Britons here? The better known Roman Lindum, however, is now the city of Lincoln. The surrounding area would be Linnuis: it is still called Lindsey today. Unfortunately, there is no longer a River Blackwater there, but one of the waterways flowing off the muddy peat moors could easily have been originally described as such. Geoffrey of Monmouth indicates this as the correct identification. His chronicle relates how immediately Arthur came to the throne, he swore to rid Britain of the Saxon menace and so set out to attack the Anglian stronghold at York. Hearing of this, the Deiran leader, Colgrin, gathered together an alliance of Saxons, Scots and Picts and marched south to meet him. They clashed on the



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River Douglas. Geoffrey also describes an ensuing Battle of Lincoln, probably one of the successive battles on the same river, thus identifying it as the Witham. Several of these ensuing battles may have been invented, however, to increase the number to the mysterious 12. Some theorists have argued that Linnuis simply means "Lake Region" and therefore other rivers, such as the Douglas near Wigan in Lancashire have been suggested. Southerly alternatives, more suited to the traditional Arthur, include an imaginative identification with the Battle of Natanleag, now Netley in Hampshire; and, more convincingly, the area around Ilchester in Somerset, the Roman Lindinis, which may have become corrupted to Linnuis. The River Divelish and Devil's Brook, both deriving from Dubglas, flow nearby. Perhaps one of them demarked the border of Dumnonia.


"The sixth battle was on the river called Bassas": Only one convincing possible identification appears to have been forthcoming for this battle: Cambuslang in the southern suburbs of Glasgow. This place already has Arthurian associations as the burial place of the great King's Northern British enemy, Caw. Perhaps he was killed in the battle. Other proposals include the Lothian coast near Bass Rock; Baschurch in Shropshire, Old Basing and an obscure identification with the Battle of Cerdicesford, now Charford, both in Hampshire. "The seventh battle was in the Caledonian Forest, that is, the Battle of Celidon Coit": As well as unconvincing arguments for the Chilterns and the Sussex Weald some follow Geoffrey of Monmouth in supporting a wood just north of Lincoln for the location of this battle. However, Geoffrey appears to have been confused. He informs us that the battle took place after the Saxon, Scottish and Pictish alliance fled north from the Battle of Lincoln. He does not seem to have realized just how far they managed to travel before Arthur finally caught up with them; for the seventh battle site can pretty certainly be identified as the Caledonian Forest in modern Scotland: Coed Celyddon. It may originally have stretched from the Solway to the Highlands, but Welsh tradition indicates the area of the Scottish border. The Moffat region of Dumfriesshire, Penrith in Cumbria and Glasgow have all been suggested. This could, again, have been King Arthuis of the Pennines fighting against invading Scots; or possibly this is a memory of the later Battle of Arfderydd, now Arthuret in Cumbria. In 573, the British armies of Kings Gwenddoleu of Caer-Wenddoleu and Peredyr of Ebrauc clashed here in a territorial quarrel over the fort at Caer-Laverock. The fight is particularly associated with Arthurian legend because the original Merlin or Myrddin fled, after the battle, into the Celidon Forest. "The eighth battle was in Guinnion fort, and in it Arthur carried the image of the holy Mary, the everlasting Virgin, on his shield, and the heathen were put to flight on that day, and there was great slaughter upon them, through the power of Jesus Christ and the power of the holy Virgin Mary, his mother.": This quote suffers from the same problems as that for the Battle of Badon in the Annales



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31

Cambriae: the Welsh words for shield and shoulder being confused. Geoffrey of Monmouth explains that Arthur bore armorial bearings of both cross and virgin: the arms later adopted by Glastonbury Abbey. Guinnion is another site that is difficult to identify. The name is very similar to the Roman fort of Vinovium at Binchester, Durham. Land's End, Caer Guidn in the British tongue, has also been proposed. An interesting theory suggests a translation of the Saxon Battle of Wihtgarasburh, the Isle of Wight: Gwyn in Welsh. However, either of the walled towns called Venta by the Romans seem more likely. One became the modern Caer-Went in Gwent, the other Win-Chester in Hampshire. The latter was the location for a pre-Camlann battle between Arthur and his usurping nephew, Morded, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth. Modern historians suggest the Saxon invader, Cerdic, as a more likely enemy. An intermediate stage in the evolution of Winchester's name was the Romano-British Caer Guinntguic or Caer Guinn. ”-guic” would be a corrupt form of “-iog”, a standard Celtic placename ending. “-ion” was used similarly and, though there is no record of it, an acceptable alternative for the name would be Caer Guinnion, as with Caer Leir recorded as Caer Lerion and Caer Celef recorded as Caer Celemion. Caerwent is unlikely. The “e” never did change to an “I”.


