Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend varied widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version,
Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century
Historia Regum Britanniae (
History of the Kings of Britain)
version of events often served as the starting point for later stories.
Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over
Britain,
Ireland,
Iceland,
Norway and
Gaul. In fact, many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's
Historia, including Arthur's father
Uther Pendragon, the wizard
Merlin, the sword
Excalibur, Arthur's birth at
Tintagel, his final battle against
Mordred at
Camlann and final rest in
Avalon. The 12th-century French writer
Chrétien de Troyes, who added
Lancelot and the
Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of
medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various
Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.
