The familiar medieval Arthurian myths of a noble King ruling over his kingdom from camelot, supported by his Round Table of loyal and brave knights who seek for the Holy Grail and slay dragons, is a legend that has been engaged with by English kings ever since the 13th Century. By the 14th Century, these tales provided a model for their kingship.
What you may not know about, is the clash of cultures that occured in the 12th Century, that led to the making, breaking and redefining of Arthur's story.
Join author and medieval historian Matt Lewis as he delves deep into the historical context of the Arthurian legend, visiting Glastonbury Abbey and Winchester Cathedral along the way. Featuring historians Dr Cindy Wood and Dr Katherine Weikert.
Up Next in Mysteries of History
-
The King’s Curse: Scotland's Notoriou...
Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney investigate one of Europe’s bloodiest witch hunts: Scotland’s North Berwick Witch trials of 1591. In this extraordinary case, fears escalated all the way up the social hierarchy to the King himself, James VI. A wild storm in the North Sea had nearly killed James ...
-
The Worst Journey in the World: The A...
In August 1941, the Allies launched Operation Dervish. This was the first of the Arctic Convoys, ships which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland and North America, and brought essential supplies to the Soviet Union.
After the successful launch of Operation Barbarossa, the USSR was in despe...
-
The Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in His...
In Dan Snow's long career as a broadcaster, he's come across all sorts of unexplained phenomena, myths and mysteries- from searching for the Nazi Gold Train in Poland to debunking the mummy's curse in Tutankhamun's tomb and looking for answers about ball lightning.
History is full of the weird ...
26 Comments