Arthurian legends are some of the most popular stories from British history, recounting the life of the heroic Brittonic King Arthur, who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons while creating a utopian kingdom based on merit and chivalry. The stories are full of mystery and magic, featuring characters like the wizard Merlin and the sorceress Morgan le Fey, and acts of heroism, such as facing the Green Knight and finding the Holy Grail. But while we have a modern idea of the corpus of stories that make up the Arthurian legends, what do the original versions of these stories actually say, and are they based on real historical people and events? This is an introduction to Arthurian mythology.
1. Who Was King Arthur?
King Arthur was a legendary Brittonic war leader who fought against the Anglo-Saxons in Britain in the post-Roman era. Ever since the first half of the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons had been at war against the native Britons, progressively conquering the land. Arthur was a war leader who emerged several generations into this centuries-long conflict. He is first mentioned in the Historia Brittonum, written in c. 830, as the leader of an alliance of kings. Arthur himself is not explicitly called a king in that source, but as early as c. 900, Welsh texts refer to him as “emperor.” He was said to have led the British kings into battle against the Saxons at 12 different battles, the last being the Battle of Badon.
Later sources present Arthur as a powerful ruler with allies all over Britain. His court was famous for its chivalry, inspiring many princes and kings to travel to Arthur’s court, align themselves with his rulership, and learn from him.
2. What Was Excalibur?
In the Arthurian legends, Excalibur was King Arthur’s special sword. In the most famous version of the story of its origin, the Lady of the Lake gave it to him. In earlier versions, it is called Caliburn and is said to have been forged on the mysterious island of Avalon. The sword ultimately comes from Welsh tradition, where it is called Caledfwlch, and its origin is never explicitly stated.
Both Welsh tradition and non-Welsh romances agree that this special sword was not special simply because it was Arthur’s. Rather, it had inherent, supernatural properties. This is what made it so effective at killing. In Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, written in the 15th century, the blade of Excalibur shines a bright light, giving Arthur a major advantage over his enemies.
Furthermore, Malory explains that the scabbard of Excalibur prevented Arthur from bleeding out from any of his injuries. However, this scabbard was stolen and lost early in his reign through the schemes of Morgan le Fey, Arthur’s evil half-sister.
3. Where Was Camelot?
In most versions of the Arthurian legends, Camelot is the name of King Arthur’s main royal court. Like many medieval kings, Arthur had a peripatetic arrangement, that is, he traveled from one court to another. For example, he is also described as having held court at York and Caerleon-upon-Usk. Nevertheless, Camelot was generally portrayed as his capital city in sources from the 13th century onwards.
The earliest mention of Camelot comes from Chretien de Troyes, writing in the middle of the 12th century. He referred to it as being within a day’s journey from Caerleon-upon-Usk in southeast Wales. This logically places Camelot in southeast Wales as well. Interestingly, the preface of Le Morte d’Arthur, written by William Caxton in the 15th century, referred to the grand stone walls of Camelot that were still visible in Wales. Based on this, many researchers believe that Caxton had in mind the Roman ruins of Caerwent, not far from Caerleon. This is consistent with Chretien’s original reference to Camelot.
4. What Was the Round Table?
The Round Table was a large, circular table that was used by Arthur and his many knights. It was said to have been constructed by Merlin, Arthur’s wise advisor and wizard. The reason that Merlin made it round was to avoid any dispute among Arthur’s men over who was the greatest since one’s position at a rectangular table usually held meaning. The first mention of the Round Table comes from the poet Wace in his Roman de Brut, written in c. 1155. Usually, the Arthurian legends place the Round Table at Camelot. However, this was not always the case.
Wace explicitly places the Round Table at Caerleon-upon-Usk, not Camelot. Furthermore, Wace explains that Arthur’s numerous allies—numbering into the dozens, at least—all sat at this table. This would make it implausibly large for an actual table. Some later versions even state that it could seat literally hundreds of people. Based on these descriptions, many scholars conclude that it must have been a distorted version of the amphitheater at the Roman ruins of Caerleon.
