The Arthurian Legends

 

Insert illustration by Arthur Rackham


King Arthur was a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Romano-Celtic Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians.

The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). Some Welsh and Breton tales and poems relating the story of Arthur date from earlier than this work; in these works, Arthur appears either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in 1138) was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown.

Work Available

Morgan le FayExcalibur The Sword - Pencil Drawing by Ed OrgThe Maying - The Romance of King ArthurThe Shield MaidenStudy For Elaine - Pencil Drawing by Ed OrgKing Arthur from Disney's Sword and the StoneSir Tristram defeats Sir Palamedes in IrelandKing Arthur's Wedding Feast


Character list and their role in the Arthurian Legends

Accolon - Morgan le Fay's lover
Aglovale - Eldest son King Pellinore
Agravain - Second son of King Lot and Morgause who joins Mordred's rebellion
Amr - Son of King Arthur
King Arthur - King of the Britons
Aurelius Ambrosius - Brother of Uther Pendragon and High King of Britain before him
Bagdemagus - Father of Meleagant and ruler of Gorre
Ban - Lancelot's father
Balan - Brother to Balin
Balin - Brother to Balan who kills the Lady of the Lake and strikes the Dolorous Stroke
Bedivere - Brother to Sir Lucan who returns Excalibur to The Lady of the Lake
Black Knight - King Arthur's grandson through Tom a'Lincoln. Another Black Knight is an antagonist figure
Blanchefleur - Wife of Percival and niece to Gornemant
Bors the Elder - Brother to King Ban and an ally of Arthur's
Bors the Younger - Son of Bors the Elder, father of Elyan the White
Brangaine - Handmaid to Iseult
Breunor le Noir - Brother of Dinadan and Daniel, Knight who wears his murdered father's coat,
Brutus of Britain - First King of Britain, a Trojan
Cador - Father to Constantine III of Britain, raised Guinevere as his ward
Caelia - Mother to the Faerie Knight , Tom a'Lincoln's lover,
Calogrenant - Cousin to Sir Ywain
Caradoc - Rebelled against Arthur when he first became king, but later supported him.
Catigern - Son of Vortigern; fought alongside his brother Vortimer against the Saxons
Cerdic of Wessex - First King of Wessex, an ancestor of Arthur's
Claudas - Frankish King antagonistic to Arthur, has two sons, Dorin and Claudin
Claudin - Virtuous son of the Frankish villain Claudas, one of 12 knights to achieve the Holy Grail
Constans son of Constantine - Son of Constantine II of Britain, older brother toUther Pendragon
Constantine II of Britain - Grandfather of Arthur, father to Uther Pendragon, Constans, and Ambrosius Aurelianus
Constantine III of Britain - Cousin of Arthur and successor to his throne, Cador's son
Culhwch - Cousin of Arthur in early Welsh legend
Cynric of Wessex - Second King of Wessex, son of Cerdic
Dagonet - Arthur's court jester
Daniel von Blumenthal - A Knight of the Round Table found in an early German offshoot of Arthurian legend
Dinadan - Son of Sir Brunor the Senior
Dindrane - Sister (sometimes half-sister) of Percival, plays a large part in many Holy Grail stories
Ector - Father to Sir Kay, raises Arthur according to Merlin's command
Edern ap Nudd - Brother of Gwyn ap Nudd, rival to Erec/Geraint.
Elaine of Astolat - Daughter of Bernard of Astolat, classic Arthurian figure of unrequited love
Elaine of Benoic - Wife of King Ban and mother to Lancelot, Evaine's sister
Elaine of Corbenic - Daughter of the Fisher King, mother of Galahad by Lancelot
Elaine of Garlot - Daughter of Gorlois and Igraine, sister to Morgan le Fay and Morgause and a half-sister to King Arthur, wife to King Nentres.
Elaine of Listenoise - Daughter of King Pellinore, lover of Sir Miles of the Laundes
Elaine the Peerless - Niece of the Lord of the Fens and wife of Persides the Red of the Castle of Gazevilte
Eliwlod - Nephew to Arthur, son of Madoc, Uther Pendragon's son
Elyan the White - Son of Sir Bors and Claire, King Brandegoris' daughter, helps Lancelot rescue Guinevere and goes into exile with him
Enide - Wife of Erec
Erec - Son of King Lac and a Knight of the Round Table
Esclabor - Father of Palamedes, Safir, and Segwarides
Esclados - Defended a magical fountain in the Forest of Broceliande, married to Laudine
Evaine - Wife of Bors the Elder, mother of Bors the Younger and Lionel, aunt of Lancelot
Faerie Knight - Bastard son of Tom a'Lincoln and Caelia, the Faerie Queen, half brother to the Black Knight
Feirefiz - Half-brother to Percival and King Arthur's nephew
Fisher King - The Guardian of the Holy Grail
Gaheris - Son of King Lot and Morgause, brother to Gawain, Agravaine, and Gareth, and half-brother to Mordred
Galahad - Bastard son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic
Galehault - Former enemy of Arthur who becomes close friends with Lancelot
Galeschin - Son of Elaine of Garlot and King Nentres, nephew of Arthur
Gareth - Son of Lot and Morgause, in love with Lyonesse
Gawain - Son of Lot and Morgause, father of Gingalain
Geraint - Lover of Enid
Gingalain - Son of Gawain and Blanchemal
Gorlois - Husband of Igraine's before she married Uther Pendragon
Gornemant - Mentor of Percival
Green Knight - Knight enchanted by Morgan le Fay in order to test Gawain
