The development of the Arthurian legend followed two parallel tracks, which undoubtedly influenced each other. One of them was that of historical or pseudo-historical works, which tried to give credibility to King Arthur’s existence. At the same time, and drawing from the same Celtic sources, a body of folk tales and later romances grew over the centuries in France, Britain and all over the medieval Europe.
According to indirect and direct mentions, which appeared in different sources before and during the early medieval period, King Arthur was a British commander of Roman descent, successfully repelling Saxon invaders and establishing himself as the great legendary hero of Englishmen. This image was reinforced by three major historical works of the time, which appeared in the 12th century.
First Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain consolidated the dispersed information into an image of a great medieval monarch and a leader of a group of mounted knights. His story was written in Latin.
The Jersey writer Wace in his Roman de Brut translated Geoffrey’s History into French, expanding the story with the elements typical for romance and he also first mentioned the theme of the Round Table, a great military brotherhood of 12 knights.
Another pseudo-historical author, the English priest Layamon in his Brut provided a free and expanded adaptation of Wace in English.
As has been said, the appearance of the above mentioned works in the 12th century was preceded, accompanied and followed by the presence of the legendary king in Celtic (Welsh) oral tradition and romances.
After an undoubtedly long period of mainly oral tradition, the earliest writer of Arthurian romance, and one of the greatest was the French Chrêtien de Troyes, in the last quarter of the 12th century. He introduced many permanent features in the ever-changing story, according to the principles of the new and fashionable genre of romance: Lancelot and his love for King Arthur’s wife Guinevere, for instance, exemplify the element of courtly love, so typical for medieval romances. Courtly love is based on the idea that human is an ennobling experience. The lover adores his lady in spite of the fact that she is the wife of another man. She becomes the idealised object of his veneration. Indeed, he proves his honour by his total devotion; he fights his battles and pursues the high ideals or chivalric behaviour for her sake, reflecting a parallel to the feudal service of a knight to his liege lord. The same author also introduced the characters of Gawain (King Arthur’s nephew) as a model of prowess and courtesy, and of Perceval and the quest for the mysterious “grail”. Typically for romances, all this was accompanied by a large dose of improbability, extravagance and the mythic in the course of events.
After Chrêtien de Troyes, numerous authors continued the tradition for another three centuries, as in the Vulgate Cycle. It was written in the 13th century and its composition is related to Henry II’s court. In the Vulgate Cycle the stories of the Holy Grail and Merlin are added.
One of the most remarkable versions is the anonymous “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. In this story, Sir Gawain can fully show his chivalric qualities, so admired in the world of romances, courage, honour, courtesy and being good to the poor and helpless, when he has to search for the Green Knight in order to resolve the contest started by this mysterious figure. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is the best of the surviving English romances, characterised by passages of beautiful poetry (alliterative verse), moments of gentle comedy and keenly observed psychology.
In the 15th century Sir Thomas Malory distilled all the preceding sources of Arthurian legend and culminated the tradition with Le Morte Darthur (also known as Le Morte d’Arthur). It was the last and greatest attempt to consolidate all the Arthurian material in one unified cycle.
According to indirect and direct mentions, which appeared in different sources before and during the early medieval period, King Arthur was a British commander of Roman descent, successfully repelling Saxon invaders and establishing himself as the great legendary hero of Englishmen. This image was reinforced by three major historical works of the time, which appeared in the 12th century.
First Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain consolidated the dispersed information into an image of a great medieval monarch and a leader of a group of mounted knights. His story was written in Latin.
The Jersey writer Wace in his Roman de Brut translated Geoffrey’s History into French, expanding the story with the elements typical for romance and he also first mentioned the theme of the Round Table, a great military brotherhood of 12 knights.
Another pseudo-historical author, the English priest Layamon in his Brut provided a free and expanded adaptation of Wace in English.
As has been said, the appearance of the above mentioned works in the 12th century was preceded, accompanied and followed by the presence of the legendary king in Celtic (Welsh) oral tradition and romances.
After an undoubtedly long period of mainly oral tradition, the earliest writer of Arthurian romance, and one of the greatest was the French Chrêtien de Troyes, in the last quarter of the 12th century. He introduced many permanent features in the ever-changing story, according to the principles of the new and fashionable genre of romance: Lancelot and his love for King Arthur’s wife Guinevere, for instance, exemplify the element of courtly love, so typical for medieval romances. Courtly love is based on the idea that human is an ennobling experience. The lover adores his lady in spite of the fact that she is the wife of another man. She becomes the idealised object of his veneration. Indeed, he proves his honour by his total devotion; he fights his battles and pursues the high ideals or chivalric behaviour for her sake, reflecting a parallel to the feudal service of a knight to his liege lord. The same author also introduced the characters of Gawain (King Arthur’s nephew) as a model of prowess and courtesy, and of Perceval and the quest for the mysterious “grail”. Typically for romances, all this was accompanied by a large dose of improbability, extravagance and the mythic in the course of events.
After Chrêtien de Troyes, numerous authors continued the tradition for another three centuries, as in the Vulgate Cycle. It was written in the 13th century and its composition is related to Henry II’s court. In the Vulgate Cycle the stories of the Holy Grail and Merlin are added.
One of the most remarkable versions is the anonymous “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. In this story, Sir Gawain can fully show his chivalric qualities, so admired in the world of romances, courage, honour, courtesy and being good to the poor and helpless, when he has to search for the Green Knight in order to resolve the contest started by this mysterious figure. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is the best of the surviving English romances, characterised by passages of beautiful poetry (alliterative verse), moments of gentle comedy and keenly observed psychology.
In the 15th century Sir Thomas Malory distilled all the preceding sources of Arthurian legend and culminated the tradition with Le Morte Darthur (also known as Le Morte d’Arthur). It was the last and greatest attempt to consolidate all the Arthurian material in one unified cycle.