King Arthur: An Admirable King

King Arthur was said to be a great king, who ruled over Camelot in the fifth or sixth century. King Arthur estimated to have been born around 475 A.D., “Tintagel has come to be associated with King Arthur as his birthplace, depicted by the Welsh monk Geoffrey of Monmouth” (Walker para 5). Arthurian Literature commonly depicted daring sword fights, chivalrous knights, damsels in distress and even magic. Though there are few records of a true King Arthur does not mean there is not a man behind the great legend that came forth in the mid twelfth century. “The legend of King Arthur may have been based on the life of one or more Celtic warriors who fought the Anglo-Saxon invaders of England in the late fifth and early sixth century.” (Wiggins 171), this could mean that there was more than one King Arthur in history or more than one inspiration for the legend. Proof that King Arthur was a real person is shown through historical evidence, geographical proof and Arthurian Literature.

In the days of King Arthur, there was something called “Chivalry”. It was something used by Knights to instill discipline and honor. These fearless knights were to follow a strict code of conduct. If they didn’t, they were not a true knight. Because of this code of chivalry, their behavior was affected tremendously. It changed the way they acted, thought and lived. In Morte D’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, chivalry governed the knights’ behaviors in three ways: their respect towards women, courage, and honor.

William the Conqueror was a stable leader militarily and administratively. He defeated Harold’s army in Hastings and became the king in 1066. One of the reasons behind his success was a strong army and good organizational leadership that helped him to consolidate England. After being crowned the king, he became more preoccupied with consolidating his power and authority. He was also sensitive on the property holdings to understand the financial resources available in his kingdom, hence the publication of the Domesday Book. The book was aimed to determine the amount of wealth every landowner held including land and livestock, and the taxes they had to give. The book became a very profound document that was used in the later years. One of William’s major achievements is the consolidation of England.

King Arthur is one of the best kings that has ruled over Britain, throughout all of history. Arthur ruled with honor, loyalty, and chivalry, which made him a great king. Many lessons that he learned on his journeys helped him to become the person that he is. Arthur’s journey becoming king can be seen in the novel The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White, and is very similar to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.

Iron clad warriors engaged in combat, enormous castles which contained miniature cities, wizards and other type of magic. These are just a few of the things that are pictured when talking about the medieval times. Another incredibly familiar one is King Arthur. The great king who, as a young boy, pulled a sword from a stone proving that it was his destiny to be king. He was also the proprietor of the round table, where knights would gather together. All of these Knights carefully followed a sacred code know as Chivalry. It was a knight’s code of honor, something they all strove to live by. In the story of King Arthur you can see that he is a man of great courage, honor, and strength.

Have you seen mysteries or heard mysteries about this legendary king or read books about him? Well in the book King Arthur and his knights at the round table by Roger Lancelyn Green, this is about a boy who pulls a sword out of a stone and becomes a fantastic king and hero’s cycle and why he is a hero and a little bit about himself. The reason of how King Arthur fits as a hero is because he wanted justice for Greyflet being hurt badly by king Pellinore, he defeats the saxons in plenty of battles, and defeats Mordred the evil in his final battle.

Around the world, there are very different myths and folklore, each suiting a specific culture’s beliefs. Nonetheless, amongst those different narratives, there are certain elements, such as themes, character types, and design, that keep manifesting. These recurrences are labelled as archetypes. One type of archetypes is character archetypes. Prevalent in myths from Sigurd the Volsung to The Epic of Gilgamesh, character archetypes are types of characters that are conventional amidst literature. In the Medieval British legend King Arthur three character archetypes are prominent; the Hero, the Mentor, and the Villain. These archetypes are universal, found in myths from around the world.

The debate on whether or not the legendary King Arthur of Camelot is real or a myth has always been there as long as all of us can remember. We have all heard stories and tales of this legendary King, and by now all of us have tried to understand the controversies behind the story of King Arthur (Gidlow,). The stories from our childhood were filled with legends, gods and fairy tales, and most of these stories were legendary myths, and we understood them as such. However, the case of King Arthur is different since it is not clear whether the story was just a myth or it was something real. The question is, how we can determine whether or not the tale of King Arthur was a myth or real. Currently, there are no scientific facts to support the existence of the legendary king, and this only makes the debate more complicated(Padel).

