Editing King Arthur (section)

== Medieval literary traditions ==
The familiar literary persona of Arthur began with [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s pseudo-historical ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (''History of the Kings of Britain''), written in the 1130s. The textual sources for Arthur are usually divided into those written before Geoffrey's ''Historia'' (known as pre-Galfridian texts, from the Latin form of Geoffrey, ''Galfridus'') and those written afterwards, which could not avoid his influence (Galfridian, or post-Galfridian, texts).

=== Pre-Galfridian traditions ===
The earliest literary references to Arthur come from Welsh and Breton sources. There have been few attempts to define the nature and character of Arthur in the pre-Galfridian tradition as a whole, rather than in a single text or text/story-type. A 2007 academic survey led by Caitlin Green has identified three key strands to the portrayal of Arthur in this earliest material.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 45–176}}</ref> The first is that he was a peerless warrior who functioned as the monster-hunting protector of Britain from all internal and external threats. Some of these are human threats, such as the Saxons he fights in the ''Historia Brittonum'', but the majority are supernatural, including giant [[Cath Palug|cat-monsters]], destructive [[Twrch Trwyth|divine boars]], dragons, [[Cynocephaly|dogheads]], [[Giant|giants]], and [[Witchcraft|witches]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 93–130}}</ref> The second is that the pre-Galfridian Arthur was a figure of folklore (particularly [[Toponymy|topographic]] or [[onomastic]] folklore) and localised magical wonder-tales, the leader of a band of superhuman heroes who live in the wilds of the landscape.<ref>{{Harvnb|Padel|1994}} has a thorough discussion of this aspect of Arthur's character.</ref> The third and final strand is that the early Welsh Arthur had a close connection with the Welsh Otherworld, [[Annwn]]. On the one hand, he launches assaults on Otherworldly fortresses in search of treasure and frees their prisoners. On the other, his warband in the earliest sources includes former pagan gods, and his wife and his possessions are clearly Otherworldly in origin.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 135–176}}. On his possessions and wife, see also {{Harvnb|Ford|1983}}.</ref>

[[File:Gododdin1.jpg|thumb|upright|A page of ''[[Y Gododdin]]'', one of the most famous early Welsh texts featuring Arthur ({{c.|lk=no|1275}})|alt=|left]]

One of the most famous Welsh poetic references to Arthur comes in the collection of heroic death-songs known as ''[[Y Gododdin]]'' (''The Gododdin''), attributed to the 6th-century poet [[Aneirin]]. One stanza from the oldest surviving manuscript<ref name=":0" /> praises the bravery of a warrior who slew 300 enemies, but says that despite this, "he was no Arthur," i.e., his feats cannot compare to Arthur.<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|1937|p= 64}}, line 1242</ref> ''Y Gododdin'' is known only from a 13th-century manuscript,<ref name=":1" /> so it is impossible to determine whether this passage is original or a later interpolation, but John Koch's view that the passage dates from a 7th-century or earlier version is regarded as unproven; 9th- or 10th-century dates are often proposed for it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Charles-Edwards|1991|p= 15}}; {{Harvnb|Koch|1996|pp= 242–245}}; {{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 13–15, 50–52}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Arthur of the Welsh: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature |date=2008 |publisher=Univ. of Wales Press |isbn=978-0-7083-1307-7 |editor-last=Bromwich |editor-first=Rachel |edition=2nd |location=Cardiff |pages=4 |language=en |quote=it could quite probably be as old as the ninth-century redaction of the Historia Brittonum, even if it formed no part of the original Gododdin poem. |editor-last2=Jarman |editor-first2=A. O. H. |editor-last3=Roberts |editor-first3=Brynley Francis}}</ref> Several poems attributed to [[Taliesin]], a poet said to have lived in the 6th century, also refer to Arthur, although these all probably date from between the 8th and 12th centuries.<ref>See, for example, {{Harvnb|Haycock|1983–1984}} and {{Harvnb|Koch|1996|pp= 264–265}}.</ref> They include "Kadeir Teyrnon" ("The Chair of the Prince"),<ref>Online translations of this poem are out-dated and inaccurate. See {{Harvnb|Haycock|2007|pp= 293–311}} for a full translation, and {{Harvnb|Green|2007b|p= 197}} for a discussion of its Arthurian aspects.</ref> which refers to "Arthur the Blessed"; "[[Preiddeu Annwfn|Preiddeu Annwn]]" ("The Spoils of Annwn"),<ref>See, for example, {{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 54–67}} and {{Harvnb|Budgey|1992}}, who includes a translation.</ref> which recounts an expedition of Arthur to the Otherworld; and "Marwnat vthyr pen[dragon]" ("The Elegy of Uther Pen[dragon]"),<ref>{{Harvnb|Koch|Carey|1994|pp= 314–15}}</ref> which refers to Arthur's valour and is suggestive of a father-son relationship for Arthur and Uther that pre-dates Geoffrey of Monmouth.

