MACMILLAN READERS INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STEPHEN COLBOURN King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table MACMILLAN Contents A Note About These Stories 4 A Picture Dictionary 6 The People in These Stories 7 1 The Coming of Arthur 9 e Ston e th n i d Swor e 2 Th 15 3 Excalibur 19 4 Queen Guinevere 22 u Nim d an n 5 Merli 27 t Knigh n Gree e th d an n Gawai 6r Si 32 7 The Chapel Perilous 39 t Iseul d an m 8 Tristra 46 9 Percivale and Lancelot 56 10 The Siege Perilous 62 11 The Quest for the Holy Grail 66 e Tabl d Roun e th f o g Breakin 1e 2 Th 70 13 The Passing of Arthur 77 Points for Understanding 81 Glossary 84 Exercises 89 A Note About These Stories began to tell the stories in English. In these stories, a young man called Arthur became King of Britain. Arthur called the best warriors to his court5 at Castle Camelot. The warriors, or s year d thousan a n tha e mor e ar r Arthu g Kin f o s storie e Th . castle e th f o l hal e th n i e tabl d roun a t a t sa , knights s record y histor , But . history t no e ar y the ; stories e ar y The . old . land e th e rul o t r Arthu d helpe n Merli d name magician A 6 r yea e th d aroun d live o wh Artorius r leade r wa a f o e nam e th d an e Tabl d Roun e th f o s Knight e th t abou e ar s storie e Thes 500 AD. Perhaps the name 'Artorius' became 'Arthur' in the their adventures. The stories describe how a good knight must . Arthur g Kin f o s storie behave. A good knight was chivalrous and polite. He was a 0 41 d an D A 3 4 n betwee n Britai d rule s Roman e Th warrior and a powerful member of society7 . A knight supported e on r longe o n s wa e ther , left s Roman e th r afte , Then . AD his king and fought for honour, truth and justice8. He also government in the country. Fodragon a r r centurieso y enem , n thera l ekil wero t e e manhav t y migh e H . quests n o t wen 9 e wer s kingdom e thes f o s ruler e Th . Britain n i s kingdom l smal o t e hav t migh e h r O . woman g youn a e sav o t d ha e h s Perhap invaders t fough s leader h Britis e Thes . leaders r wa r o warriors find something that was holy or valuable. When he had done 2 1 who came from the countries across the North Sea and the first these things, his quest was completed. stories of King Arthur date from about this time. But the most Stories about Arthur have been retold many times. They famous stories came from a later period. are the subject of books, plays, films, operas and poems. In . AD 0 40 r yea e th r afte k wea e becam 3 Empire n Roma e Th , Tolkien . R . R . J y b Hobbit The d an Rings the of Lord The s acros d move e peopl t differen y man , century t nex e th g Durin e th n I . Magician e th n Merli n o d base s i d Wizar e th f Gandal Europe from east to west. People from northern Germany and Star Wars films, the Jedi Knights are based on the Knights of e peopl h Britis e th e drov d an n Britai d invade , Scandinavia the Round Table. - Anglo e Thes . Britain f o s land n norther d an n wester e th o int The most important story about King Arthur is The Quest . England r o , Angleland y countr e th d name s invader n Saxo e th t a d use s wa h whic p cu e th s wa l Grai e Th Grail. Holy the for Many years later, theye becamTh . edied ths e EnglisJesu t h peoplprophe e th e e and theibefor , r Jerusalem n i r Suppe t Las language became English. modern novel, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, is also about For two hundred years after this, Vikings from Scandinavia the Holy Grail. attacked the coast of Britain. They also invaded France and 4 mixed with Celts and Bretons. In France, the Vikings were called Normans - north men. Soon, these people no longer spoke German or Scandinavian. They spoke French and in 1066 AD, the Normans invaded Britain. Over a century later, French poets