Myths and Legends of King Arthur King Arthur

Myths and Legends of King Arthur

King Arthur was the great legendary British king. Arthur's base was at a place called Camelot. Here he built a strong castle. His knights met at a Round Table. They carried out acts of chivalry such as rescuing damsels in distress and fought against strange beasts. They also searched for a lost treasure, which they believed would cure all ills - this was the 'Quest for the Holy Grail'. Queen Guinevere, Arthur's beautiful wife brought romance to the story while his equally beautiful half sister Morgan le Fay added a dark side. In the final battle of the civil war at Camlan both Arthur and Mordred, Arthur's traitorous nephew, were mortally wounded.

Excalibur Worried that Arthur would fall in battle, Merlin took the King to a magical lake where a mysterious hand thrust itself up from the water, holding aloft a magnificent sword. It was the Lady of the Lake offering Arthur a magic unbreakable blade, fashioned by an Avalonian elf smith, along with a scabbard which would protect him as long as he wore it. During the troubled times of Medrod's rebellion, Excalibur was stolen by Arthur's wicked half-sister, Morgan le Fay

Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12 th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world. The stories locate it somewhere in Great Britain and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more usually its precise location is not revealed.

Round Table The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12 th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

�Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. Merlin's traditional biography casts him as a cambion: born of a mortal woman, sired by an incubus, the nonhuman from whom he inherits his supernatural powers and abilities �Lady of the Lake is the titular name of the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father