List of works based on Arthurian legends

King Arthur at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 1895

The Matter of Britain stories, focusing on King Arthur, are one of the most popular literary subjects of all time, and have been adapted numerous times in every form of media.

Modern literature

Main article: List of books about King Arthur

A. A. Attanasio: The Dragon and the Unicorn, The Eagle and the Sword, and The Wolf and the Crown.
Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis: The Revenge of the Shadow King reveals an alternate history of Arthur who was betrayed and murdered by his half-sister Morgan le Fay, who is portrayed as an evil immortal being known as the Black Witch, for possession of a sacred book which had been passed down father-to-son for thousands of years. In this case, Arthur was betrayed when he refused to pass the book on to his illegitimate son. The book was passed to Arthur's true son, and from Arthur's son came the Knights Templar.
Marion Zimmer Bradley: The Mists of Avalon is the classic of modern reinterpretations of the Arthurian legend through the points of view of powerful women behind Camelot, namely Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and Morgause.
Gillian Bradshaw: The Down the Long Wind trilogy Hawk of May, Kingdom of Summer and In Winter's Shadow looks at the King Arthur legend through the eyes of a classical scholar.
James Herbert Brennan: The Grail Quest gamebooks center on the kingdom of King Arthur.
Bryher set her historical novel Ruan in Britain immediately after Arthur's death.
Meg Cabot: Avalon High, a novel in which high school students find themselves to be reincarnations of characters from the Arthurian cycle.
Mark Chadbourn: The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age and Kingdom of the Serpent trilogies take a modern twist of Arthurian legend and Celtic mythology, using them as a basis for a dark series of novels set in modern Britain, in which the Celtic gods return to take back the land.
Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy: The Forever King is a trilogy of books set in modern day about a boy who is King Arthur reincarnated and his protector Hal, a former police officer who is the reincarnation of Galahad.
Susan Cooper: five volume saga, The Dark is Rising.
Bernard Cornwell: The Warlord Chronicles consist of three novels, Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur, and reintroduce many old characters into the tale.
Kevin Crossley-Holland: The Seeing Stone, At the Crossing-Places, and King of the Middle-March.
Peter David's Knight trilogy depicts Arthur reappearing in the modern-day world. In the first novel, Knight Life, Arthur emerges from his thousand-year convalescence that followed the wound he sustained from Mordred to run for mayor of New York City. In One Knight Only, he faces another epic hero for possession of the Holy Grail. In Fall of Knight, the villain Arthur encounters is a person from actual history, who possesses the Spear of Destiny, and wants to use it to destroy the Earth.
Bryan Davis: Dragons in Our Midst series
David Drake: The Dragon Lord, a somewhat unconventional story involving a "King Arthur" who is more great military general than quasi-enchanted king; it takes place shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire and long before the Age of Chivalry.
Robert W. Fuller: The Rowan Tree, a political novel that casts the Arthurian legend in a modern historical setting.
David Gemmell: Ghost King (1988), Last Sword of Power (1988), The entire series deals with the Stones of Power, also known as the Sipstrassi. The first two books contain a re-imaging of the Arthurian legend.
Parke Godwin: Firelord and Beloved Exile
Robert Holdstock: The Merlin Codex, a trilogy of mythic fiction novels which trace Merlin's adventures in Europe before the time of King Arthur, placing him alongside Jason and the Argonauts and Urtha Pendragon.
Helen Hollick: Pendragon's Banner trilogy.
Phyllis Ann Karr: The Idylls of the Queen.
Guy Gavriel Kay: The Fionavar Tapestry is the continuation of the Camelot story in the framework of a wider epic.
Stephen King: The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah reveals that the hero of King's spaghetti-western/fantasy/sci-fi magnum opus adventure series, Roland, is one of only two of King Arthur's surviving descendants. The version of Arthur in Roland's world is known as Arthur Eld, and was the founder of the order of Gunslingers, knightly warriors who wield revolver pistols in the name of justice; Eld's own guns were reportedly forged from the metal of Excalibur itself.
J. Robert King: Mad Merlin, Lancelot Du Lethe, A retelling of the Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Merlin and Lancelot rather than on the usual Arthur, King weaves his tale by combining bits of folklore and mythology with both sheer invention and historical fact. Merlin is actually the god Jupiter.
James Knowles, The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights
Sidney Lanier: The Boy's King Arthur is a work based on Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, written in such a way to appeal to the boys of the 19th century.
Stephen R. Lawhead: The Pendragon Cycle, a more thorough examination of the myths, especially concerning Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and the Grail.
C.S. Lewis makes reference to Arthur and aspects of Arthurian legend, albeit with his own twist, in the final installment of his Space Trilogy, That Hideous Strength.
John Masefield cycle of poetry concerning the Arthurian legend.
Nancy McKenzie: Queen of Camelot, where Guinevere gives a first-hand account of her life, and Grail Prince, set directly after Arthur's death at Camlann.
Rosalind Miles Guenevere Trilogy is a fictional trilogy that follows Guenevere and King Arthur through their reign as High King and Queen.
Michael Morpurgo Arthur, High King of Britain (1994)
Gerald Morris The Squire's Tale Collection
Garth Nix: Contained in Nix's collection Across the Wall are two stories that present a different take on the Arthurian legends: "Under the Lake", a short story that portrays the Lady of the Lake as a parasitic, monstrous creature, and "Heart's Desire", which tells of Merlin and his apprentice Nimue, and the ultimately doomed relationship between them.
Tim Powers' The Drawing of the Dark depicts an eternal King Arthur reincarnated to participate in the Siege of Vienna.
John Cowper Powys, Porius (A Romance of the Dark Ages) (1951).
Howard Pyle, King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table
In Mary Reed and Eric Mayer's historical mystery One for Sorrow the protagonist John, the Lord Chamberlain meets with a Knight of the Round Table who comes to Constantinople in search of the Holy Grail.
Philip Reeve: Here Lies Arthur tells of a more tyrannical Arthur in the time of the Dark Ages.
Lisa Ann Sandell: Song of the Sparrow, a retelling of the story of Elaine of Ascolat, the Lady of Shalott.
Jack Spicer: The Holy Grail, a series of poems spoken by various Arthurian characters (1962).
Nancy Springer: I am Mordred and I am Morgan le Fay are two young adult novels about the two often misunderstood characters of Camelot.
John Steinbeck: The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights is a traditional take in modern language. Steinbeck also compared the adventures of the paisanos in his early novel Tortilla Flat to the exploits of Arthur's knights.
Mary Stewart's Merlin books: The Crystal Cave sets up the background for the Arthurian legend. The Hollow Hills encompasses most of Arthur's lifespan, including his childhood with Merlin as his tutor. The Last Enchantment deals with Merlin's later life, against the continued background of Arthur's rule. A later book, The Wicked Day, was written from the point of view of Mordred in the latter period of Arthur's rule, and provides an interesting counterpoint to the original three novels.
Rosemary Sutcliff: The Lantern Bearers (1959), Sword at Sunset (1963), Tristan and Iseult (1971); The King Arthur Trilogy (2007), an omnibus edition of Sutclff's Arthurian Trilogy: The Light Beyond the Forest (1979), The Sword and the Circle (1981), and The Road to Camlann (1981); The Shining Company (1990), a retelling of the Y Gododdin, which contains the earliest mention of Arthur's name. In Taliesin's Successors: Interviews with authors of modern Arthurian literature, The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester (August 1986), Raymond H. Thompson described these seven works by Sutcliff as "some of the finest contemporary recreations of the Arthurian story".
Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Idylls of the King
J.R.R. Tolkien: "The Fall of Arthur" an unfinished poem, posthumously published in 2013.
Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
T. H. White: The Once and Future King cycle
Jack Whyte: The Camulod Chronicles, a series of books containing more historical fiction than fantasy beginning with Roman Britain and leading through Arthur's reign.
Persia Woolley: Child of the Northern Spring, Queen of the Summer Stars, and Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn.

