Arthurian History The history of the Arthurian Era is known by many people, however some people only know

about the story of King Arthur, in this essay you will learn of three other aspects of Arthurian history. King Arthur ruled the kingdom of Camelot in fourth century England; he took over at a very young age and actually had a pretty successful reign. He was also the founder of the round table which was a collection of the best knights in the world fighting for right instead of might. The reign of Arthur contains many stories other than his own including, Lancelot his best friend, Guinevere his wife and Queen, and Excalibur his trusty sword and weapon of choice. Sir Lancelot Du Lac was Arthurs best friend and the greatest knight of the round table. He was born to the King Ban and Elaine but was taken by the Lady of the Lake and raised by her until the time came for him to join Arthurs table. The topic of Lancelot is very interesting because it is filled with quests, journeys and all the other typical medieval stories (Currin). His story is he arrives in Camelot and becomes a warrior adored by many, but he does some things that cause his fall from grace. In the Once and Future King, Lancelot is introduced in the second half of the book, Lancelot immediately had an impact on the story and remained a main focus until the books conclusion. In the novel he also is not taken by the Lady of the Lake but instead raised his whole life by the King Ban and Elaine, he was also trained by his Uncle Dap, an expert on all knightly endeavors. One key aspect of the story of Lancelot is his relationship with Queen Guinevere, who was Arthurs wife. Lancelot, upon first meeting the Queen despised her and saw her as a threat to him and Arthurs relationship. But once he accidentally loses his temper and lashes at her in a rage, he realizes her in another person just as he is and he falls for her (Arthurian Adventure). This forbidden relationship ultimately led to the downfall of Camelot and the round table (Arthurian Adventure).

Queen Guinevere was the wife of King Arthur and the Queen of Camelot. Guinevere had a tendency to get in trouble and on many occasions she was abducted and had to be rescued by Arthur or another member of the round table (The Legend of Queen Guinevere). No definite reason could be found as to why she was taken so much, perhaps it was because she held a position of power. Or maybe because she was extremely beautiful and wanted by many men who probably felt they were a better suitor for her than Arthur was. In the Once and Future King, Guinevere is introduced in the second half of the book and she seemed to have a lasting effect on the book. It was Guinevere who was chosen by Arthur to be his wife despite warnings from Merlyn, (Arthurs childhood tutor and counselor.) As a wedding gift her father, King Leodegrance, gave Arthur the large round table that could seat one hundred and fifty people (Legend of Queen Guinevere). Many other stories of Guinevere suggest she was not even born to King Leodegrance, some different ones also say she had a twin sister, a brother, and many other siblings who tried to sabotage the Queen in some way (Queen Guinevere). But just as with Lancelot you can not think of Guinevere without thinking of her affair with him. Now Guinevere loved both Lancelot and Arthur but with Lancelot she actually felt a passion that she did not feel with Arthur, and this led to the collapse of her kingdom, (Queen Guinevere). Excalibur was the sword that Arthur possessed during his reign as King and he almost always took it to combat as it was his favorite weapon. The story of Excalibur will differ depending on who you ask, some people will tell you Arthur pulled it from the stone and became King of England, others will tell you that Excalibur was a gift from the Lady of the Lake to Arthur as a sign she accepted him as Englands protector (Excalibur: The Sword in the Stone?). In the Once and Future King, Excalibur is the sword that Arthur pulled from the stone, and unknowingly became the King of England in the process. Multiple stories exist about

Excalibur and most of them differentiate as to how Arthur came to possess the sword. However it is Arthur and Excalibur crossed paths, the sword was used as Arthurs greatest weapon and was one of the major symbols of his time as King. These three topics: Lancelot, Guinevere, and Excalibur, all deal with the historical aspects of King Arthurs reign. I wanted to focus on these subjects because they all played a significant role in Arthurs lifetime and they dont get enough credit I think. With Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere I mainly focused on their biographies to see if any major differences from their stories in the Once and Future King appeared. With Excalibur I wanted to look deeper into the many stories surrounding the sword and how Arthur came to possess it. All of these subjects were fascinating to research and it changed my point of view on some of the stories told in the Once and Future King.