Plot
Part I
Satisfied at Camelot's conditions, Merlin (Sam Neill) decides to go on vacation in order to rejuvenate. This vacation nap is supposed to last a few months, but when Merlin awakes, he finds he has slept for fifty years. Upon his return to Camelot, he discovers a downtrodden place. Almost all of those he knew have died; Lord Weston (Garwin Sanford) runs the kingdom and the Holy Grail has departed from the castle, but Merlin's protective enchantments have held invaders in check.
A young thief named Jack (John Reardon) and his tagalong pig Sir Snout stowaway in a cart entering Camelot, angering its driver Squire Brian. Jack is no ordinary vagrant, as he possesses some rudimentary magical skills. Jack enters the chamber of Yvonne (Tegan Moss), granddaughter of Sir Gawain and steals a pendant. Yvonne enters and while Jack hides, Master Graham (Christopher Jacot), a local blacksmith whom she loves, visits her. Jack then attempts to steal Merlin's wand while Merlin concentrates on the whereabouts of the Grail. Merlin senses the visitor, and at first evicts him, but later apprentices Jack after a vision of the Holy Grail appears to both of them.
The only training the film shows is Merlin tempting Jack with food while telling Jack to resist his hunger and seek a ring that was lost in the castle (which turns out to be the former Round Table). It is around this time that Jack learns the truth of Brian, who is actually Brianna (Meghan Ory). She disguises herself in order to avenge a wrong done to her family.
In his search for the grail, Merlin suspects something is afoul in Camelot that caused the Grail to depart. Merlin confronts Yvonne (who is to be married to Lord Weston when the Grail returns) and her guardian Master Burton (Andrew Jackson). Later while touching the Grail's stand, Merlin sees a vision in which he learns the truth of his absence. The Lady of the Lake (Miranda Richardson) enchanted him and created Jack. Thus, Jack's father is Merlin and his mother is the Lady.
Barbarians threaten Camelot's door, and knights including Brian want to use an enchanted cave in order to surprise the invaders, who they think are building a dam to drown the kingdom. Jack agrees to lift Merlin's enchantment on the passage, but the knights find no construction. In the meantime, the barbarians directed by the Lady of the Lake enter the passage and breach Camelot's walls, which are vulnerable from the inside.
Realizing the impending doom, Merlin tells Jack the truth of his origins. Merlin and Jack coordinate to magic a bridge over the barbarian army to safety, but when Brianna is put in danger, Merlin tells Jack to go to her and completes the bridge alone (an effort that fatally drains him) commanding the townspeople, including Jack, to escape. As Jack steps off the bridge he breaks the spell to foil the pursuers. Meanwhile, Merlin was left in the walls of Camelot and is decapitated by Rauskaug (Alexander Kalugin), the leader of the barbarians.
Part II
The remaining people of Camelot have traveled the countryside for several months, seeking the Grail while fleeing their enemy. Jack is frustrated that his concentration does not give him insight, so the Lady of the Lake sends him a vision of the Grail's whereabouts. The group goes there, to discover that the water is cursed and several knights are murdered by a beast as they attempt to swim to the Grail's cave. Meanwhile, the Lady has told Rauskaug of their location and the barbarians begin their pursuit.
The film centers on the crimes of the Camelot's guardians, which they believe prevent their reaching of the Grail. Yvonne's parents presented her as Gawain's kin but this ruse is discovered when she begs Jack to explore her past through visions. Through these it is discovered that Master Burton and Lord Weston had oppressed the surrounding peoples with taxes, unfair trade, and devious agreements. This is the source of Brianna's anger, as her family was robbed of its property through such a contract.
Before Jack goes through Yvonne's past, Yvonne and Graham (Yvonne's true love) go behind a tree and kiss. In that time Jack and Brianna decide to give in to love and start to kiss. They are caught kissing by the other two. Jack tries to put it off as a joke, but though Yvonne and Graham now know Brian is a girl, they don't tell anyone.
In the meantime, Burton hopes to betroth Yvonne to a Scottish king and indenture the remaining citizens of Camelot to that lord for personal gain. Yvonne and Jack reveal Burton and his wife's past treachery, and instead of a quick execution Jack hopes a trial will cleanse Camelot of its sins. Instead Brianna takes justice into her own hands and kills the pair as the barbarians approach.
While the two sides battle, Lord Weston accompanies Jack to the cave. Jack parts the waterfall, and they enter the cave. Jack warns Weston that he is the true stain on Camelot and advises him not to take the grail. When Weston touches it, his impurity turns him to dust. The Lady of the Lake appears and offers Jack a chance to become powerful. Instead he rejects his mother (apparently killing her) and makes a wish of the Grail: Jack says that the Grail may do what it wishes with him, if it will only end the destruction outside. The Grail accepts this unselfish act, and reanimates the dead warriors on both sides. Graham holds it aloft and promises a new Camelot will be built.
Graham and Yvonne marry. During the reconstruction, Sir Snout tells Jack to speak the name of the land of the dead (Tartarus) in order to see his father. Jack goes to Merlin, and the two are allowed to spend the time they didn't have as father and son. The film concludes by hinting that Jack and Brianna are now married and probably going to have children. The film ends when Jack picks up Brianna as she blows out a candle.
