7. Juni 2016, Brucknerhaus C. K. / PH OÖ

Transcription

1 1. Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. However these were very troubled times and Merlin, a wise magician, advised that the baby Arthur should be raised in a secret place and that none should know his true identity. As Merlin feared, when King Uther died there was great conflict over who should be the next king. Merlin used his magic to set a sword in a stone. Written on the sword, in letters of gold, were these words: "Whoso pullet out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." Of course all the contenders for the throne took their turn at trying to draw the sword, but none could succeed. Arthur, quite by chance, withdrew the sword for another to use in a tournament. Arthur became King. He gathered Knights around him and fought back against the Saxons who, since the Romans left Britain, were slowly but surely taking the country over. After many great battles and a huge victory at Mount Badon the Saxons were beaten. 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'. Under the guidance of Merlin, Arthur had obtained magical sword from The Lady Of The Lake. This sword was called 'Excalibur" and with this weapon he defeated many villains. Queen Guinevere was Arthur's beautiful wife, while his equally beautiful half sister Morgan le Fay was a dark and mysterious character. Unfortunately, as peace settled over the country, things turned sour within the court of Camelot and civil war broke out. In the final battle at Camlanboth Arthur and Mordred, Arthur's disloyal nephew, were badly wounded. Arthur was set upon a boat and floated down river to the isle of Avalon. Here his wounds were treated by three mysterious maidens. His body was never found and many say that he rests under a hill with all his knights - ready to ride forth and save the country again. I used the story of King Arthur for a year 3 class for our Myths and Legends literacy unit. We went on to plan and write our own adventure stories based on Arthur.

2 2. What happened to him as a boy Uther, the High-King of Britain fell in love with the Lady Igraine, but she was already married to Gorlois, the Duke of Tintagel. King Uther decided he must marry Igraine. So he took his army and fought with Gorlois. Gorlois was killed. King Uther married Igraine and they had a son named Arthur. He was born at Tintagel Castle. This was a very dangerous time and attacks by Saxons happened a lot. So King Uther gave his baby son to his wizard, Merlin, for safety. Merlin sent Arthur away to be raised in the countryside by Sir Ector. He grew up with his foster brother, Kay. He never knew who his real parents were. How Arthur became King. When King Uther died, no-one knew he had a son. So there was lots of arguing about who should be High-King of Britain. Suddenly a mysterious stone magically appeared in the churchyard of St. Paul s Cathedral in London. Sticking out of it was a huge sword. There was a message on it. It said that whoever pulled the sword from the stone was the rightful High-King of Britain. Lots of the local kings (or 'tyrants') tried to pull the sword out. It was magically stuck fast though and the arguing carried on. Years later, Arthur had grown into a fifteen year old lad. It was time for his elder fosterbrother, Kay, to go to his first tournament (where knights practiced fighting). So the family went to London. Arthur got into trouble because he had forgotten Kay s sword. So he went off to look for one. He found the sword in the stone and pulled it out easily. Arthur gave the sword to Kay. Kay noticed the message and everyone wanted to know who had pulled the sword from the stone. At first, no-one believed that Arthur had done it. But he repeated what he had done. Everyone was amazed. What Arthur did about People who didn't want him as King. Arthur was crowned King by St. Dubricius. However, 11 of the local kings would not agree to him being High-King. They did not want to have to do what a fifteen-year-old told them to. They started a rebellion (a war against the proper ruler). Merlin the Wizard helped King Arthur to rule Britain. He took him to a magical lake. Merlin s friend, the Lady of the Lake lived there beneath the water. She gave Arthur a magic sword called Excalibur. Excalibur was kept in a magic scabbard. If you used Excalibur in a fight, you would always defeat your opponent. If you had the scabbard, you would always be protected from being hurt yourself. Arthur led a big army against the 11 rebel kings. There were many battles, but Arthur had Excalibur, so he won. The kings agreed that Arthur should be High-King.

