7. Juni 2016, Brucknerhaus
THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR
In 5th century, Britain was ruled by the High-King named Uther,
who fell in love with Lady Igraine. Unfortunately Lady Igraine was
already married to Gorlois, the Duke of Tintagel. King Uther
decided to marry Lady Igraine, so he took his army, fought with
Gorlois and killed him. He married his love and they had a son
named Arthur.
Because this was a very dangerous time and also the time of many attacks by
Saxons, King Uther gave his son to his wizard Merlin, to keep him safe. Merlin
sent Arthur away to be raised in the countryside with his foster brother Kay. He
never knew who his parents were.
When King Uther died, no one knew he had a son. Many people argued who
will be the next king. Suddenly, a mysterious stone appeared in the yard of St.
Paul's Cathedral in London. It was a message on it: Whoever will pull the
sword out, will be the rightful king of Britain.
Years later, when Arthur was 15 years old, his foster brother
Kay, had his first knight's tournament. The family went to
London. Arthur forgot to take the Kay's sword, so went to look
for one. He found a sword in the stone and took it out easily.
When people noticed the sword, everyone wanted to know
who pulled the sword out. At first no one believed Arthur had
done it. But later Arthur was crowned to be the King, even if
11 local kings would not agree and started a rebellion
against Arthur.
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7. Juni 2016, Brucknerhaus
Merlin helped Arthur to rule Britain. He took him to the
magic lake. The Lady of the Lake lived there beneath
the water. She gave Arthur a magic sword called
Excalibur. If you used Excalibur in a fight, you would
always defeat your opponent. If you had the scabbard,
you would always be protected from being hurt. Arthur
led a big army against 11 rebels, fought many battles
and won. The 11 kings agreed Arthur should be the High-King.
Arthur set up his Royal palace at Camelot. When he was a bit older, he
married a princess named Guinevere. She was the daughter of King
Leodegrance of Cameliard. He gave Arthur and Guinevere a huge round table
as a wedding present.
All the knights in the country wanted to be soldiers for their King,
but only the bravest were allowed to sit at the round table. They
were known as Knights of the Round Table. They fought against
Saxons in many wars and finally defeated them at the Battle of
Mount Badon. Everyone was happy and felt safe again.
Arthur decided to take his successful army even farther, to Europe. After a lot
of fighting, the Roman Emperor agreed to give the western half of Europe to
Arthur. The Knights of the Round Table had lots of adventures. Some rescued
princesses, some fought dragons or bad knights and many of them went to
look for a religious cup called the Holy Grail.
The best and the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table was
called Sir Lancelot. He came from Brittany in France and was
Arthur's best friend. He was also very handsome and
Guinevere fell in love with him. They two would sneak away
from the palace and spend time together. Arthur had no idea
what was going on.
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7. Juni 2016, Brucknerhaus
Arthur's nephew Mordred was an evil man, who found out what
was going on between Guinevere and Lancelot and told Arthur.
Lancelot ran away and Guinevere was taken to court where she
should be burnt to death. Lancelot rescued her and they escaped
to Brittany in France. Arthur took big army to Brittany. He wanted
to punish Lancelot and Guinevere.
Arthur left evil Mordred in charge, while he was away in Brittany. As Arthur had
no children, Mordred was going to inherit the kingdom when Arthur died. He
could not wait and told everyone Arthur had been killed in Brittany. People
believed him and he made himself the High-King of Britain. Some people liked
him because he had given away money. He even put together his own army.
Luckily, Arthur heard what was going on and returned back. The armies of
Arthur and Mordred fought at the Battle of Camlann. Unfortunately, Arthur did
not have his Excalibur sword with him. His sister Morgan Le Fay stole it from
him. The battle was bad and few people were left alive at the end. Two of
those were Arthur and Mordred. They fought each other in a single combat.
Arthur killed Mordred but he was badly hurt himself.
Arthur knew he was going to die. He gave Excalibur to Sir
Bedivere. He told him to return it to the magical lake.