[[File:Culhwch.jpg|thumb|[[Culhwch]] entering Arthur's court in the Welsh tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]''. An illustration by Alfred Fredericks for an 1881 edition of the ''[[Mabinogion]]''<ref>{{Harvnb|Lanier|1881}}</ref>|alt=]]

Other early Welsh Arthurian texts include a poem found in the ''[[Black Book of Carmarthen]]'', "[[Pa gur]] yv y porthaur?" ("What man is the gatekeeper?").<ref>{{Harvnb|Sims-Williams|1991|pp= 38–46}} has a full translation and analysis of this poem.</ref> This takes the form of a dialogue between Arthur and the gatekeeper of a fortress he wishes to enter, in which Arthur recounts the names and deeds of himself and his men, notably [[Sir Kay|Cei]] (Kay) and [[Bedwyr]] (Bedivere).

In addition to these pre-Galfridian Welsh poems and tales, Arthur appears in some other early Latin texts besides the ''Historia Brittonum'' and the ''Annales Cambriae''. In particular, Arthur features in a number of well-known ''vitae'' ("[[hagiography|Lives]]") of post-Roman [[saint]]s, none of which are now generally considered to be reliable historical sources (the earliest probably dates from the 11th century).<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|1991a}}</ref> According to the ''Life of Saint [[Gildas]]'', written in the early 12th century by [[Caradoc of Llancarfan]], Arthur is said to have killed Gildas's brother Hueil and to have rescued his wife [[Gwenhwyfar]] from Glastonbury.<ref>Translated in {{Harvnb|Coe|Young|1995|pp= 22–27}}. On the Glastonbury tale and its Otherworldly antecedents, see {{Harvnb|Sims-Williams|1991|pp= 58–61}}.</ref> In the ''Life of Saint [[Cadoc]]'', written around 1100 or a little before by Lifris of Llancarfan, the saint gives protection to a man who killed three of Arthur's soldiers, and Arthur demands a herd of cattle as ''[[wergeld]]'' for his men. Cadoc delivers them as demanded, but when Arthur takes possession of the animals, they turn into bundles of ferns.<ref>{{Harvnb|Coe|Young|1995|pp= 26–37}}</ref> Similar incidents are described in the medieval biographies of [[Carantoc]], [[Padarn]] and [[Efflamm|Efflamn]], probably written around the 12th century. A less legendary account of Arthur appears in the ''[[Goeznovius|Legenda Sancti Goeznovii]]'', which is often claimed to date from the early 11th century (although the earliest manuscript of this text dates from the 15th century and the text is now dated to the late 12th to early 13th century).<ref>Bourgès, André-Yves, "Guillaume le Breton et l'hagiographie bretonne aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles", in: Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest, 1995, 102–1, pp. 35–45.; See {{Harvnb|Ashe|1985}} for an attempt to use this ''vita'' as a historical source.</ref> Also important are the references to Arthur in [[William of Malmesbury]]'s ''De Gestis Regum Anglorum'' and Herman's ''[[De miraculis sanctae Mariae Laudunensis|De Miraculis Sanctae Mariae Laudunensis]]'', which together provide the first certain evidence for a belief that Arthur was not actually dead and would at some point [[King Arthur's messianic return|return]], a theme that is often revisited in post-Galfridian folklore.<ref>{{Harvnb|Padel|1994|pp =8–12}}; {{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp =72–75, 259, 261–262}}; {{Harvnb|Bullock-Davies|1982}}.</ref>

