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King Uther Pendragon loved Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. So he made war on Cornwall and in that war Igraine's husband was killed, though not until after King Uther slept with Igraine by means of magic. Arthur was conceived, and later Uther and Igraine were married. The child was raised by a knight called Sir Ector. After King Uther died, Arthur proved his right to the throne by removing a sword from an anvil which was embedded in a rock. He received his famous sword, Excalibur, from the Lady of the Lake. The independent kings of Britain fought with Arthur but were defeated. Arthur then became king of all of Britain.
King Arthur married Guinevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance, who gave Arthur as a wedding gift the Round Table and a hundred knights. Merlin the magician was captured by one of the Ladies of the Lake and imprisoned forever under a rock. Lots of other stuff happened, including the following stories: 1) Morgan Le Fay, the enchantress half-sister of Arthur, used black magic to steal Excalibur. Her paramour, Sir Accolon fought Arthur using Excalibur and nearly won the fight when the swords were accidentally exchanged and Arthur won. 2) King Lucius of Rome demanded tribute payments from Arthur, but Arthur refused to pay. All the knights of the realm promised him aid, and in the war that followed Arthur conquered Germany and Italy and was crowned Emperor of Rome. (By the way, this part is found all the way back in Geoffrey of Monmouth's version.) 3) While Arthur is off conquering Europe, Sir Lancelot, Queen Guinevere's favorite, set out on adventures to further the honor and glory of himself and the Queen. After lots of victories, he returned to Camelot (Arthur's castle) and was acclaimed the first knight of all Christendom. 4) A version of the famous love story of Tristram and Isolde also appears in Malory's version.
An old hermit prophesied that a vacant seat at the Round Table would be filled by a knight who would win the Holy Grail. This knight turned out to be Sir Galahad, actually Sir Lancelot's son (he was tricked into sleeping with the maid Elaine). On the quest for the Holy Grail Lancelot was stricken when he tried to enter the chamber where the grail was kept...he was laid low for 24 days as penance for his years of sin (sins like, for instance, sleeping with the King's wife!). Galahad, however, saw the miracle of the Grail and became king of some middle-eastern city, where he died in holiness.
When the questing knights returned to Camelot, Lancelot
forgot the lesson he learned in the Grail chamber and began consorting again with
Guinevere. One spring, while traveling with her attendant, Queen Guinevere was captured by
a traitorous knight, Sir Meliagrance. Lancelot rescued her. Enemies of Lancelot told the
King of Lancelot's love for Guinevere. A party championing the king's cause fought with
Lancelot. All those he fought died except the king's illegitimate son, Mordred. Guinevere
was sentenced to be burned, but Lancelot rescued her and they went of to the Castle Joyous
Guard to be together. Arthur then besieged the castle, but the Pope intervened and
commanded a truce. Lancelot and his followers went to France where he held lands. Arthur
then invaded France, but while he was away, his son Mordred seized the throne of Britain
and tried to force Guinevere to become his queen. She escaped to the Tower of London.
Arthur heard about Mordred's usurpation and returned to England. Battles ensued; it was a
great civil war. During a temporary truce, a snake caused a knight to draw his sword and
this action brought on another battle in which Mordred was killed and Arthur mortally
wounded. On his deathbed Arthur told Sir Bedivere to cast Excalibur back into the lake
from which the sword had come, but he twice pretended to have done it. Arthur insisted,
and when Bedivere finally complied, a hand reached up out of the water and caught the
sword. King Arthur died and was carried on a barge to the fabled land of Avalon. (Some
writers say Arthur never actually died and he will come again.) Guinevere became a nun,
and Lancelot became a hermit. Sir Constantine of Cornwall was chosen to succeed Arthur.
