"The Dark Side Of King Arthur & Other Disturbing Legends" Topic

… From History

"The legendary King Arthur's tale, as most of us have come to know it, has come to us through a series of Disney-like filters. The Arthur we know is a saintly figure and the perfect embodiment of chivalry. The Arthur of the original accounts, however, has some rough edges, and his tale contains some dark corners seldom visited nowadays. Not the least of them is that he was a baby killer – as in he copied King Herod, and ordered the wholesale slaughter of babies in his kingdom. Below are twenty five things about those and other lesser known aspects about legendary figures and tales from history…"

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Armand

It's twoo! It's twoo!

There isn't as I understand it, an original Arthur from which later representations can diverge.So its not a shock reveal.
The Mallory Arthur is probably the one best known to us, intended at the time to act as a template for chivalry, and which has fed into "The Once and Future King", and from there to Disney.
He's a blank canvas

…And Mallory draws extensively on the Medieval French Arthurian tradition.

A lot of the darker elements were added to legends by French authors, who disliked Arthur as an "English" king, and who wanted to turn focus onto the "French" Lancelot. (Any historical basis for Arthus would make him Welsh, but that's beside the point).

There are many Arthurs as you peel the onion. And nothing once you finish peeling.

Thanks

Armand