Have you ever heard of the famous holy sword of legend, Excalibur? And do you know who wielded such a weapon? Who was the one to pull the sword from the stone? Only he would be deemed worthy of the crown to become Britain’s king. This man was the famous, legendary King Arthur. If you have never heard of Arthur Pendragon, I hope that I can give you a quick gist of his character, particularly the legend of King Arthur and the Battle of Camlann.
King Arthur is the legendary ruler over Britain and was considered a hero by his people. He is famously known for defending Britain from the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the sixth century. Early accounts of Arthur describe him as a warrior for Britain and a very successful one at that.1 Mordred, who in Arthur’s legend is Arthur’s son, was deemed a traitor by his own people for rebelling against his own father. This was the prelude to the famous Battle of Camlann.
King Arthur is signified as having strong Celtic values and chivalry. There is debate as to whether Arthur is a historical figure at all, and whether legends credited to him are true, but there is evidence of a famous “Arthur” in history. The earliest mentions of Arthur date back to the seventh century.2 Arthur was described primarily as a king of war, and as time went on, his legendary activity was popularized.3 Arthur is also known for his famous Knights of the Round Table, for his relationship with Sir Lancelot, and for his holy sword, Excalibur. In the Arthurian legend, Arthur’s son Mordred is also his nephew. Arthur conceived Mordred without knowledge of his incest, and this sin furthermore brings him trouble.4
Arthur’s son Mordred was conceived due to Arthur’s incest with his half-sister Morgause. Arthur did not seem to know that Morgause was his half-sister. When Mordred became a young adult, he became one of Arthur’s knights of the Round Table and aspired to be like his father in the sense that he would someday assume the throne. In order to be one of those knights, one had to be recognized as someone with incredible skill, leadership, honor, and chivalry. Mordred eventually got a small taste of what it would be like to take his father’s place. Arthur left the kingdom and his queen, Guinevere, in Mordred’s hands when he departed for Rome. Unfortunately, during this time Mordred decided to betray his father, assume the throne, and marry Guinevere.5 Because of this, Mordred is partly to blame for the downfall of Arthur’s reign and of Camelot.6 Arthur, when he heard of these events, came back to Camelot to take back what was rightfully his. What ensued was… the Battle of Camlann.
The Battle of Camlann is believed to be the historical Battle of Mount Badon, thought to have taken place in the late fifth or early sixth century. This is where Arthur is said to have fought his last battle against the Anglo-Saxons. In the mythos, the Battle of Camlann accounts for the fight between Arthur and his son Mordred. It is believed that because of Mordred’s treason, he himself joined the Anglo-Saxons to fight against his father and take over Camelot. He supposedly promised them land in the instance that they would defeat Arthur, his knights, and his army.7 Arthur pushed Mordred’s forces back, but at the expense of losing some very important knights. Mordred then tried to hide from his father’s wrath. Arthur pursued Mordred to the river Camlann, where both armies inevitably collide. Arthur and Mordred fought to the death, and in the end Arthur thrust a spear straight through Mordred as he lunged at him. With his dying breath, Mordred fatally wounded Arthur, which eventually caused his death as well.
- Nennius (translated by John Allen Giles), History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum) (London, J. Bohn, 1841), 46-50. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “King Arthur (legendary British King),” by Linda W. Beech. ↵
- Michael J. Curley, Geoffrey of Monmouth (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994), 95-96. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, November 2016 s.v. “Arthurian Legend,” by John K. Manos. ↵
- Amy Varin, “Mordred, King Arthur’s Son,” Folklore vol. 90, no. 2 (1979): 167. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, November 2016 s.v. “Arthurian Legend,” by John K. Manos. ↵
- Michael J. Curley, Geoffrey of Monmouth (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994), 95-96. ↵
54 comments
Rafael Azuaje
Today is Friday the 13th of October. Do you know where the superstition surrounding this date came from? One theory is that on Friday 13 of October 1307, Phillip IV of France summoned the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and had him (along with the rest of the Templars) arrested for heresy. The Knights Templar based their philosophy on the Arthurian legend. Isn’t that fascinating?
Edith De Loera
What an organized and well-written article! I am impressed by how structured it was. You told the story of King Arthur very well, and surprised me with things I had never known about him or his family. Although I had learned about him a bit in high school, I was not aware of many of the things you wrote in your article. How betraying of his own sons to kill their father in that way.
Evelin Joseph
I have always wanted to learn more about the story of King Arthur, so I read this article with great interest and enjoyment. I never knew that King Arthur actually was part of an incestuous relationship and even had a son through it. It is crazy that his own son betrayed him and eventually took his position and wife. In order to gain it all back, King Arthur had to lose both his son and his life. After reading this article, I really want to figure out what truly happened and if this was all a legend or not.
Cameron Ramirez
I never really knew much about King Arthur, so I came to your article to be given some knowledge on the matter. I enjoyed reading your detailed article on King Arthur, the pictures added helped move the article, and it flowed well-making sense. After reading this, I would like to watch the recent movie on King Arthur just to see how they depicted this legendary warrior and ruler. Overall good work and I can’t wait to read another article from you.
Crystalrose Quintero
I appreciated that he opened up his article by asking the reader questions and engaging with the reader. Also there was some common language used in the opening paragraph that made the reading more accessible and gave a nonchalant tone. The last paragraph was so descriptive in describing mordreds death; it was so interesting to read the information that was presented in a fluent manner.
Michelle Falcon
Thia was a great article in my opinion. The story of King Arthur is one that I have known of for many years now. I had believed I had heard every version of this story until now. From reading this article i have learned of Arthur’s son Mordred, who I have never heard of before, and learned that he was also the beginning to the end of Aurthur’s rule on Camelot. Over all it was a great article that I enjoyed reading.
Alexandria Martinez
I thought I knew the story of Arthur, but I never knew that he had a son and I definitely did not know that his son was the one to kill him. Mordred, in a way deserved what he got because he betrayed his father and married his wife. It is a shame that Arthur ended up dying at the hands of his son, especially because he was so close to achieving what he wanted.
Deanna Lummus
I have heard of king Arthur but never knew he had so much legend behind his name. I never realized how crazy and eventful his life was, other than the fact that he was a king and famous. I didn’t realize how interesting people were of that time. How they could lead such troubled and taboo lives. I found it interesting that he had incest relationships with his half sister and therefore his son/nephew. What is most interesting is that he could have all these stories circulating about him and still become king. That would not be the case today.
Lisa Varela
Last year in my English class I remember discussing King Arthur. However, I had previously heard some stories of King Arthur, such as, the Knight’s of the Round Table, the pulling of the sword from a rock proving that he was the rightful ruler, the relationship between him, Sir Lancelot and Guinevere and lastly that he had a child with his half -sister. Great article! Osman, you did give a quick gist of King Arthur’s character and a little background on the Battler of Camlann.
Michael Mandujano
This article was well put together, and I enjoyed learning more about the Almighty King Arthur. I compliment the author’s structure, about King Arthur’s personal life and his superior moments in battle, particularly in the Battle of Camlann. Overall, I enjoyed the images that were depicted throughout the article, and how the author perfectly provided adequate information to tell the story of a legendary ruler.