(6) CELTIC MYTHOLOGY (ARTHURIAN LEGEND) – HERO: KING ARTHUR

 

Arthur Pendragon, the once and future king of Britain.

It always intrigues me that a figure that, if not actually a historical warlord of sub-Roman Britain is at least portrayed as one, should have such enduring resonance in popular culture and imagination beyond his time and place of origin. And not just in his native Britain onwards or even beyond to the wider ‘Anglosphere’ of British settlement and cultural influence but also in Europe and Western culture in general.

 

For mine is the grail quest –

round table & siege perilous

fisher king & waste land

bleeding lance & dolorous stroke

adventurous bed & questing beast

 

Part of that derives from the compelling elements and personae of Arthurian legend beyond Arthur himself. His father Uther. The wizard Merlin. The Lady in the Lake. The sword in the stone or Excalibur (which are not the same but are often conflated in adaptations, notably the film Excalibur).

His queen Guinevere. The enchantress Morgan Le Fay (often conflated with another character, Morgause, as the mother of usurper Mordred). The knights of the Round Table – most famously Lancelot but also Gawain, Galahad, Perceval and Bedivere. The Holy Grail. Avalon – and so on.

And yet always and everywhere the beating heart of Arthurian legend remains Arthur himself, befitting his title as once and future king, itself from the motif of his messianic return. He is consistently portrayed in heroic terms, as the best we can be in ability and character.

It might seems anomalous that I rank Arthur over gods or cosmic figures from Egyptian or Hindu mythology – Osiris and Horus, Shiva and Vishnu. In part, that’s because of preference from my Eurocentric and Anglocentric perspective. However, it also reflects that those gods or cosmic figures seem remote or even alien, with an alien morality to match. That is not the case for the all too human Arthur, whose character and morality are much more relatable to us – and indeed has served as the archetype of the ideal king or ruler, both in history and the genre of fantasy.

 

SUPERMAN-BATMAN SCALE

 

Finally a hero more on the Batman side of the scale – not a divine superman (although there are elements of that) but the peak of human perfection.

 

PUNCHING OUT CTHULHU RANKING

 

I am more familiar with King Arthur punching out human opponents but I seem to recall variants of Arthurian legend or at least adaptations from it when he punches out more supernatural opponents.

 

PARTY ROCK RANKING

 

We tend to think of Arthur as a paragon of honour, humility and virtue but I’m prepared to bet he could party hard at the Round Table or Camelot.

 

RATING:

A-TIER (TOP TIER)