A Satisfyingly Succinct Treatment of Arthur Through the Ages

NOTE: This is by no means an exhaustive list of Arthur authors, but a brief examination of the highlights. 

Gildas

The oldest literary reference to Arthur comes from Gildas in his Jeremiad On the Ruin of Britain in 540 A.D. where he makes a passing comment about a man who wins some battles and loses some battles against the Saxons, until the decisive battle of Mount Badon where the man is ultimately victorious. 

The Venerable Bede

The Venerable Bede makes a reference to this event almost 200 years after Gildas in 731 A.D. but he mostly just repeats what Gildas said. In the time between these two sources, in the year 600, Arthur is mentioned by Aneirin (No pictures, sorry) when he described another man’s heroic feats and then added “though he was not Arthur.” When looking at these sources from way back, it is difficult to see the connection between this famous warrior and the great King of Camelot. However, from these sources we can tell that this man, whoever he was, emerged as a leader in a time of desperate need to win the day for the Britons. This quality of Arthur’s is also what has endured through his many transformations. He continues to be a symbol for integrity and honor. But he has a lot more growing to do after Bede. 

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Let us skip a few less significant references and continue on to the 12th century where there was a sudden explosion of Arthur tales. Geoffrey of Monmouth has to his credit the coronation of Arthur, because to our knowledge Arthur was not a king until Monmouth said he was. This significant alteration changed Arthur forever. And all Geoffrey said about him was, "And even the renowned king Arthur himself was mortally wounded; and being carried thence to the isle of Avalon to be cured of his wounds, he gave up the crown of Britain to his kinsman Constantine...” Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain has been discredited as a historical work, but the effect of this book has reached through the ages, enchanting new generations with tales of the noble King Arthur. It was from Monmouth’s work that Thomas Mallory based his version of Arthur on for his Le Morte d’Arthur. After Geoffrey, but still in the 12th century came Marie de France and Chretien de Troyes. Marie de France wrote stories in Anglo-Norman, and one of her Lais is about a knight in King Arthur's court named Lanval, who fell love with a fairy woman. Her and Chretien de Troyes were contemporary, and it is from him that we get tales of the quest for the holy grail.

Sit Thomas Mallory

Tennyson

Sir Thomas Mallory’s book is most relevant to our present study because it is where we get many of the now familiar stories surrounding Arthur and his retinue. The inclusion of Merlin, Lancelot, the other Knights, Camelot, Excalibur and so on were first combined by Mallory. Also, he is the main influence for Tennyson’s The Lady of Shallot and Idylls of the King, the second of which is this celebrated poets most ambitious project, spanning many years of his life. Beyond the Victorian age, Mallory and Tennyson’s books work in tandem to influence our modern enchantment with the topic, as they were T.H. White’s primary sources for his book 

The once and Future King (1958) which is a popular book today. This book includes details about Arthur's youth and more details about Merlin, such as how he ages backwards. The animated movie The Sword in the Stone (1963) seems to draw heavily from White's book. The movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is still very popular. This film follows the spirit of the Arthurian tradition in that it is selective as to which elements of the story it preserves. Main characters like Merlin, Guinevere are left out, while new characters like Tim the Enchanter, The Knights of Ni and the Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh are added.