King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various histories, including those of Gildas, Nennius and the Annales Cambriae. The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over the British Isles, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. In fact, many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the wizard Merlin, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's birth at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann and final rest in Avalon. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, both in literature and in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.
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_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1838:
In order to avoid anti-Mormon persecution, Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr. and his followers fled Kirtland, Ohio for Far West, Missouri. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith,_Jr.)
1872:
Yohannes IV was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohannes_IV_of_Ethiopia)
1967:
Seventy-three-year-old psychology professor James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically frozen with intent of future resuscitation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryonics)
1970:
The self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra in southeastern Nigeria capitulated, ending the Nigerian Civil War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War)
1971:
The American situation comedy All in the Family, starring Carroll O'Connor as reactionary, bigoted, blue-collar worker Archie Bunker, was first broadcast on the CBS television network; the show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously deemed unsuitable for U.S. network television comedy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Family)
_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
demure (adj) Quiet, modest, reserved, or serious. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/demure)
______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. --Edmund Burke (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke)