According to medieval history, King Arthur was born sometime in the 5th century AD. The legend states that the wise sorcerer Merlin helped Uther Pendragon, a great British warrior, impersonate the Duke of Tintagel, who was the consort of Ingraine of Cornwall. Upon Uther’s seducement of Ingraine, a child was conceived, but was relinquished at birth.
Arthur, was the child’s name, and as he grew up, he was completely unmindful of his remarkable ancestry. When king Uther died, the throne was empty and there was great conflict over who should be the next King. Merlin used his magic to set a sword in the stone called Excalibur. Written on the sword, in letters of gold, were the words: “Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the right wise born king of all England.” Many challengers for the throne attempted to pull the sword out of the stone, but failed. By chance, when young Arthur was able to do this, he was crowned King. Eleven other British rulers created a rebellion against the young leader, but King Arthur negated their uprising and began a righteous and illustrious reign.
King Arthur went on to marry Guinevere and congregated a group of fearless and sincere knights at his kingdom seat in Camelot. To avoid any disharmonious conflict among the knights, Guinevere’s father provided Arthur with the legendary Round Table. Together they defeated the Saxon invaders and the Roman empire, while also carrying out acts of chivalry such as rescuing damsels in distress and fighting mythical beasts. Arthur also set about on a quest for the Holy Grail. During his quest, Lancelot, who was one of Arthur’s most trusted knights, had an affair with Guinevere.
This event signified the beginning of the fall of King Arthur. Lancelot and Guinevere made a getaway to Lancelot’s land in Brittany, France where Arthur decided to follow and wage war on his former patron. Arthur left behind his nephew Mordred as the guardian of England, but as he was warring across the English Channel, his newphew rebelled, causing Arthur to return home to England. A ferocious battle took place on Salisbury Plain, where he ended up killing his traitorous nephew, but Arthur himself was also mortally wounded. On the edge of death, he threw Excalibur into the kingdom’s lake, sat upon a boat and floated down the river back to the isle of Avalon, where his wounds were treated by three mysterious maidens. King Arthur’s body was never found, but he vowed to return to England and save it if danger ever threatened the country again.
The first reliable reference to Arthur lies in the Historia Brittonum written by a Welsh monk named Nennius around 830 AD to which he references Arthur as a warrior, not a King. He cites twelve battles fought by Arthur including Mount Badon and the City Of The Legion.
Another Welsh cleric, Geoffrey of Monmouth, produced works which set the foundations of the Arthurian legend. He wrote Historia Regum Britaniae in 1133AD where he claims to have based his work on an ancient Celtic document. He intended his work to be a historical document, but it included many fictional details which have inevitably blurred the true reality of Arthur’s reign.
Other evidence supporting Arthur’s place in history is that many folks believe that Glastonbury in Somerset is the exact location of Camelot, and within the 12th century it was declared that Arthur’s grave had been located there. Comparably to the Isles of Scilly, which are also said to host the remnants of the king there. Historians have discovered without a doubt, there are plenty of historical prospects who could have been the king himself. They believe that the number of possibilities as to Arthur’s true identity is the reason that our knowledge has become so obscured, and that many other individual’s personal backgrounds have been actually jumbled and combined with others.
What is known for sure is that in the 6th century many Celtic kingdoms have leaders born were named Arthur; this could have been in honor to the first king. Even though the frequent use of the name has muddled the original Arthur’s legend, it denotes the fact that a truly magnificent and beneficial leader was present a generation or so before.
Possibly the most astonishing evidence has become apparent in more recent years. Archaeologists uncovered a block of stone marked in Latin with the name ‘Artagnov’ on the top of a hill in Tintagel, Cornwall. The stone was dated back to the 6th century and demonstrates that the name was present in Arthurian lands at the correct time. Alike many historical enigmas, the damage caused by the passage of time is slowly being corrected by science, technology, and the exercise of modern intrigue. It may never be known who exactly Arthur is in the legend, but with more discoveries similar to the recent one, the truth is slowly being revealed.