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. This list enumerates some of the notable works.
A. A. Attanasio: The Dragon and the Unicorn (1994), The Eagle and the Sword (1997), The Wolf and the Crown (1998), and The Serpent and the Grail (1999)
Donald Barthelme: The King (1990), in which Arthurian characters fight in WWII and the atomic bomb has characteristics of the Holy Grail.
Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis: The Revenge of the Shadow King (2006) 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 (1983) 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.
Sallie Bridges (1830–1910): Marble Isle (1864) is a collection of poems based on episodes in Malory.[1]
Bryher: Ruan (1960) is a historical novel in Britain immediately after Arthur's death.
Meg Cabot: Avalon High (2005) is 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 (2000–09) 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 (1992) 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.
Bernard Cornwell: The Warlord Chronicles (1995–97) consist of three novels, Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur, and reintroduce many old characters into the tale.
Peter David: Knight trilogy depicts Arthur reappearing in the modern-day world. In the first novel, Knight Life (1987), 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 (2003), he faces another epic hero for possession of the Holy Grail. In Fall of Knight (2006), 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 (2004–05) & its sequels, Oracles Of Fire (2006–09), and Children of the Bard (2011–15)
David Drake: The Dragon Lord (1979), 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.
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 (1980), Beloved Exile (1984), and The Last Rainbow (1985)
J. Robert King: Mad Merlin (2000), Lancelot Du Lethe (2001), and Le Morte D'Avalon (2003) is the 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.
Stephen King: The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) 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.
James Knowles: The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights (1860)
Giles Kristian: Lancelot (2018) and its sequel, Camelot (2020) are historical re-imagining of the Arthur myths, told from the perspective of Lancelot.
John Masefield: A cycle of poetry concerning the Arthurian legend. (Edwardian-Post WWII)
Nancy McKenzie: Queen of Camelot (2002), where Guinevere gives a first-hand account of her life, Grail Prince (2003), set directly after Arthur's death at Camlann, and Prince of Dreams (2004)
Rosalind Miles: Guenevere Trilogy is a fictional trilogy that follows Guenevere and King Arthur through their reign as High King and Queen.
Gerald Morris: The Squire's Tales and The Knight's Tales are collections for teen readers based in the Middle Ages.
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.
Robert Nye: Merlin, which gives a paganistic view of Merlin's intrigues to make Arthur king.
Mary Stewart: 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.
Jack Vance: The Lyonesse Trilogy, set before Arthur's time on the Elder Isles, a fictional archipelago inspired by the tales of Lyonesse, Ys, and other lost lands associated with Arthurian legend.
Kiersten White: The Camelot Rising trilogy, which consists of The Guinevere Deception, The Camelot Betrayal and The Excalibur Curse. The story is presented as the real Guinevere having died before reaching Camelot to wed Arthur. Taking her place is a changeling, Merlin's adoptive daughter, who could be exiled should her magic nature be revealed.
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.
The Arthurian legend has proved a constant source of material for verse dramatists. Several adaptations exist, most dealing with the love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot.[9] Some notable examples are:
Vortigern: An Historical Tragedy in Five Acts by W. H. Ireland (1799)[11]
Tom Thumb the Great: A Burlesque Tragedy, in Two Acts Altered, from Fielding by Kane O'Hara (1805)[12]
King Arthur: Or, Launcelot the Loose, Gin-Ever the Square, and the Knights of the Round Table, and Other Furniture. A Burlesque Extravaganza by W. M. Akhurst, with editing by Rosemary Paprock (1868)[13]
The New King Arthur: An Opera Without Music by Edgar Fawcett (1885)[14]
Relatively straightforward adaptations of the legends, reconstructed history, or modern Arthurian material.
Adaptations of the original Arthurian Legend
These films are generally based on Matter of Britain which are set in medieval time period and King Arthur's the main character.
The Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949), a film serial starring George Reeves, most known for playing Superman, as Sir Galahad as he attempts to keep Excalibur safe from the evil Saxons and Merlin's magic with the help of Morgan La Fey.
The Black Knight (1954), a film starring Alan Ladd as the titular Black Knight, a blacksmith named John who creates an alter ego to go after the men who are responsible for killing the mother of the woman he loves who are led by the traitorous Sir Palamides, played by Peter Cushing.
Siege of the Saxons (1963), a British film inspired by the plot of Robin Hood in which King Arthur is killed by Edmund of Cornwall as he attempts to usurp Arthur's throne, but Arthur's daughter Katherine (played by Janette Scott) is able to escape with the help of a thieving archer named Robert Marshall who only steals from the rich (played by Ronald Lewis).
Sir Lanval (2011), a film adaptation of the late 12th century narrative poem by Marie de France. Lanval is a young knight at Arthur's court who attracts the attention of both Queen Guinevere and an otherworldly fairy maiden.
Arthur and Merlin (2015), Arthur (Kirk Barker) is a banished Celtic warrior, and Merlin (Stefan Butler) a hermit wizard. (direct-to-video)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) is a live-action film which follows a young Arthur who is learning how to master the sword Caliburn and fight his way back as rightful heir and king of ancient Britain. Charlie Hunnam played the titular role.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English: Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Knyȝt) is a late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance. It is one of the best known Arthurian stories, the following films are directly based on the romance:
These films generally feature King Arthur, in Roman Empire settings and as the main character.
King Arthur (2004) a motion picture claiming to be more historically accurate (that was heavily criticised for its historical inaccuracies) 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.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), 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.
Army of Darkness (1992), Third in the Evil Dead trilogy sees the protagonist, Ash, sent back to medieval Britain where he defends Lord Arthur from an army of the dead.
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 2004 film King Arthur, 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.
Television films and specials, modernization and parodies
Merlin and the Sword a.k.a. Arthur the King (1985) is an American television movie that was filmed in 1982 about a woman falling into an icy cave at Stonehenge and waking up in Arthurian times.
Avalon High (TV film, 2010) Britt Robertson is cast as Arthur as the setting of this Disney Channel Original Movie is a mix of battle sequences and a high school setting . Allie Pennington, (Robertson) learns she is the reincarnation of the legendary king.
The 1950s British television series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–57), recounts the knight's exploits and stars William Russell as the titular character, most known for his role as Ian Chesterton in Doctor Who. It featured Arthur and many other characters from the legends and it was the first British television series ever to be made in colour (although surviving episodes of season 1 are in black and white), and one of the first to be aired by an American network. Although it suffered low ratings due to CBS’s Burns and Allen airing at the same time slot.
The 1970s British television series, Arthur of the Britons (1972–1973), 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.
Merlin (2008–2012) is the BBC's second Arthurian adaptation after the 1979 mini-series, this time a retelling following a young Merlin and Arthur (played by Colin Morgan and Bradley James, respectively) and their journey towards fulfilling their destiny.
Camelot is a series on Starz which is an adaptation of Le Morte D'Arthur that debuted February 25, 2011. It begins at the very earliest story with twenty-year-old Arthur (Jamie Campbell Bower), long lost son of Uther Pendragon, being crowned king and pulling the Sword of Mars from a stone after his half-sister Morgan (Eva Green) poisons their father. A more adult-oriented take on the Arthurian legends than the concurrent series Merlin, it was cancelled after one season because of many scheduling conflicts of the cast and showrunners.
The BBC series Merlin (2008–2012) 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.
The ABC series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018) 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 (portrayed once again by Liam Garrigan) is revealed to be a villain. As the season progresses, his villainous acts are discovered by the heroes, including his killing of Merida's father, but he is eventually defeated and imprisoned. Towards the end of the season, he is killed by the god of the Underworld, Hades, and is sent to the Underworld. It is there he encounters a deceased Killian Jones, and they work together to help the heroes in the living realm defeat Hades. With the underworld in disarray, Arthur realizes a prophecy he heard that he would repair a broken kingdom wasn't talking about Camelot, but the Underworld. He then bids Killian farewell, and hopes to redeem himself by helping the souls of the deceased.
