Matter of Britain

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, centering around King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. It was so called in the middle ages, in order to distinguish it from the legendary cycles from Greek mythology, the "matter of Greece," and the tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "matter of France." While Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, other lesser-known legendary history of the British Isles, including Brutus of Britain, Old King Cole, and King Lear, and Gogmagog is also included in the subjects covered by the Matter of Britain.

Two larger stories intermesh in the Matter of Britain. One concerns Camelot, usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of Arthur and Sir Lancelot. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail; some succeed (Galahad, Parsifal), and others fail (Lancelot). The mediaeval tale of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their authors, and the quest for an important Christian relic. In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology, usually in highly romanticized, early twentieth century reconstructed versions.

Characters and subjects belonging to the Matter of Britain include:

Arthur and his entourage

King Arthur
the Round Table
Guinevere, wife of Arthur
Excalibur, Arthur's magic sword
Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur
Camelot, Arthur's capital
Mordred, Arthur's heir and enemy
Avalon, Arthur's resting place

Matter of Britain

Arthur and his entourage

Knights of the Round Table

Other important figures

Noteworthy authors

See also