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Example research essay topic: The Truth Behind Arthurian Legend - 1,853 words

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In scores of languages and shaped to all sorts of storytelling genres, from medieval epic to modern musical, tales of Arthur and his knights have been enthralling people for more than a thousand years (Alexander 1). The question is, however, how much truth is there behind the Arthurian Legend? King Arthur, Camelot, and the Round Table are three of the central elements in the tales that are told of this great era, but the legend does not reveal the whole truth. It is believed by many scholars who have long studied the Arthurian legend that Camelot and the others were real in a sense at some point in time, and over the last 500 years their actual deeds developed into the legendary tales that are told in this day and age. The legend begins with King Arthur being born to Uther Pendragon and Ygraine, the wife of Gorlois. This conception occurred in the castle of Tintagel.

After his birth, Arthur grew up as a squire to Kaye, who was the son of Sir Ector, a knight loyal to Uther. Ector had been given the responsibility of raising young Arthur, who never knew his true heritage. According to the legend, Arthur needed to find Kaye's sword so he could participate in a tournament. Unable to do so, Arthur found a sword stuck into a stone, and removed it. This was the legendary sword in the stone, and by removing it, Arthur was able to fulfill his destiny, and become the king. There is evidence to support the view that some of this tale has a degree of truth behind it.

In northern Cornwall there is a Tintagel Castle. This particular structure was erected in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, well after Arthurs time, but these are not the only ruins in the area. Above the castle are extensive remains of structures built in the fifth or sixth centuries. This time period coincides perfectly with Arthurs most likely place in time. The current opinion...

is that these remains are indeed, the headquarters of a powerful lord, and thus the legend is given more credence (Stobie 21). The discovery of what is occasionally called Tintagel pottery also gives more credibility to the tales of Arthur. These fragments, found among the ruins above Tintagel Castle, were brought to England from the Mediterranean area, and can be dated back to the late fifth or sixth centuries. The pottery were of a high-quality containing valuable substances like wine or oil (Lacy 452). Thus, they provided, for the first time in Britain, an archaeological means of proving occupation in a broadly Arthurian span of time (Lacy 452).

To add more truth to this particular legend, there is also a Pendragon Castle. This structure is located in Cumbria, Westmoreland in the northwest part of England, far away from Cornwall. The ruins date back to the twelfth century, again long after Arthurs time. It is believed, based on its name, that this is the site of an earlier fortification belonging to Uther (Lacy 355).

The life of the legendary Arthur can be divided into three parts. The first comprised his military campaigns against the enemies of Britain: the Picts, Saxons, and Irish. It is the earlier chronicle of Nennius which provides us with a roll of honour commemorating Arthurs real victories. Nennius lists twelve battles...

They range from Scotland to the south-west of England (Stobie 30). The final, decisive victory came for the British at Mons Badonicus, or Badon Hill (Alexander 3). The Battle of Badon Hill was the greatest of them all. The legend states that Arthur himself was responsible for single handedly killing 960 men, winning the battle (Stobie 34). There has not been any conclusive evidence found verifying the location of Arthurs twelve great battles. Many historians have speculated, and come up with possible locations, but there has yet to be definitive proof.

As for Badon Hill, there are three locations where the battle could have taken place. The first is Cadbury Rings in Dorset. The name is right, but the place... ? (Stobie 34). The other two possibilities are Little Solsbury Hill and Bathampton Down or Liddington Castle.

These two places are located on either side of the town of Bath. The latter option is the most probable. There is evidence of re fortification during Arthurs time, and it is also has strategic advantages (Stobie 34 - 36). The full truth may never be known, however.

There is plenty of historical evidence to show that during the fifth and sixth centuries there were invasions into England: Britannia had fallen into near-anarchy, with Picts raiding from the north; Scotti... striking from the west; local brigands robbing, extorting and generally terrorizing the populace... ; and on top of all that, Germanic Frisians, Angles and Saxons invading from the Continent. (Guttman 2) This was the setting that allowed two great soldiers to step forward, Ambrosius and Arthur. Arthur was not a king, and he did not control an empire. He was the military leader of the combined forces of the small kingdoms into which sub-Roman Britain had dissolved (Alcock 359).

In the Historia Brittonum, compiled by Nennius, it states that Arthur fought along with the kings of the Britons, but he himself was battle-leader (Alcock 358). It is believed by Alcock and others that this Arthur was the basis for the legends of the Once and Future King. The next stage of Arthurs life was a time of peace that lasted for twenty years. This was the era during which Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table come into the story.

