Authurian legends?

Question

can you name any of them?

Answer 1

search of the Holy Grail, that was the most important of their adventures...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthurian_legends

Answer 2

Okay...most of these people just gave you the characters and figures which I'm sure you alrady knew most of them, when you asked for the actual legend names. There are a whole ton of stories that count as Arthurian legends because they deal with one of the characters that is in the main Arthur legend, which is how he came to rule and the quest for the Grail. And just for everyone's information....Le Morte D'Arthur is not an Arthurian legend...it is a story based on the legends put together long after the legends existed.

So here are some of the individual legends:
(besides the Holy Grail legend in which there are many versions: a couple have Perceval finding the Grail, and others have Galahad finding it)

Tristan and Isolde
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Lady of Shalott
The Unfaithful Queen
Nimue, Lady of the Lake
The Excalibur
Death of Arthur
The Wedding of Sir Gawain
The Dream of Rhonabury
Prose Lancelot
Romance of Yder
Birth of Gawain
Chevalier a la Charette (which is french for Warrior of the Charette I believe)
Gereint and Enid
Courtship of Etaine
Gawain and the Magic Chessboard
Kulhwch and Olwen
Black Book of Carmarthen
Chevalier au Lion
.Diarmaid and Grianne
The Childhood of Finn
Merlin
Morgan Le Fay and Accolon

And I'm sure there are many more.

Answer 3

Check out "Le Morte d'Arthur" ("The Death of Arthur") by Sir Thomas Malory. It's a compilation of several of the legends from France and England, and was first published in the late 1400's or early 1500's.

For a modern Pagan perspective of the legend, try "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It's an interesting read, as it tells the legends from the point of view of Morgan Le Fay (Morgaine), and discusses the Romans in England, early Christianity and how it affected the old Celtic and Druidic beliefs, and the patriarchy / treatment of women of the middle ages. I highly recommend reading Malory first, as it's important to have a full sense of the original legends before embarking on this tale. It would also be good to have some grounding in the history of England under the Roman Empire and Christianity vs. Celtic and Druidic Paganism at that time, as it would be so easy to accept every word of this book as truth (it holds many truths, but it's important to be able to separate what is suggested and inferred from previously-known fact).

Happy Reading!

Answer 4

King Arthur was the Welsh Arth Vawr, Heavenly Bear. His predecessor was Uther Pendragon, Wonderful Head of the Dragon.
Look at the hub of the heavens. In the third millennium B.C. (3000-2000 B.C.), the north pole star was not the same as it is now. Precession of the equinoxes shifted it from the head of the Great Serpent (in the constellation of the Dragon) called Alpha Draconis, to Polaris in Ursa Minor, the Little Bear or the Little Dipper.
Or are you talking about some of the books about King Arthur from ancient days, such as Le Morte d'Arthur?

Answer 5

Tristan, Arthur, Gueneviere, Lancelot, Igraine, Uther, Isolde, Gwendolyn, Gwynn, Arianhrod, Icovelluna, Lug, Fynn or Finn, Rhiannon, Rowena, Morgause, Morgaine, Vivian, Galahad, Gawain, Perceval, Ragnell, wooooooooooooow that is a very long list.

Answer 6

Evian Steel - a short story by Jane Yolen, regarding the origins of Morgan leFay, Guinevere and other figures. It's inspired by, but not really based on, the Arthurian legends.

It appears in the book "Imaginary Lands."

Answer 7

"The Tale of Lady Ragnall" is my favourite (you will probably see this in many answers that I give...) She is a Faery (without wings and pointy ears- she is pure Sidhe) who married a human knight. She is a Korrigan type Fey (in Brittany and Cornwall, England- they guard springs and fountains near standing stones.) The legend goes thus::

King Authur was once captured by and evil knight who only freed him when he agreed to return to him within a year and give him the answer to the question "What is it that women most desire?" Arthur questioned every woman he met- some said a good husband, fine clothes, jewels, lovely children- but he know that these would not be the true answer.

Eventually, as the year drew to a close, he came upon a hideous hag who agreed to tell him the answer on the condition that a handsome young knight of the court would be her husband. Arthur regretfully entreated his knights for the one who would submit himself to such an unappealing match. The brave knight Gawain stepped forward and pledged his hand in a most courtly and chivalrous manner to the frightful crone, Lady Ragnall. She smiled, and told Arthur the answer: "Sovereignty"

The marriage was celebrated, and the pair were escoreted to the bridal chamber. Gawain steeled himself to honour his commitment, but as he turned to Ragnall, she was instantly transformed into a lovely young maiden. She informed him that she was under a spell, but now she was married, she was able to appear as a beauty before court during the day, or at night in their bed. He could choose which. The knight considered that she would be embarrassed to appear so ugly before the magnificent court and told her that the choice should be hers. When he thus proved unselfish, granting the answer that led them there into the bargain, she revealed that this enabled her to return to her power and break the spell and be beautiful all the time.

