Arthurian Index
King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table
Knights of the Round Table from of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. Knights of King Arthur as listed by Chrétien de Troyes in Erec et Enide
Early References to a Real Arthur
There are only three early sources that mention Arthur. The earliest, by date of composition, is a British poem, "Gododdin", which was probably composed around the year 600. The next reference comes from the Historia Brittonum, usually attributed to Nennius, a Welsh ecclesiastic who was probably active in the early ninth century. The third sources is the Annales Cambriae a series of annals that give the date of Mons Badonicus as 516, and Arthur's death as occurring in 537.
The Ballad of Glastonbury, by Henry Alford
Glastonbury, anciently called Avalon, is a place much celebrated both in tradition and history. It was here, according to old legends, when the neighboring moors were covered by the sea, that St. Joseph of Arimathea landed, and built the first church in England.
The Prophecy Of Merlin By Anne Bannerman
For three long nights had King Arthur watch'd,
The light from the turret shone!
For three long nights had King Arthur wak'd,
He pass'd them all alone!
Accolon of Gaul by Madison Cawein
O wondrous legends from the storied wells
Of lost Baranton! where old Merlin dwells,
Nodding a white poll and a grave, gray beard,
As if some Lake Ladyé he, listening, heard,
Who spake like water, danced like careful showers
With blown gold curls through drifts of wild-thorn flowers
Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes
Chretien De Troyes has had the peculiar fortune of becoming the best known of the old French poets to students of mediaeval literature, and of remaining practically unknown to any one else. The acquaintance of students with the work of Chretien has been made possible in academic circles by the admirable critical editions of his romances undertaken and carried to completion during the past thirty years by Professor Wendelin Foerster of Bonn.
Idylls of the King by Tennyson. Illustrated by Gustave Doré
Leodogran, the King of Cameliard,
Had one fair daughter, and none other child;
And she was the fairest of all flesh on earth,
Guinevere, and in her his one delight.
Tales of the Round Table. Edited by Andrew Lang. Illustrated by H. J. Ford
LONG, long ago, after Uther Pendragon died, there was no King in Britain, and every Knight hoped to seize the crown for himself. The country was like to fare ill when laws were broken on every side, and the corn which was to give the poor bread was trodden underfoot, and there was none to bring the evildoer to justice.
Le Morte d'Arthur By Sir Thomas Malory
AFTER that I had accomplished and finished divers histories, as well of contemplation as of other historial and worldly acts of great conquerors and princes, and also certain books of ensamples and doctrine, many noble and divers gentlemen of this realm of England came and demanded me many and oft times, wherefore that I have not do made and imprint the noble history of the Saint Greal, and of the most renowned Christian king, first and chief of the three best Christian, and worthy, King Arthur
The Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
I am preparing to sing the madness of the prophetic bard, and a humorous poem on Merlin; pray correct the song, Robert, glory of bishops, by restraining my pen. For we know that Philosophy has poured over you its divine nectar, and has made you famous in all things, that you might serve as an example, a leader and a teacher in the world.
Stories From Le Morte D'Arthur And The Mabinogion
Among the stories of world-wide renown, not the least stirring are those that have gathered about the names of national heroes. The Æneid, the Nibelungenlied, the Chanson de Roland, the Morte D'Arthur,—they are not history, but they have been as National Anthems to the races, and their magic is not yet dead.
Arthur - A Short Sketch of his Life and History
A Short Sketch of His Life and History in English Verse of the First Half of the Fifteenth Century Copied and Edited From the Marquis of Bath's MS.
King Arthur And His Knights By Maude L. Radford
Once upon a time, a thousand years before Columbus discovered America, and when Rome was still the greatest city in the world, there lived a brave and beautiful youth whose name was Arthur. His home was in England, near London; and he lived with the good knight Sir Hector, whom he always called father.
A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court By Mark Twain. Fully Illustrated
"Camelot, Camelot," said I to myself. "I don't seem to remember hearing of it before. Name of the asylum, likely." It was a soft, reposeful summer landscape, as lovely as a dream, and as lonesome as Sunday. The air was full of the smell of flowers, and the buzzing of insects, and the twittering of birds, and there were no people, no wagons, there was no stir of life, nothing going on.
In The Court of King Arthur By Samuel E. Lowe
King Arthur, who held sway in Camelot with his Knights of the Round Table, was supposedly a king of Britain hundreds of years ago. Most of the stories about him are probably not historically true, but there was perhaps a real king named Arthur, or with a name very much like Arthur, who ruled somewhere in the island of Britain about the sixth century.
The Legends of King Arthur And His Knights By Sir James Knowles
King Vortigern the usurper sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud — "Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come; even Ambrosius and Uther, upon whose throne thou sittest—and full twenty thousand with them—and they have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay thee, ere this year be done; and even now they march towards thee as the north wind of winter for bitterness and haste."
The Story of the Champions of the Round Table By Howard Pyle
I know not any time of the year that is more full of joyfulness than the early summer season; for that time the sun is wonderfully lusty and strong, yet not so very hot; that time the trees and shrubs are very full of life and very abundant of shade and yet have not grown dry with the heats and droughts of later days; that time the grass is young and lush and green
Didot Perceval, or The Romance of Perceval in Prose Edited and Translated by Dell Skeels
And you may be certain that never did a king hold as great court or great festival as did Arthur. Nor ever was there a king who made himself so much loved by his nobles as he did; and he himself was the most handsome man and the best knight that one might know.
The Lost Land Of King Arthur By J. Cuming Walters
No pretence can be made that a complete or exhaustive history of King Arthur is given in this and the following chapters. Only parts of his story and parts of the story of his most illustrious knights are woven into this mosaic of fact and fiction. Sometimes only a few threads of the romance are to be discovered; at other times many are gathered into the fabric.
From Ritual to Romance by Jessie L. Weston
In view of the extensive literature to which the Grail legend has already given birth it may seem that the addition of another volume to the already existing corpus calls for some words of apology and explanation.
The Romance of Morien by Jessie L. Weston
Herein doth the adventure tell of a knight who was named Morien. Some of the books give us to wit that he was Perceval's son, and some say that he was son to Agloval, who was Perceval's brother, so that he was nephew unto that good knight. Now we find it written for a truth that Perceval and Galahad alike died virgin knights in the quest of the Holy Grail; and for that cause I say of Perceval that in sooth he was not Morien's father, but that rather was Morien his brother's son.
The Grave of King Arthur By Thomas Wharton
Stately the feast, and high the cheer:
Girt with many an armed peer,
Cilgarran, in thy castle hall,
And canopied with golden pall,
Sublime in formidable state,
And warlike splendour, Henry sate;
Prepar'd to stain the briny flood
Of Shannon's lakes with rebel blood.