=== Geoffrey of Monmouth ===
[[File:History of the Kings (f.75.v) King Arthur.jpg|thumb|upright|King Arthur in a 15th-century Welsh version of the ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]]]

Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'', completed {{c.|lk=no|1138}}, contains the first narrative account of Arthur's life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|1985}}; {{Harvnb|Thorpe|1966}}</ref> This work is an imaginative and fanciful account of British kings from the legendary Trojan exile [[Brutus of Troy|Brutus]] to the 7th-century Welsh king [[Cadwaladr|Cadwallader]]. Geoffrey places Arthur in the same post-Roman period as do ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' and ''[[Annales Cambriae]]''. According to Geoffrey's tale, Arthur was a descendant of [[Constantine the Great]].<ref>Mulligan, p. 262–4.</ref> He incorporates Arthur's father [[Uther Pendragon]], his magician advisor [[Merlin]], and the story of Arthur's conception, in which Uther, disguised as his enemy [[Gorlois]] by Merlin's magic, sleeps with Gorlois's wife [[Igraine|Igerna]] (Igraine) at [[Tintagel]], and she conceives Arthur. On Uther's death, the fifteen-year-old Arthur succeeds him as King of Britain and fights a series of battles, similar to those in the ''Historia Brittonum'', culminating in the Battle of Bath. He then defeats the [[Pict]]s and [[Scoti|Scots]] before creating an Arthurian empire through his conquests of Ireland, Iceland and the [[Orkney Islands]]. After twelve years of peace, Arthur sets out to expand his empire once more, taking control of Norway, Denmark and [[Gaul]]. Gaul is still held by the [[Roman Empire]] when it is conquered, and Arthur's victory leads to a further confrontation with Rome. Arthur and his warriors, including [[Sir Kay|Kaius]] (Kay), [[Bedivere|Beduerus]] (Bedivere) and [[Gawain|Gualguanus]] (Gawain), defeat the Roman emperor [[Lucius Tiberius]] in Gaul but, as he prepares to march on Rome, Arthur hears that his nephew [[Mordred|Modredus]] (Mordred)—whom he had left in charge of Britain—has married his wife [[Guinevere|Guenhuuara]] (Guinevere) and seized the throne. Arthur returns to Britain and defeats and kills Modredus on the river Camblam in Cornwall, but he is mortally wounded. He hands the crown to his kinsman [[Constantine (Briton)|Constantine]] and is taken to the isle of [[Avalon]] to be healed of his wounds, never to be seen again.<ref>Geoffrey of Monmouth, ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' [[s:History of the Kings of Britain/Book 8#19|Book 8.19–24]], [[s:History of the Kings of Britain/Book 9|Book 9]], [[s:History of the Kings of Britain/Book 10|Book 10]], [[s:History of the Kings of Britain/Book 11|Book 11.1–2]]</ref>

