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THE LEGEND OF A KING. The Kingdom of Britain was without a High King. There were many nobles all over the island, but the land needed a king who could lead them together in the fight against the Saxons.
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The Kingdom of Britain was without a High King. There were many nobles all over the island, but the land needed a king who could lead them together in the fight against the Saxons.
Britain was full of evil men, though, and Merlin the wizard knew it was important that the throne go to an honest, brave soul. Therefore, he placed a spell on a magical sword called Excalibur. Here, only a true and good man would be able to use this sword.
Years passed and it was agreed among the great lords of Britain that a tournament would be held, and the knight who won the tournament would be the next High King.
Sir Kay, a brand new knight and the son of Sir Ector, was preparing to fight in the tournament. He was sure that he would win it and he would be the next High King.
He told this to Arthur, his adopted brother: “When I am the High King, you can be my assistant.”
Arthur was so excited, that one morning, when they were leaving for the tournament, he forgot to bring Kay’s sword with him. When Kay found out, he was very angry.
Kay ordered Arthur to go fetch a sword for him, immediately! Without a sword, Kay would not be able to fight. Arthur was worried that he would miss seeing the matches, so he hurried as fast as he could.
On his way to fetch Kay’s sword, Arthur saw—in the middle of an empty courtyard– another sword sticking out of a stone. He looked around and couldn’t see anyone else nearby. It didn’t seem as though the sword belonged to anybody.
He vowed to put the sword back when Kay was done using it, so quickly—with a mighty yank-- he pulled the sword right out of the stone.
Arthur ran back to Kay and gave it to him. Kay’s father saw the sword that Kay had in his hands and said, “Son, where did you get that sword?”
Kay said, “Arthur brought it to me, father.” Sir Ector said, “Arthur, where did you get this sword?” Arthur told the truth about how he obtained it.
“The sword didn’t appear to belong to anyone, so I took it.” Arthur said. Sir Ector then took the sword from Arthur’s hand and turned it over. “But it does belong to someone. Look at the inscription.”
The inscription read the following: Whosoever draws this sword shall be the King of Britain.
Sir Ector called together the men of the tournament and showed them Arthur and the sword. They all got down on their knees, bowed their heads and proclaimed young Arthur as the new King of Britain.
Young King Arthur was faced with many problems right from the beginning. Mostly, though, he needed to fight against the Saxons, who had invaded Britain before he was born.
He had to make the many lords fight together with him instead of against each other. To solve this problem, he was given the round table. Here all men would sit together without thinking anyone was more important than anyone else.
The man who gave King Arthur the Round Table also gave him a wife. King Leodegrance promised King Arthur his daughter, Guinevere to be his queen. They were married during a big celebration.
After his wedding, King Arthur fought many battles against the Saxons, and eventually quieted them for the next 20 years and a time of peace settled on the land
With no Saxons to fight and a lot of knights sitting around the kingdom of Camelot, Arthur asked Merlin, the wizard, to provide his men with creative quests and adventures.
Over the years, Merlin made up some interesting quests for the knights and they were kept busy. But Merlin soon disappeared and trouble eventually found King Arthur and his men once again.
King Arthur’s evil nephew, Mordred, came to Camelot. He pretended to be a loyal and trustworthy knight, but he was secretly planning on overthrowing his uncle, the king.
Eventually the Saxons started to attack King Arthur’s land once again, so while Arthur was away fighting, Mordred made his move. He raised an army to attack King Arthur once the battle with the Saxons was over.
Mordred and Arthur fought each other on the battleground. Eventually they both struck each other with mortal blows. Mordred died instantly. Arthur lived long enough to make one last request from one of his most loyal knights.
Sir Bedivere, Arthur’s most loyal knight, came upon the dying King Arthur and asked, “My lord, what can I do for you?” Arthur replied, “Take my sword, Excalibur, and return it to it’s original owner.”
FLASHBACK • The magical sword, Excalibur, was given to Merlin the wizard, who eventually gave it to Arthur. But where exactly did it come from?
The Lady of the Lake, a magical being who lived underwater, gave the sword to Merlin. She placed a spell on it so it would bring its owner great strength and courage in battle.
Arthur knew how horrible it would be if the sword Excalibur got into the wrong hands, so he insisted that Sir Bedevere throw the sword back into the Lake and returned to its rightful owner
Bedivere agreed to do this, but he found he could not. It was the sword of a great king and should not be thrown away. Bedivere hid the sword and returned to Arthur. But Arthur knew it was not done.
So Sir Bedivere returned to the water’s edge, threw it out, and a hand rose from the center of the lake and caught the sword neatly. It saluted Bedivere and then sank below the surface.
“Thank you, my friend,” Arthur said, and closed his eyes one final time.
MERLIN THE MAGICIAN • We know that Merlin was King Arthur’s advisor and a very wise wizard, but where exactly did he come from?
According to legend, Merlin was born from a mortal mother and a demon father. That’s why he looked and acted human, but he also contained magical powers.
Because he desired peace, he worked for many years as a faithful companion to several kings. In fact, he was present at Arthur’s birth and helped to raise him until Arthur became king.
Merlin was in love with lady Nimue—otherwise known as the Lady of the Lake. She and Merlin helped design Excalibur, the magical sword that helped Arthur conquer the Saxons.
For years, Merlin helped bring peace to Camelot, Arthur’s kingdom.
He told Lady Nimue all of his magical secrets and she eventually used them to entrap Merlin in an enchanted forest. She did not want to share him with anymore kings.
In Merlin’s absence, Arthur’s kingdom fell apart and Merlin was never heard from again.
He was the First Knight of the Round Table, and the bravest of King Arthur’s men. But how did he and King Arthur meet?
Legend tells us that as a child, Lancelot was left by the shore of the lake, where he was found by the Lady of the Lake. She fostered and raised him, and in time Lancelot became one of history's greatest knights.
As the years passed, Lady Guinevere (King Arthur’s wife) had been kidnapped by their Saxon enemies. It was Lancelot who rescued her, and King Arthur—being very grateful—invited Lancelot to live in his Kingdom of Camelot.
Sir Lancelot and King Arthur became good friends. In fact, Arthur asked Lancelot to watch over his kingdom of Camelot while he went on the quest to seek the Holy Grail.
The quest took much longer than expected and as the months went by, Sir Lancelot and Lady Guinevere fell in love.
When King Arthur finally returned home, he learned the truth about Guinevere and Lancelot.
Lady Guinevere was sentenced to death for treason, but on the day she was to be executed, Lancelot rescued her and they rode far away from Camelot.
They both felt very ashamed for what they had done. Eventually Guinevere went to a convent to live and seek forgiveness for her actions, and Lancelot lived as a hermit on a small island for the remainder of his life.
