Since the romanticizing of the Arthurian legends by Geoffery of .
Monmouth, the historian, during the twelfth century, the legendary 'king .
of England' has been the source of inspiration for kings, poets, artists .
and dreamers alike. The most famous work is probably Sir Thomas Malory's .
Le Morte d'Arthur, completed around 1470, and published in many abridged .
and complete versions. Malory's work contains in one the legend that had .
been continually added to over the years by many different writers who .
introduced such elements as Sir Galahad, and the ill-fated love affair .
between Lancelot and Guinevere. Geoffery of Monmouth had been the first .
to put the legends surrounding Arthur into literary form in his History .
of the Kings of Britain. He described Arthur's genealogy as the son of .
Uther Pendragon and Igerna, or Igraine, wife of the Duke of Cornwall, .
and brought in Merlin the magician, who disguised Arthur as the Duke in .
order to romance Igerna at Tintagel Castle while the real Duke was away. .
Geoffery also introduced Arthur's famed court (placed at .
Caerleon-on-Usk) and his final battle and defeat at the hands of Modred, .
his treacherous nephew. .
Artos Of The Celts .
It is almost certain that Arthur did exist, although it is unlikely he .
was a king. He is more likely to have been a warrior and Celtic cavalry .
leader. The Saxon invaders, who were unmounted, would have been at a .
considerable disadvantage against the speed with which the Celtic .
company were able to move around the country, which would make possible .
the dozen victories up and down the country that have been attributed to .
the shadowy figure of Arthur. Around the fifth century, a resistance .
movement against Britain's invaders, including Saxons and Angles from .
the continent, Picts from the North, and Irish from the West, was being .
led which maintained a British hold on the South and West. Around this .
time, a man named Artos was beginning to be written of as a powerful .
