Book Analysis: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
level
E 1 2 3 4 5
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Retold by Deborah Tempest
6
ELEMENTARY
S U M M A R Y erlin, the wise man of legend in stories of ancient Britain, realises that the country will be plunged into turmoil at the death of its strong leader, Uther. So he arranges to take away the heir to the throne, Uther’s son Arthur, and hide him in anonymity against the time when he can take his rightful place as king.
M
As Merlin had feared, on the death of Uther, civil war breaks out, and it is only when Arthur is already a young man that Merlin judges the time is right for him to emerge from obscurity. He travels to London, with Sir Ector who has looked after him for so many years, and, without realising the significance of his actions, Arthur pulls the sword from the stone which marks him out as the next king. He quickly gathers around him the bravest and best knights in the kingdom and Merlin makes a round table for them to sit at in the perfect city of Camelot. Thus begin the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table, tales of bravery and chivalry, but tales, too, of treachery, kidnapping and violent death.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
The stories of King Arthur have passed down through the histories of both Britain and France. There is some historical evidence that a person called Arthur or Uther was a leader or king in Wales, Cornwall or Northern Britain. This person
led the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons from the London area in the fifth century AD. There is a record of a King Arthur winning the battle of Mans Badonicus in 516 AD. However, another account gives the date as 500 but does not mention Arthur. The death of someone called Arthur is recorded at the Battle of Camlann in 537. Camelot could be a corruption of this name. The theme of romantic, courtly love and the importance of chivalry runs as a thread through the Western literature of the Middle Ages. At a
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
level
E 1 2 3 4 5
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Retold by Deborah Tempest
6
ELEMENTARY
S U M M A R Y erlin, the wise man of legend in stories of ancient Britain, realises that the country will be plunged into turmoil at the death of its strong leader, Uther. So he arranges to take away the heir to the throne, Uther’s son Arthur, and hide him in anonymity against the time when he can take his rightful place as king.
M
As Merlin had feared, on the death of Uther, civil war breaks out, and it is only when Arthur is already a young man that Merlin judges the time is right for him to emerge from obscurity. He travels to London, with Sir Ector who has looked after him for so many years, and, without realising the significance of his actions, Arthur pulls the sword from the stone which marks him out as the next king. He quickly gathers around him the bravest and best knights in the kingdom and Merlin makes a round table for them to sit at in the perfect city of Camelot. Thus begin the adventures of the Knights of the Round Table, tales of bravery and chivalry, but tales, too, of treachery, kidnapping and violent death.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
The stories of King Arthur have passed down through the histories of both Britain and France. There is some historical evidence that a person called Arthur or Uther was a leader or king in Wales, Cornwall or Northern Britain. This person
led the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons from the London area in the fifth century AD. There is a record of a King Arthur winning the battle of Mans Badonicus in 516 AD. However, another account gives the date as 500 but does not mention Arthur. The death of someone called Arthur is recorded at the Battle of Camlann in 537. Camelot could be a corruption of this name. The theme of romantic, courtly love and the importance of chivalry runs as a thread through the Western literature of the Middle Ages. At a