In Search of the Real King Arthur - March 1998 British Heritage Feature

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TIn Search of the Real King Arthur

Many and various tales of Arthur have continued to arise throughout history.

by Bob Brooke

There’s a story that some like to think is true. During the 13th century, an abbot speaking to a congregation of monks found that many of his listeners had fallen asleep. In desperation, the abbot raised his voice and declared: ‘I will tell you something new and great. There was once a mighty king, whose name was Arthur. . . .’ The words had an electrifying effect. Though the monks couldn’t stay awake to hear the abbot’s thoughts on holy matters, they perked up at the mention of the magical name Arthur.

There’s now general acceptance that behind the legendary figure of Arthur stands a real historic personage–a great leader named Arturus, who championed the Celtic Britons’ cause against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. However, his name doesn’t appear in any reliable history of the period, probably because Arturus was not his proper name, but a title meaning ‘Bear.’

Although the Saxons finally conquered Britain, the Celts remained strong in Cornwall, Cumberland, and Wales. There, the Celtic people retained a degree of independence and kept alive the memory of old champions like Arturus. Celtic bards travelled from court to court recounting folk tales of the past. Over time, Arturus, the military leader, became, in the legends, King Arthur of England.

Some historians believe Arthur was Dux (Duke) of Britain, a Roman title. However, by AD 500, such titles had become vague and ‘King’ was the customary designation of Celtic leaders. When Roman rule faded on the island, the old kingly families of the tribes and regions re-emerged.

From hints found in ancient records, we can glean a picture of Arthur as a warrior who was successful for a time, only to die tragically in a civil war after a mysterious Battle of Camlann in AD 537 or thereabouts. Arthur’s father may have been Ambrosius Aurelianus, himself a Duke of Britain. The decades between Ambrosius’ death, sometime after 495, and Arthur’s own demise some 40 years later were a time of shifting fortune and wide-ranging struggles. This may explain the myriad of places in Britain that claim a connection to the legendary king.

In the centuries that followed Arthur’s death, fanciful histories fleshed out the few reliable facts about the ‘King’ with a whole body of literature that created an enduring legend. Foremost among these was the Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), written in 1135 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Also in the 12th century, the monk Nennius, in his Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons) listed Arthur’s battles against Germanic invaders–the Saxons and the Angles–during the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Later, in 1160, the French writer Chretien de Troyes established King Arthur as a fashionable subject of romantic literature by introducing medieval chivalry and courtly romance into the tales. Not only did de Troyes create many of the knights, including Sir Lancelot, he also used the more lyrical sounding Guinevere as the name for Arthur’s queen and chose Camelot for the name of his court.

But the story of King Arthur as we know it today is mostly the work of Sir Thomas Malory. In his Le Morte d’Arthur (The Death of Arthur), printed in 1485, he retold many of the tales that had first been circulated by word of mouth and were then written down. He dressed Arthur in the fashions of his own times, transforming him into a 15th-century hero. As Homer was to Odysseus, so was Sir Thomas Malory to Arthur.

Malory’s text transports the reader to a dreamland of castles and kingdoms in which the love of adventure was reason enough to wage battles. Though these adventures are as real as a boy’s dream, they’re as difficult to place in the latitude and longitude of today’s world.

Le Morte d’Arthur opens with Arthur conceived as the illegitimate son of Uther Pendragon (literally ‘the Head Dragon’ or King of Britain). After being raised in secret, Arthur proves himself king by drawing a sword from a stone. He marries Guinevere, founds the Knights of the Round Table at Camelot and begets a son, Mordred, in unknowing incest. Following 12 years of prosperity, Arthur’s knights commence a quest to discover the Holy Grail, during which time Lancelot, his chief knight, consummates an adulterous affair with Queen Guinevere. Ultimately, the couple is discovered and Arthur pursues Lancelot into France, leaving Mordred behind as regent. At the end of the story, Arthur discovers an attempt by Mordred to seize the throne and returns to quash the rebellion. In a final battle, Mordred dies and Arthur receives a mortal wound, after which he is transported by barge to the Vale of Avalon. Following the battle, Sir Bedivere reluctantly returns Arthur’s sword Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, while both Lancelot and Guinevere enter holy orders and live out their lives in peace.

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