The English Arthurian Tradition

Paper Summary:

Although no actual historical accounts of a King Arthur exist, his reputation is certainly legendary. Whatever the case, the deeds of Arthur, fictitious or not, developed into an immense body of romantic stories that have provided a glorious past for the Britons. This paper looks at the history of the Arthurian legends beginning with "De Excidio et Conauestu Britanniae" (c.540) by the Roman-Welsh citizen, Gildas, through Geoffrey of Monmouth's popular "History of the Kings of Britain" (c. 1136) and concluding with Sir Thomas Malory's "Morte D'Arthur (c. 1470), based on both English and French Arthurian traditions.

From the Paper:

"The development of the Arthurian legend reflects medieval political and nationalistic concerns. A great deal of fiction in the guise of fact, the legend of Arthur provided a glorious past for the Britons who wanted to believe that they could trace their ancestry to Aeneas in Troy, as suggested by Geoffrey and Layamon. Geoffrey indeed realized this desire to satisfy the need to know one's roots when he created what he did not know in his History. In a turbulent age when acts of violence founded countries, kingdoms, and even families, the emergence of a strong leader capable of combating the discord with violent acts of his own appealed to the people and gave them both justification for their present state and hope for their future. With his series of expanding conquests, power being the ultimate authorizing force (might makes right), Arthur embodies the Celtic good by legally legitimizing and glorifying territorial victories much like the Norman Conquest. Thus, Arthur was a national hero who unified the Britons and prevented them from fighting amongst themselves so much that outside forces could easily defeat them."

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