School Picture Set Number 15 KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS The real Arthur was probably a British warrior— not a king—who lived about A.D. 500. His defense of his countrymen against the Anglo-Saxon in­ vaders left such a strong impression on their minds that the story grew up that he was not dead but had been carried to the fairyland of Avalon, to be healed of his wounds. His name first appears in a Latin record about 826; the first stories of his life were written in Latin and French in the 12th cen­ tury. The writers made the hero a king like those of their own day, with a splendid court and a retinue of knights. The Round Table, they said, was so shaped that all would have places of equal honor. Arthur's story was first told in English be­ tween 1175 and 1205 by the chronicler Layamon; Sir Thomas Malory's great English romance was finished in 1469. The oldest pictures of Arthur come from the 12th century. About 1500 the stories of Arthur began to go out of fashion in literature and art. But in the 19th cen­ tury Englishmen, bewildered by the changes of the machine age, turned to stories of their simpler past and their national hero. The legends of Arthur were retold in the poems of Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Swinburne, and William Morris, echoed by James Russell Lowell in America, and pictured by many artists, especially in England. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 1. KING ARTHUR Detail of a carved door­ way, Italian, early 12th century. Modena Cathe­ dral, Italy THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART This is the oldest known representation of King Arthur in art. It was carved about six centuries after his death. The inscription reads: Arius de Bretania, "Arthur of Britain." The king is shown in 12th century armor. 2. ARTHUR DRAWS THE SWORD FROM THE STONE. Manuscript illumination, French, about 1290. National Library, Paris. Arthur was brought up by a foster father and the enchanter Merlin, and only these two knew that he was the son of Uther Pendragon, King of Britain. After Uther died, a stone appeared in which was an anvil and in the anvil a sword. Golden letters said that he who could pull out the sword should be king. Only Arthur could do this; so he proved his right to the crown. It is being set on his head in the lower half of this picture. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART [l epivOii 'fît vtív w n V» 11 vw'fr Tiy«* f ivf U fîi nu 3. ARTHUR AND A GIANT. Manuscript illumina­ tion, English, 14th century. British Museum, Lon­ don. This picture shows one of the favorite stories of 12th century chroniclers. The Giant of Mont-St.- Michel, off the coast of Normandy, killed a maiden, and Arthur set out to avenge her. The king found the giant roasting a pig over a fire and split his skull. Arthur's court became the background for the deeds of that later hero of fairy tale, Jack the Giant Killer. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 4. KING ARTHUR. Detail of a French tapestry, late 14th century, in the Metropolitan Museum. The three crowns represent England, Scotland, and Brittany. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART ^ k Et f_i7 S. --^i '».!*" KLJJH e • •v*.v*\ .,_>. 3H BTTTj"NaiV tx r.ntu' rìlPtttU a iv» 5. ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS AT THE ROUND TABLE. Manuscript illumination, Italian, 1380-1400. National Library, Paris. The Round Table is first mentioned in a French chronicle written in England about 1155 by the Norman Wace. It was round, he said, to give all the knights places of equal honor. According to most stories, Merlin made it. In this picture it is shown hollow in the center for easy serving. At the left an old man brings Galahad to take his place at the empty Siege Perilous between Arthur and Lancelot. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 6. THE ROUND TABLE AT WINCHESTER. Win­ chester Castle, England. This table was made be­ fore 1450 and may have been used at some of those tournament feasts which were called Round Tables. Perhaps it was Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England, who had it painted with the pic­ ture of Arthur and the names of some of his knights about 1486. Henry's first son, born in that year, was named for Arthur. The spokes are green and white, the Tudor colors, and the red and white rose in the center was the Tudor emblem. King Arthur, shown in the section at the top, wears a blue robe with a red mantle. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 7. A TOURNAMENT AT CAMELOT Manuscript illumina­ tion, French, 1463. National Library, Paris THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART In the background is the city of Camelot. Arthur and the ladies of the court watch from stands outside its walls. The knight in the center is Galahad. Actually, there were no tournaments when Arthur lived. ^irtrtrwT^ \rinruvnj_ 8. LANCELOT CAPTURES A CASTLE. Woodcut from a prose romance of Lancelot printed in Paris by Vérard in 1494. Lancelot, chief of Arthur's knights, is shown at the right fighting singlehanded against bands of knights. He took the castle as his own and called it Joyous Gard. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART t- - r uà tcVacj.tpuila v 11 to 9. THE MAID OF ASTOLAT. Manuscript illumina­ tion, French, about 1316. British Museum, London. The maid loved Lancelot, and when she found that her love was not returned she died, asking that her body be set adrift in a boat. The boat carried her to Arthur's court, where Lancelot and all the knights and ladies grieved for her. She had no name in the oldest tales, but Sir Thomas Malory called her Elaine in his English romance, the Morie d'Arthur. Four centuries later Tennyson retold Mal­ ory's story in his Elaine, and borrowed from an Italian version for his Lady of ShaJoff. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART , vind <)< nere. 10. THE KNIGHTS SET OUT TO SEEK THE HOLY GRAIL Manuscript illumi­ nation, Italian, 1380-1400. National Library, Paris THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The knights of the Round Table set out upon a quest to see the Holy Grail unveiled. At the left they say farewell to Guenevere and her ladies. At the right Arthur rides with them a little way. »imito cr inontr, ici icm CÍV.Í.U C. pr.,r U fai 'ifon a>l ,€r fc icjxirr t».* lccn.i. cr ... ¿t-' WW 11. GALAHAD RECEIVES HIS SHIELD. Manu­ script illumination, Italian, 1380-1400. National Library, Paris. Galahad set out upon the Quest of the Grail without a shield. Soon a squire brought him a white shield with a red cross, which had been kept in an abbey for centuries waiting for his coming. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART cv íi» -ni.iic \>tíA —ii.in ice Ha /eyt<|f< 1 12. ARTHUR SAILS TO AVALON Pen drawing from a manuscript, Ital­ ian, 1446. National Library, Florence THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Arthur seems to sail alone to Avalon in this picture, but according to the Italian story an invisible fairy queen was with him. An arm rises from the water to take back his sword, Excalibur, given him by the Lady of the Lake. KV'>Ä Wife I m / ¿sil»* N*É ^ ¡S" •- *"/, /f . 13. HOW ARTHUR GOT EXCALIBUR. Detail of a stained-glass window by Charles J. Connick, 1931. Princeton University Chapel. An arm rises from the water with the sword Excalibur, a gift to Arthur from the Lady of the Lake. Merlin rows the king out to take it. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 14. LANCELOT AND THE LADY OF SHALOTT. Illustration made by Rossetti in 1857 for The Lady of Shalott. In this early poem Tennyson used an old Italian tale of the nameless damsel of Scalott or Astolat, but he changed it considerably. Later, in Elaine, he told Malory's story of the maid's love for Lancelot (see No. 9). THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 9L "VV 2 ^r . ^¥^^_| WteMß Sj^k fcPÎ' 1 ruf JB i» IIAB»_"'WÄ *& {_____•.— <____ -iiiu, \Ä». JV ^______£_K¡_| HR| ¿MIHH *•''"''• iw ; * .« • 15. SIR GALAHAD. Illustration made by Rossetti in 1857 for Tennyson's poem of the same name, first published in 1842. Here Galahad pauses at a forest shrine where unseen angels ring the bells. The story of Galahad's quest of the Grail inspired the American poet Lowell to write The Vision ot Sir Launtal. He made up a new story of the Grail and gave its hero a name from an old romance. In an introductory note to his poem he referred his read­ ers to Malory's book and Tennyson's Sir Galahad. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 16. ARTHUR CARRIED TO AVALON. Illustration made by Maclise in 1857 for Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur. This poem, first published in 1842, retold Malory's story of the weeping queens who bore Arthur away in a barge that was "Dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern." THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 17. ARTHUR IN AVALON. Detail from a painting by Bume-Jones, English, 19th century. Collection of Sidney Goldmann, England. Arthur, "king that was and king that shall be," lies asleep in Avalon, recovering from his wounds and waiting for the time when he shall return to help his countrymen.