which had mysteriously appeared in London. Many
many knights tried to pull the magic sword from the stone but all of them
failed.
After a number of years the young Arthur travelled to London to watch his
first tournament. A knight who had been appointed by merlin to act as the
boy's guardian was taking part, but finding he was without a sword, he sent
Arthur to get one. Arthur saw a sword and went to retrieve it , he pulled the
magic sword from the stone and gave it to the astounded knight. Arthur then
became King.
With Merlin at his side Arthur could defeat his opponents and bring peace to
Britain. It became obvious to Arthur early in his reign that much depended on
magic. Having drawn his sword without cause against one of his knights,
Arthur was dismayed to see the blade of the magic sword shatter into a
million pieces. Merlin saved him by putting the knight to sleep, for Arthur
was unarmed due to the shattering sword. Arthur wandered along the shore of
a lake saddened by the loss of the magic sword when, to his amazement, he saw
a hand and a white-clad arm rise out of the water, holding another magic
sword. The famous Excalibur, his sure support according to the Lady of the
Lake who handed it to him. The sword shone with the light of thirty torches,
and would dazzle Arthurs enemies. The precious scabbard of the sword would
prevent the loss of blood during battle.
Armed with the enchanted sword Arthur went on to become a great king. During
his reign Arthur gave aid to King Leodegraunce of Scotland against the Irish.
In return for the aid King Leodegraunce betrothed his daughter Guinevere to
Arthur. Merlin was opposed to this marriage as he already knew that Guinevere
was in love with Sir Lancelot, the handsomest Knight of the Round Table.
He could later do nothing but bless the marriage and according to one version
of the legend he gave Arthur the Round Table as a wedding gift.
Soon after the wedding Guinevere and Lancelot became lovers. Arthur
discovered his wife's unfaithfulness and sentenced Guinevere to be burnt to
death. She was saved by Lancelot and eventually retreated from the world to
become a nun at Amesbury where she died.
Lancelot fled to Brittany where Arthur conducted an unsuccessful seige before
returning to Britain to battle his nephew Sir Modred..
Arthur eventually went into battle
with his nephew Sir Modred who had tried
to takeover Camelot. The battle was a long and difficult one, Arthur
sustained severe wounds and Modred died. Arthur was carried from the
battlefield by the two remaining knights, one of them Sir Bedivere (Bedwyr).
Knowing his own end was near, he had Bedivere throw Excalibur back into a
lake, a hand rose from the lake and seized the sword. Bedivere guarded Arthur
at the end of his life, as they waited by a lake for the black boat that
would ferry the king to Avalon. In the black boat there were three women,
Morgan le Fay, Arthurs half sister, the Queen of Northgales and the queen of
Wastelands. Arthurs last words were that he was going to Avalon to be cured
of his wounds so that he might return one day to lead his people once more.
The inscription on Arthur's tomb at Glastonbury reads "Here lies Arthur,
king that was, king that shall be."
Legend says that Arthur rests in peace in Avalon, guarded by four fairy
queens.
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