Summary of Arthurian Legend (condensed from http://www.heroofcamelot.com/legend/)
The Legend
The legend of King Arthur developed over a period of over one thousand years. Everyone's heard about
King Arthur from one place or another. We've all heard bits and pieces of the legend. Gallant knights
fighting bravely for their ladies–in–waiting, heroes slaying dragons, all in a peaceful, justly–run kingdom
called Camelot, run by King Arthur, with the old wizard Merlin by his side.
But who was King Arthur, exactly? Did he slay dragons himself, or just employ knights in shining armor
to do it for him? And what's so special about him that we remember him in legend, anyway?
It turns out that the Arthurian Legend (that's the legend of King Arthur, for you novice Arthur
enthusiasts) developed over a period of more than a thousand years. As such, there is no officially
recognized version of the King Arthur story. In some authors' renditions of the tale, Arthur has three
wives in his lifetime. In others, two, and in some cases, only one. In some ancient versions of the legend,
Arthur is a hero whose deeds are comparable to those of Hercules. In more modern versions, he is
merely a king whose knights are the real heroes of the story.
So how does anyone know what the story of King Arthur is? Well, there are some elements which are
generally recognized as part of the legend. And there are some basic points of which any Arthurian
enthusiast should be aware. Many modern movies, books, or other forms of literature assume a general
knowledge of the Arthurian Legend in their audience. What follows, therefore, is a general version of
the King Arthur legend. This is by no means an official or authoritative version of the tale – no such
version exists. But this is the basic story of King Arthur as it is widely understood today, and it includes
the basic elements of the legend of which anyone should be aware.
Chapter I: The Birth of a King
Writing in 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us that once upon a time, Britain was ruled by a brave and
wise king named Uther (pronounced “Oo-ther”) Pendragon. Under Uther's wise leadership, Britain was
peaceful and prosperous and her citizens happy and protected. But the king was troubled. He was
childless. He had no son to inherit the throne after he was gone, nor a daughter to gladden his heart.
Moreover, the King was desperately in love with Ygraine (pronounced “Ee-graine”), the Duke of
Tintagel's wife.
Desperate for Ygraine, the King invited all the nobles in the land to attend a great feast at his castle.
Ygraine and her husband, the Duke, attended, but Uther was ruthless in his pursuit of her. Seeing this,
the Duke became enraged and he took his wife back to their castle at Tintagel without notice.
This was unheard of. No one left a royal feast without official leave from the King. The King demanded
that they return, but they refused. A great battle broke out between the King's army and the Duke's.
In desperation, the King turned to the wizard Merlin for help. Merlin took pity on the poor king and
agreed to help him. But with a price. Any child born of the union, he said, would have to be turned over
to his care. The King agreed and Merlin wove a spell which made the King appear just like the Duke. He
entered Tintagel Castle disguised as the Duke, and went to the Duchess' chamber where she had locked
herself away. Upon seeing him, she thought him to be her husband and ran to him. They spent the night
together, and shortly after, it was announced that the Duke had been killed in battle. (Mrs. I’s comment-
Ygraine was understandably confused by this since SHE thought her husband had been with her all
night. She then finds out she had slept with Uther in disguise). Afterwards, Uther took Tintagel and
married Ygraine.
Nine months passed, and the Queen gave birth to a baby boy. The royal couple named their son Arthur.
But the King had promised to turn over any children born of his union with Ygraine, to Merlin.
Reluctantly, Uther gave their only son over to Merlin's care, and Ygraine was forced to say goodbye to
her child forever. Merlin assured her it was for the boy's own good, but she never forgave him.
Chapter II: The Sword in the Stone
The twelfth–century poet Robert de Boron adds the tale of the Sword in the Stone to the legend. After
baby Arthur was born, Merlin secretly took him to be raised at the castle of Sir Ector, a loyal ally of the
King's. There, the young prince was raised as the bastard child of Sir Ector's, and no one, not even Ector
himself, knew the boy's true identity. But Ector also had a son, named Sir Kay. And because young
Arthur was thought to be a bastard child, Sir Kay and his friends teased and taunted him, and his
adopted parents looked down on him. The poor boy grew up in shame of his birth, never knowing of his
royal lineage.
Uther Pendragon takes ill. Meanwhile, all was not well with the King. Just months after giving away his
only son, Uther Pendragon turned ill, and died shortly after. With no heir to lead the kingdom, the
country fell into despair. Rival dukes and lords disputed over who was best fit to rule England.