Theatre

John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy: The Island of the Mighty (1972)
Laurence Binyon: King Arthur (1923), with music by Edward Elgar
D. G. Bridson: King Arthur (1937), with music by Benjamin Britten
J. Comyns Carr: King Arthur (1895), with music by Arthur Sullivan
Camelot (1960), by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White novel The Once and Future King. The main thrust of the novel and the musical play is the affair between Arthur's wife, Guenevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot. Camelot was filmed in 1967. Created by the team responsible for My Fair Lady, Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe, it starred Richard Burton as Arthur, Julie Andrews as Guinevere, and introduced Robert Goulet as Lancelot. The original cast album of the show was a particular favorite of then-President John F. Kennedy, and the "Camelot" metaphor has been often associated with his presidency.
Merlin was a Broadway musical in 1983 featuring illusionist Doug Henning and music by Elmer Bernstein.
Spamalot, adapted from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It won the 2004–2005 Tony Award for Best Musical. Arthur was played by Tim Curry in the original production.

Opera

Henry Purcell: King Arthur (1691), libretto by John Dryden
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin (1848), libretto by composer
Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (1865), libretto by composer
Richard Wagner: Parsifal (1882), libretto by composer
Karl Goldmark: Merlin (1886), libretto by Siegfried Lipiner
Hubert Parry: Guinevere (1886)
Amadeu Vives: Arthús (1895)
Isaac Albéniz: Merlin (1897–1902), intended to be the first of a trilogy, libretto by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer
Ernest Chausson: Le roi Arthus (1903), libretto by composer
Rutland Boughton: The Birth of Arthur (1909), libretto by Reginald Buckley
Harrison Birtwistle: Gawain (1991), libretto by David Harsent

Film

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949), a musical film adaptation of Twain's novel, with Bing Crosby as the time-traveling Yankee and Cedric Hardwicke as Arthur.
Knights of the Round Table (1953), based on Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, with Robert Taylor as Lancelot, Ava Gardner as Guinevere, and Mel Ferrer in the role of Arthur.
Sword of Lancelot a.k.a. Lancelot and Guinevere (1963), a film directed by Cornel Wilde and starring Mr. Wilde as Lancelot, Jean Wallace as Guinevere, and Brian Aherne as Arthur.
The Sword in the Stone, a 1963 Disney animated film about Arthur's childhood, loosely adapted from T.H. White's take on the legend.
Camelot, a 1967 film adaptation of the successful 1960 Broadway musical of the same name, in turn heavily based on the last three of T.H.White's quartet of novels. It starred Richard Harris as Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guenevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a comedic parody of the traditional King Arthur legend. It was later adapted into a successful Broadway musical called Spamalot. Arthur was played by Graham Chapman in the film.
John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur, based largely on Malory and probably the highest rated serious Arthurian film. It features Nicol Williamson as Merlin and Helen Mirren as Morgan Le Fay.
First Knight, a 1995 movie based on the abduction of Guinevere by the knight Malagant. It featured Sean Connery as Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot, and Julia Ormond as Guinevere.
Quest for Camelot is a 1998 animated feature with King Arthur ruling over a besieged Camelot.
King Arthur, a motion picture released on July 7, 2004, claiming (despite being heavily criticised for its historical inaccuracies) to be more historically accurate about the legend of Arthur as a 5th-century, British-born, Roman commander, with respect to new archaeological findings; similar in story line to Jack Whyte's books.
Merlin and the Book of Beasts 2009 Laura Harris plays the daughter of Guenevere and Arthur. She must defeat Mordred her half brother and his book of beasts.

Television

TV movies and miniseries

The 1998 television mini series Merlin showing a tale of Arthur and his knights.
Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon was made into a miniseries by TNT in 2001.

