who was king arthur?

Question

where did he live, what was the sword, who was merlin, how many knights were there

Answer 1

King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship both in war and peace. He is the central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain. He was said to be born in the 5th century.There is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed, or whether he is a mythic figure who has been given a historicised setting.[1] His title of 'King' is disputed: in the earliest mentions and in Welsh texts, he is never given the title 'King'. An early text refers to him as a dux bellorum ('war leader'), and medieval Welsh texts often call him ameraudur ("emperor" in the pre-Medieval sense of the Latin imperator, i.e. "commander".)

Answer 2

No one really knows for sure whether Arthur existed at all and if he did then who he was. If he was a real person then there have been so many different versions of the legend written then it's almost impossible to find out who he really was.
There's a lot of arguement for the fact that he might have been a Roman, but evidence is sketchy at best.
The legend generally goes that he was a war lord (son of Uther Pendragon and Igraine - according to the legend Igraine was married to someone else at the time and Merlin put an enchantment on Uther so that Igraine would think that he was her husband)
He built Camelot which was meant to be a city of light and fairness.
He had two or three sisters, again, depending on the legend that you're reading at the time. Morgause, Morgaine and Morgan La Fey. He was adopted and so didn't grow up knowing his sisters, consequently he had a child with one of his sisters (I think Morgaine, but I'm bad with names). The son was called Mordred and according to most versions of the legend Mordred and Arthur eventually killed each other.
He also married Guinevere and I've never seen a version of the legend where Guinevere had any children.
The legend of the Round Table comes from the idea that if the table was round then there could be no one person sat on the head and thus 'lording it over' everyone else. As I think someone else has already mentioned there is some debate about how many knights there actually were, but some of the best known are Lancelot (best known for the fact that he had an affair with Guinevere. Lancelot is often said to be married to the Lady of the Lake, most commonly referred to as Elaine), Gawain (in some versions one of Arthur's best friends, in others his oldest nephew), Gareth (younger brother of Gawain, in some versions he was killed in a fight which Gawain blamed Arthur for and swore revenge), Galahad (often Lancelot's son, sent on the quest for the Holy Grail)
There's loads of films and books, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the most ridiculous version, King Arthur follows the Roman idea and Merlin concentrates on the magic aspect of Merlin in the story
Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie tells the story from Guinevere's point of view. Le Morte de Arthur by Thomas Malory is probably the best known version of the legend. There's a series of books by Marion Zimmer Bradley which tells the story from Arthur's sisters point of view. There are loads of other versions, but those are the ones that come instantly to mind.
Sorry, this was a bit longer than I intended it to be, it's a bit of a pet subject of mine!

Answer 3

I've read a number of books about the possible historical Arthur, but the best I ever saw was "King Arthur -- The True Story" by Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman, a pair of British historians.

They look at ALL the historical references to Arthur, and then they analyze the historical times. Who was fighting whom; how much Celtic mythology hung on in Christianity; where some of the place names could be; what the social structure was, etc., etc.

Their conclusion is that "Arthur" was most likely a war chieftan from a Scots tribe which had migrated to Wales. The best candidate was a certain Owain Ddantgwyn, whose nickname was "Arthur" or "the Bear". They point out that a) a lot of war leaders became known by their nicknames (Horsa, or "the Horse" is the best known), and b) Before Owain Ddantgwyn's time, "Arthur" wasn't listed in any christening records, but after Owain's time, all of a sudden parents started naming their boys "Arthur", indicating that kids started getting named for this chief.

Many of the characters in the Arthurian legend were named for Celtic gods and goddesses. Morgain le Fay, for example, was "Morrigan", originally a goddess of healing but in the stories changed to an evil sorceress.

Merlin may have been Myrddin, a real person who was a Welsh bard and was mentioned in early Welsh literature. "Bards enjoyed considerable influence in ancient Welsh society and were often attributed with the gift of second sight."

Other historical characters are Tristan, identified as Drustanus, son of the King of Cornwall, and Modred, identified as Medraut, who died in the same battle as Arthur.

Swords and water have been linked in Celtic belief. Swords were often believed to have magical properties, and were sometimes thrown into bodies of water as an offering. Archaeologists routinely dig them out of lake bottoms, bogs, etc.

Quite a few of the Arthurian motives have been identified as having been made up by particular writers. For example, Chretien de Troyes, a Medieval French writer, seems to have invented the "Holy Grail" story. (Sorry, Da Vinci fans -- there are NO references to any "Grail" before Chretien's time.) Chretien invented a lot more -- it's just that this one motif seems to have caught the imagination and taken on a life of its own!

