King Arthur

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………2

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….3

1 KING ARTHUR- THE LEGEND……………………………………………… 4

2 APPROACHES TO KING ARTHUR’S TALES……………………………….8

2.1.GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH………………………………………………8

2.2.OTHER APPROACHES……………………………………………………….9

2.2.1 CHRETIEN DE TROYES……………………………………………………9

2.3.MODERN APPROACHES……………………………………………………11

3 MAGIC AND MYSTERY……………………………………………………….14

3.1.THE ROUND TABLE…………………………………………………………14

3.2.THE HOLLY GRAIL………………………………………………………….15

3.3.EXCALIBUR……………………………………………………………………16

3.4.THE ISLE OF AVALON………………………………………………………16

4 KING ARTHUR A REAL HERO……………………………………………….18

CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………….22

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..24

=== l ===

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………2

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….3

1 KING ARTHUR- THE LEGEND……………………………………………… 4

2 APPROACHES TO KING ARTHUR’S TALES……………………………….8

2.1.GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH………………………………………………8

2.2.OTHER APPROACHES……………………………………………………….9

2.2.1 CHRETIEN DE TROYES……………………………………………………9

2.3.MODERN APPROACHES……………………………………………………11

3 MAGIC AND MYSTERY……………………………………………………….14

3.1.THE ROUND TABLE…………………………………………………………14

3.2.THE HOLLY GRAIL………………………………………………………….15

3.3.EXCALIBUR……………………………………………………………………16

3.4.THE ISLE OF AVALON………………………………………………………16

4 KING ARTHUR A REAL HERO……………………………………………….18

CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………….22

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………..24

ABSTRACT

I have chosen this topic because I really like this king who is recorded in historical documents as a remarkable fascinating ruler whether he existed or not being still a mystery.

The present work contains four chapters entitled: King Arthur –The Legend, Approaches to King Arthur’s Tales, Magic and Mystery and King Arthur a Real Hero.

The first and the second chapters are a round up of the Arthurian legends and the way they were reflected in the works of many important romancers and historians of the Middle Ages such as: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Robert Wace Chretien de Troyes, Robert de Boron, Wolfram von Eschenbach and also in contemporary literature, drama and cinema.

The third chapter is a thematical approach of the Arthurian legend, dealing with the four mystical elements that recur in nearly all the writings: The Round Table, The Holy Grail, Excalibur and the Isle of Avalon.

The fourth chapter, entitled King Arthur a real Hero, comes to prove that one of the most disputed warlord in English literature-King Arthur-really existed and that he was a defender of the people in the fight against the Saxons.

The last part of the work contains the conclusions, focused on the demonstration of Arthur’s existence as a warrior and a chieftain.

My intention is to support the hypothesis: the existence of King Arthur as a defendant of the poor, good warrior and chieftain, the symbol of liberation from the Saxon occupation and last but not least a great Christian and truth-seeker in search of the Holy Grail.For this purpose I decided to analyse his personality and deeds as they occurred in chronicles, legends and myths.

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INTRODUCTION

Literature could not have existed without great heroes like: Ulysses, Orpheus, Beowulf etc, as from its very beginning it consisted mainly of myths, legends and heroic poems. So, the literature coming from different parts of the world praised its own heroes who were identified with the aspirations of a nation or a race.

The same happened with English literature. From its very beginning there have been legends of great people and powerful kings and King Arthur is perhaps the best known and most loved of all these legendary figures.

The legend of King Arthur is one of the most interesting, well known and well preserved legends of all times, a symbol in English literature. The personality of King Arthur, both disputed and challenged continues to stir the interest of many writers and critics who devoted all their knowledge and time in attempt to reveal the truth about him. The Legend of King Arthur has been a customary tale for centuries. Throughout the years, the tale has adapted to the ears of countless multitude. Over the generations, the legend has been alternatively praised and verified, accepted and rejected. With enormous resources, starting with elementary teachings, the story is deeper than average person would imagine.

Whatever the legend’s origins, the tale of King Arthur has been used for centuries as a symbol for numerous cultures. Any existing historicity has been obscured through accretion of other mythic material, so the Arthurian legend is an amalgamation of many different creative impulses. There are many of those who thought Arthur was just an invention, but there were others who really believed in him, made him their hero and included him in their works as a real character who performed real heroic deeds.

