How the
legend grew.

The books, in order

1. c. 500s

   Gildas

   History Gildas, a British monk of the 500s, mentions a great British victory at Mons Badonicus (the ‘siege of Bath-hill’) but does not connect it with Arthur. Britannica (Students): Arthur ↗

2. c. 829–830

   Historia Brittonum

   History The earliest version of the Historia Brittonum (‘History of the Britons’) is dated to about AD 829–830. Museum Wales: Who was King Arthur? ↗

3. mid-900s

   Annales Cambriae

   History Museum Wales gives 518 for Badon and 537–9 for Camlann, and says the annals were probably compiled in the mid-900s. Museum Wales: Who was King Arthur? ↗

4. 1135–1139

   Geoffrey of Monmouth

   Literature Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain was published between 1135 and 1139. Britannica: Geoffrey of Monmouth ↗

5. 1155

   Wace

   Literature The Norman poet Wace retold Geoffrey in French in 1155 as the Roman de Brut, adding the Round Table. Britannica: Wace ↗

6. 1165–1180

   Chrétien de Troyes

   Literature Chrétien de Troyes wrote his French romances around 1165–80. They include Lancelot and the unfinished Perceval, the first Grail story. Britannica: Chrétien de Troyes ↗

7. early 1200s

   Robert de Boron

   Literature Robert de Boron’s verse romance Merlin (very early 1200s) told how Arthur won the crown by drawing a magic sword from a stone. Britannica: Arthurian legend ↗

8. c. 1225

   The Vulgate cycle

   Literature The long French prose ‘Vulgate cycle’ (c. 1225) brought in Galahad as the Grail knight. Britannica: Arthurian legend ↗

9. later 1300s

   Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

   Literature Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an English poem of the later 1300s (perhaps around 1375), found in the same manuscript as Pearl. Britannica: Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight ↗

10. 1469–1470

    Sir Thomas Malory

    Literature Malory says he finished his book in ‘the ninth year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth’, which Britannica works out as March 1469 to March 1470. Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, vol. 2 (Caxton’s text), Project Gutenberg ↗ Britannica: Sir Thomas Malory ↗

11. 1485

    William Caxton

    Literature Malory completed the book in about 1470, and William Caxton printed it in 1485. Britannica: Sir Thomas Malory ↗

12. 1833

    Tennyson

    Literature An earlier version of the poem was printed in 1833; the text usually read today is Tennyson’s revision. The Early Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (ed. J. Churton Collins), Project Gutenberg ↗

13. 1859

    Tennyson

    Literature Britannica dates Tennyson’s Idylls of the King to 1859 and describes it as a series of 12 connected poems, from Arthur falling in love with Guinevere to the ruin of his kingdom. Britannica: Alfred, Lord Tennyson ↗

14. 1903

    Howard Pyle

    Literature Howard Pyle wrote and illustrated The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, published in New York in November 1903. Howard Pyle, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903), Project Gutenberg ↗

Things that happened at the places

1. 1191

   Glastonbury

   History In 1191 the monks of Glastonbury announced that they had found the grave of Arthur and Guinevere. Glastonbury Abbey: Arthur’s Tomb ↗

2. 1233

   Tintagel

   History In May 1233 Richard, Earl of Cornwall, swapped three of his manors for the land at Tintagel. English Heritage: Richard of Cornwall and Tintagel ↗

3. 1331

   Glastonbury

   History Edward III visited the tomb in December 1331. Glastonbury Abbey: Arthur’s Tomb ↗

4. 1522

   Winchester

   History Historic Winchester says the painted King Arthur was modelled on a young Henry VIII, with the Tudor rose in the centre, and that Henry showed the table to the Emperor Charles V in 1522. Historic Winchester: Winchester’s history ↗

5. 1966–1970

   South Cadbury

   History Leslie Alcock’s excavations of 1966–70 looked at about 6% of the inside of the hillfort. They showed it was in use again in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, with bowls imported from the Mediterranean and a timber building 19 m by 10 m, interpreted as an early medieval feasting hall. Historic England: Cadbury Castle, list entry 1011980 ↗

6. 1976

   Winchester

   History In 1976 the table was taken down and examined by a team led by Martin Biddle. Winchester Excavations: King Arthur’s Round Table, an archaeological investigation (Biddle, 2000) ↗

7. 1976

   The Malory manuscript

   Literature The British Library bought the manuscript from Winchester College on 26 March 1976. British Library: Add MS 59678, the Winchester Malory (catalogue) ↗

History Tests show the Winchester Round Table was built in the reign of Edward I, probably for a feast after a tournament celebrating plans for his children’s marriages. Winchester Excavations: King Arthur’s Round Table, an archaeological investigation (Biddle, 2000) ↗