Special Presentations

The 2004 History Channel special Quest for King Arthur, hosted by Patrick Stewart, with an introduction by Ioan Gruffudd, highlights several historical figures who may have contributed to Arthurian legend. It was shown on the History Channel just prior to the release of the film King Arthur (2004), which featured Gruffudd as the character Lancelot and doing a voice-over introduction. The obvious tie-in was to assert the historical accuracy of the film.

Series

The 1950s British television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, recounting the knight's exploits, featured Arthur and many other characters from the legends. This was the first British television series ever to be made in colour (although surviving episodes are in black and white) and one of the first to be aired by an American network.
The 1970s British television series, Arthur of the Britons, starring Oliver Tobias, sought to create a more "realistic" portrait of the period and to explain the origins of some of the myths about the Celtic leader.
The French series Kaamelott features a humorous take on the legend.
The BBC series Merlin is a re-imagining of the legend in which the future King Arthur and Merlin are young contemporaries in Uther's kingdom. Arthur quickly transitions from a spoiled young prince into a beloved king, while Merlin perfects his magic arts in secret. Inspired by Smallville (which was a similar show featuring Superman characters) and the subject of critical acclaim, Merlin ran for five series from 2008 to 2012.
Camelot is a series on Starz that debuted April 1, 2011. It begins at the very earliest story, with twenty-year-old, long lost son Arthur being crowned king after half-sister Morgan poisons their father King Uther. A more adult-oriented take on the Arthurian legends than the concurrent series Merlin, it was cancelled after one season.
The ABC series Once Upon a Time features many aspects from the Arthurian legends. Camelot is mentioned several times as a region within the Enchanted Forest. Also, Lancelot appears in the second and fifth seasons. In the fifth season, the heroes seek out the sorcerer Merlin to battle the darkness that currently plagues hero-turned-villain Emma Swan. In the third episode of the season, King Arthur is revealed to be a villain.

Animation

The late 1969 Australian animated cartoon series Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table was a typically wacky take on Arthurian legend.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Entaku no Kishi Monogatari: Moero Arthur), a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation in 1979, followed by King Arthur: Prince on White Horse (Moero Arthur: Hakuba no Oji) in 1980
The animated series The Legend of Prince Valiant followed the adventures of three young warriors training to become Knights of the Round Table. Originally aired in the early 1990s, it featured Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and Gawain in its main cast and several other Arthurian characters in recurring roles.
The animated series King Arthur & the Knights of Justice premiering in 1992 featured an American Football team called the Knights led by quarterback Arthur King. When the "real" Knights of the Round Table are captured, Merlin magically transports the Knights football team to Camelot to defend the kingdom and rescue the captured knights. The show was cancelled in 1993.
Starting within its "Avalon World Tour" story arc, a few episodes of Disney's Gargoyles devoted themselves partly to Arthur Pendragon, after NYPD detective Elisa Maza awakens the King from his "eternal slumber" within Avalon's "hollow hill" sanctuary. Arthur goes on to recover his sword Excalibur while visiting New York (and directly confronting Macbeth while recovering it), and while in New York, knights the London Clan gargoyle Griff to become his traveling companion from Griff's assistance to the king in recovering Excalibur, as Arthur begins a quest to find Merlin.
The British animated cartoon series King Arthur's Disasters in 2005. Where Arthur is voiced by Rik Mayall.
In the Japanese anime adaptation of the visual novel Fate/stay night, Arthur is portrayed as having been a woman (named Arturia) whose spirit is resurrected to serve a mage in the modern day with history recording her as a man for political correctness. She reprises this role in the adaptation's prequel Fate/Zero, which also features a version of Lancelot. Arturia also appears in the film Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, and a recreated anime series based on the latter, as well as a number of spinoffs based on the franchise. In addition, the OVA Fate/Prototype (based on an earlier draft of Fate/Stay Night's story) features a male version of King Arthur, known in the expanded universe as "Prototype Saber".
Arthur serves as the main antagonist in the Japanese anime Nobunaga the Fool. The anime is a sci-fi telling of famed ancient heroes from the west, such as Arthur, Caeser, and Alexander, going to war against famed ancient heroes from the east, such as Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, and Kenshin over control over two planets, both of which represent Europe and Japan.
The Japanese anime Highschool DxD contains several elements from Arthurian legend such as the Welsh Dragon, the White dragon and the sword Excalibur.

