Posted by the legend of King Arthur. A short version of the legend of King Arthur

The English king Uther Pendragon falls in love with Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. In order to win the heart of Igraine, he turns to the sorcerer and soothsayer Merlin. Merlin, in turn, agrees to help Pendragon, but only on one condition - the future child of Pendragon and Igraine will be given to him. By a magical coincidence, the Duke of Conwall dies in battle. And Igraine becomes Pendragon's wife. After some time, Igraine gives birth to a boy. Following the agreement between him and Merlin, Pendragon gives the boy to Merlin. The child receives the name Arthur, and he is raised by Baron Hector.

Years pass and King Pendragon dies. All English barons are summoned by the Archbishop of Canberbury to the city of London in order to elect a new king. While the visiting barons are gathering for prayer, a miracle occurs. The temple courtyard is illuminated with light and in the middle of the courtyard a magic anvil appears, standing on a large stone, under the anvil lies a sword, and on the stone itself an inscription appears that says that only the person who pulls out this magic sword from under the anvil will become king . All the barons and knights try, but only Arthur was able to pull this sword out from under the anvil. The barons are not happy that a man of such low birth has become the new king of England and decide to go to war against him. The barons do not believe Merlin's words that Arthur is the legitimate son of Pendragon and the new king of England. In the war between the barons and Arthur, Arthur wins.
Arthur falls in love with the wife of Lot of Orkney, whom he meets in the city of Carlion. Arthur stays with her all night, and during that night she conceives a child from Arthur. Arthur does not know that she is his sister through his mother Igraine. The magician and sorcerer Merlin reveals this secret to Arthur, and says that the child conceived by Arthur’s sister will in the future kill Arthur and all his knights. The Lady of the Lake gives Arthur the sword Excalibur and says that this sheath of the sword will protect Arthur from serious injuries in battles and battles.
Merlin said that Mordred was born on May 1st. And so Arthur tells his knights to bring to him the babies of all noble families who were born on this day. As soon as all the babies have been collected, they are put on the ship by order of Arthur. While sailing, the ship sinks. All the babies die, but Mordred, by a happy coincidence, survives. The Lady of the Lake dies at the hands of the knight Balin the Fierce. And Balin kills the Lady with an enchanted sword, because the Lady killed his mother. After which Balin himself and his brother Balan also die due to the fact that they have this enchanted sword.
Arthur receives the Round Table as a gift from King Lodegrance because he takes his daughter as his wife. The peculiarity of the table is that one hundred and fifty knights can sit at it at once. But Arthur only has one hundred knights, so he orders the magician and sorcerer Merlin to find exactly fifty knights. Merlin, in turn, finds only forty-eight valiant knights, and two seats at the Round Table remain unoccupied. Arthur tells his valiant knights to fight bravely and only in the name of truth.
The magician and sorcerer Merlin falls in love with one of the maidens, the Lady of the Lake. But she doesn’t like the fact that he constantly bothers her, so she cleverly leads him into a magical cave and closes the entrance with a heavy stone. Merlin cannot get out of there and dies in this cave. King Arthur almost dies in a fight with the lover of his fairy sister Morgana. Before the fight, she replaces Arthur's magic sword Excalibur with a regular sword. But Arthur survives the battle and performs many feats in the future.
Ambassadors from the city of Rome from Emperor Lucius come to Arthur demanding tribute to be paid to the emperor. Arthur refuses to pay tribute and decides to declare war on the emperor. In Normandy, where Arthur lands, he kills a man-eating giant. After which, in battle after battle, Arthur defeats the Romans. Emperor Lucius dies in one of the battles. Arthur is crowned the new Emperor of Italy and Allemania. All senators and cardinals take part in the coronation. And the coronation process is carried out by the Pope himself. Fairy Morgana casts a spell on Lancelot sleeping under a tree and takes him to the castle. She wants Lancelot to choose one of the four queens as his lover. However, Lancelot remains loyal to Queen Gwinera and therefore rejects all four queens. Later, Lancelot is rescued from captivity by the daughter of King Bagdemagus.
A certain young man appears in Arthur’s yard, who does not give his name and asks Arthur for the right to stay with him for one year. Arthur allows him to stay and nicknames him Beaumains. Beaumains spends the entire year with Arthur's servants in the same room. Living there and sharing all the food with them. After a year, Beaumains asks King Arthur to let him go, as his lady is being attacked by the Red Knight. Beaumains opens his true name Gareth of Orkney. King Arthur makes Gareth a knight of the Round Table along with the rest. Lady Lyonesse marries Gareth, who defeats the Red Knight in battle.
Tristram's stepmother wants to poison him, so that after his death, her own children will own all the lands. But the insidious plan is revealed, and the stepmother is sentenced to be burned. But Tristram does not want her to be burned. He tries to beg his father the king to have mercy on her. The king agrees to pardon his stepmother, but sends Tristram to France. After several years in France, Tristram returns to his homeland. His uncle Mark of Cornwall invites him to live at his court. Tristram agrees and participates in Mark of Cornwall's war against his ill-wishers and enemies. After some time, Tristram becomes a knight and fights in a duel with the knight Marholt, defeating him and thereby saving Cornwall from paying tribute. Tristram leaves for Ireland. Only there will he be able to completely heal all his wounds received in the duel.
Tristam heals his wounds thanks to the daughter of the Irish king Anguisance, Isolde the Beautiful. The queen learns about Marholt's murder and therefore Tristam must urgently leave Ireland. There is a farewell between Tristam and Isolde, during which Tristam promises to love only Isolde, and Isolde promises Tristam not to marry anyone but him for seven years. Time passes, and Tristam comes to Isolde with the goal of marrying her to King Mark. But the plans are ruined, as the drink prepared by the Queen of Ireland for King Mark is accidentally drunk by Tristam and Isolde. The love relationship between them remains even when Isolde marries Mark. In turn, Mark is very upset by this state of affairs. Therefore, a plan to kill Tristam matures in the king’s head. But the insidious plans are not destined to come true; Tristam, on the advice of Isolde, secretly flees to Brittany, where after some time he meets Isolde the White-Armed and becomes engaged to her, completely forgetting about Isolde the Beautiful. But Tristam does not find peace of mind even after the wedding. He constantly remembers Isolde the Beautiful and is sad about her.
His longtime lover Isolde the Beautiful learns about Tristam's marriage, who calls him back to her place and often writes letters to him. Tristam goes to her, and on the way to her he saves King Arthur from certain death at the hands of the sorceress Annaura. But bad news awaited Tristam; a letter from Kahidin, who was in love with Isolde the Beautiful, fell into his hands. Tristam goes crazy and goes to live with the shepherds. After some time, Tristam receives shelter in Mark's yard. Isolde recognizes her old lover, and by the force of this, Tristam regains his reason. Mark recognizes the stranger as Tristam, and decides to expel him from the country for 10 years.
A duel takes place between Tristam and Lancelot. After learning each other's names, they both return to King Arthur in joyful feelings. King Arthur prevents Mark from killing Tristam and reconciles them with each other. However, Tristam, as in past times, still loves Isolde the Beautiful, and is not shy in expressing his feelings. Still, Tristam fails to completely protect himself from Mark’s actions, and King Mark imprisons Tristam in prison. But Persivad frees Tristam from captivity and Tristam, together with Isolde the Beautiful, manages to escape from Mark in Lancelot’s castle.
The ruler of the Unearthly Land, King Peles, meets Lancelot during his journey. Peles tells Lancelot his story that he is a blood relative of Joseph of Arimathea. In turn, Joseph of Arimathea is a disciple of the holy Jesus Christ. Also, Peles shows Lancelot the Holy Grail and says that in the future it will be lost, and also says that the Order of the Round Table will disintegrate. But the future son of Lancelot is destined for a great destiny; he will have to save the Unearthly Country and receive the Holy Grail. King Peles knows that Lancelot will never cheat on his beloved Guinevere with his daughter, and in the name of fulfilling the prophecy, Peles asks the sorceress Bruzena to add a magic potion to Lancelot’s wine. Under the influence of a great spell, Lancelot spends the night with the daughter of Peles and she conceives a child from him. Even when Lancelot finds out about the spell used, he forgives Elaine.
