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Arthurian Characters
The Arthurian legend features many characters, including the Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ... and members of King Arthur's family. Their names often differ from version to version and from language to language. The following is a list of characters with descriptions. : Indicates a Knight of the Round Table. See also * List of characters named Ywain in Arthurian legend References {{Arthurian Legend Arthurian, Arthurian characters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthurian Legend
The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth's (''History of the Kings of Britain)'' is a central component of the Matter of Britain. 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 and his companions, as well as the Matter of Rome, which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology and classical history. Its pseudo-chronicle and chivalric romance works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century. Name The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic ' ("Song of the Saxons") contains the lines: The name distinguishes and relates the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geraint And Enid
Geraint ( ) is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton hagiographies, who may have lived during or shortly prior to the reign of the historical Arthur. The name Geraint is a Welsh form of the Latin Gerontius, meaning "old man". Early sources A "Geraint of the South" appears at the Battle of Catraeth (circa 600) in the poem ''Y Gododdin'', attributed to Aneirin. This is conceivably a reference to Geraint mab Erbin, son of the 5th-century king Erbin of Dumnonia. Geraint is also mentioned as one of the "Three Seafarers of the Isle of Britain" in the Welsh Triads. Geraint's deeds at the Battle of Llongborth are celebrated in the poem "Geraint son of Erbin", which was written probably in the 10th or 11th century and traditionally attributed to Llywarch Hen. However, Derek Bryce, following other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meleagant
Maleagant (alternatively ''Malagant'', ''Meleagan'', ''Meleagant'', ''Meliagant'', ''Meliagaunt'', ''Meliagant'', ''Meliaganz'', ''Meliagrance'', ''Meliagrant'', ''Mellegrans'', ''Mellyagraunce'') is an often otherworldly villain from the Arthurian legend. In a popular Arthurian episode recorded in several different versions, Maleagant abducts King Arthur’s wife, Queen Guinevere, necessitating her rescue by Arthur and his knights, later notably Lancelot. The earliest surviving version of this episode names the abductor Melwas in Welsh tales. As Maleagant, he debuts as Lancelot's archenemy in Chrétien de Troyes' French romance ''Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'', where he is son of King Bagdemagus. Melwas Roger Sherman Loomis regarded the form Maleagant or Meleagans as directly derivative of the Brythonic Melwas, calling it "a divine title probably meaning Prince Youth" and listing a number of later variants such as ''Melians de Danemarche''. The earliest known account of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancelot, The Knight Of The Cart
''Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'' () is a 12th-century Old French chivalric romance">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... chivalric romance poem by Chrétien de Troyes, although it is believed that Chrétien worked on a story given to him by Marie of France, Countess of Champagne, Marie of France and he did not complete the text himself. It is the earliest known text to feature Lancelot as a prominent character, and the first to feature the love affair between him and King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. The story centers on Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere after she has been abducted by Meleagant, the malevolent son of King Bademagu, the ruler of the otherworldly Kingdom of Gorre. It deals with Lancelot's trials during the rescue, and his struggle to balance his duties as a warrior and as a lover bound by societal conventions. Chrétien's work impacted Arthurian legend, establishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagdemagus
Bagdemagus (pronounced /ˈbægdɛˌmægəs/), also known as ''Bademagu'', ''Bademagus'', ''Bademaguz'', ''Bagdemagu'', ''Bagomedés'', ''Baldemagu'', ''Baldemagus'', ''Bandemagu'', ''Bandemagus'', ''Bangdemagew'', ''Baudemagu'', ''Baudemagus'', and other variants (such as the Italian ''Bando di Mago'' or the Hebrew ''Bano of Magoç''), is a character in the Arthurian legend, usually depicted as king of the land of Gorre and a Knight of the Round Table. He originally figures in literature the father of the knight Maleagant, who abducts King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere in several versions of a popular episode. Bagdemagus first appears in French sources, but the character may have developed out of the earlier Welsh traditions of Guinevere's abduction, an evolution suggested by the distinctively otherworldly portrayal of his realm. He is portrayed as a kinsman and ally of Arthur and a wise and virtuous king, despite the actions of his son. In later versions, his connection to Maleag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh language, Old Welsh Medieval Welsh literature, poems, but his biography was first written down in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (''History of the Kings of Britain''), and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in most later versions. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king and a defender of his people. According to Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, Merlin magically Shapeshifting, disguises Uther to look like his enemy Gorlois, enabling Uther to sleep with Gorlois' wife Lady Igraine. Thus Arthur, "the once and future king", is an illegitimate child (though later legend, as found in Thomas Malory, Malory, emphasis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Excidio Et Conquestu Britanniae
