Arthurian Legend

Arthurian Legend
Characters

King Arthur – The son of Uther Pendragon, King Arthur is

the king of Britain. In addition to being a great warrior, he
is wise and thoughtful ruler. He prefers to find peaceful
solutions to problems rather than fighting. Arthur is able
to appreciate the viewpoints of other people and this helps
him to find other solutions.

Merlin – Merlin is a legendary wizard of considerable

intelligence and power. Merlin wants the best for the land
of Britain but does not want to rule, knowing that a warrior
is needed to unite the kingdom. Merlin was an advisor to
King Uther Pendragon before advising King Arthur. Merlin
was able to use magic to prove that Arthur was the king of
the Britains. Later, he was able to communicate with people
from another world and provide Arthur with the magical
sword, Excalibur. Merlin looks like an old man with a flowing
white beard.

Queen Guinevere – Guinevere is the wife of King Arthur.

Her name means “The White Enchantress” or “The White
Ghost”; a name given to her because of her pale white
skin. Although she loves King Arthur, she grows to love
Sir Lancelot. This betrayal of Arthur eventually leads to
quarrels and fights amongst the knights of the round table
and eventually ends Camelot.

Sir Lancelot – Lancelot is the bravest and most skilled

Knight of the Round Table. A talented swordsman and
jouster, Lancelot is also Arthur’s greatest friend. When
Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, this leads to civil war
and brings about the end of King Arthur’s kingdom.

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Characters

Morgan le Fay – Morgan le Fay is a powerful sorceress whose

powers are almost equal to Merlin’s. Morgan le Fay is Arthur’s
half sister, being the youngest daughter of Igraine, Arthur’s
mother, and Igraine’s first husband, Gorlois. Morgan le Fay
becomes an apprentice of Merlin’s, hiding the fact that she
holds a special hatred for King Arthur. Her schemes help to
bring about the end of Arthur’s kingdom.

Mordred – King Arthur’s traitorous nephew is the son of

Morgan le Fay. Mordred was knighted by Arthur and became
a Knight of the Round Table, all the while hiding his hatred
of Arthur. Mordred brings about the civil war in Camelot
and uses this to make himself King of Britain. At the Battle
of Camlann, Mordred is slain by King Arthur and, in dying,
mortally wounds the king.

Sir Gawain – A member of the Round Table, Gawain is one

of the greatest knights and is a close friend of King Arthur.
He is a brave and honourable, yet caring knight. Fiercely
loyal to King Arthur, Gawain is a defender of the poor.
Gawain has a strong friendship with Sir Lancelot, but
during the civil war, the two become bitter enemies.

Sir Galahad – The son of Sir Lancelot, it was prophesied that

Galaghad would one day become the greatest knight in the
world. When Galahad becomes a grown man, he is reunited
with Lancelot and knighted by him after defeating him in
combat. Galahad is taken to the Round Table, where a seat
is unveiled. The Siege Perilous is a seat that has remained
vacant and kept for the greatest knight – the one who would
succeed in a quest for the Holy Grail. Galahad leads a noble
and sinless knight. He has the strength of ten men and has a
pure heart.

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Magical creatures
The legends of Camelot are populated with magical and mysterious creatures.
Some of them fight for good but some are opposed to Arthur and his knights.

The Green Knight – With green skin and green armour, this
character is one of the more mysterious characters from
Arthurian legends. His true name is Bertilak de Hautdesert.
Morgan le Fay transforms him into the Green Knight to test
Arthur’s court. The Green Knight is a champion of Arthur’s.
He is a judge and tester of knights. He is considered to be
friendly but terrifying.

The Black Knight – The supernatural knight wears black

armour and bears a black shield. His armour is without a
crest to demonstrate that he shows loyalty to no lord. He
fights against the knights of Camelot.

Nimue – The Lady of the Lake is the one who gives Arthur
the magical sword Excalibur. Merlin loves Nimue but she
makes him promise to teach her all of his magical secrets.
Once he has taught her these, Nimue seals him forever in
the trunk of a hawthorn tree. Merlin’s powers of foresight
enabled him to see this event happening. However, seeing
the future means that he is unable to change it and so
Merlin teaches Nimue his magical arts, knowing that she
will betray him.

The Questing Beast – This monster has the head and neck
of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion
and the feet of a hart. The monster’s name comes from
the fact that it makes a sound like thirty hounds questing.
Many knights have been trained to hunt the beast.

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Magical creatures

The Faerie Women – The faeries of Arthurian legend

rule a mystical land. They have learnt the ability to
change shape and can also fly. The faerie people can live
for a hundred years or more. Having learnt the useful
properties of herbs, they are able to cure sick bodies.
When Arthur is mortally wounded, he is taken to the
faerie women who promise that they can return him to
health provided he stay there long enough.

Dragons – Flying, fire-breathing dragons feature in

some Arthurian legends. Sir Lancelot, the most famous
of Arthur’s knights, slayed a dragon. Dragons famously
terrorise villages. To appease a dragon, villagers might
offer up young women as a sacrifice.

Settings

Camelot – The city of Camelot is the capital of King

Arthur’s lands. It stands along a river and is surrounded
by plains and forests. A mighty castle, holding the round
table is at the centre of Camelot. Also there are the tombs
of many kings and knights. In a meadow outside the city,
jousts are held.

Avalon – This magical land is one of many Otherworlds.