The boy born to Elaine is named Galahad. Elaine and Bruzena go to a holiday with King Arthur in his castle. In addition to them, many English lords and their ladies gather for the celebration. Guinevere knows that Elaine is going to Lancelot and is jealous of her lover. Elaine wants Lancelot to spend the night with her, and therefore asks Bruzena to cast a spell on Lancelot. Lancelot, under the influence of a spell, spends the night with Elaine. Guinevere, having learned about this, kicks Elaina and Bruzena out of the yard. Lancelot is declared a traitor and he goes crazy and retires into the wild forests. A few years later, Lancelot is recognized by the knight Bliant. Bliant takes Lancelot to his castle. Lancelot saves Bliant from his enemies, breaking off the shackles in which Blinat had placed Lancelot.
Time passes, but Lancelot is as mad as he was, and still does not remember himself. In despair, he leaves Bliant's castle and wanders around the world for a long time. However, it happens that he ends up in the Karbenik castle, where his beloved Elaine lives. Elaina recognizes her beloved in his face. She takes Lancelot's unconscious body and gives it to her father, King Peles. Peles, in turn, carries Lancelot in his arms to the tower where the Holy Grail Cup is kept. With his help, the knight Lancelot is healed. The knight's soul rejoiced, and he asks King Peles, the father of his beloved Elaine, to allow them to stay in this land. King Peles allows them to stay and gives them the island. On this island they live peacefully and happily together with other gentlemen and their ladies. But one fine day, Lancelot decides to hold a tournament to which he invites all the knights of the Round Table. The Knights of the Round Table recognize the person who invited them as my friend Lancelot. They desperately ask him to return to Camelot and King Arthur's palace. Lancelot agrees and returns to Arthur. After some time, Lancelot knights Galahad. However, Lancelot himself does not know that this young man is his son. Everything becomes clear when Galahad arrives in Camelot. In his place at the Round Table, an inscription appears that says that he is Sir Galahod, the High-born Prince. But the place itself was bad. For it was disastrous, and brought upon its knight many misfortunes and death.
A great miracle appears before the eyes of the knights of the Round Table. Before their eyes, a large magic stone floats along the river, with a magic sword stuck in the middle. At the bottom of the stone there is an inscription according to which only a chosen knight can pull out the sword, only the one who is the best of all the knights in the world. And here, the once spoken words of the magician and sorcerer Merlin begin to come true. Galahad easily pulls the magic sword out of the stone. This sword once belonged to Balin the Fierce. All the court ladies become aware that Lancelot's son, Galahad, by his blood, comes from a great family. After all, his father comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. A miracle happens on the very eve of Pentecost. The Holy Grail appears in the hall where the main celebration takes place. And the tables become laden with wines and dishes. The Knights of the Round Table and Gawain take their oath to always do only good and perform all their deeds only in the name of good. But Arthur is gloomy. In his heart, he understands that he and his knights of the Round Table will never be able to gather together at this table. After the holiday, Galahad receives a sacred shield on which Joseph of Arimathea drew a red cross with his own blood. And the knight Galahad, the son of Lancelot, performs many feats in the name of the Holy Grail, armed with a sacred shield and sword.
Lancelot begins to notice visions appearing before his eyes. In the first case, an old chapel stands in front of him. But a voice behind him tells him to leave this place, since he is sinful and does not deserve to be here. Lancelot understands well that he is sinful. Sadness fills his soul. He decides to go to the hermit to confess to him. The hermit says that Lancelot, in order to be completely cured, should end all relations with Guinevere. Percival also goes on a quest to find the Holy Grail. And on the path of his wanderings he meets his own aunt. His aunt explains to him the meaning of the Round Table and the Order of Knights. The round table signifies the round earth and the world. And the Knights have the great privilege of appearing at the table of the world. The aunt also says that Lancelot's son Galahad will surpass his father many times in fame and faith. Percival sets himself the task of finding Galahad. During his wanderings around the world, Percival desperately fights all the temptations that come his way. As a sign of his struggle, he cuts his thigh. Lancelot is also searching for the Holy Grail. Having met a recluse on his way, she tells him that Galahad is his son, and also says that Lancelot must correct himself mentally. After all, he is a sinner before God.
The journey in search of the Grail dragged on. Gawain and the knight Bore decide to confess their sins to the hermit. He, in turn, interprets Gawain’s dream. According to the interpretation, all knights of the Round Table are sinners. And until they repent before the Lord God for their sins, they will not be able to enter the sacred room and will not be able to find the holy grail. Heeding the words of the hermit, Percival, Bors and Galahad set off on a journey to perform feats in the name of the Holy Grail. Lancelot also cannot obtain the Holy Grail. He finds himself in a wonderful castle and tries to enter the sacred room, but he fails. The magical fire scorches him, and he falls to the floor unconscious and spends more than 25 days like that. After which, Lancelot learns from King Peles, who met him, that his beloved Elaine, who bore him a son, Galahad, has died. Lancelot, in a sad state, leaves for Camelot. Almost all the knights of the Round Table had already died in their travels by that time.
In the castle of King Peles, three knights Galahad, Percival and Bore receive the Holy Grail and the throne. After Galahad became king of an entire city, he dreams of Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph gives communion to Galahad before his death. At the moment when Galahad dies, the sky parts and a hand appears, which takes with it the sacred Grail. From that moment on, the Holy Grail was forever lost to all people. Knight Percival takes monastic vows and, after living for two years with the hermits, dies. A duel takes place between Lancelot and Gawain in the name of Queen Guinevere. Lancelot wins this fight, but receives very dangerous wounds and soon goes to the hermit so that he can heal him of his wounds.
Queen Guinevere is captured by the knight Melegante. But the brave Lancelot saves her from captivity. He fights with Melegant and Melegant dies in battle. King Arthur learns about Guinevere's love affairs with Lancelot from the lips of Agravaine and Mordred, and therefore he orders them to be captured. Gawain refuses to take Guinevere to the stake without following King Arthur's orders. At this time, Lancelot saves Guinevere from certain death at the stake, killing Agravaine and his knights. After which, Lancelot leaves with her to his castle, which is called the “Merry Guard”. King Arthur is very unhappy with the current situation and orders his knights to lay siege to Lancelot's castle. However, following the instructions of the Pope, King Arthur makes peace with him. Queen Guinevere returns back to King Arthur, and Lancelot himself leaves for distant France. But Gawain cannot forgive Lancelot for the death of his brothers and knights. So Gawain tells King Arthur to gather an army and kill Lancelot. King Arthur follows Gawain's words and goes to France with his army.
Mordred takes advantage of King Arthur's absence. At this time he spreads false information, and says that King Arthur is dead. Upon Arthur's arrival in Dover, a fight occurs, during which Gawain dies from his wounds. After his death, Gowain's spirit comes to King Arthur and says that there will soon be a battle between him and his son Mordred. Everything happens as the spirit said. Arthur is seriously wounded and his son Mordred is killed. Arthur feels his approaching death and decides to get rid of his magic sword by throwing it into the water. After this, King Arthur sails away on the ship along with the three queens and other ladies who were also on the ship. That night, Arthur dies and is buried in the chapel under a gravestone. The news of Arthur's death is conveyed to Guinevere and Lancelot. He and she take monastic vows. After Lancelot's death, the bishop has a dream in which he sees him together with the angels. England has a new king named Constantine. He rules England with dignity and honor.