Camelot was that place where Arthur and his knights feasted at the Table Round, where Guinevere lit the hall with her radiant beauty, where chivalry flourished... (Stobie 42). The castle was surrounded by plains, with a forest and a river nearby. There was at least one church, and there was... a town or city around or near the castle (Lacy 67). This place was the center of the ideological spirit of the Arthurian Legend (Lacy 67). Without Camelot, a near-perfect utopia, the stories of Arthur would not have been nearly as compelling.

These qualities of Camelot appealed to the medieval people of the time. In an era of poverty and tyrannical rule Arthur had founded a kingdom of peace where people lived as equals. His subjects had the privilege to live in a place free of the majority of troubles that plagued others in the fifth and sixth centuries. They were well looked after and protected by Arthurs faithful knights. Historians believe that they have found the probable location of the center of the Arthurian universe, Camelot. Between the villages of South Cadbury and Sutton Montis in Somerset lies Cadbury Castle.

This castle was refortified during Arthurs time in the fifth or sixth centuries (Stobie 43). The first recorded identification of Cadbury Castle as Camelot was made by the antiquarian John Leland in 1542... But it wasnt until the 1960 s that parts of the hills many layers were finally excavated revealing... ruins from the Arthurian period...

with evidence of former ramparts, a fortified gate-tower and a sizable timber structure thought to have been a great hall. (Alexander 1) One of the most important aspects of Camelot was the Round Table. This table was the dowry Arthur received with his wife, Guinevere from her father. Around it sat Arthurs knights. The table was round to show that all who sat at it were equal. There was no head to the table. Arthur sat as an equal to all of his knights.

No knight could claim himself to be better than another, for there was no high table or low table, simply the Table Round, where all were equal (Stobie 47). Each seat at the table was inscribed with the knights name, all except the Perilous Seat, which remained empty. This seat was reserved for the best knight of them all. If someone unworthy sat in this place, he would die (Stobie 47). According to the legend, Lancelot filled this seat when he joined Arthurs order. This aspect of the Arthurian legend has no basis in history.

The table that hangs in Castle Hall in Winchester is fake. It actually dates back to the time of Edward I of England. One possibility is that the Round Table referred to a meeting place of some sort rather than an actual piece of furniture (Stobie 48). The final stage of Arthurs life was his final battle and death.

This battle is called the strife of Camlann. The struggle was fought against Mordred, Arthurs son by his half-sister Morgan le Fay. Mordred was an evil man who wanted the crown and the queen for himself. In the end, the two generals met in a fatal encounter, and both died by each others hand (Stobie 71). The name Camlann would be translated into Camboglanna in British, meaning crooked bank (Alcock 67). In a valley in Merioneth there is a town called Camlann today that has a small river running through it, but there are several rivers that have the crooked aspect.

Another option is the Somerset Cam located close to Cadbury-Camelot. This fort is the favored location of the battle. A mass grave had once been found below the sight, presumably containing the bodies of the soldiers that died in the battle (Lacy 69). The date, 539 AD, of this event is questionable, but even the most cautious of scholars has been inclined to accept the reference to the deaths of Arthur and Modred at Camlann as authentic, whether or not the date is accurate (Alcock 48).

The Easter Annals which were recorded in the margin of the Easter Tables first produced by Victoria of Aquitaine contains mention of both Arthur and Modred (Alcock 6). The principle reason for thinking that the Camlann entry refers to an authentic event, acted out by historical persons, is that all the other people -- popes, saints, kings and princes -- mentioned in the British Easter Annals are genuine, not mythical, fabulous or otherwise fictitious. (Alcock 48) At some point in the fifth or sixth centuries there was a warrior named Arthur who did great things for Britain, but he did not do all that is described in the tales of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The basis for the legend came from facts in the history of the fifth and sixth centuries, and over time people turned these events into the legendary deeds of a great king, Arthur. Bibliography: Alcock, Leslie. Arthurs Britain. New York: St.

Martin's Press, 1971. Alexander, Caroline. A pilgrims search for relics of the once and future king. Smithsonian.

Feb 1996 v 26 n 11 p 32. Guttman, Jon. The right circumstances can turn a warlord into a legend. Ask King Arthur -- if you can figure out just who he is. Military History. April 2000 v 17 i 1 p 6.

Lacy, Norris J. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing, Inc. : New York & London, 1991. Stobie, Denise. Exploring King Arthurs Britain. London: Collins & Brown.

c. 1999.


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Research essay sample on The Truth Behind Arthurian Legend

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