King Arthur

1. King Arthur

2. Excalibur (1981)

3. Outline • Introduction • Part I. The story • Part II. The characters • Part III. Literature • Part IV. Movies • Conclusion • References

4. Introduction • King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain; central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain • One school of thought believes Arthur lived in the late 5th century, of Romano-British origin, fought against the pagan Saxons • Another school of thought believes that Arthur had no historical existence; the Arthur of legend is a composite; tales of the real Arthur's exploits may have been confused and merged with that of other war leaders of the time

5. The Grail: cup or vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers

6. Part I. The story • The life of King Arthur has been retold many times over the centuries; most of the incidents in his life have several versions. According to one story, Arthur gained the throne when he withdrew the sword Excalibur from a stone • Arthur established a brilliant court at Camelot; his knights included Lancelot, Galahad, Percival • Other characters associated with the legends of Arthur are the wizard Merlin, the enchantress Morgan le Fay, Queen Guinevere, and Arthur’s enemy and son, Mordred, who caused his downfall

7. Part II. The characters • Arthur: legendary king of the Britons; expelled foreigners from Britain, brought peace to the country, established a kingdom based on justice and morality • Held court at his castle at Camelot and instituted an order known as the knights of the Round Table • Son of King Uther Pendragon and the lady Ygraine; Merlin gives him to a man named Hector to be raised with Hector's son, Kay • Marries lady Guinevere, but she and Lancelot, one of Arthur's favored knights, eventually fall in love, and their relationship divides Camelot • Grievously wounded by his illegitimate son Mordred

8. Arthur draws Excalibur from the stone

9. Part II. The characters Lancelot • The greatest and most trusted of Arthur's knights, and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories • Arthur's eventual downfall is also brought about in part by Lancelot, whose affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere destroys the unity of Arthur's court • Once Arthur discovers Lancelot and Guinevere's love affair, his own system of justice requires that he condemn his wife to death • Lancelot rescues her, but initiates a war between his forces and those of Arthur and the knight Gawain

10. In the 1995 film, First Knight, Lancelot (Richard Gere), comes to the court of King Arthur (Sean Connery) as a fearless, freelance fighter

11. Part II. The characters Merlin • Geoffrey of Monmouth introduced Merlin into the myths of King Arthur; a wizard and elder advisor to Arthur • By shape-changing magic, Merlin enabled Uther Pendragon to enter into Tintagel in disguise and father his son Arthur • The poet Robert de Boron lays great emphasis on Merlin's power to change his shape, on his joking personality and on his connection to the Grail

12. Lancelot, Guinevere and Arthur

13. Part III. Literature • The Welsh historian Nennius first mentioned Arthur by name in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) • A full account of his life appears in the Historia Regum Britanniae (1136?; History of the Kings of Britain) by Welsh writer Geoffrey of Monmouth • The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes • He wrote in Champagne, France, during the last half of the twelfth century

14. Part III. Literature • The Vulgate Cycle, a series of tales written in French from 1215 to 1235, devotes thousands of pages to the Arthurian story • In English, one of the most important Arthurian achievements is Le morte d'Arthur (1469-1470; The Death of Arthur) by Sir Thomas Malory • American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in TheMists of Avalon (1982) • She explores the Arthurian world from the point of view of the female characters, paying attention to the relationships the women have with one another

15. Camelot:its specific location is currently unknown and may be a fictionalized Romano-British province of post-Roman Britain.First named in Chrétien de Troyes' poem Lancelot

16. Part IV. Movies • Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a comedic parody of the traditional King Arthur legend. Later adapted into a musical called Spamalot, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004-2005 season • John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur; considered to be a faithful retellings of the Arthurian legend • First Knight, with Sean Connery (Arthur), Richard Gere (Lancelot), Julia Ormond (Guinevere) • King Arthur, 2004, claiming (despite historical inaccuracies) to be more historically accurate

18. Conclusion • The possible historicity of the Arthur of legend has long been debated by scholars; the French medieval writer Chrétien de Troyes recounted tales from the Matter of Britain during the mid-12th century • In these Arthurian romances, Arthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table. At his court in Camelot could be found the wizard Merlin. Arthur's knights engaged in the quest for the Holy Grail • Other stories from the Celtic world came to be associated with Arthur (Tristan and Isolde).The love affair between Lancelot, and Guinevere, becomes the central reason for the collapse of the Arthurian realm

19. References • http://whitewolf.htmlplanet.com/excalibur.html#pictures • http://www.movie-poster.ws/movies/wallpaper/science_fiction_movies.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur • http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/excalibur.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur_%28movie%29 • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arthurian_characters • http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/ • http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573004/Arthur.html • http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=&query=king+arthur