The Knights of the Round Table [antikvár]

Many are the kings ofthe past whose stories are retold today. Few, however, can boast ofthe immense popularity that one king has always enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy for quite some time to come - the famous King Arthur ofthe fantastic realm of legendary England, Logris.Called to the service ofthe royal power directly by God, through the famous stratagem of the sword in the stone, this young king, just sixteen years old at the time, finds himself involved in a series of interminable adventures. He travels his kingdom far and wide in all directions, protecting good and fighting evil. Later on, he basks in his glory, and earns fame and great wisdom as well.These tales contain many other characters, some magical, some not, hut all are cloaked in immortal fame like their king. There is the beautiful and sweet Queen Guinevere, the prodigal Launcelot, and the faithful and unfortunate Merlin the Magician, a very wise man who becomes incapable when faced with the perils of love. In addition to these wonderful characters, there is also the envious and cruel Queen Morgana le Fay, King Arthur's sister. She is the one who causes the fratricidal war that will bring about the end of the glorious era ofthe Knights ofthe Round Table. As we will soon see, it was certainly a time of magic and enchantment.When King Arthur dies, a hand mysteriously appears from the lake and takes the magical sword found in the stone, Excalibur, back to the enchanted land that it came from. Maybe this is where the knights have also gone, and where they continue to live today, proud and fearless, unfortunately departed from our world forever.Many are the versions passed down through the ages of this ancient "Arthurian Cycle" of legends, which probably dates to the twelfth century. Its actual origins, however, are buried deep in the meandering historical web of English and French Literature. Here follows the romantic story of the fascinating adventures of the knights and their lovely damsels.THE SWORD IN THE STONEOn Saint Martin's Day, many centuries ago, the great king, Uther-Pendragon died in his castle of Camelot, in the capital of the kingdom of Logris. He left neither widow nor children, and thus his crown was without an heir.The barons and the bishops of Great Britain, who had come to the castle for the funeral, were very worried. The people of Logris were also very preoccupied. A kingdom without a king is like a ship without a navigator. Who would be their new king? Quite a few of the barons would have deserved to be king. None of them dared to step forward, however, to ask openly for the crown. So they decidedto ask advice of Merlin, a great and wise magician, who knew all about the past and who could see into the future as well. Merlin advised them to wait until Christmas Day, and, in the meantime, to pray to God for wisdom. When Christmas Day arrived, all of the barons and all of the people of Camelot joined together in the cathedral to celebrate mass. As soon as the Archbishop had given the benediction, everyone came out of the church. All marveled to find a large stone and an anvil from which a sword was protruding, sitting in the middle of the square. No one was able to explain such a mystery. The Archbishop, who was very upset by this occurrence, went quickly to the stone and there he found these words inscribed: