Lecture 10 Celtic Mythology King Arthur

DON HONORIO VENTURA COLLEGE OF
STATE UNIVERSITY
Pampanga, Philippines EDUCATION
Center of Development for Teacher Education
eltic Mythology
oyce Ann M. Tolentino, MFA, LPT

jamtolentino@dhvsu.edu.ph
Celtic Mythology
 Celtic mythology is one of the oldest, most unique, and yet least well-
known of all ancient European mythologies. Compared to Greek,
Roman or Norse mythology, not many people know about Celtic myth.
 Many different Celtic tribes covered all of Europe in the Iron age – from
Spain and Portugal to modern-day Turkey, as well as Britain and
Ireland. They were never unified, however, and so neither was their
culture and mythology.
 Different Celtic tribes had their own variations of the base Celtic gods,
myths, and mythological creatures. Eventually, most Celts fell to the
Roman Empire one by one.
Joyce Ann M. Tolentino, MFA, LPT / DHVSU Main Campus / COE / 2nd
Celtic Mythology
 Today, some of that lost Celtic mythology is preserved from
archeological evidence and from some written Roman sources.
 The chief source of our knowledge about Celtic mythology, however,

are the still-living myths of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Britain, and
Brittany (North-Western France).
 Irish mythology, in particular, is viewed as the most direct and authentic

ancestor of the old Celtic myths
Who are the CELTS?
 The ancient Celts were neither a single race nor an
ethnicity or a country. Instead, they were a large
assortment of different tribes all over Europe that
were united by common (or rather – similar)
language, culture, and mythology.
 Even though they never unified in a single kingdom,

their culture was highly influential for the whole
continent for centuries after the Celts’ demise.
Where did they come from?
 Originally, the Celts came from central Europe and
started spreading across the continent around
1,000 BC, long before the rise of both Rome and the
various Germanic tribes.
 The expansion of the Celts happened not just by

conquest but also by cultural integration – as they
traveled in bands across Europe, they interacted
with other tribes and peoples and shared their
language, culture, and mythology.
Where did they come from?
 Eventually, around 225 BC, their civilization had
reached as far as Spain in the west, Turkey in the
east, and Britain and Ireland in the north.
 One of the most famous Celtic tribes today, for

example, were the Gauls in modern-day France.
Celtic Culture and Society
Celtic Culture and Society
 The basic structure of Celtic society was simple and
effective. Each tribe or small kingdom was composed of
three castes – nobility, druids, and commoners. The
commoner caste was self-explanatory – it included all
farmers and workers performing manual jobs. The
nobility caste included not just the ruler and their family
but the warriors of each tribe as well.
 The Celtic druids were arguably the most unique and
fascinating group. They functioned as the tribe’s religious
leaders, teachers, advisors, judges, and so on. In short,
they performed all higher-level jobs in society and were
responsible for preserving and developing Celtic culture
and mythology.
The Fall of the Celts
 The disorganization of the various Celtic tribes was
ultimately their downfall. As the Roman Empire kept
developing its strict and organized society and military, no
individual Celtic tribe or small kingdom was strong enough
to withstand it. The rise of the Germanic tribes in Central
Europe also escalated the fall of Celtic culture.
 After several centuries of cultural domination across the
continent, the Celts started falling one by one. Eventually,
in the first century AD, the Roman Empire had subdued
almost all Celtic tribes across Europe, including in most of
Britain. The only surviving independent Celtic tribes at the
time could be found in Ireland and in Northern Britain, i.e.,
today’s Scotland.
The Six Celtic Tribes That Have Survived
to This Day
Six countries and regions today pride themselves for
being the direct descendants of the ancient Celts.
Those include:
1. Ireland and Northern Ireland
2. The Isle of Man (a small island between England
and Ireland)
3. Scotland
4. Wales
5. Cornwall (south-western England)
6. Britanny (north-western France)
The Six Celtic Tribes That Have Survived
to This Day
 The Irish are typically viewed as the “purest”
descendants of the Celts, as Britain and France
have been invaded, conquered by, and have
interacted with various other cultures since then,
including but not limited to the Romans, Saxons,
Norse, Franks, Normans, and others.
 Even with all that cultural intermingling, many Celtic

myths are preserved in Britain and in Britanny but
Irish mythology remains the clearest indication of
what the ancient Celtic mythology looked like.
Celtic Deities
 Most Celtic gods were local deities as almost every
tribe of Celts had its own patron god they
worshipped.
 Similar to the ancient Greeks, even when a larger

