View source for Matter of Britain

{{short description|Body of Medieval literature associated with Great Britain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2024}}
{{Medieval and Renaissance literature}}
{{National Literary "Matters"}}
{{Celtic mythology}}

The '''Matter of Britain''' ({{langx|fr|matière de Bretagne}}) is the body of [[medieval literature]] and [[legend]]ary material associated with [[Great Britain]] and [[Brittany]] and the [[list of legendary kings of Britain|legendary kings]] and heroes associated with it, particularly [[King Arthur]]. The 12th-century writer [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} (''History of the Kings of Britain)'' is a central component of the Matter of Britain.

It was one of the three great Western [[Literary cycle|story cycles]] recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the [[Matter of France]], which concerned the legends of [[Charlemagne]] and his [[Paladin|companions]], as well as the [[Matter of Rome]], which included material derived from or inspired by [[classical mythology]] and [[classical antiquity|classical history]].<ref>{{harvp|Evans|2012}}</ref> Its pseudo-[[chronicle]] and [[chivalric romance]] works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century.

==Name==
The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet [[Jean Bodel]], whose epic ''{{ill|Chanson des Saisnes|fr}}'' ("Song of the Saxons") contains the lines:
{{verse translation|lang=fro|Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant:
De France et de Bretaigne et de Rome la grant
|There are only three subject matters for any discerning man:
That of France, that of Britain, and that of great Rome.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bodel|first1=Jean|last2=Stengel|first2=Edmund|last3=Menzel|first3=Fritz|date=1906|title=Jean Bodels Saxenlied. Teil I. Unter Zugrundlegung der Turiner Handschrift von neuem herausgegeben von F. Menzel und E. Stengel.|language=de|url=https://archive.org/details/jean_bodels_saxenlied/page/n7/mode/2up|location=[[Marburg]]|publisher=Elwert'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung}}</ref>}}

The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from [[classical antiquity]], the "[[Matter of Rome]]", and the tales of the [[Paladin]]s of [[Charlemagne]] and their wars with the [[Moors]] and [[Saracen]]s, which constituted the "[[Matter of France]]".

==Themes and subjects==
[[King Arthur]] is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories related to the [[List of legendary kings of Britain|legendary kings of Britain]], as well as lesser-known topics related to the history of [[Great Britain]] and [[Brittany]], such as the stories of [[Brutus of Troy]], [[Coel Hen]], [[Leir of Britain]] (King Lear), and [[Gogmagog (giant)|Gogmagog]].

===Legendary history===
The legendary history of Britain was created partly to form a body of patriotic myth for the country. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature. According to John J. Davenport, the question of Britain's identity and significance in the world "was a theme of special importance for writers trying to find unity in the mixture of their land's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman and Norse inheritance."<ref name=davenport>{{harvp|Davenport|2004}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} is a central component of the Matter of Britain. Geoffrey drew on a number of ancient British texts, including the 9th-century ''[[Historia Brittonum]]''. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is the earliest known source of the story of [[Brutus of Troy]]. Traditionally attributed to [[Nennius]], its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to the diaspora of heroes that followed the [[Trojan War]].<ref name=davenport/> As such, this material could be used for patriotic myth-making just as [[Virgil]] linked the [[founding of Rome]] to the Trojan War in ''[[Aeneid|The Æneid]]''. Geoffrey lists Coel Hen as a [[King of the Britons]],<ref>{{harvp|Geoffrey of Monmouth|1966}}</ref> whose daughter, Helena marries [[Constantius Chlorus]] and gives birth to a son who becomes the Emperor [[Constantine the Great]], tracing the Roman imperial line to British ancestors.

It has been suggested that Leir of Britain, who later became King Lear, was originally the Welsh sea-god [[Llŷr]], related to the Irish [[Ler (mythology)|Ler]].{{Citation required|date=May 2024}} Various [[Ancient Celtic religion|Celtic deities]] have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: for example [[Morgan le Fay]] was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess [[Modron]] or Irish [[the Morrígan]]. Many of these identifications come from the speculative [[comparative religion]] of the late 19th century and have been questioned in more recent years.

[[William Shakespeare]] was interested in the legendary history of Britain, and was familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as ''[[King Lear]]'' and ''[[Cymbeline]]''. It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster [[Thomas Jenkins (headmaster)|Thomas Jenkins]] introduced him to this material. These tales also figure in [[Raphael Holinshed]]'s ''The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland'', which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for ''[[Macbeth]]''.

Other early authors also drew from the early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The [[Scottish people|Scots]], for instance, formulated a mythical history in the [[List of kings of the Picts|Pictish]] and the [[List of kings of Dál Riata|Dál Riata]] royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and [[Irish mythology|mythical Irish]] history. The story of [[Gabrán mac Domangairt]] especially incorporates elements of both those histories.

===Arthurian cycle===
The Arthurian [[List of literary cycles|literary cycle]] is the best-known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns [[Camelot]], usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of [[chivalric]] virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of the heroes like Arthur, [[Gawain]] and [[Lancelot]]. The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the [[Holy Grail]]; some succeed ([[Galahad]], [[Percival]]), and others fail.

