1. The Lamentation of King Arthur
William Bell Scott

2. King Arthur Pendragon is a legendary Briton leader who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early sixth century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians Above, Belgium Tapestry depicting King Arthur

3. Foster mother is the Lady of the Lake, who gave Arthur Excalibur
Lancelot, knighted at Merlin’s and Gawain’s request
Foster mother is the Lady of the Lake, who gave Arthur Excalibur
Trustworthy knight; affair with Lady Guinevere
Affair revealed by Agravain and Mordred
Author sentences her to burn at the stake for treason
Gawain refuses to participate in punishment
Lancelot & Guinevere, Donato Giancola (2004)

4. Lancelot rescues her, killing Gawain’s brothers, Gaheris and Gareth
Gawain pressures Arthur into war with Lancelot
Arthur goes to France to fight, leaving her in care of Mordred
Mordred plots against Arthur
Arthur mortally wounded (Le Morte d’Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory)
Dies at Isle of Avalon
Guinevere meets Lancelot one final time, then lives in convent or possibly the Tower of London
Lancelot also lives as a hermit
Study of Guinevere for Sir Lancelot in the Queen's Chamber 1857, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

5. said to possess miraculous powers.
The Holy Grail
a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions
most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper
said to possess miraculous powers.
kept by the Fisher King, it kept him alive from his debilitating injury
Galahad was to find it; illegitimate son of Lancelot & Elaine, the Fisher King’s daughter
Other seekers- Perceval, Bors, and Lancelot
Perceval original seeker, but fails in quest & swears to return
Bors only knight to return after they take Grail to the Middle East
How at the Castle of Corbin a Maiden Bare in the Sangreal* and Foretold the Achievements of Galahad: illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1917
*references the Holy Grail, but can also mean “royal blood”

6. associated with female fertility
referred to in literature such as Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian cycle the Idylls of the King.
Gained popularity after sexualized imagery in Richard Wagner's late opera Parsifal
associated with female fertility
Movie associations: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (adapted in 2004 as the stage production Spamalot); was a comedic adaptation.
Excalibur attempted to restore a more traditional heroic representation of an Arthurian tale, in which the Grail is revealed as a mystical means to revitalise Arthur himself, and of the barren land to which his depressive sickness is connected.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Fisher King are more recent adoptions.
The Damsel of the Sanct Grael
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

7. Associated with talent with the bow and scimitar
Tristan and Isolde
Herbert James Draper (1863–1920)
Tristan is a knight of the Round Table, sent to retrieve Isolde, so that she could marry his uncle, the King of Cromwell.
They accidentally consume a love potion and face many trials while trying to hide their passionate love for one another
Associated with talent with the bow and scimitar
Inspired Richard Wagner’s famous opera Tristan and Isolde

8. Uther Pendragon & Lady Igraine
Sir Ector & Sir Kay
Foster dad of King Arthur, at Merlin’s behest
raised Arthur with his own son, Kay
Arthur was Sir Kay’s squire until Sword in Stone competition
Sir Ector & Sir Kay first to pledge fealty to Arthur as the new king
Uther Pendragon & Lady Igraine
father of Arthur by sleeping with enemy’s wife (Gorlois & Lady Igraine)
names means “head dragon” or “dragon head,” hence the dragon for the standard
Uther is best known from Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain
Uther marries Igraine and they have another child, a daughter called Anna (in later romances she is called Morgause, sister to Morgan le Fay)
Arthur later has adulterous affair with Morgause, begetting an illegitimate child, Mordred
Mordred is half-brother to Sir Gawain
Uther Pendragon by Howard Pyle, from The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, 1903

9. Mordred’s half-brother, nephew to Arthur
Sir Gawain
Mordred’s half-brother, nephew to Arthur
Faced the Green Knight, a challenge presented secretly by Morgan le Fay to reveal Lancelot & Guinevere's affair
formidable but brash warrior, fiercely loyal to his king and family
friend to young knights, a defender of the poor, and as "the Maidens' Knight", a defender of women as well
In some works, his strength waxes and wanes with the sun
When his brothers Agravain and Mordred plot to destroy Lancelot and Guinevere by exposing their love affair, Gawain tries to stop them, due to friendship with Lancelot
When all brothers but Mordred are killed, he seeks revenge on Lancelot
Pyle, Howard, "Sir Gawain the Son of Lot, King of Orkney" from: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. New York: Scribner's, University of Rochester.