Moscow City University of Management of the Moscow Government

Institute of Higher Professional Education

Bachelor's Department

Direction: "Management"

Full-time form of education

REPORT

by academic discipline

"Story"

on the topic of: " LeaderBritons V- 6th century- King Arthur"

Group / course 14MP11.1/ I year

Student _____________ Chemelkova P.K.

(signature)

Teacher ______________ Ph.D., Associate Professor Tarasova S.V.

(signature)

Grade ___________________

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3

1. Biography of King Arthur……………………………………………..4-5 1.1 Becoming little Arthur as King………….5-6

2. The reign of King Arthur……………………………………………………………6 2.1 Famous battles and campaigns of the King………………...6-7

3. Legends………………………………………………………………………………...7

3.1 Holy Grail……………………….………………………8

3.2 Round table………..………………………………….8-9

3.3 Sword sharpened into stone……………………………..9-10

4. Conclusion……………………………………………………………...10

References……………………………………………………..………………11

Introduction.

Legends about Arthur have been known for more than a thousand years. Many chronicles, poems, novels have been published, even in our time there are many books about how, fighting side by side with their friends - the knights of the round table and his retinue, many wars were won. Is it really so? And what is the holy grail? Did the sword Excalibur exist? Was King Arthur really such a great warrior and ruler? What changed with the arrival of the King to the throne? What contribution did he make to British history? Why is he awarded this eternal glory? And why is he still famous?

The name of King Arthur was immortalized by the Welsh minister Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote about him in 1135, 500 years after the death of the king. Having become king, Arthur gathered many valiant knights to fight the enemies of Britain. He tried with all his might to establish peace and justice in his land. He ruled for a long time and people were happy with him. But, unfortunately, his reign ended in an unfortunate incident: the king's wife Guinevere began an affair with Sir Lancelot, who was a close friend of King Arthur, which led to the fall of the king's reign and the collapse of the Round Table. Is it true? Or is there another version of the end of the reign?

Biography of King Arthur

Arthur existed in the 5th and 6th centuries. He was the son of King Uther, who ruled one of the kingdoms, and the girl Igraine. At that time, this was Arthur’s mother’s second marriage, and in her first marriage she gave birth to 3 daughters from the Duke of Gorlois (see Appendix 1).

History indicates that Arthur had a different name, but since he won many battles, he was given this “nickname” - Arthur. The name Arthur means “bear”, and this is what is said about the leader in the Battle of Badon (This battle was one of the main ones in the history of his reign). King Arthur could well be Vortigern - the high king or Riothamus - the head of the army, the army of that time. But initially, in reality, he became a military leader of the Britons, a Roman general. The history states: “The Britons are the population of Britain, who were formerly called the Celtic tribes.”¹ After many wars won, he is crowned ruler (military leader) of the Scottish kingdom of Dal Riada. In the 6th century, British kings succeeded on the throne in southern Scotland. But Arthur remained a military leader in Britain.

