History Main / KingArthur

* Creator/JoWalton's series ''The King's Peace'' and ''The King's Name'' features the King-Arthur-equivalent of the fantasy world it's set in. Some readers have found it confusing that not everything in the story is the direct counterpart of something in Arthurian legend, especially the protagonist, who is an entirely new character.

* The Arthurian motifs in ''AceCombat Zero'' deserve more than a passing mention and are significant enough for people to be able to write papers on them ? just check the page.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', it is pretty much confirmed that Micheal's sword, ''Esperaccius'', is Excalibur. Also, Harry's (second) magic teacher [[spoiler:and maternal grandfather]] Ebenezer [=McCoy=] is the latest link of a MasterApprenticeChain stretching all the way to the original Merlin himself, who was also the founder of the White Council (and his name having since become the title given to TheArchWizard leading it).

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', it is pretty much confirmed that Micheal's sword, ''Esperaccius'', is Excalibur. Also, Harry's master [[spoiler: and maternal grandfather]] Ebenezer [=McCoy=] was taught by a line of master wizards whose methods descended from Merlin himself.

The [[KnightInShiningArmor perfect king]]. Ruled UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} during a GoldenAge with {{Merlin}} at his side, but fell to treachery, and [[KingInTheMountain now sleeps]], waiting for Britain's [[InItsHourOfNeed hour of greatest need]]. Subject of many a ChivalricRomance, long known as the "Matter of Britain," alongside the Matter of France (stories of Charlemagne's court and wars with the Saracens) and the Matter of Rome (The Trojan War, the Aeneid, Alexander the Great).[[note]]These three ''matières'' (sources of inspiration) were defined ca. 1200 by the French poet Jean Bodel for French works; it does not encompass themes important to other literature, such as the German cycles about the Burgundians and the Goths, notably represented by the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}''. Or, for that matter, all French or Anglo-Norman romances, whatever they claimed.[[/note]] A legendary, and somewhat tragic figure, in most versions of the myth Arthur tries to overcome the chaos of the land and the notion of 'might equals right' through chivalry, but is ultimately undone as noble chivalry depends on might to enforce order. This, in conjunction with his failings as a husband in trying to be the perfect King, along with his last act often attributed as being forced to kill his only son in battle. Nevertheless, the romantic Arthurian legend stands all for that was noble and good in the medieval ideal of chivalry, and of how a perfect king should be, compassionate, decisive and just.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: It is unsurprising that as Arthurian mythology evolved over the centuries and spread across Europe, many characters faded from existence or were replaced with local variations. Arthur's four sons - Amr, Gwydre, Llacheu and Duran - had all vanished by the 12th century. His full sister Anna became the mother of Mordred (who was not originally related to Arthur); she was eventually replaced by half-sister Morgause, who kept the blood-tie but is a different character entirely.

-->-- '''King Arthur''', from John Boorman's ''Excalibur''

Like the other great British folk hero RobinHood,[[note]]whose legend developed much later, and is more of an exclusively English figure[[/note]] [[ShroudedInMyth there may be a kernel of historical truth to the myth]], but [[MemeticMutation it has been obscured by centuries of elaborations]]. If he existed, the historical Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who fought the invading Saxons after the Roman provincial government collapsed. Documents show that after the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Battle of Mount Badon]], the Saxon conquest was turned back for almost a century, but the records are confused as to of who was in charge of the Britons at the time, if anyone; if he existed, Arthur's realm may have been an outpost of people not-getting-killed. The first surviving reference is from circa 600 A.D., and implies that either the legend or at least the man's reputation was well known even then.

Like the other great British folk hero RobinHood[[note]]whose legend developed much later, and is more of an exclusively English figure[[/note]], [[ShroudedInMyth there may be a kernel of historical truth to the myth]], but [[MemeticMutation it has been obscured by centuries of elaborations]]. If he existed, the historical Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who fought the invading Saxons after the Roman provincial government collapsed. Documents show that after the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Battle of Mount Badon]], the Saxon conquest was turned back for almost a century, but the records are confused as to of who was in charge of the Britons at the time, if anyone; if he existed, Arthur's realm may have been an outpost of people not-getting-killed. The first surviving reference is from circa 600 A.D., and implies that either the legend or at least the man's reputation was well known even then.

As with the other great British folk hero RobinHood, [[ShroudedInMyth There may be a kernel of historical truth to the myth]], but [[MemeticMutation it has been obscured by centuries of elaborations]]. If he existed, the historical Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who fought the invading Saxons after the Roman provincial government collapsed. Documents show that after the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Battle of Mount Badon]], the Saxon conquest was turned back for almost a century, but the records are confused as to of who was in charge of the Britons at the time, if anyone; if he existed, Arthur's realm may have been an outpost of people not-getting-killed. The first surviving reference is from circa 600 A.D., and implies that either the legend or at least the man's reputation was well known even then.

[[ShroudedInMyth There may be a kernel of historical truth to the myth]], but [[MemeticMutation it has been obscured by centuries of elaborations]]. If he existed, the historical Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader who fought the invading Saxons after the Roman provincial government collapsed. Documents show that after the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Battle of Mount Badon]], the Saxon conquest was turned back for almost a century, but the records are confused as to of who was in charge of the Britons at the time, if anyone; if he existed, Arthur's realm may have been an outpost of people not-getting-killed. The first surviving reference is from circa 600 A.D., and implies that either the legend or at least the man's reputation was well known even then.

* FisherKing: Particularly in stories concerning Perceval.

* [[WarCraft Prince Arthas]] is a inversion of King Arthur. The sword he pulled from a stone (actually, magic ice or something) was very powerful, and marked him as destined for a throne. But it stole his soul, and the throne in question was that of an undead EvilOverlord rather than the throne of TheKingdom he was born to. He's advised by a wizard with an odd life cycle, like Merlin, but the weird thing about this wizard is that he's a ''necromancer'' who Arthas ''killed'' and later helped come back as a lich. He disbanded the Silver Hand, an order of paladins, and while he later founded an order of death knights, which is an inversion on more than one level: not only are they ignoble and unholy but it wasn't even a new idea or original in-world, making it the reverse of both the Round Table and the Silver Hand.

* ''Sword at Sunset'' by Rosemary Sutcliff takes the legend back to its roots, including partly Romanized Britons fighting off invading "Sea Wolf" Saxon raiders, the difficulty in gathering and maintaining mounted warriors, horses barely big enough to carry large men and saddles without stirrups, near-starvation every winter, ambiguous mysticism and superstition regarding both curses and the Hill Folk, rare chainmail armor stolen from enemy war chiefs in place of "shining armor", and a dilapidated ex-Roman hill fort replacing "Camelot".

** Another example: In some versions, Arthur battles the Roman Empire (which fell no later than 476 AD) but his knights include Sir Palomedes the Saracen (i.e. the Moslem - and Islam began in 610 AD).

* ExecutiveMeddling: You know how most stories of Camelot feature a LoveTriangle between Arthur, Guenivere, and latecomer Lancelot? There's evidence that Lancelot's creator only turned him into the Queen's lover after being ordered to do so by his patron, one of Eleanor of Aquitaine's daughters.

* The Squire's Tales: Classic King Arthur stories, accompanied by a Reconstruction of Camelot and Arthur as heroic ideals while deconstructing the $#!% out of courtly love. The heroes frequently point out all the [[SnarkBait Arthurian Romance cliches.]] Lancelot and Guenivere become TheAtoner early on in the series after he gets his butt kicked in a lucky shot by one of the narrators.

* Creator/CSLewis' ''ThatHideousStrength'' brings back Merlin as a person who trod the line between light and darkness when the distinction was less sharp. Both the heroes and villains are concerned about which side he'll be on when he awakens. It also depicts "Pendragon" as a divine title, now held by one of the heroes, and implies that it descends from [[Literature/TheSilmarillion "Numinor"]].

* CelticMythology: Has its roots in Welsh legends.

The greatest misconception in the common portrayal of Arthur, is that [[YouFailHistoryForever he was an English king]]: if he at all existed, by most accounts he was a Briton, and despite modern-day usage of the term English and Briton and very different things. The Britons were a group of Celtic peoples whose surviving decedents are the Welsh, the Cornish and the Bretons (in France). The English, by contrast, draw their name, language, and a large part of their original culture from the Angles and Saxons - the Germanic invaders that King Arthur is reputed to have fought. All that is essentially English is, therefore, derived from Arthur's sworn enemies - not Arthur at all. It is rather ironic that the English chose to mythologise a man whose realm they conquered.

* HalfHumanHybrid: {{Merlin}} is only half human. His father may have a been a [[TheFairFolk Fae]], TheDevil, an incubus, or [[TheMessiah no one]].

* Galahad: TheMessiah and an early MartyStu.

[[ShroudedInMyth There may be a kernel of historical truth to the myth]], but [[MemeticMutation it has been obscured by centuries of elaborations]]. If he existed, the historical Arthur may have been a Romano-British leader (a native Briton, ancestors of the Celtic-speaking Scots, Cornish and Welsh) who fought the invading Saxons after the Roman provincial government collapsed. Documents show that after the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Battle of Mount Badon]], the Saxon tide was turned back for almost a century, but the records are confused as to of who was in charge of the Britons at the time, if anyone; if he existed, Arthur's realm may have been an outpost of people not-getting-killed. The first surviving reference is from circa 600 A.D., and implies that either the legend or at least the man's reputation was well known even then. (It's a bit ironic that the historical representation of the heroic English king was--if he existed at all--actually a warrior who fought against Anglo-Saxons, the people who would eventually give their name to the English.)