5. What Was the Search for the Holy Grail?
The search for the Holy Grail is a famous part of the Arthurian legends today, but it was not originally part of the legend of King Arthur. It first appears in Chretien de Troyes’ Percival, the Story of the Grail, written in c. 1185. This tells the story of Percival, an excessively innocent and holy knight who was raised away from society. One day, he came across the Grail Castle occupied by the lame Fisher King. His land was a wasteland, supernaturally connected to his injury. At the Grail Castle, Percival is shown a procession of all sorts of marvelous objects, including the Holy Grail. It is only later texts that associate the Holy Grail with the chalice used by Jesus during the Last Supper, or that used by Joseph of Arimathea to collect Jesus’ blood.
In any case, Percival fails to ask about the grail, which would have somehow miraculously cured the Fisher King and the land. Although Chretien’s story is unfinished, later continuations have Percival find the Grail Castle again and ask the right question. Later versions of the legend make the Grail hero Galahad, a different knight. However, many knights were interested in trying to find it, for they all received a vision of it at Camelot on one occasion.
6. How Did King Arthur’s Reign End?
In the Arthurian legends, King Arthur’s glorious reign came to an end through treachery. The earliest version of events is that his nephew, Mordred, usurped the throne of Britain while Arthur was away in Europe in a war against the Romans. This basic premise is essentially preserved through most subsequent versions. However, some of the later retellings have Arthur away in Gaul to fight a war against Lancelot rather than the Romans. In these versions, the fall of Arthur’s kingdom is closely associated with Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere, Arthur’s wife. This is what drove Arthur to wage war against his former ally, thus giving Mordred the perfect opportunity to take the throne for himself.
Furthermore, Arthur’s evil half-sister Morgan Le Fey is sometimes credited with being partially responsible for the end of Arthur’s reign. She, in some versions, is the one who reveals to Arthur that Lancelot was having an affair with Guinevere.
Whatever the background to it was, Mordred’s rebellion ultimately resulted in the Battle of Camlann, at which King Arthur was mortally wounded and taken to the Isle of Avalon.
7. Are the Arthurian Legends Based on Real History?
Is there any truth to the Arthurian legends? Or was it a Medieval fictional tale? The basic setting of the Arthurian legends is definitely historical. Arthur was said to have been a war leader who fought against the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century. Based on archaeology and historical texts, we know that the Britons and the Saxons really were engaged in warfare at this time. Furthermore, one of the only clearly identifiable locations in the list of Arthur’s twelve battles is Linnuis, which was the region around Lincoln. Historically, we know that this was one of the most important Anglo-Saxon strongholds of the 6th century. Hence, this makes sense of the idea that Arthur fought a battle in that region.
Furthermore, many of the figures in the Arthurian legends are known to have been historical. For instance, knights such as Uriens, Yvain, and Percival are all accepted as being derived from historical figures.
The Secrets of Arthurian Mythology
In conclusion, what do we know about the Arthurian legends? The titular character, King Arthur, was a powerful war leader who fought against the Anglo-Saxons. He fought twelve battles against them, the last of which was the Battle of Badon. He had a special sword, variously called Caledfwlch, Caliburn, or Excalibur, which had supernatural powers. Camelot was King Arthur’s capital city in most versions of the legend, although it was originally just one of many courts that Arthur had. There is good reason to believe that it was the Roman city of Caerwent in southeast Wales.
At Camelot, King Arthur had his Round Table, a large circular table at which Arthur sat with his knights. Originally, this was said to have been at Caerleon-upon-Usk, thus indicating that it was actually the Roman amphitheater there. The Knights of the Round Table received a vision of the Holy Grail, a sacred chalice. They went on a quest to find it. While Percival was the original Grail hero, this position was assigned to Galahad in later versions. Eventually, Arthur’s rule ended when his nephew, Mordred, tried to usurp the throne.
