Matter of Britain

***Matter of Britain*** (often times referred to as the Arthurian Legends) is a 12-century British legend and one of the Three "Matters" dealing with medieval society, which *Galatune* is loosely based upon. The *Matter of Britain* constitutes the body of medieval literature and legendary materials associated with Great Britain, and sometimes Brittany, and the legendary Kings and mythical heroes associated with it, in particular that of King Arthur. It was one of the three great literary cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the *Matter of France*, which focused on the legends and life of Charlemagne and the *Matter of Rome*, which focused on the founding of the Roman Empire by the Trojan survivors of the Greco-Trojan war; led by Prince Aeneas.

## History

The Three "Matters" find their first reference in the 12th century by the infamous French poet Jean Bodel, whose epic *Chanson de Saisnes* contains the following lines:

"*Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant,*
*De France et de Bretaigne, et de Rome la grant."*

This translates as:

"*There are but three matters that no man should be without, That of France, of Britain, and of great Rome.*"

The name differentiates and relates the Matter of Britain from the legendary themes taken from classical antiquity, the "Matter of Rome", and the legends of the Paladins who served Charlemagne, as well as their wars with the Moors and Saracens, which constituted the "Matter of France". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, though it also covers other abstruse legends and history pertaining to Great Britain and Brittany.

## Overview

The *Matter of Britain* is the legendary account of the founding of Britain, and the more infamous Arthurian cycle. The Matter explains the founding of Britain by it's legendary King Brutus of Britain, who was said to be a descendant of Virgil's Aeneas, and whose lineage could be traced back fully to Troy itself; and thus to Aeneas's mother; the Goddess Aphrodite. Though the Matter also focuses heavily on the battles and conflicts of Arthur and his repelling of Saxon invasions into Britain. However, it is widely known for it's strong themes dealing with destined purpose, magical weapons that grants the wielder immunity to harm or allows them to always be victorious in battle, the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, the quest for religious artifacts (a Christian relic), Knightly conduct, the code of chivalry, strong religious belief's and a connection to the afterlife, courtly love and ultimately the destruction of a nation through adulterous lust.

Scholars and historians still debate on what is history and what is fantasy with regards to all Three "Matters", though especially that of the *Matter of Britain*. However, some believe the legendary history of Britain was created for the purpose of creating a sense of patriotism for the country, as the people there had been abandoned by Rome and were left to defend themselves from invading Saxons, Picts and Celts; and thus were in a constant state of fear and war. The *Matter of Britain* has a strong background in things pertaining to Christian religion and morals as well as Gaelic and Celtic mythology.

Part of the "Matters" great success is the fact that it works on multiple levels: it provides a historical foundation, gave the Britons a sense of pride in their heritage, was a first-rate adventure story, was filled with religious morality, conduct, belief and insight, and gave an allegory of human development and spiritual growth.

### Historical Context

Though the entirety of the Matter of Britain is still debated, in terms of historicity, several events are now believed to have been recorded fairly accurately and to have actually taken place. Author Howard Wiseman, has compiled several events that are known to have historically taken place that also coincides with the *Matter of Britain*, and has published his work in: *Then Arthur Fought (The Matter of Britain, 378-634 AD)*. This period of the events of Arthur's battles is commonly believed to be the most accurate timeline among historians and is argued to this day.

Part of the problem in the debates pertaining to the historicity of the Matter of Britain, was the fact that the earliest mention of the events in the *Matter of Britain*, was hundreds of years after they supposedly took place, and almost no mention of King Arthur could be found in the world during the time the events allegedly occurred. The problems were only expanded upon, as newer authors throughout the centuries added their own stories and interpretations to the Arthurian cycle and legend that conflicted with the earlier Arthurian legends. Some claiming to have taken place in 1120's-1300's which obviously, could not have happened.

