King Arthur
The legends of King Arthur of Britain and his Knights of the Round Table, among the most popular and beloved of all time, originated in the Middle Ages. As they do today, medieval people listened to the accounts of Arthur with fascination and awe. It is certain that popular folktales were told about a hero named Arthur throughout the Celtic parts of the British Isles and France, especially in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany (Lunt 76). Other stories of chivalry that did not include Arthur existed in this time period as well. Although these stories were not recorded at first, they were known as far away as Italy, where mosaics and carvings depict Arthurian characters. The tales are often mentioned by early writers including William of Malmesbury, who distrusted them as "lying fables" (Bishop 32). Today literary critics believe that such folktales are sometimes based on real characters, but the stories about them change greatly as they are passed from one generation to the next. This art of storytelling became an oral tradition among these people and their ancestors, so the question of King Arthur's actual existence still remains a mystery (Bishop 34). Nevertheless, the medieval world viewed much of the Arthurian le
They celebrate pride, honor, and victory, and had little to say of love (Mathew 47). Not only in England, but preeminently in France and Germany were there also romances of Arthur. They found the endless spearings, beheadings, and body bisections a bore. The second great chivalric order was the Knights Templars. Long-forgotten poets worked it into fixed artistic shape, into a rhythmical pattern congenial to the language and music of a particular people. The legends of King Arthur of Britain and his Knights of the Round Table, among the most popular and beloved of all time, originated in the Middle Ages. They also exalted the institution of courtesy, a code of morals and ideals for gentlemen and ladies. Directed toward an audience of nobles and upperclassmen, they glorified the aristocratic way of life (Lunt 127). This spirit was preserved in the re-workings of writers throughout history. He composed and sang love songs for her, and was always scrupulous to defend her honor (Dijkstra 60). These tales dealt with the Knights of the Round Table at the court of King Arthur, who was, in fact, a British Christian chief of the fifth century. The lover, who by definition was not her husband, addressed her with the same vocabulary of adoration he used for the Saints. Most of all, they exalted love, "the origin and foundation of all that is good. This was all a realm of the imagination conceived my great authors during the Middle Ages and was translated into medieval garb (Evans 74). The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, whether truly every existent or not, have had a profound influence on virtues, ideals, morals, and literature throughout history.
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evans 113,
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Acceptance Essays
