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The Making of King Arthur

Simon Armitage traces the evolution of the Arthurian legend through the literature of the medieval age and reveals that King Arthur is not the great national hero we think he is.

Poet Simon Armitage traces the evolution of the Arthurian legend through the literature of the medieval age and reveals that King Arthur is not the great national hero he is usually considered to be. He's a fickle and transitory character who was appropriated by the Normans to justify their conquest, he was cuckolded when French writers began adapting the story, and it took Thomas Malory's masterpiece of English literature, Le Mort d'Arthur, to restore his dignity and reclaim him as the national hero we know today.

58 minutes

Last on

Fri 12 Jun 202602:20

Music Played

  • Max Richter

    Shadow Journal

    Narrator: Tilda Swinton. Performer: Louisa Fuller. Performer: Natalia Bonner. Performer: John Metcalfe. Performer: Philip Sheppard. Performer: Chris Worsey. Performer: Max Richter.

Credits

RoleContributor
PresenterSimon Armitage
WriterSimon Armitage
Executive ProducerJonty Claypole
ProducerMatt Hill
DirectorMatt Hill

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