THE ARTHURIAN TAPESTRY
The Diffusion of
the Arthurian
Legend in the
Middle Ages
Roman
Britain
1st-5th c.
1st-4th Century:
Historical Antecedents
 184: Lucius Artorius Castus, commander of
a Roman detachment led his troops from
Britain into Gaul to quell a rebellion -- 1st
appearance of name Artorius in history
 383: Magnus Maxim's (Macsen Wledig)
was proclaimed Emperor in Britain by
the Roman garrison there -- conquered
Gaul, Spain and Italy, but was defeated
by Theodosius the Eastern Emperor in 388.
Huge loss of Roman troops for Britain.
5th Century:
Historical Background
 402: Roman troops were recalled from
Britain to defend Italy against Alaric and
Visigoths
 406-7: The Roman army in Britain elected a
series of usurping Emperors: Marcus,Gratian
and Constantine III
 407: Constantine III withdrew remaining
Roman legion to rally support in Gaul: “the
end of the Roman Empire in Britain.”
5th Century:
Celtic Disarray
 408: Devastating attacks by
Picts, Scots and Saxons led
Britain to declare
“independence” from Rome in
410.
 440-450: Civil war and famine
in Britain. Country divided
along factional lines
 445: Vortigen authorized use of
Saxon mercenaries against
Scots and Picts
 450: adventus Saxonum:
Hengest arrived with 3 ships of
warriors. Saxons increased
settlements.
5th Century:
The Historical
Arthur
 458-60: Migration of British aristocrats across the Channel
to Brittany
 460-70: Ambrosius Aurelianus led Britons in containing
Saxon settlement -- assumed High-kingship of Britain
 485-96: Period of Arthur’s “twelve battles” according to
Nennius
 c. 496: Ambrosius and Arthur dux bellorum defeated
Saxons at Mt. Badon. A generation of peace ensued
5th Century
Invasions and Migrations
5th-7th Century: Welsh Texts
Annales Cambriae: Welsh chronicle entries, 10th c.
mss:
 c.516: “The Battle of Badon in which Arthur
carried the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ for
three days and three nights on his shield and the
Britons were the victors.”
 c.537: “The Strife of Camlann in which Arthur
and Medraut perished.”
 mirabilia give Arthur a son,
Anir, and a dog, Cabal.
Welsh Triads composed (survive in 13th c. mss.)
5th-7th Century:
Celtic Texts
 5th-6th c: Celtic noblemen named their
sons Arthur.
 Gildas:De Excidio: c. 540, chronicles
internecine strife amongst British Kings and
mentions the Seige of Mt. Badon
 Aneirin:Gododdin: c. 600, used phrase"ceni
bei ef Arthur"-"but he was no Arthur" to
describe a great warrior
9th-10th Century:The Legend Grows
Nennius:Historia
Brittonum, c.830
 Lists 12 battles with
Anglo-Saxons
 Mentions Arthur,
dux bellorum.
Annales Cambriae
compiled, c.970
11th Century:
MSS. Versions of Older
Welsh Oral Tales
 Mabinogion, four branches collected c. 1050
 Culhwch ac Olwen, final version appears in
writing, c. 1100
Arthur becomes the king of a band of
adventure-seeking heroes with marvellous
powers and gains a queen, Gwenhyfar
11th Century: Abduction of Guinevere
Archivolt of Modena Cathedral,
Italy
Winlogee
(Guinevere)
Mardoc
Durmart
Arthur
Unnamed
knight Ider
Caradoc
Gawain
Kay
Galeron
Arthur rescues the
abducted Guinevere
11th
Century:
SaintS’
Lives
 Legend of S.t. Goeznovius,
c. 1019: Breton legend which
mentions Arthur and calls
him the King of the Britons
 c. 1090: Professional
hagiographers wrote various
saints’ lives which mention
Arthur and his exploits,
usually in unflattering terms
 Caradoc: Life of Gildas:
Latin/Welsh
 St. Padarm, St. Cadog, St.
Iltud, St. Carannog
12th Century:
British Historians
 William of Malmesbury:
c.1125: Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the
English Kings)
c. 1129: De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiaea (a
history of Glastonbury Abbey)
 Geoffrey of Monmouth:
 c.1136: Historia Regum Brittaniae.(History of the
Kings of Britain)
 c.1150: Vita Merlinei (The Life of Merlin)
 Wace:Roman de Brut, c. 1155, Anglo-Norman
(French) translation of Geoffrey
 Lazamon: Brut, c. 1190, Anglo-Saxon (English)
translation of Geoffrey
William of
Malmesbury
calls Arthurian legends
"fabulous lies” but says
Arthur should be
recognized as “one who
long sustained his
tottering country and
gave the shattered
minds of his fellow
citizens an edge for
war.”