10. Convinces Arthur to go to war with Lancelot
"Sir Mordred" (1902) by H. J. Ford
Convinces Arthur to go to war with Lancelot
Mordred usurps Arthur’s throne in Arthur’s absence
Gawain is mortally wounded & writes to Lancelot, asking for his help for King Arthur to defeat Mordred
Mordred
Arthur’s illegitimate son
Best known for killing King Arthur
Virtually everywhere Mordred appears, his name is synonymous with treachery.
He appears in Dante's Inferno in the lowest circle of Hell, set apart for traitors
Is killed by Arthur, after mortally wounding him
"Sir Mordred" (1902) by H. J. Ford

11. Even Disney has their own Merlin in The Sword and the Stone
legendary figure best known as the wizard in Arthurian legend, but known in vast more stories
stories conflict as to whether he was good or bad, a help or a hindrance
his downfall was loving a woman called Nimue (or other variations of that name; also known as Vivienne)
he taught her his magic, and she bespelled him inside a cave/tree/something, depending on the story
Numerous depictions and portrayals based upon him: Gandalf the White, Albus Dumbledore, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Qui-Gon Jinn
Even Disney has their own Merlin in The Sword and the Stone
Gustave Doré’s illustration of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”, (Merlin conferring with Arthur)

12. alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana
Morgan Le Fay
alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana
powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend
she becomes an antagonist to King Arthur and Queen Guinevere
said to be the daughter of Arthur's mother, the Lady Igraine, and her first husband, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, so that Arthur is her half brother (by Igraine and Uther Pendragon)
she becomes an adversary of the Round Table when Guinevere discovers her adultery with one of her husband's knights; she eventually reconciles with her brother, and even retains her original role, serving as one of the four enchantresses who carry the king to Avalon after his final battle
Morgan Le Fay, Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys

13. place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged
Avalon
legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, famous for its beautiful apples
place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged
where Arthur is taken to recover from his wounds after the Battle of Camlann, his final battle with Mordred
an "Isle of the Blessed“
parallels elsewhere in mythology, in particular the Irish Tír na nÓg and the Greek Hesperides, also noted for its apples.
Literally means "isle of apples
"Isle of Avalon" is a song by Iron Maiden on their 2010 album The Final Frontier that deals with the mystic powers of Avalon
"The last sleep of Arthur"
by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones.

14. Excalibur
Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate
sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain

15. Known for giving Excalibur to Arthur
The Lady of the Lake
Various writers associate her with, or named her as Nimue, Viviane, Viviana, Vivienne, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, Nimueh and other variations
Known for giving Excalibur to Arthur
Accepted Excalibur from Sir Bedivere after Arthur’s death (he threw it into the lake)
she always reappears at a pivotal moment of the episode, establishing the importance of her character within Arthurian Literature, especially in Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
Walter Scott wrote an influential poem, The Lady of the Lake, in 1810, drawing on the romance of the legend
The three "Ellen songs" from Scott's poem were set to music by Franz Schubert although Schubert's music to Ellen's Third Song has become far more famous in its later adaptation, known as "Ave Maria".
How Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water. Illustration from: Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur. London: Dent, 1894

16. Other notables:
Tintagel: is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The village has, in recent times, become attractive to tourists and day-trippers from many parts of the world and is one of the most-visited places in Britain.
Camelot: the most famous castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world.
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court.

17. And finally…
Middle Ages/ Medieval Literature
Ideas of chivalry
Famous works/authors
Geoffrey of Monmouth- tons and tons and tons of Arthurian writings
Sir Thomas Malory- Le Morte d’Arthur
Unknown- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight