The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

ary material associated with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France, which concerned the legends of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

, and the Matter of Rome, which included material derived from or inspired by

classical mythology Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and pol ...

History

The three "Matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic ' ("Song of the Saxons") contains the line: The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...

, the " Matter of Rome", and the tales of the Paladins of

and their wars with the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct o ...

and Saracens, which constituted the " Matter of France". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories related to the legendary kings of Britain, as well as lesser-known topics related to the history of

and

, such as the stories of Brutus of Troy, Coel Hen, Leir of Britain (King Lear), and Gogmagog.

Themes and subjects

Legendary history of Britain

The legendary history of Britain was created partly to form a body of patriotic myth for the country. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature. According to John J. Davenport, the question of Britain's identity and significance in the world "was a theme of special importance for writers trying to find unity in the mixture of their land's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman and Norse inheritance." Geoffrey of Monmouth's '' Historia Regum Britanniae'' is a central component of the Matter of Britain. Geoffrey drew on a number of ancient British texts, including the ninth century '' Historia Brittonum''. The '' Historia Brittonum'' is the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Troy. Traditionally attributed to Nennius, its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ha ...

. As such, this material could be used for patriotic myth-making just as

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

linked the

founding of Rome The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous ...

to the Trojan War in '' The Æneid''. Geoffrey lists Coel Hen as a King of the Britons, whose daughter, Helena marries Constantius Chlorus and gives birth to a son who becomes the Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

, tracing the Roman imperial line to British ancestors. It has been suggested that Leir of Britain, who later became King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr, related to the Irish Ler. Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: for example

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron or Irish the Morrígan. Many of these identifications come from the speculative

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

of the late 19th century and have been questioned in more recent years.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

was interested in the legendary history of Britain, and was familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' and '' Cymbeline''. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed's ''The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for '' Macbeth''. Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

, for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Pictish and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of

Gabrán mac Domangairt Gabrán mac Domangairt (Old Welsh: ''Gawran map Dinwarch' Annales Cambriae'' B Text) or Gabrán the Traitor (''Gwran Wradouc'') was king of Dál Riata,in the mid-6th century. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nGabráin. Gabrán was ...

especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

Arthurian cycle

The Arthurian literary cycle is the best-known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of the heroes like Arthur,

Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earlies ...

and

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed ( Galahad,

Percival Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Gra ...

), and others fail. The Arthurian tales have been changed throughout time, and other characters have been added to add backstory and expand on other

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in li ...

. The medieval legend of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love, such as Lancelot and

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First me ...

, or

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illi ...

. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, 20th-century reconstructed versions. The work of

Jessie Weston Jessie Weston may refer to: *Jessie Weston (scholar) (1850–1928), English independent scholar, medievalist and folklorist *Jessie Weston (writer) Jessie Edith Weston (also known as Jessie Weston-Campbell, 1865 – 21 May 1939) was a New Zeala ...

, in particular '' From Ritual to Romance'', traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable. It is also possible to read the Arthurian literature, particularly the Grail tradition, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth, a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others.

Noteworthy authors

Medieval

Anonymous

Modern

* Lloyd Alexander * Alexandre Astier * René Barjavel * T. A. Barron * Marion Zimmer Bradley *

Gillian Bradshaw Gillian Marucha Bradshaw (born May 14, 1956) is an American writer of historical fiction, historical fantasy, children's literature, science fiction, and contemporary science-based novels, who lives in Britain. Her serious historical novels are of ...

* Bernard Cornwell * Sara Douglass * David Drake * Michael Drayton * Hal Foster * Parke Godwin * Roger Lancelyn Green * Raphael Holinshed * Eric Idle * David Jones * Debra A. Kemp * C. S. Lewis * John Cowper Powys * Howard Pyle *

* Edmund Spenser * John Steinbeck * Mary Stewart * Rosemary Sutcliff * Alfred Tennyson * J. R. R. Tolkien *

Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (russian: Граф Николай Дмитриевич Толстой-Милославский; born 23 June 1935), known as Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British monarchist and historian. He is a former ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

* Evangeline Walton *

Charles White Charles or Charlie White (or occasionally Whyte) may refer to: Artists and authors * Charles White (artist) (1918–1979), African-American painter, printmaker, muralist * Charles White (writer) (1845–1922), Australian journalist and author * C ...

* T. H. White * Jack Whyte * Charles Williams

References

Citations

Cited works

* * * * * *

Other sources

* * *

External links

Arthurian Folklore
- a website detailing Welsh Arthurian folklore
Arthurian Resources: King Arthur, History and the Welsh Arthurian Legends
- detailed and comprehensive academic site, includes numerous scholarly articles, from Thomas Green of Oxford University
Arthuriana
- the only academic journal solely concerned with the Arthurian Legend with a selection of resources and links

- provides texts and translations (of varying quality) of Welsh medieval sources, many of which mention Arthur
International Arthurian Society
- provides valuable bibliographies of freely downloadable Arthurian texts from the sixth to the early 20th centuries, from the University of Rochester
The Heroic Age
- an online peer-reviewed journal which includes regular Arthurian articles
The Medieval Development of Arthurian Literature
- from H2G2
Vortigern Studies
- a collection of articles on King Arthur by various Arthurian enthusiasts {{DEFAULTSORT:Matter Of Britain Arthurian legend Breton mythology and folklore British folklore British traditional history English folklore Geoffrey of Monmouth History of literature Holy Grail Medieval literature Metanarratives Romance (genre)