King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Precious little is known about the historical British leader Arthur, who defended Britannia against Anglo-Saxon invasion in the 6th century. Nevertheless, King Arthur is one of the most famous Britons, and Excalibur and Camelot are perhaps the world’s best-known sword and mythical castle.King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table examines the fact and the fiction behind Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Guinevere, and Galahad—among others—as well as the quest for the Holy Grail. Beginning with the 12th century, the book explores what factual basis there is for the tales and how the characters, stories, and motifs developed through histories, epic poems, and prose tellings since the Medieval era. The book also charts the upsurge of interest in Arthurian romance in the 19th and 20th centuries and considers how the tales still grip the popular imagination today through games, TV, and movies. Illustrated with more than 180 artworks and illustrations, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is an entertaining account where literature, mythology, and history meet.