and storytellers told the stories of King Arthur. They told the stories in the French s storyteller d an s poet , century h 14t e th n i , Then . language 4 5 A Picture Dictionary Stories These in People The knight Name stories the in Role helmet shield Merlin the Magician a powerful wizard, guardian of Arthur armour n Pendrago r Uthe King of Winchester Gorlo s King of Cornwall Igrayne Queen of Cornwall Morgana Le Fey a sorceress, half-sister of Arthur and mother of Mordred of King Igrayne, Arthu and r Pendragon Uther of son Britain castle Ector an old knight, foster father of Arthur tower Kay son of Ector Bedivere the oldest knight of the Round Table Lancelot the bravest knight and Champion of Camelot, of father and Guinevere Queen of lover also Galahad Gawain knight greatest the Arthur of Guineverwife and e Leodogran of daughter Leodogran King of Cameliard Nimu a sorceress and companion of Morgana t Knigh n Gree e Th Chapel Green the of r Maste sword Tristram Champion of King Mark of Cornwall, lover of axe Iseult the Fair blade The of guardian Percival e afterwards knight, purest the Grail Chapel achieves who GalahaLancelot, of d son knight, perfect the The Quest For The Holy Grail sheath Meliot knight wounded the Gilbert the Black knight t Gilber y Lad Hellawes called also sorceress, a spear Elaine Astolat of Maid Fair the Iseult the Fair daughter of the King and Queen of Ireland, wife of King Mark and lover of Tristram Mark King of Cornwall Gurman Ireland of King 6 7 Stories These in People The 1 Name Role in the stories Arthur of Coming The Isaud Ireland of Queen Marhault Champion of Ireland Brangwain Fair the Iseult of servant Pendragon Uther King and n Magicia the Merlin s Hand e Whit e th f o t Iseul wifed an g of Tristramfightin h muc s wa e Ther . Britain n i r wa f o e tim a s wa t d an n Britai n i s kingdom l smal y man e wer e Ther . I killing Kurwenal Tristram of servant Gareth Camelot of Knight a each kingdom had its own king. But no king was strong enough Naciens the holy hermit of Carbonek to rule all the land. There was no peace in Britain and the mother of Blanchefleumother and r Pelles King of daughter . suffered e peopl Percivale of wife afterwards Galahad, Merlin the Magician spoke to the people. 'One king will s Pelle g Kin Knight Grail old the king, d wounded An the . kingdom e on e becom l wil d lan e th l 'Al . said e h ' come, Bors Camelot of knight a one king will rule in one land. There will be peace at last.' Agravaine Camelot of knight a But who was this king? Perhaps it was Uther Pendragon, the Morgana Mordreand d Arthur of son knight, . evil the army e larg a h wit g kin g stron a s wa r Uthe . Winchester f o g Kin Fey Le He ruled most of southern Britain. Only the land of Cornwall, Loherangrin f o g son Kin of e PercivaleTh . andUther s Blanchefleur,a l powerfu alsos a g kin a d ha , west r fa e th o t Knight Swan the or Lohengrin called Cornwall was named Gorlo s. King Uther spoke to Merlin the Magician. 'I will go to Cornwall,' said Uther. 'I will make peace with King Gorlo s. I n The . son a e hav l wil e w d an s daughter s hi f o e on y marr l wil our son will be King of all Britain.' s wa r Uthe . Uther g Kin t a d looke e H . silent s wa n Merli k blac s a e wer s eye d an r hai s Hi . body g stron a d ha e h t bu t shor as the feathers of a raven10. Uther spoke loudly and roughly. r Uthe . angry s alway s wa e h e becaus m hi f o d afrai e wer n Me d coul e H . sword y heav a d carrie e h d an e warhors t grea a e rod . sword s hi f o 1 1 blow e on h wit n ma a l kil Merlin was the opposite of Uther. Merlin was tall, but he was not strong. He did not carry a sword. Merlin's hair was as . man d ol n a t no s wa e h t bu , 12 swan a f o s feather e th s a e whit 8 9 The Coming of Arthur The Coming of Arthur t tha d sai n me e Som .