Editing King Arthur (section)

== Decline, revival, and the modern legend ==

=== Post-medieval literature ===
The end of the Middle Ages brought with it a waning of interest in King Arthur. Although Malory's English version of the great French romances was popular, there were increasing attacks upon the truthfulness of the historical framework of the Arthurian romances – established since Geoffrey of Monmouth's time – and thus the legitimacy of the whole [[Matter of Britain]]. So, for example, the 16th-century humanist scholar [[Polydore Vergil]] famously rejected the claim that Arthur was the ruler of a post-Roman empire, found throughout the post-Galfridian medieval "chronicle tradition", to the horror of Welsh and English antiquarians.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carley|1984}}</ref> Social changes associated with the end of the medieval period and the [[Renaissance]] also conspired to rob the character of Arthur and his associated legend of some of their power to enthrall audiences, with the result that 1634 saw the last printing of Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' for nearly 200 years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parins|1995|p= 5}}</ref> King Arthur and the Arthurian legend were not entirely abandoned, but until the early 19th century the material was taken less seriously and was often used simply as a vehicle for allegories of 17th- and 18th-century politics.<ref name =Ashe68>{{Harvnb|Ashe|1968|pp= 20–21}}; {{Harvnb|Merriman|1973}}</ref> Thus [[Richard Blackmore]]'s epics ''Prince Arthur'' (1695) and ''King Arthur'' (1697) feature Arthur as an allegory for the struggles of [[William III of England|William III]] against [[James II of England|James II]].<ref name =Ashe68/> Similarly, the most popular Arthurian tale throughout this period seems to have been that of [[Tom Thumb]], which was told first through [[chapbook]]s and later through the political plays of [[Henry Fielding]]; although the action is clearly set in Arthurian Britain, the treatment is humorous and Arthur appears as a primarily comedic version of his romance character.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007a}}</ref> [[John Dryden]]'s [[masque]] ''[[King Arthur (opera)|King Arthur]]'' is still performed, largely thanks to [[Henry Purcell]]'s music, though seldom unabridged.

=== Tennyson and the revival ===
In the early-19th century [[medievalism]], [[Romanticism]] and the [[Gothic Revival]] reawakened interest in Arthur and the medieval romances. A new code of ethics for 19th-century gentlemen was shaped around the [[chivalry|chivalric]] ideals embodied in the "Arthur of romance". This renewed interest first made itself felt in 1816, when Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' was reprinted for the first time since 1634.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parins|1995|pp= 8–10}}</ref> Initially, the medieval Arthurian legends were of particular interest to poets, inspiring, for example, [[William Wordsworth]] to write "The Egyptian Maid" (1835), an allegory of the [[Holy Grail]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wordsworth|1835}}</ref> Pre-eminent among these was [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Alfred Tennyson]], whose first Arthurian poem "[[The Lady of Shalott]]" was published in 1832.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Potwin|1902}} for the sources that Tennyson used when writing this poem</ref> Arthur himself played a minor role in some of these works, following in the medieval romance tradition. Tennyson's Arthurian work reached its peak of popularity with ''[[Idylls of the King]]'', however, which reworked the entire narrative of Arthur's life for the [[Victorian era]]. It was first published in 1859 and sold 10,000 copies within the first week.<ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|p= 127}}</ref> In the ''Idylls'', Arthur became a symbol of ideal manhood who ultimately failed, through human weakness, to establish a perfect kingdom on earth.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Rosenberg|1973}} and {{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|pp= 89–128}} for analyses of ''The Idylls of the King''.</ref> Tennyson's works prompted a large number of imitators, generated considerable public interest in the legends of Arthur and the character himself, and brought Malory's tales to a wider audience.<ref>See, for example, {{Harvnb|Simpson|1990}}.</ref> Indeed, the first modernisation of Malory's great compilation of Arthur's tales was published in 1862, shortly after ''Idylls'' appeared, and there were six further editions and five competitors before the century ended.<ref>{{Harvnb|Staines|1996|p= 449}}</ref>

This interest in the "Arthur of romance" and his associated stories continued through the 19th century and into the 20th, and influenced poets such as [[William Morris]] and [[Pre-Raphaelite]] artists including [[Edward Burne-Jones]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983|pp= 127–161}}; {{Harvnb|Mancoff|1990}}.</ref> Even the humorous tale of [[Tom Thumb]], which had been the primary manifestation of Arthur's legend in the 18th century, was rewritten after the publication of ''Idylls''. While Tom maintained his small stature and remained a figure of comic relief, his story now included more elements from the medieval Arthurian romances and Arthur is treated more seriously and historically in these new versions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Green|2007a|p= 127}}; {{Harvnb|Gamerschlag|1983}}</ref> The revived Arthurian romance also proved influential in the United States, with such books as Sidney Lanier's ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (1880) reaching wide audiences and providing inspiration for [[Mark Twain]]'s satire ''[[A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'' (1889).{{sfn|Lanier|1880}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Twain|1889}}; {{Harvnb|Smith|Thompson|1996}}.</ref> Although the 'Arthur of romance' was sometimes central to these new Arthurian works (as he was in Burne-Jones's "The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon", 1881–1898), on other occasions he reverted to his medieval status and is either marginalised or even missing entirely, with [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s Arthurian opera [[Parsifal]] providing a notable instance of the latter.<ref>{{Harvnb|Watson|2002}}</ref> Furthermore, the revival of interest in Arthur and the Arthurian tales did not continue unabated. By the end of the 19th century, it was confined mainly to Pre-Raphaelite imitators,<ref>{{Harvnb |Mancoff|1990}}</ref> and it could not avoid being affected by [[World War I]], which damaged the reputation of chivalry and thus interest in its medieval manifestations and Arthur as chivalric role model.<ref>{{Harvnb|Workman|1994}}</ref> The romance tradition did, however, remain sufficiently powerful to persuade [[Thomas Hardy]], [[Laurence Binyon]] and [[John Masefield]] to compose Arthurian plays,<ref>{{Harvnb|Hardy|1923}}; {{Harvnb|Binyon|1923}}; and {{Harvnb|Masefield|1927}}</ref> and [[T. S. Eliot]] alludes to the Arthur myth (but not Arthur) in his poem ''[[The Waste Land]]'', which mentions the [[Fisher King]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Eliot|1949}}; {{Harvnb|Barber|2004|pp= 327–328}}</ref>

<gallery widths="180px" heights="200px">
File:Idylls of the King 10.jpg|alt=|[[Merlin]] and [[Lady of the Lake|Viviane]] in [[Gustave Doré]]'s 1868 illustration for [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]'s ''[[Idylls of the King]]''
File:Charles Ernest Butler - King Arthur.jpg|''King Arthur'' by Charles Ernest Butler (1903)
File:Boys King Arthur - N. C. Wyeth - title page.jpg|[[N. C. Wyeth]]'s title page illustration for ''The Boy's King Arthur'' (1922)
</gallery>

=== Modern legend ===
{{See also|List of works based on Arthurian legends}}
[[File:Excalibur-spam.jpg|thumb|upright|King Arthur (holding Excalibur) and Patsy in ''[[Spamalot]]'', a stage musical adaptation of the 1975 comedy film ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'']]

In the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of the romance tradition of Arthur continued, through novels such as [[T. H. White]]'s ''[[The Once and Future King]]'' (1958), [[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart]]'s ''[[The Crystal Cave]]'' (1970) and its four sequels, [[Thomas Berger (novelist)|Thomas Berger]]'s tragicomic ''[[Arthur Rex]]'' and [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s ''[[The Mists of Avalon]]'' (1982), in addition to comic strips such as ''[[Prince Valiant]]'' (from 1937 onward).<ref>{{Harvnb|White|1958}}; {{Harvnb|Bradley|1982}}; {{Harvnb|Tondro|2002|p=170}}</ref> Tennyson had reworked the romance tales of Arthur to suit and comment upon the issues of his day, and the same is often the case with modern treatments too. Mary Stewart's first three Arthurian novels present the wizard Merlin as the central character, rather than Arthur, and ''The Crystal Cave'' is narrated by Merlin in the first person, whereas Bradley's tale takes a feminist approach to Arthur and his legend, in contrast to the narratives of Arthur found in medieval materials.<ref>{{Harvnb |Lagorio|1996}}</ref> American authors often rework the story of Arthur to be more consistent with values such as equality and democracy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lupack|Lupack|1991}}</ref> In [[John Cowper Powys]]'s ''[[Porius: A Romance of the Dark Ages]]'' (1951), set in Wales in 499, just prior to the Saxon invasion, Arthur, the Emperor of Britain, is only a minor character, whereas Myrddin (Merlin) and [[The Lady of the Lake|Nineue]], Tennyson's Vivien, are major figures.<ref>''Porius''. New York: Overlook Duckworth 2007. pp. 8–19.</ref> Myrddin's disappearance at the end of the novel is, "in the tradition of magical hibernation when the king or mage leaves his people for some island or cave to return either at a more propitious or more dangerous time", (see [[King Arthur's messianic return]]).<ref>C. A. Coates, ''John Cowper Powys in Search of a Landscape''. Totowa, NJ: Barnes & Noble, 1982, p. 139.</ref> Powys's earlier novel, ''[[A Glastonbury Romance]]'' (1932) is concerned with both the Holy Grail and the legend that Arthur is buried at [[Glastonbury]].<ref>New York: Simon and Schuster. C. A. Coates, ''John Cowper Powys in Search of a Landscape''. pp. 92–97.</ref>

