KING ARTHUR: MYTH OR LEGEND
I guess all of us heard stories and tales of the legendary “King Arthur and His Knights Of Camelot.” Well, he has been the subject of controversy throughout many centuries; some say he was real, while others claim he is a figment of imagination. Tales of King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, Lancelot and other legendary knights have been the bane of the early people of Wales, Scotland and England. Well, everyone needs a hero at times of suffering, oppression, war and difficult situations. According to some historians and scholars, ‘King Arthur’ was the product of imagination as a means to defend against the Norman and Anglo-Saxon invaders of the time. Let’s now delve a little bit more into this legendary king where epic battles; rescuing damsels in distress and chase for legendary creatures was a daily norm.
The legend of King Arthur has been debated hotly over so many years by scholars, as I have mentioned earlier. Furthermore, we get to know about this legendary character mainly from an ancient historical text, “The Historia Brittonum”, or the history of Britain, as per historical records. This mammoth collection is said to have been written by a 9th-century Welsh cleric named ‘Nennius’. According to this text, it is believed that ‘King Arthur’ killed 960 men in 12 battles that he fought. Although, historians are sceptical about the veracity of this claim. Another record which has mention of King Arthur as a historical personality is the “Annales Cambriae”. According to this, there is a mention of the ‘Battle of Badon’, around 516 A.D.-518 A.D.; in which it also mentions the death of ‘King Arthur and Mordred’ in battle around 537 A.D. However, there are certain inconsistencies in this text as according to historians; this was also taken from the earlier Welsh text. It has also been believed by scholars that tales of Arthur may have been added in the 10th century, and there was no real basis to it. So you can see that proving the authenticity of King Arthur was difficult for historians and scholars.
There are also a group of scholars who believe that Arthur was one of the greatest kings Britain has ever known in the early period. Many poems, ballads, and songs have been written commemorating him. It is also believed Wagner; one of the greatest musicians of his time has also used the legend of Arthur in his greatest Opera “Tristan Und Isolde”. Furthermore, according to historians, the only record of Arthur is believed to be a man named “Artorius”, who led a band of resistance warriors against the invading Saxons in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. This fact was capitalized by Hollywood in the famous movie “King Arthur”, where Clive Owen and Kiera Knightley brought this unknown historical fact to life. Earlier also, Hollywood has always remained fascinated with the legend of King Arthur, when it made one of its Arthur movies with Sean Connery and Richard Gere in the movie ‘The First Knight’. Unfortunately, most of what historians, scholars and the rest of the world know about this great King, warrior, and romantic is from the literature of that period.
It is said, that “King Arthur” had many great legendary knights and warriors like ‘Sir Lancelot’, ‘Sir Gawain’, Sir Percival’, ‘Sir Geraint’ etc who were loyal to the core of ‘King Arthur and Camelot’. That’s why they were called the “Knights of Camelot”. However, it is also mentioned in early literature that ‘Sir Lancelot’ fell in love with the lovely lady ‘Guinevere’ and eloped with her. This led to the break-up of the ‘Knights of the Round Table’ and some were in favour of ‘Sir Lancelot’; while others were backing ‘King Arthur’. This was also the opportunity that the evil stepson of King Arthur, along with his rival was waiting to wage war with King Arthur, which ultimately led to King Arthur’s death. We can also find mention of “Merlin”, the powerful magician who was always with King Arthur from the beginning till the end of his days.
In recent years, Hollywood has kept the enduring legend of King Arthur in movies where actors like Charlie Hunnam have gained popularity in displaying the extraordinary characteristics of King Arthur. Well, it is up to historians and scholars to prove whether ‘King Arthur’ was a legend or a myth created to inspire the people of Britain to fight the Saxon invaders. For the rest of the world, “Legend Of King Arthur” will always remain a mystery.
