What is it that we, the general public, think of when the name of King Arthur is mentioned? Most likely we think of the romantic story of Arthur, his Camelot and all of the associated people, such as Merlin, Lancelot and Guinevere, and objects, such as Excalibur and the Holy Grail. There are various versions of this legend but one widely held version is as follows:

Britain did not have a king and was divided. The future king was to draw a magnificent sword from a stone to prove himself the heir to the throne. (The sword Caliburn or Excalibur is sometimes said to have been given to Arthur by the lady of the lake as in the picture below) Many people tried and many strong men travelled from afar to try to claim the great prize. No one succeeded…until one day a young boy drew the sword from the stone with little effort. The boy's name was Arthur and he was named king.

After he became king, Arthur began to try to mend this country in ruins. He did this under the watchful eye of Merlin, his trusted aid and court magician. Arthur went on to build Camelot and, here, he founded the Knights of the Round Table, the most honourable of warriors. With Guinevere as his wife, Arthur continued to aid the country in its prosperity. He went on a quest to discover the Holy Grail, the infamous precious chalice.

However, the traitorous Mordred, Arthur’s nephew, mounted an uprising with the aid of the dark sorceress Morganna. In the last battle, Mordred was defeated by Arthur and Morganna defeated by Merlin. However, Arthur was fatally wounded, his last request being that Excalibur, his precious sword be cast into a sacred lake to caught by the lady of the lake. Arthur was taken to a mysterious place named Avalon where, it is said, he dies. Was he buried here? Or is he, as some believe, merely sleeping and some day will return?

This is the summed up version of the romantic legend of King Arthur and is, as I have said, probably the first thing you think of when thinking of Arthur. This is especially so nowadays as we are affected by such things as books, television programmes and motion pictures that take advantage of this great story. However, the question arises as to how much of this is actually true. Are there any sources? This is what I aim to find out.