The Arthurian tales have been changed throughout time, and other characters have been added to add backstory and expand on other [[Knights of the Round Table]]. The medieval legend of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of [[courtly love]], such as Lancelot and [[Guinevere]], or [[Tristan and Iseult]].

In more recent years, the trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with [[Celtic mythology]], usually in highly romanticized, 20th-century reconstructed versions. The work of [[Jessie Weston (scholar)|Jessie Weston]], in particular ''[[From Ritual to Romance]]'', traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable.<ref>{{harvp|Surette|1988}}</ref> It is also possible to read the Arthurian literature, particularly the Grail tradition, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth, a theme explored by mythologist [[Joseph Campbell]] amongst others.<ref>{{harvp|Campbell|Moyers|1991}}</ref>

== Medieval authors ==

=== Named ===

<!-- adapted from [[fr:Légende arthurienne]] Auteurs du Moyen Âge (VIe siècle - XVIe siècle) -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
! Author !! Century 
!Language!! Œuvres
|-
|[[Béroul]]||12th
|Old Norman||''[[Tristan and Iseult|Tristan]]''
|-
|[[Chrétien de Troyes]]||12th
|Old French||''[[Erec and Enide]]'', ''[[Cligès]]'', ''[[Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart]]'', ''[[Yvain, the Knight of the Lion]]'', ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail]]''
|-
|[[Geoffrey Chaucer]]||14th
|Middle English||''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''
|-
|[[Thomas Chestre]]||14th
|Middle English||''[[Sir Launfal]]'', ''[[Libeaus Desconus]]''
|-
|[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]||12th
|Latin||{{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}}, {{Lang|la|[[Vita Merlini]]}}
|-
|[[Gottfried von Strassburg]]||13th
|Middle High German||''{{ill|Tristan (Gottfried von Strassburg)|lt=Tristan|de|Tristan (Gottfried von Straßburg)}}''
|-
|[[Hartmann von Aue]]||12th
|Middle High German||''[[Erec (poem)|Erec]]'', ''[[Iwein]]''
|-
|[[Layamon]]||13th
|Middle English||''[[Brut (Layamon)|Brut]]''
|-
|[[Thomas Malory]]||15th
|Middle English||''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]''
|-
|[[Marie de France]]||12th
|Anglo-Norman||[[Lais of Marie de France|''Lais'' of Marie de France]]: ''[[Yonec|Lai de Yonec]]'', ''[[Le Fresne (lai)|Lai de Frêne]]'', ''[[Lanval|Lai de Lanval]]'' (...)
|-
|[[Nennius]]||{{hs|0}}9th
|Latin||''[[Historia Brittonum]]''
|-
|[[Robert de Boron]]||12th
|Old French||''[[Merlin (Robert de Boron poem)|Merlin]]''
|-
|[[Taliesin]]||{{hs|0}}6th
|Middle Welsh||''[[Book of Taliesin]]''
|-
|[[Thomas of Britain]]||12th
|Old French||''[[Tristan and Iseult|Tristan]]''
|-
|[[Wace]]||12th
|Old Norman||''[[Roman de Brut]]'', ''[[Roman de Rou]]''
|-
|[[Wolfram von Eschenbach]]||12th
|Middle High German||''[[Parzival]]''
|-
|[[Raoul de Houdenc]]||12th
|Old French||''[[Meraugis de Portlesguez]]'', ''[[La Vengeance Raguidel]]''
|-
|Païen de Maisières||12–13th
|Old French||''[[La Mule sans frein]]''
|-
|[[Rustichello da Pisa]]||13th
|Franco-Italian||''Roman de Roi Artus'', ''Guiron le Courtois'', ''Meliodus''
|-
|[[Ulrich von Zatzikhoven]]||13th
|Middle High German||''[[Lanzelet]]''
|}

===Anonymous===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ 
! Œuvres !! Century
!Language
|-
|[[Alliterative Morte Arthure|Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'']]||14th–15th
|Middle English
|-
|''[[The Awntyrs off Arthure]]''||14th–15th
|Middle English
|-
|''[[L'âtre périlleux]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''{{ill|Le Chevalier au papegau|fr}}''||14th–15th
|Middle French
|-
|''[[Elucidation]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''{{ill|Floriant et Florete|fr}}''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Folie Tristan d'Oxford]]''||12th
|Anglo-Norman
|-
|''[[De Ortu Waluuanii]]''||12–13th
|Latin
|-
|''{{ill|Gliglois|fr}}''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''{{ill|Hunbaut|fr}}''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Jaufre]]''||13th
|Old Occitan
|-
|''[[The Knight with the Sword]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[The Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain]]''||15th
|Middle Scots
|-
|''[[Lancelot-Grail Cycle]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Caradoc|Life of Caradoc]]''||12th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Mabinogion]]''||11th–13th
|Middle Welsh
|-
|''{{ill|The Marvels of Rigomer|fr|Les Merveilles de Rigomer}}''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Meliadus]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Of Arthour and of Merlin]]''||13th
|Middle English
|-
|''[[Palamedes (romance)|Palamedes]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Perceforest]]''||14th 
|Middle French
|-
|''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail|Perceval Continuations]]''||13th 
|Old French
|-
|''[[Perlesvaus]]''||13th 
|Old French
|-
|''[[Post-Vulgate Cycle]]''||13th
|Old French
|-
|[[Prose Tristan|Prose ''Tristan'']]|| 13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Roman de Fergus]]''|| 13th
|Old French
|-
|''[[Romanz du reis Yder]]''|| 13th
|Anglo-Norman
|-
|''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''||14th 
|Middle English
|-
|[[Stanzaic Morte Arthur|Stanzaic ''Morte Arthur'']]||14th
|Middle English
|-
|''[[La Tavola Ritonda]]''|| 15th
|Tuscan
|-
|''[[Vera historia de morte Arthuri]]''|| 12th/13th
|Latin
|}

