King Arthur Legendary Characters

Various colourful characters are sprinkled through the King Arthur legends. Here are a handful of the
better known, and there are links to fuller information about each.

King Arthur and his Horse Welsh chronicles mention two names of horses owned by King Arthur.

Bran Bran is an ancient Welsh hero, the son of Llyr, and is sometimes portrayed as an ancestor of King
Arthur.

King Arthur, his Guinevere , queen to King Arthur, is best known for her role in toppling Camelot by her
affairs with other men.

Huail An early account, written in the early twelfth century, has King Arthur is wounded in the thigh in a
fight with Huail

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake originally gave King Arthur Excalibur and then took it back when
Bedivere threw it back into the lake

Lady of Shalot Elaine of Astolat is the woman who dies of unrequited love for Lancelot

Mark of Cornwall King Mark's associations with Cornwall are strong and he may well have been an
historical monarch in the area during the early 6th century.

Merlin the magician is the creation of Geoffrey of Monmouth,

Mordred Mordred has become the villain in the Arthurian legends. Described as nephew of King Arthur
by some, and by others as the bastard son of King Arthur by his half-sister Morgause, the wife of King
Lot

Morgan le Fay Earlier sources show her as a healer, but with the passage of time she evolves into a more
witchlike character, scheming to get rid of King Arthur

Morganeuse wife of Lot, King of Orkney. She has a minor, but important role in King Arthur legend, and
is frequently blurred with her more infamous sister, Morgan le Fay.

Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur In legend, Uther Pendragon was brother to Ambrosius and
became King of Britain on his brother's death. He is the father of King Arthur.

Vivien Vivien is the woman who entombs Merlin in a cave or a tree. Although Merlin can foresee his
own fate, he is unable to prevent himself being captivated by her and and then walled up by her.

Vortigern Vortigern could have ruled Britain during the early to mid 400s, having grabbed the British
throne from Constantine, the father of Ambrosius Aurelianus and Uther Pendragon.

The knights of King Arthur are listed on the Knights of the Round Table

The Legend of King Arthur

King Arthur (2004) More at IMDbPro »
Based on a more realistic portrayal of "Arthur" than has ever been presented onscreen. The film will focus
on the history and politics of the period during which Arthur ruled -- when the Roman empire collapsed
and skirmishes over power broke out in outlying countries -- as opposed to the mystical elements of the
tale on which past Arthur films have focused. Written by Scott Summerton

In 400 AD, the Roman Empire extends to Britain and the Romans become impressed with the fight skills
of the warrior Sarmatian people, which are spared, but have to send their sons to serve Rome in the
cavalry for fifteen years. Only after these services, these knights are free to return home. King Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table have their last mission before achieving their freedom. Written by Claudio
Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Although the legend of King Arthur has not been historically established as fact, this film will attempt to
place King Arthur within his possible historic context, smack between the fall of the Roman Empire (just a
few hundred years after Gladiator) and the long road through the Dark Ages (roughly set in the 5th or 6th
centuries). The magic and fantasy of the legend will be absent (Merlin may still be around; just not
performing the magic seen in Excalibur). Written by Payne

The Roman Empire is stretched across many nations, including Britain. In their conquest for more land,
the Romans went into Sarmatia where they fought the very brave Sarmatian cavalery. The Romans,
impressed by the Sarmatian's weaponery and fighting skills, included them into their army as knights.
After 15 years of serving and fighting for the Roman Empire the Sarmatian Knights, lead by
Arthur/Artorious Castus, are about to receive their freedom as the Romans are leaving Britain. But the
Knights must carry out one final order before they are free. A Roman priest and his family, especially his
son Alecto, must be rescued from the invading Saxons. But there is another danger lurking on the road to
freedom - the Woads, British rebels who hate the Romans. Written by Andreas Furumo

This original portrayal of "Arthur", as opposed to the mystical elements of the tale in past Arthur films,
uses names and other elements from the traditional, medieval, Catholic Arthurian cycle in a very different,
yet historically less implausible, almost realistic plot. Around 400 AD, the Roman empire, stretched across
many nations, from Arabia to Britain, collapsed and skirmishes over power broke out in outlying countries.
The conquering Romans become impressed with the weaponry and fighting skills of the warrior
Sarmatian people, which have to send their sons to serve Rome fifteen years in the cavalry before these
knights may return home. Arthur is Artorius Castus, whose future Knights of the Round Table, eager to
achieve their freedom, are charged by bishop Germanius with one final task before their discharge: a
Roman estate tyrant and his family, especially adolescent son Alecto, who is selected for a great future in
Rome, must be rescued thereto from the invading Saxons, whose ruthless warrior-king orders his
conquering tribal army to pillage and burn entire villages down. But there is another danger lurking on the
road to freedom - the Woads, Celtic Britton rebels who hate the Romans, lead by the 'magician' Merlin,
who however realizes Rome is no longer the main threat and offers Artorius a novel alliance after sparing
his life in an ambush

SETTING
 Like most stories involving time travel and historical transcendence, A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur's Court takes liberties with geography and history. The novel makes use of both
geographical and historical settings, framed in one time and place and taking place primarily in
another. Geographically, the novel opens and closes in and around Warwick Castle, England.
The Castle is a tourist spot, and the narrator Mark Twain presumably meets the principal
character, Hank Morgan, while sightseeing. Hank Morgan shares his story with the narrator in
Warwick Castle and a hotel room. The exterior frame of the novel (made up of the first and last
chapters) takes place over a period of a day and a half. Historically, this exterior frame is set in
nineteenth century England.

summary
An ambitious attempt to wed the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with
known historical facts of the era, this action adventure drama begins with the fall of the Roman
Empire in 450 A.D. as Roman armies flee the British Isles. Arthur (Clive_Owen), a heroic knight
and devoted Christian, is torn between his desire to travel to Rome to serve his faith and his
loyalty to the land of his birth. As England falls into lawlessness, Arthur throws in his lot with a
band of knights who hope to restore order to their fair and pleasant land and hopes to win
freedom for his comrades, among them Lancelot (Ioan_Gruffudd), Galahad (Hugh_Dancy),
Tristan (Mads_Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel_Edgerton), Bors (Ray_Winstone), and Dagonet
(Ray_Stevenson). In time, Arthur and his men join forces with Merlin (Stephen_Dillane), a
shaman whose band of renegade knights were often pitched in battle against Roman forces.
Forming a united front as loyal Englishmen against the invading Saxon armies, Arthur, Merlin,
and the brave and beautiful Guinevere (Keira_Knightley) are determined to unite a sovereign
Britain under one army and one king. Mark Deming, Rovi

King Arthur - Definition

I. King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Britain. He is the central character in Arthurian legends (known as the
Matter of Britain), although there is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed and in the
earliest mentions and Welsh texts he is never given the title "king". Early texts refer to him as dux bellorum ("war leader") and
High Medieval Welsh texts often call him amerauder ("emperor"). However, a recent translation of newly discovered documents
may have referred to him as a king