The character and legend of King Arthur has shrouded the literary world in mystery and magic since the early 12th century. To this day, history and legend mingle and muddle to leave us with questions about whether or not King Arthur actually lived, if Camelot was in fact such a glorious fortress, or whether he and his knights truly gathered at the fabled round table. Arthur’s suspected origin of inspiration dates back to Ambrosius Aurelianus in 5th century A.D. amidst the political quagmire that defines early British history.

Poets and writers of the Middle Ages canonized many of the Arthurian characters that are known through modern media. Merlin, Lancelot, and Guinevere are some of the most ubiquitous figures from the Arthurian canon. This is mostly due to the salient work Le Morte D’arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, seen here. This book embodies the wholeness of Arthur's life, detailing the nefarious scheme that tricks his mother and results in his conception, his early childhood in the care of the magician Merlin, through the many adventures of the knights of the round table– including the quest for the Holy Grail, and all the way to Arthur’s final breath. Hence the title Le Morte D’arthur, or in English, The Death of Arthur.

J.R.R. Tolkien, one of fantasy’s most beloved and celebrated authors, was a medievalist, that is, a scholar of the medieval period. Shown here is his own translation and preparation of the famous Arthurian poem Gawain and the Green Knight. The history and tradition of Arthurian literature was a great inspiration to his elaborately imagined world of Middle Earth. It is no surprise that these early works of chivalry and kingly adventures in the world of Arthur would go on to inspire new tales of valor in contemporary literature. T.H. White, another famous English author, is also known for his reimagining of the Arthurian story in The Once and Future King, which is peppered with delightful comedic embellishments and a unique literary voice. Shown here is a first American edition of White’s retelling of this great British epic, published in 1958.

The tales of Arthur are a fixture of British literature and have inspired British writers for centuries. But the delicious narratives of this British-born legend transcend the boundaries of geography and find themselves across the pond, in the works and writings of American authors like John Steinbeck, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Lev Grossman, ultimately demonstrating the legend’s boundless influence and the timeless power of a good story.

--Curated by Eve Fenn, Graduate Student Assistant, Special Collections & Archives