In the midst of the turmoil, the nobles called on Merlin to find a solution. Having seen to it that baby
Arthur was safe, he erected a large stone, on top of which sat an anvil, in a churchyard in Westminster, a
region of London. Stuck in the anvil was a sword. An inscription on its blade read:
“Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone, is right wise King born of all England.”
The sword was magic, Merlin explained, and only he who was fit to rule England could pull it from the
stone. Nobles from far and wide came to try and pull the sword from the stone, but not even the
strongest of men could accomplish the task. Eventually, the sword became forgotten, and England fell
into greater ruin.
As the boy Arthur grew older, Merlin introduced himself to him. Merlin and the boy would meet after he
had finished his chores for Sir Ector, and the two of them became close friends. Merlin tutored the boy
in many subjects, always teaching him that knowledge was greater than brute force. For, although
Arthur was a small, scrawny lad scarcely capable of lifting a sword from its sheath, Merlin saw in him the
potential to be a wise and just ruler who would unite Britain, and rescue her from the chaos into which
she had fallen. And so, through education and experience, the wizard helped the young prince to realize
his full potential: a potential of greatness. The potential to rule with justice and compassion what would
become the greatest kingdom ever known.
One day, when Arthur was fifteen, Merlin brought him before the Sword in the Stone. A crowd had been
assembled, and was waiting anxiously. Arthur's stepbrother, Sir Kay, was the first to try and pull the
sword, but it would not budge. Then Arthur tried. The sword came loose. The crowd cheered, and
Arthur was crowned King of England.
Chapter III: A Queen for a Kingdom
After being crowned king, Arthur indeed proved that he was the greatest warrior ever alive. As King, he
used his skills in fighting and leadership to drive off all hostile invaders from Britain. But his real strength
was in the wisdom he had received from his instructor, Merlin, who had taught him to use his wits,
rather than brute force, to overcome his enemies. From Merlin, Arthur had learned to be a wise and just
king, who fought only to protect his people, and never for ill deeds.
The people of Britain, finally relieved of their suffering, happily welcomed him as their new king. Not
even the dukes and lords quarreled over the right to rule anymore, for Arthur had indeed brought the
peace and prosperity that the kingdom had long awaited. Under his rule, laws were made with justice
and mercy, and the people were treated fairly. He named his kingdom Camelot, and his coat of arms
was the red dragon.
Like his father before him, Arthur had no wife, no love to call his one and only. One night, a beautiful
woman came to his castle and asked for shelter. She was one of the most exquisite women Arthur had
ever laid eyes on, and he stayed with her that night. The next morning, she was gone, and the King was
all alone again. He never learned her name. In time, he learned to forget her and to move on.
One night, Arthur fought a bitter battle trying to drive off some invaders, and although he emerged
victoriously, his sword was broken. That night, he decided to stay and rest at a local castle. Merlin tried
to dissuade him, but Arthur insisted on going. While asleep that night, Arthur was awakened by the
sound of a harp echoing throughout the castle halls. He arose from his bed and followed the sound until
he came upon a woman sitting all alone in her bed chamber. Her name was Guinevere, and she was the
most beautiful woman Arthur had ever seen.
Merlin warned that Guinevere would bring him nothing but misery, but Arthur was intent on marrying
her. The next day, Arthur asked Guinevere's father for her hand, and he gladly agreed. The
announcement was made later that day. The people of Camelot rejoiced. They were glad to see their
beloved king happy and in love, and the prospect of having an heir to the throne was, indeed, cause for
celebration. Everyone in the kingdom was filled with excitement and tears of joy. Everyone that is,
except for Merlin.
Later that day, Merlin took Arthur out to a misty lake. On the other side of the mist, he told Arthur, was
the island of Avalon. The beings who lived there possessed supernatural powers, which they used for
both good and evil.
All of a sudden, a beautiful woman came rising up out of the water. In her hand, she held a magnificent,
jeweled sword.
“If you insist on surrounding yourself with such dangers,” Merlin told Arthur, “then you're going to need
a powerful weapon to protect yourself. This is Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. The sword is Excalibur. It is
of the finest strength, and can cut through iron and steel. But the real magic lies in the scabbard. For,
whoever holds the scabbard shall never die of his wounds. Always keep it by your side. Never let
yourself be parted from it.”
