Arthurian Legends: Reasons for Popularity

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There are many legends in the world, some more common than others. Some can be created online, but others are in books, such as, King Arthur: His Knights and Their Ladies, by Johanna Johnston. Most have undoubtedly heard of some aspects from the Arthurian legends, whether it be consciously or not. Many people mightve even asked themselves the question, Why are the Arthurian legends so interesting?. Now, theres no specific answer to that question since everyone has their own opinion, but there are countless reasons that could resonate with most.

For starters, it could be because of all the drama that occurs, especially when it comes to Sir Lancelot, Guinevere and King Arthurs love triangle. Like said on mythencyclopedia.com, Guinevere, his queen, and Lancelot, his beloved friend and champion knight, betray the king by becoming lovers. The queen had felt an instant connection with the knight when theyd first met and from there on out, it never ended. Lancelot felt the same way and, even after feeling guilty for betraying not only the King, but his best friend, pursued her. Those two characters had gone through numerous events together and, even when Lancelot and Guinevere betrayed Arthur, the King never wanted to punish them for their wrong-doings because he loved them both too much, although, he had no choice but to do it. To sum up, the reason that a lot of people find such a great interest in the legends might simply be because of the drama and love triangles.

Furthermore, many may also find the stories fascinating thanks to their action. All the battles that are brought upon us from the legends are quite compelling and it wouldnt be a surprise if some just liked the legends for them. There are a few battles that occur throughout all these stories with one of the most well known being what is said to be King Arthurs final battle. That is the one where Arthur, Mordred and their respective knights all sat down for what you could call a parlay. The king and his malicious son agreed upon one rule which was that nobody can raise their sword. Supposedly, a snake slithered into the room in which the parlay was taking place and one of Arthurs knights raised his sword in order to smite it. This one action set off an entire battle leading to the death of many men, perhaps including King Arthur. As a result, the legends may captivate certain individuals for all the action that takes place.

Next, people might find interest in the Arthurian stories because of all the magic. As some already know, Merlin is a great and powerful wizard that originates from the King Arthur stories. He possesses the ability to do wondrous things such as shapeshift, teleport and, at will, help or harm others, to name a few. With those powers, he has done numerous things, some more famous than others. An example would be when the wizard used his shapeshifting abilities to not only transform himself, but also Uther Pendragon, Arthurs father. Merlin did this in the hopes that the Pendragon could imitate Gorlois, also known as the Duke of Cornwall, and spend the night, to say the least, with Lady Igraine. This obviously worked as this was that night that King Arthur himself was conceived. All in all, another reason for the fascination of the tales can be all the magic and wonder that goes on in them.

To conclude, a ton of people question themselves on the reason that the Arthurian legends are so interesting. Truth be told, theres no specific answer to this question, but rather different answers that resonate with certain sets of individuals. Here, for example, the reasons were the love triangle, the battles and the magic, but those were hardly any of the multitude of reasons that couldve been true to some.

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