Celtic tribe or kingdom recognized multiple gods,
they still worshipped one above all others.
 That one deity was not necessarily the “main” deity

of the Celtic pantheon – it could be any one god
native to the region or connected to the culture.
Celtic Deities
 Of all the Celtic deities, the most famous ones
include:
1. Dagda, the leader of the gods

2. Morrigan, the trinity goddess of war
3. Lugh, the warrior god of kingship and law
4. Brigid, the goddess of wisdom and poetry
5. Ériu, the goddess of horses and the Celtic
summer festival
6. Nodens, the god of hunting and the sea
7. Dian Cécht, the Irish god of healing
Celtic Deities
 Welsh mythology is found in the Mabinogion, a collection
of eleven tales.
 In the Welsh myths, as in those of Ireland, the heroes often
are half-human and half-divine and may have magical
powers.
 Many of the stories in the Mabinogion deal with Arthurian
legends, accounts of the deeds of Britain's heroic
King Arthur and his knights.
 The popular Arthurian tales of medieval European
literature are a complex blend of ancient Celtic myths, later
stories, and historical events.
Celtic Deities
 The legends are clearly rooted in Celtic mythology,
however, and references to Arthur appear in a number of
ancient Welsh poems.
 Scholars also note that there are many similarities

between the Arthur stories and the tales of the Irish Finn
Mac Cumhail, suggesting a shared Celtic origin.
The Once and Future King vs Le Morte d’Arthur
Le Morte d’Arthur
• Written by English writer Sir Thomas

Malory whose identity remains
uncertain even in the 16th century.
• Completed in 1469 or 1470 and

printed by William Caxton in
abridged form in 1485.
• It is the first major work of prose

fiction in English.
Le Morte d’Arthur
• Until the discovery of the Winchester Manuscript in 1934, the
1485 edition was considered the earliest known text of Le Morte
d'Arthur and that closest to Malory's translation and compilation.
• It tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights at the Round
Table. Arthur, who is son of King Uther Pendragon but was
raised by another family, takes his rightful place as king when, as
a boy, he is able to pull the sword called Excalibur from the
stone.
The Once and Future King
• A quartet of novels by English novelist,

social historian, and satirist Terence
Hanbury “T. H.” White based on Le
Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.
• It was first published in a single volume