3 King Arthur was lied to by Queen Guinevere & Sir Lancelot. The best and bravest of the Knights of the Round Table was called Sir Lancelot. He came from Brittany (in France) and was King Arthur's friend. He was also very handsome and Queen Guinevere fell in love with him. The two would sneak away from the palace to spend time together. King Arthur had no idea what was going on. King Arthur s nephew was called Mordred (or Medrod). He was an evil man. He found out what Guinevere and Lancelot were doing and he told King Arthur. Lancelot ran away, but Queen Guinevere was taken to court. The judges decided she should be burnt to death. Lancelot rescued her and they escaped to Brittany. Arthur took a big army across the English Channel to Brittany. He wanted to punish Lancelot and Guinevere. Evil Sir Mordred takes over Britain. King Arthur left Mordred in charge while he was away in Brittany. As Arthur had no children, Mordred was going to inherit the kingdom when Arthur died; but he could not wait. Mordred told everyone that King Arthur had been killed fighting in Brittany. People believed him and Mordred made himself High-King of Britain. Luckily, Arthur heard about what was going on. He returned to Britain with his army. Mordred had given away lots of money and so some people liked him. They helped him put together his own army and start a rebellion (a war against the proper ruler). The armies of Arthur and Mordred fought at the Battle of Camlann. Unfortunately, Arthur did not have Excalibur s scabbard with him. It had been stolen by his wicked sister, Morgan Le Fay. The battle was so bad that only a few people were left alive at the end. Two of these were King Arthur and Mordred. They fought each other in single combat. Arthur killed Mordred, but was very badly hurt himself. King Arthur s Death. Arthur knew he was going to die. He gave Excalibur to Sir Bedivere. He told him to return it to the magical lake. Bedivere pretended to do what he was told; but he hid Excalibur under a bush instead. Arthur asked Bedivere what happened when he threw the sword into the lake. Bedivere said that it sank. Arthur knew he was lying and told him to go and do the job properly. Bedivere threw the sword into the lake. He saw the hand of the Lady of the Lake come out of the water to catch it. Three Queens arrived in a boat and took Arthur away to the Isle of Avalon. It is thought that he died there soon afterwards.

4 3. ARTIST: CHARLES ERNEST BUTLER THE BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY KING ARTHUR The name King Arthur conjures up a very specific image, thanks to his enduring presence in stories, novels, plays, movies and songs. In these, Arthur is a legendary hero and visionary leader who took control of Britain during a troubled time. The fictional king unites various regional British kings against common enemies and fights off countless invaders. He also goes on a quest for the Holy Grail, a chalice Jesus used at the Last Supper that is said to contain the secret of immortality. The story goes that when Britain is most in need of his services, Arthur will return. The basics of his story Arthur ascends to the throne after Britain has been invaded and its king deposed. A prophecy stated that the only man who could rightfully retake the throne had to be able to pull a sword from an ancient stone. One day, a young stranger walked up to the stone and pulled the sword from it effortlessly. The peasants cheered because they finally had a king again. In some stories, the sword that Arthur pulls from the stone is Excalibur. In others, he is given Excalibur after he breaks his first sword. This sword comes from a woman known as the Lady of the Lake, a mysterious, nymphlike person eternally associated with the magical island of Avalon. Arthur goes out onto the lake in a barge, and the Lady (called anything from Nimue to Viviane in various stories) stretches her hand up from the lake holding the sword. In some stories, Merlin, a wise old magician, appears at this point in Arthur's life, while in others he appears in Arthur's childhood. Like the Lady of the Lake, he is often associated with Avalon and also with pagan legends, but he is sometimes depicted as a prophet of the Holy Grail as well. After Arthur becomes king, he builds Camelot, a castle stronghold. In order to fight the evil forces still sacking and pillaging the countryside, he recruits the best knights in the country to join him. These knights become the Knights of the Round Table. Some knights appear again and again in the legends (and have stories of their own, apart from Arthur), including Lancelot, Gawain, Bedevere and Galahad. During his travels, Arthur meets and marries a beautiful young woman named Guinevere. After Arthur and his knights defeat all outsiders and calm reigns over Britain, there is a period of peace and happiness at a utopian Camelot. However, Lancelot, Arthur's most trusted knight and companion, falls in love with Queen Guinevere. In some versions of the legend, this secret affair is what leads to the fall of King Arthur and of Camelot. The affair is exposed, and Arthur goes to war with Lancelot after condemning Guinevere to death. In other tales, man named Mordred tries to take both the throne and Guinevere for himself. Sometimes this is with the assistance of Arthur's half-sister, a pagan named Morgan le Fay. Ultimately, Arthur and Mordred meet at the Battle of Camlann. Mordred is killed and Arthur is heavily wounded. As he lies on the battlefield, Arthur tells Sir Bedevere that he must return Excalibur to the lake. Bedevere resists at first, knowing the power that Excalibur holds. But finally, he casts the sword into the water and a feminine arm emerges to catch it. The wounded Arthur is taken to Avalon to recover from his wounds. In some stories, Arthur dies and is buried there. In others, he recovers and waits for the right moment to emerge and unite Britain again.