Despite all this, recent findings and studies have shown that Arthur may have existed much earlier, during the time of Rome's evacuation from Britannica, when the Britons were plagued by constant Saxon invasions and tyrannical local rulers. Historically speaking, a Roman military commander known as Lucius Artorius Castus has been cited as evidence for the "real" King Arthur. Artorius repelled several Saxon invasions, and had several battles; but other than his military campaign and career he had little in common with the legends pertaining to the Arthurian cycle. The timing of Artorius's historical struggle with the Saxons and King Arthur's wars also conflict. Nevertheless, some scholars have suggested that Artorius's name may have been used as an honorific by locals for centuries to come, who remembered his deeds and passed them down orally for generations. Artorius's does translates into Celtic as Artúr, which then would translate to modern English as Arthur. Other historians state that in was Artorius's actions that paved the way for the inspiration and fantasy of King Arthur; but as of yet, there is no definitive proof that Lucius Artorius Castus was the "real" King Arthur.

## Major Characters

### King Arthur

**Arthur** (Full name Arthur Pendragon) is the King of the Britons and fights in several major battles to both protect and expand his Kingdom. He is best known for his repelling of Saxon invasions, his twelve famous battles, his quest to recover the Holy Grail relic, his wive's affair with his greatest champion and his final battle against his illegitimate son. However, Arthur had many more notable adventures. He is the head of the Kingdom of Briton, ruler of the city of Camelot and the leader of the Knights of the Round Table.

## Media Adaptations

### Animated Movies & Series

* *The Sword in the Stone*, a 1963 Disney animated film about Arthur's childhood, loosely adapted from T.H. White's take on the legend.
* *Quest for Camelot* is a 1998 animated feature with King Arthur ruling over a besieged Camelot.
* The late 1969 Australian animated cartoon series *Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table* was a typically wacky take on Arthurian legend.
* *King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur)*, a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation in 1979, followed by *King Arthur: Prince on White Horse (Moero Arthur: Hakuba no Oji)* in 1980
* The animated series *The Legend of Prince Valiant* followed the adventures of three young warriors training to become Knights of the Round Table. Originally aired in the early 1990s, it featured Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and Gawain in its main cast and several other Arthurian characters in recurring roles.
* The animated series *King Arthur & the Knights of Justice* premiering in 1992 featured an American Football team called the Knights led by quarterback Arthur King. When the "real" Knights of the Round Table are captured, Merlin magically transports the Knights football team to Camelot to defend the kingdom and rescue the captured knights. The show was cancelled in 1993.
* Starting within its "Avalon World Tour" story arc, a few episodes of Disney's *Gargoyles* devoted themselves partly to Arthur Pendragon, after NYPD detective Elisa Mazaawakens the King from his "eternal slumber" within Avalon's "hollow hill" sanctuary. Arthur goes on to recover his sword Excalibur while visiting New York (and directly confronting Macbeth while recovering it), and while in New York, knights the London Clan gargoyle Griff to become his traveling companion from Griff's assistance to the king in recovering Excalibur, as Arthur begins a quest to find Merlin.
* The British animated cartoon series *King Arthur's Disasters* in 2005. Where Arthur is voiced by Rik Mayall.
* In the Japanese anime adaptation of the visual novel *Fate/stay night*, Arthur is portrayed as having been a woman (named Arturia) whose spirit is resurrected to serve a mage in the modern day with history recording her as a man for political correctness. She reprises this role in the adaptation's prequel *Fate/Zero*, which also features a version of Lancelot. Arturia also appears in the film *Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works*, and a recreated anime series based on the latter, as well as a number of spinoffs based on the franchise. In addition, the OVA *Fate/Prototype* (based on an earlier draft of Fate/Stay Night's story) features a male version of King Arthur, known in the expanded universe as "Prototype Saber".
* Arthur serves as the main antagonist in the Japanese anime *Nobunaga the Fool*. The anime is a sci-fi telling of famed ancient heroes from the west, such as Arthur, Caeser, and Alexander, going to war against famed ancient heroes from the east, such as Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, and Kenshin over control over two planets, both of which represent Europe and Japan.
* The Japanese anime Highschool DxD contains several elements from Arthurian legend such as the Welsh Dragon, the White dragon and the sword Excalibur.

