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
Andrew Rodriguez
This was a very interesting article about king Arthur. I had very little intelligence on him and I had no idea about his son. This was about greed and envy for the son. He got blinded by what he wanted and who cared for him. Betrayal by his own son must have been hard to deal with, especially that you were just going on a little trip with your wife. Him going to the enemies and becomes your enemy, that was his last battle of his life against his own son. Good article overall.
Blanca Martinez
Getting more information of King Arthur was very much needed. It was quite shocking learning that King Arthur had a son named Mordred. I only knew that he was married to Guinevere thanks to a book I had read. Mostly everything from his life is quite a mystery apart from what is common knowledge. I honestly didn’t know how his ruling came to an end either, I believed he lived a long life.
Karina Nanez
This was very interesting to read. I had no idea that King Arthur was real and not just fiction, although his life seems like its all fantasy. While reading this I was horrified to find out that Arthurs son was also his nephew and that later they would fight to the death over the throne. This was well written and fun to read.
Valeria Hernandez
Osman Rodriguez article starts off with an appealing introduction, followed by the introduction of the characters, rising action, climax, and falling action of King Author. The article is a well-written story about a historic king and his army. It provides readers with an interesting informative narrative about a particular event in King Arthur’s life. I particularly enjoyed the showcase of the antagonist of the story.
Samman Tyata
I really loved the way how you have structured your article. It was really informative as the content was new for me. The background that you provided was really effective in understanding his personality. It was interesting to read that Arthur was described primarily as a king of war. Furthermore, I really liked the pictures you used. To sum it up, this article successfully describes king Arthur’s last days in smooth manner. Great job!
Benjamin Voy
I am familiar with the legend of the great King Arthur however this article really shed some new light on the subject and gave me a greater insight into this prodigy. It was a very well written article that kept me intrigued the whole time. Well done on an fantastic article
Grace Bell
This article gives a great story of King Arthur and what his reign was supposedly like. This topic really interested me and I feel as though the explanation given gave me a better understanding of the story as a whole. King Arthur’s story is already interesting as it is, and I think you did a great job at capturing it. This is a great article, good job!
Joshua Breard
The legend of King Arthur is grand and very interesting. I find it crazy how he was betrayed by his own sons and killed him. I know every great warrior has a weakness and King Arthur’s weakness might have very well been his family members. What a tragic way to go but this does not affect his legend by any means. King Arthur will forever be a legend. Great article!
Zeresh Haman
This is a very interesting article, I have always wanted to learn more about King Arthur. I think this is very interesting because when people think of King Arthur, they don’t think of this story, they think of knights of the round table or Excalibur. I have never heard of Mordered, I didn’t even know that King Arthur had a son, so that was something new. This article was very well put together.
Justin Garcia
This was a very interesting article. The time period in which knights existed is truly a fascinating one. I always enjoyed reading stories or legends from this era. Though not all knights where fighting for the right cause the loyalty and diligence they had was nothing sort of incredible. This article does a good job in introducing people to this era. This era also is the inspiration for many fantasy writers. Overall this article describing king Arthur’s last days was very interesting.