in 1958.
• It collects and revises shorter novels

published from 1938 to 1941.
The Once and Future King
• The quartet comprises:
I. The Sword in the Stone (1938)
II. The Queen of Air and Darkness
-first published as The Witch in the Wood (1939)
III. The Ill-Made Knight (1940)
IV. The Candle in the Wind (
-published in the composite volume, 1958
• The series is a retelling of Arthurian legend, from Arthur’s birth to the end of his reign
• After White’s death, a conclusion to The Once and Future King was found among his papers.
It was published in 1977 as The Book of Merlyn.
Book I: The Sword in the Stone
• Wart, a young boy who eventually becomes King Arthur, was introduced.
• The Wart grows up in the castle of Sir Ector, his foster father, and spends his
days in the company of Kay, Sir Ector’s son and the heir to his title.
• One night while lost in the forest, the Wart encounters the magician Merlyn, a
befuddled but powerful old man who announces that he will be the Wart’s
tutor.
• During the next six years, Merlyn tries to instill some of his wisdom in the
Wart, teaching him about virtue and the world by turning the Wart into various
animals.
• Finally, Kay is knighted, and the Wart becomes his squire, a kind of servant
who assists and attends to his master as the knight travels in search of
adventure.
Book I: The Sword in the Stone
• When the king of England, Uther Pendragon, dies, he leaves no heir, and it
is proclaimed that the next rightful king will be whoever can pull out a
mysterious sword that has been driven into a rock.
• The Wart and Kay travel to London, where a tournament is being held so
that the finest knights will have the opportunity to try to remove the sword.
• While running an errand for Kay, the Wart removes the sword from the
stone, and he is declared the next king of England.
Book II: The Queen of Air and Darkness
• King Arthur tries to hold on to his power.
• Of the men rebelling against him, his most notable enemy is King Lot
of Orkney.
• As the war rages on in England, Lot’s sons, Gawaine, Gaheris,
Gareth, and Agravaine, compete for the affection of their mother, the
beautiful but cruel Morgause.
• Three knights from Arthur’s court arrive at Orkney, and unaware that
their king is at war with Lot, they proceed to bumble around the
countryside.
• In England, Arthur begins to plan how he will rule when the battles
are finally over.
Book II: The Queen of Air and Darkness
• With Merlyn’s guidance, he decides to use his own power and that of his
fellow knights to fight for people who cannot defend themselves.
• Arthur creates an order of knights to fight for good, called the Knights of
the Round Table.
• Then, with the help of two French kings, Bors and Ban, Arthur defeats
Lot’s army at the battle of Bedegraine.
• With her four children, Morgause travels to Arthur’s court, supposedly to
reconcile Arthur with Lot. While at the court, she uses magic to seduce
Arthur.
Book III: The Ill-Made Knight
• It focuses on the great knight Lancelot and his moral conflicts.
• Lancelot is just a boy when King Arthur takes the throne, but he
eventually becomes Arthur’s greatest knight and best friend.
• Trying to escape his growing feelings for Queen Guenever, Lancelot
embarks on a series of quests that establish his reputation.
• In the last of these, he is tricked into sleeping with a young girl named
Elaine.
• Guenever grows increasingly jealous of Elaine, and her jealousy
eventually drives Lancelot insane.
• He roams England for several years as a wild man, unrecognized and
ill-treated by everyone he meets.
Book III: The Ill-Made Knight
• Finally, Elaine discovers Lancelot and nurses him back to health.
Although Lancelot does not want to feel obligated to Elaine, he
does, and on two occasions he leaves Camelot to spend time with
her and their son, Galahad.
• Meanwhile, Arthur’s kingdom begins to unravel, and he tries to
keep his knights occupied by sending them to find the Holy Grail.
• Only three knights, Sir Bors, Sir Percival, and Sir Galahad, are
pure enough to find the holy vessel.
• Lancelot returns a humbled and deeply religious man. For a while,
his love for God makes him stay away from Guenever, but after he
rescues her from a kidnapper, they begin their affair again.
Book IV: The Candle in the Wind
• The destruction of Camelot becomes inevitable.
• Mordred, Arthur’s son by his incestuous union with Morgause,
plots revenge against his father.
• Mordred and Agravaine trap Arthur into acknowledging the affair
between Lancelot and Guenever, which forces Arthur to prosecute
his queen and his best friend.
• Lancelot rescues Guenever from being burned at the stake, but in
doing so, he kills two of Gawaine’s brothers, Gareth and Gaheris.
• Arthur and his armies lay siege to Lancelot’s castle. The pope sends
an emissary to broker a truce, and Guenever returns to Arthur’s
castle at Camelot.
Book IV: The Candle in the Wind
• Arthur and Gawaine, however, still want to avenge the deaths
of Gareth and Gaheris, and they continue to besiege Lancelot.
• While they are away, Mordred usurps the throne. Arthur rushes
back to reclaim his kingdom.
• The night before his final stand against Mordred, Arthur
reflects on all he has learned since his youth and wakes up
confident that although this day will be his last, his legacy will
live on.
CHARACTERS
• King Arthur - He is a conscientious, slightly timid young boy who becomes
king of England after being tutored by Merlyn. Arthur believes in justice and in
doing what is right, but his faith in good sometimes makes him blind to the
intrigue around him.
• Lancelot - Arthur’s best knight and the commander of his forces. Lancelot has a
love affair with Guenever, Arthur’s queen. Lancelot is a deeply conflicted figure.
Although he is considered to be the greatest knight in Arthur’s court, he struggles
constantly with feelings of guilt and inadequacy
• Merlyn - A magician who has already lived the future, so he knows what is
going to happen next. Merlyn is Arthur’s tutor and friend. Arthur’s creation of the
Round Table and a more civilized England is largely due to Merlyn’s influence.
Although Merlyn is powerful, he is also kind and a little absentminded.
CHARACTERS
• Guenever - Arthur’s wife and Lancelot’s lover. Guenever is beautiful, jealous,
and often petty. She is, however, a fundamentally decent person. She
understands and supports Arthur’s ideas and loves Lancelot despite his great
ugliness.
• Mordred - The son of Arthur and his half-sister, Morgause. Cold, calculating,
and vicious, Mordred is raised by Morgause to hate Arthur. He thrives on
slander and insinuation, which he prefers to open confrontation.
• Morgause - The mother of Gawaine, Gaheris, Gareth, and Agravaine, and the
half-sister of Arthur. Morgause is cruel and petty, but her little whims have a
huge impact on Arthur and England. Her seduction of Arthur is the first step in
Arthur’s destruction.
CHARACTERS
• Elaine - A girl Lancelot is tricked into sleeping with, and the mother
of Galahad. Although still very young, Elaine is crafty and
determined enough to do all she can to win Lancelot’s love. Except
for the two times she persuades Lancelot to stay with her, Elaine is
an unhappy woman, well aware that Lancelot loves Guenever.
• Galahad - Lancelot and Elaine’s son. Galahad is morally perfect