### Board Games

* The board game Shadows Over Camelot features King Arthur as one of the main playable characters in the game.
* In the science fiction board game Warhammer 40k, the Emperor of Mankind drew many similar inspiration from Arthurian legends while the treacherous Warmaster Horus andHorus Heresy is similar to Mordred.

### Books (Modern)

* Howard Wiseman's *Then Arthur Fought (The Matter of Britain, 378-634 AD)*.
* A. A. Attanasio: *The Dragon and the Unicorn*, *The Eagle and the Sword*, and *The Wolf and the Crown*.
* Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis: *The Revenge of the Shadow King* reveals an alternate history of Arthur who was betrayed and murdered by his half-sister Morgan le Fay, who is portrayed as an evil immortal being known as the Black Witch, for possession of a sacred book which had been passed down father-to-son for thousands of years. In this case, Arthur was betrayed when he refused to pass the book on to his illegitimate son. The book was passed to Arthur's true son, and from Arthur's son came the Knights Templar.
* Marion Zimmer Bradley: *The Mists of Avalon* is the classic of modern reinterpretations of the Arthurian legend through the points of view of powerful women behind Camelot, namely Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and Morgause.
* Gillian Bradshaw: The *Down the Long Wind* trilogy *Hawk of May*, *Kingdom of Summer* and *In Winter's Shadow* looks at the King Arthur legend through the eyes of a classical scholar.
* James Herbert Brennan: The *Grail Quest* gamebooks center on the kingdom of King Arthur.
* Bryher set her historical novel *Ruan* in Britain immediately after Arthur's death.
* Meg Cabot: *Avalon High*, a novel in which high school students find themselves to be reincarnations of characters from the Arthurian cycle.
* Mark Chadbourn: *The Age of Misrule*, *The Dark Age* and *Kingdom of the Serpent* trilogies take a modern twist of Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology, using them as a basis for a dark series of novels set in modern Britain, in which the Celtic gods return to take back the land.
* Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy: *The Forever King* is a trilogy of books set in modern-day about a boy who is King Arthur reincarnated and his protector Hal, a former police officer who is the reincarnation of Galahad.
* Douglas Clegg: *Mordred, Bastard Son* (2006) centers on a sympathetic Mordred, who enters into a romance with Lancelot.
* Susan Cooper: five volume saga, *The Dark is Rising*.
* Bernard Cornwell: *The Warlord Chronicles* consist of three novels, *Winter King*, *Enemy of God*, and *Excalibur*, and reintroduce many old characters into the tale.
* Kevin Crossley-Holland: *The Seeing Stone*, *At the Crossing-Places*, and *King of the Middle-March*.
* Peter David's *Knight* trilogy depicts Arthur reappearing in the modern-day world. In the first novel, *Knight Life*, Arthur emerges from his thousand-year convalescence that followed the wound he sustained from Mordred to run for mayor of New York City. In *One Knight Only*, he faces another epic hero for possession of the Holy Grail. In *Fall of Knight*, the villain Arthur encounters is a person from actual history, who possesses the Spear of Destiny, and wants to use it to destroy the Earth.
* Bryan Davis: *Dragons in Our Midst* series
* David Drake: *The Dragon Lord*, a somewhat unconventional story involving a "King Arthur" who is more great military general than quasi-enchanted king; it takes place shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire and long before the Age of Chivalry.
* Robert W. Fuller: *The Rowan Tree*, a political novel that casts the Arthurian legend in a modern historical setting.
* David Gemmell: *Ghost King (1988)*, *Last Sword of Power (1988)*, The entire series deals with the Stones of Power, also known as the Sipstrassi. The first two books contain a re-imaging of the Arthurian legend.
* Parke Godwin: *Firelord* and *Beloved Exile*
* Robert Holdstock: The Merlin Codex, a trilogy of mythic fiction novels which trace Merlin's adventures in Europe before the time of King Arthur, placing him alongside Jason and the Argonauts and Urtha Pendragon.
* Helen Hollick: *Pendragon's Banner* trilogy.
* Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant
* Phyllis Ann Karr: *The Idylls of the Queen*.
* Guy Gavriel Kay: *The Fionavar Tapestry* is the continuation of the Camelot story in the framework of a wider epic.
* Stephen King: *The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah* reveals that the hero of King's spaghetti-western/fantasy/sci-fi magnum opus adventure series, Roland, is one of only two of King Arthur's surviving descendants. The version of Arthur in Roland's world is known as Arthur Eld, and was the founder of the order of Gunslingers, knightly warriors who wield revolver pistols in the name of justice; Eld's own guns were reportedly forged from the metal of Excalibur itself.