The curse was put on her by Ganieda (Merlin's twin sister), because she was jealous of Ragnall the Korrigan's natural beauty (at the time, Ragnall had been bathing naked in a fountain deep inside Nimue's forest).

She went on to become known as the Lady Ragnall Gawain, Fey of the Ruby Sword.

She had long, wavy hair that split itself into curls down to her waist in twists of blonde and cherry red, eyes that sparkled three colours- blue, silver, and violet, and lips red like the setting sun. She kissed the swords of knights and enchanted them with a glow that would make the weapon ten times sharper, and lighter to handle. Her skin was pale and glowed with soft sunlight, and her body languid, like the bending reed in a breeze. It was said that Arthur punished himself by not eating for two weeks after he saw Lady Ragnall's true splendour because he wished himself to be a knight who could have entreated himself to her. Her beauty was celebrated by placing a sword on a bed of red cloth or silk.

The Authurian court would not look down upon the hideous, and instead honoured them for being brave to show themselves. ^_^

Answer 8

Arthur was the son of Uther, supposedly descended from the Emporer Constantius. He was taken from Uther at birth by Merlin, who had him fostered in the kingdom of King Kohl (the King Cole of nursery rhymes). He was not aware of his parentage, but was educated by Merlin.

Arthur went to war with Kohl and his son, acting as squire to his foster brother, since he was only about 13 years old. His brother forgot his sword, and sent Arthur back to their tent to get it. Arthur couldn't find it, but he saw a sword sticking out from a stone, took the hilt, and pulled it out. What he didn't know was that Merlin had put the sword in the stone, and declared that the person who could pull it out would be the next king of England. Kings, princes, warriors, people from all walks of life had tried, but none could pull it out. When Arthur did it, Merlin revealed who he was. During that battle, Uther was killed, and with the support of Merlin, the minor kings of England proclaimed him high king.

Arthur's kingdom was known as one of peace. He was considered to be the first Christian king of England, but he was very tolerant of other religions as well. His castle is commonly called Camelot, which may be a corruption of "Caer Mallot," the Celtic phrase for "Castle of the Hammer," since the traditional weapon of the king was the hammer.

Arthur's wife, Guinevere, has been painted over time as the ultimate unfaithful wife, because she allegedly had an affair with Arthur's best friend, Lancelot. But this legend stems from a single reference in the Old French stories about the two of them arising from a "bloody bed." The Celtic word for "bed" can also be translated as "altar," and the French thought they were superior to the British in every way, so they could very well have intentionally mistranslated the phrase. Guinevere may have been Pictish, even a Pictish priestess. If so, she would have performed blood sacrifices at an altar. Lancelot is often referred to as her champion, and if he were an acolite of her religion, they could well have been caught at a bloody altar after a sacrifice. At a Christian court, this would have been shocking, but Arthur was known for being liberal.

Arthurian legend claims that Guinevere brought a "round table" large enough for all the knights of the kingdom to sit at. This may be another mistranslation. The Old French word, "Tableaux," also translates as a building. There are many ancient beehive-shaped buildings which still dot the landscape in Britain, and it may have been one of these that the legends were referring to.

If Guinevere were a Pictish queen, the line of descent in the Picts passed through the woman, not the man--after all, you could prove who the mother was. There are also many legends of Guinevere being kidnapped. If the kingship was decided by who was married to the queen, that might explain it.

Finally, Arthur is usually associated with southwestern England, but it is also possible that "Camelot" was Sterling Castle in Northeast England. There are landmarks which would fit the directions given in the legends from battlefield to battlefield. Also, it is close to Scotland, where "Lancelot" was probably from. "L'Ancelot" would be the Old French term for "The Ancelot," which translates to "The Anguselsus" in Latin, or "The Angus" in Celtic. THE Angus would be the title given to the head of the Angus clan. In the area near Sterling, at the time Arthur lived, there was a lineage of kings of the Angus clan, 3 kings in a row named Angus. Lancelot mentions in one of the legends that he is one of 3 by that name.

Finally, you'll probably never find a king actually named "Arthur." Because most people of the time were illiterate, kings had standards, or flags, which usually had animals which represented them. The Boar of Cornwall is one of these, and "Artos" is the Latin word for "Bear." So there may not have been a high king of all Britain named Arthur, but there could very well have been an influential war leader whose banner showed a bear.

Answer 9

http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/excalibur.html