and invincible and the only knight holy enough to find the Holy
Grail. Galahad is disliked by all but a few of Arthur’s other knights.
• Gareth - Morgause’s sweetest and most sensitive son. Unlike most

of his brothers, Gareth loves Arthur and Lancelot.
CHARACTERS
• Gawaine - Morgause’s oldest and strongest son. Gawaine, prone to
murderous rages, is in many ways an emblem of everything that is
wrong with knighthood.
• King Pellinore - The first knight Arthur meets. An amiable

bumbler whose lifelong quest is to hunt the Questing Beast,
Pellinore becomes an accomplished knight after his marriage.
• Sir Kay - Arthur’s foster brother and a knight of the Round Table.
Spoiled as a child, Kay remains nasty and selfish, but is decent at
heart.
CHARACTERS
• Sir Ector - Arthur’s foster father and Kay’s biological father. Sir
Ector is good-natured, pompous, and boisterous.
• The Questing Beast - A magical creature that only a Pellinore can
hunt. The Questing Beast needs to be hunted to survive, and after a
series of comic mishaps, it is hunted by Sir Palomides instead of King
Pellinore.
• Agravaine - One of Morgause’s sons. Agravaine seems to have the
most problems with his mother’s promiscuity. As a child, Agravaine is
the cruelest of Morgause’s sons, and he remains deceitful and
cowardly throughout the novel. He is Mordred’s closest ally.
CHARACTERS
• Sir Bruce Sans Pitié - An evil knight known for his sneak attacks and
ambushes. Sir Bruce always manages to avoid capture and is a recurring
example of the old injustices that Arthur is trying to fight.
• Uncle Dap - Lancelot’s childhood instructor. Although he is the brother of

kings, Uncle Dap is Lancelot’s squire when Lancelot becomes a knight of the
Round Table.
• Morgan le Fay - Morgause’s sister and Arthur’s half-sister. Morgan le Fay, who
is most likely a fairy queen, shows up periodically to torment knights and
villagers with her malicious spells.
CHARACTERS
• Nimue - Merlyn’s lover, who eventually traps him in a cave for centuries.
Despite her faults, Nimue is basically a nice woman, and she promises to take
care of Arthur on Merlyn’s behalf.
• Sir Thomas Malory - In the novel, a page whom Arthur asks to carry on the
Arthurian ideals of justice. In real life, Sir Thomas Malory wrote the fifteenth-
century text Le Morte d’Arthur, an account of the Arthurian legends that
• Uther Pendragon - The king of England during Arthur’s childhood. Uther
Pendragon is actually Arthur’s father. Once Pendragon dies, the next king is
determined by a trial, which Arthur wins. Thus, Arthur is eventually placed on
the throne after his death.
THEMES
A. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORCE AND JUSTICE
The medieval England of Arthur’s youth is unable to distinguish
between might and right, and strength becomes its own
justification. Whatever might does is considered to be right in this
society.
B. THE ROLE OF WAR IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

