Arthur, King of Britain: History, Chronicle, Romance & Criticism

460 Pages·1964·17.07 MB·English

by  Richard L. Brengle (ed.)

ARTHUR
KING BRITAIN
of

ARTHUR
KING o f BRITAIN
History, Chronicle, Romance & Criticism
WITH TEXTS IN MODERN ENGLISH, FROM GILDAS TO MALORY
Edited by
Richard L Brengle
Pershing College
New York
Appleton - Century - Crofts
Division of Meredith Publishing Company
Copyright © 1964 by
MEREDITH PUBLISHING COMPANY
All rights reserved. This book, or parts
thereof, must not be used or reproduced
in any manner without written permission.
For information address the publisher,
Appleton-Century-Crofts, Division of
Meredith Publishing Company, 440 Park
Avenue South, New York, N. Y. 10016
6107-4
Library of Congress Card Number: 64-17761
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
E-12160
To
TERRY
and Her Court of Four

PREFACE
Peering back nearly fifteen hundred years to the momentous
“Birth of Britain," the twentieth century’s greatest knight and war
leader, Sir Winston Churchill, has this to say about the story of
King Arthur: “If we could see exactly what happened we should
find ourselves in the presence of a theme as well founded, as in­
spired, and as inalienable from the inheritance of mankind as the
Odyssey or the Old Testament. It is all true, or it ought to be; and
more and better besides." No doubt the legendary figure of Arthur
has loomed large in the minds of Western men ever since the dimly-
lit days of Castle Guinnion and Mount Badon; and no doubt he is
as close to the hearts of Englishmen and Frenchmen today as St.
George and Charlemagne. For Arthur is both the hero and the
human: a towering commander with a tragic destiny, a matchless
champion with failing strength against the wearing of time.
The vast and unique body of history, pseudo-history, chronicle,
and romance of King Arthur has fascinated poets, storytellers, schol­
ars, and readers for centuries. His vogue in Britain and especially in
France during the Middle Ages was immense; it spread all over the
face of Europe, even to the Middle East and to Iceland. From its be­
ginnings, probably in Wales and Ireland, the story of the fabulous
monarch and his men crossed to France in the twelfth century
where the genius of Chrétien de Troyes brought to it the full force
of courtly love; then sometime within the next hundred years it
went on to Germany where the Grail quest was brilliantly handled
by Wolfram von Eschenbach and the love story of Tristan and Isolt
was further immortalized by Gottfried von Strassburg.
Meanwhile, in the early thirteenth century, the story of Arthur
returned to its native land. Despite its novel and often inconsistent
developments, the British welcomed the legend back with renewed
pleasure. They saw that the King's court had grown from a small,
fierce band of Roman Briton warriors repelling the hated Saxons to
a large, chivalrous entourage of British and Continental knights
vii
viii Preface
searching for love or mere adventure. And they listened enthralled
to what was new: the doctrines of Vamour courtois, and certain
Christian motifs, particularly the mysterious Grail quest—both of
which profoundly altered the original, rather simple themes of de­
fense and conquest. With light hearts and bright armor, the
paladins gathered at the Round Table of Caerleon with Arthur
and his Queen Guinevere. Here sat Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot,
surpassing all others, and the lesser characters, among them Kay,
Mordred, Galahad, Yvain, Perceval, Tristan, Cligés, Erec, Agravain,
Lot, Bors, Gareth, Gaheris, Lionel, Hoel, Bedivere, and a host more
—while in the shadows stood the enigmatic Merlin and Morgan
le Fay. Now there were entire cycles and endless stories to relate
about Gawain, Tristan, Perceval, Merlin, and Lancelot; there were
fantastic lands to describe, and superhuman emprises, enchanted
castles, magic horns and springs, evil giants and crafty dwarfs, dis­
tressed damsels, “and more and better besides.” The mighty King,
as noble and generous as ever, became more and more a part of the
setting in which his knights begged boons, quested, jousted, loved,
and triumphed.
Yet, withal, Arthur has always remained at the very center of
the legend which bears his name. It is the intent of this book to
concentrate on him as he appears in history, pseudo-history, chron­
icle, and romance, from Gildas to Malory, to try to see in these
documents and literary works “exactly what happened.” Once the
reader gets a reasonably clear—and chiefly English—picture of his
character, achievement, and fate, the boundless domain over which
he ruled becomes easier, to survey and explore. For this reason cer­
tain masterpieces of medieval Arthurian literature are not included
here, ones such as Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot and Perceval, or
the Story of the Grail, the Lais of Marie de France, Wolfram von
Eschenbach’s Parzival, Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan and Isolt,
and the faultless Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. To the student
engaged in research or undertaking serious study, this focus will be
especially helpful. Did Arthur really exist? Did his legend begin in
Welsh folklore or in the gifted imaginations of early chroniclers?
Did his military exploits have any historical foundations or par­
allels? What kind of a man was he at first? What changes took place
in his character and court as his story traveled through Europe?