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CHAPTER 1 KING ARTHUR – THE LEGEND

The legend says that in a far-off time when Britain was divided and without a king barbarian hordes have invaded the land. During the dreadful war between the Saxons and the Britons, Prince Pendragon, brother to Uther, was killed in battle. Uther, rising to power, aquired the name of the prince – hence the name Uther Pendragon. Needing comfort in a time of blindness and despair, Uther took great confidence in his chief advisor, Merlin, whom had also served the former prince. At Uthur's request, Merlin has magically sent enormous stones from Ireland, to form the burial spot of Prince Pendragon, now known as Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain.

Merlin then went to Carlisle to form the Round Table, seating numerous nobles of the country. They were bound by Oath to serve each other and their country with the most imperial manner possible. Soon after, at the grand festival of Carlisle, Uther became entranced with Igrain, wife of Gerlois, Duke of Tintadiel. Displeased with the King's conduct, Gerlois and Igrain fled the festival, disreguarding etiquette to their king. Uther needing disguise to fight for Igrain, declared Gerlois a rebel. The king then sent battle into Tintadiel, confining Gerlois, and asking another favour of Merlin.
This allowed Uther enough time to enchant the Dutchess. One dark and somber night, Merlin, with magical powers, transformed Uther to mirror Gerlois. The deceitful Uther and Igraine concieved a child. In time, the Duke was killed, Uther wedded Igrain, and produced a son, Arthur.

At the event of his birth, young Arthur was taken by Merlin, as payment for Merlin's sorcery. He was to be raised by another knight, Sir Ector. Ector, a true and noble knight, raised Arthur, alongside of his own son Sir Kay.

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His childhood was pleasant and free of troubles. At the age of 15, Sir Kay, and Arthur were testing their galant skills, when Arthur saw a sword gleaming from a stone nearby. Drawing closer with excitement and uncertainty, Arthur noticed an inscription on the stone – "He who so ever draws forth this sword from the stone shall be the rightful king of England." Arthur effortlessly pulled the sword from the stone, proclaiming himself the new King of Briton.

Long before the tranquility of the infamous Camelot, the land of Briton was heavily at war. The new, innocent King Arthur, depending on Merlin and Excalibur to carry him through, had to fight 12 battles before peace fell over the land. Bloodshed filled the land for many years, as the conflicts wouldn't cease. Then it was that the magnanimous Arthur, with all the kings and military force of Britain, fought against the Saxons. And though there were many more nobles than himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander, and was as often conqueror. The first battle in which he was engaged, was at the mouth of the river Gleni. The second, third, fourth, and fifth, were on another river, by the Britons called Duglas, in the region Linuis. The sixth, on the river Bassas. The seventh in the wood Celidon, which the Britons call Cat Coit Celidon. The eighth was near Gurnion castle, where Arthur bore the image of the Holy Virgin, mother of God, upon his shoulders, and through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy Mary, put the Saxons to flight, and pursued them the whole day with great slaughter. The nineth was at the City of Legion, which is called Cair Lion. The tenth was on the banks of the river Trat Treuroit. The eleventh was on the mountain Breguoin, which we call Cat Bregion. The twelfth was a most severe contest, when Arthur penetrated to the hill of Badon. In this engagement, nine hundred and forty fell by his hand alone, no one but the Lord affording him assistance. In all these engagements the Britons were successful.

After defeating the numerous British and Saxton King's, prosperity and wealth spread throughout Camelot for twelve more years.

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During this time, the King desired new adventures and victories abroad. He started the building of his palace, a suitable palace for him and his Knights of the Round Table to engage in liveliness, entertainment, and pursuit.

After building the impregnable fortress of Camelot and founding an order of valiant warriors, the knights of the Round Table, the king rode to sweep aside the evil in the land. Arthur quickly touched the people’s hearts, taking for his queen the beautiful Lady Guinevere. Acting with strength on one hand, and courtesy and respect on the other, the Knights shared the ideal of rightness that resonates with their every heartbeat. They were the spark of nobility using their considerable strength to defend the faith and becoming the physical defenders of the country and her ideals. They had not to fail or the society will perish.

Even the terrible plague which ravaged the country was overcome by the newfound resolve of Arthur’s subjects, for they mounted a quest to discover the Holy Grail, the fabulous chalice that held the secret cure for all illnesses.

But as it happens during an age of plenty, there are those whom power corrupts. Soon a rebellion tore the kingdom apart, an armed uprising led by Mordred, Arthur’s traitorous nephew. Yet there was one possessed by dark forces who lay at the heart of the strife: the mysterious and satanic enchantress Morgana. In a final battle, Mordred was at last defeated and Morgana destroyed by Merlin the court magician. But all did not go well for Arthur, because he was mortally wounded. As he laid dying on the battle field, his last request was that his sword, Excalibur, the source of all his power, be cast into a sacred lake and lost forever to mortal man.

When the magical sword fell into the water a shylphid arm rose from the surface, catching it by the hilt and taking it down into the crystal depths. When the great king was close to his death he was spirited away on a barge to the mystical isle of Avalon, accompanied by three mysterious maidens, each dressed completely in white clothes.

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Many say he died and was buried upon the isle, yet there are those who believe that Arthur’s soul is not to be found among the dead. It is said that he only sleeps and one day he will return.

This, in essence is the tale of King Arthur and his brave knights. The twentieth century is also devoted to the story of the king as witnesses the Arthurian trilogy Merlin, Lancelot and Tristram by the American poet Edwin Arlington Robinson, the Glastonbury Romance by Cowper Powy’s and T.H.White’s trilogy.

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CHAPTER 2 APPROACHES TO KING ARTHUR’S TALES

The work over King Arthur is a bestseller. But Arthur is much more than an inspiration for book, stage and cinema. The multitude of stories concerning his personality have constituted the starting point for many fascinated authors starting with the Middle Ages and continuing till present. Thus, among the most important of all, are Geoffrey of Monmouth, the cleric, with his work Historia Regnum Britannie, Wace with Le Roman de Brut , Chretien de Troyes with Le conte del Graal, Robert de Boron and his work Scenes du Graal and last but not least Wolfram von Eshenbach with Parsifal.

The story of king Arthur we know today was the work of Sir Thomas Malory printed in 1485 under the title Le Morte d’Arthur. Malory did not invent the story , he simply collected together the wide variety of existing tales which were popular at the time.

2.1. GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH

The earliest detailed account of Arthur’s life was written around 1135 by the Welsh cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth. His work ,the Historia Regnum Britannia became the foundation upon which all the later stories of king Arthur were constructed .Written in Latin Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia traces the development of the island of Britain, culminating in the golden age of King Arthur. According to him Arthur was born at Tintagel Castle, in Cornwall, as the son of the British king Uther Pendragon .Having become king in his teens, wielding a magical sword, Caliburn, Arthur subsequently defeats the Scots in the north and unifies the nation. He rules with his queen, Ganhumaraety. He establishes an order of knights accepting warriors of all nations before conceiving the ambitious notion of conquering Europe: Norway, Denmark, Gaul, the Netherlands and Switzerland have easily fallen to his armies. Arthur returns home to a

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period of peace holding court at the city of Caerlon in South. Arthur is again draw into war in Burgundy but he is soon forced o return to quell a revolt led by his nephew Mordred left to rule in absence. Although he succeeds in crushing the rebellion at the battle of Camlan, Arthur is mortally wounded and taken to the isle of Avalon. Geoffrey of Monmouth fails to tell us what then of King Arthur.

The second work written about king Arthur was Robert Wace’s who in 1155 composed Le Roman de Brut. Written in French it contains an important addition of the Arthurian story, namely the Round Table. Said to seat fifty of Arthur’s knights, its purpose according to Wace was to promote a sense of equality among Arthur’s nobleman.

2.2. OTHER APPROACHES

2.2.1.CHRETIEN DE TROYES

It was Chretien de Troyes who was chiefly responsible for establishing it as a fashionable subject of romantic literature.