Arthur’s England, particularly during the early part of his reign, is
dominated by various forces competing for political prominence.
THEMES
C. THE FRIVOLITY OF KNIGHTHOOD
The engine of war in Arthur’s England is kept operational by
knights, the legendary soldiers of the Middle Ages. The knights
are the might half of the might-versus-right conundrum that
Arthur is trying to solve, and they serve as protectors of
Camelot’s moral codes.
MOTIFS
A. MYTHS AND LEGENDS

White continually acknowledges that he is modernizing old
stories by referring specifically to his sources.
B. BLOOD SPORTS
White expresses the conflict between the brutality and courtesy
of knighthood by making frequent reference to blood sports, such as
hunting and hawking.
MOTIFS
C. CASTLES
The castles in the novel have their own personalities that
embody the hopes and fears of their inhabitants.
SYMBOLS
A. THE ROUND TABLE
There is a big Round Table hanging on the wall of Winchester
Castle, which names 25 shields. It varies in size according to which
author is describing it. The consensus is that it seated 150, with one
chair–-the Siège Perilous (‘danger-seat’). Throughout the rest of the
novel, the Round Table is a physical manifestation of Arthur’s sense
of fairness and justice.
B. THE QUESTING BEAST

The Questing Beast represents the absurdity of knightly quests
and serves as White’s way to deflate the notion of the quest as the
route to knightly glory.
SYMBOLS
C. THE HOLY GRAIL

A copper cup or platter used by Jesus at the Last Supper, the
Holy Grail represents an otherworldly power that even Arthur’s
knights are incapable of achieving.
The Round Table
The Round Table
The Round Table
• The names of the 25 knights inscribed on the Winchester Round

Table are given as:
King Arthur, Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot du Lac, Sir Gawain, Sir
Percivale, Sir Lionell, Sir Bors de Ganis, Sir Kay, Sir Tristram
de Lyones, Sir Gareth, Sir Bedivere, Sir Bleoberis, La Cote
Male Taile, Sir Lucan, Sir Palomedes, Sir Lamorak, Sir Safer,
Sir Pelleas, Sir Ector de Maris, Sir Dagonet, Sir Degore, Sir
Brunor le Noir, Le Bel Desconneu, Sir Alymere, and Sir
Mordred.
The Questing Beast
The Holy Grail

Lecture 10 Celtic Mythology King Arthur

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DON HONORIO VENTURA COLLEGE OF

oyce Ann M. Tolentino, MFA, LPT

 The chief source of our knowledge about Celtic mythology, however,

 Irish mythology, in particular, is viewed as the most direct and authentic

 Even though they never unified in a single kingdom,

 The expansion of the Celts happened not just by

 One of the most famous Celtic tribes today, for

 Even with all that cultural intermingling, many Celtic

 Similar to the ancient Greeks, even when a larger

 That one deity was not necessarily the “main” deity

1. Dagda, the leader of the gods

 Scholars also note that there are many similarities

• Written by English writer Sir Thomas

• Completed in 1469 or 1470 and

• It is the first major work of prose

• A quartet of novels by English novelist,

• It was first published in a single volume

• It collects and revises shorter novels

• Galahad - Lancelot and Elaine’s son. Galahad is morally perfect

• Gareth - Morgause’s sweetest and most sensitive son. Unlike most

• King Pellinore - The first knight Arthur meets. An amiable

• Uncle Dap - Lancelot’s childhood instructor. Although he is the brother of

B. THE ROLE OF WAR IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

A. MYTHS AND LEGENDS

B. THE QUESTING BEAST

C. THE HOLY GRAIL

• The names of the 25 knights inscribed on the Winchester Round

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