King Arthur is a pivotal figure in British mythology and the
folklore of Merlin, Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table make up
the famous Arthurian Legends.
There is much
debate about the facts and behind Arthur and his origins. King Arthur
is mentioned in many early Welsh texts such as the Gododdin and the
Mabinogion of the 5th Century and is a key figure in the Celtic
mythologies of Wales, Cornwall
and Brittany in France. Arthur also appears in later medieval texts,
such as Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Britonum, which first
popularised the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round
Table in the 11th Century.
The mostly widely held
view is that Arthur was a Romano British leader, based in the West of
Briton, either Cornwall or Wales, who fought the invading Saxons
sometime between the 5th and 6th centuries. Though the legends are far
more colourful.
 According to Arthurian Legend, Arthur was born at Tintagel Castle
on the Coast of Cornwall, son of regional king Uther Pendragon. But
when Uther died, the wizard Merlin took the boy under his wing and kept
Arthur away from the royal court. Arthur was to prove himself worthy of
the throne by pulling the mystical sword Excalibur from a great stone
that it had been lodged in. Though still a young man Arthur was
proclaimed king, he established his court at Camelot and married Lady
Guinevere. The King brought together his best warriors, to make the
Knights of the Round Table, which famously included Sir Gawain, Sir
Perceval, Sir Galahad and Arthur’s champion, Sir Lancelot.
As
King, Arthur unified his Kingdom and vanquished its enemies, afterwards
enjoying a long and glorious period of peace. But this golden age came
to a dramatic end - Arthur’s right hand man Sir Lancelot had an affair
with Arthur’s wife Guinevere. The Round Table was disbanded and
Arthur’s enemies, led by his evil nephew Mordred saw their chance.
Mordred set about marauding the land and laid siege to Camelot. The
only thing that could save the aging King Arthur’s kingdom was the Holy
Grail and he sent his knights to scour the land for this Christian
relic.
After long and dark years in quest of the
Grail, Sir Perceval eventually found it and returned with it to
Camelot, where upon the King’s vitality was restored and Arthur and his
Knights faced Mordred in the Battle of Camlann beside the River Camal
on the borders of Cornwall. In the battle King Arthur kills Mordred,
but not before he is fatally wounded. Arthur was taken by Merlin to the
legendary Island of Avalon, said to be Glastonbury, where he was laid to rest, not dead, but sleeping, destined to awaken when Britain needs him most.
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