by Rena Sherwood

Created on: October 22, 2009

Perhaps the biggest sacred cow in the UK is the legend of King Arthur. Even Jesus takes a back seat to King Arthur. This made it the perfect subject for skewering from the innovative comedy troupe, Monty Python's Flying Circus. Not only was King Arthur parodied, but also movies about King Arthur, government, religion, the French and BBC historical documentaries.

In the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), King Arthur is played by Graham Chapman - a tall, lean, blonde with an Oxford accent. He's about as English an actor and comedian that you can find. His King Arthur also was Christian, had a problem saying "five" every time he meant to say "three" and was the national expert on swallows.

He Was Welsh

Historians believe that the first mention of a King Arthur figure was in Welsh oral traditional stories and poems. They were first written down sometime in the twelfth century in The Mabinogion and a poem named "The Goddodin". These praise a great Welsh king named Arthur or Arturious. The Welsh are an incredibly proud people and traditionally have never got along well with the English.

Many legends have been based on real people. Just look at modern stories of Elvis sightings for proof. If Arthur was a real Welsh king, he would have been dark haired and swarthy in complexion, which was how many Welsh looked like at the time. Nigel Terry, the actor that played King Arthur in "Excalibur" (1980) was far more accurate - although nowhere near as funny as Chapman.

Religion

Although Christianity had reached the British Isles by the 600s, the odds are low that a real Welsh King Arthur would have been Christian. It is much more likely that, if he had been a real person, he would have been a proper pagan. He would have believed in many gods, spirits, fairies, fortune-telling, astrology and sacred sex. In fact, if the real King Arthur is in the Summerland somewhere and gets to see movies of his supposed life, he'd probably vastly prefer Monty Python's version than "Excalibur".

Attitude

In one sense, Chapman's King Arthur may have been truer to life than any other Arthur portrayed on film. Chapman had a proud bearing, looked down his nose at inferiors and expected to be kowtowed to just because he was King of the Britons. He expected people to believe his word was law.

It is thought that back in the dark ages and even the Middle Ages that a man was only as good as his word. People were expected to never lie. Also, kings and the nobles were supposed to not only have a commanding presence, but act as if they expected to be obeyed. If someone acted as if they were king well enough, they were treated like one, just on the off chance that they were king. If a stranger didn't treat the king well, they'd be killed.

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