Was King Arthur a real person? If not, why are we studying about him?

Answer 1

. Studying him however is a great way to see the evolution of a single story through different generations~~~~

Answer 2

Probably most of the story of King Arthur is myth and invention but there is a strong possibility that a real person did exist upon which those myths are based. If so he probably lived around the time that the Roman empire was retreating. Britain had been Roman and Christian for a long time but as Rome faced threats from barbarians close to home it withdrew its forces from the farthest reaches of the empire. Britain was left to fend for itself. The stories about Arthur and his knights can be seen as an allegory for the struggles of the Christian Britons against the invasions of pagan Saxons and others from mainland Europe. The real Arthur may have been a military leader who united the British tribes in a defense of the island. If so he lived long before the age of "knights in shining armor" as he and his followers are so often portrayed but as the myth grew the bards of each age recast the stories in terms they knew and understood. For a sense of how the story might have really happened, read "The Pendragon" by Catherine Christian. There is also a recent movie "King Arthur" which has Arthur running around in a classic Roman uniform and Guenevere as a Celtic warrior princess but I don't think it is very accurate.

Answer 3

It is generally believed that King Arthur is a mythological person modeled after a real person who lived in pre-Medieval England and was a tribal leader.

We study him because the stories about Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are considered great literature, and also because they do somewhat depict Medieval cultures.

Answer 4

The legend has stirred the imaginations of writers, artists, historians, and just-plain-folks for more than 1000 years. The Tintagel Castle ruins overlook the jagged coastline of North Cornwall where the power of a storm-driven sea is both awesome and terrifying. It is in this setting that the stories take place of great personal courage, tragedy, loyalty, and betrayal of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Merlin the magician was instrumental in the story of the birth of Arthur....
but you will have to find out the details yourself! I hope you have fun learning about this hero of old!

Answer 5

Yes, he was real. There is a clear reference to his death in AD537 in the conemporary document now known as the "Annales Cambriae". He was the leader of the (sub) Roman Britons from the 480s until 537 who at that time controlled most of what was Roman Britannia ie from the Forth-Clyde isthmus southwards, except for the SE.

He was probably a prince of Kernyw, the kingdom of the SW peninsula, selected bacuase of his war-fighting skills. Poetry that has come down to us from the 6th century, transmitted orally, describes him as "the chief giver of feasts", than which was no higher praise in the culture of that day. He is honoured as the leader who won the Battle of Badon Hill (Bath), a great victory over the Saxons (proto-English raiders and pirates) which was won in AD491 or thereabouts.

As one archaeologist skillfully put it, we cannot prove Arthur from the archaeological evidence, but if he didn't exist we have to account for an "Arthur-shaped hole" in both space and time in the advance of the English into Britain.

Answer 6

He might have been a real man way back however the legends attached are fiction. Studying him however is a great way to see the evolution of a single story through different generations. The legends of Arthur are still being added to today through Merlin or other methods.

Answer 7

The stories appear to be based around a leader of the native Britons who rose to power at the end of Rome's occupation of southern Briton. At this time various groups such as the Picts, proto-Saxons, and others were beginning to spread out, conquering territory previously held by Roman garrisons. The tribes of southern England would have needed a single, strong leader to unite them against these common threats. This leader (regardless of name) is a certainty, as southern England repelled these invaders and held its territory for over forty years of relative peace during the sixth century A.D. This leader would have had several advantages over northern invaders - superior armor in the form of Roman lorica, the use of calvary, superior weapons such as Damascus pattern welded gladii and spatha. The spatha is a calvarymans weapon, a long, thin sword used from horseback. With such advantages this leader was destined to become the stuff of legend that Geoffery of Monmouth and Thomas Mallory immortalized as Arthur.

Answer 8

Hmmm - There are an almost endless number of books and theories in him. The truth is that although there was probably an original King Arthur is a conglomerate of many people...

Answer 9

He was an Anglo-Saxon chieftan, the legends were embelleshed and added to until Thomas Mallory wrote them down in le Morte de Arthur, which was the first recording of the tales, but not the first mention of Arthur.

Answer 10

I don't know if he's real, but he certainly inspired real people back in the Middle Age.

Arthur = Arktús = The 'Bear'

Many real kings and counts have taken the bear as their protective animal.

Answer 11

He was based on a real person, I think it was King Arturius. i could have the name wrong though