How much of this narrative was Geoffrey's own invention is open to debate. He seems to have made use of the list of Arthur's twelve battles against the Saxons found in the 9th-century ''Historia Brittonum'', along with the battle of Camlann from the ''Annales Cambriae'' and the idea that Arthur was [[King Arthur's messianic return|still alive]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|1991b|p= 106}}; {{Harvnb|Padel|1994|pp =11–12}}</ref> Arthur's status as the king of all Britain seems to be borrowed from pre-Galfridian tradition, being found in ''Culhwch and Olwen'', the Welsh Triads, and the saints' lives.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 217–219}}</ref> Finally, Geoffrey borrowed many of the names for Arthur's possessions, [[King Arthur's family|close family]], and companions from the pre-Galfridian Welsh tradition, including Kaius (Cei), Beduerus (Bedwyr), Guenhuuara (Gwenhwyfar), Uther (Uthyr) and perhaps also Caliburnus (Caledfwlch), the latter becoming [[Excalibur]] in subsequent Arthurian tales.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|1991b|pp= 109–110, 112}}; {{Harvnb|Bromwich|Evans|1992|pp= 64–65}}</ref> However, while names, key events, and titles may have been borrowed, Brynley Roberts has argued that "the Arthurian section is Geoffrey's literary creation and it owes nothing to prior narrative."<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|1991b|p= 108}}</ref> Geoffrey makes the Welsh Medraut into the villainous Modredus, but there is no trace of such a negative character for this figure in Welsh sources until the 16th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bromwich|1978|pp= 454–455}}</ref> There have been relatively few modern attempts to challenge the notion that the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' is primarily Geoffrey's own work, with scholarly opinion often echoing [[William of Newburgh]]'s late-12th-century comment that Geoffrey "made up" his narrative, perhaps through an "inordinate love of lying".<ref>See, for example, {{Harvnb|Brooke|1986|p= 95}}.</ref> [[Geoffrey Ashe]] is one dissenter from this view, believing that Geoffrey's narrative is partially derived from a lost source telling of the deeds of a 5th-century British king named [[Riothamus|Riotamus]], this figure being the original Arthur, although historians and Celticists have been reluctant to follow Ashe in his conclusions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ashe|1985|p=6}}; {{Harvnb|Padel|1995|p= 110}}; {{Harvnb|Higham|2002|p= 76}}.</ref>

Whatever his sources may have been, the immense popularity of Geoffrey's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' cannot be denied. Well over 200 manuscript copies of Geoffrey's Latin work are known to have survived, as well as translations into other languages.<ref>{{Harvnb|Crick|1989}}</ref> For example, 60 manuscripts are extant containing the ''[[Brut y Brenhinedd]]'', Welsh-language versions of the ''Historia'', the earliest of which were created in the 13th century. The old notion that some of these Welsh versions actually underlie Geoffrey's ''Historia'', advanced by antiquarians such as the 18th-century Lewis Morris, has long since been discounted in academic circles.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sweet|2004|p=140}}. See further, {{Harvnb|Roberts|1991b}} and {{Harvnb|Roberts|1980}}.</ref> As a result of this popularity, Geoffrey's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' was enormously influential on the later medieval development of the Arthurian legend. While it was not the only creative force behind Arthurian romance, many of its elements were borrowed and developed (e.g., Merlin and the final fate of Arthur), and it provided the historical framework into which the romancers' tales of magical and wonderful adventures were inserted.<ref>As noted by, for example, {{Harvnb|Ashe|1996}}.</ref>

