Merlin sent Arthur away to be raised in the countryside by Sir Ector. He grew up with his foster brother, Kay. He never knew who his real parents were.
The Sword in the Stone
When King Uther died, no-one knew he had a son. So there was lots of arguing about who should be High-King of Britain.
Suddenly a mysterious stone magically appeared in the churchyard of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Sticking out of it was a huge sword. There was a message on it. It said that whoever pulled the sword from the stone was the rightful High-King of Britain.
Lots of the local kings (or 'tyrants') tried to pull the sword out. It was magically stuck fast though and the arguing carried on.
Years later, Arthur had grown into a fifteen-year-old lad. It was time for his elder foster-brother, Kay, to go to his first tournament (where knights practiced fighting). So the family went to London.
Arthur got into trouble because he had forgotten Kay's sword. So he went off to look for one.
He found the sword in the stone and pulled it out easily.
Arthur gave the sword to Kay. Kay noticed the message and everyone wanted to know who had pulled the sword from the stone.
At first, no-one believed that Arthur had done it. But he repeated what he had done. Everyone was amazed.
Rebellion Against King Arthur
Arthur was crowned King by St. Dubricius.
However, 11 of the local kings would not agree to him being High-King. They did not want to have to do what a fifteen-year-old told them to. They started a rebellion (a war against the proper ruler).
Merlin helped King Arthur to rule Britain. He took him to a magical lake. Merlin's friend, the 'Lady of the Lake' lived there beneath the water. She gave Arthur a magic sword called 'Excalibur'.
Excalibur was kept in a magic scabbard. If you used Excalibur in a fight, you would always defeat your opponent. If you had the scabbard, you would always be protected from being hurt yourself.
Arthur led a big army against the 11 rebel kings. There were many battles, but Arthur had Excalibur, so he won. The kings agreed that Arthur should be High-King.
King Arthur the Successful
Arthur set up his Royal palace at Camelot.
When Arthur was a bit older, he married a princess named Guinevere. She was the daughter of King Leodegrance of Cameliard. As a wedding present, her father gave them a huge round table.
All the knights in the country wanted to be soldiers for King Arthur. The bravest of them were allowed to sit at the round table. They were known as the 'Knights of the Round Table'. Because it was round, the positions of all the seats were equal. No-one could say they were more important because they sat at the end.
The Saxons were still attacking the British.
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table fought against the Saxons in many battles. They finally defeated them at the Battle of Mount Badon.
Everyone was happy and felt very safe again.
Arthur thought he was doing a better job than the Roman Emperor in Italy. He decided to take his army to Europe. After a lot of fighting, the Emperor agreed to give the western half of Europe to Arthur.
He insisted that the papacy should have never given him dispensation to marry Catherine. Henry turned to Wolsey for assistance in securing a divorce.8 Three years of negotiations and a papal tribunal ensued, but the English court set up to hear the case could not come to a decision. The case was moved to Rome, against Henry's wishes. The negotiations and case continued until 1533, with Henry turning his
Other theories are that he died after having been sent into battle. Other scholars state that a hole found in the King's head indicates foul play but experts believe that the hole was made after his death. (Tutankamun: Life and Times) Another mysterious aspect of the life of King Tutankhamun that still lingers in the modern consciousness is the famous, or rather infamous, curse that is associated with his name.
Many readers, even hundred of years ago, did not take the tale of King Arthur as "pure fiction" (15) and Ashe asserts that these readers were "more right than wrong" (15) in their assumptions. It is likely the story is true in some respects. In many ways, the man was a hero larger than life, which makes many skeptics call into question his existence. Ashe states that many even
Oedipus the King: A Tragic Hero In the Bedford Introduction to Drama, Lee Jacobus writes, "Greek Tragedy focused on a person of noble birth who in some cases had risen to a great height and then fell precipitately." The modern critic, Kenneth Burke expands on this. He developed a pattern for these tragedies. Burke believes that that the tragic hero goes through three developmental stages, the first is purpose, the second
This would change in the years that would follow Francis' defeat of France. Henry's focus upon domestic issues became fixed upon the difficulties of succession -- just as his father's had been. But unlike Henry VII, Henry VIII had ongoing difficultly seeding a male heir. Although it was not unheard of in Europe to place a Queen upon the throne, Henry and his advisors believed that stability could only
As a king in ancient Greek literature, Oedipus was required to have a dramatically catastrophic fall, while modern literature needs a tragic hero who is an "everyman." But both suffered greatly in their own ways, and in ways that the audience both expected and regarded as essential. But while these two characters were both the central, tragic figure in their respective stories, their differences were a reflection of the
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