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Arthurian Legends. British and Continental. Arthur: fact and fiction. Facts--not very many of them historical Arthur a Christian Celtic (Welsh or Cornish or British) chieftain from western England who had some success fighting off the pagan Germanic invaders of the 7th C .
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Arthurian Legends British and Continental
Arthur: fact and fiction • Facts--not very many of them • historical Arthur a Christian Celtic (Welsh or Cornish or British) chieftain from western England who had some success fighting off the pagan Germanic invaders of the 7th C. • Fiction--everything and everyone else • Guenivere, Launcelot, Gawain, Agravaine, Mordred, Tristan, etc. • the sword in the stone, Avalon, the round table, the once and future king, chivalry
Continental written in French, or Provençal, or German focus on Launcelot as chief Arthurian knight view Guenivere, Launcelot, and Arthur are caught in tragic love triangle and genuinely in love with one another view Mordred’s betrayal of his father Arthur as poison that dooms Camelot English, Celtic, or Anglo/Norman written in middle English, or Gaelic, or Anglo/Norman French focus on Gawain as chief Arthurian knight view Guenivere as promiscuous, and her adultery as poison that dooms Camelot Arthurian legends