Arthur, High King of Britain

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This book is marketed towards children, but it comes from a different era of children's literature when authors introduced advanced ideas to children. Unlike other "kids Arthur" books I have seen, the content in this book is just barely sanitized, however. The writer does a great job of including a lot of the adult themes of Arthurian Legend in a way that isn't too graphic that it turns off children. Hoburg, Tom (1992). "In Her Own Right: The Guenevere of Parke Godwin". In Slocum, Sally K. (ed.). Popular Arthurian Traditions. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. pp.68–79. ISBN 0879725621. Lacy, Norris J.; Ashe, Geoffrey; Mancoff, Debra N. (2014). The Arthurian Handbook. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317777441 . Retrieved 14 July 2014.

Lacy, Norris J. (1996a), "Character of Arthur", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp.16–17, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4 . Coe, John B.; Young, Simon (1995), The Celtic Sources for the Arthurian Legend, Felinfach, Lampeter: Llanerch, ISBN 978-1-897853-83-2 . Geoffrey returned to Constantine's struggles and untimely murder in his later work Vita Merlini. The text, set during the reign of Aurelius Conanus, recounts how Constantine gave Mordred's sons a "cruel death" and ended their destructive rebellion, omitting details of the killing. According to the Vita, Constantine ruled only briefly before Conanus rose up, killed him, and seized the kingdom he now governs poorly. Rosemary Morris writes that Vita Merlini reinforces the Historia's message that Constantine was unable to perpetuate the glories of Arthur's reign. [19] [20] In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as T. H. White's The Once and Future King (1958), Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave (1970) and its four sequels, Thomas Berger's tragicomic Arthur Rex and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1982), in addition to comic strips such as Prince Valiant (from 1937 onward). [119] Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Mary Stewart's first three Arthurian novels present the wizard Merlin as the central character, rather than Arthur, and The Crystal Cave is narrated by Merlin in the first person, whereas Bradley's tale takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials. [120] American authors often rework the story of Arthur to be more consistent with values such as equality and democracy. [121] In John Cowper Powys's Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages (1951), set in Wales in 499, just prior to the Saxon invasion, Arthur, the Emperor of Britain, is only a minor character, whereas Myrddin (Merlin) and Nineue, Tennyson's Vivien, are major figures. [122] Myrddin's disappearance at the end of the novel is, "in the tradition of magical hibernation when the king or mage leaves his people for some island or cave to return either at a more propitious or more dangerous time", (see King Arthur's messianic return). [123] Powys's earlier novel, A Glastonbury Romance (1932) is concerned with both the Holy Grail and the legend that Arthur is buried at Glastonbury. [124]Davies, John (1993). A history of Wales. Internet Archive. London: Allen Lane the Penguin Press. p.133. ISBN 978-0-7139-9098-0. Variants of Geoffrey's version of Constantine appeared in the numerous later adaptations of the Historia, which were widely regarded as authentic in the Middle Ages. Such variants include Wace's Anglo-Norman Roman de Brut, the Welsh Brut y Brenhinedd, and Layamon's English Brut. [21] These typically reflect Geoffrey's cynicism about the character. Layamon, however, adds a touch of optimism, writing that Constantine successfully if briefly answered Arthur's charge to rule in his manner. [19] Following Geoffrey, many of these works do not expand upon Constantine's relation to Arthur, though others elaborate that he is Arthur's nephew. Taking hints from Geoffrey's version of Arthur's family tree, these writers make Constantine's father Cador a brother, or half-brother, of Arthur through Arthur's mother Igraine. [22] [23] Later traditions [ edit ] Medieval romance and prose tradition [ edit ]

Fisher, IV, Benjamin Franklin (1990). "King Arthur Plays from the 1890s". Victorian Poetry. 28 (3/4): 153–176. JSTOR 40002298. Morris, Rosemary (1982). The Character of King Arthur in Medieval Literature. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 0815328656 . Retrieved 26 February 2014. Bromwich, Rachel (1983), "Celtic Elements in Arthurian Romance: A General Survey", in Grout, P. B.; Diverres, Armel Hugh (eds.), The Legend of Arthur in the Middle Ages, Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, pp.41–55, ISBN 978-0-85991-132-0 .It depicts people being so consumed by jealously that they kill people who previously were their friends. It also contains a level of warfare violence that is appropriate for the subject matter. Breeze, Andrew (2015). "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland". Northern History. 52 (2): 158–181. doi: 10.1179/0078172X15Z.00000000085. S2CID 161217897. ; Breeze, Andrew (2020). British Battles 493-937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh. London: Anthem Press. pp.13–24. doi: 10.2307/j.ctvv4187r. ISBN 9781785272233. JSTOR j.ctvv4187r. S2CID 243164764. Zimmer, Stefan (2009), "The Name of Arthur– A New Etymology", Journal of Celtic Linguistics, University of Wales Press, 13 (1): 131–136 .

Davies, John (1993). A history of Wales. Internet Archive. London: Allen Lane the Penguin Press. p.133. ISBN 978-0-7139-9098-0. ; "Arthur's Tomb". Glastonbury Abbey Archaeology . Retrieved 8 August 2022. Zimmer, Stefan (2006), Die keltischen Wurzeln der Artussage: mit einer vollständigen Übersetzung der ältesten Artuserzählung Culhwch und Olwen . Andrew Breeze has recently argued that Arthur was historical, and claimed to have identified the locations of his battles as well as the place and date of his death (in the context of the extreme weather events of 535–536), [24] but his conclusions are disputed. [25] Other scholars have questioned his findings, which they consider are based on coincidental resemblances between place-names. [26] Nicholas Higham comments that it is difficult to justify identifying Arthur as the leader in northern battles listed in the Historia Brittonum while rejecting the implication in the same work that they were fought against Anglo-Saxons, and that there is no textual justification for separating Badon from the other battles. [27]

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In Geoffrey, Arthur passes his crown to his relative Constantine after being mortally wounded by the traitor Mordred in the Battle of Camlann. Geoffrey identifies Gildas' "royal youths" as Mordred's two sons, who, along with their Saxon allies, continue their father's insurrection after his death. After "many battles" Constantine routs the rebels, and Mordred's sons flee to London and Winchester, where they hide in a church and a friary, respectively. Constantine hunts them down and executes them before the altars of their sanctuaries. Divine retribution for this transgression comes three years later when Constantine is killed by his nephew Aurelius Conanus (Gildas' Aurelius Caninus), precipitating a civil war. He is buried at Stonehenge alongside other kings of Britain. [18] Lacy, Norris J. (1996d), "Popular Culture", in Lacy, Norris J. (ed.), The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, New York: Garland, pp.363–364, ISBN 978-1-56865-432-4 . The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain). [6] Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established a vast empire. Many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the magician Merlin, Arthur's wife Guinevere, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's conception at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann, and final rest in Avalon. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. The themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend vary widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed, until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend continues to have prominence, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.