The king only raised the Arthur from when he was little because of Merlin. Arthur has no idea that the King and the King’s real son are his biological father and brother until after he pulls a sword out of a stone. Arthur was helping his brother get ready for a joust and lost his brother sword in the process. When Arthur found out that the sword was missing he knew that he had to get his brother another one. Arthur was running through the woods and came across a sword in the stone called excalibur. Excalibur is the most powerful stone in the world and whoever pulls it out of the stone is the next King. Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone and the first thing he does is tries to hand it over to his brother so that he had a sword for his joust. Arthur is one of the most noble men in his

“King Arthur nobility and selfless bravery made him king” (arthurian-legend.com). Sir Thomas Malory was influenced by the knights in his time to write Morte d’ Arthur and to show what the real noblemen were like. It’s safe to say that how things were in this story and how they were during the real time are quite different. The story is more myth. Malory’s own experience ended with some shame and imprisonment while his character Arthur is portrayed as only good. Arthur is a good knight and king; he fights against the forces of evil. In doing so he brings justice into the

    King Arthur proves he 's a brave leader because he would risk anything for his Country, a loyal leader because he only has affection for Guenevere, and a chivalrous leader because he counts everyone as equal and is willing to help anyone in need. King Arthur was the greatest ruler in medieval times known to

The parallels found between White’s fictional work and the governmental campaign speech by Beth Noveck show that Arthur was nearly successful in his plans but also displays the differences in what they did which determined who would achieve their goal while the other did not. The connections made between real world situations and Arthur’s life demonstrated clear conflicts arising, often impeding Arthur in his quest for success for the good of his kingdom. While our modern society is adversely different to the fictional setting of The Once and Future King, the goals for Arthur and Beth were easily comparable yet it was clear that the King had many flaws leading to his demise. Arthur constantly made sacrifices that hurt him personally for the good of kingdom as did Beth by challenging those above her. In regards to changes, both leaders had a strong affinity for justice, the goal was to separate from the biased ideas that only served those who had a certain power in the government. In the real world, making decisions for the good of others while maintaining a strong grasp on the tasks ahead, success can be

For King Arthur, an example of when he is portrayed as a hero is in “We will have Arthur unto our King, we will put him no more in delay for we all see that it is God’s will that he shall be our king”.(Malory 13) This is significant as even the people believe that King Arthur is the one who should be throne as King. They believe it’s God’s will that he was able to pull the sword out of the stone. King Arthur shows many leadership qualities such as responsibility, wisdom and value. “Then was Arthur wroth, and said to himself, I will ride to the church yard and take the sword with me that sticketh in the stone, for my brother Sir Kay shall not be without a sword this day.” This is relevant as King Arthur's brother, Sir Kay was going into battle but was sword less, concerned and dedicated, King Arthur decided to get the sword that was stuck in stone for his brother. With little to no effort, King Arthur was able to pull it out. That was something many of the people fathomed to do. This shows responsibility for King Arthur as even if it was not him going into battle, he was still responsible enough to attempt to get a sword for his brother. King Arthur also shows power as he achieved something that most people perceived as godly or

In the Middle Ages all of the people had to respect the king and they all knew who he was at the time. The people back in those days never talked back to the king. If they didn’t respect the king or listen to him they would probably die. In the movie most of the people that king Arthur ran into during his quest didn’t know who he was and/or respected him. Some examples of this were

Beowulf’s Personality: This quote accurately describes Beowulf’s personality for multiple reasons. Beowulf always thought positively of those around him, even if most did not believe in him. For example, while Beowulf was gone for hours on end fighting Grendel’s mom, Hrothgar left him believing he had died. Despite Hrothgar losing his faith, Beowulf still adored the king of Denmark. Even when odds were stacked against him, like his battle with the dragon, Beowulf consistently believed his men would pull through.