Soon thereafter, Arthur and Guinevere married. The entire kingdom celebrated. There was much
feasting and dancing at the wedding, and people from all parts of the kingdom came to see their
beloved king enter into matrimony with his one, true love.
As a wedding present, Guinevere's father gave the couple a round table, large enough to seat all of
Arthur's knights. Over each seat was a plaque inscribed with the name of the knight for whom the seat
was intended. Only one seat had no name inscribed above it. This seat was reserved for the greatest
knight of all. If anyone else sat there, he would surely die. The gift of the round table made Arthur
happy, for he had been worried that his knights were becoming too competitive amongst each other.
With the round table, all of his knights could sit together and discuss matters of the kingdom as equals.
Many years passed, and Arthur and Guinevere lived together in married bliss. The King looked at his
bride with adoration and contentment, and he spared no expense in making her happy. For years, they
lived together happily. Then Lancelot came.
Chapter IV: Mordred
Many years passed, and the King and Queen lived happily together. Under the King's wise leadership,
Camelot prospered, and her people were happy.
One day, four strangers came to the gates of Arthur's castle. Standing on the parapets with Merlin, he
looked down at them. There were three women and a boy of about fourteen.
“Who are they?” asked Arthur.
“The women are your half sisters by your father, Uther Pendragon,” Merlin told him. “Two of them
have come to make their peace with you. But the third, Morgan le Fay, is evil. She seeks your downfall. I
hoped never to see her in Camelot.”
Then Arthur looked at the boy. “Who is he?” he asked.
“You don't want to know,” Merlin warned. But Arthur insisted.
“He is your son by your half sister, Morgause. She was the woman who came to you that night. It was
Morgan le Fay who planned his conception with magic. She will use him against you. He will betray you.”
Chapter V: Merlin
Merlin was the greatest wizard in the kingdom. In all the kingdom, only one creature was capable of
catching Merlin's eye: Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. She was young and immensely beautiful, and like
him, she was a creature of magic. The more he gazed upon her, the greater his desire grew, until he was
obsessed. He spent every minute of his day courting her or seeking her attention. Merlin, the greatest
wizard in the kingdom, was in love.
But Nimue was annoyed by his constant advances, and longed to rid herself of him. But she feared what
would happen if she rejected him. Instead, she pretended to share his love, using him to teach her his
magic and all of his secrets, so that one day, she might be free of him.
One day, Nimue asked Merlin if they might journey through the forest together so he could teach her
more of his magic. Merlin already knew this would be his end, but he was so in love with her, he could
not resist. Nimue wasted no time on their journey, and made sure to learn as many of Merlin's spells as
he could teach her. Later that day, they came to a cave which Merlin told her was a place of great
power. He would gladly show it to her, if she liked. Nimue bid him to enter first. As soon as he did, she
cast a spell sealing the mouth of the cave shut.
There the wizard was trapped. Merlin tried many spells to open the cave mouth again, but the spell
Nimue had used was one of his own. Even his great magic could not break it. There she left him, alone
and helpless, and some say he remains there to this very day.
Chapter VI: Lancelot
As tales of Arthur and his knights gained popularity, they quickly spread across Europe. In the twelfth
century, the French writer Chrétien de Troyes takes up the Arthurian Legend. Unlike writers before him,
Chrétien's literature is deeply sensitive, and it is from him that we get much of the romance associated
with King Arthur, as well as the character of Lancelot.
With Merlin gone, the Lady of the Lake took on the role of Arthur's advisor. Though she had despised
Merlin, she liked Arthur, and she held him in great regard for the work he had done to unite Britain.
One day, Nimue came to him and asked for a boon.
“Take him into your castle and train him in the art of knighthood,” she asked, referring to the handsome,
young man beside her. “Knight him whenever he asks for it.”
The young man with her was Lancelot du Lac, and Arthur could see he had the promise of a great
fighter. He agreed, and the lady took her leave.
Lancelot asked to be knighted that very evening. Arthur was surprised he wanted to be knighted so
soon, but Lancelot was sure he was ready. Arthur agreed, and the following morning, the ceremony took
place. There was great celebration, and all in the palace cheered. After he was knighted, Lancelot asked
to be the Queen's Champion. This would make it his royal duty to protect the Queen, and defend her
honor. Guinevere was flattered, and accepted. In the battles that followed, Lancelot proved to be an
excellent knight. His skill with the sword was unparalleled by any in Camelot, and he quickly rose the
ranks to become Arthur's finest knight. But more than that, he and Arthur became good friends, and for
a time, he, Arthur, and the Queen were inseparable.
