I am having some difficulty understanding the time period that the book "The Once and Future King" is set in. If you have read the book, you may be able to help.

I know we cannot take this as perfectly accurate historically, but some clues are way off! King Arthur was alive c.516 - c.537. He was the leader of the Romano-Briton people and commanded the Britons in a victory over the Saxon invaders (Battle of Mount Badon) in c.517. The book may lead us to believe he was living in another time period.

We meet Robin Hood, who was a semi-legindary knight after the Norman Conquest of England, who more or less stole from the rich and gave to himself. We can probably accept this historical inacuracy courtesy of Merlin who lived backward in time.

Here comes the puzzling part. Before Wart even met Merlin, the battles of Agincourt and Crecy were mentioned. These were battles in the Hundred Years War. There are no social context clues that would lead us to believe the Hundred Years War was going on. If it was over, the War of the Roses would be going on, and if that was over we'd be into Tudor England and the 15th/16th centuries. There are no social context clues of technological advances of the 15th/16th centuries being used either.

If anyone has any ideas what time period Arthur lived in, in "The Once and Future King," please respond. Thanks for your help!
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07-10-02, 08:59 PM
cattywampus
It may have been "no period." This is fiction. Forget about the history and enjoy. razz razz razz

07-11-02, 03:20 AM
VivienneHa
The trouble with Arthurian legends is that the King Arthur of history known as "Arthur of the Britons" c.465 - c.542(this is only an estimate as it is not known exactly when Arthur was born or died) really bears little or no resemblence to the Arthur of the myths,who in effect was a legendary king.It is the uncertainty of Arthur's life that has given such scope to writers of fiction.As cattywampus has said,"The Once and Future King" is a work of fiction and the author has given himself full rein with history and the legend of Arthur.Here are a couple of great sites that should help you with any "Arthurian" questions.
Arthur of the Britons

King Arthur

I hope these are of some help to you.

07-11-02, 06:32 AM
Elexina
That's the beauty of fiction: the author has the license to make it all up as he goes along, whether it makes any sense or not.
The Arthur legend is so varied and questionnable anyway, there is no way for us to truly know what is the truth and what was made up thousands of years ago.
I agree, the author should try to watch the chronological order of things, but unfortunately sometimes they miss. Fiction sometimes has to be read with a grain or two of salt and sometimes with an entire shaker.

07-11-02, 10:30 AM
aminator2002
It is a almost a fairy tale. It occurs a long time ago. That's all I ever worried about.

Book 1 was the only one that I read all the way through. Then it descends into all that fictional history that I just didn't find as interesting as the first book about Arthur as a child.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,