king arthur and his knights of the round table by roger lancelyn green

Written in a lyrical English prose (rather than Latin), it was an instant hit. In the 15th century, Sir Thomas Malory reworked the somewhat unwieldy collection of tales into a long unified epic entitled Le Morte d'Artur. King Arthur had come to embody the ideal Christian knight. By now, the stories had taken on greater Christian overtones, although certain pagan elements remained. A decade later, Robert de Borron reintroduced the theme of the grail (drawing upon early Celtic folklore) and gave prominence to the magician, Merlin. It became the bestseller of its time.Īt the end of the 12th century, French poet Chretien de Troyes further embellished the legend, adding new tales of chivalrous knights as well as the tragic romance of Lancelot and Guinevere.

Manuscripts were translated from Latin into the Anglo-Saxon tongue and Norman French and widely distributed throughout Britain. Blending and embellishing many strands of the oral tradition, then setting the action in his own times, he forged the first Arthurian novel. In 1138 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the 'semi-historical' History of the Kings of Britain, devoting half of his work to the exploits of Arthur. He is referred to by the Welsh chronicler Nennius in the 9th century and figures prominently in British historical annals of the 10th century. His name first appears in a long Welsh poem of the 7th century, Y Goddodin. This fearless leader was famous in his own time, and over the centuries his legend grew as storytellers awed their audiences with tales of his exploits.

The figure of King Arthur was probably based upon a Celtic king or chieftain who lived in southwestern England during the 6th century and led his warriors against invading armies of Saxons.

King arthur and his knights of the round table by roger lancelyn green