"The ninth battle was in the City of the Legion": The Urbe Legionis or "City of the Legions" causes problems because there were two cities so called: Caerleon and Chester, at either end of the Welsh border. It is also possible that York bore such a title. The idea that many other Roman forts, like Carlisle or Exeter, once had similar names seems unlikely though; as does identification with the Battle of Dyrham. Chester was Caer Legion, while Caerleon was Caer Legion guar Uisc (that is "Caerleon-upon-Usk"), though the latter often lost its suffix. Chester appears to be the likeliest candidate. It was actually recorded in the Annales Cambriae as Urbs Legionis and was the site of a wellattested Battle of Chester in Dark Age times. In 613, King Aethelfrith of Bernicia invaded the Welsh Kingdoms in order to stop King Iago of Gwynedd restoring the former's old enemy, Edwin, to the Deiran throne. The armies of Gwynedd, Powys, Pengwern & Dumnonia rose to repel him, but were bitterly defeated at the Battle of Chester: Kings Iago of Gwynedd & Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys being killed. This brave British stand against the Northern Saxons was probably transported back a hundred years to the time of Arthur. "The tenth battle was on the bank of the river called Tribruit": Tribruit is more properly Tryfrwyd. The battle is mentioned in an 11th century Welsh poem from the Black Book of Carmarthen, “Pa Gur”. Cai Hir (the Tall), Arthur's foster-brother of traditional legend, apparently fought there against a foe named Garwlwyd. Presumably therefore, Arthur, as Cai's patron in the poem, was the British commander of the battle. Some people identify it's location as the River Frew at Stirling; others, the River Ribble in Lancashire; the Severn at Gloucester or the Eden at Carlisle.

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

"The eleventh battle was on the hill called Agned": Geoffrey of Monmouth identifies Monte Agned as Edinburgh and there appears to be little evidence to contradict him. The rock of Edinburgh Castle was certainly occupied at this time. It was a strategic point of some importance at the centre of the Kingdom of Gododdin. Perhaps the battle was connected with King Lot of Gododdin being one of the eleven kings who rebelled against Arthur at the beginning of his reign. Edinburgh alias Din-Eityn specifically relates to the settlement on top of the rock of course. Geoffrey calls this the Castle of Maidens or the Dolorous Castle. There was apparently a 7th century Siege of DinEityn. Could this have been the real Battle of Mount Agned pushed back to Arthur's reign? More obscure proposed identifications include Brent Knoll, Somerset; Ribchester, Lancashire and Cirencester, Gloucestershire. A 10th century version of Nennius' History gives this battle the alternative name of Breguoin. This may have been another of Arthur's victories. The name could be a corruption of Bravonium, a Roman name for Leintwardine in Herefordshire. This is conveniently situated for a possible battle involving King Athrwys of Ergyng, though the place was, more usually, called Branogenium. Alternatively, the name could stem from Bremenium, now High Rochester in Northumberland. Unfortunately, this is probably also the site of King Urien Rheged's Battle of the Cells of Brewyn, as mentioned in Welsh poetry. Arthur, therefore, erroneously claims another battle. "The twelfth battle was on Badon Hill and in it nine hundred and sixty men fell in one day, from a single charge of Arthur's, and noone lay them low save he alone": It was at the Battle of Mount Badon that tradition says the Saxon advance into Britain was finally halted. It was Arthur's greatest victory and, not surprisingly, there are many claimants for its location. Forts are preferred since Gildas, in his De Excidio Britanniae", more properly called the battle a "siege" and nearby Rivers Avon strengthen claims. Possibilities include Bowden Hill, Lothian; Dumbarton Rock, Strathclyde; Mynydd Baedan, Glamorgan; Little Solway Hill, Somerset; or Brent Knoll, Somerset. Modern theory, however, suggests one of the many Badburys around the country: in Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire. Liddington Castle, near Badbury in Wiltshire, seems most popular at present. Welsh tradition backed up by Geoffrey of Monmouth is, however, almost certainly correct in identifying the battle site with Bath, Caer Baddon, or, at least somewhere in its vicinity. Bathampton Down has been suggested.