He was raised by the wizard Merlin. This is a real person. After the death of Merlin's patron, he went crazy and hid for a long time in the forest, after which he was taken to the kingdom of Uther, where he was a bard, a druid (doctor) at the castle of Arthur's father, then Uther gave his son to the care of Merlin, later the druid sent the boy to study military skills in the house of Sir Ector. There the future king learned the science of knighthood. Later, having become king, Arthur summoned his closest friends and valiant knights to fight his enemies.

¹ From the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle // The Venerable Bede. Church history of the English people / Trans. V. V. Erlikhman. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2001. - P. 220

Unfortunately, at the end of Arthur's life, many sad events happened: His wife, Queen Guinevere, cheated on her husband with his best friend- Sir Lancelot. At that time, it was not acceptable for wives to cheat on their husbands so openly and she was sentenced to be burned, but at the last moment Sir Lancelot saved her, but she could not bear the mental suffering and remorse and retired to a Scottish monastery. And King Arthur died due to a mortal wound. His illegitimate son and his half-sister, Morgause, Prince Mordred set out to capture his father's castle and carried out the most terrible and bloody massacre of all that Arthur had ever visited. And at the same moment, the son and father were mortally wounded, although the son died immediately, and the king was taken to the island of Avalon and there many druids tried to heal him, but they could not, the wounds were deep.

Modern researchers consider it quite likely that King Arthur from legends and novels had a historical prototype, perhaps one of the leaders of the Britons who led an uprising against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century, but his existence has not yet been confirmed.

Legendary king, Celtic hero folk legends and later medieval chivalric novels, the ideal leader of the Knights of the Round Table and the living embodiment of knightly ideals - honor, valor, courage, moral nobility and, in the case of medieval epic, courtliness. Modern researchers consider it quite likely that King Arthur from legends and novels had a historical prototype, perhaps one of the leaders of the Britons who led an uprising against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century, but his existence has not yet been confirmed. Different literary sources name different times in the life of King Arthur and associate him with different eras and cultures, from the ancient Britons to the ancient Romans. In the 19th century there was a significant surge of interest in Arthurian themes, and in the 20th century, thanks to cinema and television, the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table found a second life, and the number of films, TV series, plays, novels dedicated to him, computer games and even musicals are incalculable.

The name Arthur is still a subject of debate. It has etymological connections with the Celtic word "artos", meaning both "bear" and "warrior". Among the Celtic goddesses there is a bear named Artio. Perhaps the form "Arthur" was formed from "Arto-rix", i.e. "king of warriors", has changed greatly over time. Historians note that the 6th century saw a sharp increase in popularity different forms named Arthur (Arzur, Arzul", Arthus, Artus or Arthur), which suggests that there was a certain personality who left an indelible impression on his contemporaries.

Today, the origins of the Arthurian legends trace back to several roots. The first hypothesis is Welsh, based on the fact that King Arthur first appears in Welsh legends. According to her, Arthur was born around 470-475 somewhere in Wales, but the exact location of his capital, Camelot, remains a mystery. He did participate in the fight against the Saxons, but was never crowned king. Perhaps he was a major military leader and fought under the banners of the kings of the ancient Britons.

The second version considers the prototype of King Arthur to be the Roman commander Lucius Artorius Castus, who lived in the 2nd century AD, who, apparently, served in Britain and participated in the defense of Hadrian's Wall. But this version is very unstable.

And finally, the following hypothesis logically assumes that the image of King Arthur over time combined the features of several ancient British kings and princes who bore this name, which was quite common among the Celtic aristocracy.

The most early mentions about King Arthur, in the Welsh poem Y Gododdin, date back to the late 6th or early 7th century. Later, both historians and bards wrote about him, but the legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table took their modern form already in the Middle Ages, when the courtly novels of Chrétien de Troyes, Wolfram von Eschenbach and other authors. The universe of King Arthur was finally completed in the 15th century by Sir Thomas Malory with his epic of eight novels under common name"The Death of Arthur" (Le Morte D'arthur).

So, Arthur's father was King Uther Pendragon, who had his eye on someone else's wife, Duchess Igraine. He lay down with Igraine in the guise of her husband, the Duke of Gorlois, which was facilitated by the wizard Merlin, who demanded the baby as payment for his services. After the Duke's death, Uther married Igraine, but they had no more sons. Merlin gave Arthur to be raised by the noble and kind Sir Ector, who raised his adopted son as his own son. After Uther's death, there was no heir to the royal throne, and the ruling lords gathered in the capital to elect a new king. Sir Ector with his son Kay and Arthur also headed to the capital.

The cunning Merlin placed the sword in a stone, and on the stone inscribed: “Whoever pulls out this sword is the king of Britain.” At the tournament, Sir Kay, who was several years older than Arthur, had his sword broken, and he sent Arthur, his squire, to get a spare one. Arthur could not find a spare one and then pulled the sword out of the stone, thus becoming the king of Britain. Merlin revealed the secret of his origin and after checking - none of the lords could pull out the sword, again placed in the stone, and only Arthur succeeded easily - young Arthur was crowned in the presence of the most influential and famous lords of Britain.

He ruled for a long time, fighting injustice in any of its manifestations, and saved the country from disastrous civil strife. His sword, which struck without a miss, had given name– Excalibur. His wife was the beautiful Guinevere. Arthur gathered around him the most famous, brave and noble knights of his time, called the Knights of the Round Table - the table really was round, so that everyone sitting at it would be equal. Alas, even the best of people are not immune from betrayal; this is what happened to King Arthur. Guinevere's betrayal of Lancelot led to a rebellion that destroyed the entire army of Britain. King Arthur also fell in the last battle. True, the legend says that Arthur did not die - seriously wounded, he was taken to the magical island of Avalon. In the hour of great need, Arthur will awaken and come to the aid of Britain at the head of the greatest army.

