Arthur of the Britons

I was a graduate student in upstate New York, and one of the local TV stations carried this show.  I loved the grittiness, and how it accurately portrayed people who lived close to the earth.

It also tried to portray how some of the Arthurian legends got started.   One episode showed Arthur trying to teach a lesson in cooperation to the other chieftains.  He had a large stone rolled over a sword, and dared the others each to get it out.  No one man could.  But, when they all helped by rolling the boulder off the sword, Arthur triumphantly snatched the sword.  However, instead of appreciating the lesson, the other chieftains came to the conclusion that Arthur would take credit for their efforts.

Well, nobody's perfect, even legendary kings, but this might just be the way the "Sword in the Stone" tale began.

It was an excellent show.

i am this young girl's mother and i am 46. i have just found out that Michael Gothard is no longer among us. he was my dream-hero for so many many years and he influenced my already-existing love of history in such a way that i now teach both history, English and English history to Romanian teenage pupils. at that time, i even tried my hand at writing and i imagined together with my best friend a story in which Arthur and Kai met a man and a woman from Dacia. i wish i could watch the TV series again! i am listening to the theme of this movie right now and how do i feel? 18 again... by the way, the English name that i use in school is Kay.

I thought about this series after seeing "King Arthur".

This actually made it across the pond in limited/commercial (not PBS) syndication in 1977 to 78. When the episodes ran their course here in DC, some local youths did a petition drive for the ABC affiliate to keep running it. No success.

There was an Excalibur reference, and in at least one episode Arthur was shown removing the sword from the stone at a multi tribal council, but it was presented as something to be expected. "Ach, there he goes again."

The sidekick who was born a Saxon reminds me of the narrator of Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy of novels.

There was a lot of outdoor filming in this series and they made the most of modest budgets. Episodes like these are good examples of actions series that can be presented in a half hour format.

I taped a late night broadcast of the film compilation of this series, purported to be the "true" story of the "real" King Arthur. Not having been too keen on the cleaned up and sometimes stuffy stories from Tennyson on, I was very, VERY skeptical - "Right, I'll bet" was my response to this claim. But after viewing the movie, I went on a quest that took me to local British bookshops, Rice University, and a hunger to learn more. I was totally fascinated by this telling of the tales - especially the basis of what might have happened to create the "Sword in the Stone" myth. This one was so much better! Here was a crafty, insightful, strategy churning Arthur who used logic, psychology, and military might when necessary to preserve his people and build alliances with an amusing assortment of petty kings in what was left of Roman Britain after their departure. Okay - enough overview.

Back to my quest for this and that. Every occurrence that comes up - historical figures, battles, even down to how people lived in the 800's was right. This gritty portrayal of Arthur was so fascinating that I just had to know more. I wrote to the production company. They sent me what they had and referred me to Terence Feeley, writer of most of the episodes. I wrote to him and still have the lovely letter he sent back.

This series is available in its entirety on DVD from the UK - formatted for that region only, unfortunately. But I suggest you get a region free player and have a ball watching these episodes all over again!

How much more compelling it is to view Arthur as a leader who used every human capability to achieve what few others could even imagine, to live such a "purpose-driven" life (to borrow a phrase). I could imagine him as a boy observing nature, observing people, sharpening his wit as well as his sword arm. What an amazing ideal for youngsters - develop your wit, your heart, your strength to achieve the most magnificent results. Dream the dream! Be all that you can possibly be!

Although i could have only been 6 or 7 at the time, i remember Arthur of the Britons quite clearly (I can even still hum the theme tune). The programme left quite an impression on me with its realistic depiction of Dark age Briton. I think it was a major reason why i became so interested in history as a kid and still am to this day. I only wish this series was avaliable on Video/DVD.