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Arthur's last battle, where he was fatally wounded, is not mentioned by Nennius. It is known to us from the Annales Cambriae as: "The Strife of Camlann in which Arthur and Medraut perished" Over the years, it has been variously identified as being at Queen or West Camel on the River Cam, Somerset; at Slaughter Bridge on the River Camel in Cornwall; at Camelon, Stirlingshire or Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. Recent

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suggestions indicate Goring Gap on the Thames at the Berkshire/Oxfordshire border or Cadnam in the New Forest. Generally, however, modern historians recognise the battle-site as the Roman fort of Camboglanna, on Hadrian's Wall. The place is now called Castlesteads in Cumbria, though the place is often confused with nearby Birdoswald, now thought to have been Banna. However, this northern site appears unlikely for the traditional Arthur and there seems no good reason to look anywhere other than one of the three Welsh Camlans of today: the two Camlan Valleys in Southern Meirionydd and the River Gamlan in Southern Dunoding.

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7.

THE HOLY GRAIL (SANGREAL)

The Tradition: The Holy Grail was a vessel used by Christ at the Last
Supper. Given to his grand-uncle, St. Joseph of Arimathea, it was used by him to collect Christ's blood and sweat while Joseph tended him on the Cross. After Christ's death, Joseph was apparently imprisoned in a rock tomb similar to the one he had given for the body of his grand-nephew. Left to starve, he was sustained for several years by the power of the Grail which provided him with fresh food and drink every morning. Later, St. Joseph traveled to Britain with his family and several followers. He settled at Ynys Witrin (Glastonbury), but the Grail was taken to Corbenic where it was housed in a spectacular castle, guarded always by the Grail Kings, descendants of Joseph's daughter, Anna (Enygeus) and her husband, Brons. Centuries later, the location of the Great Castle of Corbenic became forgotten. At the Court of King Arthur, however, it was prophesied that the Grail would one day be rediscovered by a descendant of St. Joseph: the best knight in the land, the only man capable of sitting in the mysterious Siege Perilous. When such a man arrived in the form of Galahad, the son of Lancelot, along with a miraculous, though brief, vision of the Grail itself, a quest to find this holiest of relics began. Through many adventures and many years, the Knights of the Round Table crossed Britain from one end to another in their search. Percivale (Peredyr) discovered the castle in a land that was sickly like its spear-wounded King. When entertained by this "Fisher" or "Grail King", however, he failed to ask of the grail and left empty-hand. Lancelot next reached Corbenic, but was prevented from entering because he was an adulterer. Finally Galahad arrived. He was permitted entry to the Grail Chapel and was allowed to gaze upon the great cup. His life became complete and together, grail and man were lifted up to heaven.

The Names: The Holy Grail first appears as simply "a grail" in the works of
Chrétien de Troyes. The word is probably derived from the Old French word “graal” meaning a "broad and capacious dish or salver". Though usually thought of as being a cup or chalice, the Grail has indeed been variously described as a platter, dish, a cornucopia, horn of plenty or even a book or a stone. The name of the Castle of Corbenic has competing explanations. Old Welsh Cors, meaning "Horn," the Horn of Plenty as the Grail is sometimes described may have become confused with the Old French Corps, producing CorpsBenoit meaning "Holy Body," here the Body of Christ. More likely, however, is the suggestion that Corbenic stems from Corbin-Vicus. The ending is almost certainly derived from the Latin for "Settlement," while Corben is a French

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translation of the word Crow or Raven: Bran in Welsh. This was also a man's name, as Brons appears as St. Joseph's son-in-law, one of the first Grail Kings. Hence Corbenic was "Bran's Settlement". It may be identical to the home of Lancelot's father, Caer-Benwick.

