Mythology King Aurther - Research Paper Example

Mythology King Arthur King Arthur was a Celtic King as the mythology goes. This Celtic origin of him in the Celtic Mythology considers him to be a god rather than a man after all. The King was a man of adultery and treachery who was a knight and a warrior. He was one of the great rulers of Britain. He killed giants, monsters, and witches and also drove on horses on many audacious marvels. King Arthur is famous for Knights of the Round Table and also for reuniting all the people of his land. The end of King Arthur was one of a catastrophic one but despite of that, he is celebrated and known by people all around the globe even today. The British Parliament hosts his story on its walls (Siivola). Joseph Campbell’s four functions of myth go in accordance with King Arthur’s mythology. The life of Arthur starts with his father, Uther Pendragon. Pendragon is obsessed by Igraine who is the wife of Duke of Cornwall. Now, Pendragon dresses up like Duke of Cornwall and sneaked into their bed with Igraine and that is when Igrain conceived Arthur. Seeing this despiteful behavior of Arthur’s parents, the wizard takes him away from his parents. The wizard, named Merlin, was the one who put up a huge Round Table for Arthur’s father where one hundred and fifty knights could sit at one time. When Uther died, the knights have no clue as to who should precede him. Merlin came up with a solution to this problem. He said that anyone who can take out a sword from a stone will become the next king (PBS). Many people tried to find the sword. But fortune was in King Arthur’s favor as described in Joseph Campbell’s Pedagogical function. King Arthur was a hero in his life who defined his own mythology. When Arthur came to visit his foster brother called Sir Kay; Kay sent him to find a sword as a replacement of his broken one. He came across the mysterious sword Excalibur which was dig into the stone and took it out. He did not know that it was any prophecy associated with it. He had no intention of becoming the king or finding the sword, so he found it out as his fortune (Siivola). He took his gender role into account as he accomplished the Social function of myth as described by Joseph Campbell. He united the Britain and also invaded the Saxons. As a king, Arthur was a well-liked and merciful king as he took the Campbell’s social factor into account. His period of influence is celebrated with romance of chivalric nature and of heroic factors. The biggest expedition of Arthur along with his Knights was the expedition for the Holy Grail, the mythical Holy Grail. It is the cup with which Jesus Christ drank at his Last Supper. King Arthur never found the Holy Grail but his Knight Sir Galahad did because of his virtue and pure heart. King Arthur was married to the daughter of King of Scotland, called Guinevere. The wizard Merlin warned King Arthur not to marry her as she loved one of his knights, Sir Lancelot. When Arthur found out that Sir Lancelot and his wife, Guinevere, were having an affair, his knight flew to France but Arthur follows him. As Arthur was off to France, his nephew, Mordred came into power. Arthur then went back to Britain to find out this terrible news. Obviously, complying with Campbell’s myth function, Pedagogical, King Arthur fought a terrible combat with his nephew in which many of his knights died and he was brutally wounded. He throws his magical Excalibur into a lake, and finds a boat to go to the magical Isle of Avalon. At this place, he hoped to get better so that he can go back to his people and lead then. This is the very reason Arthur is known as “once and future king” (PBS). Mystical metaphysical factor of Campbell’s factors of myth say that there is a God and in King Arthur’s time, people believed him to be a God. He was a hero; a hero who came into an ordinary world for the people. This new world is not known to the hero but he has to accomplish his tasks and show him the mundane world. The special world is the area of King Arthur as the hero depicted in this story. King Arthur had a name after he died. He was given an adventure, a challenge to prosper. A problem of searching the Holy Grail was his task and so when the land was dying, he was out there searching for the Holy Grail (Understanding Dreams). The Cosmological factors of Joseph Campbell’s factors of myth say that how natural world came into existence. The natural world was created as the hero came into the primary threshold. The first doorstep to the natural world was the beginning of the natural world which was the story of special world for first time for King Arthur’s tradition. When the hero begins his or her voyage to the natural world, there is no turning back. The hero has to accomplish each and every task and have to do it greatly (Siivola). The Social behavior is persistent in King Arthur’s folktale as he refuses to the first step of adventure. The threshold of escapade is an arena of refusal for King Arthur sometimes as he behaved in this manner because of his inner fears. The King had a fear of unknown which is the biggest fears of all times. There is always a wise man or woman advising each and every hero in all myths. Similarly, Merlin the wizard was the mentor in King Arthur’s story. This mentor sometimes goes beyond just being a mentor to urging Arthur into his doings. He was the one placing the mysterious sword into the stone so as King Arthur can have it (Ford). The sword was the reward for King Arthur for his accomplishments and endeavors. He survived death, and was able to find the sword despite that he wasn’t aware of the fact that it was magical sword. The reconciliation with a woman was a trauma in Arthur’s life as he was not able to be in good relations with his own wife. His wife cheated on him and left him in despair. He wasn’t able to come up with an understanding of the opposite gender as other heroes or mythical characters did (PBS). King Arthur was a hero of his own life as described by Pedagogical aspect of Joseph Campbell’s factors of myth. He came across many tests such as his wife one as described above. He also had allies such as Merlin and enemies such as his own nephew he fought with. These allies, tests, and enemies were to train him for the special world. The supreme torment of his life was when he was all wounded and came to Isle of Avalon as his ultimate ordeal. This is the time he goes to the bottom and endures and welcomes the possibility of death as did King Arthur. He came across a mystical beast and fought for himself, his life. Ordeal is the point where first the hero dies and then reborn. Well, some people believe King Arthur was reborn but that just a myth itself. Some people seem to claim that Arthur was just a latest addition to the pantheon of Celtic dynasty in a renaissance of pagan worship, or might just be a mythical hero of both a bear and human offspring. But the truth is undiscovered yet (Ford). References Ford, David Nash. "King Arthur, the Myth." Britannia History. N.p., 2007. Web. 26 Sep 2012. PBS, . "King Arthur." In Search of Myths and Heroes. N.p., November, 2005. Web. 26 Sep 2012. Siivola, Markku, and Richard Jenkins. Understanding Dreams: The Gateway to Dreams Without Dream Interpretation. Cosimo, Inc, 2011. Print. Understanding Dreams, . "Mythological Themes in Creative Literature and Art." JOSEPH CAMPBELL. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sep 2012. . Read More