Donna Huston
SPR2015-HI-318-VC
January 9, 2017
King Arthur Fact or Fiction
The stories about King Arthur are packed with hope, courage, romance, betrayal,
chivalry, and death. However, due to the time frame that the legends are based and the
lack of evidence; nobody knows for sure whether the stories about King Arthur are myth
or fact. King Arthur has been portrayed as both a Christian warrior and a tyrannical
monarch. The legends about King Arthur begin at conception, progress from there to how
he grew up in Merlin’s care, to the sword in the stone, then on to Camelot and the
Knights of the Round Table. An analysis of the legends, the places that are mentioned in
the legends, and historical data will show whether or not he is fact or if he is fiction.
The legend of Arthur begins with the British King Uther Pendragon having a
problem. He did not have an heir. He consulted with the magician, Merlin (Joe). Merlin
used his magic to transform the king to look like Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. While the
Duke was away the King was able to impregnate his wife Igraine. The Duke died, and
the king immediately married Igraine. Since Arthur was born during troubled times,
Merlin advised the King to hide his son in order to protect him from harm. Arthur was
raised under the tutelage of Merlin until King Uther Pendragon died. There was a lot of
conflict over who would be the next king until Merlin placed a sword into a stone that
stated “Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all
England (Merlin).” Arthur was the only one at the assemblage that was able to pull the
sword from the stone. After Arthur became king he was able to gather a force of knights
and stop the advance of the Saxons into Briton. The construction of the castle Camelot
allowed King Arthur to have a base of operations for his knights and also gave him a
place to settle down during times of peace. Once he was settled at Camelot, he started
the Knights of the Round Table, carried out acts of chivalry, rescued damsels in distress,
went on quests for lost treasure, and married Guinevere. The legend of King Arthur also
tells about a magical sword, named Excalibur, that King Arthur was able to procure with
the guidance of Merlin. Excalibur was supposedly obtained from The Lady of the Lake.
Depending on which legend that is being read Arthur was betrayed by Guinevere and
either his nephew ‘Medraut’ or one of the Knights of the Round Table named Lancelot.
