The Legend of King Arthur

By the ninth century people all over were telling the fabulous tales and

romances about Arthur and his kingdom. The common people heard them sung by

bards, while in the court poets wrote different versions. In each retelling

the speaker would select certain details for emphasis and introduce new elements,

so that the story could be adapted to the particular time and audience.

Although most historians believe that there actually did exist an Arthur, they

differ on how major his role was on influencing society during his time.

To understand the most widely accepted view on when and how Arthur

gained fame, one must be aware of the historical time period surrounding Arthur.

The unity that the Roman government imposed on Britain disappeared around 410 AD.

In its place arose small villages whose rulers struggled for political and

military supremacy. Around 540, a Welsh monk and historian named Gildas wrote

in his book Concerning the Ruin and Conquest of Britain that ?The disasters

that the British people suffered at the hands of the Anglo-Saxons after the

Roman withdrawal were clear evidence that god was punishing them for their sins.?

It was during these disasters that the monk was referring to that Arthur held

up resistance for the Britons against the Saxons, at a time when Britain was

constantly being threatened by invaders. Through being the commander who routed

the battles against the enemy and thereby saving the south of Britain from

distruction of the Saxons, ?Arthur became the image of the hero and savior whose

death people refused to believe in and whose return was yearned for.?

The opinion that Arthur was a genuine figure in history, though not the

glorious King Arthur that most people know him to be, is largely based on the

writings of Nennius, a Welsh historian, who gave the first and only historical

account of Arthur's military career in Chapter 56. The passage starts with a

date.

?After the death of Hengist, his son Octha came from northern Britain

and settled in Kent, whence come the kings of Kent. Then Arthur fought against

them in those days, with the Kings of the Britons, but he himself was the leader

of the battles.?

Here Nennius implies that Arthur was not a king but a general of some sort, who

helped the rulers of small British kingdoms organize themselves, combining

forces to fight a...

... middle of paper ...

...and Guinevere. Like other

poets of the time Chretien was influenced by a code of ?courtly love?

(Schlesinger 73-76).

Chretien de Troys was the first to invent Camelot, a place with no

historical authenticity (Alcock 14). It is never mentioned in the earliest

traditions, or early evidence of Arthur. He saw Arthur as a monarch who needed

the necessary furnishing and therefore invented ?The finest court that ever has

been?(Schlesinger 73). He created Arthur's court as a gathering place for

nobles and courageous lords during the twelve year period of peace between the

Saxons and Romans.

Arthur's period of transition from reality to romance was long and

complex. He was remembered as a hero by the Welsh bards who embellished and

added to his legend in their own creative way. From Wales these tales traveled

to Britain and France, where they became popular during the twelfth century

through being spread by jogleurs and minstrels who wondered from castle to

castle reciting Arthur's stories at feasts. The French poets eagerly seized on

to the new material, and developed it into the earliest versions of the

Arthurian legends that we possess today (Barber 34).