Science Forums 2

[maikeru]

I know there's quite a few of us who are interested in fantasy, science fiction, and history here on the forums, and as I was starting to immerse myself in the King Arthur mythos and works again (Le Morte D'Arthur, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights retold by John Steinbeck, and the books by T.H. White), I thought Hypography would be the perfect place to discuss the subject. Though we live in a modern time when myths and legends fade from memory, what surprises me is how persistent the stories and legends surrounding King Arthur remain, ever alive and vibrant and colorful, the source for an innumerable number of movies, plays, books, and scholarly and historical studies. There is no end to people's fascination with King Arthur, Guinevere, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.

I remember I first encountered King Arthur in the Disney animation "The Sword in the Stone," which was loosely based on T.H. White's works. Over the next several years, my general interests in European and world history led me to read Le Morte D'Arthur when I was a teenager. I read it once, from cover to cover, though I didn't understand all of it at that time. Since then, I also read John Steinbeck's novelistic retelling of the Le Morte, have watched a few movies based on the stories (Excalibur, for example), and seen its influence in modern fantasy. Besides Tolkien, much of modern fantasy in books and movies owe their heritage to Arthurian mythology.

If you have an interest in King Arthur, any of the stories or works created by Arthurian authors and "chroniclers," or the history behind the mythos, please share it here. Part of the reason why I am so interested in it right now is that I feel there is something very powerful and human at the core of the stories, though I am not quite sure what it is--that is, why are they so popular and why have they lasted so long? There is something there that has given these stories meaning and relevance to people's lives for over a thousand years.