In Search Of Myths and Heroes - King Arthur
Posted by Sane Spirit on Sunday, March 17, 2013
Under: History
Michael Wood goes in search of four of the world's most famous myths. These gripping adventures take the viewer to some of the most extraordinary places on earth, exploring stories that have captivated the world for thousands of years. Arthur the Once and Future King In this episode of the series, Wood explores the greatest British myth: the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Traveling round the Celtic world from Cornwall to Wales, Brittany, Ireland and Scotland, Wood uncovers the extraordinary story of how a shadowy Welsh freedom fighter.
This is perhaps the most well-known legend in the series (at least in the UK). Wood immediately disappoints thousands of Brits by opening with the declaration that Arthur is just one huge fictional story made up by Geoffrey of Monmouth around 1130 -- 1150. A young cleric based in Oxford, Geoffrey created Guinevere, Merlin, Excalibur and Avalon and even the evil Mordred -- all were born from his brilliant imagination.
Splitting his investigation, Wood both scours the British Isles looking at artifacts from Arthur's reign and shows how Arthur's legend has been manipulated by the country's politics for hundreds of years.
He visits the site of the earliest archaeological dig in 1191 at Glastonbury where the tomb of Arthur was allegedly excavated. While some historians argue that it is indeed Arthur's resting place, the evidence seems to indicate a fake -- a lead cross was discovered that bore text written in a twelfth century style, and references to places created by Monmouth point at a later burial, long after Arthur's probable time of around the 5th century.
The Round Table at Winchester is another lasting icon that Wood visits, but even here, the politics can be seen in action. Henry the Eighth had the Winchester Round Table re-painted with Henry's own face on King Arthur's body in an attempt to cash in on Arthur's legacy.
There are other political reasons for the Arthur myth emerging when it did. Back in 1066, the Norman Conquest of England ignited a series of bloody events. By the mid-1100s the Norman's subjugation of the Welsh had begun, with Ireland the next target. Geoffrey of Monmouth's story gave hope that the invaders would be driven out and the Celts returned to their former glory. By the late 1100s, after many years of fighting, the story takes on more spiritual aspects when the Grail story gets added by Chrétien de Troyes.
Wood then follows Arthur into Tudor times -- where Thomas Malory's Death of Arthur was finally printed in 1486, 15 years after Malory's own death. Moving into the modern day, the influence is still strong, with it appearing in Lord Tennyson's poetry and the décor in the House of Lords.
But was Arthur real?
The question takes Wood to County Cork in Ireland where he talks to a lone storyteller who can still translate Gaelic hero tales into English. Here he finds a tale with a sword and a cup that brings everlasting life, and elements of the tale can be traced back 1500 years. Is this timeless oral tradition indicating a real person at the heart of the myth?
But there's one last place to visit. The isle of Iona is the burial place for Scottish kings. Records exist here that detail the first king of the Scots -- King Aedan of Dalriada. Aedan had a son who was killed in a big battle in the 6th century, north of Hadrian's Wall. His name was Artuir. Was that the real Arthur? [review is from http://www.sfsite.com/07b/mh204.htm]
This is perhaps the most well-known legend in the series (at least in the UK). Wood immediately disappoints thousands of Brits by opening with the declaration that Arthur is just one huge fictional story made up by Geoffrey of Monmouth around 1130 -- 1150. A young cleric based in Oxford, Geoffrey created Guinevere, Merlin, Excalibur and Avalon and even the evil Mordred -- all were born from his brilliant imagination.
Splitting his investigation, Wood both scours the British Isles looking at artifacts from Arthur's reign and shows how Arthur's legend has been manipulated by the country's politics for hundreds of years.
He visits the site of the earliest archaeological dig in 1191 at Glastonbury where the tomb of Arthur was allegedly excavated. While some historians argue that it is indeed Arthur's resting place, the evidence seems to indicate a fake -- a lead cross was discovered that bore text written in a twelfth century style, and references to places created by Monmouth point at a later burial, long after Arthur's probable time of around the 5th century.
The Round Table at Winchester is another lasting icon that Wood visits, but even here, the politics can be seen in action. Henry the Eighth had the Winchester Round Table re-painted with Henry's own face on King Arthur's body in an attempt to cash in on Arthur's legacy.
There are other political reasons for the Arthur myth emerging when it did. Back in 1066, the Norman Conquest of England ignited a series of bloody events. By the mid-1100s the Norman's subjugation of the Welsh had begun, with Ireland the next target. Geoffrey of Monmouth's story gave hope that the invaders would be driven out and the Celts returned to their former glory. By the late 1100s, after many years of fighting, the story takes on more spiritual aspects when the Grail story gets added by Chrétien de Troyes.
Wood then follows Arthur into Tudor times -- where Thomas Malory's Death of Arthur was finally printed in 1486, 15 years after Malory's own death. Moving into the modern day, the influence is still strong, with it appearing in Lord Tennyson's poetry and the décor in the House of Lords.
But was Arthur real?
The question takes Wood to County Cork in Ireland where he talks to a lone storyteller who can still translate Gaelic hero tales into English. Here he finds a tale with a sword and a cup that brings everlasting life, and elements of the tale can be traced back 1500 years. Is this timeless oral tradition indicating a real person at the heart of the myth?
But there's one last place to visit. The isle of Iona is the burial place for Scottish kings. Records exist here that detail the first king of the Scots -- King Aedan of Dalriada. Aedan had a son who was killed in a big battle in the 6th century, north of Hadrian's Wall. His name was Artuir. Was that the real Arthur? [review is from http://www.sfsite.com/07b/mh204.htm]
In : History