In his five Arthurian stories written between 1160- 1180 he imaginatively developed the narrative introducing medieval notions of chivalry and courtly romance. Not only did he create many of Arthur’s knights, including Sir Lancelot, he also used the more lyrical sounding Guinevere as the name for King Arthur’s wife and introduced Camelot as the name for the king’s court. He is also one of the authors who brought into discussion another well known motif-the Grail, which later on will acquire sacred connotations.

Later than Chretien de Troyes, there was Robert de Boron the Burgundian poet who composed a trilogy of Arthurian verses in which the same symbols occur.

Last but not least it is important to mention Wolfram Von Eschenbach who around 1205 composed his epic Arthurian poem, Parsifal, later immortalized in Wagner’s opera bearing the same name. This poem is essentially a reworking of Chretien de Troyes

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Le Conte del Graal, although Wolfram provides many of the details absent in Chretien’s unfinished work.

Parsifal is an opera in three acts: during the first act, Parsifal, an apparently witless fool, sees the suffering of the wounded Amfortas, King of an order of knights who guard the Grail. In the second Act Parsifal wanders into the domain of Klingsor, a magician who is trying to corrupt the Knights of the Grail and who has stolen from them the spear used to pierce Jesus Christ during his crucifixion.

There Parsifal meets Kundry, the slave of Klingsor, who attempts to seduce him. In resisting her, he destroys Klingsor, and recovers the Spear. In the third Act, Parsifal returns to the Grail Kingdom to heal Amfortas.

The end of the Middle Ages brought with it a waning of interest in King Arthur. Although Malory's English version of the great French romances was popular, there were increasing attacks upon the truthfulness of the historical framework of the Arthurian romances – established since Geoffrey of Monmouth's time – and thus the legitimacy of the whole Matter of Britain. So, for example, the 16th-century humanist scholar Polydore Vergil famously rejected the claim that Arthur was the ruler of a post-Roman empire, found throughout the post-Galfridian medieval chronicle tradition to the horror of Welsh and English antiquarians. Social changes associated with the end of the medieval period and the Renaissance also conspired to rob the character of Arthur and his associated legend of some of their power to enthral audiences, with the result that 1634 saw the last printing of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur for nearly 200 years. King Arthur and the Arthurian legend were not entirely abandoned, but until the early 19th century the material was taken less seriously and was often used simply as vehicle for allegories of 17th- and 18th-century politics. Thus Richard Blackmore's epics Prince Arthur (1695) and King Arthur (1697) feature Arthur as an allegory for the struggles of William III against James II. Similarly, the most popular Arthurian tale throughout this period seems to have been that of Tom Thumb, which was told first through chapbooks and later

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through the political plays of Henry Fielding; although the action is clearly set in Arthurian Britain, the treatment is humorous and Arthur appears as a primarily comic version of his romance character.

In the early 19th century, medievalism, Romanticism, and the Gothic Revival reawakened interest in the Arthur and the medieval romances. A new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the chivalric ideals that the Arthur of romance embodied. This renewed interest first made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur was reprinted for the first time since 1634.

Initially the medieval Arthurian legends were of particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, William Wordsworth to write The Egyptian Maid (1835), an allegory of the Holy Grail. Pre-eminent among these was Alfred Lord Tennyson, whose first Arthurian poem, The Lady of Shalott, was published in 1832. Although Arthur himself played a minor role in some of these works, following in the medieval romance tradition, Tennyson's Arthurian work reached its peak of popularity with Idylls of the King, which reworked the entire narrative of Arthur's life for the Victorian Era. First published in 1859, it sold 10,000 copies within the first week. In the Idylls, Arthur became a symbol of ideal manhood whose attempt to establish a perfect kingdom on earth fails, finally, through human weakness. Tennyson's works prompted a large number of imitators, generated considerable public interest in the legends of Arthur and the character himself, and brought Malory’s tales to a wider audience. Indeed, the first modernization of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was published shortly after Idylls appeared, in 1862, and there were six further editions and five competitors before the century ended.

2.3. MODERN APPROACHES

In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as T. H. Whitees The Once and Future King (1958);

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Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1982) in addition to comic strips such as Prince Valiant (from 1937 onward). Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur

to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Bradley's tale, for example, takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials. The romance Arthur has become popular in film as well.

