Why Is King Arthur Important

Research Paper 1 – The Legend of Arthur (question 10)

The legend of Arthur and his knights has caught the minds of people for the last 1500 years. The mythical monarch defended the British from Saxon invaders between the 5th and 6th centuries, and he is important in a level that even our generation thinks of him as a legend all around the world. King Arthur, Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot make a gallant image of knights in shining armor in a world of honor and romance and, combines with the need that people constantly have for a hero who represents them, made the legend even bigger. Since then, generations have put their faith in Britain’s greatest warrior and protector. Arthur was, definitely, a historical figure they needed, serving as an
inspiration not only for the nobility, but for the masses too (alexander 1).
Arthur was Britain’s greatest warrior, which tells us a lot about the reason why his legend endures since then. He engaged in a war of conquest and became the king of Britain. It is quite interesting when we notice how many films and novels portrait that specific part when Merlin uses his magic to set a sword in a stone, and whoever pulls it out of the stone would be the king of all England. The contenders, then, tried to draw the sword, but no one succeeded. On the other hand, by pulling the sword Excalibur, Arthur was now the rightful King of Britain and began his mythical reign (Ashe 32). Arthur also recruited knights to fight against the Saxons, who were trying to conquer Britain after the Romans left.
He defeated the Saxons and protected Britain until his death (he left no heirs).
Arthur and his knights were called “The knights of the round table”, where no knight could claim himself to be better than another. They would fight for principles of justice, purity, and honor (Stobie 42). That is one of the reasons why his legend still fascinates the contemporary generations. People who identify themselves with Arthur believe in the same ideals, making him appealing even in today’s culture. Also, another reason that makes him endure is the fact that it was written for people who believed in ideals of chivalry to serve God and their King, living a life of honesty and
purity.
It is important to notice that the scholarly world is skeptic towards the legend of the King Arthur. For them, it is really difficult to believe in facts such as a king said to have ruled for almost 100 years. It is difficult to even prove his real existence or real name. The first reliable source came out only almost 200 years after he lived and he was referred as a warrior, not a king (Stobie 34). At that time people would have believed in a lot of stories simply because they did not have as much knowledge as we have nowadays. People would believe, for example, that the Earth was flat and they would fall if they sailed from Europe to America. Also, many writers who wrote about Arthur placed him in the era they lived, adding more facts and a “magic touch” to the story (like a snowball effect). We must understand that, at that time, with all the invasions by other people, they needed a “hero” to fight for them, and that’s when Arthur came in. What history can prove is that, based on historical documents, there was a man linked to a few places throughout Southern Britain who achieved success.
Locating the truth would be a quite difficult task. Most of the writers’ sources are unknown. Even between the writers, we notice different names for the same characters and places. At the same time researchers find what they want to find, skeptics do not consider what they cannot prove. Sometimes it is difficult to prove if a story is true or not when culture is the vehicle responsible for transmitting the message as stories are slightly “changed” by whoever passes it to the next generation.
Whether the legend of Arthur is true or not, or whether he did what he did or not, the important thing is that the fact that future generations turned him into a legend tells us a lot. His cultural values are still present today, and this is the real significance of Arthur as he lives inside us all. Even if he was invented, that was done because people have a need for what he represents. This said, the legend of Arthur was developed in a similar way compared to Jesus Christ. As Jesus was a great figure at the time and inspired thousands of people, there was a great warrior that held the Saxons off for a while and ruled the reign for a lot of years.
It is fascinating how a story written at that time can still be related to modern day’s situations, motivating people to live their lives based on those principles.
There was a man, at some point between the fifth and sixth centuries, named Arthur who achieved great things. But the truth is that the common agreement between the historians is that he did not do everything that is credited to him. The basis for his legend came from facts between these two centuries, but over the time people “changed” these events, turning them into a legendary tale. King Arthur and his knights will always be figures of fantasy and his legend will be always appreciated for what it is. If there was a real British leader, that man can probably be called
Arthur.

Works Cited:

- Alexander, Caroline. A pilgrim’s search for relics of the once and future king. Smithsonian. 1996
- Stobie, Denise. Exploring King Arthur’s Britain. London: Collins & Brown. 1999.
- Ashe, Geoffrey. King Arthur: In Fact and Legend. New York: Thomas Nelson Inc., Publisher, 1971