Geoffrey of MonMouth’S
Historia
 One of the greatest works of
medieval fiction which was
accepted as history for 600
years
 British foundation myth
 Created a hero-king whose
vast empire reflected Norman
ambitions
 Captured latest fashions in
courtly behaviour
 Wildly popular in original
Latin version and as the basis
for other chroniclers and
romance writers
Geoffrey
gave
Arthur a
father,
Uther
Pendragon,
a mother,
Igerne, and
a sister,
Anna
He
elaborated
the story
of
arthur’S
begetting,
birth and
surrender
to Merlin
Camelot
And told
of the
death of
Arthur in
battle
with
Mordred
Wace, Roman de Brut
Anglo-Norman translation of Geoffrey,
dedicated to Eleanor of Aquitaine,
introduced the Round Table
LazaMon’S Brut
Anglo-Saxon
translation of
Geoffrey:
first English
appearance of
Arthur
Glastonbury
 1184: Fire ravages Glastonbury Abbey, destroying the Old Church
 1190: Digging at a spot described by a bard, monks claimed to discover
the grave of Arthur and Guinevere between two markers at Glastonbury
Abbey: “At seven feet down, they found a stone slab with an inset lead
cross; at 16 feet down they found a hollowed out log that contained the
skeletal remains of an exceptionally large man and a delicate woman.”
 Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales)
 1192-3: “Liber de Principes Instructione” reported the finding of
Arthur’s grave
 1216: “Speculum Ecclesiae” again recounted the discovery
 1278: Edward I and Queen Eleanor officially reburied the remains of
Arthur and Guenevere. Edward proclaimed his son, Edward, the Prince
of Wales.
HIC IACIT
SEPVLTVS
INCLITVS REX ARTHVRIVS, IN
INSVLA AVALONIA:
“Here lies entombed the renowned King
Arthur on the Isle of Avalon."
12th Century:
French
Romances
 Marie de France: Lais, AngloNorman, c.1160-80
“Chevrefueil”
“Lanval”
 Chretien de Troyes:
5 Arthurian romances: Erec et
Enide, Cliges, Lancelot, Yvain,
Perceval, c. 1160-90 + four
continuations by others
 Beroul, Roman de Tristan, c.
1170-90
 Thomas d’Angleterre, Tristan,
Anglo-Norman, c. 1175
The Lais of
Marie de
France
 Breton troubadour
influence
 Courtliness and magic
 Investigations into the
intricacies of love and
honor
 Explore questions of
sovereignty in
relationships
Chretien
de Troyes
Attached to the Court at
Champagne, under
the patronage of
Countess Marie de
Champagne, daughter
of Eleanor of
Aquitaine and Louis
VII of France
Chretien de Troyes
First to depict
the
Round Table
as center of
chivalry and
to name
Camelot as
Arthur’s
capital.
Morgan la Fee
appears as Arthur’s sister and a
famed healer
The Knight of the Cart,
or Lancelot
Introduced the French knight, Lancelot and the concept of
amour courtois (courtly love) into Arthurian romance
Lancelot
becomes
the queen’s
champion,
protector,
and lover
Perceval: The
Story of the
Grail
First Grail Romance
Grail not here associated
with the cup of the Last
Supper or the cup used to
catch Christ’s blood
A symbol of beauty and
mystery, but not of
religious devotion
The Celtic Tale
of
Tristan
and Isolt
becomes
attached to the
Arthurian legend
French:
Beroul,
Roman de
Tristan
and
Thomas
d’Angleterre,
Tristan
German:
Eilhart von
Oberge,
Tristan
Tristan and Isolt
The love
triangle of
TristanIsolt-Mark
parallels
that of
LancelotGuinevereArthur
12th Century:
The Spread of
Romance
Hartmann
von Aue,
Erek and
Iwein,
German,
c.1195-1205
Ulrich Von
Zatzihoven
Lanzelet,
Swiss,
c.1194-1203
Chivalry
 Chivalry was a peculiarity
of the practice of war in
medieval Europe.