The musical Camelot, with its focus on the love of Lancelot and Guinevere and the cuckolding of Arthur, was made into a film in 1967.The romance tradition of Arthur is particularly evident and, according to critics, successfully handled in Robert Bresson's Lancelot du Lac (1974), Eric Rohmer's Perceval le Gallois (1978) and perhaps John Boorman's fantasy film Excalibur (1981); it is also the main source of the material utilised in the Arthurian spoof Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).

Re-tellings and re-imaginings of the romance tradition are not the only important aspect of the modern legend of King Arthur. Attempts to portray Arthur as a genuine historical figure of 500 AD, stripping away the romance, have also emerged. As Taylor and Brewer have noted, this return to the medieval chronicle tradition of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Historia Brittonum is a recent trend which became dominant in Arthurian literature in the years following the outbreak of the Second World War, when Arthur's legendary resistance to Germanic invaders struck a chord in Britain. Clemence Dane's series of radio plays, The Saviours (1942), used a historical Arthur to embody the spirit of heroic resistance against desperate odds, and Robert Sherriff's play The Long Sunset (1955) saw Arthur rallying Romano-British resistance against the Germanic invaders. This trend towards placing Arthur in a historical setting is also apparent in historical and fantasy novels published during this period. In recent years the portrayal of Arthur as a real hero of the 5th century has also made its way into film versions of the Arthurian legend, most notably King Arthur (2004) and The Last Legion (2007).

Arthur has also been used as a model for modern-day behaviour. In the 1930s, the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table formed in Britain to promote

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Christian ideals and Arthurian notions of medieval chivalry. In the United States, hundreds of thousands of boys and girls joined Arthurian youth groups, such as the Knights of King Arthur, in which Arthur and his legends were promoted as wholesome exemplars. However, Arthur's diffusion within contemporary culture goes beyond such obviously Arthurian endeavours, with Arthurian names being regularly attached to objects, buildings and places.

As Norris J. Lacy has observed, "The popular notion of Arthur appears to be limited, not surprisingly, to a few motifs and names, but there can be no doubt of the extent to which a legend born many centuries ago is profoundly embedded in modern culture at every level.”

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CHAPTER 3 MAGIC AND MYSTERY

Perhaps the most intriguing features in the Arthurian story are the four mystical elements that recur in nearly all romances: The Round Table, The Holly Grail, Excalibur, and The Isle of Avalon

3.1 THE ROUND TABLE

The Round Table is said to be the sacred relic made by Joseph of Arimathea in the memory of the Last Supper. The motif was introduced in Le Roman du Brut written by Robert Wace followed later by Robert de Boron in his work Scenes du Graal.

Here he tells us how Christ’s disciples were given the instructions for reconstructing the Round Table by means of the Holly Grail: having founded a community of faithful people Joseph finds himself in a great trouble when a famine damaged the relationship between the members of the community. Joseph asks God for help. In response to Joseph’s prayers God gives him the details of a ritual which commemorates the transmission of the divine power to Joseph.

This sacred event can only occur with the help of a precious relic: The Holly Grail-which must be placed on A Round Table that should remind us all of the Last Supper of Christ.

Other contemporary source such as Geofrey Ashe in his work Mythology of the British Isle attributed the foundation of The Round table to wizard Merlin. Merlin’s Round Table is said to have had a vacant seat called the Perilous Seat. Only a knight destined to succeed in the Quest of the Holly Grail could sit on it with impunity. This turned out to be Galahad a knight born of Joseph’s stock. Many were close to succeeding in their quest: Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval. Gahalad finds the Grail in a city called Sarras in the keeping of Josephe, Joseph’s son. In the minute he looks into the vessel, he dies.

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3.2 THE HOLLY GRAIL

Accounts of these differ widely and no one knows what happened to Grail and the Round Table. The former may have been borne to Asia or taken up to Heaven.

The Holly Grail came to be identified to the cup of the Last Supper in which Joseph of Arimathea treasured the blood that flowed from the wound of Christ. The magic cauldron was considered to posses miraculous healing properties and is sought by Arthur’s knights who gain both wordily experience and spiritual insight during their epic quest. However, the Grail remained for a long period Joseph’s personal object.

