In this series, I will summarize and comment on one of the works included in the Matter of Britain. The Matter of Britain is a medieval literature cycle capturing legends of Great Britain and Brittany. The central figures for most of these stories are King Arthur and his knights. Arguably, the cycle starts and ends with texts written by two Brits - Geoffrey of Monmoth’s History of the Kings of Britain (12th century) and Malory’s Le Morte d’’Arthur (15th century). However, most of the key works were originally written in French in the tradition of chivalric romances. It is this influence that moves the Arthurian legend from a possible 5th century war leader to the Round Table and the Holy Grail.
At this point, I’ll note that much of what I present as fact in this series is my own interpretation. I am not trained in literary study. My avocation is more history than literature. I am sure that there are professional Arthurians who would love to dispute my claims. I could probably insert “arguably” in every other sentence. That would quickly get pedantic and boring. Just realize that I am an amateur and that this blog is not Arthuriana (https://www.arthuriana.com/).
The Matter of Britain is not just about King Arthur. Much of the French (and German) works focus on the adventures of individual knights and the quest for the Holy Grail. Arthur, Camelot, and the Round Table act as a touchpoint integrating a perhaps unrelated story into a popular milieu. Each of my posts will focus on one aspect of this cycle. That will mean that some works are broken up into different posts. Malory covers both the life of Arthur and the quest for the Grail in depth, for example. I will also not be able to cover all the works on one topic before proceeding onto another. The life of Arthur cannot be discussed without including the betrayal of Lancelot and Guinevere. That cannot be discussed without knowing what made Lancelot both the greatest knight and the most flawed knight. I’ll start with one or two of the most important works on a topic, interleaving others as necessary. Once we have the big picture in place, I will go back to more minor works and compare them with the ones already covered.
At this point, I see about a half-dozen topics that need to be covered. They are:
The life and death of Arthur - This topic is an epic tale unto itself. From Arthur’s birth as the bastard son of King Uther Pendragon. To his founding of the Round Table. To his aforementioned betrayal by his wife and most valiant knight. To the battle with Mordred that led to his death. Or is he merely sleeping on the isle of Avalon? Arthur’s story evolved quite a bit between Geoffrey and Malory.
The quest for the Holy Grail - Perhaps the most retold cycle in the Matter of Britain. Also perhaps the theme that many modern audiences would not necessarily associate with Arthur. Even more than Arthur’s story, the story of the grail changed a lot between its initial appearance in the works of Chrétien de Troyes and Malory.
Individual knights - Lancelot in his cart. Gawaine fighting the Green Knight. Tristan’s tragic affair with Isolde. There are plenty of stories not related directly to Arthur or the Grail.
Merlin - The archetypical wizard. Or is he? Along with Arthur, Merlin is one of the main Matter characters most easily traced to early medieval Welsh tradition. Geoffrey wrote about Merlin before he ever did Arthur. What were his powers? How did he influence the Arthurian cycle?
Non-Arthurian content - Coel Hen/King Cole and Leir of Britain/King Lear are both discussed by Geoffrey. They both seem to have had a prior tradition. What can we tell about these legendary kings and other Matter of Britain characters from non-Arthurian traditions?
Post-medieval stories - Alfred, Lord Tennyson; T. H. White; Mary Stewart; Marion Zimmer Bradley; Mark Twain. Many authors (Arthurs?) in the past couple of centuries have either leant on the Arthurian tradition or have reinterpreted it in their own literary works. How do these versions compare to the medieval ones?
Bibliography:
Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain. c. 1136.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d’Arthur. William Caxton, 1485.
Den of the Red Wolf 