Who Was King Arthur
In romance and in legend, in music and in art, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are the world's best known heroes. For centuries they have been favorites of storytellers in many different countries. The tales, as they are most often told today, are set in King Arthur's Court at Camelot, in a castle with noble towers and a great hall. In the great hall stood the Round Table, where only the best and valiant knights could sit.Because the table had no head and no foot, all the knights seated around it were of equal rank. Each knight has his own seat with his name carved on it. The knights were bound by oath to help one another in time of danger and never to fight among themselves. The tales tell of the wise and courteous Sir Gawaine; the brave Sir Percival; Sir Lancelot, who loved King Arthur's wife, Guinevere; the traitor Sir Modred, who seized the throne and tried to wed Queen Guinevere; the noble Sir Bedivere, who received Arthur's last commands before he died; and Sir Tristram, the knight of many skills. One seat at the Round Table had no name on it. It was reserved for the knight who found the Holy Grail, the cup supposedly used by Christ at the Last Supper. The seat was finally won by Sir Galahad, the purest and noblest of all the knights.
The story of King Arthur and his knights as told in Le Morte Darthur ("The Death of Arthur") by Sir Thomas Malory, begins with the death of Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon. Following the king's death, there was strife and civil war among England's nobles. The nobles finally gathered in a church to ask God to show them who their rightful king should be. As they came out of the church they saw a sword in an anvil mounted on a great stone. On the stone it was written that whoever draws the sword from the stone, he shall be the next king of England. None of the great nobles could draw the sword. Although he was the kin's son, Arthur was not with his father when he died. Arthur had been given to the great magician Merlin for safe keeping shortly after his birth. Merlin had known that King Uther's death would cause a struggle for power among the nobles and that Arthur's life would be in danger, so Merlin gave the baby to Sir Ector and his wife to raise as their own, not telling them that the baby was King Uther's son. Some months after the sword appeared in the stone, a great tournament was held and Sir Ector, his son Sir Kay, and the young Arthur all attended. When Sir Kay discovered that he had left his sword at the inn where they were staying, he sent Arthur to retreive it. The inn, however, was closed because everyone had gone to the tournament. But Arthur remembered seeing the sword in the stone in the churchyard nearby. Without knowing what it meant, he removed the sword easily, and, after further proofs, Arthur became King.
The Story Of Excalibur
King Arthur's reign was full of victories. Many of these he owed to another sword, an enchanted one called Excalibur. Here is the tale of how Arthur got it.
Leaving Sir Pellinore, King Arthur and Merlin went to a hermit, who was a good man, and skilled in the art of healing. He attended so carefully to the King's wounds, that in three days they were quite well, and Arthur was able to go on his way with Merlin. Then as they rode, Arthur said, "I have no sword." "No matter," said Merlin, "nearby is a sword that shall be yours if I can get it." So they rode till they came to a lake, which was a fair water and broad; and in the midst of the lake, Arthur saw an arm, clothed in white samite, that held in its hand a beautiful sword. "Lo," said Merlin, "the sword of all swords, Excalibur." With that they saw a damsel rowing across the lake. "What damsel is this?" asked Arthur. "That is the Lady of the Lake," said Merlin, "and within that lake is a rock, and therein is as fair a place as any on earth, and richly adorned. This damsel will soon come to you; then speak you fair to her, so that she will give you the sword." Presently the damsel came to Arthur, and saluted him, and he to her. "Damsel,'" said Arthur, "what sword is that which yonder the arm holdeth above the water? I would it were mine, for I have no sword." " Sir Arthur, King," said the damsel, "that sword is mine; the name of it is Excalibur, that is as much as to say CUT-STEEL. If you will give me a gift when I ask you, ye shall have it." "By my faith," said Arthur, "I will give you what gift ye shall ask." "Well," said the damsel, "go you into yonder barge, and row yourself to the sword, and take it and the scabbard with it, and I will ask my gift when I see my time." So King Arthur and Merlin alighted, and tied their horses to two trees, and went into the barge, and when they came to the sword that the hand held, Arthur lifted it by the handle, and took it with him. And the arm and the hand went under the water; and so they came to land, and rode away.
King Arthur's Death
Some years later, Arthur married Guinevere, the daughter of a king he had helped in battle. After their marriage, Arthur set up his court at Camelot. There he gathered the most chivalrous princes to be his Knights of the Round Table. The stories of their feats and adventures ~ tournaments, battles, and quests for the Holy Grail ~ are all part of the Arturian Legends. At the end of Arthur's reign, while he was away from Camelot, Sir Modred tried to take over the kingdom and marry the queen. But Arthur returned and defeated Modred in battle, killing him with his own hands. As Modred fell, he lifted up his sword and mortally wounded Arthur. Arthur's body was mysteriously carried away to the island of Avalon. According to legend, King Arthur would return one day.
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