The Once and Future King

 There may or may not have been a real King Arthur.  If he did exist:  He lived between the 5 th and 6 th centuries  He was a Briton  Fought against the Saxons  First mentioned in text in the 9 th century

 There are some early Welsh and Breton stories of Arthur  Geoffrey of Manmouth  Historia Regum Britanniae – 1138 AD  Sir Thomas Malory  Le Morte d’Arthur – 1470 AD  T. H. White  The Once and Future King

 Son of Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine (wife of Uther’s Enemy, Gorlois)  Arthur is hidden with Sir Ector and raised as a bastard called “Wart,” a squire to his foster brother, Kay  During this time he is secretly taught by Merlin  Uther dies with no heir; instead, he leaves a magical sword stuck in a large anvil and stone. Only the rightful heir to the throne can pull the sword from the stone – Arthur pulls the sword.

 Upon being crowned king, Arthur is tricked into sleeping with his half-sister, Morgause.  This produces Arthur’s only heir, Mordred.  Arthur goes about creating his kingdom by uniting all of its knights into an army for right  At the center of this concept is The Round Table and the code of chivalry.  The greatest of his knights is Lancelot  Arthur marries Guenever to cement his power; it is a political marriage, not a marriage for love.

 Guenever and Lancelot fall in love and start to have an affair  Arthur rules his kingdom from Camelot  There is a long period of peace and prosperity, but Arthur and Guenever do not produce and heir.  Mordred is revealed as Arthur’s heir, but he has been raised to hate Arthur and seeks a way to destroy him and all he has created.  He discovers Guenever and Lancelot’s affair.

 Mordred reveals the affair and forces a split within Arthur’s forces.  Lancelot and Arthur are forced to go to war over Guenever  Meanwhile Mordred takes over the kingdom  Arthur turns his attention to winning back his kingdom and kills Mordred.

 Unfortunately Arthur is mortally wounded.  He dies and his kingdom falls apart  He does however promise to return and on his grave is written, “Here Lies Arthur, The Once and Future King.”