King Arthur’s legends

Who was King Arthur?

Knights of the Round Table

Warrior, knight and king

Adventures Loved king

Heroic deeds

Chivalric code
Union of Britain
Quests
 Was King Arthur real?
Historical Arthur:
Welsh warrior who fought against the Anglo-Saxons.

Is there evidence?
The Welsh poem Y Gododdin contains the first reference to
Arthur.

The Welsh historian Nennius mentions an Arthur “Dux

Bellorum” (leader of warriors).
Works on King Arthur

-Y Gododdin.

-Historia Regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings

of Britain), Geoffrey of Monmouth.

-Roman de Brut, Wace.

-Series of Arthurian romances, Chrétien de Troyes.

-Le Morte D’Arthur (The Death of Arthur), Thomas

Malory.
More recent works on Arthur

-Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

-A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain.

-The Once and Future King, T.H. White.

The story of King Arthur

-Merlin
-The Round Table
-Uther Pendragon -Knights
-Queen Igrayne -Lancelot
-Sir Ector and Kay -Adventures
-Sword in the stone -Quest for the Holy Grail

-Queen Guinevere -Mordred

-Excalibur

-Camelot
Medieval/Chivalric Romance

Romanticism ≠ Romance

“Roman” in Anglo-Norman and in French

-Medieval genre written in prose or verse for the

aristocracy

-It described a chivalric period involving highly

developed manners and civility

-The matter of Britain

Romance: main characteristics

● Ideals of chivalry

● Hero with noble deeds

● Imaginary setting

● Supernatural elements

● A quest / journey

● Courtly love
 Romance: functions

Romance was used to…

● Teach morale through stories of adventures, courtly

love and dedication.

● Teach rules of behavior, bravery, courage,

gentlemanliness and life in general.
King Arthur’s legends: medieval romances

Main characteristics:

-Courtly love (Love affair between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere)

-Quests

-Imaginary setting

-Chivalry (the knights of the Round Table)

Bibliography:

-https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/mythical/grail.html

-https://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths_four_arthur.html

-
https://springfieldpublicschools.instructure.com/courses/516415/pages/background-legend
s-of-king-arthur

-https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-arthurian-romance-740354

-https://www.worldhistory.org/King_Arthur/

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsY88Lir-A
 Group members:
Lucía Carabetta and Araceli Bartolotta