King Arthur and The Lord of the Rings

Tolkien had a contentious relationship with the myths of King Arthur. They were too disorganized, not quite English enough and too Christian for his taste. And yet, they impacted the Lord of the Rings in so many ways!

[lonlaz]

Oh yes, I didn't realize till now that I need more King Arthur content and the internet needs a bigger King Arthur fandom.

[zoobee]

King Arthur and Camelot are the root mythos of so much of our culture today. Even to the modern world, you can trace it in Dune, Harry Potter, Star Wars.

[mayaaditi]

Jess of the Shire is never late. Nor is she early; she arrives precisely when she means to—and delivers the best content ❤

[eschiedler]

"The Once and Future King" by T.H. White is a great introduction to the Arthurian legend, more of a young adult novel, and far more accessible than "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Mallory.

[gailjordan]

I often felt that the relationship between Aragorn and Gandalf seemed a bit like Arthur and Merlin. Then during one of my many rereadings of the Lord of the Rings, I came upon another thought. It was when Faramir was telling Eowyn that he loved her, and that he would love her even if she were the blissful queen of Gondor. Then I realized, Arwin was Morgan le Fae., Eowyn was Guinevere, Faramir was Lancelot. What would have happened in Tolkien’s universe if Arwin had not married Aragorn? There would be a wonderful king, who turned to a lovely noble lady within his reach to marry, only to eventually find out that his queen and his most trusted knight had fallen in love with each other.

[TheSting]

...And now i can feel my King Arthur hyper-fixation coming back😂 not that I'm complaining

[tonystark]

When it comes to Arthurian iterations, I may recommend the TV show "Merlin" from the mid 2000's. It takes a few liberties, but it really engrosses you into the dynamic between Arthur, Merlin, the effects of Magic, and more. Its a little more episodic in the beginning, and the rare cgi starts a little rough, but it builds up very well and had me immersed in the story in ways most modern shows don't. And most of all, it felt like there was a level of sincerity to it that missing in most shows these days, like the actors were sincere, the story too, everything.

[chrisbixler]

Mary Stewarts “Merlin Trilogy” is my favorite take on it. The story is centered on Merlin, which I’m sure you’ll also be interested in, but the last book in particular takes place with Arthur as King, and it has a lot of very interesting interpretations of his acts. One is the child slaying, where Arthur legendarily tried to kill Mordred along with many other infants. Her language is beautiful, poetic. And she incorporates Christianity into a magical world with wonderful elegance. I hope you check it out!

[craigster-qy]

One of the most direct links comes with the Akallabeth..the Numenoreans who invade Valinor are struck into sleep and entombed in a cave until the final days..very similar to Arthur post Avalon with his sleeping knights waiting until called forth again.

[somedandy]

C.S. Lewis tried to "sanctify" Merlin in the Space Trilogy in That Hideous Strength.
Interestingly enough, he tests the protagonist by asking him where Numenor is.

[svr]

My favourite take on King Arthur is the one from Monty Python.

Thanks for sharing your insights, Jess.

[ftumschk]

The earliest mention of Arthur might pre-date the _Historia Brittonum_ by centuries. An Arthur, evidently seen as a heroic figure of some repute, is named in passing (literally one line) in the epic poem _Y Gododdin, _ attributed to 6th century bard Aneirin. The earliest written copy dates to the 13th Century, but is evidently based on earlier sources, which may have circulated in various forms since Aneirin's day. Whether the "Arthur" reference was in there from the get-go is something we'll never know, but it's a possibility.

[kryptonianguest]

The impression I got from Narnia is that Aslan straight up is God the Son. Not an allegory, the same entity wearing a different body. God the Father created multiple worlds and the Son manifests in each in a manner suitable to that world.

[grokeffer]

Good job!! I named my dog (R.I.P.), Arfer, after King Arthur. He was a good boy. 😔🐕❤

[TehRedBlur]

This video took me back to my community theater days. I portrayed King Pellinore in a local production of the musical "Camelot." It was a lot of fun.

[loekegaard]

You've done something I've never before seen on YouTube (or the Internet at large, for that matter), something I never imagined I would see: you've taken YouTube video-making and made it an art form and a legit, hefty pathway to illumination.

[celtofcanaanesurix]

what's crazy is I once knew a friend that had only ever heard of Excalibur in something named after the legendary sword, and didn't know who or what King Arthur was, which I found strange considering he's from a traditionally western family with pretty immediate roots in Ireland, so I had to show him Excalibur (the king Arthur movie) and he thought it was pretty cool, so I'm glad to have spread the myth to one more person.

BTW Excalibur is a great King Arthur movie, it merges a lot of the myths and stories into a cohesive narrative that spans Arthur's whole life, though it isn't historically accurate to the time Arthur would have lived in, but it is so genuinely good as a movie that I don't really care which is a high compliment coming from me.

[deanteasdale]

John Boorman's Excalibur. It has some controversial bits, but the overall effect is astonishing. The bit where Arthur hands Excalibur to the rebel knight is so powerful it always makes me cry, and the film has the best Merlin ever anywhere.

Also this is pre CGI, and the physical effects and armour etc are stunning 🙂

[jmchez]

Some already mentioned John Boorman's "Excalibur" movie as the most traditional and spectacular retelling of La Norte D'Arthur.

There is, however another movie that I like. It's, "King Arthur" with Clive Owen. It attempts to tell the story as a completely historical action adventure movie. King Arthur is a Roman Centurion that remains in Britain after the legions were recalled in the fateful year of 410. Then he had to unite with the Celts in fighting the invasion of the Saxons ( tell me how that ended). It's a failed movie but it's heart is in the right place, as opposed to Guy Ritchie's monstrosity in trying to retell the story .

[scottlofty]

There is a dude that does a Myths and Legends podcast. He tries to tell myths and stories using as much of the original source material as he can get. He covers Arthur and his knights and he does it well.