This essay is an attempt to separate the literary fiction of Arthurian legend from the historical fact. It begins with a brief synopsis of popular Arthurian legend as I have come to know it from books, movies, television, short stories, and other essays. This synopsis is not in itself an attempt at accuracy nor does it hold to any one version of the legend but rather exists to merge many of the myriad versions into one consistent telling to be used as a starting point from whence I will elaborate upon which parts are regarded as historical fact, as literary inventions, or are still being debated and by whom. Since many different forms of Arthurian legend are here combined, it is often impossible to say which piece of information came from which source. Therefore, I have given credit to all the sources which I have used that contain and agree upon any one piece of information in the synopsis. For example, credit for the belief that Uther's kingship was an uneasy one goes to both the movie Excalibur, and the book The Dragon and the Unicorn by: A. A. Attanasio because both contain this idea. The object of the essay, that is distinguishing fact from fiction, is accomplished by the use of footnotes within the synopsis of the legend. As a point within the synopsis that bears further explanation is reached, it has been marked by a footnote which contains the opinion of scholars and historians as to the truth or fiction of that particular piece of the Arthurian legend. In this way I have written what is intended to be an informative discourse on the historical accuracy of Arthur and his incumbent myths.
Merlin the wizard, who was the son of a demon and wished redemption from his parentage, set out to unite all of Britain under one king, one law.1 In time, he came upon a lad named Uther who showed great promise.2 Uther knew how to fight battles and how to lead. Merlin installed himself as an advisor to Uther and through his arts aided Uther in the conquest of Britain. (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio) Merlin first took Uther to get the magical lightning-sword from the Lady of the Lake which is then used as a symbol of his right to the kingship.3 (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio; Excalibur, movie) As Britain inexorably fell to Uther, he earned the name "Pendragon," meaning "great chief." Amidst his conquests, Uther Pendragon found that he lusted for the Lady Igraine 4--Queen of the Celts and wife to the Roman Duke of Cornwall. 5 Uther could not wait to quench his lust until he had killed the Duke and taken Igraine as his wife, so against Merlin's advice, Uther bade Merlin cast a spell about him that gave him the countenance of the Duke so that he could have his way with the Lady Igraine in the castle at Tintagel where she lived. Thus was Arthur 6 conceived and delivered unto Merlin as payment for the spell. The Lady Igraine had a young daughter by the Duke named Morgan who may have witnessed this event which would later fuel her hatred for her half- brother Arthur. After his tryst with Igraine, Uther Pendragon went on to kill the Duke of Cornwall, marry Igraine, and conquer the rest of Britain. (Excalibur, movie)
Uther's kingship was an uneasy one. The Celts did not accept him as their king and the Roman contingents continually vied for more power among themselves. This ubiquitous unrest was what eventually caused Uther's demise. Upon Uther's death, he drove the lightning-sword into a large stone or anvil where Merlin used his arts to affix it until the hand of Arthur could pull it forth.7 (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio; Excalibur, movie) However, Merlin told the people of Britain only that the hand of the true king could free the sword and that all were welcome to try. This use of semantics by Merlin successfully intended to make the people more easily accept Arthur when he claimed his kingship. (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio; Excalibur, movie; The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Sword in the Stone, Disney movie) Over the subsequent years, a tournament grew up around the sword in which the prize for winning the games was the chance to attempt to draw the sword from the stone. (Excalibur, movie; The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Eagle and the Sword, A. A. Attanasio) In the meantime, the child Arthur was delivered by Merlin to Sir Ector, a knight with a son--Kay--the same age as Arthur. (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio; The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Merlin told Sir Ector that Arthur was a foundling and to raise him well. (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio) The good knight brought Arthur up to be a page, as befit his seeming status, to Kay who was to be a knight. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White) When Sir Kay was finally old enough to participate in the yearly tournament of the sword, Arthur attended him as his page. However, Arthur forgot Kay's sword and had to find a replacement quickly. Since he had little or no money, the only sword free to any who could take it was the one lodged in the stone. Of that sword Arthur knew nothing save its existence. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Eagle and the Sword, A. A. Attanasio; The Sword in the Stone, Disney movie) So, he slid the sword from the stone thereby granting the weapon its name--Ex calce libritus, freed from the stone--Excalibur8--and was proclaimed king by Merlin who suddenly appeared. (Excalibur, movie) Arthur was about fourteen at the time. (The Eagle and the Sword, A. A. Attanasio; The Once and Future King, T. H. White) Merlin then became an advisor to the boy king as he was to Uther Pendragon. Arthur was instructed in the arts of warfare, kingship, and most importantly, ethics. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) He went on to reconquer Britain, his rightful inheritance, which had split upon Uther's death. In the process, he came to the attention of his half-sister Morgan9 who had been schooled in Celtic magic by her mother and who wanted revenge for Uther's murder of her father, the Duke of Cornwall. Her idea was to put his blood on the throne by making a king of her as yet unconceived child. Therefore, she cast a spell upon Arthur so that he saw her as another woman and they spent a night together. Thus was Mordred 10 conceived of both the blood of the rightful king and, indirectly, the blood of the Duke. (The Eagle and the Sword, A. A. Attanasio; The Once and Future King, T. H. White)
Also, as Arthur was reclaiming Britain, he fell in love with a young woman named Guinevere 11 and asked her to marry him. She agreed because he was the king. It wasn't until later that she first met Sir Lancelot du Lac 12 and realized that it was he she loved, not Arthur. (Excalibur, movie; First Knight, movie; The Once and Future King, T. H. White)
After Arthur finished his campaign to retake Britain, he ruled in peace for many years from his capital at Camelot. During these years, many great deeds were accomplished including the creation of the Roundtable and the Quest for the Holy Grail. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley)
The Roundtable13 was Arthur's way to avoid the conflict of knights maneuvering for power and a seat near their king. The idea was that a round table gave all those seated at it equal rank since the table had no head. (The Dragon and the Unicorn, A. A. Attanasio; The Once and Future King; T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) The table itself was made from the trunk of an enormous tree which was then hollowed out to allow servers to apportion food from the inside of the table. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White) It was of such gargantuan size that all of Arthur's hundred-plus knights14 could be seated there at the same meal. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; Le Morte D'Arthur, Mallory; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Since then, the Roundtable has grown into a legend and has become a symbol indicative of fairness and justice.
