A sampling of sources (all quotations taken from the "King Arthur and the Matter of Britain" web site unless otherwise noted):
 --"King Arthur & the Matter of Britain" is a web site that offers a plethora of links to resources on the web for studying the tale and history of Arthur and his court. Links are organized into the following categories: "cream of the crop"; history and archaeology; Welsh bards; Malory; Arthur; Gawain; Guenevere; Percival; Merlin; Tristan and Iseult; and Elaine of Astolat. The links listed below are a few of those included at the "King Arthur & the Matter of Britain" site. "Cream of the Crop"--"The Camelot Project": "Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information" at the University of Rochester; includes pages with brief introductions and links to additional literature for Arthur, Guenevere, Percival, Merlin, Tristan and Iseult, and Elaine of Astolat.
--"Arthur: A Man for the Ages": a heavily cross-referenced site about the history and legends of Arthur
--"Arthurian Resources": "a scholarly survey site emphasizing current research, with excellent bibliographical notes on reliable editions of the source materials"
--"Arthuriana": the Journal of Arthurian studies "History and Archaeology" --"Early British Kingdoms": the history of all the little known kingdoms that existed in Britain during the Age of King Arthur
--"Vortigern Studies: British History 400-600": dedicated to the study of the period between the Roman occupation of Britain and the Early Middle Ages; focuses more on the person of Vortigern than on Arthur the legend
--"A Short History of Arthurian Archaeology" written by Michelle L. Biehl to "examine and discuss some of the archaeological evidence from the time of King Arthur and from associated sites to see if the history of this king is possible and not refuted by physical evidence" (taken from the web site). "Welsh Bards"--"Heroic Poetry": a chapter on Welsh literature that describes the most well-known bards associated with Welsh heroic poetry
--"Y Mabinogion": an introduction to the collection of Welsh tales from the 14th century with a translation—by Lady Charlotte Guest (1849)—of the various tales "Malory"--Caxton's edition—first printed in 1485—of Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory, the source of the Arthurian legends as we know them
For additional resources on: Arthur, see "A Quest for Arthur"; Gawain, see "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"; Guenevere, see "Guinevere"; Percival, see "Percival: the Story of the Grail" by Chrétien de Troyes; Merlin, see "Prose Merlin"; Tristan and Iseult, see "Sir Tristem"; and Elaine of Astolat, see "The Ballad of Elaine" by Sidney Fowler Wright.
The Matter of Britain: An Introduction to Arthurian LegendWhen most Western contemporaries reminisce upon Arthur the King, they inevitably do so with a certain wistfulness, a sense of storybooks and wonders, ideals of justice and romance: they see Disneyesque castle lands, or Kennedy's smile. Arthurian legends are indeed the mythology of the anglophone world. Wrapped in the mists of childish memory, they are the childhood photographs of its sense of adventure, every memory shaking with the yearning sense that this is a good, magical world after all, where all women are beautiful princesses, all men glistening knights on horseback, and evil merely monsters to be slain.
Even to those who have knowledge of the stories behind The Sword in the Stone animation and Prince Valiant, to the cultured who have bowed and curtsied before Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot do Lac and Guinevere, have grappled with Gawain encountering the Green Knight, hoped with Perceval, been touched by Tristam and Isolde in their fate-crossed love—even to them, the legends recall primarily a pleasant story-book illustration of what medieval times were like (or likely not). And of course, all around they resound as the patronizable seat of somber girlish excitement, such as when Anne of Green Gables opheliaizes "The Lady of Shalott" before she slips off her bargelet into the emerald river beneath the bridge where her bedestined bemusedly waits to consequently rescue her; they form the chivalrous template for how to act adolescent love for men shy with verse and roses, or boisterously steeded with big trucks—and the unwell-spring of dreams of life-long love whence even on their deathbeds not yet disenchanted women murmur princes themwards. . . .
To read the rest of this essay by Jonathan G. Reinhardt, click here. [Posted May 2004, ALG]
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Stephen Lawhead, on retelling the Arthurian legends (MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, ) MHT-027.2.5
Jeff Johnson, on his recordings with flutist Brian Dunning (MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, ) MHT-027.2.4
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