Then one day, Lancelot was gone. The King and Queen tried very hard to search for him, but no one in
the kingdom knew his whereabouts. Many years passed, but Arthur and Guinevere never stopped
thinking of their friend, or wondering what had become of him. Then one day, Lancelot returned. He
had become pale and ragged, but it was unmistakably him. When Arthur asked what had happened, he
had a long tale for him.
While he had been gone, Lancelot told Arthur, he had come to the city of Corbenic. Corbenic was ruled
by a king named Pellés, the Fisher King. While he was there, the city came under attack by a ferocious
dragon. The people had fled in terror, but Lancelot stayed and fought the monster to its death. He used
his shield to protect himself from its fire, and stabbed it with his sword until it was dead. When he
emerged victorious, the people cheered him. As a reward, King Pellés held a feast in his honor.
At the feast, King Pellés said to him, “Now you will see something no other knight has ever seen.”
With that, three servants entered the room. The one in the middle was holding the Holy Grail, the
sacred cup from which Jesus Christ had drunk during the Last Supper.
King Pellés told him, “The cup was passed down to me by my forebear, Joseph of Arimathea.” Arthur
dismissed this as trickery, but Lancelot swore he had really seen the Grail.
But there was more, Lancelot told him. He had seen the Grail, but he was denied it because of his
impure love for another man's wife: Arthur's queen, Guinevere. Arthur could not bear to hear this, but
Lancelot begged him to listen. All those years ago, it was Guinevere whom he truly loved. His jealousy
had driven him insane, and after leaving Camelot, he had lived in the woods as a madman. After he
came to Corbenic and defeated the dragon, King Pellés gave him his daughter, Elaine. Elaine was very
beautiful and she loved him very much, but his heart belonged to Guinevere. Desperate for him, she
pursued him relentlessly and used magic to snare him. Together they had had a son, whom they
christened Galahad. When Lancelot found out what she had done, he ran away, disgusted with the
deception.
As the two men were speaking, they were quickly summoned to the river, where a large barge had
washed ashore, carrying a dead woman's body. When they arrived, Lancelot looked at the woman and
then turned away quickly. It was Elaine. She had committed suicide.
Chapter VII: The Quest for the Holy Grail
The Holy Grail has become a central theme in Arthurian literature. Some historians have traced its
association with Arthur as far back as some of the earliest legends about him. But the Grail first began to
shine as a major Christian symbol in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, particularly with the
circulation of the Vulgate Cycle, written by an unknown author.
Galahad was the pure knight. On the eve before Pentecost, a beautiful woman came to Arthur's castle,
and asked Lancelot to follow her into the forest. Lancelot, always the chivalrous knight, agreed, and the
two went out. They rode until they came to a nunnery. As they entered it, Lancelot saw that two of his
cousins, Sir Bors and Sir Lionel, were already there. Then the nuns brought out a young man and asked
Lancelot to knight him. Lancelot agreed, and the youth was knighted. The next day, as he and his cousins
were riding back to Arthur's castle, Sir Bors remarked that the young man had looked so much like
Lancelot, it must have been his son by Elaine.
When Lancelot returned to Camelot, the knights were all summoned to meet at the Round Table. As he
took his seat, he saw that there was now an inscription above the Siege Perilous. It read:
“Four Hundred and Fifty Years Have Passed Since The Passion Of Our Lord Jesus Christ: And On The Day
Of Pentecost This Seat Shall Find Its Master.”
As their meeting began, an elderly knight entered the hall. With him was the young man Lancelot had
knighted the evening before. He was Galahad, Lancelot's son by Elaine. He took his rightful place at the
Siege Perilous.
Shortly later, an image of the Holy Grail appeared, floating over the table. It was a sign. It was time for
Arthur and his knights to seek out the Grail.
In the adventure that followed, Galahad quickly proved himself to be the greatest knight of all time.
Whereas his father had been charismatic and charming, Galahad was pure of heart, and refrained from
much temptation in order to pursue more heavenly ideals.
