Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

The Great Frontier Legend Of Arthur

July 6, 2022, by JimC

It is impossible for me to resist this:

And why should I, after all? The tales of King Arthur form one of the great frontier cycles of legend. One of the things that is so compelling about the Arthur legends is that the line between folklore, myth and history is impossible to demarcate. The 5th Century was a profoundly unsettled time, as Rome had retreated from Britain, and Germanic settlers were moving in from across the sea. “Arthur” is widely believed to historical roots a variety of Romano/Celt, Welsh, or even Scottish warlords who resisted Saxon incursions. War bands and hill forts, raids and skirmishes in woodland and fen — it’s as Frontier Partisan as you can get.

The historicity of Arthur is an intriguing mystery, but it’s almost irrelevant to the power of the cycle of legend that grew up around his figure, historical or not. The Knights of the Round Table remain a kind of ur-Band of Brothers, the quest for the Holy Grail is one of the most deeply symbolic legends of Christendom, the consuming and dangerous power of sexual desire, and the dark seed of destruction planted in the midst of a fleeting Camelot are all woven into our cultural fabric, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

The most powerful draw of this new tome for me is the illustrations of John Howe. Howe is renowned for his interpretations of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and he is in large part responsible for the best parts of the aesthetic of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. It’s important to recognize that the reason that Howe’s Tolkien work is so compelling is that he is deeply rooted in the folklore of Britain, drinking deep from the same cup from which Tolkien quaffed.

Paulina Springs Books will obtain this for me and it will take its place on the coffeetable next to a book of Norse Myths and Larry Peterson’s books of Western art and a massive chronicle of Safari — and it all fits together in the historical and folkloric realm of Continuity & Persistence. I will nourish myself with tales and images that truly are timeless.

*

Notes in the margin:

It is worth noting that the soundtrack for Excalibur was created by Trevor Jones, who also did the immortal Last of the Mohicans soundtrack. Sublime.

And speaking of sublime…

Helen Mirren’s Morgana was beautiful trouble in John Boorman’s cult favorite, Excalibur. Ruination.

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Comments

  1. Norman+Andrews says

    July 6, 2022 at 8:59 am

    Hi Jim, over the years I have found pretty much everything by John Matthews or his wife Caitlin is worth reading.
    Norm.

    Reply
    • JimC says

      July 6, 2022 at 9:06 am

      That’s enough recommendation for me. Seems that Gaiman is enamored of them, too. I am not familiar… yet.

      Reply
      • Norman+Andrews says

        July 13, 2022 at 8:48 am

        Hi Jim ,I should have pointed out, the vast majority of their work is about Celtic mythology and old European paganism and might not be to everyone’s taste.
        Norm.

        Reply
        • JimC says

          July 13, 2022 at 10:44 am

          I think there’s a pretty good audience for that sort of thing in these parts…

          Reply
  2. Matthew says

    July 6, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    Those are some beautiful pictures. When I was around thirteen I was obsessed with King Arthur. I’m not sure what started but it probably was a natural out growth of my Tolkien obsession.

    Reply
    • Quixotic Mainer says

      July 7, 2022 at 11:50 am

      My brother and I were lucky to have this gnarly illustrated late 19th century copy of Mallory that we found at our grandmother’s. It got read and reread ad naseum til the binding was eventually fortified with… duct tape. We got Arthur before Tolkien, but it definitely sent us down that path.

      Reply
      • Matthew says

        July 8, 2022 at 6:34 am

        I remember reading books of mythology and legend when I was eleven. Oddly, they were in my church’s library. It was weird reading about Zeus in a book from a Christian church, especially since these were the original hard core myths and legends. Like the tells of King Arthur had Lancelot killing a lot of people he shouldn’t and Arthur ordering the deaths of all children born on a certain since one was prophysized to overthrow him.

        Reply
  3. John M Roberts says

    July 7, 2022 at 7:20 am

    That’s young Liam Neeson with Helen Mirren in the bottom photo. I think it was his first film. Look at the size of his hand compared to Helen’s. Ideal swordsman’s build. Archibald wouldn’t have stood a chance in that final duel if Rob hadn’t been suffering from wounds and months of privation.

    Reply
    • JimC says

      July 7, 2022 at 8:32 am

      Right?

      Reply
  4. Old Joe says

    July 13, 2022 at 8:54 am

    Liam Neeson? Where? I hadn’t noticed. Seriously, I saw the film in the first run at the theater. Many of the actors seemed to be overly loud when delivering their lines. I later read that most of the cast were primarily stage actors. That explained it.

    Reply
    • JimC says

      July 13, 2022 at 10:43 am

      It’s a weird movie — as you say, a little stagey, and that armor is really bizarre (on Ms. Mirren it looks like “dungeon-wear”). And yet, it deserves its cult status for all that.

      Reply

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