Merlin is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a magician, with several other main roles. The familiar depiction of Merlin, based on an amalgamation of historic and legendary figures, was introduced by the 12th-century British pseudo-historical author Geoffrey of Monmouth and then built on by the French poet Robert de Boron and their prose successors in the 13th century.
Gawain, also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest Welsh sources. He has subsequently appeared in many Arthurian tales in Welsh, Latin, French, English, Scottish, Dutch, German, Spanish, and Italian, notably as the protagonist of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Other works featuring Gawain as their central character include De Ortu Waluuanii, Diu Crône, Ywain and Gawain, Golagros and Gawane, Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle, L'âtre périlleux, La Mule sans frein, La Vengeance Raguidel, Le Chevalier à l'épée, Le Livre d'Artus, The Awntyrs off Arthure, The Greene Knight, and The Weddynge of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell.
Idylls of the King, published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom.
Lancelot du Lac, also written as Launcelot and other variants, is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend where he is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is an orphaned son of King Ban of the lost kingdom of Benoic, raised in a fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, despite suffering from frequent and sometimes prolonged fits of madness. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that, once exploited by Mordred, brings an end to Arthur's kingdom.
Galahad, sometimes referred to as Galeas or Galath, among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story is taken up in later works, such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
The Lady of the Lake is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. She plays several important roles in many stories, including providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. Different sorceresses known as the Lady of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, with the latter describing them as a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister.
Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, co-written and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.
The Knights of the Round Table are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are an order dedicated to ensuring the peace of Arthur's kingdom following an early warring period, entrusted in later years to undergo a mystical quest for the Holy Grail. The Round Table at which they meet is a symbol of the equality of its members, who range from sovereign royals to minor nobles.
Morgan le Fay, alternatively known as Morgan[n]a, Morgain[a/e], Morg[a]ne, Morgant[e], Morge[i]n, and Morgue[in] among other names and spellings, is a powerful and ambiguous enchantress from the legend of King Arthur, in which most often she and he are siblings. Early appearances of Morgan in Arthurian literature do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a goddess, a fay, a witch, or a sorceress, generally benevolent and connected to Arthur as his magical saviour and protector. Her prominence increased as the legend of Arthur developed over time, as did her moral ambivalence, and in some texts there is an evolutionary transformation of her to an antagonist, particularly as portrayed in cyclical prose such as the Lancelot-Grail and the Post-Vulgate Cycle. A significant aspect in many of Morgan's medieval and later iterations is the unpredictable duality of her nature, with potential for both good and evil.
Red Knight is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend.
Gareth is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is the youngest son of King Lot and Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain and Gaheris, and either a brother or half-brother of Mordred. Gareth is particularly notable in Le Morte d'Arthur, where one of its eight books is named after and largely dedicated to him, and in which he is also known by his nickname Beaumains.
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail is a graphic adventure game released in 1990 by Sierra On-Line. It was the first game in the Conquests series designed by Christy Marx and her husband Peter Ledger. The only other game in the series was 1991's Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood. Marx did the majority of the design work while Ledger created the game and package art.
Merlin is a 1998 two-part television miniseries starring Sam Neill as Merlin, recounting the wizard's life in the mythic history of Britain. Loosely adapted from the legendary tales of Camelot, the plot adds the antagonistic Queen Mab and expands Merlin's backstory before the birth of King Arthur.
Agravain is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Morgause, thus nephew of King Arthur, and brother to Sir Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth, as well as half-brother to Mordred. Agravain secretly makes attempts on the life of his hated brother Gaheris since the Vulgate Cycle, participates in the slayings of Lamorak and Palamedes in the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and murders Dinadan in the Prose Tristan. In the French prose cycle tradition included in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, together with Mordred, he then plays a leading role by exposing his aunt Guinevere's affair with Lancelot, which leads to his death at Lancelot's hand.
This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.
Ywain, also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings, is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien of Gorre and either the enchantress Modron or the sorceress Morgan le Fay. The historical Owain mab Urien, on whom the literary character is based, was the king of Rheged in Great Britain during the late 6th century.
The Knight of the Sacred Lake is a historical fantasy novel by Rosalind Miles. It was first published in 2000 by Simon & Schuster in the UK followed by Crown Books in the US. The book is a retelling of the Arthurian legend and follows the lives of Queen Guinevere, consort of King Arthur and her struggles with the king's nephews Agravain and Gawain; the queen is torn between her love for her husband, her land, and her lover, Lancelot. The book was part of a series, The Guinevere Novels, and was followed by The Child of the Holy Grail. Reviewing the book, Publishers Weekly described it as "a lush, feminist take on the English epic".
The Dragon Lord is a historical fantasy or sword and sorcery novel by American writer David Drake. First published in 1979 and revised in 1982, the novel is set in sixth century Arthurian Britain.
Unholy Grail is a horror comic book series written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Mirko Colak, published by American company AfterShock Comics. The colorist is Maria Santaolalla, and the letterer is Simon Bowland.
