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King Arthur

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Excalibur (1981)

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Outline Introduction Part I. The story Part II. The characters Part III. Literature Part IV. Movies Conclusion References

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Introduction King Arthur is an important figure in the

mythology of Great Britain; central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain

One school of thought believes Arthur lived in the late 5th century, of Romano-British origin, fought against the pagan Saxons

Another school of thought believes that Arthur had no historical existence; the Arthur of legend is a composite; tales of the real Arthur's exploits may have been confused and merged with that of other war leaders of the time

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The Grail: cup or vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers

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Part I. The story The life of King Arthur has been retold many times

over the centuries; most of the incidents in his life have several versions. According to one story, Arthur gained the throne when he withdrew the sword Excalibur from a stone

Arthur established a brilliant court at Camelot; his knights included Lancelot, Galahad, Percival

Other characters associated with the legends of Arthur are the wizard Merlin, the enchantress Morgan le Fay, Queen Guinevere, and Arthur’s enemy and son, Mordred, who caused his downfall

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Part II. The characters Arthur: legendary king of the Britons; expelled

foreigners from Britain, brought peace to the country, established a kingdom based on justice and morality

Held court at his castle at Camelot and instituted an order known as the knights of the Round Table

Son of King Uther Pendragon and the lady Ygraine; Merlin gives him to a man named Hector to be raised with Hector's son, Kay

Marries lady Guinevere, but she and Lancelot, one of Arthur's favored knights, eventually fall in love, and their relationship divides Camelot

Grievously wounded by his illegitimate son Mordred

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Arthur draws Excalibur from the stone

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Part II. The charactersLancelot The greatest and most trusted of Arthur's knights,

and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories Arthur's eventual downfall is also brought about in

part by Lancelot, whose affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere destroys the unity of Arthur's court

Once Arthur discovers Lancelot and Guinevere's love affair, his own system of justice requires that he condemn his wife to death

Lancelot rescues her, but initiates a war between his forces and those of Arthur and the knight Gawain

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In the 1995 film, First Knight,

Lancelot (Richard Gere), comes to the court of King Arthur (Sean Connery) as a fearless, freelance

fighter

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Part II. The charactersMerlin Geoffrey of Monmouth introduced Merlin into the

myths of King Arthur; a wizard and elder advisor to Arthur

By shape-changing magic, Merlin enabled Uther Pendragon to enter into Tintagel in disguise and father his son Arthur

The poet Robert de Boron lays great emphasis on Merlin's power to change his shape, on his joking personality and on his connection to the Grail

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Lancelot, Guinevere and Arthur

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Part III. Literature The Welsh historian Nennius first mentioned Arthur

by name in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons)

A full account of his life appears in the Historia Regum Britanniae (1136?; History of the Kings of Britain) by Welsh writer Geoffrey of Monmouth

The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes

He wrote in Champagne, France, during the last half of the twelfth century

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Part III. Literature The Vulgate Cycle, a series of tales written in French

from 1215 to 1235, devotes thousands of pages to the Arthurian story

In English, one of the most important Arthurian achievements is Le morte d'Arthur (1469-1470; The Death of Arthur) by Sir Thomas Malory

American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in The Mists of Avalon (1982)

She explores the Arthurian world from the point of view of the female characters, paying attention to the relationships the women have with one another

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Camelot: its specific location is currently

unknown and may be a fictionalized

Romano-British province of post-Roman Britain.First named in

Chrétien de Troyes' poem Lancelot

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Part IV. Movies Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a comedic parody

of the traditional King Arthur legend. Later adapted into a musical called Spamalot, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004-2005 season

John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur; considered to be a faithful retellings of the Arthurian legend

First Knight, with Sean Connery (Arthur), Richard Gere (Lancelot), Julia Ormond (Guinevere)

King Arthur, 2004, claiming (despite historical inaccuracies) to be more historically accurate

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Conclusion The possible historicity of the Arthur of legend has

long been debated by scholars; the French medieval writer Chrétien de Troyes recounted tales from the Matter of Britain during the mid-12th century

In these Arthurian romances, Arthur gathered the Knights of the Round Table. At his court in Camelot could be found the wizard Merlin. Arthur's knights engaged in the quest for the Holy Grail

Other stories from the Celtic world came to be associated with Arthur (Tristan and Isolde).The love affair between Lancelot, and Guinevere, becomes the central reason for the collapse of the Arthurian realm

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References http://whitewolf.htmlplanet.com/excalibur.html#pictures http://www.movie-poster.ws/movies/wallpaper/science_fiction_

movies.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur http://www.timelessmyths.com/arthurian/excalibur.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur_%28movie%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arthurian_characters http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/ http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573004/Arthur.html http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FIL

TER=&query=king+arthur