The myths of King Arthur and Camelot are much more then a collection of romantic adventures, surviving the centuries based on their entertainment value alone; The legends of the round table give us a window into the medieval world views of their many authors, capturing the aspirations and fears of an evolving society, and coming close to providing England with a founding mythos in the middle ages at the time, one that hearkened back to a perceived past of honor and of order, and that served as a set of cautionary tales against human failings. Dr. Sam examines the earliest known instances of the Arthur legends, the evolution of the stories with new interpretations and additions over time, followed by examining the likelihood of there having been a ‘real’ King Arthur that started it all…
Myth of the Month 12:
The Arthur Cycle:
pt. 1 – Creating “King Arthur”
Why does the earliest known picture of King Arthur show him riding on a goat and charging towards a deadly cat-monster? How has the tale of King Arthur and his knights evolved since it first emerged from Celtic folklore? We consider the shaping of the Arthur story from the songs of mysterious Welsh and Breton bards to the high medieval romances of French courtier-poets.
Myth of the Month 12:
The Arthur Cycle:
pt. 2 – The Rise and Fall of Camelot
When Jackie Kennedy told reporters that she and the late President used to listen to the soundtrack of the musical “Camelot,” the word immediately caught on as the name for the Kennedy White House – portrayed as a brief, golden period of wise rule, ended by tragedy. More than a thousand years’ worth of romantic associations could be evoked with three simple syllables. In this second segment, we consider how the chivalric legend of the Round Table and the Court of Camelot was conceived and elaborated, from French courtly romances, through the first English Arthurian epic of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, to the popular novels, plays, and movies of the modern times.
UNLOCKED: Myth of the Month 12, Finale:
The Historical King Arthur
Released to the public after one year for patrons only: Archaeology, geography, linguistics, textual analysis — all of these fields of knowledge must be brought to bear on a centuries-old question: Was there a “real” King Arthur? Answer: It’s complicated. We discuss the likelihood that some “historical” personage underlies the layers of legend.
Closely related:
- Film – The Green Knight – History, Myth, and Modern Shame – A Historian’s View
- Myth of the Month 19: The Holy Grail – pt. 1
- Myth of the Month 19: The Holy Grail – pt. 2
- Imbalances of Power: 10 Episodes on English Political Revolution and Evolution
And see more in The Middle Ages Playlist: A Vibrant Time
Things You Don’t Know