=== Romance traditions ===
The Welsh prose tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'' (latter half of the 12th century<ref>Rodway, Simon, “The date and authorship of Culhwch ac Olwen: a reassessment”, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 49 (Summer, 2005), pp. 21–44</ref>), included in the modern ''[[Mabinogion]]'' collection, has a much longer list of more than 200 of Arthur's men, though Cei and Bedwyr again take a central place. The story as a whole tells of Arthur helping his kinsman [[Culhwch]] win the hand of [[Olwen]], daughter of [[Ysbaddaden]] Chief-Giant, by completing a series of apparently impossible tasks, including the hunt for the great semi-divine boar [[Twrch Trwyth]]. The 9th-century ''Historia Brittonum'' also refers to this tale, with the boar there named Troy(n)t.<ref>For a discussion of the tale, see {{Harvnb|Bromwich|Evans|1992}}; see also {{Harvnb|Padel|1994|pp =2–4}}; {{Harvnb|Roberts|1991a}}; and {{Harvnb|Green|2007b|pp= 67–72}} and chapter three.</ref> Finally, Arthur is mentioned numerous times in the [[Welsh Triads]], a collection of short summaries of Welsh tradition and legend which are classified into groups of three linked characters or episodes to assist recall. The later manuscripts of the Triads are partly derivative from Geoffrey of Monmouth and later continental traditions, but the earliest ones show no such influence and are usually agreed to refer to pre-existing Welsh traditions. Even in these, however, Arthur's court has started to embody legendary Britain as a whole, with "Arthur's Court" sometimes substituted for "The Island of Britain" in the formula "Three XXX of the Island of Britain".<ref>{{Harvnb|Barber|1986|pp=17–18, 49}}; {{Harvnb|Bromwich|1978}}</ref> While it is not clear from the ''Historia Brittonum'' and the ''Annales Cambriae'' that Arthur was even considered a king, by the time ''Culhwch and Olwen'' and the Triads were written he had become ''Penteyrnedd yr Ynys hon'', "Chief of the Lords of this Island", the overlord of Wales, Cornwall and the North.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|1991a|pp= 78, 81}}</ref>

[[File:John william waterhouse tristan and isolde with the potion.jpg|thumb|upright|During the 12th century, Arthur's character began to be marginalised by the accretion of "Arthurian" side-stories such as that of [[Tristan and Iseult]], here pictured in a painting by [[John William Waterhouse]] (1916)|alt=|left]]

During the ongoing conquest of Wales by [[Edward I of England]], he attempted to make King Arthur a fundamentally English character and hero.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Schama |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Schama |title=A History of Britain 1: 3000 BC-AD 1603 At the Edge of the World? |title-link=A History of Britain (TV series)#DVDs and books |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-563-48714-2 |edition=Paperback 2003 |location=London |pages=168}}</ref> The completion of the conquest was one of the factors that shifted storytellers away from the Welsh roots of the original tales.<ref name=":12" />

The popularity of Geoffrey's ''Historia'' and its other derivative works (such as [[Wace]]'s ''[[Roman de Brut]]'') gave rise to a significant numbers of new Arthurian works in continental Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly in France.<ref>For example, {{Harvnb|Thorpe|1966|p= 29}}</ref> It was not, however, the only Arthurian influence on the developing "[[Matter of Britain]]". There is clear evidence that Arthur and Arthurian tales were familiar on the Continent before Geoffrey's work became widely known (see for example, the [[Modena Archivolt]]),<ref>{{Harvnb |Stokstad|1996}}</ref> and "Celtic" names and stories not found in Geoffrey's ''Historia'' appear in the Arthurian [[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Loomis|1956}}; {{Harvnb|Bromwich|1983}}; {{Harvnb|Bromwich|1991}}.</ref> From the perspective of Arthur, perhaps the most significant effect of this great outpouring of new Arthurian story was on the role of the king himself: much of this 12th-century and later Arthurian literature centres less on Arthur himself than on characters such as [[Lancelot]] and [[Guinevere]], [[Percival]], [[Galahad]], [[Gawain]], [[Ywain]], and [[Tristan]] and [[Iseult]]. Whereas Arthur is very much at the centre of the pre-Galfridian material and Geoffrey's ''Historia'' itself, in the romances he is rapidly sidelined.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996a|p= 16}}; {{Harvnb|Morris|1982|p= 2}}.</ref> His character also alters significantly. In both the earliest materials and Geoffrey he is a great and ferocious warrior, who laughs as he personally slaughters witches and giants and takes a leading role in all military campaigns,<ref>For example, Geoffrey of Monmouth, ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' [[s:History of the Kings of Britain/Book 10#3|Book 10.3]].</ref> whereas in the continental romances he becomes the ''roi fainéant'', the "do-nothing king", whose "inactivity and acquiescence constituted a central flaw in his otherwise ideal society".<ref>{{Harvnb|Padel|2000|p= 81}}</ref> Arthur's role in these works is frequently that of a wise, dignified, even-tempered, somewhat bland, and occasionally feeble monarch. So, he simply turns pale and silent when he learns of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere in the ''Mort Artu'', whilst in ''[[Yvain, the Knight of the Lion]]'', he is unable to stay awake after a feast and has to retire for a nap.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morris|1982|pp= 99–102}}; {{Harvnb|Lacy|1996a|p= 17}}.</ref> Nonetheless, as [[Norris J. Lacy]] has observed, whatever his faults and frailties may be in these Arthurian romances, "his prestige is never—or almost never—compromised by his personal weaknesses&nbsp;... his authority and glory remain intact."<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996a|p= 17}}</ref>

