November 11, 2015 – The myth and the truth behind King Arthur’s legend was the topic of this week’s Master’s Tea talk, given by Elizabeth Archibald, a medieval studies scholar at Durham University. The first stories about Arthur sprung up some 1,500 years ago; and ever since, the legendary king and warrior of England has been increasingly popular not only among the British but worldwide. According to Archibald, 80 percent of the stories about Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were written in the last two centuries.
To what extent are these stories fictional and how much is based on historical facts is up for debate. Over years of research, Professor Archibald has compiled a parallel historical and literary timeline of sources and events that mention King Arthur, which she shared with the audience. But while she has weighed the credibility of each piece of evidence, Archibald pointed out that to her what actually matters is the evolution of the legend, not whether King Arthur was a real figure.
During the lively discussion that followed Archibald presentation, one questioner asked about the absence of artifacts, such as coins, from King Arthur’s time. Also, the political motivations cast doubt on the legitimacy of a tomb found in 1189 that local monks claimed was King Arthur’s. That other countries’ historical records do not mention King Arthur was offered as another piece of evidence undermining the veracity of the myth. Archibald suggested that Arthur was most likely a warrior who lived in the Dark Ages whom people later idealized as the legendary king.
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