But the one to introduce the Grail motif in literature was Chretien de Troyes, in Le Conte de Graal, where he tells us how knight Percival at the court of the Fisher King witnesses a strange procession. The procession surrounds a maiden who holds an object described as a Graal. A few years later Robert de Boron transforms the Grail in the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. In his description, Chretien says that the grail was worked with fine gold, and there were in the grail many precious stones , the finest and the most costly in the worl

The author refers to a cup or chalice calling it un grail not Le Graal, as Robert de Boron does, so the word “grail” must have been familiar to his contemporary readers.

There in another theory concerning the motif of the Grail, that it may originate from Celtic legends of magic cauldrons such as the Cauldron of Dagda. Such cauldrons, (like the Grail) have magical properties, giving supernatural powers to the one that drinks it, so the Grail may be a semychristianized motif. According to Wolfram, it was the stone God used to banish the angels who failed to support him in his battle with Lucifer. The origin of the Grail is fortunately revealed by Wolfram von Eschenbach in his work Parsifal where he informs his readers that the accurate portrait of the legend came from an Arabic manuscript discovered in Toledo, Spain.

It may be true that the legend was adapted for a European readership by the crusaders, that often took Arabian tales and transformed them with medieval heroes replacing the original characters and then became amalgamed into the Arthurian cycles.

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3.3 EXCALIBUR

Another frequently used motif is the sword Excalibur. The name Excalibur is an adaptation by Wace of Caliburn, the name given by Geoffrey to Arthur’s sword. It seems that the name Excalibur derives from the old Irish word Caladbolg, meaning flashing sword. If Caliburn indeed came from Caladbolg than this means that the motif was taken from an early Celtic legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth does not say much about the sword, it was only until a century after that Vulgate Cycle introduced the Excalibur story we know today. In the Vulgate version Arthur who received the sword from The Lady of the Lake, Vivian, ultimately casts it into enchanted pool dying on the field of battle. When he throws it an arm rises from the water and catches the weapon from the hilt and takes it down into the depths.

Archeological excavation have unearthed many precious artifacts including swords that were thrown into sacred lakes and pools by the Celtic people of Northern Europe as votive offering to water deities. Could the theme of the Excalibur being thrown to the Lady of the Lake have therefore derived from the ancient Celtic practice of making a sacred offerings to water gods. This hypothesis is further sustained when the Lady on the Lake is given the name Vivian. This name could have been an adaptation of a specific Celtic water goddess called Coviana.

The tale of Arthur drawing the sword from the stone is a totally different motif and it may come from the tradition of the Celtic warrior elite that a price for winning a combat used to give a sword placed upon a stone altar. As in every other motif the Celtic element is present here as well. The name Avalon may come from the Gaelic word Ablach, which was a magical island. The word means Rich in Apples.

3.4. THE ISLE OF AVALON

According to Geoffrey in the Historia and much subsequent literature which he inspired, Avalon is the place where King Arthur was taken after fighting Mordred at the

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Cammlan to recover from his wounds. Welsh, Cornish and Breton tradition claimed that Arthur had never really died, but would inexorably return to lead his people against their enemies as discussed in King Arthur'sMessianic Return. The Historia also states it is where his sword Caliburn (Excalibur) was forged. Geoffrey dealt with Avalon in more detail again in his Vita Merlini, in which he describes for the first time in Arthurian legend the enchantress Morgan le Fay as the chief of nine sisters who lives on Avalon. Geoffrey's description of the island indicates that a sea voyage was needed to get there. His description shows the magical nature of the island:

The island of apples which men call The Fortunate Isle gets its name from the fact that it produces all things of itself; the fields there have no need of the ploughs of the farmers and all cultivation is lacking except what nature provides.

Of its own accord it produces grain and grapes, and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass. The ground of its own accord produces everything instead of merely grass, and people live there a hundred years or more. There nine sisters rule by a pleasing set of laws those who come to them from our country.

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CHAPTER 4 KING ARTHUR A REAL HERO

Some people believe that King Arthur is so inextricably tied up in Celtic Mythology that he must, in origin, have been, not a man at all, but a god.

Like so many other characters featured in the Mabinogion, Arthur in his earliest form, appears almost entirely mythical. He and his companions have superhuman strength and abilities, and consort with giants and other mythological creatures.

