King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
It was near the midwinter of 2004. I sat, 8 months pregnant with my first daughter, on our green and blue teal couch in the living room of our home. Many events had passed that year, and now I was looking forward to giving birth to the bundle of joy growing in my womb. I had said the rites of peace for my Druid mentor who had long gone passed not a year before, on December 6th, 2003. We had known each other but for a short time, but a lifetime of teaching went into those months we had known one another, and I had in a sense owed him my life. With the book in my hands I began reading the Marion Zimmer version of a tale told many times before, the characters known and loved the world over, and the traditions which flowed through the lands of that time. As I began to read, the characters seemingly came to life, I lived in Igraine’s shoes, I understood Morgaine, and Uther Pendragon, and I knew that this story, above all others was a great story.
The basic and historical story is hidden between the pages of the myth. It begins with Igraine and her marriage unto Uther Pendragon, and follows the first half of the tale which details the ways in which the Pendragon flag must rule all of Britain as the High King. The story incorporates many elements of the Otherworld in which Avalon, the otherworld that is being traversed in this tale, is thought to get involved in the lands of men, for better ends. Morgain grows and is sent to an arranged marriage, with a dowry. Igraine then with Uther, has a child. Igraine’s very connection with Uther is predestined, and hence Arthur Pendragon is born. Separated from his sister, the two grow up, until finally at a ceremony of great importance, Arthur is forced to fight the stag, and his reward will be the woman waiting for him in the cave. Arthur slays the stag, and sleeps with the woman, not knowing it is Morgaine, and Morgaine not knowing it is Arthur until morning. She is exiled from the lands, and Arthur is celebrated. The tale progresses then to the sword Excaliber and its scabbard being drawn from Avalon, and thus a sword of great power. This is when Arthur take the throne of England as the High King, and reigns in peace for many years. He creates the ideals of the round table, of Noble Knights that end up searching for the Holy Grail. King Arthur meets, falls in love with and marries Guinevere, and though Guinevere is faithful to him, she does not love him, and begins an affair with Sir Lancelot. Through trials and tribulations, King Arthur eventually finds out, and thus Sir Lancelot is exiled from the courts. Shortly after that the Saxons are threatening battle once again, and in a tizzy of confusion, King Arthur loses the scabbard and Excaliber to the Lady of the Lake. The people are confused with the coming of Christianity into their world, and they are upset about the constant amount of usurping the otherworld seems to do in this world. Avalon is treated as a land of evil witches come the end, and due to that horrid reputation, the connections between this world and that world become lost. Morgaine travels to Avalon, and soon upon King Arthur’s madness and search for his Holy Grail, he too travels to Avalon upon his deathbed, where he is said to live on even in today’s world.
After this point the legend fades into the background, the Knights of the Round Table are disbanded, though some eventually became Knights of the Templar, and continued the search in other countries, while others simply laid down their knighthood. In the glimpse of all of this though, there was a daughter born, a daughter of King Arthur, her name was Elizabeth, and eventually, she would take the very throne of England herself.
The story is familiar, and while this is a brief overview of the events, the story itself is best told by those who have studied the legends and the myths, by those who know it to be more factual a tale than a simple fantasy, and who tell it with yes, a few alterations to the plot, but still with the essence that is needed to keep the original story alive.
This was the first book that I read which got me interested in Druidism. Though I will admit the stories are not like those of Mannann Mac Lir, the Voyage of Maelduin, or the humility of Rhiannon, this story is the story which tells a tale during a time when Druidism, when Celtic life was alive and being lived each and everyday in spirit. It also shows the crux of time when people were changing, when Druidism was going back into the folds, when Avalon, was withdrawing her ever present island into the mists and shadows of the lands. This is a very important moment in Druid lore for it marks the coming of the dark ages, and shows where Druidism had both its highest moments, and its greatest falls. Whether you decide to read the story through Marion Zimmer Bradley, or through other more technical writers of the age, read the story. It will undoubtedly open your mind to a world you can only live through in story, not through text books and lessons, but just through the Bardic style retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
What do you think of King Arthur??
