King+Arthur+Resources

King Arthur is one of the most famous characters in literary history. We use the term "legend" to refer to the stories about him. The term "legend" comes from the Medieval Latin //legenda//, meaning “to be read,” which was derived from //legere//, meaning “to read.”
 * BACKGROUND:**

A legend is a story purported to be historical in nature, but without substantiation. Prominent examples include: [|King Arthur], Blackbeard and Robin Hood.

The legends surrounding King Arthur include stories about Merlin, Morgan Le Fay, Lancelot, Perceval, Galahad, Gawain, the Lady of the Lake, Guinevere, and Excalibur.

To gain some background knowledge about ancient British history and the beginning of King Arthur an the legends, we will first watch a short documentary from the BBC- //In Search of Myths and Heroes - Season 1: Episode 3.//

The stories of King Arthur became most popular in the Middle Ages (1100 - 1500), and so they are associated with Medieval Literature, although if there was a real Arthur, who was the inspiration for the tales, he most likely lived around 500 AD. Read about the "Historical Arthur."
 * HW for 9/19/13:**
 * Notice and note 1 thing that surprised you and come up with one question you have. **

Read "Time Period in Which Arthur Would Have Lived"
 * HW for 9/20/13:**
 * Notice and note 1 thing that surprised you and come up with one question you have. **

To be read in class: "How th e Legend of King Arthur Developed."
 * Notice and note 1 thing that surprised you and come up with one question you have. **



A map of the British Isles. Click for more info.

Important Arthurian terms to be defined
 * HW: 9/23/13**

See some of the 2013 and 2012 seventh graders' own versions of Arthurian legends

Read the legend of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady

=**Vocabulary words and definitions**=

King Arthur reading response


 * More RESOURCES:**

Excalibur: The name // Excalibur // apparently derives from the [|Welsh] // Caledfwlch // which combines the elements // caled // ("battle, hard"), and // bwlch // ("breach, gap, notch"). [|[1]] [|Geoffrey of Monmouth] [|Latinised] this to // Caliburnus // (likely influenced by the medieval Latin spelling // calibs // of Classical Latin // chalybs //, from Greek "χάλυψ", "steel"), the name of Arthur's sword in his 12th-century work // [|Historia Regum Britanniae] //. // Caliburnus // or // Caliburn // became // Excalibur //, // Escalibor // , and other variations when the Arthurian legend entered into [|French] literature. - from Wikipedia

British History time-line from the BBC

Read about and view pictures of the castles and structures mentioned in the legends

Learn about the period in which the actual Arthur lived from the BBC for Kids and from Caerleon

Possible basis for the round table found in England?

The basic legends and some Arthurian terms defined

Student created Arthurian glossary

Learn about the knights' code of chivalry and a more modern translation of __a code of__ chivalry

Learn about the legendary king's death written about by Thomas Malory

More about some of the legends of King Arthur

Arthurian Map (click for more info)

Look at other places mentioned in the legends: Carlisle Wirral Orkney Kent

Help with the who's who in British history

Make your own time-line with TikiToki

Learn about jousting and lances

Watch a clip from Full Metal Jousting, the History Channel show on modern-day jousting

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River Ver image

Faeries and fae information (Seelie and Unseelie Court)

Some of the best clips from Monty Python and the Holy Grail