 The feudal knight was
supposed to be devout,
honest, selfless, just,
brave, honorable,
obedient, kind, charitable,
generous, and kind to
women.
 complex rituals and rules
Courtly
Love
 Humility
 Courtesy
 Adultery
The
Religion of
Love
C.S. Lewis
The "rules" for this game
 Worship of the
chosen lady
 Declaration of
passionate
devotion
 Virtuous rejection
by the lady
 Renewed wooing
with oaths of
eternal fealty
 Moans of unsatisfied
desire
 Heroic deeds of valor
which win
the lady's heart
 Consummation of the
secret love
 Endless adventures
and subterfuges
 Tragic end
13th Century:
Welsh Romances
 The Black Book of
Carmarthen: Geraint
son of Erbin and
Merlin poems, c. 1250
 Mabinogion: final
version, c. 1250
Geraint and Enid
Peredur
Owein
13th Century:
Wirnt von Gravenberg:
German
Wigalois, c. 1204-10
Romances Wolfram von
Eschenbach:Parzival,
c. 1204-12, “the greatest
medieval German romance”
(Wagner’s Parsifal)
Gottfried von Strassburg:
Tristan und Isolt, c. 1210
(Wagner’s Tristan)
Arthurian tales appear in
Austria, Scandinavia, and
Holland
13th-14th Century:
French Grail Romances
 Robert de Boron, Joseph d’Arimathie and Merlin,
c.1202-12
 Didot Perceval: Perceval le Gallois ou le Conte du
Graal, c.1210-20
 Vulgate prose cycle: French Cistercian retelling of
Estoire del Saint Graal, Estoire de Merlin, Lancelot du
Lac, Queste del Saint Graal, and Mort Artu, c. 1215-30
 Roman Du Graal and Lancelot Cycle: variant versions
of the Vulgate Cycle, c. 1230-1320
Cistercian Spirituality
 Transforms the grail into “the Holy Grail” -- the cup in which
Joseph of Arimathea caught the blood dripping from Jesus’
wounds
 Claims that Joseph of Arimathea brought the grail to Britain
 Grail quests become the central activity of the Arthurian knights,
especially Gawain, Perceval, and Lancelot: none of whom can
achieve the grail because of their impurities.
Introduction of
Galahad,
son of Sir Lancelot
and the maiden
Elaine, who, because
of his purity is able to
attain “The Holy
Grail”
Morgan la
Fee
becomes a
sorceress and
enemy to Arthur’s
court, especially to
Guenevere
Emphasis placed on the fallen
nature of Camelot, especially
on the treasonous adultery
of Guenevere and Lancelot
14th Century:
Emergence of
English
Arthurian
Romance
Alliterative Morte Arthur, c. 1360
 Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight, c.1390
Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” c.1392-94
Stanzaic Mort Artu, c. 1400
Various anonymous English romances,14th-15th c.
15th Century:
Sir Thomas Malory,
Morte Darthur
 Ultimate compilation of the Arthurian legend
 Composed in early Modern English prose in the 1460s
during the Wars of the Roses, probably while Malory was
in prison
 Sources include the French Vulgate and Grail cycles,
Layamon’s Brut, the English Mort Artu and Morte
Arthur, and Welsh tales
 Scholarly controversy over “hoole book” or eight
separate, but related tales.
 First masterpiece of English prose
arthur’S faMiLy in
Malory
Gorlois (1
Duke of
Cornwall
Uriens
King of
Rheged
Igrayne
Morgan Lot
King of
Orkney
Uwaine
Morgawse
2) Uther Pendragon
King of Britain
Arthur Gwenhwyfar
King of Britain
Gawain Aggravaine Gareth Gaheris
Mordred
Lancelot
Elayne
Galahad
Part One:
“the CoMinG of
Arthur and the
round tabLe”
The Sword in the
Stone
Merlin
and
Niniane
The Lady
of the
Lake
and
Excalibur
Arthur
and the
Giant
Part Two:
arthur’S
War
Against
the
Enperor
Lucius
Part Three:
Sir Lancelot du Lake
Part Four:
Sir Gareth of
Orkney
Part
Five
Sir
Tristam
of
Lyoness
Part Six
The Quest of
the Grail
Part Seven
Lancelot
and
Guenivere
Arthur
on the
Wheel of
Fortune
Part
Eight:
The
Death
of
King
Arthur