In the early Welsh poem Preiddeu Annwfn, Arthur visits the Celtic Underworld, Annwfn, and his adventures closely parallel those of the cauldron-seeking god, Bran the Blessed. Even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, upon being fatally wounded in battle, Arthur is carried to the mystical Avalon, apparently the Underworld home of the Celtic god, Afallach. Many legends around the country attest to Arthur's immortality. He is said to be sleeping in one of numerous caves waiting to return and lead his people.

Concerning his birth place there are many versions: the Arthur of popular imagination was born at Tintagel Castle on North coast of Cornwall.

The earliest mention of Tintagel in association with King Arthur appears in Historia Brittonum where Uther Pendragon has desires for Ygerna, the wife of Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall.

Helped by a magic potion the king makes love to the duchess and so Arthur is conceived.

He is born at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, but in reality the present castle could not have been the place of birth of a warrior who lived centuries before it was built. But it is also suggested that Arthur was born in a castle that previously occupied the site, though excavation show the place had previously been settled by an early monastic community making it an unlikely place for the birth of anyone.

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With a shadow of doubt cast across Arthur's traditional place of birth, we can learn about his magnificent castle Camelot. Geoffrey of Monmouth makes no mention of it at all; neither does Robert Wace. The first one to do it is Chretien de Troyes, that mentions it once, briefly. Later on Camelot is described in graphic detail as a splendid city with an impregnable castle. There are many versions concerning where Camelot is. According to Mallory it was sited at Winchester in Hampshire(although a castle in this area was built as late as the eleventh century),Geoffrey of Monmouth mentions Caerleon on the River Usk in the South-East Wales as the place for Arthur's court. Caerleon in translation means "City of the Legion" and excavation show a number of Roman remains so even if the place has some Arthurian associations it hardly fits the description of Camelot.

There are also other possibilities, some places in England could be Camelot, such as Cadbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset. This is the most plausible version considering that the nearby villages bear names like: Queen Camel and West Camel and the hill dates well before Arthur's time.

Even so the famous sites traditionally associated with Arthur cannot be 100%historically attested.

The origin of the Welsh name Arthur remains a matter of debate. Some suggest it is derived from the Latin family name Artorius, of obscure and contested etymology. Others propose a derivation from Welsh arth (earlier art), meaning bear, suggesting art-ur (earlier Arto-uiros), bear-man, is the original form, although there are difficulties with this theory. It may be relevant to this debate that Arthur's name appears as Arthur, or Arturus, in early Latin Arthurian texts, never as Artorius. However, this may not say anything about the origin of the name Arthur, as Artorius would regularly become Art(h)ur when borrowed into Welsh; all it would mean, as John Koch has pointed out, is that the surviving Latin references to a historical Arthur (if he was called Artorius and really existed) must date from after the 6th century.

An alternative theory links the name Arthur to Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near Ursa Major or the Great Bear. The name means guardian of

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the bear or bear guard. Classical Latin Arcturus would also have become Art(h)ur when borrowed into Welsh, and its brightness and position in the sky led people to regard it as the guardian of the bear (due to its proximity to Ursa Major) and the leader of the other stars in Boötes. The exact significance of such etymologies is unclear. It is often assumed that an Artorius derivation would mean that the legends of Arthur had a genuine historical core, but recent studies suggest that this assumption may not be well founded. By contrast, a derivation of Arthur from Arcturus might be taken to indicate a non-historical origin for Arthur, but Toby Griffen has suggested it was an alternative name for a historical Arthur designed to appeal to Latin-speakers.

To date Arthur's period of life there are a number of reliable indicators, such as: the battle of Badon which was an historical event mentioned in Bede's and Gilga's chronic that took place around the end of the fifth century.

From a slightly earlier period we know of Arthur's predecessor, Ambrosius. There is no doubt that Ambrosius actually existed , for it is named by both Gildas and Bebe.

We can date Ambrosius rise to power around 460 till around 490.Having thus deduced that the date of Arthur's struggle against the Saxons lay a few years either side.