Legends of King Arthur (English)

How Arthur became king

In ancient times, Britain was ruled not by one sovereign, but by many princes. And one of them, the strongest and most powerful, named Uther Pendragon, was considered by everyone to be the king of England - the ruler of the southeastern lands.

One day, Uther Pendragon summoned the most valiant knights and the most beautiful ladies of the kingdom to a magnificent feast. Among the guests was his longtime rival in the struggle for power, the powerful Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, who arrived for the holiday with his wife, the beautiful Lady Igraine.
Seeing Lady Igraine, Uther fell passionately in love with her, for she was as kind and smart as she was beautiful. More than anything in the world, the king wanted to marry her, but the lady was virtuous and faithful to her husband. Outraged by the fact that Uther Pendragon was seeking the attention of his wife, the Duke and his wife hastily and secretly left the feast.
Enraged, the king ordered his troops to besiege Tintagel, the Duke's ancestral castle, a gloomy fortress on the Cornish peninsula. But during the siege from great love and disappointment, Uther became seriously ill, and his entourage feared that the king might die.
In those days, in England there lived a famous wizard named Merlin. He was so powerful that he could transform into anyone, become invisible, and even be transported to any place in the blink of an eye. Uther sent a knight to him for advice and help in matters of love. And soon Merlin appeared before the bed on which the sick king lay.
“Sir,” said Merlin, “I know all the secret desires of your heart.” Lady Igraine will be your wife. But for this you will give me your first-born to raise.
“I agree, let it be your way,” answered the king.
- Today you can enter the castle and meet your beloved. You will look like a duke, and neither Lady Igraine nor the servants will be able to distinguish you from him.
Late in the evening, the healed king and Merlin headed towards the castle, but Duke Gorlois, noticing how Uther was leaving his camp, came out to meet him. They fought to the death, and the king killed the Duke of Cornwall.
Only the next day Lady Igraine learned about the death of her husband and was surprised by this news, because she saw her husband at night when he should have already been dead. She decided to keep the meeting with the duke, who had assumed the guise, a secret.
Almost immediately after the funeral of the Duke of Cornwall, Uther Pendragon again confessed his love to Lady Igraine, and this time she was favorable to him. The wedding was quickly celebrated, and there was no end to joy and fun in the king's castle. At the same time, at the request of Uther, Igraine’s two daughters from her first marriage were also married. Her eldest daughter, Morgause, married Logue, King of Orkney and Lothian; the middle one, Elaine, is for Nantres, King of Garloth. The youngest, Morgana, who was still a child, was sent to be raised in a nunnery.
When the time came for Queen Igraine to give birth to a child, Merlin reappeared in the king’s castle and reminded him of Uther’s oath:
- When your child is born, do not baptize him and order him to give him to me secretly through the back gate of the castle.
As Merlin wished, so Uther did. Three days later, a boy was born to Igraine, and the king ordered the child to be taken, swaddled in a golden blanket and given to the first beggar at the back gate of the castle. So the child was handed over to the wizard, and he baptized him by the priest, giving the heir the name Arthur. Merlin entrusted the boy to the care of the knight Ector, devoted to the king. Arthur lived in his house, and Sir Ector's wife nursed him with her milk, along with her own son named Kay. And for a long time no one except Merlin and the king knew that Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon.

The king did not live long in happiness with the beautiful Lady Igraine. Two years passed and he became seriously ill. The saddened barons sent for Merlin. The Wizard has arrived the Royal Castle and called all the nobles to the king's chambers.
“I cannot cure Uther Pendragon,” said Merlin and asked the king loudly: “Sir, do you want your son Arthur to become king after your death?”
Then Uther Pendragon turned his head and said loudly:
“I give him God’s and my blessing, and when he matures, I command him to claim my crown; and if he does not do this, may he lose the blessing.
With these words, Uther died and was buried with the honors befitting a great king. All his vassals and Lady Igraine were plunged into great sorrow and sadness.
And terrible times came, the very existence of the kingdom was under threat. Every noble person considered himself worthy to become king of England. Neighboring principalities started wars among themselves, unrest broke out throughout the country, and enemies took advantage of this and began to attack the kingdom.
During the strife, almost everyone forgot about the king's last will. Even if someone knew where to look for an heir, no one would want a child to rule the country. Merlin foresaw all this and therefore decided to raise Arthur away from the envious barons until he grew up and matured enough to ascend the throne, hold it and rule wisely. Many years passed like this. Arthur turned into a tall young man, learned to ride a horse, fight with spears and swords, treat ladies and everything else that a noble knight should be able to do. Merlin decided that the time had come and advised the Archbishop of Canterbury to convene all the noble people of the kingdom for Christmas in London, in St. Paul's Cathedral - the most beautiful church in England.
“For,” the wizard predicted, “a great miracle will happen there, which will show everyone who is the rightful king of this country.”
When the worshipers left the temple after the service, they saw a huge square stone in the church yard, like a marble tombstone. On the stone stood a steel anvil, and in the center of it was stuck a naked sword, around which golden writing sparkled: “Whoever pulls this sword out of the stone is, by right of birth, king over all the land of England.”

Everyone marveled at this miracle, and the lords who wanted to take possession of the crown began to argue furiously: everyone wanted to be the first to try their luck. Then the archbishop ordered each knight in turn, according to seniority and nobility, to try to pull out the sword... But the strongest of them could not even move it.

There is no king among us,” said the archbishop. - Let messengers be sent to all regions who will tell about the sword. On the first day of the new year we will organize a tournament in which anyone can participate, be it a knight or a commoner. Let each tournament participant try his luck and try to pull the sword out of the stone. In the meantime, ten glorious knights will guard the wonderful weapon.
On the first day of the new year, knights from all over England arrived in London. Among them were Sir Ector, who loved tournaments and duels, his son Kay, who had just been knighted, and Arthur, Sir Kay's foster brother.