The Canadian TV show Guinevere Jones (2006) features a reincarnation of Guinevere who is helped by the spirit of Merlin to learn magic and fight against Morgana, and dealing with High School problems.
The first season of the American television show The Librarians is centered on the efforts of an elderly Lancelot (using his last name, Dulaque, as an alias) to restore Camelot, which he considers to be a golden age of humanity. He manages to release magic back into the world using Excalibur in the second episode, ("And The Sword In the Stone"), and eventually uses a collection of artifacts gathered by the Librarians to access the Loom of Fate, which he tampers with to restore his youth and restart history at the beginning of Camelot. However, Galahad (who has assumed the identity of the Library's caretaker, Jenkins), returns and distracts him long enough for the Librarians to undo the damage, causing Lancelot to disappear.
Animation
Television films and specials
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1970) was an animated early segment of the Famous Classic Tales specials, produced by the Hanna-Barbera Australian subsidiary, Air Programs International
A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court (1978), also known as Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court, a Looney Tunes TV special.
The animated series The Legend of Prince Valiant (1991–1993) followed the adventures of three young warriors training to become Knights of the Round Table. The series 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 (1992–1993) 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.
Starting within its "Avalon World Tour" story arc, a few episodes of Disney's Gargoyles (1994–1997) 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.
Blazing Dragons (1996–1998), The series' protagonists are anthropomorphic dragons who are beset by evil humans, reversing a common story convention. The series parodies that of the King Arthur Tales as well as the periods of the Middle Ages
Dragon Booster (2004–2006), A teenager named Artha Penn teams up with a dragon named Beau and Artha was the chosen hero called the Dragon Booster.
The animated series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (2016–2018) features the wizard Merlin as the creator of the Trollhunter's amulet, and his arch-enemy Morgana as one of the main villains of the third season. The series Wizards: Tales of Arcadia (2020) features the return of Merlin and Morgana. Camelot also appears, as members of the main cast travel back to Arthurian times, in the process meeting King Arthur and Lancelot.
Foreign-language television series and films
Live-action television series
The French series Kaamelott (2005–2009) features a humorous take on the legend.
The Japanese anime series Code Geass (2006–2007, 2008) featured The Knights of the Round, a unit of twelve elite knights in the Holy Empire of Britannia, each being assigned into the group by royalty and under direct command of the Emperor. Each knights pilot a Knightmare Frame, a humanoid shaped war machine. Their Knightmare Frame were named after the Arthurian Knights such as Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan. The capital city of the Holy Britannian Empire, Pendragon, is also named after King Arthur's surname.
In the Japanese anime adaptation of the visual novel Fate/stay night (2006, 2014–2015), Arthur is portrayed as having been a woman (named Artoria) whose spirit is resurrected to serve a mage in the modern day as "Saber", with history recording her as a man for political correctness. She reprises this role in the adaptation's prequel Fate/Zero (2011–2012), which also features a version of Lancelot. Artoria also appears in the film Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (2010), and a recreated anime series (2014–2015) based on the latter, as well as a number of spinoffs based on the franchise. In addition, the OVAFate/Prototype (2011) (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", often shortened to "Proto-Saber". Meanwhile, Fate/Apocrypha (2017) features Mordred as a Saber-class familiar, wielding the sword Clarent.
The Japanese anime Highschool DxD (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018), the Arthurian legend also plays an important factor in the series such as the Welsh Dragon, the White dragon and King Arthur's dual swords Excalibur and Caliburn, Merlin the wizard of Arthurian Legend was stated to be one of the most important pioneer of magic, two of the main character were direct descendants of King Arthur, Arthur Pendragon and Le Fay Pendragon, the latter being the love interest of the protagonist Issei Hyoudou.