The whole Arthurian story is so old, and so complex that probably no one will ever unravel ALL the elements. It's pretty certain it started with some history, and down the years everyone "improved" the story a bit. This happens -- look at all the theories about Kennedy's assassination, and than ask yourself what would happen to the stories if they were passed on largely by word of mouth for about 1500 years...

A fascinating subject. Raise a toast to ol' Owain Ddantgwyn!

Answer 4

Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. He lived in Camelot and this is where he met his knights (around a round table).
Merlin was a magician and used his magic to set a sword - called Excalibur - in stone.
It is not clear how many knights he had. Malory claims 150, but mostly commonly there were believed to be seven; Arthur, Ector, Gwain, Kay, Lancelot, Pelinore and Percival.

Answer 5

there was two british kings called arthur (iron bear) that were real people the most famous king arthur is the second who fought the saxons ,merlin could have been a high priest
or druid.
where i live in atherstone warwickshire there is a hill fort (alaffach) its real name and king arthurs grave stone was found but it was taken away and little as been heard of it since we have the tomb of the king and the powers that be have done nothing about it
its a bloody disgrace .

Answer 6

King Arthur is pure fiction, a medieval concoction with obvious similarities to the Christian `King` with 12 trusted friends and the treacherous follower who denies the King thrice. The real war-leader/ general, Arthur would have been a 5thC Romano-Brit who operated in the upheaval following the Roman evacuation. During this period both indigenous tribal groupings and German /French invaders, sought territorial gains. Arthur of History is an elusive character, Arthur of magic swords and Merlin, is unfounded fiction. There never EVER was a King Arthur and his round table. Never ,not ever.

Answer 7

King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship both in war and peace. He is the central character in the cycle of legends known as the Matter of Britain. He was said to be born in the 5th century.There is disagreement about whether Arthur, or a model for him, ever actually existed, or whether he is a mythic figure who has been given a historicised setting.[1] His title of 'King' is disputed: in the earliest mentions and in Welsh texts, he is never given the title 'King'. An early text refers to him as a dux bellorum ('war leader'), and medieval Welsh texts often call him ameraudur ("emperor" in the pre-Medieval sense of the Latin imperator, i.e. "commander".)

Answer 8

It is said he lived in Camelot which has been linked with Caerleon,in Wales;Camelford ,in Cornwall;Cadbury Castle, in Somerset and Tintagel,in Cornwall.
His sword was Escalibre.
Merlin was an Enchanter,however, historically there was a Merlin who was a bard.
According to Malory(morte d'Arthur,III)there were 150 knights who held "sieges"at the table.

Answer 9

'Arthur' was probably a romano-british chieftain (Ambrosius Aurelianus?) who fought back the saxons at Mons Badicus (where?) about 490AD. Significantly Gildas does not mention him by that name, which is strange as the saint was living and writing at that period.What IS significant is that for the next 50 years or so there were no subsequent saxon incursions. This would lead to conjecture that the Britons held sway in the south of England perhaps under the leadership of a strong and charismatic leader. Superior weapons, armour and cavalry tactics would have enabled such a leader to defeat larger (barbarian) forces in battle.
The exploits are probably an accretion of tales of various figures. There would have primarily been an oral tradition of recounting such exploits which would have varied according to the teller and his audience.
Germanus famously exhorted an army of Britons in the name of christ to fight against barbarian hordes (Picts?) at the battle of Moud circa 450AD. Gildas traditionally was set adrift in a boat when he died. The last battle at Camlann(?) may have been based on the heroic struggle of the Strathclyde 'Welsh' at Catterick in the 'goddodin' (although an Arthur is mentioned in Aneurin's account)
The sword 'excalibur' could be a corruption of 'ex coeli', indicating its meteoric origin. Hence the legend of pulling the sword from the stone as forging it from a metal meteorite.
The association of the sword with a water deity does reflect Celtic traditions involving throwing weapons as offerings into sacred pools. The cult of the 'grail' has resonances with fabled magic cauldrons as in the tales of Finn McCool, where another mention of Arthur(the horse thief!?) crops up.
Outside of Britain, there only exists a tantalising reference to a 'great king beyond the Rhine', written contemporaneously almost by Procupius of Constantinople in which he mentions Britain as a place where the souls of the dead migrate from Gaul.(Shades of Avalon?)
The later tales of knights and chivalry look like medieval romanctic fiction, or interpretations of Arthur and his followers in the context and mores of the time (A bit like staging MacBeth in a housing estate in contemporary Glasgow!)
Looks like Arthur, Robin Hood,Achilles, Ulysses etc may have been based on real people, but have been coopted into myth folklore, tradition, call it what you will, as a way for people to transmit ideas and beliefs about their culture.

Answer 10

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