Early in the morning on the day of the tournament, they saddled their horses and went to St. Paul's Cathedral. Having already arrived at the lists, Sir Kay missed the sword, which he had left at home. He asked Arthur to return for the weapon.
“With great pleasure,” Arthur agreed and galloped at full speed to get the sword.
However, the young man did not find anyone at home: the lady and all the servants went to watch the tournament. Not finding the sword, Arthur was upset, because now his brother would not be able to gain fame in duels. Distressed, he suddenly remembered that he had seen some kind of sword sticking out of a stone in the middle of the church yard. “I’ll take this sword, it’s still of no use. I can’t allow my brother, Sir Kay, to be left without a weapon on such a day,” Arthur decided and hurried to the cathedral.

There was no one in the churchyard; the knights guarding the wonderful sword abandoned their post and went to the tournament. Without stopping to read the inscription on the stone, and without knowing anything about how many tried to take possession of the sword, Arthur dismounted, with one movement of his hand he pulled the sword out of the stone and hurried to his brother.

Sir Kay immediately recognized the miracle weapon, was delighted and hurried to his father with the words:
- Look, sir, this is the same sword made of stone; That means I should be the king of England!
But Sir Ector was immensely surprised and demanded to know how his son got the sword.
“My brother Arthur brought me this wonderful weapon,” answered Sir Kay.
- How did you get it? - Hector turned to Arthur.
“I didn’t find Sir Kay’s sword at home, so I hurried to the cathedral and pulled the sword out of the stone without any difficulty.

“You will be the king of this land,” Sir Ector said solemnly.
- Why? - Arthur was surprised.
“Because God wants it that way,” Hector answered. - This sword was destined to be pulled out only by the one who is the rightful king of England. But first I want to check the truth of your words.
And Sir Ector hurried with his sons to the churchyard.
“It’s a simple matter,” said Arthur, walked up to the stone and stuck a sword into the anvil.
Ector and Kay tried to pull out the weapon, pulling it with all their might, but they couldn’t even move it.
“Now you try,” they suggested to Arthur.
“Willingly,” the young man answered and easily pulled out the sword a second time.
Here Sir Ector and his son knelt before Arthur, bowed their heads respectfully and swore allegiance. Seeing this, Arthur cried out in fear:
- Dear father and dear brother, why did you kneel before me?
“I must tell you, my lord Arthur,” answered the noble knight Ector, “that although I love you as my own, you are my adopted son.”
And the knight told how, at Merlin's request, he took care of Arthur from infancy. The young man was saddened when he learned the whole truth, and grieved that he had lost his father, mother, and brother at once.
They found the archbishop, and Sir Ector told him what had happened. When the prelate heard this story and saw the wonderful sword in the hands of the young man, he immediately sent for the knights and barons and ordered them to assemble in the courtyard of the temple. In front of a great crowd of people, Arthur returned the sword to its place and just as easily pulled it back. And then a quarrel broke out: some lords welcomed Arthur as their king, others were angry, considering it a great shame that they would be ruled by an unknown youth. In the end, it was decided to postpone the matter until Easter, although no one except Arthur laid claim to the throne and no one was ever able to pull the sword from the anvil. Ten knights were again stationed at the stone to stand guard in the churchyard day and night.
At Easter more barons and lords flocked to London to try their luck with the sword, and again only Arthur succeeded, much to the disappointment of many. But the lords again managed to postpone the decision - this time until Pentecost.
But on Pentecost, history repeated itself: Arthur was the only one able to pull the sword out of the anvil, and this happened in the face of not only the lords, but also ordinary people. And the people cried out:
- Arthur is our king, and no one else! We will not allow any further delay in making a decision!
And everyone - rich and poor - fell on their knees before Arthur and begged to forgive them for not recognizing him as king for so long. He forgave them; He was first knighted and then crowned.
Arthur swore before the lords and people to rule justly from now on until the end of his days. And the first thing he did was listen to complaints about the grievances committed after the death of Uther Pendragon, and ordered the return of lands and castles to those from whom they had been taken.
King Arthur awarded his tutor Sir Ector with new lands, and made Sir Kay, whom he dearly loved, seneschal of his court and the entire kingdom. To serve at court, the king selected the best knights of the country and settled with them in Camelot Castle, trying to rule wisely in order to return peace, tranquility and order to the kingdom.

Briefly about the article: It’s hard to argue with the fact that “Arthuriana” is one of the cornerstones in the foundation of fantasy. It is all the more interesting to familiarize yourself with the roots of the legend in more detail, in order to then see what has grown from them.

King for All Seasons

Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: from legend to fantasy

"...the prototype of ALL works in the fantasy genre is the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table!"

Andrzej Sapkowski

One may not agree with this categorical statement by Sapkowski, but it is difficult to argue with the fact that “Arthuriana” is one of the cornerstones in the foundation of fantasy. It is all the more interesting to get acquainted with the roots of the legend in more detail, so that later see what grew out of them.

The story of King Arthur is a tale of a time of virtue, nobility and courage, when in the midst of the dark and troubled Middle Ages there existed a wonderful kingdom that flourished under the wise rule of an ideal sovereign and his noble knights.

Legend

So, one day, the High King of Britain, Uther Pendragon, inflamed with passion for Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Gorlois of Cornwall, deceived himself into her bedroom at Tintagel Castle. After 9 months, a boy was born, named Arthur, who was given to the wizard Merlin so that he would take care of a possible heir.

The wise magician entrusted the upbringing of the boy, for whom he predicted a great future, to the glorious knight Ector. He raised Arthur as his own son. The king never had any other children. From her marriage to the deceased Gorlois, Igraine was left with three daughters, the youngest of whom learned the art of magic and, under the name of Fairy Morgana, played a fatal role in the fate of her stepbrother.

After Uther's death, Merlin revealed to sixteen-year-old Arthur the secret of his birth. And after the young man managed to pull out the sword sticking out of the anvil, which only the “true by birth king of Britain” could do, he took his father’s throne. Then Arthur received the magic sword Excalibur as a Gift from the Lady of the Lake, married the beautiful Lady Guinevere and lived happily ever after in Camelot Castle.

