The myth of Arthurs return

1066 1485
1066: The battle of Hastings. Britain is invaded once more by a powerful
nation, the Normans. William the Conqueror became the new ruler of
England.
The new aristocracy paid little attention to the newly acquired land: they felt
themselves French. Until Henry III (1216 -72), the English monarchs did not
feel affinity with their English subject. French (and Latin) became the literary
norm, English fell into disuse as an artistic language.
Middle English literature, therefore, is popular in origin. Much of this
literature is religious.
LINGUISTIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE INVASION
- The West Saxon dialect disappears as a literary standard (French becomes
a mark of distinction)
- Three languages coexist in England: Latin, English and French.
- But at the beginning of the 13th cent., the English throne loses Normandy
and Norman noblemen use English as a sign of their nationalism.
The hundred years war
From 1337 to 1453 the English fought with the French for land disputes.
French became the language of the enemy. English became the official
language.
For four hundred years English had been spoken by the lower classes and
now it was adopted by the Normans, but English had changed. French
introduced about 10000 new words in English.
LITERATURE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
-In Europe, English had a modest place, e.g. Chaucer remained unknown
abroad.
-French literature dominated throughout the whole Middle English period.
-The first Arthurian romances came from the pen of Chretien de Troyes:
Arthur became Englands first great cultural export.
THE MYTH OF ARTHURS RETURN
Departing, sorely wounded, for the Isle of Avalon, the legendary King Arthur
made a promise: that whenever his people needed him, he would return.

DID ARTHUR REALLY EXIST?

Most historian agree he did exist, though probably he was not a king but a
Celtic cavalry leader of the 6th century with a swift-moving force, He held
back, temporarily, the forces of Anglo-Saxon invaders.
When the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes made bloody attacks on British
coast, the natives rallied to defend their land.
The real story of Arthur
A resistance movement, led by the Romano-British prince Ambrosious
Aurealianus, carried on a prolonged war with the Saxon.
After Ambrosious, a man called Artos begins to emerge as a wide-ranging
soldier uniting the petty kings of Britain against the common foe, leading
them to a victory in Mount Badon.
A WIDE-RANGING CAMPAINER
Artos is the celtic form of the Roman Artorious. He was probably a noble
Celt, whose family had grown to prominence during the Roman occupation.
He was probably the leader of a band of horsemen, whose mobility would
give them considerable advantage over their enemies
Arthur is said to have fought 12 battles against the Saxon, of which the last
was Mount Badon. Such a successful warrior must have been a light in
darkness to the hard-pressed British. His name was known everywhere from
Cornwall to Scotland.
However, most stories link Arthur with the West Country, to which he retired
with his wife Guinevere and held court at Camelot (probably a pre-Roman
hill-fort in Cadbury Castle, in Somerset).
ARTHURS DEATH AND LEGEND from partisan leader into a mighty monarch
When he died, he might have been laid to rest at what is now Glastonbury
Abbey, 12 miles of Cadbury Castle. He is said to have been buried there in
great secrecy, to avoid heartening the Saxons with the news of his death.
After his death, the legend began.
Arthur is mentioned in poems of the period 6 th-9th centuries, but Geoffrey of
Monmouth is the first one who gave literary from to the saga surrounding
Arthur in his History of the Kings of Britain (1130s). He wrote of real events,
but he also drew heavily on his imagination: Merlin the magician, the
magical sword Excalibur, the isle of Avalon.
AND THE LEGEND LIVES ON
With the passing of time, new elements were added to the legend, like
Arthurs half-sister, the enchantress Morgan le Fay, who ruled over Avalon.

In 1155 the poet Robert Wace added the Round Table to the story. The 12 th
century French writer Chretien de Troyes added Lancelot and the Holy Grail,
beginning the genre of Arthurian romance.
MEDIEVAL ROMANCE
A characteristic genre of the Middle Ages, consisting of:
- Knights who get involved in many adventures.
- Frequent use of the supernatural (e.g. dragons, magic)
- Romantic love as one of the main motives (Courtly love)
- Standardized characterization of heroes and villains
- Plots with a great number of events.
- Easy and colloquial style.
ROBERT WACE (1110 1174) LAYAMON (LATE 12th- early 13th CENT.)
Waces Roman de Brut, a verse history of Britain, based on G. of
Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae, was written in the Norman
language. In turn, it became the basis for Layamons Brut, an alliterative
Middle English poem, the first poem in English which tells the story of
Arthur.
SIR THOMAS MALORY (1420 1471)
The best-known version of Arthurs story is Morte dArthur, written by Sir
Thomas Malory and published in 1485. He translated and adapted the
stories, painting a picture of a golden age of chivalry and a unified kingdom
ruled by a noble aristocracy.