History Myth / ArthurianLegend

* The earliest surviving versions of the ''Literature/TristanAndIseult'' romance were written independently ca. around 1150 to 1170 by the poets Béroul and Thomas of England. Later retellings naturally upgraded Tristan to a Knight of the Round Table, but the tale was associated with the wider Arthurian framework from the earliest stages. The main characters can be traced to the Mabinogion and other Celtic material, though there lies no trace of the StarCrossedLovers premise of the romance.

* SadlyMythtaken: The entire modern perspective of the Arthurian Legend is based primarily on ''Literature/LeMorteDArthur'' and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', and the many pieces of media inspired by it. To many Arthur is TheGoodKing who strives to create a fair and equal land for all, the Knights of the Round Table are a small group of trustworthy and skilled knights from a variety of backgrounds as the Round Table symbolises that everyone is equal regardless of social class, and Morgana le Fey is an evil witch who sleeps with her brother Arthur to conceive the equally villainous Mordred. In the actual Legend however, Arthur is TheGoodKing because he's a bloodthirsty warlord who defeats all his enemies and rarely thinks about the common people he rules over, the Knights of the Round Table are all nobles and lords as the Round Table is meant to make the nobility equal to each other, and ''Morgan'' le Fey was the aunt of Mordred and never slept with her half-brother.

The subject of many a ChivalricRomance, long known as the "Matter of Britain," alongside the Matter of France (the stories of UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}}'s court and wars with the Saracens) and the Matter of Rome (UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, Literature/TheAeneid and UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat).[[note]]These three ''matières'' (sources of inspiration) were defined in the 13th century by the French poet Jean Bodel for French works; it does not encompass themes important to other literature, such as the German cycles about the Burgundians and the Goths, notably represented by the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'' -- nor, for that matter, all French or Anglo-Norman romances, whatever they claimed.[[/note]] Judging by the number of manuscripts, it was the most popular of the three; there are even such romances written in Hebrew.

** There are ''four'' distinct Elaines, three of whom are connected to Lancelot: there's Elaine, Lancelot's mother who [[DeathByChildbirth dies in childbirth]]; there's Elaine, Galahad's mother who '''rapes''' Lancelot because [[StalkerWithATestTube her daddy is an early advocate of eugenics]]; there's Elaine, the lady of Astolat who goes [[StalkerWithACrush a bit Alex Forrest]] for Lancelot and ends up dying from her unrequited love; and then there's Elaine, sister of Morgan le Fay and Morgause, who accomplished less than either of them.

In the English-speaking world, the medieval version best known today is ''Literature/LeMorteDArthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory, based on the works of his many, many literary predecessors, including multiple layers of {{retcon}}s and {{crossover}}s. This version incorporates many originally separate stories about the Knights of the Round Table, the theme of CourtlyLove, and the myth of the Holy Grail. Malory wrote it in TheLateMiddleAges, and thus his work is often considered the "final" pre-modern form of the myth.

* ''Literature/LeMorteDArthur'' by Thomas Malory, an Early Modern English compilation of many earlier stories and epics, fusing the French ''Lancelot'' cycle with other stories like ''Literature/TristanAndIseult'', completed in 1470 and printed in 1485. Considered to be the ultimate medieval AdaptationDistillation of the legend (in the English-speaking world) due to its late date. Does not use the "Green Knight" and "Dame Ragnell" Gawain tales, though some think Malory is the anonymous author of the latter.

For the ''many'' adaptations and derivative works, see '''[[DerivativeWorks/ArthurianLegend here]]'''.