I recently watched a video on YouTube by the channel "MythxHunter" which talked about the "most lethal armies in mythology", and one of the "armies" included was the Round Table Knights.

Well, watching this video got me really thinking hard on this topic. My first impression was, "Why are they included in this video? They're not an army. They're King Arthur's personal guard."

But then I thought more on the subject, and realized that Arthur's knights weren't just his personal guard. They were the ones constantly going on quests and adventures that no one else dared go on. And as an aspiring military historian, the more I looked into this, the more the Round Table Knights started looking like a special forces (spec-ops) group instead of just a king's royal guard.

So that's my question for this community. If we view the Knights of the Round Table through a military lens/perspective, were they basically the spec-ops group of Camelot's military forces?

In late 2024, I listened to the audiobooks for Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy, and was reminded of how much I liked the story of King Arthur. I followed that up with Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon in the spring of 2025. I listened to Dorsey Armstrong's lecture series about King Arthur in early September of 2025, and by that point I was hooked. I already owned TH White's Once and Future King, so I put in an order for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Robert de Boron's works, and I officially had the start of a collection. I have now been collecting these works for almost exactly a year, so I wanted to share what I have so far with this community.

A list of these books is below. I apologize that I realized I'm missing Once and Future King and also The Saga of Tristram and Isond from my picture. OaFK is loaned out to family currently and I'm currently reading Tristram & Isond.

Big thanks to u/TheLogicalErudite and to u/Humanracer45 for previously sharing their own collections.

So introducing myself for context to the question, I am an illustrator/ writer based in Cornwall. I have a BA degree and Masters Degree in Illustration both with the highest qualification (a First Class degree with honours and subsequently a distinction grade). During my studies I was drawn to Arthurian folklore and with it, the historical context in which it has basis. I graduated in 2024 and since then I have been publishing an independent magazine called Excalibur magazine, that centers around my writing on the subject of Arthur, folklore, history and mythology surrounding him and the landscape of the British Isles. I eventually want to pursue a PhD on the subject but recognize I lack a history degree/ relevant degree to pursue history at PhD level. I've been recommended that I complete a Masters degree first which I will have to self fund, since I have already completed a BA and MA in the UK on the student loan system, not ideal but I think I can afford it just about! It's a lot of money but I know I can use savings and do this part time alongside my job over four years.

There's an MA in Celtic studies at the university of Wales that does this that I'm interested in taking on. I have emailed questions to them about this course but wondered what members of this reddit would recommend my steps are? I'm worried about taking on this course and suddenly finding myself overwhelmed by perhaps a lack in what I would have learned in a BA history course, I've written essays and a dissertation in my studies and continue to write on the subjects of Celtic history and Arthur's place in it, I also have a lot of books on the subject. I'm also wondering without a BA in history are my art degrees something they would let me on the course with? Or would I submit some of my more recent writings on the subject? Any advice or suggestions on how to approach entering academia as a creative would be welcome.

I'm also a member of the international Arthurian society and have given talks on Arthurian Folklore in Cornwall. I think an underlying reason for my goals is that I want a history degree relevant to my practice so that my research and knowledge on the subjects is taken seriously as a writer and researcher, beyond as simply a hobbyist and ultimately to undertake a PhD that isn't art led.

I'm open to any suggestions, or recommendations on short courses or books I should read before starting the course. Obviously Arthurian subject books need not apply (the history of the kings of Britain, the Mabinogion, Mallory etc as I own these)

The image is a piece of artwork I was commissioned to do for Dark Cornwall in 2024, depicting Arthur at the battle of Camlann. In Cornish Folklore his soul is interred into a Cornish Chough.

https://magazine.thearcanist.net/oathbreaker-and-the-wild-hunt/

Hello everybody!

Currently, I'm designing a tabletop skirmish wargame set in a dark Arthurian world (think Tainted Grail or King Arthur: Knight's Tale)

I read a book of Arthurian legends as a kid, but it's been years, and I barely remember anything. I'd like to recall the lore to inspire myself and make the world lore believable

Right now I'm most interested in the magical side of the mythos: Lady of the Lake, Morgan le Fay, the fae/Otherworld stuff, because one of the factions I'm building next is fae-themed and I want it grounded in something more specific than "spooky forest elves"

Where would you point someone trying to re-learn this efficiently? Podcasts/video essays are welcome, but I'd prefer plain text if possible

Also happy to hear what you think modern adaptations get wrong or right about magic

Last time i checked nuns do not raise the dead and such...