* J. Robert King: *Mad Merlin*, *Lancelot Du Lethe*, A retelling of the Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Merlin and Lancelot rather than on the usual Arthur, King weaves his tale by combining bits of folklore and mythology with both sheer invention and historical fact. Merlin is actually the god Jupiter.
* James Knowles, *The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights*
* Sidney Lanier: *The Boy's King Arthur* is a work based on Thomas Malory's *Le Morte d'Arthur*, written in such a way to appeal to the boys of the 19th century.
* Stephen R. Lawhead: *The Pendragon Cycle*, a more thorough examination of the myths, especially concerning Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and the Grail.
* C.S. Lewis makes reference to Arthur and aspects of Arthurian legend, albeit with his own twist, in the final installment of his Space Trilogy, *That Hideous Strength*.
* John Masefield cycle of poetry concerning the Arthurian legend.
* Nancy McKenzie: *Queen of Camelot*, where Guinevere gives a first-hand account of her life, and *Grail Prince*, set directly after Arthur's death at Camlann.
* Rosalind Miles *Guenevere Trilogy* is a fictional trilogy that follows Guenevere and King Arthur through their reign as High King and Queen.
* Michael Morpurgo *Arthur, High King of Britain* (1994)
* Gerald Morris The Squire's Tale Collection.
* Garth Nix: Contained in Nix's collection *Across the Wall* are two stories that present a different take on the Arthurian legends: "Under the Lake", a short story that portrays the Lady of the Lake as a parasitic, monstrous creature, and "Heart's Desire", which tells of Merlin and his apprentice Nimue, and the ultimately doomed relationship between them.
* Tim Powers' *The Drawing of the Dark* depicts an eternal King Arthur reincarnated to participate in the Siege of Vienna.
* John Cowper Powys, *Porius (A Romance of the Dark Ages)* (1951).
* Howard Pyle, *King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table.*
* In Mary Reed and Eric Mayer's historical mystery *One for Sorrow* the protagonist John, the Lord Chamberlain meets with a Knight of the Round Table who comes toConstantinople in search of the Holy Grail.
* Philip Reeve: *Here Lies Arthur* tells of a more tyrannical Arthur in the time of the Dark Ages.
* Lisa Ann Sandell: *Song of the Sparrow*, a retelling of the story of Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott.
* Jack Spicer: *The Holy Grail*, a series of poems spoken by various Arthurian characters (1962).
* Nancy Springer: *I am Mordred* and *I am Morgan le Fay* are two young adult novels about the two often misunderstood characters of Camelot.
* John Steinbeck: *The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights* is a traditional take in modern language. Steinbeck also compared the adventures of the *paisanos* in his early novel *Tortilla Flat* to the exploits of Arthur's knights.
* Mary Stewart's Merlin books: *The Crystal Cave* sets up the background for the Arthurian legend. *The Hollow Hills* encompasses most of Arthur's lifespan, including his childhood with Merlin as his tutor. *The Last Enchantment* deals with Merlin's later life, against the continued background of Arthur's rule. A later book, *The Wicked Day*, was written from the point of view of Mordred in the latter period of Arthur's rule, and provides an interesting counterpoint to the original three novels.
* Rosemary Sutcliff: *The Lantern Bearers* (1959), *Sword at Sunset* (1963), *Tristan and Iseult* (1971); *The King Arthur Trilogy* (2007), an omnibus edition of Sutclff's Arthurian Trilogy: *The Light Beyond the Forest* (1979), *The Sword and the Circle* (1981), and *The Road to Camlann* (1981); *The Shining Company* (1990), a retelling of the *Y Gododdin*, which contains the earliest mention of Arthur's name. In *Taliesin's Successors: Interviews with authors of modern Arthurian literature*, The Camelot Project at theUniversity of Rochester (August 1986), Raymond H. Thompson described these seven works by Sutcliff as "some of the finest contemporary recreations of the Arthurian story".
* Alfred, Lord Tennyson: *Idylls of the King.*
* J.R.R. Tolkien: "The Fall of Arthur" an unfinished poem, posthumously published in 2013.
* Mark Twain: *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.*
* T. H. White: *The Once and Future King* cycle.
* Jack Whyte: *The Camulod Chronicles*, a series of books containing more historical fiction than fantasy beginning with Roman Britain and leading through Arthur's reign.
* Joan Wolf: *The Road to Avalon* (1988).
* Persia Woolley: *Child of the Northern Spring*, *Queen of the Summer Stars*, and *Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn*.

### Comics

* In 1937, a newspaper comic strip by Hal Foster, *Prince Valiant* was first published, with the byline "*In the Days of King Arthur*". Since the death of Foster in 1982, John Cullen Murphy has continued producing this comic strip.
* DC Comics uses King Arthur's Camelot as a recurring piece of its fictional history, and there have been "several Arthurs," including a pagan general in Roman Britain, and a medieval Christian mystic. The various Arthurs were served by various versions of the character Shining Knight while The Demon, under the control of Merlin, defended Camelot during its final days.
* The original version of the Marvel Comics character Black Knight was also at Arthur's court.
* In Marvel Comic's New Excalibur series, King Arthur and his entire court is depicted when the team of mutants travels back in time to aid Black Knight during his years as a member of Arthur's Court. During the mission, Peter Wisdom advertently causes Guinevere and Lancelot into committing their affair behind Arthur's back.
* Several comic book titles have explored the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend by bringing Arthur and his knights back from the dead at the time of Britain's greatest need. Arthur and company re-emerge to battle an alien menace in AD 3000 in *Camelot 3000*.
* The heroes of *Knights of Pendragon* likewise assemble in the spirit of Arthur's Round Table.
* Simon Bisley's *Treasure of Britain* starring the character Sláine, features Arthurian characters and themes.
* King Arthur makes several appearances throughout *De Rode Ridder* (*The Red Knight*), a Flemish comic book series.
* The French comic book *Arthur*, by David Chauvel and Jérôme Lereculey, draws inspiration from early medieval Welsh legends, such as the *Mabinogion*.
* In Hellboy, Hellboy is descended from King Arthur through his son, Mordred, by a daughter who was hidden away.
* In 1984 Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil introduced Sir Galahad to her space opera series.
* *Galatune: Dawn of Borrowed Light* by Adam Wik, has several elements that are inspired by the Arthurian cycle.