Griflet - Son of Do (or Don), cousin to Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere
Gringolet - Gawain's horse
Guinevak - Half-sister of Guinevere
Guinevere - Wife to King Arthur, famous for her affair with Lancelot
Gwyn ap Nudd - One of Arthur's knights. Brother of Edern ap Nudd, rival of Gwythyr ap Greidawl, lover of Creiddylad
Hector de Maris - Half-brother of Lancelot, son of King Ban and the Lady de Maris, Sir Bors and Sir Lionel are his cousins
Hengest - Anglo-Saxon king killed by Uther Pendragon,Horsa's brother
Hueil mab Caw - A Pictish plunderer and chieftain, killed by Arthur. Brother to Saint Gildas
Hoel - Son of King Budic of Brittany, father to St. Tudwal
Horsa - Brother to Hengest
Igraine - Mother to King Arthur through an affair with Uther Pendragon
Iseult of Ireland - Wife of Mark of Cornwall and adulterous lover of Sir Tristan
Iseult (Queen of Ireland) - Mother of Iseult of Ireland
Iseult of the White Hands - Daughter of Hoel of Brittany, sister of Sir Kahedin, and wife of Tristan
Joseph of Arimathea - First keeper of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend
Josephus of Arimathea - Son of Joseph of Arimathea
Kay - Foster brother to Arthur, Sir Ector's son
Kahedin - Brother to Iseult, son of King Hoel, had an affair with Brangaine
Lady of the Lake - There are several related characters called the Lady of the Lake. Their actions include giving Arthur his sword Excalibur, raising Lancelot and his cousins as foster children, enchanting Merlin, and taking the dying king to Avalon
Lamorak - Son of King Pellinore, brother to Tor, Aglovale, Percival, and Dindrane. Lover of Morgause
Lancelot - Son to King Ban and Elaine, most famous for his affair with Queen Guinevere, Arthur's wife.
Lanval - A knight of King Arthur's court who falls in love with a fairy
Laudine - Wife of Sir Ywain
Leodegrance - Father of Guinevere, King of Cameliard in what is now southwest England
Lionel - Son of King Bors of Gaunnes (or Gaul), brother of Bors the Younger
Lohengrin - A knight of the Holy Grail, son of Percival
Loholt - Illegitimate son of Arthur
Lot - King of Lothian, father to Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth
Lucan - Servant to King Arthur, Bedivere's brother, Griflet's cousin
Lucius - A fictional Roman Emperor and antagonist to Arthur
Lunete - Handmaiden and advisor to Laudine
Lynette - Seeks aid from Arthur to rescue her sister Lyonesse
Mabon ap Modron - Son of Modron, kidnapped at birth, rescued byCulhwch
Madoc - Son of Uther Pendragon, brother of Arthur in early Welsh tradition, father of Eliwlod
Maleagant - Abductor of Guinevere
Manawydan fab Llyr - Originally a British God; appeared as a knight of Arthur's in Culhwch and Olwen
Mark of Cornwall - Uncle of Tristan, husband to Iseult
Meirchion - Father to Mark of Cornwall
Melehan - Elder son of Mordred
Meliodas - Father to Tristan
Menw ap Tairgwaedd - Enchanter, member of Arthur's retinue.
Merlin - Wizard, guide to King Arthur
Modron - Mother of Mabon; in another folktale, she is the mother of Owain (Ywain) and Morvydd by Urien. Possible source for Morgan le le Fay
Mordred - In some literature, Arthur's illegitimate son through Morgause, kills and is killed by Arthur
Morgan le Fay - Sorceress, half-sister and sometime antagonist of Arthur
Morgause - Half-sister of Arthur, wife to King Lot, mother toGawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, Gareth, and Mordred
Morgan Tud - Head physician of Arthur's court.
Morholt - Irish knight, rival of Tristan, uncle of Iseult
Morien - Half-Moorish son of Aglovale
Morvydd - Twin sister of Owain
Oberon - King of the Fairies, sometimes identified as a son of Morgan le Fay
Olwen - Daughter of Ysbaddaden, beloved of Culhwch
Orgeluse - A wife of Gawain
Owain - Son of Urien
Palamedes - Saracen Knight of the Round Table
Parcenet - A maid from Queen Ettarre's court who helps Sir Pelleas
Pelleas - A Knight of the Round table in love with Ettarre, later lover of Nimue
Pellinore - King of Listenoise and friend to Arthur
Percival - Achiever of the Holy Grail; King Pellinore's son in some tales
Questing Beast - A strange beast quested after by many knights associated with Pellinore and Palamedes.
Red Knight - Appears in many tales, usually as an antagonist
Rience - King defeated by Arthur
Safir - Son to Esclabor, brother of Segwarides andPalamedes
Sagramore - Ubiquitous Knight of the Round Table; various stories and origins are given for him
Segwarides - Son of Esclabor, brother of Safir and Palamedes
Taliesin - Bard to king Arthur, oldest known Welsh poet
Tom a'Lincoln - Illegitimate son of King Arthur through Angelica
Tom Thumb - A tiny creation of Merlin. Later becomes Arthur's court dwarf and an honorary knight
Tor - Son of King Ars, adopted by Pellinore
Tristan - Son of Blancheflor and Rivalen (or Meliodas), Iseult's lover
Urien - Father of Ywain (Owain mab Urien), husband of Morgan le Fay
Uther Pendragon - Father of King Arthur
Vortigern - King of Britain whose decisions assisted the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain
Vortimer - Son of Vortigern
Ysbaddaden - A giant and antagonist in the story Culhwch and Olwen
Ywain - Son of Urien, Morvydd's brother
Ywain the Bastard - Illegitimate son of Urien, accidentally killed by Gawain