The Impact of Myth: “King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table”

The Impact of Myth: “King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table”

Introduction

The paper discusses the impacts of myths on people. The values, ideas and beliefs derived from myths are a powerful tool to reshape the overall thinking and ideology of the people. Many myths have been so powerful that a whole series of global consequences are based upon them. These myths have both, positive and negative effects on people. There are many common, old and recent myths in the history of the earth. Some of the common myths are the Spanish Inquisition, creation of Israel, Salem witch trials, the reign of Hirohito, the heaven's gate, the jihadist suicide bombers and many more.

Myths have impacted the cultural, societal, political and religious beliefs and ideologies of the people to a large extent. Myths are exclusive to the cultures and civilizations that create them; still they can have common themes. While few myths seem shocking or even impossible, they are more or less always ingrained in the actual values, attitudes and expectations of the culture and society that created them. Sometimes, myths are considered to be the best way of preserving one's history and culture.

There are many types of myths, having different originations. There are different types of myths for different situations and for different purposes. The impacts of myth range from devastation to development. The nature of impact of myth on human norms, ideologies, beliefs and values highly depend on the nature and origination of myth. For example, the Greek mythology has highly affected the English language. A “Herculean task”, for example, is a task that requires exceptional effort. This phrase is originated from a myth about the twelve labors of Hercules. The “morphine”, drug's name originates from the Greek God of Sleep, Morpheus. There are many other examples. For example, “having the Midas” touch, An Archilles Heel and Rich as Croesus etc (LHS, n.d). The myth I am going to discuss in particular is “King Arthur & Knights of The Round Table”.

King Arthur & Knights of the Round Table

For more than fifteen hundred years, stories of a legend king and the court have symbolized the goodness and nobility. The story of King and his knights are the story of a time, when there was peace, brotherhood and justice. It is an excellent story of knights, who live with a code of chivalry. They created an ideal and noble world, which was based on good and honorable deeds. Although, the story ends with tragedy and betrayal, but it provides the hope that such time will come again (England, 2005).

King Arthur's name is always associated with the Britain kings of the middle ages are the legend King, Arthur. The timeline of the middle ages kings does not show King Arthur's name. The timeline is accurate. The king Arthur does not appear in dark ages either. The fact is that King Arthur's legendary story is not based on ...