King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

If there’s one legend that could be said to encapsulate the idea of Britain in ancient times, it has to be the legend of King Arthur. This most famous of British kings was said to have defended the country against Saxon invaders in the 5th and early 6th centuries, and he’s been the subject of numerous stories that have achieved mythical status in Britain. Everyone is familiar with the stories of King Arthur, his wife Guinevere and his Knights of the Round Table, in particular Lancelot, who fell in love with Guinevere and rescued her from the resulting threat of execution by Arthur, leading to war between Lancelot and Arthur. The Round Table is a powerful Arthurian symbol; it was given to Arthur by his father-in-law as a dowry, and it was said to be round to avoid squabbles between the knights over who was most important. Among the most famous tales is Arthur’s search for the Holy Grail – the cup that contained the blood of Christ (a story satirised in Monty Python and the Holy Grail). The magician Merlin is another key figure in the Arthurian legends; Merlin placed a sword in a stone and whomever was able to pull it out would be king. Only Arthur could do it.

King Arthur has come to represent the battle for good against evil, but the myth and romance surrounding him have little basis in historic fact, and there’s been much debate over whether he was really a historical figure. Only vague traces of historical and archaeological evidence exist, and versions of stories differ; he may have been a real person, but the stories are, of course, highly embellished if not pure fiction. However, King Arthur has been enormously influential in British society and culture for centuries. For example, Arthurian lineage provided justification for the power of the Tudor monarchs, and the legends were particularly in vogue during the Victorian period, when they inspired artists and writers. These days, visitors flock to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, a dramatic ruin imposingly situated on the rugged Cornish coastline and supposedly the place where King Arthur was conceived.