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King Arthurs Death in Literature From the very beginning of our literary heritage there have been legends of many heroes, kings and Gods. King Arthur is perhaps the best known and most enduring character of all of these legendary figures. This essay aims to explore one aspect of the legend, namely the death of King Arthur. There has been a lot of material written about the legendary King Arthur and although he has been a popular figure in literature for over 800 years, not a lot is known about the real Arthur. It is believed that Arthur was a 5 the-century British King named Riothamus (meaning high king) who ruled from 454 470 A. D.
and led an army into Gaul where he was defeated by the Goths of Burgundy. Two men by the names of Jordanes (6 the century) and William (11 the century) contributed to the legend of Arthur. Their input was perhaps the real basis of future adaptations of the story. Arthur appeared in literature as a national hero in a book written in Latin by Geoffrey of Monmouth called Historia Regum Britanniae (meaning History of the Kings of Britain). he book supposedly covered history from 1200 B. C.
to 689 A. D. Geoffrey includes many sources of information with his work but most scholars believe it to be a fictional bibliography added only to give his book some credibility. Therefore his work is considered to be literature not factual history.
Geoffrey is the one responsible for the portrayal of Arthur as a splendid King who conquered the British Isles and much of Europe Introduced by Geoffrey are Guenevere, Merlin, information about Arthurs strange birth and death and the concept of chivalry. Due to the tremendous popularity of Geoffrey's book, authors like Robert Wace and Chretien de Troyes continued on with the development of King Arthur and his life, adding yet more detail and depth to the story. Robert Wace concentrated on the Arthurian aspect of the story while Chretien concentrated on the romantic aspect of Arthurs life. Some of the new elements added include d the Round Table, courtly love and the love affair between Lancelot and Guenevere.
In 1205 A. D. Layamon wrote the first English version of the King Arthur stories with a distinctly British perspective. Another nationalistic version of the story was Morte Arthur. This version was centered around fighting and action diminishing many of the characters parts, like Lancelot for instance. Perhaps the most widely accepted story of Arthur was written in 1485 by Sir Thomas Malory.
Malory combines aspects of Wace, Chretien, Geoffrey and Layamon, expands on Arthurs court by adding short stories about some of Arthurs most important knights and writes of the collapse of the Round Table. From the very beginnings of the English language there have been legends of great heroes. From the first settlements of Britain come stories rooted in ancient Celtic and Germanic imagination. Out of these stories, certain figures enjoy pre-eminence as the strongest, the bravest and the best. King Arthur is one such hero, known perhaps over all other mythical medieval figures as a chivalrous knight, a powerful warrior and a just and intelligent leader.
One of the earliest references to Arthurian legend dates back to the year A. D. 540 in Gildas writing about the history and conquest of Britain. Gildas is a valuable source because he lived so close to the supposed real life of King Arthur. His records are the earliest sources that deals with Arthur is Gildas De Excidio et Conquest Britanniae (The Ruin and Conquest of Britain). This important work was written around A. D. 540, which puts it very close to the actual events.
In fact, it is within living memory of the time Arthur supposedly lived. Then there is the Venerable Bede, writing in A. D. 731. His Historia Ecclesiastical follows Gildas, but is clearer on some of the history. Finally, there is the Historia Brittonum of Nennius c. A.
D. 800, which not only lists many battles of Arthurs, giving a fairly complete geographic picture of his exploits, but also is the first work to mention Arthur by name. In the Historia Brittonum (History of the British) from around A. D. 800. Nennius himself admits that he is artless, and that he collected all of the old documents he could find and combined them into one story.
This gives some, though not much, credence to what he says. However, much of his work contains errors and inconsistencies, and so he is not trusted very much for accuracy. Nennius version has the first actual mention of Arthur by name on record, At that time the Saxons grew powerful in great numbers and increased in Britain. Then Arthur fought against [the Saxons] in those days together with the kings of Britain, but he was himself the leader of battles.
Nennius also gives a catalog of twelve famous battles attributed to Arthur, probably taken from an early Welsh poem about Arthur. The place names are obscure, which means that they may in fact not be fabricated, because if one were to make up battles for Arthur, one would probably choose well-known locations that people would recognise. According to Nennius, Arthur is not really a king but a dux bellum, a leader of battles. This could mean that he lead an army for a higher authority or simply that the position of king was not as we think of it today. It is also possible that later writers took the idea of a leader of battles to an extreme and called Arthur a king instead. The earliest mention of Arthurs death occurs in an entry in the Annales Cambriae, Welsh Annals, written around A.
D. 950. The entry reads, Year [ 537 ] The Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut fell (Brengle 7). The late date in the Welsh Annals While much of the information in the Annales is taken from Nennius, there is also evidence of early Celtic and Irish sources. It is a compilation of many earlier sources, and is thus inconsistent at certain points. However, the dating is important in tracing a possible history for Arthur, and the entries for Arthur are lent more credence because all of the other figures mentioned in the Annales (Encyclopedia 8). In addition to the Latin sources, there are also many Celtic sources from which Arthurian legends spring, including The Mabinogion.
One of these sources is the Annales Cambriae (A. D. 960), a year by year listing of historical events including two important entries about King Arthur. The other early work is William of Malmesburys Gesta Regum Anglorum (A. D. 1125) in which there is mention of Arthurs tomb and the beginnings of the myths about King Arthurs possible return.
