Arthur: The Man and The Legend

Legend has it that there once was a King named Arthur who allegedly lived in the late 5th and early 6th centuries and who, with his many companions, successfully fought off numerous enemies in Britain. But was there actually an historical Arthur of real flesh and blood? The Arthurian stories are arguably the greatest legends in Western history, and here in our 50th Episode we explore how the fabled Arthur compares with the historical one.

Books:

• De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae by Gildas
• Historia Brittonum by Nennius
• The New Arthurian Encyclopedia Edited by Norris Lacy
• Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Momouth
• Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• Anglo-Saxon England by Sir Frank Stenton

Film:

• Excalibur (1981) with Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren
• Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) with John Cleese and Eric Idle
• Camelot (1967) with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave