Arthur Pendragon (Arthurian)

This article is about the character in Arthurian Legend. For Merlin character, see Arthur Pendragon (Merlin). For other uses, see Arthur.

Character
Name:	Arthur Pendragon
Occupation:	King; sometimes knight or warrior
Relationships:	Husband of Guinevere, son of King Uther and Igraine, foster-son of Sir Ector, foster-brother of Sir Kay, half or full brother of Morgan le Fay, Queen Morgause, and others; father of Sir Mordred and others; Knights of the Round Table;
Fandom:	Arthurian Legend, Arthuriana
Other:
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King Arthur Pendragon is the possibly-semi-historical character around whom Arthurian Legend is based and arguably one of the most influential characters in world literature. Starting with references in a few texts, he became an important character in medieval literature whose cultural impact has carried into the modern day. There are thousands of books, movies, TV shows, comics, and other forms of media which feature some version of him. Most famously, he is the King of Britain and leader of the Knights of the Round Table.

In Literature

Origins

The first surviving reference to him is almost 1,500 years ago in "Y Gododdin" by Aneirin, in which a warrior is described as being impressive but not as powerful as Arthur.

Modern

There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of books featuring King Arthur. Popular ones include:

• The King Arthur Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliffe
• Lancelot and Merlin, two epic poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson
• The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart
• The Mists of Avalon (which is generally reviled in the Arthuriana fandom)
• The Once and Future King by T.H. White (which is also generally reviled by the Arthuriana fandom)
• The books of Howard Pyle

In Other Media

• Arthur Pendragon from BBC Merlin is loosely inspired by King Arthur.
• He is the namesake of the film King Arthur.

In Fandoms

Because a lot of media has a basis in Arthurian legend, many fandoms have their own versions of King Arthur. The BBC Merlin version is one of the most popular, given the size of the fandom. There are a number of medieval Arthurian enthusiasts; however, he is sometimes said to be an overlooked character in his own fandom.

Fandom

Relationships

• Arthur/Bedivere
• Arthur/Camille
• Arthur/False Guinevere
• Arthur/Gildas
• Arthur/Guinevere
• Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot
• Arthur/Lancelot
• Arthur/Lionors

Example Fanworks

• Arthur, King of Time and Space

Links

• Arthur Pendragon tag on the AO3

Resources

• King Arthur on Wikipedia
• Arthur on Quondam et Futurus