My Obsession
When my son was young he was given a boys’ adventure story. I was bored at the time, so picked it up to read. “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”. I had heard of King Arthur, but this was my introduction to the legend. Since I had long been fascinated by the history of the British Isles, the Arthurian Legend was a welcome addition to my world. So much so that it soon became a passion to me. I read anything and everything I could find. So many version, single books and trilogies. Written from every possibe angle, including one science fiction. Some were not well written, but that didn’t bother me. I loved them all.
Oh, to walk on the misty Isle of Avalon; to trek through Wales and Cornwall; to physically view the sites where Arthur and Merlin held court…dreams that were born of my obsession. No-one can tell me the legend is no more than fabricated stories. Nor can they convince me he does not sleep awaiting the time to awaken and come to my the aid of his beloved Briton. My response to the query as to where was he during WWII, hell, he knew Churchill was up to the job at hand. As for mere legend, all legends are based on fact somewhere. Even if the basis is trivial.
To my new friends in the UK, know you have my heart. And perhaps a degree of jealousy ((lol)).
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Hi Jackie-thanks for the very interesting comments. I too am fascinated by the Arthurian themes. Have you read the series by Mary Stewart and Bernard Cornwell for another take on the stories? If you’d like to contact me, I could also give you a list of non fiction material which I think you’d find interesting.
Take care!
Mx
The best guess about Arthur, rather like Robin Hood, is that the legends grew from one, or perhaps more, war leaders from centuries before the advent of plate armour.
The real Arthur would have been a rather grubby, bearded hard man, dressed, probably, in leather and sheepskin covered by a coat of chainmail. His mighty steed, would more likely have been a pony no more than about 13 or 14 hands high.
As for the courtly love aspect, the honour and politeness normally associated with the Arthurian Legends, forget that. You upset the original Arthur and he would probably have beaten you to death with a rather blunt, but heavy broadsword.
Having said that, I quote from an old western film “When the legend becomes a grubby parody of what we expect our hero to be, then print the legend”.
EXCALIBUR!!!!!
brilliant as always jackie 🙂