King Arthur

We've delved into the Arthurian legends from Celtic mythology these past few months and looked at several famous knights from the Round Table in Camelot. We explored their quest for the Holy Grail and read of their adventurous exploits. We even had a look at the great, wise wizard Merlin. The time has come at last to take a closer look now at the legendary king of the Britons, King Arthur.

Writings from the monk Nennius in the 9th century tell us that Arthur was a great warrior, a historical figure who led the Britons successfully against the invading Anglo-Saxons after the retreat of the Roman legions in around 410 AD. Nennius tells of 12 great victories by Arthur but he curiously never mentions his death. For that we need to look a little later in history - the history of Wales, that is. There we find an account of Arthur's death, that both he and his bitter enemy Modred died at the battle of Camluan in 537. Let's see what the tales from Arthurian legend tell us about this fascinating hero...

Arthur was the son of British king Uther Pendragon and Igraine, a married Cornish noblewoman. Merlin used his magical powers to disguise Uther as Igraine's husband, the Cornish duke Gorlois, thus allowing him into Igraine's bed. The pair made love and conceived Arthur. When the baby was born Merlin promptly smuggled him out of Tintagel Castle and then raised the child in secret away from his parents.

Merlin had designed the fabulous stronghold of Camelot for Uther and placed the magnificent, famous Round Table within it. One hundred and fifty knights could sit around the Round Table designed to prevent arguments over precedence, to symbolize wholeness and unity among the king and his knights, and to commemorate the table of the Last Supper with the Grail at the center of it. When Uther passed away the knights did not know who should rule next as king, so they decided that Merlin should guide them in their difficult choice.

Around this time a wondrous sword stuck in a stone appeared in London and Merlin told the knights that whosoever could pull that sword from the stone would be the next true king of Britain. Of course, many strong knights had a turn at trying to remove the sword from the stone but none succeeded.

Years passed and Arthur grew. One day he travelled to London with the knight that Merlin had appointed as his guardian to attend his first tournament. Upon discovering that he did not have his sword with him, the knight sent Arthur to fetch him one. Arthur dutifully obeyed and came across the sword in the stone. Unaware of its ultimate significance he took hold of the sword and effortlessly pulled it out of the stone - much to everyone's utter amazement. It was revealed then that Arthur was the heir of Uther Pendragon and the rightful king of Britain.

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