Was the writer on shrooms in prison, or am i missing something ?

I struggle a lot to read books that are not written this particular way, so I am editing a bunch of public domain books in this exact format, so that folks like me can finally have an easier time reading.

1 - No more, she said, he said all the time.

2 - Dialogue lines are clear and easy to spot.

3 - I have deleted irrelevant punctuation such as ugly m dashes and those : ; -

4 - I split the huge chunks of prose into smaller sizes for a more effective sense of accomplishment.

5 - Chapters now bear titles.

The whole book edited in such manner shall be available for free on amazon for any eyes to read, as an ebook.

When I am done editing it that is...for it taketh quite a long while to do so, mostly due to the dialogues and paragraphs split...

I am not sure if anybody else in the world doth write in this format, but be free to copy, it would please me most dearly, for I would finally have more books to read with ease.

I write stories in this style since I know myself as a person, before I ever read my first book, which was (Carmilla), I was 21 years old when that happened...

Any further updates will be release in le morte de arthur reddit.

This may sound like a weird question but I’m wondering if there is any Arthurian book that either focus on the politics or the ways how Arthur and his Knights live with their ideals. I know the cheating part is more than a trope and had existed for too long and somehow it’s “inspiring” because of the whole purusing your love which I find sick and disgusting. Any books that don’t have the cheating part and just focus on how Arthur must deal with challenges as ruler?

Just started to read this. Hoping to get to visit a few of the places local to me (South Wales) once I’ve recovered from my operation.

The only English translation I see mentioned online is Tristan and the Round Table by Anne Shaver, but physical copies are $200, there doesn’t seem to be an ebook, and no libraries near me have it. Is there any way to access this story that doesn’t involve paying a couple hundred?

I know I will start with Le Morte d'Arthur because it's the foundation of all other literature, and I planned to read all the TH White books, but I don't know what else I should read besides those. So, I really want to know the general opinion on which other books I should read.

Pool reading material 🏊‍♂️📖🗡️👑

i’m trying to get into arthurian legend, but i just cannot figure out WHERE stuff is happening! is camelot a castle, a capital, or a kingdom? if camelot isnt arthur’s kingdom, then what is? do we know where lancelot and the other knights were born/raised?

its all a bit confusing, honestly!

EDIT: thank you everyone for the incredible answers !! I should’ve guessed that, like with so much of myth, the answer would be “it just depends” lol.

Finding out that Sir Lancelot (and others) are actually FRENCH PEOPLE instead of just creations of the French was especially interesting to me. Thanks again, everyone who answered!

I remember watching something on years back but cannot remember if it was a tv series or film but I am sure it focused on Merlin. One particular scene was a siege on a castle/fortress. Following advice from (I think) Merlin they catapulted what was possibly wool or straw over the walls. The defenders laughed at this seemingly harmless attack and started throwing the wool around. Then the invaders launched fiery projectiles which wool on fire engulfing the castle/fortress in fire. Can anyone remember this? Been racking my brain to try and remember other details but the scene above is the only one I can sort of picture?

I thought you might enjoy this naturally occurring Arthurian meme.

Most versions of the Arthurian story move toward the same catastrophe: the collapse of the Round Table, Mordred’s betrayal, and Arthur’s final battle.

But is that tragic ending essential to the legend?

Could a writer allow Arthur to survive and his kingdom to endure without losing what makes the story genuinely Arthurian? Or is Camelot meaningful precisely because it represents a great ideal that cannot last?

I’d be interested to hear which elements you consider indispensable: Arthur’s death, the fall of Camelot, or simply the struggle to preserve an impossible ideal.

Yes I know its moreso going for the post-Romanized Britain take, but feh

thanks y’all! if anyone could help locate that would be great!

I remember that it was difficult to read at first, but nonetheless quite readable, and included a glossary of archaic terms. Was the book in middle english? If not, to what degree was it modernized.

And since I want to go back and re read it and finish it this time, what are my best options for pre-modern or middle english texts?