The Tale of King Arthur

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The Tale of King Arthur
Few stories have the power to hold sway over people’s imaginations for more than a thousand years. The legend of King Arthur— a tale of magic, heroic deeds, betrayal, and love—is, however, one of those few.
Briefly, the story goes that when King Uther died, the kingdom of Britain was left without a leader. So the wizard Merlin placed a sword in a stone, proclaiming that whoever removed it would be the rightful king of Britain. Many knights tried and failed, but then young Arthur, Uther’s long-lost son, removed the sword, proving himself the one true king.
Arthur then married the beautiful lady Guinevere, whose father gave him a round table as a wedding gift. This table became symbolic of the fairness and equality in Arthur’s co urt, as none of the knights—not even the king—could have pride of position at the head of the table.
Betrayal was lying in wait beneath the nobility and honor, however. Lancelot, Arthur’s most trusted knight, and Queen Guinevere were discovered to be having an affair. When Guinevere was sentenced to death because of this, Lancelot whisked her away to France. Arthur left his son, Mordred, in charge of his realm in order to pursue the betraying couple. Mordred, however, started a rebellion, leaving Arthur heartbroken. In one final battle, Arthur defeated Mordred but was himself gravely wounded. Yet, before he died, he was carried off in a boat to the magical land of Avalon, where it is said that he will remain sleeping until Britain needs him once more.
Historians have been arguing for centuries whether a real-life Arthur actually existed, and many think that the stories may be based loosely on the life of a sixth century king. The problem lies in the fact that most accounts of Arthur were written much later, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, in poems, songs, histories, and romances. As a result, many different versions of the story emerged, with each writer introducing new characters and plot twists. Many accounts even ignored Arthur altogether, focusing instead on the adventures of his knights.
After hundreds of years of development, the history of Arthur transformed into an expansive collection of tales filled with backstories, subplots, and digressions, meaning we may never know the truth behind the legend.
亞瑟王的故事
很少有故事能左右人們的想像力達千年的時間。

但是充滿魔幻、英雄事蹟、愛恨情仇的亞瑟王軼事,卻是碩果僅存的傳奇之一。

簡而言之,烏瑟王過世後,大英帝國頓時群龍無首。

因此,巫師梅林施法設下石中劍,宣告拔得出石中劍之人,就是接管大英帝國的正統君王。

許多武士屢試屢敗,只有烏瑟王失散已久之子──青年亞瑟,拔出石中劍,證明自己是真正有資格登基的唯一帝王。

亞瑟迎娶了美若天仙的關妮薇公主,而關妮薇的父王以一張圓桌做為結婚賀禮。

此後,這張圓桌成為亞瑟王朝廷公正平等的象徵,無論是武士或是君王的身分地位,圍坐圓桌前均一視同仁。

但是尊爵榮耀的背後,卻暗藏伺機而動的叛變氛圍。

亞瑟的心腹武士藍斯洛,與王后關妮薇暗通款曲一事東窗事發。

關妮薇為此被判死刑之際,藍斯洛劫救關妮薇而逃往法國。

亞瑟留下兒子莫德雷德掌管王國,立誓追殺這對背叛他的亡命鴛鴦。

然而,莫德雷德發起叛亂,讓亞瑟痛徹心扉。

到了最後一戰的那刻,亞瑟雖然戰勝莫德雷德,卻身負重傷。

在他臨死之前,部屬以小船載送亞瑟前往神話之地阿維儂。

傳說亞瑟在此長眠,等待重返大英帝國的一天。

數世紀以來,歷史學家不斷爭論亞瑟王是否為真實存在的人物。

許多學者認為,亞瑟王的故事不過是取材自一名六世紀的國王事蹟。

問題在於,亞瑟的多數記載出現於九世紀至十五世紀之間的年代,例如詩歌、歷史和羅曼史。

因此,各種亞瑟王的故事版本如雨後春筍,每位作家都會不斷加諸新角色和情節轉折。

許多記載甚至完全忽略亞瑟,而以圓桌武士的冒險為故事主軸。

經過上百年的演變,亞瑟王的歷史形成一篇無遠弗屆的史詩,充滿豐富背景故事、衍生情節以及離題內容。

也就是說,我們或許永遠不會知道亞瑟王傳奇的真相。