King Arthur Essay

The Once and Future King, or King Arthur, is a legend that is, despite its age, known by all. Everyone has heard of King Arthur and his loyal knights that make up the Round Table, but the rest of the famous legend is less known. If asked about Arthur’s parentage or birthplace, most people would not know. How many people can name off Arthur’s knights? Everyone knows Arthur’s name, but the details are less defined. Arthurian legend has many parts, the first being how Arthur came into being, then the most well-known part of the legend, but there is also his famous knights, the possibility of a historical Arthur, and how the legend has evolved over the ages.

Who was King Arthur? Most people would tell of a great King; a devoted circle of heroic knights; mighty castles and mightier deeds; a time of chivalry and courtly love; of Lancelot and Guinevere; of triumph and death. Historians and archaeologists, especially Leslie Alcock, point to shadowy evidence of a man who is not a king, but a commander of an army, who lived during the late fifth to early sixth century who may perhaps be the basis for Arthur. By looking at the context in which the stories of King Arthur survived, and the evidence pertaining to his castle Camelot and the Battle of Badon Hill, we can begin to see that Arthur is probably not a king as the legend holds.

King Arthur was an ideal person to many people during the medieval time period. He was brave, fair, fearless, supernatural, and honorable. These characteristics made King Arthur a legendary person. Many stories of the King Arthur legend exist today. These stories have many similarities and differences such as in Morte d'Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In both stories, the author's use the code of chivalry and fantasy, but one author decides to let King Arthur die and the other does not.

There are countless versions of the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Most English versions are based on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, but where did these tales originate, and what different interpretations are there today? This essay seeks to examine the roots and different renditions of the various legends circulating today. The first section deals with the origins of the legend. The second section speculates on who the "real" King Arthur could have been. A comparison of several different versions, and suggestions of why they differ are given in the third section, and the conclusion presents an analysis on the ambiguity of the legend.

King Arthur is an outstanding British leader of the 5th and the 6th centuries, son of Uther Pendragon and the Lady Igraine. Arthur is one of the greatest mythical heroes that the world has ever known. Arthur has had a great influence on other people and many of them looked up to him. The coming of Arthur was prophesied years before he was even born. Arthur was born into a world of chaos and disorder, full of love and tragedy. Nowadays, many of the scholars continue to argue whether or not King Arthur was a real person or just a mythological figure. Based on facts however, many believe that Arthur was not a real person; just a legendary British leader in the 5th and 6th centuries. According to history, there wasn't anyone named King Arthur

In a more classic take on the King Arthur story, Le Morte d’Arthur offers a better insight on the physical traits that makes one an epic hero. Upon the failure of a treaty between the Arthur and Mordred, an epic battle took place that would decide the fate of the Christian both men stood upon. During this battle Arthur bravely led his men into battle, single handedly defeating dozens of Mordred’s knights. To conclude the battle Arthur fought Mordred one on one, defeating him with a deadly blow to the chest beneath Mordred’s shield. Though Arthur was gravely wounded, he regretted nothing as he knew what he had done would better future generations of people. Evil had been vanquished and Arthur was truly an epic hero.

King Arthur and the knights of the round table belong to a long line of books and stories of the Arthurian legend. Merlin, Lancelot, The lady of the lake, King Arthur, and Excaliber are all very important in the Arthurian legend. In this essay we will talk about King Arthur, the knights of the round table, and Merlin in the famous story, The sword in the stone.

The Significance of this article is highly evident as it depicts the importance King Arthur had on literature as well as the impact he made on his followers. King Arthur is depicted as a mythical legend who obtains the sword Excalibur from the mystical Wizard Merlin. It is also believed that he may have been a real figure who was a “Roman-affiliated military leader who successfully staved off a Saxon invasion during the 5th to 6th centuries.” (2)

    In all the long history of literature, some fictional characters have loomed above others, written about again and again by various authors of various eras. Arthurian literature is one area of fiction that has always been popular for writers to recreate in new versions, and one of the most intriguing characters of all Arthurian literature is Merlin, the magician/ prophet who aids Arthur early in his reign. As the Arthurian saga develops, so does Merlin, changing from an aloof, druidical character into a more human, magical being, though always retaining some traces of his Welsh origins.

We are gathered here today, to not only mourn the loss of a fallen king, but celebrate his life and accomplishments. I, Sir Beviderne, am privileged to have served such a great leader and accompany him in many important quests. Arthur was destined for greatness the second he was conceived. With the path of fate set in stone, Arthur paved the way for future leaders. His first major challenge was to pull the sword, Excalibur, from stone which could only be unleashed by the one true king. With this sword, he slayed evil at the advent of trouble. Arthur collected many noble knights to assist him in battle, causing him to gain popularity from his people. He was admired deeply, so deeply that other soldiers, including Lancelot and I, risk our lives

During the years that King Arthur ruled over England, his reign is always remembered as a time of peace, a golden age, a great era, and a glorious time. However, this all comes to a halt, when two of Arthur’s most noble knights bring an affair into the open, causing his round table and kingdom to fall and bringing Arthur to his death. Written by Sir Thomas Malory in the latter half of the 15th century, books 20 and 21 of Morte D’Arthur (Death of Arthur) describe how over time, the tragic hero, King Arthur slowly loses control over his kingdom due to his ignorance, leading to a few errors in judgement that inevitably lead him to his own demise and to the passing of the great era that was the reign of the legendary King Arthur. King Arthur is a tragic hero due to his ignorance, overly trusting manner, and the careless mistakes that he makes during his time as king.

The Arthurian Legends were an effect of the Romantic Era and resulted in abstract thinking, as well as the arts including music, painting, poetry, and writing. The birth of the Arthurian Legends came from Celtic mythology and medieval romance, while the existence of magic confirms the conception of artistic intellect. Whether or not King Arthur truly existed, his influence dramatically changed the English society and English Literature to its current form (Arthurian Legends Vol. 1).

Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.

There were other great historical figures who became the heros of medieval legends, such as Alexander the Great and Charlemagne. We know that they existed and if somebody asks whether they did, we can say "yes" directly because we have reliable, historical records of them. But with Arthur, it is rather more difficult because the emphasis really is all on the legend, the romance.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is an exhilarating movie which always has you sat on the edge of your seat as the movie is so intense and action packed as it always has something going on whether it be a fight scene or Arthur being told something about his father and his family. King Arthur was a child who was too young to know what happened to his parents as at a young age his parent (Uther Pendragon) the king at the time was killed by Vortigern (Arthur’s uncle) due to want of power as he wanted to