Did King Arthur Exist or Not?

British literature does have loads of fantastic stories and tales involving great and significant conflicts and historic associations of a romantic nature. One story which has all of this and much more is the magical story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. This is despite the fact that it is not clear whether he existed at all; this hasn't prevented the legend of King Arthur from becoming a very influential part in British history.

We base what we know about King Arthur from information we have collected from a variety of different legends written at different periods of time by different writers. The one aspect on which all tend to agree is that he was a fifth century British general who battled numerous enemies to uphold peace within his kingdom.

Apparently the unlawful son of the king, Uther Pendragon, Arthur was brought up in secret and was oblivious to his heritage. After Uther died Merlin, the sorcerer, set a sword into a big boulder and the nobility of the country was told that whoever could extract the sword from the stone was the legal successor to the throne of Britain.

Fables say that Arthur drew the sword from the stone when aged 15 and was then crowned King Arthur. He immediately began safeguarding Britain from attack.

King Arthur is the subject of countless books of fiction and movies ensuring that this specific legend loses none of its appeal to readers and filmgoers alike. Maybe this is because Arthur seems to represent Britain’s entire history thus providing an unwavering impression of moral stability; the perfect King in both war and peace.

Although Arthur is the key figure in this story his code of chivalry was also adopted by his trusty comrades in arms, the Knights of the Round Table, all of them joined as one in honesty, loyalty, valour and honour. The round table was said to have been made by Arthur to promote the concept of parity among himself and his knights, assuring that nobody can be seated at the head of what was known to be the supreme order of chivalry in King Arthur’s court.

One can find many history books to read on King Arthur and his Knights, particularly the ones that deal with his romance with Guinevere, his wife and Lancelot, his good friend and noble knight. This particular trio is often an integral part in many books and films, as in Knights of the Round Table and First Knight, there again what possible fascination would a legend hold if it lacked a specific amount of romance and intrigue.

The accord gotten to by lots of historians is that King Arthur might have existed in person but not in name. There are many who state that he was a Celtic warrior during the Dark Ages. The majority of heroes in the Dark Ages have been actual men who had legendary tales put upon them by writers or by means of historic evidence found in some books of reference. Such fables and tales have all told formed a legend which shall linger in the annals of Celtic folklore forever.


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