Good Sites For King Arthur
The key to finding useful information on the Web is to know which
websites are the most useful and informative. The best services that offer
information on the King Arthur legends are "King Arthur" at http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html,
"Explorations in the History and Legends of Arthur" at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4186/Arthur/htmlpages/kingartur.html
, and "The Camelot Project" at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm.
These websites are among the best. They offer biographies on the Arthurian
characters, full texts on some of the legends and information analyzing the
characters of Arthur from historical and legendary points of view.
The "King Arthur" page at http:// www.britannia.com/history/h12.html,
is a good source to discover some truths about Arthur and his existence. The
site asks: was Arthur a king, a general or just a myth? In addition to historical
information about the fifth century, the site includes, in the Arthurian chronology,
information about the legends of Arthur that has developed in literature that
has been written through the years. It also includes biographies of characters
in the Arthurian legends. In addition, this site offers links to outside sources
about King Arthur and his legends.
One such link is the "Explorations in the History and Legends of Arthur"
at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4186/Arthur/htmlpages/kingarthur.html,
which is one of the best sources on Arthur because it explores both the popular
and scholarly conceptions of King Arthur and his legends. For example, it
answers frequently asked questions in historical and legendary contexts. Some
of the questions that is asks are: was Guinevere really an adulteress? Was
Excalibur, a sword, really in the stone? Was Gawain a great knight or a royal
pain? It is very informative about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
offering a full text and a character analysis of Gawain. Lastly, it offers
biographies on every single character in the Arthurian history and legends
under the links called “The People of the History” and “The People of the
Legends.”
Another source of exceptional information about Arthurian Legends is "The
Camelot Project" at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm,
which is a comprehensive reference site offering original texts, images, bibliographies
and basic information. The Main Menu lists Arthurian characters, symbols,
and sites. Students may move from any of the highlighted elements to a sub-menu
of basic information, complete texts, images, and a bibliography about that
subject. For example, choosing the highlighted word “Gawain” will lead the
viewer to a list of texts written about Sir Gawain such as: "The Wedding
of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle," Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
and many more. Students may also look at a menu arranged by author with most
medieval texts listed under the heading "Anonymous." A third menu
lists artists and several hundred images of their works on Arthurian characters.
Another link titled the “Women of the Arthurian Legend” leads to a page about
female characters of the Arthurian legend and their roles.
Another simple, yet an interesting and an easy-to-use source, is the “King
Arthur’s Legends” at http://www.2020site.org/kingarthur/, which only
provides thorough information about the Arthurian legend’s main characters
and the legends that center around them. After choosing any of the links,
there is a sub-link that leads to a fun-page, where a viewer can have her
last name traced to an origin. It also provides the coat of arms, the crest
and family motto, which can be ordered to be written on a parchment with a
full-color Coat of Arms.
These sources are worthy of attention because they offer good and complete
information, images and texts on many Arthurian legends and characters. “Explorations
in the History and Legends of Arthur” offers character biographies on all
character in the Arthurian legends. The “Camelot Project” has an extensive
list of original texts and pictures on many legends. And “King Arthur’s Legends”
site is a fun page where a user can find a few facts about the origin and
the founder of his name.
Works Cited
Bryde. "Midieval Clip Art." 15 May, 2002.http://members.easyspace.com/Brig/mca/clips.html.
Lupack, Alan. "The Camelot Project." The University of Rochester.
25 March, 2002. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm.
"King Arthur." 25 March, 2002. http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html.
White, David. "Explorations in the History and Legends of Arthur."
25 March, 2002. http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/4186/Arthur/htmlpages/kingarthur.html.
"King Arthuur's Legends." PageWise. Inc. 25 March, 2002. http://www.2020site.org/kingarthur/merlinwise.html.
© 2002 Stella Abdiy