The Downfall of King Arthur
The downfall of King Arthur can be attributed to many different reasons, each factor as detractory as the next. This page focuses on a theme among some of these: the conflict between the pagan and Christian religions during King Arthur's rule. 'Pagan' is used as a rather blanket term in this page to indicate the other belief systems present in England in those days in general. Here, I use the word to basically mean any religion other than Christian, since this is how the Christians saw the matter; as themselves against the rest of the world.
During King Arthur's rule, Christianity became increasingly prevalent in England. Before this, the country was mainly pagan, and those numbers were starting to shrink. Following with human nature, the pagans typically didn't want to let their majority slide, and so they fought back. Arthur's downfall was negatively affected by the conflict between the pagan and Christian religions. I would like to stress the word 'conflict'. My opinion, which is elaborated upon at this site, is that Arthur's downfall was not the fault of either the Christians or the pagans. Rather, the tension caused by these religions fighting for supremacy in his country generated several of the factors which undeniably contributed to his ultimate downfall.
Since every aspect of the Arthurian legend can potentially be used as an example of the conflict between the two religions upon further examination, I focused on only three. However, I have plans to expand on my theory in the future to include more aspects of the King Arthur legend. Please click on the links below to visit the page.
The Faeries
The Quest For The Holy Grail
Women In the Legend
This page was designed by Lindsey Johns.