[[File:Arthur-Pyle How Arthur drew forth ye sword.JPG|thumb|upright|The story of Arthur drawing the [[Excalibur#The Sword in the Stone and the Sword in the Lake|sword from a stone]] appeared in [[Robert de Boron]]'s 13th-century ''[[Merlin (Robert de Boron poem)|Merlin]]''. By [[Howard Pyle]] (1903)<ref>{{Harvnb|Pyle|1903}}</ref>|alt=]]

Arthur and his retinue appear in some of the ''[[Lais of Marie de France|Lais]]'' of [[Marie de France]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Busby|1999}}</ref> but it was the work of another French poet, [[Chrétien de Troyes]], that had the greatest influence with regard to the development of Arthur's character and legend.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996b}}</ref> Chrétien wrote five Arthurian romances between {{c.|lk=no|1170}} and 1190. ''[[Erec and Enide]]'' and ''[[Cligès]]'' are tales of courtly love with Arthur's court as their backdrop, demonstrating the shift away from the heroic world of the Welsh and Galfridian Arthur, while ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', features [[Ywain|Yvain]] and Gawain in a supernatural adventure, with Arthur very much on the sidelines and weakened. However, the most significant for the development of the Arthurian legend are ''[[Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart]]'', which introduces Lancelot and his adulterous relationship with Arthur's queen [[Guinevere]], extending and popularising the recurring theme of Arthur as a [[cuckold]], and ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail]]'', which introduces the [[Holy Grail]] and the [[Fisher King]] and which again sees Arthur having a much reduced role.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kibler|Carroll|1991|p= 1}}</ref> Chrétien was thus "instrumental both in the elaboration of the Arthurian legend and in the establishment of the ideal form for the diffusion of that legend",<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996b|p= 88}}</ref> and much of what came after him in terms of the portrayal of Arthur and his world built upon the foundations he had laid. ''Perceval'', although unfinished, was particularly popular: four separate continuations of the poem appeared over the next half century, with the notion of the Grail and its quest being developed by other writers such as [[Robert de Boron]], a fact that helped accelerate the decline of Arthur in continental romance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roach|1949–1983}}</ref> Similarly, Lancelot and his cuckolding of Arthur with Guinevere became one of the classic motifs of the Arthurian legend, although the Lancelot of the prose ''Lancelot'' ({{c.|lk=no|1225}}) and later texts was a combination of Chrétien's character and that of [[Ulrich von Zatzikhoven]]'s ''[[Lanzelet]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ulrich von Zatzikhoven|2005}}</ref> Chrétien's work even appears to feed back into Welsh Arthurian literature, with the result that the romance Arthur began to replace the heroic, active Arthur in Welsh literary tradition.<ref>{{Harvnb|Padel|2000|pp =77–82}}</ref> Particularly significant in this development were the three Welsh Arthurian romances, which are closely similar to those of Chrétien, albeit with some significant differences: ''[[Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain]]'' is related to Chrétien's ''Yvain''; ''[[Geraint and Enid]]'', to ''Erec and Enide''; and ''[[Peredur son of Efrawg]]'', to ''Perceval''.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Jones|Jones|1949}} for accurate translations of all three texts. It is not entirely certain what, exactly, the relationship is between these Welsh romances and Chrétien's works, however: see {{Harvnb|Koch|1996|pp= 280–288}} for a survey of opinions</ref>