Also taken from the early material is Giraldus Cambrensis De Principis Instructions in which we are told that Arthurs grave has indeed been found in Glastonbury, also known as the Isle of Avalon. The Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings). contains the hint that Arthur is not dead but may return: But the tomb of Arthur is nowhere seen, whence ancient dirges still fable his coming. In 1125, a tomb had yet to be found. The bridge between the fairly simple early material and the more complex later material is Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) written c. 1136.
In this one work is the basis for almost all of the Arthurian legends that we know today. In it also is the basis for several arguments about Arthurs possible real-life existence. While much of the information in Geoffrey's book is fabricated, there is enough basis in real life events to warrant examination. Of course, there will never be a definite answer to whether or not Arthur was real, but some of the evidence is quite interesting. Geoffrey recounts the history of Britains leaders all the way back to the very beginnings, from Brutus coming to the British Isles in 1115 B.
C. to King Cadwalladers death in A. D. 689. Geoffrey's account, though many agree that it is not strictly factual, offers a clear and concise look into the events surrounding Ar thurs death. In examining Geoffrey's work it is important to keep in mind whom he was writing for and what interests he had: Presumably born at Monmouth in southeast Wales, Geoffrey may have been Welsh. However, he shows an interest in Brittany and a pro-Breton bias that suggest that his family came from across the Channel, as numerous Bretons did in the wake of the Norman Conquest.
Charters relating to church properties reveal that he was acquainted with Walter, archdeacon of [Oxford], whose name figures in his scanty account of his sources. After 1151, Geoffreys consecrated bishop of the Welsh see of St. Asaph. This appointment tells in favor of his being of Breton stock, since under the Anglo-Norman monarchy Welshmen were not usually made bishops of Welsh sees. Geoffrey's straightforward Latin prose was widely read by scholars, especially monks in monasteries both in England and across the channel in Europe. From these monks came some of the first works about King Arthur in the native tongues of their respective countries, bringing Arthur to a wider audience than ever before.
Eventually, these new combined versions of Arthurs story, in which each successive version was filled with more vivid detail and dialogue than the last, were meshed into the huge, multi-volume work known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Prose Lancelot. The first title is because it was written in the language of the commoners: French. The second was because it focused more on Lancelot than on the King, and it was a romance written in prose instead of the usual poetry. It was a romance of huge proportions, and it meshed the early historical works with the later narratives of Wace and Layamon along with the rich chivalric romances of Chretien de Troyes. In the fourteenth century, there appeared the Alliterative Morte Arthur, an anonymous work from the Alliterative revival period. This rich and colorful work combines previous versions of Arthurs story in a retelling full of the Old English imagery seen in works such as Beowulf.
Finally, one of the most popular and well-known versions of Arthurs story comes from Sir Thomas Malory. Le Morte Arthur was written in the mid-fifteenth century while Malory was in prison. Its mixture of nearly every earlier version of the myths and legends of King Arthur makes it an impressive if convoluted work. In the latter half of the fourteenth century, there appears a work entitled The Alliterative Morte Arthur.
The author is unknown, but the poem is written in the alliterative form then common in English poetry. As previously mentioned, during the late fourteenth century, the Alliterative Revival was in full force, from it coming works such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Piers Plowman. King Arthurs story is a long one, spanning over fifteen centuries. And, after all that time, it is still not known if King Arthur really lived.
As with any legend, it has been strengthened and changed by master storytellers, some of whom to this day remain unknown. Arthurs myths and legends have been used throughout history to inspire fear, anger and hope in the people to whom they were told. His stories spread from the Celts in the British Isles down through France and Germany and across the rest of Europe, each culture putting their own twists and signatures on one of the greatest legends of all time. The legends started with the chronicles written in Latin by monks and used both as rallying cries against the invasions of the Vikings and the Germans, and as sermons about the virtues of being a believing Christian. Eventually the legends reached the lower classes through translations into local languages and dialects. The authors not only kept people interested by making the stories into poems, but they also fostered regional and national chauvinism.
Every country has its own Arthur, like Frances Charlemagne and Romes Julius Caesar. Britain needed a hero and a leader to inspire nationalism in its people, and Arthur filled that role perfectly. Finally, the creative talents of men such as Chretien de Troyes were felt through the rich and exciting romances. Throughout all of these works, as complicated and revised as they are, Arthur remains a great and admirable hero, deserving of his place among the Nine Worthies of the early fourteenth century.
Arthurs legends are loved by men and women of all ages and nationalities. Although Arthur is somewhat shrouded in mystery, not everything about him is unknown. This thesis has been an exposition of one small part of the immense world of Arthurian a and its many colors and characters. Perhaps one day we may find Geoffrey of Monmouth's very ancient book, but until then, we will just have to keep enjoying the legends and waiting for Arthurs return from Avalon to explain what really happened. In the latter half of the fourteenth century, there appears a work entitled The Alliterative Morte Arthur. The author is unknown, but the poem is written in the alliterative form then common in English poetry.
As previously mentioned, during the late fourteenth century, the Alliterative Revival was in full force, from it coming works such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Piers Plowman (Alliterative xvii). 31 c
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