subject: The History Of Arthur [print this page] According to the stories, Arthur was the son of a king called Uther Pendragon. When Arthur was born, his father gave him to a friendly knight to bring up as the knight's own son. The young Arthur grew up not knowing that he was the son of the king. When Arthur was a young man, his father, Uther Pendragon, died. The story tells that there was a sword in a stone. The rightful king would be the man who could pull the sword out of the stone. Many tried, but none could budge the sword from the stone. Finally Arthur quite easily pulled the sword from the stone. He was hailed as the new king. The story of King Arthur goes on to tell how he won the fair Guinevere and made her his queen. It tells how he established the Round Table, where he and his knights would eat and meet to decide questions of war. Many of the knights in the story of King Arthur are famous. Among the best known are Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, Sir Gawain, Sir Bedivere, and Sir Percivale. All these knights were brave, honest, courteous, and loyal. There were other knights who were evil men. One of them was Sir Modred, who finally wounded the king and caused his death. Merlin, the great magician, was King Arthur's counselor. King Arthur lived and had a great castle in a place called Camelot. He and his knights often journeyed to far-off places to perform noble deeds and save people in distress. The end of the story of King Arthur tells of his wounding at the hands of Sir Modred. The dying king was carried to a barge and set adrift on the water. As the barge drew farther and farther from land, a group of fairies took Arthur and disappeared with him. The story tells us that Arthur was taken to a wonderful fairyland called Avalon. Some people believed that some day Arthur would return to help England when it needed him. All the stories of King Arthur together are called "the Arthurian legend." They can be read in many books. Lord Tennyson told many of them in a series of poems called Idylls of the King.
