King Arthur and his noble knights

RelevanceOne of the most famous stories of all times.It appears in lots of books and in many movies.

A little bit of HistoryThe story of Arthur started to forge during Medieval times (5th to 15th centuries).410 AD: Romans abandon Britain.The Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes conquer the territories.They were later invaded by the Vikings (9th century)

A little bit of History1066, Norman Invasion > Changes:Introduction of French.Norman knights.Castles.Royal Council.

Literary historyLiterature is mainly oral, and when written it is written in Latin.Until King Alfred the Great > Use of the vernacular > Translations.From Epic to Romance.

Arthurs origins: Myth or realityArthur is considered as a literary figure.First appearances in Oral Celtic tradition:9th Century: Nennius Historia Brittonum.1138 > Geoffrey of Monmouth Historia Regum Brittanniae

First written account, in LatinSources Celtic Oral Tradition.

His own imagination

Monmouths story: the basesAccount of the British kings.Uther Pendragon > Arthur becomes king at 15.He conquers territories with Excalibur.He marries Guinevere.He has a son (Mordred) with his half sister (Morgan).Mordred betrays him > Battle of Cornwall.Arthur dies > Brought to the Isle of Avalon.Merlin = Prophet inspired in druids.

The story grows1155, Wace > Le Roman de Brut > Round TableAround 1200, Layamond > Brut > English.

and grows also in France12th Century: French development on individual knights:Broul: Talks about Tristan.Chrtien de Troyes: Introduces Camelot, the story of Lancelot and also the story of the Grail.

Christian influence12th and 13th centuries: the Grail becomes the Holy Grail.The quest of the Grail.Sir Galahad.

Sir Thomas Malory: Morte dArthurPublished in 1485.Most complete and most influential Arthurian narrative and it is the main responsible for the survival of the myth so far.Emphasis on the brotherhood of the knights rather than on courtly love, and on the conflicts of loyalty (brought about by the adultery of Lancelot and Guinevere) that finally destroy the fellowship.