[[File:Holy-grail-round-table-bnf-ms fr-116F-f610v-15th-detail.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Round Table]] experiences a vision of the [[Holy Grail]], an illumination by [[Évrard d'Espinques]] ({{c.|lk=no|1475}})<ref>{{Harvnb|BNF|c. 1475|loc=fol. 610v}}</ref>|alt=|left]]

Up to {{c.|lk=no|1210}}, continental Arthurian romance was expressed primarily through poetry; after this date the tales began to be told in prose. The most significant of these 13th-century prose romances was the [[Lancelot-Grail|Vulgate Cycle]] (also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle), a series of five Middle French prose works written in the first half of that century.<ref name="lacy-1992">{{Harvnb|Lacy|1992–1996}}</ref> These works were the ''Estoire del Saint Grail'', the ''Estoire de Merlin'', the ''Lancelot propre'' (or Prose ''Lancelot'', which made up half the entire Vulgate Cycle on its own), the ''Queste del Saint Graal'' and the ''Mort Artu'', which combine to form the first coherent version of the entire Arthurian legend. The cycle continued the trend towards reducing the role played by Arthur in his own legend, partly through the introduction of the character of Galahad and an expansion of the role of Merlin. It also made Mordred the result of an [[King Arthur's family|incestuous relationship]] between Arthur and his sister [[Morgause]], and established the role of [[Camelot]], first mentioned in passing in Chrétien's ''Lancelot'', as Arthur's primary court.<ref>For a study of this cycle, see {{Harvnb|Burns|1985}}.</ref> This series of texts was quickly followed by the [[Post-Vulgate Cycle]] ({{c.|lk=no|1230–40}}), of which the ''Suite du Merlin'' is a part, which greatly reduced the importance of Lancelot's affair with Guinevere but continued to sideline Arthur, and to focus more on the Grail quest.<ref name="lacy-1992" /> As such, Arthur became even more of a relatively minor character in these French prose romances; in the Vulgate itself he only figures significantly in the ''Estoire de Merlin'' and the ''Mort Artu''. During this period, Arthur was made one of the [[Nine Worthies]], a group of three pagan, three Jewish and three Christian exemplars of chivalry. The Worthies were first listed in [[Jacques de Longuyon]]'s ''[[Voeux du Paon]]'' in 1312, and subsequently became a common subject in literature and art.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996c|p= 344}}</ref>

[[File:Boys King Arthur - N. C. Wyeth - p16.jpg|thumb|upright|Arthur receiving the later tradition's sword [[Excalibur]] in [[N. C. Wyeth]]'s illustration for ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (1922), a modern edition of [[Thomas Malory]]'s 1485 ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]''|alt=]]

The development of the medieval Arthurian cycle and the character of the "Arthur of romance" culminated in ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', [[Thomas Malory]]'s retelling of the entire legend in a single work in English in the late 15th century. Malory based his book—originally titled ''The Whole Book of King Arthur and of His Noble Knights of the Round Table''—on the various previous romance versions, in particular the Vulgate Cycle, and appears to have aimed at creating a comprehensive and authoritative collection of Arthurian stories.<ref>On Malory and his work, see {{Harvnb|Field|1993}} and {{Harvnb|Field|1998}}.</ref> Perhaps as a result of this, and the fact that ''Le Morte D'Arthur'' was one of the earliest printed books in England, published by [[William Caxton]] in 1485, most later Arthurian works are derivative of Malory's.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vinaver|1990}}</ref>

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