### Films

* *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* (1949), a musical film adaptation of Twain's novel, with Bing Crosby as the time-traveling Yankee and Cedric Hardwicke as Arthur.
* *Knights of the Round Table* (1953), based on *Le Morte d'Arthur* by Thomas Malory, with Robert Taylor as Lancelot, Ava Gardner as Guinevere, and Mel Ferrer in the role of Arthur.
* *Sword of Lancelot* a.k.a. *Lancelot and Guinevere* (1963), a film directed by Cornel Wilde and starring Mr. Wilde as Lancelot, Jean Wallace as Guinevere, and Brian Aherne as Arthur.
* *Camelot*, a 1967 film adaptation of the successful 1960 Broadway musical of the same name, in turn heavily based on the last three of T.H.White's quartet of novels. It starred Richard Harris as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guinevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot.
* *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*, a comedic parody of the traditional King Arthur legend. It was later adapted into a successful Broadway musical called *Spamalot*. Arthur was played by Graham Chapman in the film.
* John Boorman's 1981 film *Excalibur*, based largely on Malory and probably the highest rated serious Arthurian film. It features Nicol Williamson as Merlin and Helen Mirren as Morgan Le Fay.
* *First Knight*, a 1995 movie based on the abduction of Guinevere by the knight Malagant. It featured Sean Connery as Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot, and Julia Ormond as Guinevere.
* *King Arthur*, a motion picture released on July 7, 2004, claiming (despite being heavily criticized for its historical inaccuracies) to be a more historically accurate version about the legend of Arthur as a 5th-century, British-born, Roman commander, with respect to new archaeological findings; similar in story line to Jack Whyte's books.
* *Merlin and the Book of Beasts* (2009) Laura Harris plays the daughter of Guinevere and Arthur. She must defeat Mordred her half brother and his book of beasts.
* *King Arthur: Legend of the Sword*, released in 2016, is a live-action film which will follow a young Arthur who is learning how to master the sword Caliburn and fight his way back as rightful heir and king of ancient Britian. Charlie Hunnam will play the titular role, while Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey will play the character's future-wife Guinevere.
* *Transformers: The Last Knight*, which will be released in 2017 will feature Liam Garrigan in the role of King Arthur.

### Live Action Television

* The 1998 television mini series *Merlin* showing a tale of Arthur and his knights.
* Marion Zimmer Bradley's *The Mists of Avalon* was made into a miniseries by TNT in 2001.
* The 1950s British television series *The Adventures of Sir Lancelot*, recounting the knight's exploits, featured Arthur and many other characters from the legends. This was the first British television series ever to be made in colour (although surviving episodes are in black and white) and one of the first to be aired by an American network.
* The 1970s British television series, *Arthur of the Britons*, starring Oliver Tobias, sought to create a more "realistic" portrait of the period and to explain the origins of some of the myths about the Celtic leader.
* The French series *Kaamelott* features a humorous take on the legend.
* The BBC series *Merlin* is a re-imagining of the legend in which the future King Arthur and Merlin are young contemporaries in Uther's kingdom. Arthur quickly transitions from a spoiled young prince into a beloved king, while Merlin perfects his magic arts in secret. Inspired by *Smallville* (which was a similar show featuring Superman characters) and the subject of critical acclaim, *Merlin* ran for five series from 2008 to 2012.
* *Camelot* is a series on Starz that debuted April 1, 2011. It begins at the very earliest story, with twenty-year-old, long lost son Arthur being crowned king after half-sister Morgan poisons their father King Uther. A more adult-oriented take on the Arthurian legends than the concurrent series *Merlin*, it was cancelled after one season.
* The ABC series *Once Upon a Time* features many aspects from the Arthurian legends. Camelot is mentioned several times as a region within the Enchanted Forest. Also, Lancelot appears in the second and fifth seasons. In the fifth season, the heroes seek out the sorcerer Merlin to battle the darkness that currently plagues hero-turned-villainEmma Swan. In the third episode of the season, King Arthur is revealed to be a villain. As the season progresses, his villainous acts are discovered by the heroes, including his killing of Merida's father, but he is eventually defeated and imprisoned. Towards the end of the season, he is killed by the god of the Underworld, Hades, and is sent to the Underworld. It is there he encounters a deceased Killian Jones, and they work together to help the heroes in the living realm defeat Hades. With the underworld in disarray, Arthur realizes a prophecy he heard that he would repair a broken kingdom wasn't talking about Camelot, but the Underworld. He then bids Killian farewell, and hopes to redeem himself by helping the souls of the deceased.