Arthur serves as the main antagonist in the Japanese anime Nobunaga the Fool (2014). The anime is a sci-fi telling of famed ancient heroes from the west, such as Arthur, Caesar, 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.
In Season 2 Episode 15 "The Queen of the Lake" (2014) of Japanese anime Sword Art Online, the main cast is given a quest to save an ancient race of elves from which the main characters races branch from. The reward for the quest is the item known as Excalibur, a legendary sword from Arthurian lore.
The Seven Deadly Sins (2014–2020) is loosely based on Arthurian Legend, set in and around Liones and Camelot, and featuring reimagined versions of Arthur, Merlin, and Viviane as supporting characters.
Divine Gate (2016), Japanese anime based on the Smart phone game of same name, which retelling of Arthurian legend.
A sword-wielding character named Arthur appears in David Production's anime adaptation of the manga series Fire Force by Atsushi Ohkubo. As his pyrokinetic ability, he wields a sword named Excalibur whose blade is made of plasma. Believing himself to be a knight, his power increases as these convictions grow.
Audio
The Sword in the Stone, a 6-part BBC Radio series written by Marianne Helweg based on the book by T. H. White and broadcast on BBC National Programme 11 June - 16 July 1939, with Robert Farquharson as Merlyn, Robin Maule as "Wart", Norman Shelley as Sir Ector, Carleton Hobbs as Archimedes and Geoffrey Wincott as King Pellinorer.
The Sword in the Stone, a 1952 BBC Home Service adaptation by Marianne Helweg of T.H. White's novel, with Peter Ustinov as Merlyn, Jeremy Spenser as "Wart", Norman Shelley as Sir Ector, Geoffrey Wincott as King Pellinore and Patience Collier as Madame Mim.
Tale Spinners for Children: "The Knights of the Round Table" (UAC 11005) (1962), a recorded dramatization of the Arthurian legend starring Derek Hart, concentrating mostly on Sir Lancelot; certain events were simplified or changed to make the story more child-friendly (for instance, Mordred is merely an evil knight and the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere is changed to make it an evil rumor spread by a henchman of Sir Mordred's to compromise Lancelot and Guinevere, resulting in their being framed when Lancelot is tricked into visiting the Queen in her chamber) and providing a happy ending.
The Sword in the Stone, a 1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation by Neville Teller of T.H. White's novel, with Michael Hordern as Merlyn, Toby Robertson as "Wart", David Gooderson as King Pellinore and Josephine Gordon as Madame Mim.
A Stone From Heaven, a radio play in two parts ("The Wounding" and "The Healing", both broadcast on 15 April 1995) written by Lindsay Clarke, focusing on the Grail story and on Parsifal and Gawain, with Ian Jeffs as Parsifal, Michael Lumsden as Gawain, Gary Bond as Arthur, Eleanor Bron as Cunrie, Diana Quick as Orguleuse and Edward Petherbridge as Trevrizant.
Albion: The Legend of Arthur, a 2020 Audible Original Drama written by Robert Valentine described as a more realistic version of the Arthurian legends.
The board game Shadows Over Camelot features King Arthur as one of the main playable characters in the game.
In the science fiction miniature 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.
In the fantasy miniature game Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the background of Bretonnia is strongly based on Arthurian legends, including the Grail and the Lady of the Lake.
King Arthur alongside many of his knights appear under stylized names in the card game Yugioh in the "Knight of the Round Table" set. Merlin, the Lady of the Lake and Avalon are also referenced.
Role-playing games
The role-playing gamePendragon 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. 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.
Video games
Sir Lancelot is used as character in a 1984 platform / arcade game for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
Knights of the Round (1991) 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.
Bio-Hazard Battle (1992) the plots mention Avalon is another planet to be contaminated by bio-hazard warfare.
In Final Fantasy VII (1997), 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.
Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi (2002) a tactical JRPG 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.
