King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

King Arthur was a king who ruled England. He brought peace to the land because no enemy could defeat him and many backed away from his deadly sword. Arthur owned a special sword that was given to him and that could kill anyone. The scabbard, or the sword’s case, could instantly heal any disease. This sword was called Excalibur. When King Arthur was ruling England, he grew restless and the legend goes that he soon conquered France. He then formed Camelot and the Round Table. Camelot was Arthur’s royal castle and the place where the Round Table was located.King Arthur and the knights were semi-fictional characters that protected England for over a century. The debate over whether they really existed is still a hot topic with historians. Most agree that he did rule England around 500 A.D. Since he lived before the middle ages, he was not the medieval knight that many think he was. Most believe that he did rule England for a short while but not in the style of greatness that the stories make him out to be. Some historians believe that he did live in Camelot with his Round Table. No matter what the real facts are, it is true that King Arthur probably did exist.Many people wonder if the Round Table was a round table, a group of men, or just a figure of speech. It was actually a real table created to seat over 150 knights in King Arthur’s castle, Camelot. It was made of very valuable wood and by its size would have been worth A LOT of money. It was created by Merlin as a wedding present when Arthur married Guinevere. There are rumors that said that Merlin enchanted the table to make it invincible when Arthur was alive. This is of course only a rumor. The round table was a majestic and powerful table.
Who's Who in the Round Table
Arthur
Arthur was a legendary warrior. He was the leader of the Britons against the Angelo-Saxons in 500 A.D. He was announced king when he pulled a mysterious sword from a rock. He became a knight and given a magical sword by the lady of the lake. He later founded the knights of the round table and had many adventures. He was mortally wounded when a rebellion was led by his nephew Mordred.
Merlin
Merlin is a wizard best known as a protector of Arthur to set up the round table of Knights. Many do not know, that in Celtic Myth he is known as Myrddin. He is a man who could see into the future. The terror of war made him mad and he fled into the forest where he lived like a wild man. Merlin used his powers to protect Arthur. But he had a weakness for women and the Lady of the Lake imprisoned him forever in the branches of a Hawthorn tree. Historians argue whether he exists but they are pretty sure the storyteller Myrddin exists. He served three kings: Aurelius, Uther, and the most famous, Arthur.
Galahad
Galahad is one of the three knights who found the Holy Grail. He is also the one who can sit in the Siege Perilous, the seat at The Round Table reserved for the Grail Knight. He was the one to bring Christianity to Britain. He was known as the perfect knight.
Lancelot
Lancelot was considered the best knight in the land. He was of royal blood by birth because his parents were the King and Queen of Benwick. The Lady of The Lake raised him. He did many great deeds including: Defeating the "invincible knight" (I believe that is the fifth Invincible knight I met), Sir Turquine who turned evil and imprisoned 64 of King Arthur’s knights. He also defeated the giants who were destroying the town of Whitmere.
Guinevere
Guinevere was Arthur’s wife. She was the daughter of the King of Cameliarde. Once Arthur was firmly established on the throne, he picked Guinevere to be his wife. This marriage was against Merlin’s warning that she would betray him. For his wedding present, Merlin presented Arthur with the Round Table, the legendary table that held all the Knights in Arthur’s Court. She and Lancelot fell in love and that was one of the factors that lead to Arthur’s end. She then spent the rest of her life in a nunnery at Amesbury.
Morgana
Morgana was a mixed character who was sometimes evil and sometimes good. She learned her magic from Merlin. Some accounts say she could shape shift into a snake and fly. She was had a key role in bringing about Arthur’s end. She had a talent for creating poisons and sleeping potions. She is rumored to be a fairy because Fay means fairy. She is the main enemy of Arthur in most modern fictional Arthur stories. The interesting part was that although she was Arthur’s enemy in life when he died Morgan took him to Avalon in her magical boat to be healed and await a call to his country’s need.