### Mangas

* In the Japanese visual novel *Fate/stay night*, Arthur is portrayed as having been a woman (named Arturia) whose spirit is resurrected to serve a mage in the modern day with history recording her as a man for political correctness. She reprises this role in the adaptation's prequel *Fate/Zero*, which also features a version of Lancelot.

### Music

* The concept album *The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table* (1975) by Rick Wakeman tells a version of the legend.
* The 1995 album *Imaginations from the Other Side* by the power-metal band Blind Guardian contains numerous songs referencing Arthurian legends, including "A Past and Future Secret," about the battle of Camlann, and "Mordred's Song."
* The 2004 expanded edition of heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson's 6th solo album *The Chemical Wedding* features a song called "Return of the King," which heavily references Arthurian elements including Uther Pendragon.
* The American power-metal band Kamelot has many songs with Arthurian elements in their discography.(*Once and Future King* and *Shadow of Uther*
* In 2003 hard rock musician Gary Hughes put out two albums, *Once and Future King Part I* and *Once and Future King Part II*, based on the legend.
* The German metal band Grave Digger released a concept album about the story of King Arthur called Excalibur
* English folk singer Maddy Prior released a 2001 concept album *Arthur the King*
* The 1995 album *The Final Experiment* by Ayreon, its concept is located in King Arthur's timeline.
* England based metalband Cradle of Filth wrote a song called Haunted Shores, which deals with the subject of King Arthur from a pagan perspective.
* Celtic singer-songwriter Heather Dale has two albums of music based on Arthurian legend.

### Operas

* Henry Purcell: *King Arthur* (1691), libretto by John Dryden
* Richard Wagner: *Lohengrin* (1848), libretto by composer
* Richard Wagner: *Tristan und Isolde* (1865), libretto by composer
* Richard Wagner: *Parsifal* (1882), libretto by composer
* Karl Goldmark: *Merlin* (1886), libretto by Siegfried Lipiner
* Hubert Parry: *Guinevere* (1886)
* Amadeu Vives: *Arthús* (1895)
* Isaac Albéniz: *Merlin* (1897–1902), intended to be the first of a trilogy, libretto by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer
* Ernest Chausson: *Le roi Arthus* (1903), libretto by composer
* Rutland Boughton: *The Birth of Arthur* (1909), libretto by Reginald Buckley
* Harrison Birtwistle: *Gawain* (1991), libretto by David Harsent.

### Role-Playing Game

* The role-playing game *Pendragon* details how to run adventure games set in the time of the Round Table. Its setting integrates Malory with post-Roman Britain, Celtic myth and English Folklore.
* In *Rifts* from Palladium Books, the main story of Britain revolves around the future equivalent of King Arthur and his knights. It should be noted that this is not the original King Arthur awoken from Avalon and he has many different characteristics and strengths, not the least of which is his new blade, Calibur-X, a vibrating gun blade with magical properties.
* The King Arthur Supplement for the GURPS role-playing game gives three different Arthurian settings, a historical setting based upon post-Roman Britain, a legendary setting based upon Malory, and a cinematic setting based upon modern stories.
* The storygame *Arthur's Legacy (Rise of Avalon)* presents a world where Avalon rises from the sea triggering a Rebirth of magic and mystical creatures, as well the return of immortal nobility including King Arthur, his bastard son Mordred, and the witch Anna Morgause. Participants portray reincarnated knights, who embody ideals and wield the ability to perform miracles.

### Theater

* John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy: *The Island of the Mighty* (1972)
* Laurence Binyon: *King Arthur* (1923), with music by Edward Elgar
* D. G. Bridson: *King Arthur* (1937), with music by Benjamin Britten
* J. Comyns Carr: *King Arthur* (1895), with music by Arthur Sullivan
* *Camelot* (1960), by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White novel *The Once and Future King*. The main thrust of the novel and the musical play is the affair between Arthur's wife, Guenevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot. *Camelot* was filmed in 1967. Created by the team responsible for *My Fair Lady*, Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe, it starred Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and introduced Robert Goulet as Lancelot. The original cast album of the show was a particular favorite of then-President John F. Kennedy, and the "Camelot" metaphor has been often associated with his presidency.
* *Merlin* was a Broadway musical in 1983 featuring illusionist Doug Henning and music by Elmer Bernstein.
* *Spamalot*, adapted from the film *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*. It won the 2004–2005 Tony Award for Best Musical. Arthur was played by Tim Curry in the original production.

