Guild Bulletin Board

The child most frequently associated with King Arthur is his wicked son–nephew, Mordred, by his half sister, Morgause. Usually, the affair is arranged by his half sister Morgan le Fay without Arthur’s knowledge. In some versions of the tale, Morgause is also ignorant of her relationship to Arthur until after the deed is done. In some versions, Morgan le Fay herself is the one who deliberately becomes pregnant with Arthur’s child. Usually, her motives are to gain a claim to the throne... 

According to tradition, King Arthur was born in Tintagel Castle, in Southwestern Britain. This story comes to us from Geoffrey of Monmouth, writing in 1136 A.D. Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, who was the rightful king of Britain, lusted after Ygraine, wedded to Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall. Uther pursued her relentlessly, to the outrage of her husband. A bitter war broke out between the two men. While he went to war to defend his wife, Duke Gorlois locked Ygraine up in his castle at Tintagel... 

Like many girls who would grow up to have a passion for history and literature, my childhood heroes weren’t Disney princesses or Barbie, though I was a fan of both; they were the women of myth and legend, specifically Guinevere and Maid Marian. So in many ways it was inevitable that I would someday write a book about Guinevere. (Actually, a trilogy called Guinevere’s Tale. The first two novels in the series, Daughter of Destiny and Camelot’s Queen, are available now.) But what brought me to... 

Photo: David Goodwin, used with permission. The traditional search for an historical Arthur begins with the Welsh sources, because those are the earliest records to mention him. But Geoffrey of Monmouth was the first to popularize Arthur’s legend beyond Wales and Cornwall, and the first to paint an image of his court that would set the stage for the legends of a grand kingdom that would follow. To this end, some researchers have taken the approach of exploring Monmouth’s work to see what... 

The story of King Arthur is not a true story. It was shaped by a myriad of different storytellers, each of whom wove their own contributions into the legend over the course of a thousand years. While various attempts have been made at pinpointing an historical figure on whom the legends were based, even if such a figure did exist, the legends ascribed to him would not really have occurred. However, what is not in dispute is the reality of the “Arthurian Fact.” That is, the earliest material... 

Merlin put the sword in the stone, in order to ensure the proper King ruled Britain. After Arthur’s father, Uther, died, the nobles of Britain began disputing the right of succession. To ease their fears, Merlin erected a great sword stuck inside an anvil set atop a stone. By his magic, only the rightful ruler of Britain could wrest it from the stone. Meanwhile, baby Arthur was taken into safekeeping and raised by a loyal ally of the King’s. When Arthur was fifteen, his stepfather, Sir... 

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