If there is one story that has fascinated us and inspired many movies and books it's the legend of Arthur and his knights. We tend to think of it as a perfect example of a medieval romantic, religious and dramatic knight’s tale. Quite a few weddings have a Camelot theme.
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| "An Arthurian Legend" (1800s) |
Contrary to common believe Arthur was not a medieval king, but probably a leader of the British Island in the 5th and 6th century. The Arthur most people know is mainly a product of the medieval fancy with his legend. In the 12th century a Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a somewhat imaginative text called the History of the Kings of Britain in which he told of Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Excalibur and Arthurs birth and death. That book seemed to have inspired several writers through the middle ages to build on the Arthurian legends.. Arthur was first mentioned in the 9th century where he was portrayed as an actual historical leader who defeated the Saxons.
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| The marriage of Arthur and Guinevere, late 1400s |
But the fact is that a lot of what we consider to be the Arthurian legend which is Merlin, Arthur, Uther Pendragon and Guinevere are added to the legend in medieval times. So the Arthurian legend is therefore a very medieval phenomenon in the sense that a lot literature with medieval themes, principles and ideas were written about him and his court during the Middle Ages. The hunt for the Holy Grail was also added to the story later along with Lancelot.
The legend of Arthur is a mix of Iron Age history and medieval romantic tales. If you are considering having a medieval themed wedding with a twist of Camelot, just remember Arthur’s legend is the medieval times' version of a fantasy novel.
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| From the movie: King Arthur (2004) |
It can be difficult to find what you are looking for but you can always google them. Otherwise there's this site: GoodCookery that has a very fine collection of woodcuts from books. Amongst these are this classical depiction of a medieval marriage:
