King Arthur and the round table

[WinterSoul]

Can anyone tell me how can i find the legend of king arthur?
maybe an author will help though this is a legend.....well i don't know that's why i'm asking.
:)
Actually i have a book called the story of the champions of the round table by Howard Pyle which is like a sequel to the Arthur story but i haven't seen any book by this author in bookstores here.

..............

just now i re-read the foreword to that book and it seems that this author has written a book telling the story of king arthur....
can anyone confirm that pls and maybe give me a title?

Thanx

[Catz]

oh wow.....theres thousands Wintersoul.....not only legends but also commentaries....Like any legend, there are thousands of versions.....its very difficult to pin it down......probably a good start point is Mallorys Morte d'Arthur...which are medaeval French retellings of the stories.....thru this were added all the chivalric additions to the story, which didnt exist in the original (tho no one is really sure what or where the original was)....theres another earlier version by Geoffry of Monmouth(which i cant remember the name of just now) which is said to have been the source material for Mallory....and then theres thousands of legends and stories such as Tristan and Isolde, or the folk tales of the Cheshire area, which seems to have a great repository of Arthur tales(many of which in fact are older still in which you can see germs of the tales) which were probably Geoffrys sources
as well as this there are heaps of commentaries and research works into Arthur and the legend....
ill have a rummage and see if i can come up with any specifics....
:catz:

[WinterSoul]

yeah i know that Catz and i've read a lot of things but i cant remember any author or something and now when i want to get some book i'm wondering what to pick.
And yes Howard Pyle has a book called "king arthur and his knights"[i saw it on amazon] ..i'll check what it's like for i liked the style of the book about the champions of the round talbe. There is also a third one by him i found concerning the grail......when it comes to legends there's a lot of books and it has always been hard for me to pick.....
thanx for the infromation you did help me.
GREETZ !

[Orc]

I'd start with the classics Wintersoul. I believe that Geoffry of Monmouth wrote "The history of the Kings of England" of which one section pretains to Arthur. Geoffry's telling is very interesting because there is a lot more magic in the tale. Much of the magic is removed by Malory's telling. KotRT is such an amalgamation of stories that it's hard to determine what is the 'real' story in it.
Take Gawaine for instance. Much of his origional legends mirror that of the Irish Hero, Cucullin (sp?). It's impossible to tell which came first, or if they both came from a seperate source. I don't think Lancelot exsists in Geoffry's telling, though Mordred does, as the downfall to Camelot.

For the "classic tale" go with Malory. There is a lot more to the Knights of the Round table than just the Lance/Guen/Arthur bit including taking over Rome etc. Good stuff.

For a more modern, simplified version, H.T. White's "The Once and Future King" is pretty good, though the first half deals with Arthur's youth. This is the story that both the Disney cartoon and the musical "Camelot" were based loosely upon.

Your best bet is Malory. He doesn't skip over stuff like the later legends do. After reading a lot of the Arthurian Legends try "Mysts of Avalon" for a completly different (and wonderful) take on the legends. Told through the Female characters by Marion Zimmer - Bradley. Great story. Horrible TV movie here in the States.

[Catz]

another interesting take on the story is The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, told from the view point of Merlin(tho she uses the welsh spelling), the seer and illigitimate nephew of Uther Pendragon, Arthurs father.
Its a very good book, and i highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Arthurian cycles.
:catz:

[Ilmarë]

Have to agree with Orc... Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" is a wonderful story, told poignantly from the p.o.v. of the most important women in Arthur's life, and chiefly his sister Morgaine. I haven't seen the t.v. movie...tho i heard it was awful... read the book!!:thumbs:

:elfqueen:

[Elanor of Lorien]

Sir Thomas Malory would probably be your best bet. I did a whole report on him, read his book, stuff like that. Not that exciting to me.

[Sindarin]

If it's a reference point you're seeking, Wintersoul, then might I suggest the book:
"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends", by Ronon Coghlan.

Another fine author who specifically specializes in this field of study is the English scholar John Matthews, who has written more than twenty books on the Arthurian Legends and other related subjects for over two decades.