Here, the sword Excalibur was made. After Arthur receives
a mortal wound in battle, he is taken to Avalon. Some
believe that he will miraculously recover from his wounds
here and then return to the world of men in the time of
Britain’s greatest need. Avalon is the place where the
faerie realm can most easily be found from our world.

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Settings

The Round Table – At Arthur’s castle in Camelot is the

legendary Round Table. Because the table is round it has no
head, meaning that anybody who sits around it has equal
status. Arthur created it to avoid quarrels amongst his knights
where one would not accept a lower place than another.
The table is round in the “likeness of the world”. Once it was
constructed, a call went out to the bravest and truest knights
to join the Round Table. Those seated at the table had the
task of caring for the weak, the poor and the unfortunate.
They would never do harm to anybody who did not deserve
it. Up to 150 knights could sit at the Round Table. One seat at
the table was the Siege Perilous, a place kept vacant until the
bravest and truest of all knights could be seated there.

Magical artefacts
Many of the Arthurian legends involve magical items. Here are seven enchanted
items which could be included in your story. Alternatively, you could give
magical properties to a weapon, piece of armour or other medieval artefact.

Excalibur – Excalibur, also known as Caliburn, is a sword of

power which should be wielded in the best interests of the
people and not in the interest of the king. The sword was not
forged in this world, but in another. It was given to King Arthur
by the mysterious Lady of the Lake. When Arthur is mortally
wounded in the battlefield, he asks one of his knights to hurl
the sword into the waters of the lake. The knight does not see
the sense in this and fails to do so. When Arthur asks what
has happened to the sword, the knight replies that the blade
disappeared beneath the waters. Knowing that the knight lies,
Arthur insists that the knight returns to carry out the deed.
This time the knight hurls the sword into the lake and it is
caught by the hand of the Lady of the Lake before descending
beneath the waters.

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Magical artefacts

Carnwennan – this dagger was owned by King Arthur.

It has the magical power to shroud anyone who wields
it in shadow. King Arthur used this dagger to slay the
witch Orddu by slicing her in half.

The Holy Grail – the Grail had healing properties and

could also provide an endless supply of divine food.
Near the end of Arthur’s rule, his knights embark on a
quest to find the Holy Grail. Only Sir Galahad is pure
and noble enough to find it.

The Shield of the Dragon Knight – In the middle of

this shield is a dragon’s head that breathes fire.

The Ring of Disspell – the Lady of the Lake gave

this ring to Sir Lancelot. It could be used to break
any spell.

The Stone of Giramphiel – Sir Gawain won this stone

from another knight, Fimbeus, after defeating him.
The stone was able to protect Gawain from the flame
of a dragon and the magic of a wizard.

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The Code of Chivalry

The Knights of the Round Table were honour bound to follow the rules
in this code at all times. Sometimes this made life difficult for them.
What do you think these rules mean?

To fear God and maintain To guard the honour

His Church of fellow knights

To serve the liege lord To eschew unfairness,

in valour and faith meanness and deceit

To protect the weak

To keep faith
and defenceless

To give succour to widows

At all times to speak the
and orphans
truth

To refrain from the wanton To persevere to the end

giving of offence in any enterprise begun

To live by honour and To respect the

for glory honour of women

Never to refuse a challenge

To despise pecuniary
from an equal
reward

Never to turn the back

To fight for the welfare of
upon a foe
all

To obey those placed in authority

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Story ideas
What Arthurian legends will you tell? Remember, your story could be
a missing legend, occuring at any point after King Arthur’s birth and
before his wounding at the Battle of Camlann. You might want to use
one or more of these ideas in your writing.

The Quest – Arthur’s knights often undertook quests –

these were long, difficult searches for something.
This might be to recover a lost magical artefact or
to find and kill a terrible monster.

If your hero was sent on a quest, what would they

be asked to find?

Chivalry – Arthur and his knights were often

bound by the rules of chivalry. They needed to
act honourably and had to keep any promise they
made. Sometimes, it was difficult to keep those
promises. Occasionally, in return for a magical item
or a service, a knight might make a promise to carry
out a deed or quest in the future without being told
what that deed might be. At other times, a king
might need to carry out a promise which conflicts
with another promise they have already made.

If your hero made a promise what would it be?

How difficult would they find it?

Prophecy – Merlin and other sorcerers had the power

to see into the future. Merlin saw the death of Arthur’s
father, Uther Pendragon, and even foresaw that Nimue
would trap him in the trunk of a tree. However, once
a future had been foreseen, it could not be changed.

What events in the future might your heroes see?

What would they do because of this?

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Story ideas

Magical items or monsters – Many of

the legends feature magical items such as
swords or armour. They might also feature
fantastical creatures or monsters, like
shape-shifting faeries, green knights
or dragons.

Could your story include any of these?

What you might find in an Arthurian

legend - Although the Arthurian legends
take place in a land of magical swords,
dragons and spells, this does not mean that
anything can happen. Consider what might
be found in this magical, medieval setting
and what couldn’t.

Would trolls or goblins feel at home here?

What about aliens from another planet?

What will you include in your tale so that it

reads like a missing Arthurian legend?

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Writing Plan

Arthurian Legends
Name: Date:

Title:

What will your story be about?

Who will feature in your tale?

What will be the problem? Events Write down 5 key events

that will happen in your story

1)

2)
What will you include
so that your story
3)
reads like a missing
Arthurian legend?
4)

5)

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