Bedivere pretended to do that, but he hid the sword under a
bush. Arthur asked him what happened when he threw the
Excalibur into the lake. Bedivere said it sank. Arthur knew
right away he was lying. He told him to go and do the job
properly. Bedivere threw the sword into the lake. He saw the
hand of Lady of the Lake came out of the water to catch it.
When Arthur was dying a magical boat appeared to take him to the Isle of
Avalon, where his sword Excalibur was forged and Lady of the Lake lived.
Some believe that he died there soon afterwards; some say he went on
mysterious island to heal his wounds.
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7. Juni 2016, Brucknerhaus
PRE-READING ACTIVITY questions:
Have you ever heard of King Arthur?
Was he a real person or is this just a legend?
Have you ever heard of Merlin, the wizard?
Do you know what Excalibur was?
READING ACTIVITY:
It is the best if you have the story laminated and printed in colours.
If the reading is long, I usually decide that students work all together. We sit in
front of the board on the floor in a circle. Depends on their knowledge, you can
do different types of reading, for example:
1. PASS THE STORY IN A CIRCLE (easy):
I read the title and pass it to the student next to me. Each student reads one
paragraph and passes it in a circle around till the end of the story.
2. THE »VISIBLE« PUZZLE STORY (medium):
I pre-cut the laminated story on pieces/stripes by paragraphs and put them in
the middle of the circle face up, so all students can see the text. Students put the
story together as puzzles by finding the next paragraph. Each who finds it, puts
the puzzle together and reads aloud.
You can also cut the pictures out and give it to weaker students in hands to
supplement the paragraphs with pictures.
Or you can even cut the story zig-zag or wavy to make it easier to complete.
2. THE »INVISIBLE« PUZZLE STORY (hard):
It's the same as »visible« puzzle story, just put the stripes face down, so other
students can't see the text. I mix them a bit and each student takes one
paragraph, not showing it to other students. If there are too many pieces, give
stronger students 2 or more pieces; if there are too few, they can work in pairs.
You can also use some visual materials with to help the students with reading
and make it more interesting. I made them a sword of a sponge (or you can use
one from carnival costume, or a crown) and the one who reads, holds the sword
in his hand, then passes it to the next reader…
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POST-READING ACTIVITY questions:
Who was the first High-King mentioned in the story? What was his name?
Who was he in love with?
Was his love single or married?
How did he manage to marry her?
Did they have any children?
Whom did the King give his son?
Why did he give it to Merlin?
Where was Arthur raised?
Did he know his parents?
What happened when King Uther died?
What magically appeared in St. Paul's Cathedral in London?
What was the message on the sword?
Why did Arthur and his family go to London?
What did Arthur forget?
Did Arthur find another sword? Where?
Did people first believe that Arthur pulled the sword out?
Was he crowned for the King?
What is the difference between the King and the High-King?
What did 11 local knights do?
Who helped Arthur rule the Britain?
What happened with the Lady of the Lake?
Why was it said that Excalibur had the magic power?
Where did Arthur build his royal palace?
Did he fall in love and get married? To whom?
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What did Guinevere's father give them as a wedding present?
Who could sit there? How were the knights called?
Did Arthur and his army defeat Saxons?
Where did they go after conquering the Britain?
What did the Roman Emperor give to Arthur?
What kind of adventured did Knights of the Round Table have?
Who was Sir Lancelot?
Who fell in love with him?
Did Arthur know about them?
Who told him?
Who was Mordred? Was he a kind man?
What happened to Lancelot?
Was Guinevere burnt to death? What happened?
What did Arthur do to punish his wife and Lancelot?
Who took care of the kingdom?
What did Mordred lie?
Did people like Mordred?
What did Arthur do when found out about Mordred?
Did he fight Mordred with Excalibur?
Who died and who was hurt in a battle?
What did Arthur order Bedivere to do with the sword?
How could he recognize a lie?
What happened at the end with King Arthur?
What is Avalon?
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POST-READING ACTIVITY answer key:
Who was the first High-King mentioned in the story? Uther,
Who was he in love with? Lady Igraine.
Was his love single or married? Single.
How did he manage to marry her? He killed her husband.
Did they have any children? Yes, a son Arthur.
Whom did the King give his son? His wizard Merlin.
