Myth of the Month 12: The Arthur Cycle -- pt. 2: The Rise and Fall of Camelot Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

When Jackie Kennedy told reporters that she and the late President used to listen to the soundtrack of the musical "Camelot," the word immediately caught on as the name for the Kennedy White House -- portrayed as a brief, golden period of wise rule, ended by tragedy; more than a thousand years' worth of romantic associations could be evoked with three short syllables. In this second segment, we consider how the chivalric legend of Camelot and the Round Table was conceived and elaborated, from French courtly romances, through the first English Arthurian epic (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), to the popular novels, plays, and movies of modern times.

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Suggested further reading: Nicholas J. Higham, "King Arthur: The Making of the Legend"