King Arthur: History and Legend

By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong

The saga of King Arthur and his court is the most enduringly popular mythic tradition of Western civilization. For over 1,500 years, the Arthurian narrative has enthralled writers, artists, and a limitless audience spanning the Western world and beyond - and its appeal continues unabated in our time. No other heroic figure in literature compares with King Arthur in terms of global popularity and longevity; now, each year sees literally thousands of new versions of the story appear across diverse media, from fiction writing and visual arts to film and popular culture. Delve into the historical mystery behind the figure of Arthur, and discover the magnificent breadth of these epic tales.

These 24 spellbinding lectures reveal the full scope of the Arthurian tradition, from its beginnings in post-Roman Britain to its extraordinary trajectory across the centuries and its latest incarnations in modern times. Your pathfinder in this world of mythic adventure and romance, Professor Armstrong, is one of the world's leading Arthurian scholars and the current editor-in-chief of the academic journal Arthuriana. Demonstrating both encyclopedic knowledge and an infectious passion for the subject, she leads you in tracing how the myth developed across time, clarifying many misunderstood aspects of the narrative, such as the origins of the Round Table and the figure of Merlin, the illicit love between Lancelot and Guenevere, and the varied manifestations of the magical Holy Grail. You'll discover how the legend was appropriated and assimilated by differing cultures, and how each writer and artist in the tradition reflected and commented, through the Arthurian narrative, on the concerns of their own time and place. The result is an illuminating look at one of the most engaging, entertaining, and influential legendary traditions the world has ever known.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 The Great Courses (P)2015 The Teaching Company, LLC

Wonderfully Legendary, Dubiously Historical

Any additional comments?

This is a wonderful overview of the Arthurian tradition as a whole and I am coming back to listen to it again. Professor Armstrong's enthusiasm is contagious and she presents it all so well.

However, the historical section at the beginning, which I admit was a major hook for me on my first listen, has huge holes. The whole idea of looking for evidence for the 'real' Arthur in the literary tradition is massively flawed, ignoring as it does the pre-Geoffrey tradition of Arthur as a magical giant-killing folk hero bearing no resemblance at all to the Arthur of Romance.

This mostly-Welsh tradition of the 'supernatural' Arthur is far closer to contemporary with the period of the 'historical' Arthur and portrays an entirely different character. What's more, the only historical figure with a really good claim to being the origin of the name 'Arthur' (and only the name) was dead some 250 years before the period of the 'historical Arthur'.

And that's not to mention the questions about the validity of the conventional story of Saxon invasion, which I am still struggling to get a grip on.

For a more nuanced, more objective and logically sound examination of the origins of Arthur, look elsewhere (like Thomas Green's 'Concepts Of Arthur'). And I suggest you do because it only gets more fascinating the more you dig!

But for a sweeping and engaging survey of the tradition post-Geoffrey, for an appreciation of the scope and variety of this amazing literary tradition, and for some really great gems of insight on the different stories and characters, this is a wonderful piece of work. I'm on my second listen, and can certainly imagine coming back again.

A Delightful Account of Legend and Research

I think that what I liked most about this series of lectures was that the (extremely knowledgeable and entertaining) professor was willing to look at the serious and not-so-serious parts of her own academic research as well as the serious and not-so-serious parts of the creation of what she calls Arthuriana.
History buffs will love this. So will those interested in the medieval ... I mean post-Roman ... history of England ... I mean British and post-British locales. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my desire for knowledge about textual criticism and manuscript studies was granted.
The two best compliments I can give to Professor Dorsey Armstrong are: 1) Listening to this story will satisfy anyone who is looking for an entertaining telling of an interesting story; 2) I wish I could take this class live (in-classroom) from this professor, especially with the homework, papers, and exams.

King Arthur Happy Dance

What a great series of lectures about the Arthurian stories. Enough detail that it feels like I learned something new, but broad enough that it never bogged me down. I was happy to start each day hearing a bit more about the Arthur legend and modern impact.

Professor Armstrong is wonderful.

This is one of the first of the Great Courses I listened to. It is so wonderful that I've bought dozens more, but Professor Armstrong and this course is still my favorite. The Professor's knowledge of the history of the middle ages gifts her listeners with the stories of Arthur as they evolve through the centuries. We learn about Picts and Celts and Saxons and how Arthur's legend began centuries ago and how Arthur's history and legend became the King Arthur we know today.

Yes there was probably a living man around whom all of these legends have grown. Listen to the course. The lessons are logical and clear and Dorsey Armstrong makes the lessons fascinating.

Wonderful

I really enjoyed this course on King Arthur both from the historical standpoint learning about all the different variations of the stories all the way up to modern variations I thought the teacher was entertaining she's a little irritating when she calls Arthur awesome but it's only for a chapter 2 highly recommend it