At his court, Arthur gathered all the brave and devoted knights of the kingdom - Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad, Percival and many others. He seated them around a huge Round Table, so that no one was considered first and no one was considered last. Merlin taught the knights not to do evil, to avoid betrayal, lies and dishonor, to bestow mercy on the inferior and protect the ladies. Then the paladins of the Round Table set off to travel and perform feats, defeating dragons, giants and sorcerers, rescuing princesses. But main goal Their pilgrimage was a search for the Holy Grail - the Cup from which Jesus drank during the Last Supper and into which his blood was then poured. For many years, knights wandered around Britain in search of the relic, but in vain. In the end, the Grail was found by the young Sir Galahad, son of Lancelot, after which his soul ascended to heaven (according to another version, the Grail went to Sir Percival).

And the greatest of his knights, Sir Lancelot du Lac (“Lakeman”), began the disastrous chain of events for Arthur. He fell in love with Lady Guinevere and was unable to suppress his criminal passion for his overlord's wife.

Arthur's nephew Mordred (according to another version - his bastard, illegitimate son), son of the Fairy Morgana, exposed the lovers and forced Arthur to condemn his wife to execution. Lancelot saved the queen and fled with her to France. Before setting off with his army in pursuit of them, Arthur left Mordred as regent. The nephew, taking advantage of his uncle's absence, carried out a coup. Arthur returned home and met with Mordred at the Battle of Camlann, where he pierced the traitor with a spear, but he, dying, managed to mortally wound the king.

The sword Excalibur was thrown into the water, where it was picked up by the hand of the Maiden of the Lake, and Arthur's faithful companions put the dying man in a boat, which carried him across the sea to the magical island of Avalon. To console the knights, the king promised to return when Britain was in great danger. This is the canonical Myth...

Arthur through the eyes of historians

There is no real documentary evidence of Arthur's existence. No state decrees or lifetime references in chronicles or private letters have survived... However, about many events of those “dark” centuries only scattered rumors, recorded from hearsay many centuries later, have reached us.

Hard Facts

In the 1st century BC. Britain was inhabited by the Celtic tribe of Britons. By the 3rd century. AD the conquest of the island by the Romans was completed, and an imperial province with a mixed Britto-Roman population emerged, which became at the end of the 3rd-4th centuries. Christian. In 407, due to the threat to Rome from the Goths, the Roman legions left Britain, essentially abandoning it to its fate. A brief Celtic revival and the oblivion of Roman customs began.

But in the middle of the 5th century. Germanic pagan tribes attacked the island from the sea: Jutes, Angles and Saxons, who seized part of the lands on the coast. At the beginning of the 6th century. The Britons and descendants of the Romans united and began to fight the conquerors. By the middle of the century they managed to inflict a number of defeats on the invaders, but in the 60-70s. the invasion continued, and by 600 the conquest of the main part of the island was complete. These are exactly established historical facts. What follows is the shaky ground of assumptions.

The threshold of the myth

The first indirect reference that can be attributed to Arthur appears in historical chronicle"On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain" by the Welsh monk Gildas (c. 550). So, he wrote about a certain king who invited the Saxons to the country in order to repel the Picts. But when the Saxon allies, instead of war with the Picts, began to slaughter the Britons themselves, they elected as their ruler with the title “emperor” a descendant of the Romans, Ambrose Aurelian, who defeated the barbarians at Mount Badon (c. 516). The text of the chronicle is very unclear: it is not clear who led this battle; but a certain Bear is mentioned (lat. Ursus), in Welsh - "atru" (almost Arthur!).

Another monk from Wales, Nennius, in his “History of the Britons” (the exact time of writing is not established - from 796 to 826) also mentions a certain great warrior named Arthur.

The History of the Britons is very confusing and full of outright tales. Here, for example, is how, according to Nennius, the Germans appeared in Britain. King Vortigern of the Britons, intoxicated with a witchcraft drink, falls in love with the daughter of the Saxon leader Hengist, Ronvena, and allows the pagans to conquer his country. Further, Ambrose is woven into the narrative, who turns out to be either a noble Roman, the leader of the Britons and the heir of Vortigern, or a certain clairvoyant, soothsayer, born without a father (Merlin?). Later, without any connection with Ambrose, the leader Arthur is mentioned, who defeated the Saxons in twelve battles, with the decisive one taking place at Mount Badon.

According to archaeological excavations, many battles actually took place in the places indicated by Nennius, but they could not have taken place during the lifetime of one person. And can you trust a source created two hundred years after the events described?

Around 956, an unknown Welshman compiled the historical chronology "Cumbrian Annals" (Cumbria - ancient name Wales), where he wrote: “516 - The Battle of Badon, during which Arthur carried the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ on his shoulders for three days and three nights, and the Britons were victorious... 537 - The Battle of Camlann , during which Arthur and Medrout killed each other, and a pestilence came to Britain and Ireland." This is the last mention of Arthur in relatively historical labor

Modern scientists note the following very real fact, confirmed by archaeological research: in the second half of the 5th century. Saxon expansion in Britain slowed down, virtually stopping. From which it is concluded that the Britons were led for almost 50 years by a certain great leader and warrior, who managed to beat up the invaders. This ruler may have been Ambrose Aurelian, whose leader could have been the Welshman Arthur, who inflicted a number of significant defeats on the Saxons, especially at Mount Badon. The strife that then began in the camp of the victors led to the death of Arthur.

Arthur's Tomb

Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset is a unique historical site. At one time, Druids performed rituals here, they were replaced by the Romans, but the most significant mark was left by Christians.

The church ruins that have survived to this day date back to the 13th century, they are the remains of a temple destroyed by order of King Henry VIII during his fight against Catholicism.

There have long been rumors that it was in Glastonbury that King Arthur was buried, and when a terrible fire destroyed the abbey in 1184, during the reconstruction the monks simultaneously began searching for the grave legendary king. In 1190, their efforts were crowned with success! Tapping the stone floor slabs, at a depth of three meters, the Benedictines discovered ancient masonry with a hollow chamber where oak deck in the shape of a coffin, impregnated with wood-preserving resins, from which two human skeletons were removed.