Legion: The Legend of Excalibur by 7 Studios, a 2002 real-time strategy and action role-playing hybrid with the player controlling one of the Knights of the Round Table and few warrior groups to fight against evil Morgan Le Fay's undead army.
Fate/stay night (2004), a visual novel/eroge and anime, features a young female knight called Saber whose true name is Artoria. 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. Bedivere attends to her as she is dying.
Fate/Zero (2006), a prequel, features not only the above King Arthur/Saber, but also Lancelot as a Black Knight under the class Berserker.
The spinoff game Fate/extra (2010) features Gawain as an enemy-exclusive Saber-class character.
The light-novel series Fate/Apocrypha (2012) - 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. Mordred wields the sword Clarent.
All of the aforementioned characters would later appear in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order (2015) alongside versions of Galahad, Gareth, Agravaine and Tristan. Lancelot would come to have another version summonable as the Saber-class in which he is sane, unlike his Berserker form. Artoria would also receive multiple versions of her character, notably a Lancer-class version wielding the spear Rhongomyniad, in addition to corrupted Alter forms and an alternate-universe male form known as "Proto-Saber".
Tomb Raider: Legend (2006) by Crystal Dynamics revolves around the King Arthur legend resembling those of other cultures around the world; pieces of artifacts are forms of Excalibur.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale (2022) by NeocoreGames is a tactical role-playing game with a dark fantasy version of Arthurian legend where King Arthur is mad and you play as Mordred trying to stop him.
King Arthur: Legion IX (2024) - a turn-based TRPG with a Roman theme, set in the universe of King Arthur: Knight's Tale.
Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) on Wii 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.
The Order: 1886, story in this 2015 action adventure depicts the Knights of the Round Table in steampunk London battling to keep the world safe from supernatural breeds and enemy organisations.
Tainted Grail: Conquest (Ex-Tainted Grail in 2020) (2021), a 3D, turn-based, roguelike deck-building game in a dark fantasy world of Avalon. It is adapted from the 2019 board game, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon (2023, EA), an epic first-person, open-world RPG in the Tainted Grail lore, set long after King Arthur's death.
SWORN (2024), a co-op roguelike action game with 3D cartoony, grimdark visuals for 1-4 players. Quest to take back Camelot from corrupted Arthur and his round table Knights.
MMOs
Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), a massively multiplayer online game created by Mythic Entertainment. A role-playing game with elements of Arthurian legend, released in 2001. The story takes place after King Arthur's death.
RuneScape (2001), a MMORPG, 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'.
Wizard101 (2008): Morganthe's Arc, Avalon story line (Arc 2 World 3) (video game)
Kingdoms of Camelot (KoC), a massively multiplayer online, real-time strategy, browser game created by Canadian studio Kabam. A build and warfare game, released in 2009 and linked to Facebook Game platform.
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
England-based metal band Cradle of Filth released their song "Haunted Shores" in 2014, which deals with the subject of King Arthur from a pagan perspective.
The British band The Mechanisms created an album High Noon Over Camelot which gives a western take on the tales.
Korean pop band Kingdom (group) released their top song "Excalibur" in 2021 as their debut single. As well as "Excalibur" they released songs "Black Crown" and "Long Live the King" which are less obviously influenced by Arthurian legend. Along with their songs, their debut album is titled History Of Kingdom: pt.I. Arthur which is named after band member Arthur and a reference to Arthur Pendragon. The influence of Arthurian legend in this band is unbelievable.
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."
^Helbert, Daniel (2019). "Malory in America". In Leitch, Megan G.; Rushton, Cory James (eds.). A New Companion to Malory. D. S. Brewer. pp. 296–316. ISBN9781843845232.
^Leach, Robert (2012-01-01). "A mighty bust-up: John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy's The Island of the Mighty at the Aldwych theatre, December 1972". Studies in Theatre and Performance. 32 (1): 3–14. doi:10.1386/stap.32.1.3_1. ISSN1468-2761. S2CID192189442.