Why did he give it to Merlin? To protect him against Saxons.
Where was Arthur raised? Countryside, with his foster brother Kay.
Did he know his parents? No.
What happened when King Uther died? People argued who will be the king.
What magically appeared in St. Paul's Cathedral in London? A sword in the stone.
What was the message on the sword? Whoever will pull the sword out, will be the rightful king of Britain.
Why did Arthur and his family go to London? Arthur's foster brother Kay had his first knight’s tournament.
What did Arthur forget? To take his sword with.
Did Arthur find another sword? Where? Yes, in a stone of St. Paul's Cathedral yard.
Did people first believe that Arthur pulled the sword out? No.
Was he crowned for the King? Yes.
What is the difference between the King and the High-King? The High-King holds a position over other kings,
the main king.
What did 11 local knights do? Rebel.
Who helped Arthur rule the Britain? Merlin, the wizard.
What happened with the Lady of the Lake? She gave Arthur the Excalibur sword from the lake.
Why was it said that Excalibur had the magic power? Because you never lost a battle and you couldn't die.
Where did Arthur build his royal palace? Camelot.
Did he fall in love and get married? To whom? Yes, to Guinevere.
What did Guinevere's father give them as a wedding present? Huge round table.
Who could sit there? How were the knights called? Only the bravest knights. The Knights of the Round Table.
Did Arthur and his army defeat Saxons? Yes.
Where did they go after conquering the Britain? To Europe.
What did the Roman Emperor give to Arthur? Western half of Europe.
What kind of adventured did Knights of the Round Table have? Rescued princesses, fought dragons or bad
knights, went to look for the Holy Grail.
Who was Sir Lancelot? The best and the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table.
Who fell in love with him? Arthur's wife, Guinevere.
Did Arthur know about them? No.
Who told him? Mordred.
Who was Mordred? Was he a kind man? Arthur's nephew, he was an evil man.
What happened to Lancelot? He ran away.
Was Guinevere burnt to death? What happened? No, Lancelot rescued her and they escaped to France.
What did Arthur do to punish his wife and Lancelot? Went after them with his army.
Who took care of the kingdom? Mordred.
What did Mordred lie? That King Arthur died.
Did people like Mordred? Some, because he gave them money.
What did Arthur do when found out about Mordred? Went back to Britain and fight Mordred's army with his
own army.
Did he fight Mordred with Excalibur? No, his sister stole it.
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Who died and who was hurt in a battle? Mordred died, Arthur was hurt.
What did Arthur order Bedivere to do with the sword? Throw it into the lake.
How could he recognize a lie? Lady of the Lake didn't reach for it.
What happened at the end with Arthur? A boat came to take him to Avalon.
What is Avalon? A place of mystery and magic, where Arthur went on his last journey.
POST-READING ACTIVITY role-play:
After discussing the legend or answering questions, you can also make a short
role-play. The best is if students volunteer for certain roles.
You can have one good-reader student to be the story-teller, and others have
just a pantomime presentation with; or you can leave students to write short
dialogues story and act it.
Don't forget to bring/make (students can make before the lesson too) some
visual material with like: a crown, a sword, a mantle out of bed sheet, a big table
with a table cloth, a wedding ring…
You can also use pc with projector to have a background pictures on the board
like: a castle, a sword in a stone, a battlefield, a boat, a lake, St. Paul's Cathedral,
the castle of Camelot, Avalon…
The legend and pictures are taken from the web page:
http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/kids/arthur_life.html
The tasks are taken from the web page:
https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/the_legend_of
_king_arthur/past-simple-storytelling/48248
SONG Avalon from Bryan Ferry- Roxy Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpA_5a0miWk
VIDEO documentary form Youtube:
King Arthur legend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa4v5gH3b18
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLATxHGRqFg
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUHusSgAPOo
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6G7KD7h5PE
part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVrPjJvIzNw
part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Muz0GCllM
The Isle of Avalon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3HAIdFy6Is
Vessel of the Fish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KryOnu5-7I
The movie King Arthur, 2004 (Clive Owen, Keira Knightley): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349683/?ref_=sr_1
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