The reasons for the beginning of the Grail Quest15 are varied and obscure. It may be that Arthur wished to purify his knights through a holy enterprise or that a concrete symbol of Christianity was desperately needed at the time. However it came to be, the knights set forth to find the Holy Grail. After many years, the deaths of many knights, and many difficult trials, the Grail was eventually found by Gawaine, Percival, or Galahad, Lancelot's son. Of the three knights who were in attendance when it was found, only one was holy enough to approach it. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; From Ritual to Romance, Jessie L. Westion; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Afterwards, the three boarded a magical crystal boat that moved under its own power and never returned. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; From Ritual to Romance, Jessie L. Weston)
During the years of Arthur's reign, Lancelot and Guinevere had an ongoing secret affair. Several knights suspected this but nothing was ever done about it out of respect for Arthur's love of Guinevere and friendship of Lancelot until Mordred came of age to be a knight and joined Arthur's Round Table. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Mordred exposed the affair at a time when Lancelot was away and unable to defend Guinevere. Arthur ordered Guinevere to be burned at the stake as befit the laws of the time, but Lancelot arrived in time to save her. This set off a war between Arthur and Lancelot in which Arthur besieged Lancelot's castle: Joyous Guard. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White) After Arthur's armies had been wearied by the siege, Mordred made his move by bringing his armies against Arthur's. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Lancelot came to Arthur's aid in the battle, and the two forces met at Camlan 16. Arthur's army won, but at great cost. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; Excalibur, movie; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Lancelot died at the battle of Camlan as did most of Arthur's knights. (The Once and Future King, T. H. White; Excalibur, movie) At the high point of the battle, Arthur and Mordred met and entered into combat. Arthur succeeded in killing the traitorous Mordred, but the king received a mortal wound in the process. (The World Bood Encyclopedia; The Once and Future King, T. H. White; Excalibur, movie; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) With their leaders fallen, the battle lost its impetus thus allowing the armies to dissipate leaving a field littered with the dead and dying knights of both sides the bodies of which were beginning to be picked clean by thieves. (Babylon 5, TV; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) The knight Sir Bedivere 17 stayed to tend to Arthur who then instructed him to take the sword Excalibur and throw it into a nearby lake or river and to return. Sir Bedivere went off for a time and returned at which time Arthur asked him what he had seen when the sword entered the water. Sir Bedivere claimed that he had seen nothing out of the ordinary. Since Arthur knew that the Lady of the Lake 18 would rise to claim the sword as it entered the water, he knew that Bedivere had not done as he bade the knight. So Arthur again told Bedivere to throw the sword into the water. Again Bedivere left only to return and claim he had seen nothing unusual. The third time Arthur Sent Sir Bedivere to return the sword to the Lady of the Lake, Bedivere did indeed throw the sword in and he witnessed the Lady rise to reclaim it. Upon Bedivere's third return to the dying Arthur, it was already known that he had finally done the deed. (Excalibur, movie; Now Cracks a Noble Heart, David M. Honigsberg; Idylls of the King, Alfred, Lord Tennyson; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) Three priestess of Avalon, or perhaps nine queens, had come to take Arthur to their isle. (British Tradition; Excalibur, Movie; Now Cracks a Noble Heart; David M. Honigsberg) With the help of Bedivere, Arthur was carried to a magical crystal boat in which he and the priestesses traveled to Avalon19 where he was to sleep until the day when he is most needed. (British Tradition; Excalibur, Movie; Now Cracks a Noble Heart, David M. Honigsberg; The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley) As Arthur has yet to return, that day is believed by many to be the advent of Armageddon.
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