It was historically proved that Arthur's dynasty was of the Northern Votadini tribe. Their presence in North Wales around 490 was proved by ceramics and mode of burial found there. Thus, we may find reasons to believe that Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father also actually existed. His name means head dragon and it is a title adopted by the Cunneda family ruling in Powys (alias Camelot).Thus we should find Arthur in the Cunneda family of Powys in 490.The Annales Cambriae indicate a certain Enniuan Girt rulling few decades before that time, so king Arthur must be Enniuan's son.

According to Phillips and Keatman in King Arthur the True Story, the son of Enniuan Girt was Owain Ddantgwyn. All available evidence indicates that Owain Ddantgwyn was the historical figure who bore the title Arthur. Owain Ddantgwyn was ruling in the last decades of the fifth century precisely in the period in which Historia Britonum locates

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Arthur. He was the son of a Cunneda king who was known as the Head Dragons and as

Uther Pendragon meaning terrible head dragon he was the father of Arthur.Owain was considered to be the most powerful ruler in Britain at the time of the battle of Badon where the British were led to victory by the so called Arthur(meaning the bear ,title wore also by Owain Ddantgwyn). Ddantgwyn is suspected to have died during the battle on the valley of Camlann (like Arthur's death) and thus the similarity between him and our great warrior is almost perfect. Other than his name, however, nothing is recorded of Ddantgwyn. We are told nothing about his appearance, his personality, his beliefs, nor anything about his family. Paradoxically, it could be the lack of historical information concerning the man that was Arthur that made him so famous.

However, it is well known that Owain Ddantgwyn, the warrior who ruled around the year 500, was the commander of the Britons at the battle of Badon; the warlord who assumed the battle name the Bear was the last leader of a UNITED BRITAIN. Keatman and Phillips in King Arthur the True Story mentions that King Arthur became the focus of nationals nostalgia, a historical epicenter from which radiated waves of legend.

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CONCLUSIONS

King Arthur, as treated above is undoubtedly a hero, who has become a myth living according to his own laws and like in all the other myths, the real space turned into an imaginary one.

In my opinion, imagination is the most important faculty of the human psychic, because, without it progress would not have existed and the human mind would not have invented the most incredible stories; moreover due to the human imagination, man could fulfill, even if in his dreams, the most daring aspiration: the need of power the pursuit of perfection, the wish to be God or at least a hero.

There is no better place where all this could become reality, but in the imaginary. And there is no other place where man could make his dreams come true than in legends and myths.

King Arthur as considered, is the expression of such a fulfillment of man’s need of grandour and absolute. Thus, as I revealed in the pages of this paper, Arthur was a reality which, just like many others in the human history, brought about storms of interest, because the complexity of his personality could match his ideas of grandour.

The right proportion of reality and imaginary of these stories can hardly be established, but several approaches of the Arthurian myth can be found. This real ruler named Arthur really existed and lived, some time around the 476s,480s,who fought in such places as Bassas, Cat Coit Celidon, The City of the Legion, Agned Badon, Camlan and many others, who had as his spiritual advisor the great wizard Merlin and who died in a fierce combat at Camlann, his death being historically attested.

Thus, reality and imaginary intermingle so well, that it is difficult to see where the former ends and where the latter begins. The Arthurian myth, as it revealed itself to us in a kind of real constellation of events, has its own construction, which we can observe totally or

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partially in all the heroic myths. Like all mythical heroes Arthur was born from famous parents and his protection stays under the sign of magic. He was initiated by a spiritual advisor, Merlin, led a life full of heroic deeds and identified himself with the ideals of the people. Arthur symbolizes the truth-seeker of all times, in Search of the Holly Grail and his death in a heroic battle is the symbol of supreme sacrifice, whose grandour comes to confirm Arthur’s triumph over the time.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Geoffrey of Monmouth – Historia Regum Britanniae

(editura Everyman’s Library,1963)

Malory, Thomas – Le Morte d'Arthur

(editura Corentin,1993)

Wace – Le Roman de Brut

(editura Le Roux de Lucy,1838)

De Troyes, Chretien – Le Conte de Graal

(editura Universitatii din Bucuresti,2004)

De Borom, Robert – Scenes du Graal

(www.britannia.com)

Wolfram von Eschenbach – Parsifal

(www.wikipedia.org)

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