King Arthur: myth, legend, hero or man? The mythical King Arthur is known as the man who became a king by pulling a sword, Excalibur, from a stone. The legendary King Arthur was thought to have had a table that he and his knights would gather around and it was round. Legend has it that King Arthur had commissioned Merlin, a powerful wizard, to design and enchant the table. This made way for the legend of “the knights of the round table”. The stories told about Arthur have evolved throughout the years, but was there a “real” Arthur? No, there was not a man who pulled a sword out of a stone nor was there a magical wizard who placed the sword there, and there was not a round table enchanted by a magical wizard. But there was a man who became known as Arthur. Ambrosius Aurelianus was the man who is known today as King Arthur.
The story of King Arthur is commonly told from the non-factual perspective Geoffrey of Monmouth. The story begins by stating that Uther, Arthur’s father, was the current King of England. During his reign, King Uther received many death threats against his son, Arthur, stating that he was not the rightful heir to the throne. Therefore, King Uther made the decision to give his son to one of his one knights, Sir Ector, in order to protect him (Hibbert). Uther suddenly died during his reign and in order to resolve the panic in England, Merlin, a powerful wizard, placed a sword that he named Excalibur, in a stone and made a claim, that “whosoever draws this sword, which I have named Excalibur, from this stone shall be king of all England”. Many tried and many failed, but when Sir Ector heard of the news, he brought young Arthur to attempt to earn his rightful place on the throne and become king of all England. With ...
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...s the mythical Arthur and although some information is exaggerated, some taken out of context, and some just plain fabricated, Ambrosius is the man who we know today as King Arthur.
Works Cited
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King Arthur, a courageous man, who was able to pull out a sword from a rock as simple as possible. As for everyone else who tired, it was almost impossible. This was just the beginning stage of Arthur becoming a king. The thing that Merlin didn’...
Even though it is argued widely throughout history that King Arthur is non-fictional, it is not true. To deem King Arthur a non-fictional person there should be written records that he was born and that he died. There are people farther back in history that have birth and death records. Just because people want him to be real they will depict anything with a tale of him and make it truth. According to the facts King Arthur was fictional. He was said to have fought very many battles; however, he could not have been attended all of the battles. (Wood). If King Arthur was apart of these wars as the legend suggests, he would be of the supernatural. Some of these battles were not written down in history, if the incident was not documented they must not have been factual. There are documents that show historical figures farther back in history, so why do we not have proof of King Arthur’s life or death? They are not there because he was not real. If Arthur was real he would have been buried in the ground, but he is not. In every story told of King Arthu...
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.
When Merlin arrives, his full name is given as Merlinus Ambrosius, the name he is given in one of his earliest appearances in Arthurian literature, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Reg...
Malory, Thomas. King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales by Sir Thomas Malory, ed. Eugene Vinaver (London: Oxford UP, 1975) 124-25.
One of the most enduring myths in the Western world is that of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Regardless of the origins of the tales, the fact is that by the time they had been filtered through a French sensibility and re-exported to England, they were representations of not one but several ideals. Courtly love and chivalry and the various components thereof, such as martial prowess, chastity, bravery, courtesy, and so on, were presented as the chief virtues to aspire to, and the knights as role models. Arthur's eventual fall is precisely because of having failed at some level to fulfill these ideals in his life.
One of the main topics discussed in lesson one is the fact that heroes over time and overseas all heroes have something in common; which is true in the case of King Arthur and Beowulf. It is obvious that they are similar in the fact that they are both heroes, but what makes them an idol of their time and in their culture are poles apart. There are many things that are different about Beowulf and King Arthur, but the ones that stand out the most are what kind of hero they are and what actions they did to make them heroic. Both heroes possess qualities that others do not have, but it is what they do with those abilities that prompts someone to write a story about them and idolize them in time.
The Legend of King Arthur is in comparison to The Epic of Gilgamesh because Arthur's closest companion was Merlin, and Gilgamesh's closest companion was Enkidu and neither Gilgamesh nor Arthur forgot their friends. Enkidu only came in contact with Gilgamesh after becoming a man. Enkidu released the animals from the hunter's traps when they ere caught, so to make him a man the prostitute slept with him so that the animals would be ashamed of him and reject him. King Arthur became aware of Merlin when he was a young man. When Arthur was born Merlin placed him in the care of Sir Ector, throughout his boyhood Arthur learned the ways of chivalry, knighthood and how to become a gentleman. At the tournament one day Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone and this is what brought upon Arthur meeting Merlin once again. In The Legend of King Arthur, Merlin exclaimed, "it is the doom of men if they forget." Gilgamesh along with Enkidu together fought and killed Humbaba, protector of the Cedar forest, and the Bull of Heaven, sent as punishment to Gilgamesh for killing Humbaba. King Arthur nor Gilgamesh forgot their faithful friends.
King Arthur’s story about how he pulled the sword out of the stone has changed over time because the people telling the story make changes to it to satisfy the reader. Arthurian legends are much different now, than when they were told earlier in time. Many stories told earlier in time are not told today, but the ones that are told today are much different than the original. Earlier in time there was more religion involved and would have more blood and gore, but because the audience has changed, the story has changed as well.
Malory, Thomas, and Keith Baines.Malory's Le morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the legends of the Round Table. 1962. Reprint, New York: New American Library, 2010.
Arthur was the first born son of King Uther but was advised to stay hidden until the need of his reign. However, when the King died, there was much controversy over who would be the next King. Merlin, a magician who knew of Arthur, set a sword in stone that read, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." When Arthur unexpectedly stumbled across the sword and pulled it out, he humbly took his place as King of England.
In the story, The Crowning of Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, Arthur shows an unrealistic ability of strength. While everyone in the town was at a jousting tournament, Arthur, who was known as a peasant, went to fetch his brother’s sword because it was left at home. Since everyone was at the fight, the lodging doors were locked. Arthur did not want to leave his brother hopeless, so he decided to ride to Saint Paul’s because he heard there was a sword that was wedged in a stone there. With nobody being present, Arthur pulled the sword from the stone without reading any of the signs that were posted. When he gave the weapon to his brother, Arthur was informed he was now the King of Britain because he was able to remove it, something that only the true born king could do (Malory, The Crowning of Arthur 1069). Arthur started as a peasant and grew to be king because of his ability to be able to pull o...
de Troyes, Chretien. "Lancelot, or The Knight of the Cart." The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation. By Norris J. Lacy and James J. Wilhelm. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2013. 114-80. Print.
King Arthur Arthurian legends are well known in today's society. However, very few people know of the "real" Arthur -- who he was and what his accomplishments were. This paper will establish the difference between legend and truth, show evidence to support and explain who the real Arthur was, and shed some light on the sometimes confusing Arthurian legends. To establish any sort of idea that there was, in fact, a "real" Arthur, it is imperative to look at the legendary Arthur and his impact on different cultures. Arthur's beginnings are shrouded in mystery, though it is generally accepted that he is the bastard child of Uther Pendragon and Ygerna.
King Arthur was without a doubt feared throughout the European world. Countries resulted to extraordinary means in order to protect themselves from King Arthur and his troops. They feared their land would be surrendered to Arthur and they were correct. At the same time, Arthur did not fully master Machiavelli’s rule of behavior about public image; he did not appear to be innocent. He was a prideful leader whom thrived on intimidating others. More so, he was most definitely hated by many. King Arthur