The romance Arthur has become popular in film and theatre as well. T. H. White's novel was adapted into the [[Lerner and Loewe]] stage musical ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' (1960) and [[Walt Disney]]'s animated film ''[[The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|The Sword in the Stone]]'' (1963); ''Camelot'', with its focus on the love of Lancelot and Guinevere and the [[cuckolding]] of Arthur, was itself made into a [[Camelot (film)|film of the same name]] in 1967. The romance tradition of Arthur is particularly evident and in critically respected films like [[Robert Bresson]]'s ''[[Lancelot du Lac (film)|Lancelot du Lac]]'' (1974), [[Éric Rohmer]]'s ''[[Perceval le Gallois]]'' (1978) and [[John Boorman]]'s ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]'' (1981); it is also the main source of the material used in the Arthurian spoof ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' (1975).<ref>{{Harvnb|Harty|1996}}; {{Harvnb|Harty|1997}}</ref>

Retellings and reimaginings of the romance tradition are not the only important aspect of the modern legend of King Arthur. Attempts to portray Arthur as a genuine historical figure of {{c.|lk=no|500}}, stripping away the "romance", have also emerged. As Taylor and Brewer have noted, this return to the medieval "chronicle tradition" of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the ''Historia Brittonum'' is a recent trend which became dominant in Arthurian literature in the years following the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], when Arthur's legendary resistance to Germanic enemies struck a chord in Britain.<ref>{{Harvnb|Taylor|Brewer|1983}}, chapter nine; see also {{Harvnb|Higham|2002|pp= 21–22, 30}}.</ref> [[Clemence Dane]]'s series of radio plays, ''The Saviours'' (1942), used a historical Arthur to embody the spirit of heroic resistance against desperate odds, and [[R. C. Sherriff|Robert Sherriff's]] play ''The Long Sunset'' (1955) saw Arthur rallying Romano-British resistance against the Germanic invaders.<ref>{{Harvnb|Thompson|1996|p= 141}}</ref> This trend towards placing Arthur in a historical setting is also apparent in historical and fantasy novels published during this period.<ref>For example: [[Rosemary Sutcliff]]'s ''[[The Lantern Bearers (Sutcliff novel)|The Lantern Bearers]]'' (1959) and ''[[Sword at Sunset]]'' (1963); [[Mary Stewart (novelist)|Mary Stewart]]'s ''[[The Crystal Cave]]'' (1970) and its sequels; [[Parke Godwin]]'s ''[[Firelord (novel)|Firelord]]'' (1980) and its sequels; [[Stephen R. Lawhead|Stephen Lawhead's]] ''[[The Pendragon Cycle]]'' (1987–99); [[Nikolai Tolstoy]]'s ''[[The Coming of the King]]'' (1988); [[Jack Whyte]]'s ''[[A Dream of Eagles|The Camulod Chronicles]]'' (1992–97); and [[Bernard Cornwell]]'s ''[[The Warlord Chronicles]]'' (1995–97). See [[List of books about King Arthur]].</ref> 
{{anchor|Youth groups}}
Arthur has also been used as a model for modern-day behaviour. In the 1930s, the Order of the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table was formed in Britain to promote Christian ideals and Arthurian notions of medieval chivalry.<ref>{{Harvnb|Thomas|1993|pp= 128–131}}</ref> In the United States, hundreds of thousands of boys and girls joined Arthurian youth groups, such as the Knights of King Arthur, in which Arthur and his legends were promoted as wholesome exemplars.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lupack|2002|p= 2}}; {{Harvnb|Forbush|Forbush|1915}}</ref> However, Arthur's diffusion within modern culture goes beyond such Arthurian endeavours, with Arthurian names being regularly attached to objects, buildings, and places. As Norris J. Lacy has observed, "The popular notion of Arthur appears to be limited, not surprisingly, to a few motifs and names, but there can be no doubt of the extent to which a legend born many centuries ago is profoundly embedded in modern culture at every level."<ref name="lacy364">{{Harvnb|Lacy|1996d|p= 364}}</ref> {{clear}}