### Video Games

* *King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame* a real time strategy and role-playing game by Neocore Games from 2009
* *Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge*, a real time strategy and role-playing game by ExcaliburWorld Software from 2007.
* *King Arthur* by Krome Studios is based on the 2004 film of the same name.
* *King Arthur & the Knights of Justice* by Enix is based on the cartoon series of the same name.
* *Stronghold Legends* by Firefly Studios campaign includes King Arthur's legend
* *Conquests of Camelot* by Sierra Entertainment centers around the quest for the Holy Grail.
* *Knights Of The Round* by Capcom is a light-hearted take on the Arthurian legend in a sword fighting beat-em-up similar to the video game *Final Fight*.
* *Tomb Raider: Legend* by Crystal Dynamics revolves around the King Arthur legend resembling those of other cultures around the world; pieces of artifacts are forms of Excalibur.
* *Tomb Raider: Underworld* by Crystal Dynamics revolves around Lara trying to find Avalon to find her mother.
* In *Final Fantasy VII*, the final and most powerful summon materia is Knights of the Round which has 12 knights striking an enemy with the last knight obviously being King Arthur through his extended entrance and grander appearance.
* The visual novel/eroge and anime *Fate/stay night* features a young female knight called Saber whose true name is Arturia. She became King by pulling free the sword from the stone. Knowing that armies wouldn't follow a woman, she renamed herself King Arthur and used Merlin's magic to hide her gender.
* The prequel *Fate/Zero* features not only the above King Arthur/Saber, but also Lancelot as a Black Knight under the class Berserker. The spinoff game *Fate/extra* featuresGawain as an enemy-exclusive Saber-class character. The light-novel series *Fate/Apocrypha* - a parallel world spinoff based on a cancelled MMO concept - featuresMordred as a Saber-class for one of the two factions, who, like King Arthur/Saber, is gender-swapped, detailed in the story as being a homunculus half-clone of King Arthur that was created from mixing the King's genes with those of Morgan le Fay. All of these characters would later appear in the mobile game *Fate Grand/Order*alongside a version of Galahad.
* In the MMORPG *RuneScape*, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are portrayed as having settled in the game's fictional world while awaiting Britain's 'time of greatest need'.
* The MMORPG *Dark Age of Camelot* takes place after King Arthur's death.
* Namco's *Soul* series features Arthur as a samurai. He wields a katana named Gassan.
* The Wii game *Sonic and the Black Knight* features the main protagonist, Sonic the Hedgehog saving the city Camelot from King Arthur after he becomes corrupt and calls himself the Black Knight. After defeating the Black Knight/King Arthur, Merlin's granddaughter Merlina reveals to Sonic & the Knight of the Roundtable that the King Arthur they knew was a fake created by her grandfather. In the end, Sonic was revealed to be King Arthur himself, as Caliburn (actually Excalibur) said he was the one who decides who is worthy of the crown.
* Sir Lancelot is used as character in a 1984 platform / arcade game for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
* The tactical JRPG Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi contains many characters whose names allude to the King Arthur legend. Although there is no Arthur, characters include:Guinevere, Igraine, Gorlois, Lance, Percival, Uther, Lot, Bors, Merlinus, Niime and Nacien. The game's prequel, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, introduces Ninian, but on the whole this game draws more from medieval French mythology than British and Arthurian.
* The 2006 Namco air combat game Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War is heavily based on the Arthurian legend, with allusions to Excalibur, Avalon, etc.