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King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table

© Linda Casselman

Ah, the Age of Chivalry - handsome knights in shining armour, beautiful ladies, tournaments, jousts, feasts, valiant quests, minstrels, songs of courage and bravery, love and honour - it's the time when romance was born. It's also one of my favourite periods. What are we doing discussing the Age of Chivalry in the mythology topic, you wonder? Does it belong here? It most certainly does!

When you think of chivalry, what comes to your mind? Knights, right? And which knights do you know best? King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, of course! Arthurian legend is part of Celtic mythology, so this discussion does indeed belong in this topic.

Arthurian legend appears in later Celtic mythology when Christianity spread to the Celts and became an important element in their tales. Whether Arthur was indeed a true historical figure or not is still hotly debated to this day. He was most likely a powerful and successful Welsh warlord that existed during the turbulent times after the Romans withdrew from Britain around 410 AD. It is said, however, that King Arthur, badly wounded from his devastating battle with his evil nephew Mordred, now rests in the otherworld of Avalon awaiting his triumphant return.

History or fiction, or a little of both, whatever the case, the tales of King Arthur and his knights continue to excite and delight us even today. So, in the coming weeks we are going to take a closer look at some of the knights from King Arthur's famous Round Table, and we'll delve into their exciting exploits. We'll meet Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, Sir Percival, Sir Gawain, and Sir Tristan.

Before we get to know each of these brave knights, however, we must first understand their most important quest - the Quest for the Holy Grail.

Next time...

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