| King Arthur Coin | |
|
This 1996 coin from the Isle of
Man features the mighty and noble King Arthur. In his right hand is
Excaliber, and what does his left hand hold? Could it be the Holy Grail? This coin is CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. The contrast in the photo at left was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Camelot Coin | |
|
The 1996 coin from the Isle of Man
features the fabled castle - Camelot. Every king needs a castle. There is much dispute where Camelot existed (if it ever did exist). This coin is CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. The contrast in the photo at left was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Queen Guinevere Coin | |
|
The 1996 coin from the Isle of Man
features the lovely Queen Guinevere. To read more about the role of women in the
Arthur legends, click HERE. Guinevere is said to be the daughter of Leodegrance of Cameliard in late medieval romance. She marries Arthur and then has a love affair with Lancelot which causes the downfall of Camelot. The Welsh Triads speak of "Arthur's Three Great Queens," all named Gwenhwyfar (Triad 56). One of the earliest Arthurian stories is about the abduction of Guinevere by Meleagant (or Melyagaunce or Melwas). The story is told in The Life of St. Gildas (c. 1130) by Caradoc of Llancarfan and in the Welsh "Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhwyfar." The story of the abduction is the central action in Chrétien de Troyes' Lancelot and appears in Malory. Tennyson presents Guinevere as a sinner who was "spoilt the purpose" of Arthur's life. This coin is CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. The contrast in the photo at left was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Sir Lancelot Coin | |
|
The 1996 coin from the Isle of Man
features Sir Lancelot in his shiny armor, mounted on his trusty steed (that's a
horse). Lancelot is the greatest of Arthur's knights. Son of King Ban of Benwick, he is known as Lancelot of the Lake or Lancelot du Lac because he was raised by the Lady of the Lake. Among his many adventures are the rescue of the abducted Queen Guinevere from Meleagant, an unsuccessful quest for the Holy Grail and the rescue of the queen after she is condemned to be burned to death for adultery. Lancelot is loved by Elaine of Astolat, who dies because her love is unrequited. Elaine, the daugher of King Pelles, tricks Lancelot into sleeping with her and from that union Galahad is born. His love for Guinevere ultimately brings about the downfall of Arthur's realm. This coin is CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. The contrast in the photo at left was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Merlin Coin | |
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The 1996 coin from the Isle of Man
shows us what Merlin really looked like. He is seen seated at his workbench
inscribing a scroll. Merlin, Arthur's adviser, prophet and magician, is basically the creation of Geoffrey of Monmouth, who in his twelfth-century History of the Kings of Britain combined the Welsh traditions about a bard and prophet named Myrddin with the story that the ninth-century chronicler Nennius tells about Ambrosius (that he had no human father and that he prophesied the defeat of the British by the Saxons). Geoffrey gave his character the name Merlinus rather than Merdinus (the normal Latinization of Myrddin) because the latter might have suggested to his Anglo-Norman audience the vulgar word "merde." In Geoffrey's book, Merlin assists Uther Pendragon and is responsible for transporting the stones of Stonehenge from Ireland, but he is not associated with Arthur. Geoffrey also wrote a book of "Prophecies of Merlin" before his History. The Prophecies were then incorporated into the History as its seventh book. These led to a tradition that is manifested in other medieval works, in eighteenth-century almanac writers who made predictions under such names as Merlinus Anglicus, and in the presentaion of Merlin in later literature. Merlin became very popular in the Middle Ages. He is central to a major text of the thirteenth-century French Vulgate cycle, and he figures in a number of other French and English romances. Sir Thomas Malory, in the Morte d'Arthur presents him as the adviser and guide to Arthur. In the modern period Merlin's popularity has remained constant. He figures in works from the Renaissance to the modern period. In The Idylls of the King, Tennyson makes him the architect of Camelot. Mark Twain, parodying Tennyson's Arthurian world, makes Merlin a villain, and in one of the illustrations to the first edition of Twain's work illustrator Dan Beard's Merlin has Tennyson's face. Numerous novels, poems and plays center around Merlin. In American literature and popular culture, Merlin is perhaps the most frequently portrayed Arthurian character. This coin is CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. The contrast in the photo at left was enhanced to show the striking coin detail. |
| Set of 5 King Arthur Series Coins | |
|
Interested in purchasing the
entire set of King Arthur coins? We'll make it even more attractive: a $5 discount
for purchasing the entire set of 5 coins! All coins are CuNi (Cupro Nickel) in a Brilliant Uncirculated minting. |
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