Round Table Myths

How Arthur Met His Death
Arthur met his demise because of many factors. The first was Merlin. Lady of the Lake enchanted Merlin, and so he could no longer council Arthur. Thus Arthur lost a chief aide.
Morgana had magical abilities and stole the scabbard of The Excalibur, which had the power to heal all illnesses. Another reason Arthur died was that he had emotional troubles when his wife Guinevere started loving Lancelot. That caused emotional struggles for Arthur.
Another problem Arthur had was Morgause. She used dragon’s breath (taught to her by Merlin) to trap Arthur and have their son Mordred. The next factor was Mordred. He was the one who told Arthur about Arthur's wife and Lancelot. Finally, they met on the battlefield and while Arthur killed Mordred, Mordred got the chance to give Arthur a mortal wound.
How Merlin Met His Death
Merlin met his end when the Lady of the Lake tricked him. She was the one who gave Arthur the Excalibur. Merlin was enchanted by the Lady of the Lake and when she asked Merlin to teach her magic he readily agreed. As he taught her, the bond between them grew. Love blinded Merlin and he did not see the spell the lady of the Lake was casting on him. Then the Lady finally sang him a song and Merlin fell under the spell and she cast him to the land of the fairy keeping. There he stands ready to help Arthur if he is in need or if someone pure of heart rescues him.
The Birth of Arthur
Arthur was conceived under very unusual conditions. His father Uther, persuaded Merlin to use dragon’s breath on him to turn him into Igraine’s husband. He desired Igraine so much that he struck a deal with Merlin that if there was a child born, he would get handed to Merlin, the wizard.That night Igraine’s real husband Gorlois, rode off to defend the land from invaders and Uther rode in. Also that night Uther and Igraine had a baby and the young Arthur was born. He was handed to the druid and Merlin gave the young boy to Sir Ector who would raise the boy along with Ector’s own son Sir Kay.His childhood went uneventfully. Around age fifteen Ector took Kay and Arthur to a jousting tournament. When Arthur was asked to find Kay's sword, Arthur realized he didn’t pack a sword. He found the sword in the rock and he was able pull it out. Arthur was pronounced King of Britain.
How Merlin Built Stonhenge
Merlin was asked by Aurelius, one of King Constantine’s sons, to build a monument in honor of the people who fought to defend the country. He told Aurelius that there were some stones in Ireland that would be perfect. A giant who wanted to build a magic circle of gigantic stones brought them there. Merlin said these stones would heal anyone who bathed in water touched by them. Then Merlin cast a spell to make the rocks as light as pebbles and then they carried them with ease onto the boats. The stones were to have been placed on the Salisbury Plain in the South of England. You can still see them today.
The Early Rule of King Arthur
This myth is about Arthur's rule as king. Arthur was guided by Merlin and the sword. Excalibur brought a new rule to Britain. Arthur won twelve great battles and brought twelve years of peace to Britain. Soon Arthur got bored and conquered Europe and Ireland. While Arthur was away, builders built a castle to house The Round Table and fit the king’s stature. This place would be called Camelot.
The Giant Green Knight
On New Year's Eve, Arthur had a grand party. Then a mysterious knight rode into the room. He challenged anyone to try to chop his head off if he would get to try to chop off theirs a year later, if he was still alive. Sir Gawain tried and succeeded, but instead of the knight falling down, he walked over, picked up his head, and rode away!A year passed and soon it was winter and Gawain knew he must ride off to find the Green Knight and his Green Chapel. On Christmas he found a castle whose Lord said he knew where the Chapel was. In the Castle, he was greeted by a nice man and an old lady. They said they would give him room until New Year's when they must find the giant. He and the Lord agreed to a bet that whatever they got on that day they would give to each other.So the first day the Lord found animals to hunt and Gawain received one kiss by a young pretty lady in the Castle. The next day the lord got good animals and Gawain received two kisses. On the final day of the bet, Gawain received three kisses and a green silky magical sash. The lord received some foxes from the hunt. Gawain only gave the kisses and hid the sash. Then the Lord agreed to guide the Knight to the Chapel. He found the Green Knight and prepared for the Knight to try to chop Gawain's head off. The green Knight interrupted himself two times and the third time, drew a trickle of blood. The green Knight explained that he actually was the Lord at the Castle, disguised by the old lady Morgana. He did not chop the first two times, since the first two days Gawain had been truthful. He did chop the third time because Gawain had lied the third time.
The Search for the Holy Grail
This is a shortened story of about King Arthur and the Round Table’s search for the Holy Grail. The real story takes up many pages. Following is King Arthur's version of this story.If you ever saw Indiana Jones you know in one of the movies he searches for the Holy Grail. If you did not know it, this cup is actually the cup Jesus drank with during his Last Supper. This is also the cup that Joseph Arimathea used to catch Jesus’ blood when he was hanged on the cross. This cup is also believed to have magical healing powers.Later, after the Romans were imprisoning Joseph for being a Christian, he marched the Grail to the Holy Land where he built a Castle called Corbenic. Then all his descendants would guard the Holy Grail. But when a descendant named Pelles got a wound that would not heal, the search began for the Holy Grail.Then one day a vision of the Holy Grail appeared at a feast. One hundred fifty knights looked for the Grail. From the actions of these knights, three were shown as truly worthy of the Grail. These knights, Bors, Galahad, and Perceval, eventually found Corbenic. There they found an angel who brought the Grail to them and the bloody spear that stabbed Jesus on the cross. Then using the Grail, he healed Pelles and sailed in a boat guided by the supernatural to the distant land of Sarras. After Galahad died, the two other men saw the Grail rise to Heaven. No one has seen the Grail since.