He drew his sword Excalibur from the stone. He assembled the knights of the Round Table at Camelot. He was betrayed by his queen Gwinevere and Lancelot. And it is said he will one day return in our hour of need. His name is King Arthur. But where does this timeless legend come from? Simon Armitage, The Making of King Arthur, BBC 2010
As much a Norman creation as he is our own. ibid.
Geoffrey’s [Monmouth] Arthur would prove a very different character from the Arthur celebrated by the local Welsh bards. This Arthur was a mythological Welsh chieftain whose spirit inhabited the landscape. ibid.
In writing his history Geoffrey of Monmouth stole the figure of Arthur from the Welsh bards, and began moulding him into a Norman character. ibid.
Lancelot is perhaps Cretien’s greatest invention and outshines all the other knights, even Arthur himself. Needless to say he is a Frenchman oozing Gallic charm. ibid.
Arthur is mortally wounded. His dying wish is for Sir Bedivere his last surviving knight to throw the sword Excalibur into the lake. Mallory makes it a supreme test of loyalty. ibid.
King Arthur would have remained a really obscure Welsh ruler ... until a writer called Geoffrey Monmouth got hold of the legends in the early twelfth century and re-presented them for his own time. Christopher Godlow, historian & author of Revealing King Arthur
Site of King Arthur’s Tomb. In the year 1191 the bones of King Arthur and his Queen were said to have been found on the south side of the Lady Chapel. On 19th April 1278 their remains were removed in the presence of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor to a black marble tomb on this site. This tomb survived until the dissolution of the abbey in 1539. Plaque at Glastonbury Abbey
Could it be that the legend of King Arthur’s sword in the stone is inspired by the magical smiths of the Bronze Age? Professor Richard Rudgley, Pagans: Magic Moments, Channel 4 2004
For over one thousand years a legend has endured. A shadowy figure cloaked in secrecy. One of the world’s first super-heroes. A warrior king of faith and fury. His believers wait for him to return to save us all from peril. But is he man or myth? The Truth Behind: King Arthur
Tintagel Castle – built on the site where legend has it that Arthur was brought into this world. ibid.
King Arthur holds court at his castle called Camelot with his knights of the Round Table. Aided by his supernatural sidekick Merlin. ibid.
Could the myth have been inspired by a historical figure? ibid.
Did this ancient super-hero ever exist? ibid.
The story describes a gleaming sword thrust into a huge stone and only the rightful king of Britain could pull it out. ibid.
There could be some truth to elements of the King Arthur story. ibid.
He would rule from the legendary Camelot. ibid.
There’s no hard proof of him ever existing at all. ibid.
Its wide open for judgment ... There can be many Arthurs for many people today. Professor Ronald Hutton
The sword in the stone: cast there by magic, only released by a true king of England. A quest to find out if a medieval Italian monastery could hold an ancient relic. An object behind one of Britain’s greatest legends: King Arthur and the sword in the stone. Ancient X Files s2e13: Sword in the Stone & Orpheus Amulet, National Geographic 2012
In 1135 Geoffrey of Monmouth described how Arthur left Britain to fight Rome and tyrannize its inhabitants. ibid.
Behold the sword of power – Excalibur. Excalibur 1981 starring Helen Mirren & Nigel Terry & Gabriel Byrne & Liam Neeson & Nicholas Clay & Cherie Lunghi & Paul Geoffrey & Nicol Williamson & Corin Redgrave & Patrick Stewart & Keith Buckley & Clive Swift & Gabriel Byrne et al, director John Boorman, Merlin
To kill and be king – is that all? ibid. father of devil child
We will find this Grail or die. ibid. knight of round table
Knights! The gift of freedom is yours by right. But the home we seek resides not in some distant land. It's in us! And in our actions on this day! If this be our destiny, then so be it. But let history remember that as free men, we chose to make it so. First Knight 1995 starring Richard Gere & Julia Ormond & Sean Connery & Ben Cross & John Gielgud & Liam Cunningham & Christopher Villiers & Valentine Pelka & Colin McCormack et al, director Jerry Zucker
A small island in the Bristol Channel known as Flat Home may be sold off by Cardiff City Council. Richplanet TV: South Wales/King Arthur, interview Wilson
South Wales has assets of huge historical importance ... One of these is the grave of the legendary King Arthur. ibid.
We have an ancient British alphabet. ibid. Wilson
There is enough contemporaneous record in the stones. ibid.
Chronicles of England: King Arthur II at least was a king of Glamorgan and Gwent. ibid.
Wales: The Land of King Arthur. ibid.
King Arthur was taught ... until about 1924 certainly. Richplanet TV: The Forensic Historians IV: King Arthur’s Grave, Wilson & Blackett; viz also On the Edge interview
The History of the Kings of Britain: Geoffrey of Monmouth. ibid.
Arthur I & Arthur II: they pushed the two together into one. ibid.
Ancestors: we know more about them than any country in Europe. ibid.
They’re kings of a mighty dynasty. ibid.
The idea he is unknown is inconceivable. ibid.
King Arthur d.579 A.D. who also held the title Arthur Uthyr Pendragon. Marriage: Gwenhwyfawr, Gwenhwyfach, Gwenhwyfar. ibid.
The ruin of St Peter’s Church ... abandoned the turn of the century ... We bought it ... And we did find a stone. ibid.
The King Arthur burial cross. ibid.
This is Arthur’s hill fort. ibid.
The Welsh and British ancient alphabet is identical or nearly identical to the old Etruscan alphabet and the Palladian alphabet. Richplanet TV: The Forensic Historians V: Alan Wilson & Baram Blackett, Wilson
Wilson and Blackett have produced many [Welsh] star/mound maps. ibid.
For centuries now King Arthur has been a mystery to historians … an elaborate fairytale or was he a flesh and blood king? Jamie Theakston’s Forbidden History s3e6, Yesterday 2016
One of the most mysterious and misunderstood periods in British history. For 200 years after the Romans left our islands in 410 AD our country was plunged into what became known as the Dark Ages. The turmoil transformed the nation. But we know almost nothing about it. The legends tell of a lawless land, warring tribes and a legendary leader – King Arthur. Alice Roberts, King Arthur’s Britain: The Truth Unearthed, BBC 2018
Evidence that up on the top of Tintagel there was not just a settlement during the Dark Ages but a seat of power. ibid.
Geoffrey of Monmouth: Arthur’s sword is a weapon of mass destruction. ibid.
This was certainly not a backwater. ibid.
King Arthur: a noble warrior who embodied honour and chivalry. Wielded the honorary blade Excalibur. And went on epic quests with the knights of the round table … Just a myth or it is possible that the story we all know was based on fact? Is King Arthur a real person? The UnXplained with William Shatner s3e18, History 2022