King Arthur was a legendary ruler of Britain. Tales of his life and deeds are known as Arthurian legends. They tell the story of a great king who brought peace to a war-torn land. The original legends may have been based on a real person who lived in the 5th or 6th centuries AD, but no one knows who he was. The medieval king who appears in the best-known legends was created centuries later. The most detailed account of King Arthur’s life was written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who lived between about 1100 and 1155. His History of the Kings of Britain drew upon Welsh folklore, but Arthur, the conquering hero, was largely a fictional character made up by Geoffrey. French writer Chrétien de Troyes wrote poems about Arthur between 1155 and 1185. He introduced the character Sir Lancelot as well as the quest for the Holy Grail. A work by Sir Thomas Malory (died 1471), Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur), became the best-known account of the legendary king. Modern versions are mostly based on Malory's story.

Was there a real Arthur?

Some scholars have suggested that “King Arthur” may have been based on a Celtic ruler called Artorius, who defended his people from the Anglo-Saxon invaders after the Romans left Britain in AD 410. According to some accounts, Artorius fought a number of battles against the Saxons between 500 and 537. Another researcher claims that a British king named Riothamus, who led a British army against France in about 460, may have been the source of the Arthur legend.

Birth of Arthur

According to Malory, Arthur was the son of a king named Uther Pendragon, who married Igraine, wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. Their child, born at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, was named Arthur. A wizard called Merlin, who had helped Uther, arranged for a knight named Sir Hector to raise Arthur as his foster-son.

Excalibur

When King Uther died, he left no heir to his throne. It was said that the person who managed to pull a magical sword from a stone into which it was fixed would be the next king. The most powerful knights in the kingdom accepted the challenge, but none succeeded. The young Arthur, however, was able to pull out the sword with ease: thus it was he who was meant to be king of Britain. In some versions of the story, this sword is called Excalibur. Other versions say that Arthur was handed Excalibur by a mysterious figure called the Lady of the Lake.

​​​​​​​Merlin then helped Arthur to defeat all those kings and nobles who opposed his kingship.

The Knights of the Round Table

Arthur fell in love with Guinevere, daughter of King Leodegran of Scotland. But Merlin insisted that Arthur had to prove himself in battle before he could marry her. When Arthur later returned in triumph from France, the wedding took place. As a gift, Guinevere's parents gave Arthur a large round table. He and the loyal knights who made up his court would sit around this table it to plan their campaigns and their deeds.

Camelot

Arthur made a place called Camelot his home and court, the headquarters for his knights. The wizard Merlin supervised the building of a magnificent castle, which contained a special hall for the Round Table. The hall also contained statues of the 12 kings who had tried to overthrow Arthur in the past. All had been defeated by him. Each statue had a lighted candle, which, according to Merlin, would stay lit until the Holy Grail was brought to Camelot.

Guinevere and Lancelot

Guinevere was the wife of King Arthur. She was a beautiful and noble queen. But she and Sir Lancelot, one of Arthur's most loyal knights, fell in love. Their attachment grew after he had rescued her following her kidnapping by a rival prince. Mordred, Arthur’s nephew (or, in some accounts, his son by an earlier relationship with his half-sister, Morgause) accused Queen Guinevere of adultery.

Sir Galahad

According to legend, Galahad was the purest and noblest knight in King Arthur's court. The son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, Galahad was raised by nuns. When arrived at the Round Table, the young knight sat down in a seat known as the Siege Perilous. It was so-called because only the knight whose destiny it was to find the Holy Grail would be able to occupy this seat safely; everyone else who had sat there in the past was killed instantly. When Galahad remained unharmed, King Arthur and the other knights knew he would succeed in this quest.

The death of Arthur

Arthur left Mordred in charge of the kingdom while he went off to fight battles abroad. While the king was away, however, Mordred, who was deeply jealous of the king, plotted to seize Arthur’s kingdom for good and marry Guinevere. The queen locked herself in the Tower of London to avoid marrying him. When Arthur returned and learned of the plot, he vowed to kill Mordred.

The armies of Arthur and Mordred met near Salisbury. The two commanders agreed to make peace, but then a snake in the grass was sighted and someone drew his sword. Immediately, all the knights drew their weapons as well, and, in the chaos, fighting broke out. Arthur killed Mordred, but not before he was fatally wounded himself.

A mysterious barge then appeared. Bedivere placed the ailing Arthur on to the barge, which carried the king away to Avalon, a sacred island. There he would be cared for by the enchantress (magician) Morgan Le Fay until his death. According to legend, he would one day return when Britain had need of him.