King Arthur and his legend

KING ARTHUR AND HIS LEGEND

Have you ever heard about the legend of King Arthur? We are going to travel to the years when King Artur lived and we will learn some things about his legend and this period. Arthur is going to travel with us and he is going to explain some things that can be exciting! Let´s go!

Before starting the task we must take into account some aspects of this king. Little is known about the possible figure who inspired the story of King Arthur, a heroic monarch who has been a popular mythological and literary character for some time. It has been suggested that the real-life "Arthur" may have been a warrior/officer of Roman affiliation who led a British military force against incoming Saxon forces during the 5th to 6th centuries A.D.

Are you ready to start our trip? Since now you will have to search for some information about Camelot, the Round Table and the Holy Grial. With this information you will learn a lot about King Arthur. Finally, you will have to do a poster with the mean features that describes each of the things you have been searching for.

Before we start with the research yoou will have to read King Arthur´s legend so that you know who is he. After you have read it you can start with your research.

The legend

Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. However these were very troubled times and Merlin, a wise magician, advised that the baby Arthur should be raised in a secret place and that none should know his true identity.

As Merlin feared, when King Uther died there was great conflict over who should be the next king. Merlin used his magic to set a sword in a stone. Written on the sword, in letters of gold,  were these words: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is the rightwise born king of all England." Of course all the contenders for the throne took their turn at trying to draw the sword, but none could succeed. Arthur, quite by chance, withdrew the sword for another to use in a tournament. Following this he became King.

He gathered Knights around him and fought back against the Saxons who, since the Romans left Britain, were slowly but surely taking the country over. After many great battles and a huge victory at Mount Badon the Saxons' advance was halted.

Arthur's base was at a place called Camelot. Here he built a strong castle. His knights met at a Round Table. They carried out acts of chivalry such as rescuing damsels in distress and fought against strange beasts. They also searched for a lost treasure, which they believed would cure all ills - this was the 'Quest for the Holy Grail'.

Under the guidance of Merlin, Arthur had obtained a magical sword from The Lady Of The Lake. This sword was called 'Excalibur" and with this weapon he vanquished many foes.

Queen Guinevere, Arthur's beautiful wife brought romance to the story while his equally beautiful half sister Morgan le Fay added a dark side.

Unfortunately, as peace settled over the country things turned sour within the court of Camelot and civil war broke out. In the final battle at Camlan both Arthur and Mordred, Arthur's traitorous nephew, were mortally wounded. Arthur was set upon a boat and floated down river to the isle of Avalon. Here his wounds were treated by three mysterious maidens. His body was never found and many say that he rests under a hill with all his knights - ready to ride forth and save the country again.

This version of the legend was written by Sir Thomas Malory.

Part 1: Camelot

Take a look at the following website and find the answers for these questions:

http://www.caerleon.net/history/arthur/page12.htm

• What is Camelot?
• What did King Arthur do there?
• Where is Camelot located?
• What did coins have written on them?

Part 2: The Round Table

Now, we are going to investigate about the Round Table. Have a look at this page and answer these questions:

https://edu.hstry.co/timeline/king-arthur-timeline

• What was the name of Arthur´s wife?
• What does her father gave them as a weeding present?
• How did the knights and Arthur seat in the Round Table?
• Was someone more important than others?

Part 3: The Holy Grial

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/mythical/grail.html

http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/grail.html

With the information you can find on these websites above tell if there is any relation between the Holy Grial and King Arthur.

WEBQUEST RUBRIC

Congratularions! You have done a great job! You have found all the information you need for doing your poster.