(English: ''On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain'') is a work written in Anglo-Latin literature, Latin in the late fifth or sixth century by the Britons (historical), British religious polemicist Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of Gildas' contemporaries, both secular and religious, whom he blames for the dire state of affairs in sub-Roman Britain. It is one of the most important sources for the history of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, as it is the only significant historical source for the period written by a near contemporary of the people and events described. Part I contains a narrative of British history from the Roman conquest of Britain, Roman conquest to Gildas' time; it includes references to Ambrosius Aurelianus and the Britons' victory against the Saxons at the Battle of Mons Badonicus. Part II is a condemnation of five kings for their various sins, including both obscure figures and relatively well-documented ones such as Maelgwn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambrosius Aurelianus
Ambrosius Aurelianus (; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas. He also appeared independently in the legends of the Britons, beginning with the 9th-century '' Historia Brittonum''. Eventually, he was transformed by Geoffrey of Monmouth into the uncle of King Arthur, the brother of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, as a ruler who precedes and predeceases them both. He also appears as a young prophet who meets the tyrant Vortigern; in this guise, he was later transformed into the wizard Merlin. According to Gildas Ambrosius Aurelianus is one of the few people whom Gildas identifies by name in his sermon ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', and the only one named from the 5th century. ''De Excidio'' is considered the oldest extant British document about the so-called Arth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camelot
Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with 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 fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world. Medieval texts locate it somewhere in Great Britain and sometimes associate it with real cities, though more usually its precise location is not revealed. Most scholars regard it as being entirely fictional, its unspecified geography being perfect for chivalric romance writers. Nevertheless, arguments about the location of the "real Camelot" have occurred since the 15th century and continue today in popular works and for tourism purposes. Etymology The name's derivation is uncertain. It has numerous different spellings in medieval French Arthurian romances, including ''Camaalot'', ''Camalot'', ''Chamalot'', ''Camehelot'' (sometimes read as ''Camchilot''), ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logres
Logres (among various other forms and spellings) is King Arthur's realm in the Matter of Britain. The geographical area referred to by the name is south and eastern England. However, Arthurian writers such as Chrétien de Troyes and Wolfram von Eschenbach have differed in their interpretations of this. Etymology It derives from the medieval Welsh language, Welsh word ''Lloegyr'', a name of uncertain origin referring to South and Eastern England (''Lloegr'' is modern Welsh for all of England). Geographical area in various Arthurian works In Arthurian contexts, "Logres" is often used to describe the Celtic Britons, Brittonic territory roughly corresponding to the borders of England before the area was taken by the Anglo-Saxons. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential but largely fictional history ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', the realm was named after the legendary king Locrinus, the oldest son of Brutus of Troy. In his ''Historia'', Geoffrey uses the word "Loegria" to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Legendary Kings Of Britain
The following list of legendary kings of Britain () derives predominantly from Geoffrey of Monmouth's circa 1136 work ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ("the History of the Kings of Britain"). Geoffrey constructed a largely fictional history for the Celtic Britons, Britons (ancestors of the Welsh people, Welsh, the Cornish people, Cornish and the Breton people, Bretons), partly based on the work of earlier medieval historians like Gildas, Nennius and Bede, partly from Welsh genealogies and saints' lives, partly from sources now lost and unidentifiable, and partly from his own imagination (see bibliography). Several of his kings are based on genuine historical figures, but appear in unhistorical narratives. A number of Middle Welsh language, Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey's ''Historia'' exist. All post-date Geoffrey's text, but may give us some insight into any native traditions Geoffrey may have drawn on. Geoffrey's narrative begins with the exiled Troy, Trojan prince Brutus of Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Y Gododdin
''Y Gododdin'' () is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia at a place named '' Catraeth'' in about AD 600. It is traditionally ascribed to the bard Aneirin and survives only in one manuscript, the " Book of Aneirin". The Book of Aneirin manuscript is from the later 13th century, but ''Y Gododdin'' has been dated to between the 7th and the early 11th centuries. The text is partly written in Middle Welsh orthography and partly in Old Welsh. The early date would place its oral composition soon after the battle, presumably in the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"); as such it would have originated in the Cumbric dialect of Common Brittonic.Elliott (2005), p. 583. Others consider it the work of a poet from Wales in the 9th, 10th, or 11th century. Even a 9th-century date would make it one of the oldest surv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