The archives of the abbey preserved a detailed report on the examination of the bodies of the deceased. The man’s skeleton was striking in its gigantic height - 2.25 m. His skull was damaged (a trace of a wound?). Strands of blond hair are perfectly preserved on the woman’s head.

A large lead cross with the Latin inscription grew over the new grave of the royal spouses: “Here, on the island of Avalon, lies the illustrious King Arthur.” This cross was either discovered by the monks at the original grave, or installed during the second burial (sources differ here). In 1278, the remains of "Arthur" were transferred to a black marble sarcophagus in front of the main altar of the monastery church. There they remained until the destruction of the monastery in 1539.

In 1934, the remains of a tomb were found on the site of the main altar, and now there is a memorial plaque there. The surviving bones were sent to medical examination, which dated the remains to the 5th-6th centuries. Excavations in 1962 uncovered the original burial site and confirmed that a depression had once existed there. As for the lead cross, it disappeared more than two hundred years ago.

Are the remains found really those of Arthur and Guinevere? Hmm, with the same success these could be the bodies of any king or leader of that time, even the leader of the Saxons...

Is Arthur Russian?

From time to time, other versions appear about the life of the legendary warrior. Thus, a certain Howard Reid, in the book “King Arthur the Dragon,” put forward the version that Arthur was... a representative of the nomadic Sarmatian tribes from the Russian steppes, whom the Romans brought to Britain. According to Reid, behind the walls of Glastonbury Abbey, the monks staged an ordinary farce called the “discovery of holy relics” in order to simply make more money. The writer also debunked the old legend, according to which King Arthur will rise from the grave when England is attacked by enemies. The origins of this and other legends about Arthur and his knights, according to Reid, lie in the legends of the Sarmatians.

What can I say here? If you wish, Arthur can even be registered as an Ethiopian... It seems that Mr. Reid is not too different from the monks, whose machinations he so zealously exposes.

It's unlikely we'll ever know the truth, our destiny is guesses and assumptions. And nothing surprising. After all, history is happening right before our eyes - how many of us are we really? we know? And here is Arthur... 15 centuries look at us mockingly, and all we can do is helplessly shrug our shoulders...

The birth of a novel

Arthur continued to live in literature - writers took up the baton from chroniclers and historians. Back in the second half of the 6th century. The Welsh bard Aneirin composed the poem "Godddin", one of the heroes of which is Arthur, a brave warrior, a wise ruler, and the leader of a dashing cavalry detachment. If this text is not a later insertion (and the poem came to us in a 13th-century manuscript), then we have before us the oldest mention of Arthur in a work of art.

In the 1120s, monk William of Malmesbury wrote the work "The Acts of the English Kings", where he rewrote the old legends about the warlike Arthur.

And finally key moment "Arthurian history"! Around 1139, Brother Geoffrey (later Bishop Geoffrey of Monmouth) completed his monumental History of the Kings of Britain in twelve volumes, two of which were dedicated to Arthur. In them, for the first time he is named king, the wizard Merlin appears, the sword Caliburn, Arthur's marriage to Guinevere and her seduction by the royal nephew Medraut, the last battle with the traitor near Cambula (Camlann) and the burial of Arthur's body on Avalon. And when in 1155 the Anglo-Norman truvère Wace translated Geoffrey’s book from learned Latin into French (the poetic “Roman of Brutus”), it became the favorite reading of the aristocracy. Then the Anglo-Saxon Layamon got down to business, translating Wace’s work into everyday English, and the story of the deeds of the Great King flew out to the people!

The final transformation of Arthur into a model of chivalry occurred thanks to the French trouver Chrétien de Troyes, who worked between 1160 and 1180. He wrote five romantic poems, introducing into use the "Arthurians" theme of knightly love and cult beautiful lady, and also came up with the name "Camelot".

IN popular works about the Knights of the Round Table by Robert de Boron, Hartmann von Aue, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Gottfried von Strassburg, Thomas Chester, Bernardo Tissot, Jacques de Longnon, Arthur and his court are present only as decoration. The plot of the novels is usually this: knights come to Arthur and talk about their exploits, or a certain petitioner, most often a maiden, arrives in Camelot, demanding to complete a quest - to kill a dragon, kill a sorcerer, etc. The knights disperse in search of adventure or in an effort to find the Grail, and then their deeds are narrated. Arthur in these novels is a wise old king who does not take part in adventures, but is, as it were, a guarantor of peace and order. And his kingdom is no longer the legendary Britain, but a fictitious ideal Logria, whose heroes all true knights should imitate.

There was also an edifying, “Christian” direction in Arthurian legends, especially clearly expressed in the collective “Vulgate Cycle”, written by the Cistercian monks (1215 - 1236).

Finally, at the end of the 15th century. a work appeared that became canonical.

Death and Rebirth of Arthur

In 1485, Caxton's Westminster printing house published the book "Le Morte d'Arthur" by the English knight Sir Thomas Malory: an adaptation of a number of novels from the Arthurian cycle and related works.

Translating extensive material into English language, Malory combined, shortened and modified the text, making his own insertions; as a result, a rather slender piece of art, which introduces all the key figures and events of Arthurian mythology.

The book is divided into many episodes, adventures follow in succession, often without much motivation. Brave knights, clad in armor, fight with each other; beautiful maidens find refuge in the twilight dense forests; the seer Merlin exposes secret connections between the heroes and heralds misfortunes that cannot be prevented...

At the same time, Malory often reveals a tendency towards moralization, prudence and practicality. The world of courtly medieval poetry is alien to him: Malory condemns love for the sake of love, considering love in a legal marriage ideal. Therefore, his image of Lancelot differs significantly from the interpretation he had in French poetry(having all the data to obtain the Grail, he, imbued with sinful love for the queen, was only able to see the cup of grace from afar).

* * *

"Le Morte d'Arthur" served as the source for many other works, becoming the ideal version of the Arthurian myth for all subsequent generations. From here Spencer, Milton, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Tennyson, Swinburne, Blake, Twain, Ariosto, Petrarch, Dante, Brantome, Cervantes, Goethe, Schiller, you can’t count them all, drew inspiration. Finally, the authors of modern fantasy got down to business...