It’s likely you’ve heard of King Arthur and the knights of the round table even if you’ve never read the stories. You’ve probably also heard of Merlin; I might describe him as Arthur’s magic-wielding sidekick. Similar to the Lone Ranger and Tonto, except, as legend has it, Merlin engineered the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue and Tonto was just along for the ride. Right now you might be wondering what does any of this have to do with the Plantagenets?
Good question. What you might not know is that King Edward III, the 7th Plantagenet king, had a passion for tales of King Arthur and his society of loyal knights. So passionate in fact, that in 1344, he announced his intention to create a similar brotherhood of knights and began the construction of a room at Windsor Castle to house the legendary Round Table. While this project was never completed, in 1348 King Edward did found a chivalric order of knights which continues to this day. The Most Notable Order of the Garter was originally celebrated on St. George’s Day, April 23; it is now celebrated annually on a designated Monday in June. Saint George is the patron saint of England and the chapel at Windsor Castle is the St. George Chapel. [Note: Garters were worn predominantly by men in the Middle Ages.]
Medieval Naming Customs
King Edward’s passion for the Arthurian legend went beyond founding his chivalric order. In 1338, when the king was in the Low Countries recruiting allies for his war with France, Queen Philippa gave birth to a second son, know as Lionel of Antwerp. Contrary to common naming practices, he wasn’t named after his maternal grandfather. King Edward chose to name his son Lionel in honor of Sir Lancelot’s loyal cousin who accompanied him and supported him in his exile. King Edward’s son Lionel married and sired one child, a girl, named Philippa after her paternal grandmother. Lionel’s wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, died at only 25 years of age and five years after her death Lionel remarried thirteen year-old Violante Visconti of Milan. Less than six months later, Lionel died unexpectedly: he was only 30 years old.
The Arthurian legend inspired the naming of two other noble sons in the Plantagenet line of succession which began with the marriage of King Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine. They produced four sons who survived to adulthood: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. Henry and Richard died without sons, but Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, named his son Arthur. King Richard I originally designated his nephew, Arthur, to succeed him. However, on his deathbed, King Richard changed his mind and named his youngest brother, John, as his successor. Uncle John lost no time, and probably no sleep, in disposing of his nephew, a potential threat to his kingship; Arthur was captured during a battle at Chậteau de Mirebeau, imprisoned in Falaise, Normandy, transferred to Rouen, and vanished. At the time of his disappearance Arthur was sixteen years old.
The Tudor Dynasty, which followed the Plantagenets, was secured through the marriage of Lancastrian Henry VII and Elizabeth of York; both were descended through King Edward III. Henry and Elizabeth’s eldest son was named Arthur. Sadly, Arthur died young, six months before his sixteenth birthday.
So, what does Merlin have to do with all this?
Maybe nothing. Yet I do find it curious that three boys named after characters in the legend met their demises early in life. If Merlin existed, when he was bewitched by the Lady of the Lake and sealed in a tree, he might have vowed vengence. Perhaps he chose to do so by casting a spell, a nasty one, upon anyone whose name was derived from the tales of which he played such a major part.
I’d love to hear your reactions and comments, whether something specific about this topic or just a note about whether you found this interesting. À bientôt.
King Edward was famous for the number of tournaments he hosted despite disapproval of the Church. He was a clever cookie -- smart way to keep his military tuned up and in fighting condition for when they were needed. No one got fat or slacked off.
Edward's creation of the Order of the Garter was a brilliant forerunner of the devices of later autocrats, like Louis XIV, creating new functions/roles for the nobility to keep them onside and compete with one another rather than with the monarch. As for the putative Arthur, without Geoffrey of Monmouth's dodgy History of the Kings of Britain, I doubt we'd have ever heard of him let alone his equally dubious wizard. All good fun, though.