King Arthur

I have chosen the theme King Arthur between legend and history facts for my
certificate, because I am very keen on history and I have made the choice of it in order to
improve my knowledge, to find out new things I did not totally know and to be able to
appreciate sincerely the history of a country and the sacrifices its heroes made. In search of
the historical truth, I have made myself a detective on the unsolved case of King Arthur. King
Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led
the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's
story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is
debated and disputed by modern historians.
Brief presentation of history facts
King Arthur is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian legends. He is said to be the son
of Uther Pendragon and Igraine of Cornwall. Arthur is a near mythic figure in Celtic stories
such as Culhwch and Olwen. In early Latin chronicles he is presented as a military leader, the
dux bellorum. In later romance he is presented as a king and emperor.The historical basis for
the King Arthur legend has long been debated by scholars. One school of thought, citing
entries in History of the Britons and Welsh Annals, sees Arthur as a genuine historical figure,
a Romano-British leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons sometime in the late
5th to early 6th century. The first datable mention of King Arthur is in a 9th-century Latin
text.
Medieval literary traditions
Pre- Galfridian traditions
The earliest literary references to Arthur come from Welsh and Breton sources. There
have been few attempts to define the nature and character of Arthur in the pre-Galfridian
tradition as a whole, rather than in a single text.The second is that the pre-Galfridian Arthur
was a figure of folklore () and localised magical wonder-tales, the leader of a band of
superhuman heroes who live in the wilds of the landscape.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
The first narrative account of Arthur's life is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin.
This work is an imaginative and fanciful account of British kings from the legendary Trojan
exile Brutus to the 7th-century Welsh king Cadwallader. Geoffrey places Arthur in the same
post-Roman period as do Historia Brittonum and Welsh Annals.
Romance traditions
The popularity of Geoffrey's Historia and its other derivative works is generally agreed
to be an important factor in explaining the appearance of significant numbers of new
Arthurian works in continental Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in
France.
Impact on Civilization
King Arthur had an important impact on civilization, because lots of people picked up
on king Arthur as an ideal, the perfect king. This idea survives to this day, and the idea of
King Arthur has influenced ideas about what it means to be good, to be a gentleman, and what
chivalry is about. It is possible that the character of King Arthur was based on a real person,
but even if so, the whole idea has become romanticized and idealized.

Conclusion
To conclude, I think that many people need to have heroes that are better than
themselves, who they can look up to and try to be like. In that respect, King Arthur stands as a
beacon of hope to many. And if literature changed, and still changes, to give us more ideal
heroes, then perhaps that means that humainity still hopes to perfect itself, but King Arthur
will remain my hero.