==See also==
* [[Avalon]] and [[Glastonbury]]
* [[Battle of Badon]] and [[Battle of Camlann]]
* [[Breton mythology]] and [[Cornish mythology]]
* [[English historians in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Historicity of King Arthur]]
* [[List of Arthurian characters]]
* [[List of Arthurian literature]]
* [[List of works based on Arthurian legends]]
* [[Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|25em}}

=== Cited works ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Joseph |title=Power of Myth |last2=Moyers |first2=Bill |publisher=Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group |year=1991 |isbn=978-0385418867 |pages=113–150 |chapter=Sacrifice and Bliss}}
* {{Cite news |url=https://faculty.fordham.edu/davenport/texts/Britain3.pdf |last=Davenport |first=John J. |title=The Matter of Britain: The Mythological and Philosophical Significance of the British Legends |year=2004 |access-date=2022-05-24}}
* {{Cite journal |url=https://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/king-arthur-part-1-the-matter-of-britain/Content?oid=2166487 |last=Evans |first=Barry |title=King Arthur, Part 1: The Matter of Britain |journal=North Coast Journal |date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=2022-05-24}}
* {{Cite journal |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1365&context=mythlore |last=Flieger |first=Verlyn |title=J.R.R. Tolkien and the Matter of Britain |journal=Mythlore |volume=23 |number=1 |date=October 15, 2000 |access-date=2022-05-24}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofkingsof00geof |author=Geoffrey of Monmouth |author-link=Geoffrey of Monmouth |year=1966 |title=The History of the Kings of Britain |editor-first=Lewis |editor-last=Thorpe |publisher=Penguin |isbn=0-14-044170-0}}
* {{Cite journal |title=The Waste Land and Jessie Weston: A Reassessment |first=Leon |last=Surette |journal=Twentieth Century Literature |volume=34 |issue=2 |date=Summer 1988 |pages=223–244 |doi=10.2307/441079 |jstor=441079 }}
{{Refend}}

===Further reading===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |editor-first=Carol |editor-last=Dover |title=A Companion to the Lancelot-Grail Cycle |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |date=2005 |isbn=978-1843842453}}
* {{Cite book |first=D.H. |last=Green |title=The Beginnings of Medieval Romance: Fact and fiction, 1150–1220 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |date=2005 |isbn=978-0521049566}}
* {{Cite book |first=Derek |last=Pearsall |title=Arthurian Romance: A Short Introduction |publisher=Blackwell |location=Oxford |date=2005 |isbn=978-0631233206}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 Poster|Arthurian Legend}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512153652/http://www.blaenau-gwent.gov.uk/8035.asp Arthurian Folklore] - a website detailing Welsh Arthurian folklore
*[http://www.arthuriana.co.uk Arthurian Resources: King Arthur, History and the Welsh Arthurian Legends] - detailed and comprehensive academic site, includes numerous scholarly articles, from Thomas Green of Oxford University
*[https://www.arthuriana.com Arthuriana] - the only academic journal solely concerned with the Arthurian Legend with a selection of resources and links
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080117172755/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/index_welsh.html Celtic Literature Collective] - provides texts and translations (of varying quality) of Welsh medieval sources, many of which mention Arthur
*[http://www.internationalarthuriansociety.com/ International Arthurian Society]
*[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/AUTHMENU.htm The Camelot Project] - provides valuable bibliographies of freely downloadable Arthurian texts from the sixth to the early 20th centuries, from the University of Rochester
*[http://www.heroicage.org/ The Heroic Age] - an online peer-reviewed journal which includes regular Arthurian articles
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A533350 The Medieval Development of Arthurian Literature] - from [[H2G2]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111317/http://geocities.com/vortigernstudies/bibliograrth.htm Vortigern Studies] - a collection of articles on King Arthur by various Arthurian enthusiasts

{{Arthurian Legend}}
{{Geoffrey of Monmouth}}
{{Celts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matter Of Britain}}
[[Category:Arthurian legend]]
[[Category:Breton mythology and folklore]]
[[Category:British folklore]]
[[Category:British traditional history]]
[[Category:English folklore]]
[[Category:Geoffrey of Monmouth]]
[[Category:History of literature]]
[[Category:Holy Grail]]
[[Category:Medieval literature]]
[[Category:Metanarratives]]
[[Category:Romance (genre)]]