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The Matter of Britain

King Arthur, Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, and the quest for the Grail: medieval legend rather than ancient religion, drawn from Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chretien de Troyes, the Vulgate Cycle, and Malory.

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21 entries

A

AvalonThe Isle of ApplesThe isle of apples: the healing island where Excalibur was forged and where the wounded Arthur was carried, neither dead nor returned.Realm

C

CamelotArthur's Chief CourtArthur's chief court: a place named almost by accident in one French poem, which grew into the most famous city that never existed.Realm

E

ExcaliburThe Sword of King ArthurThe sword of King Arthur: a Welsh blade called Caledfwlch that became the weapon drawn from a stone, given by a lake, and returned to the water.Artifact

F

The Fisher KingThe Wounded Keeper of the GrailThe maimed king who guards the Grail and fishes because he cannot walk. His wound waits on a question no knight thinks to ask.Hero

G

GalahadThe Perfect KnightLancelot's son, invented to succeed where his father failed. The spotless knight who filled the Siege Perilous and achieved the Holy Grail.HeroGawainArthur's Nephew and the Courteous KnightThe courteous knight and Arthur's nephew: England's favourite of the Round Table, demoted by French romance and redeemed by an English poet.HeroThe Green KnightChallenger of the Beheading GameChallenger of the beheading game: the green giant who rides into Camelot, survives his own execution, and holds Gawain to a bargain.CreatureGuinevereQueen of BritainQueen of Britain and Arthur's wife: a figure repeatedly stolen, blamed and reinvented, whose love for Lancelot brings the Round Table down.Hero

H

The Holy GrailThe Vessel of the QuestThe vessel of the quest: a serving dish in an unfinished French poem that became Christendom's most famous relic and the ruin of the Round Table.Artifact

K

King ArthurThe Once and Future KingThe once and future king: a shadowy British war-leader who medieval writers rebuilt into the emperor of Camelot and the Round Table.Hero

L

The Lady of the LakeThe Fay of the LakeThe fay of the lake: the water-dwelling enchantress who gave Arthur Excalibur, raised Lancelot, and sealed Merlin in his prison.DeityLancelotThe First Knight of the Round TableFirst knight of the Round Table: a French invention raised by a lake fay, whose love for the queen makes him the best knight and ruins the kingdom.Hero

M

MerlinProphet and Enchanter of BritainBritain's prophet and enchanter: a mad Welsh seer whom Geoffrey of Monmouth rebuilt as the wizard who made Arthur possible.HeroMordredThe Traitor of CamlannThe traitor of Camlann: Arthur's nephew and, in later tradition, his incestuous son, who seizes the crown and destroys the Round Table.HeroMorgan le FayThe Fay of AvalonThe fay of Avalon: healer, shape-shifter and Arthur's half-sister, who became the legend's great enchantress and its most useful enemy.Hero

P

Percival (Perceval)The Innocent Grail KnightThe forest-raised innocent who found the Grail castle and failed to ask the one question that mattered. Arthurian romance's first Grail knight.Hero

R

The Round TableThe Table Without a HeadThe table without a head: invented in 1155 to stop knights fighting over precedence, it became the name of Arthur's whole fellowship.Artifact

S

The Siege PerilousThe Empty Seat at the Round TableThe vacant place at the Round Table that kills any knight who sits in it unworthily, kept for the one who would achieve the Holy Grail.ArtifactSir BedivereThe King's Last CompanionThe one-handed spearman of Welsh tradition who became the knight who returned Excalibur to the lake and carried Arthur to the barge.HeroSir KayArthur's Seneschal and Foster-BrotherArthur's foster-brother and seneschal. A magic-gifted warrior in Welsh tradition who became the sharp-tongued butt of French romance.Hero

T

Tristan and IseultThe Lovers of CornwallTristan and Iseult (Isolde) drank a love potion meant for another and could not stop. Europe's oldest great romance of adultery and doom.Hero