In the medieval period, the unrest caused by the insertion of the barbarians across Europe were responsible for the the outbreak of various conflicts that are linked to the feudalization process of the Old World. It was as these transformations took place that the legend of King Arthur appeared in Brittany and spread to over time, even motivating the realization of large cinematographic productions that feed this old myth.
Historically, the narratives about King Arthur reflect the demand to consolidate the figure of a hero who managed to defend his territory against foreign invasions. Perhaps, if it has any support in the facts historically lived, the Arthurian legend becomes based on the figure of some warrior who participated in the fights that marked the entrance of the Saxons into the Brittany. Over time, the skills and achievements of this warrior determined a shrine of objects and places linked to this tradition.
In the 12th century, the historian Geoffroy de Monmouth undertook the confection of a work that told the entire past of the kings of Brittany. In this book, entitled “History of the Kings of Britain”, we see that the legend of King Arthur is reinforced. In a certain passage, the birth of the sacred king is seen as the result of a trick carried out by King Uther and the magician Merlin, who disguised the monarch so that he could then take Duchess Ygerne.
Despite all the fantasy surrounding the story, several expeditions were organized so that some relic of King Arthur could be found in the places that are linked to his legend. In the year 1191, for example, King Richard Coeur de Lion announced the discovery of King Arthur's tomb in Glastonbury Abbey, where he was found the legendary Excalibur, the sword of magical powers that helped King Arthur win several of the battles that strengthened his unattainable glory.
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The supposed discovery had the political interest of just leveraging the rule of the 12th century monarch. Still, other excavations on British soil raised the possibility of materializing the myth. Several exploratory missions directed to the Tintagel peninsula searched for the presence of traces of the place where King Arthur was supposed to have been born. During that time, only traces of the construction of a 13th century castle were found.
In more recent archaeological works, artifacts from a complex of palaces that were built between the 5th and 6th century, the same time the king would have lived, have been found. At the same time, a stone slab bearing a name similar to Arthur's was also examined by different experts. At the end of the surveys, none of the answers were able to conclude firmly on the existence of evidence that would make King Arthur a concrete fact of the Breton past.
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Brazil School Team
Curiosities - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "King Arthur: myth or truth?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/rei-artur-mito-ou-verdade.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.