A lot of people know the legend of King Arthur from the movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, starring Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur and Jude Law as Vortigern.
But if you’re not familiar with the legend of King Arthur, you may be surprised at just how strange it really is. Here are 10 strange facts about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table was a knightly order established by the legendary King Arthur.
King Arthur was born in Tintagel, Cornwall on December 29, 459 AD. His father was Uther Pendragon, king of Britain at that time.
His mother’s identity is still unknown but she is thought to have been a princess from Lothian or Cornwall. Merlin took care of him for most of his life. He married Guinevere in 542 AD but their marriage was never consummated due to Guinevere’s celibacy vow.
King Arthur was the legendary Famous Medieval Knight from early medieval times
Merlin was a wizard who could speak backward and also had many powers. He had a magical wand, he could make people invisible, and he could even turn himself into different animals. However, Merlin’s most famous power was his ability to foretell future events.
The legend of Excalibur arose from tales of stone axes wielded by giants, a race of people who were conquered by the Welsh in ancient times.
The story goes that one day while walking through Wales, where they lived, King Arthur came upon a stone with an inscription reading
Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all England.
As it was his destiny to be king, he pulled the sword out. And so he became king.
King Uther Pendragon had an affair with his sister Igraine, leading to Morgan Le Faye’s birth. After Uther Pendragon died, Morgan Le Faye married her half-brother, King Arthur, and they ruled together until they died.
Mordred Pendragon was cursed as a child by Uther Pendragon himself. This curse caused Mordred to become infertile, in addition to an inability to produce an heir with any woman.
It also prevented him from dying a natural death, so he had to be killed by either Arthur or one of his knights. The curse would also cause Mordred’s descendants to become infertile as well.
King Arthur, who was born on December 5th (or 4th) in either 411 or 459, is most well-known for his legendary exploits. Legend has it that Galahad—who went on to achieve holy status—was born without any bones at all.
Sir Galahad was one of the most famous knights of the knight of the round table
In real life, Lancelot survived the Battle of Camlann; however, he was killed by his own nephew Mordred later on. According to the 12th-century French author Chrétien de Troyes, Mordred was angry with Lancelot for refusing his advances toward Guinevere and killed him with a lance.
The legend says that King Arthur was mortally wounded in the battle, but did not die until days later. He was buried at Glastonbury Abbey, which is now a Christian pilgrimage site.
King Arthur’s date of birth is unknown, but historians believe it to be around 542 AD. However, there are no documents or records confirming this date.
Malory’s account is that Mordred was the son of Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fay and that Arthur became aware of the relationship between Mordred and his sister only when she told him herself. When he found out about the affair, he had them both imprisoned.
This led to a rebellion by Mordred’s followers while Arthur was in France fighting against his son Modred.
King Arthur was named after his father, Uther Pendragon. His original name was actually Arturius/Arturus. The legends surrounding King Arthur’s birth say that his mother, Igraine, had an affair with Uther Pendragon while she was married to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall.
When Gorlois died in battle in order to win control of the kingdom for his son-in-law, he left behind a grieving wife and two children: Morgan le Fey (Igraine’s half-sister) and Mordred (Morgan’s son). In some versions, Igraine is raped by Uther when he enters her castle without permission. In other versions, she willingly sleeps with him to conceive a child.