Comics

In 1937, a newspaper comic strip by Hal Foster, Prince Valiant was first published, with the byline "In the Days of King Arthur". Since the death of Foster in 1982, John Cullen Murphy has continued producing this comic strip.
DC Comics uses King Arthur's Camelot as a recurring piece of its fictional history, and there have been "several Arthurs," including a pagan general in Roman Britain, and a medieval Christian mystic. The various Arthurs were served by various versions of the character Shining Knight while The Demon, under the control of Merlin, defended Camelot during its final days.
The original version of the Marvel Comics character Black Knight was also at Arthur's court.
In Marvel Comic's New Excalibur series, King Arthur and his entire court is depicted when the team of mutants travels back in time to aid Black Knight during his years as a member of Arthur's Court. During the mission, Peter Wisdom advertently causes Guinevere and Lancelot into committing their affair behind Arthur's back.
Several comic book titles have explored the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend by bringing Arthur and his knights back from the dead at the time of Britain's greatest need. Arthur and company re-emerge to battle an alien menace in AD 3000 in Camelot 3000.
The heroes of Knights of Pendragon likewise assemble in the spirit of Arthur's Round Table.
Simon Bisley's Treasure of Britain starring the character Sláine, features Arthurian characters and themes.
King Arthur makes several appearances throughout De Rode Ridder (The Red Knight), a Flemish comic book series.
The French comic book Arthur, by David Chauvel and Jérôme Lereculey, draws inspiration from early medieval Welsh legends, such as the Mabinogion.
In Hellboy, Hellboy is descended from King Arthur through his son, Mordred, by a daughter who was hidden away.
In 1984 Colleen Doran's A Distant Soil introduced Sir Galahad to her space opera series.

Games

Board games

The board game Shadows Over Camelot features King Arthur as one of the main playable characters in the game.
In the science fiction board game Warhammer 40k, the Emperor of Mankind drew many similar inspiration from Arthurian legends while the treacherous Warmaster Horus and Horus Heresy is similar to Mordred.

Role-playing games

The role-playing game Pendragon details how to run adventure games set in the time of the Round Table. Its setting integrates Malory with post-Roman Britain, Celtic myth and English Folklore.
In Rifts from Palladium Books, the main story of Britain revolves around the future equivalent of King Arthur and his knights. It should be noted that this is not the original King Arthur awoken from Avalon and he has many different characteristics and strengths, not the least of which is his new blade, Calibur-X, a vibrating gun blade with magical properties.
The King Arthur Supplement for the GURPS role-playing game gives three different Arthurian settings, a historical setting based upon post-Roman Britain, a legendary setting based upon Malory, and a cinematic setting based upon modern stories.
The storygame Arthur's Legacy (Rise of Avalon) presents a world where Avalon rises from the sea triggering a Rebirth of magic and mystical creatures, as well the return of immortal nobility including King Arthur, his bastard son Mordred, and the witch Anna Morgause. Participants portray reincarnated knights, who embody ideals and wield the ability to perform miracles.