Ancient Origins: The quest for a divine vessel was a popular theme in
Arthurian legend long before medieval writers introduced the Holy Grail to British mythology. It appears in the Mabinogion tale of Culhwch and Olwen, but particularly well-known is the story of the Preiddeu Annwfn or "Spoils of the Otherworld" as recounted by Taliesin. Arthur and his warriors sail off to the Celtic Otherworld to capture the pearl-rimmed Cauldron of Annwfn: like the grail it was a giver of plenty, but also of prophecy. It was at last discovered at Caer-Siddi (or Wydyr), an island bound castle of glass, where it was guarded by nine divine maidens; but the ensuing perils were too much for even Arthur's men. The mission was abandoned and only seven of their number returned home. Celtic Cauldrons were used in ceremonial feasting as early as the Late Bronze Age. Ritual deposits in Llyn Fawr (Glamorgan) included such vessels, though the best known example is the Gundestrup Cauldron found in the peat bogs of Jutland (Denmark). Highly decorated with portraits of many Celtic deities, this vessel would once have held up to twenty-eight and a half gallons of liquid. These finds clearly point to the religious importance of cauldrons, as found in the Arthurian stories and even older Celtic mythological parallels. The magic Otherworld vessel was the Cauldron of Ceridwen, the Celtic Goddess of Inspiration. She is remembered today in the archetypal hideous cauldron-stirring witch. She once set about brewing a drink of knowledge and wisdom for her hideous son, but her kitchen-boy, Gwion, accidentally tasted the concoction, preventing anyone else from benefitting from its affects. A great battle of wills ensued, for Gwion now held all the knowledge to escape the Goddess' wrath. The two changed themselves into various animals in an attempt to outwit each other before Gwion was swallowed whole as a grain of wheat. He was eventually reborn as the great bard, Taliesin! The cauldron then reappears in the story of Bran Fendigaid (the Blessed), not only as a vessel of knowledge and plenty, but also of rebirth. The great Celtic warrior God, Bran, obtained his life-giving vessel from a giantess (or thinly veiled Ceridwen) who had been expelled from a Lake in Ireland. The Emerald Isle here personifies the Celtic Otherworld. The magic vessel would restore to life the body of any dead warrior placed within it: a scene apparently depicted on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Bran's sister marries the King of Ireland and they are given the cauldron as a wedding gift. However, when hostilities between the two countries break out, Bran travels across the ocean to regain this dangerous prize. He is eventually successful, but is wounded by a poisoned spear and, like Arthur, only seven of his men return home. The name, the castle (already discussed), the wound, the mystic vessel, the journey: Bran Fendigaid is clearly Brons, the Grail King, son-in-law of Joseph of Arimathea.

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8.

CONCLUSION

Although few historical records of Arthur remain, and there are doubts that he ever existed, he achieved a nearly mythological stature that gave rise to a growing literature about his life and deeds. I feel that I have, with regret, to acknowledge the fact that I have no precise answer for the question I raised in the introduction. The truth is that no one can answer it now. Maybe further archaeological findings will shed some light on the matter at hand. So, the only thing that remains to be done is to select the parts of the legend that seem remotely true. We can learn to accept the fact that Arthur was probably a Breton King, the son of his predecessor, Uther Pendragon and nephew of King Ambrosius (it seems to be the most likely event). We can also understand the fact that back then wizards could have existed and miraculous things could have actually happened. Or, we can think that everything was exaggerated by the chronicles written then, and that all -the king an his knights- were nothing more than normal people (exceptional people) with no supernatural powers, and that all was created as a fairytale to make people lead a virtuous life. I personally admire this legend for what it symbolises: the good in this world will always prevail and the honest and pure of heart will succeed even in the most unbeatable of challenges. “Honour”, “Honesty”, “Valour” and “Loyalty” are said to be just four of the words the knights and the king led their lives by. These apparently meaningless words were spoken with great pride in the times when chivalry was valued. Both as a historical figure and a legend, King Arthur is seen as a paragon of chivalry and courage, and that is why he has inspired so many writers to immortalize his tales, whether they are real or not. And it really isn’t very important if King Arthur ever existed, because people have always been inspired, and will be inspired still by King Arthur and his knights. So in this case, it’s not the person who is important, but his legacy. And this legacy is everything that King Arthur stood for, his deeds, his principles, and the hope that people read about him and strive to be as he was: an example of greatness.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

“The Oxford Anthology of English Literature” volume II, by Frank Kermode, John Hollander “Past into Present” (An Anthology of British and American Literature) by Roger Gower www.geocities.com/CapitalHill/4186/Arthur/htmlpages/Kingarthur.ht ml www.britannia.com www.kingarthursknight,com www.legendofkingarthur.co.uk www.caerlon.net/history/arthur www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/arthur/kbattles.html www.arthurian_legend.com www.wikipedia.com

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