5 Why a round table? The idea is that all who sit at the table are equals because it has no head. There are two versions of the table's origin: In one, it was given to Arthur as a wedding gift by Guinevere's father King Leodegrance (who got it from Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon). In another, the table was built by Merlin and meant to resemble the table used at the Last Supper. The round table that hangs in Winchester Castle, once thought to be King Arthur's The beginnings of King Arthur as we recognize him can be traced to Geoffrey of Monmouth. This priest and author wrote the "Historia Regum Britannae" (History of British Kings) in the early 1100s. Scholars believe that Geoffrey based this text in part on the "Historia Britonum" (History of Briton), written around AD 800, as well as earlier histories. Some of his contemporaries went so far as to accuse him of fabricating much of his writings. Sunrise over castle ruins in South Cadbury, England. This is one site said to be the location of Camelot. There are several questions to answer about the real King Arthur. Who was he? Where did he live? It is impossible to fully substantiate the mystical and Christian elements of the Arthurian legends. Some suggest that Arthur has Roman origins. Kemp Malone, a Medieval scholar, points to a military leader named Lucius Artorius Castus. Another potential Roman source is Aurelius Ambrosius, a leader who is said to have led the British to victory against the Saxons twice in the sixth or seventh centuries. Geoffrey described him as a "king of kings." British historian Alan Wilson suggests that Arthur was actually the Welsh king Athrwys, who lived in the seventh century. Other historians have pointed to King Áedán mac Gabráin, who ruled Dal Riata (a kingdom located in modern-day Scotland and Ireland) in the sixth century, or King Áedán's son Artuir mac Áedáin, who did live in a fortress called Camelon. However, unlike Arthur, Artuir never fought the Saxons. Finally, some historians suggest that the name "Arthur" wasn't a name at all, but a title, as the "Arth" character in Latin can also mean "bear." With this implication, Arthur could have been just about anyone. The current school of thought is that Arthur was based on a mix of either mythological or historical figures, or that he was solely a product of imagination. Why Arthur? Why has a potentially fictional king become so popular? Probably because the Arthurian legends contain universal, identifiable themes of good versus evil, betrayal, magic, chivalry and the rise and fall of a utopian kingdom. Why has he continued to inspire movies, books and music? Probably because there is such a vast canon to choose from.

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12 6. YouTube links KING ARTHUR A BBC / The Learning Channel Production Arthur - The Once and Future King A Maya Vision Production for BBC The Truth Behind King Arthur The National Geographic Channel KING ARTHUR: LIFE AND LEGEND A&E Television Networks Britain AD - King Arthur's Britain A Channel 4 Production