Hail! King Arthur: Long Live Who
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Hail! King Arthur: Long Live Who? It is hard to adequately explain how long scholars, writers, and historians alike, have extensively researched the topic of King Arthur. Who was he? Did he exist? Was there really a Camelot and Guinevere? When I first began this study myself, my opinion was pretty concrete: of course there was a King Arthur and the chivalrous stories must be true. To my surprise, my thoughts went in a completely different direction the deeper into the subject I got. I will attempt to explain my findings and what influenced my development of thought by focusing on three of the closest primary sources of Arthur’s time. According to the records and artifacts remaining today, there is absolutely no way to prove that the “legendary” King Arthur, as one man, ever existed. Aside from Disney cartoons and recent movies such as, “King Arthur”, French writers are primarily responsible for the romance and fantasy added to the Legend of Arthur. Most people are familiar with the chivalrous story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Guinevere at his side, Lancelot at his other and the kingdom and court of Camelot. Chretien de Troyes was a 12th century writer and poet, who some say, is exclusively responsible for the creation of the character of Lancelot and the association of the Holy Grail into the fable. Troyes created the love story of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot along with the beautiful portrayal of Camelot. No one has ever been able to prove Camelot existed, nor where it would have been if it did. This time period was during an age that people needed a more positive outlook and influence coming out of a dark time. Sarah Novack, a writer and life-long admirer of the Arthurian romance states, “Chretien’s romances and their many imitations, additions, and adaptations throughout Europe were enormously popular” (Novak 1). Aspiring, amusing, and pleasurable unfortunately does not placate the thirst for truth. The French heavily
Hail! King Arthur: Long Live Who? It is hard to adequately explain how long scholars, writers, and historians alike, have extensively researched the topic of King Arthur. Who was he? Did he exist? Was there really a Camelot and Guinevere? When I first began this study myself, my opinion was pretty concrete: of course there was a King Arthur and the chivalrous stories must be true. To my surprise, my thoughts went in a completely different direction the deeper into the subject I got. I will attempt to explain my findings and what influenced my development of thought by focusing on three of the closest primary sources of Arthur’s time. According to the records and artifacts remaining today, there is absolutely no way to prove that the “legendary” King Arthur, as one man, ever existed. Aside from Disney cartoons and recent movies such as, “King Arthur”, French writers are primarily responsible for the romance and fantasy added to the Legend of Arthur. Most people are familiar with the chivalrous story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Guinevere at his side, Lancelot at his other and the kingdom and court of Camelot. Chretien de Troyes was a 12th century writer and poet, who some say, is exclusively responsible for the creation of the character of Lancelot and the association of the Holy Grail into the fable. Troyes created the love story of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot along with the beautiful portrayal of Camelot. No one has ever been able to prove Camelot existed, nor where it would have been if it did. This time period was during an age that people needed a more positive outlook and influence coming out of a dark time. Sarah Novack, a writer and life-long admirer of the Arthurian romance states, “Chretien’s romances and their many imitations, additions, and adaptations throughout Europe were enormously popular” (Novak 1). Aspiring, amusing, and pleasurable unfortunately does not placate the thirst for truth. The French heavily
Bibliography: Web. 22 Apr. 2013. Novak, Sarah. “Many Noble Volumes.” Calliope 22.9 (2012): 34. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Trachsler, Richard. “Formulas, Orality And Arthurian Romance: A Short Note On A Long Story.” Romantic Review 100.4 (2009): 415-429. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.