The Celts tended to make their heroes into gods and their gods into heroes, and over the next few centuries following the death of the historical Arthur, the Celts embellished his story with earlier mythological themes, giving him a special circle of warriors (who later became Knights of the Round Table but were closer to the Fianna of Fionn Mac Cumhail). In medieval times, Christian themes also began to replace the intrinsically Celtic elements—the search for the magic cauldron of plenty from the Otherworld became a search for the Christian Holy Grail. Some elements retain their pure Celtic form—Caladcholg, the magic sword of Fergus Mac Roth, became by means of a Latin corruption of the name “Excalibur,” Arthur’s sword.

By the time Geoffrey of Monmouth (ca. a.d. 1100–1155) produced his Historia Regnum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), the character of Arthur had developed into its popularly accepted form. Geoffrey was considered to be the creator of the heroic image of Arthur. Yet Geoffrey claimed that he had done no more than translate his Historia from “a very ancient book in the British language.” While the claim is generally regarded as spurious, it is not without credibility (see Historia Regnum Britanniae).

When the Arthurian legends were given permanent form in Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (ca. 1496), Arthur had been transformed from a Celtic chieftain fighting against the English conquest of Britain to an English medieval king cloaked in romantic knightly chivalry.

Arthurian Saga

A great body of literature has grown up around the personality of Arthur, the great bulk of it having very little to do with the tale’s Celtic provenance. For a discussion of the historical references, see Arthur. In terms of Celtic mythology, Arthur occurs as a character both in Welsh and Irish mythology, with references in the folktales and legends of the other Celtic peoples. Cornwall, for example, while only having a slight claim to producing any early Arthurian literature in its language (see Cornish), claims to have been Arthur’s home territory.

In Welsh mythology, the story of “Culhwch and Olwen” is perhaps the earliest known full-fledged Arthurian tale in a Celtic language. This is in the “Independent Native Tales” of the Mabinogion, and although it dates to the early eleventh century, it reflects language and customs from a far earlier date. There are also three