Many of Arthur's knights sought out the Grail, but most returned badly wounded, or worse. Then three
knights went out in search of it: Sir Bors, Sir Perceval, and Sir Galahad. They traveled to Corbenic by ship
to seek out Galahad's grandfather, King Pellés.
Galahad was given the Grail. When the knights arrived, they were met by a host of Galahad's family
from Elaine's side. Then, King Pellés brought out a sword that had been broken in three pieces. When
Galahad held them, the sword became whole again. It was a sign. Galahad was given a vision, and he
was shown wonders beyond any mortal men can imagine. When he came out of his trance, he knew
what had to be done.
The Grail was in Britain, he said. But Camelot was unworthy of it. The knights were to take the Grail to
the holy city of Sarras in the Middle East, to fulfill God's will.
When the three knights returned to their ship, they found the Grail already waiting for them there. They
took it to the city of Sarras, just as they had been instructed. There, a great light appeared in the sky,
and the Grail was lifted up into Heaven, forever beyond the reach of men.
Of the three knights who had ridden out in search of the Grail, only Sir Bors returned to Camelot to tell
of what had happened. For Sir Perceval was moved by all he had seen, and chose to live out the
remainder of his days as a hermit living in the forests outside Sarras. And Sir Galahad, having seen his
vision of the Grail, died shortly after. For he gave up his life so he could remain pure.
Chapter VIII:
The Enemy Within
Guinevere went out riding. With Galahad dead, Lancelot was once again Arthur's best knight. Arthur
knew of Lancelot's love for his queen. But Arthur had lost many knights trying to recover the Grail, and
because Lancelot was loyal and a true friend, he remained silent.
One night, Mordred came to him and told him he had seen Lancelot nearby, and not alone: the Queen
had been with him.
“The penalty for adultery is death,” Mordred reminded. Arthur reluctantly agreed, and a trap was set.
The next day, Guinevere told Arthur she was going out riding again. When she left, Mordred and some
of Arthur's men followed. When she met Lancelot, they jumped out and grabbed her. Lancelot was able
to escape, but Guinevere was captured.
At Camelot, the Queen was put on trial for adultery, and found guilty. She was tied to a stake and the
torches were lit. Just as she was about to be set ablaze, Lancelot rode in with his men, and cut her free.
While Arthur's soldiers were still fighting off the attack, the two lovers rode off together.
Guinevere was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
Chapter IX: The Death of Arthur
In the fifteenth century, an Englishman named Sir Thomas Malory retold the story of Arthur's birth, his
conquests, his friendship with Merlin, and his death. To this day, Malory's work is considered by many to
be the most authoritative telling of the Arthurian Legend. Malory titled his work “Le Morte d'Arthur.”
Translated into English, this means “The Death of Arthur.”
Arthur laid siege to Lancelot's castle. Arthur immediately began pursuit of Lancelot and Guinevere, and
they were quickly found at Lancelot's castle in Wales. For months, Arthur and his men laid siege to it.
Finally, an agreement was reached whereby Guinevere was returned to Arthur, and Lancelot was sent to
France in exile.
But Arthur was still angry. Lancelot had betrayed him, and he wanted revenge. He followed Lancelot into
France, leaving Mordred in charge. Then Arthur received the news he dreaded worst: in his absence,
Mordred had declared himself King, and had taken Guinevere as his queen. Now, Arthur had no choice
but to return to Camelot to defend his kingdom.
In a dream, Arthur was warned not to fight Mordred right away, so he sent messengers into his camp to
try and negotiate. During their talks, one of Mordred's men was bitten by an adder. As he drew his
sword to kill it, the sun glinted off his blade. Both armies mistook this as a sign that someone had drawn
his sword to fight, and a great battle began.
The battle raged on all day, and by nightfall, it was down to every last man to fight. In the commotion,
Arthur had dropped Excalibur and its scabbard. Seeing Mordred, he picked up a spear, and charged at
him. Mordred charged back with his sword. The sword came forward and cleaved Arthur's skull just as
he drove his spear through his son's hateful heart.
As Arthur lay dying, his last request was that the sword Excalibur and the scabbard be thrown back into
the lake from whence they came.
Out of the mists of the lake, three Fairy Queens appeared. They placed Arthur's body on a barge, and
sailed off with him to the mystical island of Avalon to cure him of his wounds. And some say he still lays
there, sleeping in a hollow hill, and that he will awaken one day to defend Britain, when Britain has need
of him.
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