Video games

King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame a real time strategy and role-playing game by Neocore Games from 2009
Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge, a real time strategy and role-playing game by ExcaliburWorld Software from 2007.
King Arthur by Krome Studios is based on the 2004 film of the same name.
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice by Enix is based on the cartoon series of the same name.
Stronghold Legends by Firefly Studios campaign includes King Arthur's legend
Conquests of Camelot by Sierra Entertainment centers around the quest for the Holy Grail.
Knights Of The Round by Capcom is a light-hearted take on the Arthurian legend in a sword fighting beat-em-up similar to the video game Final Fight.
Tomb Raider: Legend by Crystal Dynamics revolves around the King Arthur legend resembling those of other cultures around the world; pieces of artifacts are forms of Excalibur.
Tomb Raider: Underworld by Crystal Dynamics revolves around Lara trying to find Avalon to find her mother.
In Final Fantasy VII, the final and most powerful summon materia is Knights of the Round which has 12 knights striking an enemy with the last knight obviously being King Arthur through his extended entrance and grander appearance.
The visual novel/eroge and anime Fate/stay night features a young female knight called Saber whose true name is Arturia. She became King by pulling free the sword from the stone. Knowing that armies wouldn't follow a woman, she renamed herself King Arthur and used Merlin's magic to hide her gender.
- The prequel Fate/Zero features not only the above King Arthur/Saber, but also Lancelot as a Black Knight under the class Berserker. The spinoff game Fate/extra features Gawain as an enemy-exclusive Saber-class character. The light-novel series Fate/Apocrypha - a parallel world spinoff based on a cancelled MMO concept - features Mordred as a Saber-class for one of the two factions, who, like King Arthur/Saber, is gender-swapped, detailed in the story as being a homunculus half-clone of King Arthur that was created from mixing the King's genes with those of Morgan le Fay. All of these characters would later appear in the mobile game Fate Grand/Order alongside a version of Galahad.
In the MMORPG RuneScape, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are portrayed as having settled in the game's fictional world while awaiting Britain's 'time of greatest need'.
The MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot takes place after King Arthur's death.
Namco's Soul series features Arthur as a samurai. He wields a katana named Gassan.
The Wii game Sonic and the Black Knight features the main protagonist, Sonic the Hedgehog saving the city Camelot from King Arthur after he becomes corrupt and calls himself the Black Knight. After defeating the Black Knight/King Arthur, Merlin's granddaughter Merlina reveals to Sonic & the Knight of the Roundtable that the King Arthur they knew was a fake created by her grandfather. In the end, Sonic was revealed to be King Arthur himself, as Caliburn (actually Excalibur) said he was the one who decides who is worthy of the crown.
Sir Lancelot is used as character in a 1984 platform / arcade game for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
The tactical JRPG Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi contains many characters whose names allude to the King Arthur legend. Although there is no Arthur, characters include: Guinevere, Igraine, Gorlois, Lance, Percival, Uther, Lot, Bors, Merlinus, Niime and Nacien. The game's prequel, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, introduces Ninian, but on the whole this game draws more from medieval French mythology than British and Arthurian.
The 2006 Namco air combat game Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War is heavily based on the Arthurian legend, with allusions to Excalibur, Avalon, etc.

Music

The concept album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975) by Rick Wakeman tells a version of the legend.
The 1995 album Imaginations from the Other Side by the power-metal band Blind Guardian contains numerous songs referencing Arthurian legends, including "A Past and Future Secret," about the battle of Camlann, and "Mordred's Song."
The 2004 expanded edition of heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson's 6th solo album The Chemical Wedding features a song called "Return of the King," which heavily references Arthurian elements including Uther Pendragon.
The American power-metal band Kamelot has many songs with Arthurian elements in their discography.(Once and Future King and Shadow of Uther
In 2003 hard rock musician Gary Hughes put out two albums, Once and Future King Part I and Once and Future King Part II, based on the legend.
The German metal band Grave Digger released a concept album about the story of King Arthur called Excalibur
English folk singer Maddy Prior released a 2001 concept album Arthur the King
The 1995 album The Final Experiment by Ayreon, its concept is located in King Arthur's timeline.
England based metalband Cradle of Filth wrote a song called Haunted Shores, which deals with the subject of King Arthur from a pagan perspective.
Celtic singer-songwriter Heather Dale has two albums of music based on Arthurian legend.

Anthem of Cornwall

Bro Goth Agan Tasow ("Dear Land of Our Fathers"), the official anthem of Cornwall, includes the words: "Kingdom of King Arthur, ancient saints and the Grail/No other land is more beloved."