King Arthur

King Arthur has filled a lot of pages with print. The first writings about King Arthur date back to the 7th century but the most interesting accounts appeared in the 12th century. Among those we can quote Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) which raised interest in Arthur in the Middle Ages and which attracted the attention of numerous writers afterwards (like Chrétien de Troyes, for example). Their stories told how Arthur became king and how he gathered the knights of the Round Table in the legendary place of Camelot where he had his court. How Arthur became king? In fact, there are two versions. The first one says that a sword, Excalibur, deeply planted into an anvil placed on a stone, could only be taken out by a king that the gods had chosen. And of course Arthur managed to remove the sword without effort. The second version explains that the sword was given to Arthur by Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, who brought Lancelot up after taking him from his mother, and who had the powers of a witch.

Doc. Representation of King Arthur fighting against the emperor

- the Round table
- Camelot
- Excalibur
- Viviane, the Lady of the Lake

to devour books: dévorer des livres
to wonder: se demander
widespread: répandu
he has filled a lot of pages with print: il a fait couler beaucoup d'encre
to gather: rassembler
an anvil placed on a stone: une enclume placée sur une pierre
to remove the sword without effort: enlever l'épée sans effort
to bring up somebody: élever quelqu'un
to be raised by: être éduqué par
his lineage: son origine
to entrust: confier
to waged war: faire la guerre
to sow discord: semer la discorde
a former knight: un ancien chevalier
to bring somebody to battle: amener quelqu'un à se battre
to manage to wound somebody mortally: réussir à blesser quelqu'un mortellement
a hilt: une poignée